Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
Published on September 6, 2010 under North American Soccer League (NASL)

BASEBALL

Can-Am League League: The proposed Can-Am franchise to be based in Ramapo (NY) has selected the Rockland Boulders as its team nickname. The original list of ten nicknames had been whittled down to the Rockland Palisaders or the Rockland Boulders as the final choices for fan voting. The team hopes to start play in 2011, but financing for a proposed ballpark has to be finalized.

Arizona Fall League: Major League Baseball has announced the schedule and team alignment for the upcoming 2010 Arizona Fall League. The East Division will again feature the Mesa Solar Sox, Phoenix Desert Dogs, and Scottsdale Scorpions. The West Division teams are also the same as least season and feature the Peoria Javelinas, Peoria Saguaros, and Surprise Rafters. Each team is assigned players from five different major league teams. The season runs from October 12 to November 20.

California League: The High Desert Mavericks of the Class-A California League have signed a lease extension that will keep the team in the city at least through next season. The team has been up for sale and a potential buyer would want a commitment from the city to address issues with the current stadium. The Mavericks and the league's Bakersfield Blaze have been mentioned as possible relocation candidates for a new ballpark proposed for Sonoma County (CA).

Florida State League: A group is interested in buying part of the Tampa Yankees in the Class-A FSL and possibly relocating the team to a proposed new ballpark to be built in the Orlando area for the 2013 season.

Southern League: The West Tenn Diamond Jaxx of the Double-A Southern League announced that the team will be changing its name at the end of the 2010 season. The team has been based in Jackson (TN) since the Double-A Memphis Chicks move to the city for the 1998 season.

Appalachian League: The Baltimore Orioles have announced they will not operate its Bluefield (WV) Orioles team next season in the Rookie-Level Appalachian League. The league is working with other Major League Baseball teams to find a replacement for the Orioles. The Orioles have seven minor league affiliates and decided to reduce that to six affiliates next season.

New York-Penn League: The short-season Class-A NY-Penn League reports that the future of the Batavia (NY) MuckDogs franchise is uncertain due to poor corporate sponsorship, low attendance, and an old ballpark. The Jamestown (NY) Jammers and the Burlington-based Vermont Lake Monsters have also been identified as having problems. All three of these franchises had been mentioned as possible relocation candidates prior to the Oneonta Tigers' move to Norwich (CT) for the 2010 season.

Pacific Coast League: The Omaha Royals of the Triple-A PCL have received over 400 new nickname suggestions as the team plans to re-brand itself when moving into a new Sarpy County ballpark for the 2011 season. The club plans to announce the new team name in November 2010.

Golden Baseball League: With the Triple-A Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League moving out of the city after this season, the GBL has expressed interest in placing an independent team in Portland (OR). The league reportedly has two or three groups interested, but a new Portland-based GBL team would have to find a suitable ballpark.

Pecos League: The proposed independent Pecos League now has Carlsbad (NM) listed as a possible team location. The league has set September 26 as the deadline for 2011 team proposals.

BASKETBALL

American Basketball Association: The ABA has announced another 2011 expansion team called the Lake Charles (LA) Corsairs. The league attempted to place a team called the Lake Charles Hurricanes in the city for the 2005-06 season, but hurricane damage in the area delayed this effort.

Women's National Basketball Association: The New York Liberty of the WNBA will reportedly play the next three seasons in Newark (NJ) while its home arena (Madison Square Garden) in New York City is being renovated. The New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association also plan to play the next two seasons in Newark until their new arena in Brooklyn is completed.

FOOTBALL

Indoor Football League: The Wyoming Cavalry has left the American Indoor Football Association after three seasons (2008-10) and will be part of the IFL for the 2011 season. The Wyoming Cavalry started play in the inaugural 2001 season of the now-defunct National Indoor Football League before moving to the AIFA when the NIFL folded after the 2007 season.

American Indoor Football Association: In addition to the departure of the Wyoming Cavalry, and the recent defection of the Reading Express, the AIFA also saw the ownership of the Baltimore Mariners run into trouble. A member of the team's ownership group was charged with wire fraud for allegedly embezzling money from another firm, and another co-owner has been charged with misappropriating funds from the same firm.

Arena Football League: The AFL has announced it will increase from 15 to 19 teams for its second season in 2011 with the addition of teams in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and San Jose.

Southern Indoor Football League: The SIFL has rejected an application by a sports group that wanted to bring an expansion team to Rome (GA) for the 2011 season. The city could be considered for possible expansion in 2012. An indoor team called the Rome Renegades, which was the relocated Oklahoma Crude (Enid), played in the 2005 season of the National Indoor Football League and the 2006 season of the American Indoor Football League. The Renegades were to be part of the World Indoor Football League in 2007, but the owner folded the team prior to the season.

United Football League: The UFL is moving forward with its proposed Virginia expansion team to be located in the Hampton Roads area. The Virginia team will start play in 2011 as the league's sixth team.

Ultimate Indoor Football League: The proposed UIFL has announced names for its two Kentucky-based teams that will be part of its inaugural season in 2011. The team based in Highland Heights (KY) will be called the Northern Kentucky River Monsters, while the team based in Pikeville (KY) will be called the Eastern Kentucky Drillers. The league has three other teams (Canton Cougars, Huntington Hammer, and Johnstown Generals) and still plans to add a sixth team.

HOCKEY

Major League Roller Hockey: The MLRH will host a co-ed SLAMM Hockey League event in Irvine (CA) on September 25.

Northern Junior Hockey League: The NJHL completed its first season in 2009-10, but it does not appear the league will play in 2010-11. Four of the seven teams from last season have left for other leagues-the Wooster Oilers to the Great Lakes Junior Hockey League, the Philadelphia Thunder to the International Junior Hockey League, the Jamestown Jets to the Ontario-based Greater Metro Junior-A Hockey League, and the Troy Bruins to the Single-A professional All American Hockey League. The Battle Creek Junior Revolution, a proposed new NJHL team for 2010-11, has left the league and taken over the Grand Rapids Owls franchise in the Tier III Junior-A Central States Hockey League. The Alpena Thunder, another proposed 2010-11 NJHL team, has decided to move to the new Continental Junior Hockey League for its inaugural 2010-11 season. The Chelsea (MI) Bulls team, which was the Findlay Grrrowl in the 2009-10 NJHL, has now decided to sit out the 2010-11 season. The future of the NJHL's proposed Danville (IL) Express team was uncertain.

ECHL: An ownership group in Thunder Bay (Ontario) has announced its intentions to bring an ECHL expansion franchise to the city, but it is uncertain when a team would start play. League representatives visited the city last week and appeared to have concerns about the city's older hockey arena. The city has been in the process of planning a new arena.

All American Hockey League: The AAHL has announced that the Troy (OH) Bruins will join the Single-A professional league as an expansion team for the upcoming 2010-11 season. The Bruins were members of the Northern Junior Hockey League last season, but that league has apparently disbanded for 2010-11. The AAHL plans to have six teams for the upcoming season: Troy (OH), Lapeer (MI), West Michigan (Muskegon), Queen City (Cincinnati), Battle Creek (MI), and Madison (WI).

SOCCER

Professional Arena Soccer League: The Tacoma Stars of the Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL-Premier) will move up to the PASL-Pro League for the upcoming 2010-11 season. The Stars have been part of the PASL-Premier League since 2004. Previous teams called the Tacoma Stars were part of the original Major Indoor Soccer League from the 1983-84 season through the 1991-92 season.

North American Soccer League: The NASL is apparently going to submit a bid to operate a Division II league next season with a possible ten teams. This includes previous NASL-affiliated teams like the Carolina RailHawks, Montreal Impact, FC Tampa Bay Rowdies, Miami FC Blues, Rochester Rhinos, NSC Minnesota Stars, Crystal Palace Baltimore, AC St. Louis, the expansion FC Edmonton, and the Puerto Rico Islanders, which had been affiliated with the United Soccer Leagues. With the new Division II standards set by the United States Soccer Federation for next season, some of the teams like Puerto Rico, AC St. Louis, Crystal Palace, and NSC Minnesota might not meet those standards.

OTHER

National Professional Fastpitch: The NPF plans to hold a tour of NPF All Stars with competition against various college teams from September 10 to November 15. The All Stars will be comprised of players from all four NPF franchises (Akron Racers, Chicago Bandits, Tennessee Diamonds, and USSSA Florida Pride) that completed in the league's recently completed season.

Dan Krieger is the creator of the Leagueology™ almanac known as "Leagues, Teams & Nicknames", which tracks the changes in league alignments, franchise movements and team nicknames in today's sports world. The latest 2009-10 edition is available at http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/leagues-teams-nicknames-2009-10/6534940. Dan can be contacted at dankrieger@leaguesteamsnicknames.com.

North American Soccer League Stories from September 6, 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.