Straight from the Sports Desk

As I stood there in my bathroom, looking in the mirror and ruefully shaving off my playoff beard after Dallas' quadruple-OT victory on Sunday, I realized something: The Sharks can also look themselves in the mirror now.

I'm sure they're saying the "proper things." You know, the "Oh, we're still disappointed, we had bigger aspirations" standard. And I"m also sure that that's true. No true competitor is ever fully satisfied unless they reach the pinnacle. But after a furious comeback that fell just short in an unbelievably tight series, the Sharks can take some solace this summer from knowing that when their backs were against the wall, they gave it all they had.

Continue reading "My beard held out as long as it could" »

Posted by Erik Fraser at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

A little more than a week into both the Stanley Cup Playoffs and our subsequent playoff beards, it's time for an update. No one picked the hapless and pathetic Senators, so no one has pulled out the razor yet. Below are our updated pics, taken Thursday night as the Sharks were beating the Flames to take a 3-2 series lead. The information below the pics is as of Friday's games.

(If you missed the first entry about our little experiment, check it out here. It explains the playoff beard tradition and has photos of us all clean-shaven.)

Erik Fraser Team: San Jose Sharks Status: Leading first-round series against Calgary 3-2, can extend the life of Erik's beard with a win in Calgary on Sunday.
Neil Tarpey Team: Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers Status: Canadiens lead Boston 3-2; Rangers beat New Jersey 4-1. Neil's beard becomes the first to advance to the second round.
Ray Aspuria Team: Washington Capitals Status: Trailing Philadelphia 3-1 after double-OT loss on Thursday. The game-winning goal was scored when Alexander Ovechkin forgot to check his man, Mike Knuble.
Sean Quincey Team: Anaheim Ducks Status: Trailing Dallas 3-2. The Ducks avoided elimination with 5-2 win Friday, thoroughly disappointing Sean, who hates his beard and contemplated going home to get a razor at dinner time in hopes that they would lose.

Posted by Erik Fraser at 05:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here on the Redwood Coast, it's one of sports' lesser known traditions, but we believe it's time to change that. So here at the T-S, we've begun growing our playoff beards.

In the NHL, there is a tradition that players put the razors away when the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin, which is why you often see guys hoisting the Cup with massive bushes on their faces. It apparently started in the early 1980s with the powerhouse Islanders, who won four consecutive titles before Wayne Gretzky came on the scene and the Oilers began to dominate the league.

Continue reading "Playoff Time = Playoff Beards" »

Posted by Erik Fraser at 05:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Thanks to their unreal play over the last 18 games — 16 wins, zero losses in regulation — the Sharks have wrapped up their third Pacific Division Championship. And since they seem unlikely to catch Detroit, San Jose is all but guaranteed the No. 2 seed when the Stanley Cup Playoffs start in a little more than a week.

Because of that, coach Ron Wilson has announced that several banged-up players may get some rest, and he even gave the team Saturday off from practice after beating the Ducks 3-1 Friday night. And to be sure, some guys — particularly sniper Jonathan Cheechoo — could use some time to let the bruises heal, but they better be careful not to lose this massive wave of momentum they're riding in the process.

Continue reading "Don't ease up too much, fellas" »

Posted by Erik Fraser at 04:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

During my recent (first) visit to the Shark Tank (aka HP Pavilion) in San Jose, I had the great fortune to watch the Sharks and Canadiens work out in their late morning skating/shooting practice. There were about 10-15 of us (media, family members) observing their 3-on-2, 2-on-1, passing and shooting routines. The loud (remember, empty building) clink of the puck on the pipes is memorable. Before I left the arena to interview Christopher Higgins, I stood next to the glass on the goal line where I had an eagle-eye view of the Canadiens' #27 Alexei Kovalev standing in the face-off circle, receiving passes from a player on the other side, and either one-timing or slapping a long series of angled rockets into the net.

Posted by Neil Tarpey at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week the San Francisco Giants announced that they are taking steps to be more like the Red Sox, Yankees and Mets — by acquiring a stake in Fox Sports Net Bay Area.

Giants officials hope that the move will bring in more money, which will mean the Giants can stay in the top 10 in MLB salaries. If you wish to know more about that, read this Mercury News article. But the reason I mention this today is because you'll be noticing some changes at FSN in the coming months, and they could affect you, the North Coast viewer.

Continue reading "The rebranding of Fox Sports Net" »

Posted by Erik Fraser at 06:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)