Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
Published on April 6, 2026 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
BASEBALL
American Association: The Kane County (IL) Cougars, the 2025 season champion of the independent American Association, won the recent 2026 Baseball Champions League tournament that included 2025 champions from five other international leagues in Mexico, Venezuela, Taiwan, Cuba and Nicaragua. The league's Winnipeg Goldeyes will play a game (July 31) during the 2026 season as the Manitoba Mosquitoes in recognition of the mosquito, the area's summertime winged pest.
Eastern League: The Double-A Eastern League started its 2026 season this week with the same 12 teams and affiliations as last season and teams again aligned in six-team Northeast and Southwest divisions. Each team will play 138 games through September 13, 2026.
Southern League: The Double-A Southern League started its 2026 season this week with the same eight teams and affiliations as last season and teams again aligned in four-team North and South divisions. Each team will play 138 games through September 13, 2026. The league's Biloxi Shuckers announced it will play three games during the 2026 season as the Biloxi Mudbugs to highlight the crawfish culture on Gulf Coast.
Texas League: The Double-A Texas League started its 2026 season this week with the same ten teams and affiliations as last season and teams again aligned in five-team North and South divisions. Each team will play 138 games through September 13, 2026.
Midwest League: The High-A Midwest League started its 2026 season this week with the same 12 teams and affiliations as last season and the teams again aligned in six-team East and West divisions. Each team will play 132 games through September 6, 2026.
Northwest League: The High-A Northwest League started its 2026 season this week with the same six teams and affiliations as last season and teams again aligned in a single-table format. Each team will play 132 games through September 6, 2026. For the fourth straight season, the league's Eugene (OR) Emeralds will play several games as the Eugene Exploding Whales to commemorate the 1970 attempt to use a half-ton of dynamite to remove the carcass of a sperm whale that had washed up on the Oregon Coast.
South Atlantic League: The High-A SAL started its 2026 season this week and again has 12 teams aligned in six-team North and South divisions and each team playing 132 games through September 6, 2026. The Frederick (MD) Keys have replaced the Aberdeen (MD) IronBirds in the North Division. The ownership of the Frederick Keys team, which operated in the developmental Major League Baseball Draft League the past five seasons (2021-25), took over the Aberdeen IronBirds' SAL affiliation with the Baltimore Orioles while the Aberdeen IronBirds took Frederick's place in the MLB Draft League for the 2026 season. The SAL's Jersey Shore BlueClaws announced the team will play one game (May 29) as the Shoretown Beach Badgers to pay tribute to the tradition of beach badges that need to be purchased and displayed to show one paid their entry fee to the beach.
BASKETBALL
National Basketball Association Gatorade League (G-League): The NBA's New Orleans Pelicans announced its G-League affiliate known as the Birmingham Squadron will be renamed the Laketown Squadron as the team moves to the New Orleans suburb of Kenner for the 2026-27 season. The Pelicans temporarily operated their own G-League affiliate as the Erie (PA) BayHawks for two seasons (2019-21) while renovations were made to an arena in Birmingham. The team was then moved to Birmingham where it became the Birmingham Squadron starting with the G-League's 2021-22 season.
East Coast Basketball League: The semi-pro ECBL announced the Philly Raiders will not participate as a travel-only team in the 2026 season that was to have the team play four road games against four other ECBL teams.
Women's National Basketball Association: The Mohegan Tribe, owner of the WNBA's Connecticut Sun (Uncasville), has come to an agreement with the owner of the National Basketball Association's Houston Rockets to purchase and relocate the Connecticut Sun to Houston for the 2027 season. The deal still needs league approval that is expected to happen. The Sun will celebrate the 2026 season as its final season, or "Sunset Season," to include two home games played in Hartford and one home game played in Boston. The Sun has been part of the WNBA since the 2003 season after the Mohegan Tribe purchased and relocated the league's Orlando Miracle franchise. The new Houston team is expected to become the reincarnation of a previous WNBA team called the Houston Comets that played from 1997 through the 2008 season. The WNBA held its expansion draft this week to stock the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire expansion teams that will start in the upcoming 2026 season.
FOOTBALL
American Indoor Football: The AIF has suspended the Wyoming Cavalry (Gillette) for the remainder of the 2026 season for failure to meet league requirements at its home arena. The Wyoming Cavalry, a 2026 AIF expansion team, had played three games this season. The league stated the team could be reviewed for possible reinstatement in 2027. The Cavalry had three remaining home games and those will be played against non-AIF semi-pro teams.
