Coming Sunday in Sports Long before this tumultuous moment in American history where sports figures are using their powerful platforms to demand change, well before Colin Kaepernick quietly refused to stand for the national anthem, there were changemakers in the world of sports. And not surprisingly, given its role in the civil rights movement, the Bay Area has long been an epicenter for sports activism. The raised, black-gloved fists of Olympic sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, nearly a half century before Kaepernick’s protest, landed just as loudly, stirring the soul of a divided ..read more

The Sharks have taken care of one of their restricted free agents, reaching an agreement with center Joel Kellman on a two-year contract extension with an average annual value of $750,000. A source confirmed the first year of the contract is two-way and worth $700,000 at the NHL level and $300,000 in the AHL. The second year of the pact is one way and worth $800,000. The Athletic first reported the deal. An official announcement is expected next week. Kellman, 26, had seven points in 31 games as a rookie for the Sharks during the 2019-2020 season. He averaged 11 minutes and 35 seconds of ice t ..read more

The Hockey Diversity Alliance, led by San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane, has formally asked the NHL to postpone Thursday’s playoff games as a way for the league to reflect on the shooting of Jacob Blake and show its support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Thursday, there are two Game 3’s scheduled, with the Philadelphia Flyers slated to play the New York Islanders at 4 p.m. (PT) and the Vancouver Canucks set to face the Vegas Golden Knights. “We strongly feel this sends a clear message that human rights take priority over sports,” Kane tweeted Thursday morning. Indications on Thursday ..read more

Several professional athletes across the North American sports landscape made a statement against racial injustice Wednesday, refusing to play games to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin over the weekend. The response by the NHL and its players, though, was much less demonstrative, and the absence of any meaningful action was noted by San Jose Sharks winger Evander Kane and other minority professional hockey players. Sunday, Blake, a black man, was shot in the back by police seven times as he leaned into his car where three of his children were seated inside. Ben ..read more

In a post to his Twitter feed Wednesday afternoon, San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture said he does not support Donald Trump and will no longer be using his platform to discuss his own political beliefs. Couture wrote Wednesday morning in a since deleted tweet that he was punched in the face the night before after he publicly expressed support for the Republican Party. Couture was in Toronto on Tuesday night and “talked about voting for the Republican Party, and I mentioned Donald Trump by name. I was sucker punched. Is this really what we are coming to? If you vote you are a villain? Man th ..read more

San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture tweeted Wednesday morning that he was punched in the face the night before after he publicly expressed support for the Republican Party and mentioned President Donald Trump. Couture tweeted that was in Toronto on Tuesday night and “talked about voting for the Republican Party, and I mentioned Donald Trump by name. I was sucker punched. Is this really what we are coming to? If you vote you are a villain? Man this world is so wrong.” Like our Sharks Facebook page for more San Jose Sharks news, commentary and conversation. Couture, 31, later tweeted ..read more

All of the Bay Area’s major professional sports teams are uniting for a political cause. In a joint statement, the Warriors, 49ers, Giants, Athletics, Sharks, Earthquakes and Oakland Roots expressed their support for Proposition 16 on California’s November ballot. Proposition 16 would repeal Prop 209, a ban on affirmative action in public employment, education and contracting that was passed in 1996. Prop 209 pitched itself as a ban on preferential treatment for anyone in those public sectors on the basis of race or sex, but Prop 16 advocates argue that affirmative action programs are necessar ..read more

CLICK HERE if you’re having trouble viewing media on a mobile device. Doug Wilson’s official induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame will have to wait at least until next year. Lanny McDonald, chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame, announced Monday that this year’s induction weekend and celebration has been postponed “until further notice” due to the ongoing effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The induction ceremony was initially supposed to take place Nov. 16 in Toronto. Wilson, one of the most prolific offensive defensemen of his generation and the Sharks’ general manager for the last 17 years ..read more

Sharks Sports & Entertainment laid off 16 employees from its business staff earlier this week, although a spokesman for the organization said the cutbacks were not directly related to the severe financial duress brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The layoffs, which took place Tuesday, included executives and managers involved in corporate partnerships, suite sales and marketing, according to information obtained by this newspaper. Hockey operations front office members were not affected. “As it has done each summer for the last several years, Sharks Sports & Entertainment conducte ..read more

Tomas Hertl is skating again. Earlier Wednesday, Hertl, who tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee in late January, posted a short video on his Instagram account of him back on the ice, doing drills at Merkur Ice Arena in Říčany, Czech Republic. “Finally back,” Hertl wrote. The video shows Hertl exchanging passes with another player at center ice as he skates backwards. He turns to his right and skates across the ice before he takes another pass. He finishes the drill by turning left and skating a few strides before snapping a shot bar down past a goalie. I ..read more