Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
January 25, 2010 - Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL)

BASEBALL

Pacific Coast League: The city of Portland (OR) has reached a final agreement to renovate PGE Park, which has been home to the Portland Beavers of the Triple-A PCL, and turn it into a soccer-specific stadium for a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise that will start play in 2011. The Beavers' owner, who also owns the MLS franchise, was reportedly still looking for funding and a proposed ballpark site for the PCL team. Although there are no current plans to move the Beavers, there has been speculation that the Beavers could be playing somewhere else in 2011.

New York-Penn League: Although it is expected that the Oneonta Tigers of the Class-A NY-Penn League will be moving to Norwich (CT), there has yet to be an official announcement concerning a possible move for the 2010 season.

Continental Baseball League: The CBL site currently has logos listed for five teams: the Big Bend Cowboys (Alpine, TX), Las Cruces (NM) Vaqueros, West Texas Pavement Crushers, Alexandria (LA) Aces, and East Texas Road Hogs. The South Louisiana Pipeliners independent team was also expected to be part of the 2010 CBL schedule.

Prospect League: The Nashville Outlaws team will be the newest member of the summer collegiate Prospect League. The league evolved from the summer-collegiate Central Illinois Collegiate League as it started play in 2009. The 11-team league is expected to expand to 15 teams in 2010 with the addition of Nashville and teams called the Dekalb County (IL) Liners, Terre Haute (IN) Rex, and West Virginia (Beckley) Miners.

BASKETBALL

International Basketball League: The Elkhart (IN) Express, which sat out the 2009 IBL season, plans to return for the 2010 IBL season. The Snohomish County Explosion has disappeared from the 2010 IBL team list. A proposed 2010 team for Yakima (WA) has been postponed until the 2011 season.

American Basketball Association: The owner of the Owensboro-based Kentucky Bisons of the ABA has stated that the team will need more support from sponsors, fans, and the city for the team to continue playing beyond this season.

Women's National Basketball Association: The WNBA has announced that its new Tulsa-based franchise, formerly the Detroit Shock, will be called the Tulsa Shock when it starts play in the 2010 season. Other nickname choices were the Tulsa Tempo and Tulsa Fire.

Premier Basketball League: The owner of the Barre-based Vermont Frost Heaves in the PBL has stated the team is committed to completing its 2010 season, but it is unknown what will happen after this season. The team has been successful on the court, but the financial aspect of the operation has put the team's future in doubt. The Frost Heaves played two seasons (2006-08) in the American Basketball Association and the team is in its second season in the PBL.

Universal Basketball Association: The UBA, which evolved from the 2009 United Regions Basketball League, now has a ten-team alignment of teams for its 2010 season. The Eastern Conference has Atlanta, the Florida Flight, GIE Morrow Disciples, GW Metro, and the Southern Generals. The Western Conference includes Austin, Norman, North Texas, San Antonio, and the Texas Warriors.

FOOTBALL

Southern Indoor Football League: The SIFL has secured new ownership for the Albany (PA) Panthers franchise that will allow it to be part of the upcoming 2010 season. The league's proposed Augusta (GA) Mavericks franchise has decided not to be part of the 2010 SIFL season, but could still play a couple of exhibition games. The organizer of the Mavericks franchise had been part of an ownership group that was planning to purchase the Augusta Colts and move the team to the SIFL for the 2010 season. The Colts last played in the 2008 American Indoor Football Association and sat out the 2009 season. That purchase fell through and the new Augusta Mavericks franchise was created. The Mavericks plan to try again in 2011. The SIFL has announced its 2010 season schedule will include six teams: the Albany Panthers, Columbus (GA) Lions, Greenville (SC) Force, Houston Lightning, Lafayette (LA) Wildcatters, and Louisiana Swashbucklers. Of the six teams from the inaugural 2009 season, only the Swashbucklers and Lafayette, which was the Acadiana Mudbugs in 2009, have returned.

Arenafootball2: The Florida Firecats franchise is apparently another of the former af2 teams that will sit out the 2010 indoor football season. The Firecats have not negotiated an arena lease and several players have signed with other teams. The Firecats had been part of the af2 since joining for the league's second season in 2001, but ran into financial problems at the end of the 2009 season.

