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Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
December 9, 2013 - North American Soccer League (NASL)


BASEBALL

Florida State League: The Marion County (FL) commission will decide later this month which type of voting method will be used on a sales tax proposal to fund construction of a new stadium in Ocala for the Tampa Yankees of the high Class-A FSL.

New York-Penn League: The Auburn (NY) Doubledays of the short-season NYPL are requesting financial assistance from the city to pay outstanding debts to vendors and suppliers. The Doubledays had the third-worst total attendance in 2013 and have been mentioned as one of the possible relocation candidates for a new stadium to be built in Morgantown (WV).

Pecos League: The independent Pecos League hopes to get a lease agreement approved next week with the city of Douglas (AZ) for a 2014 expansion team. Although the team is currently listed as the Douglas Diablos, the league wants the city to help name the team and it has other suggestions like the Mineros, Vaqueros, Smeltermen, Copper Kings or a possible write-in name.

Futures Collegiate Baseball League: The new Worcester (MA) team in the summer-collegiate FCBL will be called the Worcester Bravehearts when it starts play in 2014. The city had been hoping for the return of a professional baseball team after the loss of the former Worcester Tornadoes team that played in the independent Can-Am League from 2004 through the 2012 season.

Ohio Valley Summer Collegiate Baseball League: The OVSCBL announced the Marion (KY) Bobcats will not be part of the 2014 season and the Tradewater Pirates, based in Madisonville (KY), will now be called the Madisonville Pirates.

BASKETBALL

Premier Basketball League: The PBL has added a team called the Lynchburg (VA) Titans for its upcoming 2014 season. The team is the former Lynchburg Legends team that has been part of the American Basketball Association since the 2011-12 season. Since the PBL recently added a team called the Lafayette (LA) Legends, the Lynchburg team changed its name to the Titans. The league also announced the addition of a team called the Chicago Tide and a yet-to-be-named New York team that will be based in New Rochelle. The Chicago Tide is the former Chicago Redline team that was part of the Independent Basketball Association for its 2011-12 winter season and 2012 and 2013 spring seasons. The New York team started as the New York JAMM in the 2013-14 American Basketball Association, but will change its name for the 2014 PBL season. The PBL currently has 13 teams listed for its upcoming 2014 season that will start at the end of this month.

Tobacco Road Basketball League: The TRBL has listed its standings for the 2014 season that will include a six-team TRBL East division and a seven-team TRBL West division. In the East, the Bull City Legacy (Durham, NC) was added, while the Neuse River BC replaced the Johnson County Nighthawks in Smithfield (NC). In the West, the Palmetto Flight (Spartanburg, SC) and the SC All Stars (Greenville, SC) were added. The league lists the Triad Heat (Winston-Salem/Greensboro) and the East Carolina Stealth as other "TRBL sanctioned opponents" for 2014. The Triad Heat is currently listed as a 2014 travel team in the American Basketball Association. For its first two seasons in 2012 and 2013, the TRBL played an April-June schedule, but some of the teams have announced their 2014 schedules and will be starting play in January as part of an extended season.

FOOTBALL

American Indoor Football: The head of the AIF announced the league will operate with six full-schedule teams in 2014. These will include the returning Cape Fear Heroes (Fayetteville, NC) and York (PA) Capitals, along with the new Atlanta Sharks, Baltimore Mariners, Cleveland Dragons and Rochester (NY) Raiders. Previously announced new teams called the New York Wolves (Calverton), Chicago Assassins and Moorestown (NJ) Saints are gone. Each 2014 team will play an eight-game schedule, plus an extra exhibition home game against a league-operated travel team.

HOCKEY

Central Hockey League: The CHL announced it plans to add a maximum of two teams for the 2014-15 season. The league had 18 teams as recent as the 2010-11 season, but has lost several teams over the past few years. The CHL has had 10 teams the past two seasons and wants to grow to 12 teams. No specific new markets were announced, but Casper (WY) has expressed interest in joining the CHL.

Major League Roller Hockey: The MLRH announced a team called the Chicago Bulldogs has been added and will compete in the 2013-14 season of the MLRH Pro Tour.

SOCCER

Major League Soccer: The MLS plans to expand to 24 teams by 2020 with the New York City FC and Orlando City Lions joining as the 20th and 21st teams in 2015. With three slots open, Miami and Atlanta are considered frontrunners for the league's next two teams, but a suitable soccer-specific stadium deal still needs to be worked out in Miami. The league recently mentioned Minneapolis, Austin, San Antonio or St. Louis as possible markets to round out the expansion. The MLS stated it is not yet ready to switch from its March-December season to the international calendar that runs from August to May.

North American Soccer League: The NASL expansion team called the Virginia Cavalry FC (Ashburn) will not start as planned in 2014 and will wait until the 2015 spring season to begin play. The Cavalry had been looking for a temporary home venue due to delays in completing a new stadium under construction in Loudoun County. The new stadium, which is to be shared with a new baseball team called the Loudoun Hounds in the Atlantic Baseball League, will not be completed until later in the summer of 2014. The NASL still plans to add teams called the Indy Eleven (Indianapolis) and Ottawa Fury for its 2014 spring season.

United Soccer Leagues - PRO: The USL PRO league announced plans to add an expansion team in Colorado Springs for the 2015 season. The city has had previous teams called the Stampede (1996-99), Ascent (2000-01) and Blizzard (2004-06) in the USL Premier Development League. The Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer announced plans to have a USL PRO league team next season. It is not clear if this would be a new team or an affiliation with the league's current Los Angeles Blues team.

National Premier Soccer League: The men's elite-level NPSL announced the FC Carolina Discoveries (Rock Hill, SC) has joined as an expansion team for the 2014 season. The NPSL also announced plans to start a Northwest Conference in 2014 with the addition of the SO Samba FC, based in Hood River (OR), and the Spartans FC, based in the Portland (OR)/Vancouver (WA) area. At least two additional teams from Washington State are expected to be announced in the near future.

United Soccer Leagues - Premier Development League: The Montreal Impact of Major League Soccer will place a team called the Montreal Impact U23 in the PDL for the 2014 season. The Chicago Fire, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Portland Timbers of the MLS field their own teams in the PDL and the San Jose Earthquakes will add a PDL team in 2014. The PDL also announced another new team called the Albuquerque Sol will join the league for the 2014 season.

Major League Football: A proposed new professional Caribbean soccer league known as Major League Football will try to launch in September 2015. The league plans to have 20 teams with the aim of developing young players and growing the game in the region. The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) will set up a commission to examine the feasibility of the new league.

OTHER

Canadian Lacrosse League (CLAX): The Ontario-based CLAX will return for its third season in February 2014 with only five teams-the returning Barrie Blizzard, Durham TurfDogs (was Oshawa), Ohsweken Demons, Niagara Lock Monsters (St. Catharines) and a new travel team called the SouthWest Cyclops based out of southwestern Ontario. The league had seven teams last season, but the Brampton Inferno, Iroquois Ironmen (Ohsweken) and Toronto Shooting Stars did not return. Each team will also play one game against a team called the Tuscarora Tomahawks from Cattaraugus (NY).

United States Lacrosse League: The proposed new USLL announced the signing of the Maine Moose Trax (Portland) as its first franchise. The indoor USLL plans to start play in the fall of 2014.

Dan Krieger is the creator of the "The Leagueology Almanac 2012-13", which tracks the changes in league alignments, franchise movements and team nicknames in today's sports world. The publication is currently available at www.amazon.com.

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North American Soccer League Stories from December 9, 2013


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