A Sharkspage films premiere

A Sharkspage films premiere. Highlights after 20 games to "I am the night, colour me black" by Priestess.

I Bet He Called Him Dog

The Legend of Crankshaft continues to grow, Canada discovers the UberTap and Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray

Some say he is half man, half machine, half reciprocating linear piston, but 6-foot-3 240 pound Cornell alumni Douglas "Crankshaft" Murray also showed his entrepreneurial zeal investing in the UberTap Dispensing Company. The revolutionary three spout keg dispensing system offers a hands free filling experience, a "superior pumping method", and a consistent flow of beer. Something that should warm the heart of Canadians and Americans alike, and also those in Murray's hometown of Stockholm, Sweden.

Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun investigates furthur: Sharks blueliner finds Swede way to tap into kegs.

Murray may be known for patrolling the blueline for the Sharks as they face the Flames in their opening-round playoff series, but sports fans of all ilk must appreciate what he and friends came up with in between their scholastic and sporting endeavours in their college days.

UberTap is a system that uses a foot pump to extract the liquid gold, and three spouts to fill the glasses. Imagine that. Three glasses being filled simultaneously. To borrow phrase sudsy connoisseurs know -- brilliant.

"It took too long to get beer in college. It's about five times as fast to fill up," Murray said. "Since I've been in the NHL, I haven't been involved as much, my partner is running it. When I was in the minors, there was more time."

Brilliant indeed. In his spare time, he likes to shut down 2-time Rocket Richard winning captain Jarome Iginla, tackle the subprime morgage loan financial crisis, and fight bears.

[Update] Douglas Murray Making Up For Lost Time - Sharks.nhl.com.

[Update2] A Salute to an Unsung Hero: Doug Murray (from Sweden) - Rudy K for Battle of California.

[Update3] Blueliner a hero to Sharks, fratboys, Murray learned solid defence, but invented keg pump - Calgary Herald.

"It's more being aggressive and assertive at the right time," says Murray, who unloaded a team-high 127 checks, many of the heavy variety. "I've always been an aggressive player. Physical. A big thing is not putting myself out of the play doing the physical part of the game. More picking my spots and letting the hits come to me. Guys are smart in this league -- they know you're coming. The good players use that as an advantage."

A classic late bloomer -- drafted 241st overall in 1999, out of something called the Eastern Junior Hockey League while toiling for a club named the New York Apple Core (really) -- Murray needed two full slates with Cleveland of the American Hockey League to get his pro bearings
"He's been excellent, right from start to finish," say Craig Rivet. "He started off this season by winning a job. He's really moved himself up the depth chart. You can see that he's logging some big minutes. He's extremely difficult to play against. He's as physical as any defenceman in the league."...

Might Murray also be the most improved player in the NHL? "Hands down, he would be on our team," says Rivet. "Throughout the league, I'm not quite sure because I don't pay attention to a lot of other people's players. But we've been blessed that this guy has grown and made this team that much stronger."

Sharks vs Ottawa Senators photos

Here are a few photos from the Sharks 3-2 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators.

Patrick Marleau is starting to roll. His overtime game winner against Ottawa stretched the Sharks winning streak to 7 games, vaulted the Sharks over Anaheim for 4th place in the Western Conference, and brought the Sharks within 3 points of Pacific-leading Dallas with 3 games in hand. The Sharks captain and oft-lamented trade rumor magnet scored 3 goals and 3 assists in his last 5 games, registering a +4 in that span.

Sharks head coach Ron Wilson strongly noted Marleau's recent turnaround to the media after the game, and said that a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders after the trade deadline expired without him being moved. Wilson also cracked on unidentified hockey reporter (allegedly Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun), for floating a number of foolish Marleau trade rumors. Wilson said that unidentified hockey reporter (allegedly Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun) was too afraid to come to the Sharks side of the post-game press conference and face the music for being so off base.

More photos and notes from Ottawa vs San Jose here.

Sports Illustrated asked NHL players to rank hockey fans by city. Montreal was overwhelmingly named the city with the best fans garnering 35% of the votes. Minnesota was second with 13%, Calgary third with 11%. Only California team to make the top ten... also the second best U.S. based fans according to NHL players... the San Jose Sharks in a 6th placed tie with Toronto at 5%.

Make that Exhibit 1B. Take that Letgokings.com and Allducks.com. War Thefeeder.com and the Hammerhead Booster Club.

Sharks-Blues photos

A non-mic'd Manny Legace.



Tomas Plihal #39 finished +1 in his second NHL game this season.



Raise your hand if you are the top Vezina candidate from the Western Conference.



Left wing #19 Dwayne King drives past #3 Douglas Murray.


Did not get a chance to post any photos from the Sharks 4-1 win over the St Louis Blues. Here they are.

Sharks vs Detroit Red Wings photos

Detroit came in and dropped the hammer on San Jose 6-3, and as they say the game was not as close as the score would suggest. Leftover photos on Battle of California, more are up on Sharkspage.

Hockey Night in San Jose

The San Jose Sharks 3-2 come from behind win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night was broadcast on Hockey Night in Canada. The first photo is Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray waffling Darcy Tucker with a huge hit in the first period. The second photo is GM Doug Wilson's HNIC post-game interview, and the bottom two photos are a few of the 40-50 fans who gathered at the Zamboni entrance to watch.

If there is a better link to HNIC highlights online, please add it in the comments section. Notes and game photos will be added here soon.

Do not adjust your monitors

Hell hath frozen over: