Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Without the NBA

Pittsburgh
Cincinnati
St. Louis
Seattle
Kansas City

Louisville
Nashville
Las Vegas

A four team expansion over the next decade, let's say:

Rivertown Marauders of Pittsburgh Cincy
Delta Dogs of St. Louis and the 'Ville
Western Gamblers of KC/Vegas
The Coffeehouse Flights of Seattle/Nashville.

What say you?

Orlando, Portland, Charlotte, Sacramento and Salt Lake City. Who deserves MLB more? NFL?

Add in Las Vegas, Columbus, Indianapolis and San Antonio and all of these metropolitan areas have more people than Cincinnati's or Milwaukee's.  That's nine markets.

Indy and Charlotte have NFL representation.  But it's an easier argument for football.

Let's say that Toronto and LA expanded into the NFL in an expansion of 4.  For the sake of balance what other city in the east and west.  Portland or SLC?  Not so easy to think about for the east, huh?  Would they have to slap a team in Orlando?  Though not bigger than any of these markets big league ball in Kentucky would be nice, ....and it's more doable for football:  Louisville.

For baseball, let's say there was a four team expansion with need for balance to join Portland and Charlotte.
As hard as it is for a baseball market, I would have to argue a travel tag team of sorts.
In the east, I'd argue for the Eastern Capitals of Indianapolis and Columbus.
In the west, let's get the Western Rollers of Las Vegas and SLC.

Cities with the Big 5 ...and the Next Ones

More properly, I should say "areas" with the Big 5.   I'm sure Oakland and San Francisco are different places, though right against each other.

NYC, LA and the Bay area have 2 baseball teams.  LA doesn't have one, let alone 2 football teams.  Just weird.  The Baltimore-D.C. metro area (Balwash) has 2 base and foot ones.
Chicago has two baseball teams.  I think they could sport another basketball team.  The Chicagoland Fleet.

With exception of L.A.'s lack of an NFL team, all five of these areas host the Big 5.
L.A. comes close to having more than one team for all the sports while New York City does.  The two most populated cities in America.

Boston, Dallas, Denver and Philadelphia round off the list with Big 5 cities, 9 in total.  It's just not that crisp number of ten because of Los Angeles.

It appears that Toronto stands poised for the NFL sometime, also.

Well, it's really 10 cities because Miami, just like NYC getting their second MLS team, is set to have one also.

Detroit, Arizona and Minnesota lack MLS.  Houston lacks the NHL.

But anyway, in a few years, it's certainly 10 Big Five cities.
Houston is in the top ten metro population wise and not one of these, as technically L.A. isn't either.

Houston for NHL.
Ditto for Arizona:  Arizona Major League Soccer Franchise should be placed in Tucson
Any other honorable mentions?
 

See more expansion, co-location and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 

Sunday, May 11, 2014

NHL - If each franchise had to camp in two cities... .

Let's do 15-20 games in these cities.

Penguins of Cleveland
Rangers of Albany
Stars of Little Rock
Sabres of Seattle
Maple Leafs of Halifax
Canadiens of Quebec City
Blue Jackets of Cincinnati
Black Hawks of Omaha
Bruins of Hartford
Predators of Atlanta
Hurricanes of Houston
Panthers of Morgantown
Kings of Las Vegas
Ducks of Milwaukee
Avalanche of Boise
Lightning of San Antonio
Capitals of Austin
Sharks of Green Bay
Coyotes of Salt Lake City
Jets of North Dakota (shale field site)
Islanders of Honolulu
Canucks of Regina
Red Wings of Jacksonville
Flyers of Indianapolis
Wild of Portland
Blues of New Orleans
Flames of Quebec
Oilers of Saskatoon
Devils of Baltimore
Senators of Red Deer


See more expansion and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog (starting in Feb 2014, see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine. 

NBA - If each franchise had to camp in two cities... .


       I would even think it to be cool for the NBA to do 15 or 20 home games in another city across the nation with such a branding.  Smart marketing if you ask me.

Grizzlies of Nashville
Cavaliers of Columbus
Pacers of Louisville
Hornets of Hampton Roads
Heat of Pittsburgh
Sixers of Baltimore
Lakers of Seattle
Knicks of Rochester
Celtics of Cincinnati
Bulls of Kansas City
Bucks of Grand Rapids
Pelicans of Mobile
Rockets of Dayton
Pistons of Toledo
Nets of Montgomery?  Myrtle Beach?

