Major League Baseball Thoughts, Iowa AGAIN, and the loss of Thrash

A lot to blog about in the world of mascots lately (considering I haven't had a post on here since January):
First off, I was simply browsing pics of the White Sox's awesome mascot, Southpaw, and I thought to myself...I don't believe I have shared my thoughts on the mascots of Major League Baseball. I rated the NHL and NFL (I believe, don't quote me on the latter, but I KNOW I did the NHL), so I guess it's time to talk about the MLB mascots. I'm really not going to rank these, I'm just going to go alphabetical and share my thoughts.

Ace (Toronto Blue Jays): DEFINITELY one of my favorites. Not many teams - college or pro - use the blue jay nickname, and I'd say Ace pulls off the look the best. A lot of people complain that his name has nothing to do with the team name, but Ace is a common mascot nickname, anyway (see Green Bay Gamblers, along with countless others).
Baxter the Bobcat (Arizona Diamondbacks): As you can probably guess, I'm a HUGE FAN of this one. You can't exactly make a diamondback fan-friendly, so you pick...a bobcat. The back story must be interesting for this one, but the look is SWEET.
Bernie Brewer (Milwaukee Brewers): Meh.
Billy the Marlin (Florida Marlins): DOWNRIGHT AWESOME. Mad respect for Billy. And stop throwing things at his truck, for gosh sake!
Dinger (Colorado Rockies): Uh. Looks like Barney's long lost brother. Or cousin. Or something.
Fredbird (St. Louis Cardinals): I've seen other cardinals look more intimidating. Take Louisville's for instance.
Homer (Atlanta Braves): Mr. Met's distant cousin. Nothing to see here, move along.
Junction Jack (Houston Astros): I have NEVER UNDERSTOOD what a jackrabbit has to do with Houston, or the Astros, for that matter. He looks like he could be related to the Nesquik Bunny.
Lou Seal (San Francisco Giants): BAD ASS and unique. The shades are a nice touch.
Mariner Moose (Seattle Mariners): For some reason, I have had respect for the Moose ever since he broke his ankle skating into that wall. Is that a bad thing?
Mr. Met (New York Mets): Besides Southpaw, my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE. Perfect in every way, and one of the classics.
Mr. Red (Cincinnati Reds): Again, fairly similar to Mr. Met or Homer.
Oriole Bird (Baltimore Orioles): AWESOME. Unlike some other mascots, this one rocks REAL stirrups and socks.
Paws (Detroit Tigers): Looks like it could be the cousin of Who-Dey from the Bengals.
Phillie Phanatic (Philadelphia Phillies): I understand it's a classic, but I've never been sold on it because of its *ahem* fakeness in one area.
Pirate Parrot (Pittsburgh Pirates): Eh. Middle of the road.
Rangers Captain (Texas Rangers): Does anyone else think he looks like Boomer or Sooner from Oklahoma?
Raymond (Tampa Bay Rays): FRIKIN. AWESOME.
Screech (Washington Nationals): Slapshot of the Capitals looks more like an eagle than you ever will.
Slider (Cleveland Indians): Because, obviously, you can't have an Indian as your mascot, you choose...whatever this thing is. Why is he in the Hall of Fame again?
Sluggerrr (Kansas City Royals): Okay, if you're wanting to look like a lion, you're not even trying. The crown doesn't even look right. And again...fakeness where it shouldn't be. What an annoyance.
*UPDATE*: Upon further review, I think I MAY have been a little harsh on 'ol Sluggerrr. In past versions of the mascots, the stirrups were fake. But in more recent shots, they actually look real and legit. So he earns a few more points in my book for that, but I've still seen better lions out there.
Southpaw (Chicago White Sox): Normally, this would fall in the Slider category, but since the White Sox are my team, I can't diss Southpaw. He works.
Stomper (Oakland Athletics): Pretty interesting back story behind this one. Besides, there aren't very many elephant mascots anyway. I like it.
Swinging Friar (San Diego Padres): Because you can't do anything else for Padres, can you?
T.C. Bear (Minnesota Twins): *ahem* No comment.
Wally the Green Monster (Boston Red Sox): One of the most unique ones out there.

So there's my take on the mascots of baseball.
Now, on to another topic that I had previously given up on, but I briefly revived when I did a simple search on Google Shopping.
I think I have *FINALLY* discovered what Herky gets from the Iowa athletic department in terms of his hosiery. Turns out that Twin City Knitting (which APPARENTLY is only a special order service, as I predicted) makes a sock called "Premier Collegiate" that looks JUST LIKE the NFL style socks, and you can make them solid colors.
BAM, said Emeril Lagasse, mystery solved.
So this finally answers the question I've been trying to figure out for years: "Will I ever get to wear the Herky sock?" The answer is ultimately NO unless I can find it on EBay or somewhere like that.

Finally, I can't remember if I addressed it in the prior post, but I need to if I hadn't.
One of my favorite mascots is no more.
The Atlanta Thrashers are also no more, as they were sold to a new ownership group to become the Winnipeg Jets, beginning next season.
That means that Thrash is now unemployed and looking for work.
According to his Twitter (which last I checked was still active) many people were suggesting the Hawks or Braves pick him up, which I would definitely support. Or who knows, maybe somewhere else in Atlanta will take him.
But ultimately, if Thrash does not find a new gig, I will definitely never forget the moments that just made me smile about Thrash - his energy, his dedication to the Thrashers, his look, that time he was running around the stands in nothing but undies, and who could forget the time he stole the Zamboni, was arrested, put in jail, and only was released after fans bought a certain amount of tickets.
Ah, the memories.
Thank you Thrash, for all you did on and off the ice. Wherever you go, I hope you keep entertaining an audience with the same energy and passion you did for the Thrashers. Good luck to you!

Congrats to Big Blue & "The Chase Never Stops"

A couple things to blog about today.
First, I wanted to extend a congratulations to Old Dominion University and their mascot, Big Blue, for winning the 2010 Capital One Mascot of the Year competition. Who would have thunk that a first-time mascot could SIMPLY DOMINATE and win it all? Don't get me wrong - first timers have won it before - but I can't recall a mascot that won it in more dominating fashion. It was his title to lose all season, and his fans stepped up when they needed to, especially against Oregon's Duck in the semifinals. Well done!
And second...
If you notice the title, you probably know what I'm referring to.
The chase NEVER stops when it comes to Boomer.
He is one ELUSIVE cat, let me tell you!
I had a FIFTH - FIFTH - opportunity last night at the Logansport/Harrison game to get at least a picture, but when I went down towards the end of the third quarter to check the concourse, POOF - gone.
What do I have to do?
Let's count now...two Purdue games, a Pacers game, a draft party, and the Harrison game.
What is it going to take for me to obtain what I've longed for?
I've made it pretty clear to Pacers brass that I'm one of Boomer's biggest fans, and certainly his biggest fan in Logansport.
I've got a Fathead of him on my wall. I've got a Boomer hat. I got a shirt FROM THE PACERS THEMSELVES that I wore at last night's game.
Nada. And still nada.
I guess I just have to keep trying. It's really all I can do. I'm not the type of person that just lies down and gives up (most of the time).
But I won't give up when it comes to this.
No way.
Like the kids chasing Lucky for his Lucky Charms, or the Trix rabbit just wanting some Trix, or Tom chasing Jerry, or Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner...you get the idea.
The chase never stops. And someday, I hope to finally cross the finish line with victory in my grasp.
For now...I can only keep dreaming. But hey, dreams are a nice consolation until then, right?