Man, last night's game was terrible. I mean just horrible. Steve Ott got a hat trick?! That is like some curse wrought down upon the league by some malevolent hockey god who really likes douchebags. When Steve Ott scores, nobody wins. Except maybe Dallas. Dammit Dallas!
We've been spending a lot of time lately trying to put some of the harder to swallow games of this season into perspective. Comparing and contrasting between seasons past, looking for trends, realizing that the answer to the Sharks puzzling play must be out there somewhere. Sports are just random and they will continue to be so, but surely there would be some quantifiable evidence to show why the Sharks are so inconsistent from one game to the next.
Who do we want in net?! TURCO! When do we want him? NOW!
Aren't you just saying that because Lehtonen was in net for that hidieous 8-2 loss?
I might be.
There's also this compelling argument:
I rest my case.
EDIT: We're not making Joe Thornton being out a thing until it becomes a thing, but here's an update from Pollak on the subject. Players do get injured, even Iron Men like Joe. He'll be back.
Early game. Be warned. Be prepared. Be aware. Don't be like Gray and assume the game is a 7:30 start, because it's not.
Back to back games! Mina and I are attending them both. Can we survive this hockey gauntlet run? The odds lean heavily in our favor. The one big unknown is whether or not Joe Thornton will play today or whether or not he'll miss his first game as a Shark, ever.
We tried in vain to gain super secret insider knowledge of the extent of his injury last night while the After Hours guys were taping, but all we got was a front row seat to a drunk guy grabbing Plank's ass as he stumbled his way down the stairs.
Since we happened to see Manny Malhotra gunning it out of the parking lot on his own, he must be mostly alright. We couldn't really see what happened to him from where we were sitting, only that he was not at all happy about it. Glad to hear he's likely alright.
So today marks the third annual take our friend to the game and watch him cry when the Canucks lose event. There are only two problems with this event this year though: 1) Our friend is actually in Canada right now and 2) the Canucks are actually good this year.
Technical difficulties? Oh yah, you betcha.
Other assorted minor difficulties: the lack of frozen lemonade. A sure fire way to get the Sharks to win when our friend is in attendance is to get him a frozen lemonade. For some reason that Tank seems to have abandoned this icy delight, leaving us with no way to guarantee certain victory. While I'm unsure of how well this particular plan would work in his absence, I'd be willing to give it a try. You know, for science.
On the plus side, we'll hopefully see the Ma and Pa line out there again tonight. (That would be Malhotra, Marleau and Pavelski) I know that the HTMLine is the one everyone loves, but they've been figured out. Time to let Ma and Pa handle this.
Just some quick channel related biiizzz nasss: CSNCA is now channel 41. I don't know what you'll find on 89 tonight, but it won't be the Sharks game. Again, CSNCA has moved to channel 41.
And apparently Food Network moved to 34 and TBS is now 35. WTF is up with that?!
So inspirational quotes worked last time, and while the logical areas of my mind realize that what I post here has little to nothing to do with how the Sharks play*, the fan parts of my mind are telling me I need to stick with what works. Superstitions are fun! But I'm quoted out and I have no cute little personal quote about how I misheard a certain player's name. Shall I claim I did, just to stick with a day old tradition? Marty Turdco perhaps? Mike Moimmagonnascorelike5timeontheSharkseverygamedano? Brad nevertouchedbyJacob Richards?
Maybe I'll just mention how, on a recent episode of Shark Byte, I was really confused by this raher attractive and clean cut looking fellow they kept talking to in the locker room. I know the Sharks by their faces at this point, but this guy was a mystery. Who the hell is this guy? Turns out it was Jay Leach, pretty much the only Shark I haven't seen enough with his helmet on to even begin to recognize him with it off. But I will say, if there's a Mrs. Leach, her husband is one attractive looking man.
*Does Chaos Theory apply here? Someone get me Dr. Ian Malcom on the phone...
Alright Sharks fans, that road trip was tough but we got through it. Last nights game was EXCELLENT. A win after 6 losses tastes that much sweeter. But maybe some bitterness lingers like a bad taste in your mouth. So to pump you all for this upcoming home-stand, Reader Emily has sent us another one of her amazing videos. Do watch. You'll enjoy it.
Because the implosion must be witnessed nationally!
That's sarcasm by the way.
Editor's note: CSNCA is moving to channel 41 tomorrow, 3/24. Please set your tivos accordingly.
I think we all could use a little inspiration this morning, so I dug up a quote to help you get through the day.
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it. W.C. Fields
Uhm...Perhaps something a little more uplifting?
Whoever said, 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts,' probably lost.
Martina Navratilova, American/Czech Tennis Player
Er...well, how about this one?
For whatever reasons, Ray, call it . . . fate, call it luck, call it karma. I believe everything happens for a reason. I believe that we were destined to get thrown out of this dump.
"Dr. Peter Venkman" in Ghostbusters
See? Everything will be just fine. Now you just need to take out a third mortgage on your home, buy and old run down firehouse that in all honesty should probably be condemned and start your own paranormal investigation and elimination services.
Or you know, play good hockey. One of the two.
"For the longest time, I thought his name was 'Olan Nolan'. I kept wondering who'd be that cruel to give their kid a rhyming name like that."
Ok, so maybe the game itself, when applied topically, won't clog your pores, but the stress caused by watching it may lead to break outs. You may get a rash from the topical application of hockey to the skin though, so, do be careful. Random bruising has also been known to occur.
So here we are in the midst of the worst losing streak since 1997 and people are calling for Joe Thornton's curly haired head. I can hear Patrick Marleau sighing in relief as this year, it's someone else getting thrown under the bus. That is not to say the anger or frustration on the fan side isn't justified, it is, but I'm not entirely certain it's correctly directed.
When you've dropped 5 games in on the road a row like the Sharks have, (6 overall including a home loss), and you drop one of those games 5-1 to the league's worst team while making them look skillful is a feat worthy of extraordinary ire. I'm pretty good at riding these waves in a mostly positive manner, but even I'm annoyed at this point. (I realize some people see that positivity* as asinine, but it's so easy to be an angry fan, I feel like there needs to be a strong counter voice. It's not that I feel it's all sunshine, happiness and rainbows, I just don't find that raging over terrible games benefits me emotionally. So, I don't do it anymore.) The Sharks as a whole, as a team, are terrible. Just terrible and playing horrible no good very bad games. There is no way around it. It's puzzling, considering the sheer skill this team possesses, but it's a reality nonetheless. I gave this some thought on Saturday night as I watched the Sharks new ECHL affiliate, the Stockton Thunder, zip around the ice at their home arena.
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The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
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The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 