The Nashville Scene’s notorious Fabricator reports that Kroger is finally seeing the light when it comes to preventing gays and lesbians from brainwashing the general public:

“We’re not going to be playing any Elton John, George Michael, Melissa Etheridge or any other openly gay performers.”Most stores in the chain pipe in a selection of popular songs interspersed with promotional announcements, and until now there has been no sexual orientation test for the music. “Before, we only focused on having songs that most people like—kind of a middle-of-the-road approach,” the Kroger source says. “We’ll still do that, just without anybody who’s a known homosexual…”

“I don’t see what the big deal is about this,” the Kroger source says. “There are a million songs out there. And a lot of performers aren’t going to be missed. It’s not like we were playing a lot of Frankie Goes to Hollywood or Culture Club anyway.”

Asked if this newfound concern for prevailing social norms extended to performers who are known to use illegal drugs, the spokesman backpedals. “We’ll still play songs by those people because we don’t want our stores to go completely silent,” he says. “Performers like Charlie Daniels and Tom Petty may sing about dope, but at least they’re sexually straight. As far as we know.”

Holy cow! Does this mean Boy George is gay? The 80s are officially ruined for me now.

If I can be serious for a moment (we’ll see), Kroger’s decision to ban Out and About is silly, in my opinion. I’ve just scanned the entire current issue, and despite being an avid weekly reader of the Scene, I definitely find more material that would be likely to offend someone or be inappropriate for children in a typical Scene issue than I do in Out and About. One of these publications features several pages of racy chat line ads and personals classifieds, and one of them doesn’t. Care to guess?

My wife and I went on our first date to a Nashville Predators game, the last game of the Red Wings playoff series in 2004. We both love the Preds, and between the two of us, we attend about 20 games or more per year. The Preds really are Our Team.

We love this team and we love the NHL, and we’ve put our money where our mouths are: We have purchased two season tickets for 2007, and we’re excited about this coming season. We’ll be in section 302 right next to the mayhem in Cell Block 303.

I’ve been discouraged about the developments for the Preds during the past month, but I still believe in this team and this city. I encourage anyone with an interest in Nashville and a love of (or an open mind about) hockey to take a stand and buy tickets (full season, partial season or individual games). Let’s each do what we can to embrace this great team once again and help to firmly root its future here in Nashville.

Related: Looking for a way to get involved? Fill out the Our Team form and visit Save the Predators.com Web site.

It’s clear that Craig Leipold has been surprised by prospective Preds owner Jim Balsillie’s bold intentions to seek approval to relocate the team at the same time that the NHL Board of Governors reviews his application to purchase the franchise.

Last month, when Leipold announced his intentions to sell the team, he emphasized Balsillie would have to sign a National Hockey League consent agreement requiring he keep the Predators in Nashville at least seven more years in order to purchase the team.

But, for the agreement to take effect, the team would need a valid lease in place with Metro for using the downtown arena. And because attendance at Predators games has averaged fewer than 14,000, the team says it can trigger a default clause in its lease with Metro by June 19 unless Metro commits to compensate for the lack of ticket sales this coming season.

“If we get the support that’s over 14,000 paid, we’re not going anywhere,” Leipold said in May.

Craig, even if you aren’t willing to retain ownership of the team instead of selling it to Balsillie, you can still help this community keep the Preds. Here’s how: Don’t exercise the “cure” clause this coming Tuesday (June 19). Give the city a fair chance to generate more support for the team, and force Balsillie to commit to a good-faith effort to make things work here.

Craig–

I know you care about this team and this community. I know your decision to discuss a sale with prospective owners was a painful one. I know you’ve worked hard without bearing enough fruit to sell the Preds to corporate Nashville.

I think you’ve only really made one major mistake while you’ve been the owner of this team: You buried your heart so deep in what you were doing that you (unintentionally) lulled us to sleep in regard to the Preds’ financial woes by insisting that the team would never leave.

I firmly believe that you did not want to be “that owner,” the one who holds a city hostage and threatens to relocate. You wanted to be a partner and a part of this community from day one for as long as you owned the team, and you’ve done that.

