To defend the NLL, I’d have to say that those three “biggest stories” would also be the biggest stories if they happened in any other league.  If an NFL preseason game ended in a 40 man brawl, that would clearly be a year-defining news story for football.

TSN already shows some games; I don’t think the issue holding NLL growth back is Canadian support.  (check the coaching and player rosters)  Clearly the airtime is available in the US.  Universal Sports this week is showing International BMX.  The Tacoma PBS station airs about 9 hours of Australian Rules Football each week.  Yes.  PBS.  Australian Rules Football.  (The fact that a Seattle native made a roster helped, admittedly)

Beyond ESPN (and I don’t want to hear about ESPN3), there’s the previously mentioned Universal Sports, and let’s not forget the NHL league.  Hockey and indoor lacrosse share a training history.

blah blah blah, though.  Here’s where we, as fans, get proactive.
1) yes, write the networks and ask.  Emails, postal, any way you can.  (It would be especially helpful if someone could dig up a few names to direct mail to)

2) Anytime a game is aired — ANY TIME — write the network and let them know you watched.  This is absolutely as important as #1.

3) This is the most important thing that we, as fans, can do:  WRITE THE SPONSORS.  If you go to a restaurant or chiropractor or law firm or anyone who bought an ad on the boards, make sure you tell them you are a customer because they sponsored the team.  Whenever you buy a product from a sponsor who advertises on a TeeVee airing of a game, tell them you bought their product because they sponsored the game.

I can’t stress the importance of #3 enough.  Games get on television because the advertising time can be sold profitably.  If the networks don’t realize there are businesses willing to buy ad space during a lacrosse game, and further, there are businesses that don’t realize they can buy advertising space and because of that get more customers, it doesn’t matter how good the product is.  When advertisers realize that they can grow from airing NLL, and networks realize they can sell a lot of airtime when they air NLL, it all works.

On another note, I think Joe Walters is awesome for playing in the OLA (I just learned today that the Resetarits brothers play too), and I really respect the work that all the US Indoor guys have put in. Last year’s bowhunter cup might be my most watched non-NCAA highlight video. 

EDIT: I don’t know why I said stays around long enough, the league has operated for a really long time.