It’s that time of year again…time to transition from offseason partying and get into pre-season conditioning. The 2025-2026 Tomcat season is just one month away. Tuesday September 16th will be opening night. Look out for an email from Rocky and Soupy asking for commitment. more details will be included in the email, including some changes happening at the Kapusta we will need to navigate.

LaBamba continues to traverse the globe and recently checked into the Lizard Lounge in Seoul South Korea.

Alright, Tomcat faithful, Chevy here, stepping in for Stevo this week, mainly because he’s still muttering about “logistical oversights” and “unforeseen tournament attendance.” We just got back from what was supposed to be the golf trip of a lifetime: The Open Championship at Royal Portrush. Think pristine fairways, the roar of the crowd, and us, the Windsor Tomcats, showing those pros a thing or two.

So, the plan was flawless, right? Stevo, Hatchie, Big Easy, and yours truly, along with our incredible wives/girlfriends – Tamster, Sporty Spice, Sweet Feet, and Sugar Mama – were heading to Northern Ireland. The ladies were going to enjoy some “cultural immersion” (read: shopping and not watching us shank balls), while we’d casually stroll onto the hallowed grounds of Royal Portrush, clubs in hand, ready to channel our inner McIlroy.

We rolled up to Royal Portrush, all swagger and dreams of perfectly struck irons. The sun was shining, the air smelled of freshly cut grass, and… chaos. Not the pristine fairways we’d envisioned, but barriers, crowds, and enough security to guard a small nation’s gold reserves.

“Excuse me, mate,” Stevo puffed to a rather stoic security guard, “we’re here for our tee time. Stevo, Hatchie, Big Easy, Chevy. The Windsor Tomcats, you know?”

The guard just stared, a faint smirk playing on his lips. “Sir, this is The Open Championship. You might have noticed the thousands of spectators and professional golfers.”

My jaw, along with the dreams of a green jacket, hit the tarmac. Hatchie, bless his usually sharp mind, chimed in, “So, what, we can’t just… pop on for a quick eighteen?”

The security guard actually snorted. Sporty Spice, ever the pragmatist, chimed in, “You mean to tell me you guys dragged us all the way to Northern Ireland during the biggest golf tournament of the year, expecting to just play Royal Portrush?”

Silence. The kind of silence usually followed by the sound of male egos deflating. Big Easy, ever the optimist, cleared his throat. “Well, darling, we did assume they’d have, you know, a few spare slots. For discerning gentlemen such as ourselves.”

Sweet Feet, bless her patience, just shook her head. “You guys are unbelievable.”

Tamster, Stevo’s rock, just gave him that look. You know the one. The “I told you so, but I’m too polite to say it out loud” look.

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The Unplanned Detour to Royal Forty-Seven

So, with our tails tucked firmly between our legs, and the distant roar of the crowd a cruel reminder of our folly, we huddled. The dream of Royal Portrush was dead. But a Tomcat never gives up! We had a backup plan. A contingency. A course “down the road.”

That’s how we found ourselves at Royal Forty-Seven. Now, don’t get me wrong, it was… a golf course. It had grass. It had holes. It even had a rather enthusiastic groundskeeper who greeted us with a smile and a slightly chipped scorecard. The pro shop was more of a “shed with some forgotten clubs,” and the “clubhouse” seemed to double as someone’s backyard storage unit.

The ladies, to their credit, were troopers. Tamster even managed to find some humor in the “rustic” charm of it all. Sporty Spice, ever competitive, declared the putting greens “character building.” Sweet Feet just focused on her swing, probably trying to block out the sounds of Big Easy complaining about the lack of a beverage cart. And Sugar Mama? She just kept saying, “Well, at least the air is fresh.”

We didn’t set any course records. Unless “most golf balls lost in one round” counts. Hatchie somehow managed to hit a tree on a wide-open fairway, Big Easy mistook a squirrel for his caddy, and I spent more time looking for my ball than actually hitting it. As for Stevo? Let’s just say his short game was, shall we say, “a work in progress.”

