Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
March 29, 2010 - United Football League (UFL 1)
BASEBALL
Golden Baseball League: The GBL's proposed 2010 expansion team called the Tijuana Cimarrones (Big Horn Sheep) has signed a stadium lease that will allow the team to participate in the 2010 season. Tijuana joins the Maui-based Na Koa Ikaiki as new teams in the league's South Division.
New York-Penn League: Minor League Baseball has given final approval for the Oneonta (NY) Tigers to move to Norwich as the Connecticut Tigers for the upcoming 2010 New York-Penn League season.
Major League Baseball: The MLB commissioner has indicated he was in favor of realignment of teams among divisions in the future.
Cape Cod League: The Hyannis Mets of the summer collegiate Cape Cod League have been renamed the Hyannis Harbor Hawks.
Intercounty Baseball League: The new Ottawa-based team that will play in the 2010 semi-pro IBL will be called the Ottawa Fat Cats.
Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League: The GLSCL has announced a new team based in Lexington (KY) will be part of its 2010 season. The league is a member of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (NACSB), which is certified by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and receives support from Major League Baseball.
BASKETBALL
National Basketball Association: The NBA's New Jersey Nets plan to move from the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford to the Prudential Center in Newark for at least the next two seasons. The team will then move to a new Brooklyn (NY) arena that broke ground earlier this month and will be renamed the Brooklyn Nets.
American Basketball Association: The Georgia Prowl franchise that played in the Atlanta area during the 2009-10 ABA season has announced plans to move to Highlands County in central Florida. The ABA team list has the Dallas Impact replacing the Dallas Generals. Some new ABA teams listed for next season include the Modesto Hawks, South Valley Fever, Norfolk Sharks, South Jersey Knights, Elkhart Express, College Park (GA) Spyders, Fayetteville (NC) Flight, East Kentucky Energy, Indiana Diesels, Syracuse Shockwave, Stockton Ballers, plus unnamed teams in Minnesota, Oakland, and Palm Springs (CA).
United Basketball League: The UBL has started its third season and has increased from five to six teams with the addition of the Jackson-based Mississippi Tornadoes. The five teams returning from 2009 include the Arkansas Warriors (Little Rock), Oklahoma Impact (Oklahoma City), Springfield (MO) Thrill, Texas Wranglers (Dallas), and Tulsa Tornadoes. The 2010 season runs from early March to late June.
FOOTBALL
United Football League: The city of San Antonio is now apparently prepared to hold discussions with the UFL about a one-year stadium lease for a UFL franchise. The league wants to expand by two teams for its 2010 fall season. Austin (TX), Omaha (NE), and Salt Lake City are other expansion candidates.
United National Gridiron League: The UNGL has officially cancelled its inaugural 2010 season and suspended league operations. The proposed eight-team league, which was originally called the United National Football League, had hoped to become a developmental league for the National Football League, Canadian Football League, and indoor football leagues.
Independent Women's Football League: The IWFL plans to have 19 Tier I teams and 27 Tier II teams when its starts its ten-week schedule on April 3, 2010. Last season's Tier II teams were listed in one 26-team table, but this season the Tier II teams are split into an Eastern Conference with a Northeast and Southeast division, and a Western Conference with a Pacific West and Midwest division.
Women's Football Alliance: The WFA is preparing for its second season that starts April 10, 2010, and the league has increased from 34 to 41 teams. Previously announced new teams called the Mid-South Sol and the Tampa Bay Admirals have been renamed the Memphis Soul and the Tampa Bay Pirates, respectively. The league's Detroit-based team for 2010 will be called the Detroit Dark Angels. The WFA has announced that teams called the Louisiana Gators (Shreveport-Bossier City) and Tulsa Eagles will start play in the 2011 season.
Independent Indoor Football Alliance: The Arlington Aviators, a 2010 IIFA expansion team, has a new ownership group and the team has been renamed the Mid-Cities Mustangs for its inaugural season. The Mustangs will take over the Aviators' schedule.
HOCKEY
Federal Hockey League: The proposed FHL has announced that the Brooklyn-based New York Aviators will be the league's sixth franchise when its starts play for the inaugural 2010-11 season. The Aviators organization had a team called the Brooklyn Aces in the 2008-09 Eastern Professional Hockey League and the New York Aviators in the 2009-10 North East Professional Hockey League.
American Hockey League: The AHL's Springfield Falcons franchise, which is losing its affiliation with the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League, has announced a new affiliation with the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets starting with the 2010-11 season. The Blue Jackets' previous AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, announced an affiliation deal with the NHL's Anaheim Ducks for next season.
United States Hockey League: The Tier I junior-level USHL is considering a three-division alignment next season when the league grows to 16 teams. This would include two five-team divisions and one six-team division. This divisional realignment could accommodate the league's plans to grow to 18 teams in the future.
North American Hockey League: The Tier II junior-level NAHL has announced an expansion team will be added in Rio Rancho (NM) near Albuquerque for the 2010-11 season. The league had a New Mexico-based team called the Santa Fe Roadrunners for three seasons (2004-07) before it move to Topeka. A Tier III junior-level team called the New Mexico Renegades moved from Texas to be part of the 2009-10 Western States Hockey League. The Albuquerque area was home to the professional New Mexico Scorpions franchise, which dropped out of the Central Hockey League after its 2008-09 season.
Major League Roller Hockey: The MLRH has announced it will sponsor a Summer 2010 Pro Tour that will include its co-ed Slamm Hockey league. The MLRH will host five national events involving teams in the Pro Tour and Slamm Hockey, plus adult amateur events. The schedule will feature West Coast, Midwest, and two East Coast qualifying events in June and July leading to a championship event in August.
SOCCER
United Soccer Leagues: The USL has signed an agreement with the Puerto Rico Soccer League to explore the creation of a USL Caribbean Division. This would include teams from Puerto Rico and other Caribbean members of the CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football). There is also the possibility of current PRSL teams simply joining USL professional divisions. The Puerto Rico Islanders are currently a member of the USL First Division pro league.
North American Soccer League: The new Division II professional NASL is reportedly planning some Canadian expansion in the next two to three years. Potential markets include Hamilton, Ottawa, Calgary, Victoria, Quebec City, and Winnipeg.
United Soccer Leagues-Premier Development League: The Crossfire Premier Soccer Club acquired the Seattle Wolves FC after the Wolves' inaugural 2009 PDL season and the team has been renamed the Washington Crossfire for the 2010 season.
Women's Premier Soccer Leagues: The Hamden-based Connecticut Passion will play in the 2010 WPSL after spending two seasons in the United Soccer Leagues W-League. Another Connecticut-based WPSL team called the SoccerPlus Connecticut Reds decided to take a one-year hiatus for 2010.
OTHER
Rugby Super League: The RSL has started its 2010 season with seven teams in each of the Red and Blue conferences. The league is down from its 16 teams in 2009 with the loss of the Belmont Shore Club of Long Beach (CA) and the Santa Monica Dolphins. The seven-week season runs from March 13 to May 1.
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.
United Football League Stories from March 29, 2010
- 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.
