Announcement...Game Tonight

Posted 12:40 PM ET | Comments 5

(a note to the Nashville haters..can you give us this day? Can you give it to us without the negative comments and Nashville bashing? Thanks)

Well...the day that Pred fans have been waiting for has arrived. A deal has been reached with the city on a new lease the guarantees that Nashville hockey fans have the Predators for at least five more years. The hard work of the local investment group, Our Team Nashville, Phil Bredesen and his wife and the Mayor of Nashville Karl Dean has paid off in a deal that protects the city and gives new ownership a real chance to make this team viable here. A crowd of about 200-300 showed up for the mid day announcement.

Let me also say publicly that George Plaster, afternoon host on the #1 sports talker in Nashville 104.5 The Zone, was a lightening rod for the support that got this deal done. Predator fans owe a great deal to the efforts of George and The Zone to keep the Preds here. Until this point I didn't have a great deal of respect for Plaster. It started back when the NHL entry draft was held here and he said that we would be lucky to have '3,000 people' there for the draft. The next day over 10,000 hockey fans poured into the then GEC and proved him wrong. From that point on I took him as a hockey hater. I guess I was wrong. Above all this guy loves Nashville and knows and understands how much this team means to it.

Blues Again: The Preds will play the back end of a home and home against the Blues in St. Louis tonight (on 104.5 The Zone at 7:30). The Blues came in an took two points in a shootout victory Saturday night. The Preds played a solid game but couldn't solve goalie Hannu Toivonen who played a great game. It's another key match up in the ultra competitive Central where these points are precious. Look for Ellis to get a spot start tonight.

Filed Under: predators predjoe blues Hannu Toivonen predators sale

blueline

November 19, 2007 3:52 PM ET | Delete
Great press conference, I thought. David Freeman is a down-to-earth, sincere individual and Mayor Dean proved wrong my earlier criticism of him when the deal seemed to be at a complete standstill. We do owe a lot of thanks to a number of people who have worked so hard to keep our team in its original and only home.

sabres51

November 19, 2007 4:02 PM ET | Delete
Originally I was not a big fan of Nashville and their hockey base (this based on the whole Nichol incident that occurred last year with Spackek) but you guys have definitely shown the rest of the NHL that Nashville deserves a team. Fans depriving other fan bases of their teams is just plain wrong. I would love to see new teams established in former NHL cities like Hartford, Winnipeg and Quebec but not at the expense of a city that supports their team. Being from Buffalo I know how it feels. I can not understand those people, especially the ones who support the Sabres (surprisingly I can't stand many of the Sabre fans on this site), root for the relocation of the Predators. Peace

dgutzman

November 19, 2007 4:36 PM ET | Delete
Sabres51 - Thank you so much for your words of support. As an avid HB follower, I read up on all of the team blogs and insight. Occationally I write a few things about another team, but mostly based on the results of a game. I have never outwardly crisized another organization. I envie alot of the other NHL teams and I think there is much we can learn in this developing hockey town. And it feels nice to read some positive comments from hockey fans around the world supporting us. We need all the support we can get and need more fans like you who believe that hockey isn't any one city or countries game and that its ultimate goal is for it to continue to spread its fan base and build upon its already great entertainment level. Thanks again.

OneTimer