I didn’t see this coming, but country star Toby Keith says he’s a Democrat and that he likes Barack Obama:

“I think [Obama's] the best Democratic candidate we’ve had since Bill Clinton. And that’s coming from a Democrat.”

I thought Keith’s signature anthem, “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue,” was at first patriotic and later arrogant (once the war on terrorism migrated from Afghanistan to Iraq). I would not have expected to see Keith, who’s song has been adopted by many red-meat conservatives, on the left side of the aisle. That’s a refreshing surprise.

The Indy Racing League’s abrupt departure from Nashville, despite attendance success, was a significant loss for the city. It may not have the impact that (God forbid) losing the NFL or even the NHL might have on the city’s image, but it subtracts one viable option on the local sports scene and reduces national exposure for Nashville.

Last year, the Sporting News ranked Nashville No. 16 among the “Best Sports Cities in the U.S.” — immediately behind Atlanta and Miami and immediately ahead of Oakland and San Diego. It is telling that the teams and events that have folded or left town fall under the general heading of “niche” sports. Women’s pro golf, the Arena Football League and IndyCar racing are not exactly in the sports mainstream.

“Open-wheel fans and racing fans in general are disappointed that we won’t have the race next year,” Hawks said. “I loved having IndyCar, but it’s questionable that the general population considers this a major negative to our marketplace.” Beyond that, the loss of the Firestone Indy 200 is an example that you can do everything right and still lose an event. Some things are beyond the control of the community. Officials at the IndyCar Racing League pulled the plug on the Nashville race even though the event had been well attended in its eight-year history.

In my opinion, Nashville needs to do what it can (or already has) to keep the Titans, Preds and Sounds in town. Other sports with a local presence have little influence on the city’s image.

While the subject of “niche” sports has been raised, for me at least, the sooner the Nashville Broncs are put out to pasture, the better. There is plenty of quality basketball played in this city by area colleges. The last addition we need for the local sports landscape is an encore from a league that didn’t fare too well (and caused plenty of embarrassment) in its initial appearance.

Much of this is posturing when the NHL and the Kontinental Hockey League still have issues to work out about future player transfers, but it sounds like it could lead to a worst-case scenario for the Preds:

Calling Alexander Radulov’s jump to a Russian team an issue of the past, Continental Hockey League president Alexander Medvedev said Monday “it’s time to look to the future.” That comment and others did nothing to thaw an icy relationship between the KHL and the NHL in the wake of Radulov signing a three-year deal with Salavat Yulaev Ufa last month despite having a year left on his contract with the Predators.

Medvedev is pushing for a signed transfer agreement with the NHL — a formal set of rules governing player movement between countries — and says it would eliminate these kinds of situations in years to come. “We need a strict enforceable scheme that will fix all the rights and the positions of the players on both sides of the ocean,” he said.

But NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said a meeting between the two sides to discuss the transfer agreement is now in jeopardy. “I don’t know whether the Sept. 4 meeting will go forward or not,” Daly said. “We are happy to discuss a possible transfer agreement, but the Radulov issue needs to be resolved first.”

The International Ice Hockey Federation is investigating the signing of Radulov, as well as the contracts of five other players involved in transfers between the two leagues. The IIHF is expected to announce a ruling soon, but Medvedev said he doesn’t expect it to make much of an impact on Radulov’s situation. Because there was no transfer agreement in place between Russia and the NHL at the time of Radulov’s signing, Medvedev said the deal broke no rules. “I don’t see the legal arguments to force the player to come back,” he said.

It will be grossly unfair for the Preds if Radulov’s departure and breach of contract turn out to be the wake-up call that lead the NHL to agree to terms with the KHL on player movement. If both sides agree that the damage is done and try to move on, the Preds are hurt even more than if no agreement exists between the leagues: Other teams won’t lose their Russian stars while Nashville already has. Daly doesn’t sound resigned to that result yet, and I hope he and the NHL maintain that position.

It’s no wonder that Councilmember Eric Crafton has been reluctant to disclose the funding source behind the English Only public referendum:

Dr. John H. Tanton, a retired eye surgeon, started both ProEnglish and the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). The Southern Poverty Law Center identified FAIR as a hate group last winter based on its acceptance of $1.2 million from a white supremacist organization, employees’ ties to other such groups and a history of “anti-Latino and anti-Catholic attitudes.”

In my opinion, this is yet another indication that the English Only amendment does virtually nothing to help Nashville or its residents, and it does plenty to give the city a black eye.

It would be great for Nashville to host either the Democratic or Republican Convention in the future, but only if private parties are footing the bill.

“I can’t think of anything that pushes a city up in the world of conventions more than a political convention,” [Former Deputy Mayor Bill] Phillips said. “But you’re talking about two years of commitment. It is a huge burden on the local people to go out and raise that money. A community needs to think carefully about that.”

[Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau CEO Butch] Spyridon said there will be no full-court press to land one of the conventions here any time soon. The Belmont debate, he said, “gives us almost equal exposure for a significantly lower price tag. We’ll have a more focused national and international press.”

With our schools in dire need of improvement, the hotel-motel tax about to increase and the city budget stretched awfully thin, this isn’t the right time for Nashville to take on another big-ticket item, even one that would promise huge positive attention. I think this idea should wait, unless private citizens are willing to step up to fund it.