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The Real Victory

But you know what? As the sun set over Royal Forty-Seven (a truly majestic sight, even if it was just over a farmer’s field), with our wives laughing and the air filled with the scent of… well, certainly not championship golf, we realized something. It wasn’t Royal Portrush, and we definitely weren’t pros. But we were together, we were laughing, and we were still the Windsor Tomcats.

So, next time you see us, don’t ask about our Open experience. Ask about the time we conquered Royal Forty-Seven. It’s a much funnier story. And trust me, the ladies will back me up on that one.

Until next time, keep those swings smooth, and always double-check the tournament schedule!

Chevy out.

We hope all Tomcats and families are enjoying summer holidays and vacations. Rocky and his family are traveling through France and Italy, but Rocky, in order to make the vacation expenses a write-off, is there on “strict Tomcat business.” Rocky is said to be recruiting talent in those countries. While one might say, “why would you go to France and Italy for talent…there’s no hockey players there,” let us remind you previous Tomcat management toured through the Greek islands years ago and came across Sunny, Soupy and Shack. “Look at those gems that were found in a non-traditional hockey part of the world,” said former Tomcat President, Stevo. Rocky is hoping to catch the same luck in France and Italy. Besides, Italy is where Bullwinkle was discovered!

Have a great summer. Send Rocky any pictures to share of vacations and interesting locations where Tomcat swag is being worn.

September is not too far off!

Tomcats Forever!

The Tomcat Board of Directors meeting occurred this week, with great participation and some fresh ideas for the future of the Tomcats. Thanks to Soupy for hosting in his man cave and for providing good drinks and food for the participants. Participating this year were as follows:

• Rocky, Soupy, The Rake, Falcon, Chico, Bullwinkle, Bender, The Professor, Skippy, Chevy

Making a guest appearance was the late (yet surprising very alive) Steve Jobs who turns out to be amazing at big ideas, but not so interested in execution.

Topics and key decisions made are noted below:

1. 2025-2026 Season Costs: Two options will be presented. Both will require early payment (prior to the first night of hockey) to Rocky. Option 1: Pay $60 early, then pay $5 per night. Option 2: Pay the entire season early and not worry about paying each night. $175 for the entire season. Rocky prefers the early payment via e-transfer so a few Tomcats still living in the Stone Age might need to purchase a 56k modem finally.
   
   Season Start – Tuesday September 16th. End December 16th (pizza party). Start up again January 6th, end April 11, 2026
   
2. Tournament – The end of year tournament in April appeared to be a big hit, so we will stay with that timing. Not so much of a hit was the “play everyone twice” format we used. As such, levergaing a recommendation from a few years back from Falcon, and reiterated by Sunny ahead of the BoD, we will go to a format where each team plays the other teams, then go into Round Robin format (1 vs. 4, 2 vs. 3) and then play a consolation game for 3rd place, followed by the Championship.
   
   All games except for the Championship game will be 2 10 minute periods. The Championship game will be 2 12 minute periods. 2-3 minutes between periods, 5 minutes between games.
   
   Captains – to be decided by December 2025 – The BoD decided to wait to name Captains for next year based on who is playing often during the first half of next season.
   
   Mid-Season Mini Tournament – The Tomcats are considering playing a Saturday Mini Tournament in November, with much less formality than the main tournament (no draft, no shirts, etc.) and follow that up later on the Saturday with the traditional Tomcat Holiday party with spouses. So hockey in the morning, gathering in the evening.
   
3. Rule Clarification – Timeouts – Timeouts can only be called during a stoppage (after a goal, ball unintentionally goes out of play, goalie saves and puts ball behind net, etc.). You can’t call the TO simply by having possession.
   
4. Recruitment – We have had good influx of young talent last two years so no dire need but would like to still bring out “good fits” for the Tomcats when possible and another goalie option is not a bad idea.
   
5. Special Nights – Besides the idea of the Saturday mini, we will continue Big Net nights, and try to plan a game where it is Youth vs. Experience. Need to figure out median age of Tomcats and divide on that age for the night. Who will prevail…Stamina of the Youth? Smarts of the Experienced? We’ll see.
   
