Salad Is Slaughter

The Good:  Even with two key guys out with injuries (Marleau and Hannan), and one held up at the border due to immigration (Rivet) the Sharks managed to end regulation in a tie.

The Bad:  The condition of the ice, and Ron Wilson’s picks for the shootouts.  Repeat after me: Joe Thornton is a set up man, not a goal scorer.

The Ugly:  Ill-advised passes, defensive breakdowns at key moments, and the inability to bury the puck.

It was one point gained in the standings against one of the best teams in the league, but it should have been two.

Technorati Tags: hockey, nhl, san jose sharks

There was snow in the tops of the hills around the house when I got up this morning. The snow level was still too high for us to see any on the ground.

Note to self: when making pizza, don’t put so much sauce on it. You always put on at least twice what you should, and it always runs off the edge. Still, it was good pizza.

We’ve still got one more movie that I rented last weekend that we haven’t watched yet.

Heroes and Criminal Minds are the two best shows on television.

The Sharks received defenseman Craig Rivet and a fifth round pick in 2008 in exchange for defenseman Josh Gorges and a first round pick in 2007.  The Sharks desperately needed an experienced defenseman, but the price seems a bit high.  Luckily the Sharks have a lot of good young defensemen so they can absorb the loss.  However, I don’t like giving both Georges and a first round pick for what could be a rental player.  If Rivet re-signs at the end of the season, then this trade looks better.

Bill Guerin for forward Ville Nieminen, prospect Jay Barribal and a first round pick in 2007.  This is a steal for the Sharks.  Nieminen was always in Ron Wilson’s dog house, when he did play he didn’t show the nastiness he was reputed to have, and just seemed to coast on the ice.  Barribal is an undersized forward (currently a college player) who might make it in to the NHL someday if he can put on some muscle.  The Blues get a low draft pick, a prospect, and help the Sharks clear some cap space.  I’m surprised the price for Guerin was so low, considering what Atlanta paid for Tkachuk.

Scott Parker back to the Colorado Avalanche for a draft pick.  Parker was always hurt and didn’t play very many games for the past couple of years.  I don’t understand why Colorado did this trade.  Good move by the Sharks.

Nolan Schaefer to Pittsburg for a seventh round pick in ’07.  Schaefer was going to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, the Sharks have several young goalies in the pipeline that the organization claims are better, and there’s a goalie logjam in the big club.  Getting anything for Schaefer is a plus.

Technorati Tags: hockey, San Jose Sharks, NHL

I seriously considered writing a post that consisted of nothing but “Nabokov sucks,” “Nabokov couldn’t stop a beach ball,” “The weight in Nabokov’s wallet throws him off balance,” “The book on Nabokov is to shoot the puck at him,” “Nabokov lets in at least 2 soft goals every game,” “If Nabokov makes a stop, it’s by accident,” and so on, but I’ve beat that dead horse enough.  Nabokov sucks, he’s overpaid, and it’s a shame that he has a no trade clause.

So what happened last night aside from the Ducks having a better goal tender?  The Ducks team defense was better.  Much better.  They were always disrupting the passing lanes, and if there was a shooting lane available, they made sure that Bryzgalov had a clear view of the shot.  Yes, the Sharks out shot the Ducks 42-19, but most of those 42 shots were pretty low percentage.  The Ducks had much better defensive positioning than the Sharks for most of the night.

The Sharks forwards played okay last night; not great but good enough to win, had the defensive play been up to snuff, and if there had been an NHL caliber goal tender in net.  There were exceptions of course.  Mark Bell continues to demonstrate his powers of invisibility.  I still can’t believe Doug Wilson traded Tom Preissing (who’s leading the Senators in plus/minus) for this stiff.

The Sharks have repeatedly shown this year that they can’t skate with the big boys and given their talent laden roster, there’s no excuse for that.  I blame Ron Wilson.  If the Sharks do as I expect, and fall in the first or second round of the playoffs, RW should be shown the door.

Technorati Tags: hockey, San Jose Sharks, NHL

School for Scoundrels  C-  The only reason this movie didn’t get an F is because Billy Bob Thornton was great.  A New York City meter reader (John Heder) pays $5000 to join a class to learn to be less of a pussy.  Dr. P (Billy Bob Thornton) tries to steal his girl.  The parts of the movie with Thornton are genius.  The parts without him are almost unwatchable.  Can someone explain to me why John Heder keeps getting movie roles?  There is absolutely nothing likable about him.

My Super Ex-Girlfriend  B-  This movie had a nice premise:  what happens when you try to break up with your psycho bitch from hell girlfriend who just happens to be a super hero.  Luke Wilson discovers he’s dating the super hero “G-Girl” (Uma Thurman).  Things are going okay for a while, but he realizes he really loves his coworker (Anna Faris).  When and tries to break up with G-Girl, she vows revenge in all sorts of super hero ways.  Wanda Sykes had a few small but very funny scenes.

Flyboys  B+  Prior to America’s involvement in the First World War, Americans traveled to France to learn to fly and fight the invading Germans.  Flyboys had a decent story and realistic effects.  Watching these guys fly and fight in such primitive aircraft was a real eye opener.  Flyboys is a bit long, but it’s interesting.

Employee of the Month  D  I saw a movie called Employee of the Month two years ago, almost to the day.  That movie was reminiscent of a Coen brothers movie, and I loved it.  It’s unfortunate that this stinker has the same title.  Dane Cook works in a Costco-like store (complete with Kirkland brand products) and falls for Jessica Simpson.  For the most part the jokes are stupid, the plot predictable, and Jessica Simpson has huge ears.  This was a movie that did not need to get made.

Technorati Tags: movies