Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
June 22, 2015 - American Indoor Football (AIF)
BASEBALL
New York-Penn League: The affiliated short-season Class-A NYPL started its 2015 season this week and again has 14 teams aligned into a four-team Stedler Division, a four-team McNamara Division and a six-team Pinckney Division. The Jamestown (NY) Jammers relocated to a new stadium in Morgantown (WV) and the team was renamed the West Virginia Black Bears for the 2015 season. West Virginia took Jamestown's spot in the Pinckney Division. Minor League Baseball's other short-season Class-A league called the Northwest League also started play this week with the same eight teams as last season aligned into four-team North and South divisions.
Pioneer League: The affiliated short-season advanced rookie Pioneer League started its 2015 season this week with the same eight teams aligned into four-team Northern and Southern divisions. Minor League Baseball's other short-season advanced rookie league called the Appalachian League (APPY) will start play next week with five-team Eastern and Western division. The Pulaski (VA) Mariners were replaced by the Pulaski Yankees for the 2015 season in the APPY.
Heartland of America Baseball League: The proposed ten-team minor developmental HABL will most likely not start play in Ozark (MO) as planned, but could return in 2016. The league had been negotiating to use Price Cutter Park in Ozark for all of its games starting on July 4, 2015. Another proposed league called the Ozarks Professional Baseball League (OPBL) is trying to purchase Price Cutter Park and hopes to start play next month with all teams based in Ozark. The OPBL currently lists teams called the Mountaineers, White Tails, Black Bears and Copperheads.
International League: The ownership of the Triple-A International League's Pawtucket (RI) Red Sox team is concentrating on a move to a proposed new stadium in Providence (RI), but if a deal does not work out there, Springfield (MA) has been mentioned as an alternative option. When the Double-A Eastern League was looking to expand by two teams for the 1999 season, Springfield was selected but then withdrew when it had trouble arranging stadium funding. There have been initial objections to public funding for a stadium in Providence and that could also be an issue in Springfield.
Carolina Professional Winter League: The new independent CPWL plans to start a short winter season from mid-January to mid-February 2016 based out of Myrtle Beach (NC). The league currently lists six potential teams called the VooDoo, Chill, Galaxy, Sonic, Kings and Stingers.
BASKETBALL
American Basketball Association: The ABA announced two new teams called the Boston Defenders and the Grand Rapids (MI) Danger have been added as expansion teams for the 2015-16 season. The ABA has tried the Boston area before with teams called the Boston Frenzy (2004-06), Boston United Eagles/Blizzard (2007-08) and North Shore Tide (2013-14). The ABA had the Grand Rapids Flight for the 2009-10 season and the Grand Rapids Cyclones for some games in the 2012-13 season. Grand Rapids is a crowded market with the Cyclones as part of the 2014-15 Premier Basketball League, the Fusion in the 2014-15 winter and 2015 spring seasons of the Independent Basketball Association, and the Drive in the 2014-15 National Basketball Association Development League (D-League).
Central Basketball Development League: The CBDL announced it will add a team in the Bradenton (FL) market for the 2016 season. The CBDL started its 2015 season in late April with five teams located in the states of Alabama and Florida, but apparently stopped playing scheduled games this month.
FOOTBALL
American Indoor Football: The AIF announced plans to add a team called the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets for the 2015 season. The owner of the Yellow Jackets is also part of the group that operates the semi-pro Indoor Gridiron League, which has a partnership with the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League. The AIF also announced a team based in Muskegon (MI) will be part of the 2016 season and will use Western Michigan in its name. A team called the Muskegon Thunder played two seasons (2007-08) as part of the Continental Indoor Football League and one season (2009) in the Indoor Football League.
X-League Indoor Football: The Rio Rancho-based New Mexico Stars announced the team will be part of the X-League for the 2016 season. The Stars played its inaugural 2012 season as part of the Indoor Football League before moving to the Lone Star Football League for two seasons (2013-14). The Stars were supposed to be part of the new league called Champions Indoor Football (CIF) for the 2015 season, but dropped out just before the start of the season to reorganize and were replaced in the CIF by the Albuquerque-based Duke City Gladiators. The owner of the Stars planned to have the team play as part of North American Indoor Football's National Pro-Indoor Football, but decided to leave that league for the X-League. The Stars' home arena is the Santa Ana Star Center in suburban Albuquerque, while the Duke City Gladiators' home arena is the Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque.
National Pro-Indoor Football: The new NPIF, which is part of the organization called North American Indoor Football (NAIF) and trying to get off the ground with a full season in 2016, announced it has released the New Mexico Stars team from the league. A team called the Kearney (NE) Hawks will play in the NAIF's new North American Developmental Football league in 2016 and start a pro team called the Tri-City Hawks in the NPIF for the 2017 season. The NPIF's Georgia Firebirds team (Atlanta area) played several games as a fill-in team on the schedule of the X-League Indoor Football for the 2015 season.
HOCKEY
North American Hockey League: USA Hockey's Tier-II NAHL announced it will have 22 teams in the 2015-16 season with three six-team Central, Midwest and South divisions and a new four-team East Division. The league operated with 24 teams for the 2014-15 season, but lost the Keystone Ice Miners (Connellsville, PA), Michigan Warriors (Flint) and Wenatchee (WA) Wild and added the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (PA) Knights. Wenatchee left to join Canada's Junior-A British Columbia Hockey League, while the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights took over the league's dormant Dawson Creek Rage (British Columbia) franchise. The league's Rio Grande Killer Bees (Hidalgo, TX) moved to become the Ashton (PA) Rebels, while the Soo Eagles (Sault Ste Marie, MI) moved to become the New Jersey Titans (Middletown). The league's Topeka RoadRunners team was listed in the South Division, but was still without a signed lease for the 2015-16 season. There had been talk of the team moving to Dallas.
North American 3 Hockey League: USA Hockey's Tier-III NA3HL, which is affiliated with the Tier-II North American Hockey League, announced the Topeka Capitals team is moving to the Atlanta area for the 2015-16 season and will be renamed the Atlanta Capitals. The Topeka Capitals played the past two seasons in the league. The Atlanta Capitals will remain in the league's South Division. The NA3HL will add new teams called the Evansville Thunderbolts, Louisiana Drillers (Lafayette) and the Rochester (MN) Ice Hawks for the 2015-16 season.
Ontario Hockey League: The major-junior OHL announced its schedule for the 2015-16 season that will again feature 20 teams. The league had two franchise relocations with the Plymouth (MI) Whalers becoming the Flint (MI) Firebirds and the Belleville (Ontario) Bulls becoming the Hamilton (Ontario) Bulldogs. The Firebirds took the Whalers place in the Western Conference West Division while the Bulldogs took the Bulls place in the Eastern Conference East Division..
SOCCER
Premier Arena Soccer League: The PASL, which is the official developmental indoor league of the Major Arena Soccer League, started its men's summer season earlier this month with six California-based teams.
Major League Soccer: MLS stated its holding to a July 1, 2015 deadline for a Minneapolis group to finalize its plans for a new soccer-specific stadium. The league granted a Minneapolis expansion franchise to the owner of the Minnesota United FC of the North American Soccer League in March 2015. The Minneapolis group was hoping to obtain some tax breaks on the stadium construction, but the state legislature has not been receptive to initial proposals with tax subsidies.
OTHER
National Rugby Football League: The proposed new NRFL has cancelled a showcase match scheduled this August in Philadelphia between a league-based team called the NRFL Rough Riders and an English team called the Leicester Tigers. The rugby governing body in the United States called USA Rugby refused to sanction the match. USA Rugby also refused to approve the playing surface for a proposed international rugby match scheduled this August in New Orleans. This match was also sponsored by the operators of the NRFL. The NRFL is a professional rugby union fifteens league trying to get off the ground in the United States by the spring of 2016 with at least six teams.
Dan Krieger is the creator of the Leagues, Teams & Nicknames 2013-14: "The Leagueology Almanac" , which tracks the changes in league alignments, franchise movements and team nicknames in today's sports world. The publication is currently available at www.amazon.com.
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American Indoor Football Stories from June 22, 2015
- Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report - OSC Original by Dan Krieger
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