Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
Published on November 29, 2021 under United States Football League (USFL)
BASEBALL
Northern League: The new unaffiliated pre-professional Northern League, which had been operating as the summer-collegiate Midwest Collegiate League with teams in the Chicago and Northwest Indiana areas, recently announced a new team based in Crown Point (IN) has been added for the 2022 season. The new team plans to hold a name-the-team contest.
Arizona Scouting League: The new ASL plans to be a tryout league based in Yuma (AZ) starting in February 2022 for players looking to sign with professional baseball leagues in Japan and the United States for the 2022 season. Three teams totaling 60 players from Japan and the United States will play games for 12 days. All managers and coaches will come from independent baseball leagues in Japan and the United States. The Asian Breeze traveling baseball club will host the new ASL.
Major League Baseball: The group that owns the Summerlin (NV)-based Las Vegas Aviators of the Triple-A West League has offered free land in the Summerlin area to the MLB's Oakland Athletics for construction of a new stadium, if the team decides to relocate to the Las Vegas area.
BASKETBALL
Canadian Elite Basketball League: The minor professional CEBL announced the addition of a tenth team called the Newfoundland Growlers (St. John's) for the next CEBL season starting in May 2022. The team's ownership group also owns the St. John's-based Newfoundland Growlers hockey team in the ECHL. The group failed in an attempt this year to purchase the St. John's Edge team of the National Basketball League of Canada. The St. John's Edge is sitting idle for the upcoming 2022 NBL-Canada season since it lost its arena lease to an American Basketball Association team called the Newfoundland Rogues, which recently started play in its inaugural 2021-22 season. The CEBL's Newfoundland Growlers will play their home games on the campus of Memorial University.
The Basketball League: The minor professional TBL announced the Cincinnati Warriors have been added as an expansion team for the 2022 season. The league now has 45 teams for its fifth season that will start in March 2022.
FOOTBALL
Arena Professional Football League: The proposed new APFL announced the Charlotte Thunder has joined for the league's inaugural 2022 season. The Charlotte Thunder was part of the American Arena League in the 2021 season.
United States Football League: The proposed new springtime USFL announced the names of the eight teams that will participate in the league's inaugural season starting in April 2022. A North Division will include the Michigan Panthers, New Jersey Generals, Philadelphia Stars and Pittsburgh Maulers, while a South Division will have the Birmingham Stallions, Houston Gamblers, New Orleans Breakers and Tampa Bay Bandits. All team nicknames were used at one time or another by teams that participated in the previous 1983-85 version of the USFL. The USFL has still not announced the single location that will host the entire 2022 season with teams each playing a ten-game schedule. The USFL was reported to have registered several other logos for possible future expansion teams.
Federated Arena League: The new FAL is trying to organize for a start in 2022.
HOCKEY
ECHL: The ECHL's Newfoundland Growlers (St. John's) and the organization that operates the city's Mary Brown's Centre, which is the Growlers' normal home arena, have come to an agreement that will allow the team to return for its next home stand. Due to a dispute with the city, the Growlers played its first six-game homestand of the season in Newfoundland's Conception Bay South.
Professional Women's Hockey Players Association: The tour-based PWHPA has organized an All-Star Team sponsored by Secret Deodorant for the 2021-22 season and it competed against the U.S. Women's National Hockey Team last month. The PWHPA recently announced the All-Star Team will compete against the Hockey Canada team next month and then travel to Japan to face Team Japan in January.
Western States Hockey League: After suspending play in its five-team Northwest Division at the beginning of the 2021-22 season, the junior-level WSHL has now moved two of the Northwest Division teams, the Bellingham (WA) Blazers and the Vernal (UT) Oilers, to the Provincial Division that started the 2021-22 season with five Alberta-based teams. The Northwest Division's Utah Altitude, Seattle Totems and Rogue Valley Royals are dormant for the 2021-22 season. The WSHL also announced plans for a league-wide showcase event to be held in Las Vegas next month.
SOCCER
Major Arena Soccer League: The professional MASL started its 2021-22 season this weekend with 12 teams aligned in four-team East, Central and West divisions. There were several off-season changes. The Soles de Sonora (Hermosillo) transferred its membership to the Chihuahua Savage FC, which joins the MASL after playing in the 2019-20 MASL2. The Mesquite (TX) Outlaws, Rochester (NY) Lancers and Mexico's Monterrey Flash are all sitting out the 2021-22 season. The Turlock Cal Express team moved to the lower-level MASL2 for the 2021-22 season and the Orlando SeaWolves team is no longer listed.
USL League Two (United Soccer League): The pre-professional USL League Two announced the Midwest United FC, based in the Grand Rapids (MI) area, will add a team to the league for the 2022 season. The organization previously announced the addition of a women's team to the USL W-League.
USL W-League (United Soccer League): The new women's pre-professional USL W-League announced the AC Connecticut (Newtown) will field a team in the league's inaugural 2022 season. The club will serve as the USL W-League affiliate of the Hartford Athletic men's team from the USL Championship. The Hartford Athletic was listed as an original USL W-League member when the league was announced earlier this year, but the Hartford Athletic will no longer operate a standalone USL W-League team. The AC Connecticut men's team in the USL League Two had also entered into a partnership with the Hartford Athletic earlier this year.
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.
United States Football League Stories from November 29, 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.
