Weekend Recap/Last Week Predictions

What a weekend in the Bronze League. In the early game the Hurricanes man handled the Spider Monkeys 8-4 led by Kyle Saylor’s incredible 7 point performance. Saylor had five goals and two assists which now puts him in first place in points for the season.

The Silver Bullets squeaked out a win in overtime against the Arc Angels, 4-3. Kacey Bird led the charge for the Bullets with 2 goals and 2 assists. Jack Germaine had a fine night for the Angels with a pair of goals himself. This was a good evenly matched game that could have gone either way.

Next up we had the Stingers who took care of business against the Jaguars. Josh Briscoe and Roland Widmann each had three points for the Bees, while Steve Meek notted a hat trick and an assist for a four point night.

The Ice Gators took out the Airport boys from Mid Air 8-4. Leading the charge for the Gators was Zack Gunter who had 4 goals. Gators have been struggling to find their identity lately with Bruno going MIA. They picked up goalie Andrew Busboom from the Free Agent wire to fill in, and looks like things are starting to click. There are rumors swirling about the Gators fate next season. Will they play, will they all just move up to D league, or is Bruno on a secret recruiting trip to Russia in search of a pair of 6’7” 260 lb shut down defenders?

Finally we had the Senators squaring off against the Tribe. Despite getting off to an early start, the Senators could not crack Indians netminder Ryan Kelly. Kelly stopped 26 of 27 shots, and was on top of his game. Kyle Kelly had a pair of goals in the win.

Now the stage is set for the final week of action here in the Bronze League. The early game is the main event this week. With the Indians and Stingers battling it out for that #1 seed. In the event the Bees beat the Tribe then the head to head records will decide who gets the #1 spot. The Indians won 4-2 the first time these two tangoed this season, so the Bees would need to beat the Tribe by two goals or more to take that number one spot.

SCHEDULING SNAFU:
There was an error with the inputting of the season schedule into the League Lineup website, and as such some game times have changed. I just spoke to Nytex about this, and they assured me that the schedule they have is 100% accurate and correct, so this is the schedule we are going by. The Keller Indians and Stingers showdown was the only game on the schedule for this week that was not affected. Due to play after the showdown is the Hurricanes vs. Bullets. They will be followed by the Gators vs. Jags, then Monkeys vs. Mid Air, with the Senators and Angels rounding out the night. Make sure everyone on your teams know this is the schedule as Nytex tells us is 100% correct.

The Hurricanes play the Bullets following the big showdown, and there is actually a lot riding on this game. If the Canes win, and the Stingers lose to the Indians, then the Canes jump up to the number two spot in the playoff seeding and the Bees fall to three. Now if the Bullets win and the Senators beat the Arc Angels, then the Bullets will force the Angels down into the play in round. Interesting, interesting, interesting.

Gators and Jags are up next. If the Gators win and the Stinger and Hurricanes lose, they leap frog to the #2 spot. If Gators win and the Hurricanes and Stingers both also win, then nothing happens. A Gator win and Canes loss would mean the Gators jump up to #3, and the Canes would fall back to 4. The Jags are stuck in the play in round. Perhaps if their roster was solid from the start of the season they wouldn’t have to play in the play in round. The Jags have been solid since getting their roster fixed, so who knows this should be a good game.

Mid Air vs. Monkeys looks to be perhaps a preview of one of the play in games. The monkeys have struggled all season offensively, and Mid Air has been inconsistent as well. Who knows how this one will end up, should be a good game no matter how you look at it.

And finally Angels vs. Senators. The Senators have been up and down this season, as have the Angels. These two teams have met twice with the Senators taking the win both times. These two squads are very evenly matched this season. Both squads will be jockeying for that #5 seed. The one thing the Sens have going for them is the fact that they have scored 18 more goals this season than the Angels. Both teams have allowed about as many goals as they have scored, so who knows what will happen.

SCHEDULING SNAFU/COMPUTER GLITCH/TROUBLES WITH LEAGUE LINEUP

Folks sorry about this one, but there seems to have been a little scheduling snafu with the computers at Nytex. The League Lineup website and Nytex computers are not in synch. I talked to Nytex just now, and they assured me that their schedule is 100% accurate and correct. So make sure everony on your team knows what time and who you are playing.

This Saturday 7-25-09
Indians v Stingers 4:15
Canes v Bullets 5:45
Gators v Jags 7:15
Monkeys v Mid Air 8:45
Senators v Arc Angels 10:15

Sorry bout the mix up, looks like someone was reading the wrong line when they entered the schedules into the League Lineup site. The above times are correct.

Sniper/Shooting Clinic at Nytex

Wednesday the 22nd of July there is going to be a Sniper's clinic at Nytex taught by CHL Sniper Jason Deitsch, Knute Anderson, and will feature special guest appearances by other Brahma members.

The clinic will run from 7:30-9:00 and the cost is only $20. To sign up contact our boy over at Nytex Chad Siewert, space is limited to 30 players. To sign up contact Chad at 817-520-3327 or via email csiewert@brahmas.com

THE PLAYOFFS ARE COMING (Fancy Logo)

We are two weeks away from the start of the Stanley Keg Playoffs. If the season ended right now it would be the airport boys from Mid Air in the #7 seed taking on #10 seed Spider Monkeys in the first play in game. Then we would have the #8 Silver Bullets taking on the #9 Jaguars in the other play in game. Up for grabs is the #7 and #8 seed in the big Stanley Keg playoff tournament.

Mid Air could climb out of the play in round, but their last two games are going to be tough with the Gators and Hurricanes. The Arc Angels are one point ahead of Mid Air, and they have the Bullets and Monkeys left on their schedule. So the Angels would have to lose both of those games, and Mid Air win one of their remaining games for Mid Air to climb out of the play in round. Of course Mid Air could win both games and the Angels only win one of their remaining games and the same result would be achieved. The Jags have the Stingers and Senators left on their schedule, but it looks like they are already locked in for the play in round. The Bullets face the Angels and Gators in their final two tests, and the Monkeys have the Canes and Angels in their final two.

At the opposite end of the spectrum the Indians are now ahead of the Stingers, so lets take a look at their final two weeks shall we.

The Indians have the Senators who took them to overtime last time they met, and then what should be the game of the year with the finale against the Stingers. The Stingers take on the Jaguars and then the above mentioned Indians. So if the Senators can pull off a win, and the Stingers get back on track against the Jags we will have a showdown for the number one spot in the final week. The Hurricanes could in theory still take the number one spot, but the following would have to happen: The Indians would have to drop both their final games, the Stinger would have to drop both or at least drop one, and the Hurricanes would have to win both games. We will know more after this weekend. Killer is betting on Indians Stingers in a showdown for the top spot.

The Gators and Senators cant do better than tie for number one if they both win out, and the Indians lose both of theirs as well as the Stingers losing and Canes losing, probably not gonna happen. Right now the Gators and Senators are lining up for the big Zack Gunter vs. Mac Donovan showdown. Zack is back on track scoring goals, and Mac has a Silver visor so well see.

Things are Getting Interesting

Things are getting interesting folks. With two weeks left in the regular season we have a change at the top of the standing. The Keller Indians have now passed the Stingers for the #1 spot thanks to the Arc Angels. The Stingers were only able to manufacture one goal to the Angels four.

The Ice Gators picked up another win over the new life Jaguars. Zack Gunter picked up a pair of goals, and seems to be over his mid season drought. The Senators got back on track this week with a decisive 7-0 win over the Spider Monkeys. This keeps the Sens tied for fourth in the league with the Gators. Senators Captain, Fred Walters had his first multiple goal game with the Sens as he lit the red lamp twice, and Senators Goalie Rush Rector picks up his 2nd shut out with the Sens, coincidentally both of which were against the Spider Monkeys.

The Silver Bullets lost 6-3 against the Hurricanes, however they picked up a win via forfeit as the Hurricanes did not have enough people off their roster to play. Also the Hurricanes used a player who played with the Texas Renegades Junior team last season. The Hurricanes have had an inconsistent roster this season. The famous Greg Perry for two pucks trade did stabilize it a bit, but the Hurricanes seem to be a team in chaos for right now. Who knows what their playoff roster will look like. One thing is for sure, they lead the league in goals for with an amazing 62. The team that has allowed the fewest goals this season is the Stingers, only letting 29 hit the back of the net.

With two weeks left teams are fighting for position, looks like the week 12 matchup of the Indians and Stingers will be a battle for the number one seed.

BRONZE LEAGUE FINAL PRACTICE TIMES

Final practice times of this season from NYTEX. Make sure your team knows.

Wednesday the 15th 6:15 Keller Indians and Mid Air Collision
7:45 Spider Monkeys and Arc Angels
9:15 Hurricanes and Jaguars

Thursday the 16th 7:30 Senators and Silver Bullets
9:00 Stingers and Ice Gators

Love this old Hockey film

If you have trouble watching the vids in these links, download Quicktime.

This one has some audio commentary, and notice there are now 2 faceoff circles in each zone, and a goal line...1947 http://www.efootage.com/play_clip.php?clip_id=70566

Mmmm..footage gets better over time 1948 http://www.efootage.com/play-stock-footage-clip/71150/sportssportgamegamescompetitioncompetecompetingcompetitor

Maurice "Rocket" Richard shown early in this clip with a pretty goal... Overtime Win for Toronto over Montreal in '51 Stanley Cup... http://www.efootage.com/play-stock-footage-clip/65005/sportssportgamegamescompetitioncompetecompetingcompetitor

Razor's Blogging Again...

Razor took some time off after the season ended by now, he's back and strong as ever.

http://blog.dallasstars.com/

It's writing like this that slays me every time.

Back in my playing days scouts used to say I reminded them of Michael Jackson and I was flattered by that, thinking they were referring to our agility, ability to perform and to entertain. Some time later, over a couple of wobbly pops, one of those scouts broke the bad news to me. He said they called me the “Michael Jackson of Goaltending” because we both seemed to have a glove on our left hand for no apparent reason.

More Old Time Hockey Film

NY Rangers vs NY Americans 1937 http://www.efootage.com/play-stock-footage-clip/59803/sportssportgamegamescompetitioncompetecompetingcompetitor

Hockey Highlight Reel 1938 http://www.efootage.com/play_clip.php?clip_id=61604

Red Wings win the Stanley Cup 1937 (notice that there are only 3 faceoff circles, and if you look close, you can see a light behind the goalie gets lit... awesome) http://www.efootage.com/play-stock-footage-clip/60225/1937371930sThirtiesdetroitredwingsnew

-DickieDunn

Last week and this week

Just three games remain in the regular season. Looks like the number one seed in the playoffs is going to go to either the Canes, Stingers, or Indians. The Indians are tied for the top spot right now with the Stingers, but the Canes are just one point back and have a relatively easy road the rest of the regular season. The Angels and Mid Air are fighting to get out of the play in round. Mid Air with 9 points, and the Angels with 8, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top with the #6 seed.

Last week we had games on Wednesday and Thursday for a change. The Wednesday night games were all very close contests. The Indians used their coach and upper level player Dan Custred to fight off the swarming Stingers 4-2. The Angels squeaked out a win vs the Gators 2-1. Speaking of the Gators, “Wha Happened?” This team started the season so strong lighting up teams for 8, 9, 10 goals, and looking like a ferocious beast that could not be stopped. Now the team seems to hardly have anyone showing up for games anymore, and is struggling to find its way. The final game of the night featured the come back kids, aka the Jaguars beating the Spider Monkeys 4-3 in a game so close it could have gone either way.

Then Thursday we had two high scoring games. The first was the Hurricanes vs the Senators. The Senators came out fired up scoring two goals in the first minute of the game. However the Hurricanes massive attack was too much to handle as they take down the Sens 9-6. 44 minutes of penalties in this game. Let me repeat myself, 44 minutes of penalties in this game. Also Hurricanes defenseman #40 showcased his awesome stick handling and skating skills en route to a five goal night. The highlight of this contest was the brawl that broke out in the stands between some fans. Not sure exactly what all happened, I just know there was lots of cursing, screaming, and then fisticuffs in the lobby of the Nytex Sports Centre. Then the Bullets and Mid Air took center stage. Another high scoring game here between these two with the Bullets coming out on top led by the hat trick that Steve McNamara threw down.

Next week’s games:

Jaguars @ Ice Gators
4:15pm

Arc Angels @ Stingers
5:45pm

Silver Bullets @ Hurricanes
7:15pm

Keller Indians @ Mid Air
8:45pm

Tomcast Senators @ Spider Monkeys



Killer’s predictions: Gators go down to the Jags 5-2, Angels lose to Stinger 4-3 in overtime, Bullets lose to the Canes 14-3, Indians top Mid Air 6-5 in overtime, and the Senators take down the Monkey 8-5.

See you folks.

Stanley Keg Playoffs and the All Star Game

The 1st ever Stanley Keg Playoffs and the All Star Game

The dates are set for the first ever Stanley Keg Playoffs. The playoffs will start Thursday July 30th with the play in round. This will feature #7 vs. #10 and #8 vs. #9. In the event two teams are tied then their head to head record will break the tie.

Then Saturday August 1st will be the quarter finals which will have games at 5:30, 7:00, 8:30, and 10:00. Then on August 8th we will have the big finale to the playoffs with semi final games at 5:30 and 7:00, an all star game at 8:30, and the battle for the Keg at 10:00.

Just a reminder that teams playing in the finals, are not allowed to send anyone to the all star game.

Speaking of the All Star Game each team is to provide 4 players that will represent that team in the all star game. Goalies will be nominated based on their goals against average. Each All Star team will have two goalies. The all star teams will be named Team FIRE with representatives from the Stingers, Hurricanes, Mid Air, Jaguars, and Spider Monkeys. The other all star team will be Team FREEZE with representatives from the Angels, Senators, Gators, Bullets, and Indians.

In the event that two teams from team FIRE or FREEZE end up playing each other in the finals, then obviously some shifting will take place to even out the all star game.

Old Time Hockey Film Clips

Video Clips of Old hockey footage circa 1930s...

1932 Stanley Cup film http://www.efootage.com/play_clip.php?clip_id=55576

1933 Rangers v Red Wings film clips http://www.efootage.com/play_clip.php?clip_id=57102

My favorite... Rangers v Canadiens 1935 http://www.efootage.com/play_clip.php?clip_id=58584

Making Ice

Pictures from that Friday night a couple months ago when we stayed up into the wee hours prepping the ice surface...link:http://tinyurl.com/lnppdj

Bronze League Blog has Worldwide Appeal

Looks like bronze league ringer talk is big in the Ohio area... Shout out to our friends in Singapore as well...

Next Session's New Hockey Skills Instructor

My mole tells me that there is going to be a new instructor for the next session of the Hockey Skills Class at Nytex starting around the third week of July. And that new Instructor is none other than current Texas Brahma forward Matt Burto. Matt played four years for the University of Massachusetts, and last season made his professional debut with the Texas Brahmas of the CHL. Matt was the hardest working Brahma out there last season often hitting the ice before anyone else as well as being the last one off in practices. Burto specialized in killing off penalties often he would clear the puck out of the Brahmas zone before it ever had a chance to make it down to the Brahmas defensemen.

Burto will take over for former Brahma Joey Bastien who has his hands full coaching the Keller HS JV Gold team as well as the Jr. Brahmas Midget Major AA squad.

For information on signing up for the class contact Jennifer Anderson at the Nytex Sports Centre 817-520-3352 or jenknute@sbcglobal.net


Burto's Stats
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=69784

Matt in Action

College Station Hockey Tournament?

See Below, contact numbers A-Plenty if you want to be a part of that tourney

DD

Hey, hey.

I just got this email from a captain going to the tournament. They are looking for a few players. I found out this is a co-ed tournament where 2 women must be on the ice at all times. This should be a fun one to play in if anyone else is interested, I would still like to go. Please pass this along to anyone interested, or possibly put it on the blog.

Thanks!

Steve Meek
Stingers #27
Cell 682-465-3857
From: Claudia Brown [mailto:cb17@earthlink.net] Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 1:07 PMTo: Steve MeekSubject: RE: 4th of July Tournament Schedule and Rules

Hi, Steve. Josh at College Station gave me your info. I'm the captain of a team going to the tournament this weekend, and I'm looking for 3-4 guys to fill in for some last minute drop-outs. If you still have people, let me know.

Thanks,
Claudia Brown
-----Original Message----- From: Josh Hand Sent: Jun 30, 2009 2:05 PM To: Claudia Brown Subject: RE: 4th of July Tournament Schedule and Rules




From: Steve Meek [mailto:smeek@indpipe.net] Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 12:11 PMTo: Josh HandSubject: tournament

Claudia, here is an email that I got from some Dallas folks, give him a call and see if he might be interested.

