POTG Radio Podcast with Mick Kern and Tuesday Tidbits

I have to admit that I really enjoyed last night's POTG Radio with Mick Kern more than most of the shows we have done. Being an avid fan of the XM's War Room, it was a blast to ask Mick about stuff that I have been curious about at XM Home Ice and about the man himself.

The show was Mick's first "on-air" show since early July and it is obvious that he has really enjoyed his time off. He admitted that talking hockey for the first time in a while started to get the hockey juices going for the first time since last season.

It was a wide ranging conversation that was not completely focused on current events. We had good discussion on Donald Fehr's potential job with the NHLPA and how Expos fan Mick was affected by the 1994 baseball strike that occurred under Fehr's leadership.

We also discussed media access for bloggers and how it would differ in Nashville and other more traditional markets where space is a major issue. Another point considered was the downside of access and things that many folks don't consider in covering an event.

There were plenty of other topics discussed that I'm sure you will find interesting. We ask that you join us with the player below or on iTunes.

Listen to internet radio with PredsOnTheGlass on Blog Talk Radio

In Pred Nation...

In a move that will put the Nashville Predators toward the front of the pack in the "blogger friendly" category, the Predators announced a "Blogger Row" initiative to try to increase the coverage given to the team since there is a minimal amount of coverage in the mainstream media. Dirk Hoag has a good synopsis and commentary about the bold move by the Predators.

Barry Trotz appeared on the Thom Abraham show Monday afternoon and Dirk has the audio clip. Forechecker also has a new fan confidence poll that will run until Wednesday. Chris Burton has the season preview for Patric Hornqvist.

Justin from the Goalie Guild has an in depth look at the Predator's situation in goal at School of Block.

Slam Sports looks at the Central Division and asks if the Pred's defense can replace Dan Hamhuis.

Terry Crisp is featured at the Lightning's site highlighting his tenure in Tampa Bay.

The Predators are looking for National Anthem singers. Go here if you are interested in a tryout.

Kovi's Korner...

The new Kovalchuk contract will not come without a cost to the team and it appears that Travis Zajac could be the odd man out.

Sportsnet reports that the deal should be OKed by the NHL. The big question at this point is when. This morning we hear from @JeffMarek: It sounds like the Kovalchuk decision will come down today NHL.

Here's a different take on the Kovalchuk contract from Intent To Blow that relates to the "when" aspect.

Around the NHL...

A new mystery buyer has moved to the forefront in the purchase of the Phoenix Coyotes. Rebekah has more on the situation with Ice Edge Holdings and their Thunder Bay and Phoenix situation.

The NHL Network has a new programming head and plans significant upgrades this season. Puck Daddy has the details.

Nikolai Khabibulin will have his sentencing hearing on his DUI conviction this afternoon in Arizona. Will the Oilers try to void his contract?

Matt Reitz compares the Capitals to the Sharks. How is that? Read on.

Bob Wage steps in at From The Rink with an interesting goalie analysis from around the league.

Ryan Porth has the top five improved teams from over the summer.

Adrian Dater takes a look at the Hall of Fame worthiness of several players who will be eligible in the next few years. There are some close calls here.

ESPN reports that while the Mark Savard trade rumors have gotten quieter, it doesn't mean that the Bruins aren't still trying to trade him. That nasty footnote in the arbitrator's ruling has made it a more difficult situation.

Here's something we haven't heard much about from @EJHradek_ESPN: NHL's CBA with refs/linesmen expires Aug 31. The sides r talking. NHL says nothing dramatic happens if they can't reach agreement by then.

AZ Vibe Sports has the audio of Lee Stemniak's conference call on his new contract. At a $1.9 million cap hit for two years, it will be a bargain if he can continue his late season form.

Here is a video recap from the NHLPA with George Laraque and Dan Hamhuis on their trip to Haiti.

Patrick Hoffman advocates an end to the shootout at RLD Hockey.

Michelle Kenneth reports that Paul Bissonnette will return to Twitter. His new Twitter name was active last night and caused quite a stir with folks signing up quickly. Check it out at @BizNasty2point0. He picked up 1000 followers within the first hour and was over 2500 early this morning.

Odds and Ends...

POTG recently became available on the Amazon Kindle. This piece compares the Kindle to the Nook, iPad and Sony Reader.

Boise State no longer has the ugliest football field now that Eastern Washington has come up with this bright red field.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

POTG Radio Tonight with MIck Kern and Monday Wrap-Up

We have had quite a run this Summer with excellent guest during the off-season but none will be better than XM NHL Home Ice's Mick Kern who will be joining us tonight.

During the season Mick is the man who stirs the drink on the War Room, one of XM 204's liveliest shows. If you don't have an XMradio, Mick's show is worth the price by itself. Mick has been on vacation for some time this summer so I'm sure he has a few things on his mind.

Mick is a loyal Montreal Expos fan, even following the team since they have moved to DC. I'm sure his biggest disappointment was the premature end to the 1994 season when Montreal was on a roll. With Donald Fehr leading the baseball payers then, I'm sure Mick will have a few thoughts about the NHLPA's potential hiring of Fehr for the upcoming labor negotiations.

This is a show that I've looked forward to for a while and I'm sure you will find Mick to be one of our all-time top guests.

Please join us tonight at 7 p.m. Central at the following link or on i Tunes.



In Pred Nation...

Jim Diamond reports some progress in the negotiations between Cody Franson and the Predators. At least they are talking.

Jas Faulkner has part two of Fanwanking in Nashville with a look at the front office and coaching staffs.

The bargain player of the year for the Predators last season, Marcel Goc, is previewed by Chris Burton.

Forechecker's brain teaser for the weekend is what Predator players would you protect in an expansion draft. Dirk was also up early today with his Monday Breakfast links.

Sam at Predsblog is up to Patric Hornqvist's goal number nine in his one to thirty series.

