Time to follow through by Rocky

Ok, well I have no problem with Byron Scott getting named NBA coach of the year...However now that Scott has been given this award, it seems fitting to me that the best coach also has the best player...Time to own up and give the MVP to Chris Paul. Kid is absurd, not to mention a triple threat as he showed last night...Chris Paul reminds me of those games in which Stockton played and Malone didnt...The type of cat who if he wanted to, could take over like an LBJ or Kobe because that part of the game comes so easy to him. Where he separates himself from those two is this...Kobe just doesnt make his teammates better, he just needs to play with better guys. LBJ makes his guys better, but not good enough to get out of the east. Now look at the ragtag bunch of guys people gave up on that play for New Orleans, throw a solid motivator like Byron in there, all you are missing in order to be the team to beat is the best PG in the game...oh wait, they have that. Let me close with this, I can't believe Byron Scott is the cause of careers being resurrected and David West playing like an undersized Karl Malone...its the game of John Stockton...It's Chris Paul...I'm telling you!

Now that the Pacman Jones question has been answered, it's time for the Titans to focus on FOOTBALL and once again, they have produced a curious cast of characters in the draft. Chris Johnson may be Eric Metcalf reincarnated. Kick returner, slot, wideout, I-back who can turn the corner...a true multi-weapon. This guy had not one, but TWO 400+ all purpose yard games including the Hawaii Bowl win over Boise St. He also had a 300 yard rushing game during the season. But not too many had him a 1st rounder. However, I'm a big believer in getting your guy, if that's your guy. Now the pick of Jason Jones in the second round was a head scratcher in that no one had this guy earlier than the 4th round...but again, he seems to be an athlete of "Freakish" physical proportions.
The one I'm most intrigued by is 4th rounder William Hayes. The Titans traded up in the 4th round to get to this guy....who no one, including the NFL itself, thought would be drafted! Ever! He has great speed for a big guy, but did nothing before last year and had to go 1-AA because he had no grades. But I defer to the coaches and scouts and somebody will look like a genius if this works out.

Exit with Heads Held High

It coulda been worse...much worse. As the Preds left the ice, vanquished by the Detroit Red Wings in eerily the same fashion as 2004, I couldn't help think how this scene could have played out...Yesterday, a packed house send the overachieving Preds to the golf course with a lusty applause and anticipation of "Next year". But just imagine how it might have been. No David Freeman...no Karl Deal...no Fans raising their voices...and no more "I like it, I love it..." after no more goals.
Instead of a playoff exit on a Sunday afternoon on national TV, it would have been a lonely Saturday night in front of about 8,000 fans. A team looking to pack their bags having mailed this season of transition in. Preds gear in the discount, off Broadway stores, next those Nashville Kats t-shirts. And yesterday would have been just another quiet spring Sunday downtown with a few hundred people milling about. Thank you David Freeman. Thank you Karl Dean. Thank you Preds. Now let's get out of the first round NEXT YEAR!

From the pages of Center Ice Magazine

A SILENT ROAR?

Question: If a filled arena breaks out into a spontaneous, piercing roar but no one outside the building is willing to hear it, does it make a sound?

Answer: Apparently not.

Welcome to the dilemma that is the Nashville Predators.

It was a truly magical moment the night of April 3 at Nashville’s Sommet Center. The Predators were on the verge of clinching their fourth straight playoff appearance, which they did later that night with their victory and a Vancouver Canucks loss. At the time the Predators were clinging to a precarious 3-2 lead over St. Louis.

Then it happened.

During the final media timeout, over 17,000 fans stood up and started cheering. But this wasn’t just some fleeting moment of appreciation. Their cheering continued…louder and longer. The crowd had broken out into an unprovoked, ear-splitting roar that had rarely, if ever, been heard during the Predators’ 10-year history.

The tell-tale sign of an unforgettable sports moment is when its historical significance is realized in the moment. Sitting among the press corps that night at the Sommet Center, I knew this was something very special. Chills went down my spine as I realized I was experiencing perhaps the seminal moment in franchise history.

It was spontaneous, it was unexplainable, and – most importantly – it was real.

