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)

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.

Predators Lease Changes Pass Council

Unless i'm wrong, this is finally "it".

The Preds lease changes finally passed Metro Council.

The ownership has changed hands, lease changes negotiated & passed all governing bodies, and attendance marks met.

Now we can focus 100% on hockey!

(For the record, I'm not thrilled about the lease changes. I don't think they are really to the great benefit of the fans or the city, and only slightly to the team...but they are what the owners say they needed...and it keeps the team here. So that's that.)

Predators/Hockey News (with attendance update)

I was widely quoted as being a pessimist about the attendance for the Predators when i made this post back a few weeks ago (something about titling it "Bad News for the Predators' Future"). Since I posted that, i figure i owe everyone an update:

Through 28 games, the Predators had averaged 12,756 in paid attendance. In the last 5 games, the Preds averaged 14,190 in paid attendance (including a few sellouts that were at about 15,200 in paid attendance). That's a significant increase, and something to be proud of. That brings our average through 33 games to 12,973 per game. Still not where it needs to be, but an improvement.

So, now we must average 13,750 in paid attendance to reach the 13,125 needed to qualify for the revenue sharing we need. Looks like a very do-able number, especially since we've averaged well better than that lately (and the current race for the playoffs, free food night, and a few games against Detroit won't hurt).

Unfortunately, it looks like my other predictions from my earlier post were pretty accurate. Even if the Preds sold out every game from here on out (assuming that translates to 15,200 in paid attendance out of the 17,113 capacity, as has usually been the case) that would only pull the average up to 13,408. Far, far short of the 14,000 needed to keep the current lease intact.

So, it's a good thing Freeman and the new ownership crew finally got the new lease over to the Sports Authority after all. That agreement keeps the team here for at least another 3-5 years (depending on attendance) and I am beginning to trust this new ownership group to do what it takes to win over fans and businesses in the community...

UPDATE: A blogger on the Tennessean's website (only works in I.E.) is also reporting that the new ownership has rescinded the "cure clause" for attendance this year. Meaning that, technically, even if the new lease isn't put into effect and the 14,000 in paid attendance isn't reached, the team still can't move. The same blogger says that the Sports Authority will be reviewing (and voting on?) the new lease terms tomorrow morning. Still awaiting any official confirmation...

UPDATE 2: Just talked to my ticket rep and it looks like the March 20th Detroit game and the March 22nd Chicago game will be sellouts, and several other games are going fast. Looking good!

---

Which reminds me, it turns out that local good-guy Gordon David Freeman is the largest shareholder after all. He owns 32.63% of the team, while the "outsiders" from California, Boots Del Biaggio and Warren Woo own only a combined 31.58%. That is a significant change from what we were led to believe earlier.

The fact that the outsiders (with eyes for a franchise in Kansas City) don't actually own most of the team, with locals just holding a token share, really means a lot to me. Conspiracy theories about them just playing nice and having a plan all-along to move the team (and Freeman just being a guy they talked into being a local front/mouthpiece) aren't going to go away... but this sure looks better, especially when you take into account that the remaining 35.79% is owned by other Nashville locals (making the total local share nearly 70%). I'm kinda surprised the team hasn't made a bigger deal out of it.

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The first two sentences from an article in the Tennessean today regarding Martin Gelinas:

Predators forward Martin Gelinas will undergo surgery on Wednesday to repair his torn ACL, putting an end to his season.

Gelinas had suffered the injury Feb. 21 against Vancouver, but was hoping that — after the swelling had gone down — there would still be a chance he’d be able to play without the ACL this season.

Really? I'd love to have seen him try to play with a ligament completely removed from his leg. He's a tough player, but i don't think anyone would be able to pull that off.

On a more serious note, it is too bad that we've lost Jelly Gelli Gelinas for the season, and i honestly wonder if his career is done. He was playing very well for us this year, but he's getting up in years, and recovering from ACL damage this bad won't be easy, even for a fitness and conditioning nut like him. If he were under contract, i'd say he'll be back. But i don't know many teams that will take a 38 year old 3rd-liner recovering from a bum ACL. Great player, but that may be it for him.

