I'm not sure if mascots getting wiped out is something new because they're doing more courageous (read as: stupider) things or if we just hear about it because the internet is so willing to share them all with us. I really don't care.
This first video comes from the Track and Field World Championships. It features Jamaican sprinter Melaine Walker, who had recently won the 400 meter hurdles in the second fastest time ever. As part of her victory celebration, she decided to mount Berlino, the mascot that the event organizers came up with for their event. Guess where it's at. Go on. I guess anybody with an ounce of creativity in Germany works on more important things like BMW, creates more ways to improve chocolate, left for Austria and created awesome music, or is just super hot. But I digress. Watch the video and be happy she wasn't riding fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt.
The first time I saw Berlino run into whatever it was that was on the track, I wondered how hard it was to see out of a mascot costume. Then I realized that the mascot was clearly struggling with Walker on its back and was looking straight at the ground while running. At least it stayed in its lane.
This next video revisits two topics I've touched on a previous blog all combined into one glorious moment in Pittsburgh. The Washington Nationals' dead presidents competed in a relay race with the Pirates' pierogies when this happened.
Alright, so all the mascot races where a participant falls/gets taken down are pretty comical, but the pierogi taking out Teddy Roosevelt was the point of that video. Need another angle? Finally, I'd recommend reading this about what other teams should use for their own races.
One more video for today. It's fairly common to see baseball players fight, though it's usually a bunch of posturing while waiting for their coaches to come out so they can save face without fighting. It's less often to see the coaches throw down. Throwing punches? Check.
Without question, the best thing about the internet is the its ability to spread information at a rate never before seen. Nothing provides better evidence of this than the ongoing protests in Iran which has been documented on sites like YouTube and Twitter.
I heard about this video of people rescuing two people, including a four-year-old, from a burning car on the news this morning and intended to write a post completely ripping on the camera operator for simply filming the rescue and not helping out. However, when I watched it I realized that there were plenty of people already helping, and because of his role, everybody in the world can see that there are still people willing to put themselves in harm's way to help other people.
In a semi-related story, the president was kind enough to further my argument that he's secretly a woman by admitting that the jeans he wore for the All-Star Game were "frumpy." Frumpy? He made further excuses by declaring that the jeans were comfortable, and he hates to shop. Clearly, this is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to protect his image with men, and it's true that I would prefer comfortable to stylish. That's fair. He's a guy. But none of this would have mattered if he could throw like one.
More internet video news. Apparently, a video of a naked Erin Andrews surfaced over the weekend. It was taken while she was in her hotel room and clearly wasn't taken with her knowledge. Through her lawyers, she has promised both civil and criminal suits though the origin of the video is unknown. I don't have it and won't be posting it here because of the words "civil and criminal" mentioned in the previous sentence. The thing that's the most concerning is the media coverage this has gotten.
Somehow, despite a portfolio consisting entirely of non-risque pictures and videos, Erin Andrews is one of the most popular women on the internet, so the attention makes sense. However, outlets like Fox News and The Today Show (that I know of) have shown outrage toward the videographer and sympathy for Andrews by playing clips of the video all day. I understand, the video brings in ratings, and ratings bring in sponsors, and sponsors bring in money, but there's a direct hypocrisy being shown. "It's every woman's worst nightmare. A video of Erin Andrews walking around her hotel room naked. Take a look. Making this video was a deplorable act, and our thoughts go out to Miss Andrews. Now watch with us in disgust as she bends over to pick up her hair brush."
Also, I can't decide whether I want to watch the video or find myself entirely sick to my stomach. Part of me wants to satisfy my curiosity to finally find out what she looks like naked, but I'm not sure that's the best situation. Some part of her appeal is the fact that she doesn't provoke attention by taking her clothes off, and seeing her without them would definitely take away that innocence. Moreover, I'm not sure I'd be able to enjoy watching her on the sideline after having seen this video. As a result, it seems watching the video seems as though it would provide a short term positive that would be far outweighed by my lack of excitement the next time she's walking past my section during football season.
And finally, on a much less serious note, I stopped watching ESPN some time ago because I despise nearly every team from Boston, New York, and Chicago. However, due to team ownership obligations and the fact that I don't have to read about certain aforementioned teams there, I can't stop visiting their website. Since I assume most people are in a similar situation, I want to share a Sunday Conversation that recently aired on the network and was recently archived online. Normally, Sunday Conversation is a segment with an emotional interview of Brett Favre speaking about his most recent retirement or Alex Rodriguez about his steroids/gayness/choking (unrelated)/self-loving. Not this week. Check out the video below which features Ben Schwartz interviewing Olympic gymnast, Nastia Liukin.
