As the Bay Area and Northern California ignite with excitement at the San Francisco Giants 2-0 lead in the World Series, and Playoff fever sweeps San Jose as the Earthquakes enter the playoffs - I can't help but hum the song "Everyday I Love You Less and Less" by the Kaiser Chiefs when I think about the Sharks. You just have to look at some of the names in SJ and you realize how stellar a team the Sharks SHOULD be yet every year they seem to fall short of what is expected of them. This year is going to be different though, the team has gotten a taste of the Western Conference Finals and now knows what is truly needed to win the Stanley Cup. So as Sharks fans gathered in front of the HP Pavilion for the street party before the season opener, you could feel the buzz of excitement for the start of a brand new winning season.The crowd was loud in the Shark Tank, from cheers during the National Anthem to hoots and hollers as each member of the Sharks team was introduced, including a standing ovation and the loudest cheers for Captain Joe Thornton. The boos were just as loud as the Atlanta Thrashers took to the ice. With the referees in position and both teams ready, the puck was dropped and the first home game was underway.
The Sharks quickly pounced on the puck and generated offense with the newly configured lines. The game itself was a little uneven and the pace was back and forth. Both teams looked to be a bit tentative with fast offensive strikes and moments of conservative defensive play. The Thrashers were able to get some great chances as the Sharks defense acted as if it was the first game they have ever played in hockey. Every season there is usually one (or more) players I tend to pick on quite a bit. Ehrhoff (when he was with the Sharks), Vlasic, and now Wallin. With Wallin completely healthy, I was interested in seeing if he could step up his play and prove that he was worth his $750,000 raise. I have to give credit to Wallin, though he looked rusty (as many on both sides did) he played aggressively and consistently. Blocking shots, clearing the crease, standing up on his blue line, breaking up defensive zone passes, and even getting a shot off himself - he surprised me with his solid play and what was even more surprising was that he was not on the ice for any of the goals scored against the Sharks.As for who would strike first - on the Power Play that reunited the Big 3, Heatley (#15, pictured above) tipped in a shot from Patrick Marleau for his first goal of the season and his 300th career goal - go Heater! Jumbo was also in on the action as Joe Thornton (#19, pictured below) received an assist on Heater's goal, continuing his point streak from the Sweden trip. HP Pavilion was still on their feet cheering as Ryane Clowe and Torrey Mitchell combined for another goal just 21 seconds later. With a great shot by Mitchell, Clowe redirected the puck past Thrashers goalie Chris Mason to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead in the first period - the Tank was rockin'.
Contrary to what I stated in this game's preview, Antero Niittymaki did not make the start, instead Antti Niemi (#31, pictured at top and below) made his debut in San Jose. For the first period, Niemi played well but the start of the second period would change everything. During another SJ Power Play, Marleau mishandled the puck at the point and turned the puck over to Andrew Ladd (of Chicago fame) who scored a short-handed- goal. Niemi gave up another goal late in the second period, one that he should have had - game tied 2-2.Unfortunately, things didn't change in the third period as the Thrashers were able to score 2 more goals with the Sharks only able to hit the post. With the defense's less than desirable play and Niemi looking very shaky at times, the Sharks weren't able to bounce back and fell 4-2 to the Atlanta Thrashers. With the poor play of the Stanley Cup winning goalie and the lack of offensive might generated by the new lines (Clowe-Pavelski-Mitchell line was the only one that seemed to generate a lot of offensive zone time) had many fans questioning the new look of this San Jose team. Unfortunately, the next game against Carolina didn't help as the Sharks were routed 5-2. They went on to beat Colorado 4-2, Edmonton 6-1, but stumbled against Calgary with a 4-0 loss. An interesting note, Nitty played in the games against Colorado and Edmonton (the games the Sharks won) and Niemi played in the games against Carolina and Calgary (the games the Sharks lost).
While the Sharks seemed to have stumbled out of the gate, there are some good things to take from the first five games of the season. First off is making Jumbo captain was the right move. He has not only lead the team on and off the ice but he also leads the team in scoring. After his late season injury, Dany Heatley is back in fine form and his presence on the ice is always felt when he plays. Clowe has also been impressive, always working hard with and without the puck. Crankshaft Douglas Murray is as big and powerful as ever and the addition of gritty Jamal Mayers has added even more bite to the Sharks. The Big 3 were also united during the Sharks game against New Jersey where they combined to score all 5 goals including Jumbo's impressive 3 goal night, netting himself a hat trick. Even with the Sharks shaky start, I think they will be able to iron out all of their problems fairly quickly. I still have concerns about the reliability of the defense and the fact that Niemi has yet to win since his first win in Sweden has me questioning whether he is ready to help take the Sharks to the next level. Luckily, Nitty seems well prepared to take his place and here's hoping that it's just adjustment problems for Niemi.
