Stanley Cup Champions: Carolina Hurricanes!

Congratulations Carolina Hurricanes. I must admit, I only rooted for you because I didn't want Edmonton to win. There are those who say "Root for the team that beat you because then you say ' you got beat by the Champions'" But screw that. If we can't win it, no one can! So I boo'd Edmonton. Does this mean when Edmonton comes to San jose you're going to cheer them?
Carolina deserves to win. They have been one of the best teams all year. Its only bad that Martin Gerber was not healthy/consistant enough in the playoffs. He led the team to the playoffs, and then got some virus, and then gave way to Rookie Cam Ward. And now Gerber is probably out as starter. Cory Stillman, back to back Championships. Eric Cole, breaks neck 3 months ago and returns. Ray Whitney, another Cup for the former Shark.

Speaking of Sharks, Now that the Stanley Cup is over, what is the state of the Sharks. Well the Award Ceremony is on Thursday. So Thornton better get the MVP otherwise it's highway robbery. Then the draft is on Saturday.
What does next season hold?

• Unrestricted Free Agents: The Sharks already declared them losing money this year, so tickets will go up. That does not make it look good for Scott Thornton and Alyn McCauley. They are high paid players that under-achieved last year. SThornton is older and not as productive. McCauley had a disappointing year scoring and played injured the whole year. I doubt they will be paid the same amount the next year. SThornton will probably take a cut to play with Big Joe. McCauley will be looked at by many teams for his great defensive work.
• Goalies: Who do you trade? The Franchise Goalie Evgeni Nabokov? or the Goalie who took you to the playoffs Vesa Toskala? Both are under big contracts and will be #1 stars in the league. Both are proven valuable goalies. The Real Winner? Nolan Schaefer for the Cleveland Barons. He'll be called up and be a backup. He was impressive as #3 emergency starter.
• Free Agents: Will the Sharks go out and sign a big star? I don't think so. I think they will fix from the inside then go out. There are a few guys that looked good. Lucus Kaspar (played in Juniors) looked extremely good in preseason. Doug Murray will come back from his injury. Jim Fahey better look elsewhere. He got passed over 3 times last year (Murray, Davison, Carle). If Owen Nolan can demonstrate he's a player in the new NHL, he will be a great asset to some team. There's also talk of bringing Alexander Korolyuk back. He'd play great in this NHL.

All in all the Sharks are in Good Shape. Schaefer will come in and backup the Starter, The D Core looks young and great with Hannan, Gorges, Carle, McClaren, Erhoff, and Priessing with Murray and Davison. And you have the top 2 lines in the world Micalek-Marleau-Brenier and ???-Thornton-Cheechoo.

With the draft coming up on Saturday, I'd expect to see a trade with other teams SALIVATING over our young team.

Survived the Birthday!

What can I say about my birthday? It was CRAZY! We started off calm at Dave and Busters. But it rev'ed up when we got to Mission Ale House. The original plan was to go in to Mission Ale and take over the raised patio. It'd just be a cool place to be alittle bit higher than everyone else. So When we get there there was this small sign on the patio "Reserved for Scott Pon's Birthday Party" BALLER! we were stoked.
I think the best part of this was that there were lots of people who showed up. Much thanks to them. They came from all over, Capitola, Sunnyvale, Gilroy. There were people I didn't know how to contact and they showed up. Here's the rundown:
Quan, Matt, Noah, Khoi, Tisha, Micah, Matt T., Nick, Eric, Josh, Mo, Dave, Zach, Gina, Amy. Who else? I dont remember because there were alot of people there that showed up after I was wasted.
I started drinking light at Dinner. When we got to Mission Ale and people started showing up, I got HARD CORE.

1. Gordon Biersch (Dinner)
2. Gordon Biersch (Dinner)
3. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
4. Kamakazi (with Quan, Matt, and Nick)
5. Long Island (with Matt)
6. Long Island (with Matt)
7. Shot of Crown Royal (With a group of people)
8. Shot of Crown Royal (again)
9. Shot of Fusion Red Rasberry (with Matt and Quan)
10. Shot of Fusion Red Rasberry (again) (with Josh)
11. Chili bomb (with Gina)
12. Chili-bomb (with Amy)
13. *** Apperently I missed 1 additional Chili-bomb with Amy ***
    
14. Shot of Crown (with Nick)
15. ... ... ... I think that was it.
    

So after Mission Ale, we went over to Dave Conners. And I admit, I don't remember a thing over there! I remember going into his house, sitting down, then getting up and walking next door. Then I threw up. I then said "Ok I'm going home."
I don't remember getting into the car, but I remember getting home. I went straight to the bathroom and threw up again. I guess Matt and Quan threw me on the sofa. I passed out. I woke up later and threw up again.

I woke up at 11:00AM. And I was tired, but I wasn't sick or hurting. Just exhausted. So I went up to my bedroom and crashed out. Took me all day, but I didn't throw up again. Ha. I even cooked myself, a grilled Cheese Sandwich. Then I played with Taylor and went to dinner. Of course I came back home and took another nap.

Great weekend. Lots of props to the people who showed up. Being with my friends is really the thing that makes my birthday the best. Thanks to everyone!

Pictures from my event

Word!

Its been 1 week and i'm still POed about X-Men 3

I'm still mad about X-Men 3. I think it is a dissapointment and did not do the right story. But I did have a week to think about it. So here's what I concluded.
It all started way before production. Way before writing. Where the movie went wrong was when Directory Brian Singer left X-men to do Superman Returns. Wait, I'm not blaming Director Brett Rhanter on this one. But when Singer left, he took James Marsden with him (to do Superman). Marsden was happy because he would have a bigger role in Superman Returns. But I don't think Marsden realized that this Phoenix Saga story is ABOUT Cyclops. This movie was really about Cyclops (and Jean/Phoenix). But because Marsden decided to move on, they changed the script to be about Wolverine and Phoenix, which is not what this story is about.

One complaint I heard was that there was no Protagonists for the Heros. Cyclops would have been that. The story would have revolved on how Cyclops dealt with the loss of Jean Grey. Then when she was found alive, how he deals with her resurrection. Then you throw Magneto in there, who temps Phoenix with life and emotions and feelings. And Cyclops trying to save her with love. Then in the end in order to save everyone, Cyclops kills Jean Grey to save the universe. That should have been the plot. That should have been the story.

But we are stuck with what we have. A sometimes quick, some times slow. a transition from the original cast (ProfX, Wolverine, Rogue, Storm, Cyclops, Phoenix, Magneto, Mystique, Sabretooth, and Toad) to the new cast (Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Shadowcat, and Iceman).

But this movie still is a disappointment.