Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
Published on June 26, 2023 under BIG3 (BIG3)
BASEBALL
Atlantic League: The independent Atlantic League's 2023 expansion team in Frederick (MD) announced this weekend the team is now called the Spire City Ghost Hounds. The team started the season in April without a name and had question marks on their uniforms until the nickname was announced. Other potential names were Bone Shakers, Rail Frogs, Sawbones and Screaming Alpacas. The league's 2024 expansion team to be based in Hagerstown (MD) announced five nicknames from which fans can vote to select the team's name. The nickname choices include the Battle Swans, Diezel Dogs, Flying Boxcars, Haymakers and Tin Lizards. Fan voting runs until July 7 with the name to be announced on July 13.
Florida Complex League: Major League Baseball's pure Rookie-level FCL, which was known as the Gulf Coast League prior to the 2021 season and plays at MLB spring training complexes in Florida, started its 2023 season earlier this month with 15 teams aligned in a five-team East, a six-team South and a four-team North. The league had 16 teams with a six-team East last season, but the Houston Astros are not operating two separate Astros Blue and Astros Orange teams in 2023.
Arizona Complex League: Major League Baseball's pure rookie-level Arizona Complex League, which was known as the Arizona League prior to the 2021 season and plays at MLB spring training complexes in Arizona, started its 2023 season earlier this month with 17 teams aligned in a six-team East, a five-team Central and a six-team West. The ACL had 18 teams last season with a six-team Central, but the Milwaukee Brewers are not operating two separate Brewers Blue and Brewers Gold teams in 2023.
National Alliance of College Summer Baseball: The 12 summer-collegiate baseball leagues that are members of the NACSB started their 2023 seasons earlier this month. The NACSB is sanctioned by the NCAA and the non-profit leagues receive some funding from Major League Baseball. Leagues include the 16-team Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League, the 8-team Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, the 11-team California Collegiate League, the 10-team Cape Cod League, the 6-team Florida Collegiate Summer League, the 13-team Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, the 6-team Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League, the 9-team New England Collegiate Baseball League, the 10-team New York Collegiate Baseball League, the 6-team Southern Collegiate Baseball League, the 8-team Sunbelt Baseball League and the 12-team Valley League Baseball.
BASKETBALL
BIG3 League: The 12-team tour-based BIG3 league, which plays a 3-on-3 style of basketball called Fireball3, started its 2023 season this weekend in Chicago with the same 12 teams as last season. Other tour stops in the regular season include Dallas, Brooklyn, Memphis, Miami, Boston, Charlotte and Detroit followed by playoffs in Washington (DC) and the championship in London, England. Each tour stop includes all 12 teams participating in 6 games on either a Saturday or Sunday event.
SlamBall: The made-for-TV hybrid of basketball known as SlamBall has reached an exclusive two-year national broadcast agreement with ESPN for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. SlamBall, which features a four-player type of basketball using a series of trampolines positioned in the normal shooting area of the baskets allowing players to spring toward the basket to score, will relaunch with all games played in Las Vegas and live broadcasts over five weekends starting July 21, 2023. Previously, SlamBall seasons were played and taped at one location in 2002, 2003, and again in 2008 and 2009, and rebroadcast across the United States. The organizers had hoped to create an official SlamBall League with individual franchises to be located at SlamBall complexes in select markets.
FOOTBALL
Fan Controlled Football: The fan-interactive indoor FCF announced the league will not play a third season in 2023 due to a funding shortage. The league will try to license some of its technology and hopes to sell individual franchises to fund a possible return in the future. The FCF started with four teams in 2021 and expanded to eight teams last season. All games were played in an Atlanta studio designed for the FCF. Fan Controlled Sports & Entertainment is also trying to start the Fan Controlled Hoops basketball league.
National Arena League: With the NAL recently terminating the membership of the Albany (NY) Empire franchise, the operators of Albany's MVP Arena are confident arena football will return in 2024 and two competing groups are looking to start an Albany team in either the NAL or Indoor Football League.
