Daily grind

Don't get me wrong: i love relaxing and letting someone else drive, i love saving money, and love helping to save the environment. But losing an hour and a half of my day to extra commute time (over driving), feeling unproductive because my blackberry can only do so much, and watching disfunctional families abuse their kids while waiting at the bus terminal are all starting to wear on me today.

Today we do have the added entertainment of a Black Muslim evangelist spewing what i would call white-hate speech (about 'the man locking away kids' and saying that 'white Christianity ruined Africa') to anyone that doesn't immediatly tell him to go away. He hasn't tried me so far.

The funny part to me is that the buses are fine. i never see any trouble makers or problems on the bus, don't feel uncomfortable, and generally have a nice time. You'd assume from stereotypes that my buses should be the worst: i take the #4 past the projects in East Nashville, and the #15 past the projects off LaFayette. They are really nice though. But at the station... You have to spend too long here and it needs to be cleaned up (of trash) and monitored better. I really may start waiting a few blocks up each route from here on out.

I also need to get my Sansa working again (if Rhapsody would get their act together) and remember that i can use my BlackBerry with Opera to make blog posts like this one. Helps pass the time for sure, though my readers may have to suffer through more grumpy rants about my day rather than read mostly about the Preds. :-)

How WALL-E was not an environmental movie

Ok, i mentioned this briefly in my last post (recapping all the summer movies i've seen), but this apparently needs to be addressed again.

My cousin-in-law just made a post about the movie and he has comments disabled, so you get to hear my rebuttal here. Be warned that this post will be as spoiler free as possible, but if you haven't seen the movie, just know that both Brian and I liked it and you should go see it. Then come back and read the article and participate in the discussion.

Brian starts off by taking issue with "the crystal clear liberal environmental objective."

Just gotta take that first and ask: Why does anything environmental have to be liberal? Christy and i are very environmentally conscious. Letting the left-win-liberal-politicos co-opt environmental responsibility is just as bad as letting the right-wing-conservatives co-opt Christianity. But then again...that gets us down the broken two-party system rat hole (see here for another example)... Moving on...

"The entire premise of the movie is that the earth has become overrun with garbage and taken over my big business."

Nope. Those are important facts, but that is not the premise of the movie - that would be the setting and set-up for the movie. The premise and plot of the movie... well...he actually gets close to it here in a second...

"...this is a really good illustration of how we have to be very sensitive to what messages our families - especially our children - are bombarded with...It is our responsibility to protect our children and shape a biblical worldview in their hearts"

Now we're getting closer to what the movie was actually about. The fact that the Earth was grungy and people had to move off of it wasn't the point at all. As Brian said "The hero of the movie is of course Wall-E [sic], a garbage compactor." And what is WALL-E's story about? A relationship. He is lonely and wants a relationship. Brian describes what he finds on the spaceship: "people are on a space ship, where they have been for hundreds of years, and are now all overweight and lazy." ...and...haven't seen each other face to face and interacted as people in generations.

The point of this movie was not that we trash the planet then move off, become even fatter and more lazy (and more commercial), and then WALL-E convinces them to go fix the Earth. The whole fixing the Earth bit at the end thing is what the industry calls a "subplot". It was EVE's motivation through the movie and helped provide conflict for the antagonist to give the movie some action. The point of this movie - the real message, is summed up very well by something i heard writer/director Andrew Stanton say in an interview after i saw the flick: "What would happen if the most human thing left in the galaxy was a robot". You could call this an anti-technology movie. A pro-social/relationship movie. A love story. But environmental movie it was not.

WALL-E reminded the people on board how to be human. He pushed through barriers and loves EVE. That message, together with a subplot reminding us that we were put on this planet with a specitic instruction from God: GEN 2:15 "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it."

Both of those are messages i'd be glad for my kids to internalize one day.

Summer movie update

Way back on Valentines Day i listed all the summer blockbuster movies i was amped about seeing. Now that we're most of the way through the movie season, i thought i'd give a bit of a recap/update with mini reviews since i didn't make posts after seeing most of them. Don't worry, i'll warn and censor any possible spoilers.

First, i'd like to point out that unlike the summer before, this summer wasn't all sequels and remakes. There were several, but they were not nearly as dominant as last year. I'm not saying every movie was terribly original, but it was nice to be treated to more of the unexpected, and get introduced to new characters for a change.


Feb 14th - Jumper

Didn't see it. Heard it sucked. Will probably grab it on Netflix eventually.

April 18 - The Forbidden Kingdom

Didn't see it, though i heard it was decent. Still want to see, but is on my Netflix queue now.

May 2 - Iron Man

Great movie. Started the summer off right. Just the right balance of substance and just having a ton of fun. Special effects were awesome, acting was solid, script was tight. Not fine art cinema - no Oscars here - but really good movie that should be very rewatchable.

May 9 - Speed Racer

This one was ok. I was fairly disappointing that there was much more language and violence in this than i think should have been allowed as a PG movie. Having said that, if it had been rated PG-13 i would have enjoyed it more. I also think the acid-trip visuals worked for me after a while. It was much more of an art film in that regard than i expected - almost to the point of being avant-garde or experimental really. Once i got used to that, i think it was a good film. Middle of the road, but good.

May 16 - Chronicles of Narnia: Price Caspian

Excellent, but like Speed Racer this one should have been PG-13. It was pretty much in line with the first Lord of the Rings movie, but without blood. Literally. Same number of bodies falling. Same number of swords stabbing, etc...just no blood squirting when it happens. But like i said, very good. True to the book (almost too much - those who haven't read it might be confused) and well acted and written. I hope they keep moving through the books - at least make it a trilogy. These Narnia movies could have been drivel, but so far so good.

