Last Week around the Leagues
by Fran Stuchbury
May 25, 2021 - NBA G League (G League)
This past week the Major League Soccer Columbus Crew announced will keep its nickname, New York Liberty point guard Sabrina Ionescu became the youngest player in WNBA history to record a triple double at the age of 23, and the NBA G League Maine Red Claws announced they will be known as the Maine Celtics. Highlights from this week are from Major League Soccer, the National Women's Soccer League, United Soccer League Championship, United Soccer League One, Major Arena Soccer League, Women's National Basketball Association, NBA G League, American Hockey League, ECHL, North American Hockey League, United States Hockey League, Western Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, The Spring League and Major League Rugby.
SOCCER
Major League Soccer
A positive, collaborative discussion took place between Crew investor-operators, front office executives and a diverse group from the Crew community regarding the future of the Club's brand and the Club's commitment to its supporter community. The importance of keeping the Crew as the Club's primary identifier was clear. The decision that came from the discussion was that Columbus Crew will remain the team's official name moving forward.
Columbus Crew will keep original name, change logo again
Charlie Davies goes solo this week as he breaks down the most controversial plays of week 6 of the MLS regular season.
National Women's Soccer League
Professional women's soccer club, Angel City Football Club, announces the appointment of former England, Chelsea FC and Juventus international, Eniola Aluko, as the club's first-ever Sporting Director. As Sporting Director, Aluko will lead roster management, the club's recruitment strategy, oversee player and technical staff development, and act as the NWSL liaison in regards to compliance and administration.
Welcome Angel City Football Club Sporting Director, Eniola Aluko!
Verizon Save of the Week, Week 1 - Ashlyn Harris, Orlando Pride
ALL the goals from opening weekend for the NWSL
United Soccer League Championship
USL Championship Goal of the Week Winner - Amando Moreno - New Mexico United
USL Championship Save of the Week Winner - Jeffrey Dusnap - Real Monarchs SLC
United Soccer League One
USL League One Goal of the week Winner - Derek Gebhard - Forward Madison FC
USL League One Save of the Week Winner - Rashid Nuhu - Union Omaha
Major Arena Soccer League
The St. Louis Ambush have chosen Greg Muhr as their new head coach. As a player, Muhr enjoyed a professional arena soccer career that spanned nine seasons from 1989 to 1998. He played four seasons with the Chicago Power, two with the St. Louis Storm, one with the St. Louis Ambush and two with the Detroit Rockers. In 239 career games, the defender tallied 43 goals and 47 assists and blocked 475 opposing shots. Greg also played outdoor soccer with the Chicago Stingers in the USISL D-3 league.
"Califino Arena", a new multi-use arena for Oceanside, North County, and all of San Diego. Coming in 2023 for the San Diego Sockers to play at.
BASKETBALL
Women's National Basketball Association
In just her 6th career game and third of the 2021 season, Sabrina Ionescu recorded her first career triple-double while becoming the youngest WNBA player to notch a triple-double at the age of 23 (26 PTS, 12 AST, 10 REB). She became the first New York Liberty player to post a triple-double, and marked the first 20-point triple-double since Lisa Leslie in 2004.
NBA G League
The Boston Celtics unveiled a new look and new name for their NBA G League franchise. The Maine Red Claws will be known as the Maine Celtics. This new chapter of Celtics basketball in Maine will go into effect for the upcoming 2021-22 NBA G League season. "I'm as excited about this change as I was when we started the Maine Red Claws back in 2009," said Maine Celtics Team President Dajuan Eubanks. "Directly aligning our franchise name with the iconic Boston Celtics brand creates a new era of heritage building for basketball here in Maine."
'Crustacean nation now bleeds green. We are the Maine Celtics.' Team President Dajuan Eubanks has announced the Maine Red Claws will now be called the Maine Celtics.
Sterling "Scoot" Henderson, the top point guard in the class of 2022, has signed with NBA G League Ignite, NBA G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim announced. Henderson is a consensus five-star recruit and is ranked by ESPN as the No. 7 overall prospect in the class of 2022. Henderson joins 2021 top-10 high school prospect Michael Foster Jr. (ESPN No. 7) on Ignite's newest roster.
Scoot Henderson joins our Symone Stanley to discuss his NBA G League Ignite, upcoming Georgia hoopers, his favorite AAU matchups, and his fashion inspiration!
