Busy Bee

Ok - like a billion apologies for the state of the webpage these days. I used to pride myself on how quick news was posted, but real life and a job that actually requires me to work on the computer (as opposed to my old job where I could play on the computer whilst at work) has consumed the bulk of my free time.

I'm sure it's a complete coincidence that the biggest hiatus of webpage updates in the website's history has occurred at the same time as one of the biggest hiatuses of strong play in the team's history, but there you go. The story of our 5-0 loss to the C-Bros Bulldogs has been up as the main story for what seems like forever, but the report can really be cut and pasted to describe all of our recent stumbles. But, for those who need to reed a report on every game the Sharps play, here you go :

March 19 : 8-0 loss to the GB&E Generals. Sucked.
March 23: 5-4 loss to the Cannibals. Played well but lost, which sucked.

The story so far, heading into Friday's game against the Bullets: Thanks to the recent troubles, the Bee Sharps can only hope to finish as high as fifth place in Division V, so regardless of where we finish, we're going to be forced to play in that crazy death match tournament on the weekend of April 5-6, where four teams enter, but only one team leaves.

I'm also kept busy timekeeping games, and the playoffs will be one of the busiest stretches of the season for me, so I'm not sure how often the main site will get a going over during the ocming weeks.

But hey, it's been fun, hasn't it?

Preview : Bee Sharps vs Cannibals

For someone with little to no friends, your humble webmaster has been ludicrously busy this week. So busy, in fact, that I can't find the time to write up the ever popular pre-game writeup for the Sharps' game against the Cannibals on Friday. So this will have to suffice.

Basically, if there was a writeup, it would contain some carefully worded paragraphs outlining how the Sharps are slumping, who is in the lineup, who is out, etc, and then the all important time and location of the game.

The location is mildly important. It's at the CAC Arena, which reportedly is Dustin Beech's favourite arena, so I expect a good game from him. Hence the picture above - look at him go! You know who else is back? Henry "18 Cent" Stremel after a long layoff due to an ankle injury - w00t! Jeff Cowie is missing the game, though, due to his regular gig as the PA voice of the Edmonton Oil Kings.

The Cannibals are technically ahead of the Sharps in the standingson account of the Sharps having about 8,000 more PIM than any other team in the league (but that never changes), and they just had their four game winning streak snapped.

So, in summary, Sharps are crap right now, Beech will score a hat trick, the fans will freeze in the coldest stands in the city (apart from the Icebox, of course), and the game is at 8:30 PM.

On Friday, January 18.

Game on!

Ouch.

You know, there's a million reasons why we wouldn't want to rush a recap of that 11-3 spanking that the C-Bros Bulldogs laid out on the Bee Sharps on Sunday morning, but the one (actual) reason as to why it ain't up there for all to see is time. Yup. No time. Well, that, and the it does take a while for the putrid taste of one of the worst games in Bee Sharps history to be washed from one's mouth, but there will be a writeup.

And, with the pregame story for Saturday's game slated to go out on Thursday, the Bulldogs game should occupy the main page for a grand total of 17 minutes. Ah, control of the media. We were thinking about using an ultra-positive headline such as "Beech Scores on Penalty Shot in Sharps Loss" or "No Suspensions For First Time In Three Games Gives Sharps Moral Victory".

Stay tuned.

Safeway's Cold Christmas

Not only are Safeway employees in Alberta set to strike in several store locations, but Marion Gaborik's neo-pseudo Darryl Sittler-esque performance against the New York Rangers must really have the executives at Safeway head office trembling.

For years, on several local broadcasts of Oilers, Flames, Canucks, (Jets?), etc, Safeway has offered a chance for a viewer to win $1,000,000 should any player score five (5) goals in one game. I used to chortle mightily whenever they would announce this "contest", knowing full well that the Todd Eliks and Steven Rices of the world were in no danger of padding my pocket with a cool mil with their dump-and-chase antics.

Well, now hope has filled me - Marion Gaborik's impressive five-goal performance against the Rangers is the first serious threat to Safeway's comfort level since, oh, the last player to score five goals in a game - ELEVEN years ago. Sergei Fedorov did it, scoring all five Red Wing goals, including the overtime winner, in a 5-4 win over Washington. I don't have my Official Guide and Record Book next to me, so I can't tell you when the last a time a player on a Canadian team scored five, but I'll bet you it was long before any Safeway marketing exec thought up this contest. And I'll bet you he was likely wearing #99 for the Oilers, too.

Speaking of five goal games, here's my amazing true story. My first ever Oilers game I ever saw was on my birthday on February 3, 1984. As a young Oilers fan, I was so excited to see Gretzky, Messier, Kurri, et al. Well, all three of those players were hurt and not playing. For Gretzky, it was the first game since his NHL record 51-game point streak had been snapped, and, as he was playing hurt towards the end of that streak, he took this game off. It was only his second NHL game missed in five years! And it had to be the one game that I actually went to!

Anyway, all was not lost, because the Oilers still had a third line checker named Pat Hughes. Hughes went on to have the night of his life, scoring five goals in a 10-5 Oilers win over the dreaded Calgary Flames. When a guy like Pat Hughes can score five in a game, there's hope for all of us. Don't forget to shop at Safeway. There might be a million dollars in it for you!

P.S. If Safeway workers DO go on strike, please DON'T shop at Safeway. I can never condone crossing strike barriers.