GAIT INDUCTED INTO
NLL HALL OF FAME

Mammoth coach Gary Gait, his brother Paul, and three others have been inducted as charter members into the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame.

League founders Russ Cline and Chris Fritz, and the late Les Bartley, a seven-time championship-winning coach, joined the Gaits as the first members of the league's newly created Hall of Fame. The official ceremony took place Thursday night in Toronto at a private function with families, teammates, colleagues and fans.

Gary Gait retired in 2005 as the league's all-time leading scorer with 1,091 points and all-time leading goal scorer with 596. He was the 1991 rookie of the year, a six-time winner of the league's most valuable player award (1995-1999, 2003), seven-time league scoring champion, and was a first-team All-Pro selection in 14 of his 15 seasons. He played his last three seasons with the Mammoth, serving as the team's captain.

Paul Gait, who briefly came out retirement in 2005 to play for the Mammoth alongside his brother, is the league's fourth all-time leading scorer with 712 career points. He was named league MVP in 2002 and was an eight-time first team All-Pro and a three-time second team All-Pro during his 13 seasons.

The Hall of Fame inductees will be acknowledged again on Friday night, as the league holds its first Hall of Fame Game. The regular-season battle features the Toronto Rock hosting the Philadelphia Wings on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Mountain time at the Air Canada Centre. The new Hall of Famers will take the floor during pregame ceremonies, with the late Les Bartley represented by members of his family. Mammoth fans can watch the game live on their computers via b2 networks for $6.

NLL All-Star Weekend
The Hall of Fame Game also features the NLL All-Star Skills Competition. All-Stars will display their skills at halftime of the Hall of Fame Game in shooting accuracy, breakaway creativity and hardest shot contests. Last season's hardest shot was clocked at 102 miles per hour off the stick of Rochester Knighthawks forward John Grant.

The 2006 NLL All-Star Game takes place on Saturday at Toronto's Air Canada Centre and can be seen on Altitude Sports & Entertainment at 4:30 p.m. Mountain time. Mammoth players Gavin Prout, Dan Carey and Jay Jalbert join their West Division teammates against the All-Stars from the East Division.