Oh, Canada!

The Predators have this as a precursor to their homepage tonight.  As much as I would have liked to have a reverse outcome of this afternoon's game, it was just about as epic as it possibly could have been.  Congratulations truly are in order for Shea Weber and Team Canada for winning the gold, as well as for Ryan Suter and Team USA for bringing back silver.  The closing ceremonies are ending as I type this and I am already sad the Winter Olympics are over.

Back to life, back to reality...oh, and Trade Deadline Day.

Game On

The day is finally here.  The epic match up that everyone was hoping for, Team USA vs. Team Canada, is just a few hours away.  I don't pretend to know what is going to happen when the puck drops on the last Olympic event of the 2010 Vancouver games.  I'm really no good at predicting scores, especially for a highly anticipated game such as this.  However, I do know I haven't been this excited/anxious about a hockey game in a very long time.  As with last Sunday's game, it seems as though all eyes are on these two countries as they battle it out on the ice.

If you're in the mood to watch the game with other hockey fans, might I suggest the Gold Medal Game Viewing Party, organized by Jeremy and Codey of Section303.  You'll be in good company at Bleacher's Sports Grill in Franklin as many other hockey (and Predators fans) take in the game together.

Wherever you decide to enjoy the game and whatever the outcome might be, you should expect this afternoon's Olympic match up to be no less than wildly entertaining.

GO TEAM USA!

It's Getting Down to the Wire

Switzerland, Russia, the Czech Republic and Sweden all came up short yesterday.  Switzerland is understandable, mostly because they faced the United States and I certainly (and selfishly) wouldn’t have picked them to move on.  Though Jonas Hiller was fantastic in net, according to everything I read.  Obviously, so was Ryan Miller.  Now if only the schedule was more accommodating of all of us who work during the day, I could actually SEE the game and not just catch twitter updates and sneak a peek of the online feed every now and then.  Oh well…

The real story here is the fact that Russia, the Czech Republic and Sweden are out of the tournament.  With the rosters each of these teams had coming into Vancouver, this is a real shocker.  It’s that whole underdog scenario again.  The teams generally lesser known get their chance to shine.  I mean, seriously…SLOVAKIA?!  I don’t think one person would have picked them to advance to the semifinals.  But good for them.  You know that entire team has to be flying pretty high right now.  Good on them.

With the Czech Republic and Sweden both down for the count, that means there’s only two Predators left with their eyes set on a medal.  Of course, in my dream scenario Ryan Suter would bring back a little gold around his neck and Shea Weber would leave Vancouver with some silver in his pocket.  However, with the way some of these games have gone down, anything is possible. 

The men get a break tonight and the hockey stage is set for the women’s gold medal game between the United States and Canada.  I have to confess I’m not much for women’s hockey but go Team USA nonetheless!

Olympic Commercial Smackdown: Choose The Winner

And the winner is: The Coca Cola Olympic Village Snowball Fight!  YES! It is purely coincidence that this commercial was my favorite....

Some Olympic Musings...

I finally got a chance to sit down and watch a hockey game in its entirety last night.  That is something I haven't been able to do since the Olympics started.  Yes, I even missed the USA-Canada game on Sunday...oh the tragedy.  Moving on....

Well, the Canada-Germany game wasn’t much of a game, now was it?  It was apparent by the steady stream of comments post-USA game that Team Canada was not happy.  So you knew it was going to be an uphill battle for Germany before the puck even dropped last night.  The Germans battle didn’t last long, unfortunately, as the Canadians made sure to throw as much on net as possible.  Nice try, Germany.  I typically root for the underdogs in these scenarios but there was just no way Canada was going to lose that game.

A couple of the Predators Olympians had good nights though.  Germany’s Marcel Goc was able to put one past Roberto Luongo and logged the first second Olympic goal of his career.  I was happy for him in that moment, even though I knew that goal wouldn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.  He can leave Vancouver with some bragging rights though.  Not many players can say they put one past Luongo, and on his home turf no less.  The other Nashville Predator who had a great night was Shea Weber, playing for Team Canada.  He managed to score the first Olympic goal of his career…except there was a little more to his story.  Predators fans know all about his cannon, his slap shot, his blast from the point, etc.  Well, now the world knows all about it too.  Shea FREAKING Weber shot one off his stick at such lighting speed that it went straight through the net and back out onto the ice before anyone could even notice he scored a goal.  The net didn’t even rip, probably because it didn’t know what was coming.  All I’m going to say is, if you are ever on the ice with Shea Weber and you see him winding up: be afraid, be very afraid.

