Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
August 14, 2023 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
BASEBALL
South Atlantic League: The Rome (GA) Braves of the High-A SAL announced the team will undergo a name change for the 2024 season and fans can submit suggestions until August 18. The team will remain an affiliate of Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves but wants a more regional name to differentiate it from the parent club. The Rome Braves started playing in the 2003 season with the relocation of the Macon (GA) Braves. The Rome Braves came under new ownership in December 2021.
Carolina League: The Spartanburg (SC) County Council recently agreed to commit $1 million per year toward a downtown ballpark to be built as the new home for the Down East Wood Ducks (Kinston, NC) of the Low-A Carolina League. Ballpark construction is set to start in October and the relocated team is expected to start playing in Spartanburg for the 2025 season.
Eastern League: The Altoona (PA) Curve of the Double-A Eastern League was renamed the Altoona Pizzas for games from August 8 through August 13 as a tribute to the original Altoona Hotel pizza recipe.
BASKETBALL
American Basketball Association: The semi-pro ABA announced it will expand into Africa with the creation of the new ABA Africa league and plans to build a new ABA arena in Ghana. The league also wants to develop teams in Morocco, Rwanda, Angola, Mauritius, and Tanzania. Last summer, the ABA announced an initiative for a league in Liberia called ABA Liberia.
Women's American Basketball Association: The semi-pro WABA is nearing the end of its 2023 regular season that started July 1 and ends August 27. The league features 18 teams aligned in 4 regional divisions (North Upper, North Lower, South, and Midwest). New teams for 2023 include the Raleigh (NC) Red Storm, Maryland Spartans (Baltimore), Rockford (IL) Lightning and the New York Harlem Lady Underdogs. The league's Charlotte Swarm was renamed the Carolina Lady Cougars for 2023.
FOOTBALL
Champions Indoor Football: After three of the eight CIF teams from the 2023 season recently announced their departure from the league, the owner of the CIF's Billings (MT) Outlaws announced this week the team will be looking to join a different league for the 2024 season. The Billings' owner also owns the CIF's Gillette (WY) Mustangs and he is trying to keep both teams together under his ownership, but it is uncertain if the teams will end up in the same league. The owner is trying to keep the Mustangs in Gillette but Casper (WY) has been mentioned as a possible destination for the team.
National Arena League: The NAL announced the Sioux City (IA) Bandits and Omaha Beef, two teams that recently announced their departure from the Champions Indoor Football (CIF) league, have joined the NAL for the 2024 season. Both teams were most recently members of the CIF for nine seasons (2015-23).
Indoor Football League: The IFL's Massachusetts Pirates announced their lease at the DCU Center in Worcester expired at the end of the season and the team is evaluation options for 2024. Officials say the team could return to the DCU Center, find another venue within the state, or move outside of New England. A group in Sacramento is working to try to bring the IFL's Bay Area Panthers (San Jose) to the city for the 2024 season. The Panthers' ownership recently announced it is considering relocation and issued a request for proposals from the Northern California cities of Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, and Stockton.
Major League Football: The proposed developmental MLFB, which failed to start a four-team condensed season last August due to funding issues, has cancelled plans to operate a 2023 season. The league is working with a California group to develop fan-owned franchises for a start in 2024.
HOCKEY
Maritime Junior Hockey League: The South Shore Lumberjacks (Bridgewater, Nova Scotia) of the 12-team Junior-A MHL, which is one of nine leagues in the Junior-A Canadian Junior Hockey League, moved this off-season to become the West Kent Steamers (Bouctouche, New Brunswick) for the 2023-24 season. In the alignment, the West Kent Steamers were placed in the EastLink North Division and the Summerside Western Capitals (Prince Edward Island) were moved to the EastLink South Division.
National Hockey League: The ownership of the NHL's Arizona Coyotes has submitted a letter of intent to purchase 41 acres in Mesa (AZ) with the hope of building a new privately funded arena for the team in time for the 2026-27 season. The ownership is also looking at other locations in the Phoenix area and wants a plan in place by early 2024. A proposed deal in Tempe was voted down in early June and launched speculation the team might relocate if a new arena is not built. The Coyotes will be playing the second straight season in 2023-24 at the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena in Tempe.
