Final Fantasy 13 New Trailer

This trailer led me to a few observations:
-The combat system reminds me a lot of Valkyrie Profile's.  If you can't tell what is going on in that video, basically every character has a button assigned to them (square, X, triangle, circle).  You have a limited amount of points you can expend with an attack per turn, and every character's attack expends a certain amount of points.  So you use a combination of attacks accordingly.  And in Valkyrie Profile, if you can combo enough attacks, you charge up the bar at the lower left corner, which will allow you to unleash super attacks (just fancy animations for massive damage).

-I have a very vague (and probably inaccurate) understanding of the story.  From what I got from the trailer, the storylinegoes something like there is an underground (or above ground, since they said the underground was evil) society where they don't allow their citizens to go outside of an enclosed area.  Apparantly a group of people (where the main characters are) don't like this societal structure and run around wreaking havoc.  Of course, there is a bigger plot that probably ties in with why the society is enclosed int he first place.  Kind of like Ergo Proxy.

-There was voice acting involved.  Does that mean there will be horrible English voice-overs for the US release?  Or will it be like Disgaea where you can choose what language you have the characters speak in?

-Where have I seen a giant scorpion robot before?  Possibly another Final Fantasy title?

Verdict: If the combat system is anything like Valkyrie Profile, then it is an improvement over the standard turn based system used in classic Final Fantasy titles, but it still is a pretty straight forward, dull way to kill enemies.  If the trailer was actually depicting some sort of real time battle, where you control each character, and you actually have to chain attacks together while dodging or absorbing hits, then that would be really cool.  Considering how long this Final Fantasy title has been in production, I wouldn't put it past them to come up with something like that, although the programming for it would be insanely difficult and probably won't happen either.  That said, I'm not too excited about the gameplay, or the voice-acting, so hopefully the story will be epic.  But it's not like enclosed societies with rebellions inside hasn't been explored before (The Matrix, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann to name a couple more).

Nabokov Remains Perfect After All-Star Break, Sharks Beat Coyotes 2-0

Evgeni Nabokov has not allowed a goal in the last 170:10 minutes of play, as he gets his second shutout in two games in a hard-hitting, well-goaltended game in a 2-0 San Jose Sharks win over the Phoenix Coyotes.  Nabokov has not allowed a goal since before the All-Star Break, making 24 saves and getting lots of help from the special teams to get a win that propels the Sharks past the Boston Bruins for first place in the NHL and 8 points ahead of second place in the Western Conference, which is currently held by the Detroit Red Wings.

The game was close throughout, with only one goal getting past both goaltenders in the entire game.  The battle was dominated by the big hitters and the penalty kill, with both teams getting heavily penalized but only going for a combined 1 for 11 on the power play.  The 1 was a goal scored by Christian Ehrhoff, who has 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in the past 4 games.  The goal was started after San Jose failed to capitalize on their first two power plays.  It took the entire power play unit to get the goal set up.  Joe Thorton passed the puck in front of the net to Devin Setoguchi, who shot the puck and had a rebound go to Patrick Marleau's stick.  Marleau then passed the puck to Ehrhoff in the high slot, who shot it and had the puck deflect off a Phoenix defender and past Ilya Bryzgalov, who played a spectacular game stopping 27 of 28 shots.  The physical game was present throughout, with 64 total hits in the game.  Defense was also present, especially in the last 2 minutes of the game where Phoenix pulled their goaltender during a power-play to make it 6 on 4.  However, they failed to capitalize on the opportunity and Marcel Goc scored his first goal since October 25th into the empty net to seal the win.  An earlier goal by Ryane Clowe was disallowed after video review showed that it was kicked in.
"It was a great battle.  The match up was pretty good.  They play us hard every night," Nabokov said.

Although Nabokov has a shutout streak going, the record holder for the longest shutout streak in the regular season is held by another San Jose goaltender, the backup Brian Boucher, who had 5 shutouts in a row when playing for the Phoenix Coyotes.  Nabokov was not voted into the All-Star Game, despite having 25 regular season wins, but denied the possibility of the extra time off being a factor in his outstanding play since.  "I think it's just a matter of concentration... I didn't do anything different, to be honest with you.  I still had the same routine and the same workout, but the game is different now.  The game is a little bit tighter and we had to adjust to it and we did adjust to it."

The Sharks power-play remained stagnant, going only 1 for 5 in the game.  They were once again playing without their main power play pointman Dan Boyle, who missed his second game due to a wrist injury he reportedly suffered before the All-Star break.  The scoring also could've have been higher for the Sharks, as 3 shots went off the post, including a shot by Joe Pavelski and Mike Grier when the Coyotes had an empty net.  Claude Lemieux played in his 1200th NHL game, logging 8 minutes and 8 seconds of ice time.  San Jose hosts the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, then they get a bye before hosting the Carolina Hurricanes next Thursday.

Playoff Run Begins

Tuesday night was the first night back from the All-Star break and the beginning of the second half of regulation.  This traditionally means the time when the playoff battle begins for the last 4 seeds, while the top 4 teams battle for home ice advantage.  And you could tell by the play of teams on Tuesday that they were thinking of nothing but the playoffs.

First and foremost, the San Jose Sharks continued to dominate with a shutout over Colorado.  They looked shaky at times, but great special teams, defense, and goaltending pretty much secured a sure victory over the Avalanche, who are still battling injuries with their superstar Joe Sakic out and their future star Paul Stastny gone for a couple more weeks as well.  If this continues, it doesn't look like the Avs will make the playoffs, which would be the first time in a long time in recent memory.

The game of the night, in terms of hype, was the Washington Capitals vs. the Boston Bruins.  The #2 team in the Eastern Conference visiting at the #1 East team's (tied with San Jose for most points in the NHL, although the Sharks have played 2 less games than Boston) house.  Although a win for Washington wouldn't mean taking over the lead in the East, they would have started raising questions as to who is the better team in the East.  Boston won it in overtime off a very ugly bounce on the power play, and what was an epic game ended in a very disgusting way.  The highlights of this game was unbelievable goaltending on both ends.  Tim Thomas (who won the game for the Eastern Conference in the All-Star game with several amazing saves as well) was pretty much a brick wall after the first period, giving up some huge rebounds to Washington only to deny the second attempt as well (he wanted more saves on his resume).  Theodore thought he let in one he shouldn't have, but he can't really be faulted for it and he stopped about 10 cross-ice one-timers in the third and overtime periods.  It is fitting to have it end in overtime, as both teams at least get a point out of it.  But the ending was so... not.

The game of the night (in my opinion) was the Detroit Red Wings vs. Columbus Blue Jackets.  I really shouldn't say it was Columbus vs Detroit.  It was really more like Rick Nash vs. Detroit.  The captain of the Blue Jackets netted a hat trick, his third goal coming in overtime to pull a stunning upset off a short-handed Detroit team (they were without the services of Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk, who were suspended by the league for not showing up to the All-Star game after being voted in.  More on this later).  Rick Nash even got his hat trick in style, scoring in every possible way (on the power play, shorthanded, and even strength, a 4 on 4 even strength OT goal no less).  The Jackets are still contenders for a playoff spot in the Western Conference and a win over the second best team in the West and the defending Stanley Cup Champions doesn't hurt their cause either.  If their rookie goaltender Steve Mason continues his stellar play, and Rick Nash gets more support from his other lines, then this team could make a deep playoff run.  If anyone deserves a shot at the Cup it is Rick Nash.  He's been on Columbus's roster his entire career, and let's just say the Blue Jackets were never a team other teams would be looking out for on their schedules.  He is probably the most underrated player in the NHL (or second most behind Patrick Marleau) simply because he never had a good team to play on.  But look at his career and there is a reason why he is in the All-Star game every year, and why his goal against Phoenix last year is considered by some (including me) as the greatest goal of all time.
The other storyline coming out of this win (or loss from the Detroit perspective) would be the impact the suspension had on the outcome of this game.  Obviously, Detroit feels that they were treated unfairly, and put to a higher standard than other teams in terms of participating in the All-Star Game.  Lidstrom was reportedly battling injuries (although he still played in the last game before the break) and felt that he should have been allowed to take a medical leave from the weekend.  Sidney Crosby did it, and he was the #1 vote-getter in the All-Star ballot.  Heck, even Columbus's goaltender Steve Mason opted out of the Youngstar's game because of back issues, and he wasn't suspended for the Detroit v Columbus game.  Detroit fans feel that if they somehow don't make it into the playoffs, it'll be because of this one game and whoever wins the Stanley Cup won't fully deserve the trophy (the fact that Detroit fans even doubt their team making it into the playoffs boggles my mind, let alone their logic).  Should Lidstrom and Datsyuk have been suspended?  I don't think so.  No player in their right mind would prioritize the All-Star game over their health, especially since the All-Star game means... absolutely nothing to the players, coaches, organizations... well pretty much everyone except the commissioner Gary Bettman.  Should Detroit feel like they were cheated?  Sure, but not to the extent that they are feeling right now.  I mean, if you're the #2 team in the Western Conference and the defending champs, you should be able to stop Rick Nash from scoring 3 goals in a game even without you're #1 defender in Lidstrom.  It's not like the Red Wings are the Phoenix Coyotes.  (Yes, that goal is so good it was worth linking twice).

