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Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
June 1, 2009 - Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL)


BASEBALL

Northern League: The new Northern League franchise based in the town of Zion (IL) has been named the Lake County Fielders. Groundbreaking for a new 8,000-seat ballpark should start this summer with completion expected in time for the 2010 season.

Eastern League: The sale of the Double-A Eastern League Connecticut Defenders to a group that wanted to move the franchise to Richmond (VA) for 2010 has fallen through. It is unclear what will happen next, but it is expected the franchise will eventually move out of its current home in Norwich (CT).

Atlantic Baseball League: The investment group trying to build a 5,500-seat ballpark in Loudoun County (VA) for a proposed ABL franchise has formed an advisory board that will be part of a public hearing on the ballpark topic next week. The group is trying to obtain approval from Loudoun County officials so the ballpark can be ready for the 2011 season.

Golden Baseball League: The GBL's Yuma Scorpions recently signed a two-year affiliation agreement with the Colombian Professional Baseball League to develop players and other personnel. The CPBL's off-season coincides with the GBL season, so the Colombians will be able to provide players, coaches and managers to the Scorpions.

BASKETBALL

Premier Basketball League: An entertainment group has announced it is moving forward to develop a Las Vegas expansion team for the 2009-10 PBL season. The announcement states that the Las Vegas effort is the first to commit to a proposed West Coast division for the league.

World Basketball Association: The WBA Exposure League schedule now has the Memphis Blues listed as the Memphis Tornadoes. Early in the 2008 season the team was referred to as the Blue Tornadoes, but then switched to the Memphis Blues.

Women's Blue Chip Basketball League: The semi-pro WBCBL has started its fifth season with a 2009 schedule that includes over 50 teams split into 8 divisions-East Coast, Gulf South, Mid South, Mid West, North East, South, Suncoast and West. A total of eight teams and markets are listed in the West Coast and Pacific Northwest divisions, but are not part of the schedule. Last season, the league had about 30 teams.

Mountain States Professional Basketball League: The new MSPBL has been announced as an eight-team minor league for the 2009-10 basketball season. Four teams have been announced-the Madison (WV) Miners; the Atlanta-based Georgia Gwizzlies, formerly of the American Basketball Association; the Tyrone (GA) Tornadoes, listed as a 2010 expansion team in the World Basketball Association Exposure League; and the Clarksburg-based West Virginia Wild, formerly associated with the ABA and International Basketball League. Up to four other teams from Kentucky, South Carolina and Ohio will be named shortly.

America Basketball Association: The ABA has started to align its 2009-10 teams into eight divisions-Texas, Southeast, South Central, North Central, Northeast, SoCal, NoCal and Pacific Northwest. The league alignment includes almost 60 different markets representing some teams from last season, some previously announced expansion franchises and some yet-to-be-named franchises.

FOOTBALL

Southern Indoor Football League: In a dispute over payment of certain travel expenses, the SIFL has expelled the Florida Kings franchise operated by Pan American Sports Management (PASM). The Tampa-based Kings were scheduled to play five road games as part of the 2009 SIFL season after one of the league's six teams, the Houston Crusaders, pulled out. The Kings played only one game, but the SIFL has brought in the North Texas Crunch from the semi-pro Independent Indoor Football Alliance to play the King's remaining four games. The Crunch team is based in the Dallas area and is playing its second season in the two-year-old IIFA. The team was called the Kaufman County Crunch last season.

Arena Football League: If the AFL returns in 2010, an expansion franchise in Pittsburgh could be part of the league. The AFL reportedly has a goal of growing to a total of 24 teams over the next five years with two teams joining in each year from 2011 to 2014. A recent deal between the AFL owners and players to allow a comeback in 2010 is reportedly dependent on the owners paying for health insurance.

Arenafootball2: The af2 and the arena operators for the Quad City Steamwheelers have worked out an arrangement that will allow the franchise to complete its 2009 season.

National Football League: A local buyer for the St. Louis Rams has yet to come forward, so the franchise could hit the open market in the near future. One possible relocation site is Los Angeles, which was the team's home prior to moving to St. Louis in 1995 and has an investor trying to build a new stadium.

