The Return of POTG Radio Podcast and Tuesday Tidbits

After a three week hiatus, POTG Radio returned last night with a fun show that featured Travis Hair of Five for Howling and Matt Reitz from View From My Seats. We also had a visit from Su Ring at the end of the live portion and into the archive.

The first part of the show included serious discussion of what the Predators will encounter in their visits to Phoenix and Los Angeles as they take on the Yotes and Kings on Wednesday and Saturday.

From there we got into more general topics of the day like the struggling New Jersey Devils, officiating the head shot, and who will win October's player of the month later today. It was a fun show with folks that are great to talk hockey with.

Click on the following player or go to iTunes to download or listen.

Listen to internet radio with PredsOnTheGlass on Blog Talk Radio

Vote for Julie...

Julie Robenhymer is attempting to win a competition to become the next "Good Mood Blogger." We have placed a picture of Julie on the right sidebar where you can click and vote once per day from each IP address that you log on from.

Julie is best known for her hockey coverage for HockeyBuzz and as being the former Miss New Jersey. The first phase of the competition is by internet voting and she would appreciate your vote.

In Pred Nation...

Here is great stuff from Jim Diamond on which Predator is most likely to forget his room number. It was almost unanimous. Guess before you read.

Josh Cooper takes a look at the the list of injured Predators and also the latest status of a new contract for Shea Weber. Cody Franson's steady play is also the object of another story from Josh.

Mark Willoughby presents a nice story of a young boy's dreams to play in the NHL.

Amanda DiPaolo at Predlines examines Jordin Tootoo's new role with the Predators this season.

Here is Ryan Porth's latest on the Predators for The Fourth Period.

Jas Faulkner reviews the last week in Pred world at The Hockey Writers.

Paul McCann checks in at HockeyBuzz and offers more on the Tennessean faux pas.

Chris Burton looks at Brad Stuarts goal on Saturday. The Preds need to score more so he'll look at one of ours. Chris also seems to think that Nick Spaling will return to Milwaukee when Marcel Goc returns. He has single-handedly salvaged the PK unit, so I don't see him leaving.

Dirk Hoag and OnTheForecheck had a big October and has his sights set on overtaking Facebook. He better not say that too loudly. After seeing The Social Network, I don't think I would mess with them.

Rachel at What The Puck gets all the guys lined up for Movember with the rules and regs.

Robby at Hockey Night in Nashville looks at the superiority of the Central Division.

Congrats to J.K Robbins of See Puck City fame for being added to the Intent to Blow crew.

I was a little late jumping on to a team, but I joined Paul Nicholson's Movember team for Preds fans. Feel free to donate to me or any of the folks participating. Here is the story from Predators.com about the players participation.

Around the NHL...

The official announcement came on Daniel Briere's three game suspension. Broad Street Hockey speculates that the third game may involve avoiding retaliation by the Islanders. Here is the video if you want to review the infraction. It looks like the official should have kicked one or both out of the circle prior to the brawl. Here is what Briere said after the suspension was announced.

So how bad is it in New Jersey? The experts roundtable the problems at From The Rink. To make things worse per Tom Guliti, Zach Parise will have arthroscopic knee surgery. The Canucks 3-0 shutout over the Devils was the first of the season against them.

Michelle Kenneth is back from her west coast trip and has a wrap up looking at the Devil's problems. I'm sorry that she made the journey and witnessed such poor play. At what point do folks change from ridiculing the Devils to actually feeling sorry for them?

Speaking of ridicule, the other side of the Devils story comes from KingsCast in Episode 76, Nightmare for Kovalchuk.

Matt Reitz has an expose on co-existing with co-workers (and teammates). It reads a bit like George Clooney talking about filling his back pack in "Up in the Air." Matt also writes about Tyler Meyers terrible tumble as a sophomore so far.

Amanda DiPaolo throws her support behind Jordon Eberle for the Calder Trophy. I'm assuming she would classify him as an emerging national treasure.

Patrick Hoffman takes a look at this week in the NHL at RLD Hockey.

The Preds took a hit at the RLD Power Rankings after two losses as you would expect. They also fell at ESPN and it's hard to believe who is #1.

Updated injury news on one of Nashville's least favorite players from @TSNBobMcKenzie: Looks like VAN will have Alex Burrows back in the lineup on Tuesday night.

Jordan Staal was about to return from his foot injury and broke his hand in practice and will be out for another six weeks.

Two days after polishing off the Predators, Chris Osgood injures his groin at practice.

Brian Campbell returned last night and played against the Rangers. Campbell played almost 20 minutes in the Hawks 3-2 loss to the Rangers.

While the Chicago media was in New York yesterday, they had a private meeting with Gary Bettman. Here's a summary.

Are you tired of the NHL injury disclosure policy that limits info to upper and lower body injuries? If so, go here to sign a petition.

Here are three Caps kids to follow on Twitter that might be more interesting than Ovie or Mike Green.

Odds and Ends...

Congrats to the Nashville City Paper on 10 years of publication.

The Music City RollerGirls moved up to number three in the region with their good showing in the regionals. The National Finals run Fridsay through Sunday this weekend in Chicago.

Here's a new program that has privacy experts baffled. Firesheep allows a user to see the social networks of others logged in via a public network. The program allows users to basically hijack another person's account.

How could the National Enquirer go bankrupt? People love that stuff.

More Later...

Buddy Oakdes for PredsOnTheGlass

POTG Radio Podcast with Ryan Porth and Amanda DiPaolo and Tuesday Tidbits

Last night's POTG Radio podcast was a little different than our usual one on one interrogation of a guest. We had more of a roundtable discussion with Ryan Porth from the Red Light District and Amanda DiPaolo from Predlines. We also had the return of Jackson Oakes after a several month absence.