Paul McCann has all the details on the Peterson for Parkinsons events coming up in the next couple of weeks. Jim Diamond also adds insight into the event.

Section 303 is asking for your vote for best blog and throws props out to a bunch of other folks too in the Nashville Scene competition.

Bryan Mullen offers up a story about the R and D camp in Toronto week before last. I guess his editor held the story up for about ten days. There must have been too many Titan's articles to squeeze it in before now.

Cody Franson isn't the only unsigned RFA, Ryan at the RLD has the others.

Journeyman Brett Palin, who is probably slated for duty in Milwaukee, has been working out in Kelowna with the Rocket rookies.

Kovi's Korner...

Will today be the day that the NHL finally give approval to the alleged 15 year $100 million contract that has been submitted for review?

Michelle Kenneth has spent some time studying the original arbitration ruling in the Kovalchuk case and has some interesting observations.

Around the NHL...

Paul Kariya will sit out this season with post concussion syndrome. At 35 years of age, it is somewhat doubtful that he will play again.

The annual Rookie Showcase that is put on by the NHL and NHLPA in conjunction with hockey card companies will be this Wednesday in Toronto. The Pred's Jon Blum and Chet Pickard are wo of the 23 potential rookies that will appear.

Adrian Dater gives his thoughts on the potential Donald Fehr hiring and explains the issues within the NHLPA fairly well. Escrow is the elephant in the room among the players that no one wants to discuss publicly.

Brian Costello feels that a bad economy will keep the NHL and NHLPA from having a strike in two years..

@IceEdgeDJ: Ice Edge is holding a press conference in Thunder Bay on Monday. They plan to
announce a new ECHL team in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Ryan at The RLD has his top five rookie picks for your fantasy draft. Ryan also made the announcement on his free season preview PDF Book that he does every year. It is always top notch.

Michelle Kenneth is starting a 4:00 Trivial contest on Twitter. Here are the rules.

Blake Benzel has an early Central Division preview at Wild Nation while Clayton Hansler previews the division defensemen at Hockey Quarterly.

Eric McErlain has interesting comments in the aftermath of the whole Puck Daddy credentialed blogger discussion last week. Eric is probably as close to an expert in the matter as anyone having penned guidelines for credentialing procedures that were later adopted by the Capitals.

Nikolai Khabibulin was convicted of DUI in Phoenix on Friday and could face jail time at his upcoming hearing. Phoenix is probably one of the tougher jurisdictions for DUI punishment with their famous tent city.

The Ottawa Senator's team doctor was critically injured in a motorbike wreck on Saturday.

A couple of signing on Sunday include Lee Stempniak in Phoenix and Sam Gagner in Edmonton.

Odds and Ends...

I'm not into high dollar spa type Bed and Breakfast places but this one seems particularly intriguing, especially since I like Sedona so much.

Dwight Schrute's latest blog is about Lilith Fair and is far from being PC. He attended a stop on the tour expecting farm animals and was disappointed.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

POTG Travelogue Loves Venice Beach and Dogtown and Friday Wrap-Up

There is no better setting for people watching than the wide walkways of Venice Beach in Los Angeles. While other places have interesting people, Venice moves to the top of the list with its paradise-like setting.











If you stroll for a mile or two you can see almost anything and be entertained by a myriad of buskers and entertainers. There are wall to wall shops with county fair type hucksters luring you into their shops.

If you have a headache or some other medical issue the Marijuana Doctor is always in and can (legally) take care of your problem with a prescription for medical grade weed.










Muscle Beach is world renowned as the place where the Govornator got his start as a tough guy in his movie career. It's a great place for wannabe muscle men to pose for pictures. There are also bike trails, freestyle skate areas, and a skateboard bowl that where world class skaters practice.











It is hard to draw a line where the area known as Dogtown begins and ends. Originally, it was an area around and inland from the long gone Pacific Ocean Park which sat between Venice and Santa Monica up until it was razed in the mid-seventies.

The old pier was a popular surf spot for locals and was where the Z-Boys got their start. The old Zepher Surf Shop at the corner of Bay and Main is considered to be the birthplace of modern skateboarding and was immortalized in the movie Lords of Dogtown.

Today, Horizons West Surf shop is in part of the building with the other part sitting as a tribute to an earlier era with plenty of pictures of Skip Engblom, Jeff Ho and all the neighborhood kids like Jay Adams, Tony Alva, Stacy Peralta, and others that went on to be skateboard legends.


Bicknell Hill, where the Z-Boys used to practice their downhill, is now a busy street leading to a beach parking lot. From its crest, you can get a surreal view of the Santa Monica Pier with the mountains in the background.












If you ever are in Los Angeles, you owe it to yourself to make plans to spend a few hours in the Venice/Dogtown area that is conveniently located just to the north of LAX. You will be happy that you did.

Tweetup at The Sounds Game...

Thanks to all those that came out to the Tweetup at the Nashville Sounds game last night. Everyone that came had a good time with a reason to get out of the house. The pace of the baseball game had all the attendees ready for the Preds camp to open to see a little more spirited play.

Next summer off-season, we will try to get more outings together for baseball and of course, the Nashville Rollergirls.

In Preds Nation...

The unsigned Cody Franson is the man of the day at On The Forecheck. Other news at OTF is an announcement that Ryan Miller has joined their team and will provide reports from Milwaukee on the Admirals. Ryan was previously one half of the Admirals Short Shifts team along with Eric Kent.

Mark from The View From 111 mad it home from the Tweetup in time to get his weekly My View published.

For those looking for something to do this weekend, check out Nashville Predators Day at the Nashville Zoo on Sunday. J P Dumont and Wade Belak will be there.

Kovi's Korner...

Dmitry Chesnokov reported late Thursday that the KHL is becoming more of an option for Kovalchuk as the contract talks appear to have stalled in New Jersey.

Intent to Blow has raised a little known article of the CBA that is keeping the Devils from signing Kovalchuk.

Around the NHL...

