1.   Before a game during the recent playoffs, a friend asked Martinez why he wanted to leave a safe, sane job like broadcasting and become a manager.

2.   After recent playoff disappointments and a chaotic regular season, the Blues have found good health, equilibrium and momentum at the right time.

3.   But he had intimated during the recent NBA playoffs that he might not return if a sufficient extension was not offered.

4.   For the recent playoffs, the division sent out an e-mail offering tickets to its top customers.

5.   He is the best rusher in recent playoff history.

6.   He and his teammates well understand that their recent playoff history makes mostly irrelevant all that they do between November and April.

7.   He never has liked being captain and spokesman for a team known more for two bankruptcies than any recent playoff success.

8.   No team in recent playoff memory has had a more fortuitous path covered with rose petals to the Finals.

9.   Part of the reason was their recent playoff history in Los Angeles, where they had yet to win a game.

10.   Size wins in the NBA, a point emphasized in the recent playoffs.