BoC Gameday—Re-establishing that gameday groove

San Jose Sharks at Anaheim Ducks, preseason
(My first opportunity to see Todd McLellan cry.)

That's right, kiddos. There's actual hockey being played tonight. Well, not actual hockey, but they are charging actual prices, and I'm hoping I drink enough where won't notice the difference. I normally don't write gameday posts for preseason games (this will be the only time this year), but today I'll make the exception. because tonight Sleek's in the house.

It'll be my usual spot, Section 223, Row B, adjacent to the Ducks' penalty box, wearing the lucky green shirt. Feel free to stop by, if you're daring enough... to attend a preseason game. I should warn you (gasp), I might not make it in time for the puck drop. I'm meeting up with three friends before the game, 67% of which have to sneak out of work. Still, we shouldn't be too late, and I'd imagine we'll be in good "doesn't matter / it's the preseason" spirits.

I guess I should give my annual Row B disclaimer: I am a guy who's been damn spoiled, but I'm not anyone who is particularly rich or particularly well-connected. These are certainly not my season seats, as I have neither the dollars nor the influence to arrange that. It is by sheer luck that I am able to "buy in" on a ticketholder's seats (1 preseason + 3 regular season + ? playoffs), thanks to a former boss of mine. These games represent most of my actual attendance, and pretty much all the dollars I spend on the Ducks.

Anyways, if you can't attend, you can listen for me on the internet radio broadcast (regular radio's too good for preseason openers); I'll be the one who sounds like he's wearing a green shirt yelling semi-coherently at the nearest ref about a Pahlsson contract extension. I don't know who's in either team's lineup tonight, but that hardly matters. Thanks to NHL 09's Be a Pro Mode starting me out on the Iowa Chops, I feel that I'm now a qualified judge of minor league talent (and by my digital eye the keepers on that team are Festerling and Ebbett).

Prediction: Ducks 4, Sharks 2. And it won't matter one bit. Goals by Getzlaf (if he plays), Festerling (if he plays like he did in NHL 09), Pahlsson (if he plays), and Boguniecki (whether he plays or not).

Slowly but surely, BoC is shifting into season mode. Go Ducks.

BoC's Cribs

Oh fuck I am excited. I got the keys to my new place in Irvine yesterday, and camped out there last night for a blessedly short commute to work this morning.

This is the cleanest this place will ever be.
Yes that is a flat-screen mounted over the fireplace, seamlessly connected to the cable box and receiver, which in turn are seamlessly connected to the speakers on the front and rear walls. Once I set up a seating arrangement more comfortable than wood flooring, I'll be set!

At any rate, I am doing a "staged" move, regularly running a Prius-load of belongings from my old place Redondo as part of my daily work commute. Once most of the small stuff is down in the new place, I'll get a U-Haul and move some of the bigger pieces. During this two-week-or-so stretch, expect Sleek to be much more a BoC commenter than a poster, unless Schneider gets traded or Selanne gets signed (or Sleek gets excessively bored with moving).

I haven't been an Orange County resident since summer 2001. It's only been one night, but damn it's nice to be back in Ducks territory.

Happy Sleek Day!

That's right, kiddos, it's Uncle Sleek's birthday today, turning a ripened old 31 years old and getting quite near that stage of life where I can start retiring once a year. If you want to know why I come off so satisfied and smug on this blog, that you can blame squarely on birthdate numerology, which has blessed me with an inordinate amount of luck.

7-11-77. It rhymes, it multiplies, and it stinks of good fortune! My whole life I've kept an eye out for good luck, you know, just to see if the birthdate prophesy was being fulfilled. I've certainly been fortunate on a lot of levels, as I'm sure a lot of us have. This blog, for one, is mostly a creature of luck, and a ton of thanks to the fellow bloggers and readers who keep it all chugging.

Another lucky thing: I've got a new nephew coming soon whose due date rivals my own, 8-8-08. They haven't told me the kid's name yet, but it doesn't matter. I'm going to call him "Ocho".

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I do want to talk about Brian Burke's unique version of media silence yesterday, but today's not a fair day to do it. I'm off with the folks and siblings to Napa Valley, and won't be back until Tuesday. So a full post/dialogue will have to wait until next week, but here's a quick bulleted version.