Greg Wyshynski has an interesting post about a couple of franchises trying to push their anti-blogger stance on the rest of the league. Jake Duhaime has additional commentary on the Puck Daddy post at Inside Hockey. Michelle Kenneth adds her perspective that even refutes some of what the Rangers stance was reported to be in the Monday conference call that was the basis for the whole conversation. Later in the day Wyshynski obtained an email copy of one proposal that appears to be on the table for credentialing bloggers.

Jeff Marek points out the strategery involved with the Fehr announcement during the Hockey Summit. If the leak could have come out right before Bettman's speech, it would have been more effective.

The Sporting News reports that Bill Daly is allegedly pleased that the NHLPA s getting a leader, even if it is Donald Fehr.

Sean Leahy at Puck Daddy unveils Yahoo's top 100 Fantasy picks for 2010. Pekka, Weber and Horny are all listed.

Ryan at the RLD continues fantasy week with the Top 5 Bang for the Buck.

Michelle Kenneth has a Mixed Bag of her own thoughts on the Olympics, the world and the KHL.

Matt Reitz has an interview with Jeff Angus from Dobber Hockey.

After Wednesday's TV schedule release, Steve Lapore has the good and bad of what was done.

The NHL is exploring getting involved with women's hockey in order to avoid having it dropped from the Olympics.

Puck Central has a history lesson on "Potvin Sucks."

Odds and Ends...

There is a tussle between two separate ventures as to who will stage this year's Maverick's big wave event. It appears to be big money vs the green crowd.

Angela from The Office discusses Michael leaving and much more.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

A Missed Opportunity at the R and D Camp and Thursday Thoughts - Tweet-Up Tonight

With the NHL's Research and Development camp a week behind us, I have come to realize that what I feel is the most pressing issue in the NHL was not even addressed.

Once again, it is time for me to bitch about overtime games being worth three points while regulation games are only worth two. This time I have a little different take on the subject as a result of what was done at last weeks camp.

One of the more popular experiments at the R and D Camp was the addition of five minutes of three on three hockey after the initial five minutes of four on four play in order to avoid as many games being decided with a shoot-out.

There was also a piece where the goalies would change ends for overtime in order to bring the "long change" into play which historically has led to more scoring in the second period of games. This move would also be done to cut down the number of shoot out games.

While I like both of these suggestions, I feel that changing the points system to three points for a regulation win and a 2/1 split of points in overtime and shoot-out games would bring more of what fans desire into the game than anything else and it would require no on-ice changes.

As it currently stands, when a game is tied past the 10:00 mark of the third period, you see many teams act like a turtle and suck back into a defensive minded, low risk scheme, in order to get to overtime and take home at least a point for evening's effort.

The Predator's Barry Trotz is a brilliant tactician and is the master of shutting down the opponent, not only at the end of the game, but also in overtime because he likes his chances in the shoot-out with Pekka Rinne in net.

Conversely, if all games were worth three points, and a team was playing a conference rival, a completely different mindset would exist at the same 10:00 minute mark. With a chance to put an extra three points on a lead over an opponent or the chance to make up three points in the standings, you would see the equivalent of playoff hockey as the clock wound down in a tie game.

This would kill two birds with the same stone. You would have fewer games decided in a shoot-out and you would see the addition of playoff-style hockey throughout the season.

While I think it is a great idea, I don't see it being adopted simply because the league likes the fact that the current system rewards mediocre teams and allows them to stay in the hunt for a playoff slot further into the season. Gary Bettman has repeated this reasoning each time he has been asked in recent years.

This week's change in the tie-breaker rules to not include shoot-out wins was merely an appeasement to folks that think as I do and is a clear signal that nothing of substance will change in the point totals any time in the near future.

Unfortunately, the NHL is missing an opportunity to bring more action into the game and have fewer games end up being decided in a one-on-one skills competition.

Tweet-Up Tonight at The Sounds Game...

Please join a group of us going to the Nashville Sounds game tonight. I have been talking to the Sounds and they are a bit baffed about the Tweet-up concept and aren't used to such a loosely tied group coming together for a game.

They are perfectly clear on how to see 25 tickets to one person who will give them to everyone else, but are devising a plan for everyone to show up and buy tickets and then sit together. I should hear back with answers by noon today and will post the info at the Twitvite site as well as on Twitter. If anyone has additional questions, feel free to contact me.

In Pred Nation...

The Predators announced the signing of Taylor Beck to a three-year, entry level deal yesterday.

The Preds site has Tom Callahan interviewing David Poile after the Patric Hornqvist signing. According to Cap Geek, Hornqvist will make $3 million the next two seasons and $3.25 million in 2012-13 for a cap hit of $3,o83,333 for each of the three years.

Chris Burton continues the player's series at On The Forecheck with a look at Marty Erat.

Section 303 has the news of another installment of "Bumps and Bruises" at Zanies. Last year's event was a huge success. I'm sure tickets will go quickly.

Ryan Porth's five fantasy breakout players includes a Predator. Guess who.

Paul McCann checks in on the Hornqvist signing and several other issues.

SBN Tampa has a post about last week's Twitter episode with Dan Ellis and others. It looks like Codey from Section 303 is now the poster child for the abused fan.

The AHL schedule was released yesterday and the Milwaukee Admirals have a back-end loaded home schedule, playing only six games at home in the first tow months. Here is a PDF of the full slate.

Kovi's Korner...

Early yesterday there was a false rumor started with this post claiming that a second Kovalchuk contract has been rejected. By the end of the day, Gary Bettman and Bill Daly confirmed that only the structure of a deal was discussed but no formal contract had been presented.

Chris Wassel has his take as the Devil's Examiner.

Puck Daddy reports that the KHL is still courting Kovulchuk and Dmitry Chesnekov confirmed that possibility on The Program Radio show last night with Chris Wassel.

Elliotte Friedman has some interesting thoughts on the CBA and Bettman's hammer.

