Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
Published on June 29, 2009 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
BASEBALL
Pioneer League: The Advanced Rookie level Pioneer League has started its 2009 season with the same eight teams from 2008. The Montana-based Northern Division includes the Billings Mustangs, Great Falls Voyagers, Helena Brewers and Missoula Osprey. The Southern Division has the Casper (WY) Ghosts, Idaho Falls Chukars, Ogden (UT) Raptors and Orem (UT) Owlz
Appalachian League (APPY): The Advanced Rookie level APPY has started its 2009 season with the same ten teams from 2008. The Eastern Division includes the Bluefield (WV) Orioles, Burlington (NC) Royals, Danville (VA) Braves, Princeton (WV) Devil Rays and Pulaski (VA) Mariners. The Western Division has the Bristol (VA) White Sox, Elizabethton (TN) Twins, Greeneville (TN) Astros, Johnson City (TN) Cardinals and Kingsport (TN) Mets.
United League Baseball: The ULB is apparently planning to add a team based in Tijuana (Mexico) for the second half of its 2009 season. This seventh team is expected to be the Tijuana Potros, which originally planned to play in the 2009 season of the Golden Baseball League.
Frontier League Baseball: The proposed Frontier League franchise for McHenry County (IL) in the northwest Chicago suburbs is holding a name-the-team contest. The team's first season will be in 2011 with groundbreaking to be held this spring for a new ballpark to be built in the town of Woodstock.
BASKETBALL
American Basketball Association: The new Elmira-based ABA franchise for 2009-10 will be called the New York Red Riders. The Lancaster Buzz is no longer listed in the So California Division, while a proposed Grand Rapids team is now listed in the North Central Division.
Global Professional Basketball League: The GPBL reports it has interested investors in the markets of Indianapolis, Akron (OH), Jacksonville and Augusta (GA). The league currently has seven announced markets for its inaugural season that plans to start in January 2010.
United States Basketball Association: The USBA league alignment has undergone a couple of changes for its proposed start in April 2010. The Macon Marauders team has been added to the Southern Division and the Birmingham Crusaders have been moved from the Southern Division to the Appalachian Division to replace the departed Lexington Commanders. The Louisville Stallions team is now listed as the Louisville Locomotive.
Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP): The LNBP plans to have 20 participating teams in its upcoming 2009-10 season that will run from early September to late January. The league had 24 teams split into two divisions last season, but will now have all 20 teams in one table. The LNBP lost nine teams from last season, but has added five new teams: Libertadores de Queretaro, Abejas de Guanajuato, Cosmos de Tijuana, Pilares del Distrito Federal (Mexico City) and a team from Tampico.
FOOTBALL
United National Gridiron League: After cancelling a proposed inaugural season in 2009, the developmental UNGL is moving toward a 2010 start and is taking registrations for regional tryout camps. Indoor Football League: An ownership group in Richmond (VA) has signed a letter of intent to operate an IFL franchise for the 2011 season. The group plans to build a 5,000-seat arena for the team in Chesterfield County. The American Indoor Football Association planned to place a franchise in Richmond starting in 2010 with the hope of eventually finding local ownership.
Arenafootball2: The ownership group that operates the af2's Tri-Cities Fever, based in Kennewick (WA), is considering folding the franchise after this season. The group operates several other af2 franchises and has been unable to find local investors for the Fever. The Fever joined the af2 for the 2007 seasons after playing two seasons (2005-06) in the defunct National Indoor Football League.
American Professional Football League: The Bradenton-based Florida Scorpions of the indoor semi-pro APFL have finally secured a home arena and recently played non-league games against the Florida Kings, formerly a member of the Southern Indoor Football League, and a team called the Tampa Bay Tigers.
HOCKEY
ECHL: The owner of the Dayton Bombers has decided to turn his ECHL franchise back to the league. The Bombers had planned to sit out the 2009-10 season and return for 2010-11, but the owner has been unable to find a significant financial partner and the capital needed for a re-entry plan. The Dayton area has two new hockey teams starting up for the 2009-10 season, the Dayton Gems of the International Hockey League and the Troy (OH) Bruins of the United Junior Hockey League. The Dayton Bombers had been part of the ECHL since joining as an expansion franchise for the 1991-92 season. The ECHL would consider a return to Dayton in the future, but more likely after a new hockey facility is built.
