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Friday December 2nd

HUNTSVILLE (Al.): Reports out of the Mayors' practices during their five-day break have been full of jokes and camaraderie with the visiting Peachtrees of the D-League. A couple of former FBA pros on the Georgia club shared some brief comments about the current leaders of the league. "It was a bit weird to play with John Stoat (Stoat, SG, HNT) again, not only with him in Huntsville orange but especially with those darkened goggles of his," said Dan Bailey (Irish Setter, PG, GAP), a former teammate of Stoat on the '09-'10 Rapids. "I never fully appreciated the practice squads when I was with Tennessee, until now when I am on the practice squad. Though I can see why the Mayors are as good as they say," noted 9-year ex-Moonshiner veteran Dido Fielder (Opossum, SG, GAP). Unselected draft candidate Bayu Sidoharjo (Palm Civet, SF, GAP) also expressed his gratitude and excitement about practicing with the Mayors: "It's such a thrill to actually be playing basketball against the pros, let alone the #1 team in the league! Though the former pros on the Peachtrees are really great teachers too." Mayors Head Coach Howard Schnitthund (German Shepherd) has also arranged tickets for the team to attend the Peachtrees' next home game in Macon on Sunday December 4th against the Wyoming Rangers.

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Saturday December 3rd

It was rather unusual for Telki Holland (Chinchilla, G, HNT) to arrive at the Mayors' practice center a full hour early on a Saturday morning. She had really enjoyed the past few days practicing with the D-League Peachtrees, especially catching up with Joe Trundle (Fox, G, GAP) with whom she trained during the first half of her rookie year on the Bantams back in Bradford. She was even looking forward to watching their game tomorrow and signing autographs for the FBA fans that would also be attending the match in Macon, Georgia.

Her excitement, however, turned to a bit of dread when she discovered that she was not the only early ones at the center. As she had pulled up, she saw Aina La'ia (Lemur, G, HNT) handing over a set of keys to Natalie Marlowe (Vixen) before getting into the back seat of a black limo. Telki parked her car just as the limo pulled away, and the rodent knew exactly what had happened. She quickly secured her vehicle and ran up to the GM's secretary who hadn't moved from her spot.

"Is Stefan [Calico (Tabby Cat, Owner/GM, HNT)] crazy?" yelled the chinchilla. "She hadn't even gotten her paws on the hardwood in the regular season!"

"Why are you asking me?" replied the vixen with an indifferent tone. "Your coach got the call this morning; he's inside--"

Telki didn't let Natalie finish, storming past her to confront management in their offices. She didn't need to go that far, as Howard Schnitthund and Philip Ringer (Rat, Asst Coach, HNT) were approaching her from the opposite direction. The initial surprise wore off very quickly when the female rodent cried out, "What the hell? Not even a month in and she's traded?"

"Actually," piped up Ringer, "counting the pre-season--"

Schnitthund held up a paw to cut off his assistant coach, but Telki continued on: "She was doing what you told her to work on in practice, yet she still didn't see any regular season minutes, so what gives?"

"The boss wanted Cassandra Walburg (Tuxedo Cat, G, ALB), and Mr. [Donahue] Frump (Mole, Owner, ALB) approved the trade to be effective after their game tonight against the Minutemen," replied the dog solemnly.

"Bringing in another cat?" Telki spat. "She's less experienced than Aina is!"

"But she's got more experience as a starter than the rest of you point guards combined," noted Schnitthund, "which means she'll call our plays and run them much more efficiently on the floor."

The chinchilla looked stunned for a moment. "You're actually okay with this trade, aren't you?"

The G-shep rubbed his temple. "Yes and no. Walburg is a decent guard, not great, but serviceable. And I understand your concern about Aina, especially when we're supposed to be promoting the 'Teamwork, Respect, and Growth' vision. But the lemur wasn't going to be more than filler here for, heaven forbid, multiple injuries to our back court. Look at it from her perspective: she's going to get minutes on the court now."

"And what about me?" snapped Holland. "You've given Ray [Rodin (Rat, G/F, HNT)] my spot on the bench!"

Schnitthund smirked. "You knew we had to pull you against [Beverly] Madds (North American Beaver, G, BGR), and the only reason you're not in against Tennessee is because of Jamie [Velasquez (Seagull, G/F, TEN)] and her one-flap perimeter defense that would kill your game. I promise, you'll be back in the rotation when we get to Pittsburgh."

The chinchilla crossed her arms. "I'm gonna hold you to that promise, Coach."

A couple of cleared throats drew everyone's attention to the entrance, where Natalie and a tired-looking white wolf were standing. "Did I miss a team meeting?" barked Nina [Lime (Wolf, G, HHT)].

It was Ringer who chimed in again, "Didn't Tina [Ratcliffe (Mouse, Lead Trainer, HNT)] and I tell you, young lady, to take today off from practice? You're not looking like you're at 100%."

The #1 overall pick straightened a bit. "I'm fine, really I am. Haven't been sleeping well, that's all."

"Now that's a lie and even I can smell it," said Telki. "Look, I know you wanna stay behind tomorrow and practice all alone here, but you need to come along with us to watch the Peachtrees!"

"I agree," added Schnitthund, "and I admire your dedication to the team, Nina, but if you really want to be here today then you're hitting the playbook and the video library today. No drills or scrimmages until after you get through the game tape that Philip here will line up for you."

The lupine's ears drooped. "But Coach, I know our playbook--"

"Like Aina knew our playbook?" interrupted the vixen still standing in the doorway.

Nina tilted her head. "What's she talking about?"

Telki stepped up and wrapped an arm around her fellow female on the team. "C'mon, I'll join ya in the video room. I need someone to talk to anyway."

* * * * * * * * * *

Monday December 5th

The alley-oop from Nina Lime to William Handon (Panther, F/C, HNT) for the final deuce of the game with only 1.1 seconds left on the clock was the exclamation point that capped off the Mayors' tenth win in a row. Most Moonshiner fans had left the before the start of the fourth quarter, while the remaining crowd in Explorer Stadium was on their feet cheering loudly for the league leaders. Barry Carpenter (Beaver, F, TEN) slung a long inbound pass to a speedy Chip Nelson (Chipmunk, G, TEN) at half-court, flinging a desperation shot towards the basket which never even came close. After paw-shakes were exchanged between the teams, the Tennessee club got a dose of their own medicine as they got doused on their way off the court with some of the half-priced orange sodas that were being sold as part of a promotion for this game.

After the courtside interviews and the autograph signings were done, the Mayors all gathered in the male locker room, sharing hugs and high-fives before the coaching staff closed the doors behind them to keep the roving photographers and other reporters from interrupting them. Howard Schnitthund cleared his throat and yelled over the rest of the ruckus to get the players' attention, and when things settled down enough the dog addressed the team.

"I'd congratulate you all, but this season is far from over, and there's still a lot of work to be done," began Schnitthund. "All of you did good out there tonight, some more obvious than others, but you can't rest on your laurels. Now that it's very clear that we're not messing around, the bullseye on our backs is just going to grow that much faster.

"Everyone else is gonna hit us hard to try and knock us down, and someone is bound to succeed. Bangor almost did, but you all persevered. And since we're going on the road again, we won't have that extra energy from the crowd behind us. We can't underestimate the Keystones, but we also have to be prepared for teams that we still haven't faced yet."

The canine turned to the lupine in the room. "Nina, you'll be taking starting point in Pittsburgh."

The gasps and noises from the rest of the team clearly expressed the mixture of emotions that the #1 draft pick of 2011 was feeling from the news. The head coach continued, "If you truly believe in our vision of Teamwork, Respect, and Growth, then you'll understand why we need to let our rookie open the game. But for now, the media awaits your reactions to tonight's match, so get your game-faces back on."