Josh,

Hi, I play hockey in the Dallas / Ft. worth area and heard about your tournament coming up this weekend. I realize it may be late notice, but I recently found out that the team we were getting together has now evaporated.

Do you have a spot or two for a couple of extra guys on a team somewhere? If so, I may be able to round up a few to add to a team that may be short players, if that is even allowable.

Please get back to me as soon as you can, so I can call the guys.

Thanks!

Steve Meek
Independent Pipe Products, Inc.
4949 Joseph Hardin Drive
Dallas, Tx. 75236
214-239-3884 voice
972-641-2066 fax


Thanks,
Josh Hand
Hockey Director
Arctic Wolf Ice Center
Head Coach
Brazos Valley Bucks
979-693-3900
484-269-6325
www.arcticwolfice.com
"Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking your potential.” - Liane Carlos

Brahmas question for those in the know...

Seems like the Brahmas have made tons of roster moves and signings in the month or two since the end of last season. Is this flurry of activity normal so soon after the end of the season? I've not been a CHL follower for very long so I don't really know if this it's normal or not.

DD

Entering the Final Stretch of the Regular Season

We are two thirds of the way through the season now, so lets take a look at the standings to see how things are shaping up. The Stingers are still hanging tough in the number one spot with a 7-1 record. The Indians and Hurricanes are just a few points back in second and third respectively. Then the Gators and Senators are tied up in fourth with 10 points a piece. The Senators have been on an overtime streak losing to the Indians in overtime two weeks ago, and to the Stingers in overtime this past weekend.

In sole possession of 6th place we have Mid Air with 9 points. Mid Air’s final three games will be a big test against the Indians, Gators, and Canes. Nipping at their heals are the Angels who will need to play hard in their final four if they want to get out of the play in round of the playoffs. Remember the bottom four teams will all play each other prior to the quarterfinals to determine which two will advance to the quarters and face the #1 and #2 seeds. As it stands now looks like the new life Jags, Bullets, and Monkeys are going to be in the play in round, but who will be the fourth, Mid Air or the Angels?

The Stingers have two more games against the Indians before the post season, so who knows who the number one seed will end up being. You cant count the Gators out just yet, they have proven that they can score, and their final four games are against the Bullets, Mid Air, Jags, and Monkeys.

Killer’s prediction-------Stingers fall to the #2 seed, Indians take the top spot, and the Gators come in at third. Not sure about those Canes just yet, their roster has been shaky at best.


http://www.leaguelineup.com/standings_hockey.asp?cmenuid=7&url=nytex_i_league&sid=132954738

You guys triplets or something?

JUST TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Is winning that important in this league, that some teams have to resort to "Ringers" to beat the more skilled teams in our league? Could you not try to play up with what you have? Is it fair to your regular players to lose out on playing time that they are paying for, because the "Ringers" are taking it & probably not paying for it? How much do they learn sitting on the bench watching their "Ringers" light it up? I guess that feeling of beating the top teams in the "I-League" is like winning the Stanley Cup! ...And speaking of the top teams in our league & all you whiners about us moving up to the "D- League", have any of you checked out the "D-League" either here at Nytex or in Euless? NONE of our top "I-League' teams would be able to keep up with their worst "D-League" teams. Believe me, I've watched them!
Also, speaking on behalf of our team, we DO NOT bring in any "Ringers"! When we start each session, we have a roster & stick to it, whether it be regulars or subs, they are on our roster. Now granted I have signed a couple of players over the years that I did not know, & who paid & turned out to be pretty good, even though I had not seen them practice. Most of them have moved on. I would say that we may have 1-2 players that could play in the "D-League", but that's it and they are NOT "Ringers" that were brought in. They are roster players.
One way the league can tell about non-roster players, "Ringer" players, or players that play 5 different teams, is to: (1) make sure you have same colored & numbered jerseys.(2) when you turn in your line up for each game, to the scorekeeper, the league could tell whose paid or not & who is a roster player. If they have a different colored jersey or a number that's not on their original roster, then they would have to forfeit. (only goalies are exempt from all this) I know it won't completely stop all the crap, but it's a start.
This is simple stuff, guys. Its about being a TEAM.
Reggie Dunlop
Stingers Player-Coach
Iron Man of the I-League

More League Rumblings

From my mole inside Nytex:

Several things of Bronze League interest. Big weekend in the bronze league, the Hurricanes shut out the Ice Gators. Which brings up an interesting comment made by Hurricanes Coordinator Scott ODonnell, "The Hurricanes are moving up to the D league next season." So say what you want about the Canes, at least they know they should and will move up.

The Senators and Indians finished a heated game knotted at 6 a piece. The game did have several moments of contriversy as Kyle Kelly scored four goals and single handedly brought the Indians back from what looked like a sure fire loss. Overtime was short as the first shot beat Senators Goalie Rush "Mexico" Rector.

The Silver Bullets and Hurricanes just finalized a trade (reports Bullets #156): Forward Greg Perry was sent to the Hurricanes for two hockey pucks. Kind of a lop sided trade, but the Bullets think that the pucks will fit in well.

Senators executed a coaching move as Steve Hall has stepped down as head coach, and Julian Waters will now be filling in his role behind the bench. Hall is the all time winningest coach for the Senators with a record of 9-8-1.

The Jaguars beat Mid Air Collission which now gives the new life Jags two wins on the season, and pulls them officially out of the cellar. Good work Jags. Your the comeback story of the year.

Also a sad bit of news as Gator #156 has aids.

League News

I am going to cut and paste from an email sent from Chad over with the Brahmas:

Killer-
throw it out on the blog that the Jaguars are no longer subject to forfiitting every game they play. Ivana just emailed me, and she has 10 full time players with a goalie who have all paid up legaue fees, and are ready to rock. So the Jags are back, in fact last week their games started counting.

Also let everyone know about the playoff format. Every team will make the playoffs, and will be seeded 1-10 based on how they finish the regular season. The 7-10 seeds will have a mini play in round with the 7 seed playing 10 and 8 playing 9. Once those winners are determined then it will be 8 teams remaining playing single elimination. We will have quarters one week, and then the next week will feature the two semi final games followed by an all star game, and then at 10 the championship match. Teams playing in the championship are not going to be allowed to send anyone to the all star game (unless something happens and players are needed). Then by 11:15 a new team will be skating the keg.


Killer's initial thoughts are that this is a good thing for the league. We have half a season left, and the playoff format is unveiled. I am sure some folks will offer resistance to this format, but it beats the shit out of the old format of playing one meaningless game and calling it the playoffs. These final 6 games will be interesting to see who ends up the number one seed.

State Wide I-League Tournament

There is a statewide I-League tournament going on this July 4th Weekend in College Station. There will be a team from Big D, Houston, Austin, College Station, San Antonio, and hopefully.......Tarrant County (hence the post).

The Arctic Wolf Ice Center is hosting a three day tournament July 3, 4, & 5. Cost to enter is $900 for a team, and you will be gauranteed 4 games. So if your team, or a couple teams want to band together contact this guy Hockey Director Josh Hand at jlhand@arcticwolfice.com or call him at 979-693-3900 x 110

www.arcticwolfice.com

From the looks of the blog traffic should we expect the Gators to play coached by Steve Hall?

Standings - Spring Week 6

Analysis will follow when I get a chance. Things are looking interesting.

I want to apologize to all the good strong blog readers for not being johnny-on-the-spot lately, my day job has required all my attention. Remember to thank the salespeople that work at your company, because during this economic situation, it's the salespeople working their asses off bringing in whatever business they can, that helps keeps the company you work for in business!

I also want to thank Killer and Fred and Beastie and everyone else who contributes in my absences.

Love,
Dickie

A Weekend of Big Upsets

Week 6 proved to be a week of upsets as the Bronze League closed out the first half of the season. Three of the top four teams in the league went down including the undefeated Stingers.

The Stingers went down 5-3 against the Hurricanes in what was probably the best game of the night. Stingers goalie Dana Fenelli had a broken skate issue, and Ice Gators Netminder Bruno was called in to take over. Bruno did a good job of stopping 22 or the 26 shots the high powered Hurricanes blew on the Stingers, but ultimately it was not enough. The Stingers offense could not keep pace, and the undefeated three time champs went down.

The upset of the night might have been the Keller Indians who fell to the Spider Monkeys 6-3. The Indians offense was stumped by Spider Monkey’s star goalie, Mike Best who stopped 28 of 31 shots.

The next big upset of the night actually came Sunday morning as the Tomcast Senators beat the Ice Gators 8-4. Senators goaltender Rush “Mexico” Rector was solid stopping 39 of 43 shots from the high powered Gators offense. Gators sniper Zach Gunter had several one on one breakaways, but could only get past Mexico one time. Senators offense was led by Mac Donovan who notched a hat trick, and Matt Davis who had a four point night.

Dickie will post the full standings later. The best record still belongs to the Stingers who sit at 5- 1, but there is now a big group of teams one game back chasing in the quest for Lord Stanley’s Keg. The Indians, Sens, Canes, and Gators are all sitting on 4-2 and Mid Aid is just two back at 3-3. Mid Air did pitch a shut out against the bullets this week BTW.

Also it looks like the Jaguars have almost weathered a terrible storm as their roster is just one or two shy of being ready to stop forfeiting every game. They need a goalie, and word on the street is one is coming soon.

Tippet's Demise

Open thread to comment about the head coaching change. Discuss.

Personally I think all the flash floods yesterday were caused by God crying at the Stars' missed opportunity to bring Guy Carbonneau to the helm. :(

DickieDunn Does Albany

Sorry for not posting any recaps or previews this week.
As soon as hockey was over with Saturday night, I was on board a plane to Albany, NY for a scouting trip to find some nationally ranked i-league ringers to stack the Stingers with.
Actually, I just had to go there for work. But I did take 5 minutes to tour a hockey facility I passed on the way back to the airport.
Enjoy the pictures!

This is not where the AHL's River Rats play, but it is the home rink for the Junior Rats.

The Split League Idea

After mulling the many comments on this board the Killer has determined that A) the Bronze league is reading. B) There is a need to revamp. C) the draft idea is riddled with problems, and met with massive ammounts of resistance.

So looks like the A/B Division thing is as good as done. It will be for the good of the league. Now the only problem this league has is the whole sub issue. We have too many folks playing multiple games with multiple teams. It wouldnt be a big deal if those folks were paying a sub fee of say $15 or $20 a game. But that is for another day. For now lets see what an A and B division might look like:

Bronze League
A Division
1-Stingers
2-Ice Gators
3-Keller Indians
4-Hurricanes*^
5-Senators

B Division
1-Mid Air
2-Arc Angels
3-Silver Bullets
4-Spider Monkeys
5-Jaguars*^

* providing these two teams can get enough paid people on their roster prior to seasons start to actually form a team.
^In the event that these two teams cant get enough players to form a squad, their rosters would have to be swallowed up by the other teams in the league to help make the league stronger. This would eliminate some of the roster chaos that plagues this great league.

There would be 12 games in the regular season, you would play each team in your division two or three times depending on how many teams in your division there are. If there are four teams in both divisions you would play each other three times, and then each team in the other division once.

This is just an initial assessment, but looks like the Bronze League has spoken and ch ch ch changes are on the way.

Ideas for Next Season...

Fellow Hockey lovers...

I would like to collect ideas for next season in the Bronze League.

We already have the A/B divisions in the hopper to bring up with Knute, but I wanted to gather ideas from all of you to discuss to make our league and rink a better place to play and have fun.

Please post your thoughts so the coordinators can get them on the list for discussion.

I can't say they will all be adopted, but at least they will be discussed.

Thanks,

Beastie, Monkeys #33

Defining Qualities

Qualities that players can only possess by making up their mind that it's important to them:

Interest in learning the game

Desire to improve

Desire to win

Qualities that players can gain through playing in drop-ins and game situations: 

experience

situational awareness

confidence

Qualities that players can gain through attending clinics and formal practices:

skills

techniques

understanding

Qualities that players can develop if they work hard:

speed

strength

agility

deeper understanding of the game

Qualities that players are born with:

size

innate talent

Make sure that you're not confusing experience with talent or skills.

The teams that win in this league have situational awareness, confidence, and experience.  Not size or talent.

So the question is, grasshoppa, which of these qualities do you feel you can possess yourself?  If you're frustrated with being a "Hockey Have-Not" and resent the "Hockey Haves", maybe you should ask yourself if you're doing everything you can do to improve, both as an individual and AS A TEAM?  

If the answer is no, then put a cork in it, or quietly live with that choice.  If the answer is yes, then you probably aren't voicing frustration, you're sitting quitely and taking note of how winning teams handle themselves.  You don't have to agree with the way particular individuals behave during games.  Just pay attention and know that if you want to, you can be in their skates someday, and know that you will handle yourself appropriately.

Dickie.

A Request for Transparency

We have a lot of discussion lately about competition in our league. Good. All opinions and comments are welcome, if they are reasoned and well thought out.

If you want your opinion to carry more weight in the discussion, please include your name, or your team name and jersey number at the end, or some unique nickname.

It's hard to respond and openly converse with someone who posts an opinion, but doesn't use any sort of unique moniker.


Dickie Dunn

Killer's Idea for a Solution to the Bronze League Problems

Based on all the comments on the Stingers Back Story Post, The Killer has a few ideas on how to "fix" the i-league.

First of all we have a third party come out and watch every single game two weeks straight. This party would be a hockey coach who has no vested intrest in Nytex, the Brahmas, or our league. He/she would have a roster from each team, and make notes on each player. Things like, how well does he/she move on their feet, stick handle, shoot, pass, hockey knowledge, etc. Then that party would label players either A, B, or C. A meaning solid, ready for the move up to the D League, B meaning a player still learning, and C would mean someone that needs help, and lots of it.

Now at the end of the season each coordinator would get the results of the above mentioned experiment. Coordinators would be allowed to keep 8 players on their roster, two A's, two B's, and two C's. Everyone else would be placed into a pool of players that all the teams would draft from.

Then we would have the draft, team starting with who had the worst record would pick from the pool of avaiable free agents until the free agents are all gone. After that you could trade players if you like, but the idea would be that the teams all get an even number of people, and all have an even ammount of good players, bad players, and in between players.

Now there are people who will object to this like the Stingers who have been playing together for a long time, and are a very tight knit group. I know lots of guys on the Senators all work retail, and as such have to play in the late games on Saturday.

But I think if we did this, it would solve lots of issues. Then from a league standpoint you charge slightly more but offer a jersey with each paid player. This way, we eliminate teams with five or six different jerseys on the bench.

Also a rule of the new league would be players can ONLY play for one team. This would eliminate guys playing for two, three, or even four teams in one night/season.

This is all off the top of the Killers head, so feel free to trash this idea, add your thoughts, or whatever. Its good to air out your opinions so that Nytex can hear all this, and take steps towards making everyone happy. The Bronze league this year is great, the fact that there is a playoff format in place, and more teams are getting uniforms (Stingers, Senators, Bullets, Hurricanes, Gators, Monkeys) is a step in the right direction.

Bronze League Back Stories Volume One...The Stingers

Killer here, I had the opportunity to sit down with the coordinator for the three time champion Stingers this week, and find out the back story on the team. Hopefully between Dickie and I we will get the back stories on all the 10 Bronze League Teams:

Killer: How did you come to name your team the Stingers?

Dan: When we started the Stingers at Euless, 4 years ago, I was also coaching my grandsons squirt house team at Euless. At that time, we could choose any team name that we wanted. We looked at a bunch of different hockey leagues logos. So we chose the “Sting” after the Sarnia Sting of the OHL. Everyone loved the “bee” logo. We even had hats & tee-shirts made. So when we scrounged up a men’s I-League team & were trying to come up with a name, the guys liked my “Sting” logo on my hat & said “hey lets call ourselves the “Sting” like your grandsons team. I said fine, but to avoid any type of confusion between the 2 teams (especially for me), how about we modify it & call ourselves the “Stingers”. Everyone agreed and that’s how its been. Today, about 85% of our team that started with us back then, is still with us.

Killer: How did you guys settle on the Dallas Stars syle jerseys?

Dan: When we started, we went about a year without any style jersey. We then decided to get something & went with a black Pittsburgh Penguin style jersey with the “Sting” logo. It looked great, but was a little expensive. After a few personnel changes & a desire to go with something new, we ordered new (black) jerseys last summer & the white ones this past spring. We wanted to keep it simple & liked the way the Dallas Stars did their new ones. So we adopted their style with “Stingers” instead of “Dallas” on it. We got a hell of a deal on them as well. Lots of credit goes to David Mulvey for that!

