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WZTV FOX 17 - Top Stories
The puck dropped Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena for the first time this fall but the players weren't the ones most hockey fans would expect.
As the NHL lockout drags on, the Preds organization is opening the ice to some lesser known skaters.
All the pieces were there: the face-offs, the hits and everything hockey fans love.
"Just the speed and the fun that goes with the whole environment of the sport," said Brent Hooper, a fan of the Predators.
Bridgestone Arena finally had a taste of hockey Saturday night, when the minor league Knoxville Ice Bears took on the Huntsville Havoc.
"Any hockey that's coming into the area is an absolute blast for any fan," Hooper said.
The game capped off a full day of hockey at Bridgestone that included a Vanderbilt alumni game and an adult skills clinic where average Joes got a crash course in hockey taught by the same coaches that work with Martin Erat and Pekka Rinne.
"Trotzy was on the ice," said 66-year-old participant Rick Oliver. "He was riding me a little bit or giving me some good instruction, so that was fun."
Saturday night was originally scheduled for a game between the Penguins and the Predators, and while fans say they enjoyed Saturday's community events, what they would really like to see is the NHL lockout come to an end.
"We're all hoping that it will get solved real soon and that it will be back," Oliver said.
On Friday, the NHL announced games would be canceled through November 1st, which means the Preds organization has to work even harder to keep the fans engaged.
"That for us is a challenge as an organization," said Stu Grimson a Predators broadcaster. "We need to be out there, connect with people at every possible opportunity and this was, in my opinion, a prime example of that."
But the fans say, those efforts only go so far.
"It's extremely difficult as a fan because you're sitting on pins and needles really waiting for a good word from the players and the league," Hooper said. "It's just completely unfortunate for everybody."
A Predators spokesperson said 6,021 fans attended Saturday's minor league game and part of the proceeds of will go to the Vanderbilt Children s Hospital.
As the NHL lockout drags on, the Preds organization is opening the ice to some lesser known skaters.
All the pieces were there: the face-offs, the hits and everything hockey fans love.
"Just the speed and the fun that goes with the whole environment of the sport," said Brent Hooper, a fan of the Predators.
Bridgestone Arena finally had a taste of hockey Saturday night, when the minor league Knoxville Ice Bears took on the Huntsville Havoc.
"Any hockey that's coming into the area is an absolute blast for any fan," Hooper said.
The game capped off a full day of hockey at Bridgestone that included a Vanderbilt alumni game and an adult skills clinic where average Joes got a crash course in hockey taught by the same coaches that work with Martin Erat and Pekka Rinne.
"Trotzy was on the ice," said 66-year-old participant Rick Oliver. "He was riding me a little bit or giving me some good instruction, so that was fun."
Saturday night was originally scheduled for a game between the Penguins and the Predators, and while fans say they enjoyed Saturday's community events, what they would really like to see is the NHL lockout come to an end.
"We're all hoping that it will get solved real soon and that it will be back," Oliver said.
On Friday, the NHL announced games would be canceled through November 1st, which means the Preds organization has to work even harder to keep the fans engaged.
"That for us is a challenge as an organization," said Stu Grimson a Predators broadcaster. "We need to be out there, connect with people at every possible opportunity and this was, in my opinion, a prime example of that."
But the fans say, those efforts only go so far.
"It's extremely difficult as a fan because you're sitting on pins and needles really waiting for a good word from the players and the league," Hooper said. "It's just completely unfortunate for everybody."
A Predators spokesperson said 6,021 fans attended Saturday's minor league game and part of the proceeds of will go to the Vanderbilt Children s Hospital.
Monday, October 22 2012, 05:59 AM CDT
Tennessee News
Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert at country fest
May 24, 2013 18:26 GMT
By CHEVEL JOHNSON Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The sounds of country music take over the City of Baton Rouge as the Bayou Country Superfest brings some of the genre's biggest names to LSU's Tiger Stadium for a Memorial Day holiday jamfest.
Headlining Saturday are Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Darius Rucker and Aaron Lewis, the former frontman for rock band Staind. The two-day festival concludes Sunday with performances by Zac Brown Band, Luke Bryan and The Band Perry.
Festival producer Quint Davis says the talent and free fan fest held before the nightly concerts help to entice attendees. In its fourth year, the festival drew 75,000 people last year.
Visit Baton Rouge executive vice president Renee Areng says Superfest has encouraged people to travel to Baton Rouge on a traditionally sleepy weekend.
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