Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
May 17, 2021 - North American Rugby League (NARL)
BASEBALL
Mavericks Independent Baseball League: The new four-team Mavericks League started play this week in its inaugural 2021 season. Each team will play its 48-game schedule through August at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer (OR). The league was organized by the owners of the Salem-Keizer (OR) Volcanoes team, which was a member of the former short-season Class-A Northwest League and was not offered an affiliation during the recent restructuring of Minor League Baseball. The league features the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, Salem Senators, Portland Mavericks and Campesinos de Salem-Keizer.
Southern League: The ownership of the Jackson (TN) Generals team, which was part of the Double-A Southern League and lost its affiliation during the restructuring of Minor League Baseball, plans to start a new version of the Southern League in 2022 with the Generals and at least three other teams. The Generals worked out an agreement for the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the American Association to play their 2021 home games at the Ballpark at Jackson. The city owns the ballpark and stated the Generals defaulted on its use of the facility when it lost its Double-A affiliation and did not have the right to enter into an agreement with the Goldeyes. The city stated the Generals will have no rights to use or occupy the ballpark after May 28.
Major League Baseball: The MLB announced the Toronto Blue Jays will shift their 2021 home games from Dunedin (FL) to Buffalo starting on June 1. The MLB also informed the Oakland Athletics the team could consider relocation if it cannot work out a deal with the city on a proposed new downtown waterfront stadium. Potential destinations for the Athletics include the cities of Las Vegas, Portland (OR), Montreal, Charlotte, Nashville and Vancouver that been mentioned as possible expansion or relocation sites.
BASKETBALL
American Basketball Association: The semi-pro ABA announced a team called the D.C. Crank, based in the Washington (DC) area, has been added to the Mid-Atlantic Division for the 2021-22 season.
Women's National Basketball Association: The WNBA started its 25th season this week with the same 12 teams as last season playing a 32-game schedule through September 19, 2021. The Eastern Conference includes the Atlanta Dream, Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Indiana Fever, New York Liberty and Washington Mystics, while the Western Conference has the Dallas Wings, Las Vegas Aces, Los Angeles Sparks, Minnesota Lynx, Phoenix Mercury and Seattle Storm.
FOOTBALL
American West Football Conference: The lower-level professional AWFC started its 2021 season last week with five teams. The AWFC did not play a 2020 season due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Wenatchee Valley Skyhawks (Wenatchee, WA) and Idaho Horsemen (Nampa) are the only teams returning from the 2019 season and are joined by new teams called the Oregon High Desert Storm (Redmond), Tri-City Rush (Kennewick, WA) and Yakima (WA) Canines. Yakima was actually added prior to the cancelled 2020 season, while Oregon and Tri-City were added for 2021.
Indoor Football League: The owner of the National Hockey League's Vegas Golden Knights will be part owner of a new Las Vegas IFL team starting with the 2022 season. The team will play in a new 6,000-seat arena being built in suburban Henderson for the Golden Knights' American Hockey League affiliate.
HOCKEY
American Hockey League: The National Hockey League's New York Islanders have changed the name of its AHL affiliate from the Bridgeport (CT) Sound Tigers to the Bridgeport Islanders. Bridgeport has been the Islanders' affiliate since the team joined the AHL for the 2001-02 season. The NHL's New Jersey Devils announced the signing of a ten-year agreement to place its AHL affiliate in Utica (NY), where the team will continue to be called the Utica Comets and will be operated by the same group that operated the Utica Comets team, which had been an affiliate of the NHL's Vancouver Canucks through this season.
ECHL: The minor professional ECHL, which had only 14 of its 26 teams participating in the 2020-21 season, announced its 2021-22 season schedule will feature 27 participating teams. The Brampton Beast decided to withdraw from the league, but the other teams are expected to return and two yet-to-be-named expansion teams in Trois-Rivieres (Quebec) and Coralville (IA) will join for the 2021-22 season.
