Saturday, November 3

The Minutemen were trying their best to come back, the Patriot Stadium crowd cheering them on, but the knockout punch in the first quarter seemed to be the difference maker. The Dakota Bikers were dealt a crushing blow to their season plans when it was found out that their new starting center, Daniel Quvianuq (Polar Bear, C, DAK) appeared to badly hurt his knee in the game against Plymouth and was awaiting MRI results and further X-rays. The team doctors were hopeful, it was said, but the prognosis was not good.

And Buck Hopper (Rabbit, PG, DAK) and Ryan Malone (Kangaroo, SG, DAK) were both pissed.

Daniel was the guy to get them back to the top, and now he's out, possibly for months?? They wouldn't stand for it. So for once they focused and worked together, and the results were devastating. The Bikers had a 34-24 lead after one and were never really threatened, even as new Minutemen captain Vera La Tiérra (Red Vixen, PG, WIL) and Eric Logan (Elephant, C, WIL) tried to lead them back.

Her boldness was shown on an effortless stop-and-pop three in Buck's to get the Minutemen within three late in the third, but Buck responded on the other end by faking Vera so badly she dropped to a knee, then weaving hs way through the defenses for a powerful one-handed slam. A miss by Leonard Mack (Fox, PF, WIL) and a responding bucket by Stephanie Beck (Deer, PG, DAK) got the Bikers back to a safer lead.

In the fourth, after an acrobatic slam by Malone put the Bikers up by eight, Eleanor Rigby (Deer, PG, WIL) passed the ball off to Ain Iannizzi (Cougar, SF, WIL) who had to post up on Terrell Vora (Honey Badger, DAK, SF). He tried a turn-around jumper, but the badger savagely smacked the ball out-of-bounds, giving the ball back to the Minutemen.

"Hah! If you concentrate on your game as much as your hair, you'd probably be in this game!" Vora chortled.

"What did you say?!" Ain growled. The badger grinned a toothy grin.

"You heard me, pretty kitty."

Iannizzi snarled and shoved the badger in the chest. Vora shoved the cougar back and the two grabbed each other's arms, shouting at each other. Almost instantly, though, Ain felt himself being tugged away by Leonard Mack. The large red fox walked him back.

"It's not worth it, Ferrari, let it go," he said close to his ear.

Ain scowled, but calmed down. Terrell did the same scowl as Jack Wayans (Black Labrador, PF, DAK) walked him away from the scene.

"You lose your cool, TV, and they get back in the game. It's good to be intense, but you should have left it at the block."

"Fine, Jack," Vora muttered, nodding. Referee Steve Maxwell (Panda) gave both offendees off-setting technicals.

Both teams traded baskets the rest of the way, including some nice soft-touch jumpers by Jarrod Frola (Cat, SF, WIL) and rookie Arturo de la Rosa (Duck, PF, DAK). The Bikers eventually settled the score with a 118-108 win. Despite the loss in front of the home crowd, the Minutemen got one thing they wanted out of the game: they got to saw what happeend if Buck and Ryan worked together. The Bikers, on the other hand, had to move on and change plans drastically if Quvinaq was out for long.

If Buck and Ryan worked together like they did, though, they could get through it, and new coach Ning Fenwatcher (Panda Bear, DAK) knew that. He knew the Bikers needed them as veteran leaders, and told them such after the game. "Every piece of experience you guys bring to the table is important. Combine that together and we can execute our game plan, just like we did tonight. Fight, and it goes a little awry. Don't forget that."

Minutemen coach Morgan Roosevelt told the team he was proud of everyone's efforts after the game, but they needed to tighten up the defenses somewhat. "It's okay to gauge your opponents and abilites now, and hedge your bets until the games start to count, but never forget that you are developing habits for the season, so make them good ones," he advised.

Wise words from veteran coaches.

FBA c  BuckHopper