Home Ice

The second season has begun. The San Jose Sharks returned to the Shark Tank for games three and four of the Western Conference quarterfinal. After a split of two brutal games in Nashville, the Sharks looked for two decisive victories on home ice.

Before game one, fans were invited to attend a pre-game rally outside the tank. Sharks TV and radio announcers were on were on hand to kick off the festivities. San Jose faithful cheered and jeered, building up excitement for the upcoming game. Lots of free treats were given away- ice cream, hot dogs, key chains, and, of course, face painting. There were also free shirts thrown. As you can see, my Dad really wanted one.

Inside the Tank, fans were greeted with white pom-poms and lots of balloons. The atmosphere was energy packed, and full of teal.

SJ Sharkie might be the best mascot in the game. Starting with his pre-game entrance and continuing throughout the game, Sharkie's energy resonates through the whole arena. While other mascots are trotted out for special events or wander around drunk (Chicago's Tommy Hawk), Sharkie leads the Tank in supporting the Sharks. The HP Pavilion would still be a great place to see a game without him, but SJ Sharkie's presence is no doubt a huge part of what makes the Shark Tank one of the loudest in the NHL.

I went to Game 3 with my Dad. After attending various road games, it was great to be back rooting for the home team. The Sharks, and the fans, didn't disappoint. After a bit of a slow start in the 1st period, Milan Michalek's 2nd period goal rallied the Sharks. As the area's energy heated up, Ryan Clowe scored a beauty that put the Sharks in control for the rest of the game. Captain Patrick Marleau added a goal in the 3rd.

The (super) star of the game was Mike "Dr. Hustle" Grier. Although he had no points, Grier was a force of his own. When I looked at the box score after the game, I was amazed to see he played less than thirteen minutes. It seemed as if he was involved with every play. Grier's hustle and heads up play will become as endearing to Sharks fans as Mr. Hockey Hair himself, Mike Ricci. Speaking of the fans, the decibel level at the Shark Tank was often over 100, at several times reaching 110db. That's like standing in front of a lawn mower.

Jay Money and his ladyfriend Carrie were there with me for Game 4. Once again, the Sharks dominated. Milan Michalek scored early in the 1st period, and that was just about the end of the drama. Miggy added a second goal late in the 2nd period, his two goals bookends for Joe Pavelski's beauty early in period two. The only real drama came with three minutes left, when Nashville coach Barry Trotts pulled the goalie. This allowed for a 6 on 4 power play, resulting in a Scott Hartnell goal. So there was a little bit of drama for the last three minutes.

A great moment of the night was the discovery of Smoke Tiki BBQ. I usually sit in the season seats, and spend a bit too much time on the club level. This time we were up in section 205, and I got to explore a little bit. I'm glad I did, the smoked brisket sandwich was fan-tastic! The corn and cole slaw were a bit lacking, but the sandwich is certainly worth an eat if you're there.

Goalie Evgeni Nabokov was the star of Game Four. His twelve 1st period saves set the tone for the game. Several times during the game, the Shark Tank erupted in cheers of "NA-BBY! NA-BBY!" after a fantastic save. Special mention must also be given to "Dr. Hustle" Mike Grier, who had another stellar game.

I know people have come to expect a picture of me with hot cheerleader type girls. Sadly, the HP Pavillion has none. The best I could do was a picture with a picture of the San Jose Sabercat (Arena Football) cheerleaders. Ah well.

The Sharks head back to Nashville with a 3-1 lead in the best of seven series. Things are looking good.

Troubled Waters

It's been a rough couple of weeks for the Sharks. Coming into the game tonight at the Honda Center in Anaheim, the Sharks had lost 6 of the last 8. They were looking to turn things around against the Ducks, but it was not to be.

The Sharks lost the contest 3-1. Although it was a tough game to lose, there were some positives to be taken away. New Shark Craig Rivet scored the Shark's lone goal in his first game in teal. He adds a needed grit and depth of experience to the young defensive corps. Trade deadline acquisition Bill Guerin played hard in his 2nd game with the Sharks, putting the puck on goal whenever the chance arose. Both trades were well done, and once the two new players get used to the team, they're going to give the Sharks the extra push they need in the playoffs. Evgeni Nabokov played a solid game in net, making some spectacular saves. It's a shame the Sharks can't seem to score when he starts. Overall, I thought the whole team played hard. They had chances and didn't make many blunders (Matt Carle being an exception with a horrible lack of hustle that led to a Chris Kunitz goal).



