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Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
April 12, 2010 - Northern League (NL)


BASEBALL

Northern League: After some concern that the new ballpark project for the Northern League's expansion Lake County Fielders franchise would not move forward, the city of Zion (IL) has announced construction will start next week at a new location. The Fielders planned to play 20 road contests before their first home game scheduled for June 11, but that could change to another location if the new ballpark is not ready.

Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League: The new Lexington (KY) team in the 2010 GLSCL has been named the Lexington Hustlers. The GLSCL is a wood-bat league that 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. Nine of the league's 11 teams for 2010 will be based in Ohio.

Liga Mexicana de Beisbol: Mexico's top baseball league known as the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, or the Mexican League, has started its 2010 season with the same 16 teams and the same league alignment as last season. The league's eight-team Zona Sur (South Division) has been renamed the Zona Hidalgo for 2010 in recognition of the 200th anniversary of Mexico's fight for independence. The eight-team Zona Norte (North Division) has been renamed the Zona Madero after an early 20th century leader and president named Francisco I. Madera.

BASKETBALL

Premier Basketball League: The PBL and the Puerto Rico Capitanes franchise have settled their differences and the franchise has been reinstated for the 2009-10 post-season. The PBL is apparently considering Canadian expansion, possibly into the provinces of New Brunswick (St. John and Moncton) and Ontario (Guelph and Hamilton). The league currently has two Canadian teams called the Halifax (Nova Scotia) Rainmen and the Quebec Kebs.

American Basketball Association: The ABA has officially announced that the Denton-based Texas RimRockers franchise has been added for the 2010-11 season. The ABA plans to add another international team called the Smart-Gilas Philippines Nationals, which will play a five-game series in Southern California as part of the proposed 2010 Friendship Games. With the move of the ABA's Georgia Prowl to Florida, the team is now listed as the Heartland Prowl.

Lonestar Professional Basketball League: The American Basketball Association has announced a new spring/summer league called the Lonestar Professional Basketball League. The LSPBL will feature the North Texas Fresh, West Texas Whirlwinds, Texas RimRockers, and Oklahoma Stallions. A fifth team called the New Mexico Stars could also be added. The North Texas Fresh and West Texas Whirlwinds were ABA members for the 2009-10 season. The LSPBL season will run from April through June.

Women's United States Basketball Association: Now that the United States Basketball Association has postponed plans to start its men's league in 2010, the organization has activated the new WUSBA with 12 teams playing a 28-game schedule from early June to late August 2010. The WUSBA will have six teams each in an Appalachian Division and an Atlantic Division.

Global Professional Basketball League-2: The new GPBL2 has denied that the Texas RimRockers franchise will be part of the league's inaugural 2010 season. The RimRockers apparently expressed interest in the GPBL2, but have not yet met league requirements. Two of the league's new South Division teams, the San Antonio Airmen and Houston Asteroids, played an exhibition game this past week.

FOOTBALL

United Football League: The UFL's Sacramento-based franchise for 2010 will be called the Sacramento Mountain Lions. Other nicknames considered were the Rush, Pioneers, and Redwoods. The franchise played as the San Francisco-based California Redwoods in the league's inaugural 2009 season.

American Indoor Football Association: The AIFA has announced that its Ogden (UT) Knights franchise will finish the 2010 season as a travel team due to undisclosed issues with its home venue. The Knights are in their second season and are part of a six-team Western Conference that includes the Wyoming Cavalry and four expansion teams that were added this season.

Regional Indoor Football League: The proposed semi-pro RIFL now has the Calhoun-based North Georgia Bulldogs listed as one of its league members. The Columbus Lions of the Southern Indoor Football League have a 2010 game scheduled against the Bulldogs.

Ultimate Indoor Football League: The new Cleveland-based UIFL plans to start play in February 2011 and wants to become a developmental league for professional leagues in the United States and Canada. A league by the same name was proposed in 2006. That league tried to merge with the semi-pro North American Football League, which was attempting to form its own an indoor league at the time.

Women's Spring Football League: The WSFL plans to start play this spring, but recently announced some new teams that will not start play until the 2011 season. These include the St. Louis Rubies, Detroit Demolition, and Roc City Ravens of Rochester (NY). The Demolition was part of the Independent Women's Football League in 2009.

HOCKEY

Central Hockey League: The CHL has taken control of the Arizona Sundogs franchise based in Prescott Valley. The league has apparently terminated the operating agreement of the current ownership group and is looking for new ownership. The Sundogs have suffered from poor attendance due to a generally weak economy in Arizona. The franchise joined the CHL for the 2006-07 season.

North American Hockey League: The Alpena IceDiggers of the Tier II junior-level NAHL are reportedly in the process of being purchased by a group looking to place an NAHL team in Flint (MI) for 2010-11. A local Alpena group was considering a team in the junior-B Great Lakes Junior Hockey League to replace the IceDiggers.

British Columbia Hockey League: The Burnham Express of the junior-A BCHL plans to move back to Coquitlam next season after spending five seasons in Burnham. The Coquitlam Express had relocated to Burnham for the 2005-06 season. The BCHL is a member of the 11-league organization called the Canadian Junior-A Hockey League.

SOCCER

United Soccer Leagues - Super-20 Leagues: The USL has entered into discussions with youth soccer organizations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia about the expansion of the men's and women's Super-20 Leagues into the Northwest. Some teams could start play in 2010. The Super-20 Leagues bridge the gap between youth and adult soccer and allows 17- to 20-year-old players to compete at an elite level. The USL is also looking at expansion into other regions. The Super-20 Leagues started play in 2006. Last season there were 22 women's teams in 3 regional divisions and 56 men's teams in 6 regional divisions.

Women's Professional Soccer: The WPS has started its second season of play with eight teams. The league played its inaugural 2009 season with seven teams, but lost its Los Angeles Sol franchise after the season due to ownership issues. For 2010, the WPS added the new Atlanta Beat and Philadelphia Independence franchises. The league could add as many as two new teams for 2011, as its expansion strategy will focus on a return to Los Angeles and the possible markets of Denver, Dallas, San Diego, and the Pacific Northwest.

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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Northern League Stories from April 12, 2010


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