I don’t even know what what madness means, but it’s March and I’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s get right to it.

Shorty Awards

Finally, the Shorty Awards ceremony has arrived. Held in NYC, the fourth annual, sold-out event will air online this evening at 7:30 p.m. I’ll be watching to find out if I have won the Shorty Award for the best use of short form media in the College Category.

You may remember that about a month ago I took the the popular vote in the category, thanks to my friends and followers who rallied around me and got me atop the list, which includes the likes of Queens College of Charlotte, University of Florida, Roanoke College, Boston University and Syracuse University.

Here’s to hoping the Shorty Awards Academy gives me the nod for sweep the College Category!

Happy Birthday to Me!

March 27, 2004 started it all and so tomorrow, I’ll be celebrating eight great years on this earth. However, thanks to the great students in the Butler University Student Foundation and my buddies at Holy Cow Cupcakes, the partying has been going on for a while now. This past Friday, the aforementioned held my annual campus birthday celebration at the university Starbucks and Bookstore.

Hundreds of students, faculty, staff, and fans came to wish me well and for their efforts, they were sweetly rewarded with Holy Cow Cupcakes. Not a bad deal, eh?

Plus, in lieu of gifts, this year I asked folks to bring in dog toys, supplies and food for those pups less fortunate than me and Butler Blue III. The response has been great and it looks like our friends at the Indiana Bulldog Rescue and the Humane Society of Indianapolis are going to reap the rewards. There’s still time to contribute, so feel free to drop things off at the Butler Bookstore this week. They’ll know what to do with it.

The birthday celebration has continued since Friday and frankly, I’m milking this for all it’s worth. So let the showering of love and attention continue!

Bulldog Jog

Speaking of celebrating, Saturday marked a couple of milestones as the Butler HRC hosted the 20th annual Bulldog Jog 5K run and established the inaugural 1-mile Dog Walk. The event was a huge success with nearly 700 (almost 200 were dog walkers) participants!

Of course, I was the grand marshall of the dog walk and I let Butler Blue II tag along as we led our fellow canine friends through campus aboard our Burley Trailers Tail Wagon. What, you think I’m actually walking a mile? Forget about it.

This event as also another opportunity to help the Indiana Bulldog Rescue and the Humane Society of Indianapolis. Both groups were present for the event and we even had a rescue bulldog find a new home and family that morning! Too cool.

Both the 5K and dog walk were great successes and planning has already begun for 2013. The future looks bright for the Bulldog Jog, but we need your feedback to be successful, so don’t hesitate to speak up.

Bulldog Jog 5K results have been posted and pictures are coming soon.

Special thanks to my good friends at Holistic Select and City Dogs Grocery for making this inaugural Bulldog Jog Dog Walk a reality and success.

Pinterest

Talk of pictures reminds me to inform you that Butler University is now on Pinterest! I’m not even going to begin explaining Pinterest, but here’s what’s important about Butler’s new profile…there’s a board on there titled, “Butler Blue II & III in the Wild.” You go to that board, read the instructions on this pin, and post your pics of me, Trip and the Blue II Mobile.

Between my birthday party and the Bulldog Jog, I took countless pictures with people. So I better start seeing more pics posted on there!

Mashable

Friday, March 23rd happened to be National Puppy Day so in honor of the occassion, Mashable released their “Top Ten Dogs to Follow on Social Media.” I’m proud to report that “yours truly” was ranked as No. 5 on the list!

Consider that Mashable is one of the world’s largest websites and pretty much the standard in social media reporting, and this is kind of a big deal.

In Honor of a Hero

You know who else is a big deal? The Kool-Aid Man, that’s who. The red drink-filled pitcher of a fella has long been a hero of mine, what with all of the jumping through walls and yelling “Oh Yeah,” while doing it.

In honor of the Kool-Aid Man, I made this little tribute to him utilizing some abandoned cardboard boxes laying around the workplace. Enjoy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyXDzS1sAu0[/youtube]

Brad Stevens

Ever heard of him? He’s of course the Butler University Men’s Basketball head basketball coach and one heck of a guy. The last couple of years around this time, larger schools usually come calling with big checks, looking to court Brad to lead their program. Once again, Brad has declined such offers and made it public last night that he’ll be keeping his post at Butler.

Typically I keep my nose out of this sort of thing, but I feel the need to just say a couple of things. First, all you other schools can go looking up another tree. I lift my leg in your general direction. And lastly, money isn’t everything.

Sure, Brad Stevens is handsomely paid, but compared to what some of these schools are offering, it’s peanuts. There’s a lesson in there for all of us.

Help Haiti Heal

It’s “Help Haiti Heal Week” at Butler and I just wanted to call your attention to how a group of Butler students have committed themselves to helping Beau Champ, Haiti gain access to clean water. Here is some additional scoop on that: http://hhhbutlerchapter.blogspot.com/2012/03/help-heal-haiti-week.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Great job, guys!

Alumni in the News

I would be remiss not to mention a couple notable alumni making news this week. Butler grad Thad Matta has once again taken his Ohio State Buckeyes men’s basketball team to the NCAA Final Four. We wish Thad and the Bucks all sorts of Bulldog luck this coming weekend in New Orleans. Just goes to show you can try to keep Butler out of the Final Four, but it can’t be done. In fact, we almost got two grads in, with Scott Baylor leading the Baylor Bears all the way to the Elite Eight.

Also, 2003 grad, Ed Carpenter started his eighth Izod IndyCar Series season this past weekend in St. Petersburg, Fla. The big difference for Ed this year is that he owns his own team (Ed Carpenter Racing) thanks to backing from Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka. Look for Ed and the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Special this Sunday on NBC as they race the Grand Prix of Alabama. Won’t be long and Ed and his colleagues will be turning laps at Indy in preparation for the Indianapolis 500. Let’s see if Ed can be the first Butler grad to win that thing! Go Ed Go!

Okay, that’s enough from me. Thanks for reading along and I hope to see you around.

Go Dawgs!