sports-outdoors

Today is a very special day.  Today is mom’s day.  Be sure to spend time with her!  I knew I wasn’t going to be able to put flowers on my mothers grave today, so I went a few weeks ago and bought her some beautiful flowers and placed along her tombstone.

Over the next few weeks I am going to take some time to look back at the drafts this franchise has completed since the move to Tennessee following the 1996 season.  There will be a poll with each draft that will allow you to assign the grade that you find appropriate.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/may/07/area-lawmaker-admits-to-smoking...
I woke to find this on the front page of the Knoxville News Sentinel.  I always wondered why Rep. McCord’s office door was ALWAYS closed.  Everyone else on his floor invitingly had their office door open so

There's a very interesting article this morning over at the Vancouver Sun, discussing the analytical work of former NHL GM Mike Smith, and how Mike Gillis, who just took over as Canucks GM, might make use of advanced hockey statistics in his new role. Here's a quote from Smith that pretty much says it all:

There has been a lot of blog talk ever since that sports journalist went off on a blogger from Deadspin on a Costas special. I didn’t see it. But I heard an excerpt on the radio. The guy went bat[bleep] crazy. And I think I know why. I’ll get to that in a minute.

I thought it was interesting to see The Tennessean cover the increasing difficulty of commercial construction in the wake of a sputtering national economy without mentioning any news about the Signature Tower, the largest proposed commercial construction project in the city.

Lost: Something Nice Back Home
Oh I wish I hadn't been right last week when I predicted that this week's Lost wouldn't compare to last week's Ben-centric episode. Oh why couldn't they have worked a bit harder to prove me wrong?

Only time will tell if the City Paper’s Mark McGee is on the money about the Preds: “Now, buoyed by the new ownership group, a drastic change in the marketing plan, a new lease agreement and a fourth straight trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs, this is a team with a bright-looking future.”

The Tennessee Titans vs. Oakland Raiders preseason game has been moved from Saturday, August 16th to Friday, August 15th.  The game has been picked up nationally by FOX.

Went to see Iron Man over the weekend and while it wasn't quite the nirvana that is Spider-Man 2, it was still very enjoyable. That said, I think they're pulling the typical pattern for Marvel Comics based movies--good first film, incredible second film. (See also: X-Men, X2, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2)

Stats

Receiving

Kickoff Returns

Punt Returns

I thought I'd give a test run to an interesting new widget called Skribit, which you can find a ways down the left sidebar here. The basic idea is to allow you, the reader, to suggest topics that should be covered here at On the Forecheck.

You want a breakdown of individual Predators players?
How about a deeper dive into the statistical area of your choice?

Whatever you want, make a suggestion

By Steve Brady

The first Saturday in May is upon us, and once again I attempt to untangle the mysteries of the Kentucky Derby, once and always a chaotic race. There are a couple of stories to keep an eye on in this year’s Run for the Roses.

The story off the track is the same one taking place in every other aspect of modern life—the availability of free information provided on the web.

Here is what happens when you take a stand for clean water and fight to keep developers from being allowed to pave, culvert and bury streams at the state Legislature.
On April 9, the Stop Work Order bill was up in the House Environment Committee for a vote. During discussion, Rep. McCord asked me to [...]

I spent Earth Day with Science Clubbers from Seymour High School. They wanted to do some service learning on Earth Day and approached the network about a river clean up. With generous support from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, we were able to use a Clean Streams Grant to get the students out into the [...]

A bottle-opener shaped like the original (and best) Enterprise.

The segment on Bob Costas' HBO show this week that pitched sports blogger Will Leitch of Deadspin against Buzz Bissinger representing the mainstream media is burning up the internet, and having had the privilege of press access to some splendid NHL games back in the late 1990's while writing for In the Crease, I can't help but share my two cents (which, thanks to Blogger, comes to you free of

This is absolutely hilarious.  Todd McShay has already done a mock draft for 2009.  McShay must be the smartest man alive to project what kind of seasons these guys will have, which guys will come out early and where the NFL teams will finish.  Notice where he has the Titans picking.

So, this guy up in Michigan decides he wants to ask a girl to the prom and he wants to make the asking memorable. He enlists his buddies on the lacrosse team to help send her a special message--written on their buttocks and displayed when 13 of them basically mooned the crowd.

Look, I know Evgeni Nabokov has carried San Jose on his back all season, but this is getting ridiculous: