Apparently Nashville Predator fans kicked it up in the last part of the season which is a good thing when it comes to getting a piece of the pie.

The Predators averaged 14,650 in paid attendance over the last 16 home games after averaging 12,640 through the first 25. Attendance has traditionally been higher after football season and similar surges were followed by setbacks.

Maintaining the higher paid attendance figures into next season is critical. The Predators need to average at least 14,000 in order to qualify for the NHL’s full revenue-sharing plan, which allows smaller markets such as Nashville to share profits made by bigger markets with bigger local television contracts.

So the hierarchy isn’t kicking up its heels and smoking cigars, but it finds the numbers reassuring after a season of tremendous turmoil headlined by an ownership change.

If you are suffering from hockey withdrawal, Paul has a Predator’s countdown clock on his blog.

137 days to go before Nashville pucks it up again.

And ESPN people, if you’ve ever seen a Titans game, then you know that Nashville can provide all the drunk heckling fans you need. The only difference is that unlike Jets fans, we heckle other teams, not our own.

Goldnl writes a letter to David Freeman.

Nothing? Well, not anymore! There are lots of events happening in our fair city this weekend! Let’s take a look at a few of them, shall we?

Tonight! Under the lights!

GAME 5 VIEWING PARTY AT THE SOMMET CENTER
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS—NASHVILLE PREDATORS VS. DETROIT RED WINGS

Doors open: 6:00 pm
Game starts: 6:30 pm

The Preds-Red Wings game will be shown Friday night on Nashville’s largest indoor screen — the Megatron — at the Sommet Center.

* Free admission! ($5 parking available in the south lot - just behind Sommet Center)
* Gnash and the Predators Dancers will be there.
* Concession stands will be open with specially-priced food.
* Contests and activities at intermissions.
* Inflatable games for the kids.

Also, some of Music City’s most famous Tweeters will be on hand, as well!

Tomorrow (Saturday, April 19th)

10AM till 8PM at Grimey’s New & Preloved Music

Record Store Day will be celebrated this Saturday all over the world (yep, it’s gone international) as passionate music fans and obsessed record store clerks meld minds and wield their considerable power for good, not evil (we’ll leave that to the corporate ogres). We’ve got a spectacular event planned for you and we hope that you’ll choose to visit our humble emporium at some point during the day and, if you ever buy music - physical formats like vinyl, CDs and DVDs - that you’ll choose to make a purchase on this day to show your support. If you don’t live near Grimey’s, I hope you’ll visit the closest indie record store wherever you are and do the same. Not every shop is weathering these tumultuous times well but we can all use the support to keep these community-based havens for real music alive.

There will be live music, food, and lots of opportunity for people-watching!

Earth Day - Centennial Park - 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Local Living for Global Change - It all starts with me!
Youth Activities

Environmental exhibits and workshops on clean air, water, food and farming, cooking demonstration with local chefs, organic gardening and much more.

Live music from RAUL MALO and special guests: JYPSI, Jen Foster, Sam & Ruby and Five Star Iris

More info on Earth Day activities here.

No matter what you do, I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

I admit I thought I heard the fat lady singing for the Preds over the last few weeks. Play your way into the playoffs or wait for another team to play themselves out, I know which way I prefer. But either way, the Preds have captured the 8th seed in the Western Conference Playoffs and have also wisely held back from jumping up into the 7th seed.

Did you go to the last regular season home game against the St. Louis Blues thursday night? If you did, you got to experience something wonderful and rare for the last 4 minutes of the game. Take a minute to browse through the video clips on the Predators’ website too, they’re pretty cool.

The Preds will play the Red Wings in the first round and the first chance we will get to see them at home will be in games 3 and 4. The NHL has not released the playoff schedules yet, but the soonest game 1 can be will be Wednesday April 9.

If you haven’t experienced Predators playoff hockey before now, you need to. Tickets are on sale now.

And oh yes, one more thing…. Red Wings Suck!

If the Predators score 5 goals at any home game, your ticket is good for a free taco at Taco Bell, unfortunately that rule does not also apply to road games. The Preds just dominated the Edmonton Oilers, 5-1, last night for a beautiful win on this long and valuable road trip. Since the local media isn’t always the most detailed, excited or positive about our hockey team, let me expand your horizons into Canadian Media with the coverage from the Edmonton Journal and The Hockey News. Thinktrain has got some thoughts on this roadtrip too. It’s big, it really is.

