Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
April 7, 2014 - Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL)

BASEBALL

Atlantic League: The proposed new Atlantic League expansion team for Virginia Beach (VA) has selected the Virginia Beach Neptunes as its nickname. Earlier this year, the city approved construction of a new stadium that should break ground over the next few months and start play in 2015.

Frontier League: A plan to build a ballpark using taxpayer funding in the Milwaukee suburb of Franklin (WI) for a proposed Frontier League team was recently voted down. The city appears ready to seek a revised funding proposal.

Florida State League: The city of Ocala (FL) has decided not to move forward on a proposed stadium that would have become home to the relocated Tampa Yankees of the high Class-A FSL.

BASKETBALL

Central Basketball League: As the CBL planned to start its 2014 season this weekend, it was uncertain as to exactly how many teams will be participating. The league recently announced it will now be known as the Central Basketball Developmental League.

International Basketball League: The IBL has posted its schedule and league alignment for the 2014 season that will include teams from the West Coast Basketball League (WCBL). A Winter Conference features six WCBL teams, a Continental Conference features three IBL full-schedule teams and a Branding Conference features a mix of four IBL and two WCBL teams that will play partial schedules. Some of the WCBL teams started their 2014 games this weekend.

American Basketball Association: The previously announced ABA expansion team in Memphis will be called the Memphis Lions when it starts play in the 2014-15 season. The league had a Memphis-based team called the Bluff City Reign for the past two season, but it disappeared from the league standings earlier this year.

North American Basketball Development Leagues Association: The new NABDLA, which plans to operate several state-based developmental leagues, has started its inaugural 2014 season last month. The Pennsylvania League has the Pittsburgh Bullets and Washington (PA) Warriors; the New York League has the Buffalo Blue Hawks, New York Knights and New York Lightning; the Ohio League has the Cleveland Coyotes and Lancaster Aftermath, the Virginia League has the Newport News Nighthawks; and the Indiana League has the Anderson Legends and Indianapolis Kings. The league also lists a couple of New York expansion teams called the New York Eagles and New York Firebirds. The league has also scheduled 2014 games against teams from other leagues like the American Basketball Association, Eastern Basketball Alliance, Central Basketball Association and Universal Basketball Association.

FOOTBALL

Indoor Football League: The previously announced Billings (MT) Wolves IFL expansion team is organizing for its start in the 2015 season. The league has a five-team United Conference and a four-team Intense Conference this season and announced Billings would be added to the Intense Conference.

Legends Football League-Australia: The women's LFL, previously known as the Lingerie Football League, announced that the LFL-Australia will add a team in the city of Adelaide, as well as another soon-to-be-announced expansion team, and will operate with six teams in the league's second season that will run from October 2014 to February 2015.

Womens' Football Alliance: The WFA, which is considered to be the top outdoor women's football league, started its 2014 spring season this weekend. The league has a 21-team American Conference with 6 regional divisions and a 22-team National Conference with 6 regional divisions. New teams for 2014 include the Daytona Breakers, Illiana Ravens (Chicago area), Iowa Steamrollers (Des Moines) and Pittsburgh Force, along with two former Independent Wormen's Football League teams called the Nevada Storm (Sparks) and Phoenix Phantoms.

HOCKEY

United States Hockey League: The Tier-I USHL, the top junior-level hockey league in the United States, has conditionally approved plans to place an expansion team in Bloomington (IL) starting with the 2014-15 season. The USHL team will play in the arena that was used by the Bloomington Thunder of the Southern Professional Hockey League during the 2013-14 season. The ownership of the Thunder is dropping out of the SPHL after only one season and an entirely new ownership group called CSH International, which currently operates three other junior hockey teams, has applied for the USHL's Bloomington expansion team. The USHL had 17 teams for the 2013-14 season and previously announced another expansion team called the Madison (WI) Capitols would be added for the 2014-15 season.

ECHL: The new Indianapolis-based Indy Fuel expansion franchise, which will start play in the 2014-15 season of the Double-A level ECHL, has signed a five-year affiliation agreement with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Blackhawks will end their ECHL affiliation with the Toledo Walleye. The ECHL is the leading professional development league for the Triple-A American Hockey League and the NHL. Also, the president of the ECHL's Bakersfield Condors team stated he does not expect the team to be changing its name to the Oilers or an oil-related name after the NHL's Edmonton Oilers purchased the team earlier this year.

Canadian International Hockey League: The Espanola Rivermen team from Canada's Junior-A Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League is trying to form the new CIHL, which would operate independently from the Hockey Canada structure for the 2014-15 season. The league organizer claims to have several other Ontario communities that will be part of the new league.

North American 3 Hockey League: The Battle Creek (MI) Revolution of the Tier-III junior level NA3HL has changed its name to the West Michigan Wolves for next season.

United States Premier Hockey League: The Connecticut Yankees team in the Premier Division of the Tier-III junior level USPHL has changed its name to the Connecticut Junior Rangers for next season.

SOCCER

Major League Soccer: The Port of Miami was suggested as a possible location to build a soccer-specific stadium for a Miami MLS team. There has been no set year announced for when a team would start play.

United Soccer Leagues - Major Indoor Soccer League: After receiving its release from the MISL last week, the Milwaukee Wave has committed to join the Professional Arena Soccer League for the 2014-15 season. The team was granted an extension for its arena lease and has until mid-May for a final decision. The PASL expects to add some of the four teams that recently left the MISL.

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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Major Indoor Soccer League Stories from April 7, 2014

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