Are Big Ben and Benson Really Mascots?

Obviously, I have heard of Benny the Bull, the official mascot of the Chicago Bulls. Despite my fascination with mascots, I had not heard of Benson and Big Ben until a couple months ago at Bulls Fest.

On my way out of the event, I saw a sign for a photo op with "Bulls mascots Big Ben and Benson." Having no idea of their existence, I ventured over to the area and learned they are large inflated creatures. They do have actual folks inside of them though.

Upon further researching the duo, I learned they are part of the extended family of mascots who accompany Benny at games and events. Mini Benny and Benji are two others.

I have no problem with them being part of the entertainment crew. My question is if they really can be called mascots. For the purpose of this site, I count them as mascots. I also took the opportunity to get a picture with them.

Still, I cannot classify them as true mascots. I also question why the Bulls couldn't just get regular costumes for them. It would have to be easier for the performer. It certainly would loo better.

Does the inflation disqualify them as mascots? I just can't accept them as true mascots. If they had really costumes, I would call them mascots. I like them for what they are. I just think they could be much better.

Big Ben, Benson and me in Chicago, IL-August 2026.

Friend Encounters: AJ Croce and John

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends meeting celebrities.

My buddy John scored a big one over me when he met A.J. Croce. I had wanted to go to this show, but was unable to make it.

A.J. is the son of the legendary deceased singer Jim Croce. At just 30 years old and reaching major success, Jim was killed in a small plane crash. He left behind a wife and son.

Adrian James was just two when his father died. His story is amazing. As a toddler, he was temporarily blinded due to abuse from his mom's then-boyfriend. He was hospitalized for months, but regained some vision. He learned how to play piano through inspiration from Ray Charles. He started playing professionally when he was only 12 and has built a solid career since. Tragically, his wife died in 2018, leaving him as a single father of two. Through all of this, A.J. has remained incredibly positive. I enjoy his music, but his story makes me respect him that much more.

My buddy John saw him earlier this year. John meets a lot of celebrities and we often cross paths. He usually beats me with musicians, but this is one of the ones I really envy.

AJ Croce and John in St. Charles, IL-June 2026.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #825: Elena Delle Donne & Kendall Coyne

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series featuring celebrities wearing sports jerseys. With the MLB playoffs upon us, I salute the Chicago teams, who both made the playoffs in a true rare feat.

Born in Delaware, Elena Delle Donne starred at the University of Delaware before being selected by the Chicago Sky in the 2013 WNBA draft. She played four seasons with the Sky before being traded to the Washington Mystic. Unfortunately for her, injuries hampered her productivity and time on the court. Even going back to her college time, she missed games due to Lyme's Disease. During her time with the Sky, she tossed a ceremonial pitch for the Chicago Cubs to earn her Celebrity Jersey Card.

Born in a Chicago suburb, Kendall Coyne became a star on the frozen pond. After starring at Northeastern, she played for a few pro teams. Most recently, she was a captain of the Minnesota Frost of the Professional Women's Hockey League, leading the team to back-to-back Walter Cup championships in 2024 and 2025. Coyne tossed a couple ceremonial pitches for the Chicago White Sox to earn her Celebrity Jersey Card. Because I mistakenly made two cards, I am showing both.

Cards That Never Were: Darold Knowles Topps 1969, '78 and '81

Cards That Never Were is a recurring series in which I create digital trading cards for players missed in various sets. It is a concept I borrow from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts.

Pitcher Darold Knowles was signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent in 1961. After making his debut with the O's, he went on to have a 16 year career, pitching for seven teams, before ending his career in 1980. All told, he appeared in 765 games, all but eight as a reliever. He went 66-74 with 143 saves and a 3.12 ERA.

For his efforts, Knowles received Topps cards from 1964-'80, except for 1969. That left a '69 and a career capper 1981 to be done. On a side note, his first three Topps cards were multi-player rookie stars cards. I relied on the fine folks on the Facebook group Custom Baseball Cards to create the 1969 card. I made the 1981 version and added a 1978 midcard for his time with the Texas Rangers. As I believe every players should be represented in each set, I also believe players should have all of his teams represented. I still need to make a 1967 card of Knowles with the Phillies to really complete his run. 

Talking Travel with Alex Brown

For some, October is Sober October. For some the entire year is sober time. To learn more about sober travel, I interviewed Alex Brown.

Founder and President of Recover Hospitality, Brown is in recovery himself. A third-generation hotelier, he sold his family's boutique hotel several years ago and founded Recover Hospitality. His goal is to persuade businesses in the hospitality industry to be more sober-inclusive, while helping consumers find and trust those businesses.

I had never interviewed someone with this angle in travel. I was happy to add Brown to the Global Traveler Talking Travel interviews.

Go to globaltravelerusa.com for the full recap and interview. Also, subscribe to the GT YouTube channel to help me continue to do these interviews.

Carter Dennis of American Vanity

Providing the steady beat of American Vanity is drummer Carter Dennis. Steady is an understatement for his drumming though.

My niece and I have been fans of the band (first as Burn the Jukebox) for a few years. We appreciate the band and the individuals. While at the American Vanity show in Chicago a couple months ago, I made a point to watch Carter in action. Being only a few feet from the stage, we had a close up view. 

