Drummernate wrote...
Does anybody else check the location of the host before a match?...
Does the matchmaking prioritize other countries to add diversity or something?
I don't check, but you can tell by accents quite often. I get a lot of Americans, which I have nothing against, but they are often laggier than other UKers, Scandinavia, or Dutch/Germans (all of seem least laggy for me). Yanks are often less leggy than Spanish and eastern Europeans, but the worst are ockers and kiwis - just too much latency.
I doubt BW/EA mixes up countries for diversity, it's probably just the net code, and your particular location and ISP means you get less hops to Europe, or quicker pings (which does not always equal lack of lag).
Its also heavily dependant on when you play: if I play 7pm GMT/BST, I get few Americans. If I play 0200 it's almost always friendly chaps from Michigan or New York.