National Football League: The NFL owners approved the temporary relocation of the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Camping World Stadium in Orlando as their home for the 2027 season because of major renovations planned for the Jaguars' current home stadium. The NFL is partnering with the TMRW Sports Group, which developed the indoor TGL golf league, to launch a new professional flag football league for men and women. The new league plans to take advantage of the growth of flag football, which will be part of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Women's National Football Conference: The semi-pro full-tackle WNFC started its 2026 season last weekend with 16 teams aligned in 4-team Atlantic, Central, Northwest and Pacific divisions and each team playing 6 games through May 16, 2026. The WNFC had 17 teams in 3 divisions last season, but the Houston Mamba and Denver Bandits did not return and the Golden Gate Storm was added for 2026.
X League: The women's 7-on-7 indoor X-League, which evolved from the Lingerie Football League and the Legends Football League and has not played since the 2022 season, did not start its 2026 season as planned this weekend. The league had previously posted a 2026 season schedule to start this weekend for eight teams aligned in two conferences. The X-League Eastern Conference teams included the Atlanta Empire, Chicago Blitz, Miami Tequestas and New England Defenders each playing four games from June 6 through August 1, 2026. The X-League Western Conference teams included the Dallas Sound, Denver Rush, Los Angeles Black Storm and Seattle Thunder each playing four games from April 4 through May 23, 2026. Although the eight teams are still listed, the 2026 schedule has been removed from the league website and its future is uncertain.
HOCKEY
American Hockey League: The AHL has approved the relocation of the Bridgeport (CT) Islanders to Hamilton (Ontario, Canada) for the 2026-27 season. Bridgeport is currently in the league's Atlantic Division but the Hamilton team will be placed in the league's North Division.
American Premier Hockey League: The senior-A semi-pro APHL announced the addition of a new team called the Oswego (NY) Admirals for the 2026-27 season.
ECHL: The ECHL's Tahoe Knight Monsters (Stateline, NV) played a game as the Tahoe Powder Hounds this week representing the powder and grit associated with Tahoe's world class ski culture.
North American Hockey League: The Tier-II junior-level NAHL announced that players who compete in a junior hockey league in the United States that is not sanctioned by USA Hockey are ineligible to compete in the NAHL for that season. The sanctioned USA Hockey leagues include the Tier-I United States Hockey League, the NAHL and its affiliated Tier-III NA3HL. The non-sanctioned leagues include the Eastern Hockey League and the United States Premier Hockey League with its Tier-II National Collegiate Development Conference and USPHL Tier-III Premier and Elite conferences.
Western International Junior Hockey League: Eight of the current 21 teams in British Columbia's independent Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL), which operates as a junior-A Tier-2 league under BC Hockey, are leaving the league to form the new Western International Junior Hockey League (WIJHL) for the 2026-27 season. The WIJHL teams will include the Spokane (WA) Braves and seven British Columbia-based teams called the 100 Mile House Wranglers, Castlegar Rebels, Chase Heat, Creston Valley Thunder, Golden Rockets, Kelowna Chiefs and Sicamous Eagles. After the 2025-26 season, the new independent league will not be affiliated with the KIJHL, Hockey Canada or BC Hockey.
SOCCER
Canadian Premier League: The men's professional CPL started its 2026 season this weekend and again features eight teams in a single-table format with each team playing a 28-game schedule through October 25, 2026. Since last season, the Winnipeg-based Valour FC suspended operations due to poor attendance and financial losses but an expansion team called the FC Supra du Quebec (Greater Montreal Area) was added to keep the league at eight teams. Also, the York United FC, representing the Greater Toronto Area and also known as The Nine Stripes, was renamed the Inter Toronto FC in the off-season.
National Independent Soccer Association: The men's NISA, which lost its Division-III professional status from the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) prior to last season and held only a NISA Pro Cup tournament in October, announced the league has applied to the USSF for professional league sanctioning with plans to start in the fall of 2026. The league is holding a Spring Showcase with six teams called the Sin City FC (North Las Vegas), Capo FC (San Juan Capistrano, CA), Royal Society FC (Fullerton, CA), Problems FC (Long Beach, CA), Inland Empire FC (San Bernardino, CA) and the LA Force (Pomona, CA). Each team was scheduled to play two games from March 22 through June 6, 2026.
OTHER
National Lacrosse League: The ownership of the NLL's Philadelphia Wings has decided to cease operations of the franchise after the current 2025-26 season. The NLL has assumed the rights for all the Wings' intellectual property and history and is focused on securing new ownership for the franchise. This version of the Philadelphia Wings joined the NLL as an expansion team for the 2018-19 season.
Premier Ultimate League: The women's professional PUL ultimate frisbee league started its 2026 season this week with ten teams aligned in five-team North and South divisions and each team playing six games through June 7, 2026. The PUL had 11 teams last season but the Los Angeles Astra left the league and the South Division to return to the Western Ultimate League for 2026 after playing only one season in the PUL.
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.
