National Lacrosse League (NLL) Attack F Ted Dowling
questioned the "long-term prospects" of the league under the
"leadership" of Commissioner John Livsey, according to Mark
Singelais of the Albany TIMES UNION, who noted that the NLL
"lost" its national TV contract with ESPN and ESPN2 after
last season and sponsor Bud Light has also "pulled its
support." Dowling: "The players' association may consider
trying to get that commissioner replaced with somebody who's
going to do a better job." Livsey, who's in the final year
of a three-year contract, said, "When they say Rome wasn't
built overnight, neither was any sports league. ... When we
have more of a national footprint, good things will happen."
With Bud Light dropping its support, the NLL is left with
two national sponsors -- Warburg-Pincus and Keebler.
Livsey: "My understanding, according to Bud Light, was they
redirected their focus to the [NHL]." ESPN spokesperson
Dave Nagle said that in dropping the NLL, ESPN2 "decided to
go with more in-depth coverage of mainstream sports" like
the NBA, NFL and motor sports. NLL games are televised on
some RSNs (Albany TIMES UNION, 2/11).
