Grypho

That video was pretty damned funny, but I remember the same things being done when the San Jose franchise was in its infancy. We had Hockey 101 sites, including flyers handed out at games to explain the rules and such. Here's one thing I think a lot of people miss, or at least don't consider. While hockey is by far my favorite sport on earth, I'd be an absolute idiot not to recognize that it isn't the most popular sport, and doesn't compare (especially in the revenue streams from the fan base that actually keeps the sport and the teams themselves alive) to sports like basketball, baseball and football. That's too bad, but really sad for the cities that end up losing their teams. In short, hockey needs and can always use more fans. Every sport does, but hockey even more. That's good for the sport itself, and good everyone concerned. And where do we get those fans, if our criteria is elitist? My opinion: Hey, if you don't know how many outs there are in a hockey quarter, or how long half time is supposed to last, but you still think it's an exciting game on the surface - YOU ARE A BONA FIDE FAN, AND WELCOME! Put on the team jumper (jersey, sweater, meh whatever), and let me buy you your first traditional hockey apple cider. I'm more than happy to explain every call the umpires make, or how and when a penalty kick is valid, and you can learn as you go like everyone else. Completely ignore and dismiss those who say you shouldn't have a team because your city doesn't have winter ice, or that you shouldn't be cheering just because it feels good to cheer. Oh, and while I'm at it: GO JAMAICAN BOBSLED TEAM!

I'm going out on a limb and predicting three sweeps in the first round. WEST Sharks in 5 Anaheim seriously lacks depth now, and desperately needs to shake the Sharks discipline right from the start. They will have no choice but to result to goonery to try to shake things up. This will cause them to be repeatedly and heavily penalized, as the San Jose powerplay kicks in and decides the entire series. If the refs put their whistles in their pockets, it will be Sharks in 6, but there's no way this will go 7. That's wishful thinking on the parts of those who want to see a tired battered team come out of this. Wings in 4 Despite Columbus' ascension, I do not think this could go either way. Columbus does not yet know what "this is not the regular season" means, nor are they a team that is up to the task of upsetting a well seasoned and disciplined veteran team during their playoff debut. There will be an upset, but not from the upstart team, as some are predicting. I predict that it will go the other way. The Wings goaltending will tighten up, even to the surprise of many worried Wings fans, right from the jump, which will give a huge boost of confidence to both the offense and defense -- all of which equates to momentum. Columbus won't be able to recover. Blues in 4 St. Louis momentum does carry forward through the first round, as many are predicting. All low scoring games, though, but with St. Louis on top of every one of them. Nucks out. Blackhawks in 6 Calgary is unable to shake the doldrums, unable to get it together. They are no match for Chicago, who will be on a high after finding powerful playoff legs for the first time in years. Nothing the flames can to will break their rhythm, and the Blackhawks will be sending out victory smoke signals to the rest of the league after dousing the Flames. EAST Bruins in 4 Yeah. Like the Canadiens had a chance in hell. Rangers in 7 Grueling, grinding, terrible train wreck of a series. The Rangers, too dumb to know that they shouldn't even be in the playoffs, manage to limp into the next round by the same virtue that got them here in the first place. Sheer tenacity, and some lucky bounces, decides it in 7. Hurricanes in 7 About evenly matched, with both teams seeing a chance to get back into the SCF spotlight. These truly are the teams that are going to pound the crap out of each other. Penguins in 5 Trading victories, yin and yang, it's the Pen's turn, and they're taking it. Hard fought, but decisive. STANLEY CUP FINALS: (here's where I step out of homer mode completely, resist the urge to hurl, and go WAY out on a hunch limb): Bruins over the Blackhawks in 6

