TGIF

Nothing like a 2 1/2 month leave and an accidental Flickr purge to make you miss writing for an old blog that is more like a stream-of-consciousness outlet. I think it was the Flickr purge that did it, though, seeing as I don't have the monies to pony up for a pro account and had to delete the original TFRJ banner to clear up space.

In those weeks...
...everything the Giants did was (OMGZ!) logical and reasonable. No mortgaging the future on Manny Ramirez. No trading away Jonathan Sanchez. Shoring up the bullpen by inking Affeldt and Howry to short-term deals, and doing the same with Renteria and Phelps. Now, having Uribe as backup SS/3B, the roster as currently constructed is probably what we're going to get come Opening Day. Though the team is still lacking in the power department, the Giants should feasibly hit more than last season's total of 94 home runs, especially with full seasons from Sandoval, Ishikawa, Frandsen, and Lewis.

...the Sharks have become the Bay Area's darling (read: winning) franchise. Much of their success has come McClellan's new puck possession, shot-on-goal philosophy: the Sharks' blueline has greatly improved from its 2007-08 predecessors, thanks to the acquisitions of Boyle, Blake, and Lukowich. Though they hit a rough patch in the beginning of January, their play has trended back up as of late, and even Alexei Semenov has started to notch some points.

...the 49ers, after 8 OC candidates, finally settl on Jimmy Raye. Probably the best aspect that Raye offers is his extensive experience in the NFL. Probably the worst thing is that after that buzz around Linehan, Raye isn't anyone I'm too familiar with, but Singletary knows what's best for the 49ers.

...the Warriors have regressed mightily from the 2007-08 season. Part of it hinges on the injury bug that has taken a liking to nearly every player in Nellie's rotation. The other part is the lack of defense that Nellie's running game perpetuates. On average, the Warriors give up a -4.8 point differential and a 46.6% opponent FG%, but to their credit, their W-L record should be 16-30 rather than 14-32, a result of several buzzer-beater losses. The team should benefit as Monta Ellis comes back to full speed (pun partially intended).

All in all, it's good to be back

2008 Sharks Draft Wrapup

A quick look at the guys the Sharks drafted this past weekend.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Previous Affiliation
3rd	62nd	Justin Daniels	Center	Kent High School
4th	92nd	Samuel Groulx	Defenseman	Quebec of QMJHL
4th	106th	Harri Sateri	Goalie	Tappara of Finnish Junior League
5th	146th	Julien Demers	Defenseman	Ottawa 67s
6th	177th	Tommy Wingels	Center	Miami Ohio University
7th	186th	Jason Demers	Defenseman	Victoriaville of QMJHL
7th	194th	Drew Daniels	Right wing	Kent High School

Justin and Drew Daniels - Fun fact: Justin and Drew Daniels are twin brothers. In their sophomore year (2006) at Suffern, they led Section 1 with 91 points and 90 points, respectively, before transferring to Kent High School. Before the draft, Justin was ranked #102 by Central Scouting's Mid-Term Ranking, Drew at #113.

Justin's assets

He has the combination of hands, speed, and offensive ability. He has a long stride and the ability to take the puck in the defensive zone and quickly turn up ice with it. He cycles the puck very well and showed good hands in tight and ability to play through traffic. When he has the puck, he really can control the play and the pace.

Drew's assets

A solid all-around player, who is more of a playmaker with his 36 assists on the season. He has a quick shot and showed good poise with the puck and should be a solid contributor at the college level.

Those scouting notes are from Rivals, where you can also read a great interview with both of the brothers.

Sam Groulx - Fun fact: Vlasic is Groulx's favorite NHL player. Ranked #76 by Central Scouting. Not as much information on the interwebs about Groulx as was the Daniels twins, but here's what Chris Edwards from NHL Central Scouting said of him:

Groulx's assets

Samuel was often used on both the power-play and penalty kill units, showing good puck movement from the point and good body position in front of the net to prevent the opposition from gathering rebounds. His at his best when he plays a simple controlled style game, but needs to improve his overall strength and decision making.

Groulx's 2007-2008 stats.