Since we’re going international on this post, how about some Forsberg coverage from Swedish media. Peter Forsberg returned to NHL hockey last night playing for the Colorado Avalanche versus the Vancouver Canucks. He has stated many times that he really wants to win a Stanley Cup. Colorado is currently one of the teams vying with the Predators for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Wouldn’t it be ironic if Nashville bumped Colorado out of the playoffs? Foppa was fabulous as always and I still feel a little jilted that he didn’t come back to the Preds.

Speaking of players coming and going, I haven’t done much followup on the Predators’ two trade pickups. Paul Nicholson over at GeekThoughts sent out his reconnaisance unit and has questions and pictures about the new guy Bochenski.

HockeyBuzz is throwing open the doors for people who want to be hockey bloggers. Go take a look and give it your best shot. I’m all about opportunity.

Upcoming Games this week include:

Thursday 03/06 versus the Vancouver Canucks. This is a huge game for the Predators. Radio only.

Friday 03/07 versus the Calgary Flames. Another biggie and you can attend a listening party with other fans and beer at Beyond the Edge. h/t GeekThoughts. It’s his birthday as well, treat him right.

Sunday 03/09 versus the Detroit RedWings. This could be on NBC nationally on Sunday, but I have not confirmed it.

And finally Short and Fat. Enough said.

Hockey people, Hockey! No basketball here, so don’t get your undies all in a wad(unless you’re Canadian and then go ahead and get yourself all torqued out).

What can I say about the Predators vs. the Stars on Saturday night, they lost and it wasn’t pretty and let’s move on. In a hockey season there are 82 games total (41 home and 41 road) there just isn’t time to dwell on a loss or beat yourself up over it.

A hockey blogger that I’m willing to bet most people read already is Eklund at HockeyBuzz.com. Eklund has a special place in his heart for Nashville and has been here many times to attend games. He’s not local, but national and he gets and shares a lot of information about hockey. He also has contacts and local blogs set up for every NHL team. Currently Paul McCann, the arena announcer, writes a column for HockeyBuzz and also Brandon Felder writes a fan blog. While not strictly local bloggers, I believe that all of these guys still count when it comes to Predatorcentric blogging and they would make a good addition to your feedreader. You can subscribe to HockeyBuzz for more insider information if you want and there are comments and forums for you to interact as well.

The NHL trade deadline is tomorrow and lots of things could change around the league and in Nashville. Due to the injuries to Predators players this weekend, David Poile may be more motivated than before to look for some kind of trade deal. Watch the wire on this one.

I’d like everyone to welcome a new addition to the MCB sports desk….Skating in from parts unknown..it’s the PredsFan. PredsFan will be covering the arena of hockey and has a few introductory shots on goal:

Did you know there’s sports going on around this town that isn’t orange and white or black and gold? We’ve got hockey in this town people! Professional, INTERNATIONAL hockey! There are Olympians, World Cup Champions and Stanley Cup Winning professional athletes living and playing in this town and I am convinced that if you just got to know more about them and their sport you would never take them for granted.

In order to add a little color (black and blue) to MCB, I’ve been asked to contribute Predators hockey information and news and to also point out a lot of other people around town with blogs, photos and opinions on this great professional sport that we have.

As some background about myself, I am a passionate hockey fan. I am subjective and opinionated about the Nashville Predators team, you might as well know that right up front. Yes, the Red Wings may be one of the most consistently winning teams in recent hockey history and they are impressive, but as long as they stand between the Preds and the Central Division and Western Conference championships I don’t want anything to do with them and I can’t stand them. I have been a season ticket holder with the Nashville Predators since Day 1 and I rarely miss a game at the Sommet or on television.

We can talk about the subtleties of the game and what style of game the Preds play and prefer or we can talk about the fact that if you are a Canuck and you ever hit Weber in the face again and leave him bloody, you better get at least 5 minutes in the box, plus a game misconduct. Mostly I want to inspire people who have not experienced a hockey game in Nashville to try it out. You might become a fan or at least learn something, and if you are already a die hard fan and blogger you can have some attention and read about others who feel the same way you do.

