Jeremy Roenick, 4th Best Videogame Athlete of All Time

As some of you are probably aware, Jeremy Roenick will be acting in TNT's "Leverage" this coming winter. Which is cool. I can see him in the future doing some Jason Statham type roles (how good would Roenick have been in Snatch?) and actually making a fairly decent career out in Hollywood. The man's got charisma.

To cut to the chase, IGN has just ranked the best videogame athletes of all-time, and JR falls in fourth. Known Roenick stalker (hell who can blame him?) Kevin from Barry Melrose Rocks is a little peeved, and with good reason. The guys ranked above him?

3. Michael Vick: The dude ran dogfights out of his house. In fact, there's an upcoming TV show about saving the Vick dogs. Obviously ranking video game athletes isn't based off moral character, but to include Vick is comparable to including Stalin on a Top Ten "Visionary World Leaders List"- no matter how well they fit the criteria, they still suck as human beings.

2. Bo Jackson: I don't care about professional football, and neither should you.

1. Mike Tyson:

The fact remains that the San Jose Sharks have one of the best players in the history of the NHL playing for them this upcoming season. It truly is an honor to see JR play everynight. Here's to hoping he finally gets that Cup he has always deserved.


Go Sharks.

The Friesen Question & Cap Space Particulars

Per David Pollak of Working The Corners, Jeff Friesen has been skating with the Sharks at Captain's skates this summer. Reportedly he has been offered an opportunity to try out when training camp kicks off.

The Sharks have aged during the offseason, as Doug Wilson apparently finds it necessary to add experience on a blueline corps. that looked fairly overmatched during last year's postseason run. But is adding Friesen (who did not play in the NHL last year) an answer up front? After the lockout, Jeff has amassed a mere 23 points in 123 NHL games, hardly the sort of offensive production needed from a player who's main role on the team would be to put the puck in the back of the net. Couple that with cap space issues (although to be fair, he would most likely sign for the league minimum), and I find it hard to believe Friesen will crack the starting lineup when the puck drops on October 9th.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic signed a four year deal that will count $3.1 M against the cap starting in 2009-2010, meaning he will be in teal for the next five seasons. This season he will count $1.1 M against the cap.

As for salary cap concerns, the Sharks still remain a stone's throw from getting under the magic number of $56.7 M. Although no deal has been made yet, expect McLaren to be sent on his way out for a prospect and/or a late round draft pick.

NHL 09 drops in two weeks- anyone interested in starting a team? We can take on those degenerates over at The Pensblog.


Go Sharks.

Rob Blake And The Search For The Holy Grail

We Bleed Teal has recently acquired Mr. Cavey off the free agent wire in preparation for the coming season. Left for dead on Friendster, and with his blogging career seemingly over (due to numerous run-ins with Blogspot and terms of use violations for posting "questionable" pictures over at Flickr), we saw the talent of this young rookie and decided to pick him up. Give a warm We Bleed Teal welcome to our newest member.

As I listen to “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins, it brings back memories of the early 2000’s when the San Jose Sharks were making playoff runs year in and year out. Except for the infamous 2002-2003 season when they posted an astronomical 73 points (while still somehow managing to post a winning record at home), the turn of the century has been particularly good to San Jose. But take a look at your calendar folks. It’s almost the year 2009, and no thirty-four and a half pound silver trophy has been raised in the Bay Area yet.

The Holy Grail of Hockey still eludes us.

Doug Wilson is an exceptional GM to say the least. I don’t even need to name off what he has brought to our franchise, but to tell you the truth I would trade everything from that list for a Cup. Now lets get down to the point. The past has been great, but is the future going to be filled with late game comebacks, diving Nabby saves, and potentially a Rob Blake Stanley Cup game winning goal? That might be a little stretch. Only time will tell.

So the big DW brings in Veteran 38 year old Rob Blake (for a contract a little more than my liking, but Doug is paying for intangibles- namely rings). Also, ex-Bolt Dan Boyle (who has avoided wearing our nomination for the ugliest third jerseys in the league next year).

There not much we can say about Rob Blake here, as everyone who has followed the game of ice hockey is familiar with his track record. This clip right here pretty much sums his game up. My friend Jason and I also would like to point out he has an absolute cannon from the point, and unlike Ehrhoff he actually gets it on net. They always say play with your head up, which is exactly what Ehrhoff does, except Ehrhoff’s head is usually “up” his posterior. Our D men over the years have held a place in my heart, but obviously they have been unable to get the job done.

Dan Boyle is a little more off the radar unlike big Rob, but that’s what you get playing in Tampa Bay. The Southeast division for the matter actually hosts a lot of young talent (good luck Matt Carle). Almost as impressive as the Sharks 73 point season was Dan Boyles -29 in only 37 games, although he still managed 25 points (which is the kind of point production the Sharks have been sorely lacking on the blueline).

To sum it all up, the Sharks have the potential to become a offensive powerhouse, with a defense that can hopefully avoid the pitfalls of last year- namely turning over the puck, failing to clear the zone, and missing the net from the point. I can’t even imagine what kind of powerplay Mr. McLellan is going to throw out there (Joe, Patty, Milan, Blake, Boyle sounds like a top-tier first line). On paper, the offensive side has the ability to carry us through the season even if Dan Cloutier was in net. But once it comes playoff time, the focus will be on the big boys on the blue line.

And of course 2008 Vezina winner Evgeni Nabokov in net.


Go Sharks.

OMG, Shoez!!!

News has been sloooooow around here. I'll be honest with you guys. I try witty banter, I try jokes, I've tried it all. Nothing's clicking right now with hockey season stuck in the rut of August. But you can feel a wind coming- the sun's setting a little earlier, you're not going to the beach as much, classes (for those of still in school) are beginning to start. You can smell hockey. And damn it smells good......

Along with these brand new kicks from Reebok! For the low price of $90, which is the cost of two Sharks tickets give or take, you can own a pair of these sweet shoes and impress all your fellow friends. So either "forget" to buy your significant other tickets to a couple of games this year, or don't feed your kids this weekend, and take a trip to the Reebok store to customize your own pair.

[Editor's Note] I may or may not have got an internship in the Reebok marketing department this summer- regardless, I'll be getting a pair (which may or may not be free)


Go Sharks.

Stanley Cup in Saskatoon

The Stanley Cup will be in Saskatoon today with Sharks Head Coach Todd McLellan. Drew Remenda said he would be uploading some video and pictures, so when I get my hands on them I will update this post.

Go Sharks.

Sharks Update

It's been awhile; let's get right into this.

* The Sharks made some acquisitions in the last week, re-signing Lukas Kaspar and Ryan Vesce, both to one year deals. Kaspar has floated between San Jose and Worchester, and with the Sharks probably riding the cap close this season (currently $225,834 over at this point), there's a good likelihood that he will be competing for a roster spot this season and seeing a fair amount of time in San Jose.

* Kevin Compton (the Sharks owner) has a company that is creating some Facebook fantasy football.

* Our much-loved Ryane Clowe was honored in his hometown of Fermeuse, Newfoundland this offseason. In regards to the sign, Clowe stated, "They had lots of teal in it, so hopefully I’ll be with the Sharks for a while." Sounds good to me Mr. Clowe.

* I've been watching a bunch of Olympic coverage, and one of the most exciting events for me has always been the swimming relays. In case you weren't aware, the French were talking a lot before the Men's 4x100 free on how they were going to "crush the Americans." UCSB alumn (where I attend school) Jason Lezak roared back in the last 50 meters to stun the heavily-favored French. The video can be found on this page.

Chills.

* Next week Sharks head coach Todd McLellan will be taking the Stanley Cup to Saskatoon. We'll get some pictures and video up (courtesy of Drew Remenda)- here's to hoping we can make it two years in a row next August.

