I agree with Coach Trotz that the current Preds road trip is likely to only help make Nashville an even better team as it enters the stretch run before the playoffs:

One of the plusses of the Predators’ longest road trip of the season — five games over 10 days — is that the team will get some bonding time with recent acquisitions Peter Forsberg and Vitaly Vishnevski. “You can say all you want while you’re at home, but you don’t bond as well,” Predators Coach Barry Trotz said. “Over the next 10 days, we’re going to be on the road and it’s a bunch of guys together on the road, sort of against the world. We just have to bear down and hopefully pull together.”

One benefit of having all eyes on Forsberg since the trade is that Vishnevski has likely been able to integrate with his new team that much more easily. He isn’t the one who’s every move is being watched, and so far he appears to be fitting in well.

I was encouraged over the weekend not only by Peter Forsberg’s excellent play and game-winning goal against Detroit, but also by reading the following further explanation in The Tennessean about his decision to decline Coach Trotz’s request that he participate in the shootout at the end of Thursday night’s game with Montreal:

Forsberg explained Friday why he told Trotz he’d prefer not to be one of the top three shootout participants in Thursday’s game against Montreal. Forsberg wound up shooting fourth and slipped to the ice before getting off a quality attempt. “To be honest, I don’t think I’m the best goal-scorer in the league,” Forsberg said. “If you look at the statistics, I’ve got more (assists) than goals. I think this team has a lot of breakaway guys.”

I was admittedly being a little hard on Forsberg, but I suppose that’s because of the level of expectations that superstars tend to generate. As I mentioned on Friday, we’re all human, even athletes and other people who excel at a high level of performance, but one thing that distinguishes superstars is that they tend to outperform the rest of the field sooner or later and on a regular basis. Two things that distinguish great athletes from great leaders is the ability to acknowledge one’s strengths and weaknesses and the ability to see how one’s skills can best align with the rest of the team’s talents.

Forsberg broke out of what might be considered a mini-slump and recorded his first two points as a Predator as Nashville downed the Red Wings 4-3 in overtime in front of a sellout crowd. Keep in mind that this is the second consecutive week that Forsberg has downed the Red Wings by scoring the clinching goal:

In his final appearance with the Philadelphia Flyers last week, Peter Forsberg scored the game-winning goal in a victory over the Detroit Red Wings. It might not have been a showdown game — the Flyers long had fallen out of playoff contention — but it did provide yet another example of Forsberg sticking it to the best team of the last decade.

Keep in mind that this appeared in an article that ran in Saturday’s paper, prior to that night’s heroics by Forsberg. I’m not expecting that Forsberg–or any other Pred–will score every game, but I’m glad to see him begin to contribute. I imagine that we’ll see a lot more assists, goals and, hopefully, wins in the near future, thanks to Forsberg and the rest of the Preds.

It’s not really fair to be questioning this so soon after such a huge trade, but last night’s game has me wondering a bit. Consider this item from John Glennon’s recap of the Preds’ 6-5 loss to Montreal last night:

Predators Coach Barry Trotz asked center Peter Forsberg whether he wanted to be one of the top three shootout participants against the Canadiens, but Forsberg declined.”He said he didn’t want to go as one of the first three,” Trotz said. “He just said it wasn’t something he didn’t feel real strong about, so I listened to him.”Forsberg was the fourth Predators shooter, but slipped as he neared the Montreal crease and failed to get off a quality attempt.

Peter Forsberg is reportedly a humble locker-room leader, so maybe he’s just deferring to the team’s established leaders. I attended the game last night, and it was a little disconcerting to learn after the fact that Forsberg turned down Coach Trotz’s first request to participate in the shootout. Putting him on the ice in the sudden-death round with the game on the line added even more pressure, and even NHL superstars are human and can’t make a spectacular play every time.

The trade is already paying dividends in the stands and around the city, and the team can afford the steep price it paid because it didn’t require a big departure from the current roster. There are rumblings around the league that Forsberg may already have it in mind to return to Philadelphia in the offseason, but some of those rumors are from Flyers fans who are disappointed about an unexpectedly awful season for their favorite team.

Forsberg has made no promises to the Preds, but he did waive a no-trade clause in his contract to allow the deal to happen. He was serving as Philadelphia’s captain, though, and perhaps he sees this move as a way to help the Flyers’ future because he has been limited so far this season for them on the ice.

I hope he will at least give Nashville the honor of keeping an open mind about our team and our community. This could very well be a great place for him to earn another championship, whether this year or thereafter, and it could be a great and welcoming place for him to complete his career, too.

Playing in two quick home games after arriving as the savior via a blockbuster trade will put pressure on anyone, even a premier athlete. The long road trip that starts next week will be a big challenge for the team, but I have a feeling it will be a very good thing for Forsberg’s Predators tenure.

