Teddy packs up for Spring Training

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Presidents Race Fan

The Washington Nationals began packing for Viera, Florida, where next week pitchers and catchers will begin reporting for 2011 spring training. As part of a media event staged with team sponsor JK Moving and Storage, Teddy Roosevelt joined mascot Screech yesterday at the park to pack the moving truck for Viera.

Grapefruit League games begin March 1, and tickets are available now at nationals.com. Are you going this year?

On an unrelated note, Kurt Smith from the Ball Park E-Guides wrote a nice piece yesterday about the Let Teddy Win blog. Kurt is working on an E-Guide for Nationals Park to be released this spring. He hasn’t asked me for my tips yet, but if he’s been reading this blog since the Park opened, I’m sure he’s picked up a few.

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12 mascots can’t stop the racing presidents

Posted on April 25, 2010 by Presidents Race Fan

The Nationals celebrated mascot Screech’s 5th birthday today at Nationals Park with a 1-0 victory vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers behind a stellar pitching performance by Scott Olson.

Eleven of Screech’s mascot friends were on hand for the celebration, including Slapshot, Talon, Pax, Gunston, Glory, Clawed Z. Eagle, and more. In the 4th inning, they formed a “mascot obstacle course” along the first base line, but George Washington powered through it to take today’s presidents race victory.

Thomas Jefferson followed behind, running over Maryland Terrapin mascot Testudo and knocking him to the ground.

Video courtesy of YouTube member lfahome

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Teddy is disqualified for “Unauthorized Use of a Feline”

Posted on September 8, 2009 by Presidents Race Fan

It was a beautiful night at Nationals Park, with a game time temperature of 73 degrees and a crowd of 17,153 on hand to watch a classic pitchers’ duel between the Nationals’ John Lannan and the Philadelphia Phillies’ Pedro Martinez.

With the Nationals up 1-0 in the 4th inning and Lannan cruising through the World Champions’ batting order, it seemed the only thing that could make the night better would be a victory for Teddy Roosevelt.

That CatTeddy tried a little too hard.

As George Washington sprinted out to an early presidents race lead, Teddy recruited his onetime nemesis That
Cat to join the race.

The now-familiar panther slammed
Abe Lincoln into the outfield wall, then
chased down George Washington and knocked him to the ground, before finally putting the block on Thomas Jefferson, leaving Teddy Roosevelt with an uncontested path to the finish line.

A biased Nationals Park crowd cheered Teddy’s apparent victory, but Screech quickly stepped in to issue the disqualification for “Illegal Use of a Feline.”

Contacted after the race, Screech responded “”Teddy brought that cat with him onto the field, it was an unfair advantage, he told that cat to tackle George Tom and Abe!! Cheating = DISQUALIFIED!”"

Abe quickly got up off the ground to cross the tape and steal Teddy’s thunder, leading us to ask whether judge Screech and racing president Abe are in cahoots. After all, Abe has been known to cheat from time to time, but when was the last time he was disqualified?

And the in-game play-by-play:

Video by YouTube members lfahome and TheTeddyRoosevelt.
Finish line photo by Flickr member melanie.phung

Filed under: Abe Lincoln, cheating, Screech, teddy wins | Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments »

Screech and the Oriole Bird to kick off Battle of the Beltways at ESPN Zone

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Presidents Race Fan

The Oriole Bird vs. the Nationals Screech in the mascot Battle of the BeltwaysThe hot-hitting Washington Nationals return to Nationals Park tomorrow to kick off an 11-game homestand that should feature plenty of fireworks, starting with the world champion Philadelphia Phillies and ending Memorial Day weekend with the “Battle of the Beltways” against the Baltimore Orioles.

As he did last season, the Oriole Bird will spend the weekend in DC for the Baltimore series, and this year will kick off its visit with a battle against Nationals mascot Screech at DC’s ESPN Zone. On Friday, May 22, from 4:00 to 5:00pm, Screech and the Oriole Bird will take each other on in basketball, horse racing, air hockey, arm wrestling, and an egg race, with a trophy presentation to follow.

The two mascots will then head to Nationals Park for the series opener. No word yet on whether The Bird will be seeking revenge against Teddy Roosevelt for last season’s grudge match defeat.

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Screech and the racing presidents invade Verizon Center

Posted on March 15, 2009 by Presidents Race Fan

The Nationals racing presidents invade Verizon CenterThe Washington Nationals racing presidents joined new Nationals mascot Screech at the Verizon Center tonight for a basketball game between the last place Washington Wizards of the Eastern Conference and the last place Sacramento Kings of the West — a battle for pride which came down to the last shot.

The visit to Verizon Center was part
Screech and Teddyof a “31 Appearances in 31 Days” tour that the Nationals have arranged since the new Screech’s unveiling two weeks ago. The Nationals mascots made an appearance earlier in the day at the DC St. Patrick’s Day parade, with Screech sporting a kilt.

