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Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
March 9, 2009 - Continental Baseball League (CBaseballL)


BASEBALL

Continental Baseball League: The city of Alpine (TX) hopes to be part of the 2009 CBL season with a team called the Big Bend Cowboys. The league currently has four definite members for 2009-the Alexandria Aces, Bay Area Toros, Dallas Aviators and Texarkana Gunslingers. Three of four former United League Baseball teams-the Amarillo Dillas, Laredo Broncos and San Angelo Colts-are expected to be part of the CBL, but ownership issues with the Edinburg Coyotes needed to be resolved. Alpine could be the league's eighth team if the Edinburg franchise does not move forward for 2009.

Pacific Coast League: The Omaha Royals of the Triple-A PCL are apparently close to a deal for a new ballpark in suburban Sarpy County. If this works out, the new 24,000-seat stadium to be built in downtown Omaha for the College World Series would not be home to a PCL team. There had been talk of an independent team, possibly from the American Association, moving into the downtown stadium.

New York Collegiate Baseball League: The NYCBL, which is part of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (NACSB), has added a team called the Albany (NY) Dutchmen for the 2009 season.

Florida Collegiate League: The FCL, which is part of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (NACSB), plans to add a team based in De Land (FL) for the 2009 season. The league's Orlando Suns team is not expected to return in 2009.

BASKETBALL

National Basketball Association Development League: Investors have announced plans to bring an NBA D-League franchise to the city of Portland (ME) for the 2009-10 season. The team hopes to become an affiliate of the NBA's Boston Celtics. The franchise is holding a name-the-team contest with nickname choices that include the Maine Beacons, Maine Crushers, Maine Claws, Maine Destroyers, Maine Red Claws, Maine Swarm and Maine Traps. Another NBA D-League franchise in the Northeast is expected to be announced in the next few weeks.

American Basketball Association: The ABA now has the NYC Thunder listed as a "travel team". On the list of 2009-10 expansion teams, the Gallup (NM) Talons are no longer listed and the Hawaii Pegasus is now listed as the Honolulu Pegasus.

United Regions Basketball League: The URBL has announced its newest team is called the Irving Assault, based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Other teams expected to participate in the 2009 season include the Converse Flight, San Antonio Soul, Universal City Warriors and Dallas-Fort Worth Disciples.

Circuito de Baloncesto de la Costa del Pacifico (CIBACOPA): Mexico's Pacific Coast Basketball League, or CIBACOPA, has started its 2009 season with ten teams split into two, five-team divisions. The Northern Division includes the returning Fuerza Grinda Nogales, Mineros de Cananea, and Trigueros de Ciudad Obregon, along with the new Ostioneros de Guaymas and Rayos de Hermosillo. The Southern Division includes the returning Caballeros de Culiacan, Frayles de Guasave, Lobos de UAD Mazatlan and Pioneros de Los Mochis, along with the new Coras de Nayarit. Teams called the Bucaneros de Guaymas, Paskolas de Navojoa and Vaqueros de Agua Prieta did not return for the 2009 season. The spring/summer CIBACOPA and the fall/winter Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP) are Mexico's top basketball leagues.

FOOTBALL

Canadian Football League: The CFL extended the deadline for a group looking to bring an Ottawa franchise back to the league. The Ottawa group, which plans to renovate the city's former CFL venue, now has until September 2009 to work out a stadium deal with the city. The city basically has to decide if it wants to provide local funding for the CFL project or another soccer-specific facility proposed by a group looking to bring a Major League Soccer expansion franchise to Ottawa. The city may not make a decision until late April, while the MLS wants to announce its expansion plans by the end of March.

American Indoor Football Association: After the recent departure of the Canton Legends and Arizona Adrenaline, the AIFA has started its 2009 season with 14 teams split into 3 divisions. The league eliminated the East division and divided the teams between the North and South divisions. The league also eliminated its Eastern and Western conferences, which originally had two divisions each. The North now includes the Baltimore Mariners, D.C. Armor, Erie RiverRats, Harrisburg Stampede, and Reading Express; the South includes the Carolina Speed, Columbus Lions, Fayetteville Guard, Florence (SC) Phantoms and the Greenville-based South Carolina Force; and the West includes the Ogden Knights, New Mexico Wildcats, Utah Valley Thunder and Wyoming Cavalry. The AIFA's 2010 Trenton-based expansion team announced it will be called the New Jersey Kings. Trenton had a short-lived franchise called the Trenton Lighting that played only six games in the 2001 season of the defunct Indoor Professional Football League.

Continental Indoor Football League: After operating with 15 teams in 2008, the CIFL has started its 2009 season with 8 teams split into 2 divisions. The Eastern Division includes the Fort Wayne Freedom, Marion (OH) Mayhem, Miami Valley Silverbacks and the new Wheeling (WV) Wildcats. The Western Division features the Chicago Slaughter, Milwaukee Bonecrushers, Rock River Raptors (Rockford) and the new Wisconsin Wolf Pack. A total of nine teams did not return from the 2008 season: the Flint Phantoms, Kalamazoo Xplosion, New Jersey Revolution, Chesapeake Tide, Lehigh Valley Outlawz, New England Surge, Muskegon Thunder, Rochester Raiders and Saginaw Sting. A previously announced 2009 expansion team in Huntington called the West Virginia Wild was recently dropped from the league.

Independent Indoor Football Alliance: The proposed Carolina-based division will not be playing as part of the IIFA for the 2009 season. The Texas-based IIFA had been trying to establish a North Carolina Division with Greensboro/Raleigh teams called the Carolina Blue Jays, Carolina Renegades, High Point Ravens and Triad Hotshots.

HOCKEY

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League: The league's Acadie-Bathurst (Quebec) Titan franchise has been granted an extension until March 9, 2009 to file a franchise relocation request. The team's owner has been negotiating with the city of St. John's (Newfoundland), along with a local group that has expressed interest in keeping the team in Bathurst. St. John's recently lost its QMJHL franchise known as the Fog Devils after the 2007-08 season. After the proposed move of the Lewiston (ME) Maineiacs to the Montreal suburb of Boisbriand was blocked by the league's Montreal Junior franchise, the Maineacs are now considering a move to Fredericton (New Brunswick) for next season.

International Hockey League: Some doubts have been raised about the future of the IHL's Bloomington Prairie Thunder franchise after speculation the team may be facing eviction from its home arena.

SOCCER

United Soccer Leagues First Division: The owners of the Miami FC Blues franchise in the USL First Division were planning to shut down the team before the 2009 season, if enough season tickets were not sold by a March 8 deadline. The USL has apparently developed an alternate 2009 schedule should Miami drop out before the season starts. The Miami FC joined the USL First Division in the 2006 season.

Major League Soccer: Plans for the Barcelona FC organization to establish a sister club in Miami as part of the MLS have been dropped due to concerns about the economy and the $40 million expansion franchise fee that would be needed to join the league. This leaves Ottawa, Portland, St. Louis and Vancouver as the remaining choices for two expansion franchises to be added by the league in 2011. An announcement is expected sometime in the near future.

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 2008-09 version can be found at http://www.lulu.com/content/6218580. Dan can be contacted at dankrieger@leaguesteamsnicknames.com.



Continental Baseball League Stories from March 9, 2009


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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