Mavericks of Dallas
Trailblazers of St. Louis
Suns of El Paso
Warriors of Lincoln
Clippers of Tampa
Hawks of Birmingham or the Quad Cities
Mavericks of Little Rock
Wizards of Witchita
Bobcats of Newport News
Magic of Knoxville
Timberwolves of Cedar Rapids
Nuggets of Las Vegas
Kings of Lexington, KY
Jazz of Boise .... yeah, that's how I feel about that till NOLA gets it's name back
Raptors of Vancouver
Spurs of Santa Fe

With thoughts of being creative for NBA marketing, like where to co-locate the Nets for at least a season, I was thinking also that the Warriors could go to Fayetteville, NC or do more home games in places like Waco (Ft. Hood), Manhatten (Ft. Riley), Rochester (Ft. Drum) and Seattle (Ft. Lewis).


See more expansion and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog (starting in Feb 2014, see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine. 

NFL - If each franchise had to camp in two cities... .

An existing collegiate stadium near or building a new one.  Weird, I know, but with football it's doable.
Gun to our mindful heads, I wonder the brand names.  Like the Bills of Buffalo and Oklahoma City?

Cleveland:  Toledo
Cincinnati:  Louisville
NY:  Portland, OR
NYG:  Omaha
Philadelphia:  Atlantic City
New England:  Hartford, CT
Buffalo:  OKC
Pittsburgh:  Morgantown, WV
Indianapolis:  Columbus
Baltimore:  Huntington, WV
D.C.:  Roanoke, VA
Miami:  Orlando
Tampa Bay:  Mobile
New Orleans:  Tuscaloosa,....but really I think the San Antonio Saints would be neat too.
Houston:  El Paso
Dallas:  San Antonio

Detroit:  Lansing
Chicago:  South Bend, IN
Arizona:  Santa Fe
Denver:  Vancouver
San Diego:  Duh, Los Angeles.  Or Las Vegas
Oakland:  or duh, Los Angeles
San Francisco:  Reno, NV
Seattle:  Tacoma
Tennessee:  um, Memphis
Atlanta:  Clemson, SC
Carolina:  Raliegh
Jacksonville:  Little Rock
St. Louis:  Columbia, MO or New Orleans
Kansas City:  Witchita
Green Bay:  Milwaukee
Minnesota:  Deluth


See more expansion and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog (starting in Feb 2014, see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine. 

MLB - If each franchise had to camp in two cities... .

If each franchise had to camp in another city... .
AND WITH A BIG LEAGUE BALLPARK.
Proximity of these stadiums in many cases can be economically silly.

But, gun to your head.


Cincinnati:  Louisville, Columbus or Dayton Dragon land.  I lean towards C-bus.  But damnit, I go Louisville.

Chicago:  Des Moines
Sox:  Sprinfield, IL

Boston:  Portland, ME

New York:  Buffalo
NYM:  Atlantic City

Washington:  Newport News

Baltimore:  Charleston, WV

San Francisco:  San Jose

Oakland:  Sacramento

Los Angeles:  Las Vegas
LAA:  SLC

Miami:  Jacksonville

Tampa:  New Orleans

Atlanta:  Charlotte

Texas:  Austin or San Antonio

Houston:  El Paso

Arizona:  Albuquerque

Colorado:  Boise

San Diego:  Honolulu

Seattle:  Portland

Kansas City:  Omaha

St. Louis:  Memphis

Minnesota:  Witchita

Cleveland:  Indianapolis

Philadelphia:  Harrisburgh

Pittsburgh:  Erie

Milwaukee:  Madison

Detroit:  Toledo

Toronto:  Montreal or Vancouver



As a fantasy stretch,....maybe
    Minnesota and the Yankees are particularly noteworthy I think.