I'm one of those hockey fans who clicks the site Stats/Standings links just seconds after a game, wondering why it hasn't been updated yet. So there's my confession. I'm like a little kid on Christmas morning who wakes up at 5am and just stares at the tree, wondering why everyone isn't up and ripping into their presents yet. To further my confession, the SCF Playoff Wallpaper from this site is something I look forward to in EXACTLY the same way. I know, I'm an idiot, but I get excited about stuff like that. All of the pairings will be decided once the St. Louis/Colorado game is over, I'll be right here, clicking away, looking for the playoff wallpaper. Any ideas on when (not if, don't slay me with "if") it will be available? If I know there's a delay, I won't give it another thought, I'll just get it when it comes out. Otherwise, I'm anticipating. Oh, and IF, in the terrible, horrible event that it's not going to be available this year, could someone let me know that as well, so I can get started on it myself?

Well, at least the respect is where it needs to be! You didn't say you'd love to see the Sharks knock out the Ducks in the first round. I'd call that backhanded compliment to the Sharks! Note to the Blues "color" commentator: Gray is not a color. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Yep! Go Blues Go! I don't want the Sharks to face St. Louis. That really is the team that would wear us down more, I believe. Not the Ducks. They're tired, and and we're much healthier now. St. Louis has been on a roll for some time now. BIG TIME. Not the Ducks. They aren't what they were two years ago, and it shows in their standings. Go Blues.

That pretty much sums it up from what I saw. I expected nothing more, nothing less. Objective reached, now into the playoffs. Too bad it frightens fans, but face it: no team can take unnecessary risks and knock itself senseless, just so that it can calm the fears of some skiddish fans. Screw them, and their fears. Stay focused, and pace yourself for the upcoming games that actually do mean something. The only remaining game I have any interest in at all today is the St. Louis/Colorado game coming up, because that one affects the pairing of no less than six teams in the Western Conference, including St. Louis, who is going to face the Sharks if they don't pull off a solid win. That game should be interesting, to say the least!

Or better yet, how badly they don't want to face the Sharks. There is no doubt in my mind that the Blues would prefer to face Vancouver in Round 1, so expect them to try to WASTE Colorado. But that could also get Colorado fired up in their own house. I don't expect them to roll over and play dead either. There's substantial competitive advantage jump for the Blues if they can go from the 8th seed against the Sharks, and leap-frog over Anaheim and Columbus into a better 6th seed pairing against the Nucks. It's more or less a toss-up for the Blues in terms of travel time. Only a little more for Vancouver, but the chance for advancement improves for them if they go against the Nucks. The Blues traded wins with the Sharks in the regular season, but our last two meetings with them, in December and March, were each only one goal wins for the Blues (3-2 and 3-1). In other words, they could have gone either way. The matchup against the Nucks, though, was a different story altogether. The Blues were 3 and 1 against Vancouver. They beat them 6-4 in January, only for the Nucks to turn around and beat them 6-4 in February. But that was it. Last month the Blues skated away with two sound victories against the Nucks - the first one a 0-3 shutout, the second one a 2-4 win. Much more lopsided against Vancouver, with the ice tilted decidedly toward St. Louis.

Get out, no way! Next you're going to tell me that Santa can't eat a few hundred million plates of cookies in one night. I have it on good authority that he can -- even the hard, bitter crappy ones that some people make. Me, I can't do that. I can eat 50 eggs, but I'll bet Matt could eat hundreds. Betcha betcha.

He must. If he doesn't, some people could get very sick. He doesn't want that on his conscience.

