POTG Friday Headlines, News, and Links

Another week of the dog days of summer has almost been conquered as the entire North American continent is sweltering under oppressive heat where places as far north as Toronto are setting all time high temperatures.

Yesterday brought bad news for Pred fans as you will see below that good guy Frankie Bouillon is not doing well. Good news was that my favorite restaurant hangout from the mid 1970's is not going to close after all. Sad news is that the space shuttle program is no more.

For these stories and much more, make the jump to the rest of today's post...

In Pred Nation...

Jim Diamond reports that Frankie Bouillon's recovery has suffered a setback. It sounds like we can rule him out for the opening of camp. The original article has more info about J.P. Dumont and Steve Begin's lack of nibbles too.

Amanda DiPaolo has a nice feature story about Garrett Noonan, the Predators' fourth round pick in this year's draft who is returning to Boston University for his second year.

Robby Stanley offers three suggestions for who should wear the "A" now that Sully is gone. I think David Legwand would be a front-runner. Robby also ponders the possibility that Nick Bergfors could be this year's version of Sergei Kostitsyn.

Mark Willoughby gives fair warning to those reading this week's "My View" as he holds nothing back.

This morning, Dirk Hoag is measuring the hate level for other teams among Predator fans in a new poll.

Scott Ford and Chris Cahill are returning to Milwaukee for another year.

The call is out for memories of Nashville's hockey history. I was privileged to be involved as a part of the video early this week. I am really looking forward to the final product that Jeff Cogen discussed at the SOTU.

Laura Astorian has good things to say about the Preds, the Preds' fans, and the marketing efforts in Atlanta.

There is a new service out to measure the confidence level of a team's fanbase. The Predators page needs more people to get a more accurate level. 

I normally don't link Bleacher Report but this post is one that Preds fans will like since they say Pekka Rinne will win the Vezina next year.

Around the NHL...

Yesterday's arbitration hearing was avoided with Brandon Dubinsky and the Rangers coming together on a four year deal $16.8 million.

With Jhonas Enroth signed in Buffalo, all thirty NHL teams appear to have their goalie tandems set.

Scott Burnside explains why the offer sheet is basically futile on established players.

Adam Proteau asks some rather off the wall questions to all 30 NHL teams.

RLD Hockey looks at the turning point of the 2005 draft that sent the Penguins on the road to greatness.

Anthony Perez offers good commentary to the fact that Glendale's mayor decided to have a total meltdown at this critical juncture in the Coyote's fight to survive in the desert.

While things are not well in Arizona, St. Louis owner Dave Checketts sees a new owner for the Blues by the start of the season.

Waune Gretzky's son Trevor signed a contract with the Chicago Cubs.

If Marc Savard gets a day with the Stanley Cup (which he is) then his name should be on it.

Speaking of the Cup, Tomas Kaberle had a rather bizarre celebration on his day of the cup.

Sean Fitz-Gerald has 20 questions with Agent Don Meehan who has Sergei Kostitsyn as one of his clients.

Winnipeg has scrambled to get a new TV/Radio deal with TSN. Not bad for the new team.

The story of the tragic death of Derek Boogaard just keeps getting worse. His brother Aaron was arrested on Wednesday for perscription drug fraud dating back to the day his brother died. There have been no connection made between the two incidents.

Retiring numbers always opens debate, especially in Toronto.

Odds and Ends...

It was a sad day for workers at the Kennedy Space Center as the shuttle Atlantis was towed to the processing center for the final time after a perfect landing in the dark skies.

Good stuff here. Buzz Aldrin punches a nut job who says he did not walk on the moon.

Michael Dell is considering Google+ Hangouts for customer support. Would you rather see the person you are talking to as opposed to a text chat?

One follow-up from earlier this week, the Elliston Place Soda Shop will not close on Saturday after getting a new five year lease.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass