Condors Blogs

Jivin’ with Jason

Friday, July 3rd, 2009 | Jivin' with Jason | No Comments

Hey Condors Fans,

It’s Jason Lockhart, the new Media Relations & Broadcasting Assistant. I am extremely excited to write my first-ever blog. I have to be honest, I have never gotten into this whole blog thing in the past, but I jumped at the chance to write my first one, especially pertaining to hockey.

So just some background information on me—I was born and raised in the small town of New York City (apologies for the sarcasm—it’s what I do). Even though people can’t believe it, I had a perfectly normal childhood growing up in the City. I often tell people I grew up in the “suburbs of Manhattan,” in the quiet neighborhood of the Upper East Side—and yes the show “Gossip Girl” isn’t that far from the truth, believe it or not.

As much as I enjoyed New York, I had to get out for college, so I went up to the quaint Middlebury College, where I began my pursuit of a hockey broadcasting career. Political Science major and music minor aside, I had the pleasure of broadcasting our men’s ice hockey team home games for the school radio station—one of the best experiences of my life. It helped that the team was good—two Division III National Championships in four of my years there, including my final broadcast, since we hosted the Div. III Frozen Four my senior year.

After an incredible internship with Stan “The Maven” Fischler—Kevin Bartl can tell you about his glory days when he grew up watching him as a Devils fan—I got my big break with the New York Islanders, working as their website/publications coordinator for three years.

Even though the commute to work was tough—1-1.5 hours each way—I still had a wonderful time learning about the business. And Condors fans, don’t be fooled by the fact that it’s an NHL team, the Condors are run just as well, if not better.

Due to significant cutbacks, I was part of the many lay-offs at the Islanders, but it gave me an opportunity to really pursue my dream of broadcasting hockey games professionally and that’s where the Condors came in.

I just moved out here and so far it’s been great. Although, I can’t help but question it all because every time I say I moved out here from New York, people’s responses only vary slightly from, “why would you do that” or “what were you thinking” to even getting smacked and told to go back to New York.

My new challenge for people is to have them list five things they love about Bakersfield. I know I’ve only been here three weeks, but let me have a crack at my list.

1. The Kern River (already floated down it three times—a good time)
2. The people (everyone has been quite friendly—not used to that)
3. The scenery (being in the valley and having mountains all around is quite a sight)
4. Pools (we didn’t really have these in NY and I’m really appreciating them)
5. The Condors (sorry, I’m biased, but they’ve treated me well so far)

So, as a way to take back and look at your city and—selfishly—help me out, I’m asking that people e-mail me (jlockhart@bakersfieldcondors.com) the five things they love best about Bakersfield. Anything from restaurants to activities–all is welcome and appreciated because I’m still trying to take in as much as I can.

And if anyone plans on traveling to New York City—which I highly recommend—I’d be more than happy to direct you to some places you won’t find in your basic travel guide. Just as a disclaimer, I apologize in advance if when you speak to me I mention my city a few times–it’s a habit I’m trying to get out of.

I hope to see everyone around town.

- Jason

Its A Great Day For Hockey (stat of the day)

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments

All off-season long, get your Condors fix by feasting upon a random Condors historical note, stat, or accomplishment every weekday!