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I didn't get a chance to watch the Washington Capitals clean the ice with the Boston Bruins tonight, but...wow. Of course, everyone's going to be talking about Ovechkin's 5-point hat-trick-with-2-helpers night, but just take a second to check out the box score. More than just the 10-2 slaughter stands out to me...

Boston players Zedeno Chara (who i have on my fantasy roster), Marco Sturm, and Phil Kessel all played 16 or more minutes (nearly 20 for Chara) but ended up even in plus/minus. Kessel actually ended up plus-1 for the night!? I know 4 goals were on the power play (so they don't count toward plus/minus), but 6 goals were at even strength! How do you end up on the bad side of a 10-2 drubbing and still end up plus-1 for the game? Wow.

Conversely, with 6 goals scored at even strength and only one even strength goal allowed against their team, Sergei Federov, Brooks Laich, and Alexander Semin somehow ended up minus-1 for the game. Ouch.

Ovechkin got his 5 points, but the Caps really spread the love tonight. Every single player in the Capitals roster registered at least a point (either a goal or an assist) except poor Jurcina and new arrival Sergei Federov.

Besides the horrible minus-1 and no points for Sergei in the game, he didn't draw a complete goose-egg on the otherwise packed box score...he had a single shot on goal. Woooow. I'm sure he was one of the 3 stars for this game...

Chara not only pulled off an even plus/minus for my fantasy team in this game, he also pulled in an assist, a shot on goal, and 9 PIMs. And someone just offered me a trade with him for Jonathan Cheechoo. Ha! Yeah right!

ya think?

Headline on CNN.com says "Fed chief's new fear: Inflation".

Ya think? Really? I wonder why inflation would be a concern? Would it maybe be because you lowered interest rates 1.25% in 8 days?

What blows me away too is how many people think this means their mortgage rates are dropping automatically, and proportionally. Guess what - they ain't. Not for a good long while at least. Mortgage rates are usually based on the bond market, which is completely separate from the fed rate (the fed rate is just the rate that the government and banks charge each other for overnight loans, etc). Now since the bond market usually goes up when the stock market goes down...yes, home mortgage rates will probably dip a bit. But there isn't a direct tie between them.

What blows me away about Bernanke though... He wants to lower interest rates AGAIN to try to stimulate the economy, but he's a little concerned about inflation if he does. Does this guy think he's working in a high school economics class project? It takes time for fed rate adjustments to turn into more cash in the economy. Even when you drop the floor out of the rate. And yes, dropping the interest rate that much in that short a time will give likely give us the wonderful combination of rapid onset inflation before we even see the economy actually get to recover.

I miss Alan Greenspan. :-(

not-so-secret ballot

I vote at Stratford High School in East Nashville. A politically active area, and one with a polling place that is very efficient. I have rarely had to wait more than 3-4 minutes to vote, but the area usually has a pretty good turnout.

However, the last three times i've voted, i have also had the pleasure of watching those before me cast their votes. It gives you that tight community feeling you understand...

You see, they setup the voting booths in the front lobby of the school, in front of the mirror-backed trophy cases. That's right - they setup the secret ballot voting booths right in front of a WALL OF MIRRORS! They have a blue tape line marking where you can't walk any closer to give people privacy while they vote. Problem is that i can actually see what they are doing better by standing back than if i was standing closer!

I've diagrammed (pardon the quick/sloppy artwork) the setup below:

I could see clearly what the guy was doing in the far left booth (as face the booths waiting in line). The fact that the booths were at an angle just made it that much easier to see.

When i mentioned it to the officials, they went over to the one person who i couldn't see (in the far right booth) and interrupted him in the middle of voting and asked him to stand a little closer - like he was doing something wrong!

All it would take is draping some butcher paper, posters, or sheets over the trophy cases. I've mentioned it every time i voted in the last three elections and nothing has been done.

