As longer term readers may be aware, back in January we had a legendary run in with Sharks in house announcer, Danny Miller. For those who weren't reading then (we feel bad for you) or for those who've forgotten, the post is here. Scroll down past the poop jokes. (we like poop jokes)

Ever since that night, Danny Miller has been a legend in two very specific parts of the Sharks blogoverse. I happened past him on the way to the last regular season game of the season and shouted "DANNY MILLER! WHAT'S UP!" at him, (he was in a hurry to get to work and said hi and waved as he went past) but aside from that I haven't actually spoken to him since the night of Jan 9th.

So there Mina and I are, game 1 round 3, standing next to one of the pillars just above the stairs by the Santa Clara St. entrance to the Tank when Danny Miller walks by. We said hi, and he said hi back, and proceeded to walk off towards wherever it is they keep him during the games. He was flanked by two suits, which isn't really odd when you realize that nearly everyone who is not a concession worker at the Tank wears a suit. Suddenly he stopped, turned around and stared with that look in his eye that people get when they know they recognize you but can't quite place from where. He walked back over and said "Hi...I...I know you from, OH, it was your birthday, wasn't it?"

Mina and I were like O_O

I said yes and we reintroduced ourselves and were able to thank him once again for doing us a serious solid that night. The game may have been a loss but the before party made the night a net win. He looked a little embarrassed but was otherwise gracious. We chatted for a few more moments, and while it was clear he wanted to stay longer, his suited escort was calling and he mentioned it was chaos in the Tank (a fact we didn't doubt) and he needed to get to work. He waved goodbye, and wandered off to go to wherever it is they keep him during games.

I was amazed he remember me from one random night in January! Yes, there were a large group of us, and he was aware that some of them had been part of an even larger group that had attended a game just a few weeks before, and he was cool enough to cover our tab, but still, I'm just some random fan in a sea of faces. I even consider myself relatively unremarkable due to the fact that several times throughout high school and college people forgot I even existed and routinely misplaced my name. (and I have an odd name for a lass so you'd think they'd remember, but nay) I'm just another chick with big teal earrings. That moment made me feel good even though the Sharks lost. I mean, that's just cool.

So, that was super cool and it was our Danny Miller moment, part 2. (non electric boogaloo)

First, A Lesson in Sharks History, Or Why We Boo Brian Campbell:

I noticed a decent number of confused tweets today regarding the issue of Campbell and the bevy of boos being thrown his way. I thought it might be helpful to provide a little explaination into the history of this strange, yet hilarious, habit of ours.

As you all probably already know, Campbell was a Shark for a short time in 2008. He won us over quickly with his spin o rama moves and his Thornton like smile, then left us at a critical moment in an epic game 6 against the Stars in round 2. Here we all are in a 4OT game that if the Sharks win, forces a game 7, making them the first team in 33 years to come back from being down 3-0 in  series to tie. If they lose, season's over. And there's Soupy, in the box. You can guess what happens next. Well, actually you don't have to guess because you already know. The Sharks give up a PP goal to Dallas and lose the series. We'd be willing to forgive such transgressions, after all sports are nothing more than a highly choreographed game of chance, but alas, Campbell decides to further toy with our emotions.

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I don't even know what to write. I just took my game 1 ticket off the fridge. Game 1. Third round. Holy poop on a stick, I have NEVER been able to take this ticket down for the purposes of using it to go to an actual game before! I wasn't watching the last time the Sharks hit the conference finals, as I am a post lock out convert, but still. The weight of this moment is incredible. I think my excitement, trepidation, anticipation and slight sense of a nervous stomach could be best summed up by running around the room in circles with my arms in the air. I'd probably also be screaming "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..." or "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" or something similar. There are simply no words in Webster's dictionary that can give full emotion to the moment.

I have no idea what's going to happen tomorrow. None. But I can tell you this; the Tank will be the loudest you have ever heard it. Think your arena can be louder? Well, you're wrong. The place is going to be rocking hard. Like you've never seen it before.

ZOMG Game 1 is here!

Vs

NOON

NBC and 98.5 KFOX

Grab your Wheaties and prepare yourself.

It's ON, son!

