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National Women's Soccer League

Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
July 11, 2022 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)


BASEBALL

Atlantic League: The independent Atlantic League's Staten Island FerryHawks played a game this week as the Staten Island Wild Turkeys in recognition of the number of wild turkeys inhabiting the borough.

International League: The Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (Allentown, PA) of the Triple-A International League will play one game next month as the Lehigh Valley IronMutts to pay tribute to non-profit dog rescues and the non-pedigreed "underdog" mutts for which these organizations try to find homes.

National Alliance of College Summer Baseball: The 12 summer-collegiate wood-bat leagues that comprise the NACSB started play in late May and early June 2022. The NACSB is sanctioned by the NCAA and receives some funding from Major League Baseball for its non-profit leagues. The 2022 NACSB member leagues include the 15-team Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League, the 7-team Cal Ripken League, the 14-team New England Collegiate Baseball League, the 7-team Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League, the 11-team California Collegiate League, the 12-team Cape Cod Baseball League, the 6-team Florida Collegiate Summer League, the 13-team Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, the 10-team New York Collegiate Baseball League, the 5-team Southern Collegiate League, the 9-team Sunbelt Baseball League, and the 11-team Valley League Baseball.

BASKETBALL

National Basketball Association G-League (Gatorade League): The NBA's Los Angeles Clippers announced its G-League affiliate known as the Aqua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (CA) for the past five seasons (2017-22) has been renamed the Ontario Clippers starting with the 2022-23 season. The league also announced its developmental team called the G-League Ignite will be based out of the Dollar Loan Center in the suburban Las Vegas city of Henderson starting with the 2022-23 season. The Ignite was based in Walnut Grove (CA) for the team's first couple of seasons.

Fan Controlled Hoops: The organizers of the 7-on-7 indoor league known as Fan Controlled Football, which recently completed its second season as the first fan-controlled professional sports league with fans electronically calling plays, are planning to start a similar concept for a basketball league called Fan Controlled Hoops. The game will be played on an LED court featuring areas that light up where a shot could be worth four or more points.

The Basketball League: The Indy Express (Indianapolis), which sat out the 2022 season of the minor professional TBL, announced plans to return for the 2023 season. Also, a team called the Topeka Wizards will be holding tryouts and plans to start play in the TBL for the 2023 season.

American Basketball Association: The semi-pro ABA announced a Seattle-based team called the Emerald City Warriors has been added to the league's Pacific North Division.

FOOTBALL

Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional: Mexico's top professional American-style outdoor football league known as the LFA completed its 2022 season in May with seven teams. Each team played six games in a schedule that started on March 5. The LFA had four teams that sat out the 2022 season and recently announced a new team called the Raramuris de Chihuahua would be joining for the 2023 season.

HOCKEY

Federal Prospects Hockey League: With the return of all seven teams from the 2021-22 season and the addition of three expansion teams, the FPHL has grown to ten teams for the 2022-23 season and now aligned in a five-team Continental Division and a five-team Empire Division. The Continental Division will feature the returning Carolina Thunderbirds (Winston-Salem, NC), Columbus (OH) River Dragons and Port Huron (MI) Prowlers along with the expansion Mississippi Sea Wolves (Biloxi) and Motor City Rockers (Fraser, MI). The Empire Division will feature the returning Binghamton (NY) Black Bears, Danbury (CT) Hat Tricks, Delaware Thunder (Harrington) and Watertown (NY) Wolves along with the expansion Elmira (NY) Mammoth.

Western Hockey League: The major-junior WHL announced its 2022-23 season schedule that will feature the same 22 teams and league alignment as last season. The WHL includes 5 teams in the Northwest area of the United States and 17 teams in western Canada. The Eastern Conference includes six-team East and Central divisions, while the Western Conference has five-team U.S. and British Columbia divisions. Each team will play a 68-game schedule from late September 2022 to late March 2023.

SOCCER

Liga MX Femenil: Mexico's top women's soccer league known as the Liga MX Femenil, whose teams are each associated with a team in the men's Liga MX, started the first phase (Apertura) of its 2022-23 two-part Apertura/Clausura season this week with the same 18 teams as last season. Each team will play a 17-game schedule through October for the Apertura phase.

National Women's Soccer League: With the NWSL considering expansion for the 2024 season, the Utah Royals FC (Salt Lake City) is expected to be one of two possible expansion teams. The Utah Royals FC played three seasons (2018-20) in the NWSL, but ceased operations when the owner of Major League Soccer's Real Salt Lake and the Utah Royals FC was forced to sell both teams. In December 2020, new ownership of the MLS team was granted the right to revive the NWSL's Utah Royals FC franchise in the future for a set fee.

USL W-League (United Soccer League): The pre-professional W-League announced the FC Carolinas, based in Waxhaw (NC) just south of Charlotte, will add a women's team in the W-League along with a men's team in the pre-professional USL League Two for the 2023 season. The league announced the St. Charles FC, based in the St. Louis area, will also add a W-League team and a men's USL League Two team for the 2023 season.

USL Championship (United Soccer League): A proposed 10,000-seat soccer stadium in Pawtucket (RI) for a future expansion team in the Division-II professional USL Championship is facing financing issues due to rising costs from the original price tag for the stadium and a surrounding development.

OTHER

National Lacrosse League: The indoor professional NLL held the player draft this week to stock the league's 2022-23 expansion team called the Las Vegas Desert Dogs, which will be added to the West division as the league's 15th team. The league operated its recently completed 2021-22 season with 14 teams aligned in an eight-team East and six-team West.

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.

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National Women's Soccer League Stories from July 11, 2022


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