Cubs take issue with ‘mascot’
As if the Chicago Cubs needed more problems. Now they have mascot issues.
A Chicago man who has been wearing a generic bear costume while greeting fans outside Wrigley Field since 2007, has been sent a cease and desist letter from Major League Baseball to stop wearing the costume. “Billy Cub”, Major League Baseball and the Cubs said, aren’t affiliated with the club and cause confusion.
So while the Cubs are mired in another losing season - they were 43-52 heading into Sunday’s game at Colorado - they also have fans confusing fans outside their field in a bear costume.
John Paul Weier bought a generic bear costume online six years ago and now spends his time taking photos and greeting fans before and after games. Given that the Cubs are one of three Major League teams without an official mascot, he didn’t think it was an issue.
“It’s about taking pictures,” he told nbcchicago.com. “It’s about giving someone a lasting memory from a Cubs game.”
The Cubs see it differently.
“We have received complaints from fans, mistakenly believing ‘Billy Cub’ to be associated with the Cubs,” team spokesman Julian Green said in a statement.
Green noted that on two occasions the team has heard complaints of a “Billy Cub” - four different people rotate wearing the suit - getting into an argument with fans because of inadequate tips.
That’s caused MLB to send a 100-plus page letter asking him to stop citing trademark infringement and asked him to stop engaging in “unabated Mascot Activities.”
He said the Cubs have offered to buy him out for $15,000, but said he isn’t interested in money.
“I want to be the official mascot of the Chicago Cubs,” he said. “And if I can’t be the official mascot, I want to keep doing what I’ve been doing for the last seven years.”Not letting go Nevermind that the Montreal Expos played their last major league game nine seasons ago, but a group of fans still remember them fondly.
About 1,000 fans of the former major-league team that became the Washington Nationals in 2005 filed into the bleachers at the Rogers Centre on Saturday, to catch the Toronto Blue Jays play the Tampa Bay Rays.
They did so sporting Expos attire and holding signs and flags showing allegiance to their former team with the hopes of grasping a bit of attention.
“Our goal is to celebrate the history of the Expos and show that there is still a viable market for it,” Matthew Ross, who runs the website Expos Nation and organized the trip, told the Calgary Herald.
This year, the group got former Expos player Bill Atkinson and former manager Jim Fanning to join them on the trip and the Herald reported that the possibility of bringing back the Expos is an ongoing topic on Montreal talk radio shows.
Not that Ross is expecting a return of his favorite team, though, calling the endeavor “very difficult and very tough.”Our bad
Ron Turner didn’t sign up for this.
The first-year Florida International football coach was forced to issue a statement on Friday with an apology for how his team spent part of their afternoon.
In his statement, Florida International football players spent part of Friday with a workout and barbecue on Crandon Park Beach in Miami that concluded their summer conditioning program.
According to Turner’s statement, some players, after the workout, went to shower and “a few of them made a poor decision and changed their clothes in public.”
When others at the beach took a look, police were called and Turner had to scramble to release a statement.
“I want to apologize to the community and anyone who was at the beach this morning for this unfortunate incident,” he said.
“We are committed to helping our student athletes grow as gentlemen while preparing them for their careers.”
Just like on-the-field success, seems like Turner has a long way to go.
Quote of the day “It feels amazing to win the claret jug.” Phil Mickelson on winning his first British Open title
Sports, Pages 14 on 07/22/2013