There you have it folks, now you know a little more on the Stingers. Thanks to Dan Fenili for giving the Killer the full story.

Preview: Tomcast Senators vs Silver Bullets 5/30/09

In the closest matchup all weekend, the Senators and Silver Bullets will try to claw and scrape to avoid dropping into the basement of the league. Both teams are 1-2, and both teams this season have given up about twice as many as they have scored.

This all boils down to who wants it more. Senators seem to have a slightly more stable roster but the Silver Bullets always show up ready to play and ready to scrap.

My brain tells me Senators but my gut (which is bigger) tells me that the Silver Bullets are highly motivated and will assasinate the Senators with an overtime game winner. Killer disagrees with extreme prejudice.

Dickie Dunn's Pick: Silver Bullets 3, Tomcast Senators 2
Killer Carlson's Pick: Tomcast Senators 8, Silver Bullets 0
Uniform Czar's Pick: Coin-Toss came up Silver Bullets

Preview: Spider Monkeys vs Ice Gators 5/30/09

Sorry for this short preview but it's already Friday!

It's a matchup of the two most awesome goalie masks in all of Bronze League Hockey. At least these two teams have consistent goalies (by that I mean they seem to have started the same goalie for most of their games).

Ice Gators (2-1) have the offensive numbers and the Spider Monkeys (1-2) defense has been letting alot get through. High scoring day for the Ice Gators unless the Spider Monkeys figure our how to keep the shots out of Mike Best's imaginary hair.

Dickie Dunn's Pick: Ice Gators 7, Spider Monkeys 3
Killer Carlson's Pick: Ice Gators 11, Spider Monkeys 0
Uniform Czar's Pick: Ice Gators

Spotlight on 1310 The Ticket Part Four.......The Hardline

The final ticket spotlight falls on the Killer’s favorite show, the Hardline. The Hardline airs from 3-7 Monday through Friday afternoons. This show is anchored by one of the founders of the ticket, Mike Rheiner, and Corby “Snake” Davidson. The show is produced by Danny Balis, and Michael Gruber aka Grubes turns the knobs. This show is perhaps the most wheels off show on the radio in DFW. The Hardline use to feature Gregg Williams as Rheiner’s co-host, however not to long ago the two separated thanks to Williams irresponsible actions. You can read all about it here: http://www.dallasobserver.com/2007-11-22/news/hammered

The Hardline has been around since day one of the ticket back in 1994. Although the time slot has changed, one thing has remained the same, this is the most popular sports radio show in DFW history. Of all the shows on the ticket, the Hardline is probably the most multi talented. Every single person in the cast is also a musician, and Davidson has a bit part in a recent movie filmed in Dallas. Rheiner plays in the popular Tom Petty cover band called, Petty Theft. He plays the roll of Tom Petty in the band handling lead vocals and rhythm guitar. Mike has been involved in bands since he was a kid growing up in Oak Cliff. In fact, true story, Rheiner was in a band in Oak Cliff back in the I think early 80’s maybe late late 70’s. Anyway, his band was auditioning lead guitar players, and none other than Stevie Ray Vaughn came and auditioned for Mike’s band. Mike passed on him saying the kid had a bag of nothing. And of course Stevie went on to become rich and famous until his early death. Random sidenote, Stevie Ray Vaughn played with David Bowie (google stevie ray Vaughn david bowie dallas). Hardline producer Danny Balis has been playing in bands in the DFW area for a very long time as well. He played with the killers old pal Carter Albrecht (RIP) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_Albrecht in popular Dallas acts such as the Sparrows and Sorta. Quick Bronze League Tie in here, Senators Owner Tom from Tomcast studios played drums in Sorta during their final two years, and Sortas last two records were recorded at Tomcast Studios. Balis also plays in a very popular country band called, the King Bucks. Grubes plays lead guitar in Pepper Theft, a local Red Hot Chili Pepper Tribute act. Together the four often take the stage as the hardline band with Rheiner on drums, Balis on Bass, Grubes on Guitar, Snake on Guitar and lead vocals. They will do Neil Young Covers, and just about anything else if you get them drunk enough.

One of the staples of the Hardline is their musical intros to segments and bits. Balis is usually the mastermind behind these bits of audio gold. On any given day you are likely to hear at least one crazy musical intro. The Hardline does have a deep roster of quality segments like Entertainment News For You, Community Quick Hits, What’s on Mike’s Mind, The Snakepit, Nude Music Tuesday, Fun with Audio, and The Concert Calendar.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAVvWmgFCyw
Keep on Rocking with the Hardline

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjtYvc5js0o
Basketball Practice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5gTZjuo0rc
Corby and Shaq

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SD6Fz7WGBM
Classic Mike

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgdNZvID12w
More Classic Mike

Preview: Mid-Air vs Indians 5/30/09

Two strong teams with strong personalities meet up. I've never seen these two teams head-to-head myself.

Indians Zone: pretty even matchup
Indians have allowed about 2.33 goals per game.
MidAir have scored 3 goals per.

MidAir Zone:
MidAir: The fly-boys have taken it in the shorts so far, allowing 6 on average.
Indians historically score plenty, but are only averaging 1.33 per game.

This might be mostly a neutral zone party with a low shot total. This could be our first overtime game of the season.

Dickie Dunn's Pick: Indians 3 Midair 2
Killer Carlson's Pick: Indians 2 Mid Air 1
Uniform Czar's Pick: Toss up. Leaning toward MidAir.

Preview: Jaguars vs Stingers 5/30/09

Dickie Dunn recuses himself from most meaningful discussion of the Stingers, so I'll let Killer sum it up:

Jaguars Stingers game is irrelevant due to the lack of roster for the jags (I think they have like 6 full time now). Jags will look to recruit the help of the hurricanes and arc angels but still cant beat the Stinger attack.

Dickie Dunn's Pick: Stingers 9, Jaguars 6
Killer Carlson's Pick: Stingers 7 Jaguars 5
Uniform Czar's Pick: Stingers

Preview: Hurricanes vs. Arc Angels 5/30/09

Arc Angels vs the Hurricanes - The veteran Arc Angels appear to have instability in goal. Bruno and Coach Ivey have appeared in net for the Double-A's. Neither of them is a full time goalie for the AAs. AAs' GAA = 3.33, which isn't bad considering that they have played some formidable opponents in the Senators, Indians, and Spider Monkeys. The Hurricanes are tied for first place in the league, despite this being their first season. One win vs the Jaguars is a gimmee, but the Silver Bullets and Mid-Air were no walks in the park. Goalie Instability also plagues the Canes, however they have had some experienced journeyman netminders play for them in Best and R.Kelley.

Dickie Dunn's Pick: Depends on goalies. I predict Arc Angels by 1 goal, 5-4
Killer Carlson's Pick: AA’s vs Canes the Killer says Canes 10 Angels 2
Beastie's Pick:
Uniform Czar's Pick: 'Canes

Bronze League Situational Awareness

Let's get our heads right with puck.

Week 4 is nearly upon us, this is the first week that it seems like it makes sense to do a detailed analysis of the teams in the league and this week's matchups.

A few thoughts as we look at the standings to date:

• The top of the standings look as we might have expected had we thought about it at the beginning of the season, with one glaring exception. Who are the Hurricanes and what do they think they're doing in first place? No seriously, can someone post in the comments and let us know a little bit about these guys?
• There have been ZERO overtime games so far this season. It's early in the season, but so far the winning teams have won by an average of over 2 goals per game.
• Jaguars can use a little help, it looks like, since they have forfeited every game so far this season. Does anyone know if they have enough players to field a team yet? (Something tells me there will be plenty of mercenaries looking to help them out vs the Stingers, even if the game doesn't turn out to technically count.)
• Despite the tumultuous manner in which we crammed in the first three games, I am really looking forward to getting back in the hockey rhythm. We shouldn't have any schedule interruptions until the 4th of July.

Throughout the week, we will be previewing each of the 5 games coming up this weekend.

Yesterday's Memorial Day Happenings at Nytex

Kuddos go out to Les Kelly of the Keller Indians, and Joanne Stanton of the Silver Bullets for organizing and running the first annual Armed Forces Classic at the Nytex Sports Centre. They worked very hard on this project, and as a result of their labor they helped raise over two thousand dollars to help out a young man from Saginaw who was injured while serving our country over in Iraq. So make sure and tell Les and Joanne good job next time you see them. The uniform Czar was also pleased as the two armed forces team looked fantastic in their red and blue jerseys. A crowd of 538 people cheered on our men and women of the armed forces who played in this great game.

