Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
April 29, 2024 - Arena Football League (AFL)
BASEBALL
Atlantic League: The independent Atlantic League started its 2024 season this week and again has ten teams aligned in five-team North and South divisions with teams playing 126 games in a split-season schedule through September 15, 2024. The league had ten teams last season but the Spire City Ghost Hounds (Frederick, MD) are sitting out the 2024 season and the Gastonia (NC) Honey Hunters were removed from the league for unpaid debts to the city. The Atlantic League added the new Hagerstown (MD) Flying Boxcars team and a new Gastonia team, which is being called the Gastonia Baseball Club this season as it decides on a permanent name. Last season's Lexington (KY) Counter Clocks came under new ownership and were renamed the Lexington Legends and the Lancaster (PA) Barnstormers were renamed the Lancaster Stormers for the 2024 season. Hagerstown was added to the North Division and the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs were moved to the South Division to replace Spire City.
International League: The Indianapolis Indians of the Triple-A International League will become the Indianapolis Young Bucs for six games this season as a tribute to its Major League affiliate, the Pittsburgh Pirates, also referred to as the Buccaneers. The league's Nashville Sounds will honor its Milwaukee Brewers Major League affiliate and play as the Nashville Brewskis for a game later this season.
Eastern League: The Double-A Eastern League's Richmond Flying Squirrels played a game this weekend as the Richmond River City to celebrate the James River that flows through the city. The league's Binghamton Rumble Ponies will become the Binghamton Creatures on June 14 based on a character in a Twilight Zone episode and to honor Rod Serling, the creator of Twilight Zone and a Binghamton native.
Northwoods League: The Minot (ND) Hot Tots of the summer-collegiate Northwoods League will become the Minot Berserkers for three games this season as part of a ¬ÅWhat Might Have Been ¬Â promotion to recognize one of the five finalists in a name-the-team contest prior to the team's inaugural 2023 season. The league's Madison Mallards will become the Madison Motivational Speakers for a game this season as a tribute to a Saturday Night Live sketch featuring Chris Farley as motivational speaker Matt Foley. The team will also become the Wisconsin Wurst for a game in 2024 as a tribute to the area's popular bratwurst.
Legacy League: The new Legacy League is being developed for a start in June 2025 as a new ten-team summer developmental baseball league for college-aged players from across the world. The ten teams will represent cities near Jackson (MS) and all games will be played at Jackson's Smith-Wills Stadium.
BASKETBALL
National Basketball League - United States: The men's semi-pro NBL-US recently started its 2024 season with six teams based in Texas and Louisiana. Of the six teams from last season, only the Woodlands Warhawks returned along with new teams called the Eastside Netz (East Houston), HBCU Movement (Houston), Louisiana Kajun Gators, Texas Outlaws (Pasadena) and Lake Charles Aces. Teams will play a ten-game schedule through May 19, 2024.
Florida Basketball Association: The independent semi-pro FBA's Polk County Royals (Lakeland) have been removed from the remainder of the league's 2024 schedule. The semi-pro American Basketball Association (ABA) announced this week the Polk County Royals have joined as a 2024-25 expansion team. A 2023 FBA team called the Kissimmee Lambs did not return for the league's 2024 season and the ABA announced in March the Kissimmee Lambs have joined the ABA for the 2024-25 season.
FOOTBALL
Arena Football League: The third version of the 8-on-8 indoor AFL started play this weekend with 16 teams aligned in four-team divisions (East, Central, South, and West). The East Division features all new teams called the Albany (NY) Firebirds, Minnesota Myth (Minneapolis), Nashville Kats, and Philadelphia Soul. The Central Division has the new Iowa Rampage (Council Bluffs) along with the Salina (KS) Liberty, Southwest Kansas Storm (Dodge City), and Wichita Regulators from Champions Indoor Football (CIF). The South includes the new Georgia Force (Atlanta) and Louisiana Voodoo (Lafayette), the Orlando Predators from the National Arena League (NAL), and the new West Texas Desert Hawks (Odessa), which replaced the 2023 NAL's West Texas Warbirds in that market. The West Division has the new Oregon Blackbears (Salem) and new Washington Wolfpack (Everett) along with the Rapid City (SD) Marshalls and Billings (MT) Outlaws from the CIF. Each team will play ten games through June 2024.
Women's Football Alliance: The semi-pro WFA started its 2024 season this weekend with 55 teams at three levels (Pro, Division 2 and Division 3) playing six to eight games through June 15. The 13-team WFA Pro is aligned in a 6-team Pro National division and a 7-team Pro American division. The 15-team WFA D2 has an 11-team National and 4-team American division. The 27-teams in the WFA D3 has a 6-team North East, an 8-team South East, a 6-team Midwest and a 7-team Pacific.
The Arena League: The new professional TAL, which plans to start play in June 2024 with four teams playing six-man indoor football, announced Hot Springs (AR) as the first of two locations for a 2025 expansion team. Earlier this month, Hot Springs was listed with Dallas, St. Joseph (MO), Eau Claire (WI) and Rochester (MN) as potential locations put up for fan voting to decide on the two expansion markets.
HOCKEY
North American Hockey League: The Tier-II junior-level NAHL announced the addition of a new team called the Minnesota Mallards (Forest Lake) for the 2024-25 season. Teams called the Forest Lake Lakers and Minnesota Mullets of the junior-level United States Premier Hockey League's Tier-III Premier Conference were previously based in Forest Lake, a northeast suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul.
North American 3 Hockey League: The Minnesota Loons (Breezy Point) of the Tier-III junior-level NA3HL, which is affiliated with the Tier-II North American Hockey League (NAHL), have been purchased by the NAHL's Minnesota Wilderness (Cloquet) and will be renamed the Minnesota Wilderness as part of the NA3HL. The Minnesota Wilderness NA3HL team is expected to be based in Eveleth (MN). The NA3HL announced the addition of the new Maine Jr. Nordiques team, which will be affiliated with the Tier-II NAHL's Maine Nordiques, and both teams will play at The Colisée in Lewiston.
United States Premier Hockey League: The junior-level USPHL announced several changes involving teams in its Tier-III Premier Conference for the 2024-25 season. The Las Vegas Thunderbirds are moving to suburban Henderson (NV) as the Henderson Force. The Casper (WY) Roughnecks are moving to Enoch (UT) where the team will be called the Iron County Yeti (originally announced as the Southern Utah Yeti). The Buffalo Stampede has been sold and will move to Holland (MI) to become the Fresh Coast Freeze. The Twin City Thunder (Lewiston/Auburne, ME), West Chester (PA) Wolves and Mercer (NJ) Chiefs of the USPHL's Tier-II National Collegiate Development Conference will all add Tier-III Premier Conference teams for the 2024-25 season. Two other new teams called the Bremerton (WA) Sockeyes and Colorado Fighting Elk (Craig) have also been added. The USPHL Premier Conference's South Shore Kings will add a 2024-25 team based in Foxboro (MA) to the USPHL Elite Conference Tier-III feeder league.
SOCCER
USL League One (United Soccer League): The Division-III professional USL League One announced its Maine expansion team will be called the Portland Hearts of Pine, or Hearts, when it starts play in 2025.
League1 Ontario: Canada's Division-3 pro-am League1 Ontario started its 2024 season this week after an off-season restructuring that will feature promotion and relegation after the season between all three levels of the men's and women's divisions-the Premier (top tier), Championship (second tier) and League2 (third tier), which features a mix of new expansion teams and ¬ÅB Teams ¬Â from the Premier and Championship teams. The Men's Premier has 12 teams, the Men's Championship has 10 teams and the Men's League2 has 24 teams in 8-team divisions (Southeast, Northeast and Central). The Women's Premier and Women's Championship each have 10 teams and the Women's League2 has 20 teams in 10-team divisions (Southeast and Northeast). The League1 Ontario season runs until early September. Major League Soccer's Toronto FC is operating its TFC Academy team as part of the League1 Ontario Men's Championship division in 2024. The TFC Academy previously played five seasons (2014-18) in the League1 Ontario Men's Division.
Ligue1 Quebec: Canada's Division-3 pro-am Ligue1 Quebec recently started its 2024 season with an 11-team Men's Division aligned in a single-table format and a 12-team Women's Division aligned in six-team groups (A and B). The men's teams play a 20-game schedule through September 8 and the women's teams play a 16-game schedule through August 3. Major League Soccer's CF Montreal operates its reserve team in the Ligue1 Men's Division. The Ligue1 Quebec also operates a men's 11-team Reserve Division.
League1 British Columbia: Canada's Division-3 pro-am League1 BC announced the Victoria Highlanders team will not participate in either the Men's Division or the Women's Division in 2024 leaving the league with seven teams. Eight clubs operated teams in both divisions in 2023 and the league recently announced Burnaby FC was added as an eight team to replace the Vancouver-based Nautsa'mawt FC team that left after the 2023 season.
Major League Soccer: The city of Indianapolis is making a push for an MLS expansion team and has identified a potential site for a new MLS-style soccer stadium. The mayor has met with the MLS commissioner and is behind the MLS project. Another group affiliated with the Indy Eleven team in the Division-II professional USL Championship has been moving forward on its own new soccer stadium for the team and claims the mayor is walking away from those approved plans in favor of an MLS plan.
OTHER
United Frisbee Association: The men's semi-pro ultimate frisbee league called the Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA), which operated since 2012 as the American Ultimate Disc League before changing its name earlier this year, started its 2024 season this week with the same 24 teams as last season. The teams from the United States and Canada are again aligned in a five-team South, six-team East, six-team Central and a seven-team West. Each team plays a 12-game schedule through July 21, 2024.
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.
Arena Football League Stories from April 29, 2024
- 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.