July 2: The highest penalty minute total by a Condors leading scorer is 259, by Paul Willett in 1999-00.
July 1: The lowest penalty minute total by a Condors leading scorer is 34, by Kevin Reihl in 2003-04.
June 30: 13 players have accumulated 300+ penalty minutes in their Condors career.  Paul Rosebush, Glen Mears, Paul Willett, Scotty Balan and Jason Ralph are the Top 5.
June 29: The Condors record for team shutouts in a season is five, in 2001-02.  Scott Hay had four, Luciano Caravaggio had one.
June 26: Countdown to the Draft Stat - Eleven Condors played for the team in 2008-09 that were drafted by an NHL club.
June 25: Countdown to the Draft Stat - More Condors have been drafted by the LA Kings than any other NHL club (7).  Buffalo, Montreal, Chicago are tied for 2nd (4).
June 24: Countdown to the Draft Stat - 4 NHL teams have never had a draft pick play for the Condors: Carolina (though 2 players came from Hartford, their former incarnation), Minnesota, Nashville and Pittsburgh
June 23: Countdown to the Draft Stat - 3 former Condors were selected by the Islanders (who own the first pick this season): Shawn Byram, Brian Collins and Tyler Scott.
June 22: Countdown to the Draft Stat - the highest draft pick to play for the Condors is Alexander Kharlamov, 15th overall in 1994 by Washington.  Kharlamov played 6 games (0g-2a) in 99-00.
June 19: The Condors best playoff game record is in Game 5’s, where they hold a 5-2 record.  However, when winning Game 5, they have gone on to win just two of the five series.
June 18: In 2002-03, both Jason Ralph and Jonas Lennartsson were in a race for the team +/- record and league lead.  Ralph finished first in the WCHL with a +39, Lennartsson second at +38.  Glen Mears had a +41 for the Fog in 1996-97.
June 17: The Condors record for game-winning goals in a season is 8, by Paul Willett in 1999-2000.
June 16: Ryan Munce owns the Condors single-game saves record, stopping 63 of 64 shots in a 2-1 shootout win over Long Beach on Jan. 6, 2006.  He added four more saves in the shootout.
June 15: The 1999-2000 Condors hold the team record with 2,343 penalty minutes.  Five players had more than 200 PIM that season.
June 12: The fewest road losses by a Condors team in a season was 7, when the 2006-07 Condors went 20-7-9 (t-4th fewest in ECHL history).
June 11: Yutaka Fukufuji is the only ECHL goaltender to play in every playoff game for his team in the last two seasons.
June 10: The Condors are 9-5 all-time in home openers (this season’s is Oct. 16).  They were 6-2 in home openers in the West Coast Hockey League and 3-3 in the ECHL.
June 9: The most common name in Condors history is Jason, with 13 of them suiting up for the Condors/Fog.  There have also been 2 Jays and 1 J.J.  Running close behind, there have been 9 Kevins, 9 Ryans and 8 Davids.
June 8: The Bakersfield Fog played their final regular season game on Mar. 28, 1998, a 4-3 shootout loss in Phoenix against the Mustangs.
June 5: The Bakersfield Fog played their first regular season game on Oct. 25, 1995, a 5-3 victory over the Reno Renegades on home ice at the Bakersfield Convention Center in front of 1,473 fans.
June 4: The last player alphabetically in Condors history is Peter Zurba, a LW that had 7g-7a and 133 PIM in 28 games in the 1998-99 season.
June 3: The lowest penalty minute total to ever lead the team was 140, by D Ryan Coole in 2004-05
June 2: The last time Bakersfield had two hat tricks in one game, Steve Dowhy and Wade Welte both turned the trick in an 11-7 victory over the Alaska Gold Kings for the Fog on March 14, 1997.
June 1: Kam White’s 55 penalty minutes in the 2007 Kelly Cup Playoffs is a Condors record.  the all-time Bakersfield record is 58, set by Wade Welte with the Fog in 1997. (FYI - 137 days until Opening Night!)
May 29: The Condors have played in 414 one-goal games in their history, with a record of 191-112-111, for a .595 win percentage.  They went 15-13-8 last season.  The Condors have a .598 win pct. in one-goal games in ECHL play (75-43-45).
May 28: The last Condor to score on a penalty shot was Dennis Shiryaev, against Trevor Koenig of the Gulls on Nov. 6, 2004.  The team scored on five of the first six penalty shots in (recorded) team history, but since then, nine consecutive Condors penalty shots have been denied.
May 27: Only twice in 11 years have the Condors failed to feature a scorer among the Top 15 in the league: 2003-04 and 2004-05.  2008-09 was the fourth time they have had at least two in the Top 15 (Bonk & Derlago).
May 26: The Condors rookie playoff goal record is 4, by Alexandre Bolduc in 2006.  Connor James and Brett Lutes had 3 in 2005 to set the old record.  That year, the two rookies combined for 6 goals, matching the total by the rest of the team in their five-game elimination at the hands of the Aces.
May 22: The least amount of goals to lead the team in a single season is 22, done in 2004-05 by both Lars Peder Nagel and Paul Rosebush.
May 21: The Condors record for highest +/- in a playoff season is +11, by D Shaun Fisher in 2005-06.
May 20: The Condors have had a losing record on home ice only twice (03-04, 07-08) in 11 years.  The team record for home win % is .708, set in 02-03 (23-8-5) and equaled in 05-06 (24-9-3).
May 19: Including the Fog years, nobody has more career Game-Winning Goals as Paul Rosebush, with 20. 
May 18: From March 8, 2005 until Feb. 12, 2008, the Condors went 153 straight weeks (just under three full years) without an ECHL Player of the Week winner.  In the following 56 weeks (just over one full year) there were five winners.
May 15: In honor of the final four teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the following are Condors drafted by either of those clubs:
Chicago - Scott Balan (106th, 2000), Kevin St. Jacques (112th, 1991), Jared Walker (223rd, 2004), Jason Kostadine (251st, 2002)
Detroit - Guy Dupuis (47th, 1988), Jason Firth (208th, 1991)
Pittsburgh - none
Carolina - none
May 14: The highest point total for a Condor who only played one season with the team is 80, by Christian Skoryna in 2002-03.  Jason Firth (75pts in 2001-02) and Tim Konsorada (68pts in 2007-08) are 2nd and 3rd.
May 13: The highest career Goals Against Average for a Fog goalie who appeared in five or more games belongs to Craig Crowe, who had a 6.43 GAA in five games in 1996-97.  The highest for a Condor is Danny Taylor, who had a 4.33 in 17 games in 2006-07.
May 12: The first and the last Condors playoff OT game-winners came on the same date.  Paul Willett scored on April 18, 2002 against San Diego for a 5-4 win and Mark Derlago scored on April 18, 2009 for a 4-3 win over Las Vegas.
May 11: 382 players have suited up in the regular season for the Condors/Fog in the organization’s history.  Of that total, only 35 (9.1%) have played in 100 or more games, while 121 (31.7%) played in just 10 or less games.
May 9 (bonus stat for Saturday): The player acquired late in the season, who recorded the most points while appearing in 15 or less games is Aaron Brand, who had 4g-10a-14pts in just 10 games in 2001-02.  Martin Frechette is 2nd with 12pts in 15gms in 2007-08.  Ryan Foster (11pts in 2001-02) is 3rd.
May 8: Number of Condors suspended for 50 games due to testing positive for a banned substance: 0 (that’s for you, Manny!)
May 7: Dave Bonk (247 shots in 60gm) and Chad Painchaud (226 shots in 57gm) both had a chance at cracking the team’s Top 5 single season shot totals list, would they have not missed so many games.  Guy Dupuis owns the team record, with 290 shots in 2004-05.  Jamie Cooke (275), Kevin Truelson (272), Sean Venedam (267) and Cooke again (259) put up the five highest shot totals in team history.
May 6: The highest number ever worn by a goalie is #45, by Rick Plester in 1999-00.  Also, as a bonus stat, the lowest number NEVER to be worn by a Condors player is #40.
May 5: The three teams the Condors have shutout the most (Fresno-7, Col/AK Gold Kings-4, Long Beach-4) are all defunct
May 4: Paul Willett owns the Condors career playoff penalty minute record, at 63 PIM (in 16 games)

