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Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
March 20, 2023 - MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)


BASEBALL

Empire Baseball League: The independent developmental Empire League , which claims to be "The Nation's Premier Professional Baseball Showcase Organization," has posted it 2023 season schedule that will feature five teams each playing a 32-game schedule through July 18. All four of last season's teams called the Plattsburgh (NY) Thunderbirds, Tupper Lake (NY) Riverpigs, Saranac Lake (NY) Surge and the Japan Islanders travel-only team will return, and a new team called the Malone (NY) Border Hounds was added for the 2023 season.

Pecos Spring League: The independent Pecos League recently completed its two-week Pecos Spring League (PSL), which is a showcase held at a complex in Houston for rookie and undrafted free agent players looking to sign with an independent team for the summer season. The PSL had only three teams called the Houston Apollos, Weimar Hormigas and Wasco Reserve and some additional games were played against non-league teams.

International League: The Memphis Redbirds of the Triple-A International League announced every Thursday home game in 2023 will be a Throwback Night with the team playing as the Memphis Chicks, which was the city's former Double-A team that relocated with the arrival of the Redbirds in 1998.

BASKETBALL

American Basketball Association: The semi-pro ABA announced an expansion team called the Arizona Saints (Tucson) will be added to the Pacific South Division for the 2023-24.

Universal Basketball Association: The semi-pro UBA started its 2023 season late last month with ten teams-one in Tennessee, three in Texas and six in Georgia-aligned in a single-table format. The UBA season runs through May 2023.

The Basketball League: The minor professional TBL announced a new team called the Kansas City Kansas (KCK) Kaotics has been added as a 2024 expansion team. The league had a former Kansas City (MO) team called the Kansas City Tornados (2018) and the Kansas City Tornadoes (2019).

FOOTBALL

Canadian Football League: The CFL found an owner for the Montreal Alouettes team ahead of the 2023 season. Last month, the league had taken over operations of the Alouettes from previous ownership. The CFL commissioner stated this week the league wants to restart discussions on adding a tenth team located in Atlanta Canada. Over the past few years, a potential ownership group had been trying to establish a team called the Atlantic Schooners in Halifax (Nova Scotia), but that group is no longer involved. Financing the construction of a new stadium was an obstacle and this effort was stalled by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The CFL is considering that a future expansion team would be based out of a temporary stadium to sell the team to the market and eventually build a permanent stadium.

Indoor Football League: The IFL started its 2023 season, which features 14 teams aligned in seven-team Eastern and Western conferences with each team playing a 16-game schedule through July 15, 2023. The league line-up is basically the same as last season, except for the expansion Tulsa Oilers replacing the now-dormant Bismarck (ND) Bucks in the Eastern Conference. The IFL lists the Bismarck Bucks and the Columbus (OH) Wild Dogs as 2024 teams.

American Arena League 2: The American Arena League's developmental AAL2 recently announced the inaugural 2023 season schedule that will feature eight teams each playing eight games from April 15 through June 10, 2023. Teams include the Jersey Bearcats (Roselle, NJ), Steel City Stampede (Bethlehem, PA), Eastern Shore Rage (Springfield, VA), United Fire Power (Wake Forest, NC), Maryland Eagles (Wheaton), Maryland Warriors (Frederick), Georgialina Lions (Augusta, GA) and Houston Maulers (Canonsburg, PA).

HOCKEY

3ICE League: The independent six-team tour-based 3ICE professional hockey league recently announced the schedule for its second season of 3-on-3 hockey in 2023. Starting on June 28, 2023, the 3ICE will hold six weekly tour stops in Hershey (PA), Pittsburgh, Grand Rapids (MI), Newark, Boston and Clarksville (TN) followed by playoffs in Philadelphia. Each team plays with three skaters and a goalie.

North American Hockey League: The Tier-II junior-level NAHL announced a new team called the New Hampshire Mountain Kings (Hooksett) has been accepted into the league and will join the East Division starting with the 2023-24 season. The team will play at Tri-Town Ice Arena, which is currently home to the New Hampshire Jr Monarchs teams in the United States Premier Hockey League's Tier-II National Collegiate Development Conference and the Tier-III USPHL Premier Conference. The owner of the Mountain Kings is part of a group that is in the process of purchasing the Tri-Town Ice Arena.

SOCCER

League1 Ontario: Canada's provincial Division-3 pro-am League1 Ontario announced both the men's and women's divisions will start their 2023 seasons next month. The Men's Premier Division will feature 21 teams aligned in a single table and play from April 12 through August 20, while the Women's Premier Division will feature 19 teams aligned in a single table and play from April 21 through July 23. Last season, the Men's Premier Division had 22 teams and the Women's Premier Division had 20 teams, but both the men's and women's teams of the Pickering FC were removed for the 2023 season.

MLS NEXT Pro (Major League Soccer): Major League Soccer's developmental reserve league known as the MLS NEXT Pro announced the 2023 season schedule will feature 27 teams, each of which will be affiliated with an MLS team and will play a 28-game schedule from March 24 through September 24, 2023. An Eastern Conference will feature a seven-team Central Division and a six-team Northeast Division, while a Western Conference will feature a seven-team Frontier Division and a seven-team Pacific Division. Of the 21 teams from last season, the league's only independent team called the Rochester New York FC, which was planned for the Northeast Division, recently announced it would not return for 2023. The league added seven MLS affiliates for 2023. Three MLS affiliates called the Atlanta United 2, LA Galaxy II and New York Red Bulls II joined from the 2022 Division-II professional USL Championship league, while four MLS teams added new affiliates called the Austin FC II (Austin FC affiliate), LAFC2 (Los Angeles FC affiliate), Huntsville City (Nashville SC affiliate) and Crown Legacy (Charlotte FC affiliate). Of the 29 MLS teams for 2023, only the CF Montreal, which has its developmental team in the Premier Ligue de Soccer du Quebec, and the D.C. United, which still has its Loudoun United FC developmental team in the USL Championship, do not have developmental reserve teams in the MLS NEXT Pro.

USL League One (United Soccer League): The Division-III professional USL League One started its 2023 season this week with 12 teams aligned in a single-table format and each team playing a 32-game schedule through October 14, 2023. The league operated with 11 teams in 2022, but the FC Tucson dropped down a level to the pre-professional USL League Two. The league added expansion teams called the Lexington (KY) Sporting Club, or Lexington SC, and One Knoxville (TN) Sporting Club, or One Knox SC, for the 2023 season.

National Independent Soccer Association: The Division-III professional NISA announced a semi-pro team called the Irvine Zeta FC (California) plans to move up to the professional level and has submitted an application to the NISA for the 2024 season. Irvine Zeta FC is currently playing in the United Premier Soccer League.

OTHER

Professional Box Lacrosse Association: Although the indoor PBLA suspended play in its inaugural 2022-23 season in late January, four former PBLA teams have been competing in a four-week Lacrosse Challenge Series at the First Arena in Elmira (NY). Teams called the Elmira Renegades, Binghamton Bombers, Syracuse Spark and the Jim Thorpe (PA) All Americans have been part of four one-night doubleheaders in Elmira since February 25, 2023. The Challenge Series ended this weekend with the final doubleheader event on March 18 and a championship game on March 19.

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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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.


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