I really hope no one decides to name Nashville International Airport after a country music legend:

Would we have bumpy landings at Dolly Parton International Airport? Would you like the all-black décor of the Johnny Cash International Airport? Would the terminal in Al Gore International be unusually warm? Would a few flights be no-shows at George Jones International?

I’ve struggled to reconcile the negative elements of Nashville’s identity as Music City with the emerging reality that we are a growing and progressive city, and I don’t think naming the airport after a country star is a good idea. I have come to respect the incredible amount of talent here in town and to acknowledge that there is a great deal of great music, plenty of it country, written and recorded here.

That said, we are extremely well known for our musical pedigree, and unfortunately that sometimes means that the pejorative pieces of that legacy are what people elsewhere choose to focus on. Naming one of the front doors of our community, the airport, after someone who will only reinforce that image doesn’t help the city in the long run. Let’s name it after Dick Fulton, Phil Bredesen, Bill Purcell or Ross Alderman instead.

[Full disclosure: My employer works on behalf of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority. I have no involvement with that work; I just think the suggestions referenced above are poor choices for an airport name.]

I’d like to see Alexander Radulov return to Nashville as much as any Preds fan, but the team’s luck in developing Russian players speaks for itself:

Russians drafted by the Predators:
1998 — Denis Arkhipov, C, Four seasons with Preds, five in NHL. Now playing in Russia.
1999 — Yevgeny Pavlov, C, One season in North America, did not reach NHL.
Alexander Krevsun, RW, One season in North America, did not reach NHL.
Konstantin Panov, RW, Five seasons in North America, did not reach NHL.
2001 — Timofei Shishkanov, LW, Two games with Preds, 24 games in NHL. Now playing in Russia.
Denis Platonov, RW, Three games in North America. Did not reach NHL.
Anton Lavrentiev, D, Never played in North America.
2003 —Konstantin Glazachev, LW, Never played in North America.
Grigory Shafigulin, C, Never played in North America.
Rustam Sidikov, G, Never played in North America.
Andrei Mukhachev, D, Never played in North America.
2004 — Alexander Radulov, RW, Two seasons with Preds. Now playing in Russia.
Denis Kulyash, D, Never played in North America.

There’s an inherent risk in selecting any player under any circumstances. When home is half a world away and a competing league is emerging as incentive to stay there to play, it’s just not worth the gamble. This advice may be playing into the KHL’s hands, but it can only help the Preds, who need all the help they can get from the draft.