Twenty-Five Years of Minor League Memories: Looking Back at the Highlights

by Fran Stuchbury
Published on February 26, 2026 under XFL (XFL)

I recently completed my twenty-fifth year of covering minor league sports for OurSports Central. My first article appeared on February 2, 2001, a preview of the XFL's inaugural season. Over the past 25 years, I have covered 14 championships for OSC in football, soccer, tennis and lacrosse. I have conducted over 100 interviews for OSC at games, championships and various media events.

Several moments stood out in my memory, but the following 10 are special ones.

10. January 2023 - inaugural Charlotte Bootleggers Professional Box Lacrosse Association game

After conducting an interview with Professional Box Lacrosse Association Commissioner Steve Donner, I wanted to cover the Bootlegers home opener, making the commute from Raleigh to do it. When I arrived at Bojangles Coliseum they did not have a credential prepared for me but still let me in to cover the game. Charlotte lost to the barnstorming Jim Thorpe All-Americans, 15-10. I ended up scrambling to get some of my quotes for the story. Without a roster, I approached several players and began by asking, "Hi who are you?" One of those players was All-Americans forward Marty Hill who ended up scoring the first goal in PBLA history. The fans I talked with with enjoyed the game action.

Several weeks later, the PBLA ceased operations.

9. July 2019 - Coastal Plain League Holly Springs Salamanders game

College players play in this wood-bat league and are still keep their college eligibility. The Salamanders keep things fun with a mascot named Sal the Salamander. I ended up staying through two lightning delays. During the delays I noticed a black lab that was retrieving bats named Ripken. I spoke to his owner Michael O'Donnell who is the owner of 'Sit Means Sit' in Apex, N.C. He trained Ripken how to retrieve bats. Ripken has a Facebook page and ended up sharing the story I published on the game.

Ripken would later retrieve bats for the Durham Bulls of the International League and kickoff tees for North Carolina State football home games. On February 18, 2023 he got a huge ovation at Carter-Finley Stadium when he dropped the ceremonial first puck ahead of the NHL Stadium Series game between the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes.

Unfortunately on January 1, 2025 Ripken passed away at the age of eight due to an undisclosed medical condition.

Ripken was loved by many fans and will be missed. His legacy continued with his younger Brother Champ taking over for the Durham Bulls and NC State.

8. November 25, 2001 - 89th Canadian Football League Grey Cup

A three and a half hour drive from upstate New York took me to Montreal where over 65,000 fans turned out at Olympic Stadium, former home of the Alouettes and Expos. Fans from all the CFL teams attended the game including some from the Baltimore Stallions, a team which played in the CFL in 1994 and 1995. The place was loud, and the energy with the fans was an experience I will never forget. Montreal was a beautiful city to visit. Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Khari Jones, who threw two touchdown passes, would go to be a head coach of the Alouettes.

The Calgary Stampeders won the Grey Cup by defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 27-19. Here is CBC the opening to the game:

7. October 27, 2019 - National Women's Soccer League Championship

After I moved to Raleigh I received a pleasant surprise in 2017 when Steve Malik purchased the NWSL's Western New York Flash and moved them to Cary, North Carolina, where they became the North Carolina Courage.

In 2018 I started covering North Carolina games for OurSports Central. In 2019, the NWSL awarded the Courage the right to host the NWSL Championship and the Courage earned a spot in the title game.

The Courage won its second straight NWSL title, defeating the Chicago Red Stars 4-0 in front of a record crowd of 10,277 fans, the most in WakeMed Soccer Park history. Debinha, Jessica McDonald, Crystal Dunn and Sam Mewis all scored in the victory. It was an amazing experience to see a team I covered all season dominate to win a championship at home in front of a big crowd. Mewis became the first inductee into the team's Ring of Honor in 2025. The following season McDonald joined her.

The highlights:

It was the second championship I covered for OSC. Back in 2003 I covered the Major League Lacrosse Championship in Villanova.

6. November 2017 - Interview with Philadelphia Soul Majority Owner Jon Bon Jovi

At a press conference that introduced the Philadelphia Soul's newest acquisition wide receiver Chris Jackson,

I was able to score an interview with international superstar Jon Bon Jovi, the Soul's Majority Owner.

My favorite moment of the interview came when I asked Bon Jovi if he felt games that were played at the Spectrum gave the Soul an advantage. His response, "They're good, they're at the good 'ol sweaty Spectrum that I went to as a kid, so I like it."

At the other side of the restaurant I noticed the Major Indoor Soccer League's Philadelphia KiXX were holding a season ticket party, so I put myself on the spot and interviewed KiXX Vice President of Internal Operations David Deal, conducting a trifecta of interviews that day.

5. July 27, 2008 - ArenaBowl XXII in New Orleans

After attending Arena Football League title games in Tampa Bay, Phoenix and Las Vegas, it was the fourth ArenaBowl I covered for OurSports Central. New Orleans was a lot of fun, and I completed two interviews at radio row with league founder Jim Foster and Commissioner David Baker. One evening I was walking down Bourbon Street with Arena Football fans from across the country. I was happy to have the Philadelphia Soul, a team I covered for five seasons, in the big game against the San Jose SaberCats. The Soul won the title with a 59-56 victory.

After the season the AFL filed for bankruptcy and cancelled its 2009 season. Arena Football came back in 2010 on a smaller scale until it ceased operations after the 2019 season. A new league using the same name launched in 2024 before being abandoned with the surviving teams forming Arena Football One in 2025.