May 22 - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I went in with mid-level expectations and didn't bury myself in spoiler-filled coverage before it came out and i think it paid off. I really liked this one. I think what i liked best was that it assumed that Indy kept doing things for the last 20 years. [SPOILER ALERT - HIGHLIGHT TEXT TO READ IT] It referenced Young Indiana Jones Chronicles events, assumed that Indy was in the service during WWII (which of course he would be), etc. He wasn't just old, he had a life. The only gripe i had on this one was the scene with Mutt swinging from the vines with monkeys...and the truck/cliff/tree moment that was straight out of a Wiley Coyote cartoon. Otherwise the suspension of disbelief was within what i was willing to deal with, and loads of fun. I also think this one worked better because it tapped into a mythos that i was familiar with. Indy 1 and 3 were great because i grew up hearing about what they were after. Temple of Doom didn't reach me as well because i didn't care about the MacGuffin. In this one, it worked because i've heard about Rosewell aliens for years and mysterious temples in South America, so i was ready to see those fantasies played out on screen. [END SPOILERS] Wish i could see this one again, but i guess i'll have to wait for the blu-ray for a second go-round.

June 20 - Get Smart

Didn't see it. Might get around to this one eventually, but the closer it got and the more i saw about it, the more it looked like it wasn't my kinda movie.

June 27 - WALL-E

Great movie. I can see where most people are coming from with the reviews that the first act was great, but the later parts of the movie dropped off. While yes, the first part was fun and light and enjoyable, a whole 2-hour feature of that would have gotten boring after a while. I enjoyed this one thoroughly, though it still ranks behind A Bug's Life, Cars, and Finding Nemo for me in the Pixar pantheon. [MINOR SPOILER ALERT - highlight text to read] I also didn't take issue at all with the concerns some had with the message of the movie. Firstly i don't think it was that much of a message movie. On first viewing i definitely got a message, but on further examination, really this was a love story set on the backdrop of a humorously exaggerated extreme future. [ END SPOILERS]

July 2 - Hancock

Awesome. I really think people that didn't like this movie went in with too many expectations. This wasn't Pursuit of Happiness or Independence Day, but a wonderful balance between the two. [MINOR SPOILER ALERT - Highlight text to read] I also love that though this movie had a major 'twist' (which was by some miracle not spoiled in the trailers), the movie wasn't about the twist. It had a twist, then moved on to what the movie was really about. Kudos to the writers and i think they also thankfully avoided dealing the the alcoholic/tortured super-hero issue too much, which leaves room for those stories in Ironman sequels [SPOILER END]. Highly recommended.

July 11 - Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Haven't seen yet, but still hope to see before it leaves theaters. If i have to wait for blu-ray though, i can.

July 18 - The Dark Knight
Great movie but... It was a little too dark and a little too long for me. Good movie, but it needed to be tightened up. Many subplots that could have been cut (one in particular) and well...gonna have to go into spoiler mode: [SPOILER ALERT - Highlight text to read] All of the acting was spectacular, and the overall direction was good, but the script needed work. The entire Hong Kong sequence should have been cut, and overall it just needed a few nips and tucks. My only other major gripe was Two-Face. One that he didn't get enough time, and two that he looked ridiculous. He looked like Imhotep from The Mummy. He just had gas on his face which caught on fire. Batman was right there and put the fire out. Unless Batman put it out with a brick, Dent's jaw shouldn't have been broken and his face should have been burned, not missing! Then even at that...if his face was missing...he wouldn't be walking around and talking the same. His voice would sound different, etc. Normally i wouldn't nit-pick something like this, but Christopher Nolan has gone out of his way to make a very realistic world here. We can believe that what we are watching could actually happen - but not Two-Face. Overall though, the Joker was great, the increased role of Lt/Commissioner Gordon was great, and it was a very good movie. Just not as good as it could have been (read: over-hyped and not as good as the amazing movie it followed) [END SPOILERS]

NOT OUT YET:
Aug 1 - The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Nov 21 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince


Might checking out (or wait for video):

March 14 - Horton Hears a Who!

Saw the last 15 minutes of the movie at a showing in the park. Looked cute. Might get around to seeing more eventually.

June 6 - Kung Fu Panda

Haven't seen, but plan on it. A friend of mine said he liked it more than Ironman at the time, which says a lot.

June 13 - The Incredible Hulk

Didn't see. Not planning on it anytime soon. Just looked poor. Never been a big Hulk fan anyway.

June 13 - The Happening

Didn't see, but looked like it would be good. Still plan on catching on Netflix.

July 11 - Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D

Haven't seen yet, but would like to. Plan on seeing it before it leaves theaters just so i can see the 3D experience.

Preds owner speaks out on Ownership/Radulov

This afternoon, Predators lead owner David Freeman went on 104.5 The Zone with host George Plaster to answer questions about the latest on the Del Biaggio ownership mess, and even touched on the Radulov issue briefly.

Many thanks to 104.5 for having Freeman on, and i hope they don't mind me posting this. I guess i'll hear from them if they do :-)

(Sorry for the minor quality issues. I recorded this from my portable Sansa while riding on the bus, so you can tell when we went under bridges, etc.)

I made two versions. The first is the 12-minute "the good stuff" version (I tried to cross-fade it to make it obvious where i made cuts). The second is the full version, with only commercials cut.


Soundbite/highlights:

In regard to Del Biaggio and Warren Woo:

"In some ways we're disappointed, in some ways we didn't have real high expectations of 'em"

In regard to the presentation Del Biaggio and Woo put together for potential investors:

"What's disappointing about the documents is how they misrepresented the financial condition of our club"

"They were trying to raise money...so, they took a few liberties with the truth and oversold their position"

In regard to the Predators:

"In an absolute worst case scenario, its just exactly the same as the deal we had when we went into this and the club isn't going anywhere."