Harri Sateri - In addition to having the coolest name out of all the Sharks' picks, Central Scouting ranked him the second-best European goalie overall. What Goran Stubb, the NHL's Director of European Scouting had to say:

Sateri's assets

Harri is a solid goalie with a low mistake rate. He'll be a key player for the Finns during the upcoming season at the World Juniors in Ottawa. He could go in the third or fourth round of this year's draft.

A scout's observations:

Sateri has the coverage and quickness to make the necessary saves as well as the mental abilities to keep up with the game.

Sateri's stats from 2006-2008.

Julien Demers - Demers went to the 2008 OHL All-Star game as a rep for the Eastern Conference. Central Scouting ranked him #83 overall. Scouting reports from Chris Edwards and Ottawa 67's coach Brian Kilrea.

Demers' assets

Julien is a physically strong defenseman, who is solid on his skates, but he needs to improve his mobility and playmaking ability. He is at his best when he uses his strength to his advantage and keeps his puck handling simple.

Quietly Julien has become a top player in our league and is underrated by many. He is what every NHL team wants, a big, strong defensive defenseman who can move the puck. He is strong in the corners and in front of the net and can back up any challenge.

Demers' stats from 2007-08.

Tommy Wingels - Wingels was named MVP at the 2007 USHL All-Star/Prospects Game. Central Scouting hasn't ranked him, but they listed him as a "B" player in their 2006-07 Players to Watch List. Chicago Sports also has a nice article about his experience as a freshman Miami-Ohio.

Wingels stats from 2007-08.

Jason Demers - No, he's not related to Julien. According to the Sharks' website:

Demers' assets

Jason was first among all QMJHL defensemen in scoring and second on his team. He also participated as a member of San Jose’s rookie tournament squad prior to the 2007-08 season. Demers impressed Burke and his staff enough to be drafted by San Jose after his impressive junior season.

Nice. Demers' stats from Victoriaville.

New Coach, No Shiny Trophies

Three days after Ron Wilson left the team for good, the Sharks quickly one-upped the Leafs by hiring Todd McLellan. Before yesterday's press conference, McLellan was most recently sighted doing this:

Despite inexperience as a head coach in the NHL, he brings the discipline of the Red Wings and the authority of a coach who has been on a Stanley Cup-winning team. His training camp gameplan for getting the Sharks past the second round:

speed through the center of the ice, getting to the net and keeping opponents' goalies busy with plenty of shots.

For now, a warm welcome for the man who can, I hope, light a fire under Thornton's behind come playoff time.

---

In other Shark related news, Martin Brodeur wins the Vezina Trophy. Again. Brodeur is undoubtedly a top-notch goalie, but look at Nabokov. There were plenty of games last season where Nabby singlehandedly kept the Sharks from losing. Not to mention the epic 53-save performance to force 4 overtimes in Game 6 until the Stars got the winning bounce. Well, at least that's something else the Sharks can avenge for next season.

Foxes Down an 0-2 Hole

Yup. This happened 5 times tonight.
There's no point mincing words at this stage of the playoffs. Tonight's game was downright embarrassing. Last month's Sharks would not have let a team score 4 straight times without a response, or at least a change in game-play.

Let's see how the Stars won tonight:

[1st 4:23] Mike Ribeiro scores, assisted by Brenden Morrow and Mattias Norstrom. Morrow dominated Christian Ehrhoff behind the net to set up the play.

[3rd 19:28] Brad Richards scores thanks to a horrendous giveaway by Joe Pavelski.

[3rd 16:21] Mike Modano PP goal, assisted by Sergei Zubov and Brad Richards. In context of overly lenient officiating in playoff games, the penalty against Ehrhoff was questionable at best. No excuse for shoddy powerplay defense, though.

[3rd 6:05] Nicklas Hagman scores, assisted by Brad Richards and Loui Eriksson. Yet another case of puck-fumbling.

[3rd 1:15] Niklas Hagman scores an empty-netter, assisted by Brad Richards. Just the cherry on top of a disappointing performance.

