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 NBA G League

Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
May 12, 2014 - NBA G League (G League)


BASEBALL

Pecos League: The independent Pecos League starts its fourth season on May 12, 2014 with ten teams aligned into five-team Northern and Southern divisions. All eight teams from last season have returned and the league added two new Arizona-based teams called the Bisbee Blue and Douglas Diablos.

Mexican League: The 16-team Triple-A Mexican League started play last month with the Toros de Tijuana purchasing the Petroleros de Minatitlan (Veracruz) in the off-season. The Toros de Tijuana were placed in the North Division with the Pericos de Puebla moving to the South Division to take Minatitlan's spot. A team called the Toros de Tijuana was previously part of the league in the 2004 season.

Federal Professional Baseball League: Although a schedule has yet to be posted, the independent FPBL plans to start its 2014 season on May 31. The league lists three Arizona-based locations and teams that will host home games: the Goodyear Centennials, Prescott Federals (Prescott Valley) and the Tucson Prospectors. The states it will play teams from other leagues and play exhibition games in other cities during the 2014 season.

BASKETBALL

National Basketball Association Development League (D-League): The Des Moines-based Iowa Energy of the NBA D-League has signed a deal with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies to become the lone affiliate of the Grizzlies starting with the 2014-15 season. The Grizzlies will run the basketball operations of the Iowa Energy under a D-League "hybrid" affiliation in which the Energy will remain under local ownership. The NBA's Phoenix Suns are expected to announce next week they will enter into a "hybrid" affiliation with the D-League's Bakersfield Jam starting next season. If that happens, only two D-League teams-the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and Idaho Stampede-will not have direct affiliations with NBA teams.

New Era Basketball Association: The new NEBA plans to start its Summer League season in late June 2014 with four teams called the Atlanta Live, Houston Xperience, Washington (DC) Nation and New York United. Other teams announced as joining the NEBA include the Louisiana Cajun All Stars (New Orleans), Las Vegas Show, Los Angeles Revolution and Mexico Takeover (Monterrey).

Central Basketball Development League: The CBDL has replaced its team called the Panama City Dream with a team called the MicroGuard Dobermans. The league reported the Panama City team was unable to get established for the 2014 season.

American Basketball Association: The ABA announced three more new teams for the 2014-15 season called CP3 Texas Cagerz (Dallas area), the Central Texas Swarm (Eagle Pass) and the Bowling Green (KY) Bandits. The previously announced Brooklyn SkyRockets team plans to be part of the ABA's Northeast Division for the 2014-15 season. The ABA had teams called the Brooklyn Wonders and Brooklyn Comets for parts of the 2006-07 season and a team called the Brooklyn Holy Flames was part of the 2013-14 Northeast Division after a team called the Brooklyn Blackout failed to materialize. The ABA had a former team called the San Jose Skyrockets for the 2005-06 season.

Women's American Basketball Association: After several years in the making, the American Basketball Association announced its proposed women's league, the WABA, will start its inaugural season in June 2014 with six teams called the Chicago Lady Steam, Flint Monarchs, New England Falcons, New Jersey Expressions, Philadelphia Love and Seattle Lakewood Lady Panthers.

FOOTBALL

Women's Indoor Football League: The WIFL, which was a 15-team league being developed by Blanchette Sports Holdings for spring 2014 start, has apparently disbanded without playing a game.

Women's Eights Football League: The outdoor Women's Spring Football League, which has operated divisions with 8-player teams and 11-player teams over the past couple of seasons, has created a separate 2014 league known as the W8FL for its 8-player teams. The 2014 W8FL teams include the Binghamton (NY) Tiger Cats, Three Rivers Xplosion (Pittsburgh), Cape Fear Thunder (Fayetteville, NC), Nashville Smashers and West Virginia Wildfire (Charleston). The WSFL will continue to operate with about ten 11-player teams for its 2014 season.

