-kb

Kevin Bartl: Marty, in the article by Mike Griffith in The Californian earlier this week you made mention of a couple of things, namely the recruiting process, that we wanted to expand on a little more.  Can you start off with your Number 1 goal as a coach this summer?

Marty Raymond: We have to be as determined as ever to get back on the winning path.  When it comes to getting the right players in here we need to go as many places we can, meet with as many people as we can, interview as many references as we can, take as many recruiting trips as we can.  We have to be willing to do whatever it takes to get the right personnel.  And get the guys that we feel are going to be a part of what we want to acheived.

KB: I liked your reference to being a police officer and not wanting to walk down a dark alley… ‘if you have a doubt, there’s no doubt.’  That was clever!

Marty: Yeah, well we went into that alley on six or seven occasions and got a beating five times.  We got jumped!  When it comes to recruiting, sometimes names come to us, but we have to look for names of the right guys that are out there.  You will hear the word “chemistry” used a lot, but I’ll tell you, chemistry comes from guys that want to work together, that have a common goal.  It’s not just about going out and drinking together and having a good time.  We have to get the right guys that all want to sacrifice to win.  And don’t get me wrong, we have to take the blame for the guys we brought in.

KB: You also made reference to the scouting trips that Asst. Coach Mark Pederson and Dir. of Player Personnel Bob Bartlett made, visiting colleges in Ohio and Michigan and a college tournament in Niagara Falls.  What was the overall effectiveness of those trips?

Marty: The response was great from the coaches, a lot of them would tell us that they had heard of our team and they knew about the league, but that they don’t usually get to meet coaches from our league.  In that way it was great to be able to meet them and shake their hand and sit down with them.  And the result was overwhelming. 

After years of watching hockey you learn to be able to see it [identify what you’re looking for].  Its important to see them first hand, to see them on the ice and learn how he plays… what is his style and will it fit?  We know what we’re looking for.  If you watch the playoffs, most teams that are successful are teams that have ‘playoff’ grit and are willing to pay the price night in and night out.  Those are the kinds of guys we need, and they were the kinds of guys we found on those trips that helped us out.

KB: Do you have a timeline for yourself this season?

Marty: i think this year we’re going to take our time and do things properly.  There is no deadline this year, whether he’s a veteran or a non-veteran, we got a lot of positive feedback from our players and meetings and we’re going to but things together the right way.

-kb

It’s lousy to watch the scores of other playoff games, of teams that moved on to the next round and left us behind.  that could very well be the Condors squaring off against the Utah Grizzlies.  Oh well.

As for predictions, i am wrong most of the time.  but my prediction that Utah would roll over the Salmon Kings was looking really good after Game 1.  But that was three questionable outings in a row for Billy Thompson between the pipes, and low and behold, Julien Ellis got the nod in Game 2 and they bounced back big time. 

I still call Utah to move on - i just think they’re too physical for Victoria.  the Grizz have some guys on that team that can punish you, and if their goaltending holds up, they will prevail.

As for AK and LV, i have no idea.  i’m not even going to try to predict that one.  The Condors took down that Vegas team four times this season, and they crushed most of the league for most of the season.  But that Alaska team loaded up down the stretch, adding key performers back in Feb and a heckuva goalie right before the playoffs, and Vegas is still up 2-0.

What a weird season this has been.

So what happens for the Condors next?

Players met with the coaches before they left, and only a few guys still remain in town.  everyone wants to know who’s coming back and who isn’t.  the playoffs can often go a long way in determining where a guy will fit into future plans, and there were a couple of guys who really stepped up in the post-season.

Fukufuji is dominating the current Condors poll like no poll we’ve ever posted.  He’s claiming about 75% of the votes for Playoff MVP, and i’d have to go along. 

But how about the other guys on the poll?  Like Ianiero?  he had a monster of a playoffs - with a four-point game in Game 6!  it was huge, and he carried this team offensively.

Derlago very quietly had a 6 pts in 6 games, and both goals he scored were big ones.  What about Jay Langager?  he had the almost impossible task of trying to shut down the Goldies, and did a noble job for most of the time, and chipped in with four assists.  i thought he played very well. 

For not having any ice time guaranteed to him going into the playoffs, Naurov earned his time with his offensive production and had a pair of timely goals.  And Kevin Truelson, with an OT winner and a three-point game in Game 6, had an impact too. 

But Fuji stole the show.

And now the players depart.  David Kudelka just swung by the office to say his good-byes… Martin Frechette yesterday.  you never know if its the last time you will see these guys or not, and that’s a strange thought.

The coming weeks will show how many Condors will be back, and perhaps what kind of Condors will be coming in.  The youth movement at the end of the season helped this team get to the post-season, without question.  But is that a movement that could be sustained over the course of a full season?  How difficult is it to find guys like Derlago - a sniper in the junior ranks that was passed over by the big clubs and thrived in Bakersfield?  Diamonds-in-the-rough like Dale Reinhardt and Chris Kaufman, from low profile college programs, are out there, but can they be found? 

And how about veteran players?  this has always been an organization that had a strong hold on players, many staying here for three or four years or longer.  will any of those guys be back?  some of those vets are players that came here already vets - guys like Sean Venedam who quickly became a mainstay here after putting together a great resume elsewhere.  some became vets while in our midst - like Ianiero, who came here for the first time a few years back as a second-year player with a lot to prove.  now he’s one of “the old guys.” 

So, what now, Condorstown?  What now?

Now………..

We wait.

-kb

This is ridiculous.  i’m going crazy up here.  Because we had to make travel arrangements centered around a seven-game series, our trip to Victoria runs through today - tonight, to be exact.  we won’t check out of the hotel for another 45 minutes or so, set for a 5pm flight.  by the time we roll into Bako, it will be about 1:30 am or so.

So here we are, stuck in Victoria.  i love it here, don’t get me wrong.  but i’ve done more walking in the last three days than i have in the last three months.  this is a great town for taking a stroll, although i think the store owners are starting to wonder if i’m homeless.  how many times can the guy in the Condors jacket walk by here anyway?

that is one thing Victoria has going for it though: the ease of traveling by foot.  in Bakersfield, if people see you walking they think you have no car.  there isn’t even sidewalks on some streets.  and make sure you watch for the cops before jaywalking.

so i walk.  walk to lunch, walk back.  walk to the shops in the afternoon, walk back.  walk to the Royal BC Museum, walk back.  walk to dinner, walk back.  walk to the rink, walk back.  walk to the Maritime Museum of British Columbia, walk back.  walk because i’m going freaking crazy in this hotel room, walk back.  i’d probably be losing weight if i hadn’t been eating so well the last three days.  I ran out of meal money yesterday at lunch. 

there aren’t any more museums to visit, although i guess i could have dropped down the $8 to get in to the famous Victoria Bug Zoo.  i would have gone to the world reknown Butchart Gardens if it wasn’t 45 and windy out… and if it wasn’t a $40 round trip cab ride. 

oh well. 

beautiful, chilly, friendly, windy, walkable Victoria… i love it here and everything.  and no offense, but i want to go home!

-kb

i saw the goal happening several seconds before it did.  it happened in slow motion… tucked past Fuji and into the net with a sweeping finality.  the red light went on, the fans erupted and the horn blared.

and i was speechless.

i just let the sounds of the arena take over for a while - maybe it was 10 seconds, maybe it was 10 minutes - i don’t know.  i just didn’t know what to say.  i truly felt bad for the guys.  they had worked so hard down the stretch to earn their ice time through all the player moves and they had earned so many come-from-behind moments and battled so hard against a more skillful Victoria club, that when that final goal went in i just felt exhausted.  the guys looked exhausted.

and i was speechless.

i said it during the broadcast and i meant it: this Condors team was like an opponent’s nightmare, they just refused to die.  Mired in last place with a losing streak in the middle of December, everyone thought the Condors were dead.  Then they made a couple moves and put together some wins and clawed back into the playoff picture.  Then Venedam went down with that horrible injury and the Condors struggled.  Everyone thought the Condors were dead again.

I remember reading it in the paper one morning in March, it said: “Shift by shift, period by period, the Condors season is slipping away.”  Dead, right?

Then they rallied and added some youth down the stretch and drew close to Phoenix and Stockton… but then they stumbled, losing four of six during a stretch in early March, including one against the RoadRunners.  And everyone thought the Condors were dead AGAIN.  But they closed out with wins in six of their last seven and not only got in the playoffs, but took the seventh seed.

An overtime victory in Game 1 against a powerhouse Victoria team had the Condors on top of the world.  But then they lost three in a row and once again they were on the brink of their season.  And everyone thought the Condors were dead.  Again.

Was Game 5 the best game of the season?  I don’t think there’s any doubt, and they battled hard in Game 6, but it just wasn’t to be.  and the Condors fell.  finally.  the team that had been written off so many times this year, finally got to write their own ending.  they went down, but they went down on their own terms.  they gutted out as much as they possibly could, and I give this team a lot of credit.  