This week, Sony announced that they were ceasing production of their Walkman portable cassette player in Japan after 30 long years. The device that made music mobile for the first time and has led to the creation of devices like the MP3 player has officially moved into the pages of the history books. The Walkman holds a special place for it was the first electronic device I owned and it introduced me to my favorite company. It was a hand-me-down from my brother, given to me to help keep me occupied on long car trips - I couldn't have been more than six or seven years old. The device fascinated me, how could such a small device play music? From that moment on, my Walkman went everywhere with me, I would even wear it around the house.For me, this is what Sony represents, this is what Sony is at its core. After all, Sony came from the words sonus (Latin for sound) and sonny (endearing term for a little boy). Originally created specifically for Morita Akio (pictured above) who wanted something to listen to opera during long flights, the Walkman brought in a new era not only for audio electronics but for the music industry in general. Though I don't have my Walkman anymore, I remember it fondly and still think about it every year since the Walkman and I share the same birthday (July 1). So, I bid the Walkman portable cassette player adieu as I add new music to my Walkman MP3 Player - I guess I still keep my Walkman with me all the time.
What began as a little California bill trying to stop the sale of violent video games has exploded to a national case that could affect not only video gamers and entertainment consumers in the United States but worldwide. The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) will be hearing the case Schwarzenegger v EMA on November 3rd to determine whether video games (and possible indirectly whether other entertainment media) are covered under First Amendment rights. A petition from the Entertainment Consumers Association in support of protecting video games as a form of free speech has already received 500,000 signatures and will be presented at the case. While petitions don't usually win or lose cases, it does show that their is support from the public and that these so called representatives of the people have agendas of their own. Another way to try and gain some publicity and to inform the public was started by the Video Game Voters Network who have been asking gamers to send in broken controllers to Senator Leeland Yee (the creator of the bill) in protest to this unconstitutional ploy to infringe on the First Amendment. I've already sent in my controller and encourage other gamers to get involved not only in this case but in politics in general - no matter what your political party affiliation is. The header above has a link to the PlayStation Blog where Hal Halpin, president of ECA, explains in more detail what this bill is and what it means if passed. VGVN also has a SCOTUS Action Center that has some great information as well. November is approaching soon and I will definitely be keeping my eye on this one.
Update: Game developer Warren Spector is asking gamers to step up on October 19th in what he is calling a day of action. He is asking that gamers use Twitter and Facebook to get out the word about the threat to First Amendment rights. Check out VGVN's Day of Action center for more information.
Update: It's the day after the Supreme Court hearing and it seems like the justices were pretty split down the middle about California's violent video game law. Kotaku had a nice article summing up the events of the day as well as a link to see the full transcript from the case. An actual verdict isn't supposed to come down until next year (before the June 2011 break) so it's going to be a long battle.
The Sharks already have two official games under their belt but this next game will be the biggest one yet. Why? It's opening night at HP Pavilion and I will get the opportunity to attend the Shark's 2010-2011 season home opener. San Jose along with five other teams had the honor of being invited to open the new season at the annual NHL Premiere in Europe. Stockholm, Sweden was the Sharks city of destination where they played back-to-back games against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Sharks won the first contest on goals from Torrey Mitchell, Captain Joe Thornton, and Sophomore Logan Couture. The Sharks were defeated in overtime in the second game with Devon Setoguchi and Joe Thornton both scoring.I can't really preview the home opener against the Thrashers considering that I haven't seen the newly tooled Atlanta team play yet. I do know that they have added a few players from last season's Stanley Cup winner the Chicago Blackhawks and they will be looking to break into the playoffs this year. So instead of my usual commentary on line match-ups and goalie comparisons, let's take a look at what the new season could bring for San Jose. 