HOCKEY
American Hockey League
San Diego Gulls forward Andrew Poturalski and Bakersfield Condors forward Cooper Marody have won the American Hockey League's two prestigious offensive awards for the 2020-21 season. Poturalski has won the the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the leading point-getter in the AHL, while Marody has captured the Willie Marshall Award as the AHL's leading goal scorer in 2020-21.
Seth Griffith gave the Baskersfield Condors a shootout win in their regular season finale.
ECHL
Deacon Sports & Entertainment unveiled the highly anticipated name, logo and colors for Iowa's ECHL Hockey Club: the Iowa Heartlanders, who begin play at Xtream Arena in Coralville this October.
ECHL Plays of the Week
ECHL Saves of the Week
Southern Professional Hockey League
The Pensacola Ice Flyers secured their 4th team championship after winning Game 1 at home and defeating Macon on their ice 4-2 in Game 2. The Ice Flyers endured two months without a home win, along with an assortment of injuries and goaltenders getting called up to the higher-lever ECHL.
But in the record books, it's a championship all the same.
North American Hockey League
The North American Hockey League (NAHL) has announced that the Kansas City Scouts and owner Loretto Sports Ventures, LLC, has agreed to sell their NAHL membership to Amarillo Ice Sports, LLC. The team has been relocated to Amarillo, Texas, and renamed and pay tribute to the original hockey team in the Texas Panhandle, the Amarillo Wranglers.
NAHL Stars of the Week
United States Hockey League
The Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League (USHL) won the 2020-21 Clark Cup Championship with a 3-1 win over the Fargo Force at Scheels Arena in Fargo, N.D. The 2021 Clark Cup Championship was Chicago's second of all-time after winning its first in 2017. Chicago entered the Playoffs as the top team after winning the Anderson Cup for the second year in a row.
The Chicago Steel beat the Fargo Force 3-1 to earn the second Clark Cup title as United States Hockey League champions on May 22 at Scheels Arena in Fargo.
Western Hockey League
Top Saves of the Week
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced that Guy Lafleur's famous number 4 will be retired across the league for the start of the 2021-22 season. The QMJHL, in collaboration with the Quebec Remparts, will hold a ceremony during the team's 25th anniversary season to honour Lafleur's contributions to junior hockey.
Lafleur, who was elected the league's all-time greatest player as determined by a panel of experts during the QMJHL's 50th anniversary celebrations, played two seasons with the Quebec Remparts from 1969 to 1971.
Top Plays of the second round of the playoffs
FOOTBALL
The Spring League
Conquerors Head Coach Jerry Glanville has coached in just about every football league in the world but he says there's something special about The Spring League. He returns for his second season with the Conquerors.
Top Five Plays Through Week Two
National Arena League
The National Arena League has announced that the Ontario Bandits have made the decision to go dormant for the 2021 season. The Ontario Bandits Ownership reported this decision to the league this week as the NAL is scheduled to kickoff its first game of the 2021 season this Friday, May 28.
LACROSSE
National Lacrosse League
The Georgia Swarm are proud to announce they have signed a three-year lease agreement with Infinite Energy Arena ahead of the 2021-22 NLL season. The new extension ensures the Swarm continue to play in Infinite Energy Arena through the 2023-24 NLL season. The Swarm have played at Infinite Energy Arena since the 2016 NLL season, bringing the state of Georgia its first professional sports world championship in nearly 22 years in 2017.
The San Diego Seals announced that the team has extended the contract of general manager and head coach Patrick Merrill for an additional season. Merrill joined the team in 2018 in this capacity prior to its inaugural season. In his first year, Merrill led the Seals to the number-two seed in the West Division and a home playoff game. He was named a finalist for the NLL's 2018-19 General Manager of the Year award. During his sophomore season, the team finished with a 6-6 record. The Seals won five of their last six games before the season halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.
OTHER SPORTS
World TeamTennis
World TeamTennis will host its 2021 season at California's Indian Wells Tennis Garden November 13-28. Five teams will participate in the league's 46th season, contesting a total of 31 matches over 16 days in the venue's Stadium 2. Due to the revised format this year and the inability to host home matches in 2021, the Philadelphia Freedoms, Vegas Rollers, Orlando Storm and Washington Kastles will not be participating in the upcoming WTT season. These franchises remain in good standing with the league and WTT anticipates these teams will be back on the schedule in 2022.
Major League Rugby
Top 5 Tries - Round 9
Biggest Hits - Week 9
Did we miss anything newsworthy or downright fun? Have a nomination for next week's column? Contact us today and let us know.
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NBA G League Stories from May 25, 2021
- Last Week around the Leagues - OSC Original by Fran Stuchbury
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.
