On 13 June 2001, the Columbus Landsharks formally re-entered the National Lacrosse League, following a complicated "hybrid expansion" plan which brought lacrosse to Montreal while saving it in Columbus. Owned by Mike Gongas and Charlie Russo, who also own the New York Saints, the Landsharks will continue playing at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. It appears that while most of the players landed in Montreal, the team's brief history has remained behind.

Of the fourteen teams to have played in the league through the 2001 season, only four had a debut season in which they lost at least three times as many games as they won. In the footsteps of the 1989 Detroit Turbos (1-7), 1996 Charlotte Cobras (0-10) and 1998 Syracuse Smash (2-10) came the 2001 Columbus Landsharks, coached by former Buffalo GM Marty Cooper and led by rookie standout Tracey Kelusky and a host of journeyman veterans.

As first-year expansion teams go, the Landsharks were solid on paper and appeared to have been constructed well for a quick rise to contention in a couple years. However, as first-year expansion teams often do, the Landsharks failed to find their mark in the early going of the 2001 season, particular in the initial minutes after halftime, dropping their initial three games in increasingly disastrous fashion. In their first game, the Landsharks actually held a halftime lead on the New York Saints before imploding on defense in a 17-12 loss. The next week, Cooper's decision to pull the goaltender on most second-half possessions (to rally from a 10-4 halftime deficit) backfired in a major way, with the explosive Bandits romping to a 23-10 win in Buffalo. The Washington Power came next, matching what the Saints had done a fortnight earlier - hold tight with Columbus in the first half and wait until after intermission to strike. It worked once again, with a 6-6 tie at the break turning into a 19-11 final.

Winless after three games, the Landsharks finally caught a break in the rematch with Washington a week later. Perhaps guilty of looking ahead to a meeting with the Toronto Rock a week later, the Power played a very sloppy game and could never catch up to the Landsharks in the 9-7 decision. The Landsharks then closed the month of January with an 11-10 overtime win over the hapless Ottawa Rebel, improving to 2-3 but still not out of eighth place in the nine-team circuit.

Two straight off weeks stripped the Landsharks of all their momentum, with lopsided losses at home to Albany (15-8) and at Rochester (18-6) preceding a 22-19 home loss to Buffalo and a much closer but similarly-outcomed 11-8 loss at Albany. Perhaps the worst loss of all came in mid-March, when Toronto came to town. The Rock only just eight goals in the contest, but Columbus managed a measly five. Making matters worse, the Landsharks managed those five goals not against All-Pro goaltender Bob Watson, but rather against Watson's backup, Anthony Cosmo, making his first professional start. The only positive to come out of the long losing streak is that the Landsharks did not fall to last place -Ottawa matched Columbus loss for loss, keeping the cellar for itself.

At 2-9 on the season, the Landsharks could kiss goodbye to a Cinderella run at the postseason. However, three games remained to salvage the season and gain some respectability. Alas, the three games included a trip to Toronto and the season-finale at home against Philadelphia. The former was an 11-8 loss; the latter was a 14-7 drubbing at the hands of the eventual champions. An 11-8 defeat of the Rebel sandwiched between the final two losses gave the Landsharks their third win, allowing them to avoid a last-place tie with Ottawa.

The exciting part of the Landsharks' season didn't come until after the fourteenth game, however. Managing partner (and former NLL commissioner) John Livsey announced that unless he could find someone to join the ownership group and help bail the team out financially, it would not return for the 2002 season. Because the group trying to purchase the Landsharks and move them to Montreal already had a coach in place, Cooper quickly stepped down as coach and made himself available for the vacant head coaching positions around the league, landing in Ottawa. The Montreal investors got most of the team, but recognizing the potential of the market and the need to keep Columbus in the league, New York Saints owners Mike Gongas and Charlie Russo purchased an expansion franchise for Columbus, instantly bringing mid-Ohio back into the league.

DATE         OPPONENT              COL-OPP   W/L  REC   POS-----------------------------------------------------------  Nov 15-18  -open date-                          0- 0  t-2  Nov 22-25  -open date-                                t-4Sat Dec  1   NEW JERSEY       8:00  12-13     L   0- 1  5th#  Dec  6- 9  -open date-                                5thFri Dec 14   at Calgary       9:30  13-20     L   0- 2  5th#  Dec 20-23  -open date-                                5thFri Dec 28   NEW YORK         8:00  13-17     L   0- 3  5th#Fri Jan  4   at Ottawa        7:30  15-11     W   1- 3  5th#Fri Jan 11   at Montreal      7:30  13-12     W   2- 3  5th#Sun Jan 13   WASHINGTON       5:00  19-15     W   3- 3  t-4#Sat Jan 19   at Rochester     8:00   9-24     L   3- 4  5th#Fri Jan 25   VANCOUVER        7:30  12-11 OT  W   4- 4  t-4#Sat Feb  2   at Buffalo       8:00   8-12     L   4- 5  5th#Fri Feb  8   at Albany        7:30  12-13     L   4- 6  5th#Sat Feb 16   BUFFALO          7:30  10-12     L   4- 7  5th#Sat Feb 23   at Philadelphia  7:30  15-14 OT  W   5- 7  5th#Sat Mar  2   MONTREAL         7:30  10-12     L   5- 8  5th#Sat Mar  9   ALBANY           8:00  15-20     L   5- 9  5th#  Mar 14-17  -open date-                                5thFri Mar 22   ROCHESTER        7:30  13-14 OT  L   5-10  5th#Sat Mar 23   at New Jersey    7:30   9-10     L   5-11  5th#-----------------------------------------------------------Landsharks record breakdown:  vs Eastern   2-3        Monday       0-0  vs NJ        0-2        Tuesday      0-0  vs NY        0-1        Wednesday    0-0  vs PHI       1-0        Thursday     0-0  vs WAS       1-0        Friday       3-4  vs Central   1-7        Saturday     1-7  vs ALB       0-2        Sunday       1-0  vs BUF       0-2        November     0-0  vs COL        --        December     0-3  vs MON       1-1        January      4-1  vs ROC       0-2        February     1-3  vs Northern  2-1        March        0-4  vs CAL       0-1        April        0-0  vs OTT       1-0        After win    2-3  vs TOR       0-0        After loss   3-7  vs VAN       1-0        After bye    0-4  Home         2-6        2nd game     1-1  Road         3-5        One goal     3-4  Overtime     2-1        Two goals    3-6  Day          1-0        Night        4-11  * Second game refers to a multi-game weekend.* Day games are games beginning at or before     5:00 PM local time.

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Columbus Landsharks
200 West Nationwide Boulevard
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Official Columbus Landsharks site
Columbus Dispatch sports
ArenaMedia's Nationwide Arena page
Map of the area, courtesy of Mapblast.
Alter characteristics of Mapblast map above.