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Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
January 14, 2008 - International Basketball League (IBL)


BASEBALL

- South Coast League: The SCL officially announced plans to place a team in Jackson (MS) for the 2008 season. The league will feature other teams in Aiken (SC), Anderson (SC), Charlotte County (FL), Macon (GA) and Albany (GA).

- Atlantic Baseball League: Plans for a new Meadowlands ballpark in the Xanadu retail and entertainment complex are no longer part of the project after a new group took over for the original developer. The proposed 6,500-seat ballpark was to be home to an ABL franchise called the Bergen Cliff Hawks. The franchise owner continues to work toward getting the ballpark built.

BASKETBALL

- American Basketball Association: The ABA currently has 26 teams listed in its standings, but five of those teams - Orlando Aces, Los Angeles Push, Corning Bulldogs, Strong Island Sound and Syracuse Raging Bullz - have basically dropped out. Several of the remaining teams like the Houston Takers, First State Fusion and Georgia Gwizzlies have not played in about a month. The Bahama Pro Show was reportedly in trouble after the coach and several players left the team, but the franchise has regrouped and found new sponsorship. The ABA announced that a Mexican team called the Gomez Palacio Thundercats, based in the state of Durango, will join for the 2008-09 season.

- Circuito de Basquetbol de la Costa del Pacifico (CIBACOPA): Mexico's Pacific Coast basketball league known as CIBACOPA will have a new team in Mexicali to replace the Calor de Mexicali, which played only the 2007 season. The owners of last year's Colorados de San Luis have moved that franchise to Mexicali as the Industriales de Mexicali. The upcoming 2008 CIBACOPA season plans to start in February with ten teams.

- International Basketball League: The IBL's Arizona Flame franchise, which was last season's Phoenix Flame, apparently will not play in 2008 and is listed as a 2009 franchise. The franchise originally planned to move to Scottsdale as the Scottsdale Flame and then announced a move to Casa Grande as the Arizona Flame.

- Continental Basketball Association: The CBA's Great Falls Explorers franchise is reported to be having financial troubles and its future is uncertain. Recently, the team's coach and players refused to play a game due to missed wages.

- Global Basketball Alliance: An entity called Pro Basketball Americas (PBA) is taking over operations of the GBA and its WGBA (Women's Global Basketball Alliance) with plans for future expansion and interaction with other leagues. The GBA announced that the Carolina Fury, formerly the Orangeburg Krazy Kats of the Southeastern Exposure Basketball League, has joined the GBA for its upcoming 2008 season that will run from May through July.

- Women's National Basketball Association: An ownership group has secured an exclusive option to purchase the Seattle Storm franchise from the Seattle SuperSonics of the National Basketball Association. Since the SuperSonics franchise is attempting to relocate to Oklahoma City in the near future, this change in ownership could keep the Storm in Seattle even with the departure of the NBA team. If the sale goes through, the Storm would be the seventh WNBA team to be owned and run by an entity outside of the NBA.

- Women's Blue Chip Basketball League: The WBCBL has announced another new team for 2008 called the North Texas Flash located in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The league plans to have 30 teams operating for its 2008 summer season.

FOOTBALL

- American Indoor Football Association: The AIFA officially announced the move of the Pittsburgh RiverRats to Erie (PA) for the 2008 season. The second-year franchise replaces the suspended Erie Freeze franchise and is expected to be called the Erie RiverRats.

- American Professional Football League: The new Springfield (IL) Shield franchise of the 2008 indoor APFL is not related to the failed Springfield Stallions of the 2007 Continental Indoor Football League. The Springfield Stallions had come to the CIFL from the 2006 8-Man Football League in Illinois. A Springfield-based team called the Sangamon County Seminoles will also return to the 8-Man Football League for 2008. Also, the Omaha Extreme has been renamed the Nebraska Extreme for its first full season as part of the 2008 APFL. Over the past two seasons, the Omaha Extreme had been trying to join the APFL as a full-schedule team and was included on the schedule of some of the APFL teams.

HOCKEY

- ECHL: A new arena under construction in Ontario (CA) plans to open in the fall of 2008 and will become the home of the Ontario Reign, an ECHL expansion franchise.

- Mid-Atlantic Hockey League: The MAHL's Mon Valley Thunder franchise, based in the Pittsburgh area, is suffering from low attendance. The five-team MAHL is in its inaugural season.

SOCCER

- United Soccer Leagues W-League: The new W-League franchise based in Morgantown (WV) will be called the West Virginia Illusion. The Illusion will be part of the Eastern Conference Atlantic Division in 2008.

- Premier Arena Soccer League: The PASL, the official developmental league to the Major Indoor Soccer League, has announced it will operate a new Pro Division. The league will begin in mid-May and end on the Labor Day weekend and plans to have a partnership with a similar Mexican indoor soccer league. The Pro Division will feature both a men's and women's side. The PASL's current winter 2007-08 season features over 50 teams in 10 divisions.

OTHER

- West Coast Rugby League: The WCRL held a tryout camp last month as it tries to establish a western version of the American National Rugby League, based in the eastern United States. The league is looking to set up teams in the states of California, Washington, Arizona, Colorado and Utah.

Dan Krieger is the creator of "Leagues, Teams & Nicknames", which tracks the changes in league alignments, franchise movements and team nicknames in today's sports world. The latest version can be found at http://www.lulu.com/content/1375144. Dan can be contacted at dankrieger@leaguesteamsnicknames.com.



International Basketball League Stories from January 14, 2008


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.


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