Around the NHL...

Liz Mullen broke the news that Donald Fehr had agreed to accept the head of the NHLPA late yesterday on Twitter. This is the second big hockey story in a row where she was the first to report.

The hiring of Fehr sent shock waves through the hockey community and it was no accident that it was announced while the whole hockey world was in Toronto at the Summit. Betman threw down the gauntlet with the Kovalchk rejection and this is the NHLPA's response. Bettman vs. Fehr will be a match of two of the most ruthless negotiators in the sports world and the real possibility of a lockout looms in the summer of 2012.

Puck Daddy looks back at a few items in Donald Fehr's past that led to the premature end of the baseball season in 1994. Fehr will have his work cut out for him as the NHLPA is very fractured at this point and the escrow payments are killing many of the players on the lower end of the spectrum. Mirtle has more at the Globe and Mail.

The NHL national television schedule was released and the Predators have only one game set, that being at the Bridgestone center on Thanksgiving Eve. Steve Lapore at Puck The Media has all the breakdowns and will have further analysi today. He is the unmistakable leader on all things media in the NHL.

Willie Mitchel signed with the Kings to help solidify their blue line and the Lightning signed Randy Jones and re-signed Steve Downie.

On RLD Radio Tuesday Night, Matt Reitz was a guest and we discussed the potential signing of Mitchel by the Kings. Here are his same thoughts in a post.

Damian Cox has a criticism of the World Hockey Summit not having more NCAA involvement. Ex-NHLPA head, Paul Kelly should have had a voice at the shindig.

Tapeleg agrees with Gary Bettman for a change on his "mixed bag" reference at yesterdays session of the summit.

Canucks Hockey Blog has the video of Gary Bettman's talk yesterday at the summit in Toronto. They also have a good recap of Day three's activities. Mirtle has some interesting banter from Brian Burke in this post about NHL Olympic participation.

There has been an addition of an AHL/NCAA doubleheader on December 30 at CONSOL Energy Center before the Winter Classic.

Here is a Q and A with Greg Sansone, the head judge for The Scores Drafted 2 contest. If you haven't voted lately, click on The Schwartz's picture above and vote again.

Intent to Blow leads us to the second consecutive day of having a Kyle Wellwood comment. It appears now, he will work for food. That might cost more than the NHL minimum. #KyleWellwoodIsSoFat

Odds and Ends...

Where would you think the worlds largest traffic jam would be? It is in China, between Beijing and Inner Mongolia and stretches for 60 miles.

The Cash for Clunkers Program is now showing it's longer term effects with used car prices soaring 30%.

Here is a different, easy to use site for tracking satellites that is much easier to use than the one I have used in the past. The International Space Station should be easy to view tonight for folks in Tennessee.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Predators Almost Ready for Camp with Hornqvist Signing and Wednesday Wrap-Up

The Nashville Predators have almost completed their off-season signings yesterday by bringing Patric Hornqvist into the fold for three more seasons. Codey Franson is the only remaining unsigned player that the Preds need to sign in the next few weeks before camp officially opens on September 17.

Most Predator fans realized that Hornqvist would eventually be signed at some point, but getting the deal finalized takes any of the uneasiness out not having your leading scorer from last season fully engaged leading into the month of September.

Hornqvist is thrilled to be signed and is ready to return to Nashville. Jim Diamond caught up with the winger last night and published this interview at the Examiner.

In retrospect, with the numbers involved in the three-year $9.25 million deal, it makes more sense as to why the negotiations took as long as they did. The general consensus was that the deal would be in the neighborhood of $2.5 million per year based on several comparable signings and arbitration awards.

While a half million dollars a year is no big deal to some teams, it is an agonizing amount for the Predators who look for value in every signing. Adding the new contract to figures at Cap Geek as well as NHL Numbers puts the Predators in uncharted waters with a payroll in excess of $47 million with Franson and a second goalie still to be added.

A key to the signing is that Hornqvist will still be an RFA at the end of the new contract so the Predators will have the last chance to retain his rights for an additional season if they desire.

Predator fans should be pleased with the monetary commitments that the organization has made both on and off the ice over the last couple of months. With the Del Biaggio situation resolving, new blood in the front office, and the addition of a few players, the team is in the best position that it has seen in the twelve year history of the franchise.

In Pred Nation...

There was no shortage of thoughts on the Hornqvist signing yesterday. Dirk Hoag, the Forechecker and Section 303 were in the lead in confirming the signing before the Pred's release. The original story broke in Europe at Sport Bladet. Dirk followed up with an analysis that supported the higher than expected price for the Swede.

Brian Mullen at the Tennessean spoke with David Poile after the signing was announced. Here is a second story with some additional facts.

Mark Willoughby, Predsblog, Predlines, and Jas Faulkner all had stories and perspectives about the signing.

Sam at Predsblog pondered the Predators at the Titans game on Monday. That is what we plan to do at the Tweetup at the Sounds game tomorrow night.

Paul McCann has a few random notes including potential free agent signings by the Predators. Would Kyle Wellwood really be able to fit in the Pred's locker room? (Harkens back to the #KyleWellwoodissofat meme on Twitter).

The Predators are offering two free tickets to a preseason game if you go here and fill out a form.

Forechecker has the story of the last rites for the Sommet Group. He also has a look ahead for J P Dumont.

Amanda at Predlines has her weekly Central Division round-up.

Good news on the Tennessean hockey beat from @RapSheet: Congratulations to my buddy @joshuacooper, the new Nashville Predators beat reporter the Tennessean.

Programming Note...

For the second night in a row, I was involved with an extended podcast, this time a a co-host on Ryan Porth's RLD Radio. Guests were ESPN's John Buccigross and Matt Reitz from View from My Seats. The Hockey Guy's Anthony Curatolo was also a co-host.

Buccigross wsa very candid in the discussion about ESPN being desirous of picking up at least a part of the NHL Package when it comes up for bid at the end of the season. He also accused me of sounding like Nolan Ryan.