Cincinnati:  Nashville

Chicago:  Lincoln, NE
Sox:  Birmingham

Boston:  Providence

New York:  Tampa Bay
NYM:  Hartford, CT

Washington:  Roanoke

Baltimore: Morgantown, WV

San Francisco:  Portland

Oakland:  Las Vegas

Los Angeles:  New Jersey
LAA:  San Juan PR

Miami:  Orlando

Tampa:  Mobile, AL

Atlanta:  Tupelo

Texas:  Austin

Houston:  Monterrey MX

Arizona:  Santa Fe

Colorado:  Vancouver

San Diego:  Tijuana

Seattle:  Tacoma

Kansas City:  Witchita

St. Louis:  Indianapolis

Minnesota:  Western North Dakota site

Cleveland:  Akron

Philadelphia:  Trenton

Pittsburgh:  Youngstown

Milwaukee:  Green Bay

Detroit:  Evansville, IN

Toronto:  Montreal


See more expansion and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog (starting in Feb 2014, see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine.

Could, let's say, Miami and Charlotte share a franchise? A Tag Team. Just another question posed.

When I harp on a Pacific Coast, West Coast team I make mention of Portland, Oakland and Las Vegas in the same breath. 600 miles and 550 between the cities.  The geographic implication represents a lot more.

Don't you think naming a team "West Coast" and playing in a few places draws fans in between and around those places into the fold, especially those without feelings of representation now?  There is question in between Seattle and Las Vegas and Oakland and Reno to the stretches of places like Portland and Boise.

For the Atlantic Coast, East Coast I now mention Charlotte and Miami in the same breath.  I don't feel the Rays are great in Tampa.  I don't think the Marlins are wonderful in Dolphin country but Latin America does love baseball so it seems there to stay.  Charlotte deserves something.  Why not a share?  I have mentioned Nashville and Charlotte before.  I've mentioned before Nashville and New Orleans with the whole southern connection.  But what about the coastal connection bridging Dolphin and Panther country for baseball.  Or is it too different?  Is it too 700 milesy?

Re-brand and co-locate.
Drop the Marlins moniker and do 40 games in each city with a big new stadium erected in Charlotte.
The East Coast Kings?  ___________  Coastal Run Rays?
I wouldn't even mind the Florida Rays playing on both coast of their state.  Then Nashville-Charlotte, Nashville-Memphis or Memphis-New Orleans (Southern Sounds, Soundawgs) could be another tag team.
I'd be a fan of the Southtown Skylarks given there aren't many native Americans here from 500 years ago (larks - see link).

Any input from Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans and Charlotte?

Charlotte



Tennessee pro ball in Nashville
 

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Color Scheme Identity. The name Blue Collars not claimed after all this time.

The closest to "blue collars" is the Steelers.  Or maybe that fantastic franchise of the Crew.

The color identity names out there in pro land:
Blue Jackets
Red Sox
White Sox
Reds or Redlegs
Blues
Minor ball Green Jackets
White Caps

What else?


I would love for a Cincinnati claim.  The Cincinnati Blue Collars.  MLS, NBA or NHL.  The Cincinnati Gardens revamped.  Hockey Cinci out there looking to sport some Carhartt-lookin' blues or browns.  The looking like denim b-ball squad.  Would love to lay claim to it before the likes of Detroit does.

A re-brand for Chivas USA. Will the Geography of the Team be re-branded as well?

If an anglified Galaxynamed team is already for Los Angeles, I'm curious to see what the MLS will go for.

SBNation article
NBC Sports logo-leaked(?) article

I think a SoCal Southern Cali moniker would be neat.
I am a big fan of re-branding the geography or place of a team.  I'm a big fan of the Miami Marlins becoming the Florida Marlins again and splitting field time with Tampa.  If big league baseball ever relocates or expands to a place like Portland I'm more for a more inclusive expanse of a surname like the Timber Land Jackers.  Or the Timber Landers of the great northwest or Oregon.  New England has got it down.

I'd be a fan of the West Coast named team that spends a little less time in L.A. and some more time in  Vegas and San Fran.  I'm big on the spread-the-love.

http://boards.sportslogos.net/topic/92373-chivas-usa-rebrands-voting-now/

Add caption

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Seattle Clippers?

Nice joke from Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  But it does make one think.
Seattle Times Blog Piece <link>
Why, says, they will not <link>

Couldn't Chicago house another team?  The Chicagoland _________ .  Clippers?



UPDATE JAN 2015:
si.com/nhl/2015/01/27/nhl-expansion-seattle-milwaukee-rangers-islanders-rivalry


See more expansion and relocation talk for football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer on my blog (starting in Feb 2014, see table of contents/archive):  Major League/Pro Expansion <CLICK> http://prosportsexpansion.blogspot.com/ 
And please feel free to contribute your two cents with mine.