I am, in no way, an unbiased observer. I was at Kellen Moore’s first game against Idaho State four years ago, probably watched at least 46 to 50 of his 53 games for Boise State, and woe him the fact that my favorite college football program just finished the winningest (apparently not a word) four year stretch in college football history. Having said that I believe this. I believe that he can be an NFL success.
The playoffs are here, which is A, awesome, B, awesome, and C, refer to A and B. Now, you probably don’t need any help getting up for playoff hockey, but it couldn’t hurt to throw out a few videos (like last year) to get everyone, particularly Sharks fans, in the mood. It couldn’t hurt, unless the built up excitement causes you to actually run through a wall in which case it could cause property damage and make you more than a little bit sore (this is a more realistic possibility than you might think in my case) but it would be totally worth it because, you know, the playoffs are here.
Awesomeness after the jump.
A playoff atmosphere has come early in 2012
For San Jose Sharks fans, this certainly isn’t a time of the year that we wanted to be filled with tension and drama. At the very least, this isn’t the type of drama that we would have liked. Sure, a division race would be okay, and jockeying for seeds and rankings is a yearly occurrence for any team, but that isn’t what we have had. Nope. It has been a nightly grind, as the Sharks have flirted, for the first time in years, with the dreaded 8 spot. It has been a tension and drama having to do with elimination that Leafs or Jackets fans would kill for, but that we would rather save for a month down the line once the Stanley Cup Playoffs have begun. Continue reading
The trade deadline has passed, and the playoffs are coming up, but that doesn’t mean that the contenders, as well as the non-contenders won’t be able to make adjustments as we go down the stretch run as they attempt to bring home the Stanley Cup. For the teams at the top of the league, it will be small adjustments in order to gear up for an immediate run, for others it will be something that will allow them to get into Cinderella’s carriage, and for some it will be ways that they can gear up for 2012-2013 and beyond.
Luckily, I have some ideas for all 30 teams as to how they can point their franchise in the right direction to get hockey’s holy grail, be it this June, or a few years down the line.
On Monday, we started out by giving practical, reasonable advise to the bottom third of the league as they look to build for the future. Today, we will look at the middle portion, most of which will be eager to make a run at the cup, but not at the expense of their longer term goals.
The trade deadline has passed, and the playoffs are coming up, but that doesn’t mean that the contenders, as well as the non-contenders won’t be able to make adjustments as we go down the stretch run as they attempt to bring home the Stanley Cup. For the teams at the top of the league, it will be small adjustments in order to gear up for an immediate run, for others it will be something that will allow them to get into Cinderella’s carriage, and for some it will be ways that they can gear up for 2012-2013 and beyond.
Luckily, I have some ideas for all 30 teams as to how they can point their franchise in the right direction to get hockey’s holy grail, be it this June, or a few years down the line.
Today, let’s start with the teams that don’t have much of a shot in 2012, and will be looking to build a winner in the future.
Andrew Wolinski, OV Sports’s resident jaded Mets fan makes his return to the pages of OVS to preview the 2012 baseball season. He will get to some thoughts from around the league, looking at a couple of changes and some potential contenders, and make a few predictions (with a world series winner that could suprise a few people), but really after looking at the state of his Mets, he just wishes that it was 2013 already.
As with each of the past few years, I was looking forward to the NHL Trading Deadline and to writing my annual recap column big time in the days leading up to it this year. I didn’t suspect any blockbusters, but there is more or less a guarantee that something will happen that is worth discussing, and if nothing else it would give me something hockey related to write about that wasn’t the Sharks train wreck of the past road trip. I was ready to go.
And then, as I sat on my couch, enjoying a bit of brunch and watching TradeCentre on NHL Network, disaster struck. News came through that made me not want to even think about, let alone right about the trade deadline anymore.
Ginner was gone.
I’m starting to really hate the SAP Open. The annual tennis tournament in San Jose hasn’t done anything wrong in and of itself, but it has forced the Sharks to leave town for a 9 game road swing, and it is threatening to derail the Sharks season.
Future of the Sharks bromance.
For years, the Sharks core has been held together by the Patrick Marleau-Joe Thornton generation. Those two may still be the heart of the Sharks, but a new generation, led by Marc-Eduard Vlasic, Logan Couture, and Jamie McGinn is emerging in San Jose. Continue reading
Alright, hockey, that was unnecessary.
I am already facing the specter of having to find a real job. I am already being blindsided with the notion that I am, somehow in my last year of college. The point was made when I visited home , and then my old boarding school, and every conversation started with some variation of ‘what are you going to be doing next year’ (answer: I have absolutely no idea). The message was clear enough with my last guaranteed season of playing hockey having just wrapped up.
Now, you had to go and, for the second time in about six months, remind me that my childhood is officially over. Continue reading
