Tuesday Update

Well it looks like the Mad Ant has a new rival mascot. The Maine Red Claws debuted their mascot Crusher (seen to the left). There are already rumors going around that the Mad Ant and Crusher may have been separated at birth. When asked for comment on this topic the Mad Ant gave this reply through interpreters:

"Crusher is in no way shape or form related to me. I am the strongest and most famous mascot in the D-League. He has much to prove before he should even be in the same conversation as me."

Jeff Potter subsequently fined the Mad Ant $85.00 and forced him to do ten hours of community service at the Ant-eater exhibit at the Fort Wayne Zoo for statements unbecoming a mascot.

Fort Wayne was recently announced as the number 2 Minor League market in the United States. The comments on our attendance is off (we did not jump 44% this year, as our attendance was over a 4,000 avg in year one as well) but we will take it! This is actually a drop from number one last year. The Mad Ants do take this personally and plan on being back to the top. I noticed Bismarck, ND was no where to be found on the list, I am sure this is just an oversight by the author.

Another double dose of volleyball this week as I am subbing again on Wednesday. Can I be on two 4-0 teams this week? Only time will tell...

4-0

Well folks it finally happened. The Mad Ants volleyball team finally went 4-0, and it was with only five players on the team (6-person co-ed league). Let me tell you, it is a great feeling to finally get the first 4-0 SWEEP under your belt. I would like to again thank Andrew Wyss for subbing this week. He put on a masterful performance. I need to continue to work on my "bumping" abilities as they are lackluster at best, with the ball often going in any direction but the one I wanted it to go.

For basketball news, Jeff Potter returned from Indy Thursday night, where he was looking at some prospects from Butler University. He was impressed with several of the players and it sounds like some will be encouraged to attend our open-tryouts in October.

Well I need to get moving as I have to help the Mad Ant get ready to march in the Black Expo Parade this morning. Have a great weekend.

DOUBLE HEADER

It's official people, I am kind of a big deal. I have just been offered a chance to step up to the next level of rec-league volleyball. I am subbing for a friends team tonight in the "C" League. The Mad Ants v-ball team is appropriately in the "D" League on Thursday nights. So tonight I will be able to relate to guys like Jeremy Richardson and Chris Hunter who received that elusive GATORADE Call-Up .

This is my big shot to really show the improvements I have made it the D-League and prove I can move up to the next level. Unfortunately the compensation between a 10-day NBA call-up and a V-ball "C" League call-up is not equal. Instead of getting a five figure pay-out, I will most likely receive a free 16 oz refreshing Bud Light (Drink Responsibly and only if you are over the age of 21).

I will let you know how I fair in the big time tomorrow. If you are hungering for basketball news, I will direct you over to Ridiculous Upside for a great interview with a D-League agent. You will note that Aisander D wrote the article and not Scott Schroeder. Apparently Scott has been MIA since the release of Madden '10 , there is also a reported shortage of Cheeto's and frozen pizzas in the Bismarck area.

Post-Schedule Hang Over

The Mad Ants staff has already begun planning out some different theme nights for this years schedule. As always, we plan on having fun at every game and making sure our fans do as well. If you have any ideas on theme nights for this season post it in the comments. We are most likely going to be doing a Jimmy Buffett/Hawaiian Night this year at some point. I am currently trying to raise the $250,000 to get Jimmy Buffett to actually perform that night.

I know you really came here for a Mad Ants volleyball update. We were embarrassed last night by a team that only had five players. We somehow managed to lose one of the games to them in a very frustrating fashion. We took our anger out on the team the next game but still no sweep yet. I had my brooms ready and everything. Current record is now 11-5, so still pretty solid.

Here is a link to Steve Warden's article in the Journal Gazette about the 09-10 schedule.

You can read Reggie Hayes article here from the News Sentinel.

Have a great weekend and watch out for the Mad Ant. You never know where you might run into him.

Mad Ants Home Game Schedule

Hot off the presses, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants Home Game Schedule for the 2009-10 Season:


DATE OPPONENT TIME

November

Fri. 27 Erie 7:30 pm
Sun. 29 Erie 5:00 pm

December

Sat. 12 Sioux Falls 7:30 pm
Sun. 13 Sioux Falls 5:00 pm
Tue. 15 Springfield 7:00 pm
Sat. 26 Dakota 7:30 pm
Sun. 27 Dakota 5:00 pm
Wed. 30 Bakersfield 7:00 pm

January

Sun. 3 Iowa 5:00 pm
Tue. 12 Maine 7:00 pm
Thu. 28 Springfield 7:00 pm
Sun. 31 Iowa 5:00 pm

February

Tue. 9 Rio Grande V. 7:00 pm
Tue. 16 Reno 7:00 pm
Sat. 20 Erie 7:30 pm
Sun. 21 Erie 5:00 pm
Sun. 28 Dakota 5:00 pm