One last thing (or, on second thought, as it were): It's funny to me, as I view other message boards, the FEAR that the Ducks put into so many fans of ours and other teams. Part of that fear (or concern, if you will) is well founded, I think, in that Anaheim IS so goonish, and everyone knows it. Not just "physical". Gooo-oooh-ooonish. And why wouldn't they be? They have ex-Blues Pronger furthering the craft, so go figure. The other part of the fear, the part that I don't think is founded at all, is the psychological impact of the Ducks having recently won the Cup. I honestly think that if it wasn't for that factor, Anaheim would be looked at no better or worse than any other formidable opponent. The Sharks and Wings get talked about with all due respect, but fear? No, not like the fear Anaheim instills. That's all a crackup to me. And yet, when you look closely, you can see that Anaheim is indeed very tired. Not only are they losing a lot of games lately to unlikely opponents in the home stretch (no differently than the Sharks and the Wings), but they barely squeaked into a playoff spot, and have made it so that other teams control their position, which could be last -- with all the disadvantages that go with that. The Blues, on the other hand, are on a friggin' terror right now, but are they feared? They're all after-burners at the moment, mowing down competition, kicking ass, taking names and stringing victories together, one right after the other. Talk about STRONG momentum going into the playoffs, and yet...who fears the Blues in knee-jerk fashion? Not most of the Nucks fans I've seen, who express fear of Anaheim on their message boards. They don't just express fear. It's terror. Doom and gloom all the way, with "we are so out in the first round if we face the ducks =( " (direct quote) Certainly most Sharks fans I've talked to don't fear St. Louis, but the mere sight of a Ducks logo is like putting the face of Rottweiler in front of a skiddish tomcat. It's too funny. Hackles rise, anger mounts, and fantasies of ripping Pronger to pieces dance wildly through their minds -- while St. Louis, with its turnabout record going into the playoffs, is largely ignored, almost treated as if were a passing anomaly. So I have changed my mind. I don't want the Sharks to face St. Louis. I want them to face the tired, OVERBLOATED, OVERRATED and Goonish Ducks. That's an illusion bubble that needs some serious bursting, and I think the Sharks are just the ones to burst it.

Funny how it's all down to how St. Louis and Colorado perform today, isn't it? For whatever it's worth, I'm pulling for Colorado, and hoping St. Louis chokes in a season finale spoiler. I really would prefer my Sharkies not to face the Duckies in the first round, for some of the reasons stated in this thread. We do hate each other. We will beat the s*** out of each other, and it would be a goonish, grueling series for two teams with a lot of physical size. On the other hand, it would also be, as was stated, some amazing hockey, so there's a thrills part of me that secretly wishes for our post season to begin with a huge bang. Bring on those Ducks, let's get that settled right away, first off, and get those playoff juices flowing hard and fast in the first round. It will bring out the animal in both of us. One downside to facing a much weaker team in the first round is the psychological wading-through-sludge factor if the weaker opponent proves tenacious, or performs well. If that happens with a stronger team, one with a much better regular season record, then it's going to be expected. It won't have the same psychological impact. The odds aren't that good for the Avs today, but they aren't that bad either. For that matter, the odds weren't good that the Coyotes would end their season whipping either of our teams -- and yet they did. Clearly the Avs would fail miserably against the Blues (or most other teams) in a series, but in single games the Avs have proved that they can beat the Blues at least half of the time on their own ice, so this is not a cut and dry victory for St. Louis (not like those cut and dry victories we were looking at against the lowly Kings and Coyotes). In addition, the Avs (and Mason) want desperately to end their very depressing regular season in their own house on a high note. That's what gives me hope that the "end of season spoilers" trend continues today, with the Avs snuffing the Blues before going off to play some Rocky Mountain golf. If that doesn't happen, BRING IT, DUCKS. To borrow a line from Face Off, "Let's kill each other."

I actually don't believe that for any team (i.e., the refs have an agenda to make sure that a certain team wins). If it had been the other way around, with nothing but calls for Anaheim, and none against, I still wouldn't believe the refs had that particular agenda for Anaheim. Something was up, though. It's impossible to get into the minds of refs, but it did strike me that they were playing equalizer, as refs often do (e.g., miss one strong call, but make up for it later with a weaker call), but I don't think it's ever with the intent to ensure that any particular team wins.