There’s a lot more Olympic hockey on tap today, starting with the USA-Switzerland game at 2:00pm CST on NBC.  That’s right, N-B-C.  Not MSNBC, not CNBC or USA.  Looks like the network got the message that hockey is worth a larger stage after the strong ratings from Sunday’s USA-Canada game that was relegated to their affiliate network, MSNBC.  If you won’t be around a TV at 2:00pm, you can always catch it online via NBCOlympics.com.  The video feed is about a minute or so behind the television coverage but it will do in a pinch if you’re stuck at work (God forbid!) like I’ll be.

Let’s go, Team USA!

Nashville Arena Finally Gets a New Name

Preds Home Building Renamed Bridgestone Arena

Though word of this happening has already been all over Twitter in the past couple of weeks, this is still fantastic news.

If only it had happened before The Situation and snOMG...we all could have gotten good discounts on some snow tires.

Olympic Commercial Smackdown: Final Day

Visa totally has a vice grip on my heart. I blame Morgan Freeman. Since Visa won't let me embed the videos, you'll have to go watch them on their YouTube channel instead.

My favorites: Anthem, Tied, Jamaican Bobsled and Dan Jansen.

I'll pick my top five commercials tomorrow and then it's all hockey-focused Olympic coverage from then until Sunday.

Have a happy Tuesday everyone. Go Team USA!!

Olympic Commercial Smackdown: Day Seven

Oh, Apolo Anton Ohno. There isn't one commercial I wouldn't watch as long as you were in it. DayQuil-induced superhero pajama rip to reveal speed skating uniform underneath notwithstanding.

Olympic Commercial Smackdown: Day Six

I just caught this Nintendo Wii commercial for the first time on Friday night. If only plane rides were really this entertaining.

I'm still looking for the McDonald's Sweet Chili ad online. If anyone can find it, please let me know. This competition wouldn't be complete without one of their commercials too. (Don't worry...I'm getting to Visa. They have enough commercials to demand their own competition.)

Olympic Commercial Smackdown: Day Five

Yet another Canadian commercial that might just put our commercials to shame. Coke and Canada want to make sure everyone knows who's boss when it comes to hockey. Even still, go Team USA!

Olympic Commercial Smackdown: Day Four

This ad from AT&T seems to be a favorite among quite a few people so I present it here for your votes. I like it all right, but there are so many others I think could beat it out. Although I will say I'm glad it's not another AT&T/Verizon 3G coverage war commercial. I could do without seeing one of those ever again.

Olympic Commercial Smackdown: Day Three

More kids dressed as athletes, except this time it's a Canadian-produced ad. Oh, snap! It's a two country battle now.

Olympic Commercial Smackdown: Day Two

This ad found its way into my life a couple of months prior to the Olympics, as I first saw it during the previews for a movie. It is probably close to the top of my list of favorites. Coke, snowball fights, athletes from the world over...pretty much everything I love wrapped up in a minute long scene.

Olympic Commercial Smackdown: Who Takes Home Gold?

Advertisers pay top dollar each year to have 30 second spots run during the Super Bowl. And with good reason, because watching the Super Bowl has almost become more about the commercials than the actual game.

While the same can not be said of the Olympics, commercials are still a big part of the viewing experience. I had almost forgotten about how awesomely specific and amazing the commercials can be until I was bombarded with a whole slew of them this weekend.

So, for the next week or so I'll be posting various ads here, asking you guys to leave comments on your favorite ones. Before all is said and done, there could be a commercial showdown of Olympic proportions.

First up: a commercial from Proctor and Gamble that immediately stole my heart, mostly because I'm a sucker for kids in sports gear.


This was the first of many mom-centric ads I saw over the weekend. I'll be sure to post a few others over the next week to see which one pulls at the heart strings the most.

Please be sure to note your favorites over the next week, otherwise this contest will be decided in a purely subjective fashion.

Happy Mardi Gras everyone! Go Team USA!

Your Morning Jed: Olympic Shopping

This hat is awesome. That is all.

