NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
March 10, 2014 - X-League (X-League)


BASEBALL

South Atlantic League (SALLY): The city council in Columbia (SC) gave initial approval to build a new ballpark that could become home to a team in the low Class-A SALLY. A final vote is scheduled for March 18. The owner of the league's Savannah Sand Gnats is behind the new ballpark effort, but it is uncertain if the Sand Gnats would be the team relocating to Columbia if a ballpark is built. There has been talk of the Sand Gnats staying put and the possibility of a high Class-A Carolina League team moving to Columbia. The city last had the Capital City Bombers in the SALLY, but that team moved to become the Greenville (SC) Drive for the 2005 season

American Association: After holding a name-the-team contest, the American Association team called the El Paso Diablos, which will be relocating to Joplin (MO) for the 2015 season, has decided to delay announcing the team's new name until later this month.

Pecos Spring League: The independent Pecos League has started its third annual Pecos Spring League in the Houston area that runs from March 6 to 26, 2014. The schedule lists six teams called the Coastal Bend Kingfish, Pecos Bills, Galveston Sea Lions, Las Cruces Vaqueros, Houston Apollos and the Mesa Garden of Gears. Players pay for the opportunity to be evaluated by the Pecos League and other independent leagues that are looking to sign players for the upcoming summer season.

Texas Summer League: Although the independent United League Baseball (ULB) has yet to announce a 2014 schedule and team lineup, the league announced plans to sponsor a 2014 Texas Summer League (TSL) in Fort Worth from July 15 to August 7. The TSL is a pay-to-play league for players who recently graduated college and are looking to be part of an independent pro team for the rest of the 2014 season. The TSL operated with two teams called the Alexandria Aces and McAllen Thunder in 2013.

BASKETBALL

Independent Basketball Association: The IBA reported the new Racine (WI) Storm team in its 2014 spring season is the relocated Lake County (IL) Stars team. The Stars joined the IBA for its inaugural winter season in 2011-12. After competing in the 2013-14 winter season, the Stars' owner decided to move the team to Racine for the 2014 spring season.

Florida Basketball Association: The new Miami-based FBA expansion team for 2014 will be called the Miami Midnites when the league starts its third season in May 2014.

Central Basketball Association: The new CBA has started its inaugural 2014 season with seven teams each playing a ten-game schedule from March 1 through May 11. The CBA includes the Bowling Green (KY) Hornets, Middle Tennessee Storm (Nashville area), River City Panthers (Peoria, IL) and the St. Louis Hawks from last season's Central Basketball League, plus three new teams called the Chattanooga Rail Runners, Fort Wayne Flite and Memphis Soul Kings.

Eastern Basketball Alliance: The EBA's proposed new Marietta (GA) Tarantulas team, which is one of several new teams in the league's new Atlanta-based Southern Division, will not start play until the 2015 season. Several other Southern Division teams like the Atlantic Crowns, Decatur Slammers and Blue Spiders are listed in the standings, but not on the 2014 schedule. The Atlantic Crowns were at one time listed as part of the Central Basketball League for its 2014 spring-summer season.

FOOTBALL

X-League Indoor Football: The new X-League Indoor Football started its inaugural 2014 season last week with five teams playing a ten-game schedule from early March to mid-May. The Alabama Outlawz (Birmingham) and Pennsylvania Steam (Reading) are new teams for 2014, while the Georgia Rampage (Dalton), Florida Marine Raiders (Lakeland) and St. Louis Attack were part of the 2013 Ultimate Indoor Football League. The Raiders played as the Lakeland Raiders and the Attack was the Missouri Monsters as part of the 2013 UIFL. A previously announced sixth team called the Georgia Stealth from the Atlanta area was not in compliance with X-League guidelines and was suspended for the 2014 season. The three former UIFL teams originally left to form the proposed Xtreme Indoor Football League, which was later reorganized as the X-League Indoor Football.

HOCKEY

Federal Hockey League: The FHL's Dayton Demonz and Watertown (NY) Privateers played a regular-season game in Winston-Salem (NC) last weekend as the league considers the city for a possible 2014-15 expansion team. Another neutral-site game is being planned for Connellsville (PA), about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh, between the Watertown Privateers and the Danville (IL) Dashers on March 22, 2014. The league would like to expand from four to at least six teams by next season.

United States Hockey League: The Tier-I USHL, which is the top level of junior hockey in the United States, has an investor interested in bringing a USHL team to Port Huron (MI). The city currently has the Port Huron Fighting Falcons in the Tier-II junior-level North American Hockey League, but their lease is up at the end of this season. The investor is reported to be considering several other markets for the team.

Western States Hockey League: A new junior hockey team called the Casper (WY) Coyotes officially announced it will start play in the 2014-15 season of the WSHL, which is part of the Amateur Athletic Union. The professional Central Hockey League was considering Casper for a possible expansion team.

SOCCER

Major League Soccer: The MLS has started its 2014 season with the same 19 teams and the same two-conference alignment as last season. The league will increase to 21 teams next season when teams called the New York City FC and Orlando City SC Lions start play in 2015. A Miami team is expected to be the league's 22nd team once a soccer-specific stadium deal is worked out. The league wants to have 24 teams by 2020 and it appears Atlanta and Minneapolis have the inside track on the next two expansion teams. The league commissioner recently discussed other potential markets like Sacramento, Detroit, Cleveland, Charlotte, Austin and San Antonio that have expressed interest in an MLS expansion team. The league could possibly consider expansion beyond 24 teams after 2020.

National Premier Soccer League: The NPSL has announced the teams and alignment for its upcoming 2014 season that will include 78 teams. The league has 12 conferences across South, West, Northeast and South regions.

American Soccer League: The proposed new ASL plans to start its inaugural 2014-15 season in August 2014. The ASL recently received provisional sanctioning from the United States Adult Soccer Association and will follow the international calendar split into fall and spring sessions. As of now, teams called the Philadelphia Fury, New Jersey Gladiators and Mass United FC (Lynn) have been announced for the inaugural season. The ASL and the Canadian Soccer League have entered into a partnership with plans to have each ASL team play home and away games against CSL teams. The CSL is no longer a member of the Canadian Soccer Association and will operate as a private unaffiliated league as a member of the new Soccer Federation of Canada.

OTHER

National Indoor Field Lacrosse: The proposed new NIFL, which plans to be the first professional indoor field lacrosse league, announced its third team will be the Buffalo Xtreme when it starts its inaugural 2014-15 season this fall. Two Ontario-based teams called the Niagara Riptides and Welland River Rats were previously announced.

World TeamTennis: The WTT has decided to terminate the Las Vegas Neon franchise due to legal and financial issues surrounding the team's owner. The team operated for 28 seasons as the Sacramento Capitals before announcing plans early last month to relocate to Las Vegas for the 2014 season.

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.

• Discuss this story on the X-League message board...

X-League Stories from March 10, 2014


The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central