Catching Up

Sorry for the lack of posts lately; I've been pretty busy with desk work and a few stories here and there, so I haven't had much time to get on the blog. I am working on that "stay or go" post, but I figured I would try to catch up on some news for now.

First things first, the Bucks have lost a Southern Conference opponent, as the Amarillo Gorillas announced today that they will be suspending operations for the 2010-11 season.

The move was somewhat expected, as the North American Hockey League announced plans to open a franchise in Amarillo for next season a while back and apparently will officially announce that franchise's existence tomorrow.

Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees Vice President of Communications Rich Bocchini has all the info about that, as well as his take on how it will affect the Killer Bees (which is similar to how it will affect the Bucks) on his blog.

The Gorillas join the New Mexico Scorpions and Rocky Mountain Rage as "suspended" CHL franchises, while the Austin Ice Bats, who are owned by Gorillas owner Randy Sanders, are considered defunct but supposedly still looking to relocate after the Texas Stars took over the Austin scene.

Meanwhile, the Bucks are currently holding a Bucks pride contest for their fans. All you have to do is submit photos of yourself and your family wearing Bucks gear and showing your team pride to fans@laredobucks.com. Entry deadline is June 4.

Prizes include tickets to Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Sea World and Schlitterbahn.

Staff members and players who are still in town have been making appearances at local events, which you can read about every week in the team's community update.

On a more hockey-oriented front, Bryan Benway posted an interview with 2009-10 captain Adam Rivet the week before last. You can listen to that here.

Yesterday, Benway posted on his blog, saying the team is close to making its first (re-)signings for the 2010-11 season and will likely do so next week. When they will announce them, though, is likely a different story.

The Corpus Christi IceRays sent a few players to different teams this week to complete prior trades, and you can read about who went where on Greg Rajan's blog.

That should about do it for now. I'll get back to work on that "stay or go" post, which will be up here before I leave the office Friday night. And if any other Bucks news surfaces, I'll be sure to blog about it ASAP.