Paring down the goalie gear

Paring down goalie equipment seems to be the continuing story this season. We came into the season with the usual suspects whining about the goalies having an unfair advantage, and the GM’s meeting seems to have done nothing else but discuss the state of the gear. 

Even former members in good standing of the "Goaltenders Union", Darryl Rheaugh and Brian Hayward, have said the goalie equipment needs to be cut down to size. Bet that makes them popular in the goalie’s corner of the locker room!

But before all those people who want to turn the tables and go after the guy *in* the mask with a chain saw, some things to think about:

1. The NHL doesn’t live in a vaccuum: I know this may come as a surprise to the GMs and various NHL columnists, but there’s a whole bunch of hockey out there that isn’t NHL. If the NHL cuts back on the gear to the point where a number of goalies decide that playing in Europe beats taking multiple bone bruises, the game *will* suffer. Oh, Europe will fall in line, just like university hockey and all the other ways to the NHL not in the system? Really?  How about the World Junior champsionships, the World Hockey Championships, heck the Olympics?  Do the NHL GMs still think the rest of the hockey world rolls over and pees for them?  There’s peeing going on, that’s for sure, but I’m not seeing a lot of rolling over these days.

2. Who’s paying for this party? Okay, so you cut the pads down to 10 inches or some clever boy comes up with a way to wrap the leg pads around the shins, and they cut the glove size and the blocker size, etc.   If the NHL does get their way and it somehow magically ripples through the hockey system, there’s a bunch of hockey equipment that suddenly is of no use.  I guess the NHL GMs, and those ex-goalie color analysts all make enough money that if they have to swap out their kid’s  equipment, hey no hassle. Maybe after changing the rules, they’ll switch their little goalies to center or something!  But for real people, goalie gear is a serious expense, and even if the local league is helping to foot the bill, someone is going to have to pay for all that new equipment. Better get your PR people on this in advance, because the first tearful hockey mom on HNIC, and you all look like throughtless creeps.

3. "But it looked good in the photos":  If you skate too close to the edge of biometric data (you’re doing biometric data, right?  right?) someone at either end of the spectrum is going to get hurt, maybe because the pretection wasn’t big enough, maybe because someone forgot that as they cut the width and the height of the pads, maybe the ability to absorb shock goes down in a non-linear fashion (oops!). And since no one was thinking about sizing the equipment down, it works fine for adults, but the kids start getting linear fractures of their tibia.  All I’m seeing are a bunch of people who are running like mad towards "we must make it harder for the goalies to tend goal", and not thinking about the consequences.

And that’s the thing–the GMs are running towards a "solution", not to original problem ("fans want more scoring–how do we get more scoring?), but to one of the contributing factors. Why aren’t we seeing any evidence that someone actually thought about this?

Abolish the CBA

KuklasKorner : Hockey:

(from The Maven, who should know better)

Interesting Idea Dep’t. In the next CBA, why doesn’t the NHL itself just abolish the “no-trade” clause in contracts? …

well, probably because you don’t abolish anything in a CBA, you negotiate it. Which means the players have to agree to it, which means you have to give them some compromise somewhere else, because you can bet the players hate this idea and won’t give it up easily.

So what do you give the players that they’ll accept in return to let you take away no trade clauses? Free agency at age 22?

It’s actually a good idea, if you ask me. Just not practical. The real question is at what cost would it be to get this negotiated into the next CBA? And I can’t believe the owners would find the cost palatable.

ESPN – Having trouble figuring out this season? Here are my three big reasons – NHL

ESPN – Having trouble figuring out this season? Here are my three big reasons – NHL:

Three-point games keep everyone in the playoff picture. The games become conservative as they progress and tend to get unleashed after a point is secured when 4-on-4 play begins. My answer to that is to give every team a point just for showing up!

I’m more and more coming to hate overtime points. It rewards the wrong damn thing: not winning in regulation. Why is a game where you DON’T SUCCEED worth more than one where you do?

So here’s my recoommendation.

Regulation win: 3 points to the winner, zero to the loser.
Overtime win: 2 points to the winner, 1 to the loser.
Shootout win: 2 points to the winner, zero to the loser.

