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Friday March 23rd

For their first home game after the Vernal Equinox, a new ad was played on the marquee displays outside Explorer Stadium, as well as on the Jumbotron above the court during the Whips-Mayors pre-game. The promo began with three words appearing individually on lines by themselves: "WINTER IS OVER". It then switched to the Mayors' logo, with the monocle darkening from clear to black and the white moustache changing to brown. The end of the ad briefly flashed a picture of John Stoat (Stoat, G, HNT), his pelt no longer pure white for the winter but in transition to a fine rich brown.

The game itself was quite exciting, with the home team making a comeback in the fourth quarter to recapture the lead, only to lose in the final seconds by a single bucket. Still, sales of the "new" logo went quite well.

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Wednesday March 28th

Philip Ringer (Rat, Asst. Coach, HNT) could not believe his large ears.

Then again, everything about this season was pretty much a big surprise.

"This is our last long home stand of the year," barked Head Coach Howard Schnitthund (German Shepherd) before practice Wednesday morning. "Six games against tough teams, which could spell the difference between catching up to the Mudpuppies or conceding the division championship to them. Going .500 won't cut it, 4-out-of-6 won't cut it, we need all six of these wins in order to keep in contention.

"Now you don't want to know what happens otherwise. The higher-ups have something big planned if we drop any one of these upcoming games. And with two back-to-backs, it's going to be a challenge. It's up to you to rise up to this challenge; we coaches can only do so much to guide you. Don't hold back, play hard, and always remember that we're here for you."

After the dog dismissed the team, he pulled the rat aside and filled him in on the "big plan". And while the rodent understood the logic behind it, he knew that he was going to end up being the one trying to explain it to the team... unless everyone succeeded in a perfect home stand.

Which he was desperately hoping for.

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FBA Week 20 Recaps

Wednesday March 28th: TEN 101, HNT 105 A divisional rivalry special promo was featured for this game, with limited edition official FBA DVDs featuring highlights of historic and current Mayors games against the Mudpuppies, Moonshiners, and Typhoons being available in the gift shop. 5 lucky fans in attendance received the 3-pack set autographed by the Huntsville players.

Thursday March 29th: TAL 89, HNT 118 The divisional rivaly promotion continued in this back-to-back match, with progressive discounts on 2-or-more Dawg Pack merchandise. And while the elder badger brother would do better on the stat sheets than his sibling, it was the younger brother's team that had the 19-point victory.

Saturday March 31st: NWK 100, HNT 113 It was Throwback Weekend in Explorer Stadium, with the Mayors sporting patches on their uniforms commemorating the 1996 championship which was the first in Huntsville after the relocation from St. Paul. The team even played like champions, taking an early lead and managing to hold onto it despite a rally by the Pride just before and coming out of halftime.

Sunday April 1st: LOR 94, HNT 105 The tail end of Throwback Weekend saw the Mayors sporting their St. Paul jerseys, while the visiting Firestorm had replicas of their original uniforms from their founding year. And with a fat 17-point lead after three quarters, the home team gradually rotated out their stars in the final frame to rest up for their next match.

Tuesday April 3rd: BGR 110, HNT 92 An early altercation off a collision between starting point guards John Stoat (Stoat, PG, HNT) and Wendy Brown (Saber-toothed Tiger, PG, BGR) saw both players sitting out for most of the first half with technical fouls. Without their veteran superstar on the floor, the Mayors fell far behind in the opening frame and could not make up the deficit.

Thursday April 5th: SAS 101, HNT 104 A somber moment of silence preceded the start of the game as special guest Healey Davis (Cheetah, G/F, HNT, retired) said a few words about the late Jackson Price (Fisher+, SAS). And while the visiting Spectrums managed to hold onto a slim lead for most of the game, the Mayors hit clutch baskets in the final quarter to pull ahead to salvage a fifth win out of their six-game home stand.

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Friday April 6th

"This is a very dangerous move you're making," warned the dog. "This late in the season--"

"You had your chance, the players blew their assignments, and now that team is poised to make a run," interrupted the feline. "Besides, the deal is pretty much done, just that those boys up north are taking their sweet time confirming the details."

Coach Schnitthund rubbed his temples and growled softly. "You're throwing away your vision just to prove a point!"

"Am I now?" asked Stefan Calico (Tabby Cat, Owner/GM, HNT) as he leaned forward on the desk and crossed his paws in front of his nose. "You really thought he was going to be one of the core nine?"

"You've seen him playing for nearly six months! He's got talent, or else he wouldn't have been drafted here!" barked the shep.

"But he's relied too much on his luck and his defensive skills to keep our opponents in line," noted the cat. "You've seen his contributions to the offense, he's not made a significant impact like we need."

"And you think we can do better with--"

"It's not about doing better," interrupted Stefan again, "but about becoming better. He's had all this time to work on being a more consistent shooter. Instead he's flaunting his blocks and rebounds."

The canine opened his muzzle to reply, but at that moment the intercom buzzed. "Excuse me, gentlefurs, but there's a priority call on line one," said the female secretary's voice.

Both Calico and Schnitthund frowned. "They're calling again?" asked the dog.

"Our performance has them worried that we're not following through," said the tabby. "The illusion can only go on for so long."

"We have to tell them everything then," snapped the shep, "before they get caught up in it too!"

"The less they know, the easier it'll be," remarked Stefan. "I shouldn't keep this call waiting much longer, but think of this move as his escape clause."

"And what about me? And you?" asked Howard.

"I can handle myself. You'll be fine. Now shoo," purred the cat as he motioned the coach towards the door.

As Schnitthund left the office, he began to have doubts about the commitment he made to Calico. He understood the importance of sticking to the overall plan, but even he knew that it could blow up in their muzzles if anyone outside the organization really knew what was going on. At least Phil hadn't pried too deeply, and followed instructions well enough. Looking back at the closed office door, the dog pondered for a moment just where Stefan's priorities were, before heading back downstairs to rejoin the rest of the team.