This is wonderful. I love the first part. Great work by those two and B-Hop. Teamwork at it's best.

Thanks, TRAIN! Yeah, it's important to know that the Thrust isn't just the B-Hop show. Von Wasser has built a real team around his star point guard, which is always the secret to winning an FBA Title!

True at least Von Wasser has it together and knows what's good for the team if it's to compete against other teams.

By the way, What will happen to Katz when he retires?

Will he become a coach or join the scouting team?

That's a story point! You want me to give it away so early?

Oh no, of course not. It was just a question of curiosity.

again really awesome

lol silly rabbit i love that part

That was a late addition to the script, but I knew I had to throw that in. One of the best parts of sports writing is being able to throw in bits of pop culture with the journalism.

Yeah, I got a little long-winded with this one! I had to make up for it with lots and LOTS of yelling. Keeps the attention of my audience.

Bacon? Where?! One of these days I'll have to draw or commission a pic of T. Matt. I do have this great image of him being a total basketball nerd. Just an overweight, chubby-faced coyote always decked out in basketball jerseys and FBA baseball caps who just really, REALLY loves his job covering FBA games. Spends all day either watching games or writing about them.

And thanks! The longer these podcasts get, the more I worry about whether they'll stay interesting. It's good to know I can hold your attention for nine minutes!

Elissa: "Totally worth it!"

Hehe, very exciting game! Keeping the intensity strong and the edges of the seats warm, even if it was the Thrusts dominating.

Woot! Off to game seven!

Thanks, GT! Glad you found it exciting. And yes, Game 7, here we come! Now I gotta figure out how I'm going to top everything else I've done!

I'm planning on it-- though I'm considering only recording up to the end of the game-- so that the final results of Game 7 are a secret until I post them.

Awesome, your Podcasts are getting better each time :B

Thanks, Jam-U! I'm striving to improve. I still haven't added the crowd effects and other sounds you've suggested-- unfortunately, I've been finding it difficult to get the sound effects I need to make that work. I really need to build up my library.

Maybe you could borrow some sounds from TV broadcast?

I certainly do some of that. Right now, I'm grabbing most of my sound effects from YouTube.

The tricky thing is finding clean sound effects. Most of the crowd recordings I find either have a commentator talking over it, or are recorded in the stands with people in the next seat over too loud compared to the rest of the crowd.

Recording good sound crowd effects is tricky. I used to go to Sacramento Kings games with a DAT machine on my back and a microphone on a boom in my arms. The trouble is, the best place to record a crowd is in the middle of the court-- and they front of people standing there during play.

Superlative mike skillz, punk-bunni.
While I'm personally rather tired of all the throwaway rap samples people seem to believe are the essential BGM for all b-ball coverage these days, your work as a reporter/announcer is gold. Is that just natural talent, or is it from un-Godly amounts of time listening to every post-game report committed to tape?
You got the chops, Hopper.

Thanks, old man!

I've had a lot of fortune being in the right places to learn how voice overs are done. My first job out of school was recording voice overs in Burbank, where I got to meet a lot of the biggest voice actors in LA and learn how to record their performances. And then my next job after that was editing dialogue for sports videogames, where I spent months doing nothing but listening to sports commentary and poring over scripts.

Between the two, I think I picked up a lot.

Training by osmosis, eh? It has indeed served you well.
My jealously over your opportunity to work in the voiceeover business in Beautiful Downtown Burbank is exclipsed only by my thankfulness to God that you at-least to the opportunity. You lucky bastard. ;)
I will not hesitate to remind you that any amount of experience benefits no one who does not already have the talent within themselves to exploit it.

Hmm, I wonder what would fetch a higher price on online auction: The shoes thrown at Bush last year or the shoes BHop wore in game six? I'm putting my money (pun unintended) on the Bunny's...

HAHAHAHA! The jersey was a trade, lol. I literally lol'd at that. These are getting better, is there like a, 'peak awesome' chart somewhere that i can use to figure out how much more awesome these could possibly get? Btw, how many games are there in total?

You really are getting good at this. If you ever got a job as basketball commentator I think you could do it quite well. I know the sports commentators (all of them) on Ten back in Australia and on Free broadcast TV here need replacing...

Heh! Actually, B-Hop wore the shoes during Game 5, he was just wearing an ankle wrap for Game 6. But yeah, lots of furry sports memorabilia collectors are hungry for those shoes!! Including T. Matt!