6. Beer Nights – Once you commit to be a regular, you will be added to the Beer list and you need to be responsible for your nights. That means you either ensure you bring beer on your assigned night, or bring it early. True Tomcats live up to this. Do not be a dud. Tomcats don’t like duds.
   
7. Future Leadership Change – Rocky mentioned he will likely look to step down as Tomcat President in the next year or two and is proposing the reigns be handed over to Soupy to become the 3rd President of the Tomcats since 1989. Rocky will garner support for this change over the next year or so.
   
8. New Ideas and Thoughts to be considered:
   – We need to fix the nets or purchase new ones. Soupy and Chico to try to figure out the approach here.
   – Sparky Clock needs to return. Sparky will be asked to make sure we can have this fixed for the Season Start.
   – Carousel of Nations – St. Vlad’s is hosting the Ukrainian Village. We would like to have a large contingent of the Tomcats there to celebrate and gather during that event.
   – Use floor tape to create a goal line between the posts to make sure the nets are aligned and goals more obvious
   – Create a fun nightly award to hand out each Tuesday – not just for player of the game, but for whoever made the night special. Great way to capture something for the blog and give a shout out each Tuesday. We need a catchy name for this and a small award to hand out (think Champions Belt, small trophy, etc.).
   – Monthly Clean up of Floor – Assign guys to show up early every 3-4 weeks before hockey to do a quick sweep/vacuum of the floor, steps, stage just to keep the playing surface as clean as possible all year.
   – Fix the fire extinguishers so they can be easy moved out of the way but still be located in the correct spot for safety reasons
   – Need to revive the Pantelone de Neige Golf Tournament for 2026 but need a Tomcat to step up. Rocky and Soupy cannot be expected to run everything and there is only a handful of other Tomcats that help with other routine tasks (empty runs, hall clean ups, etc.). We need others to step up to have fun events occur. We need less Steve Jobs types and more willing to execute.
   – Speaking of executing, The Professor agreed to become the Minister of Pizza since the previous Minister is MIA.
   – Longer term planning – We are not too far away from the 40th Anniversary of the Tomcats. Will need to keep this on the radar to plan an event fitting of 40 years as an organization.

That is the summary for now. Look for more updates on events over the summer.

Until then, Tomcats Forever and as Stevo would say, Stay Beautiful!

Want to play a different format? Think a rule or two should be changed? Have an opinion on the firmness of the ball (Soupy and Matador (aka The Ball Princesses) – your thoughts are well known, no need to bring up)’ etc.? Only way to voice your thoughts is to attend next week’s Board meeting. No complaining on any changes if you don’t participate.

Details below:

– Board of Directors meeting will be held on TUESDAY APRIL 29 at 630 PM.

– Location is The Soup-r-Dome (Soupy’s garage) in Tecumseh, 1878 St Anne St. 

– ALL Tomcats are encouraged to attend, as well as some of the newcomers to maybe provide a fresh insight into the future of the Windsor Tomcats.

– Drinks and food will be served

Let Soupy know ASAP if you plan to attend so we can estimate food and drink needs.

See you there!

Tomcats Forever

The annual Board of Directors meeting will be held on TUESDAY APRIL 29 at 630 PM. it will be held at soupy’s garage in Tecumseh, 1878 St Anne St. ALL Tomcats are encouraged to attend, as well as some of the newcomers to maybe provide a fresh insight into the future of the Windsor Tomcats. Even if you’re not on the BOD, come for some drinks and laughs, maybe even a “Snowpants Storytime”. Drinks and food will be served, and if there is a Leafs playoff game, you can be assured it will be on! 

Please let me know if you plan on attending so we can figure numbers for food. It’s a great time to finish off the year, discuss what went well this season, what we can improve on, and some ideas for next season! 

The MVP Life:

Want to know how MVPs role after the big tournament? See below for how Chico spends his days basking in the glory.

‘No’ Ghost writer names, ‘otherwise known as’ stuff, synonyms/homonyms, identifiers or any other ‘shenanigan’s’.   This is just ‘me’, and from ‘me’. 

Another year has ‘sadly’ come to an end and I don’t know about you, but I’m ‘already’ counting the days till the next season begins.

