Sharks Gameday: The Red Machine

Let's make Babcock jealous by smiling on 1, 2, 3!

This whole McLellan vs. Babcock match up is getting all the media attention today, but it seems sort of blown out of proportion, no? As Mike Chen points out, the guys are professionals. There's no Bill Belichick/New York Jets esque feud, no tampering, no receiving of illegal gifts a la Ted Stevens.

Detroit is the best damn franchise in the NHL. Tonight should be an exciting game, and give us a true indication of where the Sharks stand through the first month of October. And although it's early, the winner tonight takes the Conference lead. That being said, a win or a loss isn't the biggest concern on my mind- as long as the Sharks prove they can hang with the Red Machine, I'll be able to sleep okay.

Won't be watching the game tonight due to a previous commitment, so I'll be a little behind the ball until tomorrow afternoon.

Prediction: Sharks win 3-2. Goals by Blake (on the powerplay), Grier, and Michalek.


Go Sharks.

Sharks Gameday: Baby, Baby, Baby

Pittsburgh (5-2-2) @ San Jose (7-2-0)

Paul and Eddy's Bar, Cupertino.....

Hacksaw Jim Duggan

Mr. Plank

Hacksaw: (drunkenly singing) "WHEN I TOUCH YOU LIKE THIS, AND YOU HOLD ME LIKE THAT, IT'S SO HARD TO BELIEVE BUT IT'S ALL-"

Mr. Plank: Holy shit Hacksaw, this shit again? We're not in Canada- no one takes Celine seriously here in the states. And to answer your inevitable question, we're not going to watch Titanic for the forty second time tonight. By the way, when are you going to get your own place?

Hacksaw: (drunkenly weeping) "Coming back to me now....."

Mr. Plank: Good lord, good lord. What was I thinking signing you. I'm calling The Pensblog right now. They'll know how to straighten you out. You always said they were good at shooting you straight, right to your face.

(Phone rings)

Answering Machine: "You have reached the offices of Pensblog Incorporated. If you are interested in advertising on our site, please press 1. If this call is concerning placing an ad in a game wrap up please press 2. Any other concerns can be answered in person- head down to Donny's Place on Herron Ave. We'll be there all night."

Mr. Plank: Damn.

Hacksaw: Hey waitress, hey, HEY WAITRESS! What does a guy need to do to get a drink around here? You're nothing but a HOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Mr. Plank: I highly doubt you need another drink, but what the hell- three Shirley Temples apiece, on me. Going big tonight.

Waitress: Whatever you say guys. And would you be so kind as to leave an actual tip this time? I'm fairly certain most businesses in California don't accept expired lottery tickets as a valid form of currency.

Hacksaw: Watver waitreress. I'll have a gass of milk tooo. And don't take the timee to mik the cow!

Mr. Plank: Ho-ly schmokes. Are you sure you're going to be ready for the big game tomorrow?

Hacksaw: If I've lurned one ting, it's that I can alwassy get up for the boys at Pensblog.

Mr. Plank: Fair enough- I have a feeling we're going to be tested tonight. Thus far we've played teams who, coming into the game, were 4-12-2. Not exactly the cream of the crop. The Penguins sure are going to prove to be a formidable challenge.

Hacksaw: Nothing like a challenge- watch me attempt to pole vault over that table of drunk, rowdy, heavily tattooed bikers with this pool cue. I bet they're armed too.

Mr. Plank: (places gold-covered chocolate coins on the table) Alright, Titanic it is.

Hacksaw: "THERE WERE THE NIGHTS WHEN THE WIND WAS SO COLDDDDD......"


Prediction: Sharks win 4-3. Goals by Clowe, Gooch, Vlasic, and Boyle.


Go Sharks.

Ask The Sharks

Jody Shelley answered some questions over at sjsharks.com today- is that BOC commentator/WBT commentator Ian getting in on the action at number three?

Sharks Gameday: Panthers

San Jose (6-1-0) @ Florida (3-3-0)



These are the Florida Panthers ice girls- just about the only thing hot in Florida nowadays*.

*Although my grandma lives in Florida- she's cute. Where do you think I got my good looks from?

