Last returning Bucks

And it's a wrap. The last three returning Bucks were announced on Thursday. They are:


JAMES HIEBERT


ADAM RIVET















IGOR AGARUNOV

Excellent!

Nice little gadget from The Laredo Bucks website. Good job!

Way to go Chris!

Congratulations to Chris Korchinski for being invited to the training camp of the AHL's San Antonio Rampage. Rumor is that he might be skating with the Rampage at this Friday's pre-season game between the Rampage and the Houston Aeros at the LEC. Show 'em what you've got, Chris!

Proud mama

Here's a photo essay from today's newspaper which was done by my daughter.

Margettie sticks to hockey

Donnie Margettie did not retire after all. The Blooming-ton Illinois Prairie Thunder announced the signing of Donnie for the 2007-2008 season. The Prairie Thunder are one of six teams in the newly named IHL -- International Hockey league formerly known as the UHL -- United Hockey League. Best wishes to Donnie. That's one lucky team.

It's Bes!

Jeff Bes returns to the Laredo Bucks for a fifth season and as assistant coach for the second season. Three more returning Bucks to go......Hiebert, Rivet, & Agarunov.

Best looking logo in the CHL

Another announcement tomorrow

A returning player is making it official tomorrow at 1:00 P.M. We have Agarunov, Heibert, Rivet, & Bes left to sign. The concensus is that it is Iggy. But to tell you the truth, it really doesn't matter who's next. They're all terrific signees and we're ecstatic that they are returning.

According to Coach Rosco, The Laredo Bucks are not affiliated with any AHL team as in prior years. No reason has been given. But do we really need an affiliation? I am not familiar with the whole business of affiliation so I'm not sure whether it's better to be or not to be.

In other seasons when the competition between rivals and higher ranked teams was heating up, a call up from the San Antonio Rampage for one of our star players really put a damper on the team. And, not only that, the player's stats would suffer. An unfair situation if you ask me.

I wonder what really happened to sever the relationship of affiliation. I wish coach would touch a bit on this----whose decision it was and why. I'm curious.

About the ads......

I hope you won't be offended, but my goal is to raise a few bucks ($$$) to buy a new digital camera. My old 5MP point & shoot is 5 years old, and lately I've been getting blue images. So if you're interested in some of the products or services offered by our merchants, feel free to check them out.

I've been laughing at myself this evening trying to figure out how to add the ads to the blog. I am such a moron. LOL! I mean you click on some blogs, and the way they've set up their ads is really appealing. I find myself clicking on them all the time.

What should be a relatively easy task for many, has become a difficult challenge for me. Anyway, I'm not giving up. So, occasionally, you will see the same familiar ads or you may not. Bear with me please. I will master this no matter what.

Mr. President

President Bill Clinton visited Laredo on Friday, Sept. 14. My daughter, who is a photographer for the local newspaper, was on hand to snap some. She wasn't scheduled to take these photos. It was a last minute call to which she jumped at the chance. He shook her hand and smiled and she's been on cloud 9 since.

Here's a photo that she submitted to The Associated Press. The San Antonio Express News website used it. They listed the credit to AP and failed to add my daughter's name. Oh well, it's her first published AP photo and about a very prominent American. Couldn't be luckier.

I told you so.......

It's Weidlich & Elliott! A marvelous pair. These boys bring so much to the team.

I love to watch Weidlich block everybody's view of the net. He glides backwards like a swan. Every season, this will be his sixth, Steve has given 110% of himself on the ice.

Paul is the man that will try anything to block a shot. He's got this great move where he slides across our goalie like a runner approaching home base. Fantastic!

I wish the Bucks website would put news stories every day. They speak of an upcoming announcement, and then nothing until that day of the announcement. How about interviews with the ones who've signed up, whether rookies coming to camp or returning Bucks? What did they do in the off season? For God's sake.......something. Don't just let it hang like that.

Wonder if there will be creative activities for this coming season. Better intermission shows, new music - not just "Carwash" over and over. There is so much out there that can be used at the games, such as classic music videos. We never see any of that. They've been in a rut for the past 4 years and nobody gives a damn. What a shame. Young minds at the helm with absolutely no vision whatsoever. And what is sadder is the fact that they have all the resources at arm's reach, but they're too damn lazy to care. Oh, but look for them at the bars on the weekends and you'ld swear they've got it all together. Pitiful bunch.

Who'll be next?

The Laredo Bucks will announce on Thursday, Sept. 13, the re-signing of 2 players. Hmmmm......let's see.....we have 6 returning players yet to sign, so I say it's two out of those six. LOL! It could be Bes, Weidlich, Elliott, Agarunov, Rivet, or Hiebert. My personal guess is that it will be two defensemen: Weidlich & Elliott. We'll see.

The Office Nazi

This isn't hockey related, but perhaps some of you may relate to a similar situation you've encountered before.

Does your office have an "Office Nazi"? You know, the one who takes the company policies home to read in their spare time or bathroom visits? He is the one who thrives on complaining. Their entire life is miserable, so they use complaining as a way to bond with other people.

