Into the Dragon's Den...The Blaze Forum Soap Opera

[Claret & Blue Army]

All was not lost though as a new media corp called Payback Inc decided to do some high profile promotion work leading upto the opening fixture. Firstly they contacted Steve and his new "associates" Mr Pink, Mr Blonde and Mr White to come up with a plan.

The plan involved sending new Giants coach Thomas Fleury on a scouting mission to view Thailands hottest property.
Mr Pink was at the airport to give Fleury Jr a gify of several "cuddly toys" to take with him "For the children" he smirked.

The plan was going well as later on the news that week they heard that..............

[your name here]

although the Blaze were bankrupt they were not down and own. A hasty meeting with the 'powers that be' was to be held.

Inside a locked room (toilets in the three P's) men discussed, men argued, men concurred and men cried. At last, on the stroke of twelve, smoke was seen coming out from trap 1.

'Ladies and gentlemen', the self appointed chairman announced whilst standing on a chair in the 3 P's bar,' all is not lost. The Blaze will play Ice Hockey again'. There was a gasp from the audience. Mobiles were picked up and ebay auctions of Blaze memorabilia suspended.' We have to make some concessions in order to survive', he continued. 'Firstly our new sponsors will be Ann Summers'. What did this mean the crowed begged to asked? 'This will require all players to act as models at house parties. Second, we will have to move away from the Skydome.' A woman fainted at the back of the packed drinking establishment. ' We will play Ice Hockey next season at 'SOLIHULL ICE RINK' and will be called 'THE ANN SUMMERS SOLIHULL BLAZONS'.......

[Rich]

The following night the team were training at the Sky Dome for what would possibly be the last time. As they went to leave the Sky Dome afterwards they realised that every single way out, including the fire exits were being blocked off by angry fans, Blaze tops were being burn't and a big protest was going on. There were probably more people outside the arena protesting than there ever was at any games there. TV cameras were there and they interviewed a masked man who called himself A17Z who appeared to be some kind of ring leader. "What is all this about?" asked the reporter. The guy replied "We are protesting on behalf of the 'Bring Back Hockey To Coventry Committee' (BBHTCC) about the proposed move to Solihull. The whole idea about Blaze reforming was to bring hockey back to Coventry but all us locals feel like we have been stabbed in the back now that the team are moving to Solihull". The reporter then asked how far they would be prepared to take their protest to which the guy replied "as far as we have to go, now no more questions". He then did a crazy dance and joined in with the rest of the protesters. Everyone then noticed a guy wearing a Burger King hat standing on the Sky Dome roof. "I'm going to jump" cried the man people watched on in shock. Who was this guy and was he really going to jump to his death in the name of keeping hockey in Coventry?

[jakemurrall7]

in his desperate attempt to keep hockey in Coventry, one of the Blaze players who fans and reporters couldn't make out as he was wearing his Blaze shirt as a mask. Fans, in a strange sense of excitment, shouted the number that was on the sleeve, #14, was shouted throughout the protesting fans, the fans still didn't know who the player was, they singled it down to one of the new guys but couldn't make it out,

by this time, players began to realise what was happening, they realised who 'he' was, while others are amazed Wheeler and Steve then agree to go up after him, a fan who is protesting sees what is happening and is already thinking steps ahead of anyone else,

Wheeler and Steve, then decide to then resolve the matter as best as they can, so they both tackle him off the roof, the man below, an employee of dreams, the bed company, reversed into position, and open the back does of his lorry, the 3 guys fall onto the beds safely inside,

wheeler unwraps the shirt around his head and sees a robot, with a note on its head, JP you owe me £12 and 2 packs of ready salted crisps, i had a straight flush and i won, further down the note, found that, Dreams were the new main shareholders of the Blaze corporation,

then fans seemed to realise that the lorry with the beds in that saved wheeler, steve and the 'robot' was in fact a Dreams lorry, then people saw Jake with Dreams co-owner, shaking hands and Jake waving and saying hello to everone, also shouting down to JP, "have you read the note", JP replying, "Wheels just read it out, you cheated, you had 2 queen of hearts, and a pair of kings in your sleeve and 6 aces in your skate", this instigates Jake to jump down onto the beds inside the lorry and chase after JP, wheeler holding Jakes arm bak, and steve the other, Jake leans forward and kisses JP on the forehead, and says "don't worry about it mate, fancy a beer in the orange house", they agree and the fans, now pleased hockey is staying in Coventry, join them and its one big party, all over the skydome complex,

later on in the night, some Solihull fans walk in and provoke Jake and Wheeler to a start a brawl, by this time they had both had a few and Mr Calm, Steve, had one more plus one more, multiply by 7, was too drunk to control the situation, and things really started to get out of control, Wheeler was using snooker ques and even a rifle (unloaded) that was hanging above the bar, where as Jake was flicking beer mats at the angry Barons fans,

still with it all mixing up, Rich, got upon a stool and shouted, "hey calm down, lets take this to the rink and settle it with sticks on the ice",

so off to the rink the Blaze team went, starting to suit up to face the Barons fans........

