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Wednesday May 23rd

#5 TEN @ #4 HNT: L Moonshiners 94, W Mayors 95 (HNT leads 1-0) PLAYER OF THE GAME: Bailey Brisbane (Catahoula Leopard Hound, G, HNT)

Things are schizophrenic in the Southern Division with two all-South series in the first round. The first one got under way tonight when the #4 Mayors hosted the #5 Moonshiners. Bailey Brisbane opened up with a team-carrying performance, punching big numbers into the first, including a terrific off-balance midrange jumper drawing the and one. John Stoat (Stoat, G, HNT) hit two of his four treys of the night in the first frame, giving the home team an early lead, though not by much. Aragon Fisher (Otter, G, TEN), Jamie Velasquez (Seagull, G/F, TEN) and Paul Teronura (Otter, C, TEN) all supported each other smartly, with PT keeping the glass clean with his webbed paws and Velasquez making smart use of the one-flap to get tip-ins for big second chance points. The Moonshiners trimmed the lead by 1 going into halftime, but then evened the score up in the third when the beavers took over. Ryan Thatcher (American Beaver, G/F, TEN) and Barry Carpenter (Beaver, F, TEN) both dominated the third with Thatcher drilling home two corner treys and Carpenter muscling his way inside the paint. A dramatic fourth quarter saw each team stealing back the lead. Brisbane nailed a runner across the key to get the goahead one-point lead with 51 seconds left. Then Jeff Random (Pit bull, G, TEN) knocked down a jumper from the high post to take back the lead with 38 left. Then Telki Holland (Chinchilla, G, HNT) hit a long ball that was almost 3 points until Tennessee head coach Angus Macpherson (Highland bull, HC, TEN) argued over a paw on the line. And with 25 seconds left, the Moonshiners whittled down the clock until Paul Teronura could rebound and dunk a missed 3-ball by Thatcher with 6 seconds left. After a time out, the Mayors rushed the interior, moving the ball quickly for an open look. That open look was eventually found by rookie Nina Lime (Wolf, G/F) who found space near the baseline and snapped twine at 0.3 seconds taking the 1 point lead and winning the first game of the series.

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Friday May 25th

#5 TEN @ #4 HNT: W Moonshiners 101 , L Mayors 99 (Series tied 1-1) PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jamie Velasquez (Seagull, G/F, TEN)

With every other series going 2-0 tonight, the battle in the South was refreshing with it's ending 1-1 split. The Rum Runners were evenly matched with City Hall in Game 1, when Nina Lime stole the game with a near buzzer-beating jumper for the 1 point win. But tonight was different. Jamie Velasquez found her game again, tearing it up in the first half while the Mayors starting line slept. But the Tennessee 10 point lead vanished when Telki Holland replaced Bailey Brisbane and finished the first quarter with a 12-2 run to tie up the score. The rodent was a blur in the second half as coach wisely left her in. Holland used her small size to exploit openings between the towering Paul Teronura and Jason Gilliam (Wolf, F, TEN). With a big assist from the arc by John Stoat, the Mayors managed to just keep ahead of the Rum Runners until a pair of 3-balls from Thea De Csepel (White German Shepherd, G/F, TEN) cut the deficit to 2. Coming out of halftime, PT brought the muscle and powered down some big dunks over Hassan Kamal (Camel, C, HNT). But getting tired early in the frame, Noah Cooper (Antelope, F/C, TEN) stepped in and improved on his work. Dominating the low post, the Moonshiners retook the lead for the final frame. Early in the fourth, Holland fouled out with her sixth defensive foul, but Quovaedis Broyles (Siamese Cat, F, HNT) stepped up in a big way, combining his scoring with Stoat's to strip at the deficit. Lime almost got a chance to relive history when she tied up the score with only 8 seconds left off a contested jumper from midrange. After the time out, Fisher ran down the clock, then passed to Velasquez who drew the double team. But a quick pass to the weak side put the rock in Cooper's hands to complete the dunk over the D with 1.1 seconds left. The Mayors missed the desperation shot, handing the 2-point win to the Moonshiners, tying up the series 1-1 after 2 ridiculously close games.

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Sunday May 27th

#4 HNT @ #5 TEN: L Mayors 80, W Moonshiners 106 (TEN leads 2-1) PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jamie Velasquez (Seagull, G/F, TEN)

With the series coming to Tennessee and the Moonshiners glowing after their road win against Huntsville, the air was electric in the Still. And it wasn't just the special playoffs brew being sold in the stands. An old tradition was brought back to life when plastic tarps were put over the visitor's tunnel and fans were encouraged to fling their beers down on the team below as they came racing out to the court. That got the crowd jazzed up, and they kept that energy throughout the game, giving their team one of the biggest home field advantages seen so far this post season. And the game showed it. The first quarter left the Mayors starting line shellshocked as they had a disastrous open. At one point, the Moonshiners were 16-0 on the scoreboard before Jim McCormick (Badger, G/F, HNT) finally got on the board. It wasn't long before Howard Schnitthund (German Shepherd, HC, HNT) was angrily getting Nina Lime and Telki Holland on the court. That helped slow the bleeding, but a brutal 1-2 from Aragon Fisher and Jamie Velasquez gave the home team a big lead without ever looking back. Stoat and Kamal returned and got solid numbers for the rest of the game, but they got no support from their team, shaken by the screaming crowd. Meanwhile, the Moonshiners were just on fire. Everyone pitched in with Jeff Random drilling home big shots in the second and third, Ryan Thatcher knocking down three corner shots in a row, and Barry Carpenter and Paul Teronura wiping up the game in the fourth. The crowd loved every minute of it, cheering to deafening levels when PT delivered a signature webbed-paw swat to Kamal's layup attempt, followed by the big guy holding up his hands to the crowd. The Tennessee 26-point win puts the club up 2-1 in the series and completely in control of the momentum.

