Put Flames on Preds’ “do not play” list
If there’s one team that the Preds don’t want to face in the playoffs this season, it’s San Jose. If there’s a second team to avoid, it may be Calgary. Prior to defeating the Flames on the road last month, Nashville had lost five straight games to Calgary, including a 5-0 whitewashing on home ice in November and another 4-0 drubbing last spring. As evidenced again last night, Kiprusoff and company do a very good job shutting the Preds attack down.
Happy holidays!
Gaile Owens doesn’t deserve to die
If it’s OK for Mary Winkler to live as a free citizen and have custody of her kids, it isn’t OK for Gaile Owens to be executed by the state.
Owens is the only inmate in Tennessee prison history to face execution after accepting a prosecutor’s offer to plead guilty with a life sentence.
Though there is little doubt that Owens was severely abused by her husband, the jurors who decided her fate never knew about it. Owens never testified and hasn’t sought publicity for her plight, out of respect for her children. She even declined to appear on Oprah when approached by the program. Owens is remorseful for her crime and from the outset pled guilty. She signed a plea agreement to serve a life sentence, which the prosecution refused to accept when her co-defendant rejected the same offer.
In my opinion, this isn’t someone who deserves to die for her crimes, but my point of view isn’t the one that matters at this point. Governor Bredesen, please do the just and equitable thing and let Owens live.
Some is better than none: ESPN Radio returns to Nashville
I’m glad to hear that ESPN Radio has returned to Nashville on 104.5FM the Zone, but local sports fans listening options are still limited. Fans had more choices prior to 106.7FM the Fan’s demise this past summer.
Since The Zone is preempting ESPN programming when its local shows are on the air, the net gain in sports programming is zero. I’m all for keeping local shows around, but I still miss having national ESPN broadcasting as an option whenever the Zone resorts to outdoors or auto racing shows. I’m happy that George Plaster and company won the sportscaster slugfest at WWTN-FM years ago, but that victory came at a cost.
It’s time for Murray to move on
I can’t imagine how painful it must be to lose an election by a mere two votes, but former Metro Council Member Pam Murray can. Murray’s ridiculous comparison that losing the election is like being an innocent prisoner on death row notwithstanding, it’s time for the embattled public servant to step aside. A legal challenge, which would be her second this fall in regard to the election, will do nothing to help her former constituents move on after what has been an ugly and nasty recall campaign.
Whether or not the rumors that she was frequently out of town and often unresponsive were true, the issues that led to Murray’s defeat began long before the recall. When 1,200 people in a few neighborhoods are willing to sign a petition to remove you from office, something is wrong.
Bud Adams, YouTube phenomenon
It’s rare that an 86-year-old man becomes an Internet video sensation, so Titans owner Bud Adams is clearly having quite a day. I’m glad Adams quickly apologized for his behavior at yesterday’s win over the Buffalo Bills. It was inappropriate for him to do what he did (especially considering his prominent position), and I couldn’t fault the NFL if they wound up fining him. Nonetheless, after the season the Titans have had, it’s kinda hard to blame him.
Crafton ready to impede progress, as usual
I’m surprised it took this long. Anytime there’s any hint that progress is being made, here comes Council Member Eric Crafton to save the day. I have no issue with either auto racing or state fairs, and I’m happy to see Nashville find a more suitable home for either or both activities within Davidson County (or elsewhere if need be).
In my opinion, there are better uses for the existing fairgrounds property, and I hope the city moves in a direction that will fulfill one or more of them. I think a public park, a mixed-use development, a corporate relocation campus or a film production site would all be better uses of that land. It’s past time for the fairgrounds and the speedway to go.
Fairgrounds, speedway faded long ago
If we’d all listened to Larry Woody years ago, there would be no Tennessee Titans or Nashville Predators, and the Nashville Sounds would be the biggest game in town. Municipal Auditorium would be the city’s best attempt at a concert venue, too. Nashville would be on the outside looking in at a lot of progress and opportunity elsewhere.
If Nashville’s motorsports legacy is so celebrated, why did the city let the Winston Cup walk away in the 1980s when it could have easily kept NASCAR in town? That was the moment when the clock started ticking on the Tennessee State Fairgrounds, not when Mayor Dean and the fair board officially pulled the plug.