Random Top 5 - things I miss about hockey season

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments

by Bethany Moore

Things I miss about the season, during the summer!

5. the free pre-game food

This is probably one of the biggest perks of the job. Free dinner: FREE Rusty’s Pizza, Frugatti’s & Champs BBQ, sometimes 3 times a week. I’d have to go with Champs as my favorite; they give you such a variety to chose from. Tri tip, chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, macaroni & cheese, green beans and rolls with butter. Ahh, I’m hungry now. There is a trick, if you don’t get there before Big Bill, you aren’t getting anymore than the scraps left behind; which can ruin your night, so you always want to be ready at 5:25 before the food gets here and then attack!

4. filling out the “happy birthday slips”

In case you don’t know what these are, we at the Condors like to celebrate with you. So when fan’s call in to have a birthday/anniversary announcement we grab our “birthday/announcement” slips and fill in the blanks. You’d be surprised how many we get. Some of the birthdays you get make you stop and think, “did they just say, to Pookeybear from Snuggybear?”, yep they sure did!

3. hearing “Hit Me with your best shot” over and over again (kidding)

Every game you hear it, 2^nd intermission, the infamous Chuck-A-Puck. This is where you see the shower of orange pucks being thrown at center ice for the hope of making it into the helmet for the grand prize or even the 2^nd prize. You don’t even have to be watching, you hear that blissful sound and you know that thousands of those $1 pucks of hope are being thrown!

