Classic Dishes...



There Is No Spoon

Western Conference Finals, Game Five
Calgary Flames 3
San Jose Sharks 0
(Calgary leads series 3-2)

We’re not gonna talk any more about the game last night then I have to to keep you up to speed. Suffice it to say that these guys can’t handle the pressure of performing in front of the home fans at this level.

The good news is, Calgary can’t either.

The bad news is, Game Seven would be in San Jose.

So who knows. I’m inclined to agree with those who would rather have it end gracefully on Wednesday in Calgary then have my heart ripped out and stomped on again come Friday night. And if it ends Wednesday, then I can go gaming on Friday like I usually do.

And if I keep saying that long enough, eventually I’ll start believing it. Yup.

Best of Three

Western Conference Finals, Game Four
San Jose Sharks 4
Calgary Flames 2
(Series tied 2-2)

And Game Five is tonight in San Jose. For once I’m glad to be playing back-to-back games, the Sharks have played so well of late. This is actually starting to look good for the Men In Teal. Make no mistake, tho, it’s an even-up two-out-of-three series, and the team who wins Game Five is in the driver’s seat to win the series.

What’s amazing, tho, is that we’re doing all of it without Marco Sturm. Can you imagine what this team would look like if he were healthy? Wow.

Burn Baby Burn

Western Conference Finals, Game Three
San Jose Sharks 3
Calgary Flames 0
(Flames lead series 2-1)

Now we may have a series. The Sharks did a lot last night, including: their first win in the Conference Finals, a shutout that Nabokov desperately needed for his confidence, and a win on the road. On top of that, Alex Korolyuk got to stick it to the coach who wouldn’t play him. The only remaining stigma is winning at home, and they’ll at least get a Game Five in which to do that back in San Jose. Game Four is Sunday at 1:00P on ESPN.

I’m not even gonna bother with a Survivor Spoiler, because if you didn’t know that Rupert had the Viewer Vote Million sewn up from the get-go, then you weren’t paying attention. He could have dropped his pants and farted the theme from Jaws for twenty seconds and Probst woulda been writing his name on that check. Which is fine with me, he’s clearly a good guy and that money will do a lot of good things for his family and those close to him. That said, the “America’s Tribal Council” show was still fun to watch, just to see Rupert roar at the assembled audience. I get the idea he’d be a fun guy to attend a football game with.

Got the parts for my pimp-ed out PC case the other day. Hopefully I’ll drop the parts into it Sunday during the game, if I watch it at home. I shall try to post a picture when it’s done. I have discovered that a chase-light kit exists, which I may pick up a couple of down the road (one kit contains 10 LEDs, to do it right I’d want around 20, I think) and attempt to install around the edge of the window. :)

I left my cellphone at home today, by accident. It’s silly, considering I don’t use it much at all, but I feel naked without it, like THIS is the time something is gonna happen where I need it. So let’s hope for an incident-free day, huh?

Game On, Flame Out

Western Conference Finals, Game One
Calgary Flames 4
San Jose Sharks 3
(F/OT, Flames lead series 1-0)

Whatcha gonna do. Both teams played as good a game as you could ask, and it came down to a mental slip-up that caught the Sharks in a line-change in OT.

I had meant to post the whole Conference Finals schedule here, but life got in the way and I didn’t get around to it. So here’s the rest of it:

1) Calgary 4, San Jose 3 (F/OT, Flames lead series 1-0)

2) Calgary at San Jose, Tue. May 11, 6:00P, ESPN

3) San Jose at Calgary, Thu. May 13, 7:00P, ESPN

4) San Jose at Calgary, Sun. May 16, 1:00P, ESPN

5) Calgary at San Jose, Mon. May 17, 7:00P, ESPN

6) San Jose at Calgary, Wed. May 19, 6:00P, ESPN

7) Calgary at San Jose, Fri. May 21, TBA, ESPN

Okay, I can breathe now.

Western Conference Semifinal
Colorado Avalanche 1
San Jose Sharks 3
(Sharks win series 4-2)

Bring on the Flames. I don’t even know when Game One is yet, nor do I care (of course, you’ll know when I do), but this is the best birthday EVER. :)

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Programming Note, And One Year Closer To Death

Little programming note: those who thought that Game Six of the Sharks / Avalanche series would be tonight (as you might infer from the every-other-day nature of most playoff series), your humble Host included, were incorrect. It is in fact tomorrow, Tuesday, the 4th, at 5:00P, broadcast nationally on ESPN.

Tuesday also marks the completion of my 33rd circuit of the sun. This doesn’t bode well for the game, as going back to Little League my teams do not have the best of luck on my birthday. I think I won one baseball game on…well, it woulda been my 11th. And standing out in right field, I had not a thing to do with it.

One more little thing, for those of you who watch(ed) Angel on the WB: being, I assume, a demon and all, why doesn’t Lorne kill all of the humans he hangs out with?

And you people wonder why I don’t believe in God.

And save the goddamn condolences, because you have NO idea.

Western Conference Semifinal
Colorado Avalanche 2
San Jose Sharks 1
(F/OT, Sharks lead best-of-seven series 3-2)

Equal Time

Well, shit.

Western Conference Semifinal
Colorado Avalanche 1
San Jose Sharks 0
(F/OT, Sharks lead best-of-seven series 3-1)

Game Five is Sunday at noon on ABC.

Doing my part to spread Shark Fever in the Northwest…

I promised some folks on the San Jose Sharks mailing list that I’d take a picture of my office corkboard with all of my Sharks paraphenelia on it, and my new playoff towel arrived in the mail today (thanks again to the sender, you know who you are), so I brought in the camera and did so, and I figure I’ll post ’em here for everyone to enjoy.

There are two, actually: one is of my corkboard which has the towels up on it, and the other is my whiteboard upon which I am tracking all of the series as they play out. (Sorry about the whiteboard being a little dark – the flash was creating a glare.)

From the rarefied air of the Mile High City…

…tonight’s NHL Playoff update:

Western Conference Semifinal
Colorado Avalanche 0
San Jose Sharks 1
(Sharks lead best-of-seven series 3-0)

The Sharks have never enjoyed a 3-0 lead in a playoff series, and are now a single win away from their first Conference Finals appearance in franchise history.

Game Four is Wednesday night in Denver.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to continue dancing around my apartment like a madman.