Tuesday night they left me, a guy that’s paid to talk, speechless.

-kb

i feel pretty good considering my alarm clock is going off at 2:15 in the morning.  definitely do NOT hit snooze when this happens.  your body will be convinced that the alarm was an abberration upon reality, and with the silencing of the alarm it will very quickly go back to sleep.

3:00 bus ride to Fresno for our 5:00 flight to Seattle… i’m a light sleeper.  i don’t sleep on buses, and i don’t sleep on planes.  there’s a whole lot of nothin to look at out the window of a bus at that time of night/morning, peering out into the darkness at the shadows of trees and silos and blank fields.  the occasional billboard soars past, once in a while a car or two as well.  if you aren’t sleeping, you’re spending a lot of time thinking about things, that’s what you do on the road.

… seat 17D.  GREAT.  someone recently compared a trip on an airplane as being only slightly better than a Greyhound.  i have to agree.  planes seem like they’re getting smaller.  17D… i’m sitting in the back row, which means the seat doesn’t recline, and i have the window seat next to Eric Sonnenberg, who is about 8′4″ and curled up in his seat struggling for elbow and leg room.  this is going to be comfortable.

not.

anyway, i slept only for about 10 minutes, and apparently it’s the 10 minutes that the stewardess was serving drinks.  so now i’m crushed against the window, sitting completely upright, working on about 3 1/2 hours sleep and i’m parched.  swell.

but all will soon be ok, as soon as we get to Victoria… we are here for the opening round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs, which for the Condors starts Thursday night.  i’m predicting - no, nevermind.  i’m keeping my predictions to myself.  although i do think that Victoria will have to bring it against the Condors, who have stepped up against their Canadian brethren this season, especially in the second half of the season, when Bakersfield went 3-0-2 in the final five games of the series.

the new goalie met us here.  Hallas had an excellent season with St. Lawrence University this season, and it’s comforting to know there will be a capable backup in reserve, but at the end of the day, it’s going to be Fukufuji’s team.  make no mistake.

anyway, we survived the trip and the team hit the ice this afternoon to help stretch their legs a bit.  i look forward to describing the action for everyone tomorrow night.

-kb

…What’s that smell?  buses with 25-30 men on it have a tendency to develop rather curious, and sometimes unpleasant, odors.  Guess The Smell is a common game.

there’s nothing like a 10-hour bus ride to make you happy to check into a hotel.  that’s important because a guy like me with a propensity for complaining has come to target hotels frequently as a source for grumpiness.  little things about a hotel annoy the heck out of me, and i can’t help it. 

for instance, i’m very annoyed when i get to a hotel and have to hang up my clothes and i find that the hangers have that little ring on it that secures it to the closet rod.  what is the point of this?  am i going to somehow magically find room to cram HANGERS into my luggage?  when was the last time you were in a hotel and said to yourself, “i find these hangers to be exquisite!  i think they will match the molding inside my closet at home nicely!”

…What IS that smell?  it definitely is not coming from the back of the bus.  there is a door on our sleeper bus that separates the back from the front, where the coaches and staff stay, where there is a fridge, a sink, a microwave, garbage and the bathroom.  the smell is coming from our area, and others are noticing it, but not as much as me, and i’m sitting closest to the bathroom.

back to the hotels.  i’m also thrown by where the internet connection is.  why would you put it next to the bed?  i know some people sit in bed and surf the web, but let’s be honest, there’s a desk in this room for a reason, and i use it.  people who have to work in their hotel room use the desk.  the internet should be near the desk.  while i’m at it, there should be a phone at the desk too.  don’t get cheap on me people!

…alright, THIS SMELL is horrifying.  it’s definitely coming from the direction of the bathroom or the fridge.  it’s GOD-AWFUL and getting worse, but comes and goes.  it’s not a pervasive odor.

This hotel in Phoenix is good.  kudos to the RoadRunners for using them.  there is an internet connection AND a phone at the desk, REAL hangers (which i am NOT going to steal, by the way).  in particular, i’m looking forward to the breakfast buffet in the morning.  really good bacon.  and biscuits and gravy.  and eggs.  i’m not sure i’m supposed to have a free breakfast coupon, but Dools gave me one (thanks roomie!) and for that i am grateful.

…FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!  the smell is coming from the fridge, which wasn’t cold when we got on and people put things in there anyway, like it was going to make a difference.  and now every time it gets opened, it releases this putrid stench that lingers through the air like a ghost and dances across our olfactory glands with nauseating efficiency.  this is what life on a bus is like.  STOP OPENING THE FRIDGE! 

