A New Week and the Search Continues

After a busy weekend (which I will get to later) I came back to work refreshed and ready to find those missing Butler Bulldog mascot costumes this week. I was so fired up, that I shredded my red dragon in an attempt to send a message of intimidation to whom ever took these costumes. Here are a couple of pics of the aftermath…

As you can see, I mean business. Substitute the guilty for the red dragon and you get the message that I’m trying to send.

Tomorrow I’ll go from intimidation tactics to more video shooting as I work to make a sequel to my first film from last week, which has over 5,000 hits and counting as of this evening. In this new film I’ll cover the increased reward for the safe return of the mascots as well as follow up on the tips, leads and rumors that have been swirling about campus as to the whereabouts of our beloved costumes. It should be fun and I think you’ll again enjoy the finished product.

Speaking of fun, that’s exactly what I had on Saturday. It all started early in the morning at Hinkle Fieldhouse for the Lugar Run where I did a couple of TV hits on the local CBS affiliate, WISH-TV channel 8. Below are a couple shots from that…



Of course, I am a bulldog, therefore, I do not run, so as I sent the runners and walkers on their way, I got rested up for the OBS Gridiron Brunch and our football season home opener against the Grizzles of Franklin College.

Unfortunately we took it on the chin against Franklin to go 1-1 on the season, so that hurt, but there was some good that came out of the game and that was the Indianapolis Colts’ mascot Blue was there to fill in for our two-legged guy-in-suit bulldog mascot.

You may remember in one of my first blog posts I suggested that this town wasn’t big enough for two “Blues.” I stand corrected. Not only is Indianapolis fit for a pair of “Blues,” but the Butler Bowl can handle it as well.

I was just upset because I came along first and then the Colts created their mascot and gave him the same name. Oh well, it’s all water under the bridge, or as I like to say, water splashed out of the wading pool, at this point.

So my new ally Blue from the Colts came to campus on Saturday to fill in for our missing mascot and lend me a hoof in entertaining the crowd. He also helped me run the team out on the field which was cool. Below is a shot of Blue and I on the sideline.


If that’s not all, Blue and the Colts also ponied-up (pun intended) $1,000 to donate to Riley Hospital for Children should our missing mascot costumes be returned. Classy. Thanks Blue!

After all of that, I took a quick afternoon knap and then headed out to Zionsville, Ind. for a little family gathering with the Kaltenmark side. That pretty much lead to more sleeping (pictured with my mom below).


Then following that, my parents decided to make a late night trek over to visit some friends of my parents where we watched even more college football. I slept some more and enjoyed snacking on a football as you can see below.

All of that made for a very long day so I pretty much slept on Sunday while my parents attended the MotoGP. And that takes me to today where the search for the missing mascots resumed. I also threw up some new videos on BlueTube. Visit www.youtube.com/butlerblue2 to check those out.

There are quite a few videos of a couple new friends (Addison and Xander) that I made last week. I ran into a couple of nine to 10 week old English Bulldog puppies last week, one owned by a Butler student and another owned by Butler alumni. They both are participating in the ninth annual Bulldog Beauty Contest on Oct. 25th.

And speaking of the beauty contest, I’ll conclude with a quick progress report. Again, things seem to be shaping up nicely as we now have 25 dogs registered. Remember, last year we had a record 60 dogs and thanks to my vet, Dr. Kurt Phillips of Woodland Animal Hospital in Carmel, Ind., his staff has sent invitations to 117 bulldog owners who own a total of 254 bulldogs! Dr. Phillips knows bulldogs!

I’m optimistic that with an outreach like that, we can have record turnout again this year. Remember, just email blue2@butler.edu to sign up.

Blue II

Costumes Still Missing; Reward Increased; Bulldogs are HOT!

It's been a busy week in the life of Butler Blue II, and it's only getting busier. I love it!

This missing Butler Bulldog mascot costumes caper has kept me hard at work and while we’ve yet to find them, the plot has thickened. For starters, thanks to the Butler faithful, the reward for the safe return of the costumes has been raised from $100 and one of my bones, to $550 and one of my bones. Now we’re getting somewhere.

And sure enough, just as the reward increases then so do the rumors, anonymous tips and unsubstantiated leads as to the whereabouts of these unique suits. I even got the photo below suggesting that our suit may have been picked up by the dog catcher and sent to the pound. Very funny.


Following the example of one of my beloved heroes, McGruff the Crime Dog, I’m hot on the case and sniffing out all possibilities. Should you hear anything, keep me posted at blue2@butler.edu, and better yet, call the authorities! You can reach the Butler University Police Dept. at 317-940-9396. They would be happy to take your call.



I hope to have another video up next week that illustrates my detective work. The massive amount of rain that we are getting today and this weekend isn’t really conducive to shooting film so sorry for the delay.

The media continues to pick-up the story and again, we’ve received national coverage. This time it is the world-wide leader in sports, ESPN. Check out this clip…



Since I am the only mascot that Butler has at the moment, I will be especially busy tomorrow as we host our first home football contest of the season and we welcome the Lugar Run to campus. My day gets started at Hinkle Fieldhouse at 7 a.m. for the Lugar Run as WISH-TV will be on campus to do some live TV hits for that.

Then it’s on to the OBS Gridiron Brunch and pre-game event and then kick-off against Franklin College at 1 p.m. where I will get to run the team out on to the field for battle. A win on Saturday will make the football Bulldogs 2-0!

It’s looking like it might be a little warm, muggy, windy and wet tomorrow, but I don’t care. No matter the conditions, I am ready!

Finally, I’ll sign off with a story that show’s just how in vogue us English Bulldogs are. Not only did we make it back into the top-10 of AKC registered breeds this year, but now we’ve been voted the hottest in Hollywood!

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/ask_the_answer_bitch/b28361_a-list_secrets_hollywoods_unlikely_hot.html

My good friend Jackie, a young Butler alumni who resides in our Nation’s capital, sent me a link to story on E! (watch The Soup on E! w/ Joel McHale, Fridays, 10 p.m. EST…it’s hilarious) that explains just how the English Bulldog has become all the rage amongst celebrities (Adam Sandler, The Kaltenmarks, etc.) and just all around “cool people.”

Specifially, the article states, "Hollywood's dog o' the moment is an unexpected breed...That dog is the English Bulldog." It’s no wonder our bulldog mascot costumes were stolen!

By the way, if you have a chance some time, check out Adam Sandler's website and watch his videos with his English Bulldogs. They are great! (http://www.adamsandler.com/index.php?section=matzomeat)

Have a great weekend, keep looking for those costumes, stay dry, and GO DAWGS!

Blue II

Selection Sunday Recap

It was a late night yesterday evening, but it was worth it. In case you missed it, I was on live with Anthony Calhoun ("AC" [pictured]) on Indianapolis' WISH-TV Channel 8 and their Sports Locker program. The show airs live at 11:15 p.m. on Sunday evenings, so I had to stay up late, but it was worth it.

Since it was "Selection Sunday" and the Butler Bulldogs are headed to the NCAA Tournament, AC wanted to have me in studio for effect, if nothing else. I absolutely loved it. At first the robotic cameras scared me, but once I got used to it all, I really enjoyed being on camera, in studio and hanging out at the sports desk with fellow on-air talent Chris Widlic, Jeane Coakley and the crew. I can't wait to do it again sometime. Here's a little video...

Speaking of "Selection Sunday," I can't say that I was too pleased with Selection Committee's decision to give Butler a 7 seed in the tournament. Don't get me wrong, it's our second highest seed in school history and I'm happy to be there, but given that we were ranked in the AP Poll again today at the 11th spot (above all other schools from the state of Indiana), clearly we could have been given a little better positioning.

I think all Butler fans heard the thud of the figurative ball being dropped by the Selection Committee early yesterday evening. Oh well, like I said, it's still a privelage to be in the tournament and regardless of your ranking, you have to win to advance, so let's just focus on the task at hand and win some games!

During my tenure as mascot, Butler has an NCAA Tournament record of 2-1. I'd like to keep adding to the win column.

While the Bulldogs are headed to Birmingham, Alabama for their game against South Alabama (anything jump out at you there), this Bulldog won't be making the trip. That's right, we heard back from the NCAA regarding our inquiry about live mascots and tournament sites. They shot us down citing "too many potential issues and a wide range of variables."

I guess I can't argue with that since I can't speak for my live mascot counterparts in the business, but I can tell you this, when it comes to me and the guy-in-suit mascots, they might want to concern themselves with the guy-in-suit version.

Take for instance the Oral Roberts/IUPUI debacle last week at the Summit League Tournament. You can view that here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x7Yk8NNg3k

Oh well, I'll let it slide for now, but if by some chance Butler makes an appearance in the Final Four, you can bet I'll be fighting tooth and claw for them to allow me to make the trip. I swear that I saw Jack the Georgetown Hoya at the Final Four last year.

Anyway, all the best to our Butler Bulldogs on Friday at 2:45 p.m. Take care of business boys and earn that respect you so deserve!


Blue II

Indy Residents: Set Your DVR

Dear Central Indiana/Indianapolis Metro Residents:

After you've finished watching the Selection Sunday broadcast to see where Butler lands in the field of 65 for the NCAA men's basketball tournament, be sure to set your DVR for WISH-TV CBS Channel 8 tonight, (March 16, 2008) for 11:00 p.m. (EST).

Specifically, you'll want to catch WISH-TV's Sports Locker segment with Anthony Calhoun that starts at 11:15 p.m.

That's really all I can say at this time. I just wanted to provide a little teaser.

I'll report back on Monday with full disclosure on the topic as well as canine analysis of Butler's seed in the NCAA tournament and respective road to the Final Four.

Blue II