The A-Game saga ends in disgrace

Over 24 hours ago, I walked out of A-Game Sportsplex, another GNASH broadcast in the books.

I knew that, eventually, I'd be walking out of the facility for the last time.

I had no idea that last time would be on Wednesday night.

Chaos erupted on Gothic Court early Thursday morning, as people pulled up to A-Game's entrance, only to find it blocked by members of the Franklin Police Department. They were told that the owners had changed the building's locks, and that no one was allowed inside. The facility was closed, a strong-arm tactic by A-Game's owners to get the groups that run the building's volleyball and hockey programs to finally terminate their leases early, so that A-Game's owners can throw the keys to Al. Neyer, the Cincinnati-based real estate firm that began the process of buying the facility last July so they can turn it into office space.

This led to outraged parents who had invested tons of money for their children to play a season on the ice or court, and children crying, wondering if they'd ever get to skate or play hockey/volleyball/basketball with their friends again.

All along, it had been said that after the sale was complete, the respective sports would be allowed to finish their seasons in the spring, then Al. Neyer could begin redevelopment.

So much for promises.

It got ugly the week of Christmas. When Sports Land Group LLC - A-Game's owners - saw talks between them and the volleyball and hockey groups - Alliance and MDG, respectively - of getting an early termination of their leases break down, SLG took action. The week before Christmas, SLG sent an e-mail to A-Game employees, telling them to collect their belongings on Christmas Eve (the facility, as it always was, would be closed on Christmas Day), because the facility would probably be closing for good.

When the two groups got wind of the e-mail, they took matters to court. A restraining order was brought down against A-Game's owners. The order was in effect from the week of December 21 until this past Tuesday, when it was lifted, as a Williamson County judge saw it necessary for A-Game to be able to complete its sale to Al. Neyer. Otherwise, the facility would be at the risk of foreclosure.

The most stunning thing in all of this is the fact that SLG had been losing $72,000 a month on its business venture, How the heck do you lose that much money on a building that's seemingly packed every weekend? I mean, sure, it costs a lot to maintain the ice, but $72,000? What were they doing, gambling away their profit on riverboat cruises?

As a broadcaster, A-Game has been a big part of my life since 2009. Not just with GNASH games, but with weekend youth hockey tournaments. I have many memories of that place, from seeing Ravenwood win the Predators Cup there in 2010, to seeing the Raptors, Centennial, and most recently, Montgomery Bell, skating the GNASH Cup around as regular season champions. I even remember the scene I left behind on Rink 1 on Wednesday night - a bunch of guys playing late-night open hockey.

I can't imagine how a kid who's spent a massive part of his or her whole life in that building must feel. It's all been ripped away from them.

By people who are supposed to be adults.

To quote a song from the long-running Nicktoon, The Fairly OddParents, "Adults ruin everything."

Too bad a song from a silly cartoon series has such a massive amount of truth to it.

Hey, Nashville's new NA3HL team, where's the roster?

On May 1 of this year, the NA3HL, the third tier of the North American Hockey League, the biggest junior hockey league on the continent, announced that Nashville would be one of three new markets getting NA3HL teams (the other two being Decatur, Alabama, home of the new Point Mallard Ducks; and North Richland Hills, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth, home of the new Texas Brahmas, whose head coach is ex-Ravenwood boss Al Rooney, who will come up again in this blog post). After being unnamed for a few weeks, the team decided to be smart, and call themselves the Jr. Predators, though they aren't affiliated with the youth program. The team is owned by Franklin-based MDG Management, which includes former Pred J.P. Dumont. Dumont is also serving as the Jr. Preds' general manager.

The team will play its home games on weekends on Rink 1 at A-Game Sportsplex in Cool Springs, the first being on Friday, October 3, though one game - against Rooney's Brahmas - will be held at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday, November 15. The team's first game is in 18 days, against the Topeka Capitals at the Kansas ExpoCentre. I hope to make it out to some games, and I hope you will, too.

However, not everything is completely rosy with the Jr. Predators. They really haven't marketed themselves very well, and they seem to spend more time retweeting stuff on their Twitter account (@NashvilleNA3HL) than posting news. The biggest problem on the team's website is the fact that they haven't posted a roster. The team Tweeted this three months ago:

First local tender announcement coming soon - things coming together for Nashville Jr hockey #NA3HL
— NashvilleNA3HL (@NashvilleNA3HL) June 4, 2014

But nothing ever came. In fact, the Twitter account, website, and Facebook page the team operate has only somewhat mentioned the players in regards to being a host family to those from out-of-town. After months of Twitter searching, I ran across this earlier this morning:

Proud to say I've signed with the Nashville Jr. Predators of the NA3HL.
— Jacob Elrod (@ellyrod7) August 7, 2014

That's right. Jacob Elrod, one of the biggest pieces of Centennial's Predators Cup-winning team in the most recent GNASH season, has signed with the Jr. Predators. And good for Jacob. He deserves this shot at the next level, and I'm glad he's doing it in his hometown.

But that's all I can find. Are there any other GNASHers who have signed up with the team? Kyle Kawamura? Kieran Ogle? Brenden Eng Tow? I don't know. Not even the team's "31 in 31" preview on the NA3HL website mentioned any players.

Meanwhile, Rooney's Brahmas have been announcing player signings left and right. Three of them are GNASHers: former Ravenwood Raptor, Zach McPherson; Brock Brown, now formerly of Station Camp-Beech; and Matt Alfieri, now formerly of Pope John Paul II. I've complimented Al and the Brahmas on announcing their signings; this is a great way to get people interested in the team, especially kids.

This brings us back to the Jr. Preds. Why have they said absolutely nothing about who will be wearing the sweater for them? Why did it take a Twitter search for me to finally find someone who's going to play for them? The team took part in the NA3HL draft in June, but didn't draft one player from the Nashville area. Did any of the players drafted end up signing? I have no idea.

What's even wilder about all of this is the fact that the team is on their second head coach before even playing their first game! In late May, Steve Howard, who won the league's Coach of the Year Award head-manning the Flint Junior Generals last year, was hired. By the time the league's camp in Flint, Michigan, rolled around last month, Howard had left his post to become an assistant coach with the United States Hockey League's Waterloo Blackhawks. Taking over was Karlis Zirnis, a Nashville resident for the last few years, who had worked at A-Game. Zirnis was an assistant to Ted Nolan for Latvia's men's hockey team during the Winter Olympics in Sochi back in February, where they reached the quarterfinals, and gave Canada a hard time, before the eventual gold medalists pushed Latvia out. A local coach in Zirnis and at least one local player in Elrod is a good foundation to build this team on.

But more has to be done.

Get out in the community with player appearances, buy ads on TV and the radio, put up a billboard, COUGH UP A ROSTER! No one ever got attention by sitting on their hands. The Jr. Preds are opening for business at the right time in this market, with the opening of Ford Ice Center in Antioch, but they need to make themselves visible if they want to succeed.

I love that the Nashville market has an NA3HL team, since it means that any GNASH players who want to go to the next level can do so without leaving the state, but getting a fanbase starts with them. So far, it seems that only the diehards are aware of the team's existence. The Jr. Predators failing would be a big blow to the Nashville market (and the youth version almost blew things up this past Spring, which would've been absolutely horrible for hockey around here), so, just give us a roster. That's all we need.