SHARKS LACK BITE, II

Maybe I should just re-post my thoughts from this time last year when the San Jose Sharks ended their season in a disappointing fashion.  It has become an annual event lately, the Sharks letting their fans down.  This year, I was ready for it.  The way the Sharks came out like a house on fire, and dominated the NHL for the first couple months of the season was unbelievable!  Truly awesome!  I’d never seen a hockey team play that well for so long.  Of course, it didn’t last and the way it fell apart was concerning.  The Sharks didn’t just collapse this year.  They slowly became less and less effective.  After the All-Star break, their potent offense started to sputter.  The annoying thing was that their talent and desire allowed them to continue to win many games, despite the fact that the team was not executing anymore.  They began to squeak out victories, instead of asserting their will on opponents.  They continued to lose polish and confidence as they backed their way into the President’s Trophy.  (Don’t get mad at me coach McLellan.  I don’t mean you guys didn’t deserve the trophy, you did.  I just mean you were a little lucky to win it, the way the team was playing the last two weeks of the season.)

So, with the team not executing, and losing confidence, they had to face a team with lots of confidence, that was playing their best hockey of the year coming into the playoffs.  Add the pressure of living up to being the President Trophy winners, and it was a recipe for disaster.  Add the final ingredients; a young goalie on an amazing hot streak, and some bad luck in the “bounces” department, and you get yet another disappointing year for the Sharks.

Sure, Hiller “The Shark Killer” was awesome.  But he was lucky too.  There were many, many lucky breaks for him where the Sharks missed golden scoring chances.  The fact is that the Sharks didn’t put the biscuit in the basket.  Maybe they were gripping their sticks too tight?  Maybe it was just fate.  But when the polish came off their game, and they couldn’t execute well enough to turn their talent into goals and wins, the Sharks crumbled.  What they should have done is turn to a dirtier, down in the trenches, grinding type of game. 

 Here it is in a nutshell:  the Sharks are too nice!  They are gentlemen, led by the gentle Captain.  Sure they are big and fast, and they will fight if you wrong them first.  But the only nastiness I saw during the whole series from the men in teal, was Joe Thornton chirping at Getzlaf starting in Game 5, and culminating with the fight in Game 6.  Now, I’m not a fan of dirty play, but during the playoffs, your team must be hard to play against, not just good.  You must deliver the borderline hits in order to draw retaliatory penalties.  And you must be able to score the ugly, in-the-trenches type of goals.  I’m talking about the grit and determination players like Mark Smith and Mike Ricchi used to provide for the Sharks.

The current Sharks team is very good, they just aren’t that hard to play against.

TRADING MANNY, A RED SOX MOVE FROM THE PAST

OK, so Manny’s a little goofy.  Maybe it allows him to be a clutch hitter in a tough market such as Boston, without worrying too much.  Will Jason Bay have a lot of pressure on him to fill Manny’s shoes?  You had better believe it!  Remember how long it took to get a decent replacement for Nomar?  Oh yeah, that’s right, the Red Sox STILL haven’t found a decent replacement at shortstop! 

The other thing is why didn’t they get someone to shore up the bullpen???  Maybe that is in the works, but it is an area the Sox need help in Big-time!  Please, get a good 7th inning guy!

I think the start of Manny’s demise was the dust-up with Youkilis in the dugout a couple months ago.  Manny’s “want to win, but who cares” attitude and Youk’s “God damn, m***** f*****, why the **** did I just strikeout” attitude were bound to clash.  Then when Manny pushed down the “older” Travelling Secretary, he was wearing thin his welcome.  I just wish they could have made it work a little longer.

SHARK’S PLAYOFF BEARD

Well, the laid back San Jose Sharks managed to win a game against the Dallas Stars.  Unfortunately, I had already given up on them because of their lackluster play.  Immediately following their loss in Game 3, I took out the clippers and removed my Playoff beard, which had been just as effective as the Sharks powerplay of late.

 

 

SHARKS LACK BITE!

Well the San Jose Sharks just got embarrassed in Game Two of their series with Dallas.  They looked like they were playing a pre-season game and the Stars were only too happy to let them play it.  Time after time, the Sharks forwards reached for the puck (which was always just out of their reach), instead of finishing their checks.  The San Jose defense was so tentative, they ended up falling down and giving the puck away more than a few times, not to mention all the bad passes which stemmed from holding the stick so tight.  The team was out of sync all night and was actually lucky to score the two goals they managed to get.  Nabakov wasn’t much help either, continuing his less than “Nabby-like” play in the post season.

If the Sharks really want to turn the series around, they are going to have to play through the pain that they must be feeling from their first round battle.  Maybe they are nursing some sore spot, but they better sacrifice their bodies and start playing like it’s the Playoffs or they will be swept.  Take the body!  At least establish a hard fore-check, maybe the Dallas defense will be a little tentative themselves!  I guess it’s too much to ask the Sharks to change their game and try to get some “throw it at the net and clean up the slop Mike Ricchi goals”.  But to see them waste scoring chances time after time by trying to complete the pretty tic-tac-toe type of plays is just painful to watch.  Play aggressive!!!  I know it’s easier said than done, but their play has been so tentative, they wait to make a play until the defense has taken away all but one option.  Well, then everyone knows where the puck is going!  When you’re so scared of making a bad pass that you hold the puck and try to make a hard cut, but lose an edge and fall down, letting the fore-checker walk in all alone, it’s not a good thing.  (To quote Drew Remenda or Randy Hahn, whichever gets credit for that overused gem of hockey knowledge. )  (I think it’s Hahn’s line,  Remenda’s is “get your head on a swivel.”)

