Executive of the Year and Team PR Representative of the Year announced

Published on May 6, 2009 under National Lacrosse League (NLL) News Release

John J. Arlotta, Owner & President of the Minnesota Swarm, has been named the National Lacrosse League Executive of the Year, the league announced today.

Following a successful career in the health care industry, Mr. Arlotta was introduced as the new owner of the Swarm on July 16, 2008. In his first season as owner, the Swarm set a franchise record for home attendance average, attracting an average of 12,308 fans per game at Xcel Energy Center. The attendance figure was the fourth highest average in the league, marking the first time the Swarm has finished among the top one-third of teams in attendance for a season. The club also attracted new sponsors, and brought the first-ever NCAA Division I college men's lacrosse game to the state, as Notre Dame played Army in October of last year. John gives much of the credit to his son, Andy Arlotta, who serves as the team's Vice President and Co-Owner, on these accomplishments in their first year of Swarm ownership.

Mr. Arlotta's has also made significant contributions at the league level in his first season as a member of the league's Board of Governors.

"John's business background and passion for lacrosse have contributed to a strong Minnesota Swarm franchise today and a very promising future for the franchise and the league as a whole", said NLL Interim Commissioner George Daniel. "Even though this is only his first year as a team owner, he has shown great leadership on our Board, serving on the Executive and Corporate Governance Committees. We congratulate John and the entire Swarm organization on this well deserved award."

"I'm honored to win this award because the greatest compliment is to be recognized by your peers", said John Arlotta. "I see this is as an award won by the entire Swarm organization. We have an outstanding group of people, who are led by my son Andy, working hard to get this organization to the next level. We've built a great foundation upon which to move forward. It's a testament to growth of lacrosse in the state of Minnesota."

In addition to his efforts within the NLL, Mr. Arlotta is an active alumnus of the University of Notre Dame, and he was the lead donor for Arlotta Stadium, which is the new lacrosse stadium currently scheduled to be opened in late 2009 at Notre Dame.

-30-

National Lacrosse League Press Release

BANDITS' CHRIS OSTRANDER WINS TEAM PR AWARD

Bandits Media Relations Representative honored for 2009 Season

The National Lacrosse League has announced that Chris Ostrander of the Buffalo Bandits has been named the Team Public Relations Representative of the Year.

Ostrander, a native of Orchard Park, New York, grew up following the Bandits and all Buffalo area sports teams. A graduate of John Carroll University (near Cleveland, OH), Ostrander joined the organization in the summer of 2008. With the Bandits this season, he was credited with effective and professional management of one of the biggest local and regional media followings among teams in the league.

"Chris did an excellent job keeping local media outlets up to date on what was going on with the team and organization through countless press releases and media advisories", said Scott Loffler, Bandits Director of Lacrosse Operations. "He was also very instrumental in keeping up with and tracking the attendance record the Bandits set this past season. His post game press conferences and interviews were very organized and he made sure every reporter and writer had what they needed prior to leaving the arena."

Ostrander's previous experience includes a stint as a writer for the Buffalo Bills' website, covering training camp and mini-camp in 2007. He also worked for the Sports Information Department at John Carroll, and was a four year player on the school's club lacrosse and hockey teams.

The National Lacrosse League will continue to announce the winners of the 2009 season awards over the next eight days, leading up to the NLL Championship Game on the weekend of May 15-17. The schedule of announcements is as follows:

Tuesday, May 5th: Sportsmanship Award & Writer of the Year Award, also known as "The Tom Borrelli Award"

Wednesday, May 6th: Executive of the Year Award & Team Public Relations Award

Thursday, May 7th: The Head Coach of the Year Award, also known as "The Les Bartley Award" & The General Manager of the Year Award, presented by SIRIUS Satellite Radio

Saturday, May 9th: East and West Divisional Finals; Buffalo at New York, 7:30pm ET & San Jose at Calgary, 9pm ET

Monday, May 11th: Defensive Player of the Year, Transition Player of the Year & Goaltender of the Year Awards

Tuesday, May 12th: Rookie of the Year Award and All-Rookie Team

Wednesday, May 13th: All-Pro Teams

Thursday, May 14th: Most Valuable Player Award, presented by Reebok

Weekend of May 15th-17th: 2009 NLL Championship Game

The awards are voted on by team executives, general managers and head coaches of the league's twelve member clubs.

National Lacrosse League Stories from May 6, 2009

• Minnesota Swarm Owner and President John J. Arlotta Named NLL Executive of the Year - Minnesota Swarm
• Buffalo's Chris Ostrander named NLL Team PR Representative of the Year - NLL
• Executive of the Year and Team PR Representative of the Year announced - NLL

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.