Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
February 13, 2023 - SPHL (SPHL)

BASEBALL

Atlantic League: The new 2023 Atlantic League expansion team to be based in Frederick (MD) announced the five nickname finalists: Bone Shakers, Ghost Hounds, Rail Frogs, Sawbones and Screaming Alpacas. Fans will be allowed to vote on these five team names through February 17.

Eastern League: The Hartford Yard Goats will play a game in May 2023 as the Hartford Bouncing Pickles to pay homage to a local tale about a pickle packer bouncing pickles to prove their freshness.

Midwest League: The Appleton-based Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the high Class-A Midwest League and the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders of the summer-collegiate Northwoods League will each play a game this summer as the Lake Winnebago Shantymen. Appleton is on the northern point of Lake Winnebago and Fond du Lac is on the southern point. The name pays tribute to sturgeon spearfishing in the Wisconsin winters and the temporary shacks used for ice fishing.

BASKETBALL

BIG 3 League: The 12-team tour-based BIG3 league, which plays a 3-on-3 style of basketball called Fireball3, announced its sixth season will start on June 25, 2023 and feature events held over ten weeks in eight cities: Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Miami, Memphis, New York City, and Washington (DC). Due to potential coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions over the past two seasons, the BIG3 had to limit the number of cities hosting events. In 2022, all regular-season events were held in Chicago and Dallas.

American Basketball Association: The semi-pro ABA announced teams called the Colorado Rise, based in the Denver metro area, and the Maine Bulldogs (Lewiston) have joined for the 2023-24 season.

Women's National Basketball Association: The WNBA commissioner made a stop this week in Portland (OR), which is one of several markets seeking two potential expansion teams that could start in the next two to four years. The WNBA had a previous team called the Portland Fire for three seasons (2000-02).

FOOTBALL

United States Football League: The eight-team professional springtime USFL announced the schedule for its second season will feature each team playing ten games from April 15 through June 18, 2023. The North Division will feature the New Jersey Generals and Pittsburgh Maulers playing home games in Canton (OH), and the Michigan Panthers and Philadelphia Stars playing home games in Detroit. The South Division will have the Birmingham Stallions and New Orleans Breakers playing home games in Birmingham, and the Houston Gamblers and the Memphis Showboats playing home games in Memphis.

The Arena League: Another new indoor league known as The Arena League (TAL) plans to start in the summer of 2024 with at least four teams playing a six-man version of indoor football. This week, the league released a list of ten potential markets for fan voting to select locations for the inaugural season. The markets include Waterloo (IA), Dubuque (IA), Rockford (IL), Kansas City (MO), Springfield (MO), Rochester (MN), Duluth (MN), Oklahoma City, Little Rock and Wichita Falls (TX).

American Arena League2: The Steel City Stampede (Bethlehem, PA), which had been part of the Major Indoor Football League, has joined the professional developmental AAL2 for the 2023 season. As of now, the Stampede has replaced the previously listed Reading (PA) Raptors on the league schedules.

Fan Controlled Football: The eight-team indoor 7-on-7 professional fan-interactive FCF has decided to delay its third season, which was to start in May 2023, and it will start the new Fan Controlled Hoops (FCH) basketball season ahead of the FCF. The FCH will play four-on-four basketball in the same FCF studio and will use an LED floor that allows online fans to vote to illuminate certain zones for extra points when scoring. The FCH has been holding tryouts over the past few months.

HOCKEY

Southern Professional Hockey League: After forfeiting a home game last weekend in Danville (IL), the minor A-level SPHL's Vermilion County Bobcats announced the team has ceased operations leaving ten teams to complete the season. The Vermilion County Bobcats were in their second season after joining as a 2021-22 expansion team and had played 30 of 56 scheduled games. The Bobcats were reported to be having financial issues due to low attendance and conflicts over money owed to players and other staff.