2. Fans asking “ I thought we got a Carl’s Jr”?

That’s right, sometimes we don’t get one. It may be tricky and confusing at times but we only get a Carl’s Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger when we score on a Power Play in the 2^nd Period. AH HA! Now it makes sense right? So next time you are in line to exit the Rabobank Arena, ask yourself before you ask me, “Did we score on the Power Play in the 2^nd period?” And if we didn’t, you know you will be receiving yet another well-put together, Condors pocket schedule from a Condors Front Office Employee.

1. Bartl’s “Goo Goo Go-Choob”

That’s right, even though I work with the guy 5-6-7 days a week during the season, sometimes I just can’t get enough of the blurt outs! Sometimes I wonder where he gets some of those things, so I finally asked. The quote “Goo Goo Ga-Choob” comes from a song written by The Beatles called “I Am the Walrus”. Oddly enough the entire song is compiled with awkward lyrics that were masterly combined together. Nice work Mr. Bartl.

Bethany is a sales assistant with the Condors and the friendly voice you hear on the phone when you call the office at 324-PUCK (7825)!

Team USA is awful - as usual (bartls blog)

Monday, June 29th, 2009 | The Many Faces of Bartl | No Comments

Watching the Confederations Cup final on Sunday, i got sick and tired of listening to the coddling from the broadcasters.  I don’t care who the US was playing, surrendering three goals - actually, FOUR goals, with that missed call - in one half is a disgraceful close, in a sport where three goals in an entire game is better than average.

the game was over when Brazil scored in the first minute of the second half, and everyone watching that game knew it.  they were outshot by a 3-1 margin, the subs were awful, the whole second half was a festival of turnovers.

this team, this program, will never shed their underdog image (which really means that no one thinks they’re any good) until they are held to a higher standard.  this isn’t a club team, or a professional team, its the National Team.  when you are on a national team you are expected to be among the best in the world, and live up to a global standard.  but apparently, everyone in front of a camera or a microphone wants US Soccer to be held up to their own standard, and not the standard the rest of the world has.

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it’s embarrassing, but the same can be said about all American team sports.  when on the world stage, they never fail to disappoint.  what is wrong with this country and its inhabitants?  Americans are nothing short of abject failures in team sports on the world stage - specifically, in soccer, hockey and baseball.  its almost like there is no pride anymore in winning.  there certainly is no extra pride in winning for your country.

every time the olympics come around the US hockey team puts up at least one dreadful performance that takes them out of the running altogether for gold.  i point to the Nagano Olympics as the standard that the US holds themselves up to - lose, look awful doing it, trash your hotel room partying afterward.  every player involved in that fracas that year should have been banned for life from USA Hockey for embarrassing our entire nation.  THAT would be our standard.  but instead it’s been nothing but disappointment out of the Americans since, they’re awful every year: no goaltending, no finesse, putting 40-year olds on the team, etc.

nobody in this country cares about the World Baseball Classic because the American team stinks.  Japan - no disrespect to them, but the Japanese national league is more like AAA here in the states, if that - takes it, while the US loses to Venezuela (VENEZUELA??!?!!!  can you even name nine Venezuelans in the majors??) in the Quarterfinals.  we ought to be able to throw out our third-string team and crush everyone. 

even in golf, the Americans regularly are pounded by the Europeans in the Ryder Cup, including that loaded 2004 team that was pulverized.  how they actually pulled that victory off last year, i’ll never know.  basketball’s the only team sport on the world stage that we have going for us… but for how long?

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Closing random thought: When i watch Eric Milton pitching for the Dodgers, am i the only one who thinks: “He’s wearing Kal Daniels‘ number”??

Timmys Top 10 - Top 10 bad ideas for Top 10 lists

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 | Timmy's Top 10 List | No Comments

Since writing the very first Timmy’s Top 10 list many moons ago at the instruction of one Jake Stevens (by the way his censorship probably saved my job numerous times) I have gotten tons of feedback from different fans. Some think the lists are mildly amusing (thanks mom and dad) , others find them oddly confusing, most think they are super lame…but read them anyways, and finally a small segment of you like to throw out ideas for new topics. So, without any futher delay of your bi-monthly torture session, away we go….