Prediction: It's 4 AM so I'm going to be sincere. Sharks win 6-3. Goals by Clowe. All of em'.


Go Sharks.

Sharks Gameday: Going Back To Philly

San Jose (5-1-0) @ Philadelphia (0-3-2)

We're going back to Philly.

The Philly cheesesteak was invented by Pat and Harry Olivieri in the 1930's, and serves primarily as a comfort food for the local denizens. This may have just a little to do with 62.7% of Pennsylvania being obese or overweight in the year 2007. If you ever find yourself at Pat's King of Steaks, uttering the marginally decipherable sentence "I'd like a pepper provo wit" would get you a sandwich consisting of steak, peppers, provolone and grilled onions. The term "wit" or "wittout" signifies whether you would enjoy a heap of grilled onions slopped on the sandwich (which I assume comes with a serving of cardiac arrest on the side).

Public concern over Kerry's health swung the 2004 election into Bush's favor

Much ado has been made over the Philly Cheesesteak, as a song extolling the values of the tasty treat has gained popularity over recent years. But it's popularity does not come without a price. Some have compared it to the broodwich, others have linked it to the current explosion of the blogosphere. Much like Sean Avery, the controversy surrounding the sandwich will continue until the LHC sucks us all into a black hole*.

*Calm the fuck down, we're going to be okay.

Prediction: If you questioned the Sharks heart before this road trip, you might have been on the right track.


Go Sharks.

Ron Wilson Just

took out Vesa Toskala (who played all 65 minutes of the game), and put in Curtis Joseph for the shootout. CuJo proceedeed to urinate on himself, and let in two straight goals. Ducks win against the Leafs. Looks like the Toronto media will have a field day tonight.

Oh, and Kaspar cleared waivers. That is all friends, that is all.

Just About The Only Sad Shark I've Seen Lately

Kaspar Waived; Back To Cheap Laughs

As you may have read, I've been just a tad grumpy as of late. For good reason, but it's time to get back to business. Business being fifth-grade humor. Humor that actually isn't found in this post, but I deviate from the point (is that better than "digress"? It just seemed like the easy way out).

As King David informed us today, Lukas Kaspar has been waived by the Sharks in order to make room for Plihal, Murray, and Michalek, all of whom will be returning from their assorted injuries soon. It's a tad confusing however, considering we would still have a 22-man roster*.

*[EDIT] To clarify, this is taking into consideration Torrey Mitchell's current placement on the injured reserve. When Mitchell returns, the Sharks will have a full 23 man roster. H/T to Nael M. for laying the smack down in the comments.

From my vantage point, Doug Wilson is taking his chances with waivers early in the year due to the fact most teams haven't hit the period when injuries are prevalent. In order to make room for Mitchell when he returns from his broken leg, Wilson figures now is the time to send Kaspar through waivers- it's when he is "the safest" from being picked up.

The Sharks have an abundance of skilled players, so Kaspar's minutes on the lower lines essentially don't serve a purpose. A guy like Brad Staubitz is much more suited to play a defensive/checking role, and supply the physicality the aforementioned role calls for.

In other news, Kyle McLaren has played two games with Worcester, picking up two assists. Hopefully Doug Wilson can find him a home soon.


Go Sharks.

A Dark Day For Ice Cream Sandwiches Everywhere

With two off days on my hand, the time is ripe to touch upon something I couldn't quite make time for this weekend. This is due to a variety of reasons- personal obligations that needed attending to, as well as allowing time for my thoughts on the matter to simmer into a boiling pot of hot oil. I am now covered in this stuff.

As those of you who attended our Sharks-Ducks live blog are aware, DMFB (in the real world he goes by Dave) from Covered In Oil ran into a situation with the Edmonton Oilers organization during their season opener against the Colorado Avalanche.

For the sake of my fingers, his explanation can be found here. A cached version of the post in question is available as well. I suggest you take some time to read both of these, preferably beginning with his explanation. I'll be waiting here, eating coffee ice cream (I'm not too fond of ice cream sandwiches).



Back? Okay, sounds good. This is the part where I fight against every single ounce of my nature, and attempt to provide some insightful commentary.