Wow, that would be pretty awesome to try being a real sports commentator, but I would have to learn a LOT more. Those guys have to describe the action as it happens, and have to know so much about the details on every player and what's happening on the court. It's easier when I've made up all the players and working off a written script. At least I know I can yell pretty good during the big plays!

Nice work Buck :)

Thanks, Roby! And again, thank you so much for lending your voice to this one! I can't tell you how much I enjoy getting help from other people making these podcasts. It really makes them so much better, in my opinion.

Great stuff! Gotta have a superhero on site, just in case a villain bursts through the roof to steal the trophy. X3

That's true! Someone might try steal the Healy Davis Trophy! Maybe we should give it to Leather Lad for safe keeping until Game 7.

You could get some good halftime entertainment out of that, too. X3

the Kitty Quake. That's awesome! and what a crazy fan throwin the...uh...undergarments to Hop!

what a performance by Lyska! str8 Lights out like Reggie back in the day. The fox will shoot you out your socks! and another blowout win but this time on the other end.

what a comeback this has been to tie the series up after things looked all but dead. and only the 3rd time in history a finals has gone to 7. truly epic

Heh, yeah, furry crowds get a little-- excited. And Manuel never, ever lets anybody mess with his team. His team's his family, has been since he got into the FBA.

Lyska can be a stunning shooter when the conditions are right. Unfortunately, the fox is still young and unreliable-- he'll shoot lights out one day then miss everything the next. No telling how he'll be for Game 7, but he absolutely performed when his team needed him to for Game 6. But a lot of that was getting fed by Jack Howell. Lyska has never been any good at creating his own space. Howell is a genius at drawing D and passing out of tough spots, giving Lyska open looks. Putting them together was a stroke of genius by Von Wasser.

And yeah, big history going on here. This is one of the best FBA Finals series in history. And while the Thrust have got momentum winning the last two games, nobody's counting out the Mayors. If Zip-Nut takes off next game, it's going to be tough keeping up.

well it certainly can be tough for a young gun under pressure. regardless he stepped up big as well as howell.

whatever happens in the end its guaranteed to be exciting and the winners will most def deserve it

Hey look! I'm finally commenting on Game 6! Maybe the length of it had scared me at first, but I got around to it. ;)

Wow, I wish I had the highlight reel from this game. That's got to be one of the most entertaining games in the series... and that's even WITH Game 5 and the bunny's late game heroics! I mean, this thing played out like an All-Star game, but without the All-Stars one would normally see! The crazy passes were just sick! And the only elbow pass I've ever seen completed in a game was in the Rookie/Soph game in 2000! And a FIVE POINT PLAY?! Wow, just coming up with all kinds of ways for this to be the most exciting game in history, haha!

I doubt that anyone really thought Howell was capable of getting 14 assists, but hey, the big wolf can pass! And with every pass to Lyska turning into money, it's no wonder the totals added up so fast! 10/11 from beyond the arc? Are you Kidding Me?! Holy smokes! The fox can SHOOT! What is the FBA record for 3's in a game (regular season included)? I'll tell ya, it's nice to see the role players step up and come up big in the clutch. That is something all championship teams have in common, a cast of supporting characters that don't choke under the pressure of the big lights.

The Thrust thoroughly dominated this one. I noticed not a single Mayors' highlight in the whole 9 minutes, well aside from them turning up the defensive tenacity. They'd better hope for a lot more of that if they plan to halt the Thrust's historic 3-1 comeback bid in the Finals. But it's tough to stop a team that has so many options. After all, you can't double Hop and Howell and Lyska all the time. Though I'm surprised that Velox isn't doubling off of Doral every time down the court, or that the Mayors didn't have a defensive answer for someone who missed only 1 out of 11 three point attempts. The Mayors Coach is really gonna have to cram some tape sessions for this last game. Maybe the home court advantage will help?

Hehe, nice little outtake with the lady throwing her underwear at B-Hop. I'm sure the bunny cherished those as a momento from an outstanding game that was nothing but fun and games from beginning to end. Oh and the shoes... I can see those going in the FBA Hall of Fame museum someday. Thrust management better put those in the trophy case, hehe.