In all cases, you give teams the incentive to GO FOR IT ALREADY, not hang back and wait for the point. Don’t get it done early, it costs you.

Or if you’re one of those people religiously tied to two points for a win, then use 2-0, 2-1, 1-0. Again, make overtime and shootouts worth progressively less, not more. And watch the last five minutes of regulation go crazy.

(heck, I’m also in favor of (a) dry scraping the ice before overtime, (b) ten minute overtime, (c) THEN shootout, if we haven’t decided it. Chances are, we’ll rarely see a shootout. which is fine by me)

A good day Birding — Merced NWR, O’Neil forebay

Update: photos now available here:

Laurie and I joined Bob Power of Santa Clara Valley Audubon on a group outing to Merced NWR, O’Neill Forebay and the areas around that, with a group of about 12. It was a warm, sunny day, and the target birds were, of course, the geese and cranes that are about to head north for the spring migration. They didn’t disappoint.

By my count, the day’s list was 85. Highlight bird was tufted duck, found by Bob on O’Neill in a group of mixed scaups. Also highlight birds (at least for me) were Ross’s goose and snow goose, sandhill crane, a gorgeous adult bald eagle, downy woodpecker, blue-gray gnatcatcher, brown creeper, hermit thrush, rock wren (which has been seen in Merced NWR since November on and off, and came out and gave a great show) and virginia rail, which Bob coaxed out of the reeds into full view to the amazement of the entire group.

there were a few notable misses by the group: no turkey vultures at Merced, we didn’t see any until we hit Santa Nella. Also no California Towhee (go figure), no Say’s Phoebe, no Burrowing Owl. the great-tailed grackle was seen just outside of Los Banos on the way to the group, so it wasn’t seen by everyone.

After we left the group and were driving home, we realized we were headed past the Hawk/owl hotspot near Bailey road, so we headed out to Richmond and Santa Teresa, where we found ourselves in a gaggle of birders waiting for the owl. To my amusement, one of the birds Bob was trying to find at O’neill — Say’s Phoebe — immediately popped up and posed. A Great Egret entertained the troops, catching and eating a vole to applause while harriers and kites hunted. At about 600, a Short-eared owl arrived to hunt, and was seen for about 15 minutes.

I added 11 birds to my life list today: Great-tailed grackle, Ross’s goose, Virginia rail, Brown Creeper, Rock Wren, Blue-gray gantcatcher, tufted duck, clark’s grebe, california gull, horned lark, and short-eared owl. Not all of these are really new to me (Clarke’s grebe and california gull, SEOW and horned lark) but weren’t in the documented trips I used to create the official list (horned lark in Victoria BC a while back, SEOW at Byxbee park in Palo Alto last year, for instance). Still 7 birds were new, and I can’t complain.

That takes my life list to 180, and my year list to 120.

Tufted duck was a real find and a source of much frustration to the group. The differentiation between it and the scaups is fairly subtle, especially for this bird, which was either female or late juvenile male and mostly tucked and sleeping. In my case, I searched in the scope for a while and finally was able to see it among the scaups, got about 30 seconds of a good, obvious look, then lost it and couldn’t re-find it again. Most of the others had similar challenges, but enough of us saw it and were able to differentiate it from scaups to be sure (and of course, we trust Bob, except when we don’t…)

I was also thrilled that the brown creeper was my find while trying to get good looks at a bathing hermit thrush (at the back observation post at Merced).

At one point the geese took off, and we had about 12,000 snow and ross’s all in the air and circling. we also had smaller overflights of sandhill crane, but there were easily 20,000 geese in the preserve — and making enough noise to drown out the the blackbirds and marsh wren. Well, almost.

Also seen today — tule elk at the basalt area of the San Luis Reservoir as we drove in, and deer in the hills above 152 driving home. I also had a possible barrow’s goldeneye, but it was diving and I lost it before we could get someone else’s eyes on it for verification. ohwell.

