Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
August 16, 2010 - Women's Professional Soccer (WPS)

BASEBALL

United League Baseball: The city of Laredo, which is home to the Laredo Broncos of the independent ULB, has approved a group (Ventura Sports) with ties to the independent American Association to develop and manage a new 7,000-seat ballpark planned for the city. The group owns two current independent AA teams and is working on other potential AA ballpark projects in Montgomery (TX) and Topeka (KS). The ULB's Laredo Broncos have been part of the league since it started play in 2005 and had hoped to be part of plans for the city's new ballpark.

Can-Am League: The nicknames of "Raccoons" and "Retrievers" have been dropped from the list of possible names for the Can-Am franchise to be based in Ramapo (NY). The original ten-name list is down to six possible names (Boulders, Ice, Palisaders, Red Glare, RidgeRiders, Sliders) after "FireFlys" and "Flash" were eliminated last week.

New York-Penn League: The future of the Batavia (NY) Muckdogs in the short-season Class-A New York-Penn League is uncertain, as the team is currently up for sale. The nearby Rochester Red Wings of the Triple-A International League stepped in to assist in the operations of the Muckdogs after the 2007 season, but it appears this will be the last season for that assistance. The Muckdogs currently rank last in the league's average per-game attendance.

California League: The owner of the High Desert Mavericks of the Class-A California League has been trying to sell the franchise, while the league has been trying to get a new ballpark built for its Bakersfield Blaze franchise. Both teams have been mentioned as possible relocation candidates for a proposed new ballpark in Sonoma County (CA).

Pecos League: The proposed Pecos League is trying to organize for the 2011 baseball season and has eight possible teams listed. The East Division has four Texas-based teams called the Alpine Cowboys, Abilene Blue Sox, Del Rio Gunslingers, and Coastal Kingfish. The West Division has the Bisbee (AZ) Copperkings, El Paso (TX) Dragons, Las Cruces (NM) Vaqueros, and Roswell (NM) Invaders. A team called the Desert Valley Mountain Lions could serve as a travel team, if needed. Previous teams called the Eastern Arizona Redbirds and Pueblo Wranglers/Mountain Men have disappeared. The Del Rio team was originally listed as the Petroleros and then the Bombers.

New York State League: The developmental NYSL has completed its second of three sessions for 2010. The third session has started with teams called the New York Fiorellos and New York Ten Eycks. The first session featured the New York Capitols and New York Empires, while the second session featured teams called the New York Federals and New York Hudsons.

BASKETBALL

National Basketball Association Development League: The NBA D-League has announced its schedule and team alignment for the 2010-11 season. The only change in the alignment from last season is the Frisco-based Texas Legends replacing the Los Angeles D-Fenders in the Western Conference. The Legends franchise is the former Colorado 14ers (Broomfield) franchise that last played in 2008-09 before moving to Frisco and sitting out last season. The Los Angeles D-Fenders decided to sit out the 2010-11 season. Also, the Albuquerque Thunderbirds were renamed the New Mexico Thunderbirds after the team moved to an arena in suburban Rio Rancho for 2010-11.

American Basketball Association: The ABA reports that the proposed Orlando Kings will play a full season in 2011, but will play a short season of home and away games this season.

Texas Professional Basketball League: The TPBL reports that it has nine teams across Central Texas, West Texas, the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and the Houston area for its next season. The league is still looking for teams in the Texas Panhandle, East Texas, and South Texas.

Universal Basketball Association: After announcing last week that the UBA Eastern Conference will include the Cleveland Vipers, Colonial Falcons, Northeast Air Souls, Southeast Hoopstars, and Columbus Claws, the league has announced the rest of the teams for its upcoming 2010-11 season. The Southern Conference will include the Atlanta Assault, Georgia Lions, GIE Morrow Disciples, Southern Generals, and Stone Mountain VOF Hawks. The Western Conference will feature the Austin Knights, Central Texas Cyclones, DFW Warriors, Mid-Cities Crimson Tide, and Norman Express. The league plans to develop several international markets in 2011.