And by the way, the next game is Saturday night against the Dallas Stars at the Sommet Center, 7pm. Although the game is sold out already you can watch on Fox Sports South with Pete and Terry at home or at your favorite sports bar with friends.

Say hello to the PredsFan and try not to get five for fighting..

Or should that be casting out? There’s a Pred’s game tonight and I’m not going, along with probably around three to four thousand empty seats. I have tickets to 13 games and have been to 8. That would be eight losses. Quite possibly, I’m not wanted (I think I’m on the ‘watch list’).

Mostly, I’m wondering about the state of the Preds and their future here. I hope we have a lot more hockey (and I’m hoping to announce soon that MCB will have a ‘hockey specialist’ posting from time-to-time, soon), but I’m not optimistic about the long-term future.

Preds watcher and far-more-knowledgeable-fan, Paul Nicholson (Geek Thoughts) doesn’t seem so optimistic either:

Through 28 games, the Preds have averaged 12,756 in paid attendance. ….If my numbers are right (and this is something better suited to Forechecker), the Preds need to average 13,830 for the remaining games in order to hit the league minimum 13,125 needed to receive the desperately needed revenue sharing. That is slightly more than what we’ve averaged over the four games between Jan 31st-Feb 7th (13,467) that included the Phoenix sell-out, but it is possible.

In order to reach the 14,000 required to keep the force the Predators to stay in town under the current (old) lease with the city, the team would have to average 16,820 in paid attendance, which let’s face it, at this point is not going to happen.

Maybe my math is wrong.
Maybe some miracle will happen.

Miracles have happened in hockey……hey..ya*?

*2005 is calling, and they want their references back..

Another big sports weekend for the Nashville and the Volunteer State as a whole. The number one women’s basketball team will be in town tomorrow for a sold out game against the Lady Commodores. The Vandy women are confident, esp. after the Lady Vols blew a nineteen point lead against LSU Thursday evening. They seem to think playing Tennessee now might be a good thing.

If I were them, I’d be careful what you wish for. The Lady Vols may be looking to rebound in a big way. Either way, it should be a great game over at Memorial Gym. (And yes, I’ve got a ticket to go. And I will be wearing orange).

Today at Memorial, the men’s team hosts Florida in an SEC East showdown. The Gators are coming off a shocking loss to LSU Wednesday evening. It’s getting to that time of year when it’s all about seeding and positioning for the SEC Tournament and beyond. Both teams need the game for a variety of reasons. Question is–who will want it more?

And reading this morning’s Tennessean, Joe Biddle thinks that the Indiana job would be a perfect fit for Kevin Stallings. As a UT fan, I’m all for it–if only because it would help keep Bruce “I am the man” Perl in Knoxville.

Speaking of the Vols, they head to Athens today to play Georgia. Georgia has been tough at home and hopefully they won’t catch Tennessee looking ahead to next week’s huge, in-state showdown with the overrated Memphis Tigers.

The potential to have to two top-five teams facing off is huge, especially this late in the year. I’ve heard stories on the radio of tickets in the nosebleed seats going for $250 plus. With ESPN College Gameday there next week and ESPN showing the game as it’s Saturday Night Showcase, expect a lot of hype for this one.

Oh yeah, and they’re having some hockey tonight too….

Good weekend if you’re a sports fan.

If you’re a Nashville sports fan, it’s a big evening. Two big rivals are in town this evening to face off against the home teams. Vandy is home to face Kentucky and the Preds host the Detroit Red Wings.

What’s a sports-fan to do? How to decide? The Dry Spot offers up some wisdom…

So what am I doing tonight?

Going to a cooking class with RUABelle. I gotta start checking my calendar before I agree to this stuff…

Oops….

The Preds are playing on the left coast tonight against their playoff bete’ noire, the San Jose Sharks. The game is on at 9:00 CST, and according to Paul Nicholson, there’s gonna be a Preds’ viewing party at Beyond the Edge (another fine Five Points eating and drinking establishment).

They will be giving away tickets for the game on
Feb 14th (valentines day) along with the usual assortment of swag.

