The Abilene Prairie Dogs, a team which once played in the Texas-Louisiana League back in the 1990′s, are returning. They will play in the North American League for the 2012 season:
The owners of the Prairie Dogs are the same owners of the Texas-Louisiana League, John Bryant and Byron Pierce. Of interest, the Bryant-Pierce ownership group now controls six teams: Fort Worth Cats, Abilene, McAllen Thunder, San Angelo Colts, Edinburg Roadrunners, Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings. All 6 teams will play in the NAL for the 2012 season.
Speculation has come up that now that 6 Texas teams exist under the same ownership group that the United League could return, after its hiatus as a separate league through the 2010 season. The 3 ULB teams which remained (Edinburg, Rio Grande Valley, and San Angelo) + McAllen joined the NAL last year. At this time, there is no information about the ULB returning.
As for the NAL structure, it appears that the 6 Texas teams will play each other until the post-season according to the San Angelo Colts’ schedule announcement (http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4349653). This means that it is likely that Yuma Scorpions (under new ownership in recent days) will play in the other division with Maui, Edmonton, and San Rafael. The status of Chico Outlaws, the possible return of the Fullerton (formerly Orange County) Flyers, and the possible Ft. McMurray (Canada) travel team are still TBA.
For now, it appears that the Texas division of the NAL is set. When the Western half of the NAL is figured out then it will be posted on this site.