HOCKEY

American Hockey League: The AHL approved the move of the Abbotsford Heat from British Columbia to Glens Falls (NY) for the 2014-15 season. The Abbotsford Heat is the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Calgary Flames and joined the league for the 2009-10 season. The AHL's Adirondack Phantoms have spent the past five seasons (2009-14) in Glens Falls while waiting for a new arena to be completed in Allentown (PA), where the team will relocate to next season as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

ECHL: Plans to build a 3,500-seat fabric-covered new arena at a Las Vegas hotel for the ECHL's Las Vegas Wranglers will not move forward due to high costs. The Wranglers lost their arena lease after the 2013-14 season and were seeking a new venue. The Wranglers hope to make an announcement on a back-up arena plan in the near future, but there is the possibility the team's 2014-15 season is in jeopardy.

United States Hockey League: The Tier-I USHL, which is USA Hockey's top junior hockey league, announced the Indianapolis-based Indiana Ice franchise will temporarily withdraw for the 2014-15 season as it tries to develop a new home arena in the Indianapolis area. A new Indianapolis minor pro hockey team called the Indy Fuel will start play as part of the ECHL for the 2014-15 season. The Ice will remain as a USHL member, but its players will be dispersed to other teams for next season. The USHL had 16 teams for the 2013-14 season and previously announced expansion teams called the Madison (WI) Capitols and Bloomington (IL) Thunder would be added for the 2014-15 season.

North American Hockey League: The Port Huron (MI) Fighting Falcons of the Tier-II junior-level NAHL are relocating to Connellsville (PA), which is about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh, where the team will be renamed the Keystone Ice Miners. The arena management in Port Huron was interested in bringing a Tier-I United States Hockey League team to the city in the future. The arena in Connellsville hosted a minor professional Federal Hockey League game in March 2014 and was under consideration for an FHL expansion team in the 2014-15 season.

North American 3 Hockey League: The Flint (MI) Junior Generals team in the Tier-III NA3HL, which is affiliated with the USA Hockey's Tier-II North American Hockey League, has been sold and will relocate to become the La Crosse (WI) Freeze for the 2014-15 season. The NA3HL Freeze will be owned and operated by the ownership of the Coulee Region Chill (Onalaska, WI) in the Tier-II NAHL.

Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League: USA Hockey has approved the new Tier-III RMJHL that will start in 2014-15 with five teams called the Aspen Leafs, Colorado Rampage, Colorado Thunderbirds, Grand Junction Coyotes and Pikes Peak Miners.

Northern Pacific Hockey League: The Tier-III junior-level NPHL announced a new team in Tacoma (WA) has been added for the 2014-15 season. The NPHL operated with four teams in Washington State and one in Oregon for the 2013-14 season.

SOCCER

League 1 Ontario: The new semi-pro soccer league called League 1 Ontario, which is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and considered a Division-III league in Canada behind Major League Soccer and the North American Soccer League, announced last month the ten teams that will be part of the inaugural season starting in late May 2014. Teams will include ANB Academy Futbol, Academy Vaughan Azzurri SC, Durham Power (Pickering), Sigma FC, Master's Futbol Academy Saints, Windsor Stars, Woodbridge Strikers, Toronto FC Academy, Kingston Cataraqui Clippers and the Internacional Toronto. The level of play in the League 1 Ontario will be similar to that of the provincial Premiere Ligue de Soccer du Quebec (PLSQ), which started play in 2012.

Premiere Ligue de Soccer du Quebec: The Quebec-based semi-pro PLSQ started its third season last week with six teams. Of the seven teams from last season, the FC Boisbriand, FC Brossard and Saint-Leonard FC did not return, but the league added new teams called ACP Montreal-Nord and CS Longueuil.

OTHER

National Lacrosse League: The owner of the indoor NLL's Edmonton Rush, which were rumored to be moving to Saskatoon (Saskatchewan) last year, again stated the Rush is not moving and the league has received interest from several cities that could see the addition of some expansion teams in the future.

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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