Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
Published on February 11, 2008 under South Coast League (SCL)

BASEBALL

• South Coast League: The Charlotte County Redfish will not play in the 2008 SCL season due to ballpark renovations, but is expected to return in 2009. Currently, the SCL has five teams planned for 2008 that include the previously announced Jackson (MS) franchise and four returning teams-Aiken Foxhounds, Anderson Joes, Macon Music and South Georgia Peanuts. The league will most likely look for a sixth team to join for 2008. With the Cincinnati Reds considering a move out of Sarasota (FL) for its spring training and other minor league operations, the independent SCL has expressed an interest in placing a franchise in the Sarasota market in the future. The Reds operate regular-season teams in the High Class-A Florida State League and the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. The SCL had a team in nearby Bradenton for part of the 2007 season, but that team is now dormant.

• South Atlantic League (SALLY): The city of Bowling Green (KY) has committed to sell bonds that would help build a 4,000-seat ballpark for a possible Low Class-A South Atlantic League (SALLY) franchise. The owner of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in the Double-A Eastern League plans to purchase and relocate a SALLY team to Bowling Green.

• Frontier League: The Bloomington-Normal (IL) area, also known as the Twin Cities, has hired a consultant to study the feasibility of attracting a minor league baseball team to the area. A proposed ballpark could be located at Heartland Community College. The Frontier League has expressed interest in the market, but there could be other leagues involved after the study is completed. The Frontier League was also looking at the Champaign-Urbana (IL) market.

• Pacific Coast League: The Triple-A Omaha Royals do not appear satisfied that its desire for a new ballpark might be tied to a new site for the College World Series. The team is reportedly looking at other markets and other locations in the Omaha area as an alternative.

• International League: With the Triple-A Richmond Braves moving to Gwinnett County in 2009, several other leagues like the High Class-A Carolina League, Low Class-A South Atlantic League and the Double-A Eastern League have inquired about the market, which is the largest in the International League. The relocated team is expected to be called the Gwinnett Braves. Two counties in the Richmond area have discussed the possibility of building a new ballpark to attract another Triple-A team, but the league is stable and there appear to be no relocation candidates at this time. The league's last relocation candidate, the Ottawa Lynx, is moving to Allentown for 2008 as the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

BASKETBALL

• Premier Basketball League: The Jacksonville Jam franchise was terminated and removed by the PBL. A league-operated franchise called the Jacksonville Slam has been formed to finish out the season. The owner of the Jacksonville Jam plans to find another league and mentioned the American Basketball Association as a possibility. The Jacksonville Jam played in the 2006-07 ABA season prior to its move to the PBL. The league used its "Travelers" team to play the Wilmington Sea Dawgs when the Dallas Defenders were unable to make the trip to Wilmington. • National Professional Basketball League: The NPBL's Alexandria (VA) Avengers team listed for the upcoming 2008 season is the same team now competing in the 2008 season of the Eastern Basketball Alliance.

• American Basketball Association: After sitting idle for almost two months, the Delaware-based First State Fusion restarted play in the 2007-08 ABA season. The Orlando Aces franchise, which shut down in mid-December, has been removed from the Blue Conference South Division standings. The ABA is moving forward with plans to develop possible Southeast Asia teams in China, Mongolia and Singapore. The ABA's Beijing Aoshen Olympian team is based in Singapore this season and several ABA teams from North America have made road trips to the country. The league hopes to add one or two additional Singapore teams next season.

• Global Basketball Alliance: The GBA plans to operate a Northeast Division in its upcoming 2008 season and will hold tryouts for two New York City teams called the Bronx Breakouts and Brooklyn Brawlers. The league is also considering teams for Philadelphia, Boston, Newark and Trenton.

• World Basketball Association (WBA Pro League): The WBA's 2008 team based in Holly Springs (MS), which is southeast of Memphis, will be called the Mississippi Hardhats. Last season, a Mississippi Hardhats team was unsuccessful in trying to play in the Jackson (MS) area and the league ended up with two teams using the Hardhats nickname-the Wilson (NC) Hardhats and the Atlanta Hardhats.

FOOTBALL • American Professional Football League: The new Springfield (IL) Shield team of the indoor APFL has decided to suspend operations for the upcoming 2008 season and will work toward starting the franchise for the 2009 APFL season.

• Canadian Football League: The CFL faces a challenge from the National Football League's Buffalo Bills, who have arranged a five-year deal to play a few pre-season games and five regular-season games in Toronto, home to the CFL's Toronto Argonauts. Because they have not had much success in working a deal for a new football stadium in Buffalo, there has been speculation that the Bills would eventually try to move to Toronto when its lease expires in 2012.

HOCKEY

• American Hockey League: The Rochester Americans are facing financial problems and the team's return for the 2008-09 season is uncertain. The AHL team has been the National Hockey League affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres for over 25 seasons and has been shared with the NHL's Florida Panthers since the 2005-06 season. The Sabres and Panthers appear ready to leave Rochester after this season. The Americans almost sat idle for the 2007-08 season, but were able to sign a one-year lease with the Sabres and Panthers. Back in 2001, the Sabres had considered moving its AHL affiliate to Buffalo and share the arena with the NHL team. A Buffalo AHL franchise would have been in the territories of the Rochester and Hamilton AHL markets.

SOCCER

• United Soccer Leagues First Division: The USL First Division is considering expansion into Edmond (OK), possibly for the 2009 season. Edmond is located just north of Oklahoma City and had tried to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to the area back in 2004.

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.

South Coast League Stories from February 11, 2008

• Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report - OSC Original by Dan Krieger

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.