Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
by Dan Krieger
January 15, 2024 - Southern League (SL)
BASEBALL
Southern League: The Double-A Southern League's Mississippi Braves (Pearl) announced the 2024 season will be the team's last season in the Jackson area as the team will relocate to a renovated ballpark in Columbus (GA) for the 2025 season. The team had moved to Pearl for the 2005 season with the relocation of the Greenville (SC) Braves. Columbus last had an affiliated team called the Columbus Catfish in the 2008 season of the Class-A South Atlantic League.
Texas League: The city of Waco (TX) is considering a new downtown ballpark that could become the future home of an affiliated Minor League Baseball team, possibly a relocated Double-A Texas League team, or an independent team in a Major League Baseball Partner League. A proposed team called the Waco BlueCats failed in an attempt to build a new ballpark in the Bellmead area of Waco from 2016 to 2019 as part of the independent Southwest League of Professional Baseball that never got off the ground.
Pecos League: Although the Monterey (CA) Amberjacks will not be part of the Pecos League for the 2024 season, the league and the city have reached an agreement for the team to return in 2025.
BASKETBALL
America Basketball Association: The semi-pro ABA announced a team called the Henderson (NV) Silverbacks in the Las Vegas market has been added for the 2024-25 season.
Liga Mexicana de Baloncesto Profesional Femenil: After playing the 2023 season with 7 teams aligned in a single-table format, Mexico's LMBPF, or Mexican Women's Professional Basketball League, has a current 2024 lineup featuring 12 teams aligned in a six-team Zona Norte (North Zone) and a six-team Zona Sur (South Zone). As of now, the Leñadoras de Durango are gone but six new teams called the Libelulas de Ciudad de Mexico (Mexico City), Mineras de Zacatecas, CB Cinnamon (Mexico City), Husky's de Querétaro, Toritas de Celaya and Avispas de Chilpancingo (Guerrero) were added.
National Basketball Association - Gatorade League (G-League): After starting its 2023-24 season with the Showcase Cup tournament that ended last month, the NBA G-League started its regular-season last week with each team playing a 34-game schedule through March. For the Showcase Cup, the 31 teams were aligned in four regional divisions: East (8), Central (8), South (8) and West (7). The alignment was reset for the regular season with a 16-team Eastern Conference and a 15-team Western Conference.
FOOTBALL
Spring Indoor Football: The new developmental SIF plans to start play next month and currently lists four teams: the Indianapolis Enforcers, Ohio Blitz (Celina/Lima), Adrian (MI) Silverbacks and Kentucky Herd Kings (Louisville). The Enforcers and Blitz were part of the fall-season United Indoor Football League (UIFL) in 2023 and the Herd Kings were originally listed as a 2023 UIFL team.
Great Lakes Arena Football: The Dayton-based Ohio Boom, which was part of the 2023 fall-season United Indoor Football League, has joined the springtime GLAF and will also continue to play in the fall as part of the renamed United Indoor Football Association. The Toledo-based Ohio Extreme, which was also part of the 2023 UIFL, announced a name change to the Toledo Extreme Shamrocks and has left to join the GLAF for its 2024 season.
United Indoor Football League: The semi-pro UIFL, which recently completed its inaugural fall season with six teams, announced the league has been renamed the United Indoor Football Association (UIFA).
International Football Alliance: The proposed new outdoor minor professional IFA, which was planning to start play in June 2024 with six teams (three in Mexico and three in the United States), has pushed back its start until the 2025 season that will now have ten teams. The IFA previously announced Mexican teams called the Tequileros de Jalisco (Guadalajara), Tiburones de Cancun (Quintana Roo), and Raramuris de Ciudad Juarez (Chihuahua), along with the U.S. teams called the Dallas Pioneros and Las Vegas Kings and one location to be announced. The Alabama Beavers (undetermined location) and teams in Tampa Bay, Gulf Coast Louisiana and Portland (OR) have now been announced and will join the five previously named teams and one location still to be announced for the inaugural 2025 season.
HOCKEY
ECHL: As part of a Hispanic Heritage Night, the ECHL's Florida Everblades (Fort Myers area) played a game this weekend as the Las Tortugas (The Turtles).
Ontario Hockey League: The city of Brantford (Ontario), which is home to the major-junior OHL's Brantford Bulldogs and is supposed to be the temporary three-year home to the league's Hamilton Bulldogs, is considering construction of new arena to keep the team in Brantford permanently. The Hamilton Bulldogs agreed to play in Brantford while major renovations are undertaken at their home arena, the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton. The Bulldogs have the option to extend their stay in Brantford.
SOCCER
Liga MX: The top Mexican men's pro soccer league known as Liga MX started the Clausura (closing) phase of its two-part 2023-24 Apertura/Clausura season this week with the same 18 teams that were part of the Apertura (opening) phase. Each team will play 17 games through April 28, 2024.
Liga de Expansión MX: Mexico's second division men's league known as the Liga Expansión MX started the Clausura (closing) phase of its two-part 2023-24 Apertura/Clausura season this week with the same 15 teams as the Apertura (opening) phase. Each team will play 14 games through April 13, 2024.
MLS Next Pro (Major League Soccer): Major League Soccer's Division-III professional reserve league known as MLS Next Pro announced the addition of a fifth independent team called the Connecticut United Football Club (CT United FC) that hopes to start play at a proposed new waterfront stadium in Bridgeport for the 2025 season. A former New Britain-based team called the Connecticut United FC was part of the former lower-level professional American Soccer League for both the spring and fall seasons of 2016.
National Indoor Soccer League: The NISL, whose clubs each have separate men's and women's teams playing doubleheaders on game days, started its 2024 season this week with six-team men's and women's divisions. Of the five clubs from last season, the Columbus (GA) Rapids and Memphis Americans did not return, but three new clubs called the Albany (GA) Aces, Magic City SC (Birmingham, AL) and the Foundry FC, which replaces the Rapids in Columbus, were added for 2024. Returning clubs include the Central Florida Crusaders (Orlando), Fayetteville (NC) Fury, and Tampa Bay Strikers. Both the men's and women's teams will play 12 games as part of doubleheader matches through May 5, 2024.
National Women's Soccer League: The NWSL's Seattle-based OL Reign, which is still in the process of being sold, will operate as the Seattle Reign FC in the 2024 season. The franchise played its first six seasons (2013-18) in the league as the Seattle Reign FC but changed to the Reign FC when moving to Tacoma for the 2019 season. After a purchase by the OL Groupe (Olympique Lyonnais), the team became the OL Reign in Tacoma for 2020 and 2021 before moving back to Seattle for the 2022 season.
OTHER
Athletes Unlimited - Softball: The women's Athletes Unlimited recently announced its condensed two-week AUX Softball competition will move to the campus of Wichita State University in 2024 with a total of 18 games from June 10 through June 24. The AUX Softball played in San Diego in 2022 and in Rosemont (IL) last season. The 2024 Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball league will play its regular season later in the summer and will again be based at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont (IL).
Premier Lacrosse League: The tour-based professional field lacrosse PLL will be holding a PLL Championship Series in Springfield (VA) next month with four of its teams (Utah Archers, California Redwoods, Philadelphia Waterdogs and Boston Cannons). This round-robin tournament will feature teams playing an Olympic-style six-on-six version of rugby. As part of the event, the PLL will hold a women's professional lacrosse exhibition called the Unleashed All-Star Game.
Dan Krieger is the creator of the Weekly Sports League & Franchise Report, which has been tracking the changes in the sports world's leagues, teams, and nicknames since April 2007.
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Southern League Stories from January 15, 2024
- Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report - OSC Original by Dan Krieger
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.