We discussed a wide variety of topics from the Predators' opening night win, the Predators' preseason camp, and which Predator players may be in Las Vegas for the NHL Awards Show next June.

On the NHL front, we discussed inappropriate gestures (how can you not laugh?), the Devil's disaster in the making, and many other topics from around the league.

Check it out in the following player or on iTunes.

Listen to internet radio with PredsOnTheGlass on Blog Talk Radio

Programming Note...

I will appear on The Third Man In radio show tonight hosted by Chris Block. It is on BlogTalkRadio and will start at 8 p.m. Central.

It promises to be a good show with a focus on tomorrow night's first meeting between the Predators and Blackhawks since last year's first round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

I have reviewed the show outline and it will be a good discussion on a wide variety of topics about both teams and their Central Division rivalry. Please join in and check it out.

In Pred Nation...

David Boclair has a good look at the Predators goaltending situation at The City Paper. Pekka is up and around, but don't expect the Preds to take any chances at this point.

Bryan Mullen has the update on Pekka Rinne's injury at yesterday's practice and has more this morning. He also touches on the Pred's need to build momentum with three tough contests in the next four days.

Per Ryan Suter on @nhllive yesterday, "Pekka is around here and looking good." Suter will also look for "tips" watching upcoming 24/7 series on HBO. He said some guys on the Capitals are pretty good.

Jim Diamond has a really neat story about Joel Ward and Sergei Kostitsyn visiting the KIPP Academy yesterday as part of the Predators in the community day. Predators players scattered all over town for different activities but Jim captures the heart of what it is about in his post.

Puck Daddy has a video of Alexander Radulov scoring six seconds into a game. Watching it immediately made me realized that Rads is still incapable of playing the "Predator Way." He would be back in Barry Trotz's dog house after the first shift that he didn't play defense.

Forechecker has the story that Mark Dekanich has been recalled and that Marty Erat missed practice with a sore back.

Amanda DiPaolo has her weekly Central Division Shakedown at Predlines.

Jas Faulkner has a Predator goaltender roundup at The Hockey Writers with perspectives from Mitch Korn and others.

Paul Nicholson goes bootleg with a shaky cam shot of the new Preds Opening Video. Word is that the Preds are working around the legalities of getting the real thing posted on their site.

Denise McCann has a ton of opening night pictures at SlapShot Radio and even caught Jackson, Ryan Porth and me at our ususal "OnTheGlass" seats for the pre-game skate. Generally, we are at the front of 108 for most games. Stop by and say hey.

Denise's hubby, Paul McCann celebrates Canadian Thanksgiving with a few notes.

The Cincinnati Cyclones drop the puck on Friday. Here is an opening night primer.

You have to wonder what Dan Gendur's future is with the Predators. He is on the third year of his entry level contract and he has been loaned to the RGV Killer Bees in Hidalgo, Texas, not exactly a hotbed of hockey.

Vance at Pangin Panger has No Words (but does have a picture) as he captures the heart of what Canadians think about Predator fans.

The City Paper has a story on a new study about sports in Nashville.

Middle Tennessee Sports has a feature story on Dawn Davenport from News 2 who covers the Predators at times. It is interesting to see her background and how she ended up in Music City.

Around the NHL...

You can tell that the season has started as everyone starts playing the guessing game on suspensions. This hit where Niklas Hjalmarsson puts a textbook "what not to do hit" on Jason Pominville will yield a suspension.

Here is a video of James Wisniewski's gesture to Sean Avery in yesterday's matinee between the Isles and Rangers. Maybe he was just saying ho, ho, ho into a pretend Mr. Microphone. Chris Botta has a video of Gary Bettman's reaction. He claims he didn't see it. So what, a one game suspension?

This gem comes from @kcwilson: I'm sorry but you've got to love the headline this morning - "Wisniewski blows off Avery"

The Devils only had 15 skaters in yesterdays game that resulted in a 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh. Here's what the Devs brass had to say for themselves. If the original Kovalchuk contract was circumvention, so is this.

Versus has a story where Derian Hatcher claims that the Devils have made a mockery of the CBA with their "emergency" depleted roster.

As bad as the Stars season outlook was, now add Mike Ribeiro getting arrested for public intoxication to the list of problems. Ribeiro claims it wasn't a big deal. Justin Bourne looks at how player's personal issues can affect their on ice play.

Big news in Motor City from @JeffMarek: Detroit signs head coach Mike Babcock to 4-year contract extension. PHT has the details.

Ryan Porth has this week's power ranking. Number one is a surprise. The Preds are up to 11 but will be tested this week.

Matt Reitz looks at the next big silent defenseman. Will it be Oliver Ekman-Larsson?

The Predators win over the Ducks was impressive on Saturday, or was it. James O'Brien at PHT looks at the Ducks horrible start.

Elliotte Friedman's 30 thoughts are always good.

Steve Lapore has an interview with Michael McKinley, author of Hockey: A People’s History. It's good stuff. Check it out.

From @ChrisBottaNHL: Kirill Kabanov is back in Russia for "personal reasons." No story this time. Word is it's a family issue and he'll be back to Moncton soon. I hope Kirill is not up to his old antics. He is one player I really want to see in the NHL, for comic relief if nothing else.

Odds and Ends...

The Nashville RollerGirls will see their parings today for the WFTDA National Championship in Chicago next month which has been deemed The Uproar on the Lakeshore.

From the makers of People of Walmart comes Dumb Tweets. Since I follow such great folks, I never see any of these.