Speaking of shoes, B-Hop was still wearing them for THE SHOT, wasn't he? I actually never thought about that, with all the details for your picture going through my head, I can't believe that didn't pop up. But that's a very important part of a historic shot, so it can't be left out. ;)

I know it's a little premature, but any idea when the FBA Draft might be happening? I'll have to whip up a small stat sheet thing for it. Hopefully T. Matt Latrans will cover a bit of the pre-draft so we know who's who of the next generation of FBA stars. Still need to create all the teams first though. ;)

Awesome job, once again! This was one of the most entertaining podcasts you've done! I can't wait to see what's in store for Game 7. But don't spoil it for me either, hehe! I want it to be a surprise just like everyone else. You should definitely leave the end a secret, even for the UStream listeners. :)

There, there's your long ass reply. ^____^

Yay! You know I love hearing your comments, JT! It's just not a finished podcast unless I hear from you. Thanks for writing!

This was a very different game, and one that no one expected! Von Wasser had to make a tough decision on what to do with Katz and Hops injured. Hopper is usually able to work through double teams, but with his sore ankle, he just wasn't moving as crisply as he could be. That's what the Mayors were taking advantage of, and it's clear that Korber's defensive strategy hinged on containing Hopper alone. No doubt he expected Lyska to continue his slow streak and Howell and Teronura to keep up their modest PPGs. Cut off Hopper, and it should have been an easy win.

But yeah, Howell and Lyska stunned everybody. The pair are just a solid combination. Lyska is an amazing shooter, but the fox needs space. He cuts slowly, he can't fade, and he has trouble shooting through defenders. Usually you just need to post a guy on him and the fox becomes helpless, which is why he lost his starting role. But Howell is just one of the best passers to ever play in the FBA. He just knows what Lyska needs and can deliver it to him, giving him quick lead passes to help the fox get to that open spot and take the uncontested shot. Simply no one, even B-Hop, has figured out quite how to get the rock to Lyska with space like the wolf has. And that makes the pair an incredibly deadly combination, as seen in this game. The Mayors didn't wrap up the wolf soon enough, and as we saw in the fourth quarter, even when they did, Howell was brilliant at finding ways to pass out of whatever situation he was in.

The current record for triples in a game is held by weasel shooting guard John Stoat, who was 12-15 from the arc at home in a regular season game at the Spokane Rapids playing the Santa Cruz Clefs.

Rolf Korber is absolutely going to change tactics for game 7. For one, a big question will be whether Katz will be coming off the bench. Early reports are that he's recovered from his bruising and is in good shape to play starter again. But after how well Howell and Lyska played, Von Wasser may hesitate at putting Katz back on the floor. He could bench Doral, but Doral's been critical to containing the explosive Zip-Nut. We already know that Katz can't defend Zipper-- but he can score where Doral can't. So I guess it depends on whether Von Wasser thinks he can win by running up the scoreboard or by holding down the Mayors' score. Either way, Korber will be changing his game plan to make sure they don't get overwhelmed from downtown like in Game 6.

B-Hop was absolutely wearing the shoes for THE SHOT, it's part of why those shoes have suddenly become so valuable. If the Thrust win the series and the one thing that kept them from elimination was that one shot while B-Hop was wearing those shoes, the footwear is going to be a Stanislaus relic! The funny thing is, they weren't even that great of a pair of shoes... they were just something the trainers had lying around that fit B-Hop.

The Draft will be happening a few weeks after Game 7. T.Matt absolutely will be giving a pre-draft rundown going over the most likely top picks in the 2009 FBA Draft. And yes, the entire FBA team map will have to be finished by then-- but I've gotten a lot of good ideas from people visiting the UStream, I hope to get more on Sunday!

And thank you so much for your long ass reply! Chrrrrr! I loooooove long ass replies. They make my toes curl.

damn, that "trade" with b-hop is awesome. lol

well, I was too busy crowd surfin' to see that town burnin' but awesome nonetheless.

Heh, yeah-- FBA crowds can get rowdy. I think that girl saw B-Hop get a soda tossed at him in Game 4 and wanted something more pleasant tossed at her favorite athlete.

lol my friend, foxwolfhybrid, just made a thought, you should make a pic 'bout that... if you don't, can I?

Oh! Sure, go ahead! Sheesh...sorry for leaving this question hanging all this time.

lol I totally forgot too. I'll try a few sketches but I don't know if I have any thoughts 'no mo 'bout drawing.

Panty shot! Haha, that was indeed quite funny!

What a demolishing win though! I can only imagine the fun the fans were having the ENTIRE game, seeing the Mayors get crushed so badly.

Double-double with just 4 points???
5-point play???
10/11 behind the arc???
WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?