With the Shark Tank ready to rock and party at both the street party before the game and at the game itself - the Sharks are going to be coming out on the ice with a completely new look. New goalies, new players, new lines, and a new captain all will be making their debut on home ice in San Jose. It was officially announced that Jumbo Joe Thornton would be the next Captain for the San Jose Sharks with Dan Boyle being chosen as the permanent Alternate Captain. As for the other "A", Ryane Clowe and Patrick Marleau will alternate the "A" with one wearing it for the home games and the other taking the honor for the road games. The Sharks made a pretty big splash in Europe with their two new goalies, both Finnish natives, Antero Niittymaki (#30, pictured above) and Antti Niemi. Nitty is getting the call for the game against the Thrashers and I'm excited to see him play. Coming from Tampa Bay, a team that the Sharks rarely see, it will be great to get introduced to the new goalie and see what he can really do. Niemi on the other hand, Sharks fans know well from his days with Chicago. He has a great ability to take away the bottom of the net and is strong on controlling rebounds. Everyone assumes that the pair will split the season, with both goalies competing for ice time. Having the ability to rest a tired goalie and keep a hot goalie playing is going to be a key upgrade from previous seasons when Nabokov was the work horse goaltender who was rarely given a break. As for who will come out on top as the number one goalie? It's really a toss-up but I'm putting my early money on Nitty because he seems to be the dark horse that has some great potential. If he doesn't pan out, Niemi has already proven with his Stanley Cup ring that he is quite capable of taking the reins.There are some new faces (and some not so new) that will be wearing Teal for the home team this season. Most notably are the rookies from Worcester, the Sharks AHL affiliate, who were able to survive the rigorous training camp - tough guy Frazer McLaren (#68, pictured below) and defensive forward John McCarthy (#43, pictured above). Both have already been seen in San Jose but hope to make it up in the big league permanently this season. Defenseman Mike Moore is another player that has been on the Worcester bus but he has yet to play a game and most likely will be kept on the roster in case of injury to the existing six D-men. Jamal Mayers suffered a pre-season injury and also has not hit the ice but when he does recover, it will probably mean that one of the rookies will once again be sent back to Worcester.
All of these new changes aren't as huge or as noticeable as the new line combinations. The Big 3 are no more - Jumbo, Heater, and Patty will be playing on separate lines. This is a huge move that could help to spread scoring more evenly across the lines. As for the rest of the lines:McGinn-Thornton-SetoguchiMarleau-Couture-HeatleyClowe-Pavelski-MitchellMcLaren-Nichol-McCarthyBoyle-MurrayWallin-VlasicHuskins-DemersOne of the biggest things that jumped out at me was Jamie McGinn (#64, pictured below) on the top line and Pavelski centering the third line. Usually the top line is your best scoring line, the second line your secondary scoring, and then the third and fourth lines are energy and checking lines. Seeing a top tier player like Pavelski (and Clowe) bumped down to the third line was shocking until I took a closer look and realized that it wasn't really a third line at all. After all, how can you say that a line with Marleau and Heatley, the top two goal scorers, are "secondary scoring". No this is more of a 1A and 1B line-up with Pavelski and Clowe still manning the second line. Then there's Couture being given the responsibility of centering the 1B line. He did well in his rookie debut last season and this looks to be a breakout year for him with Patty and Heater by his side. Jumbo has some great scorers on his wings as well, especially in Setoguchi who will be looking for a comeback year after an average turnout last season. Ginner will also look to benefit from being on the top line, I pegged him to be one of the players that will get more ice-time and scoring opportunities this season and it looks like I was right. Hopefully, he will be able to make the best of it and prove that he has what it takes to be on the top scoring line. Jumbo is also going to have to shoot the puck more without snipers Patty and Heater by his side and in Europe he did just that, notching a goal a game. Jumbo has a wicked shot but doesn't seem to like to use it, he is quite capable of scoring more than 20 goals this season and with the new lines he might just do that.For defensive pairings I've got no complaints expect the Wallin-Vlasic combination but maybe it's more of my personal dislike of the two players that has me questioning this match-up. Vlasic used to be a solid D-man until he had his little identity crisis when he didn't know if he was an offensive defenseman or a defensive defenseman. Then after suffering an injury last season, it seemed to take him a few weeks to get back into form. I am hopeful that he will be able to get back into his near perfect defensive position that he once possessed only a few short seasons ago. As for Wallin, he's starting this year healthy so I'll give him a few weeks before I pass my harsh judgment of his abilities and play style. I still feel that the Sharks are lacking a bit of veteran presence on blue-line but Demers has proven that he is a solid offensive D-man if he can just stay consistent.All in all, it looks to be a good season for the Sharks and only time will tell if they can better their performance from last year. Key changes could be the key factor in how well the Sharks do this season. Their competition is also much stiffer now with a packed Pacific Division. With Phoenix shocking everyone with their playoff run, they will be poised to repeat the feat this season. I mentioned last season that there was a superpower forming in Los Angeles with their young talent gaining much needed experience. This year they look to take the crown from the Sharks as L.A. has been pegged as the heir apparent of the Pacific Division throne. A reformed Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks cannot be counted out either. Plus there are up and coming teams like the Thrashers and Columbus that look to break into the playoffs. Then there is the resurrected Toronto Maple Leafs, who have been one of the worst teams of past seasons, looking to get back into winning form. Last season marked a record for points with a single overtime win clinching a playoff berth or a single loss costing you a chance for the Cup. This season will be no different and every single point will be important for the Sharks and every team looking to earn one of the coveted 16 playoff berths.
As for the coming game against the Atlanta Thrashers, I'm just looking forward to seeing if the Sharks are fully prepared for battle or whether they are stuck in their preseason form. Look for my review in the coming weeks to see how the new players, new goalies, new captain, and new lines fair in their home opener.
