Author Archive

Quite a Catch: Why Is Vernon Davis Still Playing Under His Old Contract?

Posted: 11th July 2010 by Patrick Goulding II in NFL
The San Francisco 49ers made a very savvy move early this spring, taking advantage of the lack of a salary cap to give perennial All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis just reward for his early career success, while securing him in red and gold for the next five seasons. The move marked a departure from the normal salary cap-mandated work around of a back-heavy contract, and gave the young linebacker a large sum ...

Cross-Bite? San Jose Sharks’ Offseason Moves Continue to Confuse

Posted: 9th July 2010 by Patrick Goulding II in NHL
Perhaps San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson is still fighting off a mild delirium at the frustration and disappointment of being swept out of the 2010 Western Conference Finals. How else can one explain the confusing cacophony of offseason moves he has crafted to date? The Sharks' offseason has been a roller coaster of highs and lows thus far. Things looked promising when the team decided to part ways ...

NHL Free Agency: San Jose Sharks’ Off-Season Still Coming into Focus

Posted: 2nd July 2010 by Patrick Goulding II in NHL
Following an NHL team during the offseason is a bit like waiting for a Polaroid picture to develop (for my younger readers, check Wikipedia). Slowly but surely you wait and watch as out of foggy nothingness edges start to sharpen, shapes start to take form, and colors start to emerge, until the image comes fully into focus. For the soon-to-be 2010-2011 San Jose Sharks, this development is still ...

Defense Wins Championships: San Jose Sharks Should Look To the Blue Line

Posted: 26th June 2010 by Patrick Goulding II in NHL
NHL hockey is a game generally played every other day. Apparently, San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson is carrying that rhythm into the 2010 off-season. The Sharks entered the off-season with a handful of high profile free agents, knowing they would need to make some tough decisions. On Tuesday, the team announced they were parting ways with Evgeni Nabokov . The announcement was not a surprise to many, but the ...

Highs and Lows: Jerry Rice’s Upcoming Honors Are Bound to Be Bittersweet

Posted: 21st June 2010 by Patrick Goulding II in NFL
The summer and fall of 2010 will bring the formal coronation of several bits of San Francisco 49er (and NFL) lore that have been foregone conclusions for essentially the last 20 years. In August, Jerry Rice will be enshrined in Canton, Ohio, joining his fellow immortals cast in bronze for perpetuity in the hallowed corridors of the illustrious Pro Football Hall of Fame. Then, during a ceremony at halftime of the ...

Time Off for Good Behavior: Has Mike Singletary Gone Soft?

Posted: 19th June 2010 by Patrick Goulding II in NFL
The San Francisco 49ers wrapped up mandatory mini-camps one day ahead of schedule on Friday, as head coach Mike Singletary decided to cancel the planned Saturday practices and release his players a day early. They will be off until they reconvene for training camp late next month. In a media interview , Coach Sing cited all the hard work his players and coaches had put in throughout the off-season fitness sessions, ...

Just Jed: Ortmeyer’s Case to Bring Home the Masterton Trophy

Posted: 19th June 2010 by Patrick Goulding II in NHL
San Jose Sharks' forward Jed Ortmeyer stands alone among his teammates this year as the only member of Team Teal to garner a nomination for a 2010 NHL Award. Ortmeyer joins Washington Capitals' goaltender Jose Theodore and Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Kurtis Foster as a nominee for the 2010 Masterton Trophy. The Masterton Trophy is by letter given to the NHL player who best exhibits the principles of perseverance, ...

Shark-A-Palooza: Four Bands That Could Lend San Jose a New Intro Song

Posted: 19th June 2010 by Patrick Goulding II in NHL
One can get really bogged down in talk of trades, free agent departures and acquisitions, and even draft prospects this time of year in the NHL. So why not take a moment to explore a lighter idea? For some time now, the San Jose Sharks have burst onto home ice through the glowing, smoking shark head to the sounds of Metallica’s “Seek and Destroy.” The choice is understandable; it is a ...

Lettermen: Rob Blake’s Retirement Leaves San Jose Sharks Captaincy Vacant

Posted: 11th June 2010 by Patrick Goulding II in NHL
Wanted: Ambitious and talented individual for leadership position. Must possess charisma, confidence, a proven pedigree of success, and a dominating slap shot? San Jose Sharks' defenseman and 2009-10 captain Rob Blake called it a career Wednesday night, ending his Hall-of-Fame-caliber NHL tenure after a two-year stay in the South Bay in an ultimately fruitless attempt to win one more ring, set in teal and orange. Blake's ...

Touchdown, 49ers! San Francisco 49ers Score a New Stadium

Posted: 9th June 2010 by Patrick Goulding II in NFL
A lot of rhetoric was exchanged in the campaign for Measure J, Santa Clara's city ballot initiative to gain public support for construction of a $927 million state of the art stadium for the San Francisco 49ers. Opponents of the proposition made outlandish claims ranging from the "fact" that the stadium would create debt for residents of Santa Clara, to the notion that the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum was ...