You would think that Baltimore was enough of a cosmopolitan city that they would not kick a couple of girls out of the stadium for kissing in public, but they did. This is the same town that reveries film maker John Waters and calls itself The Charm City. That was not a very charming thing to do.

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

Ladies Night on POTG Radio with Michelle Kenneth, Courtney Beckham, and Rebecca Allen and Tuesday Tidbits

Yesterday may have been the slowest day of the summer for hockey news, but that gave us plenty of time to discuss the hottest topic of the week in the hockey blogs. The issue of ladies hockey merchandise (or the lack of it) has caught fire in the social media arena among female hockey fans with a passion that is unprecedented.

Puck Daddy fired the opening salvo at Shop.NHL.com last Tuesday with criticism of the new rhinestone graced "Champagne" line of women's hockey sweaters. The cry that rallied the masses of female puckheads appears to have come from Angelica Rodriguez, with this tweet:
Listen up, @NHL. If you don't stop marketing to female fans as though their brains are between their legs, you're going to lose them.

The lack of fashion choices appears to have been a simmering issue that just needed a spark to set off a massive blaze. A week later, the fire is roaring and it's not slowing down and the NHL marketing folks are listening.

Last night on POTG Radio we had three fashion forward ladies that are as comfortable on the glass at the rink as they are putting together their wardrobes. It was proven that there is no contradiction in being a hardcore hockey fan and feminine at the same time.

Michelle Kenneth of Inside Hockey, Courtney Beckham of Chicks Who Give a Puck, and Rebecca Allen of Hockeyless in Memphis each told their story of frustration in being treated like second class citizens by the NHL fashion marketers who have provided few choices in game day apparel.

Once the fashion issue was covered we moved forward to some serious hockey talk in the extended version of the show available on podcast. We learned about hockey in Minnesota, game used sticks in Memphis, and some very interesting news from Devils-land.

We ask that you join us with the player below or download from iTunes. It was certainly the liveliest hockey talk available anywhere on a very slow hockey news day.

Listen to internet radio with PredsOnTheGlass on Blog Talk Radio

In Pred Nation...

Sam at PredsBlog did an incredible amount of research including watching post game video of several games to take a detailed look at J P Dumont's reduced ice time at the end of the season.

On the Forecheck's size doubled on Monday with the addition of Seth Lake and Anthony Neal as new writers. Congrats to all for doing a great job. Dirk also started a new venture with Forechecker TV. Have a look.

The Hockey News picked the Predators for tenth in the Western Conference. It's comforting to know that the prognosticators have the Preds out of the top eight. I'm not sure how they would react if they were ever expected to make the playoffs.

Nathan at Predlines is growing impatient in getting Patric Hornqvist signed.

Paul McCann checked in with a few thoughts and has been seeing a few Preds returning to town.

Mayors Manor interviews Bobby Ryan who has good things to say about Ryan Suter from the Olympics.

I was totally shocked when our Tweet-Up at the Sounds game on August 26 actually trended on Twackle for a while yesterday. Go here for details if you plan to attend.

Kovi's Korner...

Inside Hockey has a new look today and Hamilton Bolduc looks at options available to the Devils to make room for a new Kovalchuk contract.

Around the NHL...

Jason Fry has a very informative piece about credentialed bloggers and their place in the media. His interview with Eric McErlain lays the groundwork for answering many questions about the credentialing process and what to expect in the locker room.

Matt Reitz looks at a couple of candidates for a sophomore slump, Tuukka Rask and Jimmy Howard. Steve Mason could be the poster child. He also lists twenty things that have made the offseason interesting.

Big Buff may have left the Hawks, but he still enjoyed his day with the Cup.

Ken Campbell at The Hockey News calls for death to the trapezoid. I agree that it is time as it would really help get the puck back down the ice on the power plays.

The Montreal Canadiens picked up goalie Karri Ramo in exchange for Cedrick Desjardins which was met with a lot of grumbling from the Montreal faithful.

For an untold reason, the NHL national TV schedule that was supposed to be released yesterday was not.

Maybe Peter Forsberg isn't done milking the media about a possible comeback. Intent to Blow has insight into the matter.

Odds and Ends...

Even with the odd weather we have had in the US this summer, nothing compares to this picture of a wave at Bondi Beach in Australia.

Carrie Underwood is moving to Canada to be with her hubby, Mike Fisher.

There was good news from one of the best societal commentary sites on the internet. From @PeopleofWalmart: As you may have noticed today, we have joined forces with Lambook.com & Regretsy.com to begin our climb to the top. These are good complementary sites.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

POTG Radio Presents Ladies Hockey Night and Monday Round-Up

From the response we have already seen, tonight's POTG Radio appears to be on the road to being one of the more popular topics that we have ever seen.

In the last few days, in the social media arena, we have seen an outpouring of support for a larger variety of clothing and merchandise for female fans. While there are plenty of choices for men, the types of clothing offer to women is very limited.

We will have three very fashion forward ladies join us for a round-table discussion about what is missing and what the NHL needs to offer. Our guests will be Michelle Kenneth of Inside Hockey and her own site, Courtney Beckham of Chicks Who Give a Puck, and Rebecca Allen of Hockeyless in Memphis and the No Pink in the Rink Facebook page.

We will also touch on some hockey talk from the ladies perspective with updates on the Devils, Avalanche, and the Predators from our guests. We'll also open the phone lines for any questions or comments from the listeners.

I was out of town all day yesterday but I hear yesterday's CCPT Hockey Show on BTR got the ball rolling on women's hockey, tonight's topic. Should be good listening at work.