Thought I'd mix things up by letting Victoria take a picture with the hot Miller Lite girls. Scroll down a few entries to see my picture with them.



I can't believe I'm saying this, but, once again, I was really impressed with the fans at the Honda Center. There was screaming, shouting, and, it being Anaheim (this is the city that brought Thunder Sticks and Rally Monkeys to baseball), random assorted noise makers. What a leap since last season. I spoke with a season ticket holder who was sitting behind me, and he thought it was a mix of the team's success and hockey finally starting to catch on a bit in Orange County. I'm really interested to see what happens as time goes by. It would be fantastic if hockey interest in SoCal moves in the same direction it's going in San Jose.



One of the things I enjoyed most about the game was the rivalry between Sharks and Ducks fans. I've noticed in my travels that Sharks fans seem to be everywhere, and Anaheim is no exception. From little kids giving me the the thumbs down to adult fans shouting "Sharks suck!", the razzing was much appreciated. I've been to too many games in Southern California (and now Chicago) that we out of towners are louder than the local fans. Fear not, there were a lot of loud "Let's Go Sharks!!" cheers, but at least we were met face to face with shouts back.



One thing that still worries me is the lax SoCal attitude toward paying attention the whole time. People showed up well into the 1st period and left half way through the 3rd, even though the game was close. I understand that traffic is quite terrible in this part of the world, I live here too. Personally, I'd rather take an extra 10 minutes to get home and see the rest of the game. People, like those in front of us, also would come and go during the period. Not only is this annoying to others in the section, it seems pretty silly. I like beer as much as anyone, but I like hockey more.



Decided to go with Carl's Jr. for dinner tonight. I love my Bacon Western Cheeseburgers. Honestly, it's a better choice than the other arena food at the Honda Center. Dessert was a special treat- cheesecake from the dessert cart lady. It was about a dollar too much, but it was tasty indeed. Too bad the guy in front of us was such an asshole. He got super freaked out when the lady grazed the tip of one of his cookies with her thumb. He talked down to her, gave her shit for any little wrong move, had no consideration for the growing line behind him. I don't know what he was expecting at a hockey game, but the Honda Center isn't Le Cordon Bleu. What a dick.



I forgot to mention a special quirk of the Honda Center in the last blog. The men's room etiquette is very bizarre. Instead of forming one line, people line up behind individual urinals. This makes the bathroom unnecessarily crowded, and causes much distress when you have to pee and you get behind a few slow leakers. I really wanted to take a pic, but it seemed somehow inappropriate. My suggestion would be to go with the entrance/exit system that EVERYWHERE ELSE goes with. It works.



The slumping Sharks end the game with a 38-25-2 record. Their 78 points puts them 6th in the Western Conference.

Thank You, Barack Obama

This is a hockey blog, but, before I write about anything hockey related, something important must be said.

I think that most people who read Barack Obama's "The Audacity of Hope" take away some very important lessons on how to make themselves better people and make the world a better place. I took away the name of a restaurant. Don't get me wrong, I learned lessons and think that Obama would make a fantastic president. However, the most important thing in his book is that his favorite place to eat in Chicago is called MacArthur's.

Located in the impoverished West Side, MacArthur's is the best soul food joint I've ever eaten at. For real. Those of you that know me know I don't mess around with my food, so take it to heart when I say this is one of the best (and inexpensive) meals I've had in my life: smothered, fork tender pork chops; golden fried chicken; stewed, spiced yams, which perfectly complimented the pork chops; and, though lacking in bread crumbs, soul-warming mac-n-cheese. This place is as close to eating a southern grandma's home cooked meal as you can get without being cooked by a southern grandma (mmm, country ham and fried corn). If you're ever anywhere near Chicago, go here. By "anywhere near," I mean anywhere. Go here, now.

Now onto the game.

Located just past downtown Chicago is the United Center. It looks a little like a fancy prison or an electric company building. The inside is huge, it seats 20,500 for hockey. Sadly, no one showed up. It's rather disheartening that a city with so much hockey history can hardly fill a third of the building. I know the Blackhawks are a bad team, but a little bit of loyalty isn't too much to ask for. Especially when the parking is set wonderfully close to the arena.

The game was a bit of a snooze. The Sharks won 2-0, but both teams looked like they'd rather be home finding out who got booted off American Idol. Joe Thornton scored the 1st goal of the game and assisted Jonathan Cheechoo on the other. Evgeni Nabokov stopped 21 for his 4th shutout of the season.

Martha J, Bobby T, and Momma L were my Chicago hosts and companions at the game. Thanks to Bobby T, we scored some great seats behind the net. Fantastic view, and not a distraction anywhere near us. That's because we had about 4 sections to ourselves. No joke.

Look, it's me with more hot ice-bunnies. I think I'm seeing a tradition develop in these special hockey blogs. The ice girls job was to clean the ice around the goals during breaks, but, unlike the ones in Anaheim, the don't really do that so much. One or two skate out with a shovel, pick up some ice, and skate off. Then two guys with blue pant-suits and red hats do the rest of the work, without any credit.

There are a wide variety of food choices on the main level, less so on the top floor. We were lucky to have club seats, and with club seats comes easy-peasy in your seat food service. I tried the chicken strips (a pattern I'm trying to break!) with fries. The strips were high quality, served with a tasty BBQ sauce. The fries were alright.

A real treat was to be found at the appropriately named Club Desserts. It might not be the best idea to have a root beer float at a hockey game, but oh boy was it tasty. Martha J spilled a bit of hers trying to take a picture. Sad, though she lived to enjoy the rest of it.

The atmosphere in the United Center is a bit surreal. It's a strange mix of glorious history and contemporary apathy.

High in the rafters hang the banners of three Stanley Cup victories, and many conference and division championships. The sweaters of some of hockey's greats hang proudly nearby. The proud history of the Chicago Bulls is represented on the other side.

Outside the arena sits a statue of Blackhawk heroes, balanced on the other side by a tribute to Michael Jordon. Inside the arena store, Fandemonium, relics of past glory are displayed behind glass.

Frank Pellico is a reminder of the way it used to be, too. A wonderful organist, Mr. Pellico lets us listen to a great show in between the 2nd and 3rd periods, and entertains us throughout the game.

The apathy of today is best represented by the laziest mascot in the business, Tommy Hawk. He didn't appear until sometime in the 2nd period, and spent the rest of the game slowly moving from chair to chair. That's right, Tommy Hawk spent more time sitting in the (many) empty seats than getting the crowd motivated. When he tried to get a cheer going, he was met by half-assed claps and shouts. Tommy Hawk should be put out to roost.

The people behind the scenes at the United Center don't do much to help, either. A pre-game laser show looked like it was designed in the 80's. There was no great welcome of the Blackhawks when they took the ice. In fact, they skated on at the same time as the Sharks. Power plays seemed like no big deal. The PA announcer didn't do anything to get the crowd going, only speaking to announce information in a flat manner.

At the end of the day, the blame lies with the fans. If people don't show up, no electricity can be generated. The loudest crowd noise came at the end of the 2nd period, when fans booed the team off the ice. I'm sure there were quite a few loyal fans there, and I have a lot of respect for them. It's hard to support a team when it's been in the gutter for a long time.

I hope things change for the Blackhawks and Chicago fans. It's sad to see a place that so appreciates it's history abandoned.

The best way to describe Chicago is flat and sturdy. It's a city that doesn't mind being slow to change. The buildings are generally older, and built solid. The people and places can withstand brutal winters and hot summers. It was really cold, and I was amazed that no one was wearing hats. Except for me. You bet your ass I was.

Chicago is a wonderful city for food. I ate wonderful, hearty food the whole time. MacArthur's was amazing. Gino's East, one of Chicago's most famous deep dish pizza joints, was terrific. While I'm a New York pizza guy at heart, comparisons are unfair. Comparing NY vs. Chicago pizza is like comparing apple pie and pecan pie. Sure, they're both pie, but they're very different. Big props to Patsy the waitress at Gino's for being so damn cool.

I also ate at the Webber Grill. Awesome. They must have the best vent system in the world, because the place is filled with Webber charcoal grills, working overtime to provide tasty BBQ in various styles. The Carolina pulled pork was very good, the ribs were out of this world. Something tells me the burgers taste like the best backyard bar-b-q.

Despite the winter storm, adventures were still to be had. There was a journey to the Field Museum, where we saw Sue. Sue is the most complete T-Rex in the world. The Field also had the bones of Lucy, the oldest hominid on record. It's a great museum, as is the Museum of Science and Industry.

