It’s my Parting Shot for Part 1 of my answer as to why the Saskatchewan Rush’s National Lacrosse League championship win was ignored by the national sports networks…..

       It was almost sad to see the Rush’s Twitter account asking, to the point of pleading, with T-S-N and Rogers Sportsnet on Sunday…why no mention of Saskatchewan’s N-L-L Cup win?!

       A couple of secondary reasons…size of our city and lack of professional teams!

       According to Statistics Canada’s 2016 figures, Saskatoon is the 16th largest population centre in the country! Before you say, but the team is province-wide and there are over a million people in Saskatchewan, that’s still smaller than the top four cities in the nation…three of which have National Lacrosse League franchises that are dwarfed by teams from other higher-profile leagues!

       In Toronto, home of the national sports networks, the Rock sit way behind the Maple Leafs, Blue Jays, Raptors, Toronto F-C…heck even the Argonauts and the American Hockey League’s Marlies. In Vancouver, the Canucks, Whitecaps, B-C Lions…even the W-H-L’s Vancouver Giants…out-draw the N-L-L’s Stealth. In Calgary, the Flames own all the major teams…but the N-L-L Roughnecks are the poor sisters behind the Flames, Stampeders and the W-H-L’s Hitmen!

       Like it or not, the National Lacrosse League and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan barely registers with the big wigs in the national sports network offices in Toronto. And, that’s not even the main reason why the Rush’s title was ignored. I give you that reason tomorrow!

       That’s my Parting Shot, I’m Les Lazaruk...