Wow, Norfolk MSA is larger than Las Vegas or New Orleans! Greensboro MSA is larger than Raleigh or Memphis! I'd have never guessed.

Pounder's correct, of course in that City size is often misleading, for instance the City of Jacksonvile has nearly twice the population of the City of Atlanta, but then again the City of Jacksonville is also the largest in the country and encompasses nearly twice the squar mileage of Atlanta. The metro area is more telling, even then you must consider the numbers of households with TVs, population between 18 and 45, spending power, etc, etc, etc,

I imagine some of these MSA's, like Grensboro, may not feature enough folks within an immediate density to support pro sports other than football simply because so many of them would have to drive a good distance.

I'm surprised the Savannah GA MSA didn't break 1 mil.

hows this, move the clippers to san deigo and expand to st louis and kansas city.

nashville is covered by memphis
tampa bay by orlando
san francisco by golden state
pittsburgh is not really interested
louisville and las vegas are other options, but are riskier than st. louis and kc

I do believe, once Norfolk's dreams of getting the Expos are dashed against the breakers of Hampton Roads, they are the prime candidate for the NBA IF they can refocus and propose a new arena. The Scope won't cut it.

I also believe that there is a convergence of reasons why 2-3-sport cities aren't becoming 3-4-sport cities. An owner in Pittsburgh doesn't want to compete against even the lowly Penguins (if the Penguins leave, are all bets off, or does it chill talk of a new arena?). Kansas City doesn't want to compete against, oh, Kansas University, much less the dreaded Wizards ;D, though it appears there's movement about replacing Kemper Arena now. It seems that owners are keen on not trying to wedge in against such opposition, except maybe in St. Louis. I suspect, in the end, that prospective owners in Norfolk and Oklahoma City are more motivated; I know the prospective ownership in OKC wants to get into the "majors" in the worst way for multiple reasons.

Boise would fit in real well with Seattle, Portland, Denver, and Utah right now (vice Minnesota)... too bad that I find myself laughing at the mere thought of NBA in Idaho, not to mention the shortcomings of being the 98th largest market. Anyone want to move back to Vancouver?

Nashville should have the next NBA team.

_________________
The Bear may be dead but he still hates Tennessee. Roll Damn Tide

I think the NBA may still feel their destiny is overseas:

Pacifc Division:
Lakers
Clippers
Golden State
Sacramento
Seattle
Portland

Western Division:
Utah
Denver
Phoenix
San Antonio
Dallas
Houston

Southern Division:
New Orleans
Memphis
Atlanta
Charlotte
Miami
Orlando

Northern Division:
Minnesota
Milwaukee
Chicago
Detroit
Indiana
Cleveland

Eastern Division:
Toronto
Washington
Philadelphia
New Jersey
New York
Boston

Atlantic Division:
Athens
Rome (or possibly Florence or Milan)
Berlin
Paris
Barcelona
Lisbon

The Pacific, Western, and Southern Divisions would make up the American Conference. The Northern, Eastern, and Atlantic Divisions would form the International Conference.

If the NBA stays solely in North America, it would serve them to expand solely west of the Mississippi so Minnesota could be realigned into the Eastern Conference-the Wolves would be complaining very loudly again if they stay in the West. Milwaukee could possibly be pushed into the West, if the NBA were to add two eastern teams.

I shudder to think what happens when the NBA decides to tell half those European cities that they need new arenas to get into the game. Then, when the NBA is told to find the owners to pay for the arenas...

...yes, the buzzer sounds. Governments in Europe are elected to tell such people where to stick it.

The NBA would also suddenly be hounded by 6 national sports federations to be responsible for their entire youth basketball programs. That's just not the NBA's style... though it should be. Oh, there's also the issue of EU employment law getting mightily in the way.

I know better than to say it will never happen, so I'm searching for the words for the next most obnoxious expression. Does "not in your lifetime" sound suitable?

Oh, P.S. - Barcelona without Madrid? Rome OR Milan? No. No. No. Local rivalries are the spice of life... and even moreso there than here. Frankly, Euros probably don't understand our predominant thought of (normally) one team to a sport in a market... and we call them socialist!

Not anymore. On January 6, 2003, the city of Louisville merged with Jefferson County. All previously unincorporated areas are now part of the "former" city of Louisville. Jefferson County has a population of roughly 700,000, of which just under 550,000 are in the "former" city of Louisville. Kentucky's 10th largest city, Jeffersontown, is one of 89 suburbs that are ultimately surrounded by Louisville on all sides.

Louisville claims all of Jefferson County as being part of the city, which would make Louisville the 16th largest city in the United States. Excluding the incorporated suburbs, Louisville still ranks 27th, between Denver and Nashville. For some reason, the Census estimates for 2004 and 2004 do not reflect this change.

It's more likely that the NHL will be at 24 than 32 after the nuclear winter.

With the Sonics possibly moving to Oklahoma City, could the NBA possibly go to 31 in a few years?

Pacific - Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento, Golden State
Northwest - Utah, Denver, Seattle (expansion), Portland
Southwest - Phoenix, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas
Central - New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Minnesota, Memphis

You could also move Minnesota to the East:

Western Conference
Pacific - Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State, Sacramento, Portland
Mountain - Utah, Denver, Seattle (expansion), San Antonio, Phoenix
Southwest - Houston, Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas, Oklahoma City

Eastern Conference
Central - Minnesota, Milwaukee, Chicago, Indiana, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Toronto, Detroit
Atlantic - Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, Miami, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Boston

The conference with 16 teams would play 30 non-conference games, 24 games against conference opponents outside its division (3 games per team), and 28 games against division opponents (4 per team).

The conference with 15 teams would play 32 non-conference games, 30 games against conference opponents outside its division (3 games per team), and 20 games against division opponents (5 per team).