For now The Canadian Lacrosse League will be operating in Ontario only, involving 6 cities.
The teams are as follows:
There has been a lot of attempts at pro lacrosse over the years, dating back to the 70's. Some have worked, most have not. The NLL seems to be doing a decent job, however there are still some problems i have with it. CLax is a league I personally do not know a lot about, but I do have an opinion as to what I think about this new league.
Here are some thing I really like:
- Two teams sharing one venue. Smart. For example Oshweken and Iroquois will play at Iroquois Lacrosse Arena in Six Nations. Peel and Brampton will share The Powerade Centrre in Brampton and Oshawa and Durham will share the GM Centre in Oshawa.
- Good people. Lacrosse names like Paul St. John and Jim Veltman can only be good for any lacrosse league.
- Affordable. They have a season ticket deal going for $75 - awesome. They have a Triple Header in Oshawa on December 17 for $2. I have always said we need to get people to the games...take the opportunity and go.
- Involve youth. CLax has a program where they have a mini-pro league with the kids...same venues, same uniforms, the whole experience of the pros. I love it.
- Offense. For those of you that know me, you know I like offense, goals, shots etc. You know how I feel about the Pro lacrosse now. Remember my Blog in June? Pro Lacrosse. CLax is addressing some of my concerns with some cool rule changes. They are not allowing the 5 on 5 off on offense and defence...I really like that...and they are not allowing moving picks. The "cross check pick" and moving picks in the NLL I find ridiculous. Clax is also not allowing players cutting the middle to be crosschecked. Should be a really fast paced game. For all rules check out CLax Rules.
I am sure there are some you out there that can find some "cons" of CLax to my "pros" - but for now, I am all for it. From these eyes...Job well done. (so far)
Good Luck to all!
This league will allow more players the opportunity to play and develop skills. There are far more players than teams and you might see this as a "feeder" system for the NLL. The kids league is a great touch and the cheap tickets mean people can experience the game for the family without having to eat craft dinner for the rest of the week.
ReplyDeleteThe rules lean over to old school, none of this offense/ defense crap where "D" players can take liberties. I personally like it and think it will fly.
Keep costs down and tranfer the savings to the fans. Wow what a concept.
Walt AKA Allsports