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Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
January 28, 2008 - NBA G League (G League)


BASEBALL

- International League: The Gwinnett County Commission voted to approve a car rental tax that would help pay for a new stadium for the move of the Triple-A Richmond Braves to the Atlanta area. The team is expected to begin play in Gwinnett in 2009.

- Pacific Coast League: The owners of the short-season Class-A Vancouver Canadians in the Northwest League want to bring a Triple-A Pacific Coast League franchise back to Vancouver. The PCL's former Vancouver Canadians franchise moved to Sacramento as the River Cats for the 2000 season. Another team called the Vancouver Canadians was placed in the Northwest League for the 2000 season as a replacement for the Medford-based Southern Oregon Timberjacks. The owners of the current Northwest League team feel Vancouver is a viable Triple-A market.

- Arizona Winter League (Golden Baseball League): The GBL's Arizona Winter League will return for a second season with six teams: Blythe (CA) Heat, Canada Miners, Palm Springs Chill, San Diego Surf Dawgs, Sonora Pilots and Yuma Scorpions. The league operated with four teams last year playing all games in Yuma (AZ). This season the league expanded into Palm Springs and Blythe and these two locations will also host games along with Yuma. Last year's Sonora Surf Dawgs are now listed as San Diego and the Sonora team is now the Pilots. All teams are expected to play a 21-game schedule in the month of February 2008.

- United League Baseball: The ULB announced its 2008 schedule that will feature the same six teams as last season. The Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings have been renamed the Harlingen WhiteWings. The previously announced expansion franchise for Brownsville (TX) will not be starting in 2008, possibly because the league would have needed another franchise for an even number of teams. Apparently, the ULB will not operate its winter league that was first tried in January and February of 2007 with four teams playing games in Harlingen.

- Continental Baseball League: The CBL has signed a one-year lease with Nueces County to place a franchise in the Robstown (TX) ballpark near Corpus Christi. Robstown had been home to the Coastal Bend Aviators of the American Association (2006-07) and Central Baseball League (2003-05). The 2007 CBL operated with four teams, including the Texas Heat as a league-operated travel team. The Nueces County team will most likely replace the travel team and another new franchise announced for Texarkana (TX) will replace last year's departed Lewisville (TX) Lizards franchise. Robstown has faced competition in the area since 2005 from the Corpus Christi Hooks of the Double-A Texas League.

BASKETBALL

- National Basketball Association Developmental League: An investment group wants to bring an NBA D-League franchise to Portland (ME) and have the team become an affiliate of the Boston Celtics. The owner of the Manchester Millrats in the American Basketball Association is also interested in switching to the NBA D-League as an affiliate of the Celtics. The league is visiting other potential expansion cities in New England, including Hartford (CT), Providence (RI) and the Massachusetts cities of Lowell, Springfield and Worcester.

- International Basketball League: The Elgin Racers have disappeared from the team listing on the IBL site.

- Women's National Basketball Association: The WNBA's expansion franchise in Atlanta has been named the Atlanta Dream. The team will start play in the Eastern Conference for the upcoming 2008 season. A women's pro basketball team in the 1979-80 Women's Basketball League went by the name of the California Dreams in the league's last season of operation.

FOOTBALL

- All American Football League: The AAFL recently held its inaugural draft for its six first-season teams in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas. The AAFL's inaugural season plans to start in April 2008.

- Continental Indoor Football League: The CIFL almost lost its new Fort Wayne Freedom franchise when the league announced it planned to remove the franchise rights of the Freedom's owner. After a scramble to try to search for new local ownership, the CIFL and the Freedom's owner were able to finalize an agreement to field a team in 2008. A former franchise called the Fort Wayne Freedom had played in the National Indoor Football League (2003-04) and United Indoor Football (2005-06). Last season, the city had the Fort Wayne Fusion in arenafootball2, but that team folded.

- American Indoor Football Association: The AIFA is still looking for an ownership group for a proposed expansion franchise in Harrisburg (PA) that plans to start play in 2009.

- National Indoor Football League: The Greensboro (NC) Revolution franchise has ceased operations after playing the 2006 and 2007 seasons as part of the NIFL. Prior to the Revolution, the Greensboro Prowlers were part of the arenafootball2 (2000-03). There has been little news concerning the NIFL's upcoming 2008 season.

- Arenafootball2: The Austin Wranglers franchise has filed for bankruptcy protection, but the team stated this would not affect the upcoming season. As a way to save money, the Wranglers switched to the af2 from the Arena Football League after its 2007 AFL season.

HOCKEY

- Quebec Major Junior Hockey League: The struggling St. John's (Newfoundland) Fog Devils have been sold and will relocate to Verdun (Quebec) in the Montreal area for next season. The Fog Devils were an expansion team in the 2005-06 QMJHL season. The league returns to Montreal after the Montreal Rocket moved to Prince Edward Island for the 2003-04 season.

- United States Hockey League: The town of Rothschild (WI), near Wausau in central Wisconsin, plans to build a 4,000-seat arena that would house a Tier-I junior hockey team in the United States Hockey League. The arena could open in the spring of 2009.

SOCCER

- Major League Soccer: The league has pushed back the timetable for announcing its 16th franchise, which is expected to be either St. Louis or Philadelphia. The delay on this announcement could affect the St. Louis group and its plans for completion of an approved stadium in Collinsville (IL) for a 2009 start. The Philadelphia group is waiting for state funding for help on its stadium, but the Pennsylvania legislature is on recess until late January.

- United Soccer Leagues First Division: The USL First Division will add the Austin Aztex franchise in 2009. The Aztex franchise has also acquired the under-23 Austin Stampede franchise in the USL Premier Development League and plans to eventually add a women's team in the USL W-League. The team nickname is a blend of the state's name and a tribute to the Aztec empire.

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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