Sports stats



IFL Indoor Football League

Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
January 29, 2024 - Indoor Football League (IFL)


BASEBALL

Pioneer League: The independent Pioneer League, which is a partner league of Major League Baseball, announced its second new California-based team for the 2024 season will be based in Davis (Yolo County) and will be called the Yolo High Wheelers. The team is part of the league's West Coast expansion and will play at a 3,500-seat ballpark on the campus of the University of California-Davis. The name is in reference to the city of Davis as a global cycling hub and headquarters of the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame. The Yolo High Wheelers and the new Oakland Ballers, also known as the Oakland B's, will join the league's ten other returning teams located throughout Montana, Utah, Colorado, and Idaho.

Atlantic League: The independent Atlantic League's Lexington (KY) Counter Clocks team has come under new ownership, which includes individuals associated with the team when it was known as the Lexington Legends, and the team plans to drop the Counter Clocks name and likely change back to its previous name. The Lexington Legends were an affiliated team in the South Atlantic League (2001-20) and joined the Atlantic League for the 2021 season after the reorganization of Minor League Baseball. New ownership took over prior to the 2023 season and renamed the team the Lexington Counter Clocks.

Eastern League: In an effort to promote New Jersey as the "Diner Capital of the World" and what diners have to offer, the Somerset Patriots (Bridgewater, NJ) of the Double-A Eastern League will become the Jersey Diners for three home games during the 2024 season. The league's Binghamton (NY) Rumble Ponies will be rebranded as the Binghamton Grumble Pugs for one game during the 2024 season. A group of pugs is known as a grumble or grumbling, so the team's logo will feature three pugs.

Coastal Plain League: The summer-collegiate CPL announced its new Greenville (NC) team will be called the Greenville Yard Gnomes when the team starts play in the 2024 season.

Mid-America League: The new MAL developmental baseball league, which will be comprised mostly of collegiate players when it starts play in 2024, now has names for three of the four previously announced first-season markets. These include the Fort Smith (AR) Marshals, Sherman (TX) Sandcats and Abilene (TX) Flying Bison. A fourth "Piney Wood" team based in White Oak (TX) has yet to reveal its name.

BASKETBALL

Liga Mexicana de Baloncesto Profesional Femenil: Mexico's LMBPF, or Mexican Women's Professional Basketball League, started its 2024 season this weekend with ten teams aligned in a five-team Zona Norte (North Division) and a five-team Zona Sur (South Division). Each team will play a 20-game schedule through March 27, 2024. Of the seven teams from last season, five teams called the Leñadoras de Durango, Lobas de Aguascalientes, Racers de Saltillo, Teporacas de Chihuahua and Mexcaltecas de Nayarit did not return. Only the Quetzales Sajoma (Mexico City) and Mieleras de Guanajuato returned and are joined by eight new teams called the Husky's de Querétaro, Libelulas (Mexico City), Mineras de Zacatecas, Toritas de Celaya, Avispa de Guerrero (Chilpancingo), Blueskas Basketball (Mexico City), CB Cinnamon (Mexico City) and a developmental U-18 Women's Mexican National Team.

Canadian Elite Basketball League: The spring-summer minor professional CEBL announced the schedule for its sixth season in 2024 will feature the same ten teams as last season and again aligned in five-team Eastern and Western conferences. Each team will play a 20-game schedule from May 21 through July 29, 2024.

FOOTBALL

Liga de Futbol Americano: Although Mexico's top professional American-style outdoor football league known as the LFA recently held its 2024 player draft with ten participating teams, the league's Reds de la Ciudad de Mexico (Mexico City) team has since been removed for the 2024 season and the league will operate with only nine teams. Due to financial issues facing the Reds' ownership, the LFA planned to operate the Reds team during the 2024 season to keep the league at ten teams, but those plans have now changed. The Reds played as the Rojos CDMX in the now-defunct Futbol de Americano de Mexico before joining the LFA for the 2023 season.