Also, this:If only I had a small child to purchase it for.

Happy Monday!

Congratulations to Canada for their first home soil gold medal, as won by Alexandre Bilodeau in the Men's Moguls last night. I might be rooting for Team USA but I still got a little misty eyed over his historic win.

2/14/10 - Nashville at Pittsburgh: W 4-3 SO

Happy Freakin' Valentine's Day everyone! What a game.

It was tough going in the first period but the Predators got themselves together for the remaining 40 minutes of regulation play, as well as 5 minutes of overtime and the shootout. Through it all, the game really belonged to goaltender Dan Ellis. He deserved to get the call in net today. I'm going to go ahead and say that his solid performance this afternoon and Wednesday night against the New York Rangers will probably heat up the goalie debate in Nashville again.

This was a great hockey game to wrap up things before the Olympic break. Ending with a win leaves the guys in a good head space. Now, they, along with everyone else in the world, can just sit back and enjoy the Winter Games in Vancouver.

Congratulations again, to all the Predators headed to the Olympics straight from Pittsburgh this afternoon: Martin Erat (Czech Republic), Patric Hornqvist (Sweden), Marel Goc and Alexander Sulzer (Germany), Ryan Suter (USA) and Shea Weber (Canada). Now that the Predators hockey season is on hold, all bets are off.

Go Team USA!

Your Morning Jed: Olympic Doppelgangers

Sven Kramer, a Dutch long track speed skater who won a gold medal in the men's 5000m at Vancouver yesterday: Don't ask why he's holding a loaf of bread because your guess is as good as mine.

Pittsburgh Penguins captain, Sidney Crosby:

Please tell me you guys see it too because I immediately thought of this while watching the long track event yesterday.

Happy Sunday and happy Valentine's Day! Have a great one, everybody.

Just so you know....

It's about to get all kinds of Olympic-y up in here.

I started out watching the game last night but my attention was stolen by all things Vancouver the second my clock struck 8:00pm CST. The Olympics are one of my favorite things ever, Winter or Summer Games. I love everything about them (except for ice dancing maybe because really?!? Ice dancing?!) and I am going to try everything I can to figure out just what the crap curling is all about this year.

I will watch the Penguins game tomorrow because I've gotta get my last little bit of NHL hockey in before the two week break. After that though, you should fully expect all kinds of Olympic tidbits whenever it strikes my fancy to comment on them...which will probably be every day.

First thoughts:

I've decided I'd like to be a ski jumper. That looks like the most fun you can have on a pair of skis.

The commercials during the Olympics were made specifically for me. Paired with narration by Morgan Freeman, I might as well just hand over my money to whomever is advertising.

And...I heart Apolo Anton Ohno. Love, love, LOVE him.


As Visa (and Morgan Freeman) says: Go World! Well, mostly go USA, but Go World nonetheless.

2/10/10 - Nashville at New York Rangers: W 2-1

A bit of unfortunate circumstances led to me not being able to see much of this game between my two favorite teams in the league. I missed all but the third period tonight so I can't say much about how the Predators played. But I will say Dan Ellis had amazing eyes on the puck tonight. Great vision even through traffic.

Jerred Smithson's lower body injury is going to shake up the lines again. So much for his Iron Man status from last night. Last time I called him out for playing well or taking a blocked shot like a champ, he broke his hand in the next game. I'm going to have to shut my mouth from now on.

A day off in the city tomorrow with a possible Late Show with David Letterman appearance (if you're reading into Dan Ellis's tweet about it at all)...then off to face the New Jersey Devils on Friday.

Let's go, boys.

2/9/10 - Nashville at New York Islanders: L 3-4 SO

I have to say it. I can't go through this post without saying it. COLIN WILSON is back! I just love that kid so much, it's ridiculous.

I think little baby Cal O'Reilly is finally getting comfortable with himself. This is a good thing because I was worried he wasn't ever going to get there. [It should be noted that I said this during the first period and before he scored the first Predators goal in the second.]

I need to take a moment and talk about our face off percentages this season. What happened? Did the loss of Vernon Fiddler, Scott Nichol and Radek Bonk really have that much of an impact? I thought Jason Arnott, David Legwand and Jerred Smithson would have been able to pick up the slack but I guess I was sorely mistaken. There needs to be some additional focus on this in their practices. This is a pivotal part of the game that can make all the difference in whether the game is won or lost.

