Happy July Tomcat Nation! Being the middle of summer and the off-season, we are sure many Tomcats have been traveling and partaking in interesting summer activities. We want to see pictures of Tomcats doing their summer thing.
Send along some quick photos to Rocky showing you and your loved ones enjoying time away from the daily grind. Interesting places, interesting events, gatherings of Tomcats, you name it. Send in some photos to share.
So the weekly antics of the Gordon Gin League took a twist this past week.
Despite the challenging weather a few in the group decided to venture out after an italian sausage at Seven Lakes Golf Course.
Chevy, Cribzy and Sea Lion experienced rain, sun, downpours and lightning in less than 2 hours. Happily walking the course, their round was interrupted by the ranger who braved the rain to come out to find the players. He said the horn had been sounding for the last 1/2 hour due to the thunder and lightning. Due to Chevy having the tunes cranked no horn was heard.
The only other players on the course were a group of ducks so fittingly the League this week was renamed to “Ducks and Dumb Fucks”
Your ESPN golf correspondent, Barry McCaulkiner
“If you did not play in this years Tomcat Golf Tournament, you missed out on a super terrific time, you missed out, I must say.” Bagz
With a great bunch of guys playing this year in the Tomcat golf tournament, known as the Pantelon de Niege, the winner this year was once again Big Poppa. “I am honoured to have won this prestigious trophy last year, but to win it back to back, oh my lord,” stated Big Poppa.
It was great to see guys like Animal, Bender and Kamikaze playing this year.
Snowpants always does a tremendous job and deserves a great deal of credit for setting it up, ordering food and for handing out prizes. “The guy is incredible, he truly is, and the guys who played benefited,” stated Cribzie.
Tonto, along with Mayday, Bagz and Turk rounded out a great foursome.
The participants in this years tournament could not have been a better bunch of guys. Everyone had a great time and four of the R 47 maintenance guys were included in the tournament. Tomcats are your generous group that welcomes everyone.
“I personally want to thank the minster of golf, pyrotechnics and floor cleaning, Snowpants for an incredible job, the smiles on everyones face tells me what a fun day it was for everyone on the course. The weather, the course and Snowpants’s hard work, all came into play like a power play goal in the playoffs, fantastic job Snowpants.” Stated Rocky
CANCELLATION NOTICE: Due to the fact that a bag of chips were taken (stolen) from the picnic table, fireworks were not attempted. Snowpants wanted everyone to have some chips and watch the fireworks, but after the bag of chips were stolen, Snowpats the organizer decided to pull the plug on the fireworks, “who F*&^*$ing stole the bag of chips?” A weeping Snowpants was heard yelling.
I will leave you with a funny
Thanks for reading.
I’m Ophiia Butts
Happy summertime Tomcats!
We hope everyone is enjoying summertime and nice weather.
Just a reminder the annual Tomcat Golf Tournament occurs this Saturday, June 17th at Royal 47 Golf Club. Snowpants, Director of Golf and Pyrotechnics, has spent a great deal of time getting this organized. Always a great time for Tomcats and Tomcat fans to get together in the off-season.
Who will win the Pantelon de Neige trophy this year?
By Ophelia Butts
“Cribzie is a very cerebral player, he is always thinking of what the play will be two to three plays ahead and he is always saying some super smart stuff on stage like ’the military salute is a motion that evolved from medieval times, when knights in armour raised their visors to reveal their identity.”Soupy
After 19 years with the Tomcats, standout defenseman, Cribzie, is retiring and calling it a career.
“My years with the Tomcats have been the best 19 years of my life. I have met some incredible people…Sheep Dog, Snowpants, May Day, Chevy…to name a few,” said an emotional Cribzie.
Cribzie was born and raised in Essex, Ontario where he is considered ’the Pride of Essex. He played for the Essex 73’s and was recognized for his incredible hockey acumen. He was drafted by three different teams…Modo of Sweden, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Windsor Tomcats.
Signing a 14 year deal right out of Junior, he has become a perennial Tomcat and Captained the War Pigs in 2014 to a Stanley’s Cup Championship. He was on the Jingle Jets when they won, and most recently in 2023, with the Green Giant Stalkers.
“I recall the War Pigs would come out running from the bench and do a full circle before they started taking their warm ups,” stated Sparky.