I finally just looked up the contact info for the election commission - they don't have EMAIL!?! So, i just spend 15 minutes on hold on their general call in number (the pre-recorded message at the beginning wanted to make sure i knew they would be closed on Jan 21st for the MLK holiday). Finally i spoke with a general worker who was very polite and transferred me to Ms. Joan A Nixon's voice mail. I was assured that she would return my call. Her email is listed on the commission's website, so if i don't hear back from her soon i'll probably drop her an email.

I will update this space if they do ever contact me back or anything comes of this.

is the format war over?

Personally, i think it is fairly safe to call it. At 'worst' we might end up with a truce and both formats will survive in some capacity, but i don't think it'll even come to that. Sony finally beat the Betamax (and mini-disc, ATRAC, memory sticks, Super Audio, and UMD among many others...) curse and won a format war.

Blu-Ray is here to stay.

Blu-Ray had a huge boost in market share after Christmas, and still routinely controls 60%-plus of the high-def movie market week after week. Since the inception of both formats, Blu-Ray controls 64% of the market, and has controlled all 10 spots on the Nielsen VideoScan list of top titles every week since Christmas. It is also worth noting that many HD-DVD movies come bundled with the standard DVD as well, so the HD-DVD numbers may be given a boost by customers buying those copies for the standard DVD's, not the high-def format.

I even did a little research for ya. Here are a few interesting fact nuggets that lead me to believe in HD-DVD demise:

• Blockbuster has decided to go Blu-Ray exclusive in over 1,700 stores.
• You can get a Blu-Ray drive for your PC for under $200 now.
• Sony just announced a smaller and cheaper Blu-Ray laser system. Cheaper and smaller players should follow.
• Sonic (makers of MyDVD personal DVD making software) are halting production of Scenarist for HD-DVD. This is the professional-level application used to author (make menus, features, etc) many hollywood retail discs.
• Microsoft VP of global marketing recently said that the XBox 360, which has an optional HD-DVD add-on, may one day have a Blu-Ray add-on instead/as well.
• A german retail recently began offering a rebate/discount on the purchase of Blu-Ray players for people that exchanged (brought back) "old" HD-DVD players.
• Many retailers are shifting shelf space away from HD-DVD and toward Blu-Ray, making HD-DVD's available "for special order". Ouch.
• Woolworth's is making HD-DVD online only. Blu-Ray exclusive in stores.
• Warner Brothers elected to cease HD-DVD exclusivity, and is switching to Blu-Ray, and is taking New Line Studios (read: Lord of the Rings) with it. Many (including the New York Times) feel this is the death knell for HD-DVD.
• The only studio to switch from Blu-Ray to HD-DVD was Paramount Pictures (along with Dreamworks) back in August of '07. This switch prompted director Michael Bay to say that he wouldn't make Transformers 2 if Paramount didn't release it on Blu-Ray. Of course he later backed-off, but still...

Getting a handle on which studios are lined up fully in which camp would be tough, especially given the distribution rights for different territories, etc. However, I think one of the more important aspects of a format war is the ever-important Killer App.

Killer Apps for a movie format would of course, be movies. So, let's make a short list of movies or series with a major cult following that might compel someone to purchase a player for either format (in no particular order):

HD-DVD:

Bourne Trilogy
Serentiy
Dune
The Mummy
Shrek
Star Trek (movies and TV shows)
Battlestar Gallactica (TV show)
Heros (TV show)
Braveheart

Blu-Ray:

Pixar Movies (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Cars, etc)
Stargate (movie and TV shows)
Pirates of the Caribbean
X-Men
Lost (TV show)
James Bond (many not yet released)
Disney Animated Features (many not yet released)
Lord of the Rings (not yet released)

Both:

Monty Python
The Matrix Trilogy
Harry Potter
Bladerunner
Terminator
Superman Returns

Still undecided:

Star Wars
Indiana Jones
Firefly

So...spot anything you can't live without?