Then the Bronze league took center stage:

The NHL has the winter classic, and now the Nytex Sports Centre has the Memorial Day Classic. The lone Bronze league game to take place over the weekend at Nytex was on Memorial Day between Mid Air Collision and the Senators. This was a make up game from last week when the rink was undergoing some ice maintenance issues. The only thing this game made was for an instant classic though.

Mid Air Collision who had pleased the uniform czar last season with their Philly Flier uniforms has now decided to roll with more of a multi uniform look. There were a couple uniforms out there with black and white stripes like an old timey jail would give prisoners, a jaguars yellow jersey was out there, a blue jersey, a couple random white jerseys, and only a few of the classic Mid Air Collision uniforms. Uniforms or not the MAC crew jumped out to the early lead in the first period (sorry Killer didn’t see who scored for MAC) beating Senator goalie Rush Rector breaking the scoreless tie.

The game turned out to be a goalie battle as Rector squared off against Garrod Tyler. Tyler was called down to the Bronze League despite being the leading netminder in the Silver League with 21 wins and 6 losses this season so far for the Ice Cracks.

The Senators knotted the contest back up at one when center Matt Davis took a feed from Mac Donovan in the second frame. The contest stayed tied at one until a well placed shot (Again Killer didn’t see who fired the shot) sailed right over Rectors shoulder and into the back of the net.

The Senators kept pushing, but ultimately could not break the wall in front of MAC’s net. A poorly timed unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Senators defenseman Chad Siewert all but ruined the Sens comeback chances leaving the Sens short handed for the duration of the game.

Tyler wins the Goalie Battle by stopping 27 of 28 shots. Rector was solid stopping 19 of 21 from MAC.

Box Score can be found here:
http://www.leaguelineup.com/gamesum_hockey.asp?url=nytex_i_league&sid=483939131&GameID=7801406

Spotlight on 1310 the Ticket Part Three.......Norm Hitzges

Today's Ticket spotlight shines on Norm Hitzges the only solo host of a ticket show. His show runs from 10-noon weekdays. Norm is the crusty old veteran of the ticket staff. He has been in sports media for ages. When the Killer was a kid he use to watch Norm doing the color commentary on Texas Ranger games on HSE (Home Sports Entertainment). Norm is a certified Radio Hall of Famer who brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and most importantly credibility to the ticket's borderline wheels off lineup.

Norm's only on air voice besides himself is that of his producer. Every now and then Norm will get the Board Op to chyme in, but for the most part it is all Norm and his producer. Norm recently got a new producer as his longtime buddy and producer Friedo was promoted to assistant program director. Norm's new producer is the guy who served up Barry Bonds his 756th home run, Mike Bascek (<- Mispelled so sue me). Norm is the only guy on the ticket who keeps it all sports all the time. Norm is a an old school pioneer of the craft who is an expert oddsmaker, better, picker or whate have you. His specialty is horse racing. You can often find Norm out at Lone Star Park conducting intro to horse racing classes, and betting on the ponies.

Norm is the only guy on the ticket who doesnt rely on bits. He has a popular segment called picks of the poll where he goes over his horse picks, football picks, basketball picks, etc. Perhaps Norms best segment is one that he does only once a year, and that is the Normathon. This is where Norm goes on the air at 6 in the morning, and stays on the air all day and night until midnight to raise money for the Austin Street Homeless Shelter. He rolls out big big big name guests for this event. Guests include Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, Mark Cuban, Tom Hicks, Devid Feherty, Pat Summerall, Jerry Jones, Tony Romo, Mike Modano, Brett Hull, Mike Doocy, and all the other big Dallas names.

Norm's website
http://www.normsclubhouse.com/

Norm's latest book
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Greatest-Team-Ever/Norm-Hitzges/e/9781401603403

Classic Ticket Audio of Norm and Greggo Arguing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPFy07g96WM

Classic Norm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxwYhscQE5I

Norm monkey (funny)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPK9UwnoekU

Norm singing at Ticketstock with Gordon Keith. Also a Bronze League tie in here as the owner of Tomcast (the Tomcast Senators) is playing the drums on this song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUpWCC5_zy0

Spring '09 Week 3 Standings

That's a little easier to read, huh boys and girls?

Of note:
-Hurricanes are the New Kids on the Block: nice debut!
-All 3 of the Jags losses are forfeits.

Adversity, Triumph

Where we've been:

Let's recap the ultimate sacrifices we have all made For Our Beloved Sparta!

Week 1: Scheduling changes and delays in the start of the season because the Brahmas take priority over the Bronze League Show.
Week 2: Fog due to Dehumidifier breakage.
Week 3: Chiller Pipe breaks and No Ice means No Games.
Week 4 (technically still week 3): Long week of ice preparation and players pitching in late nights to get the ice prepared, capped off with in last minutes Saturday scheduling changes, drama, and still one game to be played.

Not to mention that the Jaguars have forfeited every game so far because their roster is lacking.

Where we Are:



There is one game yet to be played between the Tomcast Senators and the Mid Air Collision, but other than that, the standings above are where we are at for the moment.

Where we Are Going:

We can all relax for the Memorial Day weekend, and pick up where we left off on Saturday, May 30th.

Be sure to attend the 1st Annual Memorial Day Armed Forces Game at NYTEX! Details are listed over on the left at the top of the page.

-Dickie Dunn

Spotlight on 1310 The Ticket Part Two......Dunham and Miller

The spotlight is 1310 the ticket now shifts over to that Dunham and Miller morning show which airs weekday mornings from 5:30 to 10. The show is comprised of hosts George Dunham and Craig Miller along with sidekick/yuck monkey Gordon Keith.

The two hosts are long time friends who went to school together at UNT in Denton. These two hosts have been together since the Ticket first hit the airwaves back in 1994. Also since 1994 Dunham has been the voice of the Mean Green football program at UNT. Dunham is also the voice of the Dallas Cowboys. If you go to a Cowboys home game you will hear George Dunham’s voice over the PA. George is a family man and avid golfer. Craig Miller is a fitness enthusiast and avid cycler. Their sidekick Gordon Keith has his own television show on WFAA. Actually the Killer is not sure if it is still on the Air, but he did have at least 100 episodes of his 30 minute Gordon Keith Show. The format for the show was like any garden variety talk show, Gordon at a desk, usually a couple bits, a celebrity guest, and sometimes a band. Gordon was a sidekick on the very failed Mark Cuban show at one point in time as well.

Dunham and Miller just like every other show on the ticket has a stable of bits that they roll out from time to time. The most common bit they do is “fake” celebrity voices. The most popular fake celebrities they interview fromtime to time are fake Jerry Jones, fake Tiger Woods, fake Michelle Wie, and fake Tom Hicks. Most days the 8:40 segment is dedicated to some of these fake celebrities. During Cowboys season you can expect to hear some hilarious fake bits between fake Jerry and fake Wade Phillips. Another popular segment the Musers (nickname for the morning show) do is Muse in the News and Gordos Corner. These bits air daily at 7:15 and 9:15 respectivley. These two segments give Gordon a chance to take center stage and discuss wheels off news stories or current events.

The Annual Dunham and Miller Open is one of the best events the Ticket takes part in. The Killer has participated before, and knows first hand that it’s a good times. Nothing screams golf like taking whiskey shots at 7 in the morning with hooters or twin peaks girls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csE7siRybd0

Fake Jerry Jones
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Wui9eRj6F8

Baby New Year from the Gordon Keith Show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LepSEwxAp04

Craig Miller Classic E-Brake
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9pv90FMwi8

Spotlight on 1310 AM.......B.A.D. Radio

One of the things that Killer loves is some sports radio, 1310 the Ticket more specifically. The ticket has been around since 1994, and is the premier sports radio station in DFW if not the whole entire southwest. The Ticket is one of those things that you either love or hate. Killer chooses to love the Ticket. In fact Killer loves the ticket so much that I plan on doing a four part series highlighting each of the four flagship shows of the ticket.