It was one-sided in favor of the Sharks, but only, I thought, when seen on a call by call basis. I saw Pronger get a away with a lot tonight (as usual), but when some weak penalties got called against the Ducks, it made me sit up and think, They're calling Pronger's penalties - just not against Pronger! I could be completely wrong, of course, but that's what it looked like to me. The whiny, bratty, untouchable golden boy prince was naughty, and his whipping boys, and therefore his entire team, paid the price.

I've been on here some, but look at my join date, two years ago. I'm not a regular regular season poster. I show up around playoff time whenever our playoff paths cross and destinies intertwine. This is definitely one of those seasons, more so perhaps than in 2007.

Attack of the killer gummy sharks.

It's not their knowledge of the game, so much as their sheer love of it that attracts me (although I think some come here to LGW for the outstanding playoff wallpaper). Combine that with the sheer quality of this board (best in the NHL by far, and the credit for that rests squarely with the creators of LGW), and you've got the makings of an amazing community on the whole. I've always enjoyed talking and watching hockey with my Wings fan friends. There are several Wings fans here in Wuxi (only one other Sharks fan here that I know of), and we get along famously. They are extremely knowledgeable, but it's their heart that counts most for me. If hockey's in your blood, you won't be hard pressed to find like-hearted lovers of the game itself from Hockeytown. You have your share of socially retarded dorks and mindless homers like any other team, but that's to be expected. Rambling Side Thought: The Wings' official community (the official hockeytown forum, not capitalized on purpose) lacks passion, quality, imagination, you name it. No character, just like our official Sharks forum. That's not the fans' fault. The Wings franchise itself came in with too little, too late, with very little consideration or respect for forum communities. Too bad they control the logo usage on all forums. That stinks. Their own forum isn't even worthy of their own logo, IMO (and they don't even use it as a browser icon, nor is it prominently placed anywhere on their boards, so how messed up is that?). Screw them. Not the fans, but the owners and controllers responsible. If anyone deserves to use the official Wings logo on a Wings fan board it's LGW, but they're not even allowed.

Some Sharks fans (myself included) are so dumb that they will actually pay to support a board that's otherwise free to them, one that doesn't even represent their team! Why are they dumb like that? Don't ask me, I'm a dummy. You'll have to figure that one out for yourself.

This ongoing thread is cracking me up. I'm an expat who has lived in Wuxi, China (Jiangsu province, just west of Shanghai) for a little more than two years now. It's one of the largest textile industry hotspots in China, not to mention the world. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the sweaters talked about here are being manufactured right here in Wuxi, and transported to Shanghai for shipping. If I looked around hard enough, I could probably locate the source. Something about fakes (and China is the master capitol of fakes, no doubt about that) - there is no hard fast rule. The Chinese have been making fakes for a long time now, and with time comes experience that sometimes translates to quality. We used to talk about "Cheap Jap Crap", because goods once made in Japan after WWII really were cheaply made. But all that changed over time. In China, fake watches, fake zippo lighters, fake fashion accessories (even fake Chinese cigarettes), it's all buyer beware stuff, even for the Chinese people here. But fake doesn't necessarily mean inferior, or poor quality. It's very common for foreigners here to report finding fakes here that are actually better quality than the originals. For example, I bought a fake Les Paul Gibson guitar for my brother in-law that is actually superior to the same style original that he owns. The construction is flawless, better materials, and most importantly, better overall sound. Likewise, I have a "fake" fly fishing rod and reel that is superior to its American made original counterpart. My brother was here, and bought full set of Ping golf clubs - you can't tell the difference. I think the biggest reason for all of this is because there's a big market for much of this stuff IN CHINA. They don't just sell to Americans, Canadians and Europeans; they have enormous domestic markets as well. This is also the place where many of the original components or bulk materials are manufactured here and sent elsewhere for assembly. That may even be the case with Edge for all I know. Another example: Thanks to Yao Ming (and Kobe Bryant, whom the Chinese seem to all adore even more for some strange reason), the NBA is HUGE in China. So anything NBA related, be it basketballs, shoes, jerseys, or other basketball related fakes are typically of extremely high quality. Not better and not worse, because the goal there really is to pass as original. In too many cases you can NOT tell the difference. The textile technology and experience is already here in spades. The Chinese are already masters of textiles of all kinds, and Chinese consumers themselves are EXTREMELY discerning when it comes to clothing, linens (and especially silks, of course), and hyper aware of the quality of various fabrics and stitching. In such cases, as with textiles from China, I'd definitely be willing to gamble on that basis alone. Combine that with Chinese demands, and the average Chinese consumer's attention to and demand for quality textiles, and the assumption is that North Americans are going to be even more discerning, and hence the quality of many fakes go way up. Anyway, fun thread to read. It didn't surprise me at all that some here got a happy ending. It also didn't surprise me when the Chinese sold out, but haven't restocked yet. That's an ongoing joke with many expats. You'll go to a store, find a favorite item, and eventually clear the shelf. That should be a hint and a half for any business to restock the proven item. Not necessarily with the Chinese. They'll stock that same shelf with something else. The reasoning sometimes goes that if that worked, why not try something else and see if we get lucky with that as well?

Meh, definitely more fun when it happens after a win of your own, rather than someone else's loss, but a clinch is a clinch, and every past win contributed to that. It is very strange to see an entire division poised to make the playoffs, but also very cool. The last time it happened was 1980-81, with the entire Adams Division. That was also five teams - Boston, Buffalo, Minnesota, Quebec, and Toronto - but the league was smaller then, which makes this one more statistically meaningful if it happens than back then, given the added competition. The Ducks are out of 8th by only one point now (with Oilers and Wild 1 and 2 points behind them). They're going to do everything in their power to keep 100% of Central out, but the Sharks will do everything in their power to keep the Ducks' dreams from coming true -- (that is, after they go against the Flames, who are still reeling from their humiliating 5-0 defeat by Columbus, but still neck in neck for Division, and that coveted third seed, against Vancouver).

Some of the Calfan's responses had me rolling! ...looks like he could be our new powerplay coach when he gets out of jail. You can just see some fat hairy old nerd sitting in his living room, naked from the waist down and wearing a tattered flames shirt with a bottle of southern comfort in his hand and a phone in the other.....and a bowl of Captain Crunch on the TV tray in between his legs. NORM!!! ...I was just as frustrated as this guy last night... almost bought a new tv just so I could throw it through my old tv... Can we trade this guy to the Vancouver fan base for, I don't know, a syringe or something.

Oh man, great minds and all that. I swear, I kept staring at the conference standings while following the game, and that was all I could think! "Holy s***, this is a master plan (I didn't think 'by the Wings') to keep the Ducks out of the playoffs." My superstition radar tells me this was simply a case of too many Anaheim fans swallowing whatever it is they swallow to root for Detroit. Talk about a wrong, strange vibe there.

That said it about right. Two of our (Sharks) remaining games appear to be technically gimmes, given they are against low ranking teams (Phoenix and LA). However, only one of those gimmes is at home, and Phoenix, as low ranked as they are, have always found a way to give us a more or less even run for our money. The rest are hard battles, mostly away. Against those battling for berths, however, I would still have to call Colorado and Edmonton as gimmes for the Sharks. Remaining 7, Sharks Prediction - 0 points Mar 30 - @ Flames (we started strong against them, but they won our last matchup 3-2) Prediction - 2 points Apr 2 - @ Oilers (Sharks have a very strong record against the Oilers, who haven't beaten us on their own ice) Prediction - 2 points Apr 4 - Ducks (hard battle) Prediction - 1 point Apr 5 - @ Ducks (hard battle) Prediction - 2 points Apr 7 - Avalanche (Sharks have a perfect record against the Avs) Prediction - 1 point Apr 9 - Coyotes (about even, actually, so hard battle) Prediction - 2 points Apr 11 - @ Kings (Sharks have a very strong record against the Kings) Total predicted ending score for the Sharks - 119 The Wings have a better remaining lineup in terms of home ice advantage (only two remaining are away), but also no gimmes, as not one of their remaining opponents is mathematically eliminated. Even the lower ranked Wild is still battling for a berth. I won't make any predictions for the Wings, partly because I'm biased, but mostly because I'm not really all that sure. Remaining 7, Wings Mar 29 - Predators (hard battle) Apr 2 - Blues (more or less a gimme, they only won against the Wings once, and that was via SO) Apr 5 - Wild (one game played against them, Wings won 4-2) Apr 6 - @ Sabres (one game played them, Wings won 3-1) Apr 9 - Predators (hard battle) Apr 11 - Blackhawks (hard battle) Apr 12 - @ Blackhawks (hard battle)

By way of preface, I'm a Sharks fan, so when you see me write "us" that's who I'm referring to. Looking just at the current 7 and 8 seeds... I know the old saying that the regular season doesn't apply in the playoffs, but if we were to go by that alone, who do you think the Ducks and Preds players would rather face, given a choice between the Sharks and the Wings? It's interesting to note that our respective record of wins against each of these teams, with four total games played, is the same. 2-2 vs. the Preds, 3-1 vs. the Ducks. With that in mind, I think that both the Sharks and Wings players would rather take on the Ducks in the first round. The Ducks beat the Sharks only once. It was early in the season, but it was also a convincing shutout. They only beat the Wings once also, but that was an OT win. The Preds beat the Sharks twice, but only by one point each time, and one of those was in OT. One of our wins against them was in a shootout, with only one convincing win early on, so the matching against the Sharks and Preds feels somewhat even going in. The Preds most recent victory against the Sharks brought them even in RS wins. But that wasn't a decisive win. Their last win over Detroit, however, was a major 8-0 blowout. A stinging, humiliating attitude adjustment wakeup call defeat for the Wings. So I think: The Ducks' players would much rather take on the Sharks. The Preds' players would much rather take on the Wings. To make matters more interesting: The Ducks have two more games to go against the Sharks (none against the Wings), while the Preds have two more games to go against the Wings (no more against the Sharks). And both teams are desperate! SHARKS v. PREDS (2-2) Winner / Score Preds / 4 - 3 OT Sharks / 4 - 1 Sharks / 2 - 3 SO Preds / 2 - 3 WINGS v. PREDS (2-2) Winner / Score Preds / 2 - 3 Wings / 5 - 3 Wings / 2 - 6 Preds / 0 - 8 SHARKS v. DUCKS (3-1) Winner / Score Sharks / 1 - 4 Ducks / 0 - 4 Sharks / 0 - 2 Sharks / 1 - 0 WINGS v. DUCKS (3-1) Winner / Score Ducks / 4 - 5 OT Wings / 1 - 2 Wings / 4 - 3 Wings / 2 - 5 All of that aside, it will be interesting to see if either of these teams is able to hang onto their leads to even secure a berth. The Oilers, Blues and Wild aren't going to roll over and play dead for either of them! It's still very possible that neither the Ducks nor the Preds will even be in the playoffs this year. Either way, what a great race to the finish. Glad we're looking at all this from clinched positions.

Please don't! As an avid Sharks fan, and Wings Respecter, I'd kind of like to see Nabby stay with us in net just a bit longer. Of course now, if we're talking about a trade, then let's talk. Let's get Datsyuk and/or Zetterberg on the table. I think either or both of them would look great in Teal, personally. It wouldn't be the end of the world. Think of it, we got Joe Thornton in a nice little trade from Boston, and they eventually recovered. They're now number 3 behind our two teams this year. So, waddya think. Deal? Shake? :::: shaking at the thought of losing Nabby ::::

THE most. Hands down, no contest.