The Rundown: 5 Things to Know About College Mascots
It's been a wild few days in sports. Speaking of wild (animals), college mascots have become more famous than the schools they represent, which brings us to today's five things to know.
Who's your favorite mascot? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter.
We've got spirit yes we do,
The Last Night's Game Team
Five things to know about college mascots
- The first couple of college mascots - Wilma and Wilber Wildcat - are the mascots for the University of Arizona. They were married November 21st, 1986 before a football game. That’s right their 30th wedding anniversary is around the corner. Don’t buy them a gift as they’d simply prefer a win over their rival Sparky the Sun Devil.
- Live animals as mascots are not only frowned upon by PETA but also by your wallet. The LSU Tiger - Mike the Tiger’s habitat cost $3 million to build, which was raised through private donors. Mike is also undergoing radiation to battle spindle cell sarcoma and has only been to one game since 2014. Uga, the Georgia bulldog mascot, racks up about $20,000 in vet, food and other bills a year. Uga’s expenses are subsidized by student fees.
- Notre Dame is unique because they have a person as a mascot that doesn’t wear a big fake head. The mascot for the Fighting Irish is a leprechaun. While he’s not required to eat Lucky Charms, it is a requirement that he channels his character's fiery spirit and wear a leprechaun costume. The leprechaun must always be peppy, mindful of interviews and able to get the crowd excited over the most mundane things.
- We’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about our hoofed friends. Texas Longhorns’ “Bevo” (who is a longhorn) has become as iconic as the athletic program. Although “Bevo XIV” passed away in 2015, he made multiple appearances with his most notable taking place during President George W. Bush’s second inauguration. Ralphie the Buffalo (mascot of the University of Colorado) gets to run on the field before games and as you might imagine sometimes a real life buffalo has a mind of its own.
- Stanford University’s team name is “The Cardinal” (after the color red) although it does not officially have a mascot. The tree has become the face of the athletic program but it is technically part of the band. We’re sure you’ve seen the jubilant tree on the sidelines and wondered why someone brought a giant car freshener pine tree to the game. Now you know.
- Extra credit – for a great list of obscure college mascots, click here.
OLYMPICS
- Russian hackers have released what they claim to be the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Olympic drug-testing files of four U.S. athletes, including Serena Williams and gymnast Simone Biles. The hackers stated that American athletes tested positive for banned substances but we’re given exemption (unlike the Russians) such as Biles’ ADHD medication and Williams’ anti-inflammatories.
NCAA Sports (College)
- The fallout continues for North Carolina over HB2 aka “The Bathroom Bill” that passed earlier this year. The law discriminates against the LBGT community. The NCAA stated that their events promote an inclusive atmosphere, therefore they have pulled seven scheduled championship events from the state for the upcoming school year. This includes part of the March Madness tournament scheduled to take place in Greensboro. The NBA previously pulled the upcoming all-star game from North Carolina.
NFL (National Football League)
- Nike and the NFL unveiled the Color Rush uniforms for this season for all 32 teams. These uniforms are a monochromatic alternative jerseys to be worn for Thursday night games. The Color Rush uniforms debuted last season, but were met with resistance as color blind people could not tell the difference between the teams playing. This season, Nike brought in doctors as consultants to make sure the problem wouldn’t happen again.
Overtime
- Dancing with the Stars debuted Monday night and Ryan Lochte stole the show. While waiting for his scores from the judges, two men rushed the stage wearing “No Lochte” shirts to protest Lochte’s participation in the competition.
Sideline stat
- All proceeds from the Color Rush jerseys benefit the NFL Foundation which funds grants to support athletes, youth football and the communities that support the game. The initial $500,000 raised will go to replace lost equipment and fields destroyed by the floods in Louisiana.
Coaches’ Corner
- The University of Colorado Buffaloes face the formidable task of playing Michigan Wolverines (#5) this weekend. Teams typically release their depth charts ahead of games. These charts show who the players are for each position (think starting quarterback, his backup and the backup’s backup). Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh must think he’s special and refuses to do this. So Colorado released theirs with some recognizable names such as: Elmer Fudd at quarterback, Stewie Griffin at weak safety and everyone’s favorite Clark Griswold at tight end.
The Rundown: Five Things to Know About the Masters
The Masters is upon us. Today’s five things to know will get you ready for the excitement that is golf. Finally, a reason to wear our argyle socks and vest while watching Happy Gilmore on repeat.
Golf clap,
The Last Night’s Game Team
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Five things to know about the Masters
The Masters, starts on Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.
- The famed green jacket became a tradition in 1949. Members of the club decided on green so fans in attendance at the tournament could spot them in case they had questions. The tournament winner receives an esteemed green jacket and the tournament winner from last year is the one to ceremoniously help him put it on.
- It doesn’t matter who you are - journalist or a patron, there is a strict no cell phone policy at Augusta National. Don’t even try it as getting caught will land you a lifetime ban from the tournament.
- Despite the prestige of the course, the food is cheap with everything under $3 and beer for $5. We’ll drink to that.
- Becoming a member of Augusta National Golf Course is somewhat of a mystery. There is no listed criteria for membership and the members list is not public. Ron Townsend was named the first African American member in 1990 and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice became first woman member in 2012. Way to keep up with the times.
- CBS (longtime broadcast partner of the tournament) pumps in bird noises during the telecast to make it seem even more like a “natural paradise.” (Apparently they’ve admitted to doing this for other tournaments as well). At least nothing will swoop down and steal your $3 popcorn.
You can watch all of the Masters’ coverage on CBS or cbssports.com.
NCAA Basketball (College)
- What a game! In what is said to be one of the best national championship games in history, Villanova Wildcats beat North Carolina Tar Heels (77-74) to win the title on Monday. The lead changed often during the game but it all came down to the last few seconds when Tar Heels' Marcus Paige hit a miraculous three-point shot to tie the game at 74-74 with 4.7 seconds left. Then the Wildcats drove length of the floor, gave the ball to Kris Jenkins who hit the game winning three-pointer to win the game with less than a second left.
This was Villanova’s first national championship since 1985 and Villanova senior Ryan Arcidiacono was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player.
- The greatest. There were Tar Heel alum everywhere at this game with the most famous, Michael Jordan, behind the bench. While you may have seen the crying memes of Jordan all over social media, his actual reaction to the final shot was a nod then looked at his friend and said “good shot.”
- One for the record books. Last night the UConn women did something no women's team has done before, win their fourth consecutive national championship, beating Syracuse 82-51. UConn’s Breanna Stewart brought home her fourth Final Four Most Outstanding Player award, becoming the first to win the award four years in a row.
On top of the world. A shout out of congratulations to our inaugural Last Night’s Game Bracket Challenge winner, Dave. Thanks for playing!
NBA (National Basketball Association)
- Good morning class. The NBA has announced the inductees to the 2016 Hall of Fame. The 10 inductees are lead by:
- Shaquille 'Shaq' O’Neal – played for Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics
- Allen Iverson - played for Philadelphia 76ers
- Yao Ming - played for Houston Rockets
- Tom Izzo - head coach of Michigan State
Inductees will be honored in a ceremony on September 9th.
Overtime
- John Oliver, host of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” issued a challenge to baseball fans. Last week a Yankees executive made a comment that some of their premium ticket holders felt uncomfortable sitting next to fans who paid less because they bought their seats on a ticket resale website. (The team implemented a new policy this season to ban print-at-home tickets in hopes that it will combat this predicament.) So Oliver, who called the Yankees “elitist,” created a contest to put riffraff in premium seats. The winners were two guys dressed as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Cowabunga dude!
Sideline stat
- Boston Red Sox' designated hitter David Ortiz hit a home run in the first game of his last season before retirement. Ortiz has been in the league since 1997 and will retire at the end of this season.
Coaches’ Corner
- Now you can coach from anywhere. The NFL has announced that the Thursday night football games will be streamed live through Twitter.