The Nashville Predators announced yesterday that Barry Trotz and his entire coaching staff would return for the 2007-2008 season.  Trotz in the only coach the Preds have ever had in their ten year history having been with the franchise almost from day one.  True the Preds went out early in the playoffs this year, but Trotz's record has slowly improved since the days where he had such memorable players as Denny Lambert, Patrick Cote. Andrew Brunette, Blair Atcheynum and Mike Dunham.  Predators GM David Poile, as pragmatic and patient a manger as there is in pro sports, decided he was better off with what he had rather than hire a new coach to, as the cliche goes "take us to the next level."

The Nashville Predators did a classy thing yesterday by giving their only coach, a good and decent man, one more opportunity to achieve success in the playoffs.  Trotz deserves this chance not only because he is a good coach, but because of what he has done for the organization in terms of the body of his work.  The players enjoy playing for him.  The fans respect him.  And, he is the right guy for the job.

Even the harshest of critics. George Steinbrenner, has come to grips with the fact that continuity outweighs change. The problem with the Yankees  isn't Joe Torre,  it's the decimated pitching staff.  The problem with the White Sox isn't Greg Walker,  it's players  struggling and not relaxing.  The problem with the  Chicago Black Hawks is not Denis Savard,  it's an organization that still thinks it's 1954.  Yes, sometimes  you get bad coaches.  But then, no one, not Dusty Baker, not Leo Durocher, has been able to win it all with the Cubs.  And sometimes patience, like the Milwaukee Brewers have exhibited under the reign of manager Ned Yost play dividends later rather than sooner.

This is a microwave society where we as fans want a scalp every time something doesn't live up to our expectations.  The sports radio hosts who want managers and hitting coaches and GMs fired do it as showbiz.  The bloggers who write about it and treat real time sports like it was a fantasy league.  And the teams and GMs that pull the trigger because they think that it will help sell tickets and "send a message" if say Jimy Williams is running the team rather than Charlie Manuel.

So often, bringing in a "new voice" is a way to mask the problems within an organization and not a particular individual.  It's always easy to fire the coach because you can't, as the saying goes, fire the team.  Yet fans and teams often find out that the devil they know may have been better than the devil they didn't know. Given second chances, many coaches like Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll, Terry Francona, Tony Dungy, and Joe Torre proved that maybe it wasn't about them in the first place.


Lightning Round

• In the chase for Lord Stanley's cup, if the New York Rangers aren't kicking themselves today, they should be.  Chris Drury scored the tying goal at 19:52 of the third period (that's eight seconds left in the game) send the game into overtime and then shortly into overtime the Sabres lit the lamp again securing a 2-1 victory over New York.  Scoring a goal in these playoffs has been tough, but when you look at how many goals have been scored in the last thirty seconds of a period, it's no wonder that these are the most exciting playoffs of all.
• The Chicago White Sox continue to hit with the ferocity of tissue paper.  To compound matters, Darrin Erstad returned to Anaheim last night and lost a fly ball in the lights, resulting in two runs scored as the Angels beat the White Sox 5-1.  The Sox dug themselves into a 4-0 hole after two innings and with the offense on life support right now, you really didn't expect them to be able to come back.  Besides the injuries to Thome and Podsednik, shortstop Juan Uribe has left the club to return to Chicago to be with his ailing mother. Sox and Angels this afternoon on Fox, if the game is shown in your area.
• In a move that may seen more often in professional sports, the Cardinals have banned beer in their clubhouse.  Certainly, this is to indemnify the Cardinals in the future if there is a player who has a few too many in the clubhouse and then tries to drive home.  But more importantly, it takes the onus off the team and tells players that if you want to drink, you're not going to do it at work.  It may be time to change the culture of alcohol in sports.
• Our friends at Awful Announcing report that Harold Reynolds has won round one in his suit against ESPN.
• Shane Doan to Canadian Parliament: How do you like me now?
• The former Duke Lacrosse coach writes a book about lives were ruined by the scandal.  Yeah, like the millions you'll be receiving from writing your book?
• Here in Milwaukee, a local radio host (and renowned crack pot) goes on the air and gloats about the death of another local personalities mother who died tragically in a fire.  Bottom line: What this guy said is far, far, far worse than what Imus said and yet this clown may actually get to come back on the air eventually.  Imus made a comment in poor taste.  This idiot said things that are morally, socially and otherwise totally inexcusable in polite society. Did I mention the guy is black and the other personality is white?  Spotters at General Mitchell International Airport say Al Sharpton's plane has not arrived yet and is not expected anytime soon.
  
• At one of those "harmless" immigration marches the other day, a normal arrest led police and FBI agents to an "arsenal of weapons"  Yup, just a harmless gathering.
• Apparently the Judge who is suing the dry cleaners for $65 million because they lost his pants has a history of shaking people down.
  
• People with naked pictures of themselves on their cell phone should not lend their cell phone to someone else.  Especially if you have naked pictures of yourself on your cell phone and you are a teacher.  And the borrower is a student. 
  
• Now you can throw steaks on your grill and yell to the steaks as they hit the flames "your fired!"
• According to Maxim magazine, Alec Baldwin isn't the only celebrity stupid enough to leave a message on a machine where someone would turn it public.