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MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

metirish Feb 09 2023 07:41 AM

I have read this several times, obviously this is a slow news time for MLB and Bowden gets paid to write stuff. Jim has definitely got people talking. Another MLB season is almost here, and despite the many changes to the game this year — from new rules to a new schedule — 30 teams from six divisions will take the field on Opening Day, as they have for 25 years. But make no mistake, expansion is coming, and when it eventually arrives, it could — and should — lead to a radical realignment of the league. When I spoke to commissioner Rob Manfred at the World Series last October, I asked if expansion was still on the table, and he assured me it was. Manfred said, as he has for many years, that the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland A's respective stadium issues must be resolved first, and he acknowledged that has taken much longer than expected. But it's clear the commissioner and the club owners he represents want to expand to 32 teams soon. What's less clear is “where to?” and “what's next?” Manfred hasn't indicated what cities could be the front-runners, though he has previously named potential expansion locations such as Nashville (Tenn.), Charlotte (N.C.), Portland (Ore.) and Las Vegas, as well as Montreal and Vancouver in Canada. (The Athletic recently examined four of those options in stories that we've linked to here.) So, once the stars align for expansion, what's next for baseball? It's way too early to say, of course. But when MLB finally expands to 32 teams, it should seize the opportunity to implement a dramatic geographic realignment of the sport. The league could do so while maintaining the American League and National League framework, but a complete overhaul would arguably maximize revenue and certainly improve the travel burden on teams. MLB has carefully considered geographic realignment for years, and Manfred cited “a more geography-based alignment” as a benefit of expansion in an interview with The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal in 2018. It's impossible to predict what will happen because there are so many expansion variables and scenarios. Yes, the AL and NL could survive. But I think the move to 32 teams is the perfect time to do away with those leagues and form Eastern and Western conferences consisting of four geographically-aligned divisions apiece. Four teams per division, 16 teams per conference. With significantly more interleague play (46 games per team per season, starting this year) and the universal designated hitter, there's no reason — beyond tradition and losing some rivalries — to keep the present infrastructure. Think about what MLB would gain. Leaning into geographic rivalries would likely increase attendance and excitement in the regions where each team is located. Imagine divisions that featured the Mets and Yankees, Dodgers and Angels, Giants and A's, Royals and Cardinals, Rangers and Astros, Marlins and Rays, and Orioles and Nationals. It would be easier for fans to travel to see their teams play. MLB could maintain the 12-team postseason field, with six clubs from each conference — the four division winners and two wild-card berths — and the playoffs could be structured in a similar manner to last year if desired. Or not! So what could the new conferences and divisions look like? Just for fun, here's the Bowden Realignment Plan. (For this exercise, I included Charlotte and Nashville as the expansion cities, both in the Eastern Conference, and left open the possibility of the A's remaining in Oakland or moving to Las Vegas.) Eastern Conference East Division Boston Red Sox New York Mets New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies North Division Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Guardians Detroit Tigers Toronto Blue Jays Mid-Atlantic Division Baltimore Orioles Charlotte expansion team Pittsburgh Pirates Washington Nationals Southeast Division Atlanta Braves Miami Marlins Nashville expansion team Tampa Bay Rays Western Conference Midwest Division Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins Southwest Division Houston Astros Kansas City Royals St. Louis Cardinals Texas Rangers Pacific Coast Division Colorado Rockies Oakland/Las Vegas A's Seattle Mariners San Francisco Giants West Division Arizona Diamondbacks Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers San Diego Padres Can you imagine the EC East? You'd have the New York rivalry of the Yankees and Mets combined with two of the other biggest markets in the sport, Boston and Philadelphia. All four would duke it out in the same division, without a single small-market team having to worry about the payroll disparities. Or how about the WC West? You'd get all the Southern California teams along with the Diamondbacks — making home and away travel more feasible for avid fans. And in the WC Pacific Coast, the Seattle Mariners players will get a bit of a reprieve, with road division games that are closer than what they're dealing with now. Bottom line: Geographic realignment would enhance the schedule and save teams considerable time and expense that's currently consumed by unnecessary travel. I hope to see it happen when MLB expands, and the sooner the better. How about you?

Benjamin Grimm Feb 09 2023 08:03 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

At this point, why not? I do hope that a team ends up in Las Vegas, because Nevada is a potential retirement destination for me. I'd be able to see the Mets come to town every other year.

metirish Feb 09 2023 08:07 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Certainly trending this way

TransMonk Feb 09 2023 09:43 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

The time to do this was before they implemented the universal DH last season rendering the NL/AL distinction essentially meaningless. I feel like all of these slow rule changes enacted each year would really confuse new fans.

Edgy MD Feb 09 2023 09:53 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

I'm a broken record, but MLB could expand infinitely just by dropping affiliation and inviting promotion and relegation.

metirish Feb 09 2023 10:05 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Edgy MD wrote: I'm a broken record, but MLB could expand infinitely just by dropping affiliation and inviting promotion and relegation. Now that would be amazing

Benjamin Grimm Feb 09 2023 10:14 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

This will (thankfully) never happen.

Edgy MD Feb 09 2023 10:17 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

YOU DON'T KNOW! TO HELL WITH THE OLIGOPOLY!!

Benjamin Grimm Feb 09 2023 10:28 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Edgy MD wrote: TO HELL WITH THE OLIGOPOLY!! Is that a Double-A team somewhere?

metirish Feb 09 2023 10:34 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Remember when the 2002 Bobby V Mets imploded and got relegated? Steady hand Art Howe was brought in as he had experience getting teams back into the top flight .... Imagine such a scenario

A Boy Named Seo Feb 09 2023 10:34 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

I love vacationing in coastal Denver. Edgy MD wrote: I'm a broken record, but MLB could expand infinitely just by dropping affiliation and inviting promotion and relegation. Yes, please.

Frayed Knot Feb 09 2023 10:53 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

=metirish post_id=117966 time=1675953718 user_id=72] Eastern Conference East Division Boston Red Sox New York Mets New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies North Division Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Guardians Detroit Tigers Toronto Blue Jays Mid-Atlantic Division Baltimore Orioles Charlotte expansion team Pittsburgh Pirates Washington Nationals Southeast Division Atlanta Braves Miami Marlins Nashville expansion team Tampa Bay Rays Western Conference Midwest Division Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins Southwest Division Houston Astros Kansas City Royals St. Louis Cardinals Texas Rangers Pacific Coast Division Colorado Rockies Oakland/Las Vegas A's Seattle Mariners San Francisco Giants West Division Arizona Diamondbacks Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers San Diego Padres

Four team divisions suck.

This can not be said often enough or loudly enough.



The NFL this year had two, and came real close to having four, sub-.500 teams in their playoffs, something that smaller divisions and a smaller pct of intra-division games makes MUCH more likely.

And in several divisions where there was a winning team the division 'race' was over around mid-season.



Any idea with this as the main part of its format needs to be fought on all fronts.

Benjamin Grimm Feb 09 2023 11:09 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

I agree. I'd rather see them add six teams and have six divisions of six teams each.

bmfc1 Feb 09 2023 11:13 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

1. Bowden's a jackass, a know-nothing. I click the "frowny face" at the end of each of his rambling, poorly-written, columns. 2. If you're going to create 8 divisions and only 4 WCs then putting the Mets with superior teams (NYY, BOS, PHI) is a huge disadvantage when BAL/WSH/PIT/"Charlotte" are competing for one spot as well.

Fman99 Feb 09 2023 12:17 PM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Yeah luckily Bowden is pulling all of these proposed ideas out of his keester. As for relegation, it's too un-American to ever happen here (and TFG for that, I might add). It's one step removed from asking baseball players to stop using their hands on the field. #nosoccer

metirish Feb 09 2023 12:22 PM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Dodgers and Giants not in the same division is criminal

Edgy MD Feb 09 2023 12:48 PM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

=Fman99 post_id=118032 time=1675970241 user_id=86] Yeah luckily Bowden is pulling all of these proposed ideas out of his keester. As for relegation, it's too un-American to ever happen here (and TFG for that, I might add). It's one step removed from asking baseball players to stop using their hands on the field. #nosoccer

You're leaving out the promotion side of it.



