Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

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NBA G League

Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
September 9, 2024 - NBA G League (G League)


BASEBALL

Arizona Fall League: Major League Baseball announced the schedule for the 2024 Arizona Fall League that will feature the same six teams as last season: the Glendale Desert Dogs, Peoria Javelinas, Salt River Rafters, Scottsdale Scorpions, Mesa Solar Sox, and Surprise Saguaros. Teams will play a 30-game schedule from October 7 through November 14, 2024, at MLB spring training facilities located around the Phoenix area. Each of the 30 MLB teams sends top prospects to the league and each team consists of prospects from 5 different MLB teams.

Atlantic League: The Charleston (WV) Dirty Birds of the independent Atlantic League played a game this weekend as the Salt Town Dirty Birds to highlight the history of the salt industry in the area and the team's partnership with J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works whose products are used at the team's concessions.

Carolina League: The future of the Low-A Carolina League's Myrtle Beach (SC) Pelicans is uncertain due to questions as to whether the city and Horry County, co-owners of the team's ballpark, will pay for ballpark upgrades to meet standards mandated by Major League Baseball for its affiliates. The Pelicans' ballpark lease ends this fall.

Southern League: The Double-A Southern League's Mississippi Braves (Pearl) announced the team will be called the Columbus Clingstones when it relocates to the renovated Synovus Park in Columbus (GA) next season. With Georgia known as the Peach State, the nickname comes from the clingstone type of peaches as opposed to the freestone type. Columbus had an affiliated Class-A South Atlantic League team called the Columbus Catfish that became the Bowling Green (KY) Hot Rods after the 2008 season.

BASKETBALL

National Basketball Association Gatorade League (G-League): The NBA G-League announced its 2024-25 season schedule that will again feature 31 teams. The league shut down the developmental G-League Ignite team, which was comprised of paid NBA pre-draft college prospects, after the 2023-24 season, but added the new Tempe-based Valley Suns as the G-League affiliate of the NBA's Phoenix Suns. With the addition of the Valley Suns, each of the 30 NBA teams now has an owned or operated G-League affiliate for the first time. The league's Mexico City Capitanes is the only unaffiliated G-League team. One other change includes the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers relocating their Ontario (CA) Clippers G-League team to a new arena in Oceanside, about 30 miles north of San Diego, where the team will play as the San Diego Clippers. The 2024-25 season will start with a 16-game Tip-Off Tournament in November and December followed by a 34-game regular season through March 2025. The Long Island Nets, the G-League affiliate of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets, will play six of its regular-season home games in Laval (Quebec) where the team will be known as "Les Nets."

East Coast Basketball League: The semi-pro ECBL announced the Philly Raiders team will return to the league for the 2025 season. The team was a full ECBL member for three seasons (2021-23) and played some exhibition games last season. The Raiders will play mostly road games in the 2025 ECBL.

National Basketball League - United States: The semi-pro NBL-US announced an expansion team called the Gueydan (LA) Flying Ducks has joined the league and will be part of a Gulf Conference in the league's 2024-25 Winter Season. The NBL-US played its 2024 Spring Season (April-May) with two teams from Louisiana and four teams from Texas.

FOOTBALL

Arena Football One: The eight teams that were active at the end of the inaugural 2024 season in the third version of the Arena Football League (AFL) have left that league to form the new Arena Football One (AF1) for the 2025 season. As of now, the AF1 includes former AFL teams called the Albany (NY) Firebirds, Billings (MT) Outlaws, Nashville Kats, Orlando Predators, Salina (KS) Liberty, Southwest Kansas Storm (Dodge City), Washington Wolfpack (Everett) and Wichita Regulators. The AF1 also plans to add some expansion teams prior to the start of the 2025 season. A new league organized in 2010 with markets from the original AFL (1987-2008) and the minor league arenafootball2 (2000-09) was originally called the Arena Football One (AF1). Before playing as the AF1, the league purchased the trademarks of the original AFL and changed its name to become a second version of the Arena Football League for its inaugural 2010 season. This second version of the AFL played through the 2019 season before folding.

HOCKEY

North American 3 Hockey League: The Tier-III junior-level NA3HL, which is affiliated with the Tier-II North American Hockey League, started its 2024-25 season this weekend with 35 teams aligned in 5 divisions. The league had 35 teams last season but the Danbury (CT) Hat Tricks and Mid-Cities Junior Stars (Euless, TX) did not return and the league added new teams called the Binghamton (NY) Buzz, Tulsa Jr. Oilers and Maine Nordiques (Lewiston). The Oregon (WI) Tradesmen relocated to Blaine (MN) as the Minnesota Moose and the Minnesota Loons (Breezy Point) were purchased and relocated to become the Minnesota Wilderness (Eveleth). Each team will play 47 regular-season games through March 9, 2025.