The Edmonton Oilers organization had every right to handle Dave the way they did. Legally. That's an important distinction to make. Sitting in the Edmonton press box and blogging about the Oilers means, at that moment, you are representing the entire organization. Therefore, your words and commentary are a reflection of them, and ultimately, a reflection on how they run their organization. The forthcoming example may be a tad misdirected, but it makes some sort of sense. Especially if you're drunk. You're drunk right?

I invite one of my friends to join me in my room, where he proceeds to put up the following Myspace bulletin.

Friend: "Well the ugly loaf is sitting at his computer again. He's currently licking the grease off a Hot Pocket container and giggling at some inane Lolcat pictures on the interwebs."

I hurtle some curse words in his general vicinity, and kindly ask him to get the hell out of my house.

Obviously, this is a very extreme example- as you can see from the cached version of the post that caused trouble, DMFB was not overly malicious in any of his commentary. And as the Battle of Alberta notes, "If he just was live-blogging scoring chances and who "looks sharp out there", he wouldn't have been touched." Game, set, match.

So now that it's been established the Oilers were entitled to deal with DMFB the way they did, albeit with a total lack of common human decency, the real question is why would they go about it in such a pompous way? His account of the situation makes it clear that he was apologetic and compliant with their demands- civil and orderly. So why force him to remove the post? Why adopt a stubborn ignorance when dealing with him?

This problem is twofold. If we assume my previous assertion is valid (while in the press box DMFB is representing the Oilers organization), then shouldn't that apply to the yahoo who kicked him out of the press box as well? Shouldn't he be held to the same standards, if not even more so considering he receives a paycheck from the organization? Why alienate the people who are shelling out millions of dollars a year to your franchise in exchange for nose-bleed tickets and merchandise? For without them, oh esteemed ones, you would have not a business, but empty arenas. Then you would feel the pain of selling silverware out of your parents garage to make ends meet (love ya ma!).

Secondly, by forcing him to remove the post, the Oilers organization is acknowledging that someone out there is reading it. Therefore the author/blogger has some form of clout amongst the fanbase, correct? Why attempt to belittle a fan who clearly loves the organization enough to write about it on a website which he is not getting paid to run?

Illogical, and frankly, a PR nightmare.

Now I've never met Dave, nor do I intend to. His affinity for ice-cream sandwiches confuses me. And that which I cannot understand is immediately rejected as unimportant, below the ivory tower on which I perch.

With huge players such as Puck Daddy, James Mirtle, and Eric McErlain covering the story, you have to wonder whether this is the last time we hear about the ever-intensifying battle between blogdom and the MSM.

The sooner they remove the covers from their eyes, the better.

Bob Smizik Is Out of Touch

Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published on article on how fighting is detrimental to the popularity of the NHL. With all due respect to Mr. Smizik, I found two glaring faults in his argument.

1) It's basic human nature to gravitate towards fights. There's a reason UFC is the fastest growing sport in America today. For every fan that will turn off the TV set when two guys drop the gloves, there will be another three that stay because of it. If Hollywood is any indication, violence sells.

2) You're trying to remove a facet of the game that has been around since it's inception. Fights aren't the result of an argument about who has the more stylish hairstyle. They are due to the fact that skilled players (athletes who bring in the most revenue for the league) have been roughed up. I prefer not to use the term "hockey goon" because I don't think a majority of hockey teams have goons. A guy like Jody Shelley isn't a goon. He's a policeman. He makes sure that skilled players such as Michalek, Setoguchi, Marleau etc. have space to work with out on the ice.

The day you remove fighting from hockey is the day Sidney Crosby is unable to produce at the level he is capable of. Hockey fights aren't just a facet of the game that draw fans directly- they indirectly draw fans as well, by making sure the stars are able to do the job they are paid to do. Put pucks in the net and put butts in the seats.

It's painfully obvious Smizik didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night.

Oh Boy(le)! Sharks WIN.

Helluva game tonight. Sticking with the ideals of my gameday post, I'm keeping this short.

Congrats to Dan Boyle for getting his first goal with the Sharks, an overtime game winner nonetheless. The celebration with Joe Thornton after the goal was just a little awkward touching and sweet. For the sake of the franchise, vote No on Prop 8.