North American 3 Hockey League: The Tier-III junior-level NA3HL's Milwaukee Power, which is based in suburban West Bend and has been part of the league since the 2018-19 season, has been renamed the West Bend Power under new ownership. The Power has also entered into an affiliation agreement with the Wisconsin Windigo (Eagle River) of the associated Tier-II North American Hockey League.
Union Hockey League: The proposed new semi-pro Senior-A North Eastern Hockey League has changed its name to the United Hockey League (UHL) ahead of its inaugural 2023-24 season that will start on November 4 with eight teams called the Midwest Mammoths (Dyer, IN), Motor City Apollos (Chelsea, MI), Pittsburgh River Monsters (Cannonsburg, PA), Niagara Falls Buffalos (Niagara Falls, NY), Poughkeepsie (NY) Polar Bears, Holyoke (MA) Royals, North Shore Nighthawks (Middleton, MA) and Boston Gold Kings (Watertown, MA).
SOCCER
Liga de Balompie Mexicano: Mexico's independent professional LBM (Mexican Football League) started the second part (Torneo 2023-B) of its 2023 season this week with 12 teams. The first part (Torneo 2023-A) of the season ran from February through April with ten teams, but new teams called Hidalgo FC and Kundavi FC (Rio Grande, Oaxaca) have been added. Also, the Inter Ixtapaluca club relocated to become the Inter Amecameca for the second part that runs through October.
League1 Atlantic: The Halifax Wanderers (Nova Scotia) club from the men's Division-2 Canadian Premier League (CPL) announced plans to operate men's and women's teams in the proposed new Division-3 League1 Atlantic, which is expected to start play in 2024 with teams based in the Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. One team from each of these provinces participated in a short interprovincial Maritime Super Series this summer. The men's Wanderers team in the League1 Atlantic will be an Under-21 developmental team for the men's CPL team, while the women's team will operate under a different name.
USL League One (United Soccer League): The North Carolina FC (Cary) of the Division-III professional USL League One announced the team will return to the Division-II professional USL Championship league for the 2024 season. The team was part of the USL Championship from 2018 to 2020 and dropped down a level to the USL League One for the past three seasons.
OTHER
Rugby League United: A new men's rugby league called Rugby League United (RLU), which plays under the 13-player ¬Årugby league ¬Â rules, recently completed its inaugural 2023 regular season with four teams. The RLU's Delaware Black Foxes (Wilmington), Brooklyn Kings, and Boston 13s were previously associated with the USA Rugby League's North Conference of teams, while the DC Cavalry (Washington) was associated with the North American Rugby League that has failed to launch as planned. Each RLU team played six matches from June 17 through August 5.
Pacific Coast Rugby League: The new eight-team PCRL plays under the 13-player ¬Årugby league ¬Â rules and is aligned with the ¬Årugby league ¬Â governing body known as USA Rugby League (USARL), which also has a four-team USARL South Conference. The PCRL recently completed its inaugural 2023 regular season with a California division that included the Santa Rosa Dead Pelicans, San Diego Barracudas, Los Angeles Bandidos, and LA Mongrel, while the Utah division had the Provo Broncos, Glendale Storm, Riverton Seagulls, and Herriman Roosters. The Provo Broncos won the PCRL championship this weekend and will face the USARL South Conference's champion Jacksonville Axemen on August 26 for the USARL National Championship. The other 2023 USARL South Conference teams included the Atlanta Rhinos, Tampa Tempest, and Southwest Florida Copperheads (Naples). The PCRL is also working with the Oregon Rugby League to start a future Oregon division.
Dan Krieger is the creator of the Weekly Sports League & Franchise Report, which has been tracking the changes in the sports world's leagues, teams, and nicknames since April 2007.
South Atlantic League Stories from August 14, 2023
- Grasshoppers Fall to the Drive, 11-2, in Final Game of Its Away Series - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- Grasshoppers Drop to the Drive, 8-7, on Saturday Evening - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- 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.
