Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
March 31, 2008 - South Coast League (SCL)

BASEBALL

- South Coast League: The SCL has decided to suspend operations for the 2008 season, but might try to restart in 2009. The league, which owned all of the franchises, was still in debt from its inaugural 2007 season and did not have enough financial support to move forward in 2008. The SCL operated in six markets in 2007, but the Bradenton franchise became a traveling team early in the season due to ballpark problems. The league had planned to operate with only four teams in 2008. An expansion team in Jackson (MS) was supposed to replace Bradenton in 2008, but the SCL announced that both Jackson and last season's Charlotte County Redfish would not play.

- Pacific Coast League: The new owner of the Las Vegas 51s franchise plans to come up with a new team nickname in time for the 2009 season. The fans will be allowed to vote on the new name.

BASKETBALL

- International Basketball League: A Japanese team called the Nippon Tornadoes has announced it will participate in the 2009 IBL season. The team will be based out of the United States Basketball Academy in Oregon and play most of its schedule with teams based in the Northwest. The IBL's Asia Expansion Department plans to add two more teams from China in 2009 and teams from South Korea and the Philippines are being planned for 2010 and 2011.

- United Basketball League: The UBL's inaugural regular-season schedule plans to start next week. Teams listed on the schedule include the Arkansas Warriors, Dallas Outlaws, North Missouri (Tarkio) Hawks, Oklahoma OnPoint Hoops, San Antonio Soul, San Marcos Knights, South Texas Showboats, Temple (TX) and Texas (Dallas) Wranglers.

- United States Basketball League: With the USBL sitting idle for the 2008 season, the owner of the Salina-based Kansas Cagerz stated that the franchise will definitely not play this season and will most likely be put up for sale. The team's owner had long discussions with two other minor league basketball organizations, but decided against joining. The Cagerz and two other USBL teams, the Dodge City Legend and the Oklahoma Storm, had talked of forming their own league with another team coming from St. Joe (MO). There also was talk about a team in Wichita, but they could not come up with the money, and a possible team from Nebraska never really committed. - Next Level Basketball Association: The NLBA plans to start this year with a schedule running from April to June. Many of the league's teams are coming from the semi-pro Southeastern Exposure Basketball League (SEBL), which just finished its 2007-08 fall/winter independent schedule and has been playing a summer season since 2001.

- Circuito de Baloncesto de la Costa del Pacifico (CIBACOPA): Mexico's second basketball league known as the CIBACOPA, or the Pacific Coast Basketball League, has started its 2008 season with ten teams: Bucaneros de Guaymas, Caballeros de Culiacan, Frayles de Guasave, Fuerza Guindas de Nogales, Lobos de UAD Mazatlan, Mineros de Cananea, Paskolas de Navojoa, Pioneros de Los Mochis (Sinaloa), Trigueros de Ciudad Obregon and Vaqueros de Agua Prieta. The league plays a 40-game schedule from late February to early May.

FOOTBALL

- Canadian Football League: The CFL has awarded an expansion franchise to Ottawa under the conditions that the team reaches an agreement on a lease and upgrades for the city's current stadium. The team could start play in 2010 and might be called the Ottawa Rough Riders, which was the name of the city's CFL team until it folded after the 1996 season. Ottawa was without a team from 1997 to 2001 until the Ottawa Renegades were formed for the 2002 season. That franchise suspended operations after the 2005 season.

- United Indoor Football: The UIF has taken control of the Colorado Ice franchise that is based in the Loveland/Fort Collins area near Denver. The league expects the team to complete its 2008 schedule and is working toward establishing a new ownership group by the end of the season. The Ice started as an expansion franchise in the 2007 season.

HOCKEY

- Eastern Professional Hockey League: The new EPHL, which plans to start play in the 2008-09 season, has announced it will have teams in Danbury (CT), West Orange (NJ) and Rome (NY). The league appears interested in placing teams in some other New York State locations like Glens Falls, Long Island and possibly Jamestown. Rome (NY) was recently home to the Copper City Chiefs of the North Eastern Hockey League (NEHL), which suspended play midway through its 2007-08 season.

- Mid-Atlantic Hockey League: The MAHL's Mon Valley Thunder franchise, which was based in the Pittsburgh area for the 2007-08 season, might not return to the area next season.

- North American Hockey League: The Owatonna-based Southern Minnesota Express of the Tier II Junior-A level NAHL will be relocating to the Detroit area for the 2008-09 season. Another group in Owatonna wants to bring an expansion team back to the area for next season. The NAHL has also been in discussions about an expansion franchise with the city of Albert Lea (MN), about 30 miles south of Owatonna.

SOCCER

- Women's Professional Soccer: The Chicago franchise in the WPS will use the Chicago Gaels team from the United Soccer Leagues (USL) W-League as its official amateur team affiliate. The Gaels joined the W-League for the 2005 season. The WPS Chicago franchise has also eliminated the name Chicago Massacre from its list of ten proposed team names, based on fan voting. The franchise will continue to eliminate nicknames from the seven remaining names on the list, as it prepares for the league's inaugural season in 2009.

- Major League Soccer: The new Seattle MLS franchise that starts play in 2009 has announced three possible nicknames for fan voting-Seattle FC, Seattle Alliance or Seattle Republic. The team is also allowing write-in votes for other names like Sounders, which is the name of the city's current United Soccer Leagues (USL) First Division team and was the name used by the city's former North American Soccer League franchise from 1974 to 1983. The owner of the USL First Division Montreal Impact is putting together a bid for an MLS expansion franchise. The USL Montreal Impact will play this season in a new 13,000-seat stadium, which was designed so the seating capacity could be increased to 20,000.

- Major Indoor Soccer League: The Stockton-based California Cougars are not happy with the MISL's financial structure and are considering leaving the league after the 2007-08 season. The owner could move the team to the Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL), which is the MISL's development league that plans to add a division of pro teams on the West Coast.

OTHER

American National Rugby League: The ANRL has announced its 2008 season, which will feature the same ten teams as last season and play six games each from early June to mid-July. The 2008 teams are the Aston Delco Sports Club Bulls, Bucks County (PA) Sharks, Connecticut Wildcats, Fairfax (VA) Eagles, Jacksonville Axemen, New Haven Warriors, New York Knights, Northern Raiders (New York), Philadelphia Fight and Washington D.C. Slayers.

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 March 31, 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.