Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
Published on May 5, 2008 under Premier Basketball League (PBL)

BASEBALL

- Canadian-American League: The league-owned Ottawa Rapids, or Ottawa Rapides in French, in the Can-Am League have been sold and the new ownership group has renamed the team the Ottawa Rapidz. The nickname was chosen because it is a universal name and is a compromise for both English-speaking and French-speaking fans.

- Florida State League: The Baltimore Orioles are apparently looking to place a High A-Level team in the Florida State League, possibly Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers or Vero Beach. The Orioles have a Fort Lauderdale-based team in the Gulf Coast League and use Fort Lauderdale for its spring training. The Orioles current High A-Level team is the Frederick Keys in the Carolina League.

- Pacific Coast League: Various Texas cities like Sugar Land, Katy and McAllen are interested in luring the Omaha Royals, if the team decides to relocate. Vancouver (British Columbia) has also expressed an interested in returning to the PCL.

BASKETBALL

- National Basketball Association: The New Jersey Nets were originally supposed to move to Brooklyn in 2008, but delays in construction of a new arena and surrounding development have pushed a possible move back to 2010. The owners of the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils have expressed an interest in buying the Nets and having the NBA team share the Devils' new arena in Newark. The Nets currently play at the renamed Izod Center in the Meadowlands.

- Premier Basketball League: The new Buffalo franchise that will start play in the 2009 PBL season will be called the Buffalo NexxNow Dragons, or Buffalo Dragons. The team will feature players from China and it hopes to broadcast games to China. The franchise evolved from two previous Buffalo-based American Basketball Association teams called the Buffalo Rapids and Buffalo Silverbacks.

- American Basketball Association: The new Shreveport-Bossier Stallions plan to start play in the 2008-09 ABA season.

- National Basketball Association Development League (D-League): The new Reno NBA D-League franchise has announced four nicknames-Bighorns, Rangers, Riders and Enforces-that will be voted on in a name-the-team contest. Reno will start play in the 2008-09 season. Basketball teams called the Reno Bighorns played in the Western Basketball Association (1978-79) and the Continental Basketball Association (1982-83).

- Continental Basketball Association: The CBA now controls the Yakama Sun Kings franchise and apparently the league has some potential investors interested in purchasing the franchise.

- West Coast Pro Basketball League: The Maywood Buzz, who participated in the 2007-08 season of the American Basketball Association (ABA), played its first game as part of the 2008 WCPBL. The ABA's Orange County Gladiators were listed as part of the WCPBL and it is unclear if the Buzz is replacing the Gladiators.

- Eastern Basketball Association: A new team called the Maryland Suns, based in Prince George's County, will play in the 2009 EBA season. The team plans to play some exhibition games this year. - Kentucky Basketball Development League: The KBDL plans to start its second season this month and has increased from five to six teams. The Appalachian Conference will feature the Express (Berea, KY), Thoroughbreds (Lexington, KY) and Thunder (Covington, KY), while the Bluegrass Basketball Conference will include the Gamblers (Sellersburg, IN), Generals (Elizabeth, IN) and Lancers (Lebanon, KY). The KBDL evolved from the 2006 Kentucky International Basketball Association.

FOOTBALL

- Arenafootball2: The af2 hopes to place an expansion franchise in Yakima (WA), possibly as soon as 2009, and reportedly has a potential ownership group. The league has two other Washington-based teams, the Spokane Shock and Tri-Cities Fever, which would be rivals for Yakima.

- American Indoor Football Association: The AIFA's Huntington (WV) Heroes franchise has apparently survived its recent financial problems after basically playing with replacement players last week. The team was taken over by a new owner and has continued its 2008 season.

- Independent Indoor Football Alliance: The former Galveston-based Texas Tidalwave franchise, which folded just after the start of the 2008 season, has been replaced by the new Galveston Thunderstorm franchise.

HOCKEY

- American Hockey League: The Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL) are looking for an AHL affiliate that is closer to home and could be interested in moving to Des Moines (IA), which recently lost its affiliation with the Dallas Stars. The NHL's Buffalo Sabres are looking to leave the Rochester Americans, who could end up becoming an affiliate of the Florida Panthers.

- ECHL: The ECHL's Columbia (SC) Inferno franchise is apparently leaving the league after the 2007-08 playoffs and do not plan to return until a new arena is built in the area. The Inferno was an expansion franchise in 2001-02 and has been part of the league for seven seasons. The ECHL will operate with 24 teams in 2008-09. The Beaumont-based Texas Wildcatters will not return, but that franchise's ownership will be part of the expansion Ontario (CA) Reign franchise next season.

- Southern Professional Hockey League: The Jacksonville Barracudas have requested a one-year suspension of operations because the franchise does not have an arena lease in place for the 2008-09 season. The Barracudas have been part of the league since the SPHL started play in 2004-05.

- Mid-Atlantic Hockey League: The MAHL has finalized ownership agreements with four franchises and plans to announce four other teams for its 2008-09 season. The league's eight teams will be located in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio.

- United States Hockey League: The USHL's Tri-City Storm will change its name to the Nebraska Storm starting next season. Tri-City has represented the Nebraska cities of Kearney, Hastings and Grand Island, but wants to expand its marketing throughout central Nebraska. The Storm entered the league in 2000 when the Twin Cities Vulcans moved to Nebraska.

SOCCER

- Premier Arena Soccer League: The Stockton Cougars, formerly the California Cougars of the Major Indoor Soccer League, need a lease in place by the end of this coming week in order to be part of the PASL's new professional division that plans to start this fall with 20 teams. - Major League Soccer: A group in Portland (OR) is still interested in an MLS expansion franchise. To accommodate an MLS team, the current home of the Pacific Coast League's Triple-A Portland Beavers would be reconfigured for soccer and a new ballpark would be built for the Beavers. The MLS could expand by two more teams as early as 2011. Atlanta, Miami, Montreal, St. Louis, San Diego and Vancouver, along with a potential second New York franchise, are also in the running for an expansion team.

Dan Krieger is the creator of "Leagues, Teams & Nicknames", which tracks the changes in league alignments, franchise movements and team nicknames in today's sports world. The latest version can be found at http://www.lulu.com/content/1375144. Dan can be contacted at dankrieger@leaguesteamsnicknames.com.

Premier Basketball League Stories from May 5, 2008

• Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report - OSC Original by Dan Krieger

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.