Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
April 10, 2023 - Eastern League (EL)
BASEBALL
Eastern League: The Double-A Eastern League started its 2023 season this week with the same 12 teams and Major League affiliations as last season. The league is again aligned in six-team Northeast and Southwest divisions. The league's Binghamton (NY) Rumble Ponies announced the team will play as the Southern Tier Shortcakes for a three-game series in June of the 2023 season as a tribute to the area's annual Oswego Strawberry Festival.
Southern League: The Double-A Southern League started its 2023 season this week with the same eight teams and Major League affiliations as last season. Teams are again aligned in four-team North and South divisions.
Texas League: The Double-A Texas League started its 2023 season this week with the same ten teams and Major League affiliations as last season. Teams are again aligned in five-team North and South divisions.
Midwest League: The high Class-A Midwest League started its 2023 season this week with the same 12 teams and Major League affiliations as last season. Teams are again aligned in six-team East and West divisions.
Northwest League: The high Class-A Northwest League started its 2023 season this week with same six teams and Major League affiliations as last season. Teams are again aligned in a single-table format.
South Atlantic League: The high Class-A South Atlantic League started its 2023 season this week with the same 12 teams and Major League affiliations as last season. Teams are again aligned in six-team North and South divisions.
California League: The low Class-A California League started its 2023 season this week with the same eight teams and Major League affiliations as last season. Teams are again aligned in four-team North and South divisions.
Carolina League: The low Class-A Carolina League started its 2023 season this week with the same 12 teams and Major League affiliations as last season. Teams are again aligned in six-team North and South divisions.
Florida State League: The low Class-A FSL started its 2023 season this week with the same ten teams and Major League affiliations as last season. Teams are again aligned in a four-team East Division and a six-team West Division.
BASKETBALL
The Basketball League: The minor professional TBL announced the addition of a new team called the Jacksonville (FL) 95ers for the 2024 season. The TBL is expected to announce next week a new higher-level basketball league as an offshoot of the TBL. This new ¬Åsuper league ¬Â will be an option for markets not covered by the NBA and the NBA G-League, and will be comprised of the best players and teams from the TBL along with new teams in new markets and other existing teams looking to play at a higher level of play. The Kitchener-Waterloo Titans team in the National Basketball League of Canada plans to be part of this league. The name of the new league and other details will be announced next week.
Eastern Canada Basketball League: The semi-pro ECBL started its inaugural 2023 season last week with six teams located in the Maritimes provinces of Canada. Teams include the Truro Tide and Valley Vipers (Annapolis Valley) in Nova Scotia; the Moncton Motion, Saint John Union and Bathurst Bears in New Brunswick; and the Charlottetown Power on Prince Edward Island. A team called the Summerside Slam! (Prince Edward Island) was to be one of the six teams for the ECBL's original proposed start in 2022, but that season was pushed back to 2023. In November 2022, the Moncton Motion was added as a seventh team for the 2023 season, but the Summertime Slam! has since been dropped for the 2023 season. Each ECBL team will play a 26-game schedule through mid-June 2023.
FOOTBALL
National Arena League: The NAL started its 2023 season this weekend with seven teams each playing a 14-game schedule through July 22, 2023. In October 2022, the NAL announced the 2023 season would feature eight teams to include all six teams returning from the 2022 season along with the expansion Fayetteville (NC) Mustangs and the Odessa-based West Texas Warbirds from the 2022 Arena Football Association. In December 2022, one of the six 2022 teams called the Columbus (GA) Lions was dropped from the league leaving seven teams for the 2023 season. The Columbus Lions then moved to the American Indoor Football Alliance for the 2023 season.
Women's National Football Conference: The semi-pro WNFC started its 2023 season last weekend with 16 teams aligned in a five-team Atlantic Division, five-team Central Division and a six-team Pacific Division. Each team plays six games through May. The WNFC had 17 teams last season, but the Atlantic Division lost the Birmingham-based Alabama Fire, which moved to the Women's Football Alliance.
HOCKEY
American Hockey League: The AHL's Chicago Wolves announced the team is ending its affiliation with the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes. The Wolves plan to play as an independent AHL team for the 2023-24 season and will no longer be affiliated with an NHL team. Each of the 32 AHL teams had a one-to-one affiliation with the 32 NHL teams for the 2022-23 season.
ECHL: A local ownership group in Albuquerque (NM) has expressed interest in bringing an ECHL franchise to the area. The area had the New Mexico Scorpions that last played in 2008-09 season of the former Central Hockey League.
Southern Professional Hockey League: The SPHL's Peoria Rivermen team has reached a one-year lease agreement that is to include major arena upgrades and will keep the team in Peoria next season with an option for 2024-25. Without these proposed upgrades the team's future in the city was uncertain.
SOCCER
National Women's Soccer League: The Division-I professional NWSL announced an expansion franchise has been granted for the San Francisco Bay Area of California. The team will start play as the 14th team in the 2024 season, along with the recently announced 13th team called the Utah Royals FC (Salt Lake City). The NWSL is considering future expansion to 16 teams. The Bay Area had two previous women's pro teams called the Bay Area/San Jose CyberRays for three seasons (2001-03) in the former Women's United Soccer Association, and the FC Gold Pride (Hayward, CA) for two seasons (2009-10) in the former Women's Professional Soccer. The new Bay Area NWSL team is expected to play games at the home of Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes.
USL W-League (United Soccer League): The women's pre-professional W-League announced its first team in Texas will be the Austin-based ATX Women's Soccer. The team plans to start play in the 2024 season, but that is contingent on the formation of a new division with at least five new teams.
OTHER
Premier Ultimate League: The PUL women's professional ultimate frisbee league started its 2023 season with 12 teams aligned in four-team Midwest, Southwest and East divisions with teams playing four to seven games through June 11, 2023. All teams have returned from last season except the Medellin (Colombia) Revolution, which has left the league and was replaced by the new Philadelphia Surge. PUL teams are mainly located in the eastern half of the United States, while the women's Western Ultimate League features eight teams in the western half of the United States.
Athletes Unlimited - Lacrosse: The Athletes Unlimited announced the third season of its women's four-team outdoor field lacrosse league will start on July 20, 2023 with play running four weeks through August 13, 2023. All games will be played at one location that has yet to be confirmed. Similar to the Athletes Unlimited women's softball, basketball and volleyball leagues, players earn individual points during games and the top four players from each week will serve as captains and draft the four teams for the next week.
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.
Eastern League Stories from April 10, 2023
- 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.
