ODDLY ENOUGH

ODDLY ENOUGH

150 runners join in Biloxi Beach Bull Run; no injuries

BILOXI, MISS.

Rodeo cowboys got to watch as about 150 runners, from a high-school teacher to a coliseum official, dashed to stay ahead of 10 bulls for quarter-mile around the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

Both groups enjoyed some trash-talking before the race Saturday night.

Runner Crystal Peterson told The Sun Herald that cowboys were giving her and some friends 20-to-1 odds the bulls would get them. She says the cowboys owed them money.

Harrison County Fire Marshal Pat Sullivan says nobody was hurt.

High-school English teacher Jeni Marley of Mobile, Ala., told The Mississippi Press she jumped onto the barricade around the course when a bull got close.

The coliseum’s assistant director, Matt McDonnell, participated.

He says they practiced several times, but there’s more adrenaline with an audience.

NJ’s pigskin-picking camel dies weeks before Super Bowl

LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J.

New Jersey’s pigskin-prognosticating camel has died just weeks before the state is set to host its first Super Bowl.

Princess was a fixture at the Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey Township for 10 years and gained fame for picking winners.

Zoo manager John Bergmann tells the Asbury Park Press the 26-year-old Bactrian camel was euthanized after arthritis made it impossible for her to stand.

Princess’ made her picks with graham crackers. Bergmann would hold one in each hand, marked with the names of the competing teams.

Whichever hand she chose was her prediction.

Princess correctly picked the Baltimore Ravens in last year’s Super Bowl.

Her best run came in the 2008 season, when she picked 17 of 22 games correctly, including the Pittsburgh Steelers to win Super Bowl XLIII.

Associated Press