The discussion with Matt Reitz was interesting with a roundtable of viewpoints on winners and losers from the summer, the R and D Camp and several other topics.

With the summer winding down, there is no shortage of hockey talk as everyone is getting pumped for the opening of camps.

Listen to internet radio with Ryan Porth on Blog Talk Radio

Kovi's Korner...

Intent to Blow has a story that the Devils have resubmitted the Kovalchuk contract along with a new birth certificate showing that he is four years younger.

Around the NHL...

Day two at the World Hockey Summit brought many tweets of yawns and boredom. Concussions were a big topic. Sounds like it was unanimous that folks were against them. Duh!

On the international front, IIHF President Rene Fasel and I seem to have a common opinion. We both don't want to see the NHL venture into Europe.

Bil Daly appeared on XM Homeice's Hockey This Morning with Mike Ross yesterday and gavethe best explanation that I've heard of the contracts that are under investigation. The interview did not get posted on their Facebook page but hopefully will be up today. Update - Here is Part 1 and Part 2.

I know I will be listening to Part Two of The Rink Podcast 64 with Tapeleg and Ryan Classic today at work. The first part was a good one but they assure me, this half is better.

Ryan at the RLD continues Fantasy Week with five players to avoid in your draft.

The well liked Aaron Ward announced his retirement on Tuesday. He will be missed in the hockey community.

Anthony Perez takes a look at the Coyotes line combinations as they stand heading into camp.

After a ten day delay, the NHL national TV schedule will be released today. Steve Lapore will have the schedule and analysis once it comes out.

We are starting to see some value signings that will really help a few teams. After Aaron Asham signed with the Pens on Monday, we now see that Raffi Tores has signed with Vancouver.

Odds and Ends...

More fear-mongering from the national Underwriter who claims the "big one" is headed to California soon. They also mention that only 12% of California homeowners have earthquake coverage. This confirms what a guy told me when I was in San Francisco that no one caries coverage because the premiums are too high and the deductibles start at $50,000.

It is interesting to see Tony Hawk and his friends skating a normal backyard pool at a foreclosed house.

Have you ever heard of Jatropha? It is a plant that produces large amounts of bio-diesel jet fuel.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Predators Re-Sign Patric Hornqvist to Three Year Deal

After a long summer of gnashing of teeth by Predators fans, the announcement finally came that the team had locked up Patric Hornqvist in a three-year deal worth $9.25 million. Cody Franson is now the only unsigned RFA for the Predators.

The deal is higher than expected with several equivalent players signing one and two year deals in the $2.5 million per year range but could turn out to be a steal for the Preds if Hornqvist continues to develop as he did the second half of last season.

The signing pushes the Predators into new territory with a cap hit over $47 million according to NHLnumbers.com with Franson and a second goalie to be added to the figure.

Here is the full release from the Predators...

Preds Sign Hornqvist to 3-Year Deal

Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has signed forward Patric Hornqvist to a three-year, $9.25 million contract.

Hornqvist, 23 (1/1/87), became the first Nashville draft pick to score 30 goals for the club, leading the team and registering the fourth highest total in franchise history in the category in 2009-10. The Sollentuna, Sweden native tied a franchise record and tied for second in the NHL in game-winning goals (8) last season and also led the club in power-play goals (10). In 2009-10, he also tied for the team lead in points (30g-21a-51pts) and set a franchise record for shots in a season (275).

Hornqvist experienced a 28-goal increase from 2008-09, making him just the second player in the last nine seasons to experience such an increase (minimum 20 games in the first season). The 5-11, 186-pound forward had the fewest NHL games experience (108) and the lowest average ice time (15:41) among the NHL’s Top-20 goal scorers in 2009-10. He posted five multi-goal games, tied for the third-highest single-season total in franchise history and paced all Nashville skaters in plus/minus rating (+18).

Nashville’s seventh choice, 230th overall (seventh round), in the 2005 Entry Draft, Hornqvist is the ninth of 43 players selected with the final pick of an entry draft (modern era, since 1969) to go on to play in the NHL. He is one of only three players picked last overall to play at least 100 NHL games and score at least 20 goals. Hornqvist also skated in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, playing in all four games for his native Sweden.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

POTG Radio Podcast with Joe Yerdon and Tuesday Tidbits

Last night's POTG Radio Show was two full hours of pure hockey talk that covered a wide range of topics.

Joe Yerdon, who is the editor of NBC's ProHockeyTalk as well as his is own site at Gross Misconduct Hockey, was one of the most interesting guests that we have had on the show.

We covered a lot of ground over the course of the show. If you listened to the first hour live, you need to catch the second hour on podcast as we got into some topics that Joe was passionate about including RPI hockey, the struggles of the University of Alabama-Huntsville team, and the potential for the growth of hockey in warm weather sites.

Earlier in the show we discussed some interesting things that NBC (and eventually Versus) have planned to have a better presentation once their coverage starts in January.

All in all, it was a substantive show with a guest who was passionate enough about the sport that we finally found the end of the amount of time that BlogTalkRadio will allow for the show. Luckily, we were about to end when the show cuts off abruptly at the two hour mark.

We ask that you join us with the player below or download from iTunes. It will definitely be some of the best hockey talk you will hear today on all the recent events in the hockey world.

Listen to internet radio with PredsOnTheGlass on Blog Talk Radio

In Pred Nation...

There is a new 303:30 from Section 303 that includes David Poile, Kevin Allen and Adam Proteau. I listened yesterday and is is good stuff as always.

Forechecker has a oood story on hockey in Italy of all places.

Nate Rau reports that the completion of the sale of the Boots DelBiaggio share of the Preds has been pushed back into next month due to "procedural issues." This should not be a surprise to anyone.

Chris Burton looks at Francis "Cube" Bouillon's outlook for the coming season.

Jim Diamond has all the information on The Best Buddies of Tennessee 5k set for this Saturday.

Here's news that Milwaukee fans can't do without from @JonAdmirals: Proud to welcome the one of a kind Village People to the BC on Dec. 3 after Admirals Hockey. Gonna be crazy fun!

Preds fans with kids won't want to miss Nashville Predators Day at he Zoo this Sunday.

Kovi's Korner...

Finally, some real news for the Korner as Dmitry Chesnokov reports that all sides got together and submitted a deal at the NHL offices and a new contract could be announced later today. E. J. Hradek appears to have broken the original story on Twitter. Later in the evening, Bill Daly indicated that there had not been a contract submitted. Maybe they are waiting until after the shindig in Toronto to make the announcement.

Around the NHL...

Matt Reitz, who will be a guest on tonight's RLD Hockey Radio, along with John Buccigross, has a great piece on NHL Ticket Prices (actually it is by Amanda Fortier). Thanks to Ryan for asking me to co-host his show once again.

The World Hockey Summit got underway last night in Toronto. Jeff Marek wraps up the first day's events and sees no hope that anything material will come of the four day event. Puck Daddy has an interesting video with Brian Burke at the end of the night.

Something's Bruin has an interesting read on the recent PensionPlanPuppets/Sun Media fiasco.

Spector's Hockey reports that Christobol Huet will play in Switzerland this season. He appears to be another victim of the current CBA that would not allow him to renegotiate a contract with the Hawks.

Ryan at the RLD has the top 5 fantasy comeback players.

The Sporting News has a panel of Kevin Weekes, Brooks Laich, and Doug McLean look at the off season moves.

Adam Gretz starts a five part series on non-traditional areas that are producing hockey players and starts with the West Coast.

Dave Ogrean previews the World Hockey Summit at HTM Home Ice.

From the Point thinks that the Aaron Asham signing by the Pens is a great one and I agree. When the Flyers were here last season Asham really stood out as a hustling energy player with some skill.

There is a move afoot to charge Philadelphia bloggers a $300 tax for the privilege of blogging whether it is for profit or not.

Cam Charron makes the case for a World Cup of Hockey at The Hockey Writers.

Dennis Kane has a nice piece on Gaston LeBois at Hockey 54.

Here is an Inception style trailer for Slapshot at Inside Hockey.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes

POTG Radio Tonight with Joe Yerdon and Monday Highlights

We are another week closer to the start of training camps opening and we have a fine show tonight on POTG Radio to help those in need of a hockey talk fix.

Tonight we will have Joe Yerdon of NBC's ProHockeyTalk site as well as his own site at Gross Misconduct Hockey as our guest. We will discuss a wide variety of topics including the start of today's World Hockey Summit, last week's R and D Camp, a Kovalchuk signing (probably not), and anything else that comes to mind from the world of hockey.

We'll also take a few calls from listeners if you have a burning topic or a rant that you want to get off your chest.

Please join us tonight at 7 p.m. Central at the following link or on i Tunes.



In Pred Nation...

Puck Daddy released the Mt Puckmore for the Predators yesterday as written by Dirk Hoag. I'm in full agreement with Poile, Trotz and Weber but feel like David Legwand is more of a face of the franchise than Tomas Vokoun. Leggy was the original Pred's first draft pick and holds almost every record for longevity with the team.

Dirk also was hanging out in the family van doing a video and asking the question about where Colin Wilson will fit in in the line situation in the coming season.

Jas Faulkner starts a series of re-introducing the Nashville Predators to to the world. She is a great writer that always is an interesting read.

Jim Diamond takes a look at what is available at the Predators store at NHL.com and finds several curious items.

Codey at Section 303 reviews the demo from NHL 11 that came out last week. Jackson is chomping at the bit for the September 11 release.

David Singleton makes an extensive argument for Marty Erat to start taking one more shot per period in order to produce points up to expectations.

Chris Burton has the preseason preview of Wade Belak and includes the video of the beat down that Belak gave Donald Brashear a couple of years ago. Brashear was never the same after that.

New guy, Anthony Neal, has five questions with a Sabres blogger at OnTheForecheck.

Rachel at What The Puck went for Slapshot last night as her summer hockey movie selection.

Paul Nicholson put up a few pictures from last week's Tweet-up at Otters. Make plans to attend the Tweet-Up at the Sounds game this Thursday.

Ryan Lambert at Puck Daddy puts a bow on the Dan Ellis "specialist" twitter-sation last week.

The Predators have been reaching out to the kids at the Boys and Girls Club with their "Kids on Ice" program.

Kovi's Korner....

Tick, Tick, Tick... I guess the status remains quo.

Around the NHL...

The World Hockey Summit gets underway this morning in Toronto. This is the perfect made for dog days event that will bring hockey folks from around the world together to mull over topics that they have no specific authority to change. At least it should generate some press and some discussion during a very dead time of the year.

Ryan Porth caught up with Ryan Kessler for an wide ranging interview at RLD Hockey.

The NHL held a conference call with several ladies last week to discuss the issue of women's clothing available through the NHL. Courtney Beckham has a summary of the proceedings. The league is to be complemented for listening to the fans on this one.

One of the more interesting things to come up in a while is Cam Janssen calling out Krys Barch on Twitter. Barch responded and it appears to be on for October 16th. Janssen also has a bloodied Barch on his background just to raise the level a knot or two.

The NHL is considering a change in calculating the first tie breaker to sort out standings at season's end. Instead of overall wins, they will now use wins in regulation added to overtime wins. Shoot out wins will not count in the tiebreaker.

From @reporterchris: Canadian Tire has signed a five-year sponsorship deal with the NHL. They'll present the Heritage Classic outdoor game. From @NHLschuylerb: Welcome Canadian Tire -- the League's new partner and Official Sporting Goods Retailer of the NHL in Canada. They also announced the launch of Canadian Tire Hockey School.

Chris also posts a story about Jonathan Toews being ready to drop the puck again ion spite of the short summer.

