We now officially live in a world where the SEC can tell Texas whether or not they can bring their live mascot, Bevo, to the SEC Championship Game. I’m not sure I’m ready to live in that world. Check out the full story on the SEC and Bevo below, plus everything you may have missed from yesterday… LET’S GET STUMPIN!

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Today’s Trivia🧠

(answer at the bottom of the Stump!)

On This Day…

🏒 On this day in 2018, the stiff arm is heard around the world!

Tennessee Titans running back, Derrick Henry, runs for a 99-yard TD run against the Jacksonville Jaguars which contained one of the most vicious and famous stiff arms in recent football history. He ran for a franchise-record 238 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Today’s Stump Story…

🐄 Justice For Bevo!

When you tell me that Bevo is BANNED from the SEC Championship, that’s when I start to get a little pissed.

There are not many things in this world better than a live mascot. From Johnathan the Husky to Ralph the Buffalo, to Mike the Tiger, even Sir Big Spur, live mascots are arguably one of the best niche parts of college sports.

One in particular mascot, both literally and metaphorically, is bigger than the rest. Bevo, the famous Texas Longhorn, is a staple at University of Texas football games. Bevo is not just a mascot, he’s an institution. Bevo appeared in his first game in 1916, in front of 15,000 fans at Clark Field when Texas took on Texas A&M.

Since that day, Bevo has been in all of our hearts. The big horned, yet lovable cow has been to away games, national championships, and even college football playoff games. But this year, he won’t be attending the SEC Championship game.

SEC spokespeople came out this past week and said that the sidelines at Mercedes-Benz Stadium does not have enough room for Bevo. Bevo XV, the current Bevo, sits above 1,700 pounds with a horn of 58 inches. Apparently, his enclosure is not suitable for the sidelines due to the need for camera carts and television sets.

To me, this is bs. If there isn’t room, make room. Bevo is a national treasure, he isn’t just some cow that the SEC can do whatever they like with. He’s more than that. Put the enclosure on the dang 50-yard line for all I care, work around him. Give me a dang Bevo cam.

The opportunity to see Bevo XV and Uga XI (Georgia’s Bulldog live mascot) on the same field at the same time is absolutely worth the money. Who doesn’t remember the legendary run in between the two in 2019 when it looked like Bevo made a charge at Uga. Now THAT is television. Shut up and stop making excuses, GIVE ME BEVO OR GIVE ME DEATH.

Quick Hitters

🏈 Thursday Night Football: The NFC North is absolutely the best division in all of football and the Lions and Packers proved it again last night. I’d argue that last night was the best Thursday night game of the year. It was back and forth, lead change after lead change. The Packers had the Lions on the ropes, and they kept punching back. In the first half, the Packers were on the ropes, but a second-half comeback put them in the lead. It wasn’t enough, though, as Dan Campbell refused to punt in the fourth quarter and Detroit was able to run the clock out and kick a game-winning field goal. Detroit moves to 12-1, Green Bay falls to 9-4.

🏒 The Chicago Blackhawks have fired their head coach Luke Richardson after their league-worst start. It’s no secret that the Blackhawks have been in a pretty lengthy rebuild, but it seems that ownership and the front office did not see things moving in the right direction. Richardson posted a 57-118-15 record since being hired in 2022. Anders Sorenson, the head coach of the Blackhawks AHL affiliate, will take over as interim manager.

⚾️ The (Las Vegas? Sacramento?) Athletics have made their first signing of the offseason, bringing in former Mets and Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino. Both sides reached a 3-year, $67M deal, the largest guarantee in the franchise’s history. Severino had a bounce-back year and at times looked like the best pitcher in the Mets rotation. He’ll surely find himself as one of their top starters.

🏈 Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy, has been fired as the OC at UCLA. After just one year in LA, former Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy was told to move on, but his agent claims that this was the plan all along. Apparently the idea was to spend one year in college before returning to the NFL. I don’t know if this is a cover up or not, but UCLA really struggled on offense this year, so who knows if he’ll end up back in the NFL or not.

Other News:

• 🏈 Belichick interviewing with college program

• 🏟️ A’s clear massive hurdle in moving team to Las Vegas

• 🇨🇳 Nets and Suns set as NBA returns to China

• 🏀 MAJOR upset in Big Ten Basketball

Top Performers:

• 🏀 Nikola Jokic (DEN): 27 points, 20 rebounds, 11 assists

• ⚽️ Tijjani Nolsin (Lazio): Hat trick to eliminate Napoli from Coppa Italia

• 🏒 Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL): 8 goals!!

• 🏀 Ayo Dosumnu (CHI): 27 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds

• 🏈 Josh Jacobs (GB): 3 TDs!

Stump Top Plays❗️❗️ 

🚢 Navy just dropped their Army-Navy threads

🧀 Lions fans do NOT like cheese

⛳️ Nick Dunlap is SOOOO back

🏀 Fred VanVleet does Jiu Jitsu… could be the difference

💯 Full Scoreboards: MLB, Soccer, PGA, NFL, WNBA, NCAAF, NHL

Today’s Slate

*All times are ET*

🏈 NCAAF: Mountain West Championship: (20) UNLV vs (10) Boise State (8:00 PM on FOX) ; American Athletic Conference: Tulane vs (24) Army (8:00 PM on ABC)

🏀 NBA: Magic @ 76ers (7:00 PM), Bucks @ Hawks (7:30 PM), Lakers @ Hawks (7:30 PM), T’Wolves @ Warriors (10:00 PM), full schedule

🏀 CBB (M): (19) Illinois @ Northwestern (9:00 PM on BTN), full schedule

🏀 CBB (W): E. Tennessee St @ (15) WVU (10:30 AM), full schedule

🏒 NHL: Capitals @ Maples Leafs (7:00 PM), Kraken vs Devils (7:00 PM), Stars @ Golden Knights (10:00 PM), Wilds @ Ducks (10:00 PM), full schedule

⚽️ Serie A: Inter Milan vs Parma (12:30 PM), Atalanta vs AC Milan (2:45 PM) ; Ligue 1: Auxerre vs PSG (3:00 PM), full schedule

Trivia Answer:

D. Ja’Marr Chase (Bengals)! I guess I haven’t been really paying attention this year because I was shocked when I saw Chase has over 100 more yards than the next guy, Justin Jefferson. Through 12 games, Ja’Marr has 1,142 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Can’t thank you enough for sticking to the end of this thing we call The Daily Stump. If you know anybody who might want this bit of daily sports news in their life, send them this link! It would go a long way! Appreciate the hell out of you all!

Trees get chopped. Stumps hold strong!