Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
March 6, 2023 - Champions Indoor Football (CIF)

BASEBALL

Atlantic League: Although the independent Atlantic League's new team in Frederick (MD) has ended the voting for the team's name, the nickname will not be announced until June 23, 2023. Since the season starts in late April, the Frederick team will wear uniforms with question marks in the colors (red, gold and black) of the Maryland state flag and black hats with a lone white question mark until the announcement.

Carolina League: The Carolina Mudcats (Zebulon, NC) of the low Class-A Carolina League have signed an agreement with the city of Wilson (NC), about 25 miles east, to explore construction of a new ballpark for the team, which is owned by Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewers. The league's Kannapolis (NC) Cannon Ballers announced the team will become the Kannapolis Q's for a series in early May 2023 as a tribute to North Carolina barbecue. The Cannon Ballers will also play four games in the 2023 season as the Piedmont Boll Weevils, which was a past name for the team.

Southern League: The Pensacola Blue Wahoos of the Double-A Southern League will play as the Pensacola Seagulls for three games during the 2023 season to honor the city's former Negro League team.

International League: The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Allentown, PA) will become the ‚¬Å“Space Savers ‚¬Â for a regular-season game next month to honor the tradition of saving parking spaces in the city, especially during the winter months. The league's Omaha Storm Chasers will play a 2023 game as the Omaha Rockets to honor a former semi-pro independent Negro League team from the late 1940s. The Storm Chasers will also play a 2023 game as the Omaha Cattlemen, which was one of the nickname choices when the team was renamed from the Omaha Royals after the 2010 season. The league's Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp will again play a game in 2023 as the Jacksonville Red Caps in honor of the city's former Negro League team by that name.

Texas League: The Arkansas Travelers (Little Rock) will become the Mad Mallards for a six-game series in the 2023 season as a tribute to the wild ducks found in the state and hunted during the off-season.

BASKETBALL

American Basketball Association: The semi-pro ABA announced the addition of 2023-24 expansion teams called the Reidsville (NC) Reapers and Mississippi Silverbacks (no city listed). The league also announced the Worcester (MA) Majors will return in 2023-24 after sitting out this season.

The Basketball League: Although some teams played a few games over the last few weeks, the men's minor professional TBL officially started its 2023 season this week with 49 teams, including 3 Canadian teams, aligned in six regional divisions (Central, Lower Midwest, Upper Midwest, Northeast, Southeast and West). The league operated with 44 teams in 2022, but lost 16 teams in the off-season and added 21 new teams for 2023. The Beaumont Panthers team was renamed the Southeast Texas Panthers; the Toledo Glass City BC is now the Glass City Wranglers; and the expansion Los Angeles Flash already changed to the South Bay Flash. Last season's Norwalk-based Connecticut Cobras team merged with a former Charlotte-based American Basketball Association team called the Queen City Purple Jackets to become the Charlotte Purple Jackets in the 2023 TBL. As was the case last season, several TBL teams are playing regular-season games against teams from the National Basketball League of Canada. TBL teams are scheduled to play a 24-game schedule through May 2023.

Liga de Mexicana Baloncesto Profesional Femenil: Mexico's LMBPF, or Mexican Women's Professional Basketball League, recently started its 2023 season with seven teams aligned in a single-table format. The league is down from the 14 teams that were aligned in 2 conferences last season. The LMBPF season runs through April 9, 2023.

Women's American Basketball Association: The semi-pro WABA recently announced a team called the Windy City Ballers (Chicago) has been added for the 2023 season. The league announced April 30, 2023 as the expansion deadline for teams wanting to be part of the 2023 season that starts July 1.

FOOTBALL

Champions Indoor Football: The CIF started its 2023 season this weekend with the same eight teams as last season and each team will play a ten-game schedule through May 2023. The league's Topeka Tropics team planned to go dormant for the 2023 season, but new ownership was able to take over the team back in September. The CIF's Gillette-based Wyoming Mustangs team was renamed the Gillette Mustangs for the 2023 season.

European League of Football: Europe's American-style football league known as the ELF announced its 2023 expansion team originally called the Paris Saints has changed its name to the Paris Musketeers ahead of the 2023 season that starts in June.

The Liga de Fútbol Americano: Mexico's top professional American-style outdoor football league known as the LFA started its 2023 season this weekend with ten teams aligned in a single-table format. All seven teams from the 2022 season have returned and the league added three teams called the Caudillos de Chihuahua, Jefes de Ciudad Juarez and Reds (Rojos) de Ciudad de Mexico from another league called the Futbol Americano de Mexico (FAM), which ceased operations after its 2022 season. Each team will play a ten-game schedule through mid-May followed by playoffs.

HOCKEY

Professional Women's Hockey Players Association: The tour-based PWHPA is reported to be finalizing plans for its proposed new women's professional hockey league to start play by the end of this year. This league would compete with the current women's seven-team Premier Hockey Federation. The PWHPA will end its 2022-23 tour with a Championship Weekend next week in Southern California. This will be sponsored by the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and Seattle Kraken, and the Kraken's Coachella Valley Firebirds (Palm Desert, CA) American Hockey League affiliate.

SOCCER

Canadian Premier League: One of the partners involved in the early stages of working to bring a professional CPL expansion team to a proposed new soccer stadium to Prairieland Park in Saskatoon (Saskatchewan) claims to have exclusive rights to the stadium and is suing another partner, who broke away from the original partnership and negotiated exclusive expansion rights to a CPL team, pending construction of a soccer-specific stadium at Prairieland Park.

USL League Two (United Soccer League): The men's pre-professional USL League Two announced the league alignment for the upcoming 2023 season will feature over 120 teams aligned in four regional conferences (Western, Eastern, Central and Southern). The Western and Central conferences will be further aligned into four regional divisions, while the Southern and Eastern conferences will be further aligned into five regional divisions. Two recent additions included the FC Buffalo and the Ironbound SC (Newark, NJ). The league also announced the Springfield (IL) Athletic Sporting Club has taken the Monarchs as its nickname.

National Women's Soccer League: The professional NWSL is expected to announce this month the return of the Utah Royals (Salt Lake City) as one of two expansion teams to join for the 2024 season. The former Utah Royals team, which had been operated by the owners of Major League Soccer's Real Salt Lake, folded after three seasons (2018-20) with players transferred to a 2021 Kansas City expansion team. When the men's Real Salt Lake team changed hands in late 2020, the new ownership was granted the rights to restart the Utah Royals NWSL team for a reduced franchise fee. San Francisco is considered to be the location of the other NWSL expansion team to start play in 2024.

OTHER

Major League Quidditch/Major League Quadball: The league formerly known as Major League Quidditch (MLQ) was officially renamed Major League Quadball (MLQ) after its 2022 season. The league and U.S. Quidditch, now U.S. Quadball, announced in December 2021 they were considering a name change for the sport because they did not own the trademark rights to ‚¬Å“Quidditch ‚¬Â. Inspired by the sport of quidditch played in the Harry Potter series of books and movies, quadball is a mixed gender full-contact sport with a unique mix of elements from rugby, dodgeball, and tag. A quadball team is made up of seven athletes who play with brooms (PVC pipe) between their legs at all times. The MLQ recently announced its 2023 regular season will run from early June to early August with 11 teams aligned in a six-team North Division, a five-team East Division and a five-team South Division.

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.

Champions Indoor Football Stories from March 6, 2023

• Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report - OSC Original by Dan Krieger

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