HOCKEY
Eastern Hockey League: The Tier-III junior-level EHL announced the 2023-24 season schedules for both the EHL and its developmental EHL Premier (EHLP). The EHL will have 25 teams aligned in four divisions-a six-team Central, five-team North, six-team East and a six-team South. The EHLP will have 16 teams aligned in three divisions-a four-team New England, six-team Mid-Atlantic and a six-team Boston. The EHL will grow from 19 to 23 teams with the addition of the Providence Hockey Club, Boston Junior Terriers, the Boston-based Bridgewater Bandits from the United States Premier Hockey League, and the Pennsylvania Huntsmen, which had a 2022-23 team in the EHLP. The EHL's Protec Junior Ducks team was purchased and renamed the New Jersey Bears (Flemington) for 2023-24. The Bridgewater Bandits also added an EHLP team so that league will grow from 15 to 16 teams for 2023-24.
Federal Prospects Hockey League: The Elmira (NY) Mammoth of the lower-level minor FPHL was evicted from its home at the First Arena last month for non-payment of utility bills. The arena operator announced the FPHL will start a new Elmira team for the 2023-24 season with a team name to be announced over the next few weeks. The FPHL's Delaware Thunder (Harrington) confirmed the team will be dormant for the 2023-24 season as it tries to build a new arena about 17 miles north in Dover (DE).
National Junior Hockey League: The town of Mackenzie (British Columbia) will not renew the arena lease agreement with the Mackenzie Mountaineers team that was supposed to be part of the new NJHL for the 2023-24 season. The Mountaineers were part of a West Division in the junior-level Greater Metro Hockey League (GMHL) for 2022-23, but the GMHL dropped the West Division after the season and most of the GMHL West Division teams planned to move to the new NJHL.
Western Hockey League: With the major-junior WHL's Winnipeg ICE (Manitoba) being purchased and relocated to become the Wenatchee (WA) Wild for the 2023-24 season, the team will move from the Eastern Conference East Division to the Western Conference U.S. Division. The 2023-24 alignment will feature an 11-team Western Conference with six United States-based teams in the U.S. Division and five British Columbia-based teams in the B.C. Division, while the 11-team Eastern Conference will have five Alberta-based teams and one Saskatchewan-based team in the Central Division and four Saskatchewan-based teams and one Manitoba-based team in the East Division. The Swift Current Broncos (Saskatchewan) will remain in the Central Division with the five Alberta-based teams for the 2023-24 season but will move to the East Division for the 2024-25 season.
SOCCER
USL W-League (United Soccer League): The women's pre-professional W-League announced the Tallahassee Reckoning (TLH Reckoning) will join the league as a 2024 expansion team.
NISA Nation (National Independent Soccer Association): The NISA Nation, which is the amateur developmental league for the men's Division-III professional NISA, announced affiliations with four premier soccer leagues called the Cascadia Premier Soccer League, Eastern Premier Soccer League, Mountain Premier League and Southwest Premier League. The NISA also announced a NISA Nation National Championship will take place with NISA Nation teams and teams from the affiliated leagues.
USL Championship (United Soccer League): The 2024 expansion team called the Rhode Island FC of the Division-II professional USL Championship league announced its new stadium under construction in downtown Pawtucket will not be ready for the 2024 season, so the team will temporarily play home games in 2024 at Beirne Stadium on the campus of Bryant University in Smithfield (RI), about 12 miles to the northwest of Pawtucket.
OTHER
Major League Quadball: The MLQ, formerly known as Major League Quidditch, started its 2023 season late last month with 16 teams aligned in a five-team East Division, a five-team South Division and a six-team North Division, which is further divided into three-team I-90 and I-94 conferences. The MLQ had 14 teams last season, but the Ottawa Black Bears and Toronto Raiders have returned after sitting out the past couple of seasons due coronavirus (COVID-19) travel restrictions. The league's Indianapolis Intensity franchise was moved to Chicago and renamed the Chicago Prowl. The MLQ announced the Charlotte Aviators, which has played as a provisional team in the East Division the past two seasons, was elevated to a full-fledged franchise. Quadball is a competitive, full-contact, mixed-gender sport played around the world and was adapted from the quidditch game played in the Harry Potter series of books and movies.
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.
