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Saltzman Says...Bay Area Bullets

• Hard Luck Cain - Matt Cain pitched 7 1/3 last night, allowing 2 runs, but the bullpen couldn't hold the lead.  Juan Uribe got the big hit, a 2 out, full count double to left center off of Brian Wilson in the bottom of the eighth.  

• Cody Ross is Boss Again? - Cody Ross hit a three run home run in the 9th to give the Giants a 8-5 win after blowing a 5-2 lead in the eighth.
• Mark DeRosa has played his last game? - DeRosa's wrist hit another setback last night, and it could mean the 2 year DeRosa experiment has failed for the last time.
• Sharks get Chewed Up - Sharks get destroyed in Game 2, specifically on power play after power play and lose 7-3.  No Sharks team has ever come back from a 2-0 deficit in team history.  The Sharks are 0-8 in series after losing the first two.  They have never even taken it 7 in any of those series.  Is this Sharks team the best of them all...only one way to prove it.
• A's lose in extras - A Daric Barton error in the 10th led to an unearned run and a extra innings loss for the A's.
• Ping Pong Balls bounce for Cleveland - Warriors haven't moved up to the top 3 since Joe Smith was the #1 overall selection by the team in 1995.  The Warriors will stay at 11, which means unless somebody in the top 10 wants a current Warrior more than their pick, the Warriors won't be getting a top 10 talent they so desperately need.
• Raiders Head Coach selling tickets - Everyone from the CEO to head coach Hue Jackson to actual ticket reps are being asked by the Raiders to sell season tickets during the lockout.  The Raiders decided instead of laying off their workers, creating furlough days or cutting back, they would put everyone to work.  Of all the strange things to come from Mount Davis, this one is one of the hardest to define.  Is it brilliant and encouraging, or is it crazy and typical of the organization?
• Richard Seymour and Jason Campbell in charge? - Seymour and Campbell are running a camp in Atlanta for all Raiders players, and 25 have already committed to being there for a four day camp.  Seymour will be in charge of the defense and Campbell will run the offense.

Kawakami Points Out...Sharks can't drop Game 2

Can 'Nemo' help prevent the Sharks from going down 2-0 in Vancouver?

...the Sharks have never come back from a 2-0 series deficit (or a two-game deficit of any kind) in a playoff series, I do think that’s significant.


Mostly because they’re down 1-0 to Vancouver and play Game 2 tomorrow. If they lose, well, that’s going down 2-0… and…

The Sharks have gone down 2-0 in a playoff series eight previous times, and they are 0-8 in those series.
In fact, they’ve never taken any of those series even to 7 games. Going down 2-0 has been the death knell for the Sharks, as it is for most NHL and NBA teams.

Just a fact: Down 2-0 is tough.

(The Sharks have been down 3-1 three times and are 0-3… but each of those series started 2-0, so I will not add those to the number.)

The eight series…
-2010 Western Conference Finals: The Sharks dropped the first two to Chicago in San Jose… and lost the series in four games.
-2009 first round: The Sharks dropped the first two to Anaheim in San Jose… and lost the series in six games.
-2008 second round: The Sharks dropped the first two to Dallas in San Jose… and lost the series in six games.
-2004 Western Conference finals: The Sharks dropped the first two to Calgary in San Jose… and lost the series in six gmes.
-2000 second round: The Sharks dropped the first two to Dallas in Dallas… and lost the series in five games.
-1999 first round: The Sharks dropped the first two to Colorado in San Jose… and lost the series in six games.
-1998 first round: The Sharks dropped the first two to Dallas in Dallas… and lost the series in six games.
-1995 second round: The Sharks dropped the first two to Detroit in Detroit… and lost the series in four games.

* Here’s the positive side of this: If the Sharks win Wednesday, they’ll tie the series 1-1, and the Sharks have won 8 of the 12 playoff series they’ve started 1-1.
That’s including the first round this year, when the Sharks split with the Kings, then won the series in six games.

Saltzman Says...Sharks proving themselves in the clutch

The San Jose Sharks have spent 20 years trying to put together a team that can compete for the Stanley Cup. 

1. Goaltenders: They have had talented goaltenders over the years, from Arturs Irbe, Evgeni Nabokov and now Antti Neimi.  Irbe was the first great goaltender in Sharks history and he certainly help establish the young franchise as a force to be reckoned with.  With the arrival on Nabokov, the team saw a new level of success.  Instead of challenging for the 8th seed and trying to upset top teams like Calgary and Detroit, Nabokov helped establish the Sharks as a perennial winner.  Through 2010, Nabokov helped lead the Sharks to six straight playoff appearances.  After losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Finals, the Sharks decided to part ways with Nabokov and ended up signing the man who beat him on the way to a Stanley Cup himself.  Antti Niemi, or Nemo, as he is called by teammates has helped lead the Sharks to a 3-0 series lead over Detroit for the second straight year.  With one more victory, the Sharks will make back-to-back trips to the Western Conference finals.  It is a round of the playoffs the team never got to until their 19th season.  Now in year 20, will last year's Stanley Cup winning goalie be the secret ingriedient?

