*This isn't a lie, but nobody said NHL hockey.
As Comcast Sportsnet California's Brodie Brazil reports, the ECHL (friends, don't call it the East Coast Hockey League; I once received a friendly but firm e-mail from the ECHL for informing me to not refer to the league by its old name in a story I wrote in Arkansas about the league's since unsuccessful attempt to relocate a team in the Bentonville, Ark. area) expansion franchise, the San Francisco Bulls, will apparently play the Stockton Thunder at the Shark Tank on Dec. 17.
This would be the first organized hockey at HP since the Sharks lost Game 4 of the Western Conference quarterfinals to the St. Louis Blues last April 19. It's a nice opportunity for the Bulls, who are affiliated with the Sharks as most NHL teams have some kind of working relationship with the ECHL organizations. (Most legitimate NHL prospects are sent to the American Hockey League by NHL teams, though there are plenty of NHLers who once were ECHL grinders).
Getting to play on NHL ice for players who by and large are longshots to make it to the NHL should be a treat. And Sharks' forward Ryan Clowe, thanks again to Brodie Brazil for another link, has been working out with the Bulls and is serving as a gameday coach for the understaffed Bay Area team that usually plays its home games at the Cow Palace. So it may be fun to watch the fiery Clowe scream at Stockton players in a suit behind the bench, knowing full well he'd give anything to charge the ice and take a few swings himself.
But personally, I don't much have much interest in watching live hockey in the Bay Area until this labor dispute is resolved. I hope the Bulls can be successful over the long haul, but my hockey passion and love for the sport is being severely tested by the bickering and refusal to compromise among millionaire players and billionaire owners at a time when many of the fans like myself who don expensive team sweaters and gear, buy expensive tickets and drink overpriced beer and hot dogs shouldn't be that eager to flock back to the rink and watch the Bulls play. Those same fans would be just as well served to send a message and spend what money they have on some other form of entertainment.
As Comcast Sportsnet California's Brodie Brazil reports, the ECHL (friends, don't call it the East Coast Hockey League; I once received a friendly but firm e-mail from the ECHL for informing me to not refer to the league by its old name in a story I wrote in Arkansas about the league's since unsuccessful attempt to relocate a team in the Bentonville, Ark. area) expansion franchise, the San Francisco Bulls, will apparently play the Stockton Thunder at the Shark Tank on Dec. 17.
This would be the first organized hockey at HP since the Sharks lost Game 4 of the Western Conference quarterfinals to the St. Louis Blues last April 19. It's a nice opportunity for the Bulls, who are affiliated with the Sharks as most NHL teams have some kind of working relationship with the ECHL organizations. (Most legitimate NHL prospects are sent to the American Hockey League by NHL teams, though there are plenty of NHLers who once were ECHL grinders).
Getting to play on NHL ice for players who by and large are longshots to make it to the NHL should be a treat. And Sharks' forward Ryan Clowe, thanks again to Brodie Brazil for another link, has been working out with the Bulls and is serving as a gameday coach for the understaffed Bay Area team that usually plays its home games at the Cow Palace. So it may be fun to watch the fiery Clowe scream at Stockton players in a suit behind the bench, knowing full well he'd give anything to charge the ice and take a few swings himself.
But personally, I don't much have much interest in watching live hockey in the Bay Area until this labor dispute is resolved. I hope the Bulls can be successful over the long haul, but my hockey passion and love for the sport is being severely tested by the bickering and refusal to compromise among millionaire players and billionaire owners at a time when many of the fans like myself who don expensive team sweaters and gear, buy expensive tickets and drink overpriced beer and hot dogs shouldn't be that eager to flock back to the rink and watch the Bulls play. Those same fans would be just as well served to send a message and spend what money they have on some other form of entertainment.
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