Blog stories to follow soon…

Best looking Tomcat team photo ever taken.

“The Gang” taking part in the first ever Tomcat vs Minx event.

Doc and Jodi get up after their wrestling match in the sand. Jodi won, of course.

“Wow Look! There is a ball in the air and it is coming our way,” Hollywood stated.

Hollywood prepares to bump the ball to Stevo

Someone take it!!!

The Tomcats tried to hit the ball high as it provided more time to check out the Minx in their spandex outfits without being caught gawking 🙂

Roxy Comartin positions herself to dig the ball

Soupy serves the ball on match point

“Missed it by that much.” Great effort though!

The Minx “Ringer” makes a backwards save to keep the ball in play.

Stevo shows he still has what it takes to keep up with the young ladies…at least on the sand court.

Stevo gets ready to set up James on the weak side.

The world has never been so divided as the current day.  Everything you read in the news, hear on the TV and radio, or discuss with coworkers and friends tends to take on one political slant or the other.  “Harper doesn’t care about the environment, the NDP are the closest thing to Marxism, the Liberals just don’t get it…blah, blah, blah!”  While talking politics is fun (NOT!), this is the Tomcat Hockey Blog and hockey is definitely more fun than politics (and probably less violent).

So when it comes to hockey, are you a lefty or a righty?  Looking at the 1071 NHL players and prospects, 65% shoot left.  Among forwards, 61% shoot left while 72% of the defencemen have left handed sticks.

When the vast majority of people are right-hand dominant (about 85% of the population), why is it that so many hockey players shoot left?  Doing some research, it appears one valid argument why people should use a stick opposite of their dominant hand (right hand people shoot left, left handed people shoot right) is as follows:

• When you shoot left, the hand in the middle of the stick is your left hand, and the hand at the top of the stick is your right hand. When you are skating fast, or stretching to reach a far away puck, you end up with only your top hand on the stick – as explained above, in the case of a left shot player, that would be your right hand.  That is why right handed people (which is most people) end up shooting left – so that when they have to handle their stick with just one hand, it is their dominant right hand.

So if shooting left handed is really the superior approach for the majority of right-handed people, I thought it would be interesting to look at the top 20 scorers of all-time to see if the statistics pan out.  Here they are:

Wayne Gretzky           L
Gordie Howe               R/L (ambidextrous)
Brett Hull                     R
Marcel Dionne            R
Phil Esposito               L
Mike Gartner               R
Mark Messier              L
Steve Yzerman            R
Mario Lemieux            R
Jaromir Jagr                 L
Teemu Selanne            R
Luc Robitaille               L
Brendan Shanahan      R
Dave Andreychuk       R
Joe Sakic                         L
Bobby Hull                     L
Dino Ciccarelli             R
Jari Kurri                       R
Mark Recchi                 L
Mike Bossy                   R

SIDENOTE: Is it just me or did many of the guys above where the Winged-wheel in their careers???  Anyways, I digress…so of the 20 top scorers of all-time, only 8 shoot left.  A majority (12 of 20 or 60%) shoot right.   

So how about the Tomcats?  According to the player profiles on this website, here is the shooting hand breakdown:

Turk                             L
Sunny                          R
Cribz                           R
Junior                          R
Hollywood                  L
Killer                           L
Doc                             R
Mayday                       R
Sparky                         R
Rocky                          R
Snowpants                  L
Crow                           R
Chevy                          L
Mez                             R
The Rake                      L
Spinner                        L
Jingles                         R
Stevo                           L
Bulldog                       R
LaBamba                     R
Zaba                            R
Lovie                           L
Hurricane                    R
Soupy                          R
Matador                        R
Beep                            L
Chico                           R
Ogie                            L
Flintstone                    L
Eagle                           L
Bubbles                       L
Crispy                          R
Finner                          L

45% (15 of 33) of the Tomcats shoot left, while 18 of 33 (55%) shoot right.  

Conclusion:  If the Tomcats have more right handed shooters and there are more right handed shooters in the list of top 20 all-time NHL scorers, then it must be better to lean to the right (even if current NHL stats and the main stream media say it is not).

Yours in hockey, 

Howie Feltersnatch  

Tomcats Forever!

By Harry Ballsonue

I have one more blog to write before I go to Costa Rica, for the summer and spend some time with my wife, she lives there full time and sells sea shells on the beach.

I have read Stevo’s last two blogs…some very interesting information. It was a good year and I would think each and every Tomcat is happy, content and joyed.

First of all I am impressed that 38 jackets were ordered and the Tomcats paid money for everyone to get a jacket. (I know, each player paid $25 bucks for the 25 anniversary) That is a pretty cool thing to do. The jackets turned out great and look very cool.

The Tomcat Christmas Gala at Rock Bottom I know was a success and I see that this year, Chevy is in charge with his helpers, Sunny and Snowpants.

Tournament this year was very good. Doc will be a great addition at helping Stevo set it up this year.  It seems like a great deal of work and Doc will no doubt pick up a lot from watching Stevo this year and then be able to carry the ball next year.

The Tomcat Tournament picture turned out great, except for the fact that Beep did not make it into the picture.

Statistically the Tomcats had the same amount of Mini’s compared to just regular 2 teams playing this year as last.

The Out Door Classic was fun this year, with no ‘gimmicks’ between periods and the Black Hogs put on a real show, when they needed it.

For next year, Snowpants will be a Captain for the very first time in the Stanley’s Cup.  A dubious honour, to say the least. Returning Captains will be Jingles (will he use the Jingle’s Jets?) Lovie, of the Lovieville Flyers and Stevo and you can always count on him to be the Stevo Stingrays.

I will not see you guys at the June 14 golf outing as I will be in Costa Rica, but you know, I would love to put my Harry Ballsonue.

Look early, look often.  Add reminders to your calendar, set your alarm, tie a string to an appendage…do whatever you have to do to remember what dates you are expected to supply beer for your Tomcat brethren.  No excuses to miss or forget. 

Tomcats Forever!

This year, the Board of Directors consisted of, The Rake, Razor, Rocky, Jingles,, Snowpants, Hollywood and me. Next year it may be different, but for now, this is what we have. One point, right at the ‘get go’, The Rake’s daughter was celebrating a birthday but The Rake still found time to come out to the meeting and be a participant. Solid move by the Rake!

What I would like to do in this blog is to provide you with information as to some of the aspects discussed and some of the new ‘rules’, ‘ideas’ and ‘thoughts’ that have been adopted.

Here we go….

Christmas Party (for Tomcats and significant other), Friday November 29, 2013, Organizers, Chevy, Sunny and Snowpants. Tournament Captains, will not be given a present from Tomcats, starting in this year’s tournament. Delay of Game, (by shooting/flicking the ball into the player bench) will be a 30 second penalty in Mini and a 1 minute penalty in the Stanley’s Cup Tournament. Behind the Net Safety Zone to be once again, explained in a future issue of the St. Felix. Dead Ball Rule, (Reinforced)  if the ball is shot out of play, team that gets it, is to wait for the other team to be in place for play to begin. Ball On Net Rule (Reinforced) You get one wack at the ball if it is on at the back of a net.

No Ref for first mini of next year to see if players can police themselves. You must have an email address that will give you updates to Tomcat information on an ongoing basis, your best email will be sought out by Rocky and used.

Doc has been selected as an assistant to me for the tournament. He will observe, learn, watch and study how everything is done in preparation for the tournament and will then take over as the Tournament Co-Ordinator for the 2015 Stanley’s Cup Tournament.

3 minute tie breaker for all timed games, (mini or regular Tuesday night two team game). The clock will be set to go for 3 minutes of overtime and it will be a 3-3 (plus a goalie) affair. If it remains a tie, it will be recorded as a tie. If a goal is scored in OT. Team that wins will get two points, team that loses will get one point. (This is only for Tuesday night) Stanley’s Cup Tournament will remain the same. If a tie in the Championship, four on four play…to determine a winner. Sudden death until someone scores.

7 Minute Periods; Tuesday night, Mini Tournaments will now be 7 minutes in length, rather than 6 minutes.  The score clock will be started up (for 2 Minutes) between periods, and teams will commence play after the two minutes are done.

Stanley’s Cup Tournament to be held, Saturday February 22, 2014. Captain for the tournament:  Snowpants Snow Squalls, Jingles Jets, Lovieville Flyers and the Stevo Stingrays.

Tomcat Skipjack Game; Tomcats not sold on participating in this event for 2014, the game will be put to a vote by all members, instead of just the Board of Directors determining it’s faith.

