Thursday's news: Hockey's here, and The Tennessean still sucks

by Dirk Hoag on Sep 23, 2010 10:23 AM EDT

At long last, we get to see the Predators take the ice vs. Carolina in preseason action, so make sure to check out both Chris' game preview and Seth's writeup of yesterday's practice, which focused on special teams.

Of course, it wouldn't be hockey season without The Tennessean stirring up another tempest in a tea pot, would it?

After the jump, we've got another heaping pile of tripe from Nashville's "leading" daily newspaper, and an ample demonstration of why you really don't need to rely on them for in-depth coverage of the Predators anyway. Save yourself some money and cancel that subscription...

Readers of On the Forecheck can take advantage of this special offer to buy cheap Nashville Predators tickets.

Predators News

Predators ignore arena lease terms - The Tennessean (sorry, I ain't linking this one)
The Tennessean picks today of all days to dig up old news (about the Preds not filing annual financial reports) and a non-story (about them supposedly charging 50 cents too much in per-ticket facility fees for non-hockey events), rolling them up under a sensationalist, negative headline. Note, for example, how a quote from the Metro Finance Department which approves of how things are being run is conveniently buried in the final paragraph of the article. I canceled my subscription to the paper last December and don't miss it one bit, and I highly recommend that Predators fans celebrate the start of hockey season by doing the same.

UPDATE: I'll admit to a slight overreaction to the timing of this piece because it set the table for this morning's Metro Sports Authority meeting, at which the financial reporting issue was raised. However, I stand by my criticism of The Tennessean for continuing to obscure or ignore positive (or even neutral) off-ice issues related to the team. Besides the item noted by Paul McCann below about rising ticket sales, the paper only today offered a tiny note about the team's new radio deal with WBUZ (before that there was only a Josh Cooper blog post). When it comes to the Preds, the only way they seem to get front-page attention from The Tennessean is when they have something bad to say.

The View from 111: My Letter to the Editor
Good on you, Mark, for cancelling your Tennessean subscription this morning. How many other Preds fans will follow his example?

Paul McCann - Game Night - Local Paper Does It Again...
Paul raises an excellent point about The Tennessean's load of crap from this morning. They failed to emphasize that non-hockey tickets sold were up 55% from 2008 to 2009. After all, they can't let good news get in the way of a negative headline.

etc - Bad at saying "goodbye" - Tumblr
Meet the new Interactive Marketing Coordinator for the Nashville Predators, some guy who was formerly Social Media Director at The Tennessean (congrats, Eric!).

Preds On The Glass: Opening Night at Bridgestone Arena (Sort Of), The Schwartz Speaks, and Thursday Thoughts
Buddy's carrying the torch for Launy, who (by all reasonable accounts) got screwed out of an opportunity with Canada's The Score.

Predators hope specialty teams work pays dividends - Nashville Predators Examiner
Jim Diamond sums up yesterday's practice. Make sure to check out Seth's review of the special teams work as well.

Tennessee Native Blake Geoffrion to Make Predators Debut Tonight - Predlines
This is something we've looked forward to for a long time...

Predators' Shea Weber relishes trying to lead team to next level - USATODAY.com
Kevin Allen profiles Shea Weber as a superstar ready to take this team farther than it has ever been before, including a nod to the personal losses he suffered off the ice this summer.

Rinne ready for heavy workload beginning in preseason | Nashville City Paper
It's all about getting the #1 ready to roll...

Brophy on NHL: Who's No. 1 in the league? - sportsnet.ca
Mike Brophy has Shea Weber on his Top 30 list...

Red Light District: Pre-Season Top 5 Vezina Candidates
Hey, I like Pekka Rinne and all, but a Top 5 Vezina Candidate? Sorry, Ryan, I'm not buying it.

Predators are letting YOU choose the in-game music… | Section 303
An interesting feature will be added to the in-game entertainment this season.

Fantasy Hockey Scouts: Blogger's Breakouts: Nashville Predators
FHS got some poor schmuck to comment on the Preds relative to fantasy hockey.

Around the NHL

HBO tabs Capitals/Penguins Classic for ‘Hard Knocks’-like series - Puck Daddy
This could be interesting...

Fight Video: Chicago's Boynton taunts Tampa's Jones after KO - Puck Daddy
Will Chicago's Nick Boynton faces supplementary discipline for a threatening gesture, which is not allowed per the NHL's video from a few days ago? Of course not - Duncan Keith's water bottle incident was in there too, but the Blackhawks didn't get penalized for that...

Which Top 20 scorers are trending up or down in NHL 2010-11? - Puck Daddy
Greg's been hitting the crack pipe pretty hard if he's calling for Henrik Sedin to improve upon his 112-point season.

Always bet the 'Under' - Behind The Net
Gabe agrees with my assessment.

Black Dog Hates Skunks: Bill Murray
Wonderful, wonderful stuff here. When it comes to preseason, all you need to do is watch Meatballs .

Versteeg has mark of a champion - The Globe and Mail
OK, in this case it's literal.

Mendes on NHL: Second to none - sportsnet.ca
An interesting perspective on second-line centers around the league.

Mental Training: Getting Cut - The Goalie Guild
Perfect advice for this time of year, how to rebound from the personal disappointment of being cut from training camp.

The Price isn’t Right - The Globe and Mail
One preseason game, and the lame cliches are being relied upon already? Boo...

Brodeur is a Fraud: What to Expect From Steve Mason
If Brodeur is a fraud, what does that make Steve Mason? Yikes...

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Comments

Tennessean

I not only canceled our longtime subscription I stopped reading the online version as well. (I do have Josh Cooper’s blog bookmarked.) The only time I notice anything the Tennessean reports is when an item is linked in OtF. Thanks, Dirk, for
exercising excellent judgment in not providing the link today.

by Hockey Hillbilly on Sep 23, 2010 10:50 AM EDT reply actions

Just canceled, too

…and ranted to customer service agent for 7 minutes.

by LuvthePreds on Sep 23, 2010 11:40 AM EDT reply actions

tennessean

Don’t worry Dirk. Their medium is dying so they have to post outrageous headlines inorder to get 5 readers for the day. I don’t know anyone who still takes them seriously.

"It's gonna be fun on the bun."

by flyalder on Sep 23, 2010 12:21 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

Now, Now, let's properly place the blame here...

It is Gannett that deserves your wrath. Just blaming the Tennessean ignores the national scourge that they have delivered upon newspapers and journalism. My friends that still work at the Tennessean take them seriously. They take them seriously when they lay them off and force them to re-apply for their old jobs. They take them seriously when they force them to take one or two week-long furloughs without pay so they can cut costs. Though, they will do the paperwork so they can get unemployment benefits for that second week. Nice of them to saddle the government with their payroll. If you are high up in the company, you can keep your sons’ and daughters’ names out of the paper when they are involved in something scandalous, much like if you are a big advertiser and you want to keep your name from being mentioned in reports of shots being fired at your business. It is not that the bosses over there, er… in Virginia, don’t LIKE the Preds, it’s just that they don’t earn them much money.

by cisar on Sep 23, 2010 1:43 PM EDT reply actions

I have an idea...

Lets get a few pucks and take Shea over there and let him do a little target practice with his slap shot!

by Creeping Death on Sep 23, 2010 3:56 PM EDT up reply actions

The Tennessean

Here’s a shocker Preds fans. I wrote an email to the publisher at the Tennessean…. I recieved an out of office from Sep 20-27 reply. Immagine that, a person at the Tennessean not working….

by Creeping Death on Sep 23, 2010 3:41 PM EDT reply actions