Awful.

-kb

All is right with the world.

I’m driving around running errands on lunch break on a not-so-typical Monday.  I’m listening to the radio and it’s a glorious day.  Specifically, i’m listening to the great Vin Scully calling Opening Day Dodgers Baseball as they are most-certainly preparing to thrash the evil San Francisco Giants.

And they’re talking playoffs in Condorstown.  Yes, it’s a marvelous time of the year, and it just wouldn’t seem right if we weren’t talking about the ECHL playoffs with this Condors club.  it’s been a long, arduous season, but there is a weird sense that the last five months were only a mirage, a primer, an extended training camp.  a victory tonight for Bakersfield would put them in pretty good position for the playoffs, and of course, put a ton of pressure on a Phoenix club that hasn’t exactly been consistent themselves.

What a weird season, indeed. 

Juan Pierre is not starting today, ending his consecutive games streak.  i’m a fan of the move, and to top it off, Furcal opens the bottom of the first inning with a double.  Nice.

The Condors trashing of Victoria on Friday night was nothing short of impressive.  The Condors have beaten Las Vegas three of the last five times they’ve met.  The Condors did not fare very well against either Idaho or Alaska recently, the other two of the four potential first round matchups.  Go figure.

Jeff Kent homers.  Nice.  if those two get off to a good start, look out.  Brad Penny is a stud, why is he so underrated?  what was he, 19-2 before the All Star Break the last two seasons combined?  something like that.  Man, i can’t stand the Giants.  They’re like a wicked, sinful presence casting a cloud over the entire state of California.

Friday’s game in Vegas, i’m predicting, is going to be rather inconsequential.  it will all come down to the games tonight and Tuesday, when both Phoenix and Stockton play, and then Thursday’s head to head matchup against the RoadRunners.  Should the Condors and Thunder tie in points and wins, the Condors own the head to head tiebreaks, but not against Phoenix.  They need to beat them outright.  A win tonight and a loss Tuesday by Phoenix against Vegas, and the Condors magic number will be one.

The Dodgers number is one… one-and-oh, that is… skunking the malevolent Giants. 

Like i said, all is right with the world.

-kb

who knew?  i’d like to say that prior to Monday’s trashing of Fresno i called it.  i called it, and everyone who was present from my Master’s League team, Faded Teal, heard it.  they said ‘good win Saturday night, huh?’ and i said ‘yeah, and we’re going to kill Fresno on Monday and then we’ll be tied for 7th.’

now, let the record show that i am wrong almost all the time on predicting scores.  in fact, if i was right all the time, we’d be 67-0-0.  but that’s just me, i’m a positive kind of guy.  but there was something brewing on the Condors bench up in Fresno on Saturday that felt pretty powerful.  it was the sweet smell of confidence bubbling to the surface.

i’m not going to go off on some ridiculous tangent about how this could very well turn into the greatest Condors team in history overnight, but its hard to mistake the sense of urgency and cool determination.  and it was the Condors getting breaks for a change on Monday night in their 6-2 triumph.

the Condors are in good position - at least, as good position as you could be after having lost 36 games already, anyway.  time will tell if this team has the fortitude to gut out several more wins and extend the season until late-April.

-kb 

I’m bored when i visit our Highway 99 neighbors.  I’m sure there is a veritable bounty of things to do in Fresno and Stockton, but i just don’t know about them.  there is almost nothing near either arena, other than a couple decent places to eat.  and literally nothing to do within walking distance of either hotel.  i have a penchant for wandering, or as Paul Kelly used to call it, going Walkabout, borrowing from the Aussie term. 

whatever you call it, going Walkabout in Stockton OR Fresno is lousy.  that being said, i did get a tremendous meal Saturday afternoon at a location recommended by former Fresno State student/athletic trainer Jason Lindsay.  the biscuits and gravy were delicious, thank you.  and then i took a stroll through the seemingly abandoned Fresno State Campus. 

other than that, i was bored. 

what’s that?  what are the best places for going Walkabout in the ECHL?  I’m glad you asked!

*Boise - the hotel is nowhere, but i spend the day at the arena where i have a secure workstation in the press box and can leave for lunch or a couple hours downtown.  plenty of small shops, restaurants and advance scouting for a post-game malted beverage.  plus, i can get to the Boise Zoo with a 5-minute cab ride or a 20-minute walk if the weather’s nice.

