Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
Published on January 12, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
BASEBALL
California Winter League: The developmental showcase CWL, which is the official winter league of the independent Frontier League and is also scouted by other independent summer leagues, announced its 2026 season will feature eight teams each playing 16 games from January 22 through February 11, 2026, followed by playoffs. All games will again be played at Palm Springs Stadium. The eight teams will be aligned in a Canadian Division with the Alberta Grizzly, British Columbia Bombers, Canada A's and Manitoba North Stars, and an American Division with the Oregon Lumberjacks, Palm Springs Chill, Palm Springs Power and Washington Blue Sox.
Florida State League: The Palm Beach Cardinals of the Single-A FSL will play 12 Saturday home games in the 2026 season as the Palm Beach Frozen Iguanas. The name is a play on the South Florida iguanas that go into a temporary "frozen" state and fall from palm trees when the temperature drops and come to life when it warms up.
Major League Baseball: MLB's Athletics, who are playing in Sacramento until a new stadium is built for the team in Las Vegas for the 2028 season, were initially denied trademarks for the "Las Vegas Athletics" and the "Vegas Athletics." The team has three months to ask for an extension to file a new application. The MLB commissioner stated he is considering the possibility of implementing a split-season schedule or an in-season tournament in the future.
BASKETBALL
The Basketball League: The minor professional TBL announced the Port City Power (Saint John, New Brunswick) has been added for the league's upcoming 2026 season. The Port City Power was announced in July 2024 and played three exhibition games in the 2025 season against the TBL's Halifax Hoopers. The TBL's previously listed Crawfordsville (IN) Commanders and Highland Herd (Antigonish, Nova Scotia) are no longer listed in the 2026 team alignment.
Unrivaled League: The Unrivaled 3-on-3 women's professional basketball league started its second season this week with eight teams playing a 14-game schedule through March 26, 2026. All of last season's six teams called the Laces, Lunar Owls, Mist, Phantom, Rose and Vinyl have returned along with two new teams called the Breeze and the Hive. All games will again be played at the Wayfair Arena in Miami except for a two-game tour stop in Philadelphia later this month. The Unrivaled provides a domestic off-season opportunity for Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) players and the league has expressed interest in partnering with the WNBA.
Women's National Basketball Association: The WNBA's current collective bargaining agreement with the Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) expired on January 9 but the two sides will continue to negotiate for now. The WNBPA is reported to have set up several "Player Hubs" across the United States and Spain where players can train and stay in shape in case of a lockout.
FOOTBALL
The Arena League: The 7-on-7 TAL announced the new Grand Island (NE) expansion team will be called the Nebraska Siege when its start playing in the league's 2026 season. The name and logo are derived from a siege being an attack on a fortified place and also a grouping of large birds and pay tribute to legacy of the Grand Island Army Airfield and the yearly sandhill crane migration. The city had an indoor team called the Nebraska Danger that last played in the 2019 season of the Indoor Football League. The TAL has two other 2026 expansion teams in Memphis and Monroe (LA) that have yet to be named.
Gridiron Indoor Football League: The developmental GIFL started its 2026 last weekend with six teams each playing five games through February 14, 2026, and all games played at the Silverbacks Indoor complex in Suwanee (GA). The 2026 teams include Alabama Empire (Montgomery), Alabama Silverbacks (Birmingham), Main Street 29ers (Suwanee, GA), Palmetto (SC) Snipers, Savannah Aces and Carolina Cyborgs (Greensboro, NC).
United Football League: The professional outdoor UFL announced the process for its 2026 player draft and team allocation process that started this weekend and will conclude next week. Each of the eight teams will be allowed to protect up to 12 players from their 2025 rosters. The 2025 rosters from the three teams that were dropped after the 2025 season will be assigned to the three new teams with the San Antonio Brahmas switching to the new Orlando Storm, the Michigan Panthers to the new Columbus Aviators, and the Memphis Showboats to the new Louisville Kings. The UFL will announce the 2026 season schedule on January 22.
HOCKEY
SPHL: The SPHL's Quad City Storm (Moline, IL) played two games this weekend as the Quad City Fire Quackers to celebrate 30 years of minor league hockey in the Quad Cities and to honor two former teams called the Quad City Flames, which last played in the 2008-09 season of the American Hockey League, and the Quad City Mallards, which last played in the 2017-18 season of the ECHL.
Eastern Hockey League: When the New England Wolves (Laconia, NH) of the Tier-II junior-level EHL announced plans last month to move to the United States Premier Hockey League's Tier-II National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC) for the 2026-27 season, the EHL suspended the club for the remainder of the 2025-26 season. The New England Wolves are now listed in the NCDC's New England North and played one NCDC game last month with 25 more NCDC games scheduled for the rest of the season. The Wolves' Tier-III team in the EHL-Premier was also suspended for the remainder of the season. The Wolves will operate an NCDC team and a Tier-III team in the USPHL's Premier Conference for the 2026-27 season.
SOCCER
Liga MX: The top Mexican men's pro soccer league known as Liga MX started the Clausura, or closing phase, of its two-part 2025-26 Apertura/Clausura season this week with the same 18 teams as the Apertura (opening) phase. The teams are aligned in a single-table format and will each play 17 games through April 25, 2026.
Liga MX Femenil: The top Mexican women's soccer league known as the Liga MX Femenil, whose 18 teams are each associated with a team in the men's Liga MX, started the Clausura (closing) phase of its two-part 2025-26 Apertura/Clausura season last weekend with the same 18 teams as the Apertura (opening) phase. Teams are again aligned in a single-table format and will play 17 games through April 25, 2026.
Liga de Expansión MX: The Mexican men's second division Liga de Expansión started the Clausura, or closing phase, of its two-part 2025-26 Apertura/Clausura season this week with the same 15 teams as the Apertura (opening) phase. Teams are again aligned in a single-table format and will play 14 games through April 19, 2026.
USL W-League (United Soccer League): The Loudoun United FC (Leesburg, VA) of the men's Division-II USL Championship will add a team in the women's pre-professional USL W-League for the 2026 season. The Hill Country Linces (San Marco, TX) of the men's USL League Two will also add a USL W-League team in 2026.
OTHER
League One Volleyball (LOVB): The women's LOVB (pronounced LOVE) professional indoor volleyball league started its 2026 season this week with the same six teams as last season and each team playing 20 matches through April 4, 2026. Last season's LOVB Omaha team came under new ownership and was renamed the LOVB Nebraska for the 2026 season. Over the past three months, the LOVB announced new teams in Minnesota, Los Angeles and San Francisco will be added for the 2027 season.
Major League Volleyball: The new women's professional indoor MLV started its inaugural 2026 season with eight teams each playing 28 matches through May 3, 2026. The MLV was originally conceived as a new league created by the ownership of the Omaha Supernovas team that played in the eight-team Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) in the 2025 season. The MLV merged with the PVF this summer but only seven of the 2025 PVF teams are part of the 2026 MLV season since the Vegas Thrill (Las Vegas) team is sitting out as it tries to find new ownership. A new Dallas expansion team, which was under development by the PVF, joined the new MVP in 2026 as the eighth team called Dallas Pulse (Frisco, TX).
WTGL Golf: The company that started the men's professional team-based indoor TGL Golf league announced a similar women's indoor WTGL Golf league will start in the winter of 2026-27 through the cooperation of the LPGA. Teams will consist of some of the top stars from the LPGA tour and play at the same 2,000-seat custom-built virtual indoor golf course simulator used by the men's TGL at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens (FL). Additional details will be announced over the next few months.
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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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.