One of the other early deciding factors has been who is buying these players. It would be all well and good if all ABC sitcoms from the 1990's were released on one format or another, but if those people don't drive early adopter sales, then it won't matter.

Which brings us to another point: HD-DVD has been pushing massive price cuts for players and media. However, mass-consumer demand is still for normal DVDs. The only customers buying high-def format movies are early adopters and videophiles. Not the types that generally react well to red-tag sales and feature stripped players for low prices.

As of Jan 28th, there were 381 HD-DVD titles compared to 459 Blu-Ray titles available. Blu-Ray also adds more each week on average, and they tend to be more popular and "a-list" titles. Here's the "new release" list for the month of January as an example:

Blu-Ray:

• Shoot 'Em Up (New Line)
• War (Lionsgate)
• Resident Evil (Sony)
• Resident Evil Trilogy (Sony)
• Resident Evil: Extinction (Sony)
• 3:10 to Yuma (2007) (Lionsgate)
• Con Air (Buena Vista)
• Dragon Wars (Sony)
• Killing Machine/Shogun's Ninja (BCI)
• Man on Fire (Fox)
• Night of the Werewolf/Vengeance of the Zombies (BCI)
• The Rock (Buena Vista)
• Sister Street Fighter/Sister Street Fighter 2 (BCI)
• Sunshine (Fox)
• Breaker Morant (Image)
• Good Luck Chuck (Lionsgate)
• Mr. Woodcock (New Line)
• Suburban Girl (Image)
• Went To Coney Island On A Mission From God...(Starz)
• The Game Plan (Walt Disney)
• Saw IV (Lionsgate)
• Daddy Day Camp (Sony)
• Damages: The Complete First Season (Sony)
• The Invasion (Warner)
• Justin Timberlake: Live at Madison Square Garden (Sony BMG)
• Monty Python's Life of Brian (Sony)

HD-DVD:

• Mobsters (Universal)
• The Pianist (Universal)
• White Noise (Universal)
• White Noise 2: The Light (Universal)
• Zodiac: Director's Cut (Paramount)
• The Ten (City Lights)
• Channels (Vanguard Cinema)
• Method Man: Live from the Sunset Strip (Music Distribution)
• Strauss: Die Fledermaus (Opus Arte)

Both:

• Dispatch: Zimbabwe - Live at Madison Square Garden (WMG)
• King of California (First Look)

So. I've got my PS3 and am firmly in the Blu-Ray camp now. Pixar was my killer app, but Stargate, the 5th Element, Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter sure didn't hurt. Cars alone is worth the investment for me. If you haven't seen it in HD yet, let me know and i'll arrange a time for you to come over and watch it. It will blow. your. mind. Just make sure you put in a fresh set of contacts or clean your glasses well before you come over.

Ron Paul country

I just found out that Ron Paul was from Texas last week. Not sure how i missed that, given that i grew up in Texas.

Then today i found out he's from the Houston area (as i flew into Hobby today). Then found out when i saw this sign that we are in his district for my grandmother's funeral. And now I'm told my grandfather knew him.

I just knew him as the 'indie' kinda libertarian republican candidate. I gotta check him out now.

new air pollution law... maybe

According to the Nashville Post, we have a change to air pollution laws about to hit at the start of the new year that is explained thusly:

Places certain restrictions on open burning of wood waste within 200 feet of an unoccupied building by person other than the occupant of the building.

You wanna run that by me again? I can't burn wood near an unoccupied building unless i am the person who occupies the building? I know we pay our legislators too much... but... wow.

