A Look Around The Leagues
by Walter L. Johnson II
Published on May 28, 2004 under NBA G League (G League)
NBDL EXPANSION: The National Basketball Development League, or the NBDL, recently grew by one franchise, as officials announced that Fort Myers, Fla. would come on board as the league's seventh franchise. The NBDL Florida group also made history with the announcement, as it became the first independently owned franchise in the brief history of the NBA owned minor league.
On the other hand, the other six franchises that make up the NBDL have owned and operated by the NBA since the league's inception prior to the 2001-02 season. There's also talk of moving one of the six current franchises to Florida, whether it be to Fort Myers, or to another city in the state, with the most likely candidate being the Charleston Lowgators, according to a recent story in The Huntsville (Ala.) Times.
On top of that, NBA Commissioner David Stern still plans to expand the NBDL to 15 teams, which in the process could produce a baseball-style farm system in which each squad could affiliate with at least two NBA franchises. However, the proposal still needs approval from the NBA Players Association, which won't be a very easy task. In other words, look for a very interesting summer in the NBDL ranks.
AFL ON NBC THROUGH '06: In case you haven't heard the news by now, officials at NBC Sports announced the extension of their partnership with the Arena Football League through the 2006 season. Obviously, this deal has a lot of positives for both sides, in that the AFL will continue to attract new fans that haven't been familiar with the game in recent years. Also, the talk of the AFL expanding by at least three more franchises within the next two years, including markets such as Washington, D.C., Boston, and Nashville, Tenn., things can only get better for NBC. The fact that the network doesn't currently pay a rights fee to carry the games on a regional basis can't hurt either. So, if you're an early head start on your cookout this Memorial Day weekend, remember to tune in at 4 p.m. ET this Sunday for regional coverage of the AFL on NBC, with either Orlando at Los Angeles, or Chicago at Colorado. You'll be glad you did.
FORCE "BLANK-ED": Staying with the Arena Football League, the Georgia Force became the latest franchise to be bought by an owner of a current NFL franchise, as Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank agreed to buy the team from majority owner Virgil Williams earlier this week. Longtime AFL purists may recall that the Force used to be the Nashville Kats before moving to Atlanta in 2002. After one season at Philips Arena, however, the Force left downtown Atlanta for the greener pastures of suburban Gwinnett County in 2003. As part of the agreement, the Force will use the Falcons training facilities in nearby Flowery Branch, Ga., which is a definite improvement from the facilities the franchise used in the past. Blank joins fellow NFL owners such as Tom Benson (New Orleans Voodoo), Jerry Jones (Dallas Desperados), and William Clay Ford (Detroit Fury) in owning AFL franchises. And with more NFL owners like Daniel Snyder (Washington), Bud Adams (Nashville), and Wayne Weaver (Jacksonville, Fla.) holding the rights to future franchises should one come along, the sky seems to be the limit for the Arena Football League.
ABA EXPANSION AGAIN! The American Basketball Association again grew by one franchise, as league officials announced that Bakersfield, Calif. came into the fold as its 29th franchise. The Bakersfield entry also marked the 22nd expansion team to join the ABA since the end of last season. Now the main question is this: Will any of these expansion teams even make it to tip-off when the season starts in November? A recent example of a league growing too fast for its own good is arenafootball2, which grew from 15 franchises in its inaugural season in 2000, to a peak of 34 teams two years later. This season, in its fifth anniversary, the af2 has a respectable 25 franchises, due mainly to many franchise folding. Even the old ABA didn't experience this much of a growth spurt during its heyday in the late 1960's and early 1970's. In any event, it'll be interesting to see how the ABA handles this unusual and unprecedented growth.
DID YOU KNOW? Speaking of the af2, of the 15 original franchises that joined the league prior to that first season in 2000, only four of those teams still exist: The Arkansas Twisters, The Quad City Steamwheelers, the Tennessee Valley Vipers, and the Tulsa Talons.
Also, did you know that until the Milwaukee Admirals recent run to the American Hockey League Calder Cup this season, the only other time a professional hockey franchise advanced to the final round of a postseason came in 1983, when that squad lost to Toledo four games to one in the Turner Cup Finals of the now-defunct International Hockey League? By the way, the Ads now await the winner of the AHL Eastern Conference finals between the Hartford Wolfpack and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
NETCASTS: The "Netcasts" page at OSC gives you access to numerous audio webcasts of your favorite minor and independent league sports nearly every night. Whether it's affiliated minor league baseball, independent baseball, Arena Football, af2, Major League Soccer, or even A-League Soccer, there's always a favorite team somebody will follow, from beginning to end. Just click on the "Netcasts" link at Our Sports Central, click on the link to the broadcast, and enjoy.
NBA G League Stories from May 28, 2004
- A Look Around The Leagues - OSC Original by Walter L. Johnson II
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.