Indoor Football League: The inactive Bismarck (ND) Bucks indoor football team, which was an active member of the IFL from 2019 through the 2022 season, has changed its name to the Dakota Bucks. The team is working to resume playing in the IFL for the 2025 season and will be sponsoring an IFL regular-season game in Fargo (ND) on April 28, 2024. The Bucks were forced to go dormant due to increased premiums for Workforce Safety Insurance (WSI) at the Bismarck Events Center but have since been granted an exemption from WSI. The Bucks are evaluating whether to return to Bismarck, move to another market, or possibly split games between markets. A decision will be made by the end of June.

Great Lakes Arena Football: The semi-pro GLAF has added a team called the Michigan Avengerz to its lineup of teams for the 2024 season.

HOCKEY

Alberta Junior Hockey League: After five Alberta-based teams (Blackfalds Bulldogs, Brooks Bandits, Okotoks Oilers, Sherwood Park Crusaders and Spruce Grove Saints) were reported to be leaving the Junior-A AJHL for the independent Junior-A British Columbia Hockey League next season, the AJHL has cancelled upcoming league games between the defecting teams and the remaining 11 non-defecting AJHL teams. Scheduled games between non-defecting teams will continue and the five defecting teams will be allowed to play scheduled AJHL games among themselves.

American Hockey League: The AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins played a game this weekend as the Grand Rapids Flying Toasters as part of a "What Could Have Been" promotion. The "Flying Toasters" was one of the entries in the Griffins' name-the-team contest back in 1995.

ECHL: The new ECHL expansion team in Bloomington (IL) announced it will be called the Bloomington Bison when it starts play as the league's 30th team in the 2024-25 season.

Western Hockey League: The Prince Albert Raiders (Alberta) of the major-junior WHL took the popular name used to refer to Canadian geese and played a game this weekend as the Lake Country Cobra Chickens. Other WHL teams that have undergone limited rebranding this season include the Swift Current (Saskatchewan) Broncos as the Lake Diefenbaker Slough Sharks and the Brandon (Manitoba) Wheat Kings as the Wheat City Walleye.

SOCCER

National Women's Soccer League: The Division-I professional NWSL announced its 2024 season schedule that will feature 14 teams aligned in a single-table format with each team playing a 26-game schedule from March 16 through November 3, 2024. The league operated with 12 teams last season but expansion teams called the Bay FC (San Jose) and Utah Royals FC (Salt Lake City) have been added for the 2024 season. Also, the league's Seattle-based OL Reign is in the process of being sold and has been renamed the Seattle Reign FC. The in-season Challenge Cup tournament has been eliminated for the 2024 season and a single Challenge Cup match will be played on March 15 between last season's regular-season leader (San Diego Wave FC) and the overall 2023 league champion (NJ/NY Gotham FC).

USL League Two (United Soccer League): The men's pre-professional USL League Two recently announced the addition of three more teams for the 2024 season: the Utah Avalanche (Midvale), AMSG FC (Huntington Beach, CA), and Hattiesburg FC (Mississippi).

USL W-League (United Soccer League): The men's Michiana Lions FC, which operated as the South Bend (IN) Lions for three seasons (2021-23) in the pre-professional USL League Two and recently changed its name, announced a new women's Michiana Lions FC team will start play in the 2024 season of the women's pre-professional USL W-League. Both Lions teams will still be based in South Bend.

Canadian Premier League: Canada's Division-2 professional CPL announced the schedule for its sixth season in 2024 will feature the same eight teams as last season and again aligned in a single-table format. Each team will play a 28-game schedule from April 13 through October 19, 2024. Teams include the Atletico Ottawa "Ottleti", Cavalry FC "Cavs" (Calgary), Forge FC "The Hammers" (Hamilton), Halifax Wanderers (HFX Wanderers), Pacific FC "Tridents" (Langford, British Columbia), Valour FC (Winnipeg), Vancouver FC "Eagles" and the York United FC "The Nine Stripes" (Greater Toronto Area).

OTHER

Pro Volleyball Federation: The new women's professional indoor PVF started its inaugural 2024 season this week with seven teams aligned in a single-table format. Teams include the Atlanta Vibe, Columbus (OH) Fury, Grand Rapids (MI) Rise, Omaha Supernovas, Orlando Valkyries, San Diego Mojo and the Vegas Thrill (Las Vegas). Each team will play 24 matches through May 12, 2024, with each match featuring the best of 5 sets (games).

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.



Indoor Football League Stories from January 29, 2024


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.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central