Swimming with the new (and wealthy) fish

The Sharks have themselves a new "man behind the curtain", but it remains to be seen how visible German-based software magnate Hasso Plattner will be after the team's majority owner bought out the shares held by top investors Kevin Compton and Stratton Sciavos. Plattner now will be in the room with the other teams' head honchos on the NHL's Board of Governors. I wouldn't expect Plattner to be the second coming of Al Davis and leave fingerprints all over HP Pavilion.


But what does Plattner's added role mean for the Sharks? I have no idea. Plattner is a billionaire times seven who co-founded the SAP AG empire. So if he wants to throw out insane free-agent contracts like a certain team from the Land of 10,000 Lakes just did (twice) this summer conveniently just before such long-term deals played a major role in what went wrong with this season, he has plenty of cash to go such a route. But I figure since he's been around through the Doug Wilson way of not chasing free agents with  large contracts.

It will be interesting to see if the Sharks remain near the salary cap ceiling given the team's spot right now only a couple million under the $64.3 million limit. But in a couple of years, the Sharks will have the option of spending a lot less money in a hurry with three big contracts of Dan Boyle, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau totaling about $20 million of salary per year expiring.

Comcast SportsNet's Ray Ratto took a break from the Super Bowl overkill to weigh in on the front office changes in San Jose.  Ratto points out Plattner's $7.2 billion nest egg is among the most well-to-do owners in hockey. So with the German now fully in charge of the Sharks, it will be a lot more simplistic that fans now know exactly who to blame in event of a Twitter meltdown.

"Post" mortem: Sharks survive Teemu, Ducks

It's a shame Sharks' fans had such a quick fling with Teemu Selanne, they never were able to fall in love with the Finnish Flash, whose courtship with San Jose ended after a little more than two  productive seasons. But he has since returned to Orange County, and one of the good guys in hockey if not sports altogether has been a pest in a bitter Bay Area/Disneyland rivalry. So here it came down Tuesday night in San Jose, where the Sharks were lucky to be even be in a shootout against Selanne's Ducks and perhaps even more unlikely 1-0 leaders in the shootout as Selanne tried to keep his team in the game as the final shooter. ....

...Selanne, whose 50 goals vs. the Sharks ranks only below the 51 he's scored against the SoCal rival Los Angeles Kings in his two decades in the NHL, skated in on his countryman Antti Niemi. The older Finn flipped the puck high and perhaps just grazing Niemi's glove towards the top of the net. And on a night when Niemi was nothing short of incredible, including a fantastic save against Corey Perry in OT, Selanne appeared to net the shootout-extending goal. Except the puck bounced off the crossbar, one of a handful of Anaheim shots that hit iron. It's been a home team-friendly goal early at HP Pavilion. The Sharks' good fortune went right down to the end with Selanne's shot off the post and escaped with a 3-2 win and a franchise-best 6-0 start. Sharks Coach Todd McLellan said it best when he proclaimed...

...in his postgame presser: "We have to tell it like it was; they were the better team." You could also make that argument last week when San Jose had to make a furious rally in the third period to beat Phoenix in the home opener. But this was something altogether different. The Ducks pretty much sucked last season in missing the playoffs and finishing last in the Pacific Division. But Anaheim was at its best against the Sharks winning five of six meetings. And despite trailing 1-0 after one period thanks once again to what is looking like hockey's version of Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance with Marleau-to-Thornton-to-Pavelski. But the usually shoot-happy Sharks managed...

...all of 18 total shots at Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller. Anaheim was so dominant in the first two periods -and finally getting what it deserved with two quick goals and the lead around the midway point of the second- McLellan showed his displeasure by shuffling lines 2-4. And it paid off if you just consider that Scott Gomez dropped a nifty pass back to Logan Couture, and the veteran center made an effective screen for Couture, whose wrister somehow trickled through the five hole, off Hiller's pads and sliding into the goal. It somehow allowed San Jose to tie the game with 2:45 left and ultimately salvage overtime and a point. And Niemi, who faced another onslaught from the Ducks in overtime and made the game's best theft of Perry. That allowed the outshot, outchanced and mostly outplayed Sharks to go to their secret weapon...

....Michael Handzus in the shootout. It's a funny game. The Sharks have the hottest line in hockey with goals and points-a-plenty from Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau. But McLellan penciled in Handzus as his first shooter. Handzus hasn't looked great centering the third line and doesn't actually look like a goal waiting to happen during the game. But he's the Slovak Shootout Savant, having traditionally been one of the game's most effective options once games aren't decided in regulation or in overtime. And in a shootout that featured Ducks' snipers  Bobby Ryan, Perry and Selanne, Handzus outdid all three and top six teammates Pavelski and Ryane Clowe with the only successful shot. His top shelf goal as the first of six shooters held up, and the Sharks are improbably 6-0. But they can't afford to keep playing like they did Tuesday, and another short-term concern I see...

...is with the defense. Dan Boyle missed the game with the flu and was clearly missed. Brent Burns and Jason Demers are both skating but remain out for now. Douglas Murray can still hit a forward and provides some toughness, but he's struggling at times. Nick Petrecki made his NHL debut in the game, but he's simply not in Boyle's class. Fortunately, the other rookie Matt Irwin is looking like a keeper. But Murray and Justin Braun have some improvement to make, as do the Sharks as a whole after stealing this win. Still, six up, six down, and a rematch with Edmonton looming Thursday night.

Too soon?

Yahoo Sports isn't wasting any time, and in its defense the season is moving along in rapid fashion and is already about 10 percent completed. But it's a little early to be already projecting the end-of-season awards for the NHL, isn't it? But I do appreciate Yahoo's puck coverage and rarely tread on ESPN's shove-it-down-our-throats via overkill obsession with the NBA, SEC football, the Yankees and Red Sox, and Skip Bayless, while essentially sending a strong group of hockey writers into the bullpen for strictly middle relief appearances.

But I digress back to Yahoo's early returns on the Hart, Vezina, Norris, Calder etc. frontrunners. So it's no surprise the Sharks' surprising 5-0 start suddenly has Jeremy Roenick's attention and thrust San Jose back from the dead. You'd think he would just let Marleau's play speak for itself, but Roenick is apparently auditioning to be Patrick Marleau's public relations manager, and Yahoo Sports has determined Marleau's torrid scoring binge five games into the season puts him atop the Hart Trophy pecking order, so  five games into the season, Patty may as well start shopping for a new suit to flaunt on the red carpet in Vegas for the NHL Awards show in the summer. Look at the results (with total points scored in the survey made by Yahoo's hockey scribes):

Hart Trophy

1. Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks (20)
2. Thomas Vanek, Buffalo Sabres (9)
3. Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning (6)
4. Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks (5)
5. Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks (4)

What does this mean? Nothing, except that it will set up Marleau for failure and draw the same tired arguments about his "streaky scorer" label  shortly after the Sharks' red-hot top line and sizzling first power play unit hit a couple rough patches. And you know eventually that will happen because teams just don't match up as well with certain opponents. Plus, nobody in this era in the NHL can keep up the kind of pace Marleau, Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski have set so far. But this is what we do in sports journalism: You're a superstar one day, and a stiff the next. And in this era of Twitter haters throwing Molotov Cocktails from the comforts of home keyboards, praise and criticism both are inflated too high.

