Second Round Starts Today

While saddened that Team Teal is not in round 2, that my game F ticket will sit uselessly on my fridge until I can bring myself to toss it out, and that may days at the Tank are done for now, there are some benefits to not having the Sharks in the second round. For instance: no more second round jokes, freer schedules, the joy of being able to watch a playoff game and not give a frak who wins. All pluses to that keep your blood pressure lower, to be sure. We're still disappointed, but if we can't look on the bright side as fans, they might as well hand out anti-depressants at 525 W. Santa Clara st. instead of rally towels and pom poms.

The West kicks off the second round with one game today.

Today @ 6pm
VERSUS HD, CBC HD, RDS HD

In case your wondering, I (Gray) did make picks for this round, but I didn't take them at all seriously.

Another FTF regular posted her picks, which are as follows:

VAN 4 CHI 3
DET 4 ANA 3

BOS 2 CAR 4
WSH 4 PIT 3

Her suggestion was to pick the opposite if what she did because she threw out everything she knew about each team and picked results she wanted to see. Not feeling into picking winners for a round I had little stake in, I followed her advice and chose the following:

VAN 3 CHI 4
DET 3 ANA 4

BOS 4 CAR 2
WSH 3 PIT 4

I don't care if I pick "correctly." It's more fun to pick when you don't give a frak, or you know, make your career doing this sort of thing. That seems a lot like making a living by playing the slots at Vegas. When you're right, it's great, but the odds of winning each time are dramatically low.

Second round crapshoot begins. Uhm, bring it?

Also, the Sharks injury list is out. All you AMGTRADEMARLOOANDTEHBIGJOE people, check is out. (care of the fantastic Mr. Pollak) I should note the days=how long said player has been injured.

*** Marleau has a sprained MCL
***Rob Blake — foot contusion, 10 days, MRI possible.
***Jonathan Cheechoo — MCL sprain, left knee, 22 days.
***Travis Moen — hip contusion, 8 days.
***Douglas Murray — left shoulder may need MRI, acts like mild rotator cuff strain.
***Evgeni Nabokov–strained hip muscle (gluteus medius), 13 days.
***Joe Pavelski — knee contusion, 4 days.
***Devin Setoguchi — mild ankle swelling by Achilles tendon.
***Jody Shelley — possible MRI for neck and shoulder soreness.
***Joe Thornton–groin/hip flexor, 63 days.

Playing while you can barely skate, that's called heart. Stick that in your angry pipes and smoke it.

No Games Today

Saddest words I'll have to type for awhile.

I had expected to be at game 7 tonight. I mean that. I went to game 5 and watched my team play outta of their minds. It wasn't a question of IF there would be a game 7. It was a known. My vocal cords trembled at the notion, just now fully recovered from their Saturday abuse. Walking out with a sea of elated fans, you knew anything was possible.

But it was not to be.

I could spend time crying, whining, blaming, pointing fingers, trying desperately to explain the whys of the surprisingly early end to this post season, but I won't. What's done is done. No matter how well we dissect a season, it won't change how it ended.

The Sharks are NOT the first team to suffer multiple years of seeming inexplicable playoff disappointments. They aren't the first President's Trophy winners to be knocked out in round 1. Treating them like crap because of what happened isn't my style. I think that disgusting. No one feels this like the players do. They have fought and worked for this moment their entire lives. They're all dedicated to the game, and play it with a singular dream in mind. They WANT the Cup. They don't just roll over and die and then decide to go play golf. Anyone who thinks the team isn't broken up over this is full of it. Watch Nabby give his post game interview and tell me they didn't truly want this.

They DID NOT choke. They DID NOT lack heart. These were not and are not the same Sharks who've been forced to deal with those same reactionary calls season after season. Saying that also insults the Ducks, who played incredibly well in this series. Hiller was a beast. If he's less on his game, the Sharks take game 2 and suddenly we have a different ball game. They could take game 6 and we'd be in for a game 7 tonight. What would the line on the team then?

It was a great season, it just ended sooner than we all expected. The weight of that won't fully sink in until the next round starts and I realize I won't be using my Game F ticket. It won't hit me until I realize I won't be back at the Tank for a game until later September. No more Sharks vs drawings this year. No more frantic game days posts when I forget to do art for the Sharks opponent. No more wasting all day looking at blogs. All that's done for the summer.

Somewhat impatiently, I await the return of the hockey season in September, and the first game in October. Until then...

Go Sharks!

Reflecting On A Season: by MyMcLife

I saw this last night. I have a lot to say about the end of the season, but I think MyMcLife (of Fear the Fin fame) does a great job of summing up a lot of what I'd like to say, with more eloquence and an appropriate dash of profanity.