Antero Niittymaki's save at the end of the third was as good as it gets. Shades of Nabokov last postseason against the Stars, but once again the left handed larceny could not prohibit an overtime loss. Zinger! Or is that like, taking a dig at our own guys? I'm awfully hard right now. On our guys. I'm being awfully hard on our guys right now.


Ah geez, go Sharks.

Sharks Gameday: Phill The Void

Philadelphia (0-3-1) @ San Jose (4-1-0)

Back to back games. I may have to write the NHL. The players need rest? Hell, bloggers need rest too.

Prediction: Sharks win 3-2. Goals by Cheech (x2) and Kaspar. Philly scores on some stupid shot that bounces off the boards onto Briere's stick, and Coburn rings one in off the goddamn post. Goddammit.


Go Sharks.

Live Blog = Bad Karma. Sharks LOSE.

Pictures like this remind us of why the Ducks are despicable

Well shucks. I'm going to keep this quick and to the point.

* New goal: 81-1-0.
* Giggy played out of his mind tonight.
* Power play was bleh. Has been since the first game.
* Sharks had a ton of chances and couldn't put them home.
* Credit to the Ducks PK- they cleared out the front of the net and didn't allow second chances.
* Credit to the Ducks D- they tied up San Jose's sticks in front and didn't allow any second chances.
* Anaheim was 0-4-0? Really?
* User RoneFace said it well- Nabby was fighting the puck tonight.
* The first period was fun to watch, lots of fights.
* Thanks to all who stopped by for the live blog. I had fun.
* Choppy, quick, sentences are the new in thing.

Moral of the story? I'm not worried in the least.

Positivity!


Go Sharks.

Sharks Gameday: Live Blog From My Couch

San Jose (4-0-0) @ Anaheim (Let's just say they're desperate.)

Courtesy of chompboard.com

The Sharks-Ducks rivalry has always been a great one to watch. Both squads have been neck and neck the last three seasons, and coming into this year it seemed as if both would be battling for the Pacific division title all year long.

Oops.

What's interesting about this game is the situation the two teams find themselves in. The Sharks with a chance to establish a stronghold in the division early in the year, and the Ducks staring at an 0-5 hole that could potentially be disastrous to their playoff hopes. Weird, wild stuff.

With all that in mind, it's a little scary to go into Anaheim and play a team as desperate and talented (on paper) as the Ducks. I'll save most of my commentary for the live blog pre-game show (it's hard to say that with a straight face), so join me at 6:45 PM for some sweet Shark on Duck action. Fans of both teams are welcome, along with anyone who enjoys a good ol' ice hockey match.

Pants, as always, are optional.

Prediction: Sharks win 3-2. Goals by Clowe, Boyle, and Cheechoo. Three fights occur; two in the first period, and a ten player brawl at the end of the third. Pronger goes home to beat his dog after the loss only to find a "Dear John Letter" covered in urine on his pillow.


Go Sharks.

What Is Your Availability Friday Night?

I was going to go to the game in Anaheim, but some personal stuff came up. This means I'm sitting at home Friday night woefully alone. Care to keep me company?

Cover It Live has a great tool that allows bloggers (read: twenty year old men who have trouble functioning in social situations, subsequently spending all their time writing about other men's "performances") and readers (read: the best people in the aforementioned blogger's woefully lonely existence) the opportunity to interact. In summary, this will be a live blog. On steroids.

An example of this technology in use can be seen here. What you will see is a replay, but it should give you the main gist of what would occur starting at 7 P.M.

So what do you say fellow internet nerds? I'll give you ten bucks to be my friend......


Let me know in the comments. Go Sharks.

We're A Second Period Team. Sharks WIN.

Pavelski sure is a cute lil' sonuvagun ain't he?

Game wrap up will be posted at Hockey Primetime as soon as I get it up (Viva Viagra! Did you know watermelon might be a natural Viagra? Score one for the fruit industry). In fact, this sentence may be deleted by the time you refresh your browser. Or I'll just link the wrap up here. I'm undecided as to what I want to do- sort of like Elton John in the 70's. With that in mind, score another one for the fruit industry. This time in the late 80's.