Just a quick post while we all wait impatiently for the Sunday noon start to the WCF. The Tank will be implementing "enhanced security measures" for this round. I suggest you plan accordingly.

Sounds like you will get to keep your shoes on, but if you've got stinky feet, powder those babies up with some anti-funk stuff. You know, just in case.

No one needs your foot stink, man, just saying.

(no, they won't really make you take off your shoes, but I wanted to stick with the whole flying theme. And really, no one needs to be smelling stanky feet. My gym doesn't even smell that bad!)

And who brings a duffel bag into a hockey game?! Seriously people...a duffel bag?!

I spent nearly all of Thursday nervously awaiting the start of game 4. Everything about the moments leading up to that game felt wrong. Tense, nervous, like even the air doubted the Sharks ability to sweep. After the game ended I thought about the fact that I had told Mina during game 3 that we'd take game 5. (I also said we'd take game 4 and lose 3, so I was only just a wee bit off). We WOULD take game 5 and that was that. This feeling may explain why I went into yesterday's game with few nerves. We were going to see handshakes last night, and I wasn't about to be swayed into doubt by anyone or anything. Did a potentially loss cross my mind? Of course, but not until a little bit later in the game.

The first started off pretty well with an aggressive push by the Sharks. You could tell early on it was likely going to be one of those annoyingly games were both goalies have their fore fields up and despite amazing chances, it was going to take an act of near god like proportions to actually score. Mina kept claiming to be "quietly freaking out" throughout the game, although I told her her body language was so loud they could probably hear her worrying two states over. The first ended scoreless, which no doubt only served to raise her anxiety levels, as well as those throughout the building.

• Speaking of the Tank, it was LOUD! Someone said they saw the actual noise meter (not the fake one they occasionally throw up on the big screens) hit 115 dB. For the record a jet engine is 120 dB. Sure, the scale is logarithmic but still, it was easily 110-115 there during the loudest moments, and many of those moments were nearly a period long.
• Unfortunately since the give away was t shirts, not every joined into the almost ritual like habit of rhythmically flicking their towels/pompoms/shirts back and forth to the beat of the music as the Sharks head lowered. Trust me, when you get 17,000+ doing it, it's a helluva imposing sight. I often wonder what the visiting teams thinks when they see it.

The entire second period felt tense. It was almost like being at a completely different game. The Sharks were largely outworked during the second and they spent way too many agonizing minutes in their own zone. You knew it was only a matter of time before a puck would end up behind Nabby given how Detroit was playing. Sure enough, the Wings potted one at 2:40 of the second. Stupid Rafalski, doing his job. Thankfully the Sharks took little time to respond and Joe Thornton (what's that? I can't hear all those choking comments over the roar of the crowd) scored at 4:54 to tie the game at 1. Whooo! To say the place exploded would be an understatement. It was mass insanity. Up until that point the crowd had been largely quiet in the second (especially compared to a very loud and rowdy first), but it was quiet no longer. Once the score was tied the crowd never got out of the game. Sharkie and his Tank Patrol minions brought out "Beat 'D' troit" signs and the majority of us energetically joined in the chant. Mina, still panicking in her chair, did not. I'm pretty sure she felt it was bad mojo, but I said to hell with that crap, we're winning this thing, and cheered.

I told Mina at one point, after poking fun at her by turning my game 2 pompom into a mylar hat, that it was ok because the Sharks would come out strong in the third. I also busted out the "mylar hat" a few times to mock the gentlemen behind us. They knew the game and they knew it well but they would not stop ragging on Patty. Every other thing was some comment about Marleau needing to skate, or do this or that and stop sucking. I was tempted to remind them that he DID, in fact, score the game winner in game 3, but I never got around to it. At one point Patty batted a puck out of the Sharks zone, saving them from what had been some extended pressure around their own net. When the guys behind us failed to realize it was him Mina loudly announced that it was. They got quiet for a few minutes after that. She felt bad but I didn't. (I'm a jerk like that) I just didn't get why they were ragging on the guy when he had an amazing season and has been scoring game winners (if not much else).

At 3:12 of the third period, Pavelski was awarded a penalty shot after a hooking call on Kronwall. The entire crowd stood to watch. Not a soul was left in their seats. The crowd went nuts. Score this and the Sharks take the lead. Little Joe skated in, lined up his shot and....damn. It went high and wide. Not by much, but it wasn't in the net.

STUNNED

You could feel half the air suddenly get sucked out of the building.

After a quick moment of panic, the crowd roared and started cheering louder than ever. Whether it was the missed chance, or the crowd, or a reaction to being badly outworked in the second, the Sharks suddenly started to pour on the pressure in Detroit's zone. At 6:59 in the 3rd Patty scored. WHOO HOO! (I think it was his way of telling the guys behind us to suck it. They totally shut up about him after that.)

To say it was crazy having to sit through the rest of the period after Patty scored is like saying it's hard to breathe on top of  Everest. It's just a statement of the obvious. I started repeating Earl Sleek's classic "go clock go!" chant as the seconds ticked down. Then the unthinkable happened. There's just under a minute left in the game. The Sharks are up 2-1, a tenuous lead at best, and suddenly they find themselves down a man. Boyle was called for holding.

Crap.

Worst possible time to be in the box.

The Wings pull Howard and suddenly the Sharks are facing a 6 on 4, less than a minute away from what could be a series victory.

That was pretty much the longest 53ish seconds in my life. It didn't help that the play kept stopping like every ten seconds. I think all the faceoffs were in the Sharks zone. With 39.5 left, everyone stood. It was the effect of the sudden realization that we were about to witness history. The gentleman next to us, who'd bee pretty quiet all game, suddenly shouted "THERE'S 39.5 SECONDS LEFT! SIT DOWN!!!!!!!"

He apparently follows our rule about not standing for the last out during a ball game.

But you know, no one did. As the clock ticked down, it suddenly became like Times Square on New Years Eve. The crowd, unprompted, started to shout "5...4...3...2...1.." and then Nabby did his little Nabby dance and we all went nuts.

Even this guy.

Can you blame him?

I love how the guy in the old school teal jersey and the women next to him look really confused by his reaction.

Then came the handshakes.

And there was much rejoicing.

(AP photo Marcio Jose Sanchez)

More awesome photos from PJ over at Sharkspage here

Until round 3

(looks like Clowe's got a little capn' in him)

sdksjaklsfjskfjsaklfjalskfaklsfjsdksdkgjskdjsodgjsdkj WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

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Perhaps not the most eloquent way to celebrate a win, but it's the best way to put into something resembling words how I feel right now/how I felt last night. I've been trying to think of a way to describe the game and the atmosphere downtown afterwards, but it really is hard to put into words.I do plan to recap it further though, but it will take me sometimes to figure out what I want to say. Until then, I shall leave you all with this:

Updates to be posted later. WHOOO! Go Sharks!!

The media has largely written off the Sharks following Thursday's 7-1 loss to the Wings but that's because they only know the old, tired party line on this team. They haven't watched them all season, they haven't been giving them more than a passing glance in the playoffs. They assume they know this team better than its coaches do. Or the fans. Or even the players themselves. They assumed they couldn't recover from game 3 in round 1, and the Sharks proved them wrong. Is this game a must win? Maybe. I see it as more of "really like to win" and not just because it'd give Mina one of the best birthday presents ever.

We go down tonight and we're still up 3-2 in the series, but the flames of doubt will have been fanned outside. The smug satisfaction of all the perennial haters, who think it fashionable to crap on the Sharks come April and May, will start to overwhelm us. It will be like a massive cloud of unpleasant smug descending upon the psyche of San Jose. We KNOW our team can do this, but that doubt will come in strong from the outside and linger.

Win tonight and you shut them all up, at least until the start of round 3. This is the game where you come out and show them that this is NOT the same old Sharks team of years past. This team has guts, it has grit, and it's ready.

It ain't over til it's over, boys. And the fat lady ain't singing.

Yet.

Go do it.

GO SHARKS!

I will admit that I had a broom out yesterday, although it was only to sweep the seemingly endless piles of dust, spider webs and WTF IS THAT?! off my concrete slab of a patio before succumbing to a massive sneeze attack. (Is snot supposed to be that color...er, wait, nevermind...) I did not bring it out for the game today, because as a long time sports fan I know that a sweep is hardly ever a certainty. To say I wasn't nervous about the idea of a potential season ending game for the Wings would be like saying I wasn't nervous before I had my wisdom teeth carved out of my jaw. (well, ok, I wasn't but I was given pre surgery valium and whoooo it was a good ride to the dental office that day. But then I couldn't find my legs and folks, that was a problem.) And after such a stunning loss I thought it might be good to take stock of what we still have. You know, for perspective.

Legs? CHECK! And with feet too! Thank the hockey gods. Onto other items:

I still have a floating foam torso in my bathtub (with separate arm), the sky is still blue and located firmly above our heads, the sun set as was expected and shall rise again tomorrow, all the planets (including Pluto) still orbit the sun, and oh yes, the Sharks did EXACTLY WHAT WE EXPECTED THEM TO and took 1 game out of the 2 they were to play in Detroit.

So what's with all the chicken littling, man? What? Just because they lost 7-1 you suddenly think the season is over. Really? Best anyone ever expected in this series before it started was that the Sharks would win in 6. Now they have a chance to win in 5. Sure, it's not a sweep but who cares? The team is still a) up 3 game to 1, b) played with heart and grit despite having little chance of coming back to tie or even win tonight and c) should they won't take a loss like this lightly or sitting down. They didn't roll over, they fought. And come Saturday the score tonight won't matter. A loss is a loss no matter how many tallies the winning team has next to its name.

I think part of the problem is that a lot of fans mistook the possibility of a sweep, (and yes, it totally existed), for the guarantee of one. Perhaps as the only guarantee the Sharks would be making it out of round 2 for the first time in 6 seasons. People forgot that this series is a best of 7, and that it's not won of lost in one game, it takes 4.

4 wins anyway you can get them, so long as you get to them first.

There's no reason to believe this series can't or won't be closed out in 5 or 6, the Sharks have been playing too well for that. So they had a stinker tonight. So the D came out and forgot how to play right as Franzen decided to remember how. So what. Get over it. The team has to and we fans should too. This isn't like past seasons. These Sharks aren't curling up and dying at the slightest hint of push back. They're fighting, their overcoming and they're winning. They believe in themselves as a team. This series is 3-1. You had better believe that game 5 will be some of the most amazing hockey you have ever seen at the Tank come Saturday.

So either sit down and firmly hold on to that bandwagon and your finned foil hat or GTFO. This ride ain't for the faint of heart.

Go Sharks!

Holy crap.

Grab a firm hold of you butts ladies and gentlemen, it's about to get crazy up in here.

Up 3 games to none.

Biggest night of your life.

Now is not the time to fold, or to be cocky. You need to bring it. Bring it like you never have before.

The other side won't be stepping down, so you better step up.

Do it.

Fear.

If you don't have it, you haven't been paying attention.

Always a threat. Always.

Do not underestimate his abilities. Be prepared.

The craziest roller coaster ride of your life starts today at 4:30pm. Strap in. CSNCA and 98.5 KFOX.

Friends, Canadians, Countrymen, lend me your ears. And you eyes and mouse clicks!

For awhile now we've been wanting to combine our powers of awesome into some sort of sales machine. Something that would allow us to present you, the reader, with a chance to purchase some of the fine artistic offerings you see here throughout the season, while giving us the ease of not having to do the general upkeep involved with stocking and running a brick and mortar based store. Believe me, I have enough shipping supplies left over from my now defunct Etsy store that we could have easily handled the shipping, but not so much the making of t-shirts, or mugs, or other really awesome stuff like that. We just don't have that kind of infrastructure set up. But then, one night, I created this:

That just has to go on a shirt and it needs to be sold. It is just a fact. Well, dear reader, now thanks to our small (but growing) store front on Zazzle, you too can own a piece of CouchTarts. Might I suggest this one? Or perhaps this one? Every buck we make on the sales of these shirts will be going to the Second Harvest Food Bank here in SJ. Gray chose them because with the economy the way it is, a lot of folks are having problems finding enough money for food, let alone rent or mortgage.Why not try to make one thing just a little easier on them? You never know when you might suddenly be the one in need of help.

So come buy a shirt, or a mug, or a poster, or soon to be added pins and other assorted items. You'll be glad you did.

We also have a handy dandy store link over there -------> and down a bit. Check it out!