The Top 10 bad deas for Top 10 lists…

Getting muddy (bartls blog)

Monday, June 22nd, 2009 | The Many Faces of Bartl | No Comments

Saturday is a great day to sleep in.  i usually don’t get up until around 9:30 or even 10 if i can pull it off.  but last Saturday i was up around 7:00, so that i could make it to the annual Epilepsy Society mud volleyball tournament.  the drama started early when one of our two required females bailed on us and we were left scrambling before our first match.  luckily our other one had a friend, but they both bailed at 11.  Took the first match, 15-9.

we found two replacements for our second game but they could have been these two and we still wouldn’t have won.  final score: 15-1.  because we lost, our team captain had to stay and ref the next match while i went to get a hot dog and doritos.  man, i love hot dogs and doritos.

for Game 3 - pivotal in a double-elimination tournament, we stole two ladies from the KRAB Radio team (who got pasted, by the way, in two games) and struck paydirt.  A challenging team who took every opportunity to argue points and splash around in the muddy water, pushed us hard, but we came up with a clutch 15-12 win to move on.  Thanks to Crystal and Kelly for helping us out.  B-Rad was feeling it in this game.

Game 4 was another triumph, over the Muddy Rotten Scoundrels, i forget the final score.  but sunburn was starting to sink into my cranium and boil away the sunblock on the back of my neck.  i also dove down in the “mud” for a shot and scraped the heck out of my shins and knees.  it wasn’t the nicest mud i’ve ever been in… lots of gravel and sand and grass and other assorted roughage…  by this time we had been out there in the sun and muck for about four hours.  the ladies were key, as was Zach “Lenny” Cravitz, who had two kills working the net.  i know, it surprised me too.

By the time 2:30 rolled around, team Condors had a solid 3-1 record, which meant that we were guaranteed of having a winning record on the day.  only 27 of the 99 teams remained - 52 had been eliminated - an impressive feat considering we had a makeshift roster most of the day and we were just a rag-tag bunch of amateurs.  but our fifth match proved to be our final one, as we were taken down 15-2, but we put up a good showing and had a lot of fun.

There’s always next year.

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Player signings will start this week.  you never know when their contracts will come in so it’s hard to have a solid plan for the releases, but we have two that will be announced in the next couple days.

rookies are usually the first ones to get under contract, second or third year players coming from other leagues are usually next and the vets are typically waiting on offers from their current teams or waiting to see if they are put on protected lists or qualifying offer lists.  from our roster as they finished last season, only Mike Wirll, Jay Langager, Andrew Ianiero and Scotty Balan are veterans by ECHL rules, which still state that only four can be on the active roster.  it will be interesting to see if any of them are back for this season, but Marty Raymond has indicated that this year’s team will be a much different squad.

it looks like maybe a rookie and a third or fourth year guy is on the dockett for this week.  we’ll see.

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The NHL draft is this weekend and there’s a lot of discussion over who will go first to the Islanders, and who will trade up, and what the Leafs will do, and what the airspeed velocity of an unlaiden swallow is.  Maybe the Isles will pass on John Tavares and take the big Swedish defenseman… 

i guess they have to do what they feel is best for their organization.  but consider this: nobody will blame the Isles if they take Tavares and he turns out to be a bust.  but if they pass on him and he turns into a superstar, people will remember that for years.  it’s tough to have that hanging over you while you gaze into your crystal ball.  it’s not easy being an NHL GM is it?

Kevin Bartl is the VP of Communication and the “Voice of the Condors” entering his 7th season with the team.  His blog comes out every Monday, or whenever else he feels like it.

Random 5 - worst promotional ideas ever

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments

- by Jason Schaeffer

Over the years, the Condors have done a lot of promotions. We’ve done hat giveaways and had SpongeBob or people like Olympic Gold Medalist Jason Lezak and the LA Laker Girls visit, but we’ve also had some really bad ideas that should have never seen the light of day. Some were suggested to us by vendors or fans, some were ideas by actual staff members, and some were ideas we got from other sports teams. Here are few of the very worst.

5. Antique Appraisal Night - This idea came from an unknown team in the Philadelphia area. Are you familiar with the Antiques Roadshow on PBS? People bring in family heirlooms and other interesting things they own in the hopes that it will actually be worth a lot of money. Surprisingly, every once in a while they’ll find something like a rare map or a historically significant textile. Dr. Lori Verderame, who used to host a show called Trash or Treasure, was to host the evening by evaluating the crowd’s items. The idea is interesting, but the chances that somebody would have a significant find in a crowd of a few thousand people isn’t very good and everybody would probably go home disappointed.

