downtime...constructive destruction

--  Another sunny afternoon in Arizona, which can only mean one

thing...digital carnage is going down on xbox at 230pm sharp.

     You get a lot of advice when you leave civilian life behind and sign your first minor league contract.   One of the key pieces I heard was "surround yourself with positive people" from Bud Black.   To me, what that's always meant is by creating safe environments, you can grow and avoid the traps that excessive free time creates.   We've all seen too many sports section headlines full of mistakes and legal and ethical grey area situations getting out of hand.   People get shot, thrown in jail, and maybe new things I don't even know about yet.   Who you hang with will either elevate you or destroy your career.  Video games uniteteammates across countries and colors, and are much more portable than  golf.

     Video games have only ruined one career that I know of, and that was mainly due to bad posture which led to nerve damage in his neck.    So with those odds on my side, I take you into a world of sniping, chopping, camaraderie, and rocket launchers....

    Halo (xbox gaming systems only) is without question the universal truth – like "fight club" but without the broken face afterwards.   You can strike at your closest friend and laugh about it for hours.   Lately, the contingency has been gathering at Casa Koronka for the digital splendors of battle.   Kameron Loe, Kevin Richardson, Jason Botts, Ian Kinsler, John Koronka, Desi Relaford, Drew Meyer, Ben Harrison, Emerson Frostad, Rick Bauer, Adam Fox and myself have been brothers and enemies.   The best team yet to be assembled is Loe, Richardson and myself.

    Most of my best memories of the minors and without question the best of spring training take place when 10 or more guys get together for halo.  Some ranger legends of Halo days past include Tom 'Moonlight' Graham, Ryan Dittfurth, Erik Thompson, Matt Lorenzo, Sam Narron, Pete Zoccolillo,and Adam Hyzdu.

-- A bit of behind the scenes with one of the best players in our

group...Kevin Richardson, a catcher, is in his first major league camp.

Cj: Do you prefer Halo 1 or Halo 2?

K-Rich: Halo 2.

Cj: What makes you a good Halogist?

K-Rich: Hours of practice, and passion for the game.

Cj: What's the best advice you've gotten about how to spend your off

time?

K-Rich: Mike Boulanger said to make sure that you do something different

every few days, fish, golf, try to avoid getting in a rut to keep it

fresh.

Cj: What tools have you improved the most since signing?

K-Rich: All aspects of catching.  Sundberg, Berryhill and Wakamatsu have all

been helpful, both in spring training and during the season. 

Cj: What are you looking for on halo 3 later this year?

K-Rich: More boards, and easier player interaction.  Maybe a way to change

visual options and in game displays.

Cj: Tell me the story of how you got here, a lot of people don't know about

it...

K-Rich:  Greg Whitworth, an area scout for the Rangers, was talking to me

before the draft.  He was basically feeling out signability before the

draft.  Not getting drafted was disappointing, but I was in contact with

Greg continually for 5 weeks after the draft.  I kept working out

because I hadn't given up playing, and Greg told me there was an outside

shot at signing with Texas.

During this process, I actually got a call from an Independent

League team, because their catcher was about to go on the shelf.   It

turns out that he wasn't hurt, so that door closed on me.  I got sick of

not playing and just working out, so I caught on with a local semi-pro

team, the Bellingham Bells.

About 6 weeks after the draft, I was with my cousin playing

blackjack at a casino, having a great day.  I was up $600 on 40 bucks at

the table when I got the call again from Greg Whitworth for the Rangers,

and he asked if I was still interested.  I ended up getting on a plane

at 6am the next day to Pulaski, Virginia, where my career began.

K-Rich, as we call him, is in my opinion destined for the show.   

He's got all the tools and is one of the most workable game callers I've ever

thrown to.

--c.j.