Marleau isn't the only San Jose connection to the awards race. Antti Niemi ranked fifth in Yahoo's Vezina rankings for the top goalie, and even Coach Todd McLellan got some second-place love for the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year. And who was McLellan trading? Joel Quenneville of the Blackhawks of course. After all, the Blackhawks are 6-0, the Sharks are just 5-0. 

Baseball will be here soon

I wish I would have attended the Athletics' Fan Fest yesterday as a reader of this blog (and thank you for the kind comment) asked if I was going to file a report from the event at Oracle Arena. So about all I've got is some good notes from San Francisco Chronicle beat writer Susan Slusser, who also wrote about Yoenis Cespedes' personal issues and the burden he's carrying. 

But one story that made the rounds with the media Sunday is how the A's plan to keep their five capable outfielders happy in terms of playing time.  More specifically, it will be interesting to see how  Chris Young and Coco Crisp split time in center field, and how often natural center fielder Young is able to spell the corner outfielders. I don't see too many scenarios where Cespedes doesn't play left field or Josh Reddick is on Bob Melvin's lineup in right. Seth Smith should get a lot of opportunities to play DH against right-handed starting pitching. Perhaps Young, who has been a .272/.377/.482 hitter vs. left-handers over the last three seasons, may steal some more at-bats in those instances. But one of his strengths is defense in what looks like one of baseball's best defensive outfields. So consider the outfield, how new shortstop Hiro Nakajima adjusts to a totally new life in baseball, and what looks like an open competition for the second base job as spring training storylines to track.

Good news, baseball fans: Athletics' pitchers and catchers report to Phoenix in a fortnight. 

Not pretty, but perfect

My apologies for not recapping the Sharks' 5-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks Sunday any earlier.  

You kind of figured this one would get a little confrontational (hey, it's the Canucks, whom you have grown to expect the love to be flowing at regardless of their opponent, and even beauty pageant Vancouver fans are perceived as Alex Burrows-level instigators), when players on both sides drew penalties before a second went off the game clock. Sharks' forward Ryan Clowe, who objected to Burrows mixing it up with Clowe's linemate Logan Couture as the teams prepared to take the opening faceoff. Clowe was...

...Just warming up after taking that unsportsmanlike conduct call and skating to the penalty box along with Burrows. Clowe's time in the penalty box was almost as important to Sunday's game as the Sharks' four goals scored. He earned a total of 35 penalty minutes and a game misconduct that ended his night early.  It was kind of a good news, bad news deal for Clowe, whose total time in the box hadn't been seen in San Jose since this guy ran amok in the South Bay. You were pleased Clowe defended Couture; that he threw down after being challenged by Vancouver's Zack Kassian; that he a bone-crushing but clean hit against the boards to send the home crowd into a frenzy. But he also put his team up against it too frequently playing an opponent that can be devastating with the man advantage. Clowe's final act was regrettable. His high-sticking call at 19:33 of the second period was magnified further when his frankly infantile reaction of screaming from the box and slamming his stick against the glass. Costing his team two more minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct and also receiving the heave-ho for the entire third period...

...Could have cost his team dearly. He also played right into the hands of the Canucks, who thrive when their opponents lose their cool like Clowe did. The Sharks, still up just 3-1 at the time, had to then endure four minutes of power play time spanning the end of the second and beginning of the third period. But the Sharks' maligned penalty kill had its best effort of the young season. Vancouver went 0-for-7 on the PP Sunday, and somehow the Sharks survived the San Jose-killing Sedin twins being on the ice for a combined 15 minutes, 6 seconds of time with at least a man advantage. And the Sharks had some luck on their side with Vancouver shots ringing off posts five times. Then again, Vancouver got its only goal when an Antti Niemi save sent the puck deflecting off the back of Dan Boyle's skate and trickling into his own net. But the Sharks probably can't expect to kill off seven penalties against this team again when the Canucks host San Jose on March 5. But for the Sharks, all that matters is...

...A 5-0 start to a season has never happened in two-plus decades of San Jose Sharks' hockey. We're all realistic to know this can't go on for too much longer. The Sharks' top line of Patrick Marleau (one more goal for nine in five games), Joe Thornton (G, A; 13 total points) and Joe Pavelski (his first two goals of the season scored on Sunday and 10 points so far) is not just carrying but clean-and-jerk lifting this team right now. That trio has combined for 36 points, five more than everyone else has chipped in with. Marleau, Thornton and Pavelski also have just three less total points than Tuesday opponent Anaheim has totaled as a team in its first four games. But hey, winning is fun. And the games keep coming at a brisk pace, so no time to savor it, just look forward to the next one. 

Sigh, two more goals to match Cy

If you didn't get to see these two goals live or on television as they happened, enjoy. San Jose's Saturday afternoon  4-0 shutout of the Colorado Avalanche featured a lot of subplots: defenseman Brad Stuart's crushing (not to mention controversial) hit of Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog that for multiple reasons completely changed the momentum; the San Jose debut of veteran addition Scott Gomez and the first NHL goal by rookie d-man Matt Irwin; backup goalie Thomas Greiss' first career shutout. But for the fourth time in four games, Patrick Marleau was the headliner, and why not considering he...

...Is now on a scoring binge that hasn't been witnessed in almost a century? Marleau has scored eight goals, two in each of San Jose's four victories. The last time time a player did this to begin a season  was the great Cy Denneny, who as a member of the 1917-18 original Ottawa Senators (possibly the year before ageless Daniel Alfredsson broke in with the Sens 1.0?),  also posted four multi-goal games over the first four.  Denneny, not quite the most famous athlete named Cy in the early 20th Century,  accomplished the feat in what was his rookie season as a 26-year-old (per hockey-reference.com, Denneny went onto play 12 Hockey Hall of Fame seasons). Marleau is now considered a salty 15-year veteran at 33, but he is looking like a carefree youth player on the ice. Hockey is fun right now, and it's been easy so far. His two goals on two two-minute penalties charged to Colorado's Ryan O'Byrne (hold that thought) have followed the pattern of his first three. Marleau has been in the right place at the right time; he's been opportunistic and accurate; he's the beneficiary of being on a sizzling top line and first power-play unit with Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Dan Boyle and Logan Couture. Such a frenzy can't last, but it's a great time to be Patrick Marleau. And while Stuart won't be credited for an assist on either of Marleau's goals Saturday. ...


...Go ahead and award an unofficial couple of helpers to the Sharks' blueliner who now is in his second San Jose stint. Here is the video of  Stuart's open-ice hit  of Landeskog that occurred in the first period a couple minutes before Marleau's two goals. I try to be objective when I'm writing these posts, and after seeing the collision a couple times since it first happened, I think it was a vicious and brutal hit of Landeskog, who fortunately came back into the game in the second period and appears like he'll be fine. Still, despite Stuart clearly and legally leading with his shoulder, he knocked Landeskog in the noggin, and the league's disciplinary czar Brendan Shanahan will have no choice but to have a chat with Stuart. Was it a suspendable offense? Maybe. But like in the NFL, I've always had problems with players being suspended for an excessive hit even when they were not being penalized in the game; the official is looking right at the point when Stuart decks Landeskog and allows play to continue. When Thornton was dinged for two games for his infamous KO of the Blues' David Perron two seasons ago, the Sharks' captain was at least handed down a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct. Still, I won't be outraged nor shocked if Stuart earns a one or two-game slap on the wrist. It's just the nature of the safety issue. All I would ask of Shanahan and the NHL is they're consistent with future incidents going forward. Whatever happens to Stuart -and I don't think it will be a long if any form of action- he changed the game for the better from the San Jose perspective...

