Sports Leagues

By Dan Krieger

BASEBALL
Golden Baseball League: The Calgary Vipers and Edmonton Cracker-Cats are expected to announce next week that the teams will join the GBL. The GBL is reportedly interested in placing a team in Kamloops, British Columbia.

BASKETBALL
span style="font-weight:bold;">Women's National Basketball Association: The WNBA has announced an expansion franchise for Atlanta that will start play in the 2008 season. Atlanta will become the league's 14th team. A team called the Atlanta Glory played in the first seasons (1996-98) of the women's American Basketball League, which folded midway into its third season in December 1998. A team called the Atlanta Justice played in the first two seasons (2001-02) of the semi-pro National Women's Basketball League. Some other possible expansion locations in the future include the San Francisco area, Kansas City, Albuquerque, Colorado, Philadelphia and Atlantic City.

FOOTBALL
Arena Football League: The owner of the Las Vegas Gladiators had been granted approval by the AFL to move the franchise to Cleveland for the 2008 season. The team is expected to change its nickname. Cleveland had a previous AFL franchise called the Thunderbolts from 1992 through 1994. Las Vegas had entered the league for the 2003 season when the New Jersey Gladiators relocated.

Arenafootball2 (af2): After threatening to fold the Lexington Horsemen, the owner of the United Indoor Football franchise has announced plans to switch to the af2 for the 2008 season. The team would be a natural rival for af2 teams in Cincinnati and Louisville.

HOCKEY
ECHL: An ECHL franchise is expected to be the main tenant at a new 10,000-seat arena to be built in the Ontario (CA) area. Arenafootball2 and National Basketball Association Development League teams could also become eventual tenants. The arena is expected to be completed in October 2009.

SOCCER
Major Indoor Soccer League: The MISL has started its 2007-08 season with nine franchises, including three new franchises: Orlando Sharks, New Jersey (Newark) Ironmen and Monterrey (Mexico) La Raza. The league plans to add a tenth team next year in a Midwestern city and wants to have 12 teams by 2009.

OTHER
National Lacrosse League: The NLL has cancelled its upcoming 2008 season after a failure to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the Professional Lacrosse Players' Association. The NLL has been around since its 1998 season and evolved from the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League (1987-88) and the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (1989-1997).