Blogs by Tomcats, each member is encouraged to write a blog, if they want to and submit it to Rocky. You do not have to, if you do not wish to.

Information about you: Rocky will be sending out an email to each and every Tomcat asking them some ‘Human Interest’ questions such as ‘if someone was to play you in a movie, who would it be’, ‘ a pet peeve’, and ‘If you can be anyone who would you be’. Questions like that.  The information that YOU provide will be used in the ‘Tomcat Of The Week’ segment. So please respond back to Rocky when you get your list of questions.

Past Issues of St. Felix are to be placed on the Tomcat Web Site. It will be done slowly, but we hope to get the past 5 years up for all to see by the end of the summer.

That is all there is for now.

I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable Summer, we are back on September 17, 2013. 6:30 Start.

Tomcats Forever

Stevo

This blog is to fill you in on what the survey’s revealed and to provide information on some other stuff too.  First of all a big thanks to everyone who filled out a survey.  I received 29 of them, which, in itself is quite remarkable.

SO, where do I begin.  I think with the most interesting; Doc would like to be President. He was the only one that ticked that tab and I thank him for considering it. He may very well become the new president of the Tomcats. In the near term, Doc will be tasked to help plan the annual Stanley’s Cup Tournament – a key task for any potential President.  A number of you expressed interest in being on the Board of Directors and I have invited some from that list to be on the Board.

The St. Felix is to stay.  Only one person, indicated ‘I think website has taken over’, the rest said comments such as ‘Stays, Keep it, should not be eliminated, keep it going, yes-love it, Always a good read, yes, great source of information and amusement, love the St. Felix, very good read,  keep it coming, it can be fun reading, keep it, keep it going, enjoy it, it is valuable resource, it is great, still look forward to it and then Killer said ” simply put, you don’t know what you’ve got until it is gone”. I put Killer’s name to his quote, because in all the responses about do you visit the web sit and how many times a week, Killer was the only one to say, he does not because he does not think to do so.

So, when it comes to the web site, I was astonished at how many said they visit it all the time, (Almost everyone) and the amount of times people go on it: 3-6, 3-4, 2-3, 7, 5, 3-4, 3, 6,  Some said, 1-2 and only a couple said once a week. I think it is great that people are going on it and Rocky reports to me on the number of hits we get during some portions of the season, so, both Rocky and I thank you for going on.  Rocky deserves pretty much all the credit, as he is the one that puts the stuff up and runs the site. Thanks of course to Harry, Heywood, Yuri, Bloggie and all the rest who contribute.

So here is some stuff that I want everyone to know….not everyone wants to be a Captain on a Tuesday night for the mini and some do not want to be a Captain for the main tournament. I respect that, so, if asked to be one on a Tuesday, please just tell me, “I do not wish to be a Captain”. I have always thought sharing and spreading the Captaincy was the way to get everyone involved…but I can see that, that may not be the case, so I will not be offended if you turn the Captaincy down.

As for Comments on Tuesday night hockey, everyone loves it. Which is great to hear. There were some comments about scaling back the players and that the best game is/was 2 teams on a Tuesday and 2 spares a side.  I totally agree with those comments and if I could get the same 14-16 guys to come out each week, with out anyone ever bailing, then I would do that, but that is not reality.  With shift work, child care issues, injuries, illnesses, and other duties to be looked after, I know not everyone can make it each and every Tuesday, thus the number of guys that we have.

I can tell you that we will not be letting anyone new join this year and that Ogie remains as a part time player.  Other Part time players this year also include, Crow,  Killer, La Bamba,  Mez and Skippy. So, with these 4 on part time status…we will have pretty good turnouts and unfortunately Mini’s.

But on the plus side, and there is a reason for everything,  we all love each other and there is not a greater group of 38 guys any where in Essex County, no check that, Canada…no hold on…the World…so we are lucky to all know each other and be friends, cuz “no man is a failure who has friends”…(Clarence the Angel said that, from ‘Its a Wonderful Life’)

Two quick points, June 14 is the Tomcat Golf Day, there will be an email coming out, and Snowpants, the Minister of Golf-Pyrotechnics, Heating and Cooling and Swiftering is in charge of that, so please get a hold of him, I really would love to see us have our largest group of golfers ever….even if you don’t really golf, come on out and participate.

