Not sure how long this will last, per usual.
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A new baseball league has just been conceived, calling the Upper Midwest of the United States its home. The UBL(Upper Midwest Baseball League) is a league featuring 16 teams from across one region of the country. Not much else is known about the league, except that it is claiming that it can give the MLB a run for its money. Along with a pro level team, each UBL club will also have an A, AA, and AAA team. A number of wealthy gentlemen are the financial backers of the league, and there is no single commissioner, but rather a committee of sorts.
Also, the league has signed a deal with Turner broadcasting to make Turner's 3 stations the official TV stations of the UBL. Games will be shown on TNT, TBS, and TruTV. They would like it to be known that they will not favor certain teams just because of their larger fan bases, like certain MLB teams are favored by TV networks. Instead, they plan on giving all teams and players equal and fair coverage.
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Numerous players from the MLB have declared themselves as eligible for the UBL draft, according to multiple sources. Young and old alike are leaving the MLB for the promise of a new and better league. As one pitcher who is leaving the MLB pointed out, the extremely strict anti-drug policies and testing ensure that there is a level playing field, something the MLB has struggled with. A number of other players, especially younger players who were backups or playing in the minors, feel like they have a better shot at breaking into the pros in the new league.
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The locations, owners, and GM's have been decided for all 16 of the UBL teams. Mike Thompson, one of the financial backers and commissioners, said that they purposely selected smaller towns to be the hosts of UBL teams. "We wanted to have the teams in smaller cities, because we wanted to give people who didn't have a chance to go watch an MLB game a chance to see good baseball played close to home. We also feel like it will help rally fan support around the area." Now all that is left is for these organizations is to decide on a nickname, and then draft their players! With the locations and front offices in good shape, teams can now begin to plan for the inaugural draft, which is to be held on January 1st and aired on TNT. In the Northern League, featuring teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa, the 8 teams will be based in:
Rochester, MN
St. Cloud, MN
Coon Valley, MN
Appleton, WI
La Crosse, WI
Eau Claire, WI
Davenport, IA
Waterloo, IA
And in the Southern League, with teams from Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri, the 8 teams will hail from:
Aurora, IL
Springfield, IL
Bloomington, IL
Evansville, IN
Fort Wayne, IN
Fishers, IN
Jefferson City, MO
Independence, MO
Teams will be given the next month to decide on a mascot, before being revealed in a one hour UBL special on TBS.