"Boots and Warren didn't have any obligation to put any more money in the team. In fact we gave them a special deal that we would never ask them to put more money into the team"

On the Radulov issue:

"David Poile and I have a little side deal going. I take care of the situation out on the west coast and he takes care of the situation over in Russia."

"I think we will all stand back and let the NHL handle this one. This is obviously a much bigger issue than the Nashville Predators, and I think we'll all be pleased with how it plays out."

On the team's future in Nashville (attendance issues, etc):

"Honestly, we just don't think about it in terms of 'we have to do this or else'. We've made this commitment, and as crazy as it sounds sometimes in life you just do things and you don't think about the down side or listen to the negative. Sure, I guess there is a scenario where if no one ever showed up for a hockey game that it wouldn't turn out right...The same way the Titans have an unflinching belief that they're gonna sell tickets to Titans football games, we feel the same way about Predators hockey. We feel like this franchise and the city are on the way up and its a total waste of time for me to talk about what-if scenarios...It's important to us, but there is no doubt in our mind we're gonna make [the attendance requirement for revenue sharing]. If for some reason we didn't make it one year, its not the end of the world. It probably goes back to conversation of how much you have to spend on this or that, but again we think we're headed in the right direction"

The Question Not Being Asked

Much has been made about the Tennessean article from Sunday which detailed Boots Del Biaggio's plans for the Predators. Much of the media is talking about how its clear that there was (is?) a plan to move the Predators out of Nashville. Forechecker highlighted that Boots was pointing to expected expansion revenues in the coming years.

But here's the thing people: This wasn't created in a void. This PowerPoint deck that was somehow acquired by a Tennessean reporter (Kudos by the way, for the rare bit of good investigative reporting) was made by Del Biaggio specifically to present to possible investors in his NHL ventures. It was designed to make it look like he would soon be able to take control of the Predators, and that they would have a guaranteed revenue boost in a few years.

Del Biaggio made a living LYING to investors. That's what he did. He (apparently) went through he process of forging bank documents to show that funds were his that never were in order to secure loans. Do you seriously think that stretching figures and facts on a PowerPoint presentation is beyond this guy?

I'm not saying the Predators will be up with the Leafs in revenues this year. I know the franchise has a tough fight ahead. But i am very surprised that no one is questioning the information. I don't blame the Tennessean reporting, but cummon people. Consider the source of the stories source.

Thoughts from a show

Feeling especially contemplative at the Sixpence None The Richer show at 3rd and Lindsley, so rather than continue to clutter Twitter, just gonna run a bit of a random thoughts blog. Enjoy.

• Many indie/rock musicians are still following the fashion (hair and clothes) example set by Nirvana (and to a lesser extent some punk bands from the earlier) nearly 18 years ago. i find that remarkable.

• I know from experience, the stage at 3rd and Lindsley looks and feels small from the audience but is deceptively big. The whole venue feels like a tiny club, but the stage accommodates a 5-6 piece band with ease and the place must have 300-500 people in it right now. Good balance. Very good sound guys too. Unlike some venues in town (*cough*Exit/In*cough*).

• Of course, the 8 person band (yes - eight people!) that Sixpence has on stage is a little cramped. Sheesh!

• Apparently Sixpence None The Richer is still drawing pretty much the same people they used to. Not the same crowd - actually the same people. In the last 6-8 years they've gone from drawing 20-somethings (and a mixed crowd) to drawing 30-something women - almost exclusively. At least at this show. Not that that's a bad thing. Though this does feel just a little like the shows that the Hugh Grant character in 'Music and Lyrics' was doing, but less pathetic.

• Really random thought: Blogger's examples for the types of words to use for tags have been "scooters, vacation, fall". One day I'm going to take a vacation in the fall and ride a scooter just so i can write a blog post about it. :-)

• The electric guitar player for Sixpence (not Matt Slocum or the all acoustic all the time guy or the bass player - the other one) has dreads, a black shirt, s bandanna hanging out of his back pocket, and his guitar is slung low (resting on his knee from a standing position). He's very good, but looks like they found him behind the punk/metal stage at a festival and decided to keep him. He's now playing an electric mandolin. Image/sound conflict, but it works.

• The keyboard player (edit: whoa, that's Sam Ashworth) on the other hand looks like he should be in a lounge on a cruise ship. A cool lounge, but still there's a big shift from stage right to stage left.

• While we're on the topic of band dress: Christy and i used to comment how Leigh Nash was always really good at dressing very stylish, but very modestly. Tonight...let's just say i could describe an undergarment to you in detail. Distracting much?

• The percussionist (not the drummer, the other one)(edit: whoa, that's Steve Hindalong!) is using two tambourines simultaneously throughout the evening. When one tambourine just isn't enough...

• Aside from being an amazing songwriter, Matt Slocum is a deceptively good guitarist. Wow.

• Seeing live music always makes me want to play more, and get a chance to play out. i got only a very small taste of it, and was never a good enough drummer (or took the time/money to do the gear like a pro) to do it in the past. Sometimes I think about selling my drum kit for the nice cash it would bring, but i still want to play sometime. As long as i have it there is a hope that I'll either play with Nick and/or Jamie sometime again. Someday it may be like my dad's old saxophone in the closet.

• Before the show, the house mix played a pop cover of "Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat". Love the song, but that one i wouldn't have called as cover-worthy. It worked though. (Looked it up after i got home and apparently Don Henley covered it. Eeww. I don't think that's what we were hearing tonight though.
  

• Matt Slocum must know his pedal board and the floor of every venue he's ever played very well. He never looks up through the whole show. Not looking at his guitar or feet board most of the time. Just studying the floor.

• 3rd and Lindsley's chicken tenders are surprisingly good. Their bathroom is also too nice for a bar/club like this. They need to take out the nice vinyl floor and stucco walls and replace them all with thinly painted plywood. That would fit much better. Thanks.

Ok, the show is wrapping up, so i guess i will too. Thanks for letting me spew random thoughts at ya for a while.

PS: i could see the set list- they planned an encore ("Eyes Wide Open") but the audience didn't ask for one, probably because it was broadcast on the radio and the announcer 'signed off' the air. Oh well. It was a great show.

Who says baseball should be the only sport with matinee games?

The Predators just released their pre-season schedule. I'm happy to see us continue the relationship with the Atlanta Thrashers and i hope we get to play them more often in the regular season as well. It's an obvious friendly-rivalry that would benefit both teams.

Most interesting here are the new rookie games - and one at 11:00am!

My guess is that these are in place of a few scrimmages that would normally happen during camp. No details yet on who will play in the games, but i think it is a safe bet to say the first 2-3 lines of the Predators won't be there. I doubt if they literally only play based on NHL experience an 'rookie' qualifications. The normal pre-season games are at or near full price for tickets. I'll be curious if the rookie games are open for free to the public, discounted, or something else (especially that mid-morning game). Could be very cool.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS 2008 PRESEASON SCHEDULE

Date	Opponent	Site	Time (CDT)
Mon., Sept. 22	Atlanta Thrashers (R)	Sommet Center	6:00 PM
Tue., Sept. 23	Atlanta Thrashers (R)	Sommet Center	11:00 AM
Thu., Sept. 25	Atlanta Thrashers	Sommet Center	7:00 PM
Fri., Sept. 26	at Columbus Blue Jackets	Nationwide Arena	6:00 PM
Sat., Sept. 27	Columbus Blue Jackets	Sommet Center	7:00 PM
Thu., Oct. 2	Carolina Hurricanes	Sommet Center	7:00 PM
Fri., Oct. 3	at Atlanta Thrashers	Philips Arena	6:30 PM
Sun., Oct. 5	at Carolina Hurricanes	RBC Center	TBA

best selling the future

I've talked about killer apps here before. Games or movies or whatever that cause someone to adopt a new technology. Good example was "The Matrix" DVD. People bought $200 DVD players (back then) just to watch a $25 movie on the new killer format. Well, apparently we have two killer apps about to hit...or something like that anyway.


The top two best-selling Blu-Ray movies on Amazon.com right now, aren't even out yet. Amazon is taking pre-orders for Ironman and Batman Begins (which by the way, has been available on HD-DVD for months).
In fact, 9 of the top 20 Blu-Ray's haven't come out yet as of today.

I just think that is pretty funny.

Hockey Nationalism

I wanted to take a minute to post as an entry here, some comments that i made on two other sites recently.

The discussion was started by this post at Two For Elbowing that i first saw linked to from this Puck Daddy entry. The quote that started the discussion was this:

"What, exactly, does this say about the relative power balance of Canada and the U.S. when the Leafs have to hire Americans to fix the franchise?"

So I give you the ensuing discussion:

I think more to the point, what do statements like that say about racism (or more specifically nationalism) in hockey. I've never heard any other pro sport outside of nationalist soccer/futbol squads be so hung up on where their coaches and players come from, and the problems with racism going on in soccer leagues around the world is a massive problem right now. I'd hate to see hockey be next.

Who care if a Canadian is coaching a US team or a US coach or GM is working for a Canadian franchise. The only other time i've heard nationalities discussed in other sports is during the Olympics/world championships when they have their flags on their uniforms.

If they are wearing a Leafs sweater or a Sharks sweater - it shouldn't matter. They are just pros doing their jobs. Argue about them on their merits, not where they come from.

That comment brought this response: "Paul- tell that to the people of Quebec." - to which i responded:

I definitely hear the most consistent nationalist/racist comments from Quebecers, but it is much, much wider than that. As a resident of Nashville and fan of the Predators, I/we have seen no small measure of this.

It is ironic really.

When i moved here, i thought that southerners in Nashville more were racist than average. I found the opposite though - not that there aren't people with issues, but on the whole the city is very accepting of Eastern Europeans, Canadians, Scandinavians, etc on the Predators and African American players on the Titans, and Hispanic players on the Nashville Sounds baseball team. Without question they are judged on their playing ability 99% of the time and comments are practically never made as to where they are from. We just don't care as long as they can play.

Meanwhile i hear things like this, where a lifelong hockey man in Ron Wilson and others are criticized for having the audacity to think they 'deserve' to coach on Canadian soil. You can think he is the right coach for Toronto or not, that he can handle the media pressure or not, that he will help the team or not... but that he should be allowed to coach based on his nationality?

That same post goes on to say "The mind boggles. I'm amazed the Canadian-centric media types haven't been screaming at the government to outlaw this already." meaning the hiring of coaches and GM's from the US.

I know they are dipping into sarcasm there, but seriously...I'm not sure what the situation is in Canada, but this level of discrimination is outlawed in the US. In fact the NFL requires that minority options are considered before hiring coaches.

It boggles the mind indeed. When will hockey implement something similar?

Which then received this response

Paul, I agree with you on judging an individual purely on their performances and their ability to get the job done, and not where they are from. However, with some rare exceptions, I think most Canadians are not prejudice against players/coaches/gms from other countries, but rather, proud of the ones from their country.

I don't think comparing Canada's love of hockey and their pride in their country's rich and honored history in that sport, to something as ugly as racism, is a fair statement.

Comparing it to African American players on the Titans or Hispanic players on the Sounds, and saying it doesn't measure up is like comparing apples to oranges. One has zero to do with the other. There are African American players on Canadian hockey teams; there are American players; there are players from countries all over the world who are not only on Canadian teams, but are worshiped by many Canadian fans.

I believe, a fairer comparison, using your Nashville as an example, would be to say that many people from Nashville are proud of their city's rich and honored history in country music. And some outspoken voices may say that the best country singers are from Nashville, and a country singer from Calgary, Canada or Tokyo, Japan should not be the headliner at the CMA Music Festival. But a few outspoken does not mean I should assume all everyone from Nashville agrees with these statements. Or that everyone from Nashville only likes Nashville country singers. Or even the bigger leap that you suggest above, that in fact they dislike every country singer outside of Nashville.

Again, with some rare exceptions, most Canadian hockey fans love the sport first, and are simply very proud of their country's rich history in that sport. And while some over zealous, proud fans, may come across pro Canadian at times, this 1) does not speak for all Canadian hockey fans; and 2) is a far cry from racism, IMHO. Hometown pride and racism are worlds apart! --buffettworld

Which then led me to respond:

Well put. And i do understand that.

I just hear more comments like this from hockey than any other sport. I understand a certain amount of pride...heck...i'm originally from Texas. I know pride (and its excess...)

But comments like the one quoted on this blog and many others i hear around seem to me to cross the line. They aren't just pride ("Isn't it great that the world is playing 'our' game" or "we have the best hockey players in the world") but more bigoted ("all top hockey teams, players, and coaches should really be Canadian")

There certainly are voices out there saying that the CMA's should always be held in Nashville (much ruckus was made when they tried it in New York a few years ago), but i've only heard a very small, quickly ignored minority complain about country music being popular in western Canada or Australia. Most love the fact that the additional eyes and attention mean more fans and a bigger/better product.

To carry that analogy through, no one would suggest moving the hockey hall of fame to Tampa. But by the same token that i don't hear anyone suggest that they should ban people from outside the south eastern US from country music.

I guess that is the biggest difference to me: who i'm hearing it from. I hear these criticisms and bigoted comments about the nationality of players from main-stream Canadian press, not just a few random bloggers and comment trolls.

Best example i can think of:
Lidstrom being the first European captain to win a cup. It was a big deal, and was covered by the press. Very similar to Tony Dungee being the first African American coach to win the Super Bowl a few years back. The difference was that no major sports outlet or even serious radio talk show host would have stood up and said "a black coach has never won the Super Bowl so our team shouldn't hire a black coach". Meanwhile i've heard from major hockey writers and talking heads repeatedly (up until last week) that teams shouldn't make Europeans their captains, citing "lack of heart" and other ludicrous reasons to explain how they shouldn't captain teams.

Is it horrible? No.
Is it everyone? Not by any means.

But is it more pervasive in hockey than other North American sports and something that should be addressed and talked about? Yes.

What do you think?

(image courtesy of Lone Primate)

Predators Roster Filling Up: What's the next move?

With the newly announced signing of Shea Weber (picture right) following quickly behind the signing of Dan Ellis, Ryan Suter, Martin Erat, David Legwand, Jordin Tootoo, etc, etc... Predators GM David Poile has made good on his promise to sign all of the team's restricted free agents and key personell. The trade of Chris Mason to St Louis also cleared up some salary.

But there is still a bit of a log jam. Taking the numbers from NHLSCAP.com, this appears to be our situation (adding in the Suter, Weber, and Ellis deals that aren't updated yet).

TOTAL COMMITTED SALARY CAP NUMBER:
$45,791,087
(Note: NHL Salary Cap is about $53mil, but the Predators are not expected to spend near the cap limit)

PLAYER	POS	08-09 Salary Cap Number
ARNOTT, JASON	F	4,500,000
LEGWAND, DAVID	F	4,500,000
BONK, RADEK	F	1,475,000
FIDDLER, VERNON	F	850,000
NICHOL, SCOTT	F	750,000
SMITHSON, JERRED	F	500,000
DUMONT, JEAN-PIERRE	F	4,000,000
ERAT, MARTIN	F	4,500,000
ORTMEYER, JED	F	750,000
TOOTOO, JORDIN	F	975,000
RADULOV, ALEXANDER	F	918,587
ZIDLICKY, MAREK	D	3,350,000
DE VRIES, GREG	D	2,500,000
HAMHUIS, DAN	D	2,000,000
SUTER, RYAN	D	3,500,000
ZANON, GREG	D	725,000
WEBER, SHEA	D	4,500,000
ELLIS, DAN	G	1,750,000
RINNE, PEKKA	G	547,500
SULLIVAN, STEVE	F - IR	3,200,000
Noteable free agents & AHL Players
PEVERLEY, RICH	C	RFA
GELINAS, MARTIN	L	UFA
HLAVAC, JAN	L	UFA
PIHLSTROM, ANTTI	L	567,500
HORNQVIST, PATRIC	R	713,333
KLEIN, KEVIN	D	RFA*
KOISTINEN, VILLE	D	RFA*

Our salary is already meeting David Freeman's promise of being the largest in franchise history at over $45mil. A roster full of talent, and as important as anything - we didn't lose anyone we wanted to keep.

This roster presents a few problems though.

FORWARD
Without even getting into the mess of having no true left wings (not counting Steve Sullivan) and few real natural centers, the team has 11 forwards under contract. Not a lot of room to add/drop, but still a couple of spots to have guys fight over. From last year's roster we have Martin Gelinas and Jan Hlavac as options. Of course we could also go after a free agent on the market... or dip into the substantial talent we have in the minors. From all accounts Patric Horvqvist and Antti Pihlstrom (pictured at right) are ready for prime time, and Rich Peverly has been up with the big club multiple times in the last two years.

