SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Do you prefer Chicagos Benny the Bull or Bostons Wally the Green Monster? The deviousness of Arizona States Sparky the Sun Devil or the goofiness of South Carolinas Cocky? Or maybe youre more traditional, and like Penn States Nittany Lion. If youre offbeat, go for Stanfords Tree.Those are among the choices people could have when the Mascot Hall of Fame announces its ballot of six candidates for the hall at a groundbreaking ceremony Friday in northwestern Indiana. After more than a decade of existing only online, the mascots are getting a place to flock together somewhere other than sidelines, ESPN commercials or the Capital One Mascot Challenge.Sam Weyen thinks the hall shall never see a mascot more lovely than the Stanford Tree.What other mascot strikes as much joy in the hearts of fans as it does creepy fear? We have a monopoly on that, said the symbolic systems major from Suwanee, Georgia, who has been the Tree since February. I cant think of a more iconic mascot and one that has been kicked out of so many stadiums as well.The Tree is not officially the universitys mascot -- its the mascot of the band known for its irreverence and has been banned from several stadiums for several years.Dave Johnson, who was Penn States Nittany Lion from 2005 to 2007, believes that mascot should be inducted because of simplicity and tradition. Its stuck to the same basic look since the 1920s.When you think of a college mascot, a lot of these other mascots ... theyre kind of gimmicky. Theyve got the inflatable mascots bouncing around, all that type of thing, and theyre limited in what they can do, Johnson said. In the ever-changing landscape of college campuses, the lion is always the same.The Mascot Hall of Fame will be built in Whiting, a city along Lake Michigan best known for its oil refinery and its Pierogi Fest -- a weekend event in July that celebrates Polish dumplings. More than 250,000 people take part in pierogi eating contests, pierogi tosses and polkas.David Raymond, the original Phillie Phanatic and the halls founder, said the city 20 miles southeast of Chicago is the perfect site for two reasons: It was willing to put up $7 million for the building and its 5,000 residents embrace quirky.Their brand is the little wacky city that could, so they embrace the silliness of this project, Raymond said.Mayor Joseph Stahura said the hall is being financed through tax increment financing and is part of a plan to try to establish the city as one- or two-day tourist destination. A sustainability study says the hall should draw 50,000 visitors a year, he said.The idea for the hall was sparked by a 2003 incident of mascot abuse. Sports fans nationwide were shocked when Pittsburgh first baseman Randall Simon used a bat to fell one of the four Racing Sausages during a Milwaukee Brewers game in the bop heard round the world.Simon, who said he did not deliberately try to knock down the Italian sausage, was cited for disorderly conduct.We as a group in our office said we really should take advantage of this, have some fun with it, but also promote the fact that mascots sometimes arent getting the respect they deserve, Raymond said.That led to the creation of a mascot bill of rights , a mascot march in Philadelphia and the creation of the online hall. The inaugural class of the Phillie Phanatic, the Famous Chicken (aka the San Diego Chicken) and the Phoenix Gorilla was inducted in 2005.To date, 10 pro and seven collegiate mascots have been inducted. The pro honorees include Mr. Met, KC Wolf of the Kansas City Chiefs and Rocky of the Denver Nuggets. The college legends include Ohio States Brutus Buckeye, Wisconsins Bucky the Badger and Tennessees Smokey.Not all mascots are eligible for the hall, just the fully costumed kind. Raymond said the hall organizers may recognize human and animal mascots eventually in some way. Members of the hall are selected through voting by the public online, lifetime hall voting members (comes with a $50 donation) and an executive committee.Weyen said even if selected, the Tree doesnt belong in the hall.I would stipulate it has to be outside because trees dont like to be inside, he said.Alex Killorn Jersey . Michell Burger, a woman who lives on an estate next to Pistorius gated community, said she and her husband were awoken by the screams in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 last year, when Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp by shooting four times through a door in his bathroom. Custom Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. 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Louis Domingue Lightning Jersey . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.West Indies A 267 for 6 (Hope 81, Jason 58, Powell 55, Aponso 2-44) beat Sri Lanka A 102 (Jaggesar 4-29, Beaton 3-26) by 165 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details West Indies As bowlers combined to pick up a 165-run win in the first unofficial ODI against Sri Lanka A in Dambulla. The win was set up by their new-ball pair of Ronsford Beaton and Delorn Johnson, whose early strikes broke the back of Sri Lankas chase of 268. Offspinner Jon-Russ Jaggesar then accelerated Sri Lanka As slide with wickets of the middle and lower order; he finished with career-best figures of 4 for 29 as Sri Lanka A were bowled out for 102.After electing to bat, West Indies A compiled 267 over two days, as rain intervened to push the match into a reserve day, just 12.5 overs into the innings. The innings was built around three important contributions. Opening batsman Kyle Hope set up the platform by holding his end amid frequent strikes. He top-scored with 81. West Indies A captain Jason Mohammed and Rovman Powell provided the late thrust with half-centuries.West Indies A began the reserve day on 69 for 2. Hope resumed on 28, with Andre Fletcher, on 7, for company. The two added another 42 for the third wicket, before Fletcher fell to the left-arm spin of Milinda Siriwardana. Hoope added 63 with Mohammed for the fourth wicket before being bowled by Amila Aponso, the left-arm spinner.dddddddddddd By that time, he had got to his second half-century and his List A career-best score. Powell then joined Mohammed and slammed 55 off just 35 balls, hitting three fours and as many sixes. Both Mohammed and Powell fell in the last over, but their efforts had helped West Indies A slap 93 in the last 10 overs.Beaton and Johnson took the first four wickets within seven overs of the chase to leave Sri Lanka A reeling at 26 for 4. Jaggesar entered the wickets column when he broke a 23-run fifth-wicket stand - the highest Sri Lanka A could put together - by dismissing Minod Bhanuka. He added the scalps of Chartih Aslanka and Dasun Shanaka to his name as the slide continued. Shehan Jayasuriya top-scored with 24 at No. 8, but that was of little significance to the result.Beaton finished with 3 for 26 in 6.3 overs - his best in List A - and Johnson finished with 2 for 19 in four overs. The second match takes place in Kurunegala on Thursday, before the series concludes with the third and final game on Sunday in Colombo. ' ' '