Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
January 6, 2014 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)

BASEBALL

Frontier League: Based on the results of a feasibility study, the city of Parkersburg (WV) is moving forward with possible site locations and a financing plan for a new ballpark that could become home to a future Frontier League team. The city was home to the Ohio Valley Redcoats in the Frontier League from 1993 through the 1998 season.

South Atlantic League (SALLY): The Savannah Sand Gnats of the low Class-A SALLY want a more modern downtown stadium and are reportedly using a proposed move to Columbia (SC) as leverage for the city to act on a new stadium.

Western Association of Professional Baseball: The new independent Western Association is trying to organize and one of its teams will be called the Yuma Desert Ghosts. This team is apparently the previously announced Nogales Desert Ghosts from the American West Baseball League, which failed to get off the ground as planned.

BASKETBALL

Central Basketball League: The CBL has added new teams called the West Tennessee Defenders, Arkansas Mad Hawks, Kansas City Attack, Indiana Legends (Portland) and the Lake Charles (LA) Kingdom Riders to the Central Division. The Indiana Legends were previously listed as part of the Indiana State League in the proposed North American Basketball Development League Association (NABDL). The Lake Charles Kingdom Riders had been announced as a new CBL team back in October, but disappeared just prior to the league coming under new ownership. The Kingdom Riders are currently listed as part of the American Basketball Association's Gulf Coast Division. The CBL also added the Columbus (GA) Life Bearcats and Atlantic Crowns (Atlanta) teams to the Southeast Division. The Columbus Life started as an ABA team for the 2013-14 season, but is no longer listed in the ABA's Southeast Division 1.

Premier Basketball League: The PBL has started its 2014 season with 11 teams aligned into a six-team East Division and a five-team Midwest Division. The Fayetteville (NC) Shipmen, a previously announced seventh team for the East Division, and the Lafayette (LA) Legends, a previously announced sixth team for the Midwest Division, have disappeared from league standings. Of the six teams that were part of the league at the end of the 2013 season, the Sauk Valley (IL) Predators and West Virginia Miners (Charleston) did not return. The returning Rochester RazorSharks, Bloomington (IL) Flex, Lake Michigan Admirals (St. Joseph, MI) and Indianapolis Diesels (formerly the Columbus-based Indiana Diesels) will join seven new teams called the Buffalo 716ers, Erie (PA) Hurricane, Lynchburg (VA) Titans, Pee Dee Vipers (Florence, SC), West Virginia Angels (Charleston), Chicago Pride, and Lima (OH) Express.

Women's National Basketball Association: The ownership of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks informed the league it will no longer be involved with the team due to financial losses, so the league has stepped in to assist in finding new ownership for the franchise. The WNBA stated there are other groups interested in owning a franchise, but it is uncertain if new ownership could be in place for the 2014 season or whether the team would remain in Los Angeles. The Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association have expressed interest in a WNBA franchise and were reported to have been in contact with the league about taking over the Sparks. The Los Angeles Sparks were an original member of the WNBA when it started play for the 1997 season.

American Professional Basketball League: The basketball team known as The Destroyers has returned to the APBL as a last-minute replacement for the league's Portsmouth (VA) Cavaliers team, which dropped out of the league. The Destroyers played as the Philadelphia-based Palmieri Jeans Destroyers in the 2012-13 season of the APBL. The Alexandria Avengers and Maryland Bayraiders teams were also recently dropped by the league, but no replacements were added for these teams.

American Basketball Association: The ABA announced the addition of a new expansion team called the Permian Basin Obvious Culture, based in Odessa (TX).

American Basketball League: The ABL announced a new team called the Treasure Coast Stampede, based in Vero Beach (FL), will be part of the league's second season that starts in June 2014. The champion of the Florida Tropics Division will face the champion of the new International Bahamian Division at the end of the season.

FOOTBALL

Legends Football League-USA: The women's LFL-USA announced the Philadelphia Passion and Minnesota Valkyrie franchises will not be competing in the 2014 season. Philadelphia started play in the league's first season (2009-10) of league play and has played in all four LFL-USA seasons, while Minnesota was part of the past two seasons (2011-12 and 2013). The league stated Philadelphia is expected to return in 2015 under new leadership and teams in New England, the Bay Area and Dallas are under consideration for 2015 expansion. The LFL-USA had 12 teams in the 2013 season, but wants to grow to 26 teams by the 2020 season. It envisions a North American league with teams in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The LFL-USA also announced the Cleveland Crush will move to Toledo for the 2014 season. Cleveland has been part of the league for the past two seasons.

HOCKEY

ECHL: The Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL could be without a home after the 2013-14 season. The team was notified by Orleans Arena officials last month that there would not be a lease renewal for the 2014-15 season. The team was looking for a one-year extension while it worked toward a new home for the 2015-16 season. The Wranglers need to have an arena lease in place for next season in time for the ECHL's deadline of January 20, 2014 or the team might have to sit out the 2014-15 season.

SOCCER

Canadian Soccer League: The CSL has broken away from the Canadian Soccer Association and is now part of the new Soccer Federation of Canada. This will allow the league to move forward in creating a professional league at a level below the Division II North American Soccer League and the Division I Major League Soccer. The CSL plans to introduce promotion and relegation of teams between its First Division and Second Division, which had previously consisted of reserve teams. The league will create a new Reserve Division that will operate at a third level for the CSL in 2014. The CSL will also have a working relationship with the proposed new league called American Professional Soccer, which plans to start play in 2014 with teams in the northeastern United States. The CSL also plans to move forward on a women's pro soccer league.

American Professional Soccer: The proposed new APS plans to start play in 2014 with six to eight teams in the northeastern part of the United States. The league wants to operate without the high franchise costs associated with the North American Soccer League and United Soccer Leagues PRO league. The APS currently lists proposed teams in Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. The league plans to play a fall/winter and spring/summer schedule similar to the European leagues. The Canadian Soccer League recently announced a partnership with the APS.

Women's Premier Soccer League: The Tacoma City FC has decided not to join the WPSL for the 2014 season as was previously considered. The club might place a U-19 women's team in the Puget Sound Soccer League and join the WPSL in 2015.

OTHER

American Ultimate Disc League: The men's professional AUDL announced last month the New Jersey Hammerheads (Mercer County) franchise will suspend operations for the 2014 season due to financial issues. The league's DC Breeze, based in Washington (DC), was also considering suspension but was able to find new investors for the team to continue in 2014. The expansion Montreal Royal team will basically replace the loss of New Jersey in the six-team Eastern Division

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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