As for Blogs to continue in the summer, I leave that up to you. 38 possible bloggers, as 38 jackets were handed out.  I am not asking anyone to do anything that they do not want to, feel uncomfortable doing…but if you wanted to write something, so that Rocky could post it up on a Wednesday, Rocky’s email is ccomartin5@cogeco.ca feel free to send him a picture of yourself in your Speedo, a picture of your wife in her Speedo, a story about you farting in a hot tub and diarrhea shit coming out, whatever you, as a Tomcat want to write about.  Write about it.  Blue Sky It. and always end it,  Tomcats Forever!

Click here to read the latest St. Felix.

                          Points         Behind
Hurricanes   609                 —-
Hollywood   594                 13
Soupy            574                 35
Stevo              558                51
Matador        533                 76
Lovie               530                79
Sparky               520             89

Tomcats and friends had lots of fun at this year’s Outdoor Classic.  See you in September!!!!

by Harry Ballsonue

Originally conceived, the thought was to get a 25^th Anniversary jacket of some sort, and to save some money towards the purchase, so that each Tomcat, young and old, rookie or veteran, part time or full time, would only have to pay 25 dollars. (Get it, pay 25 dollars for the 25^th anniversary jacket).  The plan  was  conceived about 2 years ago was indeed achievable and low and behold, the jackets were distributed on the last night of the 2012-2013 Season, thus being receivable.

Unbelievable that the season has come to an end.    What am I going to do with out the My Tomcats.

In the ‘Speeches ‘ department, Hollywood thanks, Crow for the Lake Shore Auto shirts, he thanks, Markia for wearing the leopard shirt at the bar, ( and looking so sexy)  he thanks Jingles, for getting the arena, Bulldog for organizing the event, Snowpants for hogging the ice time, Soupy for getting a haircut at the Canadian Institute for the Blind and he thanked all the ‘outside’ players for playing. 

Hockey:  Well, it was interesting, team White Piggies, lead 10-6 at the start of the third period. Team Black Hogs, working on all cylinders, scored 7 unanswered goals to lead 13-10.  White then scored a goal but it was too little, too late and the Black Hogs won the game 13-11. “I really wanted to take them to overtime, after they scored those 7 goals, I thought, ‘man, if we can just pop one’, but it was not meant to be” indicated the Matador, who looked stunning in his new Tomcat 25th anniversary jacket!

Presentation Department: In the presentation department, Bulldog did a stellar job presenting……Skippy won MVP for best goalie, Beep won MVP for the White Piggies and Soupy won MVP for the Black Hogs.

Tomcat Song: And in case  you were wondering, if the Tomcats sang ‘Tomcats Forever’ at the Dom Polski……the answer is ‘Of Course’.

Jackets: Whilst in the drizzle of the rain, (planned by the Tomcats to cool all the players down) the brand new, spanky clean Tomcat 25th Anniversary Jacket was handed out. “Man do they look sharp”, indicated Chevy. “Wow, Nice Job Hollywood” stated Snowpants and yes, the Matador looked stunning, losing 20 pounds by just wearing his jacket with the collar up.

Chevy, Hurricane and The Turk shown with ‘photoshopped’ umbrella’s in their hands…come on, do you really think these tough Tomcats would need an umbrella to enjoy a drink in the rain???

Ogie and some of the boys enjoy a drink after the game and before heading into the Dom Polski to celebrate the end of another fantastic Tomcat season.

The jackets look great and 38 were purchased and distributed to the Tomcats. “You got to love this organization” stated Sparky, “We ask for 25 dollars for an 80 dollar jacket, you really got to think that is special” concluded Sparky. 

Next blog, should be nest week sometime, but after that, it will be a quiet summer, unless you, the Tomcat want to submit something.,…anything.

The old and the young…Stevo and Youngblood under the umbrella.

“What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself”, Abraham Lincoln had said that.  When it comes to the Tomcats, there is no smell, just a breath of fresh air. Tomcats want to thank Crow for sponsoring the outdoor game and providing beautiful long sleeve shirts to all participants.

So as this year comes to a close, I believe Stevo is going to do the next blog and provide everyone with the results of the surveys, I leave you with some interesting thoughts, that you can talk about today to someone, who is less interesting than you.