Sharks looked like shit the first period, too many turnovers in the neutral zone and in our own end. But whatevs. I need to write this HPT article, and I can't swear over there so I'm taking it out on you guys. Poo-poo. Buttface. Toilet breath. I know, it's pathetic.

Good flipping win tonight. I like this team. I would like them if they were 0-3 (sup Anaheim!), but I really like how we fought back tonight after a lackluster first.

I'm never going to address the Patty prediction (except I just did). Consider this the moment when I decide to get the Ace of Spades tattooed on my inner wrist. Think Edward Norton in Rounders. Except I'm in better shape than that scrub.

Everyone's in a good mood when we win.


Go Sharks.

Alexei Cherepanov Tragedy

I'm sure some of you have heard the story about Alexei Cherepanov, a New York Rangers prospect who died yesterday during a game in the KHL. A lot of speculation has been thrown around today concerning whether or not the arena was equipped to handle the situation- there was no stretcher present and the defibrillator's batteries were dead. Regardless, any particulars seem moot at this point- the loss of a promising young hockey prospect, and more importantly, a young man who had a promising life ahead of him is a tragic reminder just how short life can be.

You can follow the story over at NHL Fanhouse here, as well as Puck Daddy who has stories here and here.

May you rest in peace Alexei.

Sharks Gameday: Tuesday At The Tank

Columbus (1-1-0) @ San Jose (3-0-0)

It's just another early season Tuesday at The Tank. Standard fare.

The Sharks looked pedestrian Sunday night- sure they had shifts where they carried the play, but I thought the Kings did an excellent job on the PK and clogging up the neutral zone. All the buzz I had during the first two games (which may or may not be a reference to my beverages of choice) never ended up making an appearance in L.A.

But the fact is, San Jose got the job done. They've been "winning" every period thus far, which is a good sign. Good teams win on the nights they play just alright- and the fact that the Sharks can eeek out a win on the road when they look decent means something good.

Columbus has Nash and, as they showed against Dallas last weekend, the potential to score a lot of goals in bunches. That being said, I just can't see San Jose giving up a lot of opportunities, especially at home. Yesterday's day of rest pays off tonight.

Patty's coming out flying (I always say that and he never puts one home).

Watch out for the Air Sharks if you're at the game.

Prediction: Sharks win 3-1. Goals by Clowe, Gooch, and Little Joe. Patty will not score. In fact, he'll never score the rest of his NHL career.

Sharks Gameday: Blake Returns Home

San Jose (2-0-0) @ Los Angeles (0-1-0)



I know I mentioned this earlier, but there is something gratifying about having someone hate the Sharks. In the past, the Sharks were a team that the casual fan could pick up and enjoy. Unfortunately, that posed a problem for us both on the ice and as fans.

There's something gratifying about being a team that people dislike. I know the Ducks have garnered the dislike (of many, including myself), but it's because of their success and skill that we hate them so much. To say "Ducks suck" is one thing- but to realize that a Stanley Cup was won eight hours down the coast is another, and an important distinction. That is what fuels my fire as fan. The fact that Chris Pronger achieved the ultimate.

Let me explain why I'm rambling about a team we are not even playing. Rob Blake was a legend in Los Angeles, and he is returning home tonight. No matter how you cut it, he screwed the Kings. You don't take a 5 million dollar contract for one year (Marian Hossa is that you?) to their rivals because you need a change of scenery.

The fact that Rob Blake screwed another franchise makes me happy. It makes me happy because I know the Sharks have a leader in their locker room that will bring an edge to the good-guy persona San Jose has adopted the previous few years.

The Kings are going to be really good in four years. Dustin Brown will develop into a Getzlaf-type; someone who is willing to play physical for forty minutes, then deliver two goals in the third. Kopitar has a vision along the lines of Joe Thornton and needs to put on more weight so he can create behind the net. His brand new seven year deal has the potential to turn this team around.