Why is it that when the Predators play a team with some kind of streaking statistic of note before a game that they always have a hand in breaking that streak? The Islanders hadn't scored the first goal in 10 games and the Preds help them break that streak during the second period. Of course they do. Oh, and the Islanders were on a seven game losing streak when decided by a shootout and...the Predators helped them cure that too. Wow, good for them. I vote we stop talking statistics like that before a game. Anyone else with me?

Dear Joel Ward, please keep it up with the breakaway goals. And maybe give a workshop on how you make it look so easy because a few of your teammates could use the tips.

Pekka's positioning seemed really off tonight. He was all over the place and never covering the side of the net he should be. Very spastic. Did not like.

Good to see that the power play is connecting again. It pays to take shots rather than just pass the puck, eh boys? However, they do need to watch the short handed chances because there were a few too many of those for the Islanders tonight.

There were a lot of bad bounces off the boards tonight. And I have never seen quite as many weird rebounds off of the goalies as I saw during this game. I'm surprised that there weren't more goals scored because of this.

I know I call JP Dumont my Iron Man but Jerred Smithson is a close second. That shot he blocked off his shoulder was painful to watch. I can only imagine what it felt like though judging by the look of anguish on his face, I'm pretty sure I have a good idea. Thank goodness, he bounced right back. Way to breathe it out, Jerred.

Here's the reason the Predators have lost the last two games (and both were games they should have won): TOO MANY UNDISCIPLINED PLAYS AT THE END OF THE THIRD PERIOD. Why must guys continue to take bad penalties so late in the game when they are up one goal or tied?! This must stop. Martin Erat is going to get reamed for the penalty he took that led to the eventual game tying goal for the Islanders. Even if he slightly made up for it with his sweet deke on the shootout goal to send the Predators to an extra round, there was no excuse for his boarding penalty. And boarding? On Erat?! Seriously...BOARDING.

This was not the best way to start the road trip but I have faith the boys can regroup and get it together against the New York Rangers tomorrow night. It was obvious that Jason Arnott was not happy with the way things ended tonight. As the captain, he needs to take that emotion and channel it into motivation for a win...or better yet, wins. I expect to see a better team on the ice at Madison Square Garden than what I saw in the Coliseum tonight. This team has it in them to score goals, stay disciplined and win games. Maybe a loss like this will serve as a kick in the pants needed to remind them of the way they were playing a few weeks ago.

Let's go, boys.


Also: Love the angle and deceptive seclusion in this picture.Image by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Your Morning Jed: The Nanny and a Ranger

No, my clock is not broken. I know it's the afternoon. Moving on...

A few weeks back, I stumbled across another old TV show that had a hockey-related theme to one of its episodes. This time it was the '90s CBS sitcom, The Nanny. The episode is entitled "The Hockey Show" and the basic synopsis revolves around the main character, Fran Fine, dating a New York Ranger and ultimately jinxing him and his game. A little Jessica Simpson/Tony Romo before their time, perhaps?

I found the entire episode online but YouTube won't allow me to embed it so follow the links below if you'd like to watch it. Of note: former New York Ranger Ron Greschner makes a guest appearance (as himself) at the start of part 3.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Thought this was apropos since the Predators set off on their East Coast road trip today and will face off against the Rangers Wednesday night. Jed Ortmeyer (the namesake of this feature) was a quite beloved former New York Ranger so, again, it seemed quite fitting.

Happy Monday!

2/6/10 - San Jose at Nashville: L 4-3

The tenacity of the San Jose Sharks ultimately won them the game. As soon as the Predators scored, the Sharks found a way to even the score. The tenacity of Jason Arnott could have won the game for the Predators, especially with his nine SOG for the evening. It was unfortunate that he couldn't quite put any of them away past goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.

It would have been awesome to see one more win at home before I have to do without for so long. Though I will admit that I'm glad it wasn't Tuesday's game against Phoenix that became the last game I saw on home ice before next week's road trip and the impending Olympic break.

Things worth noting (and also some general observations):

JP Dumont grabs two goals in what seems like ages. Calling him out worked perfectly. He woke up and my Frenchman lives again.

