Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
June 20, 2011 - National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)

BASEBALL

Can-Am League: The Rockland Boulders and the Quebec Capitals of the Can-Am League recently played a three-game series in Trois-Rivieres (Quebec). A pair of investors is trying to place a Can-Am League team in the city for the 2012 season. The owner of the league's Pittsfield Colonials has stated the team will complete the 2011 season, but could not promise the team would return in 2012.

Eastern League: The Akron Aeros of the Double-A Eastern League are considering a re-branding of the team with a possible new nickname. The former Canton-Akron Indians were renamed the Akron Blast to coincide with a move into a new ballpark for the 1997 season. The Blast name was not well-received, so the name was changed to the Aeros prior to the start of the 1997 season.

Pecos League: The Alpine (TX) Cowboys and the Carlsbad Bats travel team of the Pecos League will play a game in Clovis (NM) on July 28th. The league had planned to have a team called the Clovis Pioneers play in its inaugural 2011 season and now is looking to generate interest for a Clovis-based team in 2012.

American Association: The Sioux Falls (SD) Pheasants of the AA have suffered a decline in attendance and there are rumors that ownership has considered a move to the summer-collegiate Northwoods League. As part of an ownership change, the team changed its name from the Sioux Falls Canaries to the Pheasants prior to the 2010 season. The Canaries had been part of the Northern League since 1993 and joined the AA in 2006. The league's El Paso Diablos team has been up for sale and some in the city want to bring back an affiliated team. The former El Paso Diablos affiliated team in the Double-A Texas League relocated to become the Springfield (MO) Cardinals for the 2005 season.

Major League Baseball: MLB is considering realignment and has discussed moving one National League team, possibly the Houston Astros or the Arizona Diamondbacks, to the American League to create two 15-team leagues. Also being discussed is the elimination of divisions within each league and having the top five teams in each league eligible for the post-season.

New York-Penn League: The short-season Class-A NY-Penn League has started its 2011 season with the same 14 teams as last season. Teams are aligned into a six-team Pinckney Division and two four-team divisions called the McNamara and Stedler.

Northwest League: The short-season Class-A Northwest League has started its 2011 season with the same eight teams as last season. The Eastern Division includes the Boise Hawks, Spokane Indians, Tri-City Dust Devils, and Yakima Bears. A Western Division has the Eugene Emeralds, Everett AquaSox, Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, and Vancouver Canadians.

BASKETBALL

National Basketball League of Canada: The NBL-Canada has received applications for possible new teams from groups in Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island) and the Ontario cities of Barrie, Kingston, Oshawa, and London. If approved, these teams will join the league's three charter members-the Saint John (New Brunswick) Mill Rats, Quebec Kebs, and Halifax (Nova Scotia) Rainmen-for the inaugural 2011-12 season. A decision will be made on all five applications at a meeting scheduled for June 29 in which the league plans to finalize its lineup for the inaugural season. Other groups in Laval (Quebec) and Moncton (New Brunswick) were expected to apply for the 2012-13 season.

National Basketball Association Development League: The Orem-based Utah Flash of the NBA D-League announced the franchise has been put up for sale and will sit out the upcoming 2011-12 season.

American Basketball Association: The ABA has announced three more expansion teams for its upcoming 2011-12 season. These will include the Hampton Charters, based in Hampton on Long Island (NY), the Syracuse Shockwave, and a yet-to-be-named new team based in the Athens/Gainesville (GA) area. The Shockwave had previously tried to start up for the 2010-11 ABA season.

Circuito de Basquetbol del Noreste (CIBANE): Northeast Mexico's CIBANE basketball league has started its second season with six teams called the Aguilas de Piedras Negras, Caktus de Saltillo, Guerreros de Apodaca, Madereros de Durango, Mineros de Fresnillo, and Tuzos de la UAZ Zacatecas. The Guerreros and Tuzos are new to the league and replace the Leones Regios de Monterrey and Marqueteros de Linares.

FOOTBALL

Ultimate Indoor Football League: The UIFL has announced it will add a team in Tupelo (MS) for its second season in 2012. Tupelo will be part of a proposed Southern Division with previously announced teams called the Rome (GA) Rampage and Florida Tarpons (Fort Myers area). Another new team announced for Danville (IL) will be part of a new Northern Division. Tupelo was home to the Tupelo FireAnts in the National Indoor Football League (2001-04) and United Indoor Football (2005), as well as the Mississippi MudCats in the American Indoor Football Association (2007-08). The UIFL's Northern Kentucky River Monsters team, based in Highland Heights, has been granted permission to leave the league and will look to play in another league for next season. Apparently, the UIFL still retains the right to place another team in the market for 2012.