Of course, it could be a typo on the part of the Nashville Post. The PDF they link to which is supposed to be the actual law summary, talks about the state taking over federal programs when the feds budget comes up short. So i think it's just screwed up. Sounded funny to me though.

ok...here it goes

This is something i've thought about for a long time, but never posted, mostly out of fear of a 'sensitive' issue. Very few people do talk about it. But Kukla's Korner just linked to someone else talking about it, so i figured i'd chime in:

I have often wondered about the lack of minority players playing at least a partial role in hockey not being as quickly adopted in the southern (particularly south-east) US. When i go to games in Nashville, the vast majority of fans in the stands are all white. Like 98.5%. Meanwhile Titans games and other sports in town draw just about equally from the black and white communities. In cities where there is a large minority population (in some cases they are the vast majority, in fact) it makes an "all-white" sport a tough draw, economics aside. I wish it didn't, but i think it does. I've often wondered if the Preds would start drawing better if they traded for Ray Emery, Anson Carter, or maybe even Mike Grier (i'd love to have Jarome Iginla, but i don't think that's going to happen).

Outside of just the local team draw, i think the lack of diversity impacts the overall appeal nationwide. Many sports right now are heavily promoted/influenced/marketed with "black culture".

A friend of mine (who is black) told me he just got season tickets for the Preds. He was amazed. He'd never seen hockey live before and has absolutely fallen in love. He said he grew up watching nothing but football and basketball. He'd just never been exposed to it. I don't think that much is unique to him being black, just growing up in Nashville. But what i think is more unique is that, for those little kids who are 9 or 10 growing up...they look for role models. People they can relate to but want to emulate. Right now, as much as he may enjoy watching a game, there aren't a whole lot players for a 9-year old black kid growing up in Nashville or Atlanta to relate to.

I'm not saying hockey is doing it on purpose. I'm not saying that hockey can't succeed as it is now. But i really think that hockey would have a huge boost, especially in the southern US, if they could increase the minority presence. Many teams (the Preds included) are starting to run hockey programs for kids that can't afford it. The more accessible they can make it, the better. How might things look different if someone like Lebron James had decided he wanted to be the next Wayne Gretzky, not the next Michael Jordan.

Ok. There. I said it.
Let the flame wars begin...

Vote Preds

What he said. And he said.

Go vote on WMSV's poll asking if the Preds should stay or not.

Not that this poll matters a hill of beans, but it's easy to do. Why not. Go vote.

Peace vs. Environment

I have no problem with Al Gore's hypocrisy on environmental issues and being recognized for his work on the global warming issue. He might be the single worst polluter on the planet for all i care, and he could still be doing enough to warrant an award. I really just don't care. But Al Gore- and the UN commission - shouldn't have gotten the Nobel Peace Prize.

Peace?!

The award is for people who do major stuff toward Peace on Earth and Good-will toward Men. People who make other people stop fighting. "Humanitarian efforts, peace movements, advocacy of human rights, mediation of international conflicts, and arms control." Nelson Madella, Jimmy Carter...people like that. Al Gore and the UN did nothing that advanced the cause of Peace in the world.

If anything they all made people fight more, pointing fingers and stirring up arguments for those who think global warming is a hoax and those that think the world will end in a giant hurricane in 10 years. Not Peace.

I could even, maybe, see Gore and the UN group getting the Nobel Prize for Economics. Maybe even Physics. And i can definitely see a need for a specific prize for Environmental work. It is probably well needed, but someone would have to front the cash for the new award (like they did in 1968 for the Economics award).

But Peace?

Smoking Ban NOT Going Into Effect

So while i was at Laura Creekmore's birthday party at Beyond the Edge last night, i went over to talk Predators hockey with the manager, Joseph (I also thanked him for providing the great appetizers and other goodness for the party). While we were talking, i brought up the smoking ban and said i looked forward to being able to come to the new smoke-free version of Beyond the Edge.

He said they weren't going smoke free.
I asked if that meant they were going 21-and-up. He said no.

I was confused.

He said that he's seen stuff in the paper, but no one from the city, state, or any other group has sent them any notifications or dropped by to notify them of the change in the law. He said he and the other managers from East Nashville bars (i assume he means 3 Crow Bar, Red Door East, 5-Spot and Lipstick Lounge) are going to keep allowing people to smoke and will not ask anyone to leave until they have been notified by officials of the change.

