So what happened? Could this change of heart over mascots actually have racial undertones? Are the 76ers trying to appeal to a more mainstream white family sports atmosphere by commissioning Disney’s Jim Henson Creature Shop to create a cartoonish replacement mascot instead?

One basketball blog that we read claims that Hip Hop was the Sixers mascot that nobody really liked. After allegedly polling season ticket holders about their game-day experience, Hip Hop was dropped like a bad habit. Did it really need to take 11 seasons of Hip Hop-ness to come to this conclusion?

Philadelphia 76ers CEO Adam Aron claims that the mission of ownership is to rekindle the bond, rekindle the connection between the Philadelphia sports fans and the Philadelphia 76ers. “A major step in that rekindling process involves getting people back into the arena.” says Aron. In terms of percentage of seats filled, the 76ers ranked dead last in the NBA last season.

Obviously the new 76ers’ owners are vying to return to the glory days of when Pat Croce was general manager and the town adored their basketball team. Back then, the arena crowd was predominantly white. This change of mascots could be viewed as a demographically motivated move to re-start in that direction.

Reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson could not be reached for comment.

Robert “Major League” McDonnell (1920-2010) was from the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia and an outstanding high school and college athlete who joined the Philadelphia Phillies as a batting practice coach right out of school after World War II.  He was beloved by mostly everyone in the organization but one day during the time of the Whiz Kids, he angered Jackie Robinson.

Back in 1950, McDonnell was yelling racist remarks and other expletives at Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe from the visitor’s dugout at Ebbets Field. Jackie Robinson trotted in from his spot at thirdbase to the pitcher’s mound and said, “Newk, you hear that guy?  What are you going to do about that?”  And Don Newcombe responded, “I hear him. I got good ears. I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’m gonna pick out the best Phillies batter and knock him on his ass.”

When Phillies outfielder Del Ennis came to bat, Don Newcombe made him hit the dirt with two high and inside fastballs.  Ennis walked over to his own bench, said something to Maje McDonnell, then proceeded to strikeout at the plate.

Years later, Don Newcombe got to play with Del Ennis on the Cincinnati Reds and asked him what he had said to the boisterous batting practice pitcher. Del Ennis told him that he was getting knocked down for what McDonnell was saying to Newcombe and he’s the one who has to bat against him, not McDonnell.  If he continued to say such things, Ennis threatened to rip McDonnell’s tongue out of his mouth and lay it in his own hand.  From then on, McDonnell quieted down and never said another word to irritate either Jackie Robinson or Don Newcombe.

Del Ennis could be very persuasive.

Grave marker of Paul Eugene Stephens

I recently drove from Philadelphia to York Pennsylvania to visit the grave of Negro League ballplayer Paul Eugene “Country Jake” Stephens.

Stephens played shortstop for four championship teams: 1923-25 Philadelphia Hilldales, 1930 Homestead Grays, 1932 Pittsburgh Crawfords and 1934 Philadelphia Stars.

After his playing days were over, Stephens returned to York and opened a taproom for two years.  He also ran an auto-tag registry business from 1939 until 1955 and later became a deputy sheriff in York County.

I contacted the Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project to make them aware that Stephens’ grave makes no reference to his segregated baseball career with hopes that either a plaque or marker will be created and displayed in sports justice.

Only time will tell.

THE BUCK STOPS HERE: Is the high price of gasoline annoying you to no end? Do you realize that this skyrocketing trend is headed towards $5.00 per gallon by Memorial Day? The time has come for all concerned Americans to get “mad as heck” and let the oil companies know that we are not going to take it any more!

Please email the following oil companies and demand that they permanently SLASH THEIR PUMP PRICES BY 50%  immediately or an organized “Stop Driving Day” will be organized for Sunday, May 1st, in an effort to offset their artificially inflated supply-and-demand ratios…

British Petroleum: bpconsum@bp.com; Sun Oil Company: CUSTOMERFIRST@sunocoinc.com; Citgo Gasoline: info@citgo.com; Valero Petroleum: customer.relations@valero.com; Shell Oil Company: ShellCustomerCare@shell.com; Chevron/Texaco: conaffrs@chevron.com; Lukoil: corpcom@lukoil.com; Exxon/Mobil: Go to Exxon.com and fill out their “contact us” page to file your complaint.

Thank you very much and power to the people!

This is the story of the Lost Ark of the Convenant….. supposedly hidden away in an African church in Axum, Ethiopia.

I recall an early scene from the movie “The Ten Commandments” where young Moses (Charlton Heston) returns from battle and calls out “I bring you… Ethiopia!” as he showers gifts of triumph unto the Pharaoh who then praises him for befriending the enemy of their southern gate.

How ironic that, for centuries, this has been the alleged storage spot for the Lost Ark of The Covenant.

Some believe and others are non-believers.  Could it be the real thing or just a very old replica as skeptic scholars theorize?  Interesting conjecture.

Word from Graham Hancock, author of “The Sign and The Seal”, the keeper of the coveted lost container is a blind old man.  His lifetime job is  a responsibility that the blind man carries with his heart, and defends with his life. And he is very happy, at one with the Lord. Before he dies, he must carefully choose a guardian successor.