Personally, my vote would be to pull up at least one of those guys - get them working in the NHL. You have the luxury of having two to pick from so if one isn't working out with an extended stay in Nashville you can swap them.

DEFENSE
Similar problem on defense. Six defensemen locked up, but good talent sitting in the free agent/minor league pool. DeVries is overpaid and Zanon wasn't great down the stretch but is still a bargain on his entry contract.

Personally, i think Ville Koistinen (pictured right) is responsible for making Zilicky worth keeping, and thus a must-have himself. Those two played great together when paired, especially on the power play. Klein i think is more valuable as a trade asset than on the ice right now. There are others deeper on the depth chart, but room needs to be made in front of them for any of them to see a shot at big league ice time this year.

GOALIE
Not much to say here. Set. Ready. Locked and loaded.

Ellis should be strong, though his one weakness will be his health issues. If the coaches try to push him through 65+ games next year i don't think he'll hold up. He had trouble keeping on the weight and only played 44 games last year (at times dropping 10+lbs every time he went on the ice). Rinne has been the 'goalie of the future' for a while, so this will be a great chance for him to get a lot of play time without having to carry the franchise on his still-young (but very sizable) shoulders.

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So yes, we're in great shape. We have needs (strong, scoring forward) but are in good position with prospects and assets to spare.

What are your thoughts? Do you want the Predators to trade for a big name? Bring up Horvqvist or Pihlstrom? Should they resign Koistinen or Klein?

Good story so far... and next season should be one heck of a ride.

Big Move! Preds Sign Ellis, Trade Mason!

On the eve of the draft, the Preds just traded Chris Mason to the St Louis Blues and signed Dan Ellis. (Tennessean article here).

You have to assume that this means they expect Ellis to be the clear #1 goalie, with Pekka Rinne being the frequent backup, given Ellis' health problems last year (couldn't keep any weight on). Mason will logically be Manny Legace's backup give the year he had last season.

No details on contract length or amount (just that it is "multi-year") for Ellis, but i have to assume that they are saving money here - certainly over what keeping Mason and Ellis both would have cost.

The Tennessean is reporting that it is a 2-year, $3.5 million deal ($1.5mil first year, $2mil second year - avg of $1.75mil per year for the cap hit). This means a little more budget cleared for signing Weber and hopefully another trade for a nice skilled forward or two to boot. Great opportunity for Ellis to prove that last year wasn't a fluke and the Preds don't have to overpay for goaltending.

If i would have guessed they would pull a trade to keep Ellis, i would have thought it would be to trade Rinne - i never dreamed they'd be able to unload Mason, though just a single 4th round pick in this years draft shows his value is far less than the contract. They found someone willing to have a very very high level backup and overpay them. Kudos to Poile.

I also just have to say it is with some sadness that i watch Mason walk away from Nashville. He supported the Preds staying in Nashville as much or more than any other player (certainly was more vocal) and the city owes him for that. See ya Mase. You will be missed. Best of luck in St Louis (unless you're playing the Preds of course)

Behind the Predators closed doors?

[If you haven't stayed up on the lawsuits that Preds minority owner Boots Del Biaggio is going through, read here, here, and maybe some other places...]

We may be about to receive a major peek at the negotiating that went on when the Predators and the Metro Sports Council negotiated the new lease terms as well as the details and deals worked out among the ownership group.

Metro/Davidson County (specifically the Sports Authority and Jon Cooper) have been served with a subpoena for documents related to William "Boots" Del Biaggio's new bankruptcy and lawsuit trouble.

The interesting part is that the subpoena actually calls for:

All communications, including documents transmitted, to or from William J Del Biaggio, II, any of his agents, employees, persons working on his behalf or for his benefit, or any group, partnership, or organization that includes Mr. Del Biaggio or in which he has an interest, concerning any negotiations or transactions involving the purchase or sale of the Nashville Predators or any interest therein.

Yikes. They have about a week to get all of this together.

The way that sounds to me, all documents the Sports Authority has discussing anything with the Predators will likely be involved, given that it must include any "organization or partnership" that Del Biaggio was a part of. I seriously wonder if the Preds ownership group itself will be getting a subpoena next. Might depend on what they get from the Sports Authority i guess.

I don't think the ownership group or the city purposely did anything illegal or even shady, but i think we may be about to get a fairly unprecedented look at the negotiating process and exactly how the financial situation between all parties was setup.

I'm thinking we should stay tuned for more...

UPDATE:
The AP is reporting that Metro will "hold off" on taking "action" action against the Predators organization. Apparently Larry Thrailkill, a Brentwood based attorney (who was once President of the San Francisco 49ers) advised the Metro Sports Authority that Del Biaggio was in default of his agreement with the city. Exactly how he's in default, and how that impacts the Predators isn't stated in the article, though it did state the the Sports Authority has promised to let the Preds "fix the situation", whatever that means.

This is a little surprising to me since we've heard multiple times from ownership and the Sports Authority that this shouldn't affect operations since they have already cashed Del Biaggio's check and his bankruptcy wouldn't affect the Preds. Only thing i can think is if the contract had a clause regarding criminal activity (he is being sued and investigated for fraud at the federal level).

The article also states that Preds lead owner David Freeman told the Authority that they were as surprised as everyone else at Del Biaggio's duplicity. (See Freeman's full address to the Sports Authority here)

Almost as interesting, the article also notes that the Predators themselves were apparently served with a similar subpoena to the one the Sports Authority received.

Stay tuned indeed...

