Condors Blogs

Here come the Condors (the many faces of bartl)

Monday, April 6th, 2009 | The Many Faces of Bartl

This weekend the Condors will roll into Las Vegas to start up the playoffs.  the 19-5-2 record over their last 26 games is in the past and the slate is wiped clean.  as long as the team stays one game above .500 in each series, we will all be very happy in Condorstown.

but its not going to be easy.  Vegas is a tough place to win in unless you’re the Wranglers, and they always seem to get a little help from the affiliate, so they should be at least a little bolstered.  Weird Stat of the Day: Las Vegas has lost in the playoffs to the eventual Kelly Cup Champion in each of their last four appearances in the post-season.

the question that’s been on everyone’s mind over the last 2 weeks was answered, at least partially, this afternoon.  WILL THE CONDORS GET ANYONE BACK FROM THE AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE? 

Yes. 

Chad Painchaud and Andrew Thomas are two big pickups for this Condors team.  Painchaud was probably the team’s most consistent performer through his time here - certainly it was between him and Dave Bonk - and putting him back into the Condors lineup can’t be seen as anything other than positive.  the big question is where he will play, since it doesn’t seem on the surface to make sense pulling Wirll off that line with Bonk and Derlago to put Painchaud back where he was.

but then again, i’m not the coach.

The injury the other night to Chris Kaufman sure makes Andrew Thomas’ assignment look timely as well, doesn’t it?  he’s one of those guys that you don’t notice too much when he’s playing good, and when he’s playing great he stands out.  he was only with the Condors for 24 games, but he put up 14 assists and was a +5.  that’s a pace of 42 points and a +15 over a full season, and that’s a solid rookie season for a d-man.

When fans take a look at the team’s playoff roster they may wonder whether more boys might be coming from the AHL as well.  and as for that, i guess time will only tell.  putting them on the roster sometimes is only really a plan for the “just in case” factor.  all indication is that Matt Pope is in Manitoba for a while, but just in case he gets sent back, he’ll be on the playoff roster and the coaches can play him.

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Thank God the NCAA basketball tournament is over… what are there, 86 rounds?  i wonder how many arrests there will be on Chapel Hill tonight.  the over-under on destroyed police cars is three.

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Speaking of the tournament, while the Condors are on a bus heading out to Vegas on Thursday, the semi-finals of the 2009 Frozen Four will be going on.  i recommend checking them out, they’ll be carried on ESPN2.  the first game will start at 2:00 Pacific, between Miami (OH) and the massive underdogs, Bemidji State.  At 5:30 the top-ranked Boston University will take on Vermont.  the championship game will be Saturday at 4:00 Pacific, on ESPN.  BU went 33-6-4 on the season… unbelievable.  you can be sure that Matt Pope (Bemidji St.) and Tom Morrow (BU) especially will be paying close attention.

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By the way, i’ve had a bunch of people ask… my seatbelt ticket cost me $120 plus a mysterious service fee of about $20.  which is certainly strange since i paid over the phone with a credit card, which means that i didn’t take up any of the state or county’s time in court or making some clerk run my check to the bank.  maybe that service fee goes toward the New-State-Employee-Position-That-Doesn’t-Do-Anything-But-Gets-Paid-$120,000/Year fund.  seriously, at $140 a pop, they only need to hand out 10 billion of those to make up the state deficit… give or take a few.

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Have you ever taken the ‘Which muppet are you?’ Quiz?  as i suspected long ago, even when i was just six years old and too young to be bitter, this is me.

While i’m at it, the Muppet Show theme still rattles around in my head and i can frequently be heard whistling it.  one time, in 2002-03 we were on a road trip in Alaska, riding in the van from the airport to the hotel.  long trip, tired team, sitting in silence, i started whistling the Muppet Show theme.  one player recognized it - Christoffer Norgren. 

i was shocked he not only recognized the song but actually watched it as a kid growing up in Sweden.  when i asked him about it, he got really mad at my ethnocentric world-view and then busted out a classic impression of the Swedish Chef, which made me laugh so hard i started crying.  for the uninitiated, the Swedish Chef did not speak REAL swedish, only remotely-swedish-sounding jibberish. 

who would have thought that the Muppet Show would have been popular in Sweden?  man, that was funny.

 

Kevin Bartl is the VP of Communications and the Voice of the Condors, in his sixth season with the team.  His blog comes out every Monday, or whenever he feels like it.