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Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
May 5, 2014 - Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL)


BASEBALL

Northern League of Professional Baseball: The head of the proposed revival of the independent Northern League stated the league will not start play this season as originally planned. The league had hoped to start with several teams in the Midwest, but the current economy hurt the league's progress in the past year. A previously announced team called the Elkhart (IN) Miracle has not been able to move forward on a proposed new ballpark due to a lack of private venture capital. The Northern League has long-range plans to have teams in the Midwest, on the East Coast and possibly in southern Ontario, Canada.

Frontier League: The developer trying to build a new ballpark in the Milwaukee suburb of Franklin (WI) for a 2015 Frontier League team stated the project is now dead after the city council recently rejected a financing proposal.

South Atlantic League (SALLY): It looks like the Hagerstown (MD) Suns of the low Class-A SALLY will remain in the city at least through the 2015 season before moving to a new stadium to be built in Fredericksburg (VA). The Suns' ownership is still trying to work out details on private funding so construction can get started in Fredericksburg.

Southern League: The new Biloxi (MS) team in the Double-A Southern League announced its name-the-team contest. The league's Huntsville (AL) Stars are playing their last season in Huntsville and will relocate to Biloxi where a new stadium is expected to be ready for the 2015 season.

BASKETBALL

National Basketball Association Development League (D-League): The new Grand Rapids (MI) D-League franchise, which will be the league's relocated Springfield (MA) Armor franchise, announced four team nickname candidates-the Grand Rapids Drive, Grand Rapids Chairmen, Grand Rapids Horsepower and Grand Rapids Blue Racers. Voting for the team's name will take place until May 10. The Grand Rapids team will have a single-affiliation relation with the NBA's Detroit Pistons. The NBA's Orlando Magic has expressed interest in a single-affiliation relationship with the D-League's Erie (PA) BayHawks, which lost its single-affiliation with the New York Knicks after the 2013-14 season. The NBA's Phoenix Suns would like to enter into a single-affiliation with the D-League's Bakersfield Jam.

Central Basketball Development League: The CBDL has removed the ownership of the Palm Beach Pelicans and Fort Pierce Royals teams. New owners have been found for the teams that have been renamed the West Palm Beach Pelicans and the Fort Pierce Finest Ballers. A team called the Texas Resurrection (Brenham) recently joined the CBDL's Western Conference, but the conference fell apart when some Texas and Louisiana teams dropped out. The owner of the Resurrection has been appointed as the head of the CBDL's Western Conference Mid-West Division and will be looking to grow the league with teams in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

American Basketball Association: The ABA announced two Texas-based teams called the Houston Red Storm and the TX P5 Elite (Austin) will be part of the 2014-15 season. A team called the Houston Red Storm last played in the ABA's 2010-11 season. That team began as the Houston Havoc in 2006, became the Houston Undertakers under new ownership prior to the 2006-07 season, and was renamed the Houston Takers during their first season. The Houston Takers continued to play in the ABA until becoming the Houston Red Storm for the 2010-11 season. The ABA had tried to place a team in Austin under the Austin Capitals and Texas Chaparrals names prior to the 2009-10 season.

FOOTBALL

American Indoor Football: The AIF announced an ownership group has acquired territorial rights to place an AIF expansion team in Buffalo for the 2015 season. A team called the Buffalo Destroyers was part of the defunct arenafootball2 (af2) for five seasons (1999-2003).

Continental Indoor Football League: The CIFL's Erie Explosion played its final regular-season game against a replacement team called the ASI Panthers, who were filling in for the Detroit Thunder team that suspended operations last month. The CIFL's Marion Blue Racers played its final game against a semi-pro outdoor team called the Columbus War Eagles of the Heartland Football League. Marion was supposed to play the Port Huron Patriots team that recently suspended operations.

A-11 Football League: The proposed outdoor spring-summer professional A-11 Football League, which will feature a new patented A-11 Offense featuring interchangeable players at every position, has cancelled two proposed showcase games that were planned for the summer of 2014. Instead, the league will concentrate on getting its inaugural spring season started in March 2015. The A-11 league had announced six teams, but recently stated its two California-based teams called the Los Angeles Express and Bay Area Sea Lions will be replaced with teams in other states that have more favorable workmen's compensation costs. The league wants to start with eight teams and currently lists five teams called the Chicago Staggs, New Jersey Generals, Dallas Wranglers, Tampa Bay Bandits and the recently added Michigan Panthers.

HOCKEY

American Hockey League: The AHL is expected to approve the move of the Abbotsford Heat from British Columbia to Glens Falls (NY) for the 2014-15 season. The AHL's Glens Falls-based Adirondack Phantoms are moving next season to a new arena in Allentown (PA) where the team will be called the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Southern Professional Hockey League: The Biloxi-based Mississippi Surge of the SPHL has suspended operations indefinitely and will not return for the 2014-15 season. The Surge joined the SPHL as an expansion team for the 2009-10 season after the ECHL's Biloxi-based Mississippi Sea Wolves franchise suspended operations after the 2008-09 season. The Surge ownership hopes the team can return for the 2015-16 season.

North American 3 Hockey League: The Tier-III NA3HL, which is affiliated with the USA Hockey's Tier-II North American Hockey League, will grow its South Division from three to six teams next season with the addition of the Point Mallard Ducks (Decatur, AL), the Texas Brahmas (North Richland Hills) and a yet-to-be-named team in the Franklin suburb of Nashville (TN). The Texas Brahmas team will be owned and operated by the Lone Star Brahmas of the NAHL.

Minnesota Junior Hockey League: USA Hockey's Tier-III MnJHL announced the relocation of the Wisconsin Rampage (Pleasant Prairie) team to Crystal Lake (IL) for the 2014-15 season.

SOCCER

Professional Arena Soccer League: The PASL announced that Oxford City FC (England), which operates a successful futsal team in Europe, has acquired the rights to operate PASL teams in Sioux Falls (SD) and South Florida. The new indoor soccer league to be created from teams of the PASL and Major Indoor Soccer Leagues for the 2014-15 season is still organizing and the MISL's Rochester Lancers recently signed a one-year arena league that should allow the team to be part of the new league. Six of the seven MISL teams from the 2013-14 season plan to join the new indoor league.

United Soccer Leagues - PRO League: The Division-III USL PRO has added an expansion team based in St. Louis that will join the league for the 2015 season, along with previously announced teams called the Tulsa Roughnecks FC and Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. The St. Louis team name will be announced in the next few months. Since many of the USL PRO teams have affiliations with Major League Soccer teams, there has been speculation the new St. Louis team could become an affiliate of the MLS's Chicago Fire. St. Louis had a team called AC St. Louis that joined the Division-II North American Soccer League prior to the 2010 season and was one of the NASL teams that participated in a 2010 Division-II league operated by the United States Soccer Federation. The AC St. Louis folded after the 2010 season.

United Soccer Leagues - Super-20 League: The USL Super-20 League, which is for men's elite players in the 17 to 20 age, announced its 2014 alignment will feature 44 teams in seven geographic divisions. The 2014 Super-20 League features reserve teams for 12 USL Premier Development League teams, one USL PRO league team and one Major League Soccer team.

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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