FOOTBALL

American Indoor Football Association: The new Reno Barons indoor football team has announced the team will be part of the AIFA Western Conference in 2011. The league's San Jose Wolves franchise is considering a move to Stockton (CA) for the 2011 season. A San Jose team is supposed start play as part of the Arena Football League in the 2011 season. A team called the Stockton Lightning last played in the 2009 arenafootball2, which suspended operations after the 2009 season.

Arena Football League: The Shreveport Battle Wings of the AFL are rumored to be moving to New Orleans next season, possibly taking the New Orleans Voo Doo nickname that was used by a team that played four seasons (2004-05, 2007-08) in the previous version of the AFL.

Regional Indoor Football League: The RIFL has announced its new Virginia-based franchise for 2011 will be called the Virginia Cardinals.

Mountain West Indoor Football League: The new semi-pro MWIFL will be playing its inaugural 8-on-8 indoor season from November 2010 to February 2011. Teams include the Northern Utah Swarm, Rocky Mountain Hawks, Utah Bulls, Utah Reapers, and West Jordan Eagles.

HOCKEY

ECHL: The ECHL's new Greenville (SC) Road Warriors franchise, formerly the Johnstown (PA) Chiefs, has signed an affiliation agreement with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League and the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League.

Maritime Junior "A" Hockey League: The MJAHL has been renamed simply the Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL) for 2010-11. The MHL has increased from 9 to 11 teams with the addition of the Metro Marauders (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia) and the Woodstock (New Brunswick) Slammers. The MHL is one of the 11 leagues in the A-level Canadian Junior Hockey League.

Superior International Junior Hockey League: The SIJHL will have six teams in 2010-11, four returning teams from Ontario plus two new United States teams called the Duluth (MN) Clydesdales and the Wisconsin Wilderness (Spooner). The SIJHL is one of the 11 leagues in the A-level Canadian Junior Hockey League.

Continental Hockey Association: The Woodbridge-based Virginia Express of the CHA's Junior-B division has been renamed the Potomac Patriots. In addition to the CHA team, the Patriots will operate a higher level Junior-B team in the 2010-11 Empire Hockey League.

SOCCER

Canadian Soccer League: The 13-team CSL, which is a semi-pro development league consisting of 12 Ontario-based teams and one Quebec (Montreal) team, is considering western expansion into British Columbia. The league wants to become a true national league and eventually grow to 36 or more teams. The CSL's Toronto Croatia is playing an exhibition game later this month in British Columbia against the Athletic Club of BC from the Pacific Coast Soccer League. The CSL would like to develop a British Columbia division of six to eight teams.

Women's Professional Soccer: The owner of the Buffalo Flash from the United Soccer Leagues W-League is apparently moving forward in an attempt to elevate the club to the seven-team WPS, possibly for the 2011 season. Up to this point, the WPS had been considering Dallas and Los Angeles as expansion markets for the 2012 season. Denver has also been mentioned for possible expansion.

Mexican Primera Division: Mexico's top professional soccer league, the Primera Division, has started its 2010-11 season. The season is split into two 17-game sessions, the Apertura (Opening) from July to November 2010 and the Clausura (Closing) from January to May 2011. The league's 18 teams have been realigned among the 3 six-team divisions. Prior to the 2010-11 season, the Indios Juarez club was relegated to the second division Liga de Ascenso, while the Nexaca Los Rayos club was promoted from the Liga de Ascenso to the Primera Division.

United States Soccer Federation Division-2 Pro League: The USSF has begun to outline new standards for leagues and teams participating in a USSF-sanctioned Division-2 professional league. At least two requirements state that a league be required to have a minimum of eight teams and 75 percent of the teams must play in metropolitan markets with a population of at least 750,000.

OTHER

National Lacrosse League: After announcing the Orlando Titans will not be part of the upcoming 2011 NLL season, the Titans' ownership has officially placed the NLL franchise up for sale. The Titans moved to Orlando last season after playing three seasons in the New York City area.

Dan Krieger is the creator of the Leagueology™ almanac known as "Leagues, Teams & Nicknames", which tracks the changes in league alignments, franchise movements and team nicknames in today's sports world. The latest 2009-10 edition is available at http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/leagues-teams-nicknames-2009-10/6534940. Dan can be contacted at dankrieger@leaguesteamsnicknames.com.

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