Nashville, TN

I was downtown last evening for the bluegrass show at the Ryman and noticed there were a LOT of people out and about with Preds jerseys, t-shirts and hats on.

From media reports, I see that Governor Bredesen and his wife, Andre Conte were in attendance and bought four more season tickets. Bredesen joked they needed to find some more friends to share the tickets with.

It’s good to see the support for the Preds after all these weeks of agonizing and the will they or won’t they nature of who will buy the team and will it stay. I am glad it turned out well and I hope it shows the businesses in our community they need to step up and support the team as well.

Watch this video about Safe Haven Family Shelter . “Watch while I’m waiting for what?” you may ask. Well, you have to get to the end of the video to find that out.

I won’t say anything more about them, because this video says it all perfectly. Just give them 7:43 minutes of your time and then, who knows…you take it from there.

I’ll see all y’all in a week. I’m off to Panama! Keep coming back each day though while Michael holds down the fort.

The Nashville Predators are hosting a Save our Team rally today at the Sommet Center.

Get on out there for food, fun, and fan-slaving. And while you’re out there, don’t be afraid to chain yourself to the team as the proverbial wrecking ball falls in full swing down the center of our crumbling hopes of keeping the Preds in town. I, unfortunately, cannot make it. Although I would have no problem chaining myself to this. Or this.

The Commander-in-Chief will be in Music City today. He’ll be touring a bakery and delivering a speech on the economy.

The visit to Nashville’s Nashville Bun Company (which supplies buns to McDonald’s among others) will take place mid-morning. The speech will take place after that out at Opryland.

There will be, of course, protesters at both stops for the President.

There will also be the usual security measures in place. If you have to travel via the airport today, you can expect delays if your times of travel are near the landing or takeoff for Air Force One. Similiarily, traffic flow in the areas Bush visits will be affected.

The WaldenBooks in CoolSprings Galleria will close permanently on July 26th.

Growing up, I always used to look forward to going to WaldenBooks when I’d go to the mall with my family.

Now it seems they’re all closing down…

::sigh:::

Adam “Pacman” Jones could be a training camp?!?

Color me befuddled…

Seems his agent things this would be a good idea. Yeah, I guess it would be a great idea to have your big meal ticket in camp, earning his salary instead of being cut by the Titans and having them go after his signing bonus.

I think having Jones in camp is a huge mistake. Jeff Fisher says the team has moved on and this would show they have. And they’ve given this guy more than enough chances to straighten up and fly right. Nothing he’s done has shown any willingness to change. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me eleven times, shame on me.

I can’t help but recall how divisive Jones was in the locker room and how this young team doesn’t need that distraction. They need to focus on finding a running game and people for VY to throw the ball to. Not on a guy who has been nothing but a distraction to the team since he got here.

Alright, during yesterday’s comments regarding “where are all the single people?” (answer: not in Nashville), I noticed a little snarkiness over one of our local Dining Experience du jours.

I have to ask: what exactly is everyone’s beef with Cabana?

No, I’m not a regular who sits at the 5:00 bar, sweeping in and ordering up, “Tony! My regular!”

Yes, I’ve eaten there once or twice. It was good. A little more than I like to drop on one meal, but tasty. A fine, casual, breezy dining encounter.

Dare I ask again, what’s your beef with Cabana? Seriously, if there is a reason I need to dislike this place, just let me know what it is. I can be persuaded…even bribed. But as it stands, I’d recommend it to people I like.

Looking to get out of the house this evening and enjoy the summer air?

Why not head down to Greer Stadium for a concert?

The Home for a Hero concert starts this evening at 7 p.m. at Greer Stadium. Proceeds from the show will go toward building Iraqui veteran Kevin Downs a home. Here’s more from The Tennessean:

Kingston Springs resident Sgt. Kevin Downs was seriously injured in 2005 when he was blown from the gunner’s hatch of a Humvee during an ambush that killed three American soldiers from the 278th Regimental Combat Team of the Tennessee National Guard unit. The same attack took the life of Ashland City resident Sgt. Gary L. Reese, Jr.

Sole survivor Downs received burns on over 60 percent of his body, lost both legs and is reduced to only partial use of one hand.

Since then, Downs has been a patient at Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, where he has faced many surgeries to save his life. He has been given a brief time to return home this month to take part in an event put together to raise funds to help build a home that will allow Kevin to live an independent life when he returns to Cheatham County, as well as to honor the Tennessee National Guard and all US Armed Forces.

Gates open at 5:30 this evening. Titans kicker Craig Hentrick and another Titans player will be there signing autographs during this time. There will also be other celebrities signing autographs and interacting with the crowd during this time.

The event will also feature a military “heavy metal” pre-show event courtesy of the Tennessee National Guard and will include an impressive display of military vehicles and weaponry, including the M1 tank and Apache helicopter, Laser Shot Indoor Range System, a rock wall, a fireworks show and more.

Charlie Daniels will open the concert. Multi-award-winning band Lonestar will headline the concert and take the stage with Craig Morgan, Joe Diffie, Collin Raye, John Berry, David Lee Murphy, Paulette Carlson of Highway 101, Jamie Lee Thurston and singing female duo Bomshel.
Storme Warren from GAC TV will emcee the event.

