(9/9/08)

Defenseman Rob Blake is a Los Angeles sports icon first and foremost. The Simcoe, Ontario native was a Colorado Avalanche defenseman when he won his first and only Stanley Cup, but Blake's Los Angeles Kings years are the most outstanding; Blake was the Kings' team captain when the Staples Center hosted its first hockey season. Rob Blake's slapshot is not the hard and fast 100+ miles-per-hour kind that former St. Louis Blues defenseman Al MacInnis displayed, but it is a similarly lethal shot. The Los Angeles Kings likely-number-one all-time great defenseman is now the San Jose Sharks new veteran defenseman.

Rob Blake officially becomes a "San Jose Sharks defenseman" when the 2008-09 regular season begins and he comprises the face-lifted Sharks defensemen corps that includes newcomers Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich AND still-current, up-and-coming youngsters Christian Ehrhoff, Douglas Murray, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Blake's first San Jose Sharks assignment was to win some Sharks fans' hearts and respects. Rob Blake was this month's Sharks Store Meet-and-Greet feature player; the future Hall-of-Fame defenseman gave an hour and 45 minutes that involved autograph signing and player-and-fan photos.

The Sharks Store featured no Rob Blake souvenirs; Blake's Sharks number is still unknown, so a Blake jersey-like t-shirt was not available. I have a during-warmups photo that features two now-former Los Angeles Kings defensemen: Blake and new Edmonton Oilers defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky; that photo is not an enlarged print, so it was a lousy option. I was optimistic that the Sharks Store featured better Rob Blake solo in-action photos, but no Blake photos were available. I wanted a Rob-Blake-only autographed item, and my best option was a puck featuring the full-bodied shark logo. I also brought my "When I Don't Have Anything For (Player's Name) To Autograph" t-shirt. The new Sharks defenseman signed both my t-shirt and my new puck.

My sister and I held the waiting line's seventh spot and endured a 5-10 minute wait. I rearranged my Meet-and-Greet phrases when I approached Blake. My first words were, "Welcome to San Jose." My next phrase was my usual "Thanks for coming out and doing this. This is awesome." My player-and-fan photo was still not taken when I said, "Have fun this season." Sharks captain Patrick Marleau heard those words when he was last September's Sharks Store Meet-and-Greet feature player, and now the likely-defensemen-leader heard them. This year's and last year's "Have fun this season" mean the same thing: "Don't let management's high expectations and fans' ridiculously high expectations pressure you too much." Rob Blake truly is a typical NHL player; he replied kindly when I said my three meet-and-greet phrases.

I was shocked yet excited when I heard that the Sharks signed Rob Blake. This is a player whose talents warranted a "My Big-Time Favorite Player" honor. The problem was: I already liked his former Kings teammate Luc Robitaille very much; and if I liked both Blake and Robitaille, then that is smoking-gun evidence to prove how I heavily favor Southern California sports teams' superstars. Rob Blake now joins my favorite hockey team, and he finally earns a "My Big-Time Favorite Player" honor. I want to restart my Sharks all-time favorite defensemen list; Marcus Ragnarsson keeps the #1 spot, and now Rob Blake holds a not-so-distant #2 ranking.

I predict that Rob Blake's 2008-09 season becomes another feel-good story that matches Jeremy Roenick's 2007-08 season. Sharks TV play-by-play announcer Randy Hahn heard my prediction when I attended this year's Oakland A's annual $2 Root Beer Float Day. The Dan Boyle acquisition is this current nearly-finished offseason's most exciting transaction, but the Rob Blake acquisition is the most incredible transaction. Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson outdid himself again.

This Sharks Store Meet-and-Greet was also the first time that I wore my new road-white Sharks jersey. Rob Blake's first Sharks jersey-wearing game is soon to be, and that sight is destined to be cool.