Close personal friend and teammate, Sheep Dog: “Cribzie is the dreamiest…once we were away and I had prepared some smoked cheeses and smoked meats and we enjoyed them by the hot tub at the hotel, he is so dreamy.”
Cribzie’s number #23 jersey is the third all time best seller, after number one #6 Crispy jersey, number two, #55 Snowpants jersey. Number four and five you ask? The fourth best selling jersey is the #26 La Bamba jersey, and at fifth all-time, #17 Sunny jersey.
Fans and Teammates will miss #23. The wicked shot from the point, cracking a MGD with him on the stage and just that contentious Cribzie smile.
All the best to you after the Windsor Tomcats Cribzie!!!
One more smart thing from Cribzie
“Soldiers do not march in step when going across bridges because they could cause a vibration which could be sufficient enough to knock the bridge down. And get a load of this….for every extra kilogram carried on a space flight, 530 kg of excess fuel is needed at liftoff. And, oh I will miss Snowpants speeches the most on stage after hockey!”
A small funny to leave you so you are not sad that Cribzie is retiring from the Tomcats:
Thanks for reading, I’m Ophelia Butts.
The Tomcat Board of Directors met to discuss the year and plan for the next. Special thanks to Soupy for hosting at his cool new man cave.
In Attendance were:
Soupy, Shack, Falcon, Green Giant, Kamikaze, Hurricane, Snowpants, Bender, Chico and Rocky.
Here are the highlights of the meeting:
– Finances – In a good spot but hall costs have gone up, as well as other incidental costs throughout the year.
– Hall Situation – There is a possibility the hall will go for sale. What does that mean? We have no idea but we need to think about potential other locations to call home. Several ideas were pitched. If everyone could put their feelers out, that would be good in case we are forced down that path.
– Start and End of 2023-2024 Season – We will kickoff on Tuesday September 12th and Wrap up April 16th
– Costs – As mentioned already, hall costs have gone up. In some cases, where we have low turnout on a Tuesday, we actually lose money that night. As such, slight increase to start of the year for full time players. $55 to start, still $5 per night.
– Tournament – Saturday February 24, 2024. Slight increase of costs here as well…$25 instead of $20 plus pizza. A
And for the first time, captains will not be chosen, but instead we will ask Tomcats no longer playing to serve as coaches and draft teams and run the teams from the bench! Several suggested Coaches could be Stevo, Hollywood, Cribzie, The Rake, etc. no obligation for the coaches to pay for new shirts. We have lots of shirts for teams to wear without the additional costs.
Also a first, a new format will be piloted. The 4 teams will play a round robin so every team plays every other team (3 games per team). Then, based on results, teams are seated 1 through 4 for a playoff round. 1 plays 4 and 2 plays 3. Winners go into championship game. This will result in more games than original format, but slightly less than the format used this past February. A happy medium. Round robin games will be 10 minute periods. Playoff round games will be 12 minute periods.
– Rules – Any stoppage of play where one team is awarded the ball, the ball must be passed in and cannot be a direct shot on goal.
We will also reinforce that after play stoppage, both teams get time to set up. This does not include after goalie makes save and gives ball to player behind net. That is a live ball.
Snapshots are KNEE height. Anything above the shooters knee is not allowed.
– Special Nights – We want to have at least one special night in the fall and one in the Winter/spring. Big Net night will be one of them, but open to ideas for another (Toronto vs Detroit, Old vs Young, etc.)
– Events – We will still do Christmas pizza party on last night in December. Soupy will also arrange a gathering at a bar with significant others during the holiday season. Snowpants will arrange Tomcat golf. Stay tuned for this year’s tournament announcement. Bender to look into renting a suite for our farm team, the Windsor Spitfires. Let’s go watch our next generation get ready for their eventual Tomcats career!
The Outdoor Game may return as the final night of hockey in April. We will look for a reasonable size venue as Lansbarry is too large without skates on your feet.
Bender will seek out Tomcats willing to take part in the road hockey summer tournament in Windsor. It is a huge event so any Tomcat interested, discuss with Bender.
Finally, Chico to establish a year long 50/50 pool to help generate funds to buy a defib machine. Safety first and we are getting older as a group.
– Recruiting – We want to keep a stream of good guys coming out, first as guests, then as part-time with eventual full time as required to replenish the ranks. If you have a friend (or son) that would be a good fit, let Rocky know and we will find nights to plug them in. A couple of guests came out this past season and could be good long term players (The Professor, Splitter).
