Sharp Dressed Man

ZZ Top’s ode to snappy dressers surely applies to Tim Hill. But “Hiller” is more than just a great guy in a hip suit. He is one of those people who connect easily with others, always smiling, always on the verge of doing something a little crazy and fun. As a Mudbug player, though, he was pretty feisty out on the ice. According to a friend of mine who has been a fan since the ’98-99 season, Tim Hill was quite the tough guy. And looking at the photos in the Mudbugs Tenth Anniversary yearbook of Hiller squaring off with opponents, I can believe it.

I saw some of that feistiness last season when Tim subbed a couple of games when the team was short on players. Luckily, he’d kept playing through the local men’s league. In Fort Worth, we watched warm-ups and there was this Hill guy wearing number 17. I thought we’d added a new player. Silly me. It was fun watching him play his shifts and he did a great job. However, we were all a bit worried when he’d come off the ice looking as if he was in need of a few hits of oxygen. His playing at such short notice tells much about deeply he feels about the Mudbugs organization. So I’m sure he leaves with a very heavy heart.

And we’ll all be in the same boat with him. It won’t be the same at games without his image up on the jumbotron ,“Sharp Dressed Man” playing loudly over the p.a. system. It won’t be the same not seeing him strutting around the concourse of the CTC, dressed in his finest, smiling from ear to ear as he visits with everyone, a devilish twinkle in his eye. We’ll miss you, Hiller, and your unique style. Thank you for everything you've done for us, the fans. I wish you the very best and hope that you’ll still come by and visit. Good luck to you!

Jason Basile

Initially I wasn't too thrilled to see that Coach Muscutt had decided to sit Jason Basile out on Saturday night. If he'd been on the ice he could have made a difference in Y'town's second goal. Plus he's done well in the past during shoot outs. But after reading Roy Lang's column this morning, I can see what Coach is trying to do. (And Roy, you are such a pot-stirrer with that headline!) It's a double-edged sword at this point. He's trying to do what he thinks is best for the team. Home ice advantage throughout the playoffs would be awesome. But, to me, it would be even better if the Mudbugs could hang on to Basile AND four vets next season. Why wouldn't you try to hang on to an All-Star defenseman instead of having to let him go to another CHL team? (Minard fans, I know how you feel.) I think this year's team will be ok down this last stretch of the regular season, but time will tell. And I hope that point the Bugs lost on Saturday doesn't come back to bite at the end of March. (Why do I get the feeling the game in Memphis on March 24 could be HUGE in deciding the division and the conference?????)

Bugs/Hounds 2/24

Well, this game was a tight one. It really had a playoff atmosphere to it. And the 7500+ fans in the building just added to it.

Usually the Bugs/Hounds games are full of scoring. Not this one. Both teams were working hard all night. A couple of defensive slips gave the Hounds their two goals. I was glad to see that Chris Richards put away his elbows for this game. The last time Y'town was at the CTC he made free use of giving them a workout. Not that the game wasn't physical. Mark Johnson, who's at least three inches taller than Fonger, found out that you don't mess with Dan (or any of his teammates). Johnson must be nursing a bottle of Exedrin today.

Jeremy Downs deserves huge congratulations for his efforts last night, and not just for his two goals. He made a spectacular diving save after speeding back to a Hound, just in time to poke the puck off the guy's stick and sending both of them into John DeCaro...and the net. Too bad it doesn't count when guys go into the net. It was pretty funny to see all three of them piled up there. Thank goodness they all came up unhurt.

Both goalies did good jobs last night. DeCaro was solid and Brad Roberts was great in net for the Hounds. Our Bugs just couldn't seem to solve him. Every time our Bugs are involved in a shootout, I think back to the game in Laredo in Nov. of '04. Some of us went down for the "return" to the LEC after Game 7. The game went to a shoot out. Up to that point, the team had not done well in shoot outs, and we were very worried. Owner John Madden was sitting behind us and he said--with a smile on his face--, "We practiced for this yesterday." And sure enough, they won 3-2. Thank goodness there are no shootouts in the playoffs.

