Don Chavez

Today, a young man’s mascot career hangs in the balance. James Sheep, the current Penn State Nittany Lion, was charged with drunk driving early on Saturday morning. It is unclear as to whether or not Sheep was in uniform while driving, but he was pulled over because officers noticed there were too many people in the car.

As a result, Sheep may lose his spot on the sideline for the Rose Bowl. However, that decision will be made by cheerleading coach Curtis White, who I doubt will be able to find another PSU student willing to wear a dirty mascot costume while doing 50 one-armed push ups.

After being rejected in his quest to become the Lion as a freshman, in his junior year Sheep finally beat out six other students who had made it through the interview process. The tryout included performing 50 one-armed pushups, a 30-second skit and waving the Penn State colors.

The student selected for Nittany Lion does much more than put on a furry mask before kickoff. In return for a scholarship, the Lion attends more than 300 events per year, Sheep said after his selection in January 2007.

Yawn. Whatever. This is just an excuse to bring up these pictures of the Penn State cheerleaders that I posted earlier this year.