There has been no other place a guy that simply wants to play some ball hockey can be more accepted or welcomed; and ‘welcoming’ comes even easier if you bring a 24 – cause well Tomcats are an easy group to bribe with a good ‘bottle’, or two….

Tomcat nation features some ‘truly’ exceptional players, balanced out well with the rest of us ‘week end warriors’.  The typical Tuesday  season ‘algorithm’, despite its detractors, has been pretty dead on.  Hell even this tourney; despite some ‘first time’ Captains resulted in pretty tight games.  Now if we can only get the ‘Sparky’ time clock back…..

I also think moving the tourney to the ‘last’ day of the regular seasons was a ‘big hit’; but lets consider ‘moving’ back the start time….some of us just ‘aren’t’ used to getting up soooo early & ‘getting right to work’

In ‘other’ tournament ‘first’, a VERY RARE trade was finalized with little time to spare.  ‘Rumours’ have it the trade ‘might’ have included some ‘beer’.  Would you expect ‘anything’ else from a Tomcat?   

Speaking of the tournament, think of how it  ‘started’ : Captains Skippy and Rocky taking a brief moment to exchange team shirts.  Luck of the draw may have had the two ‘start’ the tradition; but each new game featured ALL Captains making a shirt exchange – ‘CLASSY’. 

Tourney results?   Probably ‘fated’ when Killer went down and wasn’t able to play. If you believe in ‘fate’ or karma; then it comes as NO surprise the Killers took it all – never once looking like they lost a step 
and Killer, (Seen sporting some fresh bandages to his wound), was able to come out and happily embraced his team upon their ‘most’ important Championship game ‘win’.  

Despite teams getting ‘bumped’ out of the ‘big game’, everyone was quick to congratulate the ‘new champs’.  

Way to go ‘Killers’ – and hats off to MVP ‘Chico’ and ‘Most gentleman player’ The Professor.  

Tomcat humility, cheering on each other and quickly forgetting about the game when things are all said and done; that’s the Tomcats spirit.  

A great season and a great day of hockey spent with a ‘great’ group of guys.   Is there anything better? 

Skippy

Tournament Details:

Arrival: 8am

Tournament Start: 8:30am sharp

Costs:

$20 to your Coach/Captain (coaches to provide full amount for their team to Rocky)

$10 to Soupy for pizza

Game Schedule:

Home     Visitor 

Skippy vs.       Rocky

Professor vs.  Kamikaze

Team Photo

Professor vs.  Skippy

Kamikaze vs.  Rocky

Skippy vs.       Kamikaze 

Rocky vs.        Professor

Kamikaze vs.  Skippy

Professor vs.  Rocky

Rocky vs.        Kamikaze 

Skippy vs.       Professor 

Rocky vs.        Skippy

Kamikaze vs.  Professor 

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

To determine which teams make the championship, it is based on:

⁃ Most Points 

– Best +/-

⁃ Most goals for

⁃ Least goals

⁃ Record against the opposing team

⁃ Shoot out

Win is 2 points, tie is 1 and 0 for a loss. Yes, regular games can end in a tie.

Games will be TWO, 7 minute periods Stop time last 1 minute of each period. Time between periods is 2 minutes, 5 minutes between games. 

Championship Game will be TWO, 10 MINUTE PERIODS. 

If OT is needed for the Championship, refer to Tomcat Rules on the website.

One 30 second timeout allowed per game.

1 minute penalties will be called for rough play.

Referee:

We will have a ref on the floor. Reffing is a tough job. Whatever is called is accepted. We will not tolerate any arguing with the ref.

AND LASTLY REMEMBER, as we have a few newcomers this year, we are all friends out here, this is a fun day to finish off the Tomcats season and have a few beers after to celebrate! Overly aggressive play will NOT be tolerated! For example, If soupy has the ball, don’t go too hard on him, he works very hard to set this tournament up, show some appreciation And let him have a scoring chance! Just saying…Let’s have a great day! 

“All good things come to an end” 

– Soupy Salaris

And just like that another Tomcats’s regular season has come to an end. On the final Tuesday night hockey of the season, the boys put on a spectacular show. Everyone looked in playoff form, gearing up for this Saturdays year-end tournament. 

