By David Fink - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sports Writer - 3/25/1991
The Bulls will return to Pittsburgh for a third Major Indoor Lacrosse League season in 1992, but the ownership could change and the roster probably will undergo a major face lift.
The Bulls ended their second season with a 3-7 record after losing, 23-13, Saturday night to the New York Saints at the Civic Arena. They matched New England for the worst record, and the teams finished in a tie for second (or last) in the three-team National Division.
The crowd of 6,967 — smallest in the franchise’s brief history — raised the season total to 41,387 and gave the Bulls an average home attendance of 8,277 for five games.
In their first season, the Bulls finished 3-5 and drew 43,359 for four home games — an average of 10,839.
Despite the decline, the Bulls probably will break even financially.
“The break-even attendance figure is somewhere just above 8,000,” said Bulls General Manager Haswell Franklin Jr. “The league is very happy with what we’ve done here, and the feeling is that if we put a winning team in here, we’ll do very well.”
The next step in making the franchise a success might be establishing local ownership. The Civic Arena Corp., which operates the Arena, is the most likely owner if the MILL’s Kansas City-based founders and franchise operators, Chris Fritz and Russ Cline, decide to loosen their reins.
The idea has been mentioned to Civic Arena Corp. officials, but no formal talks have been held. Such a move would give the Bulls a year-round presence here, a major plus for marketing and ticket sales.
“You can’t rely on three guys all year like we had to with Wilson, Nikula and Marino.”
The 5-year-old league, which expects to turn a profit for the second straight season, may expand from six teams to perhaps eight or 10 for 1992, with such cities as Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, St. Louis and Quebec among those expressing interest.
“I like the idea of going only into the National Hockey League cities,” said Franklin. “I think there’s a strong correlation between the markets for the two sports. I think they can coexist beautifully in the same arenas and I think our league can grow stronger by adding those types of cities.”
And how can the Bulls improve?
“Our biggest need is a top-flight goalie,” Franklin said.
Kevin Bilger, one of six Bulls on the National Division’s team for the MILL’s first All-Star Game on April 20 in Philadelphia, did most of the goaltending this season and was a definite improvement over the 1990 duo of Jim Beardmore and Bruce Donaldson.
But Bilger, a Baltimore native, is not in the class of goalkeepers such as Philadelphia’s Dallas Eliuk or Detroit’s Ted Sawicki, both Canadians.
Franklin has one other priority.
“We need more players who can score consistently. We’re fine from the left side with John Wilson and Brian Nikula, but we need some guys to score from the right side to help Butch Marino.
“And you can’t rely on three guys all year like we had to with Wilson, Nikula and Marino.”
Nikula, who missed two early games because of ankle and hamstring injuries, finished strong, knocking in four goals last week against New England and five more Saturday against New York. He finished with 18, two less than he had in 1990.
But he is thinking about returning to college and, if he is not accepted by a school in the eastern half of Ontario, Canada, his MILL career probably will end.
Marino had three goals against New York and closed with a team-high 23. Wilson missed the last two games after suffering cartilage and ligament damage to his left knee, but he still wound up with 17 goals and was named the Bulls’ Most Valuable Player.
The Bulls also suffered from the absence of their top defensive player, Dave Pietramala, who played in only three games before breaking his left hand.
“I don’t think any team in the league has the depth to overcome losses to top players such as Nikula, Pietramala and Wilson,” said Franklin. “I know we don’t.”
NOTES — Wilson will undergo arthroscopic surgery in April and will not play in the All-Star Game. Other Bulls joining Bilger in the game will be Nikula, Marino, Ed Stephenson and rookie Brian Keith. … New York’s Don Borges tied the MILL one-game record with seven goals against the Bulls.
