May 18, 2009 - Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL)
BASEBALLUnited League Baseball: The Harlingen (TX) WhiteWings will return to being called the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings for the 2009 ULB season. The league's previous ownership had changed the team's name from Rio Grande Valley to Harlingen prior to last season. The WhiteWings have been part of the ULB since it was formed in 2006. Another Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings franchise was part of the former Texas-Louisiana League (1994- 2001) and the Central Baseball League (2002-04).
Northern League: The proposed Northern League expansion franchise for Lake County (IL) has announced five possible team nickname choices-Cowpokes, Luckies, Fielders, Comets and Skippers.
Pacific Coast League: The proposed ballpark in Sarpy County (NE) for the Omaha Royals of the Triple-A PCL appears to be facing some funding challenges. The Royals' current stadium will be torn down after the 2010 season and the team turned down a lease in the new downtown stadium currently being built for the College World Series.
Florida Winter Baseball League: The independent FWBL plans to start its inaugural 2009-10 season in October. The league has announced its first four Florida-based franchises will be the Lake County Black Bears, Los Diamantes de Miami (Miami Diamonds), Seminole County Naturals and Space Coast Surge.
BASKETBALL
United States Basketball Association: The proposed USBA, which planned to start play this month with 12 teams split into Atlantic and Appalachian divisions, has added 6 more teams, added a Southern Division and realigned the 18 teams for a proposed 2010 start. Three of the newly listed teams-Huntsville Storm, Mississippi Riverhawks (Jackson) and Louisville Stallions-had previously been listed as proposed USBA teams. The Washington (DC) Congressionals, Mobile Mariners and Lexington Commanders are the other newly listed teams. A prior Lexington team had been listed as the Lexington Frontiersmen.
Premier Basketball League: The PBL recently held a league meeting that generated speculation as to what teams may or may not be part of the league's third season of 2009-10. The Augusta (GA) Groove, Mid-Michigan Destroyers, Chicago Throwbacks and Montreal Sasquatch are questionable for next season, although the league is reportedly working on adding some expansion teams. A team called the Orlando Flight, which is seeking a PBL franchise for 2010-11, is now listed as the Florida Flight.
Eastern Basketball Association: The EBA is considering the addition of teams from West Virginia, Ohio and western Pennsylvania for a possible Midwest Division in 2010. The league added a Cincinnati-based team in 2009 and a team in the Warren/Youngstown (OH) area is ready to start play in 2010. The league would like to add two more teams in close proximity to these locations.
America Basketball Association: The ABA has announced that new ownership will take over the Kansas City (MO) market for the 2009-10 season. The league's Kansas City Spartans franchise had been added for the 2008-09 season, but played a limited schedule. The ABA also had a previous franchise in the city called the Kansas City Knights. The ABA's Beaumont (TX) franchise has changed its name from the Southeast Texas Mustangs to the SETX Mavericks.
Global Professional Basketball League: The proposed GPBL, which plans to start its inaugural season in December 2009, has three potential first-season teams listed-the Lancaster (PA) Liberty, North Jersey Runnin' Regulators and Canton (OH) Conquest.
World Basketball Association Exposure League: The WBA Exposure League has posted its 2009 schedule of ten games per team from May 23 to June 28. The schedule has six teams-Buford Majic, Cartersville Baseline Warriors, Decatur Court Kings, Memphis Blues, Rome Rage and Tupelo Rock-n-Rollers. The proposed 2009 team called the Palm Beach Blue Wave is now listed as a 2010 team.
FOOTBALL
Indoor Football League: An investor from the Mat-Su Valley in Alaska will attempt to bring a 2010 IFL expansion franchise to the city of Wasilla (AK), just northeast of Anchorage. The proposed franchise will be called the Arctic Predators. The IFL currently has two Alaska-based teams, the Fairbanks Grizzlies and the Anchorage-based Alaska Wild.
Arenafootball2: The Quad City Steamwheelers franchise in the af2 is suffering from a cash flow problem and could come under new management as a means of keeping the team alive for the remainder of the season. There was concern the Steamwheelers would be unable to complete the 2009 season, but the league plans to step in to insure that does not happen.
United States Indoor Football League: The proposed start of the USIFL in 2009 with a match between the Lehigh Valley Outlawz and the Southland (IL) Chill on May 16 has apparently been delayed.
HOCKEY
Southern Professional Hockey League: The SPHL has awarded an expansion franchise to Lafayette (LA) for the 2009-10 season. The team will be called the Louisiana IceGators, which was the name of the city's ECHL franchise that operated from 1995 to 2005. The conditional expansion franchise granted to a group in Pensacola will be called the Pensacola Ice Flyers. The team needs to sell 1,250 season tickets by August 15 to participate in the 2009-10 season.
American Hockey League: The new Abbotsford (British Columbia) AHL franchise, which was the Quad City Flames in 2008-09 and the affiliate of the National Hockey League's Calgary Flames, will be called the Abbotsford Heat. The Heat will continue to be Calgary's AHL affiliate for the 2009-10 season.
All American Hockey League: The AAHL now has the Lapeer (MI) Thunder listed as its fifth team for the league's second season of 2009-10. The league operated with only four teams-Battle Creek Revolution, Chicago Blaze, Chi-Town Shooters and Evansville IceMen-in its inaugural season.
North American Hockey League: The NAHL has approved an application from a group in the southern Wisconsin city of Janesville for a team to play in the Tier II Junior-A league for the 2009-10 season. A name-the-team contest will be held for the league's first Wisconsin-based team.
SOCCER
Major League Soccer: The 2010 MLS expansion franchise in Philadelphia will be called the Philadelphia Union and will become the league's 16th franchise. Vancouver and Portland are expected to join the MLS for the 2011 season as the 17th and 18th franchises. The league is considering additional expansion and the owner of the Montreal Impact, which currently plays in the United Soccer Leagues First Division, has again spoken with the MLS about a Montreal franchise. The province of Quebec is expected to help finance expansion of the Impact's current stadium capacity from 12,000 to 21,000.
Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL Premier): The men's PASL Premier 2009 summer indoor soccer league now has 17 teams split into a 5-team Flight A, a 7-team Flight B and a 5-team Flight C. The Flight C is comprised of Colorado-based teams, while the other two flights include mostly California-based teams. The women's 2009 summer indoor league is now down from six to only four teams, all based in California.
OTHER
Major League Lacrosse: The outdoor MLL has started its 2009 season with only six teams-Boston Cannons, Chicago Machine, Denver Outlaws, Long Island Lizards, Washington (DC) Bayhawks and the new Toronto Nationals. The league had ten teams last season, but the New Jersey Pride, Philadelphia Barrage, Rochester Rattlers, Los Angeles Riptide and San Francisco Dragons did not return for 2009.
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 2008-09 version can be found at http://www.lulu.com/content/6218580. Dan can be contacted at dankrieger@leaguesteamsnicknames.com.
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