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Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
March 7, 2011 - Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL)


BASEBALL

Liga Mexicana Beisbol: Mexico's top baseball league, which is the Triple-A LMB or Mexican Baseball League, will have two less teams for the 2011 season as the Dorados de Chihuahua and Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo will not participate. The Dorados will be moving to Leon for the 2012 after ballpark renovations are completed. The Tecolotes had some financial issues and the team is up for sale. Cities such as Guadalajara and Aquascalientes have expressed interest in the team. Since both departed teams were in the 2010 Zona Norte (North Division), the Pericos de Puebla team has been moved from the Zona Sur (South Division) to the Zona Norte to give each division seven teams for 2011. The LMB season runs from March 18 to July 28, 2011.

North American League: The village of Schaumburg (IL) is reported to be in negotiations with a potential buyer of the Schaumburg Flyers, along with other interested parties like the American Association and the Frontier League. One option is for the Flyers to be sold to a new owner and the team plays in the NAL as scheduled. Another option is for a totally new team being created from a new group, possibly in another league, but soon enough to play in the 2011 season. A third option is for a new team to be started later this year and begin play in 2012.

Futures Collegiate Baseball League: A new ownership group has purchased the Torrington (CT) Titans team, which was part of the 2010 Atlantic Collegiate League, and the Titans will be part of the FCBL for its inaugural 2011 season. The FCBL will have three other teams called the Martha's Vineyard (MA) Sharks, Seacoast Mavericks (Newington, NH), and the Nashua (NH) Silver Knights for its first season.

BASKETBALL

Circuito de Baloncesto de la Costa del Pacifico: Mexico's Pacific Coast minor basketball league known as CIBACOPA has announced its 2011 schedule that will have 10 teams playing 34 games from March 11 to May 14, 2011. The league had 12 teams last season, but the Lobos de Mazatlan and Trigueros de Ciudad Obregon will not be part of the 2011 season. The Coras UAN de Tepic team is now listed as the Lagartos UAN de Tepic.

Texas Professional Basketball League: The owner of the TPBL has decided to suspend the league's 2011 season due to certain owners not paying league fees. The 2011 season started in January with at least six teams called the Abilene Heat, Cypress Synergy, Houston A-Z, San Angelo Chaparrals, San Antonio Airmen, and the Texas Hurricanes (Dallas). The TPBL owner operates the San Angelo Chaparrals and the league has been around since 2001. The TPBL will hold a "TPBL Open" tournament in May 2011 and it plans to return with league play in January 2012.

National Basketball Association: The Sacramento Kings of the NBA have been granted an extension until April 18 to apply for moving the franchise. The team owner and league commissioner have stated that it is more than likely the team will be moving to Anaheim after 26 years in Sacramento.

American Basketball Association: The ABA has announced a new team called the Michiana Monarchs will be part of the North Central Division in the 2011-12 season. The team has been filling in as a travel team this season, but will be based in South Bend (IN) next season.

FOOTBALL

Stars Football League: The new Detroit-based SFL is a proposed springtime professional league that plans to start play on April 30, 2011. The league has announced its first player draft will take place on March 30. So far six teams have been announced-the Michigan Coyotes (Detroit), Mobile Gladiators, Fort Lauderdale Barracudas, New Orleans Jazz, Little Rock Ironmen, and Dayton Beach Racers.

United States Football League: The new USFL, which plans to start play with 12 teams in the spring of 2012, has announced it will hold a mid-April press conference to introduce all of the teams.

Ultimate Indoor Football League: The six-team UIFL, which recently started its inaugural 2011 season, has announced its first expansion team for the 2012 season will be the Georgia-based Rome River Dogs. The league plans further expansion for next season and will split teams into two divisions. The owner of the league's current Eastern Kentucky Drillers and Huntington Hammer will also be one of the owners of the new Rome team. The team's other owner was general manager of the area's semi-pro football team called the North Georgia Bulldogs. A previous indoor football team called the Rome Renegades ceased operations in 2006 following a 2005 season in the National Indoor Football League and a 2006 season as part of the American Indoor Football League.

