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Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
August 25, 2008 - American Indoor Football Association (AIFA)


BASEBALL

South Atlantic League (SALLY): The new Bowling Green (KY) team, which will be the relocated Columbus (GA) Catfish franchise in the 2009 Low Class-A SALLY, has narrowed the list of possible new team nicknames to seven: Bluegills, Turbos, Hot Rods, Cave Shrimp, Speedsters, Sparkplugs and Mammoths. The area is home to the Mammoth Cave and production of the Chevrolet Corvette.

Atlantic Baseball League: The developer of the Meadowland's Xanadu project has agreed to undertake a feasibility study for a minor league ballpark that would become home to an ABL franchise called the Bergen Cliff Hawks. This ballpark and franchise have been in the planning stages for several years, but the original developer had financial problems and the ballpark plan was dropped.

New York-Penn League: The Short Season Class-A New York-Penn League has approved the sale of the Oneonta Tigers to a new ownership group. As part of the deal, the team must remain in Oneonta at least through the 2010 season.

Pacific Coast League: There is a possibility that the new ballpark in Reno (NV) for the relocated Tucson Sidewinders might not be ready for the start of the 2009 season. The Reno team could start with an extended road trip at the beginning of the 2009 season or start the season in Tucson. A name for the new Reno team has not yet been announced.

BASKETBALL

National Basketball Association: The logo and team nickname of the Seattle SuperSonics franchise will remain a part of Seattle and could be used by another NBA franchise, if one should return to the city. With the move to Oklahoma City, the NBA team is reportedly considering several new nicknames like Barons, Bison, Energy, Marshalls, Thunder and Wind. The move of the New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn might not happen until 2011, as construction on a new arena for the Brooklyn Nets has been delayed and might not start until January 2009.

Continental Basketball Association: The owner of the Butte (MT) Daredevils has announced the franchise has folded after two years in the city. The CBA's Albany (NY) Patroons franchise was reportedly interested in relocating to Butte.

American Basketball Association: The city of Hamilton (Ontario) is no longer listed on the ABA's list of 2008-09 teams.

Eastern Basketball Alliance: In addition to the previously announced Maryland Suns team, the EBA has the Hampton Roads Cardinals, New Jersey Lightning and Salem Mustangs listed as new teams for its upcoming 2009 season. The Camden Pride, Philadelphia Power, Schuylkill Firedogs and Wilkes-Barre Barons teams that were part of the 2008 EBA season are no longer listed.

Women's Eastern Basketball Alliance: The WEBA, the women's division of the men's Eastern Basketball Alliance, has new teams called the Maryland Lady Suns, New Jersey Thunder and Virginia Lady Stallions listed for its upcoming 2009 season. The Delaware Lady Wildcats, New York Gazelles, and PA Lady Keystoners teams that were part of the 2008 WEBA season are no longer listed.

SlamBall: The SlamBall brand of basketball, which features a series of trampolines positioned in the normal shooting area of the basket, has returned with a short 2008 season consisting of six teams called the Bouncers, Hombres, Maulers, Mob, Rumble and Slashers. Some of these games that were taped this summer are to be shown on the Versus network starting in late August. Since its start in 2002, SlamBall was a made-for-TV operation with all games played at one location. The operation had been dormant in the United States for a few years. A current group now wants to develop interest in the sport for an official SlamBall league with eight franchises playing across the country in 2009.

FOOTBALL

United States Football League: A new version of the USFL plans to start play in February 2010 with a 16-game outdoor season running through June. The league will start with 12 teams and grow to a maximum of 16. The USFL site has franchises "awarded" to Los Angeles, San Jose, Las Vegas, Orlando and Baton Rouge.

American Indoor Football Association: The AIFA's proposed Richmond franchise will join the league for the 2010 season. As of now, the league plans to add teams in Rochester (NY) and Harrisburg (PA) for the 2009 season. The Rochester Raiders switched to the AIFA after playing in the 2008 season of the Continental Indoor Football League. Details on other possible teams could be released after a league meeting next month.

HOCKEY

ECHL: Apparently, financing has fallen through for a new arena on the campus of Coastal Carolina University that was to be shared with a proposed Myrtle Beach (SC) ECHL franchise. The ECHL franchise was at one time going to be called the Myrtle Beach Thunderboltz and would be a replacement for the Pee Dee Pride franchise that suspended operations after the 2004-05 season. The developer of a half-built arena in the Lakeland Ranch area near Sarasota is still trying to reorganize and possibly complete the project. The arena was to have become home to an ECHL franchise called the Gulf Coast Swords back in the 2005-06 season, but construction ran into financial problems.

Mid-Atlantic Hockey League: Ownership of the MAHL has been taken over by a group of investors and team owners as its moves forward on its second season. The 2008-09 season will start in November and the league plans to release its schedule and final team alignments shortly.

American Hockey League: Work has started on the new arena in the Cedar Park area of Austin and it is expected to be ready in October 2009. The arena will be home to the Texas Stars, the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars. Two developers are interested in building an arena in the Lehigh Valley, possibly in Allentown (PA), which could become home to the AHL's Philadelphia Phantoms.

SOCCER

Major League Soccer (Reserve Division): The MLS Reserve Division is playing its fourth season in 2008 with each MLS team operating a Reserve Division team. For the past three seasons, all Reserve Division teams were grouped together in one table for the standings. With the addition of the San Jose Earthquakes as the 14th team in 2008, the Reserve Division was split into Eastern and Western conferences and aligned just like the MLS. The Reserve Division teams play a 12-game schedule from late March to late October.

United Soccer Leagues (First Division): Investors are trying to move forward on land acquisition and zoning for a proposed 5,000-seat soccer stadium for a USL First Division team called the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The team hopes to begin exhibition play next year and start league play in 2010 when the stadium is expected to be completed.

Major Indoor Soccer League: No official word has been issued about the reorganized MISL's 2008-09 season, but one possibility is that some of the Midwest-based teams could form their own regional league with four or five teams. Some former MISL teams could also end up joining the new Premier Arena Soccer League's Pro Division, which plans to start play in October 2008.

OTHER

National League Lacrosse: The NLL officially announced its 2009 league alignment, which includes the addition of the new Boston Blazers franchise. The East Division will include the Blazers, along with the Buffalo Bandits, Chicago Shamrox, New York Titans, Philadelphia Wings, Rochester Knighthawks and Toronto Rock. The Minnesota Swarm has been moved from the East Division to the West Division, which will also include the Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Edmonton Rush, Portland LumberJax and San Jose Stealth. The Swarm had been in the East Division since joining the league for the 2005 season.

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/2533047. Dan can be contacted at dankrieger@leaguesteamsnicknames.com.



American Indoor Football Association Stories from August 25, 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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