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I am an optimist by nature. It really sucks sometimes, having that rug of hope pulled out from under you. After the second period tonight, I pulled out my pessimist hat and expected the team to lose. Not because I wanted them to, but because of that whole self-preservation thing. I sometimes take losses way too hard. So that’s why, after this game, I’m a bit more level-headed than I normally would be. That, and I swore up a storm when Corey Fucking Perry scored and got a lot of my anger out there.

We came into the playoffs with a whole lot of expectations, expectations that I’m not quite sure were earned. A rookie head coach was brought in, with his completely new offense-based system. The Sharks have been operating under a defense-based system under the Ron Wilson years, so the new style of play was completely different. They didn’t know how to use the system when the offense wasn’t clicking, when there were 9 guys out with injuries, when it seemed like nothing was going their way. And McLellan, for all of his experience being an assistant coach with Detroit, was still trying to learn how to change up the system a bit to get the Sharks rolling again, as well as how to utilize all the players with their difference strengths.

Admit it – we were spoiled in the 2008 portion of the season, when it seemed like the Sharks could never lose unless go up against a hot goaltender. All that talk about NHL records and the possibility of a Stanley Cup really got into our heads – or at least it did into mine. At that point, we were on the top of the world – had yet to lose in regulation at home, lost maybe 4 games in regulation, could score goals like there was no tomorrow, etc. The Sharks came back to earth, and yet we were still high on the first part of the season, back when no team really understood that yes, it was the Sharks that had that high-powered offense.

And as for more positives – Marleau really shined this year. He slowed at the end, but he really bounced back from last season and showed why he was the #2 overall pick in the 1997 draft. Setoguchi emerged as a legit goal scorer in the first half of the season, and in the second half showed a reckless abandon dedicated to hitting everything that moved. Not a bad guy to have on the team. The entire second line (Michalek-Pavelski-Clowe, if anybody has yet to have it memorized by now) showed how deadly they were on both the power play and the penalty kill. Pavelski in particular has really emerged as a great defensive forward that scores clutch goals. And that entire line has defied all criticism from previous seasons and often showed up as the most physical line on the ice, getting into scrums and not taking shit from anybody. Boyle, after many doubting his value with regards to his $6.67 million/year for 6 years contract, made me wonder how we ever won without him. The Sharks/Wings game with the Sharks winning 6-5 was one of the greatest regular season games I have ever seen. And Staubitz provided me with my favorite fight of all time.

Oh, and we won the freaking President’s Trophy, giving variety to the banners hanging at the Tank. That was pretty nice, as well.

Yeah, we flamed out in the playoffs, but just remember – when Ron Wilson first took over as head coach, the Sharks missed the playoffs. The next season? Western Conference Finals. Do it.

Playoffs Day 14, Round 1

The Sharks may be out (post mortem later), but there are still games to be played and watched. You better believe Gray will be glued to the television for the duration of playoff hockey.

Today @ 4pm
VERSUS HD, TSN HD, RDS HD
Game 7. Epic

Today @ 4:30pm (dontcha hate conflicts?)
VERSUS HD, RIS, TSN2 HD

Game 7. Brodeur'd or Ward'd? Watch and find out!

**UPDATE**

Teams and matchups are all set for Round 2. A few surprises in there:

Ducks and Wings start Friday
Chicago will ace Vancouver

Hurricanes (Dude, did you see that last goal. WHAT) will face Boston
Pens will face the Caps

On a side note, apparently when VERSUS said they're carry both games, they meant they'd show the Caps/NYR game and then just talk about what was happening in the NJD/Canes game. And show little clips here and there.

Pollak has a good interview with JR up over at his blog.

Other than Pollak, FTF and BOC, I am staying away from the media. I'm done with the "choking" arguments and the arguments about "heart". Anyone using those arguments has no idea what they're talking about. Period.

Art will be ALL NEW for the second round. I'm still trying to figure out what to draw to wrap up the end of the Sharks season. I'll figure it out eventually.

Playoffs, Round 1, Sharks V Ducks: Game 6

Tonight @ 7:30pm
CSNBA-HD, VERSUS HD (joined in progress), CBC HD, RDS HD
Don't miss this game. Catch the great Jamie and Dan on the radio if you can't watch it on TV.
All of the San Jose will be watching.

This is it. All or nothing, do or die, jump or jerk off, my way or the highway, put up or shut up. It's all on the ice tonight.

Go Sharks!

AND...........

We're out!

Welll have more later, but I'd like to thank the Sharks and all the fans (well, all you none whiny ones anyway!), and Randy, Drew, Jamie and Dan, for making this a most excellent season. I will miss watching my boys in teal on tv and will eagerly be awaiting their return for pre season hockey in September.

Stick with us readers. We'll be posting art and covering whatever madness happens in the off season, as well as keeping tabs on the rest of the playoffs. You didn't think we'd stop just because the Sharks are out, did you?

Thanks for a helluva season, boys!
Go Sharks!

Playoffs Day 13, Round 1

As a warning, due to work being done, Gray may lose electricity for an indeterminate period of time. If this happens,the Sharks game day will likely be posted shortly before the game occurs.

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Caps force a game 7! Crazy! Torts looked calm upstairs, but you know he had to be mad. I would be too. His team had a chance to seal the deal and they didn't. Game 7 should be epic.

Canes pwn Brodeur. Didn't see that coming and neither did he. That also forces a game 7. And here this was looking like a round of sweeps until now.

There's only one other game on the docket today other than the Sharks game, and they unfortunately, they conflict once again.

Today @ 6:30
TSN HD, CSN-C HD
Blackhawks leads series 3-2

Recapping An Epic Game 5. Part the Third

Part the first here
Part the second here

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Nothing can really accurately describe last night, save maybe a video camera. I have to leave a bunch of stuff out because I'm a) fairly certain Plank doesn't remember most of it and b) much of it was NSFW.

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We all rolled in to TCY's high on victory (don't you love the smell of that in the evening?) and proceeded to celebrate with a few drinks and some rounds of foosball. Plank got pwned yet again. The games were epic in both skill and comedic value. At one point Plank decided the best way to combat being down a few goals was to speak in gibberish. Next time he decided to try out a British accent. Perkins and TCY were inadvertently hilarious. Workthecycle had mad skillz and helped a slightly handicapped TCY take the W home.

After this, and a few more celebratory libations in TCY's kitchen, it was decided that we should play Rock Band. Sadly, the disk was booched, so we instead settled for Plank and one of his friends putting on ACDC and rocking out. There was air guitar, there was air drums, there was rock band fake guitar to make the original air guitar more awesome, there was Plank busting out on the Rock Band drums, and then there was Plank dancing.

It was the type of dancing only too many beers and a Sharks playoff win can provoke. It was strange convulsion filled with spastic gyrations and rapid, unpredictable movements accompanied by singing. We all expressed the desire for a video camera, but alas, there were none to be found.

One of Planks friend's brought two ladies back from a bar with him. I never did get their names but they seemed incredibly uncomfortable in a strange house filled with strange Sharks fans. I could tell it wasn't their scene. One departed rather soon after arriving, but the other was forced to endure the drunken rantings of Plank and TCY and co before finally departing in haste with Corey. It's the first and ONLY time I have I ever seen a girl go and wash he hands after shaking someone else's. In her defense Plank shook her hand for about a minute and she was pretty put off by that. I don't think he realized he was doing it, honestly. Watching this all through sober eyes, it was very hard not to giggle at the absurdity or it all.

After most of Plank's friends rolled out, and Ang and Workthecycle had left for a train and a bar, the remaining members of the party settled into the kitchen/breakfast nook area for what turned out to be a very heated discussion, mostly between Plank and TCY, about the Sharks, the players, game 5, and the series in general. Plank wouldn't let TCY talk, which was frustrating him to no end, and the two kept flip flopping their arguments, unable to recall what stance they'd taken just moments before.

Speaking of unable to recall things, despite asking more times than I could count, I don't think Plank ever caught the score of the Blackhawks/Flames game. We told him, but he never did seem to remember.

There was much discussion about which players Plank had a man crush on and to what lengths he'd be willing to go to prove it. We tried to find out who was on his “anti list” so to speak, but we only got one name out of him before the conversation was once again thrown off course by his wandering mind. That player was Parros.

It was at this point that Plank said something that temporary threw everyone off, and then caused us all to burst out laughing. It's NSFW and he doesn't remember it, so I'm not repeating it here. Needless to say, it was classic.

We discovered the yearbook said Ehrhoff was born in 92, or something else equally incorrect, and spent much time pondering the ages and accomplishments of the players versus our own. This discussions were constantly interrupted by TCY and Plank arguing over some minute point. Their arguments were hilarious. None were entirely serious, just loud, drunken, and funny.
I learned to never play dominoes with TCY, ever. But watching him school everyone was quite fun. Watching Plank try to do math while 3 sheets to the wind was also fun.

At several points Plank drunk dialed K, who made the mistake of answering. He was given crap for skipping out on the party, and then the conversation dissolved into an argument between him and TCY, who hung up on K. Plank was very remorseful about this, and called K back. When he eventually reached him again, the conversation ended far more amicably.

The rest of the evening was Plank, TCY, and several other folks arguing about the Sharks some more. AfroPuff and I could only guess what it would have been like in this house after a loss.

She and I left around 2, but the party went till about 4, with Plank dominating TCY in what I hear was an epic round of NHL 09.

That is about the long and short of it. As I said before, I had to leave a lot of details out, but the party was truly epic and I would gladly hang out with folks again. Thanks for letting teh interwebs into your house, TCY. Hope we didn't destroy it too badly.