Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
March 3, 2014 - Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL)

BASEBALL

Federation of American Professional Baseball: The proposed new independent FAPB plans to start play in 2015 with leagues organized in four different tiers based on salary caps for each league. A team called the Hamptons (NY) Professional Baseball Club, which originally planned to join the proposed new Independent Baseball League, is behind the creation of the FAPB.

American Association: The American Association team called the El Paso Diablos, which will be relocating to Joplin (MO) for the 2015 season, is expected to announce the team's new name next week after holding a name-the-team contest.

BASKETBALL

Independent Basketball Association: The IBA started its 2014 spring season with ten teams listed on the schedule. The standings include the Kankakee County (IL) Soldiers, Lansing Capitals, Kenosha (WI) Ballers, St. Louis Trotters, Windy City Blazers, Holland (MI) Dream, and new teams called the Racine (WI) Storm, Grand Rapids Fusion and Illinois Markham City Racers. The Schenectady (NY) Legends team, which moved from Albany, is also listed for only two IBA homes games on the 2014 schedule.

Florida Basketball Association: The FBA has posted the schedule for its third season that will run from May through July 2014. The Florida Flight (Orlando), Heartland Prowl, Palm Beach Knights and Tampa Bay Rebels all return from last season, plus the league added a new yet-to-be named team in Miami.

Central Basketball League: The CBL announced it has removed the Atlanta-based Atlantic Crowns, along with three West Virginia teams called the Logan Mustangs, St. Alban Wild and West Virginia Angels, from consideration as 2014 members due to noncompliance with league guidelines. The league now has a six-team Eastern Conference with Florida-based teams and a four-team Western Conference with teams in Texas and Louisiana. The CBL's second season will start in April 2014.

American Basketball Association-Summer Pro Basketball League: The ABASPBL plans to start play in 14 cities in early June 2014. The league received a verbal commitment from the Chinese Basketball Association to have one or two of its teams participate in the ABASPBL.

FOOTBALL

Professional Indoor Football League: The PIFL has replaced the Albany (GA) Panthers with a new expansion team called the Georgia Fire based out of Rome (GA). The Georgia Fire will take over the Panthers' schedule, roster and spot in the American Conference for the 2014 season. The Panthers ran into financial problems and lost its arena lease. The city of Rome was home to the Rome Rampage travel team in the 2012 season of the United Indoor Football League. The operator of the Rampage moved the team to Dalton (GA) as the Georgia Rampage in the 2013 Ultimate Indoor Football League. The Albany Panthers started play in 2010 as part of the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) and moved to the PIFL for the 2012 season after the SIFL folded. The city also had an Arenafootball2 team called the South Georgia Wildcats that played five seasons (2005-09) until the league folded after the 2009 season.

Ultimate Indoor Football League: The UIFL's new Springfield-based Missouri Voodoo will be changing its team name due to pressure from the Arena Football League, which has a team called the New Orleans VooDoo.

Champions Professional Indoor Football League: The CPIFL started its second season this weekend with nine teams in a single-table alignment. Of the ten teams from the inaugural 2013 season, the Mid-Missouri Outlaws (Sedalia) and Kansas City (MO) Renegades did not return, but the league added a new team called the Dodge City (KS) Law.

HOCKEY

Federal Hockey League: A group of local investors in Watertown (NY) are trying to buy the FHL's financially struggling Watertown Privateers team to keep it from folding. The investors have also been approached by the proposed new North Atlantic Professional Hockey League about operating a potential Watertown-based team. The NAPHL is trying to form with teams in the Northeast for the 2014-15 season. The Privateers played its first two seasons as the Alexandria Bay (NY) Privateers before moving to Watertown for the 2013-14 season.

International Junior Hockey League: The new IJHL was being discussed for possible start up in the near future. The organizers originally had plans to start as a summer junior hockey league this year, but those plans have been put on hold and it could form as another winter junior-level league. Teams being discussed would be around the Great Lakes area in the United States and Canada.

SOCCER

Major League Soccer: Organizers in Austin want to build a downtown soccer stadium to attract an MLS expansion franchise.

Major League Soccer - Reserve League: The MLS announced the 2014 schedule for its Reserve League, which will include only 8 reserve teams for the 19 MLS teams. The remaining 11 MLS teams will place their reserve players on affiliated teams in the United Soccer Leagues PRO league for the 2014 season. Last season, four MLS teams had affiliations with USL PRO teams and did not field separate Reserve League teams. In the second year of a partnership between the MLS and USL, ten MLS teams entered into official affiliations with USL PRO teams, while the Los Angeles Galaxy created its own USL PRO team called the Los Angles Galaxy II for the 2014 season. The eight MLS Reserve League teams for 2014 will include the Chicago Fire, Chivas USA, Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas, Montreal Impact, New York Red Bulls, Real Salt Lake and Seattle Sounders FC. The MLS is apparently working to eliminated the Reserve League with all teams having USL PRO affiliations or their own in-house USL PRO team, possibly by the 2015 season.

United Soccer Leagues - PRO: The new Tulsa-based USL PRO team announced it will be called the Tulsa Roughnecks when it starts play in the 2015 season. The city had a top professional soccer team called the Tulsa Roughnecks from 1978 to 1984 in the defunct North American Soccer League. Other potential nickname choices were the Tulsa Strike, FC Tulsa and Oil City FC. The league's Colorado Springs expansion team officially announced it will be called the Colorado Switchbacks FC or Switchbacks FC when it starts play for the 2015 season. The league's new Sacramento Republic FC received approval for a new 8,000-seat stadium that should be ready by June 2014.

Women's Premier Soccer Leagues: The WPSL announced it will add a total of 17 new teams for the 2014 season. The Boston Breakers of the top professional National Women's Soccer League will place a Boston Breakers Reserves team in the 2014 WPSL. The Breakers will also have its Boston Breakers College Academy team comprised of non-professional players return for a second season in 2014. The league's Seattle Reign Reserves team, which was operated by the Issaquah Soccer Club last season, will be called the ISC Gunners in 2014. The team started play in 2012 as the Issaquah FC. The WPSL announced it will add two Virginia-based teams in 2015 called the Chesterfield United (Richmond) and RVA FC of Fredericksburg.

OTHER

National Indoor Field Lacrosse: The proposed new NIFL plans to be the first indoor field lacrosse league and will start play in the fall of 2014 with teams based in Ontario (Canada). Teams called the Niagara Riptides and Welland River Rats have been announced and other Ontario markets like St. Catharines, Durham and Hamilton are under consideration. The league also plans to expand with at least two teams in the United States.

Dan Krieger is the creator of the "The Leagueology Almanac 2012-13", which tracks the changes in league alignments, franchise movements and team nicknames in today's sports world. The publication is currently available at www.amazon.com.

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