• I think only one of Kevin Lowe's comments deserved a public response: SoCal being called a "pathetic hockey market". Everything Burke did beyond addressing that singular point was unnecessary and foolish. Foolish isn't all bad, though; I certainly had a good chuckle at Burke's goodie-two-shoes lawyer impression.



• I think we should acknowledge SoCal for what it is: a maze of Laker fans. It's still a market that does need to be won over, but that is an important feature, not a flaw. A developing fanbase that does demand results amidst competition is not a bad thing, even for a Canada-strong league. It can serve as a more measurable barometer of hockey's entertainment value than the always-full houses in Edmonton.



• One other takeaway: I think Brian Burke is stuck in Anaheim the rest of the year. Tom Benjamin had me convinced that Burkie was going to leave midseason and Dave Nonis would take over, but how can Burke go to Toronto now? Now that he's turned "tampering" into a league buzzword, he's painted himself into a corner.

Anyway, that's a rough draft of some thoughts; feel free to discuss while I'm gone. I'll express my thoughts a bit better when I get back to SoCal.

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For now, it's time to blow out some candles and start some drinkin' (for me, Napa-style!):



Hockey news on the front page? I wish!
Go Ducks.

Sleek gets ImMirtle-ized. Go Pigs!

That'll do, pig. That'll do.
So I was mostly without internet today, and didn't see this until late. Apparently the Ducks' AHL affiliate, now in Iowa, came out with this new name and logo. And it wasn't until I read this post that I realized that as a Ducks fan, I guess I'm supposed to be outraged.

Ummmm, sorry, but I really can't care one bit. In fact, I'm mystified that this bothers Ducks fans at all.

• As far as I'm concerned, Des Moines is no closer to SoCal than Portland (ME) was. So long as it's not accessible by television, it's completely off my radar. I've only seen one AHL game in my life -- during the lockout they televised the AHL All-Star Game. This is a logo I'll probably never see.



• As for the logo itself, what's there to get upset about? Didn't we Anaheim fans spend a decade rooting on a cartoon farm animal? Hey, I'm a guy who firmly believes that all team names and all logos are inherently stupid, and anybody who is going to stand up for a Red Wing or a Maple Leaf and ridicule a Duck or a Pig needs to argue with somebody younger than me. I do prefer having a logo to not having one, though; two years later I'm still sort of miffed that the Ducks chickened out and went with a non-offensive "text only" design.



• Besides, there's plenty of ways that I can draw a pig. And that's exactly what king of bloggers James Mirtle jokingly challenged me to do. He started this blog, so I felt obligated, and I'm kind of happy with how it turned out -- click here to see it.

Go Pigs.

Vote Sleek/Pronger in 2008

Yahoo's Puck Daddy blog by Greg Wyshynski is holding a poll to nominate the slogan for Chris Pronger's page on hockey-reference.com for the next year.

Sleek's entry, "When authorities take away your right to elbow, don't forget that you have stomping options. -- by Earl Sleek" is in third place with 27% after 1062 votes.



Vote early, and if you are deceased and reside in Chicago, vote often.

[Update] Also watch this highlight video of Sunday's Formula 1 race in Monaco. I turned down an opportunity to travel to Monaco this year to cover the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It was worth it.

Ducks Gameday—On a personal note

Calgary Flames (29-21-8, t-7th in west) at Anaheim Ducks (32-23-7, 3rd in west)

A few items that don’t have that much to do with hockey:

• First off, I want to wish my kid sister a happy birthday today, living the fast life in NYC. The odds that she sees this note are slim (she’s no hockey fan), but I know she’s name-dropped this blog before to Canadian guys while bar-hopping, so good work, sis!



• In other non-hockey news, it’s actually a big week for me personally. After nearly seven years, this will be my last week with my current employer. It’s good news and bad news, probably, as the new job will eventually bring me back to Orange County and pay me more money for the NHL’s annual ticket increases. The bad news is that my old job really gave me a lot of leeway—my workday was finished very early and my boss lived halfway across the nation.
  
  I’m not really sure what the new job’s workload and hours will do to my blogging productivity; it’s entirely possible that I may start a search for another Duck voice on BoC within the next month to share the load. Nothing will be decided until I really get into that new job schedule and see what it's really like, but if you’re a Ducks fan who’d be interested in a BoC voice, you might want to start thinking about creating a submission and hoping my new boss works the hell out of me. Don’t worry if you can’t draw or crunch numbers or anything; this wouldn’t be about replacing Sleek so much as complementing Sleek, and you’ve seen our contributors' work. We’re all about variety.



• I know a lot of Ducks fans will be rooting for Teemu Selanne to score a point tonight against the Flames (he is tied with Paul Kariya for the franchise scoring lead), but I’m not one of them. Why not? I snagged a pair of Row B seats for Wednesday’s game, and selfishly I think Anaheim's greater good needs to make room for my petty desire to see that achievement in person.



• Lastly, if you start noticing a decline in the quality of my hand-drawn cartoons in the next couple of weeks, there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation: yesterday my roommate came home with Devil My Cry 4, and if any of you are familiar with that button-mashing gameplay, you’ll appreciate the cramping in my right hand this morning.

Prediction: Teemu values the greater good more than my personal schedule and takes the franchise scoring title to himself tonight. Ducks 4, Flames 2. Goals by Beauchemin, Sutherby, Pahlsson, and Selanne.

Go Ducks.

Revenge is best served in Minnesota

Minnesota > Earl.

In Defense of the All-Star Game

I love the All-Star Game. I do. It's one of my favorite parts of the season, a chance to see hockey players not as faceless drones, but as people having a good time. Not many other people feel the same way, though. Even my friend, mentor, and former domestic partner (he knows what he did) Earl Sleek hates the All-Star Game. Honestly, I can't understand it. It's hockey! On TV! You got Owen Nolan picking out his shot, Marty Turco taking an interview while he's making saves, Rob Blake failing in the fastest shot competition every year, it's awesome!


A common complaint is that the All-Star Game used to be great, but now it has lost its luster. I don't buy that. It's not like guys in the '80s tried harder or anything. If anything, the game is better because we're watching the best athletes ever to play the game. I think it's just that in the past the game was new to them, and now it's the pretty much the same thing every year. But you know what? So is New Year's. So is the Fourth of July. Just because something is similar every year doesn't mean it's not great.


I think people might be taking this hockey business a little too seriously. I mean, yeah, it's a billion dollar industry and everything, but at the end of the day we don't watch the game because of wins and losses. We watch it because it's the most beautiful game on the planet, and the All-Star Game celebrates that. Sure, Martin Brodeur won't be there, and neither will Sidney Crosby, but I thik I'll forget that right about the time Ilya Kovalchuk is scoring his 4th goal. We (hockey bloggers and sportswriters, I mean) take this game very seriously, because it's very important to us. We constantly worry about this guy's contract situation or our goalie's recent slump. For just 2 days, I don't think there's anything wrong with just celebrating the game and the people who play it.

***

Anze Kopitar will be the Kings' sole representative here at the All-Star game.* I'm very excited about his inclusion, because I think he's going to surprise a lot of people. Like, MVP-level surprise people. We've all seen what happens when Kopitar gets room to move in space, and the All-Star Game gives people a lot of space. My only request? Don't put Kopitar on a wing. Let someone else take the face-off, but then let Kopitar play center. He needs the puck and I don't think he'll get a chance to do his thing if they have him on the wing. (My ideal line? Gaborik-Kopitar-Arnott.)

Also, do you think Getzlaf and Perry will throw a hissy fit if they don't get to play together?


*Jack Johnson is in the YoungStars game, but it's 3-on-3 so he'll probably have to stay back and play defense the whole time. Although, I think it's half-court, so I don't know what the fuck. He'll probably get a penalty, though.

Greetings to Mommy Sleek's mailing list

For the year-plus duration of this blog, I've been living in semi-anonymity—it was a fairly short list of people who knew that by night, I was secretly blogging under the pseudonym Earl Sleek. Until now.

Apparently my mother, needing some content to fill up my paragraph of her annual Christmas letter, has "outed" me to her family and friends, describing me in the barely-technically-true term "professional cartoonist". All of a sudden people I barely know (or worse, know quite well) are coming up to me and asking me about my secret double life.

So to those stumbling to this site for the first time, welcome to Battle of California, a mixed-bag-blog that follows the misfortunes of the three California-based NHL franchises. We do lots of writing, whining, and number-crunching, but apparently you only care about my "professional" cartoons, so here's a few you can check out.

• Ducks/Kings: Draw the Rivalry
• NHL finds new revenue source
• Schneidermayer joins the LockoUK
• Pensblog made me do it: Season Previews
• Or you can check out any of my four posts at AOL Fanhouse (these are the suckers that pay me)

I know many of you friends-of-my-mom know me as a nice guy and a decent fellow. If that's the case, definitely do not click on this link. It is my most viewed cartoon of all time, but unfortunately, if you see it my nice-guy reputation will be forever tarnished.

Merry Christmas, mom and friends!

Of All the Games to Miss...

...I miss this one. Argh. I did this last year too, when I missed the Dodgers' 4 home run game against San Diego because I watched the series premiere of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. (Thanks a lot, Sorkin.) Earl did a quality job recapping the game already (read that here), although I'm a little concerned about his fetish for taking secret pictures of men's asses.

Was the game as amazing as it seems in my head?

The Kings have a dynamic offense, porous defense, and average goaltending; I'm not a chef or anything, but those seem to be all the ingredients for a heart-attack team. So far this year, I'd say they've played 4 games that could be classified as "ridiculous." (STL, BOS, CGY, and now DAL) A part of me likes watching this team because they're exciting as hell, but another part of me wishes they were a little more boring. You know, a 3-1 game every once in a while, that's all I ask.

Oh, and the legend of Anze Kopitar continues to grow.

AOL Sleek: It begins

Well, it took a couple weeks since I first announced it, but finally after a lot of paperwork and blogducation, I was able to contribute my first cartoon post to the AOL Fanhouse today.

I know I am supposed to be sticking with the west coast (and actually I have a Niedermayer post somewhat underway that was intended to be my first post), but how could I pass up a shot at former Ottawa cup-loser Mike Comrie and his starring role in the tabloids? Especially since the story was assigned to me.

Anyway, I'm still getting my feet wet there, but at least I've gotten over the initial hurdles (logging in, creating post, drawing cartoon to avoid photo-altering lawsuits). If you are feeling generous, why not head over there, leave a comment, and make me look like a superstar?

I've also added a link to the sidebar under "Anaheim Ducks" that will go straight to the Earl posts (more useful once I write more of them). Enjoy!

Earl sells his sAOL

Question: What do Earl Sleek and Dustin Penner both have in common?

Answer: We both signed offer sheets that way overstate our value.

Indeed, it appears there is a new chapter developing for me and my alias, as I have been offered and have accepted a hockey blogging gig at AOL Fanhouse. I actually spent a little while Niedermayering on this decision, but in the end, how could I really pass it up?

Seriously, check out this roster:

• Eric McErlain
• James Mirtle
• Greg Wyshynski
• Jes Gölbez
• Jon “JP” Press
• Tom Luongo

That's a pretty strong lineup; a pretty good who's who in hockey blogging. And really, that was one source of my qualm; do I even belong in such an all-star cast? (Feel free to tell me "yes"--I am nothing if not gullible.)

Well, I'm not too sure what the near future holds--I'll be submitting my paperwork this weekend. I figured I'd break the news now, though, as a heads-up. Here's how I think it might work out:

At the Fanhouse: I'll definitely be feeling my way around there a bit at first, but I'm hoping to settle in for 2-4 posts a week (we'll see). As for content, I'm still thinking about that, but I'm mainly going to stick to the Ducks, Kings, and Sharks--one of my key assets was that I could provide some California coverage. I'm going to bring an extreme western-conference bias, which works pretty well; since the unbalanced schedule that's pretty much all I've been watching anyway.

As for style, well that's the thing--Earl was brought on to be Earl. For sure there will be restrictions (I just watched an hour-long video on how not to get AOL sued, and it only covered photographs; I'll probably get to watch another one soon about cartoons), but I'll do what I'm allowed to do. It will be kind of strange to do a cooperative blog with structure, but I'm sure I can manage that. But seriously, if everyone could promise not to sue AOL over my first few posts, that would be real cool.

At BoC: Sorry haters, Earl's not leaving town just yet. In fact, everyone else on the AOL list is still keeping their blogs up to snuff, and I'm hoping that we'll see no real interruption in Ducks service here. I mean, part of what struck me watching that video was damn, I really enjoy the non-legalism we got here at BoC. They'd have to pay me a lot more to give this up. Besides, I'll need an outlet to put cartoons and drinky posts that are too racy for AOL.

It's really strange to think about how this all came together. Two years ago, coming out of the lockout, was when I first stumbled onto hockey blogs, notably Tom Benjamin, mc79hockey, Battle of Alberta, and others. I was sort of a lone Anaheim commenter back then, so when Mirtle started this karma-killing blog and I got nominated to be a voice for the Duck fans, well, who really knew how long this blog-joke would run?

In general: Hell, this may even be the motivation I need to go get Photoshop software, instead of my idiot's method of making graphics.

Anyway, a big thanks to those who stop by and comment. And of course to Mike, PJ, Rudy, and the gang for helping balance things out. It's for sure an honor to be invited, and hopefully I can deliver something worthwhile in a sanitized MSM environment.

So, anyone got any good ideas for a first post?

Earl Sleek: Audio Idiot

Well, the Ducks won their "home" game in England, 4-1, to put the Sharks squarely in the BoC basement, and also it prevented me from mass producing my "0-2 in the O2" t-shirts. All in all, it seems playing in England was a pretty good opening gesture for the NHL--no major head hits or stick swings, some decent back-and-forth hockey, and two rookies getting the season's first two NHL wins. It did take 15 minutes for the lights to turn on, 5 periods of hockey for an even-strength goal to be scored, and a bit longer to see find out that English fans love fights, but those glitches aside, it seems to have gone off rather well, or at least not badly.

In terms of the game, here's the key stat that caught my eye: in the first game, Coach Carlyle had Ryan Getzlaf out for 5 1/2 shorthanded minutes; he was on the ice for all three L.A. power play goals. In game 2, Carlyle dropped Getzlaf's PK time to 20 seconds while rookie Ryan Carter picked up more than 3 minutes, and the Kings' power play didn't score once.

Anyway, I didn't even get to see this game live--I figured the Ducks stood a better chance of winning if I went to church. But that didn't stop me from listening to the postgame show Duck Calls on my way home (not that rare), nor did it stop me from calling in (a first!). I was on with host Josh Brewster and L.A. Times writer Eric Stephens for what ended up being a 17-minute segment, talking about all the BoC teams. Most of that time I was pacing around a convenience store parking lot like a lunatic, but I guess I ended up sounding intelligible enough.

You can access the audio at the Duck Call site here -- my segment is labeled 'Sept 30 Part 4'. I can't say it's the most inspired piece of call-in-show dialogue, but I will direct your attention to about 55 seconds in, when Stephens throws in this gem: "Yeah, Earl. I have seen your site. It's well done, by the way."

I think I might have to see a doctor about my suddenly bloated head.

Happy Birthday, Sleek

I will maintain to my deathbed that the Ducks' recent Stanley Cup victory can be attributed to several factors: skill, experience, effort, and of course luck. And while I cannot take any credit for the first three, unfortunately I take way too much credit for the fourth (and not just because of my lucky green shirt).

You see, I've always felt disproportionately lucky because of my lucky birthdate: 7/11/77. I'm no numerologist, but this date feels awfully special:

• It rhymes.
• The numbers all feel lucky.
• And it's even multiplicatively sound.

So if you're inspired tonight, why not pour yourself a glass of your favorite cocktail, raise it to the heavens, and take a drink for the lucky S.O.B. named Earl Sleek, who hits the ripe old age of 30 today.
And as always, Go Ducks.

We Have A Sleek Sighting

Green shirt? By the penalty box? Hot damn, it's our favorite Ducks blogger, live on Versus! Check out the bottom left/middle of the screen cap (and check out my crappy non-HD TV).



[SLEEK EDIT: Oh, and if you want some audio to go with this playoff image, you can check out my postgame interview with Alanah on thecrazycanucks.com. I guess I'm surprisingly articulate, considering the consumption issues I was dealing with.]