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NWSL National Women's Soccer League

Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
January 30, 2023 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)


BASEBALL

Eastern League: The Akron RubberDucks of the Double-A Eastern League announced the team will be renamed the Akron Sauerkraut Balls for one game in the 2023 season as a tribute to a local food known as the sauerkraut ball, which is a deep-fried combination of sauerkraut and pork.

South Atlantic League: The Hickory (NC) Crawdads of the high Class-A SALLY announced the team will play a three-game home series during the 2023 season as the Hickory Dickory Docks, which plays off the Hickory Dickory Dock nursery rhyme.

BASKETBALL

American Basketball Association: The semi-pro ABA announced a team called the Philly Thunder (Philadelphia) has been added as a 2023-24 expansion team. The ABA has had several previous Philadelphia-based teams during its history.

Canadian Elite Basketball League: The men's minor professional CEBL announced its 2023 schedule, which will feature ten teams aligned in five-team Eastern and Western conferences with each team playing a 20-game schedule from May 24 through July 30, 2023. Last season, the CEBL had ten teams aligned in a single-table format, but the Newfoundland Growlers (St. John's) will not return and an expansion team called the Winnipeg Sea Bears was added. Other changes for 2023 include the league's Hamilton Honey Badgers (Ontario) relocating to become the Brampton Honey Badgers (Ontario); the Guelph Nighthawks (Ontario) relocating to become the Calgary Surge; and the Fraser Valley Bandits (British Columbia) rebranding to the Vancouver Bandits. The Eastern Conference will feature the Montreal Alliance and four Ontario-based teams called the Scarborough Shooting Stars, Ottawa BlackJacks, Niagara River Lions (St. Catharines) and Brampton Honey Badgers. The Western Conference includes the Calgary Surge, Edmonton Stingers, Saskatchewan Rattlers (Saskatoon), Vancouver Bandits and Winnipeg Sea Bears.

Women's National Basketball Association: The WNBA recently announced it will play a 2023 exhibition game in Toronto, which is under consideration for a future WNBA expansion team. Several other markets are under consideration for WNBA expansion as the league seeks to expand by two teams, possibly by the 2025 season.

FOOTBALL

American 7's Football League: The men's semi-pro A7FL, which is a 7-on-7 full contact football league in which players do not wear hard pads or helmets, recently announced eight new teams for the league's 2023 season starting in March. The Vegas Gold, Vegas Hunters, North Vegas Kryptonite and Vegas Over the Top have been added to a Nevada Division; the Cincy Sevens and CinCity Chaos join the Cincinnati Division; and the Columbus Explorers and Picktown Guard Dogs (Pickerington, OH) are part of a new Columbus (Ohio) Division, which still plans to announce two more teams. The A7FL played its 2022 season with 20 teams across the United States

European League of Football: The American-style football league known as the ELF announced its 2023 season will feature 17 teams aligned in 3 conferences with each team playing a ten-game schedule from June 3 through September 3. The league had 12 teams in 2022, but the Istanbul Rams will not return. The ELF added six 2023 teams called the Paris Saints (France), Milano Seamen (Italy), Prague Lions (Czech Republic), Helvetic Guards (Switzerland), Munich Ravens (Germany) and Fehervar Enthroners (Hungary).

United States Football League: The eight-team professional springtime USFL finalized the home stadiums for its four North Division teams in the 2023 season. Canton (OH) will host regular-season home games for the New Jersey Generals and Pittsburgh Maulers, while Detroit will host regular-season home games for the Michigan Panthers and Philadelphia Stars. The USFL previously announced home stadiums for the four South Division teams with Birmingham hosting the Birmingham Stallions and New Orleans Breakers, and Memphis hosting the Memphis Showboats and Houston Gamblers. In the USFL's inaugural 2022 season, Birmingham hosted all regular-season games and Canton hosted the championship.

Champions Indoor Football: The Wichita-based ICT Terminators failed in an attempt to join the CIF, so the team is playing an ‚¬Å“unaffiliated schedule ‚¬Â in 2023. Previously listed Wichita games against the CIF's Salina (KS) Liberty and Southwest Kansas Storm (Dodge City) are no longer listed on the 2023 schedule.

HOCKEY

Greater Metro Hockey League: Canada's junior-level GMHL announced the addition of a Quebec-based expansion team called the Becard de Senneterre to the North Division for the 2023-24 season. The Becard de Senneterre last played in the 2019-20 season of the Tier-III Canadian Premier Junior Hockey League, which did not play a 2020-21 season due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and disappeared after cancelling its 2021-22 season.

Professional Inline Hockey Association: The PIHA is about midway through its 2022-23 season. The Pro League has a six-team East Coast Division and a four-team Rocky Mountain Division with play running through April, while the Semi-Pro League has an eight-team Atlantic Division, an eight-team Northeast Division and a seven-team Rocky Mountain Division with play running through mid-April. The PIHA also has a short-season Minor League with 11 teams playing early December through early March.

SOCCER

Liga MX: The top Mexican men's pro soccer league known as Liga MX started the Clausura (closing) phase of its two-part 2022-23 Apertura/Clausura season earlier this month with the same 18 teams as the Apertura (opening) phase. The Clausura phase runs through April with each team playing 17 games.

Liga MX Femenil: The top Mexican women's soccer league known as the Liga MX Femenil, whose 18 teams are each associated with a team in the men's Liga MX, started the Clausura (closing) phase of its 2022-23 two-part Apertura/Clausura season earlier this month with the same 18 teams as the Apertura (opening) phase. The Clausura phase runs through mid-May with each team playing a 17-game schedule.

Liga de Expansion: Mexico's second division men's league known as the Liga de Expansión MX started the Clausura (closing) phase of its two-part 2022-23 Apertura/Clausura season earlier this month with the same 18 teams that participated in the Apertura (opening) phase of the season. Each team will play 17 games through April 23, 2023 in the Clausura phase.

National Women's Soccer League: The professional NWSL is reported to have decided on Salt Lake City, the San Francisco Bay Area and Boston for its next round of expansion. Teams in Salt Lake City and the Bay Area could start play in 2024 and a Boston team would start later, possibly in 2025. No timeline has been provided for an official announcement.

National Independent Soccer Association: The Flower City Union (Rochester, NY) of the men's Division-III professional NISA has agreed to a merger with the league's Syracuse Pulse for the upcoming season and the merged organizations will host games in both Rochester and Syracuse. The team will play as the Flower City Union for games played in Rochester and will play under the new Salt City Union name for games played in Syracuse.

OTHER

League One Volleyball: The women's indoor LOVB (pronounced LOVE), which has been developing an affiliated network of junior volleyball clubs across the United States, recently announced plans to use that network to create a full-season professional women's indoor volleyball league by 2024. The LOVB pro league will join two other women's professional indoor volleyball leagues. The recently announced Pro Volleyball Federation plans to have eight to ten city-based franchises starting play in 2024. The Athletes Unlimited-Volleyball League started in 2021 and consists of four teams playing a five-week season at one location.

United States Premier League: The semi-pro USPL men's cricket league announced its second season will be held at Central Broward Stadium in Lauderhill (FL) from September 15-29, 2023. The USPL's first season featured eight teams called the Carolina Eagles, New Jersey Titans, New York Gothams, Texas Cowboys, Maryland Mavericks, Pennsylvania Cavaliers, Florida Sharks and Washington (Seattle) Hawks playing two phases this past summer with all matches held on the campus of State University of New York in Purchase (NY). The USPL looks to develop talent for other minor and major cricket leagues.

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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