Wednesday started early today with a breakfast meeting with a long time friend, Don Redden, who is leaving town and moving to Virginia to complete his seminary degree at Liberty University. I officially gave him a send off with our blessings and prayers for his future. Unbelievably, out of the blue (not a pun), Don presented me with a classic blue Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. Thanks again Don for the great good-bye gift!
Later today at 6:00 CDT, I will be on Eric Smith's Fire the Cannon TalkShoe internet radio show previewing the Predator's upcoming season. Eric writes for HockeyBuzz as the Columbus correspondence as well as for Fire The Cannon. I get to sit on the other side of the microphone for a change and be the grillee as opposed to being the grillor on POTG Radio.
In the Desert...
As the case in Phoenix moves toward the September 10 bid date, each hearing seems to become much harder to describe. Following the tweeters yesterday was difficult as there was little continuity between each entity as they approached the bench.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was in the courtroom and at one point the NHL lawyers said he was there to testify that the team could not be moved this year. Judge Baum rejected that idea saying that it was not a date for evidence to be presented. I bet Gary felt a bit small with that comment (That is probably a daily feeling for him).
The big news that came out of the hearing was that the largest secured creditor, SOF Investments advised the court that they had reached an agreement with the Jerry Reinsdorf group on how their debt could be handled if he was the successful bidder. This is a considerable breakthrough for the Reinsdorf camp.
Here are a variety of stories that cover the hearing from different perspectives, NHL.com, The Hockey News (Canadian Press), The Toronto Star, and The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail also has a piece on the anti-trust issue that the NFL is having with American Needle that Mark from The View From 111 wrote about a while back. Five for Howling has the hometown view of the hearing.
Mirtle had an interesting post that is indicative of the problems with the day to day operations of the Coyotes where charter service for the coming season is even a controversy with ex-owner Jerry Moyes.
In Preds Nation...
Leading off, and as follow up to the above, Mark from The View From 111 has more perspective on the Ballsillie bid and situation in Phoenix.
From USA Hockey, in the first of four US-Russia games, Pred Prospect Zach Budish scored for Team USA in an 8-1 rout of the Russians.
John Glennon writes that it is a buyers market for the remaining NHL UFAs at Inside Predators.
He also wrote that Nikolai Zherdev may not be headed to the KHL as has been widely reported.
On the Sully front, it appears that Steve is back in Nashville and has joined the Vanderbilt Legends Club as this tweet would indicate @Sully26: Going to play Vanderbilt Legends North course tomorrow for the first time as a member and not as a guest! Hopefully golf will not aggravate the back.
Dirk at On The Forecheck has a good assortment of Breakfast Links today.
Jim Diamond at the Examiner pays homage to Puck Daddy's five reasons to like hockey with his own list.
Around the NHL...
The Patrick Kane saga keeps getting stranger and stranger. His court date has been pushed back to August 20 so he will be in the Team USA Olympic camp on Monday. His lawyer, Porn superstar defender Paul Cambria, is claiming innocence for Kane. The focus has also turned toward the cabbie who may not be properly licensed and has had a history of DUI problems.
Stay Classy has a good post about the cabbie getting Kane'd. I love the play on words. Mirtle also has a good perspective piece on Kane.
Tim Rosenthal gives us a heads up to this NE Hockey Journal post that says that BC and BU will meet on the Fenway sheet of ice on January 8. Tim followed up with BU and tweets "Just spoke with the hockey contact at BU they can't confirm or deny the report. Any official announcement comes from Fenway"
Just south of here in Huntsville, Alabama, the UAH Hockey team has been denied entrance to the CCHA and is now the only NCAA Division one hockey team not in a conference. This is being decried nationwide as a really bad move by the CCHA. Even more surprising is that UAH is the host for the 2012 Frozen Four that will be held in Tampa. You would think that the CCHA would be interested in the prestige of a member holding the championship.
More Later...
Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass
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