Less interesting, but equally important stories would be the 7-3 shelling and 10-2 massacre that the Anaheim Ducks and Buffalo Sabres handed the Phoenix Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers, respectively.  Anaheim and Buffalo were two teams heading into the break with huge question marks about their ability to perform and possibly even make the playoffs this year, and they came out of the gates strong.  Make no mistake that both their opponents have a history of poor goaltending, but Edmonton isn't exactly a soft team and the Coyotes are favorites in making the playoffs next year (and some experts even predicted them having a playoff run this postseason).

Marty Turco and the Dallas Stars shutout the Atlanta Thrashers.  Not exactly headline news, as the Thrashers were, at one point earlier this season, the worst team in the NHL (the title is now proudly owned by the New York Islanders).  But Turco, the biggest goaltending question mark this season with his inconsistant play, made several huge saves, including two great chances in front by the Thrashers captain Ilya Kovalchuk, their top scorer.  It was his second shutout this season (both came this month), and after a huge loss against Detroit earlier in the season, Turco has been lights out in his save percentage and goals against average.  If he continues to do this and Dallas gets a slight boost to their offense, they could make a late season run for one of the last playoff spots in the West.  Although the Thrashers are pretty much not going to make the playoffs this year, if Turco didn't get a shutout, then Atlanta's goaltender Kari Lehtonen would've been the best goalie of the night.  Atlanta could be a team to be feared in a couple of years, but it just matters how fast their young guys like Todd White and Bryan Little mature in comparison to the aging Slava Kozlov and Kovalchuk.

Sharks Continue Strong Play, Beat Avalanche 3-0

The Colorado Avalanche had not won a Stanley Cup since Claude Lemieux's last season with the Avalanche.  Tonight, he returned to his former team for the first time since coming out of retirement, as the San Jose Sharks tried to continue playing game-winning hockey as they began their first game of the second half of the season in Colorado.  The Sharks got their legs moving early and shutout the Avalanche 3-0.

Special teams play was the difference early.  Milan Michalek scored the first goal of the game with 30 seconds left on a Colorado penalty after putting a nice pass from Christian Ehrhoff behind the net past Andrew Raycroft.  Alexei Semenov made his presence felt in the first period, as he threw two hard checks on David Jones, who later had to leave the game with an elbow injury after taking a third hard check from Douglas Murray.  The hits prompted Cody McLeod to high stick Semenov and draw some blood, leading to a 4 minute power play for the Sharks.  The penalty carried into the second period and although it was killed off, Michalek took advantage of Colorado's attempt to get their penalty kill unit off the ice and wristed a shot past Raycroft's blocker.  The Avalanche then took over the game offensively, and they were outshooting the Sharks for most of the second period.  Evgeni Nabokov kept the puck out, making several saves while sprawled on the ice, and several good defensive sticks from San Jose defensemen kept pucks out of wide open nets.  San Jose then began outshooting Colorado near the end of the second, putting 9 consecutive shots on goal, but Raycroft played well throughout the game, ending with 35 saves on 37 shots.  In the third, the Sharks began playing defensive hockey, and Patrick Marleau took advantage of Colorado pulling their goaltender as he scored the empty netter to seal the game.  Nabokov held on in the last 30 seconds and posted his 43rd career shutout, stopping all 31 shots he faced.

San Jose Sharks coach Todd McLellon said before the game that the goal of the Sharks was to continue playing their style of hockey.  "We aren't going to change the game," he said.  "But we are going to try to improve it, slowly."  The Sharks had a new look on their power play, with Rob Blake coming back after missing two games with a jaw injury when he took a shot to the face in the Detroit game two weeks ago.  San Jose was without their All-Star defenseman Dan Boyle, however, as he suffered what was described to be a lower body injury during the All-Star game.  The injury is not thought to be serious, and he is listed as day-to-day.  To compensate for the loss, the Sharks had Joe Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic playing the defensive positions on the first power play and Blake paired with Ehrhoff on the second.  The lack of Boyle seemed to impact the Sharks greatly, especially throughout the second period where they were mostly playing defensive hockey as they could not advance the puck into Colorado's zone until late in the period.  The Sharks were wearing their new BlackArmor third jerseys, despite being on the road.  Normally the jerseys are worn for Thursday night home games.

2009 All-Star Game

Some highlights and things I noticed when watching the 2 day event:

-First time in a looooooooong time: Penalty, OT, 2 hits, and Shootout in an All-Star Game.

-The singer of the US national anthem was wearing a pink shirt with a picture of Obama's family.

-Patrick Marleau, a last minute addition to the Western All Stars line-up, made the final six in the first ever elimination shootout challenge and was one of 4 players with 3 points in the game with a goal and 2 assists.  Sad that the fans didn't vote him in and the NHL had to add him in by default.

-Speaking of the elimination shootout, Shane Doan won it.  If Phoenix gets more consistant goaltending, pencil in the Coyotes for a playoff spot next year.

-In the shootout, Tim Thomas stopped Mark Streit's shot.  In his frustration, Streit decided to take his anger out on capitalism.  What do you expect when the top scorer of the last place New York Islanders is their defenseman?

-The Rookies destroyed the Sophomores in the Young Stars game.  It looked like the sophomores weren't even trying, except for Carey Price.

-Jean-Sebastian Giguere let in a couple of bad goals, which made me question why he was voted into the game over other Western Conference goaltenders like Kiprusoff and Nabokov.

-Evgeni Malkin and Dany Heatley going 4/4 in the accuracy challenge, I think they were the 5th and 6th players to ever do that in an All-Star game.  Maybe 6th and 7th.  Either way it is a hard feat to accomplish and we saw two players do it in one game.

-Shea Weber came out and shot a puck 103.4 mph to set the bar very high for the defending champ Zdeno Chara.  The mark Weber put up was .3 mph faster than the shot that won Big Z the title last year.  And what did Chara do?  Break the all-time record with a 105.4 mph shot.

-I don't know how Alexander Ovechkin won the breakaway challenge.  I know he is a fan favorite, but all he did was bounce a puck in between two sticks (while wearing some ridiculous attire), and slapped it past a poor junior hockey goaltender.  Martin St. Louis had, by far, the most impressive skill, balancing the puck on his stick while waving it left, right, up, and down, before finally shooting it in.

-For a town with as much hockey history as Montreal, the fans let go of history for a while and enjoyed the event.  Players from the Bruins, including Tim Thomas, got standing ovations and even guys like Vincent Lecavalier, St. Louis, and Sheldon Souray got loud applause.

-Great job by the fans to vote in Scott Niedermayer and great job by the NHL to get Milan Hejduk in the game.  They were the top 2 defensive skaters and they broke up rush after rush that the Eastern Conference had to keep themselves in a game where they were down by 3 goals halfway through the second period.

-This was one of the more exciting All-Star weekends I've seen, and I hope the ratings reflect it.  There could still be some tweaks (like adding checking) to the All-Star game.  I didn't like the breakaway challenge this year, fan voting and unlimited shots in a minute made it seem not very... intense.  I liked the two shot limit with a judge panel.  That forced the players to give it all they got, and it felt like it actually mattered.  But the elimination shootout was epic.  

