Willkommen » arathon, he goes on more long runs. For the 5,000, he

This story is part of ESPN The Magazines Oct. 31 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!Nashville PredatorsOverall: 6 Title track:?49 Ownership: 18 Coaching: T21 Players: 12 Fan relations: 1 Affordability: 1 Stadium experience: 1 Bang for the buck: 52 Change from?last year:?+21After ending two straight seasons with April golf, the Nashville Predators hired Peter Laviolette in May 2014 and secured back-to-back playoff spots in a tough Central Division. Even still, the on-ice success seems like just a bonus in Smashville. The Preds claimed the top spot overall in fan relations, affordability, and stadium experience to go along with their 96-point 2015-16 season.Whats goodThe Bridgestone Arena topped the charts in stadium experience, and it seems like it will only continue to improve. In August, the Predators announced concepts to improve the arena, including adding an on-site hotel, a second rink, interactive components for fans, additional concessions, and renovated suites. The Predators rolled out multiple promotions last season, including Nissan Tuesdays (two tickets and an ice scraper for either $60 or $120) and Subway Student Rush Night on Thursdays (a ticket for as cheap as $19, along with a sandwich voucher for students). Average ticket prices were already just $62, putting it right at the league average, helping make the Preds the number one team in affordability in our fan rankings. And if you didnt enjoy enough of their $6.75 beers, you can walk out the front door after the game onto Lower Broadway.Whats badDespite ranking first in affordability, Nashville claims only the 52nd spot in bang for the buck. The average cost per game is $80, but the Predators have just one 100-point season in the past four and have never made it out of the second round of the playoffs. They had four 20-goal scorers last season and potentially the leagues best blue line, but weak goaltending led them to a fourth-place finish in their division. Still, the Preds were one win from the Western Conference finals last season, and the team has improved in Year 3 under Laviolette. Expect a lot more bang in 2016-17.Whats newTitle track jumped 25 spots this season to break into the top 50. A big reason why wears number 76. Nashville dealt an aging Shea Weber to Montreal this offseason for P.K. Subban, who will join Roman Josi as staples on the point. Subban is just 27 years old and has not had fewer than 50 points since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. Young dynamic forwards Filip Forsberg, and Ryan Johansen mesh well with veterans James Neal and Mike Fisher, helping the players ranking hop 10 spots to 12th overall. The X factor will be which Pekka Rinne shows up in goal -- the Vezina Trophy runner-up in 2014-15 or the player who finished with just a .908 save percentage last season. For this team to have any hope of raising a banner in the arena that everyone loves so dearly, Rinne will need to elevate his play.Next: Florida Panthers?| Full rankingsDiscount Nike NBA Jerseys . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Wholesale Basketball Jerseys . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. http://www.cheapbasketballchina.com/cheap-chicago-bulls-jerseys-china_154r.html . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. Wholesale NBA Jerseys China . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Cheap NBA Jerseys From China . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status.EUGENE, Ore. -- Pick a distance, any distance, and Galen Rupp can run it.Already qualified for the marathon, Rupp added the 10,000 meters to his list Friday night at Olympic trials. Next up, hell try to make it at 5K, as well.If -- more like when -- that happens, he says hell choose two of the three to run in Rio. Racing in all three would simply be too much, even for Rupp.Rupp is leaning toward running the 10,000, especially given the way he won at trials. He threw surge after surge at Shadrack Kipchirchir and Leonard Korir -- both of whom run for the Armys World Class Athlete Program in Fort Carson, Colorado -- and finished to a loud ovation. No surprise, since Rupp rose to prominence at Hayward Field as a member of the Oregon Ducks.It was tough. It wasnt easy. I was pushing pretty hard, said Rupp, who finished in 27 minutes, 55.04 seconds, more than 6 second clear of Kipchirchir. I made a couple surges with five or six laps to go, kind of testing out Shadrack. He was always on me. He was right there. I wanted to make it a tough race.Now, Rupp will recover. Hes got the first round of the 5,000 on Monday and -- if he qualifies -- the final five days later.Rupp won the Olympic marathon trials during his debut at that distance in February in Loss Angeles.dddddddddddd Nothing seems to slow him down.But it has been tough to balance the training between the marathon and 5,000. For the marathon, he goes on more long runs. For the 5,000, he does more speed work.We run a fine line, do a lot of miles -- a lot of long, hard runs, Rupp explained. Its hard to recover from. Its really hard to do that, come back and do the speed work. Its been a little bit of a learning process, sometimes coming back too soon and cant hit a workout. Were always adjusting and figuring it out.The 30-year-old Rupp is the Olympic silver medalist in the 10,000 meters.What impresses me most is his work ethic, his mental toughness, his coach, Alberto Salazar, said. All the pressure and limelight on him, sometimes bad, sometimes good. He doesnt care. He puts it aside.As for his say in the matter of what races Rupp will run, Salazar wants to wait and see.Hell make a decision between 5,000 and the marathon. He cant run all three, Salazar said. He does everything right. He dedicates his life (to running). The only thing that ever takes him away from running for an instant is his family. Thats it. ' ' '