2. Playoff Experience:  From Doug Wilson, now General Manager, who played his final years in San Jose, to Vincent Damphousse, Mike Ricci, Teemu Selanne, Rob Blake and Jeremy Roenick, the Sharks have always tried to bring in veterans who knew what playoff hockey is all about.  Despite never winning a championship, two very important things happened along the way.  These veterans heightened the expectation level of the franchise that getting to the playoffs is the bare minimum each season.  The second thing it established is that San Jose is a great place to play.  San Jose is a place that great hockey players want to play, and that has kept the high level of play here year after year.  It is the reason that both Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley as well as Dan Boyle and Niemi chose to come to San Jose, and why they are leading this franchise to games they have never played before.

3. Tremendous Scouting:  Doug Wilson and his staff have done a marvelous job over the years in bringing in talent and that is most evident in the drafting of several key components that makes the Sharks a favorite each year to challenge for the cup.  From Patrick Marleau in 1997 to Logan Couture in 2007, the Sharks have always done well on draft night.  Devin Setoguchi, Torrey Mitchell, Joe Pavelski, Ryan Clowe, and Douglas Murray are just some of the key contributors to the 2011 team that were drafted by the Sharks.  Even the trade for Dany Heatley came about because the Sharks could afford to give up former draft picks Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek.

Will 20 years be the year?  Let's watch and find out.

Will Marleau, Thornton, Heatley and Boyle help the Sharks win the Stanley Cup?

Saltzman Says...Irvington Students have Sharks Fever

Saltzman Says...Sharks 6-5 win becomes Instant Classic

Instant Classic on NHL Network 
Being broadcast this morning at 11am on NHL Network

Sharks comeback one for the ages
Read about the Game from the San Jose Sharks Staff Point of View

Recap of the Game
Check out the official NHL.com Recap

Setoguchi scores in OT
Official AP Story of the comeback win

Devin Setoguchi (middle) scored the game winner in overtime

Saltzman Says... Here is a Bay Area Reality Check

December 16, 2008.  Just two years ago.  Here was the status of our Bay Area Franchises just 730 days ago.

San Francisco Giants:  72-90

1. 4th in the NL West.   
2. Bengie Molina led the way with 16 Home Runs.
3. Matt Cain was 8-14 despite a 3.76 ERA
4. Barry Zito was 10-17 with a 5.15 ERA and 5 years and $106 million left on his contract.

Oakland A's: 75-86

1. Ryan Sweeney led the way with a .286 Batting Average
2. Jack Cust led the way with 77 RBI's (2nd on the team was Bobby Crosby with 61)
3. Justin Duchscherer led the way with 10 Wins
4. Huston Street led the way with 18 Saves

San Francisco 49ers: 7-9

1. Team Fired Mike Nolan in the middle of the season
2. Isaac Bruce led the way with 61 catches for 835 yards (2nd on the team was Bryant Johnson with 45 for 546)
3. J.T. O'Sullivan and Shaun Hill combined for 19 INT's and 55 sacks.
4. Vernon Davis only had 31 catches for 358 yards and 2 TD's.

Oakland Raiders: 5-11

1. Jamarcus Russell was the starting QB
2. The leading WR was Johnnie Lee Higgins with 22 catches for 366 yards and 4 TD's.
3. Team was 29th in scoring (263 points)
4. Team was 24th in points allowed (388 points)

Golden State Warriors:  29-53

1. Stephen Jackson was the leading scorer with 20.7 PPG
2. Corey Maggette was the 4th leading scorer.
3. Al Harrington and Jamal Crawford both complained their way out of town.
4. Monta Ellis only started 25 games because of an off-season "Moped Accident"

San Jose Sharks: 53-18-11

1. Lost in the Conference Quarter Finals to the Anaheim Ducks
2. They lost to the 8th seed, despite having the best record in hockey
3. Jonathan Cheechoo had 2 points in the post-season, Milan Michalek had 1 point
4. Evgeni Nabakov's save percentage was .890 in the postseason. (.910 in the regular season)

San Jose Earthquakes:  8-13-9

1. San Jose was awarded back their franchise after the original team moved to Houston.
2. Earthquakes finished 7th in the West and did not qualify for the playoffs.
3. The team now played at Santa Clara University
4. Landon Donovan was a distant memory, after leading the team until 2004.

San Jose Sabercats: 11-5

1. Lost Arena Bowl XXII to the Philadelphia Soul.
2. It was the last game played because the league closed up shop in 2009

--------------------------------------
TWO YEARS LATER...

• The 2010 San Francisco Giants won the World Series.

• The Oakland A's won 81 games, 51 of which came from their 4 young pitchers which included Dallas Braden's perfect game on Mother's Day.
• The San Francisco 49ers are in the playoff race for the first time since 2002
• The Oakland Raiders are in the playoff race for the first time since 2002
• The Golden State Warriors have new ownership and a young nucleus of Stephen Curry and co.
• San Jose Sharks are coming off their 1st ever trip to the Conference Finals, losing to the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks...and now we have their goalie.
• The San Jose Earthquakes qualified for the playoffs for the 1st time since coming back and upset the #1 seed in the Conference.
• The San Jose Sabercats are back.