Federal Prospects Hockey League: The FPHL announced the addition of a new team called the Binghamton (NY) Black Bears for the 2021-22 season. Binghamton recently lost its American Hockey League (AHL) team called the Binghamton Devils when the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils decided to move its AHL affiliate to Utica (NY) for the 2021-22 season. The owner of the new FPHL team also owns the league's Watertown (NY) Wolves.
Southern Professional Hockey League: The SPHL's Evansville (IN) Thunderbolts announced the team will return for the 2021-22 season. Evansville was one of five of the league's ten teams that decided to sit out the 2020-21 season due to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
North American 3 Hockey League: The Tier-III junior-level NA3HL has approved the addition of the Norwich (CT) Sea Captains team, which purchased the rights to the league's dormant Skylands Kings (Stockholm, NJ). The Skylands Kings played four NA3HL seasons (2016-20) before dropping out.
United States Premier Hockey League: The Tier-III junior-level USPHL's Premier Division Anaheim Avalanche team has come under new ownership and will move to Lakewood (CA) as the Long Beach Shredders for the 2021-22 season.
SOCCER
National Women's Soccer League: The ten-team professional NWSL started its 2021 regular-season this week and each team will play a 24-game schedule through October. The ten teams will be aligned in a single-table format. Changes for this season include the addition of a tenth team call Racing Louisville FC; the Utah Royals FC being replaced by a new Kansas City team that will announce its name in the future; and a rebranding of the Sky Blue FC to the NJ/NY Gotham FC.
Canadian Premier League: Due to the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the eight-team professional CPL will push back the start of its 2021 season from the previously announced start date of May 22 until mid-June to early July. The league plans to start the season with all teams playing at a single location without fans. The CPL held a shortened season in 2020 without fans and all games played at one location in Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island).
Major League Soccer: The Columbus Crew SC of the MLS is officially now known as Columbus SC, although the ¬ÅCrew ¬Â will continue to be the club's nickname.
USL League Two (United Soccer League): The pre-professional USL League Two has started its 2021 season with 76 teams aligned in four regional conferences (Central, Eastern, Southern and Western) that are further aligned into regional divisions. The USL League Two did not play a 2020 season due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
United Women's Soccer: The pro-am UWS started its 2021 season last week and the league has grown to 46 teams aligned in six regional conferences (Central, Midwest, East, Southeast, Southwest and West). The UWS's developmental UWS League Two announced the addition of the Arkansas Wolves (Little Rock) to the Central Conference and the Midwest Panthers (St. Charles, IL) to the Midwest Conference for the 2021 season. The UWS League Two also started its 2021 season last week and has grown to 53 teams aligned in 9 regional conferences (Central, Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic North, Mid-Atlantic South, Midwest, Northeast, New England, Southwest and Sunshine). The UWS season runs through July.
OTHER
National Lacrosse League: The indoor professional NLL's Toronto Rock announced a move to Hamilton (Ontario) starting with the 2021-22 season, but the team will retain the Toronto Rock name. The franchise originally started in Hamilton as a 1998 NLL expansion team called the Ontario Raiders, but it was sold after the season and relocated to Toronto as the Toronto Rock.
North American Rugby League: The new 14-team professional NARL, which will play the 13-man rugby known as ¬Årugby league ¬Â, announced its six-team West Conference of teams will not play in the inaugural 2021 season starting next month due to player insurance issues related to the coronavirus (COVID-19). The West Conference teams called the Austin Armadillos, Las Vegas Blackjacks, Phoenix Venom, Portland Loggers, San Diego Swell and San Francisco Rush will remain part of the league and start play in 2022. The NARL's six-team East Conference of teams will play as scheduled this season. Due to coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions, the NARL's two Canadian teams will participate in a two-match ¬ÅCanada Cup ¬Â this season and join the East Conference in 2022.
Dan Krieger is the creator of the Weekly Sports League & Franchise Report, which has been tracking changes in the sports world's leagues, teams and nicknames since April 2007.
North American Rugby League Stories from May 17, 2021
- Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report - OSC Original by Dan Krieger
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.