Now, i'm all for smoke-free. I love the idea of being able to go to Beyond the Edge and watch a game and not have to keep the clothes i wear in the garage until i wash them. But this combined with the cities recent renaming of streets downtown without actually telling everyone has me wondering who's failing miserably at their jobs. Small businesses should be notified about any changes in codes or laws that apply to them once they have received their permits, etc.

Hopefully Mayor Dean's administration will be a little more prompt about reporting such things.

on owners, franchises, and moving

Interesting article on ESPN.com this morning.

Basically the people that bought the Seattle Supersonics recently are talking about moving the team to Oklahoma City. The two things that make this particularly interesting to me are two statements the owners make:

1. "But we didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come [to Oklahoma City]...We know it's a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but we think it's great for the community and if we could break even, we'd be thrilled."
2. "[The city of Seattle have] got 60 days to make some decisions they haven't been willing to make in the past year, and if they make them in a way that satisfies Clay, then the team will stay there."

Statement #1
I find this one really interesting. It is based on the premise that they want to move the team to OKC knowing that it will not be profitable, knowing that it will 'fail' by many standards, but it is worth it for the city. This sounds a lot like the talk we've been hearing from the local Nashville group that wants to buy the Predators. The leader of the group has even come out and said he is not and was not a hockey fan, but wanted to buy the team because he knew how important they were to Nashville. I find it interesting how this concept is being used. Especially compared to the more normal franchise ownership talk - which brings us to #2.

Statement #2
Statement #2 contradicts statement #1, and gets to the real issue going on here. This is pretty clearly a traditional case of ownership threatening to move the team if they don't get a sweet new arena built for them. Statement #1, in this case, is just a smoke screen to give them an excuse of where they could move. To pressure the city to build a new arena, they have to have a plausible threat of moving. On its face, no one really takes the threat of moving to OKC seriously. It would be financial suicide. So they have come up with some reason for moving to OKC. "The good of the city" sounds good. Now...why wouldn't they keep the team in Seattle for the good of that city?

That is one thing i have appreciated through all this ownership hype. The Predators already have about the best arena deal a team can have. The arena is still relatively new, is just getting an upgraded scoreboard, etc. So the debate has actually, for once, been for the merits of the city, fans, and team at true face value. It isn't about getting a new arena built, it is about profitability, fan support, and the value of a franchise to a city.

And i like the way things are turning out so far :-)

senator whitehouse

I was listening to NPR this morning and caught the name of a senator that i'd never heard before. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.

What was really funny about this is that the story was about Sen Whitehouse pushing through legislation to restrict the communication between the White House and the Justice Department.

But rather quickly the piece kept flirting with turning into an Abbott and Costello sketch. "Senator Whitehouse was frustrated at the White Houses' lack of cooperation" and so forth.

Now we just need:

Chief Justice Peter Congress
President Richard Senate
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Representative David Justice

These jokes would write themselves.

chris mason for vice-mayor

Someone just commented on this flickr photo of mine, that they just voted for Chris Mason for vice-mayor of the city as a write-in.

I don't think Chris is even eligible, being Canadian and all, but it sounds like a good idea to me. I get to show my general distaste for the current political landscape and the offerings i have to choose from, but still cast my vote - all while supporting the Predators!

This wouldn't be the first time, mind you. Me and a few friends of voted for a co-worker as a write-in during the last election. I don't even remember what office it was for.

real deep thoughts

I recently decided to change my blog title. It used to be "sthguoht peed", and someone suggested "Deep Thoughts" as an alternative. Aside from not liking the implied SNL reference, i didn't think my blog had really lived up to the standard.

This latest post from my sister does.
Go read it.

Really great post Amy. You're dead on. Even with all this stuff back and forth with different people about hockey in Nashville - such a shallow topic - it amazes me how quickly people can get thrown into mad bouts of insults. Conversations that should be civil and general get really personal and vicious.

I am reminded of a thought in Rob Bell's book Velvet Elvis (which i just started reading). I certainly don't agree with everything i've read so far, and i haven't even gotten half-way through. But early in the book he discusses people with intensely fixed, immovable, inflexible beliefs that they fell can not be challenged without risking the loss of their whole belief system.