-Players (especially the Western Conference) really didn't care about this game until it was tied up at the end and their competitive natures got the better of them (they are athletes after all).  Guys like Zdeno Chara and Sheldon Souray were probably only voted in because they are defensemen that can shoot the puck 100+ mph.  And of course, they weren't about to do that in the game because they don't want to be responsible for injuring a superstar player in a game that rivals the intensity of a backyard match between neighborhood kids.  In a tied third period, there were at least 20 different instances where a pass went to the blue line, and the defenseman had a clear shot at the goal, a play we see more often than not during a regular season game.  But since they couldn't shoot it, they just passed it down low, where 5 defending skaters for the other team were waiting.  Only Jay Bouwmeester skated it up and shot it, which resulted in a goal.  My point: motivate the players.  They say it's all for the fans and it is fun, but they really don't want to try too hard because their number one priority is escaping the weekend injury-free (which DiPietro failed to do last year).  Make this game like the MLB All Star game: winning conference gets home field (or ice in this case) advantage in the finals.  Maybe we'll even see some defense and checking with the stakes raised as well.

Why Nabokov wasn't Voted into the All-Star Game

please skip to the 4:00 mark on this video.

For those who don't know, the All-Star game isn't like the games for any other sport: it is purely "for the fans", and it is an exhibition of pretty much offensive skills, since people like seeing a lot of goals scored, according to the NHL.  There isn't even any checking... a defender is just supposed to let a guy skate into his zone while futiley attempting to harrass him with the stick.  And the breakaway challenge is supposed to be a shot skill contest, not a comparison of goaltender and shooter.  But unfortunately, last year Nabokov (as well as most other All-Star goaltenders) decided that they did not want to let a shot in if they could help it.  Some say it is an issue of pride, while I say there is a possibility that since it is actually a "competition", the goaltenders stopping shots by coming 50 feet out of the net to disrupt a shooter's creatiivty and thought process will help their team win.  Either way, Nabokov wasn't voted this year, and it will probably be a good thing for the East, since he pretty much shut the door last year and didn't give the NHL their "high scoring" game, at least not for the duration Nabby was on the ice for.  (And I always get a chuckle watching St. Louis look clueless as he tries to get around an aggressive Nabby).

San Jose Sharks Win in Overtime over Canucks 2-1

In Claude Lemieux's first NHL game in 5 1/2 years, everyone on San Jose but Lemieux seemed to be asleep for 50 of the 60 regulation minutes.  But the Sharks woke up and tied the game after pulling their goaltender in the third, and an overtime power play resulted in Marleau's game winning goal.

Claude Lemieux skated hard and shot even harder, but the rest of his team seemed dead on the ice as Vancouver dominated them in the first period.  The Sharks had more shots on goals and a slight time of possession edge, but the Canucks were winning battles to the loose puck and putting on an aggressive forecheck in the San Jose zone.  The hard work paid off, as Henrik Sedin found Taylor Pyatt in the high slot, and Pyatt blasted the puck high past Evgeni Nabokov's glove for the first goal of the game.  Then, the Vancouver Canucks played defensively.  For the next 40 minutes of the game, there was rarely any Canuck on the San Jose defensive zone, as they stacked the neutral zone with 5 skaters to prevent the San Jose rush.  It worked, as the Sharks were limited in chances and could only throw weak shots against Roberto Luongo, who had a strong game in his third game back since returning from injury.  The Sharks were often recovering pucks from their own defensive end after a Canuck skater had cleared it, and the game went on like this for quite a while.  Vancouver had several opportunities to put the game away, including a breakaway by Mats Sundin as he skated past Douglas Murray, but Nabokov kept San Jose in the game throughout.  The situation was worsened when the Sharks were 0/3 on the power play after scoring 2 power play goals against Detroit on Saturday.  But in the last minute, San Jose was forced to pull Nabokov, and the extra skater seemed to apply the forecheck pressure the Sharks needed.  Vancouver never cleared the puck out of their zone, and after several good scoring chances, Joe Thorton found Devin Setoguchi with a cross ice path for the game tying goal with 39 seconds left in the game.  Then, after the Canucks missed a scoring chance with a shot off the net in overtime, Dan Boyle drew a roughing penalty, after several weren't called throughout the game.  Vancouver won the faceoff in their zone but Joe Pavelski kept the clearing attempt in the zone.  Patrick Marleau then scored the game winning goal similar to Setoguchi's: from the high slot after several good scoring chances were blocked by Luongo but never cleared away.  At the end of the game, Vancouver's Shane O'Brien instigated some rough play with Jody Shelley, which drew out the entire Sharks' bench and Vancouver's first line, but no fights were started.

The Sharks pulled 5 points ahead of Detroit in the Western Conference as the Red Wings lost against Phoenix, but the real story was the debut of Claude Lemieux.  He skated strong on the Shark's "energy" fourth line, which was the only line that seemed to be in sync throughout the game.  He had a little over 7 minutes of ice time, and registered 3 shots on goal, 2 of which were whistlers that Luongo had to fight off.  This is the Shark's last game before the All-Star Break, where they will be represented by Joe Thorton, Dan Boyle, coach Todd McLellon, and a late add-in of Patrick Marleau.  It will be Dan Boyle's first appearance in the All-Star Game, and Todd McLellon will become only the second rookie coach to be a head coach in the event.

Claude Lemieux to Play Against Vancouver

After almost six years since his last NHL game, Claude Lemieux was recalled from Worchester to play for the San Jose Sharks Tuesday night against Vancouver, their last game before the All-Star break.  Lemieux is 43 years old and has won 4 Stanley Cups in 20 seasons, and has the ninth-most playoff goals with 80.

There is a lot of upside to this.  Lemieux brings a lot of playoff experience, which is probably the number one thing GM Doug Wilson was looking for these past few years in building a Stanley Cup championship team.  In a team full of youth, Lemieux adds to the veteranship that guys like Rob Blake and Jeremy Roenick were brought in for.  And he is an enforcer, and will probably play on the Shark's fourth line with Jody Shelley and Roenick (when he is back from injury) to become a part of what looks to be the most hard-nosed line in the NHL.  Don't be surprised if Lemieux and Shelley start double-teaming people.

Here's the downside: in 23 minor league games, he scored 3 goals, had 8 assists, was punished for 24 minutes, and had a rating of plus 2.  Now that might seem like a decent amount, especially since he'll be playing on the fourth line anyways, which hasn't exactly produced as much as the other three lines.  But if you're scoring 11 points in 23 MINOR league games, that sums up to about... 11 points in the remaining 39 regular season games?  The Sharks have already proved (twice) they can beat Detroit without Lemieux.  Heck, Shelley didn't even mess around with any Red Wings in their three meetings.  The Sharks don't need another enforcer, they need an intelligent skater who either is a pure scorer or is an all-around guy, adding to both defense and offense.  Now, I haven't seen Lemieux play this year yet, and Doug Wilson has apparantly watched every minor league shift Lemieux has taken.  So maybe after 5 years of retirement, Lemieux has rekindled his athleticism.  Doug Wilson said he is "genetically-gifted" after all.  But unless Lemieux can get into the heads of playoff teams so much that they get taken off their game plan, or he proves he can do better than 11 points in 23 games, or he adds to the speed and size of the Sharks (or if he can fight like this), I'm not buying his recall.

If you wanna know the history of Lemieux and why some Sharks fans are excited about playing him against the Red Wings in the playoffs:

which commenced...

This is also why Patrick Roy is the greatest goaltender of all time... Most shutouts, 2nd in Wins, and he is a brawler.

*edit*
Oh and if you're wondering how many of the Detroit Red Wing's current bench were actually playing when Lemieux skated for the Avs, just think of names like Osgood, Holmstrom, Chelios, Lidstrom, Rafalski, Maltby, and of course Kris Draper.  About half of the Red Wing's active roster played for the Red Wings since '96.

Summary of Obama's Speech

For those who missed it:

Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope we must stabilize our economy to prepare America for the new age Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Samuel L Jackson Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope Obama Change Obama Hope 

One interesting thing he said: when he was addressing other nations, he addressed first world countries as countries with "relative" wealth.  Well maybe he didn't use the word wealth, but he used relative.  I think that is important to think about, given America today.