As for un-American, what's un-American is an enterprise reserved for the chosen few to operate in exclusive markets. What's American is rewarding success and expanding opportunity and the little guy fighting the big guy tooth and nail.

nymr83 Feb 09 2023 01:01 PM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Frayed Knot wrote: =metirish post_id=117966 time=1675953718 user_id=72] Eastern Conference East Division Boston Red Sox New York Mets New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies North Division Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Guardians Detroit Tigers Toronto Blue Jays Mid-Atlantic Division Baltimore Orioles Charlotte expansion team Pittsburgh Pirates Washington Nationals Southeast Division Atlanta Braves Miami Marlins Nashville expansion team Tampa Bay Rays Western Conference Midwest Division Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins Southwest Division Houston Astros Kansas City Royals St. Louis Cardinals Texas Rangers Pacific Coast Division Colorado Rockies Oakland/Las Vegas A's Seattle Mariners San Francisco Giants West Division Arizona Diamondbacks Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers San Diego Padres Four team divisions suck. This can not be said often enough or loudly enough. The NFL this year had two, and came real close to having four, sub-.500 teams in their playoffs, something that smaller divisions and a smaller pct of intra-division games makes MUCH more likely. And in several divisions where there was a winning team the division 'race' was over around mid-season. Any idea with this as the main part of its format needs to be fought on all fronts.

Agreed with FK here - 4 team divisions lead to bad teams in playoffs



I would realign to only FOUR divisions of 8 teams each

Benjamin Grimm Feb 09 2023 01:03 PM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

How about this, for six divisions of six: EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox New York Mets New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies Washington Nationals EASTERN CONFERENCE GREAT LAKES Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Guardians Detroit Tigers Montreal Expos Pittsburgh Pirates Toronto Blue Jays EASTERN CONFERENCE SOUTHEAST Atlanta Braves Charlotte Knights Miami Marlins Nashville Sounds Orlando Fire Frogs Tampa Bay Rays WESTERN CONFERENCE GREAT LAKES Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins St. Louis Cardinals WESTERN CONFERENCE SOUTHWEST Arizona Diamondbacks Colorado Rockies Houston Astros Las Vegas A's San Antonio Missions Texas Rangers WESTERN CONFERENCE PACIFIC Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners Vancouver Canadians

batmagadanleadoff Feb 09 2023 01:06 PM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Bowden's idea is nutso. The richest teams in the same division? I guess the less wealthy teams would love that, and that's most of the teams. Let's fuck Steve Cohen every which way possible.

batmagadanleadoff Feb 09 2023 01:07 PM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Why.not a handicap, too? The NY teams have to win 101 games to make the playoffs.

Edgy MD Feb 09 2023 01:09 PM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

An original goal of division play was to shrink the size of divisions because the teams lower than sixth in the standings were largely considered hopelessly bad draws because of their seeming utter irrelevancy.

TransMonk Feb 09 2023 08:52 PM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

=nymr83 post_id=118037 time=1675972877 user_id=54]I would realign to only FOUR divisions of 8 teams each

I could get behind this.

Johnny Lunchbucket Feb 10 2023 05:00 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

=metirish post_id=118033 time=1675970533 user_id=72] Dodgers and Giants not in the same division is criminal

Yup. So is breaking up the cubs and Cardinals

Frayed Knot Feb 10 2023 05:14 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Edgy MD wrote: An original goal of division play was to shrink the size of divisions because the teams lower than sixth in the standings were largely considered hopelessly bad draws because of their seeming utter irrelevancy. Right, but just because twelve was considered too large when it came time for the 1969 expansion to 24 teams doesn't mean that it should shrink from the already shrunken number of five. And while, yes, Bowden is just spouting off with no real authority behind what he proposes, it bothers me that whenever I see this kind of what/if scenario the majority immediately jump to the simple math of an 8x4 set-up. My fear is that MLB will do the same thing without once considering that there even is a downside much less allowing it to factor into their decision. They'll be too busy patting themselves on the back and receiving plaudits from the media for having the 'wisdom' to follow exactly in the NFL's footsteps.

Frayed Knot Feb 10 2023 05:31 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: =metirish post_id=118033 time=1675970533 user_id=72] Dodgers and Giants not in the same division is criminal Yup. So is breaking up the cubs and Cardinals

And that's another thing: for every problem these map-re-drawing meddlers seek to 'solve' they wind up creating at least as many new issues.

I remember watching a broadcast out of Pittsburgh when another one of these trial realignment balloons was being floated. And as the booth considered the ups and downs of that

particular one, the one thing they fell back on was what they really wanted for their club was to be back in a division with the Mets and Phils. So while these proposals pat themselves

on the back for blowing up the entire current structure so that the Cardinals and Royals can finally be in the same division as in-state rivals should be, no one seems to have noticed

that Phils & Pirates are also cross-state teams and, hello, also had a century's worth of history playing each other before previous sub-dividing broke them apart. It's probably merely

a coincidence that the once competitive Pirates have been floundering ever since they were detached from eastern teams in the early '90s, but maybe not.

Fman99 Feb 10 2023 06:09 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

I had a similar thought this morning. A realigned NL East of NYM, PHL, WAS & PIT makes sense to me, assuming that at some point MLB will go to 8 divisions of 4 teams. Let ATL & MIA pick up some other pair of local teams (Tampa + some expansion team in the Carolinas?). Same thing on the AL East side - NYM, BAL, BOS and some 4th team that is geographically not too far flung (TOR, CLE, or DET being the most logical choices, probably TOR which would allow them to keep CLE & DET in the same revised division with the White Sox).

Fman99 Feb 10 2023 06:13 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

My realigned divisions would look like this: NL East NYM PIT PHL WAS NL Central CIN CHC STL MIL NL South ATL MIA TB Charlotte? NL West LAD SD SF ARI AL East NYY TOR BOS BAL AL Central CWS CLE DET MIN AL Midwest TEX HOU COL KC AL West SEA LAA OAK Las Vegas?

kcmets Feb 10 2023 06:47 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Put me down for 'leave it the way it is and stop futzin' around.' And pull up your fly.

Edgy MD Feb 10 2023 06:59 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Frayed Knot wrote: Edgy MD wrote: An original goal of division play was to shrink the size of divisions because the teams lower than sixth in the standings were largely considered hopelessly bad draws because of their seeming utter irrelevancy. Right, but just because twelve was considered too large when it came time for the 1969 expansion to 24 teams doesn't mean that it should shrink from the already shrunken number of five. And while, yes, Bowden is just spouting off with no real authority behind what he proposes, it bothers me that whenever I see this kind of what/if scenario the majority immediately jump to the simple math of an 8x4 set-up. My fear is that MLB will do the same thing without once considering that there even is a downside much less allowing it to factor into their decision. They'll be too busy patting themselves on the back and receiving plaudits from the media for having the 'wisdom' to follow exactly in the NFL's footsteps. Yes, I'm certainly not advocating for shrinkage. I guess folk (like me) talk about baseball so much that there are always ideas that baseball is full of "problems" waiting to be solved. I think we misunderstand that the "problem" that seems most present is the one most pressing to be solved. Sometimes the nascent problem is the one that is most noxious, and tackling the present one just sets the nascent one to the surface. I've been drawing up realignments since fifth grade. In the end, it's just a power trip. The real problems are the ones they never talk about it, because the administration of baseball is beholden to the cartel.

DocTee Feb 10 2023 07:17 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

I like Ben Grimm's plan, but for the fact that there are three expansion teams in one division, and that Vancouver trumps Portland.

smg58 Feb 10 2023 07:39 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Will we even recognize baseball by the time Manfred is done with it?

Marshmallowmilkshake Feb 10 2023 11:15 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

If there is a balanced schedule, is there any real reason to blow up the leagues and have the location based clusters? If the biggest reason to do this is to eliminate extensive travel, but the Mets will be playing the Mariners as often as they play the Red Sox or Phillies, then what is the benefit?

nymr83 Feb 10 2023 11:32 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

=DocTee post_id=118077 time=1676038646 user_id=85] I like Ben Grimm's plan, but for the fact that there are three expansion teams in one division, and that Vancouver trumps Portland.

Assuming the As and Rays stay put, I would probably think the possible expansion cities are:



Nashville

Portland

Montreal

Charlotte



I can't imagine Vancouver being on the list - nobody wants to add two teams to Canada and if they even get one it has to be Montreal

batmagadanleadoff Feb 10 2023 12:11 PM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

=TransMonk post_id=118058 time=1676001165 user_id=71] =nymr83 post_id=118037 time=1675972877 user_id=54]I would realign to only FOUR divisions of 8 teams each

I could get behind this.


Me too. Or me, three.