I still miss Jed Ortmeyer BUT he was being quite chippy out there tonight. While we're at it, I miss little Scooter too.

Not excited that Smithson got juggled around on so many different lines. I guess that shows his versatility but he has been playing so well with Legwand and Ward. Being stuck on a line with Belak is strictly punishment.

Let's talk about Jody Shelley and Wade Belak going at each other twice in one game. Though there was a lot of jersey holding, Belak won in both cases.

Josh Sacco is still one of the cutest little kids in the universe.

Dear Joel Ward, thank you for scoring a goal on the breakaway. It leaves me with faith that the team actually does remember what it's like to score one of those.

The good news is: these teams seem to be evenly matched for once. SOG counts stayed pretty consistent for both sides once they evened out in the first period. That was a plus on the night, even if the Predators ended up on the losing side of things.

Dear Jason Arnott and Steve Sullivan, please stop passing when you could take the shot instead.

The fourth line did not play at all in the third period. I'm not really sure what Trotz's motivation was behind this decision but both Ryan Jones and Jerred Smithson deserve more ice time than what they were handed tonight (4:35 and 7:51, respectively).


The Predators now have a couple of days off until they head out for their last road trip before the Olympic break. It's a rare East Coast road trip, one in which they will visit the Islanders, the Rangers, the Devils and the Penguins. While they might be done in the Sommet for close to a month, you can at least breathe a sigh of relief knowing that all four games can be seen on FS Tennessee next week. Since all four teams are fairly unfamiliar to the Predators, it will be an enlightening week of hockey ahead for them. Like I said on Tuesday, every point is crucial so here's hoping they can pull out some wins.

Let's go, boys.

2/4/10 - Colorado at Nashville: W 3-5

There was contribution from every line last night. That coupled with solid performances from special teams (three power play goals?! I'll take it!) helped the Predators put this one away decisively. And after the anguish and frustration of Tuesday's scoreless game against Phoenix, being able to cheer for five goals scored was also a welcome change of pace.

Honestly, I wish I had more to say but other than, "awesome game!" I'm at a loss...which is good I guess because there are plenty of games I can't seem to say enough about.

The phantom hat trick was quite hilarious though. Premature hat throwing and all for the wrong person...but hey, at least fans were into the game enough to want to throw their hats on the ice in the first place.

I can't believe Saturday's match up against San Jose will be the last game on home ice for close to a month. On one hand, I welcome the break because, hello? The Olympics are awesome. On the other hand, it's going to seem as though hockey season ended too soon. After tomorrow night, March won't come soon enough.

2/2/10 - Phoenix at Nashville: L 1-0 SO

What does one say after a game like this? It was hard to find fault in any player's effort. It was a really back and forth game, with just 22 faceoffs and one penalty aside. There weren't many whistles or icing calls. Both teams were playing to defend their net. And when a player (from either team) did manage a breakaway or generate a good scoring chance, the goalies were there to stop it.

Essentially, as Coach Trotz stated yesterday morning, this game came down to a battle of the goalies. The 10 round shootout made sure of that. If Shea Weber had made the shot and the sudden death had continued, I would have been quite amused to see who Trotz would have given the call to next.

Amidst rumors and talk of a Dan Hamhuis trade, I found him to be one of the most solid performers on the blue line last night. He made some great plays last night and appeared very sharp when it was needed most. Honestly, if it weren't for some of the plays he made, the game could have been decided far before a shootout was necessary. To me, that is characteristic of Hammer's play. He's really good one night, not so much the next. For everyone else that thinks he might be a waste of roster space, you should remember he does have his moments.

The Predators might not have pulled out a win but they did, at least, grab a point. My general sentiment towards three point games is that they suck but I'm okay with it this time. Everyone's fighting for their spot in the playoff race and eventually you'll take whatever you can get.

In a mirror image of two weeks ago, the Predators find themselves taking on the Colorado Avalanche again on Thursday. If you recall, the last time these two teams faced off, there was a fight from Steve Sullivan, a waived off, potential game-tying goal by Patric Hornqvist, and so many penalties I lost count. It was one game I am sure they would like to get back. So they can spend Thursday night doing just that.

Tickets are going fast so get them while you can (offer code: preds), especially since there will be no local television coverage of the game.

Let's go, boys!