Tickets are $22 in advance, $32 at the gate and $15 for military personnel and their families. Tickets can be purchased online at www.homeforahero.comor through the Nashville Sounds box office at (615) 242-4371. The pre-show event will begin at 5 p.m.

Forbes posted a list of the 40 best cities for young, single professionals. Guess where Nashville ranked.

Um, seriously?

If your’e a single professional here in Nashville, then this ranking should be a huge shock. I mean, 13?? That’s pretty good out of 40! Have these people who made up this list actually TRIED dating in Nashville? My compliments to them if they have and were successful. Unfortunately for me, I happen to love my city, but my city does not love me. I chose to live in and love a city that offers little to no romantic supplement. All signs of love in this city have either migrated here together from more fertile pastures, or are, in my evolved opinion, completely contrived.

I know that sounds bitter (and I’m not actually bitter, despite the tone of this post…), but does anyone else have a better theory? If this is considered a great place for young professionls to meet and greet, then where IS everyone?

I guess resident ESPN idiot Meryll Hodge must have a say….

Vince Young doesn’t move in the “Who’s Now” contest on ESPN. Instead, it’s that cute tennis playing girl who can actually play.

Oh well….at least we tried to get the vote out for Vince.

Titans tickets officially went on sale late last week. People were camping out to get their maximum 4 tickets to 2 games. Guess who got in on the action?

Who else out there got tix?

On another LP Field note, I was down there on Saturday afternoon to take some photos on the Riverfront. I parked at the field way out where people normally tailgate. Because I don’t normally hang out in the parking lot of LP Field on Saturdays, my question is this: do people normally hang out in the parking lot at LP Field on the Saturdays…even when there is no event going on there? I mean, there was a tent, under which a small group was just hanging out. They were sitting in lawn chairs under this tent, drinking beer, and shooting the proverbial bull. There were also several groups of kids, again, hanging out, smoking, skateboarding, talking…not really doing much of anything. And Saturday was HOT! It was hot as fire out there, and most of these people there were just standing out in the sun….not even sitting under the pedestrian bridge in the somewhat-shade. I’ll ask again, is this NORMAL? Is this what people DO on the weekends here? There’s got to be a catch. I just haven’t caught it yet.

Any suggestions as to what this may have been will be greatly appreciated as this scene deeply concerned freaked me out.

I think this whole SportsCenter “Who’s Now” thing is beyond lame….

(You know there is a “but” coming…)

But, today’s voting is Vince Young against Maria Sharapova. The ESPN panel all picked Sharapova, so for Vince to move on, we need to vote for the guy!

Here’s a link to do it.

No, it’s not the contest Emily wrote about yesterday….

Early voting for the Aug 2nd mayoral election has begun.

So, get out to the polls and cast your vote!

From personal experience, I find early voting to be great–I usually get in and out quickly.

But no matter when you vote, please make sure you get out and vote!

Yesterday I asked where your favorite local bbq comes from. Thanks to all who responded!

I have always been a big fan of Famous Dave’s, myself. To me, the most important part of barbecue is the sauce. And Dave’s has about 6 different sauces to accomodate the masses. I love the Rich ‘n’ Sassy. If you need a big kick in your pork rind, try the Devil’s Spit.

My sister mentioned Mothership, which is temporarily closed - looking for a new location. A lot of local bloggers LOVE this place, and it was always one of our primary meet up spots. I didn’t care too much for the sauce, as it was more water-based than the rich, creamy sauces I prefer to slather over my pulled pork. But that didn’t stop me from eating there. Mothership was always more about the *cough* ambiance for me than the food. As well as the company. I would go in there alone on any given Saturday and eat with someone I knew. It was just one of those great local dives. I look forward to it’s grand reopening.

Another great bbq joint I just fell in love with is Barbecutie. Do not let the name fool you like I did. I always thought the name was a little too….uh, cute? So I never tried it. Until my company had it catered in for a pre-July 4th lunch. It. Was. AMAZING! Perfect thick, creamy, tangy sauce, over tender pulled pork and ribs. Two words: Texas toast. Two more words: Fudge pie. Here’s a couple more for ya: Sweet tea.

Nashville BBQ staple: Jacks on Broadway. Just go.

So gerd.

So have a great weekend, and get you some BBQ. You know where to go.

Sorry, Nashville…I don’t have anything profound to say today. I wish I did and I’ve spent some time scouring the Internet to find something that might excite me or spark a post…but I got nothing.

I hope you can forgive me. It is probaby due to my excitement at tonight’s bluegrass concert at the Ryman. It’s a double act of Cherryholmes and Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. I saw Doyle last year and he and Quicksilver were great. And I’ve been listening to the first Cherryholmes CD for a few weeks now and am eager to hear them as well. This could be the best concert of the series (last week’s Vince Gill was good but not great) and I am really looking forward to it.

And there may still be tickets available. Surf over to www.ryman.com and pick some up. If you like bluegrass or you just like good music, I think this one tonight will be a real treat.