Did you know…

• It is physically impossible for pigs to look to the sky
• Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, 2 rats could have over a million descendants.
• The cockroach can live 9 days without its head before starving.
• The ostrich’s eye is bigger than it’s brain. 
• Ants do not sleep
• The brain size of a crocodile is the same size as your thumb
• Chevy’s and Spinner’s shot has been clocked at 110 km/hr
• A mosquito can ‘smell’ the human blood that it wants to make as a meal from a distance of 50 kilometers.  

I don’t know if any of this is true, but I do know, that I would love to put my Harry Ballosonue.

The Tomcats know it is the annual Outdoor Classic.  East vs West…White vs Black.  6:00pm Sharp!!!  Lansbeary Park

WEST – Wearing White :     

Team Captain: Nick Lelyk
Assistant Captain: Ken Cribbley
Honourary Coach: Rex Garnet Albert

EAST – Wearing Black:

Team Captain: Chevy
Assistant Captain:  Hollywood
Honourary Coach: Bob The Legend Skortz

New Format:

– 6 players out plus a goalie -each team – $10 each to play

– 3 -25 minute running time periods

– 1 continuous Game- No shoot unless the game ends in a tie- still tie…5 minute sudden death followed by NHL style shoot

-Teams will be created from Tomcat Tournament Stanley’s Cup Teams (team 1 and 4) vs. (team 2 and 3)

– Additional players can be added-bring your brother, friend, neighbor. Some younger players can be added (15 years and up open to sons /daughters and nephews/nieces etc.)

Awards for: -MVP West, MVP East. Goalie MVP-Door prizes – after party at Dom Polski’s across the street

Good friend and fellow sports writer, Harry Ballsonue, asked me to step in and cover this week’s Tomcat game as he is off on special assignment to cover the possible establishment of a Tomcat farm club team in Puerto Rico.  If Jamaicans can bobsled, then you better damn well believe Puerto Ricans can be trained to play hockey. 

I enjoyed by view from the media suite high above the Kapusta Kow floor, and the free hors d’oeuvres and drinks were nothing to sneeze at.  Quite frankly I was glad Harry was not there as I have no interest in having his balls on me.

While the final game of the 2012-2013 season at the Kapusta did not turn out to be a mini, Tomcat Nation was still provided some stellar hockey.  A traditional Black vs. White with games played to 7 proved that even without the time pressure of mini games, the play can be fast and furious.  There was no let up in this one, and sweat-soaked shirts were everywhere.  The teams suited up this way:

Men in Black – Hurricane, Chevy, Rake, Rocky, Cribz, Doc, Spinner, Ogie, and Razor
White Men Can’t Jump – Hollywood, Soupy, Bulldog, Turk, Mez, Chico, Sparky and the Falcon

The rising Spring temperatures, which made for a hot and sweaty evening in the old Palace, didn’t stop both goalies from making tremendous saves all night long.  In the first game, Falcon was peppered with shots by the MIB.  The MIB jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, only to see the vertical-leap challenged gang claw their way back and take the lead 4-6.  Even though MIB kept the shots coming, Falcon was stopping everything.  In a moment of frustration, Chevy slammed his stick against the net and wall.  This seemed to be a rallying cry as the MIB mustered a brief rally of their own, to bring the game to 6-6 tie.  However, WMCJ had the last laugh taking the game 6-7.  Afterwards, Mez was heard saying “that was the longest game ever played.”  Of course, he says that after every game that takes more than 30 minutes. 

After a brief break to allow the goalies to refill their water bottles and mop the sweat from their faces, the second game was underway.  Determined to avenge the earlier loss, MIB stormed out to another lead, 3-1.  Once again, WMCJ found an answer and was able to match MIB 4-4.  Undeterred, MIB kept pressing and with a final shot from the resident sniper Spinner, MIB was able to secure a victory 7-5.  All players agreed it was much too late for a third game, and the cold beer on stage was more appealing than a rubber match.

Later on stage, the Rake pulled off a super-solid by bringing sausage for the boys to enjoy along with the beer.  Sparky was heard saying ever so eloquently, “I always knew hockey would somehow turn into a sausage fest.”

All Tomcats are reminded of the Outdoor Classic next Tuesday evening starting at 6pm sharp.  Regular sticks allowed.  See the email sent a couple of days ago from Bulldog.  Beer and Pizza back at the Polish club afterwards and the new Tomcat jacket will be handed out.

No need to put Harry Ballsonue…people only remember Howie Feltersnatch