Eklund is liveblogging from the Our Team rally and has good news to share for the Preds faithful:

The local group to buy Nashville has gained a ton of momentum and I was told by a great source this morning that within a week or two a deal could be in place. They are watching today closely of course, but the source told me that “yesterday’s meeting went exceedingly well…” another who said, “The amount of momentum that has been generated by this group of 10 or so local Nashville buisiness people is phenomenal.”

This is great news for anyone who wants to see the team stay in Nashville and great momentum heading into tonight’s major event for the rally.

Mark Howard, Darren McFarland and Frank Wycheck were all on hand this morning to promote the Our Team rally and to encourage Preds season ticket purchases by phone. Call (615) 770-7800 to place an order today.

Renowned hockey blogger Eklund, who has written an inspired post about keeping the Preds in Nashville, has arrived at the Our Team rally at the Sommet Center:

The local group to buy Nashville has gained a ton of momentum and I was told by a great source this morning that within a week or two a deal could be in place. They are watching today closely of course, but the source told me that “yesterday’s meeting went exceedingly well…” another who said, “The amount of momentum that has been generated by this group of 10 or so local Nashville buisiness people is phenomenal.” It is a process. But the difference today as far as the future of the Preds in this great city is palpable.

I was nearby and captured a phone camera photo of him in his disguise (above). Ek, thanks for your efforts on Nashville’s behalf!

• Paul McCann reports that the Our Team rally is off to a good start: “The Predators Ticket-A-Thon began with a bang with a large crowd waiting at 5:30am for the doors to open. Corporations are stepping up as Dell, Merrill Lynch, Play it Again Sports and Chefworks announced purchases.”
• Chris Wage is on to something: “Having a place to live is pretty cool. I like it a lot. In this mayoral election, it may seem like things like convention centers and baseball stadiums are really important. But, they’re really not. Having a place to live is. I’d encourage you to focus on an issue that is thankfully getting some well-needed attention: Nashville’s affordable housing situation, and the Mayoral Candidates’ stances with regard to improving it.” I’m glad to see this issue getting attention, too.
• Short and Fat has predictions for UT’s football season: “1. I wager 2 UT football players will be arrested before the the season opener kicks off and 7 total arrests before 12/31/07. 2. I pick UT to breeze through that torturous non-conference schedule which includes perennial powerhouses Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette. 3. They will lose to: Florida and Alabama. 4. UT fans will complain about how ESPN hates them. ” Sounds about right to me.