The three ladies on the team -- along with Evan Ashton (Lion, F, HNT) -- straightened their uniforms as the coaching staff opened the exit doors and led the females through the sea of photographers and reporters to their own locker room. On the way there, Telki Holland nudged Nina's side and mouthed "we'll talk later" to her, adding in a nod and grin. And one of the security guards gave the wolf a bottle of the promotional orange sodas as she stepped into the women's locker room. With a deep breath, she awaited any media furs wanting to get pictures or comments from her or the other two ladies.

* * * * * * * * * *

Thursday December 8th

"It's not going to work, boss."

The feline furrowed his brow. "Whether it does or not isn't any of my concern until someone gets injured. I thought I told you to let me know immediately if anyone was giving you problems?"

"Well, everyone's been kinda keeping to themselves ever since you spoke to the team... in your towel. And even if I pull them aside, they're all business."

"I see... surely there were repercussions from the trade, right?" mewled the cat.

"Nothing more than what I've already told you. Do you think the players without the no-trade clause are feeling skittish?"

"I'd've gotten wind of it from their agents then, especially when we're leading the league and have the longest winning streak so far this season," noted the Mayors' owner. "No, what I think we may be developing is a paranoid rodent."

"Then should I deactivate--"

"No," interrupted the tabby, "Walburg hasn't been with the team long enough to take full bench duties yet, and you'll need Rodin to fill in at the 3 when the lion or badger have to slide over to power to deal with the 'yote and the U-dub rookie."

"But there's still--"

"The siamese and the other former Biker, I know. Use [Quovaedis] Broyles (Siamese Cat, F, HNT) only at home and only if you need to, but keep [Tyron] Stricker (Porcupine, F, HNT) inactive along with [Wilson] Kent (Bull, F/C, HNT) until I see the team after your back-to-back with Biloxi and Galveston."

"May as well just pull the trigger now. Better than leading them on too long."

"Just worry about the Typhoons, coach, and I'll worry about our long-term goals."

"Fine. Good luck up there."

"Same to you. Goodbye."

The tabby ended the call just as the boarding announcement for his flight to Baltimore echoed from the airport speakers. While his original intentions were to simply get scouting notes on Biloxi, the upper management of the Spirits had extended a personal invitation to a complimentary suite for one of their home games, so why not do both and find out what they've got up their sleeves. He wasn't looking forward to being distracted from his primary goals, but hopefully any negotiations were going to be quick and painless.

* * * * * * * * * *

Saturday December 10th

There was no question in Bailey Brisbane's (Catahoula Leopard Hound, G, HNT) mind, this weekend was going to be a strange one.

The road game on Friday was just the beginning. Even though his team had lost, it was one of his best defensive performances since being drafted last year. Coach Schnitthund had told him to just "trust your instincts", and it helped shut down Jake "O-Town" Velox (Swift Fox, G, TAL) from even getting in the game. He also admitted to the vulpine after the game that challenging him on every move and shot, even chasing him down to get a paw in his muzzle on those longball attempts, was the most fun he'd had, though the other canid wasn't sharing that sentiment.

The canine had expected some major post-game fallout, though just like after their loss at Tennessee earlier in the season, the coaching staff didn't criticize anyone. Praises were showered upon each and every player that recorded any minutes on the floor, and then the media were let in to barrage the club with the standard questions. Through it all, the hound kept his emotions and voice in check, unlike his fiery back court teammate John Stoat whose expletive-filled sound bites were sure to make the sports reports everywhere. Bailey was also impressed with how Nina kept herself composed, letting the reporters know that she's happy that she's doing much better than most of the other rookies in the league so far. And she emphasized what everyone else on the club had said in their own way: every setback is motivation to work harder.

The weirdness came about on Saturday, when Philip greeted everyone for their scheduled practice instead of Howard, claiming that the G-shep had a family emergency of some sort. Most of the session was a supervised free-for-all, with nobody being assigned to specific drills or studies in the video room or workouts in the gym, and at the lunch break the rodent made an announcement that got everyone concerned: "Enjoy the rest of the day off -- the rest of practice today and Sunday's session have been canceled. Feel free to stick around as I'll be in the office, but you've all been working so hard that you deserve at least one full day without us looking over your shoulders. Last one out though needs to see me so I can lock up, 'kay?"

