At this point, he’d have to be a write-in candidate, but since no candidate has more than 20 percent support according to the latest WSMV-TV poll, maybe Preds goalie Chris Mason has a shot.

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.

• Kleinheider has a scoop about alleged impropriety in Charlie Tygard’s at-large council campaign: “Certainly the issue of sports and the interests of the kids are discussed but what the email also contains is a specific plea for a specific vote for a specific candidate. The West Nashville Sports League is a 501(c)3 not for profit organization. Discussion of issues and certain issue-based lobbying may be done but direct political action for specific candidates, like that involved here, is verboten.”
• Sam Davidson has had too much: “When we say ‘too,’ we’re really saying ‘no.’ But it doesn’t feel like a ‘no’ if we don’t say ‘no.’ So we say ‘too.’ It may make us feel better, but it doesn’t make a difference, and it doesn’t get us any closer to remarkable. If you find yourself saying ‘too’ a lot, press on anyway. Often times, we close doors that were wide open just because we’re nervous about what’s on the other side.”
• Jag has a major confession, and it involves Steven Seagal: “One positive thing about Steven Seagal movies - they’re good enough to keep you occupied when you don’t feel like thinking much, but not so good that you actually start to worry that he’s not going to make it out of that mine filled with toxic waste, explosives, and 20 henchman with nary a pretty hair out of place.”
• Paul Nicholson heard that Jeremy Roenick could wind up a Pred: “James Mirtle posted that former Blackhawk/Flyer/King/Coyote, Jeremy Roenick, may not be retiring after all. Then this afternoon, hockey blogger extraordinare, Eklund, posted his updated list of unrestricted free agents and included Roenick on that list, and listed Nashville as a possible destination (the only player on the list with Nashville as a destination).”

A rumor is circulating that Craig Leipold and the proposed local ownership group for the Preds are scheduled to meet with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman today. Reportedly Leipold may sign a letter of intent to sell the team to the Nashville group:

I have received word from a great source that Craig Leipold will be meeting Gary Bettman on Wednesday morning in New York, along with representatives from the potential local ownership group.

According to the source, Leipold is planning on signing a letter of intent to sell the franchise, either to the local group or to “Boots” Del Biaggio at or after this meeting. Given that members of the Nashville group will be accompanying Mr. Leipold to New York, one can assume that Kansas City will have to wait for the team that they quite possibly have been promised.

This would be great news and a huge shot in the arm for Nashville if it turns out to be true. It would not change the reality that the community, especially the business sector, needs to continue to rally to support this team. My fingers are crossed for good news from Manhattan today.

• Chris Chamberlain is absolutely right: “You know that hackneyed complaint that all the street names in Nashville change arbitrarily depending on what part of town you’re in or what river or creek you just crossed? We long-time Nashvillagers just deal with it and accept that Hwy70/Harding/West End/Broadway/Main Street is usually busy at rush hour and that Old Hickory Blvd. has two exits on three different interstates.”
• Brittney, along with a host of others, is right. The new City Paper format isn’t working: “What’s that? You don’t want to read their content that badly? That’s what I figured.”
• The Dry Spot, along with what I am hoping is many other voters, isn’t casting a ballot for Bob Clement: “That was me voting early. And not for your dull, visionless, wanna-be-mayor-because-it’s supposed-to-be-my-next-job, taking up two minutes of my dinnertime newscast, quasi-liberal, totally beholding to Belle Meade money ass.”

I could be talking about the mayoral race, but I’m not. Is it already a tired pop-culture cliche that fortune and fame is not a satisfying end in and of itself? It must be, because Nickelback has a song, Rockstar, about the subject. For a band that gets plenty of criticism about being uncreative and lifeless, this sure rings hollow to me:

I’m gonna trade this life for fortune and fame
I’d even cut my hair and change my name

‘Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars
and live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We’ll all stay skinny ’cause we just won’t eat
And we’ll hang out in the coolest bars in the VIP with the movie stars

I’d be curious to see where the members of Nickelback live and how they spend the royalty checks they collect for this song complaining about how hard it is to be a rock star. This song rang even more hollow for me once I changed radio stations. The next song I heard was U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For:

I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her finger tips
It burned like fire
(I was) burning inside her.

I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone.

But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.

The contrast was stark. On the one hand, Nickelback sounding as overproduced and plastic as they could, and U2 sounding passionate and authentic. I think the lesson for me is that it is one thing to say the right thing and another to live it.

Aside: I’ll confess that I enjoy “Photograph” by Nickelback because it does sound genuine. There, I admitted it.

Aside: The one time I heard U2 perform live, Bono thanked the audience for supporting them and for “allowing them to live the lives we live.” I’m not suggesting that the members of U2 live anywhere other than mansions where they have plenty of material possessions and piles of cash, but they’ve acknowledged throughout their history that spiritual truth matters to them, and they’ve put their money where their mouths are by advocating loudly for significant causes.

• Newscoma is taking risks and experiencing courage firsthand: “Taking risks, putting yourself out there, that isn’t easy. I’m in a place in my life that I’m taking huge risks in my personal and professional relationships that people don’t even know about. I’m doing it, it is sometimes scary but I’m in.” Bravo!
• Paul McCann is pumped for the Our Team rally on Thursday: “The buzz has been building for a few weeks… season ticket renewals are up… the OneTeam Nashville drive is showing success… People in Nashville have been talking about the Predators more than ever, and not just about tickets.”
• Sean Braisted is impersonating Tony the Tiger and taking a look at recent local political ads.
• S-Town Mike is on an At-Large Council candidate’s case: “Mr. Tygard should be advancing the merits of his ideas alone and not coordinating voter strategy with naked opportunism and with little sense of honor or duty.” I agree.

As Nashville Post has described, I do see a disturbing parallel between 1987 and 2007 that I hope will not be fulfilled, but I do see one big difference: In 1987, Nashville did not have early voting.

On July 13, 1987, the campaign of [Bill Boner's] business-supported opponent, former Chamber of Commerce chief Eddie Jones, folded its tents after failing to make significant headway against Boner in the polls.

The field is much more crowded twenty years later, but I have to wonder: Could Karl Dean or David Briley still drop out at this point? Sure, some votes would be wasted, but with every passing day these two candidates (both of whom would make good mayors, in my opinion) are dividing support that they each desperately need to make a runoff. Will both of them be on the outside looking in on August 3rd, wishing that they’d had the courage to do what’s in the best interest of the city today?

That raises another question: Is it more politically advantageous to drop out for the good of the city or to land in fourth or fifth place in a five-candidate election?