Super Bowl 43 Preview

Don't blow off this Super Bowl yet.  A lot of my friends have been complaining about how dull the game is going to be, saying things like "The Cardinals?! Come on!"  Yes, the Pittsburgh Steelers are probably favored (heavily) against the Arizona Cardinals, but this is actually a much more interesting and potentially intense match up than the initial stats may reveal.

Offense: The match-up isn't going to be Kurt Warner against Ben Roethlisberger.  It is going to be Kurt Warner against the Steelers' pass rush and the safety play of Troy Polamalu.  The Steeler's offense is built to do one thing: score enough points to give their defense an edge, and stay on the field long enough to give their defense some rest.  Don't expect Big Ben to come up with his guns slinging and throwing the ball every witch way.  Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward may have the big play receiver ability in them, but their offense is going to be centered around Willie Parker against the 16th ranked pass defense of Arizona.  If Kurt Warner can come out strong like he did in the huge upset against the Philedelphia Eagles by throwing 3 first half touchdowns to Larry Fitzgerald against the Steeler's defense, then expect a third MVP award to go to his way.  If not, Edgerrin James will have to step up, but it'll be hard to do that against the #1 ranked defense in the 2008 regular season.  But here are some reassuring facts for the Cardinals: Kurt Warner is statistically the best quarterback against the blitz, and he put a giant exclamation mark on that fact against the Eagles Sunday.

Defense: The Arizona Cardinals are actually more evenly matched with the Steeler's offense than it may seem.  Big Ben was one of the most sacked quarterbacks in the season (and almost every season), and Adrian Wilson will create pressure.  The real question is which corner will match up against the physical play of Hines Ward, and which linebacker will step up against Willie Parker.  The match up of the Steeler's D against Arizona's O has already been mentioned.

Interesting Notes: Cardinal's coach Ken Whisenhunt and assistant coach Russ Grimm were both neglected the head coaching job in Pittsburgh when Bill Cowher retired.  Now, Whisenhunt turned a 9-7 regular season #4 seed team (the fact that they were division leaders allowed them to be the first #4 seed to host a conference championship game ever) into NFC champions with a franchise who has never gone to the Super Bowl.  The Steelers, on the other hand, are going for the NFL record: a sixth Super Bowl title.  No team in NFL history has ever won 6 (although I'm sure Tom Brady would like to try and do that too).  The Steelers are used to playing in messy weather, and the last time a Super Bowl was hosted in Florida (Colts v Bears in 2006), it was a slopfest.  But preliminary reports say the weather should be very comfortable, so the Steelers won't have a weather advantage over the aerial attack of the Cardinals.  Although the Cardinals are heavy underdogs, Kurt Warner was (somewhat controversially) given the starting job over Matt Leinart when the regular season started for this purpose alone: carry this team to their first Super Bowl title.  Warner may be old, but he's still young enough to remember his Super Bowl MVP titles.  Maybe if the Cardinals had a receiver who won the Super Bowl twice before, it wouldn't matter as much.  But this is their starting quarterback who pushed their franchise QB into the backseat for the year.  And he has been nothing short of spectacular so far in the postseason.  And Big Ben doesn't exactly have stellar numbers in his postseason career: 151 of 248 completed passes, 1983 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, although he is 7-2 in his career.  In comparison to the (older) veteran Warner: 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.  The Cardinals and Steelers rarely meet, ever, so expect most of the strategy to be from the film and not previous experiences.  Although here's an interesting tid-bit: the Steelers are 5-3 against the Cardinals, but the Cardinals won their last meeting (September 30, 2007) 21-14.  The last time they played against the Steelers before that: 2003, where they lost.  So I would give the history edge to the Cards, given their victory was fairly recent (heck, maybe Matt Leinart started that 2007 game).  Oh, and make sure you get to your TV early: Whisenhunt will probably try some trick plays early in the game to throw off the Steeler's defense, and to see where his offense stands in comparison to the opposing D.  If they pull off a trick play successfully, watch for the flood gates to pour open in the second half, ESPECIALLY if the game is in the hands of Kurt Warner.

Prediction: Steelers 27 Cardinals 17.  There is absolutely no reason anyone should think the Cardinals will win, unless they are a Cardinals fan.  But I personally will be cheering for Kurt Warner.  Especially since if he wins a third Super Bowl MVP title, the off-season in regards to Matt Leinart's fate will be very interesting.

Thanks to ESPN and Yahoo! Sports for the stats.

San Jose Sharks Are Best in the West, Beat Detroit 6-5

On Jeremy Roenick's 39th birthday, the San Jose Sharks tussled with the defending Stanley Cup Champions for the outright lead in the Western Conference, and potentially the entire National Hockey League, and defeated the Detroit Red Wings in a 6-5 thriller that can only be described as the most intense regular season game ever played.

There were 3 lead changes in a game that San Jose captain Patrick Marleau, who scored the game winning goal, described as a see-saw match.  Dan Boyle scored 3 minutes into the first period after an aggressive forechecking Ryane Clowe got the loose puck to the side of the Detroit net.  But a minute later, Valtteri Filppula tied it with his 6th goal of the season.  But strong forechecking gave the Sharks the lead again as Milan Michalek made a no-look pass across the zone to Joe Pavelski, who gave San Jose a 2-1 lead to end the first.  Detroit came roaring back in a physical, penalty-filled second period.  Marian Hossa took a quick shot off a pass from Pavel Datsyuk to tie it 2-2 early in the second on a Detroit power play.  Johan Franzen scored 3 minutes later after Datsyuk deked two Sharks defenders to give the Red Wings their first lead of the game 3-2.  But San Jose went on a 5 on 3, and although they did not convert with the 2 man advantage, Christian Ehrhoff took a loose puck and blasted it past a large crowd in front of Chris Osgood with seconds left on the 5 on 4 power play to tie it 3-3.  Henrik Zetterberg scored a similar goal right off the face off later in the second, finding a loose puck and putting it past Evgeni Nabokov to give Detroit the lead again 4-3.  But with a minute left in the second period, Clowe shot a puck that bounced off a Detroit skate and right into Jonathan Cheechoo's stick and into an open net to end the second period with a 4-4 tie.  The third period became a much more defensive game, and the only chances for either team came on breakaway chances.  Datsyuk took a long pass from Franzen behind both San Jose defenders and tried to put a puck past Nabokov's left side, but the San Jose goaltender kicked it out.  After a mad scramble for a puck in San Jose's defensive end, Boyle flipped the puck into the neutral zone, where a streaking Michalek outfought 3 Detroit skaters and rang a shot off the post on a breakaway to give the Sharks the lead 5-4 with 9 minutes left in the game.  3 minutes later, Marleau took a nice pass from Clowe while barely staying onsides, broke past the Detroit defenders and shot it past Osgood again on a breakaway for a 6-4 lead.  However, Brian Rafalski put the Red Wings back in the game, putting a hard shot past Nabokov's glove to bring Detroit to within 1 goal with 2 minutes left in the game.  San Jose defended against Detroit's extra attacker, including some key saves by Nabokov, and won the game in front of a sold-out-for-2-months HP Pavilion crowd 6-5.

The highlight of the game was uncharacteristically not the San Jose Shark's top line, but the production from their second and third.  Clowe had a career-high 4 assists in a game.  Michalek had a goal and 2 assists.  Marcel Goc did not register a point but he was often against the boards keeping the puck in the offensive zone.  The only point scored by San Jose's top line was the breakaway goal by Marleau.  Emotions were high throughout, and at the end of the second period 5 penalties were handed out after a scrum between Joe Thorton and Rafalski exploded into a 5 on 5 fight.  Many goals were also scored by Sharks who were in a slump.  Ehrhoff's second period power play goal was his first in 27 games.  Cheechoo had been quiet as well, and Pavelski, who scored his first goal in 14 games two nights ago notched another one tonight.  Both teams were not at full strength, as San Jose were without defenseman Rob Blake, who took a puck to the face against Calgary two nights ago.  Detroit lost Franzen after the second period after he suffered a lower body injury.  But Red Wings coach Mike Babcock felt it was his own team's fault for not capitalizing on opportunities to put the game away.  "They scored on their breakaways and we didn't.  We had (Dan) Cleary all by himself and didn't finish.  (Pavel Datsyuk) was home free on a breakaway and didn't finish.  There's the hockey game."