That moment may have signified a fan base finally and fully embracing its hockey team, a franchise nearly snatched from its city before the season had even begun.
Yet as special and memorable the moment was, an entire region outside the building failed to hear it.

This lack of recognition from everyone outside the loyal but smallish Predators fan base was just as deafening and equally measurable.

As the eighth-seeded Predators approached a difficult, yet not impossible, opening-round task of upsetting the top-seeded and President Trophy-winning Detroit Red Wings, the community at-large responded with a whimper, both in television ratings and ticket sales.

To be fair, trying to find the Predators on TV – through the muddled mess of networks and times - was the equivalent of the cliché needle in a haystack. Additionally, the thought of buying tickets for a series in which the good guys were down 0-2 coming back to Nashville did not necessarily seem appealing. Game 3 did not sell immediately. In fact, it did not sell out until the morning of the showdown.

But here was the Predator faithful again during Game 3, letting loose a growl reminiscent of the regular season finale, practically willing the Predators to an unlikely 5-3 win.

Despite the fan and player heroics, one glaring problem remains: the Predators need more people shouting inside – and outside – the building, both with their voices and their wallets.
Otherwise the next generation of Predators fans will not experience the magical moments we did.

That’s because there won’t be a next generation of fans.

This will be the last time...by Rocky

I am begging everyone out there, pleading...this is not the case of whether you support him or like him or think he is a good person. This is NOT about whether or not he can change or if he is doomed to repeat himself and his actions. This IS about just letting it go...what has he really done to earn this? Has he hit over 756 home runs? Did he throw or catch the Music City Miracle or take this team on his back to the playoffs as in the case of an Eddie, Steve, or in the past 2 years the friggin head coach!?!? Of course not, instead he has gone the rout of others who fall from grace, and in his case these allegations were going on well before the pro-game. This isn't the blame game either, its not about the owners, coach, other players, or even him being at fault. This rant is about one thing, letting it go. We the people are power in numbers, and every now and again if we band together it actually works. Whether you know it or not, TV news casts have instant ratings feedback where they can see how well a story works. Imagine if everyone just turned it off the next time they show his face...

And DAMMIT GO PREDS!

It's OK....For Now...By Thom Abraham

By all accounts, Brandt Snedeker is a terrific guy. And my this account, I believe he will be a regular winner on the PGA Tour....and, man does he look like Johnny Miller out on the course! Having said that, Snedeker's emotional interview, just minutes after coming off the course revealed just how much these guys hold back on the course. And maybe that's an issue. In an effort to be ultra-controlled, maybe they need to blow a little steam out there...Tiger wears it on his sleeve, so did Arnie. Trevino would chat with the gallery to stay loose. Tom Watson just smiled...hence the nickname "Huck Finn". Snedeker is from the Watson school...in fact, he calls Watson one of his heroes. The question going forward will be, can Brandt Snedeker channel that emotion into positive results? I'm betting yes...

Chip off the ol' block by Rocky

Tiger sat down with Scott Van Pelt for one of the more candid interviews I have ever heard regarding Woods and insight into his life. Woods for the first time I can truly remember came off what sports fans may consider "arrogant". For the most part I believe Tiger has been more on the invisible side then the in your face Barry Bonds/Curt Schilling/TO athlete who demands you pay attention, most of the time by throwing a tantrum with or through the media. Tiger has his quirks on the course, plays head games with his competition much like Jordan or Deon Sanders once did, but besides marrying his hottie babysitter, we know little about the man...again compared to these other men and sometimes women who insist we turn the cameras on every time they breathe. No Tiger has always been good with us, good with the fans, good with the country. (OK I know he went off on someone for clicking his camera phone during his backswing, but that's another rant altogether...Lets leave it at this, if the guy didnt stick up for himself, who am I to?) But he came out and said he has to bet on himself, he IS better than Jack, and 19 is more important than 100... And here we are again, ready to miss work to watch him play, something in the past reserved for the NCAA's. It's a sign we havent seen so far and I tell you this...if he has been playing this well without this chip, I fear for Rory and the rest of 'em!