As happens more often than not, I agree with Liz and her ode to Councilman Eric Crafton in this week’s Scene:

We do conduct our business in English and always have. Not once, as editor of a newspaper that makes frequent requests for public information—and roots around daily in the recesses of government offices for documents and other city goings-on—have we encountered an arrest record, a legal filing, a personnel file, an interview with a bureaucrat, or any other manifestation of municipal business in a non-English format. Well, except for the usual Metro-mangling of the English language—e.g., “let me have him to call you,” “you can quote me per beta,” or the classic plea for secrecy, “I need this to be unanimous.” (And there’s always the Metro Council favorite: “I have a qwerstion….”) …

That said, you have accomplished wonders in uniting some of the city’s most fragmented factions. There could not be a more widely assorted, contradictory cast of characters who find your intention repulsive. The Scene and Bishop David Choby…on the same side? Liberadio! and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce? Bizpigs and African American clergy? The list of multifarious hand-holders who have come together for what may be the first and last time goes on and on—a testament to how spurious and ill-motivated your scheme truly is …

Here you are, assuming that others who find themselves needing to learn a new language don’t have the same willingness and eagerness you did. It’s unfounded. No doubt when you were in Japan you tried to speak the language the best you could, but you probably needed a little sympathetic assistance from time to time—a stranger recognizing your effort, and reaching to meet you halfway. That’s all your mob of critics is saying.

Instead, by saying you’ll back the effort to put the measure on the August ballot, you’re assuming the worst of people in (or off) the same boat. And by trying to create a law where none is required, you’re diluting the good nature of Nashville’s citizens.

The last point here is the one that bugs me the most. This is a great place to live with a lot of kind-hearted people in it. We’re consistently named the nation’s friendliest city (although occasionally not to the homeless), and there are wonderful and amazing things taking place here as people continue to discover and explore Nashville. Yes, we have problems, but our ability to communicate in English is not one of them. How does this help us when we have bigger problems, including Dickerson Pike, to tackle?

Sam and Dixon ’s idea is catching on, judging from this morning’s Tennessean.

Instead of giving up soda, chocolate or swearing for Lent, some Midstate Christians are planning to volunteer at senior centers, spend five-minutes-a-day on social activism or pledge to crush their used Starbucks coffee cups to be more ecologically conscious…

The Rev. Thomas Hotchkiss of Church of Advent Episcopal is encouraging congregation members to combine the act of personal penance with charity work. “Giving up chocolate is something beneficial to oneself, which may OK, but taking all the money that everyone spends on candy bars and sending it to relief of children in Northern Uganda has an impact,” he said. “That’s what we’re trying to get people to think on.”

Someone who woke up very early on the wrong side of the bed disagrees:

Let me get this str8 (pun intended)… For 40 days, which ends at Easter, these people are no longer burdened with denying themselves chocolate (or other self indulgences), lying, swearing, buying soda, leaving a tip, recycling or anything else which would make them a ‘better’ christian? So on Easter Sunday, praise the lord, they can now curse, lie, eat diet cokes, leave no tips etc? No wonder this is their biggest holiday!

Frankly, I doubt Jesus is impressed. If I were Lord and Savior, I sure wouldn’t be.

What a wretched religion. What a trite concept and practice…giving up something for 40 days which one shouldn’t be doing anyway. If y’all were serious about this, I propose something different…instead of 40 days, the following should give up or practice the following forever:

-Catholic Priests should give up molesting children forever, and confess to law enforcement about the ones they did abuse. Catholic Bishops shouldn’t cover things up.

-Baptists should go to a gay bar and embrace every gay guy there, not as an abomination, but as another one of God’s creations.

Eh, nevermind, these things ain’t gonna happen. In Jesus name we burp, and hold off on self-indulgence, swearing, lying and not-tipping until Easter morning, amen.

I can’t argue with the sentiment, only the presentation. Regardless, Jesus is quoted in the Bible as saying “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” I have no issue with the traditional practice of Lent, observed sincerely, but I think this alternative take on 40 days better matches the God’s hope for us.

Digital cameras keep getting smaller, better and cheaper. Canon is introducing the Powershot SD-1000 (two designs above), and it is more than double the megapixels (7.1), half the width and a third of the weight of the still great Powershot S230 I bought in 2002. It has a bigger LCD viewscreen on the back, too. At $300, it’s also $100 cheaper than the S230 was when I bought it. Wow. [Source: Engadget]

Tennessean reporter Kate Howard is correct that this is what I think of when I hear the words “Dickerson Pike:”

Let’s do some word association. First thing you think of when I say… Dickerson Pike. Was it crime? Prostitutes? Drug dealers, or spray painting graffiti artists? If it was, you might understand why Metro City Council members want to give it a new moniker.

The city is considering a resolution telling the world they to be on “Skyline Boulevard” next time they’re riding down between Spring Street and Trinity Lane. The General Assembly would have to approve the change for the state route.