My "Office Nazi" is a woman who has 18 plus years experience in this state social services program. I'll call her Marge for reference's sake, and not her real name. She's good at what she does, and she makes sure that everyone knows how good she is. Co-workers say that she has issues eating the core of her existence. The fact that her marriage ended in divorce is a clue about Marge's bitterness. I guess Marge doesn't realize that we all have issues and personal problems that we have to deal with outside of our work environment.

I started as a volunteer at this office after I suddenly found myself unemployed from our failed family business. After 4 months of volunteering, I became a full time employee and Marge's favorite punching bag. I came from a totally different work background. The only similarity is that both have customer service as a top priority.

It has taken awhile to learn my duties and that of the other co-workers. Although discouraging at first, I was determined to learn all I could and become a productive member of this office. In all honesty, I have alot more to learn. I have only begun to scratch the surface. We provide a multifaceted social service that is not easily learned in a nutshell, but rather by hands on interaction.

Well, Marge has no tolerance for weak performers. She is ruthless, and if she feels that an employee is violating company policy or not providing top notch customer service, she sends harsh e-mails to our office manager. She is not tactful nor diplomatic about it - just plain vicious. And not only that, she writes it all in capital letters and her tone reeks of sarcasm.

The rumor is that this woman has been chosen by management to target slow performing individuals to the point of resignation. Co-workers tolerate her devious tactics in fear of losing their jobs. They feel that she may have connections to our state office. Management condons her harassment and makes light of her complaints, but is demanding of those whose complaint the e-mail is about without a fair explanation of the event in question.

And this is what irks me the most. Marge's complaints are considered the truth above all. But little do they know that Marge is a huge liar and exagerates everything she writes about. I hate liars, so when Marge threw one of these e-mails to my manager, I responded. After a couple of e-mail exchanges, I realized that I was becoming just as hateful and bitter as she, so I advised my manager that I was done responding to her and asked her if I could be excused from answering her e-mails in the future. My manager was out of town at the time, and once she returns we are to have a chat with Marge. I know that I will be sick to my stomach when this happens. Thanks for letting me vent; I feel much better.

To be continued.......

4 DOWN, 6 TO GO.........

So far, 4 returning Bucks have been re-signed: Korchinski, Genovy, Dube & Simoes. We've yet to hear about the rumored ones: Weidlich, Elliott, Hiebert, Rivet, Agarunov, & the magnificent Bes.

It's overdue. The announcements should be coming soon. The wild card, Guerrera, is still rumored, but not confirmed. Would be an awesome addition if it is true.

How long coach?

Well, certainly the hoopla of the BIG announcements was worth its weight. Coach Ruskowski has signed to a lifetime contract to coach The Laredo Bucks. A very touching decision on coach's part, and an overly hyped one on the organization's part. Similar to retiring the jersey with the #1 in honor of Laredo Bucks fans being the number one fans in the CHL. We all know that if the Prez & management don't agree with ya, no lifetime contract will prevent them from booting you out.

In addition, Steve Simoes and Serge Dube were re-signed, and that should make alot of fans very happy. These two boys are leaders and pillars of the team. Simoes and Dube are integral players guaranteeing the stability and performance of the Bucks.


But what was there for the fans? Nada. Incentives given to fans sell season tickets. Come on, folks, make the next announcement something FOR the fans.

RUMOR HAS IT !

That David Guerrera has signed with the Bucks. That would be 10 returning players plus Guerrera=championship. This will be the year that the Bucks surpass all records and win another championship.

Photo by TSPhoto

What's the big news?

So, a special announcement will be made on Weds. 9/05, concerning the team. Speculation abounds. The concensus is that it will be a new affiliation other than the one we've had with the San Antonio Rampage - AHL & the Phoenix Coyotes - NHL. Others think that Coach Ruskowski will sign for additional years, securing the continued success of this team. And finally, some believe that the arena will change its name from The Laredo Entertainment Center, LEC for short, to the name of a prominent local sponsor's. Stay tuned for the big reveal.

I wish they would just get on with the program and stop feeding us info piece meal. The only two familiar Bucks so far officially signed are Chris Korchinski and Jeff Genovy. Fantastic acquisitions.


But the other big guns we're holding our breaths for, Bes, Dube, Simoes, Weidlich, Hiebert, Elliott, Rivet, and Agarunov have yet to be announced.

This is going to be another championship team guaranteed. We've never had so many returning champions in a season. Well, that is, if it is in fact true that the above mentioned heroes are tagged already. Chances are that they are.

WHO ARE THE BUCKS?

Oh, what the heck. I'll give this a try. I'm not much of a writer, but I am a huge fan of Laredo Bucks hockey.

The Laredo Bucks are a very successful team in the Central Hockey League. Their inception into the league began in October 2002. Every year, the Laredo Bucks have made it to the playoffs, winning the President's Cup in 2004 & 2006.

The Laredo Bucks start their sixth season on Fri. Oct. 19, 2007, at the home of the New Mexico Scorpions, a team that the Bucks beat in the 2007 playoffs prior to losing to the Colorado Eagles in the finals.