At the height of the snow and sleet storm, Martha and I walked to the Family Bar. It's a swell neighborhood drinking hole. The crowd is mixed, drinks are cheap ($6.50 for a cocktail and beer!), and darts is the game of choice. There was a competition taking place while we were there. It made our Shakespeare Santa Cruz games seem sad in comparison. Then again, we weren't very good. Only downside of the family bar, the juke box was crap.

I took Lucy with me on the trip. It was a great time for her, too. She had big house to play in, and a new special friend- Gabby. I'm not sure how they know each other so quickly, but Italian Greyhounds always make instant best friends. Lucy showed that she was the boss right away, taking the warm, comfy spot by the radiator. Gabby was not quick to give up, though, and there were many great fights over various squeaky toys. They had lots of crazy fun together.

The Sharks end the game with a 38-22-1 record. Their 77 points are good for 5th in the West, and they are 3 points behind the Ducks for the Pacific Division lead.

Many more great pictures on my flickr.

Fair Weather

A quick trip down the I-5 freeway from my home in a very un-winterlike Los Angeles (temps in the 80's all week), is the Honda Center, home of the Anaheim Ducks. If you had asked me a year ago what I thought of Ducks fans, I would have said they should be embarrassed of themselves. Very very embarrassed. One should hear cheering and screaming at games, not silence broken up by talks of going to the beach the next day.



Perhaps it was the security checkpoint, keeping knife and taser wielding ruffians out of the arena. Perhaps it's the fact that the Ducks are having a fantastic season. Perhaps it was the importance of this game. Whatever it was, the Honda Center was rocking tonight. I was impressed. The question is, are Ducks fans fair-weather fans?



This was one of the most exciting games I've been to in awhile. Both teams played hard- finishing checks, taking it to the net, sticking up for their teammates. Jonathan Cheechoo struck 1st for the Sharks, scoring a hot goal that bounced in and out of the net. The ref waived the goal off and play continued for nearly two minutes. However, the goal was reviewed, the clock set back, and the Sharks were up by one. Anaheim answered with two in a row, and things were looking bleak for the Sharks until Cheech's 20th goal tied the game with 10 minutes left. The game looked destined for overtime when Milan Michalek scored the game winner with 3 seconds left on a Sharks power play. Anaheim made the best of a 6-4 at the end of the game, but it wasn't enough. The Sharks really earned this victory.

One certainly has their choice of hot dogs at the Honda Center. However, Victoria, who took the trip with me from Los Angeles, and I decided to go for a different option. We both opted for chicken strips and fries at the clever, but falsely named, I Only Have Fries for You.





I think "I Only Have Fries..." should have stuck to, no, improved upon, what they say they do best. The chicken strips were totally average, and I would have expected better fries from a place that only has fries for me. The between period churro, or pastry stix as the sign translated for us gringos, was unfortunately terrible. Maybe on my next trip I'll try to BBQ sandwich or eat at Carl's Jr. (Which is, for the record, my favorite fast food joint. Yeah, I said it, I like Carl's Jr. better than In-and-Out. So there.) Well, at least Victoria took away the trash.




The Honda Center is a wonderful arena. After entering through a randomly festive entryway, I was greeted by super-foxy Miller Lite girls. What more can a fella ask for? The Honda Center opened in 1993, and until this season was named the Arrowhead Pond. As you can tell from my trip to the jobbing.com (kill me, again) Arena in Phoenix, I'm no fan of corporate naming. However, I did like the Arrowhead Pond. It made sense. Ducks live in a pond, ponds are made of water. Honda Center makes much less sense, but I suppose it's not horrible.



So the Honda Center has a few quirks. There are no escalators to get to the upper levels, and, as you can see, elevator access is rather restricted. Apparently, unless you're rich or disabled, you're walking. The concourse is made of marble floors and walls. It's a nice touch, though, I think it could have used a bit of variety. Victoria remarked, "aren't these bathroom tiles?"



Aside from a few quirks, the Honda Center is a great place to catch a hockey game. The place is a technical wonderland, with high tech lighting and amazingly clear and colorful electronic screens. The seats are really comfortable and all provide a great view. Parking is plentiful, nearby, and reasonably priced at $12. For a quick exit, park at the back of the lot on the left, near the blocked exit to Katella Ave. It will be open after the game, and you'll be on your way right quick.



The Sharks end the game with a 35-19-1 record. Their 71 points put them 5th in the Western Conference, 5 points behind Detroit, but only 3 points behind Anaheim for the Pacific Division lead. As for the Duck fans, the jury is still out. I'm interested to see what happens in the future.