VANCOUVER (AP) - The new ownership group of the Vancouver Mounties has a great deal to be proud of. Why, you ask? With the team's 7-6 victory (after a 15th inning homer by Rich Aude) the team won it's 72nd game of the season.

"You may be asking why 72 is such an important number to us", said GM Cory Muzyka. "It's simple - winning 72 games means that we've had our best season since 2001 - 10 years ago. If we can come up with another couple of wins in the last week of the season, when we host Jamaica then travel to Long Beach and Edmonton, we'll have beaten our 2001 season and will have had the best performance by the franchise since 1997."

"Our goal all along was to improve every year and this is another sucessful year for us - more so than we had expected, in fact."

First baseman Rich Aude, who has been a Mountie for his entire career and is leading the team (and is 2nd in the league to Stan Musial) with 45 homers, is rumoured to be joining Long Beach for the playoffs, was noticably from the festivities after the game. Aude is also currently 7th in league batting average, third in slugging, eighth in hits, fifth in runs, third in runs created, third in walks, and first in RBI. He has, by all accounts, been the Most Valuable Player in the league this year.

"Without Rich we wouldn't even be close to 72 wins right now, so how do you say he's not the Most Valuable Player to his team", asked second baseman Jim Tipper.

"Rich is, as you have deduced, very very close to joining Long Beach. He wants his chance at a ring, and I can't blame him for that", said Muzyka. "The terms of the deal haven't been finalised yet, but we are very very close. He has had a great year this year and I personally can't thank him enough for his efforts this year. He's been a complete and utter star for us."

Righthander Denny McLain echoed Muzyka's praise for Aude. "Rich is the leader of this team, and we'll miss him sorely. It's going to be a really quiet room without him in there. He's had such an awesome season this year, and we wouldn't be where we are without him. I hope he gets his ring."

"I'll win mine in Vancouver as a Mountie", McLain finished.