It was “Kids Night” for the Washington Wizards, with player introductions by junior Wizards fans, and mascots from around the DC area working the crowd before and during the game.

Joining the Nationals mascots were Mel, The George Mason University Patriot, the Baltimore Orioles’ “The Bird,” the Washington Capitals’ Slapshot, and of course the Wizards’ own G-Wiz, G-Man, and G-Fan.

The new ScreechSince its unveiling, the new look of the “teenage Screech” has been getting a lot of criticism in Nationals blogs and discussion forums. So this was a great opportunity –and a relief — to see the new Screech work a real crowd, which helped the Nationals’ new mascot look a lot less goofy than he did dancing around an empty stage when he was first announced.

Don’t get me wrong. The Capitals’ own eagle mascot Slapshot didn’t look very intimidated by the permanent grin affixed to Screech’s head, but the new costume did give Screech a lot more room to dance with the cheerleaders, bound up stairs, and throw t-shirts into the stands. I have a feeling we’ll get used to “teenage Screech” pretty quickly.

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More from the new Screech’s Unveiling

Posted on March 2, 2009 by Presidents Race Fan

The New ScreechHere’s more detail from Dan Steinberg’s D.C. Sports Bog about today’s snowed-in unveiling of the new Screech.

Much is made of Screech’s “offseason growth spurt” which resulted in a slimmer, more nimble bird.

Nationals in-game host Clint Kouhry tells Steinberg that Screech should give Teddy Roosevelt some advice on how to slim down. “That guy’s been trying forever.”

It’s safe to say we can expect more gymnastics from the Nationals mascot in the coming season.

The Nationals announced that Screech will make 31 appearances in 31 days to “show off his fresh-feathered look.” Tomorrow, March 3 along with members of the Nat Pack, “Screech” will distribute pocket schedules to fans at the Metro Center Metrorail Station from 9:00am to 11:00am, and at Farragut North Metrorail Station from noon to 2:00pm. Screech will also make stops at the March Mania basketball tournament in Arlington, on Saturday March 7, the University of Virginia baseball game on Saturday, March 14, and the Harris Teeter in Reston on Monday, March 16. More scheduled appearances will be announced weekly throughout the month of March.

Photo courtesy of The Washington Nationals

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New Screech is leaner, but not meaner

Posted on March 2, 2009 by Presidents Race Fan

When the Washington Nationals announced last week that mascot Screech would be getting a new look, I had high hopes that Screech might lose the baby bird look and get, well… a little meaner. After all, it’s been documented that more menacing mascots lead to team success in the NFL — why not baseball?

New-Screech-Washington-NationalsToday, Screech gets leaner, but unfortunately not meaner. The svelt new Screech will make his official debut this afternoon at ESPN Zone in DC, but he gave a sneak preview appearance on Fox 5 DC this morning. As promised, Screech has grown up since his hatching in 2005. The new “double-zero” sports a slim Nationals jersey, red Curly W sneakers, and a hat which is surprisingly removable. The baby fat is gone, but the huge smiling beak isn’t exactly going to intimidate anybody.

New Screech definitely stands taller than baby Screech, but that permanent grin is no competition for Teddy’s.

MORE

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New look for Nationals mascot Screech

Posted on February 26, 2009 by Presidents Race Fan

Washington Nationals mascot Screech on 70s night at Nationals ParkThe Washington Nationals will unveil a “new look” for their mascot Screech this coming Monday, March 2, at ESPN Zone in Washington, DC. In-game host Clint Kouhry and members of the Nat Pack will be on hand for the unveiling.

If Screech seems a bit young to be getting a facelift, perhaps it’s because he is so clearly at the bottom of the pecking order in terms of Nationals mascot fan-favorites, with Teddy Roosevelt, of course, at the top of the pack. For my money, it’s going to take a lot more than a facelift to boost favor for Screech, who as judge of the Presidents Race, has disqualified Teddy Roosevelt a few too many times.

The Nationals announced today that Screech will make a variety of appearances during March to show off his “fresh-feathered look” before the start of the 2009 baseball season. Monday’s 1:00pm unveiling will be open to the public.

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Teddy disqualified for cheating in walk-race

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Presidents Race Fan

Last night at Nationals Park, the racing presidents honored the Olympics by running that most difficult of track events — the walk race. After it was announced that walk race rules were in effect, the racing presidents took off — slowly — in a painful demonstration of speed-walking while wearing a 10-foot costume.

Perhaps Teddy Roosevelt was sympathetic to the umpires’ desire to start the 5th inning, but before the pack had even reached the right field corner, he decided to take things into his own hands.

The Nationals Park crowd roared with approval as Teddy cut the outfield corner and broke into a sprint for the finish line. Of course, that buzzkill Screech was there to issue an immediate disqualification, and Thomas Jefferson was granted the victory.

Where is Screech to throw the flag when Abe cheats?

Filed under: cheating, Presidents Race, Screech, teddy wins, Thomas Jefferson | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

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