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In related news, since i haven't actually posted on the subject myself, i'll chime in something that i commented in a few places: I think this is great for the team. The one concern myself and several other fans had was that Del Biaggio was just here waiting in the wings. Playing his role as a "good guy" and giving the Preds a chance, but was ready and waiting to buy out the team and move them to Kansas City, where he had a standing agreement with AEG to operate a hockey team in the Sprint Center. Or he could also have just been buying brownie points with the league to get his own expansion team later (something Jim Balsilie would be wise to learn if he wants in the owner's club).

But now of course, we don't have to worry about either of those possibilities (as Rob pointed out a few days ago). He isn't taking the team to Kansas City, and Jerry Bruckheimer wants an expansion team in Las Vegas and hasn't made any moves toward wanting to buy out any other teams. Which pretty much makes Balsillie the only shark circling in the water for the Preds, and we all know that Gary Bettman would have to resign as commish for that to happen.

Question: Boots Del Biaggio is clearly an idiot. How on earth did this guy expect to buy a hockey franchise out-right and move it to Kansas City if he's this broke? It's not like he would make money on the team here or there anyway. Someone this broke lying to get loans to buy something that isn't going to make him money...?! Dude. At least lie your way into something that will make you money next time.

The Faux Brummles

A few friends of ours dropped us an email a saying "A friend of Allison's (from work) husband is playing as part of a band on Friday night, do you want to go see them. The band is: Phil Keaggy, Dave Perkins, Lynn Nichols, Rick Cua, Mark Williamson, Mike Radovsky, Tom Howard, and several other players. Playing nothing but covers. Small cafe venue. $5 cover. Do you want to go see them?"

My response was essentially: "ARE YOU KIDDING?!"

And apparently i was so excited i completely neglected to invite Jamie, my dad, or anyone else who would appreciate seeing Phil Keaggy play with half of Chagall Guevera (and half the band that played on his amazing "Crimson and Blue" album) with some of the other best musicians in Nashville.

So, i'm a jerk.

Not only that, but i neglected to adequately test my Canon S3IS's ability to record REALLY LOUD music. It handled it better than my Sansa, but not quite as good as the old tape recorder in my pocket used to when i bootlegged every show i saw. Oh - and i also didn't think to take two SD cards, just a single 2GB job that could hold about 70min of video tops.

But at any rate, i recorded what i could. But i missed the last 3 tunes (including Rick Cua's one and only amazing bass solo) and the audio quality is poor.

However, even though the audio is fairly trashy, it unfortunately gives you an accurate feel for the sound that evening. REALLY LOUD and unbalanced. The drums and organ were way too loud, and you could barely hear Phil Keaggy's or Dave Perkins' guitars, or Phil Keaggy's and Mark Williamson's vocals. But all-in-all it was still pretty amazing.

I recorded video when i felt like i could. I didn't have a tri-pod and i wasn't sure they really wanted the whole thing video taped, so i just left it sitting on the table recording the lens cap and sound most of the show, and occasionally would pick it up and pretend to take still photos and shoot video of the band. I realized after the fact that they probably would have been fine with me setting up a tripod in the corner and recording the whole thing... lessons learned.

Anyway - here's a rough version of them covering the Beatles' "Get Back". I'll try to clean up the audio and post the whole show later.


The Faux Brummles from Paul Nicholson on Vimeo.

Note about the band name: They were the Faux Brummles...named after the Beau Brummels, a 'fake' British Invasion band that was really from the 'States. Since these guys weren't really a band, they figured they'd be a fake-fake-band. I took the misspelling of "Brummles" from the marquee out front, but who knows if that was a typo or intentional. They said if they ever play again it'll be under a different name, so don't look for them too hard in the future.

the return of Turbo

Overclocking PC's makes sense to me. Manufacturers send out PC components clocked to certain standard speeds that make sure the components operate well for long periods of time with no errors - but usually they could go faster if a few tweaks are made, so some people (as i have done a few times) change a few settings and boost the performance of their system a bit. Simple enough.

Some manufacturers even make 'pre-overclocked' systems where they take the biggest, baddest hardware available and push it even higher. They are sold at a high premium for gamers that want the absolute best performance possible.

But what i haven't seen since the 486 era is a turbo button. But check out MSI's new videocard - the 9600GT will have a big red "Turbo" button on it that will automatically overclock the card.


Why? If the card is stable enough to run overclocked, what person in their right mind would turn the "turbo" off? It never made sense to me back in the 386/486 era either.

UPDATE: To be clear - i know why they do this. It's all psychology. Just like Spinal Tap. 11 is one higher than 10, so if my amps go up to 11, then they are louder. If my video card has a turbo button on it, then surely it is faster than some old "normal" overclocked card.

I'm on Google News!

For those that don't know, Google News pulls stories from major news sites, but also pulls stories from blogs as long as they are authored by more than one person (like say, ghia's blog).

There are also a number of sites such as Bleacher Report and BallHype that aggregate sports blog stories and republish them together. The practical upshot is that post that a person makes on an individual blog now show up like they are posted to sites authored by many people, so Google News will search them.

You can also setup Google News to search for certain terms and display those results for you next to the pre-set categories (such as Sports, World News, etc). I have it setup to search for Nashville Predators news and guess what just showed up...


Look familiar?

Not that big a deal, i know. But i just think its cool that something i wrote would come up on Google news :-)

We're getting our U-verse!

I don't know yet if Christy and i will actually sign up for it, but sooner rather than later we will finally have the option of subscribing to AT&T's U-verse.

Bredesen just signed the bill that allows for state-wide cable franchising, which basically means AT&T can skip all that tedious mucking about in hyperspace with regional franchising in every county.

