Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
Published on June 22, 2009 under NBA G League (G League)

BASEBALL

New York-Penn League: Minor League Baseball's short-season Class-A New York-Penn League has just started its 2009 season with the same 14 teams and the same league alignment as last season. The McNamara Division includes the Aberdeen Ironbirds, Brooklyn Cyclones, Hudson Valley Renegades and Staten Island Yankees; the Pinckney Division has the Auburn Doubledays, Batavia Muckdogs, Jamestown Jammers, Mahoning Valley Scrappers, State College Spikes and Williamsport Crosscutters; and the Stedler Division has the Lowell Spinners, Oneonta Tigers, Tri-City Valley Cats and Vermont Lake Monsters.

Northwest League: Minor League Baseball's short-season Class-A Northwest League has just started its 2009 season with the same eight teams as it has had since the 2001 season. The Eastern Division includes the Boise Hawks, Spokane Indians, Tri-City Dust Devils and Yakima Bears. The Western Division has the Eugene Emeralds, Everett AquaSox, Salem-Keizer Volcanoes and Vancouver Canadians

BASKETBALL

National Basketball Association Development League (D-League): The Broomfield-based Colorado 14ers franchise in the NBA D-League has relocated to Frisco (TX), just north of Dallas. The franchise will sit out the 2009-10 season and will return in 2010-11 with a new team name. The Dallas area had the Fort Worth Flyers in the D-League for two seasons (2005-07). The Colorado 14ers franchise had been part of the league for three seasons and was the league champion this past season, but suffered from low attendance. Two months after the Bakersfield Jam announced it had folded, the franchise now plans to play in the 2009-10 season after the league approved its move to a significantly smaller home venue. Bakersfield joined the NBA D-League for the 2006-07 season.

Global Professional Basketball League: The new Pittsburgh-based GPBL franchise has announced it will be called the Pittsburgh Phantoms when it starts play in January 2010.

Texas Professional Basketball League: The previously announced Brownwood (TX) Buckshots expansion team for the 2010 TPBL has changed its name to the Brownwood Brigaide.

Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP): The Galgos de Tijuana team in the LNBP, Mexico's top basketball league, is not expected to return after four years in the league. A team called the Cosmos de Tijuana with new ownership will reportedly replace the Galgos.

FOOTBALL

American Indoor Football Association: The AIFA has officially announced the addition of the Wenatchee (WA) Valley Venom franchise for its next season in 2010.

Southern Indoor Football League: The SIFL's Texas Pirates franchise, based in the Pasadena area of Houston, has come under new ownership and the team will finish out the season as the Texas Hurricanes, now based in College Station.

Indoor Football League: The IFL has signed a letter of intent to add a third franchise in Alaska that will start play in 2010. The team will be based in the Mat-Su Valley town of Wasilla, which is about 40 miles north of Anchorage, and will be called the Arctic Predators. The IFL has Alaskan teams called the Fairbanks Grizzlies and the Anchorage-based Alaska Wild.

Arenafootball2: A group considering a 2010 expansion franchise in the af2 for a new venue in Wichita (KS) has decided to wait another year. The city currently has the fairly successful Wichita Wild franchise playing in its own 5,000-seat arena in Park City as part of the Indoor Football League. A team called the Wichita Stealth was part of the af2 from 2001 to 2004.

HOCKEY

International Hockey League: The IHL has granted the Evansville IceMen a franchise that will begin play within the next two years. The group from Evansville has reportedly been talking with the IHL for more than a year and the city has been working toward completion of a new downtown arena by 2011 or 2012. The Evansville IceMen franchise is currently a member of the All American Hockey League.

American Hockey League: The ownership group for the Iowa Chops has reportedly proposed selling the AHL franchise and moving it out of Des Moines. There was a suggestion that a lower-level franchise in the Central Hockey League be purchased and placed in Des Moines. The Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League are in the market for an AHL franchise for its new Austin-based Texas Stars team that has been approved by the AHL for 2009-10, but does not yet have an AHL affiliate.

Central Hockey League: The CHL has announced that the Rocky Mountain Rage franchise, based in Broomfield (CO), will suspend operations for the 2009-10 season. The Rage joined the league for the 2006-07 season. The CHL has approved the sale of the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs franchise that should keep that team in the league for 2009-10. The New Mexico Scorpions are still undecided for 2009-10 and the league has extended the team's deadline to June 22 for a final decision.

Southern Professional Hockey League: The new SPHL franchise in Biloxi will be called the Mississippi Surge when it starts play in the 2009-10 season. The league lost two of its six teams from last season when the Richmond Renegades folded and the Twin City Cyclones suspended operations to look for a new home. The SPHL is up to seven teams with the addition of teams in Biloxi, Lafayette (LA) and Pensacola (FL). The league is considering other markets for possible expansion in 2010-11.

National Hockey League: A bankruptcy judge rejected the proposed sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to an investor who planned to move the team to Hamilton (Ontario). The NHL protested this attempt to move the franchise by way of the bankruptcy court. The Phoenix franchise could be sold and relocated in the future, but with the NHL's approval. These events brought attention to the fact that the southern Ontario market is ready for a second NHL franchise.

Western States Hockey League: A group in Boulder (CO) has purchased the Windsor-based Colorado Outlaws team in the Tier-III Junior-A WSHL and it will operate as the Boulder Bison in 2009-10. The league's former Sacramento-based Capital Thunder, which relocated to Bakersfield for the 2009-10 season, is listed as the Bakersfield Condors. The WSHL has added some new teams called the Dallas Juniors, Arizona (Peoria) RedHawks and Fresno Monsters.

International Junior Hockey League: The IJHL has announced that the new Cape Cod Cubs, based in Hyannis (MA), will play in the IJHL's Super Elite Division (A-Level) for the 2009-10 season.

United Junior Hockey League: Only two teams, the Philadelphia Thunder and Wooster Oilers, of the nine teams from the UJHL's inaugural 2008-09 season will be returning in 2009-10. The league has added several new teams called the Adirondack Predators, Albany Americans, Buffalo Bandits, Johnstown Jets, Lehigh Valley Miners and Troy (OH) Bruins.

Northern Junior Hockey League: The Findlay Grrowl, Jamestown Jets and Penn Enforcers teams, which were part of the United Junior Hockey League in 2008-09, have left to join the new NJHL for its inaugural 2009-10 season. Other NJHL teams listed are the Pittsburgh Cougars and Indiana (PA) Inferno.

SOCCER

Women's Professional Soccer: The new Atlanta-based WPS franchise that will start play in 2010 will be called the Atlanta Beat. The team takes the name of the Atlanta Beat women's professional soccer team that played in all three seasons (2001-03) of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association. The Beat will join the Philadelphia Independence as 2010 expansion teams in the WPS.

Ontario Women's Soccer League: The OWSL's top Provincial Division has started its 2009 season with an eight-team Provincial Central and an eight-team Provincial Central. The league also operates a Provincial Under 21 Division with eight teams in the Central and six teams in the South.

OTHER

National Lacrosse League: The management of the San Jose Stealth has announced the team is moving to Everett (WA), a suburb of Seattle, for the upcoming 2010 NLL season. At one time it was rumored the Stealth would move to Stockton (CA). San Jose entered the league when the Albany Attack moved to the city for the 2004 season. The league's Portland LumberJax franchise was apparently seeking a move to Everett, but its future is still uncertain. The New York Titans franchise has been rumored to be moving to Newark (NJ) or possibly Orlando (FL) for 2010. A group in Abbotsford (British Columbia), just outside of Vancouver, is reportedly hoping to land an NLL franchise for the Vancouver market 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.

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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.