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NAHL North American Hockey League

Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report

by Dan Krieger
May 24, 2021 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)


BASEBALL

American Association: The independent American Association, which is now a Major League Baseball partner league, started its 2021 season this week with 12 teams aligned in six-team North and South divisions. The league had 12 teams last season, but only 6 of those teams played due to coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions. The league's 2008 expansion team called the Grand Prairie AirHogs did not play in 2020 and dropped out of the league in October 2020. The league's St. Paul Saints left and became an affiliated team for the 2021 season as part of the new Triple-A East League. For 2021 the league added the Kane County (IL) Cougars team, which lost its affiliation in the low Class-A Midwest League, and a travel-only team called the Houston Apollos that is operated by the independent Pecos League. The league's Kansas City T-Bones were renamed the Kansas City Monarchs for the 2021 season. Due to cross-border travel restrictions, the league's Winnipeg Goldeyes are playing its 2021 home schedule in Jackson (TN). The league also announced an expansion team under the ‚¬Å“Lake Country ‚¬Â name will start play in 2022 based out of a new ballpark under construction in Oconomowoc (WI), a far west Milwaukee suburb.

Pioneer Baseball League: The new independent version of the Pioneer League started play this week with eight teams aligned in four-team Northern and Southern divisions. Seven of the eight teams were part of the previous version of the Pioneer League, which was an affiliated short-season Advanced Rookie league that was switched to an independent Major League Baseball partner league after the recent restructuring of Minor League Baseball. One of these seven teams called the Missoula (MT) PaddleHeads had changed its name from the Missoula Osprey prior to the league's cancelled 2020 season. One of the affiliated Pioneer League's teams called the Orem (UT) Owlz was moved to Windsor (CO) as the Northern Colorado Owlz, but that team will not start play in the independent Pioneer League until next season. The Boise Hawks team, which lost its short-season Class-A Northwest League affiliation during the Minor League Baseball restructuring, was added as the eighth team for the 2021 Pioneer League season.

Liga Mexican de Beisbol: The Triple-A level LMB or Mexican Baseball League, which is Mexico's highest-level of professional baseball, started its 2021 season this week with 18 teams aligned in a nine-team North Division (Zona Norte) and a nine-team South Division (Zona Sur). The LMB added two expansion teams for this season, the El Aguila de Veracruz to the Zona Sur and the Mariachis de Guadalajara to the Zona Norte. Each team is playing a 66-game shortened schedule through early August 2021. The LMB did not play a 2020 season due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Pacific Association of Professional Baseball: The California-based independent Pacific Association did not play a 2020 season due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and will also be dormant in 2021. The league was down to only three teams and one of those teams called the Vallejo Admirals recently stated the team would not play in 2021. The league's two other teams are the Solano Stompers and Napa Silverados. After the 2020 season was cancelled, the league's fourth team, a 2020 expansion team called the California Dogecoin (Fairfield), participated in the 2020 Liberation Professional Baseball League and eventually dropped out of the Pacific Association.

BASKETBALL

Women's Maximum Basketball League: The new WMBL, which is affiliated with the men's semi-pro Maximum Basketball League, started its inaugural season this week. The current league schedule only has the seven teams based in Texas and Oklahoma that comprise the South Division, but does not list games involving the three teams in the North Division.

FOOTBALL

Indoor Football League: The owner of the IFL's San Diego Strike Force announced the team will return to play in the 2022 season. The Strike Force was a 2019 expansion team that played one game in the 2020 season, which was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and is sitting out the current 2021 season.

United Arena League: The semi-pro UAL started its inaugural 2021 season earlier this month with three teams called the Peach State Cats (Cumming, GA), Georgia-lina Lions (Grovetown/Augusta, GA) and the travel-only Palmetto Colts (Anderson, SC). The 11-week season runs through July and each team will play one game against the Southern Steam of Elite Indoor Football.

HOCKEY

ECHL: The minor professional ECHL's expansion team in Coralville (IA) announced it will be called the Iowa Heartlanders when it starts play in the 2021-22 season. The ECHL is also adding a yet-to-be-named expansion team in Trois-Rivieres (Quebec) next season.

Southern Professional Hockey League: The SPHL's Peoria (IL) Rivermen recently announced the team will return for the 2021-22 season. Peoria was one of five of the league's ten teams that decided to sit out the 2020-21 season due to the coronavirus (COVID-19).

North American Hockey League: The Kansas City Scouts team in the Tier-II junior-level NAHL has been sold and will relocate to become the Amarillo Wranglers for the 2021-22 season. Amarillo just lost its NAHL team called the Amarillo Bulls that is moving to Mason City (IA) for the 2021-22 season. The Kansas City Scouts were the former Topeka Pilots team that moved to Kansas City after the 2019-20 season, but sat out the 2020-21 season and had requested inactive status for the 2020-21 season.

Professional Women's Hockey Players Association: On May 16 and May 17, 2021, the PWHPA completed its two-game St. Louis Dream Gap Tour event that was sponsored by the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues. The event featured the PWPHA's two U.S-based teams-Team addidas (Minnesota) and Team Women's Sports Foundation (New Hampshire).

Western States Hockey League: The junior-level WSHL, which is considered a Tier-II league under the Amateur Athletic Union's United Hockey Union and is dormant this season after losing 11 of its teams to other junior-level leagues following the 2019-20 season, stated the league is on course to restart play for the 2021-22 season.

SOCCER

National Independent Soccer Association: An ownership group in Syracuse (NY) has applied for a team called AC Syracuse to join the men's Division-III professional NISA with a proposed start in 2022.

Women's Premier Soccer League: Some of the teams in the elite-level WPSL have started their 2021 season schedules. The WPSL has grown to 135 teams this season with 17 regional conferences across the United States. The league's new WPSL U21 League will also start play in 2021 and currently lists 33 teams in 7 regional conferences across the United States.

Major League Soccer: One week after changing its official name from the Columbus Crew SC to Columbus SC and receiving negative feedback from fans, the MLS team has been rebranded as the Columbus Crew and also dropped the ‚¬Å“SC ‚¬Â, which was added to the Columbus Crew name in 2014.

OTHER

World TeamTennis: The WTT announced its entire 2021 season will be played at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden near Palm Springs (CA) from November 13-18. Only the league's New York Empire, Springfield (MO) Lasers, Chicago Smash, Orange County (CA) Breakers and San Diego Aviators will participate in the 2021 season. The WTT's other teams called the Philadelphia Freedoms, Vegas Rollers, Orlando Storm and Washington (DC) Kastles will not be participating but will remain in good standing and return for the 2022 season when the league hopes teams will again be able to host home matches.

Dan Krieger is the creator of the Weekly Sports League & Franchise Report, which has been tracking changes in the sports world's leagues, teams and nicknames since April 2007.

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