We’ll be accepting nominations (details below) up until the Friday before Mother’s Day (May 8th), with the winner to be announced on Sunday, May 10th. Then, that following week, the winning mom (a.k.a. the coolest sports mom ever) will be receiving a bouquet of flowers courtesy of MSF, along with a headlining post highlighting the qualities that made her the winner.

Before I talk about my own mom a little bit, and then give you the official Mothers Days contest details, I do want to pass along a few Mothers Day gift ideas and deals from the de facto sponsors of the The MSF Coolest Sports Mom Ever Contest. If you’re still wondering what to get your mom for Mother’s Day, perhaps the links below can help. (And we thank each of these companies for allowing us to bring these offers your way.)

All moms deserve flowers on Mother’s Day. When are you ordering yours?

Get 10% Off Mother’s Day Flowers with USAFlorist

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Is your mom a golfer? Hook her up with some new equipment and accessories.

Save 10% on all orders $250 and up at InTheHoleGolf.com. (Use code: 10OFF)

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How about a gift that you and dad can enjoy too?

Give the Gift of Sports Weekly for as low as $0.67/issue

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Or, why not give the best gift possible: a surprise trip home for Mothers Day!

Save up to $150 with Flight + Rental Car package from Priceline

Last minute travel deals and vacation packages at Expedia.com

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Mothers Day Contest

Now back to the Mothers Day Contest.

The way I see it, dads always get lots of recognition for their sports influence, and rightfully so — and, in fact, we’ll be doing another contest come Father’s Day — but the influence that moms have on young athletes and sports fans should not go unnoticed, unrecognized, or uncelebrated. For example, while my dad was always the one who would go out and shoot hoops with me, or throw batting practice, or take me to QB camps when I was young, it was Mom who really showed me what being a passionate and dedicated sports fan was all about.

There were her stories of going to Dolphins games back in the glory days of the early 19XX’s (out of respect and fear for my life if I do otherwise, dates have been redacted so as not to give away any age information) to cheer on her favorite player: Mercury Morris. And there was her superstitious insistence on wearing the same earrings or socks or other accessory if the Dolphins were winning and playing well, something I do to this day.

There was her complete and unyielding support for whatever team my dad was coaching, as well as her constant support and attendance at every single athletic event I ever participated in.

There was her willingness and desire to always plan weekend duties and meals around whatever major sporting events were going on, plus her understanding that unless it was a matter of life and death, nothing came before IU basketball games.

Plus, and this is perhaps her greatest contribution to my life as a sports fans, she gave up her season ticket to IU basketball games so I could go to every game with my dad and become the IU fanatic I am today. (Bob Knight grabbing then-IU freshman Delray Brooks by the jersey might have had something do with that one, but it’s neither here nor there.)

So, I will leave my own mom out of the running, because I’m not sure anyone else’s would stand a chance. But I want to read as many stories as possible about your moms, or moms that may not be your own but that you would like to submit, before we ultimately settle on the official MSF Coolest Sports Mom Ever.

So over the next few weeks, leading up to Mothers Day on May 10th, we will be in search of the coolest sports mom out there. I am leaving the criteria and description relatively vague specifically because I do not want to discourage anyone from submitting a nomination.

Here are your rules for The MSF Coolest Sports Mom Ever Contest.

1. The deadline for nominations is Friday, March 8th, at 12:00 PM Central Time.
2. Email your nomination to jerod [ at ] midwestsportsfans.com or use our contact form.
3. Your nomination prompt is simple: tell us why your mom is the coolest sports mom ever. Whatever that means to you, whatever the reasoning, and however in-depth you want to get. Take it and run with it. Obviously the more detailed and compelling your entry, the better your sports mom nominee’s chance of being considered the coolest.
4. Understand that anything you write in your nomination can and probably will be reposted here at Midwest Sports Fans. Even if your entry isn’t chosen as the winner, we’ll be posting excerpts of the most compelling and interesting stories.
5. If your nomination wins, please be prepared to send us a picture we can use when the winner is announced as well as an address to where we can send the flowers, which will be sent in your name courtesy of MSF.
6. We have not decided specifically how the winner will be chosen. It will all depend on how many entries we get and how soon. If we get enough entries in the next ten or so days, we will post the best stories and allow readers to vote on the winner. If entries are not that plentiful, or if they all come rushing in before the deadline, the Mothers Day contest winner will be chosen by our editorial staff.
7. If you have questions (unless they are somehow personal in nature), ask them in the comments section. That way I can reply and it will answer the question for anyone else who may have it.

I think that about covers it. I’ll update this post if I can think of anything later. Now, go get busy writing your nominations.

Why not see how you match up with other readers/writers/fans/random-passersby of Midwest Sports Fans?

Last night I set up the official Midwest Sports Fans NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge on ESPN.com. The steps to join are simple:

1. Go to the ESPN.com Bracket Challenge and create an entry.
2. Then, follow this link for the Midwest Sports Fans group. Or just search “Midwest Sports Fans” in the groups.  You should see our entry come up. It will ask you for a password. Enter: midwestsports and you will be signed in.

It’s that simple.

I have not decided on a prize yet, beyond constant monitoring here on the site and obvious pub should you win (or public humiliation should you do horribly awful). But I will probably do something. No promises. Sign up for the challenge and fun of it, but there could — could – be something in it for you at the end.

Hope to see you all there, and good luck with your picks.

You already know the drill.

Here we go:

1. Cleveland @ Tennessee
2. Cincinnati @ Indianapolis
3. Houston @ Green Bay
4. Minnesota @ Detroit
5. Jacksonville @ Chicago
6. Dallas @ Pittsburgh
7. Tampa Bay @ Carolina

Last week, Midwest Sports Fans began its weekly NFL Pick’em contest, and it is not too late to join in on the fun.

Just make sure you post your outright winners below before 1:05pm EST on Sunday for your picks to be counted and recorded. For more information regarding the contest rules, regulations, and standings, visit the Midwest Sports Fans NFL Pick Em page.

Also, make sure to check in early next week to make your picks, as the cutoff will be Thursday night, when the Cleveland Browns demolish the Denver Broncos.

Here are this week’s highlighted games:

(FYI…if you’d like to view the point spreads before picking, head on over to the Week 9 NFL Schedule post real quick.)

1) Detroit @ Chicago

2) Jacksonville @ Cincinnati

3) Baltimore @ Cleveland

4) Green Bay @ Tennesee

5) Arizona @ St. Louis

6) New England @ Indianapolis

7) Pittsburgh @ Washington

Good Luck!

Tonight, the Cleveland Browns take on the New York Giants at Cleveland Browns Stadium, nestled comfortably in the heart of the Midwest. Thus far into the 2008 season the Browns have not done as well protecting their home turf as they did last year when they went 7-1 at home. Already, two writers here at Midwest Sports Fans have predicted a win tonight for the Browns in their Monday Night Football matchup against the currently undefeated Giants.

And while the Browns are clawing their way to a tough, hard-fought, highly significant victory this evening, Cleveland residents, and anyone planning on visiting the city, have the opportunity to enter a contest for a chance to chance to win a significant victory of their own.

PositivelyCleveland.com is sponsoring a contest that honors Cleveland’s history as the Rock and Roll Capital of the World. All you have to do is follow this link to the Cleveland Rock and Roll In the Know Sweepstakes and fill in your name, email address, and phone number to enter.

The winner of the contest will receive four tickets to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with a private guided tour with the museum’s curator. According to official contest rules, entries must be received by this Friday, October 17th, at 11:59am.

There are plenty of compelling reasons to enter:

1. