Bally's Championship Fortnight, Part II

Bally had an exciting first week of playoff action, visiting the Atlantic Sun, Missouri Valley and Sun Belt. But was he tired after all that fun? Absolutely not! Bally can't be stopped, he's going all the way to the hoop! Here are some highlights from his stops in Texas and Ohio for the Sun Belt and MAC tourneys.

Bally's standing in the mascot community increases every day, and as a result, so does his head. Look, Bally's bigger than Texas!

Because Bally's getting to be such a huge star, he's usually found in the company of beautiful ladies these days. Here he is with the Southeastern Louisiana cheerleaders!

Northwestern State play-by-play announcer Patrick Netherton -- a fixture on the national radio sports scene and a mock selection participant as well -- had a dream as a young boy. He spent his childhood in front of the TV with the sound off, practicing 10 hours a day to get really good at sports announcing. He believed in his heart that if he worked hard, one day he'd have an opportunity to meet his lifelong hero, Bally B. Basketball. At the 2009 Southland tourney, that wish was finally fulfilled. Awwww, just look how happy he is.

Stephen F. Austin's team is called the Lumberjacks, and like this website, the school has a live-action mascot. Things can get a little dicey when you encroach on others' territory; note that Bally's mopping his brow, having been spared the ax. Phew!

Girls love Bally, and Bally loves 'em back. Here, he's hanging out before a quarterfinal game with the Texas-Arlington cheer squad! Go Mavericks, and go Bally!

Here's Bally with the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders mascot, Izzy the Islander. Izzy is the coolest, most laid-back mascot in the Southland! As Mr. Netherton and others have noted, he's also the mascot most likely to have a Scooby-Doo villain inside.

And, of course, Bally would rather hang out with TAMU-CC's cheerleaders. Hang loose, pretty Islander ladies!

Bally and I made a quick trip up to Cleveland for the last two rounds of the playoffs in the Mid-American... or as some people call it, the "MAC conference!" That's like saying redundantly redundant, or Bally B. Basketball!

Bally claims that he's a failed tuba prodigy, so he loves to party with the bands! Here, he's helping celebrate Buffalo's MAC semifinal win over Ball State!

As has been noted repeatedly in these pages, Bally has tons of celebrity pals. Mark Adams is always impeccably prepared to call a game, and there's nobody else who should be handling play-by-play of a mid-major championship game. On Friday night, he was watching the semis to get ready to call the MAC title matchup on Saturday with his usual encyclopedia-sized stack of notes. Somebody get that man a better shirt!

Bally's short legs keep him off Dancing With The Stars, but he always enjoys the efforts of the dance teams! In closing, here's the little orange guy with the fantastic Akron Zips dance team! The ladies later wowed the crowd with a routine set to "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," and Bowling Green's basketball team tried and failed! Akron and Buffalo are in the final!

Resources

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