In order to get a little practice in before Saturday, Tomcats went with a three goalie rotation. Terror, Bender, and Falcon, donned the pads, all making save after save, keeping the games tight! 

Sunny Cork Soakers – Soupy, Shack, Sunny, Hobbs, Big Ned, Smiley, Hurricane, Professor

Tonto Knob Gobblers – Matador, Tonto, Bullwinkle, Chevy, Snowpants, Animal, Chico

The Cork Soakers took both games, 6-4 and 7-6 respectively. Plenty of shots, great saves, and fancy passes on both sides of the ball. No one seemed to be “taking it easy” in preparation for Saturday, but it was all good, clean play! 

Afterwards on stage, announcements were made, story time with Snowpants, and a few cold ones cracked. By the end, more than a half a dozen tomcats stayed late to chat, share some laughs, and have a beer. That is what it is all about! 

It should be noted that newcomer Smiley (killers buddy) was one of those that stayed, he has been a welcome addition to the tomcats, and seems to fit right on with the guys. Way to go Smiley! 

Lastly, in a complete honest mistake by the Hurricane, after scoring yet another hat trick on the night, forgot to pay his $5 fee. When asked about it later on he said “oh, I didn’t forget to pay, I’ve been asking for a Seniors Discount for years now, and the board of directors keep saying no, so I figured it’s the last night, I’m taking my own discount!” 

You know, when you’ve played as long, and scored as many goals as the Hurricane, in my opinion, you could do whatever the F$CK you want! In a nice move of generosity, his arch- nemesis, and mentor, Chevy, threw in five bucks for him, stating, “I couldn’t beat him on the score sheet tonight, so I’ll have to kill him with kindness.” 

Also, a reminder that the Board of Directors meeting will be held a few weeks after the Tomcats season concludes, on a Tuesday night probably in early May. As usual, it will be held at soupy’s garage and a email will be sent out with date and time. All Tomcats are encouraged to attend, as well as some of the newcomers to maybe provide a fresh insight into the future of the Windsor Tomcats.

Watch out for an email from Soupy with details for Saturday’s tournament . 

Enjoy Guys

Guest Column by Haida d’Salami

 “On April Fools Day, believe nothing, trust no one, just like any other day.” – Unknown

It may have been April Fool’s Day, and the eve of “Liberation Day” in an America, but the Tomcats certainly were not fooling around! It was good, clean, hard hockey all over the floor! There wasn’t a single argument, trade dispute, or “Play the Ball” to be heard, just a bunch of dudes being dudes. 

Big Ned’s Bulldogs – Soupy, Big Ned, Bender, Hurricane, Shack, Professor, Labamba, Falcon in Net

Tonto Terroriers – Bullwinkle, Snowpants, Chico, Escalade (Dillon), Hobbs, Chevy, Tonto, Terror in Net

2 GREAT games of hockey! Game 1 even saw a pulled goalie with a minute left, with the Terroriers taking it 8-7. Game 2 was just as exciting, back and forth goals, and ended in a 5-5 tie. A couple Notes from the play Last night, we saw the return of Labamba, stating “my Tuesday night ice hockey league is done, so I’m only playing hockey 4 nights a week now, I had to get out and get used to the Tomcat game again.” In no surprise to anyone, he jumped right back in, making crisp passes, and great defensive plays. 

Amazing chemistry between Soupy and Big Ned, they just seemed to find each other all over the floor. Each with a few goals, Soupy claimed after, “I must have taken 75 shots tonight, and 72 of them I buried into Terrors chest!” Speaking of Big Ned, he ALMOST had the Tomcat goal of the year, in a little bit of trickery. He flicked the ball from behind the net to himself and batted it in out of mid air into the net! However it was determined that his stick was above the crossbar, BUT not by much! The goal was disallowed, but the effort and skills was greatly appreciated! 

Hurricane wanted it to be known that after his hat trick last night, he claims he has the tomcat record for most hat tricks. When asked for comment on this, he said “I basically own ALL the Tomcat Records, people should be calling OVI, “The Dave Hann of Goal Scoring”. Keep it going, Hurricane! 

