Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
December 7, 2015 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
BASEBALL
Frontier League: The city of Jackson (MI), about 75 miles west of Detroit, could become home to a future independent Frontier League team as a group is trying to push for a ballpark to be located on the site of the Jackson County Fairgrounds. The earliest a team could come to Jackson would be in 2017. The Frontier League has a Michigan-based team called the Traverse City Beach Bums.
International League: The Triple-A International League had a Cuban team called the Havana Sugar Kings for seven seasons (1954-60) and now a group of investors wants to bring a team affiliated with Minor League Baseball (MiLB) back to Cuba. It is uncertain at what level the team would play, but the head of the group stated it has received permission from MiLB to pursue a Cuban team and a team could happen as soon as 2017.
Coastal Plain League: The new summer-collegiate CPL team to be based in Savannah in 2016 announced five finalists to be considered for naming the team. The names include the Anchors, Bananas, Party Animals, Port and Seagulls. Savannah recently lost its affiliated professional team called the Savannah Sand Gnats of the low Class-A South Atlantic League, as that team relocates to become the Columbia (SC) Fireflies for the 2016 season.
Prospect League: The new summer-collegiate Prospect League team to be based in Lafayette (IN) for the 2016 season announced the five name-the-team finalists: Aviators, Ax Men, Generals, Legends and Lightning. The team name will be announced later this month.
West Coast League: The new summer-collegiate WCL team to be based in the Portland (OR) suburb of Gresham in 2016 will be called the Gresham GreyWolves.
Major League Baseball: The new owner of a former hospital site in Montreal has suggested using the location for a baseball stadium that could bring MLB back to the city. This past summer, the MLB commissioner hinted at possible expansion from 30 to 32 teams. MLB's former Montreal Expos team was moved to Washington (DC) for the 2005 season.
BASKETBALL
Central Basketball Development League: The CBDL announced the Florida Lakers team, which was the Orlando-based South Florida Spartans until moving operations to Daytona Beach in September, will move back to the Orlando area after an agreement could not be reached on a facility in Daytona Beach. The team will be called the Florida Spartans.
New Era Basketball Association: The two Florida-based NEBA teams called the Central Florida Marvel (Orlando) and the Miami Live are no longer part of the league's inaugural 2015 winter season. The teams have been removed from the schedule and standings now include only six teams. The NEBA plans to start a nationwide 20-team spring season in 2016.
FOOTBALL
Indoor Football League: The Spokane Shock, which was forced to change its name by the Arena Football League after the team moved to the IFL for the 2016 season, stated it has decided on a new team name that will be announced later this month.
American Indoor Football: The AIF has added a new team called the Abilene (TX) Warriors to its Southern Division for the 2016 season. Abilene has been home to previous indoor teams called the Abilene Ruff Riders and Abilene Bombers. The Abilene Ruff Riders, formerly the Katy (TX) Ruff Riders, played two seasons (2009-10) in the Indoor Football League and the 2011 season in the Southern Indoor Football League. The Ruff Riders moved to the Lone Star Football League for the 2012 season and changed to the Abilene Bombers for its last season in 2013.
Supreme Indoor Football: The new SIF announced the Owenboro-based Kentucky Knights team has joined the league from the proposed North American Indoor Football. The SIF currently has only one other team called the Cape Fear Heroes (Fayetteville, NC), but it stated the league plans to announce additional teams in the near future. Owensboro was home to a team called the Owensboro Rage for the 2013 season in the Continental Indoor Football League.
North American Indoor Football: The proposed NAIF, which plans to start its first full season in 2016, announced the Kearney (NE) Hawks will participate as a travel-only team in the 2016 season. The Kearney Hawks was a semi-pro outdoor team that played the past couple of seasons in the Central Plains Football League, which uses eight-player teams on a 50-yard field. The Hawks decided to become a professional indoor team as part of the NAIF and will play home games in Kearney starting in 2017.
HOCKEY
North Atlantic Professional Hockey League: The proposed NAPHL never got off the ground as planned for the 2015-16 season. The league had an unnamed team in Massena (NY) and the Blackshire Black Bears (North Adams, MA) as members when it announced in June 2014 that it would postpone the start of play until the 2015-16 season. In March 2015, the league announced it had approved four teams to be located in Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont and southern Quebec for a 2015-16 season, but nothing ever developed. The league organizer recently made a pitch to Whitby (Ontario) as a possible home for an NAPHL team in a proposed 2016-17 season. The NAPHL also wanted to start a women's league called the Women's Professional Hockey League with its initial teams based in New England and New York, but that too has yet to develop.
SOCCER
Major League Soccer: The proposed Miami-based MLS expansion franchise headed by former player David Beckham has found a new site in the Overtown area where a new stadium will be built for the team. The MLS has given its approval for the latest of four attempts to find a suitable stadium site. The MLS also announced support for future expansion to 28 teams with a timeline to be announced in the near future. Currently, the MLS has 20 active teams and plans to reach 24 teams by 2020. New teams in Atlanta, Minnesota (St. Paul), and Los Angeles will start play in the next three years with Miami to be the 24th team. Sacramento is expected to be one of the first locations in the league's next round of expansion, as the city recently approved the terms on construction of a new soccer-specific 25,000-seat stadium for an MLS team.
National Premier Soccer League: The men's elite-level NPSL announced three more expansion teams called the Southern California Sports Club (San Bernardino), the Rochester (NY) River Dogz and a yet-to-be-named team in Kalamazoo (MI). Kalamazoo and Rochester are expected to be added to the Midwest Region, while Southern California will be added to the West Region's Southwest Conference.
American Soccer League: The professional ASL, which completed its inaugural Fall-Spring 2014-15 season earlier this year, recently announced teams called the Connecticut United FC, Lancaster (PA) Lions and New Hampshire Bobcats FC will be part of the league's second season that will now operate on a spring-summer schedule.
OTHER
National League Lacrosse: The indoor NLL is looking to expand and is considering a possible return to Ottawa (Ontario). The league held an exhibition game this weekend in Ottawa as a gauge of potential fan interest. The NLL had a previous team called the Ottawa Rebel for three seasons (2001-03).
National Pro Fastpitch: The women's NPF recently held a player draft to stock the 2016 expansion team called the Scrap Yard Dawgs, based in the Houston area.
Dan Krieger is the creator of the Leagues, Teams & Nicknames 2014-15: "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.
• Discuss this story on the National Lacrosse League message board...
National Lacrosse League Stories from December 7, 2015
- 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.