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Tuesday May 29th

#4 HNT @ #5 TEN: W Mayors 104 , L Moonshiners 88 (Series tied 2-2) PLAYER OF THE GAME: Bailey Brisbane (Catahoula Leopard Hound, G, HNT)

It's no lie. With so many dominant teams, the first round of the 2012 Playoffs are shaping up to be a sea of sweeps. Except for one matchup. Huntsville and Tennessee have kept their series close, with both clubs having lead once after just 3 games. The two clubs have come off surprisingly evenly matched. With superstar John Stoat, the Mayors seemed to have the edge, especially with solid support from Hassan Kamal and Bailey Brisbane. But Tennessee proved themselves to have a rich collection of talent. The pairing of good friends Paul Teronura and Barry Carpenter has turned to big numbers for the Moonshiners [and a new bar & seafood grill for downtown Nashville, opening soon]. Logan Scott (Okapi, G/F, TEN) and Jeff Random filled out an effective bench. But the biggest surprise has been Jamie Velasquez, a has-been veteran everyone had forgotten until this year when she remade herself into a superstar-caliber talent. And together, they had a team with a genuine shot at making the Finals. With a fresh playoffs brew being served to the rowdy fans, the Rum Runners got to work, but got stymied tonight by a focused, efficient Mayors back court. Brisbane and Stoat pulled out all the stops to lay out a superb game on the court. A sliver of a lead turned into a huge spread in the second quarter when Telki Holland once again lit up the game from the bench. The Moonshiners struggled to react in the second half, regrouping and changing their tactics, but they only managed to keep up with the Mayors and never scratched at the big lead from the first half, not when Kamal and Holland were hitting shots both from the woods and the kennel. Carpenter played hard, but inconsistent ball, going hot in the third, but cold again in the fourth, giving the Mayors the chance to earn an assertive 14-point win to tie up the series at 2-2.

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Thursday May 31st

#5 TEN @ #4 HNT: L Moonshiners 98, W Mayors 99 (HNT leads 3-2) PLAYER OF THE GAME: Bailey Brisbane (Catahoula Leopard Hound, G, HNT)

There's no doubt about it, the best contest going on this round of the playoffs is happening between the Moonshiners and the Mayors. With the series tied up at 2 a piece, these clubs are just as evenly matched as they get. John Stoat wasn't taking it well in a pre-game interview, reminscing about a time when Jamie Velasquez was known for being a clumsy, sloppy player. "How the f*** did she get this good?" he snapped in a censored quote.

The game started off slowly with defense heavy on both sides. With his teammates struggling to get at the cup, Aragon Fisher started shooting to reasonable success, but not as much as Bailey Brisbane who was excellent through the whole night. His performance would be the bedrock to the steadily quiet Mayors. The Moonshiners, on the other hand, were either off or on. After a slow start, they pumped up their game in the second with Barry Carpenter using his strength to overpower the aging Tyler Kiko (Goat, F, HNT), as well as making excellent use of his tail. He drew two penalties from the goat, both from stepping on it. Hassan Kamal had an excellent second quarter, but not much else, though he did much better than the sluggish Paul Teronura who looked like he hadn't gotten enough fish that morning. But of course, Jamie Velasquez came to the rescue, warming up in the second before coming out of halftime to turn the game around. But when her teammates turned to ice in the third, they fell behind big, allowing the Mayors to hit their stride with a 14-0 run. Carpenter returned to form in thr fourth, getting an assist from Fisher and Noah Cooper off the bench. They scraped at the deficit until the very end when they tied it. Then after a timeout, the Moonshieners dramatically took the lead by a bucket when Carpenter made a put-back dunk off a missed Fisher jumpshot. With under a second left, the Mayors didn't seem to have a chance -- except that they still do have one of the finest pure shooters in the FBA. The ball was inbound to Stoat, who took two steps before launching the hail mary from halfcourt. And despite the darkened lens on his goggle, he rattled down the shot, earning the 3 and the 1-point win to steal back the game to a deafening cheer from the crowd. With that, Huntsville goes up 3-2 as the series moves back to Tennessee.

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Saturday June 2nd

#4 HNT @ #5 TEN: L Mayors 88, W Moonshiners 118 (Series tied 3-3) PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jamie Velasquez (Seagull, G/F, TEN)

After tonight's game, the FBA handed a $30,000 fine to John Stoat after he was overheard by a reporter calling Jamie Velasquez "that feathery b----."

That's probably all you need to know.

The Moonshiner fans were whipped up to a frenzy in The Still, their cheers rattling against the copper tanks above the seats overlooking the court. In a goodwill gesture, the furry mayor of Nashville arrived before the game and allowed the fans to dump their beers on him as an effigy for the visiting team. That'll earn him some votes this election year.

And it might have wokred. The Moonshiners got off to a huge start when the team went 10-0 before the Mayors even scored. That forced them to burn an early time out. But Barry Carpenter was on fire, pushing back Tyler Kiko and getting his webbed paws on the rim again and again. Jeff Random added more aggression to the back court while John Stoat kept clanging the ball off the steel. After the time out, they switched to Bailey Brisbane playing offense with better results. Still, Tennessee had a 7 point lead.

That got even bigger in the second when Velasquez and Aragon Fisher turned it on. The guard pair just tag-teamed the Mayors, hitting from opposite side of the court. Thea De Csepel was a big help as well, drawing defense away from the arc and kicking out to her teammates. Stoat warmed up in this frame and got a boost from the mostly quiet Nina Lime, but the Moonshiners broke out into a 17 point lead before half time.

Whatever Coach Schnitthund said to the Mayors in the lockerroom, it didn't do a thing. The team limped out to weak, uninspired play, and no matter how furstrated and furious Stoat got, he couldn't get his teammates to back him up. In the meantime, Paul Teronura found a new wind in the second half, taking over for the slacking Carpenter, which turned out to be no accident. In a later interview, PT admitted that Woodchuck had challenged him pick up the slack in the second half. And the big otter accepted.

It was just one more colorful story in what became a 30-point blowout. The Mayors retired their starting line early, just protecting their players for Game 7 as the Moonshiners won to deafening cheers, trying the series at 3 a piece, and earning a shot at making it to the second round in the next game in Huntsville.

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Sunday June 3rd

"I'm just saying they're jumping to conclusions."

"Come on, Alastor, you know what Stoat's like," Osric (Grizzly Bear) grumbled.

"That's not relevant to my point," Alastor (Pine Marten) countered, folding his arms and glowering. Osric was one of the few furs allowed to call Alastor by his first name, and not just because they both worked at the FBA Legal Department in New York City. Even as friends, the two could disagree vehemently. "This reporter 'overheard' it, and it would be the perfect sensationalist scoop that nobody would question!"

The marten, whose head only came up to Osric's chest, glared impertinently. The big bear folded his arms and glared back. "They're not dropping the fine."

Alastor swished his brown tail back and forth, frustrated. "There was no interview, Ozzie. It is hearsay. Defamatory hearsay, I might point out. He overhears something nobody else can confirm? Come on."

Osric sighed and leant on the marten's desk, putting a heavy paw on Alastor's shoulder. A disdainful look from the mustelid, and he quickly removed it. Osric tried a different tack. "Didn't you used to work for the Mayors? In-house counsel?"

Alastor barely blinked. "So? This is an objective observation, Ozzie."

"And Stoat's English, like you." Osric teased. "You're both mustelids. Are you sure there's nothing personal in this quest for justice of yours?"

Alastor's tail bottlebrushed, and his whiskers twitched indignantly. Osric had the annoying ability to push all his buttons. "I am neither Anglocentric nor some ghastly pro-mustelid loon, sah! I was merely pointing out that this fine has been hastily slapped on a player, without any defence or serious investigation to the claim!"

Osric held up his paws in mock defence at the marten's fiery retort. "Oi, don't take it like that, sah. I'm just saying, maybe you're being a little too aggressive."

"What do you call a thirty-thousand dollar fine, if not aggressive?" Alastor shot back, raising his eyebrows and tilting his head. He knew how to irritate Osric just as well. "Do you even know this reporter's name? Do we trust the unconfirmed, uncited and inflammatory word of the media? Do we-..."

"Alright, Alastor, alright!" Osric bellowed over the top of him. The keen ears of the office's inhabitants perked, as the conversation-turned-debate grew progressively louder. There was nothing quite like a good-natured shouting match, with Alastor Fremantle involved, to break up the day's tedium. "Maybe I can make some enquiries. Maybe. That's not a binding promise, you understand that?"

Alastor's eyes narrowed, as he tried to find some loophole around Osric's words. "And if there's no way to confirm the claim is actually true?"

Osric grinned. "Then I suppose you'll come down on them like a ton of bricks, you despicable villain."

Alastor steepled his fingers and raised one eyebrow. "Indeed. Fetch my top hat."

Osric gave a deep chuckle, then stopped, and frowned. "You don't really have a top hat, do you?"

"It was part of school uniform at Harrow," Alastor explained, amused at the bear's expression. His old school uniform had been eye-catching even in its day, with the hat, cane and smart Sunday suit.

Osric shook his head in disbelief, and headed for the office door. "See you, Alastor."

"Don't forget to enquire after that fine!" Alastor called after him. The bear gave a lazy wave and strolled out of sight. Grumbling to himself, Alastor turned back to his computer. He hoped he would be proven right. Osric did not need any more ammunition to irritate the marten, if he was wrong.