This is me throwing ideas around, but if I was Dean Lombardi I trade some prospects for Marian Gaborik at the deadline. Sign him for a huge deal- they have the cap room, and the publicity would put butts in the seat. Kopitar and Gaborik would work wonders on the power play, and as long as Marian works half as hard as he should/could, I would be scared to play the Kings.

Three years till I fear L.A.

Prediction: Sharks win 4-2. Goals by Pavelski (x2), Patty (who has looked fairly pedestrian the last two games) and Big Joe (who is in the same boat as Patty). Rob Blake gets booed by the thirty eight fans who show up for faceoff, and he flashes a smug grin.


Go Sharks.

[Mr. Plank Edit] Boucher is getting the start tonight- I like this. Rest Nabby early so he doesn't wear down towards the end of the year.

Solid Win Tonight

Big Joe looking a little under the influence
No recap (I'm going to yap over at HPT tomorrow night about both games), but a solid win against a team we should beat. Sharks completely controlled the play for the entire 60 minutes and outshot the Kings 3:1.

In other NHL News, Sarah Palin got booed when she dropped the ceremonial puck in Philly tonight. At least they didn't throw any batteries.

One of the perks of having NHL Center Ice is that it comes with NHL Network. I had the pleasure of watching the Nucks and Flames play tonight in HD, my first high definition hockey experience (unless you're counting the HD Jumbotron at The Tank). Some good stuff. The Flames lost- I love Iggy, but Mike Keenan bugs me. Same with Phaneuf. But I'm sure you already knew that.
Also, when did the Canucks learn how to score goals? Eleven in two games? Geez.

Go Sharks.

Sharks Gameday: Mushaboom

Los Angeles (0-0-0) @ San Jose (1-0-0)

The Kings are not going to make the playoffs this year. But they score a lot of goals. Kopitar signed a new contract today so he'll probably have a big game. They also play fairly well at The Tank. I'm thinking that means we'll have a fun game to watch. Oh and it's the first time Blake has played his former team. But that won't really be all too fun until tomorrow night in LA.

Prediction: San Jose follows my example and half asses it until the third, but win 5-3. Goals by Blake, Grier, Patty, Michalek and Clowe.


Go Sharks.

What's Up With The Sharks New Home Page?

Lame.

Some Quick Shark Bites

Todd McLellan had an excellent quote after the game Thursday. Per David Pollak of Working The Corners:

McLellan was presented with not one, but two pucks after last night’s victory in his NHL head coaching debut. “I don’t know how that happened,” he said.

Will one or the other end up on some wall plaque, a reporter asked. “We’ll worry about that in the summer. I have no idea what we’ll do. My kids will probably be shooting it in the garage tonight.”

* Rudy Kelly explained why the Sharks are his choice for most hated team in the Pacific earlier today. My response was as follows:

Some solid points Rudy. I'm just as guilty as the next guy for the love affair with Campbell- looking back on it, you're right. It was "pathetic".

But I tend to disagree with the point about the "once lighthearted San Jose crowd." With four seasons of high expectations and not a single Stanley Cup appearance, I would be disgusted if we were content with the way things were going.

I'm not going to compare forty years of futility with fifteen seasons of a fairly successful product, but the fact is that Doug Wilson felt the pressure from the fanbase and responded. This is the only year (correct me if I'm wrong, I don't have the data in front of me) that management has spent to the cap. Big ups to Doug Wilson for going all in this year. I'm fine with people hating the Sharks, as long as they give Wilson and the fans respect for expecting the most out of the team. It's something I would imagine every fan would like to see out of their franchise.

This is in no means "A Call To Arms" or anything of the like. Rudy is a Kings fan, and we tend to give them a little leeway. I don't think I need to explain why.

* In case you didn't recognize it last night (idiots)- Patty is wearing the "C" while Thornton and Grier are the assistants.

* Going along with the Grier talk, sjsharks.com has an article up on his leadership on the penalty kill.


Go Sharks.

Guest Blog: I Love Sharks Hockey

Hopefully you drank enough liquor over the summer to forget another second round loss, this one coming from the hands of the Dallas Stars. But if you find comfort in reveling in misery (such as myself), here's a guest blog from Corey Mulhair. Corey won our 2008 Playoff Pick Em last year, and the stipulation was that the winner would have an opportunity to guest post on WBT. So sit down (shit, you're on a computer, well, stand up then sit down) and enjoy.

