Inside the Shark Cage, Vol. 17
Quite the great all-around performance by the Sharks in their 5-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. For San Jose, it’s the fifth straight win, which officially makes them hot.
There’s nothing bad to report from the game. Everybody contributed, including some players who you’d least expect to get on the score sheet. The Sharks received goals from Kent Huskins, Brad Staubitz, Douglas Murray, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Patrick Marleau.
One of those makes sense, but the other five? Yea, that’s not a typo.
The Sharks dominated the first period and Evgeni Nabokov made some spectacular saves. Those saves did come off some bad rebounds, but he made up for them. Everything looked great — breakouts, entry into the offensive zone, board play, effort. It was all there.

Scott Nichol puts on one of his seven hits (From NHL.com)
The Canes scored first on a perfect shot top shelf. Not much any goalie could have done.
Huskins answered on a great individual effort. He pinched in, shot, gathered his own rebound and scored on a wrap-around. He and Demers have been nothing but solid so far, and it was good to see Huskins finally rewarded. Demers picked up his 10th assist on that play.
The fourth line of Shelley-Couture-Staubitz put forth a great effort shortly after, and Staubitz was able to score on a rebound. It was the same for Murray who pinched in and scored on a rebound. That goal was his first in 109 games. Unbelievable how inept he’s been on offense. I still say he is the most overrated player on the team. The fans love him because of his hitting. He only has one big hit a game. I do like his personality, though. Don’t expect many more goals, if any, the rest of the season.
Carolina has now lost nine straight games, if I heard correctly. Zoinks! That’s awful! Add on top of that their star Eric Staal injured himself in the first period, and things couldn’t get much worse. The Canes are interesting. Not sure what to make of this team, which made it to the Conference Finals last season. They have great fans and good players; I wish only the best for them.
Other Notes
Hit-O-Meter: SJ 25 CAR 41; Scott Nichol had seven of those hits. Awesome.
After their hot streak on the power play, things have cooled off. But it’s great to see the Sharks can score just as well even strength. They have found their consistency, so let’s hope the extra days off between next game doesn’t affect them.
The Sharks next game is Wednesday against Columbus, who they beat earlier this season, 6-3.
–Ray
Column: Miami overhyped
This is the full version of my column in the Collegiate Times:
Column: Miami Overhyped
Ray Nimmo
For the last several years, when the University of Miami wins a game, the media proclaims the U is back.
And unfortunately for Hurricanes fans, the U never really is back.
Once again, the media jumped on the Canes bandwagon following Miami’s 33-17 rout of Georgia Tech last Thursday.

Miami quarterback Jacory Harris
Sure, Canes quarterback Jacory Harris was 20-25 with 270 yards passing and threw 3 touchdowns, but the Yellow Jackets’ passing defense ranks 85th in the NCAA.
In Georgia Tech’s first game, they allowed Jacksonville State quarterback Marques Ivory to be 23-38 and throw 193 yards and two touchdowns.
So before crowning Harris as the next Jim Kelly or Vinny Testaverde, gain some perspective.
The first game Harris played this season against Florida State could easily have been a loss for the Canes; however, it quickly turned into a Harris lovefest.
Harris threw two interceptions in the contest, bringing his career total to nine compared with 17 touchdowns. When Harris faces a real defense on Saturday, people will find out just how good he is.
Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster will have his crew ready for the biggest Atlantic Coast Conference game of the year.
Harris has only been sacked once this year and hasn’t faced much pressure from defenses. Expect a lot of blitz packages and pressure from defensive end Jason Worilds. The Hokies will get to the quarterback and force Harris to make bad decisions.
It will then be up to the ball-hawking secondary to make the necessary plays to shutdown Miami’s speedy wide receivers.
There are a few problems, though.
While the defensive gameplan will, without a doubt, be an excellent counter to Miami’s offense, the execution is in question.
The Hokies defense has not performed up to typical lunch pail standards.
Tech is ranked 77th in total defense. They haven’t been out of the top-10 in that category since 2003.
Pinpointing the problem is nevertheless difficult.
The young linebacking corps? Injuries in the secondary? Defensive line not living up to the billing?
What about the offense? Because of their impotence and consistent three-and-out play, the defense must be on the field for more than half the game. Look back to the Alabama game. When was the last time you saw a Tech defense that worn out at the end of a game?
These are some of the best athletes in the country, and there is no excuse for being that tired with the high-class conditioning that goes on at Tech.
The defense did answer the bell against Nebraska by not allowing a touchdown, and employing a bend-but-

Virginia Tech vs. Miami
don’t-break mentality.
Miami is not Nebraska, though. The Canes may actually have better athletes the Alabama and Nebraska, so it’s paramount the offense find a rhythm early to keep the defense well-rested.
This game has much bigger implications than the previous three. This one counts. No excuses. With Miami being in the Coastal Division and already boasting a 2-0 record in the ACC, this game could very well decide the Hokies’ ACC title hopes.
The players and coaches know it, though.
“This game might as well be the ACC Championship game,” running back Ryan Williams said. “It’s big for us. It’s real big for us. We have to come out fighting strong from the first quarter through the fourth quarter.”
Coincidentally, Williams grew up a Miami fan, and looked up to previous Canes running backs: Willis McGahee, Clinton Portis and Frank Gore.
Williams has the Miami-type swagger. He showcased it against Nebraska when he did his variation of the “Dirty Bird” touchdown dance—he calls it the “Dirty Hokie.”
Williams redshirted last season and didn’t take part in last year’s 16-14 loss at Miami.
He will be here this time around, in Lane Stadium. The last time the Canes traveled to Blacksburg, the Hokies destroyed them 44-14.
The Canes did take care of the Hokies in 2005, in Lane, 27-7—a game that will hereby be forgotten, but the Hokies are 4-2 against Miami the last six meetings.
Tech knows how to beat the U, and the media has forgotten it. Miami jumped in the rankings from No. 20 to No. 9 in the Associated Press poll this week. With that jump, they leapfrogged No. 11 Tech.
Perhaps someone should notify the authorities the Hokies are three-time ACC champions. Miami has won the ACC championship exactly zero times.
The ACC championship runs through Blacksburg, so don’t sweat the Miami swagger.

Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor
NHL 2008-2009 Predicted Final Division Standings
Ray Nimmo | Nathan Skytta | |
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Atlantic Division |
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Ray Nimmo | Nathan Skytta | |
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Northeast Division | ![]() |
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Southeast Division | ![]() |
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Ray Nimmo | Nathan Skytta | |
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Central Division | ![]() |
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Ray Nimmo | Nathan Skytta | |
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Northwest Division | ![]() |
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Ray Nimmo | Nathan Skytta | |
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Pacific Division | ![]() |
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