Can-Am Canadian American League

Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
Published on June 13, 2011 under Canadian American League (Can-Am)


BASEBALL

Pacific Coast League: The eventual move of the Tucson Padres in the Triple-A PCL to Escondido (CA), just north of San Diego, may be delayed as the city is planning to build a business park on the land previously designated for a proposed ballpark.

Can-Am League: The owner of the Pittsfield (MA) Colonials in the Can-Am League has stated that the team may have to fold or move out of the city by the end of the month unless it receives additional funds to pay expenses. The team currently ranks last in the league for per-game attendance.

Frontier League: Although the dormant Oakland County (MI) Cruisers of the Frontier League came under new ownership last month, the team is still seeking financing for a proposed new stadium and its future is uncertain. The Cruisers played the 2010 season without a home field and decided to sit out the 2011 season until financing for a new stadium was in place.

Pecos League: The six-team Pecos League plans to add two new markets for its second season in 2012. The league has targeted Carlsbad (NM) for a team that could be called the Carlsbad Potashers after a team that last played in the early 1960s. The league named a travel team the Carlsbad Bats for 2011, but that team is actually based out of Las Cruces (NM) and will move its base to Roswell (NM) on July 1.

Southern League: The Livingston Parish in the Baton Rouge (LA) area has been trying to build a stadium to lure a Double-A Southern League team to the area by the 2013 season. Stadium plans are reportedly on hold until after local elections in October, but some indicate the project is dead because increased taxes would have to be assessed to finance the project.

BASKETBALL

National Basketball Association Development League: The Erie BayHawks of the NBA D-League have entered into a single affiliation partnership with the NBA's New York Knicks for the 2011-12 season. Under this hybrid partnership, the Knicks will run the basketball operations while the BayHawks remain under separate ownership. There are currently two other such NBA/NBA D-League affiliations-the Houston Rockets/Rio Grande Valley Vipers and the New Jersey Nets/Springfield Armor. The Los Angeles D-Fenders will return to the NBA D-League for the 2011-12 season after sitting out last season. The team will be based out of the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo (CA). The D-Fenders are owned and operated by the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. Two other NBA teams own and operate their NBA D-League affiliates-the Oklahoma City Thunder owns the Tulsa 66ers and the San Antonio Spurs own the Austin Toros. One other D-League team, the Frisco-based Texas Legends, has a single affiliation with the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. The D-League is expected to have 17 teams for the 2011-12 season. The NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers team, which had been affiliated with the Erie BayHawks, was exploring the possibility of placing its D-League affiliate in Youngstown (OH).

Universal Basketball Association: After recently completing its inaugural 2010-11 season, the UBA has announced plans to add two Ohio-based divisions for the 2011-12 season. The Ohio North will include the Southeast Hoopstars, which were part of the 2010-11 season, and teams called the Buckeye Blazers, Cleveland Rams, Midwest Magic, and Ohio Racers. The Ohio South will have the Cincinnati Slam, Northern Kentucky Swish, Queen City Gamblers, Seven Hills Fury, and Sharonville Flight. The Ohio North will play home games at a one location in Cleveland Heights, while the Ohio South will play its home games at one location in Cincinnati.

International Basketball League: The Yamhill HighFlyers of McMinnville (OR) sat out the 2011 IBL spring-summer season, but plan to return to the league for the 2012 season.

Women's Blue Chip Basketball League: The semi-pro WBCBL has started its seventh spring-summer season and has 57 teams aligned into 12 regional divisions.

Atlantic Coast Professional Basketball League: The ACPBL has been in discussions with a group in Hartford (CT) about a possible team in the league for the 2011-12 season. An official announcement is expected around July 1 and the team could be called the Hartford Lightning. The ACPBL had eight teams in its inaugural 2010-11 season and previously announced three other new teams-The Destroyers, North Jersey Pros, and Bay Area (MD) Shuckers-for its 2011-12 season.

FOOTBALL

Ultimate Indoor Football League: The UIFL has announced it will add a team in Danville (IL) for its second season in 2012. Danville will be part of a proposed Northern Division, while previously announced teams in Fort Myers (FL) and Rome (GA) will be part of a new Southern Division that will announce some additional teams in the next few months.