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



Unofficial Tweet-Up at the Nashville Sounds Game...

As the long hockey-less summer winds down, a few of us Preds fans discussed getting together for a Sounds game and decided to open it up to all of Pred Nation since we haven't had a Tweet-Up all Summer. @RLDHockey and I went to a game a few weeks ago and realized we had bought a ticket to sit and talk about hockey for three hours. Now we invite others to do the same.

We chose Thursday because it is a special night with with discounted pricing, such as $2 beer, $2 soft drinks, $2 hot dogs, $2 popcorn, and $2 nachos. Depending on the response we will figure out how to get a place where we can all sit together. Go here to let us know if you plan to attend.

In Pred Nation...

Ryan Porth of RLD Hockey makes his debut as the Predator's correspondent at The Fourth Period with a preseason look at the Preds.

Jas Faulkner has a great piece about Shea Weber making it big in the lower 48.

Jim Diamond has a very nice piece discussing the dearth of selection of women's hockey apparel offered by the Predators and other NHL teams.

Jennifer at Addicted give the answer to the age old question of "What Women Want." Unfortunately for all us guys, it's about fashion and not a wider scoped question. If she could explain the bigger question she could retire today.

Steven George writes that the Circus is Back in Town with a piece about the Predator's management shake-up last week.

Douglas Flynn at NESN takes a look at the Predators in a season preview.

Pekka Rinne is listed in the top NHL Goaltenders 30 and Under.

Forechecker's weekend poll asked who would lead the Preds in scoring this year. The voting is close between a newcomer and a third year Predator. James O'Brien at PHT piggy-backs more off the original article.

Seth Lake has a great outline of the goaltender battle that is set to start when the rookies report.

PredsBlog has Horny's goal number eight which came on a blacked out night in Nashville against Tampa Bay.

Dan Ellis has a new Tampa Bay Lightning mask. I'm happy for Dan with his new team. We will still miss him.

Kovi's Korner...

All remains quiet here. Will the start of a week bring news? If something doesn't happen soon, we may have to discontinue this heading.

Around the NHL....

The weekend's biggest news was supposed to be which team of the "twenty" that were interested would trade for the services of Tomas Kaberle. It appears that he was such a hot commodity that no one could afford the asking price as he stayed with Toronto. Maybe teams have learned not to buy into the Brian Burke hype.

Here is Courtney Beckham's original post about the latest hockey fashions being offered by Reebok. Here is a response from Johanna who works for Reebok.

Michelle Kenneth gets on the bandwagon for "No Pink in the Rink" with a post about ladies hockey fashions. She also confirms that I do not wear capris.

Steve Lapore wants to see NHL Network do a tribute to the Hartford Whalers. He also has a list of players invited to the 2010 NHL Research, Development, and Orientation Camp this week. NHL Network will have coverage on Wednesday and Thursday. The Hockey News has a look at the camp and what is expected.

One of the more high profile days with the Stanley Cup was on Friday with Patrick Kane in Buffalo with an early start on the hurri-Kane deck at Niagara Falls.

After hundreds of "Forsberg to attempt comeback" stories, this is different. He may not be able to come back.

Next week, the World Hockey Summit will be the talk of Toronto. The NHLPA says that anyone can participate with their ideas. The down side is that it costs $450 (Canadian I assume) to register.

The latest in hockey nuptials was the Duff-Comrie wedding that was supposed to take place over the weekend. I wonder if we will get any more lewd pictures during the honeymoon.

Matt Reitz delivers the sad news for West coast hockey teams who were expecting big moves over the summer.

Ryan Kennedy at The Hockey News takes a shot at being an NHL arena DJ.

One of our favorite MSM blogs, The Grinder at The Sporting News, has reportedly come to an end. Craig Custance is one of the better hockey guys out there and used this blog very well.

Down Goes Brown has a guide to remaining free agents.

Odds and Ends...

Pro surfer Chuck Patterson has a video he made while surfing of a great white shark at Dana Point, California.

NASA unveiled a new tool to gather hurricane data with, a drone that can stay aloft for 20 hours and scan a area the size of Illinois.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass

POTG Podcast with Anthony Perez and Chris Wassel, Kovi Thoughts, and Tuesday Tidbits

After a somewhat unexpected decision was rendered by the arbitrator, last night's POTG Radio took a different turn with a hard look at what the decision could mean in light of the NHL-NHLPA negotiations for a new CBA that will be needed in 2012.

The Program's Chris Wassel joined Anthony Perez and I for the extended version of the podcast for some in depth discussion of many of the possibilities at hand as a result of the ruling.

The show began with an interview with Rambo Sambo, in our celebration of Nashville RollerGirl week at POTG. We then moved into our discussion of the Phoenix Coyote ownership situation with Anthony, who is the Coyotes Examiner. It is really difficult to get a handle on what is going on in Glendale at this time, but we covered all the bases.

We also talked a little bit of real hockey with Anthony, taking a look at what the coming season looks like for the Coyotes. Anthony also gave Predator fans a preview of what to expect from Matthew Lombardi.

We ask that you join us with the player below or download from iTunes. It will certainly throw a little spice into what is supposed to be the quiet part of the hockey off season.

Listen to internet radio with PredsOnTheGlass on Blog Talk Radio

Kovi's Korner...

Yesterday's ruling by the arbitrator in favor of the NHL in the Ilya Kovalchuk matter (full text here) has created more questions about the future of the NHL and the CBA with the NHLPA than was answered.

After reading the full text of the decision, I have a better understanding of the reasoning behind the final decision. Bloch did not stick to the the specific wording of the CBA in making his decision but read a deeper meaning into the CBA as to what was actually intended in the document.