Today were gonna hit up B.A.D. Radio which airs weekdays from 12-3. The reason we go here first is that these boys are the stick and puck guys. The ones who give the most attention to the sport we all love, ice hockey. B.A.D. is short for Bob and Dan who are the hosts of the show along with sidekick Donovan, producer Tom "flakeboy" Gribble, and board operator Grubes.

Bob Sturm is originally from Wisconsin and Dan McDowell grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Donovan Lewis is from the big D as is Grubes who is from the same neighborhood that GW now calls home, Preston Hollow. In fact Grubes dad sold his house to Dirk Nowitski. Flakeboy is from somewhere I dont know (hows that for reporting, kiss my ass).

B.A.D. radio usually has a segment once a week during the hockey season with a marquee player from the Stars such as Brenden Morrow or Steve Ott. Sturm grew up playing hockey, and still competes in an area D League. Like everything on the ticket bits are a common feature of this show. One popular segment is "Gay or not gay," where the hosts read letters from fans where the fan poses the question at the end, "is this gay or not gay." Then the hosts toss it around and determine whether it is gay or not gay. Another popular bit is "what's on my Tivo," where the guys talk about the television shows that they are currently into like Lost, The Shield, and The Wire. During hockey season Bob will do a segment every now and then called the "Five Minute Major." This is where he devotes five minutes to the sport of hockey, mainly the NHL and Stars. The final segment of the show runs from 2:45 until sometimes as late as 3:15, the segment is called "Why today doesnt suck." It is a crossover segment with the hosts of the Hardline, the show that runs during afternoon drive 3-7. This segment is an absolute free for all where any topic is fair game from talking about people with AIDS to great hair metal bands of the 80's. The segment is wrapped up by talking about people with birthdays on this day and people that died on this day in history.

Speaking of the bits I have some clips here from some of the most popular bits from BAD RADIO.

First we have the Charity Challenge on Ice. This is something the station use to do where the station is split into two teams, and they play a charity ice hockey game. This well done video gives you all the details of this classic bit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mud08Vowm2s

Speaking of the Charity Challenge, check out Bob Sturm aka the Sturmenator throwing down some punches on former afternoon drive board op, Expo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wECqml7ZOQ0

Here is Dan who decided to do an interview with Michael Irvin shirtless, and Irvin joined in the fun. Which one do you think played in the NFL?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkVOByCONJg

Finally a very underrated bit which is the Reporters in Knight costumes going into the Nashville Predators locker room after getting demolished by the stars.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_ZM9-U5wdc

Allen CHL Expansion team names Coach

The Allen Americans have names a head coach, and he has ties to the Brahmas history.

A very reliable source, who was a member of Dwight Mullins' host family back when he was playing for the Fire, said that he ran into Dwight at a couple of the Brahmas finals games. Scouting out the boys in Purple, no doubt.

(Allen, Texas) - The Allen Americans, the newest Central Hockey League (CHL) franchise, announced today the staff that will guide the team's on-ice efforts during their inaugural 2009-10 season. American's President Steve Duchesne made the announcement.

The staff will be comprised of Dwight Mullins as the team's head coach and general manager and Bill McDonald as the team's assistant head coach and director of hockey operation.

"We are excited to have two quality individuals directing our hockey operations," said Americans President Steve Duchesne. "Dwight brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to coaching our hockey club, and Bill compliments that with his experience and winning ways. Both have had tremendous success together in the past and we feel confident in the direction they will lead the Allen Americans."

Mullins is well known in the Dallas/Fort Worth area formerly playing in the CHL with the Fort Worth Fire (1994-97) captaining them to a CHL Championship (1997). He began his coaching career in the 1998-99 season as the assistant coach for the Fort Worth Brahmas in their inaugural campaign (helped lead the Brahmas to the Western Professional Hockey League finals). Most recently, Mullins coached the North American Hockey League's Texas Tornados to their ninth consecutive playoff appearance.

The Calgary, Alberta native's relationship with the Dallas Stars (NHL) was instrumental in the American's previous announcement that positions the team as the primary 'AA' affiliate of the Stars. Mullins was selected by the Stars as the 90th overall selection in the 1985 NHL Draft. He has also been a guest coach with the Dallas Stars Summer Draft/Rookie Development Camp for the past 6 years.

He currently resides in Lantana, Texas with his wife Christy and daughter Macy.

McDonald brings more than 19 years professional experience to the staff serving in various areas including coaching, management and as a player. His 15 year coaching career, the Thunder Bay, Ontario native has led his clubs to six final's appearances winning four championships. His 626 career games coached (second) in the CHL and 319 career wins (fourth) rank him among the league's all-time leaders. Winning championships in three different leagues, McDonald was the head coach of the 1997 CHL Champion Fort Worth Fire that Mullins served as the captain. McDonald was also the head coach of the inaugural season of the Brahmas, the same team that Mullins served as the assistant coach.

The Americans begin play this fall calling the brand-new Allen Event Center home. More team announcements are scheduled for this week. For more information, contact the Americans at (972) 912-1000 or visit the team's website at www.allenamericans.com.

-Dickie

Another Texas Team Contending for a Cup

It seems that three and a half hours down the road the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League are in the conference finals. Last night they beat the Milwaukee Admirals in game 7 of the conference semi finals 5-2. Next up for the Aeros comes the mighty Manitoba Moose from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

We have a couple local ties to the Aeros as Brahmas MVP Jason Deitsch spent the bulk of the fall of this past season in an Aeros uniform. Deitsch had 4 goals and 11 assists in around 30 games with the Aeros before coming back to the Brahmas and leading the team to a CHL Presidents Cup. Deitsch spent last summer playing in the Euless Star Center A League.

Also Brahmas equipment Manager Phil Shipp use to work as the assistant equipment manager with the Aeros. It would be amazing if the Aeros could bring the Calder Cup to Texas. Then two of the big four professional hockey trophies would be in the lone star state (Big Four Pro Leagues are, NHL, AHL, ECHL, and CHL).

Western Conference Finals (best-of-7)
Manitoba Moose vs. Houston Aeros
Game 1 – Fri., May 15 – Houston at Manitoba, 8:30
Game 2 – Sat., May 16 – Houston at Manitoba, 8:30
Game 3 – Mon., May 18 – Manitoba at Houston, 8:05
Game 4 – Wed., May 20 – Manitoba at Houston, 8:05*
Game 5 – Fri., May 22 – Manitoba at Houston, 8:35*
Game 6 – Mon., May 25 – Houston at Manitoba, 8:30*
Game 7 – Wed., May 27 – Houston at Manitoba, 8:30*

Scheduling Update

Ice is starting to be put in at NYTEX on the Brahmas rink today, with a temporary system. Right now the word is that we will play this Saturday.

Bronze league schedule has been pushed back exactly one week, so whatever your game time was supposed to be last week, will be the game this week.

More updates as they arrive.

When Hockey Players Go Bad.......Ice Rage

Every now and then a hockey player goes mad, or mental as the English say. Every now and then tempers flare, and things get ugly. Unfortunatly sometimes the fan gets involved. The following video clips are perfect examples of something I like to call, Ice Rage.

Our first example of Ice Rage is a classic one. Here we see the Boston Bruins vs. the crowd. The entire crowd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8K7roZu3WU

Next we have Mr. Tie Domi engaged in a level 9 case of Ice Rage against a Flyers fan. Domi always one wheel almost off, and would fight just about anything with a heartbeat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QECEsZVrbMA

This is a classic tale of team Ice Rage. Lithuania vs. Serbia, not sure what is happening here exept the guys in blue and red look real pissed, and are trying to attack the first three rows of the crowd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHcD1f-3FOM

Here we have my old pals the Hanson brothers starting a brawl with the crowd at a Cheifs game. Good one here, even if its not really real, eh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xjYUWBlxVc

Here the Bruins are at it again. This time the fight spills under the bleachers. They must put rage in the water up in Beantown, cause these boys are always tons ticked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNXYkSGF3uw

Back to Tie Domi for the next one. This time he squares off against Bobby Probert. Probert and Domi were the two heavyweights of their day for sure. After they fight all hell breaks lose. Ice Rage at its finest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8aBz_l3d5U

Here we have a classic AHL brawl. Watch the goalie dive on the pile towards the end of the clip. Pure Awesometownness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT72A5QFhLY

To wrap things up a couple closer to home. Here we have a fight from the Brahmas tryouts at the Nytex Sports Centre. This one was prior to the start of the 07-08 season. These two guys wantedto make sure that coach got a good look at all their skills including fighting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdeSEYUm1sA

And finally I have evidence that Ice Rage hits even the yute of today. This footage was taken from the west rink at Nytex, and involves the Jr. Brahmas going Ape S at the end of a game. I do believe that there is hope for the next generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV2XA9O7klo

Top Brahma Fights of the 2008-2009 Season

10. Justin Kinnunen vs. Kenny Bernard April 18th, 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7EkfUUXElo

Kinnunen was the Brahmas lone All Star this season. His one fight all season came in game 5 of the Southern Conference Finals. Bernard tried to check Brahmas goal tender Brett Jaeger, and Kinnunen did his job as a good D-Man, by laying down the law.

