Go Predators. And Take Greer Stadium With You.

The Nashville Predators are being sold. The new owner is probably going to take them to Hamilton, Ontario.

As a small college sports fan, I am extremely excited about this development. If you live within 100 miles of Nashville, the Titans are king, and nothing is going to change that anytime soon. Lipscomb, Belmont, the Sounds, and the like could never compete with the NFL.

But the Predators are another matter.

If the Predators are gone, $23 million in ticket sales, corporate sponsorships (such as they are), and valuable airtime on sports radio and TV are suddenly up for grabs. The 1,800 people (I am not making that number up) in the Nashville media market who watched the NHL All-Star Game on TV will watch whether there is a Nashville team or not.

This move is good for the NHL, good for the new owner, and good for the rest of the Middle Tennessee sports community.

Coming soon -- The Atlantic Sun spring sports recap, and thoughts about Mark Cuban's new football league.

Lipscomb Sports Update

So.

For the second consecutive year, Lipscomb's baseball team is one of 23 to be docked scholarships for lack of academic performance. Lipscomb is the only school in the Atlantic Sun to incur any penalty of any sort under the NCAA's Academic Progress Report.



Granted, the penalty is less than last year's (1.01 scholarships, down from 1.07). But still. And if things don't get better next year, the whole athletic department can be placed on probation.

But they're winning, so I guess all is forgiven?

In the interest of equal time, credit to Frank Bennett and the women's basketball program for earning a citation from the NCAA for outstanding academic performance, long a hallmark of Bennett's program dating back to the NAIA era.

Alma mater hail.