March 26, 2007
Jason Ray as Rameses
Courtesy TarHeelBlue.com
Jason Ray, the Carolina senior who portrayed mascot Rameses the Ram during sports and other events over the last three years has died today of injuries he sustained last week in a bizarre car crash just before the Tar Heels' Sweet Sixteen appearance in the NCAA tournament.
From ESPN.com:
Jason Ray [...] had been in critical condition since the accident on Route 4 on Friday afternoon. He had been in New Jersey for the men's NCAA Tournament game between North Carolina and Southern California at Continental Airlines Arena.To be clear, Jason was dressed in street clothes and was well off the main roadway at the time of the accident.Steve Kirscher, UNC's associate athletics director for communications, said Ray died at 8:38 a.m. Monday.
According to police, Ray left his hotel to go to a nearby convenience store Friday afternoon, and was walking back along Route 4 when he was struck from behind by an SUV. The driver stopped immediately to call 911. No charges have been filed.
Police said Gagik Hovsepyan, 51, the driver who hit Ray, had a valid driver's license and did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. His son was asleep in the SUV at the time, police said.
Jason had played the part of Rameses Ram for three years and was about to graduate with a degree in Business Administration, and a minor in Religion. I myself have chased him around, hoping to get a picture with my favorite mascot.
Jason Ray as Rameses crowd surfs at UNC basketball, Coutesy TarHeelBlue.com
Jason was clearly that kind of person. It showed in the way he portrayed Rameses. Always kind to the children, funny with adults, willing to play the joke on himself if it entertained the crowd. I never met Jason, or his predecessors in the suit during my time at UNC, but I always wished I could let them know that I respected them as much as the players on the field or court. Being the mascot is a really tough job.Communication, of course, is one of the hardest parts of being a
mascot. That fall day at the Children's Hospital, Ray--as
Rameses--walked up to me. His big paw was grasping a folded piece of
paper, and he was making a motion I didn't understand.
I eventually figured out he wanted me to hold the paper for
him until the event was over. Once all the kids had been hugged and the
last picture had been taken, Rameses finally disappeared...and Jason
Ray reappeared.
"Thanks for holding that picture," he said. As he unfolded it, he proudly displayed a child's drawing of Rameses.
"I'd like to take this with me, if that's OK," he told the program coordinator. "One of the patients gave it to me."
Then he walked out, big bulky trash bag in one hand, picture in
the other. It was the perfect portrait of someone who had spent most of
the day giving...and unexpectedly received something, too.
This is the second terrible roadside tragedy to hit the Tar Heel sports family in four years. Sideline reporter and UNC alum Stephen Gates was killed in a hit and run on the side of the interstate in Chapel Hill in October 2003.
This just highlights the importance of roadside safety. Be aware, use the sidewalk where possible, and remember Jason and Stephen.
God Bless the Ray family. Rest In Peace, Jason.
Posted by: caltechgirl at
10:55 AM
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March 05, 2007
And that's not just because I'm a Heels fan. Henderson took at least three steps from his previous position near the sideline, jumped, and brought his forearm down directly on Tyler Hansborough's face. It was nothing more or less than a bitch slap.
dook was down 12 points with 14.5 seconds left in the game. There was no point in playing that close on defense, LET ALONE getting airborne to deliver some kind of fucked up karate chop.
Watch it for yourself:
As Tim Montemayor, sitting in on Tim Brando's Sporting News Radio show, said this afternoon: What if Hansborough had been seriously injured? After all, the nose is right next to the BRAIN. Furthermore (again from Monty), what would the basketball talking heads be saying if this was another team, not dook. What if it was John Chaney or John Calipari on the bench instead of Coach Can-I-Buy-A-Vowel?
Would this pass so easily if it wasn't a dookie?
The sporting media's pro-dook bias is stunning. I mean, who hasn't heard Dickie V called "Dookie V?" There's a reason. And he's not alone. Yes, dook has a reputation for running a tight ship, for demanding excellence and not tolerating poor sportsmanship.
Well, if that's the case, why isn't the University imposing its own suspension on Henderson? Especially as the ACC came out this afternoon saying that the only reason Henderson will sit out the first ACC tourney game this weekend is because he was ejected from the UNC game on Sunday, and ACC rules require ANY ejected player to be suspended from the following game. In other words, the ACC thinks that Hansborough's nose magically started bleeding on its own.
Anybody that delivers that kind of flagrant shit hit deserves to be done for more than one game. He hit him IN THE HEAD. In football, a helmet hit gets 3 times as much punishment.
Methinks it comes down to the cash. dook with Henderson is a better team than dook without Henderson. And the farther dook goes in the tourney (either the ACC this weekend OR the Big Dance), the more $$ for the ACC, the NCAA, and the TV....
In any case, I am glad to hear Tyler isn't hurt badly, just a small non-displaced fracture, for which he is being fitted for an acrylic mask. Looks like the return of HawkMan!
And we all know what happened the last time UNC had HawkMan on the hardwood.
Go Heels!
Posted by: caltechgirl at
05:13 PM
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