Species Name
Greater White-fronted Goose
Snow Goose
Ross’s Goose
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Tufted Duck
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Pied-billed Grebe
Clark’s Grebe
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
White-faced Ibis
Turkey Vulture
White-tailed Kite
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Virginia Rail
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Long-billed Curlew
Dunlin
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson’s Snipe
California Gull
Western Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Short-eared Owl
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Black Phoebe
Say’s Phoebe
Loggerhead Shrike
Western Scrub-Jay
Yellow-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Brown Creeper
Rock Wren
Marsh Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
American Pipit
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Brewer’s Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch

KuklasKorner : Canucks and Beyond : Bright Lights, Small Town

KuklasKorner : Canucks and Beyond : Bright Lights, Small Town:

While I can appreciate what Houston is saying, I’m not convinced that it’s all bad to have one day dedicated to positive stories. After all, Hockey Day in Canada isn’t entirely about the sport—it’s a metaphor, idealized as it may be, about the people in this country.

HDIC builds its own mythology out of hockey vignettes across the landscape, stories that are ultimately about people’s lives as much as they are about hockey.

So I was happy to live without “journalism” for a day—I figure Al Strachan and others will be back in front of a camera fast enough. But meanwhile. I see no harm—and a great deal of good—in sharing a day of “fluff.” Shmaltzy as it may be.

Alanah is perfectly right here. Laurie and I loved Hockey Day in Canada, as usual. Seeing it land in Duncan where we’ve hung out a few times made it even better.

And the professional critics out there may not appreciate it, but there’s a time and a place for a celebration — and that’s what Hockey Day in Canada is. Maybe some of you don’t see why it’s a bad idea to bring up the bride’s long weekend with that bantam team up at the wedding reception, and for those that are so tied up in seeing the bad side, I feel sorry for you.

To me, I see nothiing wrong with one day a year where everyone sits down and talks about what’s GOOD about hockey. After all, isn’t that why we’re involved with it? If it isn’t or if you’ve forgotten how to see the good things, I REALLY feel sorry for you.

Hockey Day in Canada, keep it up. Well done.

Sharks over the last week…

Sorry for the lack of posting, was off involved with Other Things and just didn’t get anything written in a timely manner. (hint: it’s all Apple’s fault).

I did want to talk about the last three games of the Sharks, though; this may surprise a few folks, but I found them to be the most encouraging sign yet that the Sharks are going to be a force in the playoffs.

(but first, a quick congratulations to Ron Wilson for 500 wins, and Jeremy Roenick for his 1300th. Awesome milestones!)

Game 1, Colorado. I get to use a phrase I haven’t used much this year: their goalie stole the game. the Sharks significantly outplayed Colorado on almost all fronts — and theodore just stoned everything. Some games, the Sharks run around with lots of energy but little precision, but here, not only should they have won, it shouldn’t have been close. I’m not into moral victories this season, but all things considered, this is a positive in my book, score notwithstanding.

then Game 2, Columbus. Sharks had a great first shift, then Columbus more or less took over the game — and Nabby stole this one. We really didn’t deserve any points, but for a team to be successful, when the team isn’t playing it’s best, you have to rely on your key players to make a win happen anyway.

And Game 3, Nashville…. The first line just walked in and took over. thornton, Michalek, Cheechoo. Where Nabokov put the team on his shoulders against Columbus, these three did here. It wasn’t even really close, although it was occasionally interesting. Nashville sure tried — but that line dominated and the rest of the team held their own.

In all of the games, the team really didn’t play their “A” game, and came out of the three games with four points, but did so in the right ways: hard, patient work, finding ways to win when everything isn’t clicking, and really playing the kind of hockey you need to play to win playoff games and series.

On top of that, some really positive signs:

Nabokov gave up a total of six goals in those three games, plus one empty-net. He’s shown, all of a sudden, an ability to stop penalty shots and shoot-outs, and the Sharks won their first shootout at home in two years.

Marleau was the top player against Columbus, and has been showing positive signs (negative: left the Nashville game after the 1st with a sore groin, but isn’t expected to miss time).

