Sharks' Woes Mean Gloom, Doom and Indifference in the Bay Area

As a member of the Bay Area sports media, I'm not afraid to acknowledge that we are generally less harsh in our criticism of local teams than, say, our brethren in the Northeast. And I must say that because I've been in New York the past two days, the contrast is even more extreme - the Sharks should be thankful they're in mellow NorCal. I can only imagine what the New York Post ("Stinkees!" the headline blared after the Indians routed the Yankees) would do with San Jose's major stumble to open the playoffs.

No one is really blasting the Sharks in the Bay Area. There's more of a sense of re-run disappointment or amused acceptance.

And what would the New York tabloids make of Sharks captain Patrick Marleau and veteran leader Jeremy Roenick skipping an optional workout before Game 2, with the team already down 0-1? That was a blog item in San Jose, with no judgment passed. The blogger is also the beat writer, who shouldn't be in the position of slamming the team he covers because he is supposed to be objective and he also has to deal with the players every day for news gathering purposes -- but no columnist took up the topic at all. Nothing.

Let me repeat: No columnist followed up on the Sharks' captain missing an optional practice with the team trailing in a playoff series. A blogger asked Todd McLellan about Marleau's absence after Game Two, and his irritated response might say more than his actual words. If it really wasn't a big deal, then why so defensive?

Even if that's off limits for some strange reason, the team's play is worthy of some rebuke. Seldom has a top seed wasted so much power-play time -- there's a lot of skating, not a lot of shooting. Defenseman Dan Boyle seems to be one of the few Sharks actually ticked off about the team's circumstances and saying flat-out that the team needs to score more goals, but most of the postgame comments echo of, "We're fine, nothing's wrong," or "No, really, we're playing well." Huh?

Maybe the Bay Area is laid back, and no one wants to pile on a team while it's down. But if you take a look at the fan comments on blogs and on stories, they're mad. They're critical. They care. The media? Maybe they -- we -- are just getting so used to Bay Area teams losing that it's just the norm. Ho hum.