The real can of worms is the fact that arbitrator Bloch opened the door for other existing contracts to be scrutinized. If the NHL does go this route, it will throw gas on the smoldering fire of discontent between players and the league, and it could signal an all out war in the 2012 negotiations which could result in another lock-out.

James Mirtle looks at the potential firestorm of reopening existing contracts.

Kudos need to go to Liz Mullen @SBJLizMullen of Sports Business Journal for first breaking the story on Twitter. She was the only confirmed reliable source for what seemed like an eternity before the official report from the league came out.

Kudos also to Craig Custance of The Sporting News, who was the first to have specific wording from the ruling to mull over.

Michelle Kenneth, who has been on the pulse of the story all along, indicates that the KHL will still be a distant last choice for Kovulchuk.

Tom Gulitti from Fire and Ice has also been a tireless reporter through the whole ordeal.

Puck Daddy also has his usual succinct analysis of the ruling including discussion of the document itself.

A poll running at Canes Country indicates that fans were pleased with the ruling.

Not to get lost in the "what it means" aspect of the story, the Devils will resume negotiations with Jay Grossman according to this statement from Devils.com.

Finally, Intent to Blow has the last word on Kovalchuk.

In Pred Nation...

Jim Diamond has a wrap up of the Predator prospects at the US Junior evaluation camp that was held last week. Pred fans have a lot to look forward to based on Jim's reports.

Bryan Mullen at Inside Predators actually got a quote from David Poile on the Mark Dekanich signing yesterday. Poile said that the status was quo.

Dirk Hoag looks at a plus/minus on the number of back to back games each team plays to see who may have an advantage in that area. His work even got picked up by Puck Daddy.

Aaron Sims has a history lesson about Wayne Gretzky and the opening of the Bradley Center.

Section 303 has details on a contest where you can win a trip to Toronto and meet Wayne Gretzky.

PredsBlog takes a shot at sorting out the logjam up front with all the forwards that will be in the Pred's camp. I'm not sure why so many folks are down on Jerred Smithson. His is not a glamorous role but one that is needed on the Preds.

The Cincinnati Cyclones will name their new head coach on Thursday.

Around the NHL...

Ryan Porth's RLD Hockey breaks new ground with the appearance of Dustin Brown from the Kings. Tune in tonight at 7 p.m. Central to hear him live.

The first two teams in The Hockey News countdown were revealed with the Oilers and Panthers doomed for last place.

Steve Lapore has part four of the Suitor Tutor with the NHL Network being spotlighted.

Russ Cohen is on the case looking for the puck that Patrick Kane put past Michael Leighton to win the Stanley Cup Finals.

Teemu Selanne had a brief message for Ducks fans indicating that he is ready to return. Ryan at the RLD has more along with speculation that Paul Kariya is next. Matt Reitz also looks at a possible Kariya return to Anaheim.

Michelle Kenneth has the best and worst hockey movies. I know that it is sacrilegious, but I would have to put The Rocket ahead of Slap Shot and Miracle. I also thought Mighty Ducks 2 was the best of the three.

The NHL announced the complete preseason schedule on Monday with a record number of seven overseas contests prior to the season opener. Boston is the only team with two games, the first in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Oct. 2 and the second in Liberec, Czech Republic on Oct. 5.

From @DNFlyers: Riley Cote has retired from the Flyers to join the Adirondack Phantoms as an assistant coach. I hate to see Riley go. Russ Cohen revived a story about Cote that is really neat.

Hockey Quarterly looks at the best masks in their special goalie edition.

The U.S. Under-18 Select Team defeated the Czech Republic in the opening game of the 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. They will play Russia later this morning.

The Phoenix Business Journal indicates ex-Coyote owner Jerry Moyes had ties to a Minnesota financier who was running a Ponzi scheme.

Something to look forward to from @NHLschuylerb: Plan is to announce the national TV skeds for the 2010-11 NHL regular-season a week from today (Monday, Aug. 16) I bet the Preds will get at least one Versus game.

Odds and Ends...

My favorite girl, who is Always Write, Dahlia Kurtz, discusses the medium and the message.

We've all heard of "going postal." Does this Jet Blue story qualify for "going airline?"

Starting tomorrow night the annual Perseid Meteor Shower begins. Here is a preview from the British Astronomical Association.



More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

POTG Radio Tonight with Kevin Weekes and Weekend Wrap-Up

Tonight on POTG Radio we will have a very special show featuring goaltender Kevin Weeks of the NHL Network and Hockey Night In Canada. Michelle Kenneth will be a special guest host tonight since she knows Kevin from his days with the Devils.

Kevin has been the subject of discussion in Pred Nation as to whether he would be the man to back-up Pekka Rinne in the upcoming season. I have been a long time fan of his and always thought that he would be a great Predator sine he is the embodiment of the "Predator Way" of selfless team play.

Depending on what you read on the internet, Kevin is either retired or not. Tonight we will get an answer to the question and see if he would have interest in playing for the Preds or any of the other 29 teams in the NHL.

Please join us tonight as we have the rare opportunity to talk with someone who has so many ties to the hockey community as a player as well as a very popular member of the media.



In Pred Nation...

Over the weekend David Shoalts added the Toronto-centric view to the good news that the Predators are close to rescuing "Boots" Del Biaggio's share of the team. Someone always feels the need to sully up any positive news for the Preds on the business side of things.

Jim Diamond has the story of Pred prospect Cameron Reid who had a roller coaster ride year last season but has now landed at St. Cloud State where he may become a teammate with Nick Oliver.