United States Premier Hockey League: The junior-level USPHL's Tier-III Premier Conference started its 2024-25 season this week and has grown from 61 teams in 9 divisions to 73 teams in 10 divisions. The Premier Conference had 61 teams last season but lost the Richmond Generals and Columbia (SC) Infantry and added 14 new teams. Five of the new teams include new Canadian teams called the College Universel Sherbrooke, Montreal Black Vees, Hawkesbury Knights, Kingson Wranglers and the Somang Laurentides Lenaudiere HC that join last season's College Universel Gatineau (Quebec) in a new Canada Division. Other new teams are the Bremerton (WA) Sockeyes, Colorado Fighting Elk (Craig), Ventura (CA) Vikings, Red Bank (NJ) Generals, Mercer (NJ) Chiefs, West Chester (PA) Wolves, Thunder Hockey Club (Exeter, NH), Boston Jr. Rangers and Railers Junior Hockey Club (Worcester, MA). The Casper Roughnecks moved to become the Iron County (UT) Yeti; the Minnesota Moose moved from Blaine to Spooner (WI) as the Northwest Express; the Las Vegas Thunderbirds are now the Henderson (NV) Force; the Buffalo Stampede moved to Holland (MI) as the Fresh Coast Freeze; the Long Beach Shredders are now the Long Beach Bombers; and the Nashville Spartans moved to Clarksville (TN) to become the Red River Spartans. The Pacific Division teams will play 46 games and all others will play 44 games through March 31, 2025.

Ontario Junior Hockey League: The OJHL, which is one of nine Junior-A leagues under the Canadian Junior Hockey League, started its 2024-25 season this weekend with 24 teams again aligned in 12-team East and West conferences. All the teams are the same as last season except the Brantford 99ers relocated to the York Region as the King Rebellion. Each team will play 56 games through March 2, 2025.

Professional Women's Hockey League: The PWHL Montreal team announced the Place Bell in Laval (Quebec), which is home to the American Hockey League's Laval Rocket, will be the team's home for the 2024-25 season. Of the regular-season home games on the team's inaugural 2023-24 schedule, four were played in Laval, six at Montreal's Verdun Auditorium, one at Montreal's Bell Centre and one game in Pittsburgh. Several reports indicated the PWHL will announce the nicknames for its six teams next week.

Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League: The QJAAAHL (Ligue de Hockey Junior AAA du Quebec), which is one of nine Junior-A leagues under the Canadian Junior Hockey League, started its 2024-25 season this week the same 13 teams as last season and again aligned in a single-table format. Each team will play a 48-game schedule through March 7, 2025.

SOCCER

Major Arena Soccer League: The professional MASL has united with the Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL) that will bring some of the men's PASL teams to the lower-level MASL3, while also creating a new women's league called MASLW with some of women's PASL teams. Last season, the MASL3 operated with seven teams in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States but with the addition of several PASL teams and other new teams, the MASL3 currently lists a seven-team East Division, a nine-team Great Lakes Division and a five-team South Division. With the addition of the women's PASL teams, the new MASLW currently lists an eight-team Great Lakes Division and a five-team South Division.

OTHER

National Lacrosse League: The men's professional NLL announced the nine non-NLL markets and participating schools that will be part of its "UnBOXed" grassroots effort to introduce its fast-paced lacrosse game to young boys and girls during the 2024-25 season. Each non-NLL market has received a unique identity to be used to market the program: Castors de Montreal, Charlotte Cobras, Minnesota Lake Dragons (Minneapolis-St. Paul), Baltimore Ghost Crabs, Dallas OilCats, St. Louis Howlers, Tampa Bay Snowbirds, Seattle Shipwrecks, and Utah Spikes. The original market announcement in November 2023 listed the Ottawa Electrics but that city obtained an NLL team (Ottawa Black Bears) with the relocation of the New York Riptide. The Dallas OilCats replaced Ottawa since the Dallas/Fort Worth market recently lost the now-folded Panther City Lacrosse Club. Also, the St. Louis Howlers were originally announced as the St. Louis Rhythm. As part of the "UnBOXed" program, participating schools will introduce a lacrosse-based physical education curriculum based on the 3-on-3 SPEED lacrosse game and will receive lacrosse equipment for elementary and middle-aged boys and girls in each market.

Pro Volleyball Federation: With the addition of an eighth team called the Indy Ignite (Fishers, IN) for its second season, the women's PVF will expand its schedule with each team playing 28 matches (14 home and 14 away) instead of 24 matches for the 2025 season.

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.

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