Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
Published on November 3, 2008 under Indoor Football League (IFL)
BASEBALL
South Atlantic League (SALLY): The new Bowling Green (KY) team, which was formerly the Columbus (GA) Catfish in the low Class-A SALLY, will be called the Bowling Green Hot Rods when it starts play in the SALLY's Southern Division for 2009. The name was taken from the area's automotive industry. Bowling Green and the league's Lake County Captains franchise will be switching to the low Class-A Midwest League in 2010.
Atlantic Baseball League: The Newark Bears franchise in the ABL announced it has filed for bankruptcy and plans to reorganize its finances. There is a possibility the team could resurface as part of the shorter-season Canadian-American (Can-Am) League. The ABL's Bridgeport Bluefish franchise has also been struggling financially and was recently purchased by the head of the league. If Newark does not return to the ABL in 2009, the league may have to operate its Road Warriors travel-team as an eighth club.
Puerto Rico Professional Baseball League: The fall/winter PRPBL was previously known as the Puerto Rican League and restarts play this month after sitting idle last season. For 2008-09, the league will have six teams-Criollos de Caguas (Caguas Creoles), Lobos de Arecibo (Arecibo Wolves), Leones de Ponce (Ponce Lions), Indios de Mayguez (Mayaguez Indians), Cangrejeros de Santurce (Santurce Crabbers) and Gigantes de Carolina (Carolina Giants)-playing a 42-game schedule. The 2006-07 team known as the Manati Athenians was relocated to Santurce.
Pacific Coast League: The Nashville Sounds franchise has been sold subject to league approval. A potential new stadium deal in downtown Nashville fell through last year and there were rumors the team could look for a new city. If the Sounds want a new stadium, it would most likely have to make financial commitment to the project.
BASKETBALL
American Basketball Association: The ABA has announced a team called the Columbus (OH) Crush will join the league for the 2009-10 season. Back in 2005, a team called the Columbus Mustangs planned to play in the 2005-06 ABA season, but it never materialized.
Eastern Basketball Alliance: The EBA men's division has added a team called the New York Wizards to its 2009 team line-up, which is now up to 14 teams.
National Basketball Association: Plans for the owner of the New Jersey Nets to start construction on a new Brooklyn arena have been delayed again and the team might not be able to move to Brooklyn until at least 2011. The team plans to be renamed the Brooklyn Nets after the move.
FOOTBALL
Arena Football League: The AFL has approved a tentative deal with an equity partner that will assume control of the league and could dramatically alter the financial and management structure of the league. With the recent loss of the New Orleans VooDoo from the Southern Division, the AFL has moved the Dallas Desperados from the Eastern Division to the Southern Division of the National Conference. The league plans to operate 16 teams in 4 divisions for 2009. Last season, the Eastern Division was the only 5-team division in the 17-team league.
Arenafootball2: The current operators of the Arkansas Twisters plan to sever ties with the franchise and hope to introduce new investors for the Little Rock-based af2 franchise so it can play in 2009. The Twisters have been part of the league since the inaugural 2000 season.
Indoor Football League: The El Paso expansion franchise in the IFL, which was recently created by the merger of the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football, will be called the El Paso Generals with a military theme taken from nearby Fort Bliss. The league's Everett (WA) expansion franchise will be called the Everett Destroyers. The Lake Charles-based Louisiana Swashbucklers franchise, the 2007 and 2008 champions of the Intense Football League, has decided to leave the new IFL. The Swashbucklers could be part of a proposed new league called the Southern Indoor Football League that would operate with smaller budgets than the IFL. The Swashbucklers started play in the 2005 season of the National Indoor Football League before switching to the Intense Football League in 2006.
United National Gridiron League: The UNGL, originally called the United National Football League, plans to be a developmental league for several leagues like the National Football League, Arena Football League and Canadian Football League. The UNGL plans to start its inaugural season in January 2009 with 8 teams and eventually plans to grow to 22 teams. The league currently lists the cities of Charlotte, Atlanta, Buffalo, Miami, Virginia Beach and Washington (DC) as possible team locations.
HOCKEY
Eastern Professional Hockey League: The new single-A level EPHL has started its inaugural season with four teams. The league's recently announced fourth team, the Hudson Valley Bears, will play home games in both Poughkeepsie (NY) and Newburgh (NY). Hudson Valley was added after proposed teams called the Copper City Chiefs (Rome, NY) and the New Hampshire Freeze (Exeter) did not materialize as planned for the inaugural season.
International Hockey League: The six-team IHL recently started its second season after evolving from the defunct United Hockey League following the 2006-07 hockey season. All six teams returned from last season, but the Muskegon Fury came under new ownership and was renamed the Muskegon Lumberjacks.
Ligue Nord Americaine de Hockey: The Quebec-based LNAH, or North American Hockey League, has started its 2008-09 season with nine teams-Pont-Rouge Lois Jeans, Riviere-du-Loup CIMT, Saguanay 98.3 FM, Saint-Georges CRS Express, Saint-Hyacinthe Summum Chiefs, Sherbrooke Saint Francois Saints, Ste-Marie Delta Poutrelles, Thetford Mines Isothermic and Trois-Rivieres Caron & Guay. The LNAH turned professional for its 2004-05 season.
SOCCER
Major League Soccer: The bid by FC Barcelona ownership for a Miami-based MLS expansion team in Miami has improved with a possible deal in place for a home field at Florida International University, just west of the city. The university's football stadium was also built to international soccer specifications and could seat 18,000 for soccer. Obtaining financing for a new Miami soccer-specific stadium, once proposed at the site of the former Orange Bowl site, has been a hard sell. The city's former MLS franchise called the Miami Fusion (1998-2001) was unsuccessful with its home field in suburban Fort Lauderdale.
National Indoor Soccer League: Although the Orlando Sharks, formerly of the Major Indoor Soccer League, recently announced the team would not be part of the inaugural 2008-09 NISL season, the team's ownership stated the Sharks will return for the league's second season in 2009-10. When the MISL disbanded after the 2007-08 season, the process of reorganizing into a new league took too long. Sharks' ownership thought the entire MISL membership, minus the Stockton-based California Cougars, would reorganize into a new eight-team structure. The remaining eight teams eventually split into two leagues, the NISL and the Xtreme Soccer League.
OTHER
SlamBall: The 2008 season of the made-for-TV SlamBall operation just ended and consisted of six teams-Bouncers, Hombres, Maulers, Mob, Rumble and Slashers-playing a 12-game schedule. Games were played at one location starting in July and taped for rebroadcast in August, September and October. SlamBall is a modified version of basketball that features some physical contact, along with a series of trampolines positioned in the normal shooting area of the basket. The operation had been dormant in the United States since 2003. One group wants to develop interest in the sport and create an official SlamBall league with eight franchises located throughout the country.
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.
Indoor Football League Stories from November 3, 2008
- Colorado Ice Indoor Football Owner to Speak at Loveland Golden K Kiwanis Meeting - Colorado Crush
- 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.
