The Lego Mirror - Sports

Week #11: Raided yet again

2017-03-28T05:29:00+00:00

If you missed the news, the Raiders are moving to Las Vegas. The Black Hole is leaving Oakland (again) for a newer, nicer, stadium in the desert. But let's talk about how we got here, and how different this is from the moving of the San Diego Chargers to Los Angeles.

The current Raiders stadium is outdated and old. It needs renovating to keep up with other modern stadiums in the NFL. Owner Mark Davis isn't a multi-billionaire that could finance such a stadium. And the City of Oakland is definitely not paying for it. So the options left are find outside financing for Oakland, for find said financing somewhere else. And unfortunately it was the latter option that won out in the end.

I think it's unsurprising that more and more cities are refusing to put public money into stadiums that they will see no profit from - it makes no sense whatsoever.

Overall I think the Raider Nation will adapt and survive just as it did when they moved to Los Angeles. The Raiders still have an awkward two-to-three years left in Oakland, and with Derek Carr at the helm, it looks like they will be good ones.

Week #10: March Sadness

2017-03-23T20:28:00+00:00

In California March Madness is really...March Sadness. The only Californian team that is still in is UCLA. UC Davis made it in but was quickly eliminated. USC and Saint Mary's both fell in the second round. Cal and Stanford didn't even make it in. At best we can root for Gonzaga, but that's barely it.

Some of us root for school's we went to, but for those of us who grew up here and support local teams, we're left hanging. And it's not bias in the selection commitee, those schools just aren't good enough.

On top of that we have a top notch professional team through the Warriors, but our amateur players just aren't up to muster.

So good luck to UCLA, represent California hella well. We somewhat believe in you.

Week #9: The jersey returns

2017-03-23T20:21:00+00:00

And so it has been found. Tom Brady's jersey was in Mexico the whole time, stolen by a member of the press. And while it's great news for Brady, sports memorabilia fans, and the FBI, it doesn't look good for journalists. Journalists are given a lot of access to players, allowing them to obtain better content and get better interviews. It would not be surprising if the NFL responds to this incident by locking down the access that journalists are given. And that would be real bummer.

I'm hoping this is seen as an isolated incident and all journalists are not punished for the offenses by one.

Week #8: Warriors are on the right path

2017-03-12T18:38:00+00:00

As you might have guessed due to the lack of previous coverage of the Warriors, I'm not really a basketball fan. But the Warriors are in an interesting place right now. After setting an NBA record for being the fastest team to clinch a playoff spot, Coach Kerr has started resting his starters and the Warriors have a three game losing streak. This puts the Warriors in danger of losing their first seed spot with the San Antonio Spurs only half a game behind them.

But I think the Warriors are doing the right thing. Last year the Warriors set the record for having the best regular season record in NBA history, but also became the first team in NBA history to have a 3-1 advantage in the finals and then lose.

No doubt there was immense pressure on the Warriors last year. It was just expected of them to win the championship, there really wasn't anything else.

So this year they can easily avoid a lot of that pressure by not being the best team in the NBA on paper. They shouldn't worry about being the top seed, just seed in the top four, and play your best in the playoffs. Get some rest, they have a huge advantage over every other team simply by already being in the playoffs with so many games left to play.

Week #7: 999 assists and no more kneeling

2017-03-04T06:07:00+00:00

Joe Thornton is one assist away from reaching 1,000 in his career. He's a team player - the recognition of scoring a goal doesn't matter to him, he just wants his teammates to score. And his teammates want him to achieve this milestone too, as shown by Sharks passing to Thornton and him passing back instead of them going directly for the easy empty netter.

Oh, and now that the trade deadline has passed with no movement on the goalie front, it's time for In Jones We Trust:

via /u/MisterrAlex on reddit

In other news, Colin Kaepernick announced that he's going to be a free agent and opted out of the final year of his contract. But in even bigger news, he said he will stop kneeling for the national anthem. I don't know if he is doing that to make himself more marketable, but I wish he would have stood (pun intended) with his beliefs.

Week #6: Barracuda win streak is great news for the Sharks

2017-02-24T22:27:00+00:00

The San Jose Barracuda, the Sharks AHL affiliate team, is currently riding a 13 game winning streak, and is on top of the AHL — and that's great news for the Sharks.

Ever since the Barracuda moved here from Worcester, Mass., it's only been great news for the Sharks. Because they play in the same stadium, sending players up or down becomes as simple as a little paperwork and asking them to switch locker rooms, not cross-country flights.

This allows the Sharks to have a significantly deeper roster, since they can call up new players at a moment's notice. So the Barracuda's win streak is great news for Sharks fans, since it demonstrates how even the minor league players are ready to play in the pros.

And if you're watching hockey, be on the watch for Joe Thornton to score his 1,000 assist! (More on that next week).

Week #5: Politics and the Super Bowl – chewing a pill too big to swallow

2017-02-17T06:21:00+00:00

For a little change, I'd like to talk about the impact of sports upon us this week. The following opinion piece was first written for La Voz, and can also be read on their website.

Super Bowl commercials have become the latest victim of extreme politicization. Two commercials stood out from the rest by featuring pro-immigrant advertisements in the midst of a political climate deeply divided over immigration law. Specifically, Budweiser aired a mostly fictional story of their founder traveling to America to brew, while 84 Lumber’s ad followed a mother and daughter’s odyssey to America in search of a better life.

The widespread disdain toward non-white outsiders, which in turn has created massive backlash toward these advertisements, is no doubt repulsive, but caution should also be exercised when critiquing the placement of such politicization. Understanding the complexities of political institutions and society are no doubt essential, yet it is alarming that every facet of society has become so politicized; ironically, this desire to achieve an elevated political consciousness actually turns many off from the importance of politics.

Football — what was once simply a calming means of unwinding from the harsh winds of an oppressive world — has now become another headline news center for political drama.

President George H. W. Bush and his wife practically wheeled themselves out of a hospital to prepare for hosting the game. New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, and quarterback, Tom Brady, received sharp criticism for their support of Donald Trump, even to the point of losing thousands of dedicated fans.

Meanwhile, the NFL Players Association publicly opposed President Trump’s immigration ban three days before the game, with the NFLPA’s president saying “Our Muslim brothers in this league, we got their backs.”

Let’s not forget the veterans and active service members that are frequently honored before NFL games, except that’s an advertisement too – the Department of Defense paid NFL teams over $5 million over four years for those promotions.

Even though it’s an America’s pastime, football, and other similar mindless outlets, provide the role of allowing us to escape whenever we need a break from reality, and for nearly three hours on Sunday, America got its break, except for those commercials. If we keep getting nagged about an issue, even if we’re generally supportive, t will eventually become incessant to the point of promoting nihilism.

When Meryl Streep spoke out at the Golden Globes, she turned a relaxing event of celebrating fawning into a political shitstorm which redirected all attention back toward Trump controversies. Even she was mostly correct, the efficacy becomes questionable after such repetition as many will become desensitized.

Politics are undoubtedly more important than ever now, but for our sanity’s sake, let’s keep it to a minimum in football. That means commercials too.

Week #4: 500 for Mr. San Jose Shark

2017-02-09T20:18:00+00:00

He did it: Patrick Marleau scored his 500th career goal. He truly is Mr. San Jose Shark.

I had the pleasure of attending the next home game on Saturday right after he reached the milestone in Vancouver, and nearly lost my voice chearing for Marleau. They mentioned his accomplishment once before the game and again during a break, and each time Marleau would only stand up and acknowledge the crowd cheering for him when he realized they would not stop until he did.

He's had his ups and downs, but he's truly a team player.

“I think when you hit a mark like this, you start thinking about everyone that’s helped you along the way,” Marleau said.

And on Saturday at home, Marleau assisted on both Sharks goals, helping out his teammates who had helped Marleau score his over the past two weeks.

Congrats Marleau, and thanks for the 20 years of hockey. Can't wait to see you raise the Cup.

Week #3: All-Stars

2017-02-02T06:34:00+00:00

via /u/PAGinger on reddit

Last weekend was the NHL All-Star game and skills competition, with Brent Burns, Martin Jones, and Joe Pavelski representing the San Jose Sharks in Los Angeles. And to no one's surprise, they were all booed!

Pavelski scored a goal during the tournament for the Pacific Division, and Burns scored during the skills competition's "Four Line Challenge". But since they represented the Pacific, we have to talk about the impossible shot Mike Smith made.

And across the country, the 2017 NFL Pro Bowl (their all-star game) was happening at the same time. The Oakland Raiders had seven Pro Bowlers (tied for most from any team), and the San Francisco 49ers had...none.

In the meantime the 49ers managed to hire a former safety with no General Manager-related experience as their new GM. It's really not clear what Jed York, the 49ers owner, is trying out here, and why he would sign John Lynch to a six year contract.

But really, how much worse could it get for the 49ers?

Week #2: NATTY HATTY FOR PATTY

2017-01-26T09:12:00+00:00

The only person who would dare upstage Patrick Marleau's four goal night is Randy Hahn, with his hilarious call after Marleau's third goal to finish a natural hat-trick: "NATTY HATTY FOR PATTY". And after scoring another, Marleau became the first player to score four goals in a single period since the great Mario Lemieux did in 1997. He's also the third Shark to score four goals in a game, joining Owen Nolan (no video available, but his hat-trick from the 1997 All-Star game is fabulous) and Tomáš Hertl.

Marleau is also ready to hit his next milestone of 500 career goals - he's at 498 right now. Every impressive stat he puts up just further solidifies him as one of the greatest hockey players of his generation. But he's still missing the one achievement that all the greats need - a Stanley Cup. The Sharks made their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals last year, but realistically had very little chance of winning; they simply were not the better team.

The main question these days is how long Marleau and Joe Thornton will keep playing for, and if they can stay healthy until they eventually win that Stanley Cup.

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