HOCKEY

International Hockey League: An application for a proposed IHL franchise called the Dayton Gems is reportedly under review by the league. The Quad Cities (Moline, IL), Evansville (IN) and Indianapolis are interested in joining the league, but none the three markets have formally applied. Dayton's ECHL team is sitting the 2009-10 season and the Quad City Flames of the American Hockey League have moved to Abbotsford (British Columbia). A group from Evansville has been in ongoing talks with the league for more than a year and the city is planning a new arena to open in 2011 or 2012. The Evansville IceMen played in the inaugural 2008-09 season of the All American Hockey Association. A group representing the Indy Ice has reportedly initiated talks with the IHL about a franchise in Indianapolis.

National Hockey League: An investment group interested in the Phoenix Coyotes reportedly has plans to move the franchise to Las Vegas, if a favorable arrangement cannot be reached in Phoenix.

Southern Professional Hockey League: The owner of the proposed SPHL expansion team called the Pensacola Ice Flyers has reached an arena agreement for the 2009-10 season, but the franchise still must sell 1,250 season tickets by August 13 to begin play.

SOCCER

United Soccer Leagues W-League: The USL W-League has started its 2009 season with 37 teams, down from the 41 teams of 2008. The W-League is split into an Eastern Conference with a Northeast Division and Atlantic Division; a Central Conference split into a Great Lakes Division and Midwest Division; and a Western Conference with no divisions.

Women Premier Soccer League: The semi-pro WPSL has started its 2009 season with 52 teams split into seven divisions called the East, Sunshine, Midwest, Big Sky North, Big Sky South, Pacific North and Pacific South. The league's Philadelphia Liberty and Atlantic City Diablos will be part of the development structure for providing talent to the Philadelphia Independence, the recently announced 2010 franchise in Women's Professional Soccer. The WPSL started play in 1998 and also operates the men's National Premier Soccer League. Canadian Soccer League: The CSL, Canada's only professional soccer league, has started its 2009 season with ten teams. The six-team National Division includes the Brampton Lions, London City, North York Astros, St. Catharines Wolves, Toronto FC Academy and Trois-Rivieres Attak (Attack). The Windsor (Ontario) Border Stars did not return to the National Division from last season. The four-team International Division includes the Italia Shooters, Portugal FC, Serbian White Eagles and Toronto Croatia. Trois-Rivieres is the reserve team for the Montreal Impact of he United Soccer Leagues First Division and the Toronto FC Academy is owned by Toronto FC of Major League Soccer. The CSL, which was conditionally accepted into membership by the Canadian Soccer Association, wants to expand into western Canada while becoming a true second tier league for the country's top professional teams.

OTHER

Rugby Canada Super League: The RCSL has disbanded after 11 seasons due to infighting over costs. For the 2009 season, Rugby Canada has formed the Under-20 National Junior Rugby Championship series with many of the junior teams from the RCSL clubs. The Atlantic Division includes the New Brunswick Timber, Newfoundland Rock and Nova Scotia Keltics; the Central Division has the Niagara Lightning, Ottawa Harlequins and Toronto Rebellion; the Pacific Division includes the Fraser Valley Venom, Vancouver Island Rising Tide and Vancouver Wave; while the Prairie Division has the Calgary Mavericks, Edmonton Gold, North Saskatchewan Wolverines and Saskatchewan Prairie Fire. The series runs from mid-May to late July with teams playing anywhere from four to seven matches. It is hoped this will better prepare players for the Canadian national team and international junior-level rugby competition.

National Lacrosse League: The New York Titans were rumored to be on the move to either Hartford (CT) or Orlando for next season, but the franchise could end up in Newark (NJ) as its permanent home. This past season the Titans played home games in both Manhattan and Newark. The San Jose Stealth is rumored to be moving to either Stockton (CA) or a city in British Columbia. The Portland LumberJax recently announced the team would not return to that city for next season and reports have that franchise moving to either Vancouver or Seattle.

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.

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