And speaking of recruiting, Rocky announced that over the next couple of seasons, he will start to mentor and transition the President duties. Future leadership needs to be established so a long transition should begin. Early word is that Soupy is a contender. Get your “Vote for Soupy, Make Tomcats Great Again” bumper stickers ready!
If the hall is still an option, we will solicit some Tomcats to come to the hall in August for a Clean and Fix event to get things ready. Hopefully volunteers who have not helped out previously will join the regulars and pitch in.
That is all for now. Look out for announcements on summer events and keep training hard this off-season
Oh, one more thing. Green Giant feels “Tomcats Forever” was not sung enough this season. He has been appointed Director of Ziggy Zaggy Ziggy Zaggy and will be responsible to ensure it comes out more often. Of course, he will relinquish Ziggy Zaggy duties if Hollywood is in attendance.
Tomcats Forever!
Tomcat Board of Directors
We are less than a week away from the Annual Board of Director’s meeting. All Tomcats are welcome, not just the official board members.
So far, we have 9 Tomcats committed.
Meeting will take place at Soupy’s on Tuesday, May 2nd, 6:30pm. Text Soupy for the address if you need it.
Soupy and I need to know how many are coming to make sure we have appropriate food and drinks ready.
Come ready to discuss the future of the Tomcats!
Click here for a funny little video about our weekly hockey adventures. This rings pretty true:
Cheers,
Rocky
It was a bittersweet night at the Kapusta, for the final evening of tomcat hockey of the season. The pace was fast, the passes crisp, and the battles hard as each team took a game with some tight scoring.
Chico Man Rockets – Professor, soupy, Kamikaze, Chevy, Tonto, Chico, Hatchie, Bender in net
Stevo Sex Machines – Snowy, Killer, Big Ned, Skippy, La Bamba, Stevo, Green Giant, Falcon in net
The sex machines, like the leafs last night, came out of the gate sluggish, and were down 5-1 after the first period of the first game. A selfish coaching decision by soupy, so that he could play defence, pushed Chico upfront to the wing, a position he is not familiar with. But Chico, being the versatile player that he is, took advantage of this new opportunity and potted a natural Hat-trick in the first period!
In a first intermission interview, Chico was quoted, “it doesn’t matter what position I play, be it defence, forward, missionary, or doggy, I always seem to find that tight hole and get pucks in deep!”
A second period Push by the sex machines, proved to not be enough, as the man rockets took the game 6-5.
The second game was just as exciting, with some huge saves by falcon, and some great passing by the Jaworiwsky duo! The Sex machines took the game 7-5. In what would be Stevo’s final game in a tomcat uniform, he showed the fans why he has been the face of this franchise for 30+ years. He scored two beauty goals in the final game to cap off an illustrious career! The cherry on top, his son big Ned, even assisted on his final goal, what a storybook ending for a man who has given so much to the Tomcat organization, and who cares more than anyone about us who call ourselves Tomcats.
I personally, have so much respect for Stevo, and what he has put together here. I’m so thankful for the relationships that I have formed through the Tomcats.
After hockey, the boys sat on stage, enjoyed pizza and beer for one last time this season. Soupy thought it would be a good idea to bring a TV and stream the leaf game for the guys to watch. That proved to be a terrible idea as Soupy and the other leaf fans left last night in disappointment, a feeling soupy’s wife is all too familiar with.
A surprise appearance, with a case of Bud light in hand was made by Sparky. Fresh off a hip injection in order to get him ready for next season, he limped onto the stage to be greeted by the Tomcats. Hollywood also came out to enjoy a few with the boys and brought some snacks. He added the Ziggy Zaggy to Tomcats forever! Shout out to Hatchie for bringing a case of beer for the boys!
The Board of Directors meeting to end the season will take place at Soupy‘s house in Tecumseh this year, on Tuesday, May 2 at 6:30 PM. Look out for an email from Rocky regarding this, it is an open invite to all Tomcats to attend.
In closing, it has been another great tomcat season. I want to again thank Stevo for creating this group in 1989, and now passing the torch to Big Ned to continue on the Jaworiwsky Legacy. Lastly, I want to give a shout out to Rocky, our president, for all the hard work that he does every single week in order to make sure things run smoothly. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes in preparation for each week! See you all in September!
