Portland wins coin tosses; Prepares for first pick

[Sonny]

Portland wins coin tosses and prepares for first pick in expansion draft
06/30/05 - National Lacrosse League (NLL) Portland

The 2005 National Lacrosse League Expansion Draft will take place on Wednesday, July 13 at 1pm PST, the league announced today. The Portland expansion franchise won two coin tosses over Edmonton Rush that landed the City of Portland the first pick in Expansion Draft and the Entry Draft that will take place later this summer.

Prior to the Expansion Draft, Portland's majority owner, Angela Batinovich, is prepared to hire the team's first coaching staff next week. Meanwhile, the franchise is still conducting the "Portland NLL Name the Team Contest" at www.nllportland.com, and will narrow the names based on creativity, marketability, and fan appeal. The team name will be announced in late July.

During the Expansion Draft, Edmonton and the soon-to-be-named Portland franchise will select up to nine players from current team's unprotected list, which were released today. Each team is allowed to protect 13 runners and one goaltender or ten runners and two goaltenders. Teams can not lose more than two players in the Expansion Draft.

Some notable names among the players left unprotected include Arizona forwards Cory Bomberry and Chris Panos; Buffalo midfielders Aime Caines and Rich Kilgour; Calgary forward Ted Dowling; Colorado defenseman Pat Coyle; Rochester defensemen Marshall Abrams and Regy Thorpe; San Jose goaltender Rob Blasdell and Toronto defensemen Glenn Clark and Dan Ladouceur. The full list of protected and unprotected players is attached.

Tickets for each of the nine home games (eight regular season and one preseason) range from $10.00-$25.00, with additional VIP seating available. Deposits are now being accepted for season tickets starting at $90.00, by calling 503.235.8771 or go to www.nllportland.com.

Note: A detailed breakdown and expert opinion can be obtained through an interview with the NLL lead announcer and analysis, Brian Shanahan. To schedule an interview, contact Eric Nemeth at eric.nemeth@rosequarter.com.

The Rose Quarter in Portland, OR, includes 20,000-seat Rose Garden, 12,000-seat Memorial Coliseum, 6,500-seat Theater of the Clouds, 40,000-square foot Exhibit Hall and the Rose Quarter Commons. Home to the National Lacrosse League's new expansion franchise, NBA Portland Trail Blazers and the WHL Winter Hawks, the Rose Garden is a $262 million multi-purpose arena that opened in the fall of 1995. The Winter Hawks also play in Memorial Coliseum, which opened in 1960 and served as the original home of the Trail Blazers. Memorial Coliseum is attached to 40,000-square foot Exhibit Hall and seven meeting rooms. The Commons, Portland's largest outdoor public plaza, connects the Rose Garden and the Memorial Coliseum and can accommodate up to 5,000 people for outdoor events. Ovations Food Services is the official food and beverage concessionaire for the Rose Quarter.

[ZagGrad]

Last night, ESPN had Oregon State as their segment for their 50/50 bit. They mentioned that, "although Oregon does not have a baseball or hockey team, they just acquired an indoor lacrosse team--the LumberJax." They showed some clips from some games previous games. Pretty cool.

[Tim Whitehead]

After the dispersal draft and a couple of trades were worked out, former Simon Fraser star Peter Morgan is now property of the Portland Lumberjax. Good luck to Peter there...