David Singleton has an excellent analysis of how the Predators have fared under the current CBA. It is a very thoughtful and informative piece that is a must read.

Mark at The View From 111 takes a look at the fear for the game of hockey of Donald Fehr. Mark also has a look at the Central Division GMs at Hockey Quarterly.

AJ ponders the potential return of Paul Kariya.

PredsBlog continues his look at Patric Hornqvist's 30 goals. He also has a Klein/Franson debate with himself over who is better.

Paul McCann has a weekend round-up with a variety of topics.

Forechecker had the buzz going over the weekend with a discussion of which star would you never want to see in a Predator's sweater.

Best comment of the signing of Jamie Lundmark on Friday came from @diamondhockey: Guess with Jessiman's injury the signing of Lundmark ensures Milwaukee will continue to have at least 1 failed NYR 1st round pick.

From @aaronadmirals: Admirals Center Ice: Mon 6pm on sportsradio1250.com. Guests: @BlakeGeoffrion, Ian Herbers, Adam Burish & more.

Around the NHL...

Today is the day when The Score will announce the ten Drafted 2 Finalists. We are heavily biased and cannot see any way that our friend Launy Schwartz of Hockey 54 does not make the finals and wins the whole thing. Launy and producer/camerawoman Dahlia have gotten a few more videos up in the last few days. Check them out.

Duncan Keith had the Stanley Cup over the weekend. Here's the lowdown.

After making considerable head way in the past years, US colleges may get smacked with new rules that would prevent schools from talking with players until after the 11th grade. This would be a major blow since they would be vying for players that enter the Canadian Junior programs long before that. Joe Yerdon has another look at the same topic at PHT.

Michelle Kenneth continues her series of folks to follow on Twitter with a group from the offices of the NHL.

Ryan at the RLD has several videos of Captain Serious taking the Cup home for the weekend. He also speculates on a few more players that may head to the KHL.

Hockey Wilderness defends the Wild's signing of Mikko Koivu. He makes good points but I still can't see Koivu being worth more than about $5 million a year. Matt Reitz also discusses the contract.

Brian Costello at The Hockey News looks at the goalie position from a fantasy standpoint.

Rumors are flying about the sale of the Dallas Stars.

Seventh Woman spends twenty minutes with Garth Snow and tells about it.

The NHL marketing hit of the week last week was the sweet deal the Islander's got with their cupcakes. The Daily Line even got in on the fun.

Finally, the guys over at Kingcast have a great docu-video of the first 15 days of waiting for Kovalchuk. It pretty well sums up the feeling of most fans I would think. Check it out.



Odds and Ends...

Here are a few Twitter etiquette tips of how to thank folks for re-Tweets.

Here is an interesting twist. Tweetreach can tell you how many folks your Tweets actually reach. My last 50 Tweets had exposure to over 28,000 people. That is hard to believe.

For fans of The Office who have heard the talk that season seven may be the end of Michael Scott, Holly Flax has agreed to come back for eight episodes. Will they ride off into the sunset at the end? Will that be the end of the show? Will they find another nut job to run the office?

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

POTG Radio with Ryan Porth and Pred Prospects and Tuesday Tidbits

Last night we had an interesting show on POTG Radio to get back in the swing of things after a three week layoff. At the beginning of the show, we had interviews with Ryan Ellis, Chet Pickard, Jon Blum, Anders Lindback, Patrick Cehlin, Joonas Rask and Ben Ryan that were gathered at the Predators Development Camp over the weekend.

Then, Ryan Porth of RLD Hockey joined us and we discussed a variety of topics from the Predator's recent activity, to the Awards Show and the Entry Draft, and then on to free agency. We even took a quick look at the Central Division and what an exciting race it will be next season.

Ryan's RLD Hockey Radio is tonight at 7 p.m. Central on BTR and features Dave Strader, Dennis Bernstein, Brian Metzer and Anthony Curotolo.

Please join us for the podcast from last night's show by using the following player or downloading from ITunes.

Listen to internet radio with PredsOnTheGlass on Blog Talk Radio

In Pred Nation...

Forechecker looks at which Predator's defenseman is ready to make the jump to the NHL in September.

AJ at PMFF puts a bow on the Development Camp with a few final thoughts. He follows that post with a look at the Predator defense for next year and potential outcomes of the September camp.

Jas Faulkner says size does matter with the Predators with a few thoughts from last weeks SOTU. She also has another post on the dearly departed from last season's team.

Mark at The View from 111 has a neat story from the Predators Youth Hockey Camp that started on Monday.

FS TN has a good article about Blake Geoffrion with his dad's thoughts on the coming season.

It is a little late but Seth Lake came up with the player numbers for the Pred's camp since they weren't publised by the Preds at camp.

The Nashville Posts goes deeper into the sham that the Sommet Group was pulling. The Tennessean has a long expose this morning on Sommet.

The City Paper has an article on a kid that Jackson used to play with, Tate Janasek. What makes him different from other high school players is that he has been deaf since birth.

From @dellis39: New team=new number...33...39 was already taken. Out with the old in with the new! So will he change his Twitter handle? The answer is yes... @33dellis.

From @NHLPredsInsider: 3/21/10 v STL Poile won his 1000th gm as a GM, becoming the 3rd GM to do so.

Wes Goldstein has an early look at the Central Division race and has a little different take that Ryan and I had on the show last night. He has more faith in Chicago ad doesn't realized Barry Trotz's magic with the Preds.

Around the NHL...

Big news on the Island should come out this morning as the Town of Hempstead is set to announce their alternative Lighthouse plan at 10 CDT today. Nick Giglia has his thoughts. He also has a copy of the Press Release from Kate Murray.