Hated to see last night's game go to the shootout, but I'm happy with the point. I just wish the Bugs could have taken the gift that Memphis tried to hand to them with their 6-1 loss to the Rage. (Yes, the Rage.) Colorado skated 11 skaters (due to an unusual number of injuries) and a goalie in Arizona, coming out with another loss, 4-3. Things are looking pretty wide open for the race for the Governor's Cup at this point with the Eagles at 74 points, the Bugs and Riverkings at 72, and the Laredo Bucks with 71. All have played the same number of games, so March is going to be fun!

It's on to Tulsa on Tuesday night. I know that Colorado, Memphis, and Laredo will have at least one eye on the boxscore. How great is it that the Bugs are in the position they are in at this point in time? They've scratched, clawed, and fought their way to the top of the division (and the league, if you look at the CHL's Coaches' Poll); that's Mudbugs hockey and that's why we, the fans, love 'em.

Mudbugs/Rocky Mountain Rage 2/23

This game proved to be full of ups and downs for both teams. The Rage made their first visit to the CTC. I was impressed with the speed of some of their players, which, along with sloppy defensive play by the Bugs, got them on the scoreboard more than I had expected. Not sure why the Bugs came out sluggishly, but the team didn't seem too play cohesively the full 60 minutes. It was obvious Ken Carroll was working out the rustiness of not playing since early December, but, at times, it also looked like he had given it to some of his teammates . Seeing Kenny back between the pipes and Fonger score one while sliding on his backside were just a few of the positives of the Bugs' play last night.

The Rage put up a decent game, but the awful slash by Little on Brassard was very surprising. (Thankfully, Brassard didn't look to worse for wear when I saw him after the game.) Then the thuggish antics at the end when one of the Rage players tried to tackle Ken Carroll from behind was too much. Disappointing to see them turn to such tactics at that point. Maybe they learned this from playing the Eagles so much this year.

Youngstown's Hounds make the trip to the CTC, fresh off an OT win over Memphis (thank you Y'town!). This team is always feisty and physical (just ask the Abbott brothers), so it'll be a good one. Hopefully the Bugs came come away with a big win, and the Rage will give Memphis a loss. And if Rocky Mountain can do that, I just may send them a thank you basket of cookies!Until my next post, GEAUX MUDBUGS!

Okay, first post!

After a somewhat shaky start (computers sometimes befuddle me), welcome to this blog! Roy Lang invited me to create a Mudbugs FanBlog for The Times. (And if this goes by the wayside, it's "all his fault"!) I guess he'd rather me address my thoughts about the Bugs through a blog than sending him email, haha. Seriously, I'd like to give kudos to Roy on what a great job he does covering the Bugs. He does an incredible job with his excellent coverage of the team (and no, he's not paying me to say that.)

I suppose I should give you a little background info on how I became a Mudbugs' fan. I'd been to a couple of games early on at the Hirsch and CenturyTel Center and found them lots of fun. But I didn't really get caught up in the game until the 2003-04 season. Early on I could see a special magic in that team, and I was so enthusiastic about them, I drove nine hours with several new and old hockey friends to Laredo for the President's Cup Finals. Needless to say, that was an unforgettable trip--for many reasons.

Since then, I've had the privilege to support Mudbugs hockey wholeheartedly. My friends and I really look forward to hockey games. I think it provides us with lots of stress relief: we laugh, we visit, we heckle, we yell. And I see the same in all the people who attend games. Hockey in Bossier-Shreveport for ten years is almost unthinkable. Yet, every year, the Mudbugs have put a winning, classy team together for us to enjoy. And this season has been no exception.

Another win by the Bugs last night against one of the new teams in the league, the Rocky Mountain Rage, puts the Bugs just 1 point behind division leader--and heated rival--Memphis Riverkings AND just three points behind the league-leading Colorado Eagles. With the end of the regular season quickly approaching, these last games are going to be crucial for all of the top teams, which are closely stacked in the standings' points.