Metro Sports Authority Disbands the Finance Committee... Will Reducing Rusty Lawrence's Power Help the Predators?

Buried in an otherwise troubling article about the potentially huge stuctural problems at LP Field, the Nashville Business Journal had this interesting tidbit from today's Metro Sports Authority Meeting:

Also today, the Sports Authority executive committee chose to disband its finance committee and leave fiscal oversight in the hands of the full, 12-member board. Finance Committee Chairman Rusty Lawrence opposed the move, arguing it would be foolish to abolish a layer of fiscal oversight given the Sports Authority’s complex legal arrangements with the Predators and Titans. Other members felt the committee and the full board were duplicating efforts.

Some of you may remember Rusty's thoughts about the Predators in the past.   There was the tax lien incident, which he used to try to extract some concessions from the predators, he's opposed some business opportunities, wanted larger cuts of the Preds revenue.  

Anyway, I'm not sure it makes a huge difference to Pred Nation, but its the off-season.  So any news is news, I suppose.  And seeing as my schedule acutally permitted me to post something (a huge rarity these days), I'd figured I spread the word.

Let's Play Oddsmakers

PredNation:

It may be the long, hot, hockeyless days of summer, but fear not.  The Predator blogging community has decided to face off in a game of odds makers.  For those of you unfamiliar with the game, or PTI which I have blatantly ripped this off from, the rules are simple.  I am going to pose a statement to the Predators Blogging community.  They will respond with the odds that the statement is true, and an explanation as to why.

Loyal Fans, its your job to read their answers in the post (which will probably be up Tuesday), and crown a winner.

This week's statement is the following:  Dan Ellis will start in more than 20 games next season in the NHL.  (He started in 28 games last season).

This week's contestants include (but may not be limited to):

• Dirk Hoag at On The Forecheck, 
• Buddy Oakes at Preds on the Glass,
• Mark Willoughby at The View from 111, and
• Ryan Porth at Red Light District Hockey.

Any questions you want to see poised to our esteemed panel of contestants?  Please send your suggestions to preds101@comcast.net.  

Pizza, Hockey, Radio AND Flood Relief? Yeah, I'll See You Wednesday!

PredNation!

Hopefully you've heard about the two great events coming up.  Wednesday is SlapShot Radio's remote viewing party from Pie-in-the-Sky Pizza.  (More info at http://www.slapshotradio.com/) Its going to be a blast, for a great cause.  So yes, count me in. You should be there too.  PITS is a really good pizza place (personally I love the wings), so that should serve as enough of a draw, as is.  However, I just love the cause that Paul McCann is trumpeting, the inline rink rebuild.

I grew up on inline hockey (in my garage and on the street).  Without it, I don't ever become a hockey fan.  Countless others are probably in the same or similar boat.  So keeping the rink alive is a worthy and noble cause I believe in.

Hope to see you all there!

P.S. - I'm also planning to be at the Tin Roof next Monday, for The View from 111's fundraiser.  That promises to be a great event too, and I will post about that closer to time.

Cheater!: Too Many Men on the Ice

Ok, so I'm a day or two late on this one, but as my 8th grade English teacher used to say: "Better Never than Late."  With that in mind, lets look into the frenzy that occurred over the game winning goal by the Sharks over the Red Wings.  The most important part of this rule is not the "what it prohibits" but "how to exploit it."

Photo via Nightmare on Helm Street.

Yes, there are seven Sharks' skaters on the ice in the photo.  Foul! Foul! Right?  No.

The Rule:

There is a five foot rule exception According to Rule 74:

Too Many Men on the Ice - Players and goalkeepers may be changed at any time during the play from the players’ bench provided that the player or players leaving the ice shall be within five feet (5') of his players’ bench and out of the play before the change is made. Refer also to Rule 71 – Premature Substitution. At the discretion of the on-ice officials, should a substituting player come onto the ice before his teammate is within the five foot (5’) limit of the players’ bench (and therefore clearly causing his team to have too many players on the ice), then a bench minor penalty may be assessed.

Exploiting the Rule:


The Benches are 24 feet long.  Players get 5 feet of buffer.  Thats 29 feet a the team can gain, for example on a break away.  Take this example from the Preds' playoff win over Chicago.  If the Chicago player had been at the top of the screen (i.e. near the bench) instead of at the top, a lot of ground could have been made up on this play, maybe even potentially broken up.

Sure, this rule isn't exploited very often, Its hard to plan, as all of the variables have to be exactly right: the timing, player positioning, skating full speed may be quicker than accelerating.  Regardless it is still a trick thats good to have in your back pocket.

I will say that the trick is more valuable in beer league games where, well... lets just say that the game isn't quite NHL speed.

Help Players of Local Hockey Community Affected by the Flood

As some of you may know, there is a thriving beer league adult hockey league in Nashville at both the Sportsplex and at A-Game in Franklin.  I joined about a year ago, and it was the best decision I've ever made.  The worst rec league game is better than almost any Preds game... and you know how much I love the Preds.  The best part, though, is that the people are some of the best people you will ever meet.  And they need your help.

Several members of the league have been hard hit, as have everyone.  If you have some free time tomorrow, and would like to help out a fellow hockey fanatic, please do.  According to Centennial Sportsplex:

The Boone Trace subdivision in Bellvue was one of the areas hit hard by flooding. It is also home to several members of the area hockey community. They are looking for volunteers to help clean up after the flood tomorrow (5/5). 

If you are interested, please send me an email at Preds101@comcast.net, and I will be sure to get you in touch with the people who can get you more specific information tomorrow.