Holy shit here we go. There they are standing next to each other across the ice. Starting with Douglas Murray and ending with Evgeni Nabokov. OUR SAN JOSE SHARKS.

The season is about to begin. Just as soon as 'Bill Welch' finishes the National Anthem. How come they can't ever get people who can sing to belt the words out? I mean everyone knows the damn song. Anyways, no matter who sings it once they get to about "..oh say does that star spangled banner.." well right about there I get shivers down my spine. Anyways were here to talk about the Sharks.

This season we've got a few new players, a few less of our returning players, a new Coach and coaching staff, as well as a few new league rules. We are also heavily favored to have one of the better seasons in the League this year, as it should be. Here we are opening up the season against the Anaheim Ducks. Should be a good warm up.

I wish I had more to say, but at the same time I'd like to get to the point. Funny that I say that since it took me like 4 months to write this bad boy after winning the We Bleed Teal playoff competition for the 07-08 season. But right, what I would like to say is this:

I was a born a Sharks fan, I will die a Sharks fan. Hockey is an amazing sport, which no one can deny. It takes speed, strength, agility, accuracy, balance, dedication, and heart. A lot of heart. (WHICH WE GOT HERE IN SAN JOSE). It also doesn't hurt to have an Evgeni Nabokov in your goal, and a Joe Thornton up ice with the puck ready to put one in and sound that siren, that one that lights up red and means either Joy or Pain depending on which end of the ice it lives at.

Stick with Jason here at We Bleed Teal. It's going somewhere isn't it obvious? Stick with Hockey.

Heres to the San Jose Sharks (Raises Pint Glass), OUR San Jose Sharks, and an Amazing 08-09 season. Lets bring that Cup home boys.

I Love Sharks Hockey.

GO SHARKS!

-Corey Mulhair of Cupertino, CA

It's Only One Game

This is the creepiest picture I could find.



It's only one game. But damn it feels good. I have the recap over at Hockey Primetime if you know how to click on text-links.

You can tell McLellan's system isn't quite yet in place- there were moments when we looked pedestrian, and moments where we shined. Things that come with time.

Overall, the team looked sharp. And boy weren't they exciting? Anaheim took way too many penalties to compete tonight (which is frankly more commonplace then seeing a group of people standing outside of Home Depot on a Saturday afternoon) and that's going to kill them this year against the Sharks. Cause' our gosh-darn play of power looked like a cross between Boris The Blade and Megan Fox. Strong and sexy. Good lord my pop-culture references need work. Where's James T when you need him?


Go Sharks.

Just In Case You Were Wondering

The Ducks are 4-10 in season openers. The Sharks are worse, with a 3-9-2 record.

Picture: Jenna Jameson representing the benefits of sucking to get things started

Two and a half hours till the season gets kickin'. Why do I live vicariously through extremely well-conditioned men that reside in the Bay Area? "Because you need to delay the inevitable realization that you will die alone." Touche, hands. Touche.

Enjoy It LA

You've got about 53 hours till you fuck it all up.

Sharks Gameday: Let's Get The Ball Rolling

Anaheim (0-0-0) @ San Jose (0-0-0)



Ah, the first game of the year- where the jock straps are fresh and HP Pavilion's attendants are pumped up to fork over six bucks for a beer. Tonight is the only night where the Sharks record is clean. Tomorrow morning we'll all be feeling like Madonna.

Get it? Record is touched for the very first time? Ha! Eh.....

A lot has happened during the offseason- Craig Rivet is gone, Boyle and Blake in. The Sharks franchise leader in coaching wins (Ron Wilson if anyone forgot, I know Wikipedia helped me out) is rotting in Toronto while Todd McLellan came over to take the helm. Former Shark Jeff Friesen may or not make the regular season roster. Lots of speculation about whether or not the Sharks have done enough to make a deep playoff run.

