Greetings from the sports desk located somewhere below the main deck of the Good Pirate Ship RedState. Karl the Kraken is on assignment, or at least that’s what he calls trying to convince Sally the South Sea Squid to go out with him this weekend. Meanwhile, Sammy the Shark has a special message …

San José Sharks captain Logan Couture announced today (April 15, 2025) that his playing days are over due to an inability to sufficiently heal from osteitis pubis incurred two years ago. Couture played in only six games last season and none in the almost-concluded current season as he tried to, but was unable to, come back from the ofttimes cripplingly painful condition.

In a class move by all parties involved, Couture is not technically retiring from the NHL. The Sharks will honor the two remaining years on his contract while keeping him on the LTIR (Long Term Injured Reserve) list. This will help the Couture family financially, which, with two children under two and living in the San Francisco Bay Area, is doubtless greatly appreciated. It will assist the Sharks financially as they continue their rebuild.

While Couture’s name does not have the same mainstream recognition as other former Sharks greats such as Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, he was fervently loved by the Los Tiburones faithful for his on-ice calm and ability to raise his game in high-stakes affairs. His most memorable season was in 2015-2016 when, after missing 30 regular-season games with a broken fibula, he came back with a vengeance in the postseason, scoring 10 goals and adding 20 assists in what to date has been San José’s lone Stanley Cup Finals appearance.

Couture has never been a big talker, letting his play do the conversing. He has an open invitation to join the Sharks’ organization in any position he wishes, and one suspects that someone whose entire life, by his admission, has been hockey will find his way to either behind the bench or in the front office sooner rather than later.

It has been a rough go for the Sharks the past few years, but with young guns such as Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith more than living up to the hype, there is at least legitimate cause for hope that brighter days are ahead. San José has a long way to go, but as its hashtag on X says, #TheFutureIsTeal.

Thank You for 15 years in teal Logan Couture 🫡#SJSharks | #TheFutureisTeal pic.twitter.com/6xeMwRFOXh

— San Jose Sharks History (@sjsharkshistory) April 15, 2025

Elsewhere in sports, the NBA postseason starts tonight with the play-in tournament. The play-in tournament exists because an 82-game regular season is insufficient to determine who the seventh and eighth seeds are in each conference. (Who, me? Sarcastic?) Thus, we have the teams who finished seventh and eighth in each conference playing each other, along with the teams who finished ninth and tenth in each conference, in a one-and-done scenario. The winner of the game between the seventh and eighth-place teams becomes the once and for all seventh seed, going on to play the second seed in the conference. The loser of the game waits to see who wins the game between the ninth and tenth-place teams. The loser of this game commences waiting until next year. The winner plays the aforementioned loser of the match between the seventh and eighth seeds. Whoever wins that game becomes the eighth seed, going on to play the conference champion. Yes, it is as lame as it sounds. But hey — more time for more yelling on ESPN! Anyway, the matchups are as follows:

April 15:

• Atlanta Hawks (8) at Orlando Magic (7)
• Memphis Grizzlies (8) at Golden State Warriors (7)

April 16:

• Miami Heat (10) at Chicago Bulls (9)
• Dallas Mavericks (10) at Sacramento Kings (9)

April 18:

• Winner of Miami/Chicago at loser of Atlanta/Orlando
• Winner of Dallas/Sacramento at loser of Memphis/Golden State

There will not be a quiz in the morning.

Enjoy the rest of the day, everyone.