I guess in the grand scheme of things Tulsa doesn't really matter, but we've had an off-and-on again rivalry with the Oilers going back to 1933.

While I share the same desire for a higher calibre of hockey, I don't think we need to wrag the fine folks in Shreveport.

Yeah, why should we waste our time with 'small time' towns like Tulsa, Fort Worth, Austin and Albuquerque when we could be in the 'big time' with towns like Peoria, Des Moines, Winnipeg, Syracuse, Binghampton and, of course, Rockford, Illinois.

Some population data.....

Shreveport 375,000
Tulsa 905,000
Fort Worth 653,000
Albuquerque 841,000
Laredo metro area 737,000

Peoria metro area 369,000
Winnipeg 633,000
Des Moines 546,600
Binghamton 252,000
Syracuse metro 732,000
Rockford 339,000