Cheechoo is now clearly playing like Cheechoo. He’s always been a 2nd half scorer, but more important, he looks confident that he’s healthy and he isn’t playing with a question mark. His hat trick against Columbus was three really gritty, grinding goals. He reminds me a lot of Phil Esposito when he’s playing well.

The Sharks grab Jody Shelley? I like it, even though it was Jody Shelley who convinced Wilson of the need to have someone like — Jody Shelley — on the roster in the first place with his attack on Brad Stuart. He brings a great attitude and work ethic, and he’s not a scary player on ice like Parker was (scary to his coach, not the other team…); his game is simple, sometimes awkward, but he can play on a line and be effective. And he brings that veteran “what it takes to win” attitude that Grier and Roenick bring, and I think it’s important you have that to help the young players mature into that kind of player. And it’s that kind of player that — bottom line — finds ways to win, which is in many ways more important than talent.

Oh, and by the way, the team is now > .500 at home. Something about going 8-3-1 at home since christmas.

The only real negative I see is that the Sharks still haven’t shown any real ability to beat Detroit or Anaheim reliably (or at all), and the playoffs for San jose go through one or both teams. Now, if they continue to build towards the playoffs like they seem to be this probably won’t be a problem, but they still have to prove it.

This is a team that took a while, but is putting the pieces together. Suddenly, I’m feeling much better about them. Even taking Marleau off the trade cart, although I still would like to see a bit more depth on defense; Semenov/Ozolinsh is an okay 7th D, a bit scary as a 6th D, and if you have to play both at the same time? but my first choice (Rob Blake; see my Jody Shelley comments) is injured, and while Brad Stuart is clearly available from LA, bringing him home is not really a smart idea now…

photo bag geeking…

Went out and bought my new bags yesterday. ended up getting a Pelican PCS183 as my big storage box and a Tamrac Pro 8.

The Pelican is a carry-on sized roller with a zip on computer bag that counts as your second carry on. That way, if I fly, I can haul everything with me if I want, but mostly, it stays in one bag now and when I drive on a photo trip, I’m not carrying zillions of bags with parts (and yes, I have ended up somwehere without my battery charger, which is no fun)

The Tamrac is a mid-sized shoulder bag; it’ll let me pack for a day trip and to walk around with more than one lens, and a 2nd body if I want.

I still have my Tamrac zoom bag (shoulder, fits a body and 100-400) if I’m giong somewhere with a single body and one or two lenses, and my CompuTrekker backpack (lowepro) if I’m headed somewhere on an extended hike.

If I travel, I can carry a day bag, probably compact them in space bags if I want to in checked luggage.

(yes, I’m a gadget/bag geek.) My problem with the computrekker as the primary bag was two-fold: first, I had two much “stuff” for it, so my gear was really spread out across 3 bags and my desk. Too easy to forget something or misplace it. Second, it was just too damn heavy and there’s no reason to carry it all around all of the time. Now the too-damn-heavy bag is even heavier, but wheeled, and for trips, I’m actually combining up four bags into one (including the computer backpack) and then carrying a day bag. Should work much better.

It also forces me to think about what I’m expecting to do and pack appropriately; I found I was doing a huge percentage of my shooting with the D30 and the 100-400. That’s not bad, per se, but I felt I’d let myself choose my shots based on what was easy and handy (the 100-400 in the zoom bag) rather than unsling the backpack and change setups. By picking my parts and carrying them on the shoulder, I should make it easier and be more willing to be more flexible.

Because of that, I’ve also decided to “retire” the 100-400 for a bit. When I went to Palo Alto yesterday to try out the knee (answer: time to see the doctor, it got sore and stiff again), I walked with the 17-70 on the Rebel on my shoulder and the 300/F4 + 1.4x on the D30; I’ve been seeing too many shots with camera shake (another side effect of the 100-400, you start thinking you can hand-shoot everything), so I’m also committing to going back to shooting on a monopod. I haven’t downloaded the photos from that yesterday, so we’ll see…

I may see if Laurie wants to head out today, maybe to Ed Levin, for a bit. Or maybe Shoreline, see if I can find the pelagic cormorant and the loons…