Of course I got to the game late last night and missed our only goal.  The only line that is apparently allowed to score: Arnott, Dumont and Radulov (Our Accountants will LINE UP for YOU) netted a goal in the first period.  The entire team only managed 18 more shots on goal.

The crowd seemed subdued.  Or maybe it our lonely roost up in 331.  Maybe it’s the collective pysch of the crowd that if the Preds don’t pick up a strong offensive player or two, that the memory of a first-round play-off loss is the closest we’ll get to the play-offs this year.

I’m a fan.  I buy lots of tickets to the Preds.  The Preds may actually hate me, because my presence at Sommet means the wins go away (they lose when I show up).   Despite recent good news, a new marketing plan (which will hopefully be more successful than the last 12 marketing plans or at least better than the seeming complete LACK of marketing plan), and assurance by team management that the days of talent fire sales are over, I”m wondering if the Preds will even make the attendance totals necessary to participate in revenue sharing, much less the number of butts-in-the-seats necessary to make a profit.

The end of football around here usually translates into an attendance bounce, and the Preds have played better lately, but if new ownership doesn’t open the purse to bring in some shooters, more and more ‘fans’ will be disguised as empty sheets.

If you want to read more (and more insightful stuff) about the Preds check out:

On the Forecheck - Dirk Hoag (they watch hockey down in Nolensville?)

Pred Joe

Brandon Felder’s spot over at Hockey Buzz

Our ‘Geek‘ friend (Paul Nicholson) often writes about the pucks, as well

And, if YOU write about hockey and want to be linked, speak up and write to tips@musiccitybloggers.com

Middle Tennessee women, you have about an hour to play some hockey.

Come Play Hockey Like A Girl!

Join us for a celebration of women’s ice hockey at
Centennial Sportsplex (Rink B)
222 25th Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37203

H/T to Clarasax via Twitter

Rachel has the details:

The Nashville Women’s Hockey League is holding an open house this Saturday, January 19th, in celebration of women’s ice hockey and to introduce interested women to the sport.

The rest of the press release is over at Women’s Health News. If I was in Nashville, you guys could come and see me break my ankle, but hell, I’d do it anyway.

Paul Nicholson breaks the good news.

It looks like our long national municipal nightmare frustration is over.

The Preds and the City are announcing a deal this afternoon. Thanks to the Nashville Post, we have the agreement in hand already.
…
I’m just glad the team on the ice has things turned around. This could turn out to be a very good year.

He’s over at his place discussing the terms of the deal.

Want to meet the Nashville Predators? Well, they apparently will be out and about today:

Okay, Preds fans, if you are dying to meet your favorite player, mark your calendars for November 13. That’s the second annual “Community Day” for the Preds, when almost all of the Preds players will be out in the community, visiting businesses, reading to students, and greeting fans.

Highlights of the schedule include comedy duo Darcy Hordichuk and Alexander Radulov at the Hardee’s in Hermitage from 5:30pm to 6:30pm. Martin Erat and Scott Nichol will be at the West End Bread & Company from 1:30pm - 2:30pm, and Chris Mason will be at Shane Company in Cool Springs from 6:00pm to 7:00pm.

Head over to My Hockey Buzz to get the scoop from Clarasax.

It appears the deadline for selling the team has been extended. Goldni is happy.

I had an idea something like this would happen. Leipold would have no reason to re-open negotiations if he thought the Freeman group was making progress toward a deal. In spite of everything, it sounds like he’d much rather sell the team to the local group than to the liar Jim Balsillie. And with more time, Mayor Dean and the Metro Council will have more time to analyze a deal and make sure the city gets the best possible outcome. Everyone wins.

Kay Brooks is a bit ticked off with Karl Dean.

According to a news story in the Tennessean (which you can find linked at Kay’s original post) much of the first few weeks of Dean’s administration have been devoted to the Predators, at the expense of Dean’s education initiatives.

Our Mrs. Brooks is none to happy about that.

What are our priorities? Is education first or not? The children don’t have four years. We know that the 9th grade year can be pivotal. Four years from now will they have graduated? Or will we just then find the time to turn our attention to their needs? Hundreds are dropping out every year. This man’s own son among them. How many of those lives is a hockey franchise worth?

