Sports Wrap

This was a pretty good weekend for sporting activities. With the Sharks pushing hard to make it past the second round of the NHL playoffs, the Giants going into the weekend with a series sweep and the fourth winning series in a row and a rather stacked UFC 113 card, this was a good weekend to slug out and make sweet love to the television remote.

If only those pesky kids didn't keep wanting stuff...

Between my wife's Saturday appointments and Sunday being both Mother's Day and Sullivan's fourth birthday, there wasn't a whole ton of time for me to do me stuff. Not that I'm really complaining too much. Well, maybe a little.

The Giants nearly got swept by the Mets after losing the first two games but they pulled out the win yesterday even though Tim Lincecum didn't get the win like he totally deserved. Just like his last start but that's baseball, sometimes you do everything right and you still don't get the win.

I didn't get to watch any of the Sharks games because we don't have the cable anymore but I followed them online and did log in to catch a few minutes of live action every so often. After the 7-1 drubbing the game before, the Sharks re-established themselves and took care of business against the Red Wings.

But the main event of the weekend was UFC 113 featuring some big match ups. The fight between Koscheck and Paul Daley was billed to be a barn burning slug fest. The rematch between Lyoto Machida and Shogun was also looking solid. I'd not given Kos much of a chance in his fight having seen Daley walk through his last couple of fights. But Kos had a great game plan and applied it perfectly. A striker clearly has the advantage when the fight is on the feet but he is at a clear disadvantage when put on his back. And all I could think of when Daley was on his back was Houston Alexander who is damned scary on his feet, he throws wicked hands and has truly devastating knees. But when he's on his back he's like a turtle. And once the fighters figured that out, he was done. We'll see if Daley can reload his game and overcome this loss. But apparently he won't ever fight in the UFC again because of his classless antics after the fight was over. Cheap shots and sucker punches are never, ever a way to endear yourself to fans or Dana White.

And Kimbo Slice fought again in the UFC. He also lost again in the UFC and looks like he's not going to get another chance to fight for the UFC. I give Kimbo lots of props for his heart and effort but he's never going to be even a middle of the road mixed martial artist. He's a decent backyard brawler but he will get his ass handed to him every time by a dedicated mixed martial artist.

And, as always, Tom Lawlor spiced everything up with his antics, humor and sweet, sweet mustache. Shame he wasn't able to capitalize and get the W as well. He had been working Doerkson but got caught and then got choked out. Oops. He's still a fan favorite but he needs to get some wins rolling! And I'd like to see the Marcus Davis versus Jonathan Goulet fight sometime.

And let's not forget or overlook Dallas Braden's perfect game yesterday against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (one of the hottest teams in all of baseball right now). This is the guy who got national interest when he yelled down A-Rod for walking over his pitcher's mound on the way back to the dug out a couple of weeks ago. A-Rod was headed back to his dugout after getting thrown out at 3rd and thought it would be a good idea to walk over the top of the pitcher's mound. Only Braden didn't think so and started to shout at him to get the hell off his mound. And many people thought Braden was finding something to get pissed about. Maybe he was but I think he had a good point. The pitcher's mound is his office, he had it set up the way he wanted, A-Rod had absolutely no business or need to go walking through his office. That was just lame and yet another sign that A-Rod's a self-absorbed douchebag.

On the personal exercise front I still find myself lost in the post triathlon malaise. My legs feel tired, my brain feels tired and I know I need to get some exercise but I just can't see to pull the trigger and make it happen. I think I may need to find another race to focus on to start training for in order to kick the jams back out and get back on the training track.

I'm hoping that we are able to get back on a regular-esque schedule this week. I think we all need to re-settle down and get back to something more resembling a routine. It'd be helpful for me, that's for sure.

Neon Sharks

Taken at the lighting of the blue whale at the Long Marine Lab a week or two ago. These are some really neat remote controlled cars with some tech called CoolNeon making the wireframe sharks. The boys, as could be expected, went wild for them. As did pretty much every other kid.

We got there a little late and only got a few minutes of wild shouting and chasing the sharks before the owner/builder took them home. But it was good fun while it lasted even amid Grady getting accidentally knocked to the ground, he screamed for about ten seconds and then ran off to chase the sharks some more laughing loudly along the way.

Checking My Scorecard

So how'd I do on yesterday's election? I hit the big one in Obama/Biden winning the presidential election but several of the props have passed, including the hate-based Prop 8, the special-interest crippled Prop 1a, that I had hoped would not.

Total score: 7/13. I missed on Props: 1a, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 11. Not especially good AND made worse with Prop 8 passing. But I'll take the Obama win first and foremost and we can sort out the other stuff later. For now, it is time to breathe again, remember that there are other things worth blogging about aside from politics.

But I would like to note that John McCain's concession speech was his best of the entire campaign and I hope he continues to urge his supporters to work with President-elect Obama (doesn't that sound good?).

........
Hey, um, the Sharks are off to an amazingly kickass start!

Suffering for the Sharks

The Sharks started the second round of the playoffs by quickly getting to three games down against the Stars. But before the scary elimination game four, I stopped shaving and joined the Fear the Beard fan campaign to support the team. And they won game four. And I still didn't shave. And they won game five. And I still didn't shave.

This afternoon is game six and I have not shaved yet. And today is the peak scratchy face day. At least I hope this is the peak because I'm going to go insane if it gets itchier.

I hope the Sharks win but either way, tomorrow the beard will either be gone or, hopefully, grown out enough to not be like thousands of pins jabbing my face.

I'm humbled that my beard has been the turning point for the Sharks and I just hope I'm strong enough to keep from shaving it.

[Update: Well it took four Overtime periods to end but it did end for the Sharks last night. Fantastic goal tending from both the Stars and the Sharks and I'm bummed there will be no game seven. But damn, what an awesome final game of the season for the Sharks.]

The Sharks Move On

If you are a fan of hockey then you are already well aware of what a fantastic Game Seven was played in San Jose by the Calgary Flames and the Sharks. The game was played hard by both sides, with alot of hits, some cheap shots and some blatant assaults. But that's hockey and that's alright by me.

When the assaults get called for the fouls that they are. But the officials were really bad, missing clear fouls committed directly in front of them. If it were up to me, that officiating crew would be demoted right out of the playoffs.

But anyway, the hockey game itself was fast, furious and explosive. And historic in Jeremy Roenick's record-tying 4 points via two goals and two assists.

And the Sharks won, of course, that's what really made it a great game. Unless you're a Flames fan.