4. July 2015 - Interview with World TeamTennis Co-Founder and and Philadelphia Freedoms Owner Billie Jean King

Though not as well known as other leagues, World TeamTennis a lot of fun to cover. My good friend, Philadelphia Freedoms Master of Ceremonies Dave Leno, encouraged me to get an interview with Billie Jean King saying it would be a rewarding experience. Her publicist liked my WTT coverage on OurSports Central and set up my interview with her. So I sat at the Philadelphia Freedoms bench and spoke to the tennis legend.

She won 39 Grand Slam titles and helped women's tennis players earn more money. She had so many fun stories to tell during the interview. As an iconic figure in the sports world, Ms. King was one of the biggest interviews I conducted while writing for OurSports Central.

3. Sunday August 2, 2015 - Washington Kastles win a record fifth straight WTT Championship

I traveled to Washington to cover the WTT championship, and the day before the match I received an invitation from the Kastles to attend the WTT Finals Celebration. I jumped at the opportunity, as I was the only member of the media at the event. I made the most of it by talking to a lot of people.

The Washington Kastles won the King Trophy for a record fifth straight time, defeating the Austin Aces 24-18. The highlights:

Diving in to WTT for OurSports Central in 2015 kept me busy during a tumultuous personal time. I covered six Philadelphia Freedoms matches, a playoff semifinal and the championship in DC along with conduction seven interviews.

2. Covering multiple sports events in the Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia in February 2024; also in the Van Andel Arena in March 2025

A friend, Dave Carlson, alerted me that multiple sports events were being held in Atlanta at the Gas South Arena over the course of just a few days. I ended covering the first ever Pro Volleyball Federation Atlanta Vibe home game in which they defeated the San Diego Mojo in straight sets 25-17, 25-15 and 25-16. Vibe fans chanted, "A - T - L," short for Atlanta, during the volleys.

The following day the National Lacrosse League's Georgia Swarm game defeated the Vancouver Warriors in overtime, 12-11, in what was the best first-time experience for covering a sport for OSC. The NLL game was like going to a sports event and concert at the same time. The last leg of my busy sports weekend saw the ECHL's Atlanta Gladiators lose to South Carolina Stingrays 4-0.

The following year I traveled to Grand Rapids to cover two Grand Rapids Rise Pro Volleyball Federation matches, one American Hockey League Grand Rapids Griffins game and an NBA G League Grand Rapids Gold contest over a three-day period. It was fun being in a smaller market where I witnessed fans embrace and cheer on all three teams.

1. May 13, 2023 - XFL Championship - Alamodome, San Antonio

After writing a weekly "Inside the XFL" column for all three renditions of the XFL, I was finally able to witness an exciting conclusion to a season. The first version folded unceremoniously after its 2001 season, while the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020 cut short the second version after five weeks of play.

I was able to enjoy a riverboat ride as well as take a tour of the Alamo. I was a live guest at Hotel Contessa on the San Antonio Riverwalk on Reid Johnson's "MarkCast," previewing the XFL Championship in which the Arlington Renegades defeated the D.C. Defenders, 35-26, in front of 22,754 fans. I was on the Alamodome field for the trophy presentation and for the first time I experienced a confetti shower, all while watching XFL owners Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Dany Garcia conduct the trophy presentation.

It ended up being the last XFL game before the league and United States Football League merged in 2024 to form the United Football League. It was the perfect ending to my XFL journey

The following day on on a couple of hours sleep I caught a red eye flight back to Raleigh to get home that afternoon in time to cover a North Carolina Courage game on Mother's Day in which they defeated OL Reign 1-0 thanks to a Tyler Lussi goal. Fittingly, her mother was in attendance.

Honorable mentions

Last Week around the Leagues - started December 19, 2018

Paul Reeths recommended I compile a weekly column with news and videos on leagues we cover on OurSports Central. I liked the suggestion so I began writing my "Last Week around the Leagues" column more than seven years ago.

Finding news, lead stories and videos helps me keep up with the hundreds of teams collected on OSC. Teddy bear toss videos from hockey teams in the US and Canada are always fun, and football leagues such as the CFL and UFL supply some great plays. Women's sports such as the soccer, basketball, volleyball and hockey show up in the column as well. If you're looking for all the highlights from the leagues here on OSC, check out my column weekly.

December 2021 - American Underdog movie review

On Christmas Day I went to see American Underdog, a movie on NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner. When I had hosted an Arena Football radio show, "ArenaZone," for my college radio station WSIA, I was able to interview Warner during his rookie year with the St. Louis Rams in 1999 after he had spent several years with the AFL's Iowa Barnstormers.

Never had I imagined that I would get to write a movie review on a player whom I had interviewed. On my radio show I introduced him as "Future starting quarterback for the St. Louis Rams," before he became a star in the NFL, winning NFL MVP honors as well as Super Bowl XXXIV MVP.

PBLA Charlotte Bootleggers game (Fran Stuchbury)	Holly Springs Salamanders mascot, Sal the Salamander (Fran Stuchbury)	NWSL Championship trophy (Fran Stuchbury)
North Carolina Courage celebrate the 2019 NWSL championship (Fran Stuchbury)	Fran Stuchbury (right) discusses the XFL with MarkCast host Reid Johnson (Fran Stuchbury)	XFL Championship trophy (Fran Stuchbury)
A crowd at the Georgia Swarm game (Fran Stuchbury)	Atlanta Gladiators in action (Fran Stuchbury)	Grand Rapids Rise play at Van Andel Arena (Fran Stuchbury)
A big crowd watches the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins (Fran Stuchbury)	Grand Rapids Rise in action (Fran Stuchbury)	Fran Stuchbury and Billie Jean King (Fran Stuchbury)

XFL Stories from February 26, 2026

• Twenty-Five Years of Minor League Memories: Looking Back at the Highlights - 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.