[PW]

...who, realising what they'd got into, cried off briefly. But only for two days or so-enough time to get a team together. The wager was simple..Barons team win, the Blaze return to Solihull. The new Blaze win, and the game stays in Coventry. Unfortunately, they only informed the team as they arrived, sporting souvenirs of the night before. Word had spread like wildfire, and the Skydome was thronged by a crowd...enterprisingly, Steve ran quickly up the stairs and took over the PA microphone as the teams went into change...

"Ladies and gentlemen...welcome one and all to the return of hockey in Coventry...today we see the rebirth of the Blaze, a month earlier than scheduled-in a grudge match against the Solihull Barons-who have formed a fan's team to try and take Blaze hockey from its current home..."

This speech went on for several minutes..and is dimly heard as the camera cuts to our heroes pulling on their jerseys and staring intently at each other. Davey stands up and clears his throat.
"People. We know why we're here, so I won't waste time on a team talk"
He pulls a "C" and two "A's" from his pocket.
"JP, put the "C" on. Rich and Flash, the "A's".
We see Jake and PW look at each other. Jake raises his eyebrows, PW shrugs. As the team leave the changing room, Davey calls them back.
"Look, you two. I saw you exchange looks...but to be honest, if JP hadn't had the "C" he'd have pulled all the funding he and his girl Emma are giving us, and there wouldn't be a team. Just let him think he's captain, and do your talking on the ice"
PW snarls quietly: "oh, you can bet on that. Make sure he doesn't cheat again, will you?"
Davey shrugs. Ignoring PW, he turns to Jake. We can now hear Steve introducing the Solihull team-the names are muffled.
"Watch their big number nine-he seems to have some sort of grudge against you two...I heard the people who've travelled from Solihull say he's promised to take you both apart. Watch PW's back. And you, PW, watch Jake's"
The two friends touch gloves, and without a word leave the changing room to hit the ice. The Skydome is dark...and there's a buzz of conversation which goes quiet as a bell tolls and a spotlight shines on centre ice. Steve's voice, massively amplified, says
"Ladies and gentlemen...the stuff "dreams" are made of...your new Coventry Blaze..."
Fireworks pop as he runs through the numbers and our heroes skate to the blue-line. Jake and PW are left standing...and then the low, menacing notes of "Bad to the Bone" kick in..
"...and, finally, ladies and gents-they're the two meanest, most insane, goalscoring partners in crime this side of AC/DC...wearing numbers ten and fourteen, make some noise for Paul Wheeler and Jake Murrall!"
The two skate to the line with the rest of the team, when suddenly Jake is levelled from behind by Solihull's number nine, who is then jumped by the rest of the team...When order is eventually restored, the Solihull fan yells in a voice which can be clearly heard..
"That's just a taste, Jakey boy..."
Jake spits blood and snarls back.
"Bring it on...and did I mention your mother was a leprous donkey?"
Barely avoiding another brawl, the referees manage to get the game lined up...Jake, PW and JP are on the forward line for the Blaze, with Flash in goal and Davey and Rich behind them. The camera zooms in as the puck drops in slow motion, bounces on the ice, we hear the crowd roar...and...
fade to black

Someone else can write the game scene for a change...

[Rich]

The very enthusiastic but crap Rich is the first player to be sent to the penalty box when he nearly takes the Solihull number nine's legs off with a nasty/clumsy (however you want to look at it) trip. He skates to the penalty box with a smile on his face but isn't smiling when Solihull score on the powerplay. JP hits the post minutes later for Coventry and Solihull realise they need to let him know that they are there. He receives a nasty check from behind from which the referee fails to call a penalty for. Davey who isn't on the ice at the time is furious that PW and Jake both just shrugged off this incident and didn't stand up for their team mate. The team spirit that Coventry had seemed to show in training was now falling apart. This really began to show when Solihull's 5th goal went in and a bit of pushing and shoving went on between team mates JP and PW. Netminder Flash had to step in and break it up before it went out of control. With a minute to go until the end of the period the puck deflected off Andy's stick and somehow went into the Solihull net. The buzzer went for the end of the first period. Coventry were 5-1 down, there was tension between the first line, the rest of the teams heads were down and Davey was really going to have to give the team talk of his life if Coventry were to have any chance of turning this game around.

