Writers
Meet our wonderful crew of writers:
Stan Laws– Vanderbilt Hockey / Feature Writer – A father, soldier, avid sports fan, and wannabe blogger, Stan’s journey to Middle Tennessee began after he accepted a promotion shortly after the flood of 2010. Originally from South Pittsburg, (TN not PA), Stan grew up playing baseball and watching football. Living in SEC country, he decided to think outside of the box when he chose to make the Fightin’ Irish of Notre Dame his favorite team to watch on Saturdays.
With very little knowledge of hockey, Stan was a casual fan until Preds Radio Announcer, Tom Callahan, offered free tickets through Twitter. With tickets in hand, he made his first trip to Bridgestone Arena in the fall of 2011 to see what the fuss was all about. Even though the Predators lost to the Sharks that night, Stan purchased flex plan tickets the next day! Stan tasted the Kool-aid and is now a season ticket holder.
When he’s not busting his ass for the Tennessee Army National Guard, you can find Stan hanging out with his kiddo, repairing his divots at a local golf course, enjoying live sports and/or music, or having a cold adult beverage with friends.
Favorite Facts:
Teams: ND, Tennessee Titans, Boston Red Sox, SPHS Pirates
Movies: Good Will Hunting, With Honors, Dazed and Confused, Tombstone, A Few Good Men, Saving Private Ryan, We Were Soldiers, and Rudy
Music: Corey Smith, American Aquarium, Gin Blossoms, Cracker
Preds Moment: December 22, 2011 game versus the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was the kiddo’s first game and a come from behind victory for the Preds!
Follow Stan on Twitter: @stanlaws
Check out his blog: www.stanlaws.com
Steven Ellis – Prospect Reports– Steven took a different route towards his hockey interests. Starting out as a big Habs fan, he started to gravitate towards the more obscure levels of hockey, such as the low level tournaments in Asia, strange club matches between teams most people in North America can’t pronounce, and even some 3am contests between Bulgaria and New Zealand. Aside from his love for strange hockey events, Steven occasionally acts as a mediocre ball hockey goalie following a failed attempt at making it to the NHL as a fourth line house league grinder. Beyond hockey, Steven is an avid racing fan and loves to chat about NASCAR, F1, Indycar, you name it. Oh, and don’t get him started on music. That is, unless you want the whole history of metal and a guitar lesson.
Favorite Facts:
Memorable Habs Moment: The day Jose Theodore was traded. I didn’t think I could be more upset about something in hockey…until Huet was traded.
Brandon Eldridge – Nashville Predators Pre-game Previews – Brandon was born and raised in Lebanon, Tennessee but eventually moved to McMinnville, Tennessee after marrying his wife, Lindsey. He is a graduate of Cumberland University (GO BULLDOGS) with a Master of Arts in Education. Growing up in Middle Tennessee, hockey was not an interest early in life. He is a hockey convert. His introduction to hockey was through free tickets from his grandmother for a game between the Predators and the Dallas Stars. After this initial introduction, it has truly been an obsession. Along with his wife and son, Brandon goes to as many games as he can. From statistics to player interactions, he has become the ultimate hockey fan. He is a proud father, teacher, history nerd, music-lover, and true sports fanatic!
Favorite Facts:
Teams: Nashville Predators, Tennessee Volunteers, Tennessee Titans, and Atlanta Braves
Sports Movies: Miracle, Remember the Titans, Field of Dreams, The Mighty Ducks, Rocky, A League of Their Own, Rudy, The Blind Side, Major League
Other movies: Star Wars, Dark Knight Series, The Godfather Series, Shawshank Redemption, John Q, The Wedding Singer, Billy Madison, National Treasure
Favorite TV Shows: Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, CSI, The Biggest Loser, Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, Chopped, SportsCenter
Preds Moments: The Annihilation of the Detroit Red Wings in the 2012 NHL PLAYOFFS!
Follow Brandon on Twitter: @beldridge85
Chris Rydburg – College hockey reporter – Chris has spent the majority of his life in the Nashville area after his family moved down from Minnesota in 1996. A graduate from Miami University, (not the warm one in Florida) Chris was the color commentator for the Miami student radio program for the RedHawks hockey team during the 2009-10 season. He would later join the Miami University Athletic Department as an intern for the next two years. Chris was also a contributor for Ontheforecheck.com for the 2012-13 season. A former Avalanche fan, Chris became a die-hard Preds fan in 2005.
When not watching hockey or at work, you can find him hotly debating his brother in endless armchair GM discussions or at Ford Ice Center playing in their D-league for the Wolfpack.
Favorite Facts:
Teams: Nashville Predators, Boston Bruins, USC Trojans, Miami RedHawks (Hockey), New England Patriots
Sports Movies: Miracle, Mighty Ducks
Other Movies: Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Inside Out, My Neighbor Totoro, American Sniper, Stalingrad, The Dark Knight, Tangled.
TV Shows: What are TV shows? *Flips back to NHL Game Center*
All-Time Favorite Nashville Predator: Hornqvist or Timonen
Favorite Non-Pred: Joe Sakic
Memorable Preds Moment: Kariya to Forsberg in 2007.
Follow Chris on Twitter: @Rydch41
Matt Ousley – The Hungry Predator / Food – Matt was born and raised northeast of Indianapolis, Indiana but has a ton of family roots in The Volunteer State. He vividly remembers being 9 years old, screaming at the TV for the Colts to draft his favorite football player – Peyton Manning. He’s married to his wonderful wife Danielle and many of their friends joke that they married each other because of their common love of good food.
Music: Aaron Watson, George Strait, Josh Abbott Band, The Steeldrivers, Turnpike Troubadours, etc. (Texas and real country + bluegrass – no pop country nonsense!)
Foods: BACON, smoked bbq of all kinds, country ham, fried chicken dinners, deep dish pizza, steak tacos, unlimited queso, porterhouse steaks, all things Cajun, fried fish, mac n cheese, shrimp & grits, chili cheese dogs, hot wings
Preds Moment: First ever NHL game – Preds vs. Avalanche at Bridgestone, spring 2012 (Preds won 4-2).
Caitlyn Hawkins – Feature Writer
Caitlyn was born in Raleigh, NC and grew up a Carolina Hurricanes fan. She fell in love with the city of Nashville at an early age and knew that is where she wanted to end up. She attended her first Nashville Predators game in November of 2010 and was instantly hooked!
You can follow Caitlyn on Twitter: @Caitlyn71233