March

Tue. 2 Maine 7:00 pm
Thu. 4 Los Angeles 7:00 pm
Fri. 5 Los Angeles 7:30 pm
Sun. 14 Sioux Falls 5:00 pm
Tue. 16 Maine 7:00 pm
Thu. 18 Springfield 7:00 pm
Sun. 21 Albuquerque 5:00 pm

Back from Buffett

By the number of emails I received while I was gone (zero), I can tell you really missed my blog. Well quit your fretting, I am back in action. There is some big basketball news today, the Mad Ants schedule is to be released at 1pm today. I will post a link to it here later this afternoon. This is the time of year when it gets crazy around here as we start booking all of our group nights to different games with different organizations through out Fort Wayne. It also means we can start booking the different national half-time acts (Good-bye Red Panda!). So if your group would like to come out to a Mad Ants game or better yet perform at one, drop me a line!

The Mad Ants Volleyball Squad is back in action tonight. With a record of 8-4, we are still on the quest for our first 4-0 sweep. Tune in tomorrow for all the details.

The Buffett concert was a great time. If you have never been to a Buffett concert, go next year. I don't care if you like his music or not, they are just plain fun. For those of you who live in isolated areas like Bismark (did I even spell that right? Better yet, do I even care to spell it right?), I guess you will just have to watch the DVD.

Right as we walked into the venue it starts to pour down rain. Every one was compeltely soaked, and the fact that we had lawn tickets did not help as it turned muddy very quickly. My sandals and feet were caked in mud after the show. Great times.

Okay, and to end the blog here are my top five favorite Jimmy Buffett songs:

1.) Last Mango in Paris
2.) Boat Drinks
3.) Growing Older But Not Up
4.) Coconut Telegraph
5.) A Pirate Looks at Forty

Be back later with the Mad Ants schedule.

3-1

This is what a world championship volleyball team looks like, in case you were wondering. Even without former Oregon Duck great Jeff Potter on the squad, we managed to pull out a 3-1 victory despite atrocious play by your hero. We are as hungry as ever for our first 4-0 sweep. We will be practicing zero hours a day, 0 days a week to make this goal happen next Thursday. My practice will most likely involve punching beach balls at the Jimmy Buffett concert on Tuesday. Well I am on vacation until Thursday, maybe I'll sneak in a blog or two. Until then, keep your mind on your money and your money on your mind.

BREAKING NEWS!!!!

This just in people, some bad news for Team Mad Ants in the Fairplay Volleyball League. Due to baby-mama drama (aka his wife Julie), Jeff Potter has been forced to pull out of the Volleyball matches tonight. Assitant Captain Garrett Martz (aka this guy) did some scrambling and found free agent Andrew Wyss ( aka History Teacher at Northrop High School / Freshmen Boys Basketball Coach/ my best friend in Elementary School) to take his place. Andrew is a veteran of this volleyball league and is prepared to bring a minimum of his "B-" game. Pictures and commentary to follow tomorrow. Current Record: 5-3

About to Sail Away

Ridiculous Scott decided to call me out in my last blog post. His exact quote in the comments was "Are we getting the Jeff Potter kinda-weekly updates now?" What a low-blow, what a dastardly insult. Especially from a guy that quit blogging to join THE MANS team aka the Dakota Wizards.

The reason for my lack of blogs, it's August, not a ton of basketball news going on. One big piece of recent news that I forgot to mention last week is that the new group of Madame Ants has been selected. You should be seeing them at a Fort Wayne event near you very soon. You can check out some photos from the Madame Ants Try-Out if you become a fan of them on Facebook. We have been lucky to have a great group of ladies in our first two seasons, and this year will be no different!

The other big news is that I am taking a vacation next week for a few days. In that time I will be going down to see Jimmy Buffett perform in Noblesville. This will be my third time seeing Buffett, and I can't wait to sail down that way again. For the record "Last Mango in Paris" is my favorite Buffett song.

If you can't make it down to Buffett, get your tropical music fix from Island Vibe (The Mad Ants House Band) at El Azteca every Thursday night.

Okay, there is some BIG news that I need to discuss. The Mad Ants office has put together a third-world class six-man co-ed sand volleyball team. The first two weeks of games have been some of the most fun I have had all summer. Suffice to say I have spent more time in the sand than David Hassellhoff (Happy Gilmore reference anyone). For some reason I feel the need to provide comic relief for my team by biting it big time in the sand at least once per match. Our current record is 5-3, and we have a big surprise for tomorrows matches. We are bringing in a ringer, in the form of 6'9 Team President Jeff Potter to replace Jeff Johnson who is currently out of pocket. I will update you next week to let you know how Mr. Potter did, and if he is in fact a "ball hog". Our main concern is him shoving Sarah down while going for a bump.

Okay Scott, there is your update, happy now? Let me know when you blog again...