Tomcats Forever
Guest Column by Haida d’Salami
Our guest sports reporters have been pulled away from the sports desk to help cover breaking news in others areas, so apologize for the lack of Tuesday night update.
However, word on the street coming from the Kapusta is that Jingles covered hockey for everyone in attendance! Put’er there Jingles!!!
Beer was brought out by Hatchie, LaBamba and Bender to help replenish the stock. Nice job boys.
Apparently only 2 teams with one sub each, so a very light night.
Only ONE WEEK left. Who’s in for the final night? Will it be a big turnout?
HELP NEEDED: We will need to unload empties to a waiting truck before and then after the game. Who can be there early to help?
REMINDER for The Turk about Kapusta Open. Get your foursome lined up:
We
In the 3rd from final night of the Tomcat 2022-2023 season, the Tomcats played a mini (only the 3rd of the 2022-2023 season) last night. The night included 3 newbies making their Tomcats debut. One of the newbies is Falcon’s 3rd son that had yet to play. Should we all bet number 3 in the lottery?
Meet the newbies:
Of course they had their picture taken in the Tomcat jersey:
The teams were:
Matador’s Black Triangles – Matador, Bender, Snowpants, Noah, Animal, Rocky, Skippy
Soupy’s White Tripods – Soupy, Falcon, Smiley, Green Giant, Killer, Jingles, Intel
Shack’s Red Tricycles – Shack, Terror, Tonto, The Professor, Kamikaze, Hurricane
Good, fast-paced hockey all night. Rocky left the games almost immediately with a disclosed upper body injury (strained obliques – do not try to pick up and move a bar by yourself – just have a drink instead).
The Matadors took the mini when the dust settled.
Only 2 weeks left. Check the beer list and make sure to make up for missed beer. Our stock is running low.
Any ideas for the last night besides goalies pick? Want to bring some food? Ideas to make the last night special? Let Rocky know.
Also, board meeting likely to occur at Rocky’s place or at bar of choosing on May 2nd. Anyone can attend to have input.
And now, an extra guest article…
TOMCATS AWAY
by Ophelia Butts
President Rocky always has asked if you go away, take some photos and tell the readers what you are up to …
Several Tomcats have hit the Myrtle Beach area for some fun in the sun ! (beach and golf )
Photo One :
Photo Two:
Photo Three:
The boys are always thinking of their Tomcat brothers…no matter where they are.
It is my understanding that the five Tomcats met Jeff Foxworthy. He told them, “I wish Walmart had a second floor observation deck…with a bar.”
Thanks for reading.
Naked and drunk in Myrtle Beach
I’m Ophelia Butts
Tomcats Forever!
With only four weeks of tomcat Hockey left, the boys were buzzing on Tuesday night.
Some great action, some great teams, as selected by Tonto and Soupy, made for an excellent night of hockey!
Kamikaze Dusters – Tonto, Hurricane, Animal, Chevy, kamikaze, Jingles, Terror in net
Big Ned Moppers – Soupy, Bender (playing out), Killer, Snowpants, Green Giant, Big Ned, Falcon in net
The Dusters got an early lead in the first game with three goals in the first five minutes. But the moppers battled hard, and after a flurry of goals from big Ned, took the first game 8-5.
The second game started out the same as the first with the dusters coming out Strong, edging out the moppers 6-5.
Having 2 goalies already playing for the night, Bender agreed to play out his first time ever playing as a defenseman. He was very solid out there, jumping into the rush and getting back to defend when needed. Some said he looked like Chico out there, just without the sex appeal. He got his first ever point as a tomcat, a second assist, after dumping the ball in the corner. He immediately grabbed the ball and threw it to the bench to keep as a souvenir.
1st star of the night went to big Ned, who must’ve scored 8 goals with 0 assists. Soupy claims he set him up on every goal and now professes he is a “pass first” player.
The name, the moppers is only fitting given the mess left on stage from the women watching big Ned dominate on the floor! As for the Dusters, their fans were bone dry from their boring play on the court!
After hockey, the guys were all on stage, enjoying landsharks, coronas, and pizza ordered by Tonto, what a solid guy!
It was one of the latest nights in recent tomcat history, almost like the purple’s days, With Jingles, Soupy, Kamikaze, Terror, and Green Giant keeping the place open well after most left! A few bevies, and a lot of laughs, made for an awesome night!
Guest Column by Haida d’Salami
Windsor Tomcats 