Bailey decided he wanted to catch up on game tape on the Mudpuppies and Sand Dollars, as they were the next two opponents in the schedule, but he couldn't help notice how Telki Holland was being furtive in her attempts to communicate with the other three ladies -- well, two and Evan Ashton who seemed to like hanging out with his former Albany teammate Cassandra Walburg. The dog made a mental note to keep an eye on that little clique, but also resolved to have a discussion with Coach Ringer about what was really going on.

And that was when his cellphone vibrated in his pocket, where he saw the text message from Stefan Calico telling him to get to the airport ASAP to catch a chartered flight to Galveston and join him and coach Schnitthund for the night game against the Santa Ana Spectrums. And that the two dogs were to have a discussion on the return trip about the future direction of the team for the rest of the year. Brisbane shot a look over at Ringer, who was busy arguing with Ray Rodin over something, and just shook his head.

How much weirder could it get around here? thought the hound.

* * * * * * * * * *

FBA Transactions - Monday December 12th updated regularly by T.Matt Latrans

Prior to their game against the Mudpuppies, the Huntsville Mayors traded Tyron Stricker to the Baltimore Spirits for Brittany Jameston (Lemur, G/F).

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Tuesday December 13th

Bailey Brisbane watched his team recapture the double-digit lead as he sat on the bench with an icepack wrapped around his left ankle. While he was told that it wasn't a serious sprain or anything, the bit of pain he was still feeling convinced the coaching staff and trainers that it would be best to rest the canine for the remainder of the game. It was somewhat embarrassing how it all happened, but seeing his teammates working even harder made the play seem like a good lesson in what not to do in a scoring drought.

The Galveston felines had opened the fourth quarter fast and furious, scoring 5 quick buckets to the Mayors' lone trey from John Stoat. Even with the crowd cheering for defense, the speedy duo of Sarah Lancaster (Cheetah, G, GAL) and JTigerclaw (Tiger, G, GAL) managed to pull a great double-pick with Sharon Sawchuk (Cougar, G/F, GAL) that found Bailey guarding JT as he dribbled just within the arc. A jab-step to his right was followed by a sudden burst of speed to the tiger's left, but Brisbane had bit on the fake and found himself on his tail while the striped feline sunk the open deuce to force the Mayors to burn a time out with a tiny one-point lead. The hound would come up hobbling back to the huddle, and while Tina Ratcliffe took a look at the dog, Howard Schnitthund rotated his lineup to cover for the missing sophomore.

And the coverage was phenomenal. JuJu slid into point where he was for the past two games and lit up the scoreboard with his effortless jumpers and crisp assists, while Jim McCormick (Badger, G/F, HNT) took up defensive duties against Tiggie and forced the tiger to take more difficult shots or pass the ball more. But it was longtime veteran Tyler Kiko (Goat, F, HNT) who stepped up at the power forward position and relied on his experience to draw buckets-and-ones on both Sawchuk and Ione Estrada (Chameleon, G/F), then hassling Jack Howell (Wolf, F/C) when he came in off the bench to try and help Galveston close the gap once more.

When the final buzzer sounded and the scoreboard showed a clear 15-point victory for Huntsville, Bailey gingerly stood up and made his way along the sideline to shake paws with some of the Sand Dollars for playing a great game before heading back to rejoin his teammates and coaches. One of the courtside reporters did come up to him and asked about the Mayors' performance while he was sidelined. After a pause for breath, he replied, "They showed what great teamwork we all have, and I've grown to have a much deeper respect for the effort they put in." When the reporter asked how his injury was, Bailey waved dismissively. "The trainers are being overly cautious, but I'm grateful that they're looking out for me. Though I believe I shouldn't keep them waiting."

And he shuffled off, trailing the rest of his fellow league leaders on the way to the locker rooms.