Friday, September 11, 2009

Final Hearing in Phoenix and More


Editors note: I hope everyone has a great weekend. Posts may be limited as we plan on spending the better part of Saturday and Sunday at the Pred's camp. Monday's POTG Radio is scheduled to have former Predator play-by-play man Eli Gold who has a new book coming out next week. We also should have interviews from camp so be patient if we are quiet over the weekend.

After a very trying time in the first day of hearings in Phoenix, Judge Refield Baum will reconvene this morning in a day that will be highlighted by a live appearance by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Other than a lot of squirming, I seriously doubt they will get anything out of a guy that is a master of not answering the question asked and saying what he wants said.

The most brilliant move by the NHL is not placing Jim Ballsillie on the stand to testify. If he is not approved as an owner, they really have no reason to question him. Tweeters report that after fnding out that he would not have an opportunity to grandstand that Jim Ballsillie also had a problem finding his car. It sounds like it was a tough end of a long day for the Blackberry billionaire.

Our friend Chris Johnson, from the Canadian Press, has details of day one of the hearing. The biggest surprise was Judge Baum saying that neither entity may get the team if he decides that he doesn't like what has been offered. I would almost say that Baum's "third option" may have been the leader in the clubhouse after day one.

From Metro Hockey comes somewhat of a transcript that looks like it was pieced together from tweets or some other source but covers the day well.

Anyway, another full day gets underway today at 10:30 Central. Baum promises a decision by opening day.

In Pred Nation...

The first full on-ice session with the rookies took place yesterday and John Glennon reports that Colin Wilson was like a bull in a china shop. The rookies continue today with the full squad reporting for physicals and conditioning tests tomorrow (not open to the public). Sunday is the day for everyone to hit the ice in a real practice. Go here for the full schedule.

The Tennessean also has a story from the Des Moines Register on Ryan Suter's quest for a gold medal for the Team USA at the Olympics.

Forechecker continues his blogger a day profile with Rachel Raines from What the Puck. Rachel is another home grown Nashvillian with a passion for the game. I thought the Canadian folks said those folks didn't exist down here.

Today's entry at On The Forecheck is about our buddy, Mark Willoughby, from the View from 111.

Mark at the View from 111 also has his View which has become a Friday tradition. It appears he ruffled a few feathers last week. He also had a good idea to honor the dead from 911 this morning on Twitter by skipping Follow Friday today. If you aren't familiar with Twitter, don't fret, it is a good idea.

Jim Diamond takes a look at Preds Defensive prospect Russ Sinkewich who played with four teams last season.

Preds players have been busy the last couple of days playing in the Pred's Foundation golf tournament on Wednesday and making the rounds delivering tickets to unsuspecting fans (Fox 17 video) on Thursday. They didn't make it down to Columbia, or if they did, I wasn't home.

Sully got a look at the new third jersey yesterday and tweeted @Sully26: "Just saw our 3rd jersey for this upcoming year.... I think the fans will really like them" There's less than a week to wait since they will be unveiled in a ceremony at 6:00 p.m. next Thursday.

For those wanting a free ticket to next Thursday's Predators preseason game that is a part of Preds Fest 09, click here, print it, and take it to the box office prior to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday September 16.

The Pred's blog world continues to expand with a new site called Big Kev's Thoughts on Hockey that is run by twitter friend @klorance. This is the second new site in a week. Everyone should support the efforts of those willing to devote time and effort into writing about their team. I know of another blog coming soon from an already prolific writer that I am looking forward to also.

Admiral's Short Shifts has a Q and A article with the Cincinnati Cyclone blog Cycwords.

Around the NHL...

The biggest news of the day in hockey, outside of Phoenix, was really no news at all. There was the apparent unfounded rumor started by ESPN of a three-way deal involving Dany Heatley. Even NHL.com picked up on the story. When it became clear that it was not a done deal, there was all kinds of fingerpointing and excuses.

Some of the members of the World Champion Pittsburgh Penguins went to the White House on Thursday. Here is a video of the ceremony.

Adam Proteau of The Hockey News blames the league for the firing of Paul Kelly. You need to read the story to understand the logic.

Allan Maki at the Globe spoke with alleged NHLPA instigator Andrew Ferrence and has his side of what went down with the Kelly firing in Chicago. The vote was actually by secret ballot at the urging of Ferrence and (one of my favorite players) Robyn Regehr. Based on this article, it looks like the players were trying to take the high road in the matter.

The NHL Network is set to bring viewers ten preseason games starting Monday with the Islanders and the Canucks in the Kraft Hockeyville event.

In the midst of all the mess in Phoenix, Theo Fleury received permission to return to the NHL. Now all he needs is a team.

The whole deal with the US Feds cracking down on Air Canada's NHL team charters has gotten worse with Air Canada suing the Obama Administration.

Inside Hockey's Chris Rahn has started a 29 teams in 29 days look at the AHL teams and how they stack up for this season.

Former Predator antagonist Nathan Perrott has taken his fighting skills from the rink to the ring as reported in this Philadelphia Daily News story.

Something I noticed last night while watching the trailer for the new movie "Up In The Air" was a familiar jersey in the background of the thumbnail...Take a look.

Can you spot it? ;)

More Later...

Buddy and Jackson Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

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