Razing Arizona

Phoenix Arizona was the first out of town spot for the Sharks Tour. The whole family decided to come with, and it was a great trip.

The Phoenix Coyotes play at the unfortunately named jobbing.com Arena. I think this might be the worst example of corporate sponsorship in sports. Previously called the much more appropriate Glendale Arena, the place is fan-tastic. A rather new building, the home of the Coyotes features super comfortable seating, great views, wonderful acoustics (you could hear the skates...), and, at least at the moment, a really terrible hockey team.

That's Sharks goalie Vesa Toskala, starting for the 2nd game in a row, looking bored. The Sharks looked like they were playing a minor league team, coasting to an easy 4-1 victory. Rookie Ryan Clowe continued his super awesome play, scoring two goals and assisting on another. Jonathan Cheechoo and Matt Carle scored the other goals. Big Joe Thornton had 3 assists.

Things were so bad for the Coyotes that Howler, the Coyote mascot, couldn't even win a victory over S.J. Sharkie. Much like his relative Wile E. Coyote's failure in capturing the Roadrunner, Howler could not take down Sharkie. If he drew close, some of the large number of Sharks fans would step in between, allowing Sharkie to go on his way. Why he was there, I'm not sure, but I know this much have added to the Coyote's embarrassment.
Is that a Hooters you see behind my brother? Why yes, it is. Dining options at the jobbing.com (kill me) Arena were quite varied. From Hooters to the Penalty Wox (nearly makes up for the arena name), hunger was to be crushed. Most of us went with the hot pastrami sandwich (me, having not learned my lesson from the Kings game the night before), and they were pretty tasty indeed. Brother, as you can see, opted for Hooters chicken strips, which were as appealing as an Ugly Betty being your Hooters waitress. A between period snack of Italian Ice was a good choice, too.


Cheerleaders are one of the little quirks of the jobbing.com Arena. One doesn't normally associate cheerleaders with hockey, and it's something that could certainly take away from the game. The Coyotes do a good job of walking the line, though, and I didn't find the cheerleaders too intrusive at all. Just pretty. Very pretty. Another nice quirk, and one I doubt I'll see anywhere else, was free parking. Wow.
Considering how bad the team is, I found the Coyote fans pretty impressive. Sure, they might not sell out games, but the fans that do show up (free parking!) are into the game. There was a good amount of cheering for the team, and not too much booing when they Coyotes blew a 4 minute power play. The Coyote howl before power plays and after goals is wicked cool- it certainly gets the crowd involved.
Phoenix is a rather strange city. Spreading unnaturally over the desert, it gives new meaning to urban sprawl. Although there is a small downtown, it's mostly made up of connected suburbs. Unlike a lot of desert cities, Phoenix makes no attempt to hide it's deserts roots. Lawns are left a more natural tan, and the freeways are painted to fit into the surrounding desert. There are even a few large red-rock hills right in town.That's me in downtown Scottsdale. Downtown is a mix of old-timey Western Town and newfangled art galleries. Mom and I had a lovely time walking around and checking it all out. Didn't get to experience too much night life, but there was a brief trip to the cowboy bar Roman's Oasis, in the little town of Goodyear.The Sharks ended the day with a record of 30-15. Their 60 points puts them in 5th place overall in the West, one point behind Detroit. They're also closing in on the Ducks for 1st place in the Pacific. Let's Go Sharks!!See all the pictures at my flickr.

Word to My Momma

Sharks vs. Ducks 12/26/07

Second game at the Shark Tank while on vacation. It was round 3 of 8 in the Sharks / Ducks battle for the Pacific Division. The Ducks came in 10 points ahead of the Sharks. Nearly a playoff type atmosphere, this was the most thrilling game of the season. Both teams played a fast, tough game. In the end, the Ducks played a little bit harder. The 3-4 loss was the first loss I've been to this year. Sadness.

Sharks goals were scored by Steve Benier, Partick Marleau, and Christian Ehrhoff. In an unexpected move, coach Ron Wilson abandoned his every other game goalie platoon and started Evgeni Nabokov for the 2nd game in a row. It seems the gamble didn't pay off.

Went to the game with my Mom. Seems she didn't think I should be stealing all the season tickets when I come home. What can I say, I think I'm an addict. I also think I'm addicted to cheese steaks. Here's something strange- I think I'd trade a little of the heaps of meat (not a bad thing, don't get me wrong!) for a little more cheese.

Christian Ehrhoff was my star of the game. He played a gritty game on both defence and offence- keeping the Sharks energy high. His season high 28 minutes on ice was an impressive feat as well. Props to Mark Bell for his physical play. Maybe he'll start scoring now. No props for the dude sitting next to me. He was a no-nothing know-it-all who should have kept his mouth shut. Maybe he should try coaching/playing/being a ref before he talks anymore!

