Mess With Da Bull, You Get the Horns

It's the oldest, truest, and most recognizable adage in all of professional sport, burned onto the brains of athletes throughout the world : "If your mascot is suspended for two games after coming onto the court during the run of play, and has been placed in a cage in the lobby as punishment, best to replace him with a giant walking grocery bag."

We refer of course to Mascotgate, the ever-growing controversy surrounding the Toros and their beloved Da Bull. (See Mark Fagan's blog for all the sordid details.) The mascot began his two-game suspension with tonight's game against Arkansas. Yesterday, Da Bull was forced to face the indignity of a press conference, and earlier today, he appeared on ESPN's Cold Pizza, and no, we're not making that up.

The Toros introduced Da Bull before the game then had him escorted off the court by Convention Center security to a makeshift "pen" in the lobby. Not ones to let any promotional opportunity slip by, the Toros are selling "Free Da Bull" T-shirts at tonight's game for $10. Don't worry, though: Toros fans won't go mascotless during the game; the team brought in Da Bull's "good friends" the H-E-Buddy (who's a grocery bag filled with food) and the Chicken (who's a chicken). In the finest Toros mascot traditions, we're expecting H-E-Buddy to start some serious shit before the night's over.

(As for the Chicken, this is his first game back in the D-League after testing positive for methamphetamine back in November. He, too, spent time in a makeshift pen in the lobby of the convention center - the "Detox Box," it was called - where local children could both witness the harrowing [but edifying] ordeal of withdrawal and throw fruit at a grown man in a chicken costume.)

Perhaps the only folks on a worse streak than Da Bull are tonight's opponent - the Arkansas RimRockers, who have lost 14 straight. At the halftime intermission, the suddenly streaking Toros lead the RimRockers 47-30.