What’s the scoop on Bakersfield Condors Scott Borders’ leg injury? - By N.L. Bobblehead

Scott Borders is in St. Agnes Hospital in Fresno, California after suffering a double fracture to a femur during the Fresno-Bakersfield game seven match-up. He underwent surgery yesterday and should be returning to the ice in 3-5 months. The big question on my mind is, what happened? Was there bad ice in the big “NO”? I put a phone call into Devin “Patchboy” Rossiter, the Condors Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations just to ask that question.

Devin indicated that ice conditions on the night of game seven were comparable to conditions during the ECHL all-star game held at the Save Mart Center several months ago. “The ice definitely wasn’t to the conditions with Fresno when concrete was exposed in an earlier game… I think we have to attribute Borders’ fall to losing an edge. He lost his balance from going to the puck hard and his momentum carried him into the boards.”

I phoned one of my other media contacts who saw a replay of the incident. “He clearly lost his balance, and it looks like his leg fractured when he went into the boards,” said Puck from The Puck Show.

But was it bad ice?

Scott Borders fell off balance, skidded out of control and shattered the toughest bone in his body—the mighty femur. I’m talking about a bone so tough that cavemen once used them to knock out Mastodons.

It still could have been the bad ice.

I’m telling you right now I have never personally seen a hockey injury as strange and as devastating (except for a broken neck I once saw on television). Although I have seen a near roller hockey equivalent. Just ask one-time roller hockey MVP Landen Belardes (AKA The War Days director, Dirty Spanglish). He has quite the championship hockey game injury story, where his team was losing 4-3, he scored all his team’s goals, and then suffered a severe injury along the boards which resulted in the rest of the game being cancelled. Are you aware that you can die from a broken femur? A femoral shaft fracture always requires surgery where an intramedullary rod is inserted into the bone marrow canal. Not pleasant to contemplate at dinner, breakfast, or just after a fall while losing an edge, or on “bad ice”.


Intramedullary rod fixation for repair of an injury to the femoral shaft.
Copyright 2004 Axis Arts

Should the game have been cancelled?

Only if there had been bad ice, which sounds like a difficult case to prove in the instance of Scott Borders devastating injury…

In the meantime, do yourself a favor and root for the Fresno Falcons over the Alaska Aces. You don't want the old Scott Gomez team to win, do you?

And if you're going to blame anyone in Fresno for bad ice, try this bird:

Tragic “bad ice” injury worsens Condors game seven defeat - By N.L. Bobblehead

I put on a back luck jersey hoping it was good luck: a Condors jersey signed by the much hated Scott Gomez of the New Jersey Devils who played for last year’s Alaska Aces. I was hoping it would symbolize a 3rd round match-up between the Condors and Aces. Instead, wearing the jersey symbolized fiery words, emblazoned on cloth: that Alaska was all over the next round, not the Condors.

What was I thinking?

And I brought chingpea, whose curse has been attending four straight Condors losses. She even warned about the curse and threatened to stay home.

What was I thinking?


Outside Fresno's Save Mart Center, Condors fan
Emily Tebow threatens an estranged Fresno Bobblehead...

The road to Fresno isn’t nearly as long as the road home. I put up my share of trash talk throughout the series in a fun online bout between myself and Fresno blogger, Mike Seay. Heading into Fresno I made sure to call Mike to see if he was coming to the big game in the big "NO". He was trapped in Modesto on work and so we had to settle for a little bit of trash talk and a friendly wishing of good luck to each blogger’s opposing team.

“Good luck to your freakin’ Condors,” Mike grumbled.

Before the game, chingpea, Matildakay (Smalltown Girls Podcast)and I ate across the street from the Save Mart Center at the Dog House Grill. Condors president Matt Riley was in the house and asked if I had been to the game the night before.


Condors president, Matt Riley

I also said hello to Joel Irving, a scratch for the night (does that mean benched if they’re healthy?). He seemed a bit bugged, gave me a short reply and said, “Let’s get out of here,” to his buddy who had been standing in line. This was a much different Condor than I saw in the locker room after game 7 with Long Beach. But then, Puck had been doing the interviewing that night. Most of the Condors have no clue that I help promote them. And I typically don’t wear a team jersey. So I probably looked like an annoying fan looking for an autograph. Either that or he was already annoyed for possibly being benched and didn’t want anyone to ask why he wasn’t playing.


Just before the puck was dropped I snapped this photo that
captures Bakersfield's Scott Borders in the upper left (#14)

The game was exciting with an intense battle that kept the game within one goal. There were a lot of Condors penalties which gave Fresno the upper hand. That didn't mean the game wasn't close, intense, and great. But then the unthinkable happened, and I’m still trying to figure out just exactly what I saw. Condors player Scott Borders skated past the blue line in toward the Fresno goal when he just went down, slid across the ice and smashed into the boards, his leg possibly shattered. Rumors flew into the stands that it was his fibula. Was it? Chances are, if that’s the case, then his tibia may have broke as well. The way he pounded the ice, myself and a nearby Fresno fan knew his leg was broken.

(Read the full article)

Freddie "Krueger" Falcon threatens rampage after two Condor victories - By N.L. Bobblehead

I can only imagine how pissed the Fresno Falcons, their diehard fans, and the Unofficial are today. They probably all rolled out of bed, having lived a nightmare two games straight. Two losses straight I should say as the Condors squeaked out another win. Last night I was glued to the radio, listening like a doubting fan when one of my kids said, "Why are you worried, the Condors are winning tonight." And then he went skating down at the Bakersfield Ice Sports Center as if he didn't have a care in the world, while I sat by the radio squirming with each call of Devin "Patchboy" Rossiter's KGEO 1230 play-by-play.


Freddie "Krueger" Falcon threatens to eat us all after Fresno's big loss

What a game!

The first back to back game sevens in ECHL history right here in the HIghway 99 rivalry, the biggest rivalry in Central Valley sports. Except that attendence was low last night; under 4000! Could it be those terribly overpriced seats at that big ice chest of a pavillion, the Save Mart Center, with its crappy Dodger Stadium Parking and medicinal halls? I noticed the Fresno Falcons don't even get a photo on the arena homepage, just a little logo on the sidebar. Brittney "Fishhead" Spears even gets her photo on a FresNO page. Ahh, the big No! Falcons denied!


Fresno Falcon's Budzone fans help the Fresno community as a great local charity, but are seen here wondering if their mystical rubber chicken taunting powers have begun to fail...

What will Mike Seay say?

What will all those Fresno fans do today as they toss and turn in their seats sweating a round two loss to the Condors?

Who will win tonight?


What will their evil mascot bird, Freddie "Krueger" Falcon do? Is he eating little Fresno fans as he flaps his furry arms in panic??

The trash talk continues...

THE CLAIR SHOW! - By N.L. Bobblehead

Read all about THE CLAIR SHOW!


Sorry Falcon Road Kill Sandwiches


Victory in game 5...!

Take that you greasy falcons!

Vegas lets down Condors. N.L. cries - By N.L. Bobblehead

Just read this on the Vegas site:

"Las Vegas, NV The Las Vegas Wranglers were eliminated from the Kelly Cup Playoffs by Alaska, 4-3 in triple overtime on Tuesday night. The Wranglers appreciate the support of their fans."

Thanks Vegas Wrangler fan for a great season of trash talk!

Now go and cry cause the Condors are still in it! Ya yahoo!

-n.l.