On a personal note…I love hockey. I grew up going to IHL games. Hockey and basketball are the two sports I’ll stop my life to watch.

But I’m so frakkin’ sick of the Predators and all the talk about the Predators that I’m not going to go to a single game this year. It’s all ruined for me. Not to mention the fact that I’m none too pleased that the library is facing massive budget cuts even while we talk about saving this hockey team.

Paul Nicholson is (understandably) burned out on Predators business talk.*

The product is on the ice. I’m going to support the team this year, hope they stay for next, and just watch hockey.

I want the Predators to stay because i really like watching hockey and love my Preds. I’m going to do what the players need to do and not let the distractions off the ice get in my way of doing my job - yelling myself hoarse at games and spending far too many nights up late listening to the radio or watching them at Beyond the Edge (which i really hope is smoke free) .

Go Preds!

*(Readers At Work Warning: Link opens to video with sound automatically)

The Nashville Predators won their pre-season opener against the Atlanta Thrashers last night at the Sommet Center. Paul Nicholson’s got some great photos of the action and video, too (including a fight-yeah!) and The Forechecker has an excellent re-cap. Both posts discuss (and have pictures of) the new scoreboard. Normally, a scoreboard’s not all that exciting, but you gotta see these pictures. That is some serious HD action.

The Forechecker also has a great (and likely to expand) list of local dining establishments that support the Preds. Check out his site to see who’s supporting our team and help him complete the list.

The Predators are raising ticket prices…again!

There will be 22 games sold at regular prices (including two preseason), 16 sold at premium prices and five sold at premium-plus prices.

Single-game tickets will go on sale Saturday at noon.

Some of the biggest percentage increases in the regular-priced games will come in the family zone and upper-goal zone, where tickets that were previously on sale for $15 will now go for $19 and $20, respectively.

Some of the most significant increases in the premium-plus games come in the same categories, where tickets that had been selling for $20 and $15 will now sell for $39 and $30, increases of 95 and 100 percent, respectively.

Now, before some of you jump on the comments and go–but the Titans raise their ticket prices just about every year, let me point out a few things.  One is that the Titans have a huge waiting list for the opportunity to buy season tickets.  Another is the Titans actually sell out every single home game between season tickets and individual game tickets.  (And yes, I know there are only 10 home games for the Titans compared to seventeen zillion for the Preds).   Finally, the Titans don’t charge more when the Colts come to town and less when the Texans come to town.   (Of course, Vandy follows the model of per-game pricing, gouging the UT fans, but that’s another post…)

I know the Preds are working hard to get their paid attendance up and it seems to me that raising the prices of tickets and declaring some as “premium” games is only going to deter the average fan from going to a game . The Preds need to build new fans and I’m afraid that raising ticket prices isn’t the best way to encourage new blood.

But that’s just me….

I’m sure I’ll get hammered in the comments on this one and told I don’t care about the Preds/Nashville. 

According to ‘Pred-Joe‘, the deal between local investors and current Predators ownership is about to be finalized.  The Preds go for a coolio $200 million and we get to keep hockey around for a few more years.

Now, Mr. Forsberg…please, just give us one more year.  Thanks.

Change that soundtrack song from Jethro Tull (Skating Away) to Warren Zevon’s ‘Hit Somebody’

Tip-off: Nashville.ismyHome.com 

Could ESPN and the NHL kiss and make-up?

I know a lot of hockey fans hope this will happen.

Paul Nicolson reminds everyone that tomorrow is the big rally to save the Predators. He’s asking the local blogging community to get involved.

Seriously - all you bloggers out there that love “live blogging” and you photographers (i’m looking at you Wage) need to show up. This is going to be big. You don’t want to miss it. My wife will probably be there off and on all day photographing the festivities.

I’m hopeful this rally will keep the team in Nashville–not just from a sports fan standpoint, but also because of what it will mean to our downtown and regional business. Of course, it’d be nice to see some of the local businesses step up and support the team as well. That could be the difference between them staying and going.

Rob and I disagree on something besides Fred Thompson

I don’t get it either.

Can Fan Rally Save Predators?

Let’s Go To The Hospital! Today!