National Football League: A group trying to build a new downtown football stadium in Los Angles has targeted the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, St. Louis Rams, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, and Minnesota Vikings as possible relocation candidates to make the proposed new stadium its home. Three of these five teams previously played in Los Angeles: the Chargers in 1960, the Raiders from 1982 to 1994, and the Rams from 1946 to 1994. Another investor is trying to build a 75,000-seat football stadium in the city of Industry, just east of Los Angeles.

HOCKEY

All American Hockey League: The single-A AAHL has announced it will suspend operations for the 2011-12 season. The league started as the All American Hockey Association for the 2008-09 season and was reorganized as the AAHL for 2009-10. The AAHL was forced to cut short its recent 2010-11 season and at the end had only two remaining teams-the Battle Creek Revolution and the Chi-Town Shooters.

Central Hockey League: The Mississippi RiverKings franchise, which is based just outside Memphis in Desoto County (MS), announced it will be leaving the CHL and will move to the Class-A Southern Professional Hockey League for the 2011-12 season. The SPHL was considered a better regional fit for the team, which started out as the Memphis RiverKings in the CHL's inaugural 1992-93 season. The team moved from Memphis to Desoto County in 2000 and was eventually renamed the Mississippi RiverKings for the 2007-08 season. The CHL is expected to have 14 teams in 2011-12, down from the 18 teams in 2010-11. Along with the RiverKings, the league lost the Odessa Jackalopes, Colorado Eagles, Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, and Bloomington Prairie Thunder, although a new CHL franchise has been announced to replace the Prairie Thunder in Bloomington.

North American Hockey League: The Tier II Junior-A NAHL has announced its 2011-12 schedule and alignment. The league will have 28 teams in five divisions-Central, Midwest, North, South, and West. The league increased by two teams with the addition of the Kalamazoo Junior K-Wings and the Minot (ND) Minotauros. Two other teams relocated to Jamestown (NY) and Odessa (TX).

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League: The QMJHL has announced that its Montreal Junior team will move to Boisbriand, just north of Montreal, for the 2011-12 season. The team has come under new ownership and is expected to be renamed prior to next season. The Montreal-based QMJHL team came to town for the 2008-09 season with the relocation of the St. John's (Newfoundland) Fog Devils.

American West Hockey League: The new Tier III junior-level AWHL has announced it will start play for the 2011-12 season with six teams. Four of the league's teams-the Billings (MT) Bulls, Bozeman (MT) IceDogs, Helena (MT) Bighorns, and Missoula (MT) Maulers-just left the Tier III Junior-A Northern Pacific Hockey League (NORPAC) after its 2010-11 season. The AWHL will also include two expansion teams called the Great Falls (MT) Americans and the Gillette (WY) Wild. The Great Falls Americans had been announced last year as a 2011-12 expansion team for the NORPAC.

SOCCER

North American Soccer League: The group that owns the Ottawa Fury soccer team in the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League is expected to announce it will place a team in the NASL for the 2013 season. The team will play in the city's Canadian Football League stadium, which is currently being renovated for a new CFL franchise that is expected to start play when renovations are complete. The owner of the CFL's Hamilton TigerCats had been in discussions with the NASL about a franchise, but those talks have apparently broken down.

American National Soccer League: Some of the teams that were part of last year's National Star Soccer League, which apparently is not returning for a 2011 season, are now part of the new ANSL. The ANSL currently lists three regional conferences-the Pacific Northwest, South East, and Pacific Southwest.

United Soccer Leagues-Major Indoor Soccer League: Prior to the merger of the MISL with the USL last month, the St. Paul-based Minnesota TwinStars of the outdoor National Premier Soccer League had announced in February 2011 they were granted an MISL franchise that would start play in the 2011-12 season. Since the merger of the two leagues, the MISL lists seven teams for its upcoming 2011-12 season, but it does not currently include the TwinStars.

OTHER

Women's Pro Fastpitch: The Nashville-based WPF has started its 2011 season and again has four teams-the Akron Racers, Chicago Bandits, NPF Diamonds, and USSSA Pride (Kissimmee, FL). Last season's Tennessee Diamonds, which were based in Nashville, have been replaced by the league-operated NPF Diamonds travel team. The Diamonds will play some 2011 "home games" in non-NPF markets, such as Calgary, Marion (IL), and Clemens (NC).

National Lacrosse League: The Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League have purchased the Calgary Roughnecks indoor NLL franchise. The Roughnecks were put up for sale at the beginning of the season and faced some financial difficulties during the season. Other prospective buyers of the franchise were reportedly from the United States and were interested in moving the franchise to another city.

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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