Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
April 24, 2023 - Champions Indoor Football (CIF)

BASEBALL

Southern League: The owner of the Tennessee Smokies in the Double-A Southern League has signed an agreement to build a new 7,000-seat ballpark for the team in downtown Knoxville. The ballpark is expected to be ready for the 2025 season at which time the team will return to being called the Knoxville Smokies. The Smokies started in Knoxville in 1972 and were known as the Knoxville Smokies from 1993 to 1999 until moving to the Kodak/Sevierville area as the Tennessee Smokies for the 2000 season.

Liga Mexicana de Beisbol: Mexico's top-level LMB, or Mexican Baseball League, started its 2023 season this week with the same 18 teams as last season and again aligned in a nine-team Zona Sur (South Division) and a nine-team Zona Norte (North Division). The 2023 season will run through August 6, 2023 with teams playing a 90-game schedule.

Major League Baseball Draft League: The Williamsport (PA) Crosscutters of the MLB Draft League will be rebranded as the Potato Capers for every Friday home game during the 2023 season to commemorate a 1987 hidden ball trick in which a Williamsport player useda peeled potato. The league's Frederick Keys announced the team will be receiving funding from the state of Maryland for much-needed stadium improvements. The condition of the stadium was seen as a reason the team lost its Major League affiliation during the 2020 reorganization of Minor League Baseball. Team officials first want to bring a team affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles, followed by the Washington Nationals or another MLB team.

Major League Baseball: MLB's Oakland Athletics (A's) announced the team has purchased a 49-acre site in Las Vegas where it plans to build a new 30,000-seat retractable-roof ballpark for the team. The team's current lease in Oakland runs through the 2024 season and a new Las Vegas ballpark would not be ready until 2027. The A's have the option of playing the 2025 and 2026 seasons at the home of its Triple-A Pacific Coast League affiliate called the Las Vegas Aviators, which plays out of a 10,000-seat ballpark in suburban Summerlin. The MLB team is expected to retain the A's name and the Triple-A Aviators will continue to operate after the relocation of the A's.

Texas League: The Tulsa Drillers of the Double-A Texas League will play a four-game series in June as the TulsaSound to pay tribute to the blues style of music the city is known for.

Eastern League: The Portland (ME) Sea Dogs of the Double-A Eastern League will play a game in August this season as the Maine Clambakes in honor of the New England clambake tradition.

BASKETBALL

American Basketball Association: The semi-pro ABA announced an expansion team called the Columbia (MO) Bruins has been added for the 2023-24 season.

Women's American Basketball Association: The semi-pro WABA recently added the Rockford (IL) Lightning for the 2023 season that will start on July 1. The current 2023 lineup lists 22 teams aligned in a five-team North Upper, a seven-team North Lower, a five-team Midwest and a five-team South.

National Basketball League - United States: The semi-pro NBL-US started its 2023 season last week with the Louisiana Kingz (Elton) and five Texas-based teams called the Baytown Bobcats, East Houston United, Cypress Venom, Lake Houston Flight and Woodlands Warhawks.

FOOTBALL

Champions Indoor Football: The CIF has had to step in to assist operating the league's Topeka Tropics team due to allegations by players and coaches concerning the team's ownership. The CIF expects the team to be able to complete its 2023 season schedule.

Great Lakes Arena Alliance: The semi-pro GLAA has removed the Chicago Power from its 2023 standings since the team never got off the ground in the league as planned. The GLAA still has four active teams called the West Michigan Ironmen (Muskegon), Battle Creek (MI) Smoke, Southern Michigan Apex (Kalamazoo) and Ohio Blitz (Celina).

Women's Football Alliance: The semi-pro full-tackle WFA started its 2023 season this weekend with a total of 56 teams playing games through June 10, 2023. The WFA Pro has an eight-team American and a six-team National division; the WFA Division 2 has a six-team American and a ten-team National division; and the WFA Division 3 has a six-team North East, an eight-team South East; a four-team Midwest and an eight-team Pacific. The WFA also has a six-team Developmental group of teams for the 2023 season. The WFA has been around since the 2009 season.

HOCKEY

Federal Prospects Hockey League: The new 2023-24 Baton Rouge (LA) expansion team in the minor A-level FPHL started accepting submissions of potential team names this week and it will continue through April 30. A team name will then be selected and announced in late May.

North American 3 Hockey League: The ownership group that recently added a new team called the New Hampshire Mountain Kings to the Tier-II junior-level NAHL announced the addition of a team by the same name in the Tier-III junior-level NA3HL for the 2023-24 season. Both teams will play out of the Tri-Town Ice Arena in Hooksett (NH).

United States Premier Hockey League: A new ownership group has purchased the Rock Springs (WY) Prospectors team in the USPHL's Tier-III Premier Conference and will move the team up to the USPHL's Tier-II National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC) for the 2023-24 season. The team will be renamed the Rock Springs Grizzlies and will be part of a previously announced new NCDC West division, which will include other teams moving up to the NCDC from the 2022-23 Mountain Division in the USPHL's Tier-III Premier Conference.

SOCCER

National Premier Soccer League: The men's elite-level NPSL recently started its 2023 season with 110 teams across the United States playing through July 9, 2023. The league consists of four geographic regions (a 36-team East, 28-team Midwest, 29-team South and a 17-team West) with each region further divided into either three or four regional conferences.

Major Arena Soccer League: The Lakeland-based Florida Tropics of the men's professional MASL announced that a significant increase in the rent for its home at the RP Funding Center will force the team to look for a new home if it wants to return for an eighth season. The owner of the Tropics stated the team would look at other arena options across the state. This same arena also recently lost the Lakeland Magic of the National Basketball Association G-League to Kissimmee (FL) for next season.

USL League Two (United Soccer League): Since announcing in February the 121-team alignment for the 2023 season, the men's pre-professional USL League Two has added one final 2023 team called the St. Petersburg FC to the South Florida Division of the Southern Conference.

OTHER

National Volleyball Association: The men's indoor professional NVA started its 2023 season earlier this month and again has 12 teams aligned in six-team National and American conferences that are further split into three-team Central and Coastal divisions. Teams called the Colorado Sasquatch, Dallas Tornadoes and Seattle Sasquatch did not return from last season, but the NVA added three new teams called Puerto Rico Pythons, San Diego Wild and Philadelphia Founders. The 2023 season consists of five weekend events from early April to early July with all games played at Long Beach City College in California.

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.