by Dan Krieger
August 15, 2022 – NBA G League (G League)
BASEBALL
Midwest League: Minor League Baseball sponsored a “Field of Dreams” game this week between two High-A Midwest League teams at the Field of Dreams stadium located in Dyersville, IA. The league’s Iowa-based Quad Cities River Bandits (Davenport) played as the Davenport Blue Sox and the Cedar Rapids (IA) Kernels played as the Cedar Rapids Bunnies as a tribute to former minor league teams in their respective houses.
Pecos League: The independent Pecos League, which operated with an eight-team Pacific Division and an eight-team Mountain Division this season, announced that its only non-California team in the current Pacific Division will return to the Mountain Division next season. It is unclear which teams will be added or subtracted from the divisions to initiate this move.
Atlantic League: The leader of the Independent Atlantic League has confirmed that a new expansion team from Hagerstown (MD) will not begin play until at least the 2024 season due to delays in the start of construction. a new downtown baseball stadium.
BASKETBALL
Florida Basketball Association: The semi-professional FBA has announced the addition of a new Miami-based team for the 2023 season. The team is UK owned by The Fans Together (TFT), a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) which gives fans participation and decision-making capabilities for the team. The FBA recently wrapped up its 2022 season with seven participating teams.
National Basketball Association Gatorade League (G-League): The NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder said its G-League owned-and-operated affiliate called Oklahoma City Blue will play its 2022-23 home schedule at Paycom Center, home of the Thunder . The NBA wants the Thunder to find a separate market for its affiliate by next season. Of the 30 NBA teams, only the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns do not have G-League affiliates. The G-League also has an unaffiliated 29th team called Mexico City Capitanes.
Evolution Basketball Association: The Texas-based EBA kicked off its 2022 season this weekend with seven teams fielding in a four-team South Division and a three-team North Division.
SOCCER
National Arena League: The NAL has announced that the Odessa-based West Texas Warbirds team has been added as a 2023 expansion team. The West Texas Warbirds were an announced expansion team for the 2020 season in the Champions league Indoor Football (CIF), but this season has been canceled due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The team opted out of the 2021 CIF season and was part of a 2021 Lone Star Series with other Texas-based teams. The West Texas Warbirds left the CIF and became members of the Arena Football Association for that league’s inaugural 2022 season.
Indoor soccer champions: An indoor soccer team called the Golden State Hustlers (Poway, Calif.), based in the San Diego area, is trying to get organized for the 2023 season. The team said it has ruled out from joining the CIF as the league currently has no west coast expansion plans.
HOCKEY
Canadian Junior Hockey Premier League: Tier III CPJHL has not played for the past two seasons (2020-22) due to coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions and it appears the league is dead according to The Junior Hockey News. The league was down to just four teams (three in Quebec and one in Ontario) before the canceled 2020-21 season. The three Quebec teams attempted to organize the Northern Quebec Junior Hockey League (LHJNQ), or the Northern Quebec Junior Hockey League, with two Quebec teams in the Grand Metro Junior A Hockey League (GMHL) for the 2020-21 season, but it failed to take off. Both GMHL teams returned to the GMHL for the 2021-22 season while the CPJHL teams remained inactive. The CPJHL’s Buffalo Ferme-Nueve team recently announced that they will be part of the QNJHL for the 2022-23 season, as that league tries to restart and also lists the Gladiateurs de Barrante (Quebec) as a second member. The other remaining CPJHL teams and the league itself remained inactive.
North American Hockey League: The Quebec-based minor professional LNAH, or North American Hockey League, will see all six teams from last season return in the 2022-23 season. The league also announced the addition of a seventh team called Les Bâtisseurs de Montcalm for the 2022-23 season.
Premier Hockey Federation: The PHF expansion team in Montreal has started signing players as it plans to start playing as the league’s seventh team in the 2022-23 season. The Montreal team plans to announce its name and logo shortly. The PHF also announced that the Minnesota Whitecaps will move from St. Paul to the suburb of Richfield (MN) for the 2022-23 season.
SOCCER
USL Championship (United Soccer League): Since the grand opening of a new Pawtucket (RI) football stadium just took place this week, the USL Professional Division-II Championship announced that the start of the new team of The league’s Pawtucket expansion has been pushed back to the 2024 season. The name of the team will be announced in the coming months.
USL W-League (United Soccer League): The pre-professional USL W-League has announced that the California league’s first team in Stockton will be called Stockton Cargo SC when it begins play in the league’s second season in 2023. Currently, the W-League has another California-based team called Oakland Soul which was announced in May.
OTHER
Professional Bowlers Association – League: The PBA League held its 2022 season last month in a six-day event in Portland (ME) with ten five-player teams. Teams were fielded in a five-team Anthony Division with the Portland Lumberjacks, Los Angeles X (LAX), New York City KingPins, Detroit Motown Muscle and Milwaukee Pounders, and a five-team Carter Division with the Dallas Strikers, Chicago Hitmen, Las Vegas High Rollers, Silver Lake Atom Splitters and Waco Wonders.
Dan Krieger is the creator of the Weekly Sports League & Franchise Report, which tracks changes in leagues, teams and nicknames in the sports world since April 2007.
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