I know the rumors and speculation that are springing forth are not how you saw things transpiring back in June of 1997 . . . or maybe even in May of 2007.

It isn’t too late to change this, and I hope you will give us that opportunity. Those of us who are hard core fans have loved you and your team since day one, and the business community is finally awakening to recall the same fondness it once held for the Preds.

There’s no question in my mind that you want to see this team, the team that you built, raise the Stanley Cup here on Broadway and stay in town for a long, long time. Take another chance on Nashville and make a difference to thousands of fans: Embrace the campaigns to pack the Sommet Center, and retain ownership of this team. It may not have happened when you originally hoped, but we get it now, and we’ll work hard to keep the Preds here where they belong. The Preds slogan from last season, “Live It!,” represents the approach you’ve taken all along with this franchise. Please don’t let that amazing story end like this.

Is the NHL Board of Governors starting to see Al Davis when it looks at Jim Balsillie? A Toronto Globe and Mail story today implies that some of them may be:

One National Hockey League governor, who requested anonymity, said he and a number of his peers are not happy with the way Balsillie is conducting his bid for the team. They are upset that while Balsillie is telling people in Nashville the team will not move as long as an arena lease (which has an out-clause based on attendance) is in place, he is also negotiating with Hamilton.

“If you join a club or a fraternity, it is a bunch of people who have to work together in a partnership,” the governor said. “Sometimes you have to give up what you want for the greater good of the league. This is not the way to come in [to the NHL]. “In my travels, I’ve already had people, unasked, say, ‘Who is this clown?’ I’ve had three clubs mention this to me . . .”

“You get in the club and everyone thinks you’ll be okay, but you turn out to be a pain in the ass,” the governor said. “This guy is showing he is a pain in the ass before he even gets in the club.”

I’m growing more disappointed by the moment that Craig Leipold has plans to sell the team, but I will say this: Leipold has been a hard-worker and a class act from day one, and we deserve a new owner who continues that legacy. And one who is willing to continue it here in Nashville.

Prospective Preds owner Jim Balsillie reportedly withdrew his offer for the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins last December after being informed that the NHL intended for him to keep the Pens in Pennsylvania for at least seven years. It was also reported that the NHL insisted that Balsillie make a “good faith effort” to keep the team in Pittsburgh.

I’ve already been feeling like Balsillie’s silence has largely been to avoid the perception that he intends to move the franchise sooner rather than later, and now I have little doubt. His lead lawyer, Richard Rodier, has been quoted in the media lately speaking on Mr. Balsillie’s behalf, and his legalese-laden comments have widely been interpreted as saying that the new owner intends to abide by the lease and keep the team here.

If you’re still not convinced that this is a reuse, listen to this interview with Rodier that aired recently on a Toronto sports talk station. Following 27 minutes of discussion about the Preds’ lease and how it might be terminated, Rodier offered the following single sound byte for Nashville fans who might be listening over the internet:

[T]he key thing here, especially if anyone from Nashville is listening, [is that] this is about winning a Stanley Cup. This is a great, great team with tremendous defense, goaltending, etc.

If the leas–you know, we’re subject to a lease, and if the lease, and if the NHL in their wisdom says, you know, Nashville is it, we’re subject to a lease, and that’s it, end of story.

Don’t believe it for a second, Nashville. This effort appears to me to be good faith in name only, not in intent. I believe Balsillie wants our beloved Preds in Ontario tomorrow, but he’ll settle for the first instance that the team’s lease permits.

This potential transaction is a bad deal for Nashville, and this is not the owner we need in place for the Preds.

If you’ve maintained any illusions that prospective Preds owner Jim Balsillie would give Nashville a fair chance to keep its NHL team, let Ken Whitehouse at Nashville Post set you straight:

The Canadian newspapers National Post and the Globe and Mail have posted stories in the last hour documenting moves that incoming Nashville Predators owner Jim Balsillie is making to relocate the team to Canada. In the National Post article, Balsillie is said to have filed a formal request with the National Hockey League, along with his ownership application, to be granted permission to relocate the team. Balsillie is asking that the contentious issue be handled at the same time is ownership application is considered on June 19 and 20 by the 30-member NHL Board of Governors.

