Takes and trash talk from both ALL sides of the NHL's most obscure PATHETIC* rivalry

* Thanks, Kevin Lowe!

Monday, March 17, 2008

The Streak is Over......

The Sharks winning streak is over thanks to fellow blogger and friend Mike Chen......oh yeah, outstanding goal tending my Roloson helped also. I think the streak was 4-5 games in when I realized that the Sharks had not lost since I had last blogged......and getting that Campbell guy didn't hurt either. Being the superstitious person that I am, I decided to leave things status quo until they lost. Of course my biggest mistake was mentioning this to Mike who decided to screw up the winning mojo and post a blog avoiding the topic....kinda. But what can you say, being down 11 pts in the standings and all of a sudden you look up and we have a small lead in the standings in the race for the #2 seed with games in hand. Dallas and Anaheim play this week and who do you root for? Just don't go into OT.

One interesting take from last night's game. If anyone saw the Sharks TV broadcast there was an interesting point in the game where Randy and Drew discussed the Pronger suspension. Randy mentioned he thought the penalty was light and it deserved more. To my surprise Drew had the opposite view. He explained he thought it deserved no suspension and that he was just trying to extricate his leg from Kesler's leg lock. This was the first time that I noticed a little tension in the broadcast as the fun-loving duo turned a little testy. Randy continued that he thought Pronger was a "bully" and needed to be punished. Drew countered with Pronger being a tough hard-nosed player and a major component of his team winning the Stanley Cup. Hard to argue that last point but anyone who saw the clip, knows that Pronger did that on purpose. 8 games compared to Simon getting 30? I think the answer is somewhere in between.

17 comments:

VeryProudofYa said...

It seems like those two broadcasters despise each other, and every shark telecast I've seen features a tense sort of air between the two. That wasn't even close to the first time they bordered on bickering.

Earl Sleek said...

Yeah, I have to hand it to Drew last night for not simply echoing the Sharks' party line: "we want less Pronger". It's not only good to see an announcer give his earnest feelings on a subject, but I think he felt that a CA cup contender got a bit shafted by the hard-working Canadian media, and knows if that becomes a pattern, the Sharks will be in TSN's crosshairs next.

Mike Chen said...

VeryProudofYou, that bickering on air is usually done in jest. Those two guys are BFF who love to load the sarcasm on there while they hug off camera.

Mike said...

Pronger himself did not deny that he did it on purpose. Here's his quote after the suspension was given:

"While I did not intend to injure Ryan, I respect the league’s decision on this matter and look forward to returning to the ice and leading my teammates into the playoffs."

Don't you think he would have mentioned that he didn't intend to step/stomp on Kesler if that was in fact the case?

Earl Sleek said...

Pronger's semi-admission, though revealing, wasn't really available (I assume) until after the verdict. I believe Drew, like myself, was talking about the suspension based on the limited evidence the league had before Pronger made any meaningful statement about it.

Mike in OC said...

Pronger said that crap to ease the penalty.

Just like when Burke said this about Colin (I wish there was a way I could cleverly change the spelling of his name to refer to a part of an asshole) "I have a lot more confidence in Colin Campbell that he’s never going to respond to media pressure. I know I never did when I did that job"

You have to think he means the exact opposite.

heed said...

It's not only good to see an announcer give his earnest feelings on a subject, but I think he felt that a CA cup contender got a bit shafted by the hard-working Canadian media, and knows if that becomes a pattern, the Sharks will be in TSN's crosshairs next.

I hate to break it to you but the Canadian media has no vendetta towards California or its NHL hockey teams. The Canadian media does not care about anything west of Ottawa.

PS Brian Burke would put on a clown suit and ride a minature horse if he knew it would get him on television.

Earl Sleek said...

I hate to break it to you but the Canadian media has no vendetta towards California or its NHL hockey teams.

Yeah, "vendetta" is definitely too strong a term, but in this case, it's pretty easy to argue that Pronger's suspension is a direct result of the Canadian media.

Not that they did anything wrong by any means, but it really was the release of the "new angle" that enabled Colin Campbell to officially switch positions and suspend the big guy.

I'm not condemning their actions, but I don't know if we'd see the same after-hours effort and next-day focus if it meant getting a player on a Canadian team suspended. They'd probably behave like the SoCal media; accept the non-suspension and move on.

RudyKelly said...

Christ, we're going to be talking about this for the rest of the year, aren't we?

Anonymous said...

Another comment on Drew's feelings towards Pronger.

Although Drew loves the sharks organization, i don't recall him ever making an ill comment about Pronger. In fact, i only hear Drew praise the guy. During one game against Anaheim, Randy and Drew were discussing how Pronger and Niedermayer were "all world" defense. Drew practically gushed over him. In another instance, Pronger accidentally took a stick to the face, and the crowd naturally went wild. As soon as Drew could hear the reaction, he called out the SJ fans for being inappropriate.

So, the reaction towards the suspension wasn't really a surprise in my book. I think Drew just really appreciates Pronger, or his game.

Anonymous said...

I very much doubt that Drew would have returned to the Sharks booth if he despised Randy Hahn.

The Sharks used to have Bryan Marchment, who wasn't nearly the player Pronger is, but who similarly played at the very edge of "hard" and "out of control." Marchment wasn't effective unless he played that way, and you had to accept the penalties and suspensions that went along with it.

Could we talk about something other than Pronger, please?

Earl Sleek said...

Could we talk about something other than Pronger, please?

OK, let's talk about the Sharks. I really don't know what any disappointment is with SJ fans; losing shootouts means very little to me as a stat-head (as does winning them). I'm more concerned with how a team does through regulation, and in that regard the Sharks are still refusing to lose, just like the Ducks did in their first sixteen games last year.

Based on recent play, it's almost the Sharks' Cup to lose (huge caveat: the west is so so dangerous). We'll see how the few weeks of Pacific play go, but at this point I think they're the favorite, which will make this a really special year for Sharks fans or another year to unfairly call them chokers.

Thoughts?

Mr. Plank said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mr. Plank said...

Last night was probably the best feeling I've had after a loss. Sometimes a goaltender can just take over a game, and unfortunately last night was the night for Roloson. (Side note: I think he made 38 stops the night before as well. HOT HOT FIRE!) The Sharks are picking up points like Eliot Spitzer picks up prostitutes, which is a great thing for San Jose and thankfully unlikely to land them in prison.

Winning streak, bleh. It's always nice to see and gets a great buzz going around the city, but if we don't win the Pacific the last eleven games really don't matter. Playing Dallas or Anaheim first round is not something I'd be looking forward to, because even if we win the series we come out banged up pretty bad (it probably would go seven games).

It's almost the Sharks' Cup to lose (huge caveat: the west is so so dangerous)

The West really is going to be a whole lot of fun, every possible first round matchup gets me more and more excited for playoff hockey.



Can't April just come already?

Anonymous said...

I say this as a Sharks fan, but the Sharks playoff melt-downs of the last couple years have left me extremely reluctant to believe they are Cup favorites. I'll allow myself to become hopeful if they make it past the 2nd round. There are some tough teams in the way of a Cup appearance.

And the Sharks deserve every little bit of their choker moniker. If they left everything on the ice against the Flames, Oilers, and Wings, and came up short, that would be one thing. Instead, they faced a little bit of determination in the other team, and slowly backed away from the series, three years in a row. Still pisses me off....

Earl Sleek said...

three years in a row.

Well, at least you have that lockout year to break up the tedium.

If you say the "choker" term is deserved, I'll take your word for it. I really don't know--do the Sharks ever seem to put out an effort? I thought they just showed up and usually massacred an opponent or didn't, but you wouldn't know it just based on style of play.

I just usually call them "chokers" recently because they keep losing series in which they've led, but I don't think that's really an automatic label, as again, the west is a minefield of trouble (and has been solidly since the lockout).

Mike in OC said...

All this talk is torture.

It's like talking about food when your starving 3 weeks before you can eat. Playoffs are going to be awesome this year!