Sharks and Shoes - 5/27/16

Let’s get this thing in motion.....

1. Congrats to the San Jose Sharks on winning the Western Conference, defeating the St. Louis Blues, 5-2, in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals at SAP Center on Wednesday night. The trials and tribulations of the Sharks are well-documented. Courtesy of ESPN Stats and Info, I’ll list a few now:

-Playing their first two seasons in franchise history with a .192 points percentage (28-129-7 record), the 4th-worst in NHL history for any team over any two-season span.
-Spending their first-ever draft pick (#2 overall, 1991) on winger Pat Falloon. Falloon’s career stat line: nine NHL seasons, no seasons scoring more than 25 goals. The next pick in the draft? Hall of Fame defenceman Scott Niedermayer.
-Three losing trips to the Western Conference Finals, including a particularly painful loss in 2011 on a game-winning goal in which no one knew where the puck was.
-Winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2008-2009 only to be upset in the first round by 8-seeded Anaheim.
-The epic 3-0 collapse against the LA Kings in 2013-2014.
-Missing the playoffs last season.
-The stripping of the captaincy (at various points) of Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton – followed by trade rumors surrounding Marleau and a public tongue-lashing of GM Doug Wilson by Thornton.

This organization has been well-run for quite some time and it seems that everyone in and around the game is thrilled that the Sharks have finally gotten over the hump and to the Final. It’s a very easy team to root for with Marleau and Thornton (the first two overall picks of the 1997 NHL Draft) reaching the Final for the first time as both near their 20th season in the league. It should also be noted that both Marleau and Thornton have been productive in the postseason throughout their careers, averaging just under a point-per-game in over 150 playoff games each – their poor postseason reputation the product of a convenient narrative.

Some credit has to go to GM Doug Wilson as well. Wilson has been maligned on several occasions throughout San Jose’s run since the 2004-2005 lockout. He has regularly referred to it as a “retooling” as opposed to a “rebuilding.” Bringing in Paul Martin, Joel Ward, Martin Jones, Joonas Donskoi, Dainius Zubrus, and head coach Pete DeBoer while keeping the core of Thornton, Marleau, Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski, and Brent Burns intact is nothing short of impressive. It should also be noted that the Sharks have 10 new faces on this year’s roster that were not part of the LA collapse two years ago. Pete DeBoer was also correct in giving some credit to previous head coach Todd McLellan, who is now in Edmonton. The Sharks have always been a well-coached outfit that works hard and does things the right way. I’m definitely pulling for the Sharks to win the “whole f****n’ thing” (Nod to Major League). And just to drive home how much the hockey world loves Marleau and Thornton, check out these two articles.

An article from The Globe and Mail about Joe Thornton.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/joe-thorton-is-the-rare-sure-fire-hall-of-famer-who-goes-underappreciated/article30113099/

An article from ESPN.com on Marleau.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/15708107/nhl-2016-stanley-cup-playoffs-san-jose-sharks-veteran-patrick-marleau-enjoying-being-close-finals/

2. A short commentary on the latest in the athletic apparel front:

UCLA and Under Armour recently agreed to what is currently the largest all-school apparel deal ever in college sports. UCLA is leaving Adidas in July 2017 for a reported 15-year, $280 million deal. This is just the latest deal to be christened as “biggest ever.” In the last year alone, we have seen Michigan (Nike), Miami (Florida) (Adidas), Ohio State (Nike), and Texas (Nike) all strike new all-school apparel deals for extremely large sums of money. It’s only a matter of time before one of the big three apparel providers in the college game (Nike, Adidas, Under Armour) strike another deal for an even larger sum. As a matter of fact, about two weeks before Under Armour announced its deal with UCLA, it announced a deal with Cal-Berkeley, giving Under Armour a solid west coast footprint for the next decade or so.

My first instinct is to say that Adidas has suffered a great loss. In addition to UCLA, Adidas has lost Michigan (Nike), Tennessee (Nike), Wisconsin (Under Armour), and Notre Dame (Under Armour) in the last year. Although when I look at it again, Adidas still has Texas A&M, Nebraska, and Louisville under its football umbrella. Plus, the brand took Miami (Florida) and Arizona State away from Nike last year. It seems that this arms race is similar to the arms race in facilities that permeates the college athletics landscape. All we can do is wonder what the next big domino to fall will be.

