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MLS Major League Soccer

Weekly Sports League and Franchise Update

by Dan Krieger
December 17, 2007 - Major League Soccer (MLS)


BASEBALL

- Midwest League: After four seasons of being called the Swing of the Quad Cities, this Class-A Midwest League franchise has returned to its former nickname as the Quad Cities River Bandits. The team was previously known as the Quad Cities River Bandits from 1992 to 2003. The runner-up in the name-the-team contest was the Channel Cats, while other names like Current, River Eagles, Talons and Swing received some votes.

- South Coast League: The SCL will again operate with six teams for its second season in 2008. The Bradenton Juice, which turned into a traveling team early last season, will sit dormant in 2008. An expansion franchise reportedly based in Mississippi is expected to be announced in the near future. The other returning teams are the Anderson Joes, Aiken Foxhounds, South Georgia Peanuts, Charlotte County Redfish and Macon Music.

BASKETBALL

- American Basketball Association: The Strong Island Sound and Orlando Aces have dropped out of the ABA and the Jersey Express franchise is suffering from attendance problems. The Corning Bulldogs, who pulled out of the ABA last week, have apparently moved to Elmira (NY) as the Elmira Bulldogs and the team will be part of the 2008 season in the National Professional Basketball League that starts play in March. The Northeast-based ABA teams in Vermont, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Boston, Manchester and Westchester recently participated in a conference to assure that each team would be able to complete its remaining schedule.

- United Basketball League: Some of the UBL teams have changed names and locations as the league prepares for its inaugural season in 2008. The Fort Worth Funk franchise, originally announced as the Fort Worth Escape, is now the Fort Worth Falcons. The Mesquite-based Texas Outlaws are now listed as the Dallas Outlaws. The Texas Capital Sounds, formerly of Austin, are now based in San Marcos. A new team called the Tyler (TX) I-20 Pros has been added.

- Texas Professional Basketball League: The TPBL plans to start its 2008 season with teams called the Addison Stallions, Austin Flight, Big Spring Storm, Dallas Diesel, Gallos de Pellea (Juarez), Killeen Barnone, Lake Jackson Lakers, Midland Heat, Play2Score Rebels (Houston), San Angelo Chaparrals and Synergy (Houston).

- Texas Basketball League: The semi-pro TBL has decided to find cities in North Texas to host its eight teams for the 2008 season. The cities and teams will be the Arlington Celtics, Cedar Hill Spurs, Dallas Knicks, Duncanville Suns, Fort Worth Pistons, Grand Prairie Bulls, Irving Lakers and Mansfield Mavericks.

- National Professional Basketball League: After playing an exhibition season in 2007, the NPBL plans to start its first full season in March 2008 with teams called the Connecticut Stars, Elmira Bulldogs, Hudson Valley Hawks, Maryland BayRaiders, New York StrikeForce, Virginia Vipers and Westchester Monarchs. The Elmira Bulldogs were the former Corning Bulldogs team that recently left the American Basketball Association. The Bridgeport-based Connecticut Stars were originally called the CT Xplosions. Last season, the Strikeforce was the Pennsylvania Strikeforce and the Monarchs were the New Jersey Monarchs.

- Eastern Basketball Alliance: The EBA has its 2008 schedule and line-up of teams posted for its men's league (EBA) and women's league (WEBA). The season will run from early January to late March. The men's league features the Alexandria Avengers, Bucks County RimRockers, Camden Pride, Delaware Destroyers, Harrisburg Horizon, New Jersey Bullets, New Jersey Starting 5ive, North Jersey Lakers, Philadelphia Power, Schuylkill Fire Dogs, and Wilkes-Barre Barons. The participating WEBA teams are the Baltimore Starz, Delaware Lady Destroyers, Delaware Lady Wildcats, Harrisburg Lady Horizon, New York Gazelles, PA Lady Keystoners and U.S. Army Women All Stars.

- Women's National Basketball Association: The WBNA announced its 2008 season, which will feature a break from late July to late August to accommodate players participating in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The yet-to-be-named Atlanta expansion franchise will be added to the Eastern Conference, which will increase to seven teams like the Western Conference. The WNBA's other 13 teams will all return for the league's 12th season.

FOOTBALL

- All American Football League: The new AAFL plans to start play in April 2008 and announced the six teams that will participate in the inaugural draft-Team Alabama, Team Arkansas, Team Florida, Team Michigan, Team Tennessee and Team Texas.

- United Football League: UFL officials were in Orlando to try to arrange a deal for the Florida Citrus Bowl as a home. The UFL has secured four franchise owners that will be announced next month, but no one has yet purchased the Orlando franchise. The league hopes to start with 12 teams next August.

- Independent Indoor Football Alliance: The Texas-based IIFA has announced its ninth team as the East Texas Express. The team is based in Myrtle Springs, which about midway between Dallas and Tyler. The Express team was added to the American Conference. The league currently has nine teams and plans to add one more for its inaugural season in 2008.

HOCKEY

- Professional Inline Hockey Association: The PIHA Pro Division has started its 2007-08 season with 42 teams. The 19-team Western Conference is split into Gateway, Rocky Mountain, Pacific and Southwest divisions, while the 23-team Eastern Conference consists of Northeast, Atlantic, Mason Dixon and Southeast divisions. Some of the more interesting team nicknames are the Cincinnati Flying Monkeys, Chicago Untouchables and Harrisburg Lunatics.

SOCCER

- Major League Soccer: St. Louis and Philadelphia are considered the top choices for the league's 16th franchise that is expected to be announced early in 2008. The league hopes the selected location would be able to start play in 2009 when a Seattle team is set to join. The MLS reportedly will expand to 18 teams by 2010 or 2011 and recently announced investors for a possible Atlanta franchise and a second franchise in the New York City area. The league was also talking with the city of Miami about funding for a soccer stadium that could be part of a project with a Florida Marlins baseball stadium on the current site of the Orange Bowl. Kansas City officials recently approved a special tax incentive for a redevelopment plan in the Bannister Mall area that is to include a new soccer stadium for the Kansas City Wizards.

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Major League Soccer Stories from December 17, 2007


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