From MSNBC:

HACKENSACK, N.J. - Jason Ray, a North Carolina student who performed as a mascot for the school’s basketball team, died three days after being struck by a car hours before an NCAA tournament game. He was 21.

Ray performed as UNC’s ram mascot, Rameses, for the past three seasons. He was scheduled to graduate in May with a major in business administration and a minor in religion. He was in New Jersey for the men’s game between North Carolina and Southern California.

“Jason was a wonderful son, brother and friend,” Ray’s brother, Allen, said in a statement released by the university. “He leaves behind a legacy of friendship, laughter, excitement for life and a genuine love for all the people he touched during his all-too-short life.”

Our thoughts go out to Jason’s family and friends for this tragic loss. 

In the activity or occupation of performing as a mascot you are charged with a unique task:  Making people smile.  By all accounts Jason did that and did that well.  It is nice to hear that he shared how much he enjoyed the role with so many of his friends and family. 

In his short life he managed to touch a lot of people…and made them smile.  Thanks Jason, rest in peace.

-cudo

More info from UNC

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The student who wears the North Carolina mascot uniform remained in critical condition Saturday after being hit by a car while walking on a highway shoulder outside a hotel.

Jayson K. Ray, a senior from Concord, N.C., was to have performed inside the Ram mascot costume during Friday night’s East Regional semifinal between the Tar Heels and Southern California. He was injured while walking in the afternoon in Fort Lee, a few miles from the Meadowlands complex where the game was played.

Our thoughts go out to Jayson and his family.

-cudo

Also read:  Tears For A Ram, a really nice story by write Adam Lucas on the UNC Web Athletic Web Site

Stars president Jim Lites couldn’t believe the lack of acknowledgement by the Nashville Predators when Dallas forward Mike Modano tied and then broke the record for goals scored by an American-born player Saturday, according to a published report.

“Their owner, management, public relations people, coaching staff — I think they all failed the game,” Lites told the Dallas Morning News. “It’s because of people like Mike Modano that they even have a team in Nashville. He has helped pioneer the game in the South, and for him to be treated like that in a milestone moment … it’s just a horrible thing.”

Modano’s two goals Saturday gave him 503 for his career, breaking Joe Mullen’s record. Modano’s accomplishment was never mentioned over the PA system at Nashville Arena. (Read the full story)

Interesting that this is getting a lot of attention.  I think most teams would acknowledge the accomplishment and there are ways to do it without making your team look inferior or celebrating the success of your opponent.

I do agree that the point here isn’t the player, but the accomplishment which is also a celebration of the game.

It sounds like this was an in-arena slight only….the record was mentioned on the TV broadcast complete with graphics.

I welcome anyone commenting on how they have dealt with this or would deal with a major record being broken in your house by your opponents.

–cudo

Good story about the UHL and it’s soon to be open Commissioner job.

UHL president to resign
Here are three great candidates the league should consider to replace Brosal.
By Blake Sebring  (Full Story Link) (More from the writer’s blog)
 
While some United Hockey League fans are fretting about the league’s future with the upcoming loss of Rockford and some low attendance numbers in places like Flint, Chicago and Port Huron, Komets President Michael Franke isn’t worried. He understands the history of Midwest minor league hockey.

Friend of Gameops.com Scott Sproat is mentioned as a candidate.  The UHL would be lucky to land someone with Scott’s amazing insight and passion, and it would be really interesting to see what he could do to enhance the league. 

Scott Sproat: The Komets’ executive vice president is the best there is at marketing and providing entertainment. He’s full of ideas and could find new ways to market the league and increase revenue. He also has some experience working among league decisions from his time in the Continental Basketball Association with the Fort Wayne Fury. Incredibly smart, Sproat practically ran three franchises at the same time, developing expansion teams and training their staffs, while at the same time turning down major league offers. Two potential problems are that he would not want to leave Fort Wayne, and his leaving would hurt the Komets. But a stronger league would help the Komets, too.

-Cudo

It’s been busy at Gameops.com, so I get exited when I actually have some time to really build new content….and that’s just what’s happened in the last week.

Don’t miss the April update, when we will unleash a huge updated feature.  And set some time aside since this update will be one you can spend a day looking over.

That’s the teaser….15 days away.  Stay tuned.

-Cudo

The Dallas Mavericks are campaigning to have player Dirk Nowitzki named the 2006-07 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP). There is an official “Dirk for MVP” campaign web site found at myspace.com/official_dirk4mvp. As part of the campaign, the team designated their February 22 game “Dirk for MVP” night. At the game, all fans received Dirk Nowitzki MVP jersey t-shirts. They were encouraged to wear them during the game. In addition, Mavs megaphone noisemakers were placed at every seat in the arena, and special “Dirk for MVP” entertainment elements were held during the game. (PR)

Just another example of teams using myspace to promote and market.

–Cudo