The young man has chops. He is a drum machine. He was doing things with his sticks that might have been part of drumming or just for flair. There was so much action, it was hard to tell. Either way, you can tell he is immensely talented.

He was also very nice. In the pre-show meet-and-greet, Carter spent a few minutes with Laura and me. Much like the other band members, he was engaging, friendly, funny and quite poised for such a young entertainer.

This band and Carter have a lot of potential. Obviously, music is a tough career, but they have the talent and personality to make it. I'll be watching and updating their progress right here.

For now, go to thisisamericanvanity.com for more info. Also, go to Spotify and give them a listen.

Carter, Laura and me in Chicago, IL-August 2026.

William Katt at Flashback Weekend 2026

A few months ago, I met actor William Katt at Flashback Weekend. Unintentionally, I benefited from the person who met him right before me.

An actor with a lengthy, impressive resume, Katt is perhaps best known form The Greatest American Hero television series. He also appeared in Carrie, a fantastic movie from 1976. Therein lies the key piece of info. When the lady in front of me was just about leaving Katt's booth, she mentioned Carrie was 50 years ago. As she went on her way, Katt started our chat with mock disbelief that it was 50 years ago.

We continued chatting along those lines. Katt is 75 and his first role was actually five years prior to Carrie, or 55 years ago. I mentioned a 55 year career is an amazing accomplishment. He was just happy folks remembered him from a role that far back. Of course, Carrie is an iconic horror movie, but Katt has remained active ever since.

I love Flashback Weekend. I always say it has the best of big time conventions, while maintaining the best parts of a smaller con. Go to flashbackweekend.com for updates and scheduling for 2027.

William Katt and me in Rosemont, IL-August 2026.

Israel Idonije and Magic

Last month, I enjoyed an evening of Magic at The Hand and The Eye with my pal Chuck. About halfway through the night, we recognized Israel Idonije among the other patrons.

Born in Nigeria, Idonije was drafted by Montreal of the Canadian Football League. He signed with the Cleveland Browns as a free agent instead. He never played for the Browns though. He later signed with the Chicago Bears, for whom he played nine seasons. He then played a season with the Detroit Lions. After that, he signed back with the Bears, but didn't make the team. He also signed with the New York Giants, but again did not make the team. That would be it for his playing career.

Since then, Idonije has been involved with various charitable causes, a comic book line, a book series and more. He is very active in the Chicago area.

I resisted the urge to bug him during the evening, but we happened to walk out together. At that point, I approached him and asked for a picture. He was very kind, chatting with us for a moment. I did thank him for an interview I did with him years ago at a comic con to promote his comic book.

Israel Idonije and me in Chicago, IL-September 2026.

Friend Encounters: Serenity and Tommy

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends meeting celebrities.

Today I feature two of my favorites from my time with Resistance Pro Wrestling. It is a great representation of the best part of RPro.

Shortly after RPro debited, I met and interviewed Tommy Else, who earned a spot in the company via an open audition. Tommy became Eric St. Vaughn. Tommy became a good friend and wrestler, but I maintain the name change by management was a mistake. That's a whole other story though.

Serenity became one of my favorites, too. Young Serenity had a nice blend of energy and cute. She was like your little sister. She was also tough in the ring. She wasn't a contender for the Women's title, but she could have made a good tag team member if they had tag titles. 

Both Tommy and Serenity always gave me interviews. They understood how to market themselves. They knew any coverage was good and they were always willing. They also always gave great interviews, which is another reason why I kept going back to them.

Serenity eventually left wrestling. She seems to be doing well and is involved in frisbee competitions. I don't know why she left wrestling. I think she could have had a decent run. Maybe she was too small to win major titles, but in today's wrestling, she could have had a role.

As for Tommy, he left ESV behind and has wrestled very sporadically since. He is still a great physical trainer.

Looking back, Serenity or Else could have been a fun mixed tag team. Maybe have them feud with Ego Cruise (Robert Anthony and Melanie Cruise) lol.

The end of the original RPro wasn't pretty, but it doesn't take away from the good times. I never would have met these two fun folks.

Serenity and Tommy in Chicago, IL-March 2012.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #824: William Bendix & Ralph Lauren

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series in which I create digital trading cards for celebrities wearing sports jerseys. Today, I finish my season long alphabetical romp through all MLB teams.

Born in New York, William Bendix was a bat boy for the New York Yankees in the 1`920s. Life would come full circle years later when he portrayed Babe Ruth in The Babe Ruth Story. Bendix enjoyed a career in movies that spanned more than 25 years, right up to his early death in 1964 at the age of 58. Bendix earned his Celebrity Jersey Card for his work on the Babe movie, garnering extra points for having the Babe in his picture.

Born in New York, Ralph Lauren rose to fame as a fashion designer. The Ralph Lauren brand is a global multi-billion dollar enterprise. Among his many hobbies was car collecting, of which he had more than 100 classic cars. He was also a big philanthropist, focused mainly on cancer research. I don't know the origin of the picture of him wearing a full Yankees uniform, but it is a Clebrity Jersey Card rarity. I wonder what the uniform would look like if Lauren designed it.