* IGN has the new player ratings for NHL 09- alas, no overall ratings.

* NHL 2K9 (the other NHL videogame coming out in August) features announcing from our very own Drew Remenda and Randy Hahn. I'll definitely be purchasing EA's NHL 09, but if you're on the fence this might tip the scale.

* Todd McLellan and his staff will be watching video review on some brand new HD state of the art equipment. You'll also get the distinct pleasure of watching some advertising in HD.

* Finally, the Sharks have been selling season tickets for about a week or so now, and the image they've been using is pretty solid.



Go Sharks.

NHL 09 Rejected Features

As a self-respecting hockey fan (one who may have even taken it too far at one point), the release of NHL 09 can't come soon enough. We've taken a quick look at the game before, and although the cover boy isn't our favorite choice, we've learned to deal. Regardless, Pensblog has done some investigating reporting and apparently found some features that didn't make the cut. It's more than worth your time to take a look.


Go Sharks.

Sharks Re-Sign Clowe

"LE VICTORYYYYYYY" - Johnny Drama

The crew over at Bleed Teal (us Sharks fans sure are creative with our blog names eh?) are reporting that Ryane Clowe has signed with the Sharks for $1.6 M per year. Some quick notes on the deal, and where this puts the Sharks as a whole.

The Deal
* $1.6 M per year is, in my opinion, a solid amount for Clowe. Granted he only played a total of 28 games last season (including playoffs), but if you look at roles on the team, Clowe is the only one who is able to establish a presence in front of the net. We've beat this into the ground time and time again, but it's completely relevant- with McLellan bringing his power play knowledge into San Jose, it was imperative we find a player who could disrupt opposing goaltenders the way Holmstrom does. That player is Clowe.
* The length of the deal is undetermined yet, but by the way things have shaked out, don't expect it to be over three years max. I say three to be safe, but really I mean two.

The Sharks As A Whole
* This puts us a stone's throw away from getting under the cap. We have about a month to do so, and I don't think a move will be coming right away. McLaren is the obvious choice, but that leaves us without a seventh defencemen. Going with that, a call up may be in order- Semenov is also not out of the running (oh man those words hurt).


Go Sharks.

The Dog Days of Summer: OMG, LOLZ

With the sweet summer days upon us, the options are limitless. Hit the beach? Go swimming with some attractive members of the opposite sex? Change your Facebook status to "Summertime and the livin's easy" because you love quoting overplayed Sublime songs to express your current state of mind? Do something with your life? No my friends. We want nothing more than for October to roll around so we can see the Sharks begin their quest to bring home Lord Stanley. In anticipation of the upcoming year ahead of us, We Bleed Teal enters a seven game series of epic proportions. It's all on the line ladies and gentlemen. This week we scour the internet for some pictures that, while not related to hockey at all, sure as heck make living that much sweeter.

Just a slight warning- some of these might be deemed inappropriate by your parents. Proceed at your own risk. Don't worry, there is no nudity or anything like that. Also, just click on the images to enlarge them if you can't read them.

Game One
Gotta love this man's parents.


Game Two
Brad Holder's wedding night was the best night of his life.....


Game Three
I can only imagine the pain.


Game Four
Next on "When Thanks Come With Spanks"....


Game Five
Why you always need to edit your mini-feed.


Game Six
You know you're a redneck (or a Nashville Predators fan) when your wife is quoted in your local paper saying this.


Game Seven
When puberty strikes, it strikes hard.

Rumbles of Ryane?

David Pollak is a beast. With that addressed, he has an interesting article today where he quotes Doug Wilson as saying (in regards to Clowe) that, "We have an agreement." What that agreement is remains to be seen.

Here's the article.

When it comes to Pollak I rarely try to expound- the man does such a good job, it's usually best to leave it as is.


Go Sharks.