The Agony When "If Necessary**" Ain't!

By John W. Lillpop

The HP Pavilion on the outskirts of downtown San Jose is an extremely popular venue for all sorts of entertainment from Bruce Springsteen, to Arena football, to prize fights, and Lacrosse.

Recently, the Pavilion has provided thrills and bragging rights for thousands of energized fans of the San Jose Sharks as that team pursued the highly coveted Stanley Cup, the gold standard of accomplishment for professional hockey.

The HP Pavilion web site--http://www.hppsj.com--provides a slick and convenient way to keep up with all the doings at the "Tank."

Example, as of late Sunday night, the entry for May 6 included this dilly:

"2008 PLAYOFFS- Sharks versus Stars, **if necessary"

Unfortunately for the Sharks and their faithful fans, events occurring in Dallas, Texas on the evening of May 4 made the "If necessary" unnecessary.

Indeed, in the fourth overtime period of the game, the Dallas Stars scored a 2-1 victory over the Sharks, thereby eliminating the San Jose crew from the playoffs.

Which means that the old, tired refrain of "Wait until next Year!" will haunt Sharks fans and players for another six months, until the hope and promise of another season once again distorts common sense all to hell, leading otherwise intelligent folk to plop down ungodly amounts of money for the right to be bitterly disappointed again, one year from now.

Meanwhile at the HP Pavilion web site, the "**if necessary" calendar entry for May 6 has been replaced with a Notice of a Public Funeral, announcing a mass grieving to be held at center ice to officially bury all hope for San Jose hockey glory in 2008.

Burying the 2008 hockey season: Absolutely necessary for Sharks players and their San Jose fans!