4. Swine Flu Awareness Night - Hold onto your hats! Who’s ready for… SWINE FLU AWARENESS NIGHT!? What? That doesn’t excite you? Oh right, that’s because it’s boring. The night was to come with free hand sanitizer for the first 1500 fans. As exciting as free soap is, there would have also been educational materials on hand to help teach about prevention and awareness of swine flu and other forms of influenza. It’s always good to be informed about these things. More germs are spread through simple ignorance of how they are spread than anything else. However, it is kind of an dull choice for a promotion and hand sanitizer is already really cheap.

3. Maraca Shaking World Record Attempt Night - Now this one is just straight out of left field.  Maracas?  Who thinks these up? Despite how this sounds at first, the record isn’t for the longest period of time one can shake them, but for the largest ensemble of people shaking them simultaneously. The current record is 407, set on March 15th, 2006 in Manchester, England. Yes, of course it had to be England. Can you really imagine getting away with this in the United States? Perhaps if it was the most guns going off at a sporting event simultaneously…

2. Foam Broom Giveaway - You read that right. Foam brooms. As a giveaway item. Seriously. It’s a play on words, as in ”the playoff series sweeps” or ”sweeping up the competition”. Yes, because the pun isn’t the lowest form of humor, and having a giveaway item based on a pun that, at most, might make you smile for a half second isn’t a bad idea at all! In some alternate universe where this is a good idea, what would you do with it after the hockey game? If you hung it on your wall or put it with your other merchandise, everybody would just keep asking you what in the world a foam broom had to do with anything. Then you’d explain it and they would look to the side and laugh timidly. “Oh.. heh… yeah…….” You don’t want to be that guy, do you?

1. Jock strap giveaway - Wow. I don’t even want to know who came up with this one. The worst part is that it isn’t specific enough. Are they new? Dare I ask, are we giving out used ones? If so, whose? And how do you determine who gets them? I don’t think jock straps are a child friendly giveaway item. I suppose you could tell them that it was a type of slingshot, but that would only lead to more trouble. Looking into it though, it appears they were new jock straps (sorry ladies). A Minor League Florida baseball team were to give them to the first 500 fans, stating that it wasn’t “…too crazy of a promotion being that jock straps and baseball often go hand in hand”. Yeah, okay. That’s not crazy at all. Giving out free underwear at a baseball team is just business as usual in Florida.

Random 5 comes out every other Tuesday throughout the off-season, alternating with Timmy’s Top 10 List.

Timmys Top 10 - things you do not want to hear from your rafting guide

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 | Timmy's Top 10 List | No Comments

Fresh from the Condors staff outing - white water rafting on the mighty Kern River - (special shout-out to Mountain and River Adventures in Kernville!) Timmy’s come up with his latest Top 10.  This week, it’s the Top 10 things you don’t want to hear from your rafting guide…

10… ”They call this boat here The Titanic“

9… “Wait a second…they told you guys I’m just a temp right?”

8… “Can someone please pass me the pocket schedules?”

 7… “Anyone seen Deliverance?”

6… “Alright folks, this next section of rapids is called ‘If you drown, don’t blame me, you signed the release’“

5… “Oh, life jackets, smife jackets!”

4… “Hey pal, your gonna have to pick another seat, that’s where my ‘cold ones’ sit.”

3… ”Things have been much calmer around here since the pirates left”

2… “If someone goes overboard, don’t panic, this river actually drops you off at Truxtun and Oak.”

1… ”My water socks hurt”

Tim Statezni is the Marketing & Promotions Manager for the Condors, as well as the Mailbag Guy.  His Top 10 list comes out every alternate Tuesday.

Champions and chumps (bartls blog)

Monday, June 8th, 2009 | The Many Faces of Bartl | No Comments

Congratulations go out to the South Carolina Stingrays for their Kelly Cup Championship.  they took down an Aces team that i didn’t think would bow out - and doing it in Anchorage probably made it even harder.  The Stingrays have some good people working for them, so a secondary congrats go out to all their peeps in the front office, led by Darren Abbott (i always like it when former radio guys become bigwigs).  Enjoy this weekend off, folks!

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Got a new media relations and broadcast assistant in town, goes by the name Jason Lockhart.  He’s a NY native, used to work for the Islanders.  he’ll be helping out on broadcasts, with community appearances, website and press releases and everything in between.  i’m sure you’ll see him eventually, make sure you say hello.  he just moved out here last Thursday from NYC… it’s funny, he probably thinks its ALWAYS 83 in Bakersfield in June with blue skies and white fluffy clouds and great scenic vistas of the mountains - won’t he be in for a surprise!