Coming into the game, San Jose was 1 point ahead of Detroit for the lead in the Western Conference, and 1 point behind the Boston Bruins for the outright lead in the NHL.  Sharks coach Todd McLellon said that Detroit was the best team in the NHL.  In an interview during a timeout in the first period, Devin Setoguchi said that this game would determine who was the best team, when Thorton jumped in and declared that San Jose was the best team.  With the win, San Jose extended their lead to 3, are leading the regular season series 2-1, and are now 1 point ahead of the Bruins for the best team in the NHL.

Kannagi

Hey first anime post.

So I recently finished an anime called Kannagi.  The basic plot summary is a first year high school student (sophomore in America, so 15 years old) named Jin Mikuriya is living alone.  As a child, he saw a mysterious shrine maiden appear before him, but she suddenly vanished with the wind.  Jin, in the present time, decides to carve a wood statue in her image.  However, he doesn't realize that the wood he used was from a sacred tree cut down recently.  The tree was the embodiment of a god, Kannagi, who took root in the town to protect it from "impurities" that bring misfortunes upon those who are posessed by one.  With the tree cut down, the impurities are now able to run free.  When Jin carves the statue out of the sacred tree in the image of the shrine maiden, the sacred wood is used as a vessel to materialize Kannagi into a human form.  Thus begins the exorcising adventures (not really) of Kannagi and Jin.

I say not really because this anime is more classified as a romantic comedy.  When you're a 15 year old boy living by yourself, things tend to get complicated when a beautiful self-proclaimed goddess imposes herself on your life and takes up shelter in your room.  To make matters worse, he has a childhood friend, Tsugumi Aoba, who was entrusted by Jin's fatehr to look after Jin.  Both her and Jin are still relatively young, so they are new to the whole love thing.  She kind of knows she loves him but refuses to accept that fact, although her true (often jealous) self shows up from time to time.  Kannagi also has a sister, Zange, who materializes by possessing a human body.  These two sisters must gain worshippers in order to maintain their godly powers, which also results in some crazy stuff happening.  As an extra twist, Hakua Suzushiro, the girl that Zange possesses, has a huge crush on Jin (although you assume she is the quiet, shy type who hides in a corner because Jin doesn't seem to know who she is when they first meet), and Zange agrees to try and win Jin for her host body.

This is one of the best romantic comedy animes I've ever seen.  Although some of the events that happen are rather ridiculous, and the side characters all have quirky (and often perverted) personalities, the anime flows nicely, and actually avoids the whole exorcism deal (and covers up the lack of very nicely).  The focus is on the life of Jin and the crazy web he is trapped in after he meets Kannagi, and the anime is mostly comedic but becomes very dramatic in the last few episodes, all of which are done very well.  I recommend this for anyone who watches anime, and make sure you find the Ayako fansub version, because there are a lot of references made in the anime that you might not immediately get without them captioning it for you.  Here's the opening, although it has absolutely nothing to do with the anime, except showing what the characters look like. *correction* This is an edited version of the opening, showing only Nagi singing (the cut parts are Nagi as a Japanese idol doing stuff idols do, with the help of the other characters of the show).  A little side note: the opening and ending of the anime are sung by the voice actress for Kannagi.

Flames Defeat Sharks in Regulation 3-2

Calgary Flames coach Mike Keenan stated before the game that someone was going to beat the Sharks in San Jose this season during regulation, and if someone was going to do it it might as well be his team.  The Flames toughed it out in a close game to be the first team in the 2008-2009 season to do just that, as Calgary beat the San Jose Sharks 3-2 with Dion Phaneuf's game winning goal coming with just 3 minutes left in the third period.

Similar to the past few games, San Jose jumped on the board early.  A minute into the game, Ryane Clowe scored his 19th goal of the season and tied his previous career high in points as he took a pass from Dan Boyle and put it past Miikka Kiprusoff to make it 1-0.  Since then, the Flames dug deep and the match became a hard hitting, fast paced physical battle throughout, a game most people had expected (but did not see) from the previous two meetings between these clubs.  Momentum shifted towards Calgary near the end of the first period, and it carried over into the second.  Two minutes into the period, David Moss and Craig Conroy outfought Christian Ehrhoff in front of the San Jose net and put the loose puck past a sprawling Evgeni Nabokov to make it 1-1.  However, Joe Thorton took a pass off the boards from Devin Setoguchi, deked Phaneuf, and put the puck between Kiprusoff's legs to give the Sharks a lead again at 2-1.  But Calgary scored again early on a power play after Douglas Murray failed to clear the puck out of the zone and was out of position, leaving Daymond Langkow alone in front of the San Jose net as he deflected a shot past Nabokov to tie the game again.  The third period was an even match throughout, but Phaneuf finally got the final goal of the game as his shot deflected off San Jose defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic's stick, and the shot squeezed past Nabokov and sealed the game 3-2.  

The score could've been a lot higher, as both teams had quality scoring chances but did not get the lucky bounce.  Patrick Marleau had Kiprusoff out of the net and tried to tuck the puck in, but a Calgary skate blocked entry of the puck.  Both Calgary and San Jose thought they had scored when the puck rang off the post two different times, but the puck never crossed the line in either situation.  San Jose also failed to convert 5 seperate power play attempts, including a 30 second 5 on 3 situation, although there were frequently loose pucks in front of Kiprusoff.  The Sharks were also playing without defenseman Rob Blake for the majority of the game, as he took a shot into the face early in the first period and never returned from the locker room.  Phaneuf's first goal in 26 games ended San Jose's undefeated in regulation streak, which lasted 11 months dating back to last season, where they went 28-0-3 at home, and was the second longest streak in the history of the NHL.  The Sharks now have to face the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday to determine who is the best team in the Western Conference.  With a win today, the Red Wings moved to within 1 point of San Jose for the top spot in the conference.

Sharks Defeat Lightning Easily 7-1

Joe Thorton scored his 250th career goal and Douglas Murray had his second career multi-point game with two assists as the San Jose Sharks destroyed the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-1 as they begin the second half of their season and what looks to be a difficult four game homestand with a convincing win.

Devin Setoguchi started the scoring early, as he shot a hard one-timer past Tampa Bay's backup goaltender Karri Ramo, who got the start because Tampa Bay was playing their second game of a back to back.  Thorton then scored his career milestone goal, after he attempted to pass a puck to Patrick Marleau in front of the net, but the pass deflected off a Lightning defender's stick instead and into the net to make it 2-0 after the first.  Tampa Bay began fighting back in the second, however.  They dominated control of the puck in the first half of the second, with the Shark's only scoring chance wiped out after a goalthat bounced off Milan Michalek's skate was negated after video review determined it was put in with a kicking motion.  Soon after, Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay's first round pick and the first overall pick of the 2008 draft scored his fifth goal to bring the Lightning back to within 1.  But Tampa Bay imploded after that.  Setoguchi tipped a shot from Marleau into Ramo, which rebounded onto Thorton's stick for an easy tap in and his second goal of the night.  Tampa Bay then took 4  penalties in the last half of the second period, as Michalek and Ryan Clowe added two power play goals, with Clowe's coming in the last 5 seconds of the second.  Things only got worse for the Lightning, as San Jose came out strong in the third period.  Joe Pavelski scored 30 seconds in and Tomas Plihal added another one two minutes later to make it 7-1.  Frustration then began to set into the Tampa Bay bench.  Evgeny Artyukhin laid a hard check on Mike Grier well after the whistle was blown.  Tampa Bay then took 5 more penalties in the last half of the third, with two of them being 10 minute game misconducts as Vaclav Prospal and David Koci were sent to the locker room early.  Evgeni Nabokov also made several key saves throughout the night, including a glove save to rob Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier, and Nabokov finished with 24 saves on 25 shots.  Nabokov's counterpart Ramo played well despite the score, stopping 35 of San Jose's 42 shots.

The San Jose Sharks did not even need the help of their NHL leader of points by a defenseman, Dan Boyle, who had his four game point streak snapped against his former team.  Boyle was traded to San Jose during this past off-season, and stated earlier in the season that he felt betrayed by the new management of the club he spent most of his career playing for.  Before the game, Boyle said that it was only human for him to feel that playing a game against his former team was a little more important than other games.  Brad Lukowich, who was also part of the deal that brought Boyle to San Jose, did not play against his former team, as he was out with a hernia injury.

The win continues a dominating home winning streak by San Jose, as they have not lost a game in regulation at home in the last 31 home games, dating back to February 14th.  This season, they are 20-0-2 at HP Pavilion.  The Sharks were also surpassed by the Boston Bruins earlier in the day for the lead in points in the NHL, but reclaimed the title of the best team in hockey with the win against Tampa Bay.  The win looks to be a good start for the Sharks, as they jeapordize their spotless home record against the Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, and Vancouver Canucks in the next three games.  Calgary and Detroit both beat San Jose badly earlier in the season after suffering equally horrible defeats from the hands of the Sharks near the start of the season.  Vancouver has not won against San Jose yet this season, but in both meetings they were without their superstar goaltender Roberto Luongo, who looks to get back onto the ice by the game against the Sharks next Tuesday.

Sharks Finish Road Trip Strong, Defeat Canucks 4-2

San Jose Sharks captain Patrick Marleau scored the last 2 goals for the San Jose Sharks, including the game winner, pulling the Sharks out of a tight game with the Vancouver Canucks in the third period as San Jose won 4-2 in Vancouver in their second game of a back to back.

The Sharks had a tough first two periods, as Vancouver answered every Sharks goal late in both periods.  Rob Blake scored his 230th career goal on the power play to put the Sharks up first in the game.  But after a blocked shot brought Brian Boucher, who was spelling Evgeni Nabokov for the night and ended with 24 saves on 26 shots, out of position, Mats Sundin scored his first goal as a Vancouver Canuck with 30 seconds left in the first to tie it 1-1.  Mike Grier slowed the momentum down early in the second, scoring 2 minutes into the period with a hard slapshot at the top of the faceoff circle to give the Sharks the lead again 2-1.  But Daniel Sedin scored a late second goal period, as the Sharks were confused defensively and left him open in the slot.  Then, after a series of penalties exchanged between Sundin and Marcel Goc resulted in a Sharks power play, Marleau tipped a shot off his skate by Dan Boyle past Curtis Sanford to give San Jose a 3-2 lead.  The play was reviewed but it was determined Marleau did not have a distinct kicking motion until after the puck had already gone in the net.  Late in the third, Tomas Plihal aggressively forechecked the Vancouver Canucks in their own zone, caused a turnover, and fed Marleau who put a backhand shot past Sanford to put the game away 4-2.  The Canucks soon pulled Sanford for the extra attacker, but no more goals were scored for either team after Marleau's second.  The game was tight throughout, as the Sharks only outshot the Canucks by one.

Vancouver was also playing their second back to back game after suffering a home loss to St. Louis on Friday 6-4.  The Canucks wanted to come out and prove that they could win, despite being the 28th ranked team in the NHL in win percentage on the second game of back to backs.  They came out strong and had momentum for most of the first 40 minutes, especially after Sundin scored his first goal as a Canuck and of the season, which prompted a standing ovation from the home crowd.  However, Boucher made several desperation saves, including covering up a puck that nearly slided over the line, from aggressive Canucks who were constantly creating traffic in front of the San Jose netminder.  That shot was reviewed soon afterwards and it was determined that it was not a goal that would've given the Canucks the lead in the second.

The Sharks won their second in a row for the first time since December 23rd, when they defeated Vancouver in San Jose 5-0 in a game where they also set a franchise record for the fastest 5 goals scored in a game.  With the win, the Sharks are now past the halfway point of the season, winning 31 out of 41 games and are 1 point ahead of the Boston Bruins again for the most points in the NHL.  San Jose is also ahead of Detroit in the Western Conference by 4 points.  They have also now won the last 6 games against Vancouver dating back to last season.  Marleau's second goal gives him a team-leading 23 goals halfway through the season, and Joe Thorton assisted on Marleau's first goal and had two in the game, giving him 40 assists in 41 games.

They now go back home where they will begin the second half of the season in a long homestand, playing 7 out of their next 8 games in San Jose beginning Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Key match-ups include games against the Calgary Flames and Detroit Red Wings, both of whom humiliated the Sharks on their road trip 5-2 and 6-0 respectively.

Looking Back on the First Half of the 2008-2009 Season

The Sharks came out of the gates flying, meshing instantly with their new blue liners and setting all kinds of franchise and NHL records for best starts to a season.  However, as the season progressed and injuries hit the team, the Sharks did not show the same intensity on the road as they did at home, and although only have 5 regulation road losses in the first 41 games, 3 of them had come in the past 2 weeks.  However, the injuries to Jeremy Roenick, Torrey Mitchell, and Jody Shelley have come close to fully healing, and once they rejoin the line-up look for San Jose to once again come out and challenge every team in the NHL.  The most notable games in the second half of the season are the games against Calgary and Detroit, especially after they took thrashings from both teams after defeating both earlier in the season by large margins themselves.  The Sharks are proud of their 0 in the regulation home losses column, but these two games, which will both be played next week, will be one of the biggest tests they'll face all season, especially with Detroit breathing down their necks in the Western Conference standings.  If they could pull out wins in both those games, and San Jose can stay relatively healthy, look for the Sharks to use that confidence to propel themselves into the #1 seed spot of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and possibly to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Sharks Bounce Back, Defeat Oilers 4-1

Drew Remenda, one of the broadcasters for Comcast Sports Net, said that the Sharks had won the lottery.  He was referring to Brad Staubitz's goal, which was his first in his NHL career.  With the goal came Douglas Murray's first point with an assist, and Alexei Semenov's second point with a secondary assist.  Staubitz's goal which beat Dwane Roloson, who in his previous meeting, had 41 saves against the Sharks, was one of three Sharks goals that was scored in the first period, and it proved to be the game winner as well.  Staubitz also added to his resume with 9 PIMs, including a third period fight.

Devin Setoguchi, who had a goal and two assists in the game,  scored the first goal of the game, which came on the first Sharks power play of the game.  However, Denis Grebeshkov tied it three minutes later on the Oilers power play.  Staubitz then scored his goal three minutes later.  Then, with 30 seconds left in the first period, Patrick Marleau got the puck in the high slot and shot it past Roloson, which resulted in his pulling after he had made 7 saves off 10 shots.  Mathieu Garon took over in the second.  Marleau then scored his second goal of the game on the power play from a perfect cross ice pass from Joe Pavelski to make it 4-1.

The Sharks bounced back nicely after taking a heavy beating in Calgary, which resulted in an extra day of practice assigned by the coaching staff on a scheduled off day.  However, Marleau said that the team understood why they were assigned practice, and it seemed to have paid off.  Evgeni Nabokov, after allowing 4 goals on 18 shots on Tuesday, shut the door after the first period, making 25 saves on 26 shots and posted his 21st win of the season.  Rob Blake, who had his 500th career assist taken away on Tuesday from a scoring change, officially recorded his 500th assist on Marleau's late first period goal.  All-Stars Joe Thorton and Dan Boyle also got an assist each in the game, as the Sharks picked up their 30th win in 40 games, and jump 1 point ahead of the seemingly unstoppable Boston Bruins for claim of the title "Best Team in the NHL".   San Jose looks to carry this momentum into Vancouver tomorrow, where they will face the Canucks for their final game of this road trip.  

X-Blades and the Royal Bundle

On January 14th, the world-wide release of a new game known as X-Blades will occur.  It is developed by Zuxxez Entertainment, Topware Interactive, and Gaijin Entertainment (Americans probably won't know these development teams), and the gameplay is pretty much hack and slash.  It stars a girl named Ayumi, who is running around searching for valuable stones.  But apparantly she has some curse in which very powerful and evil creatures are awakening in her body, and she needs to find out how to stop it.  The back story is that there are creatures known as the Enlightened and the Dark Ones who are warring, and I'm guessing (because the Gamestop synopsis says that there are two different endings) that you can "choose" who you're going to help and that would affect the outcome of the game.  The game is to be released on PC, XBox 360, and the Playstation 3.

Now, there hasn't been a good hack and slash game in several years (the last one I actually spent money on was Dynasty Warriors 3... which was about 6-7 years ago).  But what this game is promising to be is Dynasty Warriors, with magical powers and abilities, and instead of a wide selection of Chinese warriors, you get an anime-style girl who is running around in a thong.  Sounds like the making of a best-selling game in my opinion.  To give you an idea of the level of "suggestive themes" (as the ESRB puts it) in the game, you have to enter your birthday to access the website.  So with this train of thought, I thought to myself, maybe I'll buy this game for the PS3 and run around decapitating thousands of monsters (or run in circles and observe the great character design.)

However, it was brought to my attention that there is going to be a limited/collector's edition known as the Royal Bundle.  This bundle includes the game, the soundtrack, a 2-way poster (one side seems to be a world map), a mousepad with a picture of Ayumi from behind for the PC version, an artbook, and a 22cm figurine of a topless Ayumi.  You can imagine what the company is advertising the most in their Royale Bundle (I'll give you a hint, it isn't the world map).  All for the hefty price of around $120 US dollars (it's being sold in Euros on the website because the development team is from Europe/Russia.  Don't know exactly where, but apparantly the original language of the game is spoken in Russian by the voice actors).  So now this is when "maybe I'll buy this hack and slash because there hasn't been a good one released in a while" becomes "holy crap I want that".  At least in my mind.

Here is where you find out why I'm posting about this game: after a couple of days of trolling various forums, including Zuxxez's english board, apparantly the Royal Bundle will NOT be released in the United States, and the development team isn't even planning a huge sale of that edition anyways, estimating about 6-8 thousand copies being made world-wide because the figurine costs as much as the bundle is being sold for.  According to a member of the Zuxxez team who posts on their english board, the entire bundle weighs about 3kg, so shipping it to other countries alone would drastically increase the prices, not to mention dealing with all the importation fees.  And to give you an idea of how uncoordinated this development team is, the Royal Bundle isn't even going to be released until January 28th, 2 weeks after the game is supposedly released world-wide.  I say supposedly because on SouthPeak Games's website (the American affiliate of Zuxxez) and on Gamestop, the pre-release is being shipped early February.  Members of the Zuxxez team say that they are talking with SouthPeak Games of a possible US release of the Royal Bundle (although they have no plans as to how they are going to get it to the US), but according to a poster on gamefaqs's forums,  the product manager of X-Blades at SouthPeak, Aubrey Norris, said that the Royal Bundle is only going to be released in mainland Europe and not in America (although later in the letter stated that they are going to display X-Blades at New York Comicon in February, and are giving away Ayumi figurines.  Which is the only reason people would buy the bundle anyways right?)  This is where this game goes from "holy crap I want that" to "I might buy it in a couple of years for $20 bucks used when I'm really really bored".

Dwayne Wade Needs to be Traded

So I was watching ESPN's coverage of the first half of the Miami Heat vs. Denver Nuggets tonight, and I must say even though the Heat were losing by 8 points near the end of the second quarter, Dwayne Wade looked really BORED.  He wasn't trying to get fast break points, but instead he was pretty much speed walking down the court after his team got a defensive rebound (a rare rebound I might add).  When he did get the ball, he pretty much smoked the Nuggets, including a sweet crossover to get past a defender which led to a one-handed dunk.  And let's not forget all the fade aways he made as well.

I mean, most people would think DWade isn't trying very hard, and he is a poor team player, but he is literally single-handedly keeping his team in the playoff picture... even if the Eastern Conference's picture pretty much shoves the last 6 teams into the corner like a reject child in a family portrait.  And he was pretty much keeping his team in the game, at least for the first half, making shot after shot after Kleiza and J.R Smith made spectacular moves to score a couple of points for themselves.

I'll be amazed if Miami makes it into the playoffs.  They have NO rebounders.  Their defense is speed and creating turnovers, but all Denver had to do was pass to Nene and it was over.  I truly believe this year is Wade's resurrection year (I almost had a first round draft pick on him in my fantasy basketball team, only to be forced to settle for KG), but it will all be for waste if he doesn't get a better team.  They need a big man.  Shawn Marion is pretty much a David West for the heat, and Michael Beasley isn't exactly the most intimidating forward in the game.  And although The Flash has already won an NBA Championship and Playoff MVP honors, if he continues jogging up and down basketball courts instead of blowing by defenders night in and night out, then the NBA is wasting a magnificently talented shooting guard and a potential Hall of Fame career.

Calgary Dominate Sharks in Rematch 5-2

The past two days, the Calgary Flames only had one thing on their mind: their 1-6 loss to San Jose in November.  Coach Mike Keenan said that the Flames, in order to be a good team, had to do what the Sharks do: pay attention to the little details.  In the first period, the Flames paid attention to one little detail: the puck at the back of the net.

Calgary outshot the Sharks 16-4 in the first period and scored three first period goals as they easily beat the Sharks 5-2.  David Langkow scored two of Calgary's first four unanswered goals, his second being the last shot Evgeni Nabokov faced in the night as he was pulled for Brian Boucher 1:26 into the second period.  The move by Coach Todd McLellon seemed more to be a message to his team than a punishment for Nabokov, as his goalie was given no help from his defensemen who allowed Calgary to move the puck at will through the crease.

The message seemed to be received by the Sharks, as Ryan Clowe scored on a 5-3 power play 4 minutes later to negate a shut-out.  Soon after, Patrick Marleau created a turnover in Calgary's zone with a poke check, and fed Mike Grier for his 8th goal of the year while San Jose was short-handed.  The Sharks seemed to be getting into Mikka Kiprusoff's head, as he was shouting at the referees during a timeout.  But Kiprusoff shut the door with the help of the goal posts, and David Moss scored in the third period, again due to poor defensive play by the Sharks, to put the game out of reach.

The game was very one-sided in the first, as the Sharks only registered 4 shots, none of which were good scoring chances.  Alexei Semenov tried to stir things up for his team as he fought Andre Roy twice, but the referees declared both of them as roughings and they both only got 2 minute minors for the scrum, resulting in some 4v4 play in the second period.  Although the Sharks used the opportunities to even up the shot totals in the end, they could not capitalize with the extra man and went 1 for 4 on the power play, with the 1 goal being scored by Clowe on a 5-3.  The loss drops the Sharks to 1-2-3 in their last 6 road games, while calgary improved to 15-4-3 in their last 22 games played.  Rob Blake was bidding for his 500th career assist but had one taken away in the game as it was corrected to Dan Boyle's point, leaving Blake still at 499.

Fighting's Impact on Hockey

Friday, Ontario Hockey Association player Don Sanderson died while in a coma which he suffered after he hit his head on the ice from being knocked out during a fight on December 12th.  During the fight, Anderson had lost his helmet.  His death has sparked a lot of conversation for new rules regarding fighting and player safety, mostly revolving around having players keep their helmets on and fastened tightly.

But the bigger question is: what purpose does fighting have for hockey?  A lot of my friends who don't really watch the sport always think I watch hockey because fighting is the most exciting part of the sport (which is odd because I'm not a very big, tough guy, and I've only fought once in my life).  Personally, I think goals and good goaltending are the highlight reel stuff.  Sure, watching two big Canadians wail on each other with no thoughts about self defense is always a good way to kill time, but frankly what gets me jumping out of my chair is a goal or a robbery.  Even when I play NHL 09 on my PS3(which is the best hockey game... ever...), I never instigate a fight (spamming triangle when you don't have the puck).  Not even with Jody Shelley.  But a game tying goal always gets my fists pumping in the air.

I'm not going to argue whether or not the NHL should ban hockey or regulate them more, but for those that don't understand, it is part of the game for a reason.  Players do talk to each other and agree to throw the gloves when they have a fight (unless they're fighting Sidney Crosby, who doesn't take "no" for an answer).  And as much as the crowd is entertained, winning a fight or even having a fairly good match is a huge motivational swing for the team.  It's that sense of camaraderie that energizes a team (the extra rest players get when others fight doesn't hurt either).  But with the NHL hammering down on player safety with the new icing rules and refs calling penalties left and right on baby hooks, it's no surprise that a tragedy like this will turn heads and make people question the necessity of throwing fists at other players' heads (or in Alexander Semin's case, their chest) in the middle of a game.  