He describes a letter he had received from such a man at a seminary asking for support and trying to recruit badly needed "defenders of the faith". He said he realized that so many Christians (and people in general i think - pick your topic) get so caught up in talking about how right their fixed ideas are, which of course after a while leads to talking about how wrong everyone else is, which then leads to defending their own belief system and a vicious cycle is started. He provides the alternative that, rather than attack and defend, why not focus on your living life the way you feel it should be lived, and occasionally ask people to join you? I think the idea is that 1) no one idea should be that important to your existance and 2) if you have a good thing, you shouldn't have to attack/defended others to get them to see that. Twelve steps groups have a similar theory. They never actively promote themselves because they believe in attracting other people who want what they have, and when someone is ready to accept it, they will come on their own.

How rare is that kind of thinking though? There are whole industries - and political systems - based around the idea of one set of people being right and everyone else being wrong and the arguments that ensue.

This is one of the things i really like about the 'old' Everlast song "What It's Like" (video, lyrics warning: mature language)(i know nothing of the artist other than this one hit wonder) It's a very impactful song about people on the other side of hot issues. Homelessness, abortion, drugs...they are all very personal issues that we have a tendency to turn into blanket, altruistic ISSUES.

But particularly these types of situations are really never that simple. But it is so easy to look at someone from a distance and assume they are an issue. Ask a homeless person how he became homeless. The answer will not be simple. But it is so easy to look at a panhandler and assume he is a lazy bum that chooses to drink liquor instead of do something better (i know - i've done it). But it is never that simple. Same with any abortion. I have never heard of anyone that liked abortion, never talked to a woman that went through it that said "that was great, you should all try it". But so many times there are people who believe abortion should be illegal who have no compassion for people in those situations. The are unable or unwilling to look at the person and realize that they are not just an ISSUE. Now ability to show the person compassion and save the argument another day.

The amazing to watch people cross the line, too. People so fixated on an ISSUES that when someone they know as a friend crosses the line, they are shunned. Rarely are they embraced as imperfect, wounded humans. They are now one of "them".

Like Amy said. People are not ideas. We should react to the people and the circumstances, not the ideas and ideals that we may prize or hate.

If my idea is that great, people will follow. But i'm ok even if they don't. It doesn't lessen my belief or happiness. Not if i don't let it.

predators hit the road

A bit of an update from a post back in Feb.

The Tennessee legislature finally got around to approving a license plate for the Nashville Predators.

Great timing guys.

They have to pre-sell 1,000 plates before they'll actually start making them. No idea yet if they have a sample design, but i made the graphic to the right back in Feb, and it'll probably be something like that.

My understanding is to contact your local county clerk if you want to order one. I'll try to call this afternoon and see what it takes and how much they'll cost (proceeds go to the Predators Foundation).

Now the question is, do i get one of these for the Rabbit, or one of the antique car plates i now qualify for...

predators benefit concert

SaveThePredators.com has organized a concert to support keeping the team in town. The show will be on July 10th at the Rutledge and feature Small Time Rock Stars (who frequently perform as the house band at Predators games), Kink Ador, and others.

The part that i think is really great is how they are working this. The concert is a benefit for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee - that also supports the Preds.

Here's how it works: proceeds from the $10 ticket price will go to buy Predators tickets, which will then be donated to the Boys and Girls Clubs. So while i don't think you could exactly use this as a direct tax write-off, it's a genius way of supporting the Predators and the community all at the same time.

See you there!

save the rally for later

Copied from a few posts i've seen around today (and heard rumor of earlier this week):

According to SaveThePredators.com there will be NO "Save The Predators" fan rally for June 16th. That's is the weekend for the Bonaroo festival. If you see any on-line fliers, etc. just disregard them.

There IS a huge rally in the works for mid-July that 104.5 The Zone and the Chamber of Commerce (among others) are putting together.

Stay tuned.