In related news, the Globe and Mail is reporting that Balsillie has reached an agreement with the city of Hamilton, Ontario that would make it the new home of the Predators in the case of relocation. This news would come as a major disappointment to the Kitchener-Waterloo area, which had been courting Balsillie. 

NashvillePost.com sources close to the team say that both news items have outgoing Predators owner Craig Liepold and NHL Gary Bettman “irked” and that they are not pleased with the prospective buyer’s actions.

I’ve realized this afternoon that, as many Preds fans have since late May, I’ve been in denial thinking that Balsillie would give Nashville a chance to keep the team. I was already harboring lingering doubts, but this seals it for me. I do not believe that Mr. Balsillie has any intentions of keeping this team in Nashville one day longer than is required (and hopefully much earlier than that).

If Nashville wants the Preds to stay (and I think we do), we are going to have to fight for them.

What is the most generous gift we have to give? If you ask Alan Graham, president and founder of Mobile Loaves and Fishes, the answer is ourselves. “We need to change the way people serve the homeless and the poor,” said Graham. “We need to serve them with love, participating not merely with our checkbooks but with our lives.”

There are plenty of material needs in the world today, more than any one of us could ever satisfy. Working to fulfill those needs is a noble aim–one that should not be abandoned–but there is more to life than just staying alive. Our greatest need as human beings, Graham argues, is not physical but spiritual. We need each other, and we need God.

According to Graham, the leading cause of homelessness in the United States is the loss of family. I think those of us who are fortunate enough to have never been “adrift,” as Graham describes those who are homeless, take for granted what a tremendous loss that must be.

Graham spoke this past Sunday at Benton Chapel on the Vanderbilt campus, where the Saint Augustine’s Chapel congregation worships each week. He was in town to help kick off the launch of the Nashville chapter of MLF, a mission intended not only to feed the hungry but to “give them the gift of fellowship, friendship and abundant meals.”

The challenge for each of us, said Graham, is to do more than “just give [the indigent] what we think they need . . . but to give them the abundant love of God.” “Each of us can give a little,” he continued, “and a lot can be done.” I definitely agree.

[Hat tip to Kevin Barbieux, who I had the pleasure of meeting briefly during the service on Sunday. If you've ever wondered what "palliative" means, stick around for an explanation from him. Hint: It has a lot to do with this post.]

Plenty of lip service is paid to the importance of relationships, particularly in the business world. Nonetheless, Gail Kerr demonstrates in her column today that getting to know people and taking a genuine interest in their lives has a tremendous impact in local politics, too, and I think this truth extends well beyond the campaign trail.

My friend Jason Holleman, a candidate for the District 24 Metro Council seat, has embraced this kind of approach this spring:

“The first thing I did was look at people who voted in all seven of the last seven Metro elections,” said attorney Jason Holleman, a candidate in the Sylvan Park/Richland areas. “That is less than 200 people. I figured these are people who really care about the district, and care about the city, and would definitely participate. I called those people and made appointments to come and see them.”

Then, he’s used a broader list of somewhat frequent voters, knocking on about 3,000 doors. Holleman’s approach may be more intense than most, but Barrett said it’s a trend all over town. In Bellevue, doorbells are ringing — including mine.

I’ve known Jason for about 12 years, and he’s been talking about running for Metro Council the entire time. Mutual friends of ours confirm his interest in the council at least as far back as fifth grade. Though I haven’t specificaly asked his father, I have a feeling that Mr. Holleman can track his son’s ambitions for public service even farther back. During the time I’ve known him, Jason has invested his time constantly in learning how the council and how the city government operates. He’s developed a solid understanding of what it takes to represent local residents, and he’s spent a lot of time volunteering in community organizations contributing ideas and hard work toward good causes such as the Sylvan Park Neighborhood Association, Nashville’s Table, Middle Tennessee Boy Scouts of America and the Nashville City Cemetery Association.