...Because O'Byrne totally lost it. Rather than take a mental note of what happened to his captain -and I can understand the reaction to want and retaliate- he simply went all goon on Stuart and jumped him immediately. If you're a Sharks' fan knowing how devastating the power play's been, you had to love O'Byrne first drawing the instigator penalty, and ringing up another deuce for throwing down at Stuart while wearing a face shield. The Sharks' power play from hell made those 17 minutes worth of penalties unforgivable for the Avalanche to dig themselves out of. That two-goal lead was never in doubt. ...

...Because the Sharks mostly controlled play thereafter following Colorado's surge at the outset of the game. The Avs don't boast the same firepower as say Vancouver will throw at the Sharks in Sunday's game. But Greiss was sharp in his first start of the season. A couple Colorado shots banged off posts, and he wasn't really tested much except for the beginning and the end of the game on a few shifts but some difficult saves sprinkled in. But a shutout is a shutout, and Greiss will take it, thank you. He wasn't the only Shark with a milestone Saturday. ...

...Irwin scored his team's fourth and final goal when Martin Havlat flicked the puck toward Irwin near the left circle. He teed it up and blasted the puck top shelf past goalie Semyon Varlamov. Irwin was supposed to be keeping the seat warm for the injured Brent Burns and Jason Demers, but with a goal and assist thus far, plus being a nice complement to the veteran Boyle on the Sharks' second pairing, he could keep himself in the lineup or at least make for some tricky choices when the defense has more flexibility. ...

...The Sharks will now see how weary they'll be when they turn around to host Vancouver on Sunday. Gomez, who thanks to over five minutes of power play time was on the ice for a little more than 15 minutes in an effective if unspectacular debut as a the Sharks' fourth-line center. Coach Todd McLellan has praised the play of center Michal Handzus centering the third line thus far, so it makes sense to stick with those two in the same roles against the Canucks while the team is performing well.

12 and 30

Patrick Marleau's three consecutive games with multiple goals -he scored two each in Sharks' victories over Calgary, Edmonton and in the home opener Thursday against Phoenix- hasn't been accomplished in the NHL in 30 seasons since Slovak (then he was considered a Czechoslovak) Peter Stastny accomplished such a feat to begin a season. It's such an old feat, Peter Stastny's son Paul is now an established NHL player himself with Colorado, who plays for the same franchise his Dad did -then known as the Quebec Nordiques- in the 1982-83 season.

It doesn't appear on this postgame interview video, but Marleau was asked after Thursday's game when he netted the game winner how he felt about such a quick start in the face of another offseason of criticism after he went pointless in San Jose's first-round playoff loss to St. Louis. The answer was typical I'm too smart and even-keeled to respond angrily or defensively Marleau:

"It’s nice having three big games anytime."

Simple, yet without snapping back as others with less patience would surely do when interviews go bad (mostly it happens in sports other than hockey, with apologies to the never confrontational and Top 10 recipient John Tortorella; and I even once I got yelled at by then Seattle Seahawks safety Ken Hamlin when I was trying in vain to compliment him!). Marleau has received both fair and unfair heat over his career. But give him credit for never letting anything faze him publicly. 

Special teams extremes

A couple random thoughts after digesting Thursday night's thrilling home opener victory by the Sharks:

*The penalty kill continues to be a concern, and the Sharks have yet to face what are considered to be the most dynamic and skilled offensive opponents in the Western Conference. In three games -all wins mind you- San Jose has allowed five power play goals in 14 total short-handed situations. The 64.3 percent success rate currently ranks 27th in the league. But there was good and bad in the Phoenix game on Thursday.   The game was tied 1-1 at the end of the second period when Marty Havlat was boxed for a slash.
The Coyotes took themselves out of a power play early in the third thanks to Steve Sullivan's double minor for an interference call and then complaining about it to draw two more minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. But Joe Thornton's hook toward the end of the Sharks' man advantage again put his team short-handed, but just for 17 seconds by the time Sullivan's four minutes expired. Phoenix needed just one rush down the ice; Sullivan, who I thought was the best Coyote on the ice Thursday, took a shot Antti Niemi saved, and though Niemi and Coach Todd McLellan had an argument the goalie was interfered with just as Antoine Vermette followed up the miss, the Sharks allowed the Coyotes to get down the ice far too easily at the end of a 4-on-4 situation when it started in the deep in their zone.
Phoenix did get another power play goal earlier in the game, but the Sharks didn't go down quietly. Two high sticking penalties -one a four-minute variety- gave Phoenix a full two minutes worth 5-on-3 time. That left Niemi and the Sharks' penalty killers Douglas Murray (who overall just looks a little too slow to continue being a regular once injured Brent Burns and Jason Demers are both healthy and ready to play), Michal Handzus and Brad Stuart laboring to keep the puck out of the net. They blocked a couple shots, they were clearly exhausted and Niemi made at least two difficult saves toward the end when his teammates looked clearly gassed. But Sullivan finally beat Niemi with just 12 seconds left on the two-man advantage. If anything, McLellan should turn to that trio again in another situation. Handzus, who's been outstanding in the face-off circle, is giving his coach an interesting decision to make once Scott Gomez gets to make his Sharks' debut.

*Conversely, the Sharks' power play has been buzzing so far with seven goals in 18 tries, and the only real concern is just five players have combined for 19 total power play points:

Joe Thornton: 1 PPG, 5 PPA
Patrick Marleau: 2 PPG, 2 PPA
Logan Couture: 2 PPG, 2 PPA
Joe Pavelski: 5 PPA
Dan Boyle: 2 PPG

And as CSNCalifornia's Kevin Kurz pointed out today, those five comprise the first power play unit. The Sharks' second biggest concern going forward after improving the penalty kill percentage has to be  scoring depth. The Marleau/Thornton/Pavelski top line has been wicked, while Havlat/Couture/Clowe have scored a couple key goals 5-on-5. But the Sharks especially need Havlat and Clowe  to start contributing on the power play, because there's no way the quintet above is going to be this productive as frequently as it has thus far on the man advantage. Kurz also reported in the above link that Scott Gomez would likely make his Sharks' debut for Saturday's game and suggested he'll center the second power play unit with Clowe and Havlat as the wings. Brent Burns and Jason Demers should also add some scoring from the point on the PP when they return from injuries.

*It will be interesting how much legs the Sharks will have during their first back-to-back games of the season: Saturday afternoon against Colorado and Sunday night with Vancouver coming to town. Both games will be at HP Pavilion, but it will be test nonetheless.

Protecting the house

The NHL's return to HP Pavilion began in respectful silence to honor George Gund III, the man responsible for bringing hockey to the South Bay. About 2 1/2 hours later, the same crowd cheered just as loud as it was hushed as captain Joe Thornton made the classiest of moves. In between there were some missed opportunities, untimely penalties, a soft goal allowed; but ultimately there was a spirited San Jose comeback and a 5-3 victory over what had to be the shell shocked Coyotes. You know as Phoenix players skated off the ice, they had to be thinking...

How in world did we let this one get away? The Sharks looked like dead, smelly fish closing in on the 10-minute mark of the third period. Bad penalties ultimately turned the game in a special teams slop-fest early in the third, the Coyotes capitalizing on one power play to break a 1-1 tie. Then San Jose goalie Antti Niemi made his first real blunder of the season, trying to pin the puck against the side of the net but letting it slip behind him and across the goal line. In a little over two minutes, the Coyotes were comfortably ahead 3-1, because....

...The Sharks were not generating much offensive zone attacking since a first-period flurry of a goal on . From the start of the second period until the first four-plus minutes of the third, San Jose recorded all of four shots on goal, which defeats the purpose of playing a backup goalie -Jason LaBarbera, replacing injured Mike Smith- and not putting pressure on said backup. But then...

...Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau clicked again. Right now, those two are making sweeter music together than Stewie and Brian Griffin (Charlie Sheen approved!).

Three games into the season, and Thornton to Marleau is among the Bay Area's hottest sports duos (Steph Curry and David Lee? Colin Kaepernick and Michael Crabtree? Jim Harbaugh and whoever is being gruff and condescending toward?). Thornton flicked a pass through traffic to a somehow unchecked Marleau in the slot. He ripped the puck past LaBarbera, and with half a period remaining the Sharks were down just a goal (more on Jumbo and Patty later). At this point, with San Jose nemesis Smith not in goal, you had to think San Jose had a shot. (I believe the Sharks' mostly intact roster from 2011-12 is going to result in a quick start. No guarantees how this team will look in March, but it could be one of the Western Conference frontrunners through January and part of February. Just a guess.) And the Sharks were relentless...

...Once Marleau's fifth goal in eight-and-a-half periods reinvigorated the crowd. The suddenly scrappy Marty Havlat went all pool hustler on LaBarbera as he saw his only angle on a rebound shot was to bank it off LaBarbera. That the tied the game and there was turning back now. Enter...

...Thornton and Marleau again. The latter almost won the game once if not for a great save by LaBarbera from point blank range in front of the crease. But Thornton gathered a loose puck just across center ice, spun and hit Joe Pavelski, who slid the puck a little forward to Marleau. Twelve is feeling it early in the season, and his running wrister from the slot beat a now frustrated LaBarbera. That's six goals for Marleau, eight assists for Thornton, who's gotten a helper in all but one of his longtime linemate's (for both the Sharks and Team Canada's Gold Medal winner in 2010) goals. Ironically, for all the goals Marleau (NHL leader in goals) and Thornton (NHL leader in points) have combined for in teal, rookie Matt Irwin notched his first NHL point on Marleau's first goal Thursday.  The crowd was in a frenzy by the time Marleau broke the tie for good, and Thornton followed up his empty netter in the final seconds with a short but significant gesture...

...That defines why he's wearing the C on his sweater. Thornton asked CSN California reporter Brodie Brazil for his microphone before he was to interview the game's first star, Marleau. Thornton didn't say much, but indeed said a lot. "As an organization, we just want to thank you guys," the captain said, waited for the crowd noise to die down, then continued. "You really are the best fans in the NHL and this is a really hard place to play. And we really do appreciate you guys, thank you very much. We love you guys."

The Sharks have broken Bay Area hearts a lot over the years. But they were easy to love in their long-awaited return to the South Bay Thursday.

Gomez a go

We could see it coming for a week now, but now veteran center Scott Gomez will indeed sign with the San Jose Sharks for a very dirt cheap reasonable price. We've talked already about the low-risk, high-reward carrot that dangled in front of the Sharks' front office for taking a pro-rated $700,000 salary flier on the 33-year-old.

Gomez's best days seem to be behind him and pity any team that thinks he can still be a top six forward, but he by all accounts he still has some value. And if by the projections he replaces Michal Handzus as the Sharks' third-line center with promising wings Tommy Wingels and TJ Galiardi flanking him, perhaps the Sharks can get something more than just minutes eaten from the third line. Gomez won't score many goals, but it just doesn't look the Sharks are going to get much out of their bottom six. What he could do is do what he does best these days and that's be a very poor man's (literally and figuratively) Joe Thornton who prefers to dish the puck rather than shoot it. I respect Handzus, but watching him play in teal and the limitations he seems to have now, he belongs on the fourth line getting well under 10 minutes of TOI. 

Gomez has a lot to prove that his career is not toast, especially to his adoring fans in Montreal, and perhaps Sharks' Coach Todd McLellan served up the best quote to sum up what might drive Scott Gomez to be a useful and key contributor to his new team thousands of miles away geographically and millions of light years away spiritually from hockey-obsessed Quebec to low-key Northern California:

"My interaction with him so far, he's coming across as a very hungry player, a guy that would love to prove himself right before he proves everybody else wrong, and that's a pretty strong motivator."

Killing them softly

I was reading Sharks' blog Fear the Fin this morning in its recap of the Sharks' 6-3 win in Edmonton Tuesday, and it analyzed amidst the flurry of power and play and even strength success in the six-goal first period the team's anticipated more aggressive penalty kill. No sugarcoating necessary, but San Jose's short-handed play has simply sucked recently. Multiple Stanley Cup winner (as a player and head coach) and Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Larry Robinson was added to the staff with the intention he'd clean up the team's PK woes (29th of 30 in percentage of penalties killed in 2011-12; 25th the year before after ranking fifth in 2009-10). Two games into the new season -and in Robinson's defense he had an extremely small window of training camp to work with his new players- there is still work to be done given the small sample size.

The Sharks were short-handed eight times in Calgary and Edmonton. They yielded a rather high three goals in those eight penalty kill situations. That's the bad news. The good news is the Flames and Oilers combined for just one goal five-on-five. But the Flames don't have some of the playmakers and snipers Western Conference foes like Vancouver (Sedin twins); St. Louis (Alex Pietrangelo, T.J. Oshie, David Backes); Los Angeles (Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Justin Williams) and Anaheim (Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Teemu Selanne) will throw out at the Sharks on their respective power plays. Edmonton, unlike Calgary, boasts some of the best young forwards in the NHL and seems far more scary on the PP than the Flames can muster. But after San Jose, as Fear the Fin pointed out, looked shaky during its first opportunity to kill a penalty in allowing a first-period goal, the Sharks were more efficient as the game wore on. The Oilers did get score on a 5-on-3 opportunity in the second to get within 6-2, and the home crowd had hope as Edmonton had another 1 1/2 minutes or so of man-advantage time left to even draw closer with another period remaining. But San Jose survived the rest of that time and successfully killed two penalties in the third period -Antti Niemi had another good night in goal- without giving the Oilers many legitimate scoring chances on either power play.

We'll see how much progress Robinson makes with the penalty kill as the tests get even tougher.

First things, first

It was indeed a night of firsts (and one second) for the Sharks Tuesday night at Edmonton. San Jose had a magnificent first period, establishing a team record with six road goals in one period. And thanks to a 6-3 win over the Oilers, the Sharks won consecutive games on the Alberta road swing to Calgary and Edmonton for just the second time in the franchise's 20-year-plus existence.

What I noticed....

....The Sharks have won their first two games of the 2013 season by essentially dominating over one period. It turned out to be the second at Calgary, and the opening 20 minutes at Rexall Place Tuesday. And what a period it was: San Jose scored three times on the power play and one more a few seconds after another delayed Edmonton infraction. And it was another productive night...

...For Patrick Marleau, who as is the usual case was ridiculed, this time by Calgary sports talk radio guys. But Marleau is off to a quick start with two goals each in the first two games. After tallying twice right in front of the net at Calgary, Marleau scored his Edmonton goals from the slot after receiving two gorgeous feeds from Joe Thornton, the first from behind the net, the second from the corner. It's early, but the first line of Thornton centering Marleau and Joe Pavleski is clicking. Marleau's four goals in two periods took some of the luster off...