This also extends into the professional ranks. Reebok has lost the NFL and the NHL (starting in the 2017-2018 season) recently. Nike has regained the NFL and will retake the NBA from Adidas starting in the 2017-2018 season. MLB has been aligned with Majestic since 1982 for its on-field uniforms and batting practice jerseys, making their agreement exclusive in 2005 and recently extending it. The NHL is now turning to Adidas (away from Reebok) at the start of the 2017-2018 season with a sneak peek coming in this September’s World Cup of Hockey.

As an avid hockey fan, I am worried about this. One major Adidas trademark is to put its signature three stripes wherever it can on its uniforms. The hockey sweater is iconic in its own right and imagining future NHL uniforms with the three stripes piping running underneath sleeves and even onto the shells is horrifying. Hockey sweaters still have a traditional feel to them and while some updates/upgrades are exciting, I just don’t want Adidas to completely bastardize them.

A sign of hope, perhaps, are the new CFL uniforms. Adidas is replacing Reebok this season as the official uniform provider of the Canadian Football League. A look at the new designs for the nine CFL franchises gives me some hope. The CFL redesigns are simple and, in some cases, barely noticeable. I’m hoping that Adidas leaves the traditional NHL designs alone and makes subtle improvements around the league…very much like their CFL rollout and a stark contrast from their college football uniform designs. Hopefully, that’s all a product of understanding their audience and maybe Adidas will respect the NHL and its professional tradition. Remember, the league celebrates its centennial season in 2016-2017.

3. Quick Hits

a. Tuesday marked 100 days until kickoff of the 2016 college football season! The Week 1 slate is incredible…thanks to the CFP forcing teams to schedule more legitimate non-conference opponents to beef up their strength of schedule argument. Some of the Week 1 highlights: Oklahoma/Houston; LSU/Wisconsin; Alabama/USC; Clemson/Auburn; Texas/Notre Dame; Stanford/Kansas State; and Florida State/Ole Miss.

b. Some credit to the Memphis Grizzlies: Former Memphis Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger was hired to be the head coach of the Sacramento Kings just two days after being fired by Memphis. The Grizzlies, after being a laughing stock for much of their NBA tenure, have quietly made the playoffs six seasons in a row – the 3rd-longest active streak in the league after the San Antonio Spurs (19 straight) and the Atlanta Hawks (9 straight). Joerger and previous head coach Lionel Hollins (also unceremoniously dumped) deserve a lot more credit than I suspect they actually get in NBA circles. Memphis used an NBA-record 28 players this year due to injuries and still managed to go 42-40 before losing to San Antonio in a physical first round sweep. Here’s to hoping that Mike Conley comes back and Memphis can continue quietly surprising people in the West.

c. I don't want to make any specific comments regarding the dismissal of Baylor head coach Art Briles. I believe this is a situation that is only going to get stickier as it is investigated further. I will simply note the tremendous job Briles did in taking a Big XII doormat and turning it into a legitimate playoff contender and national player. He leaves Baylor with a 65-37 record and brought Baylor (in 2013) its first outright conference championship since 1980. He has also had a hand in the building of McLane Stadium.

d. A few good articles on the dismissal of Art Briles:

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/15745248/line-events-rise-dismissal-baylor-bears-coach-art-briles

e. I'm intrigued by the WWE’s recent announcement to go live on Tuesday nights with Smackdown every week as opposed to a Tuesday taping with a Thursday airing. I’m not a big fan of the Tuesday night airing as having RAW and Smackdown on back-to-back nights could be a bit much, but I like that they are giving the “blue brand” a much needed jolt. I hope that the distinct rosters lead to distinct wrestling styles and presentations between the two shows. I understand that they are both WWE products and will wrestle the “WWE style,” but I believe the shows can still have distinct flavors. I also hope that the WWE World Heavyweight Championship remains intact. Having one undisputed world champion floating between the two shows will keep both brands unified under the WWE banner while allowing them to grow on their own accord. I’m also curious to see how the superstar draft will work and how this affects NXT. Ultimately, the most likely main goal of all this has been accomplished: People are once again drawn into and talking about the WWE product.

f. And a quick shout out to Spurs. Despite fading down the stretch, Tottenham (my BPL team of choice) turned in their best Premier League finish ever, finishing second in the table and earning a spot in next year’s Champions League. With an incredible nucleus (Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Jan Vertonghen, Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela, Toby Alderweireld, Hugo Lloris) and a contract extension for manager Mauricio Pochettino, hopes are high for countless Spurs supporters (such as myself) and the upcoming season.

g. Random thought: 16 years ago in May 2000, Triple H (my all-time favorite wrestler) defeated The Rock in a 60-minute Iron Man Match at Judgment Day to begin his 4th WWF Championship reign.

Until next time.

-Meech