So now AT&T can offer U-Verse state-wide with the (theoretical) flip of a switch. Why is that so cool? Right now they offer a package for $92 a month that includes local phone service, high-speed internet, 200 channels of digital TV including HD, and an HD DVR. Wow.

Best of all, they have a build-your-own package that lets you pick and choose the channels you want, which would probably be what we do since we only want about 15 channels and would rather the rest not even be available (too much time-suck already). Those packages start at $77 per month including TV, internet, and phone.

That i have seen, AT&T has not yet announced when they sill start offering U-verse services in Tennessee, or in what markets it will be offered first.

All Predators games in HD "soon"

Good news Preds fans - more HD is on the way!

I had the "HD will do more for hockey than any other sport" discussion again last week. Between the ability to see the puck (sans glowing) and the ability to see more of the play developing on the ice (much of hockey actually happens away from the puck), the benefits of getting as much hockey in HD as possible are evident.

Last year, we Preds fans groused about not having more games in HD repeatedly. Center Ice didn't show the games in HD (even if they were available) and Fox Sports Net: South, which carried most games locally) only provided a relative few games in HD. The worst came in the playoffs, where Preds fans only got one game (on NBC) out of 6 in HD. Out of 94 Predators games played in the 07-08 season, only 23 were available in HD in Nashville (1 NBC, 1 Versus, 21 FSN-S).

We were told that most of the games weren't available in HD because there was 1) a limited number HD production trucks at FSN's disposal and 2) a limited amount of bandwidth and signal processing ability to simply handle that many HD feeds.

So, back to the "good news": FSN just announced that they will soon be opening a new signal processing facility in Houston that will allow them to "handle up to 40 live [HD] games per day". More importantly, they promise that "in 2009", they will be 100%, 24/7 High Definition.

Of course, that could take until December of 2009...or they could miss their target entirely. But the fact that they are making a concerted effort to get as much HD out there as possible is a good sign. And 24/7 means that even if the NHL is the last thing they support, it will be here eventually!

Side Note: If they can get all Preds games in HD sooner rather than later, and the NFL does indeed go into a lockout*, this could be a very good year for hockey in Nashville indeed.

*I like the Titans just fine, and wouldn't wish a lockout on other fans for anything. But from a strictly business point of view, you know having the NFL go into even a short lockout would be a boon to the Predators business. UPDATE: If the NFL does go into lockout, it won't be until the 2011 season.

Bus riding again

I love taking the bus, especially the afternoon trip home. Very relaxing, and they are surprisingly clean. (And for all you sheltered suburbanites, the ridership isn't scary.)

It's great to let someone else drive and i get to sit back and channel surf the radio or mess with playlists on my Sansa. But getting up just 30 min early is, well, tough to say the least. Especially when it's raining. But even the morning rides are well worth it. For instance, i get to make blog posts on my way to work. :-)

Of course, it is ridiculous that it is more efficient in time and money for me to drive from my house into downtown, park, then ride the rest of the way in to work. Not having any transfer fares makes the full system as a whole nearly untenable.

Erat joins Legwand as a long-term Predator

The Predators just announced that Martin Erat has signed a 7-year deal worth $31.5 mil. This would keep him here into the 2014-2015 season, one year longer than Legwand's deal. Tying up a young core like this is great. Both deals feel a little on the steep side right now, but given the growth, potential, and - more importantly - the rapidly rising salaries around the league, these deals are both going to feel like steals in a few years. Erat will be 33 at the end of the deal, which sounds pretty perfect to me.

Also, if my math is right (and the numbers on NHLnumbers.com are correct), this means that the Predators salary for next year is at approximately $40.4 mil - right at the salary floor for next season. Of course we are still well below the $56mil salary cap, which i don't think we'll be too near, despite David Freeman's promises of spending to win. We still have to sign Ryan Suter and Shea Weber, and hopefully go after a forward or two to replace Gelinas and Hordichuck (who i assume won't be re-signed). I'm thinking/hoping that Hlavich and Peverly are possibilities, but of course i also have a wish-list of stars that would be great to add. And of course we still have to work out the goalie issue with Mason and Rinne both on contract, but Ellis hanging around as the incumbent starting goalie.

I'm really looking forward to what Poile does the rest of the summer, and i'm glad we're getting these guys' contracts out of the way quickly (Erat is still at the World Championships for goodness sake).

Next year should be a good one. Grab your tickets now :-)

UPDATE: Erat's initial contract has been rejected by the NHL. Apparently the actual contract was loaded too heavily in some years and too lightly in others. My understanding is that for salary cap purposes, the total deal value is divided by the number of years to just give an average to be used for cap calculations - so i'm not sure why they made the contract this wonky. According to TSN, the original contract was arranged something like this:

08-09 - 3.50 NHL
09-10 - 5.25 NHL
10-11 - 5.25 NHL
11-12 - 6.00 NHL
12-13 - 5.50 NHL
13-14 - 3.50 NHL
14-15 - 2.50 NHL

Of course the eventual deal will be re-jigged and approved i'm sure. Strange that 1) it was this unbalanced to start with 2) the Predators weren't careful enough to know the NHL rules about salaries.

The other very interesting fact that came out is that apparently Erat has a "No Move Clause" go into effect in July 2009. That means that Erat cannot be traded, waived for a claim by another team, or assigned to the minors without his consent - even more strict than just a No Trade Clause. Wow. That i know of, the only other such clause Nashville has ever handed out was a NTC on Zidlicky's much shorter contract. Very interesting indeed.

Happy Mother's Day from the Predators

In yet another shining example that the Predators new ownership, management, and marketing teams clearly "get it", they just released this fabulous video for Mother's Day (which i think was clearly filmed a few weeks ago while everyone was still in town).



Happy (early) Mother's Day, mom :-)