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Weekly Sports League and Franchise Update

by Dan Krieger
November 26, 2007 - Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL)


BASEBALL

- Frontier League: The developer of a proposed ballpark on the Longview campus of Metropolitan Community College in the Lee's Summit (MO) area of Kansas City plans to meet with city, county and college officials to gain final approval. If approved, the ballpark could be ready for the 2009 Frontier League season and would also be home to the junior college baseball team and some games for the summer collegiate Ban Johnson League. While the proposed ballpark at McHenry County College for a Frontier League franchise is on hold indefinitely, a group of government leaders are discussing a new project at another location that could include fairgrounds, a conference center and possibly a ballpark. Since Crystal Lake voted down the original college ballpark plan, several other communities in the area have expressed interest in hosting the team.

- Can-Am League: Apparently the city of Ottawa is interested in hosting a Can-Am franchise next season and wants the league to hold off on finalizing its 2008 schedule, while it tries to settle lease disputes with the departing Ottawa Lynx of the International League.

BASKETBALL

- American Basketball Association: The new Rochester (MN) Fire franchise has been terminated by the league due to a lack of financial support. The team never made it to the regular season and played only one exhibition game. The Los Angeles Push franchise, originally called the Pasadena Push, has been suspended by the ABA due to its poor operations. Some of those associated with the team want to place a new ABA franchise in Southern California for the 2008-09 season. The ABA announced two new Arizona-based expansion teams for next season in Phoenix and Prescott Valley. The Phoenix-based team will be called the Fury and apparently replaces the Phoenix Phantoms, listed as an expansion team for 2008-09. The Detroit Panthers and Anderson Champions are no longer listed in the league standings, while teams like the Cicero Cometas USA, San Francisco Rumble and Sacramento Heatwave have cancelled several scheduled games. The 2006-07 Palm Beach Imperials franchise was pulled from the 2007-08 alignment, but has now reappeared in the standings as the West Palm Beach Imperials.

- International Basketball League: The owner of the IBL's Phoenix Flame is moving the team south to Casa Grande (AZ) as the Arizona Flame for the 2008 season. The Flame had previously announced the team was moving to Scottsdale for 2008 as the Scottsdale Flame. The team's owner planned to operate a franchise called the Tucson Flame in the 2007-08 American Basketball Association, but had concerns about the league operations and decided to wait.

- FIBA Americas League: The international basketball organization known as FIBA is sponsoring a 16-team competition during the months of December and January. The Americas League will feature champions and runner-ups from the leagues of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay in South America and teams from pro and semi-pro leagues of the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Dominican Republic. The United States representatives will be an all-star team from the new Premier Basketball League and the Miami Tropics, a member of last season's American Basketball Association. Puerto Rico's Baloncesto Superior National (BSN) will have the Cangrejeros de Santurce and Capitanes de Arecibo, while Mexico's Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP) will be represented by the Soles de Mexicali, Halcones de la Universidad Veracruz-Xalapas and Fuerza Regia de Monterrey.

- Eastern Basketball Alliance: The EBA has some new men's teams called the Alexandria Windjammers, Baltimore Pearls and Bucks County RimRockers that are expected to play in the upcoming 2008 season. The Women's EBA has new teams called the Delaware Lady Wildcats and Baltimore Starz listed for play in 2008.

FOOTBALL

- Arenafootball2 (af2): The af2 announced a new franchise called the Daytona Beach ThunderBirds will start play in the 2008 season. The nickname was derived from the name of an outdoor team by the same name that played as part of the professional Southern Football League in the early 1960s and from the city's Daytona Beach Thunder franchise, which played as part of the 2006 American Indoor Football League and the 2007 World Indoor Football League. Missing from the 2008 af2 alignment are last season's Cincinnati Jungle Kats and the new Biloxi-based Mississippi Headhunters.

- American Indoor Football Association: The AIFA announced its new Prescott Valley (AZ) franchise will be called the Arizona Adrenaline. The league is still working to complete its western expansion for the 2008 season.

- Continental Indoor Football League: The CIFL plans to add a new franchise based in Flint (MI) for its 2008 season. The former Port Huron Pirates franchise, which moved to Flint as the Michigan Pirates for one playoff game last season and planned to permanently relocate to Flint, has apparently folded. The CIFL will operate with 15 teams in four divisions for the 2008 season. The Atlantic East will include the Chesapeake Tide, Lehigh Valley Outlawz, New England Surge and New Jersey Revolution and the Atlantic West will include the Marion Mayhem, Rochester Raiders, Saginaw Sting and the new Flint team. The Great Lakes East will feature the Fort Wayne Freedom, Kalamazoo Xplosion, Miami Valley Silverbacks and Muskegon Thunder, while the Great Lakes West will include the Chicago Slaughter, Milwaukee Bonecrushers and Rock River Raptors.

- National Football League: NFL representatives recently toured another proposed Los Angeles football stadium site in the San Gabriel Valley area.

HOCKEY

- National Hockey League: A local group of investors trying to buy the Nashville Predators agreed on a lease with the city that would keep the team in Nashville for at least three years. The team could not leave before five years unless it lost $20 million and attendance dropped below 14,000 per game. The league still needs to officially approve the sale.

- Ligue Nord-Americaine de Hockey (LNAH): Quebec's minor hockey league known as LNAH, or the North American Hockey League, is again operating with eight teams for its 52-game 2007-08 season: Quebec Radio X, Saint-Georges CRS Express, Saint-Hyacinthe Top Design, Sherbrooke Saint Francois, Sorel-Tracy Mission, St-Jean Summum Chiefs, Thetford Mines Isothermic and Trois-Rivieres Caron & Guay. The only change was Thetford Mines changing from the Prolab to the Isothermic nickname. The LNAH evolved from the Quebec Senior Major Hockey League when it turned professional for the 2004-05 season.



Continental Indoor Football League Stories from November 26, 2007


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