In my opinion, you can’t fake connecting with people. Either your intentions are sincere and honest, or you do more harm than good in making the attempt. I notice this frequently when I receive junk mail that is personalized, but my name is misspelled or another detail is incorrect. Some direct mail marketers have even resorted to printing address labels that look like they are handwritten (until you look closely). Whenever I notice these false efforts to personalize an impersonal correspondence, I’m even less likely to respond than usual. Regardless of the exciting and innovative ways that technology allows us to connect with each other, exchanging thoughts, opinions, hopes and dreams face-to-face is still what influences hearts and minds most of all. I think that is a good, good thing.

David Briley, who is 5′6″ tall, mentioned the importance of “perception” repeatedly at last night’s mayoral forum. His apparent intent was to emphasize that it is important for Nashville’s next mayor to understand the challenges the city faces in order to take the lead in finding practical solutions to them.

Briley, who is shorter than all of the opponents who attended except Bob Clement, joked that one of his visions is to be taller someday. He returned to this “vision” in the opening line of his closing remarks, a self-effacing quip that generated a few chuckles from the audience : “I’m not delusional. I know I won’t be six-foot-five at the end of this campaign.”  Probably not, but I’m sure he’d prefer to see his candidacy grow into a successful election. That seems to be a much more realistic aspiration.

Buck Dozier did take one moment at Thursday’s mayoral forum to drift from his talking points, and it was a strange detour.

Massachusetts native Karl Dean responded to a question about his being the only one of the mayoral candidates in attendance who is not a Nashville native with what is now a familiar answer about his having “chosen to live here” and that he stayed because his wife grew up in the city. Dozier began his reply to an unrelated question by awkwardly putting his hand on Dean’s shoulder and saying, “I’d like to say to my good friend Karl Dean that I’m glad you came [to Nashville], and I’m glad you stayed. I want you to feel welcome, though I’m not sure you always do at these forums.”

Dean flashed a puzzled expression briefly in the wake of Dozier’s remarks and then waited while Dozier returned to answering the question at hand. At his first opportunity to answer a subsequent question, Dean replied playfully, “Buck, I’ve been here since 1978, I’ve had three children born here, and I’m working on [my] accent. I’m going to get there.”

The other candidates stuck to their usual talking points, but David Briley made sure to get in his shots at Bob Clement during last night’s West Nashville Presidents Council Mayoral Forum.

When Clement said that he intended to expand the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods by developing a Mayoral Advisory Council featuring representation from the city’s 14 subareas, Briley responded to the same question by calling Clement’s idea “another layer of bureaucracy.” Instead, Briley said that he would “improve what’s already there” in the office as it is currently structured and that he would work to improve communication between the office and the citizenry by holding frequent roundtables and creating an online forum.

Following a lengthy and rambling response to another question by Clement, one where the candidate departed from the question topic and returned to his more familiar talking points, Briley began his own answer to the question by saying, “Let’s see if we can get back to the question.” Briley did just that by stating that he would be “more pro-preservation than pro-development” in terms of Nashville’s growth. He noted that a recent visit by the New York Times’ Frugal Traveler focused on the “oldest and dirtiest” aspects of the city, the remnants of Nashville’s history that make it unique and intriguing.

After Clement, not Briley, was asked how he would be a “green mayor,” a phrase Briley has championed in his campaign, Briley took time when replying to an unrelated question to say that he wants to be the green mayor. He went on to say that he had focused on the environment “not since I started running for mayor, but throughout [his] eight years on the [Metro] Council,” a remark aimed squarely at Clement.

In his closing remarks, Briley emphasized that he “knows what is going on in the city” and that he had “given specific answers” to the questions asked during the evening rather than resorting to more general and less conversational talking points. Clement, who is not one of the stronger speakers among the candidates, did appear to stick to prepared messages more than the other four candidates for most of the forum.

Karl Dean, Buck Dozier and Howard Gentry didn’t seem to take Briley’s approach, but it’s clear that Briley has decided to make perceived frontrunner Clement his primary target at this point in the race. Since there have been some rumblings of late that Briley’s campaign may be losing momentum, the candidate spent last night doing his best to shift his energy firmly back in gear.

In a race that has been going on for months south of the general public’s radar, this is a likely sign that things may finally be heating up.