The National Lacrosse League
Written by Nolan Thomas, Tuesday July 14 2009
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is the professional men's indoor lacrosse league in
Lacrosse is popular in certain areas such as
It is popular in these areas essentially for historic reasons or due to major college lacrosse programs. Overall though, Lacrosse is still considered an insignificant sport in most areas of
The NLL is an indoor lacrosse league and this is a little different than box lacrosse, which is played on a hard floor such as a gym floor and it played in the summer. It also has 3 periods instead of four. The NLL plays four quarters of fifteen minutes each, with two-minute breaks between the first and second quarters with a 12-minute break (half time) between the second and third quarters, and two-minute breaks again between the third and fourth quarters. When play is stopped for any reason, the clock does not run.
Obviously, the team that has scored the most goals at the end of regulation time is the winner. If the game is tied after regulation, a sudden death overtime period begins with the first team to score being the winner. Overtime periods continue until a winner is decided and are fifteen minutes long, with two-minute breaks in between each overtime period if necessary.
Each team as the option to dress eighteen players during a game with 16 runners and 2 goaltenders. Runners may be either forwards or defensemen.
Like basketball, there is a time limit in which a team has to move across the centerline and a shot clock. The team in possession of the ball has ten seconds to move the ball over the centerline, and thirty seconds to take a shot on net. If the team does not meet these times, the whistle is blown, and possession of the ball moves over to the opposing team.
Each team in the NLL plays sixteen games during the regular season with eight home games and eight away games. The teams are divided into two divisions, the Eastern division and the Western division. A minimum of twelve of each teams sixteen regular season games are played against division opponents.
The top four teams in each division make the playoffs. The playoffs consist of three single-game elimination rounds. In the first round the division winners hosts the fourth-place team in its division, and the second-place team hosts the third-place team. In the second round, the two remaining teams in each division play with the higher-seeded team hosting the game. Two weeks later, the division winners face off for the Champion's Cup.
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