[PW]

It's been a while, but here is the next episode (slightly changed from original in order to incorporate one of JP's seeming ideas from earlier).
There's silence in the dressing room. Davey is stood in the centre of the room. JP is wincing as Emma (who has appointed herself JP's personal nurse as well as tutor to the team) puts iodine on a gash on his forehead. Jake and PW are sat in their stalls, talking quietly, as if the rest of the team are elsewhere. Outside, we can hear Steve playing music and talking up the plans of the Coventry side. Davey clears his throat, before drawing on everything he's learned from his commanding officers and naval discipline to unleash a quiet sentence that rises to a primal roar.

"Lads, that was FU...."

The camera pans to outside the dressing room, where Flash and Rich are listening, wincing.

"I hope he's giving PW some in there-did you see me have to step between him and JP?"
"Yup. And it doesn't help that the Solihull team are still trying to wind that number nine up to try and kill one of us."

At this point, the door opens to reveal a little more of Davey's tirade.

"...AND YOU, PW, CAN FU...(a thrown stick clatters, obscuring the next words) IF YOU THINK YOU AND JAKE ARE GETTING ANYWHERE NEAR THE ICE..".
Davey's voice continues as we pan to the audio box, where Steve is using all of his diplomacy skills in order to keep the sponsor representatives happy...

"It was a bad period. You saw the potential there-and we've already got a crowd of seven or eight hundred here for a game spread by word of mouth. Let me tell you about some of the plans we have for the matchnight..."

Time has clearly passed, and the next shot shows the Blaze returning to the ice. The puck is dropped, dumped into the Solihull zone, and JP is skating around the zone as the puck is cleared when Solihull's number nine, who we have somehow learned goes by the name of "T" comes up and snarls in his face..."you're mine, pretty boy"...he turns with the puck but is immediately dropped on his back by a vicious (and completely illegal) slash in the nether regions by PW, who looks at JP as they return to the bench, the puck having been frozen, and says "I'm not watching your skinny little arse all over the ice, and nor is Jake. Hit the sod back yourself next time"...

A few shifts later, with Blaze pressing, Rich takes a desperate swing at a puck travelling round the boards and it screams low into the bottom corner. Steve immediately sticks on "Eat My Goal", and generally does his best to whip up the crowd with "Second goal for the CLEARLY SUPERIOR Blaze...". At those words, the heads on the bench seem to rise as one. Flash is performing heroics at the opposite end, and Jake and PW are finally firing on all cylinders-snarling away like rabid dogs and hacking and whacking every red shirt they can get their hands on. As if that wasn't enough, Rich, Andy and naffer are immense on the blue-line, with naffer putting a little Solihull forward who had been particularly annoying him clean through the glass. They score one of their trademark snapshots each, both assisted by JP, before Davey fires in another bullet and then performs a small dance as Steve hits the wrong button on the goal horn and plays "In The Navy" by mistake. This is the point where the crowd appear won over...and the Solihull supporters are very much in the minority as the Skydome heats up. Then, in the last thirty seconds, the rampaging Solihull number 9 gets a breakaway off a bad pass from PW, and heads up ice. He dekes Flash, prepares to flick the puck in as the clock ticks down...and then the crowd gasp in amazement as JP comes out of nowhere and smashes into the player (who is probably twice his weight) like a freight train going through a vase, screaming in a mixture of fear and rage as the Baron flies backwards and lands in a crumpled heap. Jake picks up the loose puck, dekes his way pasy three flying elbows and passes to PW, who, reading his friend's mind and hearing the shout of "SHOOT IT!", draws the despairing dive of the goalie...and rather than firing it home stops and shocks the crowd (and even the pass's recipient) by flicking it over him to leave JP with the easiest of finishes. JP goes utterly ballistic with joy-Rich and Andy mobbing him, while PW skates away with his head down after a touch of the gloves. "He deserved it-he saved my arse then-first time someone did" is all he says to Jake as they tap gloves and then wheel round to join the celebrations.