Sweet, Sweet, Sweet Victory

Sharks 3 - 1 Ducks
Pacific Division Champions
Second best record in the league
Second seed in the Western Conference
Home ice for the first two rounds (and the Stanley Cup Finals, provided they reach)
Another banner to hang from the rafters

A Wild One at the Shark Tank

• First off, congratulations Sharkies! The Sharks clinched a playoff spot by sweeping the season series against the Wild 4-3 (SO).
• Curtis Brown got back on the ice for the first time since breaking his arm against Detroit in January. He notched a goal and an assist and will be a valuable presence as the regular season winds down. I like the way Yahoo Sports puts it:

  He will be key for the Sharks' late run, but not for yours.

• The game's first goal of the night was a pretty one.

  Brown led a three-on-one rush with Patrick Marleau and Jeremy Roenick and they created a picture-perfect tic-tac-toe play for the lead. Brown fed it up ice to Marleau, who dropped it back to Brown when he crossed the blue line. Then the puck moved back over to Marleau on the left and across to Roenick on the right side and he tapped it in.

  With his 507th goal, Roenick tied Jean Beliveau for 3rd for career goals.
• Scary collision: Kurtis Foster and Torrey Mitchell were racing for the puck for a touch icing call. Both of them crashed into the boards, with Foster getting the brunt of the damage. It wasn't a dirty play, but rather the result of the NHL's rule for touch icing (which Drew Remenda campaigned against while the medical team attended to Foster).

  Minnesota defenseman Kurtis Foster's broken left leg is the latest gruesome reminder of the dangers of touch-up icing in the fast-paced NHL.
  
  Foster will miss the rest of the season, including the playoffs, after crashing hard into the boards Wednesday night during a race to the puck with San Jose rookie Torrey Mitchell. Foster had surgery Thursday to repair a displaced fracture in his femur, and a stabilizing rod was put into his leg.

  I really hope he has a speedy and full recovery and can hit the ice again.
• The game went into shootout after the Wild tied 2-all on a 6-on-4 power play near the end of the 3rd period.

  After Pavelski and Burns scored on the first round of shots and Marleau and Gaborik were turned aside on their attempts, Roenick netted his shot through the glove side of Backstrom. Mikko Koivu took the final shot for Minnesota and Nabokov snatched the shot with his glove. After making the save, the winning goaltender threw the puck in the air and drop-kicked it in celebration

Welcome, Brian Campbell

Contract extension. Now.

An Open Letter to the San Jose Sharks

hype it up!

Sounding Off 2007: Part 2

San Francisco 49ers

Drafting Patrick Willis and Joe Staley: One is the leader of the NFL in tackles and is a defensive workhorse every single game. The other won a starting job and ousted Kwame Harris from his and is one of the lone bright spots on the offensive line. If there was a draft do-over, I'd take these same two guys.

The "sexy" pick: After witnessing a two game surge, including a win over the Broncos to knock them out of the playoffs, to bring the 49ers' record to 7-9, many sportswriters chose the Niners as the playoff darkhorse. It was logical to think that way: Alex Smith's improvement, the wide array of offensive weapons, including new players such as Ashley Lelie and Darrell Jackson, and a strengthened defense with Nate Clements. Hell, one writer had the 49ers going to the SuperBowl.

Alex Smith: Two ugly wins, a separated shoulder, and a well-chronicled clash with Mike Nolan. 2007 was not good to Smith.

Mike Nolan: The hiring of Jim Hostler, questionable in-game decisions, and constant criticizing by the media. 2007 was not good to Nolan, either.

The emergence of Shaun Hill: For two and a half games, Niners fans saw a glimmer of what might have been. Hill, the third-string QB with not one pass in the NFL, led the team to a brief two-game winning streak. He connected with his receivers (even Darrell Jackson), showed great poise, field vision, and mobility out of the pocket (even against Tampa Bay), and threw passes reminiscent of the glory days of the West Coast offense. Though two games is in unbelievably small sample size, Nolan has already stated that Hill is a candidate for the starting spot next season.

San Jose Sharks

Failure to make it past the 2nd round. Again: After beating the Nashville Predators 4-1, the Sharks went on to face the Detroit Red Wings, one of the few teams with the ability to outplay the Sharks consistently. The Sharks took a 2-1 lead, only to allow a gametying goal in Game 4 and then lose in overtime. The Sharks dropped the next two in a row, falling out of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Sharks win the 2008 Stanley Cup: Joe Thornton also wins the Conn Smith Trophy. Wait, what? This is only a simulation? Somebody obviously forgot to tell Los Tiburones in the beginning of the season, when they mailed it in almost every other game.

One number one: The Sharks traded Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell to the Toronto Maple for a 1st, 2nd, and 4th round draft picks, which eventually netted them Logan Couture, and 18 year old center.

Schizophrenia: Home- 6-9-3. Road- 16-3-2. 'Nuff said.

Happy Joe Thornton Day!

Today, November 30, 2007, marks the two-year anniversary of the Joe Thornton trade from Boston to San Jose. Let’s remember that day, shall we?

Sharks send: Marco Sturm, Wayne Primeau, and Brad Stuart
Bruins send: Joe Thornton

Both the Sharks and Bruins were struggling that season. The Bruins went 1-8-1 in their last ten games, while the Sharks earned no wins with a streak of 0-7-3.

What they said:

We gave away three quality guys for a dominant centerman," said defenseman Kyle McLaren, a former teammate of Thornton's in Boston. "It's a big move for us. And Joe's the type of player that can help our team right now.

Added Sharks captain Patrick Marleau: "There's not one team out there that wouldn't want to have him on their team.

"Once you get over the shock of losing three of our friends, I think we're going to really come to enjoy watching Joe Thornton play every night," said [Ron] Wilson.

It was emotional," Thornton said, a day after he was part of a four-player trade that landed him with the Sharks. "But as the night went on, I kind of calmed down. Now, I'm excited to start something new.

Of the traded Sharks trio, only Sturm is still on the Bruins. Primeau and Stuart are on the Flames and the Kings, respectively. Today, the Bruins are 3rd in their division, 6th in the Eastern Conference, and the Sharks are 2nd and 7th. Despite the seeming divisional balance, Thornton’s continued performances as a franchise cornerstone reaffirms the fact that the Sharks pulled off one of the greatest heists in NHL history.

Tonight against the Avalanche, Thornton dazzled once again, netting two goals and handing out an assist to lead the Sharks to a 3-2 victory.

This is home for me," Thornton said. "This is where I want to be for the rest of my career, so it's been a good two years, and many more to come.

More hardware to come!
This, among other reasons, is why every night I say thank you to the heavens for gracing the Sharks with Joe Thornton.

(Late) Congratulations to Jeremy Roenick

… for scoring his 500th goal two night ago against the Coyotes. The goal itself was unconventional: shot from center ice, bounced off the back boards, bounced off Alex Auld’s back and into the net. Roenick joined the ranks of Mike Modano and Joe Mullen as American-born players with 500 career goals.

In another scheduling quirk, the Sharks face the Coyotes again tonight. If the Sharks can keep up the play from the last game, then there should be no problem notching another win. At least I hope.

[UPDATE] Sharks pounded the Coyotes 5-0. I wish FSN broadcasted the game so I wouldn't have to watch the carnage that was the 49ers/Seahawks game. Flat out terrible. Eh, I might as well do a little odds & ends link dump.

• Ray Ratto: Time to turn off the Niners [SFGate]
• Sharks beat Coyotes again (and can you believe they're playing each other again on Thursday?) [SFGate.com]
• Open Feel Sorry For Ourselves Thread (and lament the fact that Bay Area sports are at a near all time low) [McCovey Chronicles]
• Stanford's Got the Goods (hooray for Stanford men's basketball!) [SFGate.com]
• You can't not love Andris Biedrins. [warriors.com]
  
• Bill James Handbook Projections (I have a post about this tomorrow) [Fangraphs.com]
  

Headdesk: Why Won't the Sharks Push the "ON" Button?

VS
SHARKS ------------------ .500 RECORD TEAM

Sharks are relentless, determined, swift, agile, bright and fearless. We plan to build an organization that has all those qualities.

- Matt Levine on the team's new name in 1990

What do the adjectives relentless, determined, swift, agile, bright, and fearless have in common with a .500 record?

They don't.

Numerous fans this season have cried out, wondering how a team with the likes of Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, and Jonathan Cheechoo on the ice can play like a team of mediocrities. On paper, this team is the embodiment of the Six Commandments of a Shark. On the ice, they lack the sporting world’s Great Commandment: determination. If thou art better than thy opponent, then thou shalt play like thou art.

The Sharks have some of the best, if not the best, talent assembled on the roster. The problem is, they just don’t seem to want it as much as the other team does. Take the Sharks’ 2-1 loss to the Bruins (the Bruins!) in the fifth game of the season. The Sharks could not take control of the game, despite limiting the Bruins to one goal for most of the game and no shots in the second period. Then, they finally notched a goal to tie 1-1, only to kick back, not execute a simple play to clear the puck, and watch the Bruins score a game-winning goal in the dying seconds of regulation.

Perhaps the Sharks read about the simulation where the sim-Sharks won the whole thing. Sorry guys, but waving a copy of NHL 08 at the other team isn’t quuuiiite the same as winning for real.

Perhaps the better question would be: when will the Sharks pull their heads out of their collective ass?

New Unis, Old Look

Brian Hayward reppin' the Sharks' first uniform.


Joe Thornton rockin' the new retro uni. (oxymoron, anyone?)



I’m a big fan of retro unis, so I think these look pretty fly. The little bits of burnt orange they incorporated sets off the teal and the white nicely without overwhelming the color scheme (see: Warriors’ alternate jersey). I'll give the teal home jerseys the edge here. Though the white jerseys are aesthetically pleasing as well, I'm not too fond of the shiny material used on the name and back number. Maybe it's over-enhanced by the TV and camera lights, but I'm sure it looks better in person. Props to RBK and the Sharks design team for fusing new jersey technology and retro themes together so well.

Official press release [SJ Sharks]

Sharks 4 Bagger: 9/15

Go Sharks!

- Ralph Barbieri's catchphrase (in a somewhat bronchitis-laden voice)

• One of the Sharks’ greatest strengths is stockpiling blue-chip prospects and setting them up to contribute at an elite level. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Joe Pavelski, and Matt Carle were just three of the Sharks’ most recent successes last season. Here is the top 20 list of the organization’s most highly-touted prospects:

Sharks Top 20 prospect list:
1. RW - Devin Setoguchi
2. C - Logan Couture
3. G - Thomas Greiss
4. D - Ty Wishart
5. D - Nick Petrecki
6. RW - Jamie McGinn
7. C - Torrey Mitchell
8. LW - Lukas Kaspar
9. G - Timo Pielmeier
10. G - Taylor Dakers
11. RW - Mike Morris
12. G - Tyson Sexsmith
13. C - P.J. Fenton
14. C - Steven Zalewski
15. D - Dan Spang
16. D - Derek Joslin
17. C - Tony Lucia
18. G - Alex Stalock
19. D - James DeLory
20. LW - Patrik Zackrisson

• First-round pick Logan Couture wants to stick around for a while. [SJ Mercury]

• Some video footage of a training camp scrimmage at Logitech Ice Center. [Sharkspage]

• Media Day interviews: Jonathan Cheechoo, Evgeni Nabokov, Coach Ron Wilson, and new signee Jeremy Roenick.

• Roenick can't wait to get back on the ice. [SJ Sharks]
• What to look for during training camp. [SJ Sharks]
• Soccer + hockey = sockey? The group that owns the Sharks is going to buy a minority share in the San Jose Earthquakes. [Soccer Silicon Valley Blog]
  

Many thanks to sharkspage.com for providing the videos and links. Go check them out for more Sharks news!

Sharks Sign Veteran Jeremy Roenick

I know the guy who drew the old Sharks logo. This one's cool too.

Every great team has the obligatory loudmouth and/or hotheaded player*. The Warriors, hopefully a soon-to-be great team, have Stephen Jackson. When the 49ers were still in playoff contention, they had T.O. The Kobe and Shaq Laker days had, well, Kobe. Now it's time to throw the Sharks into the mix.

Enter Jeremy Roenick, a 37-year old center, who signed with the Sharks today for one more shot at the Cup. He's been a great player in his 18-year career: an All Star nine different times, a two-time US Olympian, and a 495-goal scorer, trailing only Mike Modano and Joey Mullen for most goals scored by an American-born player. His mouth, however, seems to be more famous than his achievements. He's made more than a few criticisms about the US team, fans, and other players.



When fans were accusing hockey players about being "spoiled":

We're going to try to make it better for everybody, period, end of subject. And if you don't realize that, then don't come. We don't want you at the rink, we don't want you in the stadium, we don't want you to watch hockey... I say personally, to everybody who called us 'spoiled,' you guys are just jealous ... we have tried so, so hard to get this game back on the ice.

Everybody out there who calls us spoiled because we play "a game", they can kiss my ass. They can all kiss my ass.

When he was not selected to be a member of the US hockey team:

I know nobody on that team has more points in the National Hockey League than me. So if they want to go that way, good luck... [t]o not have the opportunity to go back one more time and try and win the gold is obviously, in my opinion, very disrespectful.

When talking to the media after Game 3 of the 1996 Western Conference semis between the Chicago Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche:

I'd like to know where Patrick was in Game 3 (a game in which Roenick had scored on Patrick Roy), probably up trying to get his jock out of the rafters.

Despite all the controversy around him, he seems like he’s an outgoing guy. He sings along with the music played in the arena during a game, dances, and makes jokes about his whiteness.

Reading his bio, I’m actually starting to like Roenick. I don’t mind his snarky comments since he brings toughness and veteran savvy** to the Sharks that could advance them further into the playoffs. He’ll probably become one of the more vocal leaders on the team, even though he said he’ll tone it down a little bit. I’m hoping that his critical eye helps keep the team focused, but not lead to any distractions on and off the ice.

Here’s one more quote about him, this time from coach Ron Wilson:

You bring in guys that are at the end of their run, and they don't want to look back and have any regrets. Nobody can question Jeremy's willingness to compete. ... We're building on the experience we had last year. We had some success, but Jeremy — certainly one thing about him, he's not tentative. He'll run over his best friend if he has to.

* Every team except the San Antonio Spurs. Those guys just keep plodding along, winning championships every other year.

** “Veteran savvy” should be read with a positive connotation in mind. Damn Sabean for corrupting an otherwise acceptable phrase.

Welcome to The Front Row Johnson

No, this isn't an usher greeting a fan who bought $110+ Section 115 Field Club seats for a Giants-Dodgers game at Mays Field. Here's the real background on the origin of this blog's name:

FRONT-ROW JOHNSON n. A home run that lands in the first row of seats. Origin: Don Robinson, who pitched for the Giants in 1987-91, used "Johnson'' as an all-purpose suffix, often for no reason at all. Krukow said, "If Don Robinson wanted you to hand him the ball bag, he would say, 'Hand me that ball-bag-Johnson right there.' '' No matter how nonsensical, it crept into Krukow's vocabulary.

As for me, I'm just a long time Bay Area sports fan. My name is Catherine and I'm a Giants, 49ers, Warriors, Sharks, and once-they-come-back Earthquakes fan, but I started out as a bleeding black-and-orange kid. I remember the very first sports game ever my dad took me to: Giants vs. Dodgers (aka Bums or Evils on this blog) at the 'Stick. Sadly, I don't remember much of the actual game, but I do remember one thing loud and clear: the "Beat LA" chants reverberating throughout the stadium. I was hooked. From learning to throw a fastball, to a Jason Schmidt poster, to bouncing off the walls during the 2002 playoff run, I'm a diehard Giant.

Everything else just naturally branched off from there.

The Front Row is a conglomeration of the sole (so-lay) of the Bay Area. The soul and the awesome, as Isaac Sopoaga defines the Samoan word.

So here I am, writing on my very first blog which hopefully will be as fun for you (and me) as catching a front-row Johnson.

Feel free to shoot an email: frontrowjohnson@gmail.com