American Hockey League: After the Iowa Chops ownership announced plans to sell and relocate its Des Moines- based AHL franchise, Polk County officials rejected the proposed financial terms to settle a 10-year non-relocation agreement that was established when the AHL franchise was first brought to the city in 2005. The current AHL owners wanted to place a lower-level Central Hockey League franchise in the city. With the AHL's Quad City Flames to Abbotsford (British Columbia) as the Heat next season, investors are reportedly trying to bring an ECHL or International Hockey League franchise to the Quad Cities area.
Central Hockey League: The new CHL franchise based in Independence (MO) has been named the Missouri Mavericks and will start play in the 2009-10 season. The Mavericks nickname was recently used in the state by the Columbia-based Mid-Missouri Mavericks baseball team that played three seasons (2003-05) in the independent Frontier League. The owner of the CHL's Amarillo Gorillas and the Amarillo Dusters of the arenafootball2 has decided to keep the teams in the city for one more season. The owner reportedly had offers from at least three other cities to relocate the teams. Both teams have been suffering from a decrease in attendance.
Major League Roller Hockey: The MLRH Pro Tour Championship and the co-ed SLAMM Hockey TV Show Finals will be held in Buffalo on July 11 and 12. The MLRH Pro Tour teams will include the Florida Fusion, Buffalo Wings and Chicago RollerSnakes. The SLAMM Hockey League will feature the Washington (DC) Spin, Miami Mambo and Quebec Mistral.
SOCCER
SuperLiga: The third version of the SuperLiga, which is an annual competition that began in 2007 with teams from Major League Soccer and the Mexican First Division soccer league, has started play. Group A includes the Chicago Fire and Chivas USA from the MLS, along with the Real San Luis (Tuneros) and Tigres (Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon) clubs from the Mexican league. Group B has the Kansas City Wizards and New England Revolution from the MLS, along with the Atlas (Rojinegros) and Santos Laguna (Guerreros) clubs from the Mexican league.
United Soccer Leagues Super-20 League: The USL Super-20 League, which is for elite men and women soccer players ages 17 to 20, is currently in its fourth season this summer. The men's Super-20 League includes a total of 56 participating teams in six regional divisions. The women's Super-20 League has 22 teams split into 3 regional divisions.
OTHER
National Lacrosse League: The new NLL franchise based in Everett (WA), formerly the San Jose Stealth, has been renamed the Washington Stealth and will be part of the league's upcoming 2010 season. Although the Portland LumberJax had announced it was leaving the city, it appears the franchise could be idle for the 2010 season. The franchise apparently has potential buyers, but it is uncertain where the team will eventually land.
Major Series Lacrosse: The Ontario-based Senior-A level indoor MSL is well into its 2009 season that runs from late May to mid-July. The league has the same seven teams as last season and includes the Barrie Lakeshores, Brampton Excelsiors, Brooklin Redmen, Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, Peterborough Lakers, Six Nations Chiefs, and St. Regis Indians.
Western Lacrosse Association: The British Columbia-based Senior-A level indoor WLA is well into its 2009 season that runs from mid-May to mid-July. The league has the same seven teams as last season and includes the Burnaby Lakers, Coquitlam Adanacs, Langley Thunder, Maple Ridge Burrards, Nanaimo Timbermen, New Westminster Salmonbellies, and Victoria Shamrocks. The WLA and the Major Series Lacrosse champions compete for the Mann Cup, which is the national title for Senior-A indoor lacrosse.
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.
National Lacrosse League Stories from June 29, 2009
- Dave Sturm Wins Bugaboo Creek Fan Photo of the Year Contest - Rochester Knighthawks
- Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report - OSC Original by Dan Krieger
- Crystal Sowden Named Winner of Bugaboo Creek Fan Photo of the Year - Rochester Knighthawks
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.