Don’t get me wrong, I think the Sharks are a great team.  They obviously have loads of talent, and a lot of experience, but do they have the will to win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs?  Can they play with desperation for the whole post-season?  Well, they’re going to have to now.  They need to play against Dallas with the grit and nastiness that Calgary brought to them.  This last game they looked like they were just going through the motions.

NBA RENAISSANCE?

It’s been quite a few years since I’ve really followed professional basketball.  I guess after the Celtics fall from greatness, I became nonplussed.  Recently, however, my interest has started to slowly creep back.  It started a few years ago as I would occasionally catch a Golden State Warriors game on TV.  They were struggling to compete then, but the lack of any “superstars” made their team interesting.  Brian Cardinal was my favorite player on the team.  The team has changed much since then with the loss of a few good players and a host of underachievers.   Now, Baron Davis and Monta Ellis lead one of the most exciting teams I’ve ever seen!  The whole thing took off last year with the first round win against Dallas.  Now, the team is actually good, and let me tell you, they are fun to watch!

They play basketball.  They run and pass and steal and block and shoot.  Oh boy, do they shoot!  Their brand of high scoring, high intensity ball is what makes it fun.  So, if you haven’t watched an NBA game in years, (Steve, this means you) do yourself a favor and watch for a Warriors game on TV.  The Warriors/Celtics game last night was a prime example.  That Oracle Arena is just electric at times!

THE ROCKET IN FULL DENIAL

Well, it appears as if Roger Clemens is in full denial mode.  He is certainly denying he ever used steroids or HGH, and I think he might be in psychological denial as well.  I don’t blame him.  Like every other elite level athlete, he is a fierce competitor.  He worked damn hard to have such a long and illustrious career.  Steroids and HGH were only a small part of the recipe to success.  I just wish he would have the balls to admit it.  See what Barry Bonds was up against?  Barry had to take steroids just to level the playing field with all the juiced-up pitchers on the mound!

OK, now it comes out that Clemens’s wife took HGH and so did Pettitte’s Dad?  WTF?  Who isn’t on the juice?

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Pat’s had a great season.  A phenomenal season, really, in terms of wins and losses.  However, they got very lucky posting a few of those wins.  They came up with huge plays and also got lucky breaks along the way.  Despite all of this, they had a chance to do what had never been done before.  (With a 16 game regular season schedule)  It just wasn’t to be.  The Giants defense stood tall.  And Eli Manning had a good game and great drive to win the game.

Of course, it could have turned out differently.  The Pat’s just needed one more big play to make the difference.  Any one of their stalled drives, if a play had been made to score a touchdown instead, would have made the difference.  But I also feel that, strangely, coaching was the Pat’s downfall.  I think the play calling on offense could have been better.  Faking a reverse and taking a sack on the first play from scrimmage?  Not attempting a field goal on fourth and forever?  And why no adjustments as the Giants continued to pressure Brady?  Why didn’t they line up four or five wide and throw quick slants and screens?  Or go with a two back set for added blocking?

Oh well, maybe it’s better that they lost.  We never would have heard the end of it from all the Spygate whiners anyway. 

The New England Patriots

I have purposely avoided making any comments about the Pats all season long, for fear of jinxing something great.  Of course, the big game is yet to be played, but I had to make a couple comments about how they got to this point.

1.  Tom Brady is the MVP and the best quarterback in the NFL.  The records he attained this season do not prove it, but it is nice to stick it to Peyton “Can I do another commercial?” Manning. 

2.  The Pats offense is one of the best ever seen because of coaching, not just raw talent.

3.  Kevin Faulk.  He is the main reason they are undefeated and still in the playoffs.  His huge third down conversions allowed the Pats to comeback and/or run down the clock, in multiple games this season.  He is the unsung hero without a doubt. 

4.  Wes Welker.  He is the reason the Pats rolled over so many teams this year.  His quickness and yards after the catch were the most devastating weapon for the Pats during the bulk of the season.  Don’t underestimate people because they are small in stature.

5.  The Defense.  Well, I’m not sure if the “Bend, but don’t Break” moniker is really accurate.  Maybe because of their lack of speed, but technically sound play, when opposing teams get into the red zone, the defense can hold because they have less area to cover.  I just hope it can hold for one more game.  Because they sure give up tons of yards to the pass and the run between the 20’s.

FIRST ROUND OF 2008

Thanks to Bill for getting us off our butts and getting a tee-time last Sunday.  The weather was pretty darn nice for January.  Started off a little foggy, but cleared up by the time we teed-off around 12:30.  Temperature was about 63 degrees and hardly any wind to speak of. 

I played fairly well, considering the last time I picked up a club was September 14.  I ended up with an 80 on par 68 Los Lagos, with one birdie.  I think all of us were around 80 or so. 

SCHILLING WINS AGAIN!

My hat is off to Curt Schilling.  I didn’t think he could do it, but he did.  He pitched a great game and Okijima was lights out!  Papelbon closed the door, thanks to a timely pick off at first base.  Other keys to the game were J.D. Drew coming through with a timely hit and Mike Lowell driving in the winning run one more time!