This blind unarmed individual is the only privileged one who has the possibility of contacting with one of the most treasured myths of the history of mankind except during the ceremony known as the Timkat, in the month of January, when the Ark comes out in the streets, in a sacred procession, duly covered to prevent its destructive effects over the ones who look at it… That’s why the old man is blind, writes Hancock.

According to Abuna Pauolos, the patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia, the actual Ark has been kept in one church but, to defend the valued treasure, a duplicate was placed in every single church throughout Ethiopia.  I guess that helps to confuse real-life raiders.  Indiana Jones-wannabes.

Considered perhaps the world’s most prized archaeological and spiritual artifact… blah blah blah

WorldNetDaily states the Ark of the Covenant is the sacred container of the Ten Commandments as well as Aaron’s rod and a sample of manna, the mysterious food that kept the Israelites alive while wandering in the wilderness during their journey to the promised land.

The Bible  says the Ark was built to the specifications of God as He spoke to Moses. It was carried in advance of the people and their army by priests. It was also carried in a seven-day procession around the walled city of Jericho.

The idea that the Ark is presently in Ethiopia is a well-documented, albeit disputed, tradition dating back to at least 642 B.C. The tradition says it was moved to Elephantine Island in Egypt, then to Tana Kirkos Island in Ethiopia and finally to its present site at St. Mary’s of Zion Church in Axum.

It is rumored that a museum is being built in Ethiopia so that the Ark can be prominently displayed.  Sounds like wishful thinking to me.  Ethiopians allegedly believe it is destined to be delivered to the Messiah when He reigns on Mount Zion – the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

So why go to the trouble to house it in a fancy fishbowl? They seem content on locking it away from the public thus far – why change now?  I remain both skeptical and cynical.

The company produces more than 150 million pounds of chocolate per year, which is sold to major food companies and thousands of small shops.

Their store features a free candy americana museum that tells the history of the company and how their chocolate is made. The exhibits include antique chocolate molds, tins and boxes, as well as hand-painted European and Oriental antique porcelain chocolate pots. The museum was created by Penny Buzzard, wife of former Wilbur president John Buzzard, and opened in 1972.

Its most popular candy, the Wilbur Bud, was introduced in 1893. The Wilbur Bud closely resembles a Hershey’s Kiss, which debuted in 1907. The two products are also frequently compared due to the proximity of their manufacturers, Lititz being only about 20 miles away from Hershey, Pennsylvania. Wilbur Buds are not individually wrapped and have the word WILBUR on the bottom of the chocolate.

So the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile had a traumatic mishap in Wisconsin.  One of the twenty-somethings who was hired temporarily as a one-year hotdogger thought she was in reverse when she lurched forward and crashed into a house’s garage door and upper deck.  Oops.

I took note at all the varied news reports of the incident and had to laugh.  The American media loves these “Man Bites Dog” stories.  I decided to take it one step further and seek out Oscar Meyer Wienermobile information off the Krafts Food website and, lo and behold, what did I discover?

The corporate promotions department of the famous meatpacking plant hires cheerful, zany, smiling people to work as goodwill ambassadors for their famed frankfurter adventures. These over-zealous college grads, who obviously grew up worshipping Barney The Dinosaur, use every lame hotdog pun or reference imagineable to mankind.  “Ketchup with you later…” “Relish the opportunity…”  “Check out our buns and say hello…”  You name it. They even identify themselves with ridiculously obnoxious names like Lil Links Laura, C. Melton Cheddar, Torey Toppings, and Dijon John. The groans are practically non-stop.

No wonder it’s such a joy when the vehicle backfires and makes national headlines. However, it wasn’t all that dramatic as the news wanted it to be. The police said the unidentified female driver was trying to turn the Wienermobile around in the driveway and thought she was moving in reverse but she instead went forward and hit the home.

Wish I knew who it was… Leadfoot Lisa perhaps?  Who’s in a pickle now?

As part of a $4 million dollar joint effort between The Planetary Society of Pasadena, California, and Cosmos Studios of Ithaca, New York, a solar-sailing project called “Cosmos 1” was launched from the submarine Borisoglebsk of the Russian Northern Fleet in the Barents Sea on June 21, 2005.

Just 83 seconds into the mission, however, the rocket boosters never separated from the craft and the airborne vessel went down somewhere near Novaya Zemlya. Team crewmembers were initially unsure of its flight status and were holding onto false hope that Cosmos 1 was put into orbit as originally planned.

“We have no regrets over what happened,” said Bruce Murray, cofounder of The Planetary Society. “We’ve learned a lot and think we’ve shown what can be possible and what might be able to be done.”

Solar sails are designed to be propelled by pressure from sunlight, much like a spinning Crookes radiometer device when exposed to the Sun. This would allow for increased orbit energy.

Light particles, known as photons, reflect off the spacecraft’s giant mirror-like sails, pushing the craft forward. Because a solar sail carries no fuel, and in principle can keep accelerating over almost unlimited distances, it is the only technology known today that could one day travel to the stars.

Named as one of the most innovative ideas of 2005 by The New York Times Magazine, the possibility of launching another spacecraft in the near future is still being explored.

Wash that event right out of your hair!  This fractured bar of soap is perfect for those who suffer from disappointment, whether personally or professionally.

Found at a discount store in Central Pennsylvania for just pennies on the dollar, lost love never smelled so good.

http://www.emaxhealth.com/1506/april-30-first-national-no-phone-zone-day.html