9. Neil Clark vs. Greg McConnell October 17, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hak4Dcns8E8

This was the first game of the season, and the first fight of the year for the Brahmas.

8. Nathan Saunders vs. Nicholas Dumoulin January 25, 2009

The first time the fans got to see exactly how good a fighter Nathan Saunders was. Dumoulin challenged Nathan, and Saunders responded by breaking Dumoulin's orbital bone with one of the best uppercuts thrown down since Ali retired from boxing. Dumoulin required serious medical attention after this one, and a message was sent to the rest of the league that Saunders is not one to tustle with.

7. Nathan Saunders vs. Neil Clark March 10, 2009

Clark makes his second appearance on the top ten list, but this time it was for his failed fight against Brahmas toughman Nathan Saunders. Clark finally convinced Saunders to drop the gloves, and the end result was not pretty for Clark who went back to the locker room crying and wondering what country he was in.



6. Bruiser vs. Slapjack April 11, 2009

Mascot fights are very underrated. Bruiser defended Nytex honor by knocking out Slapjack with a right cross, but seriously, did a jack rabbit stand a chance against a bull?

5. Nathan Saunders vs. David Simoes January 30, 20094 seconds into the game these two decided it was time to have a go. Saunders as usual dominated this feud.

4. Jean Bourbeau vs Greg McConnell Apr 10, 2009

The video doesnt show the whole thing, but McConnell sent a message to the jackalopes that pushing us around in our own barn was not acceptable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLh8H-5ZbfA

3. Matt Burto vs Matt Suderman Dec 20, 2008

This one was so great because of the chain reaction it caused. To see what happened next look at the top two spots on the list.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvNpSk9Ktfs

2. Texas Brahmas vs. Arizona Sundogs December 20, 2008

Everyone on the ice gets involved in what was easily the best line brawl of the year for the Brahmas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXnBR5gagOU

1. David Cacciola and Marco Emond GOALIE FIGHT! December 20, 2008

The fight of the year for the Brahmas belongs to David Cacciola. The Brahmas netminder gave hockey fans one to remember on this night out in Arizona.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkLPKmiLMgc

Rumors and Innuendos

Alternate titles to this post are: "Economics 101" and "Learn To Swim."

I hear that the Dr Pepper Starcenter in Duncanville has melted on one of their 2 rinks, and that they intend to start playing basketball on that side. Seriously. I heard this from a parent of a kid playing youth hockey down there.

It only makes sense. NYTEX has amazed me at the diversity of events they host on the volleyball side. The move to melt the Olympic hockey rink was scandalous when NYTEX took over 8851 Ice House. But ice only offers one or two options for revenue: Hockey or Open Skating. However, a facility with wide open gym space is far more flexible regarding use, and thus has more market demand. Can anyone remember a Saturday where it was easy to find a parking spot at NYTEX because of other events going on there?

Off the top of my head:
-Volleyball
-Roller Derby
-Semi-Pro Wrestling

As with all things, water finds it's level. I guess the market supply of square footage of frozen water also finds it's level, and apparently in the Metroplex, evaporation is the phase-change du jour.

Sucks for hockey, though.

Welcome 2 New Contributors

There are 2 new contributors who have been given the right, nay, the privilege, to post to their hearts' content.

I'll allow themselves introduce themselves if they wish... for now, let's just call them "Beastie" and "Killer Carlson."

Let's give a warm round of applause for these two mystery men, who have seen fit to spend some of their valuable time adding quality content to the blog.

Dickie

All games Cancelled Sat 5-9-09

The ice melted at NYTEX. This is not a joke, tonight's games are cancelled.

(Now for the jokes)

Speculation on reasons:

-Frank and Knute have decided that since the Brahmas season is over, they can finally get rid of the ice completly and install a swimming pool for water polo.

-The Silver Bullets feared playing the Stingers so much that they threw a Spider Monkey Wrench into the compressor.

-Euless StarCenter I-league attendance is down, so they're doing everything they can to draw NYTEX players over there, including sabotage.

Limited Number of Contributors Being Added

This little site started out as a fun way for me to get to know all the people I play against, and man did it explode! Lots of you guys have told me how much you enjoy it and if I go more than a couple of days not putting some info up, I hear about it from all of you.

I would love to spend an hour a day posting stuff here but I have to work to pay for my hockey, so I don't always have time to add fresh stuff every day.

I have invited a couple of people to join me in being contributing authors to the blog, so that we can keep making this a fun, dynamic place to waste time. Remember that you don't have to be an author to comment on the posts, and you can always email me (I know the last couple weeks I haven't even checked that email, but now I have it set up to automatically hit my phone so I get notified immediately.)

Think you have what it takes to contribute to this thing of ours? Come talk to me. Don't know how to find me at the rink? If you don't know, ask somebody. :)

-Dickie Dunn

Brahmas Championship Game Videos

One More

Brahmas only need one more win to hoist the CHL President's Cup!

Game is at 7:05 tonight.

Last night's game was awesome:

Texas Offense Continues to Roll
05/05/2009 9:18 PM
TEXAS ONE WIN WITHIN REACH OF CHAMPIONSHIP; BEAT EAGLES 6-3 IN GAME 4

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas (May 5)-The Brahmas motto for their playoff run this season is “One Goal”, and now they are in position for one win to win the CHL Championship tomorrow night as they defeated the Colorado Eagles 6-3 in Game Four of the CHL Finals Tuesday night.

Brahmas leading scorer in the postseason found himself in the penalty box early in the game, giving the first ranked Eagle’s powerplay an opportunity for the first goal of the night. Colorado buzzed around Brahmas netminder Brett Jaeger’s crease until Konrad Reeder’s shot found the back of the net for the 1-0 lead. As the game continued the teams skated intensely when with four minutes remaining in the period the Eagles were to be penalized; but before Colorado could find possession defenseman Kevin McLeod put a screaming shot past Andrew Penner from the point for his third of the postseason.

The Eagles regained the lead when Ed McGrane scored his team leading eleventh goal of the playoffs on the powerplay. Down but not out, the Brahmas gained momentum from the sold out crowd at the NYTEX Sports Centre and a shot on Penner from the blueline by Brahmas veteran defenseman Mike Vellinga was evidence of a turning point for Texas when it slowly trickled across the goal line for his first of the playoffs. It was a scoring barrage by the Brahmas from there as Jason Deitsch took a pass from Brandon Benedict and Scott Sheppard for Texas’ first lead of the evening.

Texas tough guy, Greg McConnell was able to get in on the scoring as he lit the lamp 1:34 minutes after the Deitsch goal. With one minute remaining the Brahmas were able to get their first powerplay goal of the game when Deitsch’s shot went up and over Penner for the 5-2 lead.

Colorado geared for a comeback in the final period when McGrane notched his second of the night, but McLeod and his teammates were not ready to sit back when McLeod tallied his second in the game on a powerplay. The Brahmas are now 6-0 in the playoffs when outshooting the opponent as they had 43 to the Eagles 25.

Game Five of the Ray Miron President’s Cup Finals will be played tomorrow night (Wednesday) at 7:05 PM at the NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills.

Week 2 Standings, Spring 2009

Dreamy

2nd week of the season was a strange one... by the end of every game, it looked like the beginning of Michael Jackson's Thriller video with all the fog.

But they did get the dehumidifier fixed before the Brahmas game Sunday night. Brahmas lead the series 2 games to 1. Woohoo!

I have decided that NYTEX is the only place in the world that DOESN'T need more cowbell.

The Uniform Czar is Pleased

General Stolisomancy, Uniform Czar


The Silver bullets have made the Uniform Czar very happy with their new dark grey uniforms with black letters and numbers, very nicely done.

The Hurricanes, our newest addition to the league, has also satisfied the Uniform Czar with their sharp White and Blue.