Meanwhile, Steve is nearly hoarse in the audio room, when someone taps him on the shoulder...

"Evening, Mr Hartley" says the stranger. "They call me Aldo, and I have several propositions for you..."

Steve looks down at the celebrating team, and then asks "what would that be?"

"The first involves the playing staff. They're fine as they are, but we have a kid we call "super" Sam, who we would like to see on the team. Give him a trial, would you? I shall set ut up with Steph...

"Fair enough. And the second?"

"Well, it involves PW and the friendly against Belfast. You remember the history he has with them, especially after all that business with Theo in 2005? Well, what myself, some of my fellow fans and some very rich gentlemen backing us have in mind goes like this..."

fade to black

[jakemurrall7]

nice wheeler, nice hopefully this will spring this back up again as its a great bit of fun, i'll try and find some time to work on an episode of Aldo's rich guys, but only if i find time but good stuff!

[PW]

It's been far too long since we had the last episode...so this will be back in time for Friday evening...I've got time on my hands now so will move it on a little...

[PW]

After something of a hiatus (the season was cancelled and revived due to fan demand-well, one is enough, so that’ll do) J the second series of Into the Dragon’s Den begins, as “one year later” passes across the screen while the camera pans slowly across a yellowing paper with a picture of Jake, JP and Steve on the front, along with the rest of the team (minus PW) celebrating their ENL title in the first season of competition, and then across another which says “Coventry to return to Elite League”. The camera then slowly zooms out as music kicks in-it’s “The Pills Won’t Help You Now” by the Chemical Brothers. We now realise we’re in a filthy flat-pizza boxes and the odd empty beer bottle on the floor. A humped shape stirs under the covers of the single bed as there’s thumping on the door, and Jake’s voice through the letterbox…
“PW, get your arse out here…it’s nearly time for training”
PW rises, looking like he’s seen one too many late nights. He curses to himself.
“Oh, f….-I should really sleep occasionally…(louder) Coming!”
He kicks a half-full bottle of Weissbier out of the way, and opens the door, to see Jake standing there. He places his body so no-one can see inside, says “I’ll be out in a minute” and slams the door as the music fades away. Cut to the corridor…JP comes round the corner.
“Hurry up-we’ve got to meet the rest of the team”
“I know. But PW runs to his own time, doesn’t he?”
“He’s never been the same since he got that injury against Solihull in the final-that was the nastiest cross-check I’ve ever seen”
“Then there was all the stuff with him being forced to play on a two-way with Belfast to cover Steve’s gambling debts, of course…”
“And then there was that girl-what was her name?”
“Yeah-we warned him off her but he wouldn’t listen. If Rich and I hadn’t forced him to move on when he did, then he could have…”
Unseen behind them, the door has opened. PW stands there for a second taking in the last few sentences of the conversation, then speaks, quietly.
“Hey, guys. Are you waiting for anything?”
The two others snap round, slightly guiltily.
“Er, no.”
“Nope”
PW starts walking down the hall, and turns round after a few steps to see the others haven’t moved.
“Coming, then?”
The other two look at each other and follow.

Cut to the on-ice training at the Skydome, with Feeder’s “Just a Day” in the background. We see Rich fire a slapshot home, PW and Jake flick the odd fancy pass back and forth, and JP practising tipping Rich’s shots into an empty net. Davey, meanwhile, is lining up shots at the other end. After some general conversation about the prospects for the new season and how everyone’s been over the off season, Steve saunters in.
“Evening, champions…Be warned, it looks like you’ve got a big crowd for the first training session of this season. Everyone wants to see the returnees-especially you, PW, what with you cutting yourself off from the team during the off season”
PW says nothing-just spins away from the group and fires a slapshot at the net-it goes wide by several feet. He curses and Jake and JP look at each other. Steve carries on as if nothing has happened.
“Right. Well, obviously what with player retirements and people moving on, you group are the only players still on the roster from last season. So I thought this could…you know, be some sort of a get-together. The new lads…well, the players are waiting in the changing room now. They’re a good bunch, so come with me and I’ll introduce you…

The five file off ice, with Jake and JP chatting animatedly, Rich and Davey talking to Steve, and PW silently following. But his face changes from calmness to shock as he follows the others into the changing room and sees who will be joining the “Sweet Dreams” Coventry Dragons for the new season…

Ad break…J

Come on, people…I know there’s not many of us on here but let’s fire it up again..