So whatifsports.com has declared that the Philadelphia Eagles are going to the Superbowl. Hey, they’ve got the computers and the simulators. Who are we to disagree.
Give those Eagles yet another NFC Championship Trophy
Prayers For Blowouts will be featuring posts from PFB Members this summer. This submission is from Member #024, Matt Ralph.
Mr. Celery, Artie the Fighting Artichoke, and The Fighting Okra may be getting some company in their small but oh so popular coterie of mascots named after vegetables.
The College of William and Mary in Virginia is reportedly considering among a pool of 400 nominations a suggestion for making a stalk of asparagus their new mascot.
William and Mary is changing its mascot because its feathered logo was considered demeaning to Native Americans but still keeping the name the Tribe.
It wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense, but the merchandise sales and publicity boon the college would undoubtedly experience could be worthwhile. It’s not like the Asparagus lobby will balk over the Tribe of Asparagus.
Feel free to join me in voicing support for the asparagus mascot by going to http://web.wm.edu/contact/contact.php.
Here’s what I just wrote to them:
I just read a story on Sports Illustrated about the brilliant suggestion of William and Mary changing its mascot to a stalk of asparagus.
I think this is an incredible idea, one that would certainly lead me to fork over money for a T-shirt and encourage the future college bound kids I hope to one day have to attend your institution.
Please, please, please take this suggestion seriously and for the life of every Native American who has been demeaned by your feathered Tribe logo, consider the asparagus.
Author Ted Kluck pens an open letter to Mike Tyson in the wake of his daughter’s tragic death.
Kluck, who we’ve interviewed here at PFB in the past, is the author of several books, including Facing Tyson: Fifteen Fighters, Fifteen Stories.
(reprinted from my blog)
We’ve been having some great conversations, and I would hate to distract from that but I can’t help myself. I have a hankering for a sports rant. It hits me every now and again. In this case, it’s why I want the Lakers to win the NBA Finals, which begin tonight. Here are my five reasons:
# 1 Keeping the memory of MJ alive
IMO, Michael Jordan is the best basketball player to have ever played the game. There are fewer and fewer traces of him in the league. Lakers coach Phil Jackson is one of them, and he helps keep the MJ memory alive for me. No disrespect to other NBA greats, and even if Lebron (or someone else surpasses) MJ in numbers, MJ will still be on top in my mind.
# 2 Kobe hasn’t gotten his just due
IMO, Kobe is disadvantaged by the fact that his career has been wedged between two greats – MJ and Lebron. At first he was compared with MJ, which was always destined to be a losing battle for Kobe. Then Lebron came in and stole the show. Even Kobe’s championships are attributed to Shaq. I sometimes feel like Kobe has been robbed in terms of people truly appreciating his superiority as a NBA player. He might end up being one of the best who ever played the game but will still be a footnote in some people’s minds. If the Lakers and Kobe win the Finals, I feel like Kobe puts a period on the sentence of his basketball greatness.
# 3 Goofy Gasol
Sometimes it seems like Gasol just doesn’t fit the stereotype of the typical NBA center. He’s not the mean, lean machine like Orlando’s Howard, and he’s not necessarily the most graceful guy on his feet either. Honestly, there’s a certain goofiness to him that intrigues me. And yet, he gets the job done. Where would the Lakers be without Gasol?
# 4 My daughter Jessica
Jessie was hoping for a Lakers/Cavs NBA Finals. Her favorite player is Lebron. As we know, that didn’t happen, and so Jessica is rooting for the Lakers. We have watched several games together and she made some “Go Lakers” signs with construction paper, which she holds up and yells when the Lakers do something good. She also has some pom poms that she shakes and a few cheerleader moves she does while she chants, “Lakers!!.. Defense!!..Lakers!!..Defense!!”
# 5 Reverse Psychology of Laker Bashing
‘They’ say I’m not supposed like the Lakers because of the LA persona – the glitz, the stars, the bling, the $, the Beverly Hills and Hollywood mentality, blah, blah, blah. Everyone’s waiting for the Lakers to blow it so they can gloat over their demise. Normally I am prone to cheer for the underdog. But in this case, even though I have nothing against the Orlando Magic, I wouldn’t mind seeing the Lakers clean their clock. I would have felt the same way if the Cavs had made it or whoever.
Though I want the Lakers to win, there are also some reasons why I wouldn’t be distraught if the Magic did. Most people didn’t expect them to beat Lebron; finishing off the Lakers would be historic.
Okay, I feel better now.
a few things to check out while you say “can you believe it’s June?” 145 times today…
+ Dwight Howard and his merry band of 3-point shooters vanquish LeBron James. How will they beat the Lakers in a 7-Game series? “God”, according to what Howard told ESPN’s Chris Sheridan:
Earlier, I asked Howard in the locker room to give me one or two reasons why I should consider picking the Magic to defeat the Lakers.
“God” was his answer, which was met with the counterargument that the Lord probably has better things to worry about than who wins a basketball game, and besides, religion and politics are usually best kept out of sports stories.
“That’s the reason, I’m telling you,” Howard replied.
+ Some MLB players go days without hearing their wife’s voice. The Rays’ Ben Zobrist hears his wife’s voice every time he steps into the batter’s box. Julianne Zobrist’s debut CD, The Tree, which “is considered in the Christian rock/alternative genre, (though) she has a broader sound.”, provides the musical backdrop for all of Ben’s at-bats.
+ Former Detroit Piston John Salley talks about his time on “I’m a Celebrity, Get ME Outta Here!” Why is he a Vegan?
Well, I don’t eat anything that has the right to live, meaning, I say this to all those Christians. God said thou shalt not kill. That means everything, not just humans.
So who’s crazier? Dwight, Ben, or John?