MLL and ESPN2 Announce 2005 Television Schedule

[Gregg Pathiakis]

Story: http://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/0,5911,1_426_0_67770,00.html
Complete Schedule: http://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/0,5911,1_440_0_8246,00.html

Boston, Mass. (March 3, 2005) – Major League Lacrosse (MLL), the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, announced today, in conjunction with ESPN2, its 2005 television schedule. ESPN2, which has televised MLL games for the previous two years, will televise 12 MLL games this season, generally airing Tuesdays throughout the summer at 4:00 p.m. ET. The network will also televise two special MLL events. The first is an All-Star Game taking place in Denver, Colorado. The event will air on Saturday, July 16, 2005 at 6:00 p.m. For the third consecutive season, ESPN2 will also televise the New Balance Major League Lacrosse Championship Game. The contest airs on Sunday, August 21, 2005 at 5:00 p.m. The 2005 television schedule begins with a match-up of two 2004 playoff teams, Rochester and Boston, at Boston University’s Nickerson Field, airing on Tuesday, June 7 at 4:00 p.m.

"Major League Lacrosse games provide the exciting, fast-paced action that sports fans covet," said Mark Shapiro, ESPN Executive Vice President, Programming and Production. "Tuesday afternoons on ESPN2 will be the destination for MLL coverage all summer."

“ESPN and the MLL is the perfect match, the worldwide leader in sports showcasing the world’s best lacrosse players,” said MLL Founder Jake Steinfeld, CEO of Body by Jake Global. “This season’s television schedule is packed with great match-ups all summer long, leading up to our New Balance Championship Game broadcast. Every Tuesday this summer, fans will want to be in front of their TV sets with the dial turned to ‘The Deuce’ for the most exciting lacrosse action in the world. The people at ESPN have done an outstanding job putting together a first-rate TV package for MLL fans around the world.”

ESPN and Major League Lacrosse broke ground in 2003, agreeing to a two-year national television contract that delivered the MLL’s high scoring, fast moving, hard-hitting action to ESPN2’s more than 88 million households. ESPN International gave Major League Lacrosse an international flavor in 2004, airing the MLL “Game of the Week” contests on ESPN Latin America, ESPN Pacific Rim (Asia), and ESPN Atlantic (Africa and the Middle East).

ESPN2 has televised a host of MLL special events over the last two seasons. ESPN2 aired the MLL’s Wild West Tour games from Seattle and Denver in 2004, the first two Major League Lacrosse regular season games played outside of MLL markets.

Additionally, ESPN2 televised the 2003 MLL All-Star Game, the 2004 Bud Light MLL Skills Competition, and the 2003 and 2004 New Balance Major League Lacrosse Championship Games. The 2004 title game, in which the Philadelphia Barrage defeated the Boston Cannons by 13-11, was the first live national telecast of a Major League Lacrosse game.

About ESPN


ESPN, Inc. is the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of over 50 multimedia sports assets. The company is comprised of seven domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU, ESPN Today), ESPN and ESPN2 HD, simulcast services, ESPN Regional Television, ESPN International (networks, syndication, radio, web sites), ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, SportsTicker, ESPN Enterprises, ESPN Zones (sports-themed restaurants), and other growing new businesses including ESPN360 (Broadband), ESPN Mobile, ESPN on Demand, ESPN Interactive and ESPN PPV. Based in Bristol, Ct., ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.

About Major League Lacrosse


Major League Lacrosse, a six-team professional outdoor lacrosse league, was founded in 1999 by fitness entrepreneur Jake Steinfeld, CEO of Body by Jake Global L.L.C., and partners Dave Morrow, a former champion lacrosse player and now CEO of Warrior Lacrosse, a leading global provider of innovative and high performance lacrosse equipment; and Timothy B. Robertson, former CEO of The Family Channel and the current chairman of Bay Shore Enterprises, L.L.C., an investment holding company with activities in international media and Internet technology ventures. The MLL commenced play in June of 2001 and has teams in Baltimore, Boston, Long Island, (Montclair) New Jersey, Philadelphia and Rochester. The 2005 MLL season will begin on Friday, May 20 and conclude with the New Balance Major League Lacrosse Championship Weekend Friday, August 19 and Sunday, August 21 at Boston University’s Nickerson Field. Additional league information can be found at www.majorleaguelacrosse.com.[/url]