Helene Elliott has the latest on Kovalchuk from Los Angeles which is that there is little to report. Kovalchuk spent the day touring LA while Jay Grossman met with Kings officials. With the MLB All-Star game today, even if he is signed, it would not be officially announced until Wednesday. Matt Reitz takes a look at the Pros and Cons of a Kings-Kovi wedding.

The NHLPA held a charity gold tournament on Monday and get down to business today and Wednesday in formal meetings and could name Donald Fehr as their new executive director. Ken Campbell also discusses the vote on a new NHLPA constitution.

SportsBusiness Journal has the pay scale of Gary Bettman and other executives. Legal fees were $3.94 million which seems cheap considering all the Phoenix dealings.

From @adamjahns: #Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman on matching Niklas Hjalmarsson's offer sheet: "We're going to get the paperwork done today."

Five questions about NHL Free Agency comes from Marcy at The Hockey Writers.

The Hockey News has a story about Ex-Pred Dan Hamhuis's trip to Haiti last month as well as a list of their all-time toughest fighters.

Intent to Blow has the strange story of Spain and the Chicago Blackhawks trash talking each other before a potential match of Ice Soccer.

Daily Faceoff pointed to this Wikipedia entry on offer sheets. If this is correct, it makes compensation easier to understand.

Russ Cohen looks at What is a Sport? This upset a few folks and led to some heated Twitter exchanges.

Odds and Ends...

Here's one for you cat people. Dahlia needs help at Always Write.

I was totally shocked that 5000 soccer fans went to LP Field on a hot Sunday afternoon to watch the World Cup finals on the big screen. I was much happier at the Pred's Development camp where the temps were more to my liking.

Since I won a bobblehead from The Office yesterday, here is a Michael Montage to celebrate.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

POTG Radio Returns Tonight and Weekend Round-Up

After a very busy week in Pred Nation, today marks the official start of the dog days of summer as most teams have finished their development camps and the coaches and staff are scattering in all directions for a little rest and relaxation after a ten and one half months of non-stop work.

In the last month since the Stanley Cup Champion was crowned, we have seen the HOF announcements, next season's schedule release, the Awards Show, the Entry Draft, Free Agent Frenzy and Development Camps for all teams, and a few other things crammed into a short period so that hockey vacations can begin.

Tonight, we will start our Summer Schedule of POTG Radio at our regular time of 8 p.m. Eastern, 7 central etc. We will have short interviews with Ryan Ellis, Chet Pickard, Jon Blum, Anders Lindback, Patrick Cehlin, Joonas Rask (yes Tuuka's brother) and Ben Ryan.

We will also have have Ryan Porth of RLD Hockey on to discuss the journey to the Awards Show and the Entry Draft as well and the free agent signings to date. We will also touch on the Predator's Skate of the Union event last Thursday.

Thanks...

Thanks to Puck Daddy who linked our Skate of the Union video on Friday.

In Pred Nation...

After attending the Predator's development camp on Saturday and Sunday, the highlight was definitely "Team Yellow" winning the "championship trophy" and parading around the ice with it. Notre Dame player Ben Ryan receives my personal MVP vote for being the best player on the yellow squad. The 23 skaters and four goalies that dressed divided into four teams and played nine minute, non-stop, three on three battles until the winner was determined.

The one need that became obvious at development camp was the need for a free agent back-up goalie. Bryan Mullen at the Tennessean looks at the options within the system. I have two folks that could probably be had within the Pred's budget. The first is Kevin Weeks who said @KevinWeekes: My ears are always open, LOL !!! on Saturday. The other is Masterton winner, Jose Theodore, who may struggle to catch on as a UFA after making $4.5 million last season in Washington.

Jim Diamond has a good story about the college bonds between two pairs of players that played together at Wisconsin and Minnesota. Every kid at camp has a neat story and their is little time to capture them all.

Forechecker is up early with his weekend round-up and has a post from Amanda DiPaolo that we missed. She was at the Awards in Las Vegas.

There is a new Pred's blog on the scene and it is appropriately named "PredsBlog" and is run by "Sam" who's Twitter name is @predsblog. He also has the Dan Hamhuis slam at the Pred's November game attendance that burned a few bridges between here and Vancouver. Check it out.

AJ at PMFF takes a look back at his last year as a Pred's blogger and has a few take-aways from the past week.

See Puck City has a variety of videos from the Preds Camp at his YouTube account.

Jeremy at Section303 has a call to action to send congrats to the family of prospect Austin Watson on the birth of their new baby.

Mark Willoughby has his weekly My View column.

Paul McCann touches on the SOTU and a few other items at Hockey Buzz.

While an official figure was never announced for Sommet's naming rights deal on the arena, the Nashville Posts surmises that it was three years for $4 million based on court documents.

Kelly at Confessions of a Pred Fanantic checks in with a few thoughts and a barb at Dan Hamhuis for his dissing of the Nashville crowds. Check out her blog so she will know she has more than seven readers.

Bolts By The Bay has a good interview with ex-Pred Dan Ellis.

Ryan at the RLD also has a post about Dan where he asks if Ellis will be the next Craig Anderson.

David Poile is number five on a list of top 10 GMs to rebuild a team at Bleacher Report. I think that is a bit low.

Around the NHL...

As the Kovalchuk saga drags on, Dennis Bernstein has an epistle on where the Kings have missed to boat on signing him. Multiple good points are made here. The latest from Puck Daddy has Kovi flying to LA for a visit. Intent to Blow also has a breakdown by potential teams.

Friend of the site, Connie Kim, most recently from Jewels of the Crown is headed to retirement. We certainly wish her the best and will miss her.