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Are the Penguins ever going to stop disappointing people?

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Seriously, what the heck is going on down in Phoenix???  i read one article this morning that said the city of Glendale wanted to clip Gretzky’s salary by 75%, and then there was this one that quotes the NHLPA boss as saying the NHL doesn’t belong in Phoenix anymore.  pretend for just one minute that the national media ever covered the NHL.  this drama that has been unfolding in Phoenix would be jamming the airwaves at ESPN.  the NHLPA has gone over the line on this one.  given their history of honesty in leadership… and their history of honesty in leadership… maybe they should stick to helping the players run their union.

imagine if the MLB players association came out and said… i don’t know… that the Minnesota Twins shouldn’t be in the league, the whole city would be in an uproar.  they would rain trash down upon the players as soon as they took the field. 

NHL players took great offense throughout the 2004-05 lockout-lost season to correct folks that errantly referred to “the strike”.  as well they should have - it was a lockout imposed by the owners.  but with fans reading statements like that, from the NHLPA brass, its no wonder that fans made such a lack of distinction between a player-strike or an owner-lockout.  it’s possible that the general hockey fan might place just as much responsibility for the game’s success at the feet of the players as they do with the owners. 

NHLPA Exec. Paul Kelly (no, not that one) justified his ludicrous comments as saying that it affects player salaries because they are tied to league-wide revenue.  then he said he had concern about Buffalo as well.  maybe both teams can invite him out for a ceremonial faceoff this season.

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i won’t link it here because it’s vulgar, but on YouTube there is a great video of Toronto Blue Jays OF Alex Rios refusing a kid an autograph when leaving a charity event, and then getting into an f-bomb laden back-and-forth with a fan who calls him a bum for doing it. 

the “Big Leagues” could take a lesson or two from the “minors”.  our players generally act more professional with the fans than some of these major league chumps like Rios.  having a bad day, Alex?  well now you’re on YouTube looking like a jerk.  have fun with that!

Kevin Bartl is the VP of Communications and “Voice of the Condors”, entering his 7th season in Condorstown.  His blog comes out every Monday, or whenever else he feels like it.

Random Top 5 - corporate partners to call in an emergency

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments

- by Kevin Bartl

The Condors list of corporate partners is varied.  we have everything from fast food joints to fancy restaurants, cops and firemen, people doctors and car doctors, shed producers and real estate agents, and everyone in between.  but when i was looking at the list the other day, i thought, when i’m really in a pinch, these are the Top 5 corporate partners that i would want to call in an emergency.

5. Houchin Blood Services - is there anything more important in your life than the blood your body is pumping?  tell you what, if you ever run into me on the street and you can tell that i’m in dire need of blood, right after you call 911, call Houchin.  and actually, that song from their radio ads is so ingrained in my head, they would probably make any list i created.

4. California Pizza Kitchen/Rusty’s/Pizza Hut - i am a man that lives an addiction-free life.  i don’t need my morning coffee to function.  i can go long periods of time without a beer.  i like the occasional cigar but never was a smoker.  but there is one thing i AM addicted to: PIZZA.  and i’m totally serious.  if i go four days or so without pizza, i cannot function.  it consumes my thoughts, oppresses my taste buds and controls my appetite.  after six days, i can’t think about eating anything else.  and after eight days i’m ready to take a hostage.  pizza is proof that God gave us all the creativity and knowledge that we need to live happy lives on Earth. 

3. Central Body Works - have you ever tried to live in Bakersfield without your vehicle?  I think that would qualify as an emergency.

2. Kern County Firefighters - gotta love these guys… putting out wild fires, protecting our houses, saving babies, rescuing cats from treetops… touching stuff.  They even have a link on their website that warns you about the Swine Flu.  There are over 500 men and women that are a part of the KCFF, and they all earn their paychecks.  Don’t mess with the firefighters, we need them.

1. Mercy & Memorial Hospitals - should all the previous four emergency contacts fail, i guess you can just drag my incapacitated body to the folks at M&MH.  preferrably whichever one is closest at the time.  for someone who avoids the doctor’s office as much as possible, if i ever get to the point where i REALLY need one, i suppose its OK to go to the hospital.  if you’re at Mercy SW, maybe you’ll be lucky enough to get a room with a nice view of all the palm trees.