The Hockey News sorts out the winners and losers of the off season. I'm surprised that they have the Blackhawks as the most improved. I don't get it.

Bruce Ciskie has a bost about the feud between the NCAA and the CHL. Maybe they'll sort things out at the World Hockey Summit this week.

After all the discussion about Tomas Kaberle and his no trade clause kicking in, now based on this TSN piece, he may be ready for a trade anyway.

It seems too early to talk about the 2011 Entry Draft but having all the prospects in for the R and D Camp has Ryan Kennedy looking at the top three at this time.

Cult of Hockey has some interesting numbers on a list of news folks and their Twitter followers. Other than Forechecker, they miss the other Nashville Tweeps with formidable numbers.

Nordique Nation is on the rise looking for the NHL's return to Quebec.

Adrian Dater has his early division winners and stirs the pot by picking Phoenix to win the Pacific.

Patric Hoffman has an email interview with Dee Karl, the Isles Seventh Woman.

Music City RollerGirls...

Bad news for the Nashville Roller Girls over the weekend in Pittsburgh. The Steel City Squad beat the All-Stars 182-69 while the Brawl Stars also lost 54-46. In a pick up bout in Bowling Green this Saturday, the Nashville Lower Broads will play the Vette City women at 6:30.

Odds and Ends...

If you have a dog, keep him muzzled. Dog bite claims are skyrocketing and you will probably get canceled if your dog nips someone. Also, if you own a trampoline and your insurance company finds out you may also be in line for cancellation.

The Nashville Sounds will face trouble in the future holding on the AAA status unless they find a new stadium in the next few years. It looks like the Brewers will change to Oklahoma City art the end of the year. We have been to the stadium in Oklahoma and it is very nice.

The oil spill in the gulf is now invisible and a half mile underwater.

For implosion buffs, here is the end of an era for the FLP smokestacks and power plant in Port St. John, Florida.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Our Weekly Travelogue Heads to the New Age Capital of Sedona and Friday Wrap-Up

This week's travelogue feature takes us to one of my favorite places on earth, Sedona, Arizona. Located just south of Flagstaff at the end of the beautiful Oak Creek Canyon, the red rock views are spectacular.

It is one of the few inland places where I am content to stay a full week due to the number of things there are to do and see in the immediate area. There are an unlimited number of hiking trails that vary from easy to strenuous. Two of my favorites are Cathedral Rock and Bell Rock as both provide spectacular views along the way.

Sedona is also a well known spiritual hang out for the new age crowd. There are numerous places that are known as "vortexes" where there is said to be special energy given off by the earth that is supposed to be uplifting and places the visitor in a peaceful condition. I don't completely buy into the hype but I do always seem to be at peace at the vortex sites.

In 1987, 5000 folks showed up at Bell Rock for the "Harmonic Convergence" that was supposed to be the beginning of the era of peace and tranquility. It was thought at the time that a large spaceship would emerge from the rock and take everyone to the Andromeda Galaxy.













There are also tons of family friendly activities includes a visit to Slide Rock State Park where there is a natural water slide for kids and adults to enjoy if you can stand the cold temperature of the water.

From an historical standpoint, for those interested in Native American remnants, there are numerous ruins and petroglyph sites in the area that are really interesting. A side trip to the former ghost town of Jerome is also a treat.












There is also the architecturally significant, Chapel of the Holy Cross built on a hillside on an alleged vortex site. It is open daily and one of the most popular spots in town.

There are plenty of opportunities to shop ranging from trinkets and T-shirt shops to high dollar places like Tiaquepaque and Exposures Fine Art Gallery. A trip to both is required whether you are prepared to spend big bucks or just look at what the rich and famous would buy.












At the end of the day, the sunsets are spectacular. Airport mesa and the smaller airport mesa vortex site (on the left going to the top of the airport road) are good places to enjoy the end of the day. I like the vortex site the best. If you go there, say hello to Steven, the Native American, trinket huckster, and tell him Buddy from Tennessee said hey. You might get a special discount.

There are also no shortages of restaurants of all types in Sedona. Our old stand-by for the family has been Canyon Breeze. There is a huge deck overlooking a hillside of red rocks that gives a great "reverse sunset" and the prices are reasonable.

For more upscale dining Dahl and Di Luca is great for Italian, Heartline Cafe is unreal for eclectic foods, and the Cowboy Club is the best for steaks. Those are our favorites but there are plenty of other restaurants that are also good.

If you ever go to Sedona, it will become one of your favorite spots to visit. It is highly captivating and will almost guarantee that you will want to return.

In Pred Nation...

Last night's Tweet-Up at Otters on Music Row was a great success. Thanks to Tom Callahan and Jay Levin for getting it organized and bringing a few prizes. About 25-30 fans attended and I was pleased to meet several new folks and hang out with old friends that I don't see much away from the rink.

If you missed last night's Tweet-Up or didn't get enough, join us at the Sounds game next Thursday for an unofficial Tweet-Up of Preds fans.

Again, Mark at the View from 111 has some scary stuff in his weekly "My View" column.

If you missed it yesterday, Forchecker has an update on the Patric Hornqvist contract negotiations. Seth Lake takes a look at the defensemen in the Preds camp that must clear waivers before being sent to Milwaukee. Something will have to give in this group.

Chris Burton has higher hopes for Jonas Anderson in the coming year than I do.

Jeremy at Section 303 wants the NHL to quit messing around with the rules. He also evaluates the rule changes after the lock out.

Nathan at Predlines sets up a few rules with explanations for the coming season.

From Kevin Wilson with the Preds, "Though the Flames and Oilers will be putting out official releases on these changes, we wanted to inform you that there have been time changes to a pair of Predators road games. The games were pushed back due to TSN’s exclusivity window for national broadcasts in Canada." 1/24 Calgary and 3/1 Edmonton both used back to 7:30 local time.