...Teammates Thornton and Logan Couture, who were all over the Oilers during the first-period frenzy. Couture scored two goals and Thornton assisted on three of San Jose's six goals in the period. When Marc-Edouard Vlasic beat humbled Edmonton goalie Devin Dubnyk from the point in the final minute, the Oilers' fans booed at no one in particular (though perhaps the ineffective Dubnyk got the brunt of the hate, and he didn't return to the ice for period two. After such a lackluster first period in Calgary...

...The Sharks did just about everything right at the start against Edmonton, which pleased Coach Todd McLellan. They quickly capitalized on Oilers' penalties that set up a 5-on-3, scoring twice on both power plays. They answered an Edmonton power play goal in just 1 1/2 minutes by scoring again that re-established a two-goal advantage that the Oilers never recovered from. Even...

... fourth-line forward James Sheppard made a glorious return to Hockey after missing the last two seasons since having shattered his knee from an ATV accident two years earlier. But the main theme so far is...

...San Jose didn't play particularly great in Alberta save for the second period against the Flames and the first in Edmonton. And with the next six games in HP Pavilion, the Sharks aren't going to get too caught up in style and perception. A 2-0 start, no matter how you get there, is a good sign for this team.

Spreading the scoring

I forgot to mention this in last night's recap for the Sharks' season-opening win, but there was both good news and bad news in how the scoring was distributed in San Jose's 4-1 win at Calgary. Covering four goals, eight different Sharks got on the score sheet. Here is how the breakdown went:

Dan Boyle: 1 G, 1 A
Ryane Clowe: 1 A
Logan Couture: 1 A
Martin Havlat: 1 G
Patrick Marleau: 2 G
Joe Pavelski: 2 A
Joe Thornton: 2 A
Marc-Edouard Vlasic: 1 A

First things first: Every guy from the top two lines got his hands dirty in game one. Havlat and Clowe have lots to prove given each had struggles of varying degrees in 2011-12, Havlat due to injury and Clowe for a mostly disappointing performance. Not that they earned three stars recognition in Calgary Sunday (my own personal choices would have been 1. Antti Niemi; 2. Marleau; 3. Boyle). But here's why the Marleau-Thornton-Pavelski and Clowe-Couture-Havlat lines will both need to be productive: San Jose still needs to prove it can get some significant secondary scoring from the bottom two lines, which in recent seasons were sore spots.

Game one didn't change much. While the third line of TJ Galiardi, Michal Handzus and Tommy Wingels provided some respectable minutes (Wingels was especially noticeable on the ice), they're going to have to grind their way to some goals. If Sunday was any indication, the Sharks aren't going to be comfortable rolling out all four lines as the Frazer McLaren-Andrew Desjardins-Adam Burish trio -let's give Burish some props for doing some instigating and pestering, which this team will need- didn't crack double-digits in minutes played.

So you hope at some point the third line will make some noise on the offensive end, especially if they're all going to get about 16 minutes worth of ice time. The Scott Gomez watch is still on, so if signed he'll be an option too. Defensemen Boyle and Vlasic chipped in with three points Sunday, but it's tough to pinpoint what to expect from the Sharks' blueline until injured "offensive" defensemen Brent Burns and Jason Demers get back on the ice. 

Both the beauty and reality of this condensed schedule is there are so many games to be played in such a short time -San Jose will have played seven games by the time the calendar shifts to February- is we can find out rather quickly what this team's identity can be.

Slow start, fast finish

Note: I'm hoping to do some kind of consistent report after each Sharks' game -at least games I'm able to watch- and I'll maybe tinker with the format until I come up with something interesting.

Minutes after the 49ers sent the Bay Area sports scene into a frenzy from Atlanta, that city's former NHL team now based in Calgary, Alberta, was making the Bay Area's hockey team appear as if it was playing in the Stupor Bowl. But the Sharks survived a downright miserable first period against the Flames, and after being fortunate to be down just 1-0, returned to the Saddledome ice a much different team and scored a 4-1 win. 

Here are some quick thoughts on the season opener:


*The first period was just ugly hockey. The Sharks looked old and slow, and frankly the cynical perception around the league probably will be that San Jose is kinda old and kinda slow. But it looked like the Sharks' skate blades were tampered with. Calgary kept forcing the Sharks to turn over the puck and kept firing pucks at Sharks' goaltender Antti Niemi. That it was just a one-goal lead at first intermission was nothing short of remarkable. ...

*...Because Niemi was looking like, well the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs version of (and most notably the Western Conference finals against the Sharks) Antti Niemi and not the inconsistent Sharks' netminder from the last two seasons. Niemi rescued his lethargic teammates from facing a lot worse than a one-goal deficit. The Flames did what they wanted, yet only Lee Stempniak's wicked power play wrister Niemi probably had no chance to save. He had 31 saves. robbing Calgary star forward Jarome Iginla multiple times Fifteen first-period saves by Niemi set the stage for....

*...A complete turnaround in period two. The Sharks began dictating the tempo, its short-handed defense -no Brent Burns, no Jason Demers- cleaning up with solid play by the veterans and rookie Matt Irwin shining in his NHL debut; and the Sharks turning to arguably their two most maligned players....

*...Patrick Marleau and Marty Havlat to spark their teammates. Both players' toughness and grit have been questioned in the past. But here was Marleau showing that despite a perceived underachieving M.O. showed off what kind of skills he has with a deft forehand to backhand move and slipping the puck past former Shark Mikka Kipprusoff to tie the game via a power play. Then it was Havlat's turn to poke a rebound past Kiprusoff . Later in the period Marleau did the same right in front of the crease as both he and Havlat showed some tenacity around the net, which is not what these two guys are known for. With Niemi facing far less pressure than the first period but still stifling whatever counterattack Calgary could muster, the Sharks got a 5-on-3 Dan Boyle goal late in the third to finish off their opening victory. Still, a season-opening win...

*....Must be accepted for what it was. Nobody is sure how the NHL's quick turnaround from lockout stalemate to about a week's worth of training camp and then Game One. In Southern California Saturday, the Kings dazzled their fans with the raising of a Stanley Cup championship banner, then promptly went out and got clocked by the Chicago Blackhawks. 

Both Kings and Sharks alike can say after one game: "Hey, it's just one game."

Scott Gomez? Sure, whatever

A little more than 24 hours before the very tardy season opener, the Sharks are reportedly in pursuit of veteran center Scott Gomez.  I guess given the low-risk potential of such a move -San Jose's supposed offer is believed to be one year/$700,000- I'd be OK but rather indifferent with it if Gomez and the Sharks agree to the terms.  Even at just 33 -the Sharks' most critical pieces are all around that age give or take- Gomez doesn't seem to have that much left at first glance. His days as a top six forward and a vital cog in three New Jersey Stanley Cup finals appearances (with two titles and one defeat) are long over, though as recently as 2010 he did score 14 points in 19 playoff games for Montreal.

That an injured/ineffective Gomez played in just 38 games for the Canadiens last season, and was paid $5.5 million to not play for "Les Habitants" in 2013 doesn't speak well for what value he can bring. Of course, compared to his Montreal buyout, $700,000 might as well a few pennies for Sharks' management to roll the dice. Why Gomez to San Jose could be worth the gamble to audition him on the third line is the Sharks don't look much better on their bottom two lines than last season. There was little production and few contributors to the team's dreadful penalty kill from the depth forwards. I wouldn't expect the Sharks to sign Gomez with the idea he can change the team's fortunes. But considering the projected third line of Michal Handzus centering Tommy Wingels and TJ Galiardi has some promise but also some concerns, carrying an insurance policy who if healthy certainly shouldn't lack motivation is intriguing.

Whatever the case, tomorrow's long anticipated season opener can't get here quick enough, with or without Mr. Gomez.

Misdirected criticism?

I'm not much of a Mike Milbury fan, but I appreciate his outspoken opinions on NHL broadcasts. He and Pierre McGuire have engaged in some epic cat fights on NBC, and I look forward to more meowing back and forth beginning in Saturday's NBC opening day telecast. In short, it's good to have brash, arrogant and confrontational Mike Milbury to entertain us at intermission.

And really, who cares what these guys have to say? They are paid to say something, even if it's what fans of Team A or Team B don't want to hear.

But I found it a little strange if not outdated that when asked by NBC Sports Network talking head Erik Kuselias who is the Western Conference's most overrated Stanley Cup contender, that Milbury chose San Jose. 

This is what Milbury said to Kuselias (thanks to Kevin Kurz of CSN California to saving me from having to transcribe and just cut and paste from his story:

“That’s an easy one, actually. San Jose. For about three years in a row I picked San Jose to win the Stanley Cup, and I guess you just can’t fool me anymore. Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton are aging veterans who reached their potential years ago. It doesn’t look like they have the stuff of champions. Doug Wilson has stuck with them probably too long. I don’t know if he can get anything for them in a trade. This is a team that’s sort of limping along on past promises.”


Objectively, I don't have a problem with Milbury's general theme. I do take exception with his opinion of Thornton, who despite not being the proficient points producer of years past, is playing some of his best two-way hockey. But a lot of the other points make some sense. Where I disagree is the idea that the Sharks are considered one of the Cup favorites. I did some searching and found the following predictions by some legitimate media outlets:

The Sporting News: Sharks' predicted to finish ninth in the West. 
ESPN: Not one of 12 various scribes or commentators went so far as taking San Jose to even the West, let alone drink from the silver loving cup. (Barry Melrose was one of two predicting San Jose to win the Pacific Division, so at least Team Teal has that going for it.
TSN: Predicts Penguins over Kings in the finals, and the network predicted the Sharks (and those Detroit Red Wings) were not expected to reach whatever expectations they will have entering the season. 
Yahoo Sports: Greg Wyshynski predicting Blues-Rangers final even when mocked by host (and ABC7 Bay Area sports guy) Larry Beil about the former's annual Sharks to win Cup but come up short declaration.


Granted, I did find a blogger from SB Nation who picked the Sharks over the Rangers in the Cup finals, but five other bloggers in the same survey didn't have San Jose representing the West. I just think Milbury, like a lot of hockey analysts, have been burned by picking the Sharks in the past and had an easy and convenient answer to such a subjective question. A better answer from Milbury probably would have been a team like Vancouver, which was a first-round President's Trophy flameout last season after failing to finish the deal in the Stanley Cup final the previous year. The Sharks were clearly not a Cup contender in 2011-12 and don't appear like one in 2013 either.

In truth I think most rational San Jose fans aren't expecting much more than hopefully this team grinding through the regular season and into the postseason. Perhaps with more hunger and lowered expectations, the Sharks will be a playoff surprise instead of a perceived late spring underachiever. Overrated and the 2013 Sharks seem to be an oxymoron.


Meanwhile, here's a few best of Milbury -as both broadcaster and ill-fated New York Islanders general manager- moments to laugh at, embrace and savor:

Sharks' schedule breakdown

As promised, here's are some thoughts on the Sharks' adjusted schedule as the very late 2013 (2012's ship has already broken the ice) NHL season begins Sunday afternoon in Calgary:

*The fact that teams will have had just about a week's worth of "training camp" could help a roster like the Sharks' that is mostly retained from what it was in 2011-12. Of course, the defending Stanley Cup-champion Kings also didn't undergo many if any drastic changes either; ditto former playoff nemeses like Chicago, St. Louis and Vancouver (unless the Canucks do deal Roberto Luongo), so it may not matter come playoff time. But the Sharks should have a leg up on Western Conference rivals and postseason hopefuls that are scrambling to cope with and gain chemistry from significant changes such as Detroit post-Nick Lidstrom; Minnesota dealing with the transition to new franchise faces Ryan Suter and Zach Parise; Dallas rolling the dice with Jaromir Jagr; Phoenix adjusting to an already questionable offense without ageless Ray Whitney; Nashville hoping Shea Weber will still be an elite (and content) blueliner sans Suter. You can argue if the Sharks should have made more wholesale offseason moves, but continuity should not be a factor with a team that isn't much different from last season.

*The travel isn't going to be a Fodor's nightmare. We'd all prefer this lockout nonsense had never interrupted the season, and it's not a true hockey season when Sharks' fans won't get to watch their team play the Sidney Crosby's, the Steven Stamkos's, the Alex Ovechkin-Kirilenko's, the Rick DiPietro's? , and the other stars of the Eastern Conference at least once in person or on the tube. But being so far west in the West, the Sharks seem to have it as tough as anyone in terms of travel to the Eastern and Central Time Zones. The 48-game season means the Sharks have just one trip to Detroit; one visit apiece to Nashville and Minnesota. Plus, the bulk of the Sharks' long flights will be on one six-game swing in February. (CSN California's Kevin Kurz did remind the Sharks could fly back to California for a break with at one point a four-day gap between games. And it's silly to think the idea that flying first class in charters with plenty of legroom and amenities is that much of a negative factor for professional sports teams.).

*Conversely, that six-game "tennis trip" -the SAP Open will no longer be an H.P. Pavilion stop after this run- could be critical in deciding where this team stacks up in the Western Conference playoff jockeying. With a little less than half of a normal 82-game docket, the Sharks can't afford to have brutal trips like last season's epic failure with just five of 18 points collected in nine February roadies.  The '11-'12 Sharks barely survived that to sneak into the postseason as the No. 7 seed. But there will be less margin for error, and having to play the Blackhawks twice, not to mention Nashville, St. Louis and Dallas during the six-pack of games in 13 days will be a defining stretch.

*We'll see how Coach Todd McLellan handles his goalies. The Sharks' 48 games will take place in just 97 days, so Antti Niemi's endurance and mental toughness would be tested if McLellan decided to give his No. 1 'tender the bulk of the starts. The scouting report on Niemi suggests he's better when he stays busy, but you wonder if that's an urban legend or the gospel with this Shark Finn. Candidly, and kudos to Niemi for being a driving force in the Chicago Blackhawks' 2009-10 Stanley Cup run, he's been a little inconsistent in San Jose. The organization's one true deep position both at the NHL level and the minor-league system is in goal. Goalies Alex Stalock, Harri Sateri and Tyson Sexsmith are some of the prospect-light Sharks' best players-in-waiting. And we haven't mentioned Thomas Greiss yet. At some point, Greiss deserves a chance to compete for a No. 1 goalie job somewhere, considering some of the shaky play the league has witnessed in some markets. Clearly, the Sharks need to go with Niemi early and often. He's certainly not the biggest weakness in San Jose and has been as solid in some stretches as vulnerable in others. But Greiss has shown signs of being at worst and an effective option as a spot starter. And with nine back-to-backs as part of the crunched schedule, you would think McLellan will have to give some extended playing time to Greiss as the games mount.

