I’m trying desperately not to follow sports. There’s not much to do around here during the cold months, so televised hockey and football are very tempting. I have other things that need to get done.

But I still watch highlights online.

I would like to draw your attention to Marleau’s goal in last nights Sharks game. It’s not his shot that’s astounding, but Thorton’s “pass” that set it up. It wasn’t just “no-look,” it wasn’t just “touch,” it was probably so subtle that most people didn’t even notice it.

See it here. (It’s the goal from 11/1/09).

Yes, this is one of my rare hockey posts.

I’ve never been a fan of anything having to do with Denver. That includes the airport.

Anyway, after years of Colorado Avalanche fans feeling entitled to success (the product, of course, of the crisp Rocky Mountain air), which allowed the owner to charge among the league’s highest ticket prices, their team is now in a fight for last place. ESPN has a decent article on Colorado’s downfall, and mentions the following reasons (among others):

• Mortgaging the future for acquisitions during the elite seasons.

• Years of bad drafts in the early 2000s.

• Mismanaging the transition years in the salary-cap era.

In short, the front office in Denver has been dysfunctional since… well… since they got to Denver. Anyone who was a hockey fan before the Nordiques moved to Colorado knows that Denver never earned any of their late-1990′s prestige. In fact, they owe all of their success to two people who were never associated with the Avalanche: Eric Lindros and Mario Tremblay. The team added depth to the detriment of future success and now they’re paying for it (kind of like our economy, non?).

Fans might say they didn’t have a choice, but the Detroit Red Wings (who are as strong today as they were when Roy dropped the gloves with Osgood) managed to maintain their momentum.

And, come to think of it, Colorado’s situation is very similar to another 1990′s transplant team that had sudden success and now doesn’t make the playoffs. And, no, I don’t mean the Coyotes – they were never successful.

I just recently discovered that I get free admission to the college’s ice rink. I got spoiled as an undergrad because I worked at a rink, but I haven’t skated much since. Now that I don’t actually have to pay, I’m just going to leave my skates in my office.

Yesterday my father and I took the boys to the rink. With his senior discount and my free ride, it cost $2 for the two of us. It was $6 for the boys. While Ben did very well (and we’re glad we bought him an pair of size-two skates when we saw them for cheap), Miles… not so much. Even our double-runner skates didn’t help much.

For him, it was one lap then “I watch you from the bench.”

It’s nice living near Buffalo during hockey season when the Sharks are kicking butt. I still have a California driver’s license, which has my parents’ old San Jose address on it. Although Los Tiburones are off to one of the best starts in NHL history, I still think this quote lacks a certain perspective.

After losing to San Jose, Toronto Maple Leafs Goaltender Vesa Toskala said…

Our goal is to become as good as San Jose, so [this game] was a test for us.

Huh? The Maple Leafs have played 73 more seasons of hockey than the Sharks and are one of the Original Six teams that founded the NHL. I don’t care what the current records are, until San Jose has won at least four Stanley Cups in a decade (the Leafs have done that twice) they’ll be the ones “trying to be as good.”

I also wonder how Leafs Nation is handling their new head coach’s comments after falling behind 4-0 in the first period.

If we somehow could have survived maybe the first 10 minutes of the game, we would have found an equilibrium, but it was over by then. That was one where you throw the white towel in the corner, [like] in a boxing match.

Ouch.

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