MANNING AND CLARK NAMED TO EASTERN ALL-STAR TEAM S

Toronto, ON – The National Lacrosse League has announced the starting lineups for its 2005 All-Star Game, which will be played at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary on Saturday, February 26th at 2pm Eastern. The game will be broadcast live on NBC and by tape delay in Canada on The Score Television Network at 7:00pm (EST).

The East and West Division All-Star Teams were determined by the combined votes of the league’s general managers, league media, and fans, who voted online at the league’s official website, www.nll.com. The votes of each of the three groups weighed equally in determining the starting lineups.

The Toronto Rock’s own Blaine Manning and Glenn Clark have each earned spots in the starting line ups. Manning has played offense with the Rock for 4 seasons. In 2004, he finished 4th overall in League and Rock point standings with 90 points on 36 goals and 54 assists. Manning also led the League in power play goals with 19 PPG during the regular season.
Clark has played defense with the Rock since the club’s inception in 1999. In 13 regular season games in 2004, he scooped 60 looseballs and finished 3rd overall in Rock penalty minutes with 31 PIM.

The complete listing of starting lineups is as follows

EAST DIVISION

Forwards
John Grant-Rochester Knighthawks
Blaine Manning-Toronto Rock
John Tavares-Buffalo Bandits
Defensemen
Glenn Clark-Toronto Rock
Andrew Turner-Rochester Knighthawks
Goaltender
Pat O’Toole-Rochester Knighthawks

WEST DIVISION

Forwards
Dan Dawson-Arizona Sting
Gary Gait-Colorado Mammoth
Tracey Kelusky-Calgary Roughnecks
Defensemen
Pat Coyle-Colorado Mammoth
Jim Moss-San Jose Stealth
Goaltender
Anthony Cosmo-San Jose Stealth

The twelve reserves for the East and West teams are expected to be announced on Monday, February 14th. Each All-Star team will have a total of eighteen players, and all ten NLL teams will have at least one player in the All-Star Game.

The West Division All-Stars will be coached by Calgary Roughnecks head coach Chris Hall. Hall won the honor based on his team’s first place position in the West Division following the games to be played this weekend. The league earlier announced that the head coaches of the teams in first place of their respective divisions following the games of Week #7 (games played Feb. 11-13) would become the head coaches of the All-Star team of their respective divisions. The league has determined that Calgary (4-2) has already clinched at least a share of first place in the West Division following the games of the upcoming weekend, and would win a tie-breaker over Arizona, the only team that could tie them for first place following this weekend’s games. The East Division head coach is yet to be determined, with one game separating the five teams heading into Week #7.

The head coaches of the second place teams following this weekend’s games will become the assistant coaches of the All-Star teams in their respective divisions.