HOCKEY

Central Hockey League: The CHL's Laredo Bucks and Odessa Jackalopes are both rumored to be leaving the league next season for the Tier II Junior-A North American Hockey League. Both ownership groups made presentations to the NAHL two weeks ago and it was reported that these were accepted by the junior-level league. The NAHL's Owatonna (MN) Express team has been linked to Odessa, as the Express owner announced he was in negotiations to sell his team to the owner of the Odessa Jackalopes.

Federal Hockey League: The FHL has announced two expansion teams for its second season in 2011-12. The Vermont-based Green Mountain Rock Crushers will join a yet-to-be-named Illinois team based in Danville. The league is considering other expansion teams for next season.

SOCCER

Major Indoor Soccer League: The MISL has officially announced it will add a Wichita-based franchise for the 2011-12 season. The city had a longtime indoor soccer team called the Wichita Wings that was part of the original MISL from 1979 to 1992 and then the National Professional Soccer League from 1992 to 2001. The new MISL team is expected to try to use the Wichita Wings nickname.

Professional Arena Soccer League: A new indoor soccer team called the Anaheim Bolts plans to announce next week its entry into the PASL-Pro league as a 2011-12 expansion team.

Major League Soccer: The Orlando City SC, which will begin its inaugural season as part of the new Division III United Soccer Leagues PRO League in 2011, met with the MLS last month about exploring the opportunity for a future MLS expansion franchise in Orlando. The MLS has expressed interest in returning a franchise to Florida after pulling out of Tampa and Miami prior to the 2002 season.

Women's League Soccer: The soccer league once called the Women's Major League Soccer has been renamed the Women's League Soccer as it prepares for it inaugural 2011 season. Teams called Columbus, the Grand Rapids Alliance, and the Springfield (MO) Demize no longer appear in the six-team Elite Division. The Cincinnati Saints and Fort Wayne SC have been added, while the Cleveland Inter is now listed as Cleveland FC. The WLS also has a five-team Division 2 and is scheduled to start in May 2011.

Canadian Soccer League: The CSL has announced that 14 teams will be part of its First Division when it starts play in May 2011. Of the 13 teams from last season, only the FC Hamilton Croatia and Milltown FC (Milton) will not return. The league has added three new teams called the Windsor Stars, Mississauga Eagles FC, and a yet-to-be-named Ottawa team. The league had a previous Windsor-based team called the Border Stars for five seasons (2004-08). Mississauga will represent the Erin Mills Soccer Club. A team called the Ottawa Wizards played three seasons (2001-03) in the league when it was known as the Canadian Professional Soccer League. Also, the Brampton Lions team was renamed the Brampton City United and Portugal FC was renamed SC Toronto for the 2011 season.

OTHER

USA Rugby League: The new USARL has published a schedule for its inaugural 2011 season. The league will have eight teams called the Boston 13s, Jacksonville Axemen, New Haven Warriors, New Jersey Turnpike Titans, Oneida FC (Boston), Philadelphia Fight, Rhode Island Rebellion, and Washington DC Slayers. All teams will play at least eight matches from May 28 to July 30, 2011.

Rugby Super League: The RSL has announced its 2011 schedule that will include 11 teams each playing 6 games from March 12 to April 30, 2011. The Red Conference includes western teams called the Dallas Harlequins, Denver Barbarians, Old Puget Sound Beach Rugby Football Club (Seattle), San Francisco Golden Gate Rugby Football Club, and the new Utah Warriors. The Blue Conference has the Boston Rugby Football Club, Chicago Griffins, Chicago Lions, Life University Running Eagles (Atlanta), New York Athletic Club, and the Old Blue Rugby Football Club (New York). The league had 14 teams last season, but the Charlotte Olde Originals Rugby Football Club, Boston Irish Wolfhounds, Old Mission Beach Athletic Club (San Diego), and Potomac Athletic Club (Washington, DC) did not return. The RSL played its first season in 1997 and wants to expand to 16 or 18 teams for the 2012 season.

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.



Ultimate Indoor Football League Stories from March 7, 2011


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