Weekend notes: Preds look to start new winning streak, find new arena name

by Dirk Hoag on Nov 28, 2009 9:31 AM EST

It's going to be a busy, busy weekend for Nashville Predators fans, with holiday shopping getting started just as the team battles through 3 home games in 4 nights. The good news, of course, is that even with the win streak over at 7, the Preds are still in 2nd place in the Central Division, and 6th in the Western Conference, thanks to a loss by Dallas.

After the jump, however, we've got all the hockey news to get you started this morning. There is a host of reaction to last night's loss to St. Louis, a look at the dispute between the team and the Sommet Group over arena naming rights, and a rare column in the local newspaper about hockey by a sportswriter normally stuck on football and NASCAR...

Predators News

Preds On The Glass: Blues, Mason End Preds Streak with 3-1 Win
Buddy's post-game work includes a comment from Dave Scatchard, who got into a fight just seconds after scoring his first goal as a Predator.

The Win Streak Is Snapped By St. Louis, 3-1 - Brandon Felder
Brandon's post-game quotes include some thoughts from Chris Mason on beating his former teammates again.

See Puck City: Blues Break Streak: Preds Fall 1-3
SPC wonders of the Thanksgiving feast got to the Preds last night...

Are the Predators still purchasing from Sommet’s business units? - Nashville Predators Examiner
Jim Diamond looks at the main complaint the Sommet Group has leveled at the Predators, that they haven't given their various divisions enough of business.

Streaking Blackhawks Reach the Top -- NHL FanHouse
Adam Gretz ranks the Preds in the league's Top 10...

Brophy: Preying on defence - sportsnet.ca
Mike Brophy lauds Barry Trotz for Nashville's hard-work ethic that's paid off over the last few weeks, but doubt it will carry the team to playoff success this year.

Predators live, die by power-play success - The Tennessean
Did Joe Biddle get lost last night? I can't remember the last time he wrote a Preds article for the print edition of The Tennessean.

Naming rights for Predators arena may be hard sell - The Tennessean
A good piece looking at the challenges and opportunities for selling arena naming rights. How's about "SB Nation Thunderdome"?

We also get a good indication that perhaps the Sommet Group didn't get the biggest bang for their advertising dollar, since nobody seems to know what "Sommet" means anyway - this video comes from The Tennessean:

Around the NHL

Nikita Filatov: "I might stay in KHL for one more year" - RussianHockeyFans.com
He hasn't even been over in Russia for a couple weeks, and already Columbus Blue Jackets winger Nikita Filatov is talking about staying there for 2 years, not just one. While Columbus is putting their best face on this, it's looking more and more like Radulov II. Hat tip on this one to Neutral Zone Trap.

The Battle of Alberta: Points v. Scoring
A meditation on how much we should really value Points as a measure of offensive productivity...

Rutherford, Canes face tough decisions | newsobserver.com blogs
Will the Carolina Hurricanes pull the plug on this season and start making personnel moves aimed at next year?

I Might Just Be A Hockey Fan In California - Hockey From the Cheap Seats
A host of thoughts from a busy week of NHL action.

NorthJersey.com: Ex-NHL enforcer entering the ring
Former Nashville Predator Nathan Perrott has launched a second athletic career, and has his 2nd professional boxing match scheduled for next week.

For discounted tickets to any Nashville Predators home game, you can follow this link and use the special offer code "PREDS".

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Comments

And with the door now open...

Poile looks more and more justified in not selecting Russians since Radulov defected. Filatov already talking about staying a second year and now Tikhanov bolting from San Antonio (PHX’s AHL affiliate) to go to the KHL as well…

Personally, I like the drafting we’ve been doing the past few summers…

Predators Hockey: Live it, Love it...

by Seth Lake on Nov 28, 2009 12:06 PM EST reply actions

When the Filatov story first broke, he said that he thought guys like that would become much less desirable in the NHL, because they weren’t fully committed to doing the hard work and putting in the time to make it in North America, with easy money available back in Russia.

More fun than a stick to the face!
On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators.

by Dirk Hoag on Nov 28, 2009 12:32 PM EST up reply actions

"Good piece" in Tennessean?

This front page article is a typical Tennessean effort. The writer sought out a couple of commentators, whose alleged expertise is never indicated, to support a questionable premise. There may be legitimate issues involved but this piece doesn’t address them.

by Hockey Hillbilly on Nov 28, 2009 4:20 PM EST reply actions

I thought it was a decent piece, just outlining the various factors involved from the buying and selling side of arena naming rights, and also pointing out that this isn’t a unique issue to Nashville. The video was a nice touch as well.

More fun than a stick to the face!
On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators.

by Dirk Hoag on Nov 28, 2009 6:22 PM EST up reply actions

It’s a matter of interpretation, perhaps. Front page reporting demands some legwork (or at least a respectable search on the net with followup calls to cited sources) in order to marshal the facts and figures to support conclusions; the process is called newsgathering. In this case, a thorough review of the Adelphia/LP Field case should have been the starting point; that might have led to sources with some working background in this kind of issue. Phoning a couple of people, taking down their thoughts and pasting them together is a lazy way of working up a piece for a front page hole on a slow news day.

by Hockey Hillbilly on Nov 29, 2009 3:31 PM EST up reply actions