Southern Indoor Football League: The head of the American Indoor Football Association, which played from 2008 to 2010 and merged with the SIFL for the 2011 season, has purchased the SIFL's Fayetteville (NC) Force franchise. There has been speculation that due to some of the problems in the SIFL during the 2011 season, the AIFA will be revived in 2012 with some of its former teams like Fayetteville.

United Football League: The UFL has announced a schedule for its third season in 2011 that will run from August to October. The league will again have five teams in 2011-the Hartford Colonials, Las Vegas Locomotives (Locos), Omaha Nighthawks, Sacramento Mountain Lions, and the Virginia Destroyers. The league had planned to operate with six teams in 2011 with the addition of the Virginia Destroyers expansion team, but the Orlando-based Florida Tuskers franchise, which had been part of the league for the past two seasons, was relocated to Norfolk as the Virginia Destroyers. The UFL was unable to secure a suitable sixth market in time for the 2011 season.

Stars Football League: The new SFL has announced its inaugural 2011 outdoor season will start on June 30 with a game between the Fort Lauderdale Barracudas and Daytona Beach Racers.

HOCKEY

Federal Hockey League: The FHL's Rome (NY) Frenzy will not return for the league's second season in 2011-12 and the franchise has been relocated to become the Niagara Falls (Ontario) Nationals. The new FHL franchise in Danville (IL) announced it will be called the Danville Dashers after a 1980s hockey team by the same name. The Nationals, Dashers, and another expansion team called the New Jersey Outlaws (Wayne, NJ) recently participated in an expansion draft. A previously announced expansion team called the Green Mountain Rock Crushers (Jay, VT) was not part of the expansion draft.

American Hockey League: The AHL has approved the relocation of the Winnipeg-based Manitoba Moose to St. John's (Newfoundland) for the 2011-12 season. The St. John's team will be the AHL affiliate of a National Hockey League franchise, which had operated as the Atlanta Thrashers and relocated to Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season. The city of St. John's was home to the St. John's Maple Leafs in the AHL from 1991 to 2005. The new St. John's team does not yet have a name, but it will not be keeping the Moose nickname.

Central Hockey League: The Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs franchise in the CHL has ceased operations. The Mudbugs started as the Shreveport Mudbugs in the 1997-98 season of the Western Professional Hockey League, which merged with the CHL for the 2001-02 season. The status of the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and Quad City Mallards for 2011-12 had been uncertain, but both franchises have come under new ownership and are expected to be part of the 2011-12 CHL season.

SOCCER

Major League Soccer: The Montreal Impact, which currently plays in the Division II North American Soccer League, has confirmed the team will keep the Montreal Impact name when it moves up to the MLS for the 2012 season and becomes the league's 19th franchise.

Premier Arena Soccer League: The PASL-Premier has started its 2011 summer season with a Men's Division that includes the Chico Bigfoot, Off-the-Wall Santa Clara, Redding Velocity, Sacramento Scorpions, Soccer Nation Vacaville, Soccer World Elk Grove, and Turlock Express. The Women's Division, which only plays in the summertime, includes the Chico United, Off-the-Wall Santa Clara, Sacramento Knights, SSA United, and Soccer World FC.

OTHER

Western Lacrosse Association: The elite-level WLA based in British Columbia has started its 2011 indoor spring-summer season with seven teams called the Burnaby Lakers, Coastal Windows Timbermen, Coquitlam Adanacs, Langley Thunder, Maple Ridge Burrards, New Westminster Salmonbellies, and Victoria Shamrocks. The Nanaimo Timbermen changed its name to Coastal Windows, which is one of the team's sponsors for the 2011 season.

Major Series Lacrosse: The elite-level MSL, which is operated by the Ontario Lacrosse Association, has started its 2011 indoor spring-summer season with the same six teams as last season. These include the Ajax Rock, Brampton Excelsiors, Brooklin Redmen, Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, Peterborough Lakers, and Six Nations Chiefs. The champions of the MSL and Western Lacrosse Association compete for the Mann Cup at the end of the 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 2010-11 edition is available at http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/leagues-teams-nicknames-the-leagueology-almanac-2010-11/15228513. Dan can be contacted at dankrieger@leaguesteamsnicknames.com.

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Canadian American League Stories from June 13, 2011


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.


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