Fall has arrived and with that is the start of the NHL's ice hockey season. Skate blades hang from the locker room, sharpened and ready for use. Hockey sticks wait, fresh tape on handles. Eager fans argue on which player will get the most goals, highest number of assists, and top the penalty points on the roster.
Which rookie will make the team? Who was traded and which players were picked up during the off season? What odds do the different sports media give the team to win the Stanley Cup?
I am a Sharks fan.
No, this isn't an opening to some twisted clinic. I proudly wear my teal & white. I proclaim my colors every time I open the door to my teal & black motor vehicle. I have a "This is Sharks Territory" sign posted above my preferred dispatch workstation. At home, I have an ever-increasing display of Sharks memorabilia going back to day one, year one. One of my treasured photos is a snapshot of my son (in his younger days) skating with SJ Sharkie in a parade as a member of the Kids Club. He couldn't have been more than ten at the time, playing street hockey with a boy's love of the game. We went to many games, just the two of us through-out his awkward teenage years.
Every October, our family would sit back to watch the games. Looking at the 'new' team, we'd all high-five one another and say, 'Yep, looks like this could be the year for the guys!" We'd cheer on the guys, and occasionally hiss & boo when a player would make a bonehead move. At the end of the playoffs, we'd sigh and say, "Next year, we'll bring the Cup home."
Is this the Sharks year? Darn right it is and until the final horn blows in the last game of the Stanley Cup final, no one will convince me otherwise. I know the players won't touch Lord Stanley's Cup until they win it. One year, when Sebastian & I were at the Tank for a game, the Cup was there on a tour. We had the chance to have our photo taken standing next to it. Of course we took advantage of the opportunity. It's the second favorite hockey photo I have.
I am hoping to see the guys holding it high during a victory parade in San Jose. That will be my third favorite.
One more thing: my crusade to get NHL channel is hit a road block. I'm just not a big enough fish. Charter Cable (in Reno) doesn't believe there are enough hockey fans to warrant signing NHL to their line-up. Great, but we have NASCAR, golf, two horse-racing (which I do happen to like), and a gazillion foreign language channels (which I can't watch but HAVE to be on the Guide - go figure). And both the NHL Center Ice and NHL Game Center still consider Reno NEVADA part of San Jose CALIFORNIA. Therefore the games are blacked out.
No worries. They set the rules. I came up with a way around them. I caring family member OUTSIDE of the black-out area has signed up for a game center package and is letting me use it in their name. I'll be able to watch the games.
You hear that folks? Just find someone in a no restriction/non-blacked-out area and have that person register and pay for the service. They will need an email account - used Gmail or yahoo. They only need give you the sign-on information and you will be able to watch the forbidden games!
I didn't set the rules, I just found a way around them.
By the way, Hockey News has the Sharks odds at 19:1
as of Sept 29th, the roster is as below:
GO SHARKS
from the official site of the San Jose Sharks
Forwards
# | Name | Height | Weight | Date Of Birth | Age | Birth Place |
37 | 6' 1" | 195 | Jan 6, 1983 | 30 | Madison, WI, USA | |
88 | 6' 5" | 230 | Mar 9, 1985 | 28 | Barrie, ON, CAN | |
39 | 6' 1" | 200 | Mar 28, 1989 | 24 | Guelph, ON, CAN | |
10 | 6' 1" | 195 | Jul 27, 1986 | 27 | Lively, ON, CAN | |
9 | 6' 2" | 210 | Apr 19, 1981 | 32 | Mlada Boleslav, CZE | |
48 | 6' 2" | 210 | Nov 12, 1993 | 19 | Praha, CZE | |
38 | 6' 0" | 195 | May 12, 1981 | 32 | North Vancouver, BC, CAN | |
81 | 5' 11" | 185 | Jul 15, 1986 | 27 | Sault Ste. Marie, ON, CAN | |
12 | 6' 2" | 220 | Sep 15, 1979 | 34 | Aneroid, SK, CAN | |
43 | 6' 1" | 195 | Aug 9, 1986 | 27 | Boston, MA, USA | |
83 | 5' 11" | 190 | Nov 5, 1992 | 20 | Long Beach, CA, USA | |
8 | 5' 11" | 190 | Jul 11, 1984 | 29 | Plover, WI, USA | |
42 | 6' 4" | 230 | Sep 4, 1987 | 26 | Toronto, ON, CAN | |
15 | 6' 1" | 215 | Apr 25, 1988 | 25 | Halifax, NS, CAN | |
19 | 6' 4" | 220 | Jul 2, 1979 | 34 | London, ON, CAN | |
13 | 6' 0" | 215 | Oct 8, 1981 | 31 | Toronto, ON, CAN | |
57 | 6' 0" | 200 | Apr 12, 1988 | 25 | Evanston, IL, USA |
Defensemen
# | Name | Height | Weight | Date Of Birth | Age | Birth Place |
22 | 5' 11" | 190 | Jul 12, 1976 | 37 | Ottawa, ON, CAN | |
61 | 6' 2" | 205 | Feb 10, 1987 | 26 | Minneapolis, MN, USA | |
5 | 6' 1" | 195 | Jun 9, 1988 | 25 | Dorval, QC, CAN | |
27 | 6' 1" | 215 | Jan 23, 1979 | 34 | Richmond, BC, CAN | |
52 | 6' 2" | 210 | Nov 29, 1987 | 25 | Brentwood Bay, BC, CAN | |
7 | 6' 2" | 215 | Nov 6, 1979 | 33 | Rocky Mountain House, AB, CAN | |
44 | 6' 1" | 205 | Mar 30, 1987 | 26 | Montreal, QC, CAN |
Goalies
# | Name | Height | Weight | Date Of Birth | Age | Birth Place |
31 | 6' 2" | 210 | Aug 29, 1983 | 30 | Vantaa, FIN | |
32 | 6' 0" | 190 | Jul 28, 1987 | 26 | St. Paul, MN, USA | |
** = Injured Reserve Stay safe out there! |
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