Lingerie Football League: A proposed LFL expansion team in Orlando is trying to form for the league's next season in 2010-11. Houston has also been mentioned as a possible expansion market for next season.

HOCKEY

United States Hockey League: The new Tier I Junior-A USHL hockey team in Dubuque (IA) will be called the Dubuque Fighting Saints when it starts play in the 2010-11 season. The team took the nickname from a previous Dubuque-based USHL team by the same name that played in the league for 21 seasons (1980-2001). The city is currently home to the Dubuque Thunderbirds, a member of the lower level Tier III Junior-A Central States Hockey League.

Federal Hockey League: The new FHL has four proposed teams announced for its inaugural 2010-11 season, but other markets have expressed interest in joining the league. Some of these include Jamestown (NY), Brooklyn (NY), Cape Cod (Hyannis, MA), Cornwall (Ontario), and other unnamed Ontario cities.

North American Hockey League: The Tier II Junior-A NAHL has announced it will add two new teams called the Chicago Hitmen and Fresno Monsters for the 2010-11 season. The owners of the Hitmen currently own the Chicago Force in the Tier III Junior-A Central State Hockey League, while the Fresno Monsters currently play in the Tier III Junior-A Western States Hockey League. The North Iowa Outlaws, based in Mason City, could be on the move to Onalaska (WI) in the La Crosse area. The NAHL would like to have teams in both markets, so even if the Outlaws move the league could place an expansion team in Mason City.

Global Canadian Hockey League: The proposed GCHL plans to bring professional hockey to Atlantic Canada and will start play in December 2010 with four teams. Two of the four teams have been renamed since the league was first announced in late 2008. The New Brunswick Schooners (Fredericton) have been renamed the New Brunswick Bruins, and the Nova Scotia Keltics (Halifax) have been renamed the Nova Scotia Fighting Scots. The other two teams are the Prince Edward Island Islanders (Summerside) and the Newfoundland Republic (St. John's). At one time, the league had teams called the Ontario Canadians and Quebec Equipe Nationale that planned to start in the second season of operation.

SOCCER

United Soccer Leagues - Second Division: The USL Second Division, which is a Division III league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, has officially announced its 2010 season schedule. The league will have only six teams: the Charleston Battery, Charlotte Eagles, Harrisburg City Islanders, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Real Maryland FC, and Richmond Kickers. After the 2009 Second Division season, the Wilmington Hammerheads were shut down by the league; the Bermuda Hogges and Western Mass Pioneers dropped down to the USL Premier Development League; and, the Crystal Palace Baltimore club joined the new North American Soccer League. The 2010 Second Division added the Charleston Battery club, which had been part of the USL First Division for the past several years.

Major League Soccer: The city of Portland (OR) has reached a final agreement to renovate and convert PGE Park, which had been home to the city's Triple-A Portland Beavers baseball team, into a soccer-specific stadium for a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise that will start play in 2011. An agreement has been reached to build a new soccer-specific stadium in Wyandotte County (KS) for the Kansas City Wizards. The Maryland Stadium Authority has approved a feasibility study for building a soccer-specific stadium in Baltimore that could possibly be used to lure the D.C. United franchise to the city.

Women's Premier Soccer League: The WPSL has announced a tentative 2010 alignment that will include over 50 teams in 5 regional conferences called the Big Sky, East, Pacific, Midwest, and Sunshine. Five WPSL clubs will have affiliations with teams in the Women's Professional Soccer for 2010: Ajax America (Los Angles Sol), Boston Aztecs (Boston Breakers), California Storm (FC Gold Pride), Philadelphia Independence (Philadelphia Independence), and a yet-to-be-named Atlanta club (Atlanta Beat).

OTHER

National Pro Fastpitch: The NPF's Chicago Bandits plan to play an exhibition softball game this summer against the Joliet (IL) Jackhammers baseball team from the independent Northern League. There has been talk of the Bandits possibly moving its home from Elgin (IL) to Joliet for the 2011 season.

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.

Southern Indoor Football League Stories from January 25, 2010

• 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.