Four divisions of eight teams. And only the first and second place teams qualify for the post-season, which is still too many playoff teams for my taste. But my plan would never play because the powers that be will want more playoff teams than just eight out of 32 teams. Money has always taken precedence over the integrity of the game itself. The fans' interest are not perfectly aligned with those of the owners. I want a sensible, pure sport. I could care less if the owners are making a billion dollars a year instead of three billion dollars a year.

metirish Feb 10 2023 12:41 PM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Long look at Montreal here, I'll copy and paste if anyone wants https://theathletic.com/4103000/2023/01/19/montreal-mlb-expansion-team?source=user-shared-article Nashville https://theathletic.com/4085693/2023/01/16/nashville-mlb-expansion-team?source=user-shared-article Portland https://theathletic.com/4094197/2023/01/17/portland-mlb-expansion-team?source=user-shared-article Vegas https://theathletic.com/4097332/2023/01/18/las-vegas-mlb-expansion-team?source=user-shared-article

Benjamin Grimm Nov 27 2023 08:24 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Salt Lake City named favorite for MLB expansion by baseball insiders One of the two "insiders" quoted in this article is David Cone, so perhaps this scoop should be taken with a grain (if not a lake) of salt. But until now, I was unaware that Salt Lake City was putting in a bid for an expansion team. I think Portland would be a better choice for the West Coast expansion team, but maybe SLC's greater distance from Seattle will give it an advantage. Other cities mentioned in the article are Nashville, Charlotte, and Montreal. I've seen elsewhere that there's a good chance that we'll have 32 teams by 2028.

metirish Nov 27 2023 09:20 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Wow , I would never have guessed Salt Lake ( and that's what Olney and Cone are doing) certainly would be interesting

Johnny Lunchbucket Nov 27 2023 09:44 AM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Baseball was waiting for the Oakland situation to work itself out before expanding. Fees will be ginormous, there's no way to stop it.

Frayed Knot Nov 27 2023 02:20 PM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

And the expansion fees will solve all their problems, just like the ones from the 1993 expansion teams did.

MFS62 Nov 27 2023 02:44 PM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Frayed Knot wrote: And the expansion fees will solve all their problems, just like the ones from the 1993 expansion teams did. Will the expansion fees: Speed up the game? (the only thing the owners seem concerned with) Eliminate the DH? (A problem NL fans are concerned with) Get rid of Angel Hernandez? (A problem all baseball fans are concerned with) Stay tuned to see what other problems expansion fees might solve. (S/M = 94) Later

Cowtipper Nov 27 2023 03:19 PM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Nov 27 2023 03:58 PM

I've recently considered the audacious idea of splitting MLB into three leagues—the West, the Central and the East (or something more creatively named than that). Expand the big leagues to 33 teams with 11 teams per league, keep all the current teams as is in terms of names and locations, then go where the populations are to fill out the rest. And right now Texas seems to be the most underrepresented when it comes to populations/major league clubs. So it would look something like this: East: Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Jacksonville Miami Marlins New York Mets New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays Washington Nationals Central: Atlanta Braves Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Indians Houston Astros Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins St. Louis Cardinals West: Arizona Diamondbacks Austin Colorado Rockies Las Vegas/Oakland Athletics Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers San Antonio San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners Texas Rangers Florida doesn't seem to have much luck with major league baseball, but it keeps hanging around, so it might be worth a shot with Jacksonville. Austin is kind of close to Houston, but it's about the same distance as LA to SD. Hard to believe the best San Antonio can muster right now is a Double-A club.

MFS62 Nov 27 2023 03:42 PM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

Your divisions didn't look quite right. But Atlanta , from the map I saw, seems to be to the West of both Toronto and Pittsburgh. So it would belong in your central division. I'd put Las Vegas and Vancouver in the West instead of the two Texas teams because of their histories of minor league (AAA) ball. Later

Cowtipper Nov 27 2023 03:59 PM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Nov 27 2023 06:17 PM

I had a hard time deciding for some of the teams. I wasn't sure if I wanted them to be grouped by purely geographical terms. I almost didn't want to put Atlanta in the Central because though it is farther west than some cities, it is also in an East Coast state. Tampa is barely farther east than Cleveland, as far as I can tell, but it's in an East Coast state and Cleveland is in (what some consider) a Midwest state, so Cleveland gets shoved into the Central. I've also considered maybe it is time to put a big league club in Puerto Rico. San Juan would be the obvious choice.

bmfc1 Nov 27 2023 04:37 PM Re: MLB Expansion - Jim Bowden /The Athletic

I'm sure that we will have an insider touting Portland soon because if "Seattle needs a friend", as is claimed in that article, then Portland is a 3-hour drive from Seattle while SLC is 13 hours. The better argument for SLC is Las Vegas which is a 6 1/2 hour drive and would create a rivalry between those teams (not to mention all the "good vs. evil" disparity that some would believe).