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San Jose Sharks Blogger •
I have a book of poems by Charles Bukowski. Appropriately enough, it's in the bathroom. It's a large book, containing anywhere from 150-200 poems, so I've taken up the habit of putting an X next to the ones I really like. As soon as I recognize a great poem the X appears, offering a little reminder that I can count on the poem to provide a laugh or an interesting thought, lifting me up when I get too low or knocking me down when I get too high.
Sometimes I'll read a poem that repulses me and think, "I could never put an X next to that one," but I'll read it a few months later and laugh out loud, wondering why I hadn't marked it before. I suppose my perspective is always changing. My opinion of a poem can change depending on my mood, and I've often found that trash in May becomes treasure in June. Unexplainably, the woeful becomes wonderful without the ink shifting at all.
Today, nearly every poem in the book has an X next to it. I suppose you could say that defeats my original purpose, which was weeding out the best ones so they could be identified easily. On the other hand, you could say I've gained an appreciation for each of them over time, making the entire book a treasure with laughter or inspiration on each page.
In many ways, an NHL team is the same as my book of poems. No, cynics, not because they're both crafted by alcoholic, recluse gamblers and belong in the bathroom. A team's players are like the poems. Some are marked with an X almost immediately, providing consistency and coming through when you need them. Others take a little more time, proving their worth as time passes and perspectives change.
The NHL playoffs provide the moments that let those players become heroes, allowing fans to mark them with a permanent, unfading X. Dan Boyle was a great player on Tuesday morning. By Wednesday morning he was a hero, coming through in the clutch and helping the Sharks avoid disaster. Give that man an X. Joe Pavelski had a horrible turnover in Game 3, but who could forget his overtime winner in Game 5 against the Stars last season? He's got an X.
As time passes, the memories pile up and the X's punctuate the roster. They're different for each fan. Maybe your Ryane Clowe X is the beatdown he administered to Jordin Tootoo during the 2007 playoffs. Perhaps your Evgeni Nabokov X is the glove save on Brad Richards during Game 6, extending the season another four overtime periods. Your Jeremy Roenick X could be the four-point effort against Calgary in Game 7.
Follow a team long enough, and those X's linger forever in your memory bank. There's no doubt the biggest X in franchise history is Jamie Baker's game-winning goal against the Red Wings in 1994. He doesn't look like a guy who's been drinking free beers for the last 15 years, but I'm sure he's had one or two since his shot tickled the twine. Or what about Ray Whitney's double-OT winner against the Flames in 1995? X marks the spot.
As soon as you recognize it the X appears, offering a little reminder that you can count on the player to stand up and be counted, to shake off the hits, to wipe off the blood and come through in the clutch. The Sharks have fallen short each of the last three seasons, failing to provide those dramatic moments and the confident, indelible X that accompanies playoff victories.
Every fan wants a reason to believe, a reason to stamp an X on every page of the book, or every player on the roster. Tonight, with another season hanging in the balance, which player will step up and prove himself? Who's going to demand that we stamp him with that X? In San Jose, with expectations as high as they've ever been, a few X's are long overdue.
ryan.garner@hockeybuzz.com
Sometimes I'll read a poem that repulses me and think, "I could never put an X next to that one," but I'll read it a few months later and laugh out loud, wondering why I hadn't marked it before. I suppose my perspective is always changing. My opinion of a poem can change depending on my mood, and I've often found that trash in May becomes treasure in June. Unexplainably, the woeful becomes wonderful without the ink shifting at all.
Today, nearly every poem in the book has an X next to it. I suppose you could say that defeats my original purpose, which was weeding out the best ones so they could be identified easily. On the other hand, you could say I've gained an appreciation for each of them over time, making the entire book a treasure with laughter or inspiration on each page.
In many ways, an NHL team is the same as my book of poems. No, cynics, not because they're both crafted by alcoholic, recluse gamblers and belong in the bathroom. A team's players are like the poems. Some are marked with an X almost immediately, providing consistency and coming through when you need them. Others take a little more time, proving their worth as time passes and perspectives change.
The NHL playoffs provide the moments that let those players become heroes, allowing fans to mark them with a permanent, unfading X. Dan Boyle was a great player on Tuesday morning. By Wednesday morning he was a hero, coming through in the clutch and helping the Sharks avoid disaster. Give that man an X. Joe Pavelski had a horrible turnover in Game 3, but who could forget his overtime winner in Game 5 against the Stars last season? He's got an X.
As time passes, the memories pile up and the X's punctuate the roster. They're different for each fan. Maybe your Ryane Clowe X is the beatdown he administered to Jordin Tootoo during the 2007 playoffs. Perhaps your Evgeni Nabokov X is the glove save on Brad Richards during Game 6, extending the season another four overtime periods. Your Jeremy Roenick X could be the four-point effort against Calgary in Game 7.
Follow a team long enough, and those X's linger forever in your memory bank. There's no doubt the biggest X in franchise history is Jamie Baker's game-winning goal against the Red Wings in 1994. He doesn't look like a guy who's been drinking free beers for the last 15 years, but I'm sure he's had one or two since his shot tickled the twine. Or what about Ray Whitney's double-OT winner against the Flames in 1995? X marks the spot.
As soon as you recognize it the X appears, offering a little reminder that you can count on the player to stand up and be counted, to shake off the hits, to wipe off the blood and come through in the clutch. The Sharks have fallen short each of the last three seasons, failing to provide those dramatic moments and the confident, indelible X that accompanies playoff victories.
Every fan wants a reason to believe, a reason to stamp an X on every page of the book, or every player on the roster. Tonight, with another season hanging in the balance, which player will step up and prove himself? Who's going to demand that we stamp him with that X? In San Jose, with expectations as high as they've ever been, a few X's are long overdue.
ryan.garner@hockeybuzz.com
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