Ontario Hockey League: The city of Brantford (Ontario) approved the move of the major-junior OHL's Hamilton Bulldogs to the Brantford Civic Centre for the next three seasons while renovations are undertaken at Hamilton's FirstOntario Centre. The team will be known as the Brantford Bulldogs at the end of the current 2022-23 season. Brantford was home to an OHL team called the Brantford Alexanders for six seasons (1978-84). Oddly, this team originated from the relocated Hamilton Fincups for the 1978-79 season and the Alexanders later relocated to become the Hamilton Steelheads for the 1984-85 season.

SOCCER

Liga de Balompie Mexicano: Mexico's independent professional LBM (Mexican Football League), which completed its 2022 season in July with seven teams and then held a six-week Cup Tournament (Copa Torneo) with eight teams, started its 2023 season this week with ten teams aligned in two five-team groups and each team playing an eight-game schedule through April. Prior to the Copa Torneo, the Furia Roja FC dropped out and the Cachorros FC and Lobos USSL were added. After the Copa Torneo, the Halcones Queretaro and Cachorros FC dropped out, but the Toros Mexico, Mexico City RED, Condor FC and EFIX Soccer Club were added. Also, the Inter de Amecameca club was renamed the Inter Ixtapaluca.

National Women's Soccer League: The 12-team Division-I professional NWSL announced its 2023 regular-season schedule will feature each team playing a 22-game schedule from March 25 through October 15, 2023 with teams again aligned in a single-table format. The league's Challenge Cup tournament will return in 2023, but instead of starting the season with the tournament as it did the past two seasons, the Challenge Cup will run concurrently with the 2023 regular-season schedule. For the Challenge Cup, the 12 teams will be aligned into four-team groups and each team will play at least six games as part of group-play with the top four teams moving on to semi-finals followed by a championship game.

USL W-League (United Soccer League): The men's Birmingham Legion team in the Division-II professional USL-Championship is partnering with the Alabama FC and Birmingham United Soccer Association to place a yet-to-be-named women's team in the pre-professional USL W-League for the 2023 season. The USL W-League also announced three additional teams called the Bavarian United SC (Milwaukee), Swan City SC (Lakeland, FL) and the RKC SC representing the Racine-Kenosha counties in Wisconsin have been added for the 2023 season. Each of these three clubs will also add men's teams in the pre-professional USL League Two for the 2023 season.

WPSL PRO (Women's Premier Soccer League): The elite amateur-level WPSL announced plans this week to develop a Division-III women's pro league known as the WPSL PRO tentatively starting in the 2025 season. The WPSL PRO wants to start with 10 teams and expand to 24 teams by 2030. The WPSL also operates a WPSL U-21 division and announced plans in 2021 for a proposed WPSL Canada league.

OTHER

Premier Rugby Sevens: North America's top tier men's and women's rugby sevens competition known as the PR7s announced the previously unnamed northern California and western Pennsylvania teams have been named the Golden State Retrievers and Pittsburgh Steeltoes, respectively. The PR7 stated the first event for 2023 will be the Eastern Conference Kickoff Event in Austin on June 17. The league has expanded to eight teams aligned in four-team Eastern and Western conferences for 2023.

Women's Pro Fastpitch: The WPF recently posted the 2023 schedules for the four teams comprising the league's first full season, which will feature each team playing 36 games from June 15 through August 7. The WPF played an inaugural exhibition season in 2022 with two teams called the USSSA (United States Specialty Sports Association) Pride (Viera, FL) and the SIS (Smash It Sports) Vipers, which was based in the Rochester (NY) but played all road games. The league has since added the Oklahoma City Spark and a yet-to-be-named Texas team (announced as Dallas). The SIS Vipers have found a home in Oxford (AL) for the 2023 season. Teams will be playing some neutral-site games in Shawnee (KS), Peoria and Evansville during the 2023 season.

Major League Rugby: As the men's professional 15-a-side rugby union MLR prepares for its 2023 season, the league announced an expansion team called the Miami Sharks will be added for the 2024 season. Back in December 2022, the league's Rugby New York team announced a rebranding as the Rugby New York Ironworkers starting with the 2023 season. This team started in 2017 as Rugby Club New York, changed to Rugby United New York (2018-21) when it was referred to as the Roosters, and then changed to just Rugby New York last season.

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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• 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.