Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
January 21, 2008 - International League (IL1)

BASEBALL

- Major League Baseball: If a new ballpark is built in Miami for the Florida Marlins, the team is expected to be renamed the Miami Marlins.

- International League: The Richmond Braves are reportedly moving to a proposed ballpark that will be built to Triple-A standards in the Gwinnett County area of Atlanta. Richmond has been the home of Atlanta's Triple-A affiliate since 1966, but was unable to work out a deal for a new ballpark. The new Gwinnett County ballpark is expected to be ready for the 2009 season. With the Braves leaving Richmond, there is speculation that a lower-level Double-A (Eastern League, Southern League) or Class-A (South Atlantic League, Carolina League) team could move into that market.

- Pioneer League: The Chicago White Sox affiliate in Great Falls (MT) has been renamed the Great Falls Voyagers. Club officials say the main source of the name is a famous UFO sighting that took place at the stadium and was one of the first UFO reports captured on film. The advanced rookie-level team is not changing affiliates from the White Sox, who have been in Great Falls since the 2003 season. Before the White Sox, the team was the Great Falls Dodgers (1984-2002) and the Great Falls Giants (1969-1983).

- Frontier League: An American Legion Post in Columbia (MO) that donated land to the city has voted in favor of plans to build a ballpark for the Mid-Missouri Mavericks, who last played in the Frontier League from 2003 to 2005. The ballpark will still need city approval, but it is hoped the ballpark will be ready for the 2009 season.

BASKETBALL

- National Basketball Association: The NBA plans to own or operate several arenas in China as part of an international expansion plan. The NBA has been negotiating with the Chinese Basketball Association for involvement in operating a league in the country.

- National Basketball Association Developmental League: The NBA D-League could add two new teams for the 2008-09 season. The Toronto Raptors franchise might consider owning and operating its own D-League affiliate based in Ontario.

- International Basketball League: The Salem (OR) Stampede will join the Arizona Flame and Seattle Mountaineers as 2007 teams that decided to sit out the upcoming season and return in 2009. Other teams like the Chico Force, Colorado Crossover, Marysville Meteors, Hub City Hurricanes and Santa Barbara Breakers will not return to the IBL. The Santa Barbara Breakers have decided to join a new minor league called the West Coast Pro Basketball League.

- West Coast Pro Basketball League: The WCPBL is a new spring/summer basketball league that will start play in April 2008. The WCPBL will feature the Santa Barbara Breakers from the International Basketball League, along with other Southern California teams in the cities of Ventura-Oxnard, Palm Springs, Pasadena, Temecula and Victorville. The league plans to play a 20-game schedule that will require no overnight stays for its teams.

- Liga de Comites Municipales de Basquetbol (LiCoMuBa): The Mexican basketball league known as LiCoMuBa, which is based in various cities in the state of Chihuahua, has started its 2008 season with eight teams: Choriceros de Camargo, Dorados de la Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua, Faraones de Nuevo Casas Grandes, Indios UACJ (Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez), Liebres del Instituto Tecnologic de Ciudad Juarez, Mineros de Parral, Nogaleros de Jimenez, and Queseros de Saucillo.

- Texas Professional Basketball League: Apparently, the Dallas Stallions team has been kicked out of the league for failing to show for its first game in Ciudad Juarez against the Gallos.

FOOTBALL

- Continental Indoor Football League: The CIFL started out as the six-team Great Lakes Indoor Football League in 2006, before becoming the 14-team CIFL in 2007. During or after the 2007 season, the CIFL lost the Springfield Stallions, Steubenville Stampede, Summit County Rumble and the Port Huron/Michigan Pirates. For 2008, the CIFL has added the Flint Phantoms, Saginaw Sting, Milwaukee Bonecrushers and Rock River Raptors, formerly of the United Indoor Football. The CIFL plays seven-on seven indoor football instead of eight-on-eight like most other indoor leagues.

HOCKEY

- Central Hockey League: The proposed new arena in Independence (MO) that will become home to a CHL franchise has been unanimously approved by the city's planning commission. The city council in Yuma (AZ) voted in favor of further development of a 6,000-seat arena, which also could become home to a CHL franchise. There is still some local opposition to the Yuma project and it could still be put up for a public vote.

- Northeastern Hockey League: The four-team NEHL has apparently not played a league game in a couple of weeks. The league is looking for new ownership of its Detroit area team called the Kensington Valley Pounders. A team called the New Jersey Sabres was listed in place of Kensington Valley in the standings.

SOCCER

- Women's Professional Soccer: The women's professional soccer league that is expected to start play in the spring of 2009 has been given the name of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). So far, teams have been announced for Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New Jersey/New York, St. Louis and Washington (DC).

- United Soccer Leagues W-League: The W-League announced that the new 2008 Tampa franchise will be called the Tampa Hellenic and will be part of the Atlantic Division. The area was home to the Tampa Bay Extreme of the W-League from 1997 to 2002.

- United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League: The USL's PDL has announced that its first 2009 expansion team will be the Victoria Highlanders of British Columbia. The team is expected to be added to the Northwest Division. After two year's in the league, the Los Angeles Storm has merged with two area local clubs. The organization has been renamed the Los Angeles Legends, which will be the new name of the PDL club and the organization's new W-League team that was added for 2008.

OTHER

- Major League Lacrosse: The MLL announced its 2008 schedule with all ten teams returning. There was speculation that the Philadelphia Barrage might not play in 2008. The Eastern Division will again feature the Boston Cannons, Long Island Lizards, New Jersey Pride, Philadelphia Barrage, Rochester Rattlers and Washington Bayhawks. The Western Division consists of the Chicago Machine, Denver Outlaws, Los Angeles Riptide and San Francisco Dragons.

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.

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