Lastly, a nickname was chosen for Falcons son, Dillon, he will now be called Escalade, due to his choice of “And 1” basketball shorts from 2002. He showed some great promise last night on forward, potting 2 goals on the same shift. He’s really starting to get the feel of tomcats hockey and will be a great addition to the tournament. When asked about what he thinks about playing, he said “you know, when you’re the smartest, most athletic, and best looking of the Falcon Triplets, it’s a lot of pressure, but I’m the best Menzel there ever was, so I just go hard in the paint, and take it to the rim, err umm, net every time!” 

Not sure why he had to trash talk his brothers there, but happy to see him excelling. 

Only 1 more week of hockey before the year end tourney, make sure you come out next week for a final tune up!  

Enjoy Guys. 

Guest Column by Haida d’Salami

Great turnout last night and likely the draw of the annual tournament draft helped to have so many Tomcats in attendance.

Before we get into the hockey and the draft, we need give a shoutout to a couple of retired Tomcats. If you are still trying to figure out what it means to be a Tomcat, here are glaring examples of what makes someone a true Tomcat. First, The Rake always raises his hand to help with hall cleanup, reffing the tournament, etc. Last night, The Rake showed up with hot and fresh king-size pizza for the boys just because. Tomcat MVP move!

Secondly, while Soupy feverishly plans the annual tournament, Hollywood, also retired, spends countless hours helping the Tomcats and the tournament captains getting new shirts designed and made. These guys contribute even though their playing days are done. We should all aspire to live up to these gentlemen!

Now to hockey…

Teams last night were:

Terror’s Tantalizing Titans: Terror in net, Chico (not in net for obvious reasons), Big Ned, Kamikaze, Bullwinkle, The Professor, Chevy, Snowpants and Jamie (Kamikaze’s buddy with a nickname still to be decided)

Bender’s Beautiful Barbarians: Bender in net, Animal, Shack, Skippy, Hobbs, Hurricane, Soupy, Tonto and Smiley (killer’s buddy but not everyone is convinced on the nickname yet).

Very fast paced games with some slight chippiness starting (a watch item for the Tomcat board members). Tournament time brings out some heated play that we all need to check ourselves for. Rocky will be asking referees for the tournament to call this early and often so penalties will be handed out.

The Barbarians took the first game 5-3 while the second ended in a 6-6 tie.

Both of the new guys will be playing in the annual tournament.

Speaking of the tournament, the draft was held after hockey at center ice as tradition dictates. However, big news regarding the captains…For those not aware, Killer has had to have emergency surgery (twice) over the last week. Tomcats are hopeful he makes a fast recovery and encourages all Tomcats to reach out to our good friend. Since Killer was to be a captain and draft last night, but clearly has bigger priorities at the moment, Rocky will take over as captain for that tournament team.

“This year’s draft is one of the deepest talent-wise I can recall,” said soon-to-be Tomcat President Soupy who oversaw the draft proceedings. “First-liners on any other ball hockey team were still be selected I. The 4th round,” added Soupy. With only two spares per team, and with the depth and athleticism, guys better come in great condition!

While names for each teams are being sorted, here are the 4 tournament teams for the April 12th annual event:

Professor’s Team: Terror in net, The Professor, Animal, Eagle, Tweety Bird, Toretto and Smiley

Kamikaze’s Team: Falcon in net, Kamikaze, Tonto, Snowpants, Hobbs, Splitter and Shack

Rocky’s Team: Chico in net, Rocky, Swayze, Big Ned, Sunny, Bullwinkle and LaBamba

Skippy’s Team: Bender in net, Skippy, Dillon (Falcon’s son), Matador, Jamie, Soupy and Chevy.

Games start at 8:30am sharp April 12th. Do not be late. Game schedule to be posted soon. $20 to your captain for the tournament and another $10 for pizza and drinks afterwards. The full $30 must be given to the captains before games kickoff.

Get your shirt sizes over to your captain if they have not asked already.

While we wait and dream of the year-ending tournament (AKA Stevo’s Christmas) are you aware Chico has different shoes for playing forward vs. defense? Here is a picture of the shoe swap out between shifts last night when they moved him back to the blue line: