Last Week around the Leagues
by Fran Stuchbury
February 1, 2022 - United States Football League (USFL)
This past week the United States Football League officially made Birmingham, Alabama, its home for the 2022 season and appointed its last two head coaches; the WNBA Phoenix Mercury named Vanessa Nygaard its new head coach, and the Triple-A West League's Sugar Land Skeeters rebranded as the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. Highlights from this week are from the United States Football League, Canadian Football League, Women's National Basketball Association, NBA G League, Triple-A West League American Hockey League, ECHL, Federal Prospect Hockey League, North American Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Premier Hockey Federation, National Lacrosse League, National Women's Soccer League, United Soccer League Championship, Major League Rugby and American Ultimate Disc League.
FOOTBALL
United States Football League
The excitement continues to build for the April 16 start of the new United States Football League. The USFL announced its final two head coaches on "The Herd," revealing that one former Super Bowl coach and one former college head coach - both well-known leaders with extensive experience - would join the league. The final two coaches are: Jeff Fisher, who spent 22 seasons as an NFL head coach with two franchises and led the Tennessee Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV, was named head coach of the Michigan Panthers. Larry Fedora, who has 32 years of experience as a college coach, including 11 as a head coach, will coach the New Orleans Breakers.
It's official! The final 2 USFL head coaches:
The excitement continues to build for the April 16 start of the new United States Football League. We found out where the new league will play its inaugural season when it was announced that Birmingham, Alabama, will be the home of all USFL games in 2022. Games will be held at Protective Stadium, the 45,000-seat home of the University of Alabama-Birmingham, with a number of additional games also staged at historic Legion Field. The first game will feature the New Jersey Generals against the Birmingham Stallions and will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 16. That game will air on both FOX and NBC, making it the first scheduled sporting event to air on competing broadcast networks since Super Bowl I in 1967, which was shown on both CBS and NBC.
Birmingham named USFL headquarters
Birmingham City Councilman Hunter Williams on the start of the USFL season
USFL taps Birmingham as host city, Skip Holtz introduced as Stallions coach.
Canadian Football League
The BC Lions announced that quarterback Michael Reilly is retiring after 11 CFL seasons. Reilly, 36, suited up in 168 games over his illustrious career, including 69 with the Lions starting from 2010-12 and ending with the return to his first CFL team from 2019-21. Along with winning his first Grey Cup ring with the squad in 2011, Reilly passed for 7,876 yards on 652 completions to go along with 38 touchdown passes as a Lion. Reilly's 34,805 career passing yards are good for 14th on the CFL's all-time list; he surpassed Darian Durant in 2021.
Thank you Michael!
One of the most internationally successful sports executives and promoters in recent years is bringing his skills home to lead the Edmonton Elks' front office. The Edmonton Elks board of directors has named Edmonton born-and-raised sports marketing and promotions executive Victor Cui its next president and CEO after an extensive and highly competitive search for the football club's new senior leader.
We would like to officially welcome Victor Cui as our new President and CEO. Let's Win.
The Edmonton Elks have added a big name quarterback, as former Ohio State standout J.T. Barrett has signed with the Green and Gold. A three-time winner of the Big Ten Conference's Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year award (2014, 2016, 2017), Barrett heads to Edmonton with an impressive college resume. Barrett excelled for the Buckeyes from 2014 to 2017, starting 44 games, and served as the first three-time captain in the program's storied history.
Indoor Football League
Rayshaun Kizer, who helped lead the Massachusetts Pirates to the Indoor Football League Championship last season as the team's Defensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach, will become the team's Head Coach for the upcoming season. The move was announced as former Head Coach Patrick Pass will move to a front office position as Director of Football Personnel Development. The Pirates have also announced that Offensive Coordinator Mark Stoute, who has 25 years of coaching experience, will also serve as Assistant Head Coach for the upcoming season.
Women's National Basketball Association
The three-time WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury named Vanessa Nygaard (NYE-guard) the 10th head coach in franchise history. Nygaard, born in Scottsdale, Ariz., has nearly two decades of coaching experience at the high school, college, WNBA and international level, following a six-year playing career in the WNBA and standout run at Stanford. Nygaard's coaching career is a study in dues paid and opportunities earned after 19 years of player development work, front-bench Xs-and-Os, culture-building, and teaching the game. Most recently, in 2021, Nygaard was a top assistant to Bill Laimbeer with the Las Vegas Aces, helping to lead the team to the league's second-best record, the top-scoring offense, and the second-best field goal defense, before being eliminated in the Semifinals in a thrilling five-game series with the Mercury.
1-on-1 interview with Phoenix Mercury's new Head Coach Vanessa Nygaard
NBA G League
Top 10 Plays of the Week: Week 4
BASEBALL
Triple-A West League
The Houston Astros announced the re-branding of their Triple A affiliate to the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, beginning for the 2022 season. The Space Cowboys take over for the previously named "Skeeters," which served as the franchise's nickname from 2012-20 while an independent club and in 2021 for its first season the Astros' Triple A affiliate. The new brand ties together fundamental themes of the Astros and the Greater Houston area, as Texas' largest city and the home of the Johnson NASA Space Center, along with the cowboy narrative that has been popular in literature, TV and films for over 100 years.
A new journey begins. We are the Space Cowboys.
Highlights of David Ortiz playing AAA baseball with the Salt Lake Buzz (Twins affiliate) in 1999. Ortiz hit .315 with 30 home runs and 110 RBI in 130 games with the Buzz during the 1999 season. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame receiving 77.9% of the baseball writers' votes, becoming the first homegrown player in franchise history to receive the honor. While Ortiz time in Salt Lake City was brief, it will come full circle as the enshrinement day in Cooperstown will come on July 24 this year - Pioneer Day in Utah.
Triple-A East League
The reigning Triple-A National Champion Durham Bulls, in conjunction with the Tampa Bay Rays, have announced that Brady Williams will be returning for his third season as manager of the Bulls. Joining Williams on the coaching staff are pitching coach Brian Reith, hitting coach Will Bradley and bench coach Reinaldo Ruiz. Williams, the 2021 Triple-A East co-Manager of the Year, led the Bulls to a minor league-best 86-44 record last season, the highest win percentage over a full season in Durham franchise history, en route to claiming the Triple-A National Championship and winning the Triple-A Final Stretch.
Frontier League
The Frontier League of Professional Baseball announced the introduction of a sudden-death tiebreaker to determine the winner of extra-inning games. For any regular season game tied at the end of regulation (nine innings for a traditional game and seven innings for a double-header game), and remaining tied following one inning of play using International Tiebreaker (ITB) rules, a sudden death inning will determine the winner.
HOCKEY
American Hockey League
The Coachella Valley Firebirds Unveil Team Jerseys
1st AHL hat trick for Springfield Thunderbirds Nathan Walker, all within 8 minutes
ECHL
Fort Wayne Komets forward Shawn Szydlowski suspended two games by ECHL for hit vs. Toledo
Plays of the Week
Saves of the Week
Federal Prospect Hockey League
FPHL Binghamton black bears win with 1 second left in regulation
North American Hockey League
Top Plays of the Week
Ontario Hockey League
Plays of the Week
Five past and present OHL players, headlined by Hamilton Bulldogs forward Mason McTavish, have been named to Hockey Canada's 25-player roster for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China.
United States Hockey League
The United States Hockey League (USHL) announced the USHL Board of Directors formally approved the sale of majority control of the Omaha Lancers to Mike Picozzi. Picozzi, founder and CEO of Takion Technologies - a technology firm for sophisticated trading across all asset classes - will bring his business building skills and his passion for hockey to the storied Omaha Lancers franchise.
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
Get to know Oscar Plandowski defenseman of the Charlottetown Islanders
Premier Hockey Federation
Say hello to Goal E. Tender - Official Mascot of the PHF
LACROSSE
National Lacrosse League
The New York Riptide's Jeff Teat scored three times and added seven assists against the Buffalo Bandits.
Josh Byrne's three goals, including the one that sent the game to OT, were a difference maker for the Bandits.
Both of the incredible game winning overtime goals from the Wings vs Swarm rivalry this year.
SOCCER
National Women's Soccer League
Portland Thorns FC announced that the club has signed forward Christine Sinclair to a contract extension through 2022, with an option for the 2023 season. The Thorns FC and Canada Women's National Team captain will begin her 10th season with the club in 2022. Sinclair has helped Thorns FC win two NWSL Championships (2013, 2017), two NWSL Shields (2016, 2021), the NWSL Fall Series (2020), the NWSL Challenge Cup (2021) and the Women's International Champions Cup (2021). Sinclair is the club's all-time career leader in games played (143), games started (140), minutes played (12,404) and goals (54).
North Carolina Courage forward and US Women's National team veteran Amy Rodriguez announced today her retirement from professional soccer after a 16-year career that entailed time spent in the NWSL, WPS, and with the USWNT. The club would like to thank Amy for her contributions this season and wish her all the best in her next steps. Upon her retirement, Rodriguez will reunite with her alma mater, the University of Southern California, joining the women's soccer team as an assistant coach.
Game Changers presented by Ally - Erika Tymrak, Orlando Pride
United Soccer League Championship
The United Soccer League today announced the addition of a USL Championship expansion club in Des Moines, Iowa. With a history of success in the pre-professional ranks, Pro Iowa will serve as the capstone for a youth-to-professional soccer pathway in the state and plans to kick off its inaugural season in 2024. The club's majority owner, Kyle Krause, is the longest-tenured owner in the United Soccer League's ecosystem having presided over the success of current USL League Two club the Des Moines Menace since 1998.
A USL Championship soccer team is officially coming to Des Moines, as well as brand-new stadium for it to call home.
MLS NEXT Pro
Columbus Crew 2, Columbus Crew's developmental Second Team, announced that it has named Laurent Courtois as its Head Coach ahead of the team's inaugural season in MLS NEXT Pro. A former player with a 16-year career, the role for Courtois [pronounced: luh-RAWN kor-TWAH] is a promotion after most recently serving as the Under-19 head coach for the Crew Academy. Courtois holds both a U.S. Soccer Federation 'A' license and an UEFA 'A' license. He joined the Crew as the head coach for the Crew Academy's U-17 team in 2019 before taking on the role of U-19 head coach in 2021.
Houston Dynamo FC appointed Kenny Bundy as the head coach of Dynamo 2. Dynamo 2 is the team's affiliate in the upcoming inaugural season of MLS Next Pro. Bundy recently served as head coach of the Houston Dynamo Academy U-23 team and managed the team through a pilot season in 2021.
OTHER SPORTS
Major League Rugby
As Major League Rugby enters Season Five, we celebrate a global movement that is gaining momentum.
American Ultimate Disc League
Analyst Daniel Cohen breaks down how the Los Angeles Aviators activate their deep attack offense.
Did we miss anything newsworthy or downright fun? Have a nomination for next week's column? Contact us today and let us know.
United States Football League Stories from February 1, 2022
- 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.
