QMJHL Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League

Weekly Sports League and Franchise Update

by Dan Krieger
December 10, 2007 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)


BASEBALL

- United League Baseball: The Mid-Missouri Mavericks, a franchise that played as part of the Frontier League from 2003 to 2005, could return in the 2009 ULB season. The group that now owns the Mavericks is affiliated with the ULB and is working with the city of Columbia (MO) on plans for a new ballpark. The team previously played on the University of Missouri campus.

- New York-Penn League: The future is uncertain for the Batavia Muckdogs franchise in the short-season Class-A New York-Penn League. The team plays in the league's second-smallest market and faces declining attendance and outstanding debts. The franchise could be a relocation candidate for a larger market interested in entering the league.

BASKETBALL

- American Basketball Association: After recently losing the Corning Bulldogs, the ABA announced that another Blue Conference North Division team, the Syracuse Raging Bullz, has suspended operations after only six games. The league later announced that the Syracuse franchise will relocate to Rochester (NY) next season. The Rochester RazorSharks played the past two seasons in the ABA before leaving for the Premier Basketball League. The First State Fusion has put its inaugural season on hold until January. The West Palm Beach Imperials have disappeared from the standings, but are listed as one of the many 2008-09 expansion teams. In the Red Conference, the Southwest Division is now the seven-team West Division with the Los Angeles Push again listed. The Cicero Cometas USA team was now listed again in the Central Division. The team name for the expansion Prescott Valley team is listed as the Rhinos. A team known as the Phoenix Rhinos, later renamed the Arizona Rhinos, was a proposed 2005-06 ABA franchise that eventually left the league.

- National Basketball Association Development League (D-League): The NBA's D-League plans to eventually become a 30-team league with an NBA affiliate for each of its teams. The 14-team league is reportedly planning another round of expansion that could include some teams in the Northeast. The Cleveland Cavaliers are said to be interested in operating a D-League franchise.

- Texas Professional Basketball League: The Mexican basketball team known as the Gallos de Ciudad Juarez will play in the 2008 TPBL season that starts in January. The Gallos played in various Mexican leagues over the past few years and played in the 2003-04 season of the American Basketball Association as the Juarez Gallos de Pelea (Gamecocks).

FOOTBALL

- American Indoor Football Association: The AIFA announced the league will return to Lakeland (FL) in 2009, with or without the dormant Lakeland Thunderbolts franchise. After winning the 2007 AIFA championship, the Thunderbolts decided to sit idle in 2008 due to an internal ownership dispute. The league wants insure it returns to the successful Lakeland market, which is located between Orlando and Tampa. The AIFA also announced the new Utah Saints franchise as the third team in its proposed western division for 2008. The team will play in the Utah Olympic Oval in the Salt Lake City suburb of Kearns. The AIFA previously added the Wyoming Cavalry from the National Indoor Football League and the expansion Arizona Adrenaline, based in Prescott Valley, to the AIFA West. The league is pursuing other western franchise possibilities in Colorado, Northern California and another Utah location.

HOCKEY

- Quebec Major Junior Hockey League: The St. John's (Newfoundland) Fog Devils franchise is suffering from low attendance and related financial losses. The franchise has been approached by outside parties interested in purchasing and relocating the team, but no decision has been made about a possible sale. The Fog Devils entered the QMJHL as a 2005-06 expansion team, along with the Saint John (New Brunswick) Sea Dogs. The QMJHL, the Ontario Hockey League and the Western Hockey League comprise the Canadian Hockey League, which is considered the top tier of junior-level hockey in North America.

SOCCER

- United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League: The Vancouver Whitecaps of the USL First Division announced the formation of a PDL team for the 2008 season. The team will be called the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency and will be the first professional team in the PDL. The PDL announced some details for its upcoming 2008 season, which will feature 67 teams in 10 divisions aligned into Central, Eastern, Southern and Western conferences. The PDL has added a New England Division to the Eastern Conference and a Midwest Division to the Central Conference. Some of the new teams include the Austin Stampede, Houston Leones, Kalamazoo Outrage, New Jersey Rangers, Panama City Pirates and Vancouver. The New Hampshire Phantoms and Cincinnati Kings have moved down a level to the PDL from the USL Second Division. The Abbotsford (BC) Rangers club has been renamed the Mariners.

- United Soccer Leagues W-League: The USL women's league plans to have 41 teams playing in 2008. The Atlantic Division will switch from the Central to the Eastern Conference and the Northern Division will switch from the Eastern to the Central Conference. The W-League plans to realign some teams and divisions for the addition of several new clubs like the Carolina RailHawks Women, Connecticut, FC Indiana, Kalamazoo Outrage, Los Angeles, Pali Blues, Tampa, Ventura (CA) and West Virginia. The Carolina Dynamo will also return after sitting out the 2007 season.

OTHER

- Major Lacrosse League: The San Francisco Dragons of the MLL are moving to Spartan Stadium in San Jose for its 2008 outdoor lacrosse season, but will continue to keep San Francisco in the team name. The Dragons entered the league in 2006 as part of the league's western expansion and played at Kezar Stadium for two seasons.

Dan Krieger is the creator of "Leagues, Teams & Nicknames", which tracks the changes in league alignments, franchise movements and team nicknames in today's sports world. The latest version can be found at http://www.lulu.com/content/1375144. Dan can be contacted at dankrieger@leaguesteamsnicknames.com.

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Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from December 10, 2007


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