Matt Reitz reminds us that the class of 2010 is still a bunch of 17 or 18 year old kids.

Was the 2003 NHL Entry Draft that was held in Nashville the best ever? Hard to refute it.

Stay Classy has a post on the basketball jerk that caused such a big stink last week. I refuse to print his name but it is a funny article.

NHL.com has a list of the last remaining big name free agents.

The "Fisher-wood" wedding went off on Saturday (if anyone cares).

Jonathan Toews had his day with the cup on Sunday and received more attention than he is comfortable with.

Odds and Ends...

For Blackberry users, are you interested in the BB Shield?

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

POTG Radio Podcast from the Tweet-Up for Flood Relief and Tuesday Tidbits

Lat night's NHL Tweet-Up for Nashville Flood Relief was a huge success raising over $2000 for the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Words cannot describe the great job Mark Willoughby did in organizing the event.

Kudos also go out to Jennifer Schwartzenberg of the Community Foundation and Rebbecca Ward of the Predators for their help. Also, the heart and soul of the event was Dani Muccio who was a driving factor in making the Tweet-Up happen all the way from Long Island. The flood victims of Nashville appreciate everyone's hard work.

There will continue to be items available at the online auction as long as they continue to come in. Several more great pieces are expected to be added over the next few days.

It was really fun to see a lot of old friends and to meet new ones too. It's always great to put faces with Twitter names. Special props go to Josh Farrar who drove in all the way from Knoxville to take in the event.

POTG Radio Podcast...

Last night's edition of POTG Radio was one of the best we have ever had. Chris Wassel of The Program ran the board from New Jersey helping us avoid issues that we have had on live remotes previously. Ryan Porth of the RLD and Jackson also co-hosted. Mark Willoughby acted as producer, running folks out to our swanky parking lot studio all night.

We had a whole bunch of guest including Jennifer Schwartzenberg of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Stu Grimson, Channel 2 news anchor Christine Maddela, Rebbecca Ward, Director of Community Relations for the Preds, Predators Coach Brent Peterson, and the voice of the Predators Pete Weber.

The hockey talk with Brent Peterson was particularly compelling as he talked in depth about the Preds-Hawks series and the current series between the Flyers and Hawks. Pete Weber talked about how he ended up in Nashville and Chris asked Stu the question about why Mary Erat was on the ice in the final seconds of game five.

If you did not listen live, click on the link below or go to iTunes for a download.

Listen to internet radio with PredsOnTheGlass on Blog Talk Radio

Calder Cup Playoffs...

The Hershey Bears came alive on the road last night and defested the Texas Stars 6-3 to cut their deficit to 2-1 in the seven game AHL finals. Andrew Gordon, Kyle Wilson and Mathieu Perrault each had two goals to account for all the Bears scoring.

Ex-Predator Andrew Hutchinson, Francis Wathier, and Raymond Sawada scored for the Stars. Matt Climie had an unusual performance giving up six goals on 29 shots.

Game four will be tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. CDT in Austin.

In Preds Nation...

Bryan Mullen has a piece about Ryan Ellis this morning at the Tennessean.

From the all knowing @SLakePreds: D Robert Dietrich signs 3 year deal with Adler Mannheim in the DEL.

We had a note yesterday on the possibility of the Preds bringing Jonas Andersson back from the KHL. Dirk Hoag has more. Dirk also got his pencil working for an analysis of team faceoff percentage.

Ryan at the RLD takes a look at Predator's goaltending for next year.

Predators.com has a look at the new signage going up at the Bridgestone Arena.

Around the NHL...

Our friend Launy "The" Schwartz of Hockey 54 made the first cut in the SCORE Drafted 2 competition. Go to his video posted at their site and give positive comments to help him into the finals.

After much speculation Guy Boucher turned down the Blue Jacket's head coaching slot. Scott Arniel was later awarded the job. Here is an interview with Arneil from Neil Bristow from a while back. It is also reported, but not confirmed, that Boucher will end up in Tampa.

Steve Lapore thinks it is time that Versus receives the credit it deserves. He also has NBC's ratings from Sunday which were excellent going against the NBA playoffs.

Anthony Perez has the first part of a three part look at the Coyotes financial situation. Tonight will be the all important City of Glendale city council meeting to approve the exclusive agreement with the Ice Edge group.

Ryan Lambert deemed game five as the worst game of Chris Pronger's career. I'm betting he has one of his best in game six.

Dmitry Chesnokov interviewed Dominik Hasek about his signing with the KHL.

With all the franchises that are rumored to be for sale, Gary Bettman is keeping his options open with Winnipeg and Quebec City.

Nathan Fornier looks at the third pick in this year's NHL Entry Draft.

Chris Hayes wonders if he is turning Canadian on day 37 of his year long journey at Freddy Charles.

Jon Lawler, better known as Jon Fratelli, of "Chelsea Dagger" fame, was in Chicago over the weekend but did not make it to game five. If there is a game seven, how could the Hawks not bribe him into the arena.

The NYT has an interesting article of the growth of SB Nation and the expansion into regional sites. Our friend and media expert, Steve Lapore has joined the local New York site.

Dustin Byfuglien has stopped dancing. Intent to Blow has the details.

Odds and Ends...

More congrats to J.R. Lind who on again on Jeopardy last night bringing his two day total to $52,801. Here is last night's highlight reel. Be sure to watch tonight for day three.

Tiger Woods' Q-score, which is a marketability rating, plummeted in the most recent ranking. After being at the top for ten years, he fell to 25th, leaving Arnold Palmer as the top golfer.

Here is some amazing art done only with a pencil and paper.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass