Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
December 27, 2010 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
BASEBALL
Can-Am League: Opponents of a new ballpark in Ramapo (NY) for a proposed Can-Am franchise called the Rockland Boulders plan to file suit against the ballpark funding plan. Proponents of the ballpark are moving forward with construction efforts and hope it will be completed for the 2011 season. The owner of the league's Sussex County Skyhawks (Augusta, NJ) has been unsuccessful in trying to sell the franchise and prospects for the team's 2011 season are uncertain. An investor who tried to build a ballpark for an independent baseball franchise in the Boston area back in 2006 is again proposing a privately financed ballpark in Malden (MA) that could become home to a franchise in either the Can-Am league or Atlantic Baseball League.
Southwestern States League: The proposed SSL, formerly called the Permian Basin League, has two possible new members teams called the Abilene (TX) Blue Sox and the Steel City Wardogs (Pueblo, CO) listed on its web site. The independent baseball league is also considering teams in the Texas cities of Lubbock, Weatherford, and Texarkana, along with the Oklahoma cities of Blackwell and Kingfisher.
Pecos League: The proposed independent baseball league known as the Pecos League has announced it will start its inaugural 2011 season with six teams: the Alpine (TX) Cowboys, Carlsbad (NM) Bats, Clovis (NM) Pioneers, Las Cruces (NM) Vaqueros, Roswell (NM) Invaders, and White Sands Pupfish (Alamogordo, NM). Previously proposed teams called the Del Rio Aviators and Odessa Dragons are no longer listed as part of the 2011 teams.
North American League: The new independent NAL, which is comprised of teams from the Northern League, Golden Baseball League, and United League Baseball, has not yet announced its teams for its inaugural 2011season. The league is apparently planning to have one new team based in Las Vegas.
Pacific Coast League: The owner of the San Diego Padres closed on the sale of the Portland Beavers from the Triple-A PCL and the franchise has officially been moved to Tucson (AZ) for the 2011 season as the Tucson Padres.
Eastern League: The Toronto Blue Jays are apparently interested in placing a Double-A team in Ottawa, most likely as a member of the Eastern League. The Blue Jays' current Eastern League Double-A affiliate is the Manchester-based New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
Ohio Valley Summer Collegiate Baseball League: The new OVSCL has been formed by four former members of the KIT League. Teams include the Kentucky-based Fulton Railroaders, Marion Bobcats, Owensboro Oilers, and Tradewater Pirates. One other team could eventually join the league.
BASKETBALL
Women's National Basketball Association: The WNBA announced its 2011 season schedule that will include the same 12 teams as last season.
Women's Blue Chip Basketball League: The semi-pro WBCBL has announced five new teams that will be added to its regional divisions for the 2011 season. These include the Boston Bombers and Hudson Valley Queenz in the East Coast; the Birmingham Sun in the Gulf Coast; the Newberry (SC) Lady Panthers in the South; and the Winston-Salem (NC) Lady Warcats in the Atlantic.
American Basketball Association: The ABA has announced that a new team called the Nashville Soul will be part of the 2011-12 season. The league has had three other Nashville-based teams called the Nashville Rhythm (2004-05), Nashville Broncs (2008-09), and Music City Stars (2009-10). The ABA's proposed 2011-12 team based in Lynchburg (VA) is now listed as the Lynchburg Legends. The ABA has a travel team called the Arlington (TX) Bulldogs that is playing some games against Texas-based teams in the Southwest Division.
National Basketball Association: The NBA has approved its purchase of the New Orleans Hornets franchise and the league will eventually be seeking a new owner for the franchise.
FOOTBALL
Southern Indoor Football League: The new SIFL franchise based in Fayetteville (NC) will be called the Fayetteville Force. This franchise replaces the Fayetteville Guard franchise, which was part of the 2010 American Indoor Football Association and has ceased operations. The AIFA recently merged with the SIFL.
Women's Football Alliance: The Bay Area Bandits, Boston Militia, Chicago Force, Dallas Diamonds, DC Divas, Kansas City Tribe, New York Sharks, Pittsburgh Passion, So Cal Scorpions (San Diego), Miami Fury, and Palm Beach Punishers are some of the teams leaving the Independent Women's Football League for the WFA in 2011. A new team called the Savannah (GA) Sabers has also joined the WFA. The league will be entering its third season in 2011 and plans to have over 60 teams.
Independent Women's Football League: The IWFL has lost a few teams in the off-season, but has added several other teams called the California Grizzlies (Central California Coast), North Texas Knockouts (Dallas/Fort Worth), Desert Fire Cats (Palm Springs, CA), and the Tidewater Soulja Girlz based in southeastern Virginia.
American Football League: The proposed new AFL, which plans to start play in the fall of 2011, has announced its 16 teams that will be aligned into 4 divisions. The Eastern Division has the Miami Stingrays, New York Ironmen, Providence Steamrollers, and Washington Admirals; the Central Division has the Chicago Bruisers, Columbus Hornets, Milwaukee Machine, and St. Louis Hawks; the Southern Division has the Birmingham Yellowhammers, Louisville Tanks, Memphis Blues, and New Orleans Specters; and the Western Division includes the Dallas Marshals, Los Angeles Rhinos, Oklahoma Marauders, and Utah Mustangs.
Stars Football League: The new SFL is a proposed springtime professional league that plans to start play in 2011. Up to now, six teams have been announced. These include the Michigan Coyotes (Detroit), Mobile Gladiators, Fort Lauderdale Barracudas, New Orleans Jazz, Little Rock Ironmen, and Dayton Beach Racers.
HOCKEY
American Hockey League: A new owner has stepped in to purchase the Springfield (MA) Falcons AHL franchise and plans to keep the team in Springfield. The Falcons rank near the bottom in average attendance and there had been speculation the team would be sold to a buyer interested in relocating the team.
SOCCER
United Soccer Leagues W-League: A women's soccer team called the Central SC Cobras, based in Columbia (SC), is trying to organize for the 2011 W-League season. If the team starts play, it would most likely be placed in the Atlantic Division.
North American Soccer League: After a deal with a potential investor fell through, the ownership of the Carolina RailHawks (Cary, NC) has announced that the NASL team will need financial assistance to keep it alive for the 2011 season. Traffic Sports USA, which owns the league's Miami FC Blues and has provided financial assistance to the league's NSC Minnesota Stars and Atlanta Silverbacks teams, is expected to step in and provide some financial support for the RailHawks.
Women's Premier Soccer League: The investor who was part of a group that tried to start a Los Angeles-based Women's Professional Soccer franchise for 2011, is now part of an ownership group that will sponsor two professional women's teams in the 2011 WPSL. The Orange County Sol and Bay Area Sol hope to fill the void left by the loss of WPS franchises in Los Angeles and San Jose over the past two seasons. The WPS will not have any West Coast teams in 2011. The majority of WPSL teams are amateur.
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.
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