*Victoria - friendly people, a scenic waterfront location complete with seals (you’re almost guaranteed to see one if you go down by the water), stores and souvenir shops and bookstores, a couple small parks as well, historical markers and a big museum that i haven’t even had time to visit yet.  someday.

*Anchorage - it’s just cool there.  if the temperature is above 15, i’m out walking.  have i mentioned the Earthquake museum??

*San Diego (RIP) - i really miss trips to San Diego.  the weather, the palm trees, the beach, the zoo, Sea World, and a great swap meet in the parking lot of the San Diego Sports Arena.

*Johnstown - only just to do it once, for the sheer ability to recognize all the scenery from the movie Slap Shot, which apparently hasn’t been changed since the mid-70’s.  when i was there a couple years ago, the dog statue, which really exists by the way, was removed to “undergo restoration”.  funny. 

-kb 

March 7, 2008

Decisions, decisions…

This morning i got up in my room on the 13th floor of the Orleans Hotel and looked out over the glorious desert morning horizon… okay, technically it was about noon, so i guess that doesn’t really qualify as morning.  but i had an excuse, we rolled into town around 4:30 a.m., and after updating game notes, calling into the KRAB morning show and finally getting my internet turned on in the room, i saw the glorious desert sunrize over the strip, and didn’t fall asleep until about 6.

That’s besides the point.  I had a huge decision to make when i rolled out of bed.  and it was not a decision to be taken lightly: what’s for lunch.

On one hand, Subway offers a variety of options that contain just 6 grams of fat or less (when consumed without cheese and one of their delectible sauces!), but on the other hand, this is Vegas and what is Vegas but home to the buffet.

Like i said, this was not a decision to be taken lightly.

The French Market Buffet at the Orleans contains a wide array of selections, from meat and potatoes, ribs and veggies, salad bar, pasta and pizza, seafood and chinese food, and… ahem… a rather large desert bar.  or i could get a 6″ ham and turkey sub.  i didn’t know what to do.  My per diem was burning a hole in my pocket, i could definitely splurge.  But my road-weary body was not going to get exercise today and i didn’t know if unleashing my appetite (which is larger than my gut) upon the buffet was a wise choice.

The pros and cons are about even.  So i stalled.  I updated the radio log… proofed a press release that will go out this weekend… updated my knowledge on the Vegas roster with their website…  and finally it hit me.

Pizza.

It is the ever-present wild card.  Now, pizza is not available just anywhere.  but it IS offered at the buffet.  I guess sometimes procrastination pays off.  Do not rush into any decision - follow your hungry gut!

Random:

- There are a lot of palm trees in both Phoenix and Vegas, but Honolulu/Waikiki is my favorite city for palm tree viewing… followed by L.A., San Diego, Tampa, Mobile and Phoenix.  I’ve never been to Miami, so please, no hate mail.  Those of you who are native Californians do not have the appreciation for the palm tree that us transplanted Northerners do.  The Palm Tree isn’t just a warm-weather plant.  Oh no… it is a symbol.  A symbol of happiness, a symbol of beaches and sunshine and beautiful women, a symbol of non-winter regions, of paradise, and yes, of heaven itself.

- Something is happening with hotels and the communication between the front desk and housekeeping.  We arrived in Vegas at 4:30 am and are checking out at 5 pm.  Why would i need housekeeping services at 8 in the morning??  They came back at 11, 11:30 and Noon as well, each time greeting with an increasingly aggitated NO THANK YOU.  i was tempted to answer the door in my underwear and scream at the woman, but i held back.  Isn’t our check out time on their list?  If not, that’s stupid.  This is the third hotel something like this has happened in this season.  For the love of God, let me sleep.

- Jay Langager’s flight was three hours late arriving in Phoenix the other night.  Can’t we get a refund of some sort on the ticket?  The airline industry is the only one i can think of that offers NO repercussion whatsoever for lousy customer service.  And i’m sick of it.

- Hmmmmmm….. that buffet was GOOD!  The shrimp cocktail was my favorite.

- You think about a lot of things on a bus in the middle of the night.  Some of the best knowledge ever passed my way about the game has come during a talk with coaches at midnight while booking down some nearly-deserted dark highway, with the previous evening’s game fresh in our minds. 

My mind wanders, mainly because i can never sleep on the iron lung, through days past and days to come.  People i miss and things i want to do when i have a night off.  I think about the games and strange psychological twists to the season.  it’s a fragile thing, and sometimes it seems the slightest occurance can upset the balance of a period, a game, a season, a career.  Bartl’s Law of Miniature Calamities definitely applies to hockey.