We're very proud to announce that as part the Nashville Scene's Best of Nashville 2011 issue, OnTheForecheck.com has been selected as the Writers' Choice for Best Sports Blog in Nashville. Here's what they had to say:

Dirk Hoag's Predators-centric blog OnTheForecheck.com is the crème de la crème of a boom crop of local sports blogs. Aided ably by a handful of merry prankster assistant editors, Hoag does yeoman's work at OTF: twice-daily news dumps, statistical analysis, game recaps. But as always, a blog is only as good as its readers, and the comment threads are strong distillations of the best (and sometimes, worst) of fandom: rollicking non sequitur discussions, cheers, jeers and in-jokes. OTF is a family - with all the baggage that carries - and it's at its best when Poppa Dirk lets the kids get away with a little mischief. J.R. LIND    

Thanks go out to the writing crew that contribute here on the site (Chris, Sam, Marc, Ryan, Aditya and Seth) and of course you the readers, who turn this assortment of bits & pixels into a dynamic, welcoming community for Nashville Predators fans, whether new or old. If we're a family, well, let's just say we're taking in a lot of foster kids these days.

But that's not the only landmark achievement we're marking today here at OTF. The odometer is tripping over again, as this week we hit our 2,000,000th visit and 4,000,000th page-view since joining SB Nation back in February of 2009. Those numbers are mind-boggling compared to the early days when I used to publish OTF over on the old Blogger platform, and hope for a few dozen visitors a day!

So if you're a returning visitor here, thanks helping make this place what it is today. If this is your first time, consider signing up and joining the crew (trust me, the Game Threads are a great way to watch a game), or subscribing to the site on Twitter or Facebook as we get ready to embark on the wild ride that is the NHL Regular Season!

Go Preds!

Now here's a look at the swanky soiree that took place at the Parthenon in Nashville to celebrate this year's winners...

In anticipation of tonight's opening game of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks, Marc conducted a brief interview with Sean Zandburg, an editor at Nucks Misconduct, which is SB Nation's Vancouver blog.

NOTE: Marc couldn't post this because, as a student at Alabama, he's without power right now. The Tuscaloosa area has been devastated by the incredible tornadoes which swept through the region yesterday. Please consider donating $10 to relief efforts by texting "REDCROSS" to 90999 using your phone, or head over to the Red Cross Alabama Gulf Coast Chapter for more information.

Follow after the jump for the scoop on how the Canucks survived a strong challenge from the defending Stanley Cup champs, and what the mood of the Vancouver fan base is like heading into the second round...

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Kicking off at 9:30 Central time, we've got two key games to keep an eye on in the West. Feel free to jump in below and follow along!

Anaheim Ducks vs Los Angeles Kings
The winner of this game will pass the Preds in the standings, the loser will not. Simple, eh?

Phoenix Coyotes vs San Jose Sharks
If the Coyotes earn just a single point by taking this to OT, they'll pass the Preds and lock up 4th place.

On tonight's SlapShot Radio program, a new segment debuted called "Captain's Corner", featuring an extended interview with Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber, conducted by (birthday boy) Pete Weber. In future weeks, other members of the team's leadership group will also participate. You can listen to the first installment via the following link:

Captains Corner 2011-01-19 Shea Weber (MP3)

You can catch SlapShot Radio each Wednesday evening from 6-7 p.m. on 560-AM WNSR in Nashville, listen online at WNSR.com, or catch the podcasts which are posted after each show over at SlapShotRadio.com.

The Faces Of The Franchise

I like this move quite a bit, because if there's one criticism I do have of previous captain Jason Arnott, it's that he didn't represent the team very much in the media. You didn't hear him on the radio talk shows, or appearing on local TV, etc. Shea appears much more willing to take on that role, as part of the overall drive by the organization to help grow the hockey community here in Middle Tennessee.

And besides, a show called "SlapShot Radio" should really feature the guy with the legendary slap shot, right?

Nashville Predators assistant coach Peter Horachek joined the Thom Abraham Show this afternoon to talk about the weekend set with Chicago, what's involved when the coaching staff occasionally "peels the paint in the locker room" during an intermission to get the guys rolling, the prospects for the long road trip which continues tomorrow in Phoenix, and how Colin Wilson's game continues to develop. We also get an update on the status of Francis Bouillon, who came back to Nashville for evaluation on his injury.

You can listen to the interview via the following link:

Peter Horachek on Thom Abraham Show 2011-01-17 (MP3)

UPDATE: Josh Cooper tweeted this evening that Bouillon is out for tomorrow, but might rejoin the team in Colorado on Thursday.

While there's a lot of drama going on these days with the Tennessee Titans, and which over-hyped, under-performing individuals will be kept with or jettisoned from that dysfunctional organization, the best damned story in Nashville sports is how the Predators have overcome adversity to keep on climbing through the NHL standings.

From the West Coast, Josh Cooper of The Tennessean called into the Thom Abraham Show earlier this afternoon to share some perspective on how the Preds are getting it done these days. You can listen to that interview right here:

Josh Cooper on Thom Abraham Show 20110107 (MP3)

By the way, a question that came up during the interview had to do with the last time the Preds swept their way through California, that occurred in November of 2008.

Pekka & Puck Talk on 104.5

In addition, Pekka Rinne will be calling in to 104.5 The Zone around 6:05 p.m. today, and they'll be taking hockey calls for the rest of that hour. So if you're sick of all the Titans nonsense, take this opportunity to jump into the discussion and get the hockey talk rolling. The Preds deserve it, and face it, the fans do too!

Pekka Rinne

#35 / Goalie / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-5

Weight: 207

Born: Nov 03, 1982

I've got two radio notes for Predators fans this afternoon...

1) Terry Crisp will join 104.5 The Zone today from 3-4, talking about all the recent developments as the Preds head into New Jersey for a game tomorrow night. Patric Hornqvist didn't travel with the team, but Pekka Rinne did, and Steve Begin's been called up from Milwaukee.

2) Starting with tomorrow's Predators/Devils game, I'll be joining Willy Daunic occasionally on the radio post-game show on 102.9 The Buzz. We'll take questions submitted via the Predators' official Facebook page, and wrap up all the action. Be sure to join us!

In many ways, the Nashville Predators and New York Islanders are two very similar organizations - "small markets", no big name players, and very little playoff success. There are, of course, stark differences, namely Nashville's insistence upon running things the right way, and the Islanders' consistent turmoil from the front office on down.

Either way, Music City isn't visited by the Islanders often, so I took the opportunity to have a conversation with Dominik, managing editor of SB Nation's Lighthouse Hockey, a website you should read whether or not the Islanders interest you.

After the jump, my questions, and Dominik's answers.

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