Rebound

Time for a stop home. Alright, it's not like I needed it. I just started the tour and all, but I'm home for the holidays and thought it would be great catch the Sharks at home. Though it's fun being a fan on the road, there's nothing like being part of the madness in your own house- especially the HP Pavilion, better known as the Shark Tank.

As always, the crowd was crazy and ready for Sharks hockey. I'm really curious to hear fan reaction in other cities. Aside from the Oilers fans during the playoffs last year (as seen on TV), I don't know any other fans that gets as crazy as Shark's fans.

The Sharks entered the game after a poor performance against Dallas. The first period looked like it could be another disaster. The play was sloppy, and they allowed a short-handed, breakaway goal Matthew Lombardi. Then the rebound began. The Sharks came back with fire in the 2nd period, scoring two fantastic rebound goals- a rebound rim shot by Marcel Goc, and power play goal by Milan Michalek. Mark Smith added another sweet rebound goal in the 3rd period, and Scott Hannan scored his first of the season with an empty-netter. Curtis Brown played a hard game, netting assists on two of the goals. Evgeni Nabokov was nearly flawless in goal, only allowing the breakaway past him. Sharks 4, Flames 1

In attendance tonight was my Dad. We were sitting in his sweet season ticket seats, just 6 rows from the ice. So close that when I player lost some of his teeth a few weeks ago, we could see the ref pick them up and hand them to him.

The food at the Shark Tank is generally pretty good. Tonight it was Philly Cheesesteaks and fries. Not a bad way to fill one's belly.

Here's the shot of the game:

The holiday spirit was in the air- even SJ Sharkie go into the action, entering figure skating to "Christmastime" from A Charlie Brown Christmas. By the way, that song is both the saddest and happiest song ever.

The Sharks finish the game with 50 points, 10 points behind the Ducks in the Pacific Division, 4th overall in the West.

My player of the game was Curtis Brown. Not only did his two of his shots lead to rebound goals, but he also played a great physical game- using his body to block shots, checking hard, keeping the energy up. It was a great game, much closer than the final score would tell you. Lots of tough checks and speed on both sides.

So It Begins

The Sharks tour has started.

I decided a few weeks ago that I'd like to see my beloved Sharks play at every arena in the NHL. A lot of people do baseball tours, but I think hockey tours are less common. Plus, you get to see a lot more of Canada this way.

Although I've already been to a few games this season, 12/12/06 was the first official stop. Since I live in Los Angeles, the tour started here at the Staples Center. Special guest for the game was Victoria Engelmayer.

The Sharks dominated the game, cruising to a 3-1 win. The Sharks looked a bit tired, having played last night, but they pulled off a victory nonetheless. Frankly, the L.A. Kings are a pretty poor team right now. Even shorthanded, the Sharks were never out of control.

Rookie sensation Joe Pavelski scored twice- a beautiful breakaway goal, and sweet wrister during a 5 on 3. Steve Bernier scored the other goal for the Sharks. Evgeni Nabokov was one goal shy of his 4th shutout of the season- stopping 36 of 37 shots. He made some remarkable saves.

The Staples Center is a pretty good place to see a game. Opened in 1999, it has comfortable seats (cup holders!), and a great lighting system. The arena holds 18,118 for hockey games. It's also home to the Lakers, Sparks (WNBA), and a ton of concerts and special events.

The crowd, announced at 15,000 (but probably around 12,000) was below-average in their enthusiasm. To be fair, I've been to Kings games before, and there has been more involvement. Fact is, they're a pretty bad team this year. When they finally managed a goal, the place got pretty loud. For a minute.

As for food and drink, the options were quite limited. That is indeed a McDonald's picture above. Normally, I wouldn't eat fast food at an arena, but, aside from a hot dog booth, that was all there was. Choices are a slightly more varied on the lower concourse- mostly still fast food. As one ascends to the upper level, you can glance into the stadium club. The food looked very good there.

It was a bit of a mess ordering. We ordered two chicken strip combos. When they rang it up the price seemed very high, even for sports food. After a long attempt at conversation with the non-English speaking cashier (at one point I said "so that's a lie, then!") it came to light that beverages were perhaps not included in the combo. How strange. I've never ordered a combo meal before and not had a beverage included. Later, again due to lack of options, we returned to McD's for ice cream. Again, the price seemed rather high. It seems that Victoria's "I'd like lots of extra chocolate. Please, please lots of extra chocolate" translated to "I want a sundae and a McFlurry." Now I'm not an "English only" type person, but one would think that getting combo meals with beverages and ordering two sundaes (even one with extra chocolate) would be easier.

That being said, the chicken strips were better than any I've had at any sporting even except the fancy seats at Angel's Stadium, and McD's fries are always tasty.

Here's the shot (and star) of the game.

The Sharks finished the game with a record of 23-9. Their 46 points gives them 2nd most in the West, but because of division leaders, 4th overall.