Centennial kid now playing for the Battling Bishops

By Ron Kantowski

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008 | 4:53 p.m.

NOW:

With all due respect to the Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz, the best nickname in college sports is the Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan University, an NCAA Division III school in Delaware, Ohio.

Jerell Cephas, a senior running back for the Battling Bishops, played high school football at Las Vegas' Centennial High. Last year, he rushed for 38 yards on 11 carries. This year, he has 41 on 13 after two games.

I hope Cephas rushes for 100 yards this week, and every week after that, because my goal is to type "Battling Bishops" every chance I get.

Before 1925, Ohio Wesleyan was known as "The Red and Black," which is way too boring, or, sometimes, the "Methodists," which is way too Calvinistic. There were 14 Methodist colleges in Ohio alone, so a journalism fraternity held a contest to choose a new nickname.

It chose a great one.

This week, the Battling Bishops, 0-2 , will host the Angry Nuns of Wittenberg University.

Actually, Wittenberg's nickname is the Tigers. One can only hope that it has a journalism fraternity, too.

Mark Damon, the Sun's photo editor, once played against the Battling Bishops. Mark was an offensive lineman at Heidelberg College in Tiffen, Ohio.

The Student Princes of Heidelberg.

Honest. The Student Princes.

THEN:

Back when I started following auto racing, Bobby Unser drove a car called the Olsonite Eagle. It wasn't until years later that I learned the car was named for a Swedish businessman named Ozzie Olson, whose company sponsored the car. Olsonite, it turns out, is the stuff toilet seats are made of.

That would probably explain why the car was painted ceramic white.

And, perhaps, why Bobby Unser always looked constipated.