In my opinion, this is a shortsighted mistake that will only serve as a quick fix to a major issue. How long do you really think it will take until people realize that Skyline Boulevard equals Dickerson Pike?

The name isn’t the problem: The activity on that street is. I hope the council will stop spending time on another resolution that has no practical value and look for real solutions that will help permanently revitalize a blighted and dangerous part of our city. How about expanding the East Police Precinct and hiring more officers to work there? How about adding better and more streetlights? How about dedicating funds toward building future city agency locations there? How about providing incentives for businesses to relocate there?

Maybe none of these ideas make sense for Dickerson Pike. Maybe some of them do. Unless we keep thinking about how to improve the reality of Dickerson Pike and stop worrying about what to call it, though, it won’t be long until we read about the next prostitution sting or drug bust on Skyline Boulevard.

In my opinion, this is the risk Nashville runs if it elects a career politician, such as Bob Clement, as mayor this fall. Nashville has been fortunate since Bill Boner left office in 1991 to have chief executives in office who, regardless of one’s opinions on their initiatives and decisions, have generally gone out of their way to avoid controversy and the appearance of impropriety.

To be fair, Clement is probably known more for being bland than for being scandal-ridden, but hints of impropriety and corruption even prior to taking office are not encouraging signs. Let me say in alluding to Boner that Clement isn’t likely to embarrass us on national television by playing harmonica with his mistress, but I still think his election would be a step backward, not forward for the city.

This also is not the kind of availability and responsiveness that, in my opinion, we need out of a future mayor: “Clement did not return calls for comment Tuesday.”

Larry Woods, Clement’s campaign manager, did respond when contacted by the City Paper: “There’s absolutely no involvement of those PACs on any level in the Clement campaign. They have not given us a dime and are not going to give us a dime.”

In today’s story, The City Paper also cited Woods’ and Clement’s explanations last July regarding a related incident:

“But Bob’s got the highest ethical standards of any public official I’ve ever worked with and rather than have questions about it, he wants to meet those high ethical standards,” Woods added. “And so that’s what the campaign’s doing.”

In a statement last summer, Clement said he believed the donations were legitimate.

“While I have been assured and advised that these committee donations are appropriate and proper, I think it is important for those of us who are privileged to seek and to hold public office to avoid even the appearance of anything that is less than the highest moral, ethical and legal standards,” Clement said.

This is one “appearance” that has not been avoided. Maybe this is all much ado about nothing, but I’m not hearing anything here that makes me think that Clement is the best candidate out of a crowded field to be our next mayor. Better and more informed takes on this issue are available here, here and here. Thanks to Kleinheider for raising awareness of this development.

Hats off to Council member Erik Cole for his motion at the council meeting last night, as reported in today’s City Paper:

District 7 Council member Erik Cole, who last week voted against the English First bill, motioned for the council to override Purcell’s veto. On a vote, the motion failed 12 – 14, with four members abstaining. The bill’s original sponsor, 22nd District representative Eric Crafton, made an immediate motion to reconsider. His motion was denied by the Council Chairman, Vice Mayor Howard Gentry.

Thanks to Vice Mayor Gentry for preventing Council member Crafton from avoiding the vote, too. The Tennessean reported Cole’s reasoning for the motion, and I fully agree: “The intent was to dispatch with the discussion,” Cole said. “This has been a purely political exercise, and the citizens of Nashville are ready to move on to more important matters.”

Please let this go, Councilman Crafton. In my opinion, you are wasting our time and our money.

If this kind of news is going to go away, Titans cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones is going to have to decide that he wants to stay away from trouble more than he wants to party:

The aftermath of a weekend in Las Vegas is ugly: three people shot at a strip club, with one still in critical condition. A combination of celebrities with money and strippers fighting over it started a melee that led to the bloody scene. It happened Monday at 5 a.m. at Minxx Gentleman’s Club off the Vegas strip.

Pacman Jones was in the middle of it all, though on Tuesday his lawyer [Worrick Robinson] reiterated that the Titans cornerback is not a suspect … “[Las Vegas police Sergeant Jon Sott] told me he was really disgusted at the way there were attempts to implicate Pacman,” Robinson said. “But they said again he is not a suspect, and they don’t see anything changing. He said they have a description but it’s not Pacman. … I think this chapter is close to being closed…”

After a judge dismissed a case against him earlier this month, Jones said he had learned his lesson and would try and do a better job of picking his spots to hang out. [emphasis added] “Maybe I’ll chill out as a jazz bar or something with some older folks,” he said. As for what Jones took out of Monday morning’s incident, Robinson said: “It scared him. Pacman said he was scared and he’ll tell you he heard the gunshots and they stepped it up and got out of there. I think this is pretty much behind him now, but yeah, it scared him.”

I’m not convinced yet that this incident or ongoing trouble is “behind” Jones. The problem, in my opinion, is that trouble continues to be “in front” of him. When you are trying to overcome negative public opinion, being confirmed as a non-suspect is not enough.