But the playoffs are a long way away, and there's this thing called the regular season that determines who gets a chance to dance with Lord Stanley. Tonight is where the journey begins. The moment in time where our lives on this orb hurtling through space actually make sense. A moment much like your first make out session in the back row of AMC 14. This is the moment. This is the NHL. This is starting to sound like a cheap infomercial. This is what we have been waiting for.

God save us all.

Prediction: Sharks win 3-1. Goals by Patty (2) and Pavelski, two coming on the powerplay. Chris Pronger whines about being demoted to Assistant Captain from the penalty box on both goals. Boyle makes The Tank forget about "Poop Soup" and for one more opening night we feel like this could finally be the year.


Go Sharks.

Editor's Note: Here are the projected lines for tomorrow night courtesy of sjsharks.com. And a half assed season preview written by yours truly can be found here.

Marleau-Thornton-Setoguchi
Michalek-Pavelski-Cheechoo
Clowe-Roenick-Grier
Shelley-Plihal-Kaspar

Some Notes

* Kyle McLaren cleared waivers and will be reassigned to Worchester. Hopefully Doug can find a suitor in a trade sometime soon- the man deserves to be in the NHL.

* Brad Staubitz and Riley Armstrong also cleared waivers and will be in Worchester to start the year.

* Jeff Friesen still is not signed so don't get your panties in a bunch just yet. It's looking like his future with the Sharks is contingent upon Marcel Goc's health.

* James T from The Battle of California started a new blog entitled Cycle Like The Sedins. I respect the hell out of everyone over at BOC, and Mr. O'Brien is no exception. The man knows a boatload about hockey and pop culture, meshing the two together extremely well. Definitely a blog to watch this upcoming year.

* Sarah Palin will be dropping the puck at the Flyers home opener.

* Craig Rivet was named Captain of the Buffalo Sabres.

* Mike Chen lays out his predictions for this season.

* The Sharks play the Ducks tomorrow. Yeeeehawwwww!

* The guys at Pensblog found a video on this complete moron. Honestly, this guy is a world-class joke. "Hockey is not a sport." Wow.

McLaren Put On Waivers

In selling my soul to the corporate world, I'm forced to supply you with yet another link to Hockey Primetime. The article can be found here.

I link him in the article, but Mike Chen does an excellent job of painting a dire picture for the Sharks. Well, not dire, but confusing. From what I can garner, this leaves us still a move away from getting under the cap.

Sonuvabitch.

In summary, the yellow visor will be a thing of the past. As well as his hip check, but that was gone about a year ago.


Go Sharks.

McLellan's Forefather's

What's this junk all about? To make a short story even shorter, come over to Hockey Primetime and find out.


Go Sharks.

Mr. Pronger's Neighborhood

The Sharks wrapped up their preseason play tonight, beating the LA Kings 3-1 in Utah. Let's be honest- Utah kind of sucks. It's damn near impossible to find alcohol (but they have a ton of meth labs) and their license plates are adorned with exclamation points.

What the hell were we thinking!!!

Regardless, this post isn't about preseason hockey or an open letter to Doug Wilson asking him when he plans on getting the Sharks below the salary cap. Nope, what we're planning on doing is taking a trip to the deep dark crevices of the interwebs. A crevice so deep and so dark a bat would have trouble navigating it's way throughout. Terrible joke, but it gives me an opportunity to share a bit of knowledge with you.

Bats use echolocation to find their prey (namely moths). In order to do this, they emit a very high frequency of sound- this sound wave bounces off the moth and the bat is able to locate it's prey. What's cool about it is that in order to not blow their mother-touchin' ears out, they tighten the three bones surrounding their eardrum (generally when writing a post I add a question in parentheses for me to look up later- for this example I would have said "names of bones?" but I'm way too strung out on caffeine to look it up). But what's really cool about bats is that they are able to tighten the bones around their eardrums up to 60 times in one second.


Aren't you happy you tuned in today?

Back to the interwebs. The ever lovable Christopher Pronger has a website where he blogs about life in the NHL. Basically I'm here to say I'm surprised he is able to formulate sentences, and he does a fairly decent job with it too. Fancy that. One of these days I just may invite Mr. Pronger over to WBT for a Q&A session.

Thursday Thursday Thursday. Can't wait ladies and gentlemen.


Go Sharks.