I for one would say keep it and if a helmet flies off during a fight, have the refs jump in.  But that's more of a "don't fix what isn't broken" way of thinking, not "hockey NEEDS fights".

Sharks Fight Off Islander Comeback, Remain Near Perfect at Home

Dan Boyle said that the Sharks needed to get back to their style of play if they wanted to become the number one team in hockey once again.  San Jose did just that.

Boyle scored his 12th goal of the season in the 8th minute of the 2nd period, and the San Jose Sharks fended off the last place New York Islanders in a 5-3 home win.  Mike Grier added two goals, and Jonathan Cheechoo tied his game career-high total with three assists to remain unbeaten in regulation at HP Pavilion in San Jose (19-0-2), and recapture the title of the best team in the NHL.

A common theme established early on in the game was the physical play.  Alexei Semenov, moved from defense to forward for the game in place of Jody Shelley, fought Tim Jackman 6 minutes into the game.  Soon after Christian Ehrhoff assisted on the first goal of the game from Ryane Clowe, he fought with Islander captain Doug Weight.  "Coach said he wanted us to invest in our physical game," said Grier, who has one career hat trick as an Edmonton Oiler.  The Sharks, who were being outshot in recent road trips, had 46 shots on goal.

However, back-up goaltender Joey MacDonald made 42 saves and kept the Islanders in the game until he was pulled in the last two minutes for an extra attacker.  The Sharks made it 3-0 off Boyle's goal, but Richard Park had a great second effort off a puck that was in the air and hit it past Evgeni Nabokov to make it 3-1.  After Grier scored his second of the game in the third to seemingly put the game away, the Islanders surged back.  Jackman took a long pass from Park, beat Ehrhoff, and put the puck past Nabokov on the Shark's power play, extending the Islander's lead for most goals short handed.  A little over 2 minutes later, Thomas Pock got his first goal of the season, slapping a high shot from the blue line that deflected off Joe Pavelski and past Nabokov to make it 4-3 late in the third.  Park also assisted on the goal, and he was involved in every Islander goal against the Sharks.  However, after Tomas Plihal won the fight for a bouncing puck, he was able to pass it to Joe Thorton behind the Islander's empty net, who fed Patrick Marleau with 10 seconds left in the game to secure the victory.

The Sharks start the new year with a win as they head off on another 3 game road trip against Calgary, Edmonton, and then Vancouver before coming back to San Jose on January 13th.

NFL Playoffs 2009

As capitalism prepares for their Super Bowl commercials, the rest of us are following the 2009 Playoff storylines.  I am especially disappointed with how unexciting the playoffs are starting off to be (which isn't surprising considering last year's Super Bowl was about as exciting as it gets), and I even missed the Cards defeating the young Atlanta Falcons and the start of Peyton Manning bidding for his second ring.  But here are the stories to follow:

Peyton Manning as MVP turning around one of the worst starts in recent memory for the Colts trying to prove why Eli was never considered the better brother.
The Giants proving last year was not a fluke or based on luck, but they are in fact THAT good.
The Eagles trying to get past the McNabb benching, and not think about all the off-season distractions that are inevitably going to happen.
The Titans who almost went undefeated without making any noise in the press getting over Vince Young.
LT re-injuring his foot which slowed him down earlier this season and last year's playoffs, but trying to play through it and get his once favored Chargers into the Super Bowl.
The Panthers with the comeback of DeAngelo Williams and Jake Delhomme.
The Ravens trying to do what Atlanta could not: win with a rookie quarterback leading their offense.
The Miami Dolphins trying to go from last to first and trying to prove they got the better end of the Brett Favre fiasco.

Any combination of teams can make it into the Super Bowl, but I think the only exciting combination would be the Manning brothers facing off and seeing who got the better genes.

The San Jose Sharks in 2009

For most avid Sharks fans, such as myself, the San Jose Sharks have firmly stated they are a different team, and are much more successful because of it.  Bolstering the NHL's #1 record and point total coming into 2009 and staying undefeated in regulation on home ice doesn't hurt their statement either.  But they are not, by any means, the 2008 Detroit Red Wings.  There are a few holes here and there, a couple of which I think are the most important aspects to look at in what looks to be a Stanley Cup favorite team (where have I heard that before?)

First, the signing of Claude Lemieux.  I won't even begin to try and say I'm old enough to have seen the guy play, but from what I've heard he is a less controversial Sean Avery, which pretty much can be considered an enforcer in today's NHL.  There have been a lot of speculation as to why General Manager Doug Wilson decided to bring this guy out of retirement and backf into hockey relevance.  The one argument that annoys me, however, is that playoff teams need a gritty, tough, don't-take-nothing-from-nobody kind of guy on their roster.  I realize the stats that the 2007 New York Rangers had with Sean Avery in their line-up (which was infinitely better than when he was injured during the regular season), and they even managed to piss off and beat who I believe is the #1 goaltender of all time in Martin Brodeur (who is still keeping my IR spot on my fantasy team warm).  But if you look at recent teams who have actually WON the cup, there is hardly an argument for having a borderline dirty player on your team.  The defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings pretty much won without one.  Sure, they can all play the physical game, but their team is characterized with skilled young players, great goaltending (last year), and the intelligence of the greatest veteran leadership you can ask for in the game.  Puck possession and great defense was how they steam-rolled everyone they faced in the playoffs.  The Anaheim Ducks the year before had George Parros, but his moustache and his entire team could've taken the week off in the finals and still have won it (sorry Senators fans, but there was no way Ray Emery was going to stop anything from going into the goal).  To summarize all this, having a tough guy is nice, but in today's NHL, and especially with the way the 2009 Sharks are built, there is no need for a guy like that on our roster, at least not for that reason.  I'm not saying I have a problem with the Sharks signing Lemieux (who the San Jose Mercury News wish was Mario Lemieux apparantly.  Thanks to Yahoo! blogger Wyshynski for that, I get most of my hockey news from him).  He has veteran leadership, experience, and hopefully is still in hockey condition.  But if we're bringing him into the team for his bad boy rep, I'd have to scratch my head and wait and see what happens.

The last point of interest would be the closest thing to a wall the Sharks have hit all season: their road record.  This past road trip resulted in a shootout loss to St. Louis, a win in Dallas, and an OT loss to Minnessota, making them something along the lines of 1-1-3 in their past 5 road games.  A win against a division rival is nice, but 4 losses is not, even if they are OT.  Don't get me wrong, if you're the #1 team in the league, being near perfect at home is probably the most important thing when looking at the playoff picture, since you'll have home ice advantage the entire way.  But I'm worried about the surging Red Wings and the exceeding expectations Boston Bruins.  I mean, can anyone (besides Buffalo today) beat the Bruins and their 1-2 punch of Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez?  And the Red Wings are a not so distant second place in the Western Conference.  If the Sharks keep settling for OT losses on the road, we might suddenly not have home ice in the Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup.  The good news is our 9 losses this season so far all have a common theme: we're looking like the old Sharks that got manhandled by the Stars in the playoffs last year.  And even if they don't get that fixed right away in the regular season, it could be used as a confidence booster (especially with the uber-optimistic Todd McLellan coaching staff leading the way) in saying that they know what they are doing wrong, and it is a simple matter of working harder, getting your legs moving on the power play, etc.  But for now, I'd like to see the Sharks get a streak going again, and tonight is the opportune time, playing at home against the Islanders before heading off on a 3 game road trip.

First Post!

I have finally created a blog.  Hopefully this will soon circulate amongst the world wide web and outside my small circle of friends.  I want to reach out to as many people as possible so the masses can be informed about things that I believe they should be informed about.  I know the title is kind of lame, but as I get a feel for what this will be about, I'll edit it accordingly.

For anyone who randomly stumbles upon this and have absolutely no idea what is going on, my name is Jeffrey Dee.  I am a journalism major at the University of California: Irvine.  I am creating this blog to hopefully outlet topics I am interested in as well as get my name out there.  Feel free to comment anytime (no spam, it probably won't reach that many people anyways) or e-mail me about anything.  My information should be lying around somewhere on the blog.

Mission Statement: To keep readers informed, entertained, and involved.  To say the things that people should say but often don't,  like how guys have a different outlook on how to live their lives but never say it because they are whipped by their girlfriends.