Alan Bass has a post about Pred's prospect Taylor Beck.

Rachel at What The Puck has part one of her summer recap.

Kovi Korner...

The silence is deafening. Fire and Ice reports that the status remains quo.

The Hockey Writers brings all the Devils news to a head in this post.

Around the NHL...

While the second day of the Research and Development camp ended, The Hockey News took a look at 10 rule changes through history that changed the game. Don't expect major changes to come anytime soon but a few tweeks are possible in the future. Hybrid Icing may be the most well liked option.

One by-product of the camp was a good look at the top 17 year-olds that will be in next summer's draft. California may be another hotbed of talent.

Chris Wassel comes up with his own Mt Puckmore for the Devils.

Ryan at the RLD knows what he would do if he were the NHL commissioner for a day. Today, he will has an interview with Ryan Kessler at the site.

Puck Daddy has his own set of player inspired rules that probably were not a part of the NHL R and D Camp. He also has news of a "yellow line" addition to the goal line to help the TV review in the war room.

Brian Burke has a good article on what makes hockey different from every other sport and a suggestion on how to grow the game.

Tapeleg has a new post featuring a game worn Ivan Tkachenko jersey.

The AHL and the CBc have agreed to a ten game TV package on Sunday afternoon. No word if the NHL network will air them in the US.

Odds and Ends...

Now we are talking. If you are going to KFC you obviously want a good dose of fat and grease, So why mess around. Check out the new concoction they are testing, the skinwich.

From @LetThereBeLH: Warning to FB friends: If you check me into a place as a joke on FB Places, I will check you into every strip club and bong shop in town. The ability to tag someone when you check in is a big problem to me...it completely removes the discretion I think is at the heart of LBS. Good point.

Science takes another hit as the entire black hole theory may be proven invalid by a new mega-star.

Finally, someone has developed a "Can We Date" flowchart. It seems about right.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Sidney Crosby Speaks at The NHL Awards Show and Thursday Updates

Today, we have a video from where Sidney Crosby spoke with the press after being awarded the Mark Messier Leadership Award and Sharing the Rocket Richard Trophy with Steve Stamkos.

The most interesting thing in the video is while Sidney is being announced, our own Pete Weber asks him "So how important is Frank Buonomo in your life?" Sidney grins like a possum and responds, "Really important!"

Buonomo is the Senior Director of Operations for the Penguins who used to be with the Predators public relations and team services department. At the Awards, he was leading Crosby through the maze backstage at The Palms.

It's always interesting to see players get a question that they don't expect, especially when it comes from a jovial Pete Weber.




In Pred Nation...

Puck Daddy reviews The Hockey News picks for non-playoff teams and takes exception with the Preds being left out of the top eight but adds, "Look, there's no shame in leaving the Predators out of the playoff mix. It's as much rite of autumn as pumpkin picking and the Detroit Lions at the bottom of their division."

Jim Diamond discusses the G.O.A.L. Program. He also directed us to an interview with Francis Bouillon on my favorite summertime hockey station, the Team 990 in Montreal.

Paul McCann has a few thoughts and notes including a discussion of the great things that the Predators Foundation does.

Icethetics is as confused as anyone about the alleged "new" Preds jerseys for the coming season.

Rachel at What The Puck discusses Dan Ellis's Tweets from Tuesday that seemed to have a lot of folks in an uproar.

The Blue Jackets picked up ex-Pred Ben Guite. From @TReedDispatch: Guite said he signed with #CBJ in part because there's no established 4th-line center and there's a new coaching staff.

For what it's worth, Bleacher Report has a Preds preview. Joe Yerdon had interesting commentary about the value of Bleacher Report yesterday on Twitter saying "Bleacher Report is what gives any blog a bad name because you can point to 1000 different things on there written recklessly" and much more.

Very slow news day when you look at a video of Gnash's summer job.

Kovi's Korner...

Today marks Day 50 in the Kovalchuk watch. What are you doing to celebrate (or ignore).

Bill Daly broke his silence on Wednesday to confirm that several contracts are still under investigation.

Around the NHL...

Chris Johnson from the Canadian Press has the best look at what was accomplished on Day 1of the NHL Research and Development Camp. It appears that the hybrid icing rule was the most well received demonstration.

Here are the latest details of the NHL Network's coverage of the R and D Camp. Last night's show was interesting but by the fourth time it ran, back to back, the wife was getting a bit edgy.

Our friend, Launy "The" Schwartz has a huge article about him at CJN. We can't wait to get bootlegged copies of Drafted 2 from The Score to see him in action starting next month.

Tapeleg is alive and well and has a new post at Jerseys and Hockey Love. I'm looking for part 2 of Episode 64 of The Rink Podcast today.

Joe Yerdon questions if the Spokane Chiefs have gone too far with the fifth outdoor game of the year now being scheduled. For some reasone, I don't think of Spokane when I think of outdoor hockey.

Michelle Kenneth writes about Kevin Weekes chance encounter with Justin B**ber at the airport and the effect on Kevin's Twitter account. I agree with her argument about the NHL reaching a different audience through pop culture icons, but not B**ber. He is the epitome of everything evil about marketing to pre-teen girls.

Eric Duhatschek has a look ahead to Monday's start of the 2010 World Hockey Summitt. With news being slow right now, this is a good thing to do to bring hockey to the forefront in the dog days of summer.

Ryan speculates on the top five destinations for Kevin Bieksa and admits that it's a slow news day to be discussing the topic.

Forbes is reporting the Star's sale may be close with a huge $275 million price which includes half of the arena.

Several players in the sports world speculate on what additional entity could develop their own cable network.

Odds and Ends...

Zagat is losing credibility with me as they put Five Guy's Burger ahead of In-N-Out Burger in the Best Burger Category of a recent survey. In-N-Out did win the Best Food Among Large Chains distinction.

Kids entering college this fall (including my son Fisher) see the world differently according to this annual Beloit College report.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass