Sharks Majority Owner Hasso Plattner "is preaching patience when it comes to his team's sputtering start to the NHL season," according to Pollak & Pashelka of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. Platter in an e-mail wrote, "Patience is exactly what is needed. It is far too early to throw in the towel." The Sharks are 11-10-4 this season "after last spring's playoff collapse," and attendance at five home games this season has "fallen several hundred seats short of capacity after a 205-game sellout streak." Plattner: "After 10 years on the sunny side, we now have to fight to reach the top eight in our conference. Our fans will be with us as long as the team gives its all." The comments "were Plattner's first since May 14, when he expressed his disappointment" in the team's first-round playoff loss to the Kings (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 12/2).
FEELING THIS: In San Jose, Troy Wolverton noted the Sharks are the first NHL team employing a system developed by Ohio-based startup Guitammer dubbed 4D Sports, which "transmits a special signal from the SAP Center to a gizmo under a fan's couch, letting them 'feel' the action every time a player crashes into the boards." But it is "an open question how many fans will sign up for the service, which costs $300, or whether it will go the way of other gimmicks such as 3-D TV." Consultant Andy Dolich said of the concept, "Any creative thinking that goes into improving the circumstances of people watching at home should be welcomed and pursued." But Dolich and other analysts said that the rumble system "is likely to catch on with relatively few fans" because of "the cost and other limitations." Guitammer CEO Mark Luden said that the company "is exploring installing its system in all NHL arenas and allowing fans to feel other collisions, such as when a football player experiences a big hit." CSN California Senior Exec Producer for Live Events David Koppett, whose RSN broadcasts Sharks games, said, "Anything more we can do to bring that in-arena excitement through the television screen, we're willing to try it." Wolverton noted Guitammer in November "installed the sensors on the backs of all the boards surrounding the ice rink at SAP Center." The system currently "only works at home games played at SAP Center that are broadcast" on CSN (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 11/29).