*You don't how Anaheim will bounce back after a disappointing season; how much better Dallas can be with aging additions Whitney and Jagr, and how much chemistry they'll have with the at least for the now unsigned budding star Jamie Benn; how the Coyotes will score enough goals to take some pressure off Mike Smith to pitch shutouts in the net; and even how the Kings will handle the expectations and defense of their Stanley Cup. So how strong the rest of the Pacific Division will be could decide how high the Sharks will be in the Western Conference's pecking order. San Jose faces the Kings, Coyotes, Ducks and Stars 18 times. The Pacific was pretty competitive last season if you factor in two from that quintet  met in the conference finals. It remains to be seen if the division is any better or much worse as the league faces off in games on Saturday.

*Starting fast should be a priority for a San Jose team that on paper just doesn't look as formidable as it did a mere two seasons ago when it was coming off consecutive runs to the Western Conference finals. The Sharks had to rally just to reach the playoffs, and were clearly a skate or four slower than St. Louis in a rather lopsided five-game series win for the Blues. Opening with a somewhat tame trip to Alberta to face the Flames and Oilers, then six consecutive at the Shark Tank provides an opportunity to gain some momentum for the grind of squeezing in a game at an average of about one every two games. And the Sharks aren't exactly bellying up to the bar at the Ponce de Leon tavern. Fountains of youth have long passed by 30-somethings Joe Thornton, Dan Boyle, Patrick Marleau, Brad Stuart, Douglas Murray, Martin Havlat and Ryane Clowe. Hey, these guys aren't washed up just yet; and Logan Couture, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski and Tommy Wingels are young and talented enough to form a strong nucleus in a couple seasons.

But the worry as this season finally reveals itself at the Saddledome in Calgary on Sunday is this: save for tough guy Adam Burish and Sharks' fans hope penalty kill savior Larry Robinson behind the bench, this is essentially the same group that looked like it was a notch below the Western' Conference's elite teams last season when it counted. We'll know pretty quickly how much advanced or regressed San Jose can be.

Catching upgrade

The A's just didn't accomplish much offensively behind the plate last season. Kurt Suzuki's offensive downturn continued in 2012 before he was traded to Washington. That opened an opportunity for untested Derek Norris, who ironically came over from the Nationals in the Gio Gonzalez trade. Norris had a few big moments, most notably his walkoff home run to beat the Giants in June. 

But the rookie seemed overmatched at times, hitting just .201 in 209 at-bats; George Kottaras wasn't much better in his opportunities after being acquired from Milwaukee. So it shouldn't be a complete surprise that the Athletics made a significant move on Wednesday, trading pitching prospect A.J. Cole back to the Washington Nationals -who are beginning to look like the Arizona Diamondbacks in terms of being frequent Oakland trade partners- and getting Mariners' catcher John Jaso as part of a three-team deal. Kottaras was designated for assignment.

As Athletics' MLB.com reporter Jane Lee pointed out in the above linked story, Jaso's left-handed bat that registered a .927 OPS against right-handed pitching should make for a nice platoon for the right-handed hitting Norris. Jaso hit 10 home runs with 50 RBI for the Mariners in 2012. And if Norris can improve on his abbreviated first season, the A's could have a nice two-headed option at catcher. But it given his numbers against right-handers Jaso will get the bulk of the starts considering the 2012 Athletics had twice as many at-bats (3,683) vs. right-handed pitching compared with 1,844 when southpaws were on the mound. The A's faced 103 right-handed starters, 59 who threw from the left side. 

The Athletics should be an outstanding pitching team again, barring their young and talented rotation staying healthy. They should be tough to crack in the late innings if the Doolittle/Cook/Balfour combination stays effective. But offense remains a question mark, and that's why Jaso needs to continue   his feasting on right-handers to give Oakland more productivity at a position that mostly was a liability during its division-championship run.

RIP George Gund III

When the Sharks' franchise was born via NHL expansion and began play in 1991-92, I was so engulfed by my college years I probably don't have the proper perspective and respect due to George Gund III, whose efforts brought hockey back to the Bay Area after the short-lived California Golden Seals had a brief and mostly unsuccessful NHL stint in these parts almost two decades earlier.

More than 20 years after Gund and his brother Gordon gave San Jose its first -and to date- only "big four" franchise (stay tuned if Athletics' baseball becomes the Sharks' neighbor and TealandGreenSports becomes more than just a modest blog but a side-by-side showcase of my two favorite teams!), hockey is alive and well in NorCal. The Sharks have come a long ways since Gund's first two teams had to play in the ancient Cow Palace -I went to a game at the old barn in I believe the team's second season. Now HP Pavilion remains a great and intimidating home ice venue and home to some of the loudest crowds in the game. (Even Kevin Bieksa thinks so). Gund's vision has now become a regularly sold-out arena and a franchise that has won consistently (except a certain large silver trophy, but that's besides the point).

So it was sad to hear today's news that Gund has passed away at age 75. The Sharks' Website also had a nice story and video honoring and recalling his 2008 induction to the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame.  Gund should get an emotional moment of silence from the home crowd when the Sharks open their home schedule next week. 

"Fest"-ive days

I have to admit, even with the excitement generated from last season's run by the A's, I wasn't counting down the days in anticipation for the team's annual and sometimes lightly attended or canceled (for three years prior to 2012) Fanfest at the Coliseum later this month. My biggest beef with attending is the team charges 10 bucks to get in. I just don't see much need to alienate your smallish but in many cases blindly loyal fan base by not dangling this even as a freebie.

Maybe now the team will reconsider whether or not to charge patrons to get in, since Fanfest 2013 scheduled for Jan. 27 has sold out of 10,000 tickets available for purchase.  Then again, if 10,000 of these were bought by the public to try and get within shaving distance of Josh Reddick's beard or within raging distance of Grant Balfour, perhaps the A's have more reason to charge even a little more in the future.

Either way, enjoy the event those of you 10,000 who will be attending. I will wait for the regular season to use my $10 on a ticket or a 12-ounce microbrew.

Locking up BoMel

I'm a little distracted in my life right now, and I promise to have some analysis on the Sharks' lockout-adjusted schedule sprint that starts this Sunday in Calgary sometime beforehand.  But for now, switching gears back to baseball for a quick reaction, it was great news coming out today about the A's extending the contract of Manager Bob Melvin for two more years through 2016. 

General Manager Billy Beane's previous MO was having tedious and complicated relationships with past Oakland skippers like Art Howe and Ken Macha, and then probably being a little too close with the best man at the GM's first wedding, Bob Geren.

Melvin seems like a perfect complement in the middle, a veteran manager who doesn't seem to have any issues with Beane on the surface. But they aren't too "friendly" with each other to create an awkward conflict of interest. Geren never seemed comfortable as a big-league manager and just wasn't going to work, and Beane was put in the unenviable position of having to choose business over friendship and being reluctant to do so until it became impossible to ignore.

Beane deserves a ton of credit for wheeling and dealing after the 2011 season to build what proved to be a division-winning surprise club. But there's also a reason Melvin was voted American League Manager of the Year. He's good, his team responded to him in 2012 and with that same club mostly intact the A's should be a threat to get back to the playoffs in '13.

You hope for a team that's undergone too much change and too little stability, we're heading into a successful partnership with Beane and Melvin for years to come, with a World Series championship as part of the deal.

Craig's dissed

Humor me while I say a few words about yesterday's Baseball Hall of Fame fiasco  voting results.  But my complaint here is not so much about why the PED guys were called out for their perceived sins, but how in the name of Larry Dierker could Craig Biggio still not get the nod with so many of the baseball writers making another point and refusing to vote in "alleged cheaters" but clearly Cooperstown-deserving Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens?

I'm not judging anyone who didn't vote Bonds, Clemens and even Sammy Sosa (I have less tolerance for the latter inclusion because I don't think he was as complete a player as Bonds and as dominant as Clemens was earlier in his career, and Sosa is likely not in the discussion if he indeed was juiced when he was matching Mark McGwire bomb for bomb in that now infamous summer stalking Roger Maris), continuing the recent tradition of to not acknowledge others with stats-worthy HOF candidacy (McGwire, Finger-Waving Palmeiro etc.).

But Biggio only received 68 percent of the 75 needed to punch a ticket to Cooperstown, and whatever the reasons are, I can only shake my head in disgust. Thank you to the 388 who did the right thing and overlooked that Biggio never led the league in hits; never batted higher than .325; never won a batting title; never won a World Series; and never played for any other team than the unexciting Houston Astros.

I get there are stubborn scribes who simply won't vote in anyone in his first year of eligibility, which was Biggio's case. It's clear with the amount of votes he received in year one Biggio will get in sooner than later (but I wouldn't be surprised if it's in 2014 with a star-studded cast joining the discussion).  I just find it hard to accept so many among 139 remaining voters would thumb their noses down at a player who started his career as a catcher, spent much of his tenure at the mostly offensively inept position of second base and collected the magic number of  3,000 hits (not to mention his 600 doubles, 400 steals and 250 home runs, as no one else has reached all those standards).

 Biggio is the perfect case of what the Hall of Fame should reward and that's consistency over a long career;  and saluting a class act who played for a team few in the national media ever care about. The fact he spent his entire career in Houston and didn't chase bigger money in bigger markets alone should have made Biggio even more the sentimental choice to stick it to those greedy players who bolt for bucks.

Hell, I'm no Astros' fan like this guy in Houston.  But worthy Hall of Famers like Craig Biggio should be voted in with no questions asked; especially when you're one guy that shouldn't be accused of not doing it au naturale over a distinguished career. Given the question marks, suspicion and whispers Bonds, Clemens and Sosa toted into the fray Wednesday, voting a yes for Biggio from all 527 ballots cast would have been the ultimate up yours to those players who have questionable pasts.

If Biggio played in New York, Boston, Philadelphia or Chicago and he wasn't voted in, there would be outrage from the scribes at those cities' papers and the beat guys turned ESPN talking heads. Biggio, and to a lesser extent Houston teammate Jeff Bagwell and his similarly too-low 59.6 percent of the vote after his own impressive career also played exclusively as a big-leaguer in Houston. (Then again, Bagwell and even his buddy Biggio are subject to juicing rumors of their own, so take that for what it's worth).

I remember being in awe when I spent the better part of an entire day in Cooperstown a few years back. But given where baseball's shrine to excellence seems to be heading today, I'm glad I saw it when I did.
Because I don't care if I ever get back again. I love baseball, but I hate how baseball doesn't love back when it should.

Sad news for ex-Shark

News broke today that the wife of Dominic Moore, who after coming to the Sharks at the trade deadline late last season was mostly ineffective as a checking line forward, lost her battle with liver cancer.  Moore was not re-signed by San Jose after the season, but he has a lot more than hockey to cope with right now.

Katie Moore's illness was disclosed just after the season ended, putting in perspective the struggles Moore had on the ice after he was added from Tampa Bay. Keep the Moore family in your thoughts.

Peace, love, hockey

Game on? Or fans turned off?

That's going to be the next issue to skate past as news broke early today of a pending NHL lockout-ending deal struck between two selfish opponents.  This particular story by TSN, Canada's version of ESPN, was headlined with all caps screaming "LOCKOUT IS OVER!" Hey, it's Canada, and I respect the Canucks' -not just those in Vancouver- passion for the game and the desperate need to play NHL hockey in the country. But due south of Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal, I don't expect church bells to be ringing and street corners to be danced on (except maybe from Minnesotans who can now wear their shiny new Zach Parise and Ryan Suter jerseys and not feel so guilty about it anymore).

For me, I am pleased but hardly elated the lockout handcuffs are about to be removed from behind our backs. It was inevitable this blog would feel a sense of relief and sighs of "Why did it take this long?", not joy and elation that one of my favorite teams was back in business. I'm not excited but rather indifferent that HP Pavilion will again be filled -perhaps not 100 percent full- for ice shows that don't involve Disney characters.

There's going to be a season, and that's fine. But the Bay Area is thinking 49ers and -I kid you not-Warriors right now. The Bay Area turned out to be America's hotbed for baseball this fall. Hockey is going to be even more of an afterthought than usual unless the Sharks make a deep playoff run, and who knows what kind of impact San Jose will make in what looks like an uber-competitive Western Conference over this 50-game sprint that will be over in a blur.

ESPN's Scott Burnside summed up the end of the nonsense very well:

Hockey is coming back, but you sure hope most fans in and out of Sharks' Nation will not only be reluctant to forget but shouldn't be prepared to forgive until someone can figure out why and how the sport got back here. Again. 

Black and blue blueliners

So as the NHL's two sides continue to show a glimmer of hope hockey can sneak in a very shortened season, it looks like the Sharks -assuming of course, there are games to be played- will be limited if not in trouble on the blue line.

In the course of a few days, Comcast SportsNet California Sharks' reporter  Kevin Kurz had a double dose of bad defenseman news: 1. Jason Demers is out four-to-six weeks after suffering a broken wrist playing lockout-inspired hockey in Switzerland.  2. Brent Burns' status for a would-be opening to the season is in question after Kurz revealed Burns had a sports hernia and groin repair surgery in May after the Sharks were eliminated quickly from the Stanley Cup playoffs. 

The Sharks did a reasonable job on defense last season, and will already be exponentially better after letting loose of the doomed Colin White experiment (he wasn't re-signed). The Sharks would need their most significant offseason addition -Brad Stuart- to not only provide dressing room guidance but some grit. The biggest issue the Sharks would face is no Demers or Burns firing shots from the point. They are two of the team's best offensive defenseman, leaving more zone responsible blueliners like Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Stuart and Douglas Murray without a lot of offensive firepower flanking them. Dan Boyle would become the de facto No. 1 shooting option and the team's best points-producer on the power play. Also, Justin Braun suffered a fractured hand playing in Finland, and there's already reason to worry about depth on the back end.

But first things first is actually having a season to worry about.

Happy New Year!

While visiting friends in Fresno, I barely stayed up long enough -but alas, missing Psy's "last" performance of Gangam Style- to ring in 2013. I hope this next year is better for me personally, and great for all of you reading me.

Surely, we hope the National Hockey League plays games sooner -like uh, in January- and the Athletics can find a way to top or even match what was a special 2012 for the Green and Gold.

I keep hoping my next post will be celebrating the end of the lockout. But that doesn't look like a New Year's Resolution I feel comfortable making.

Best New Year's wishes to everyone.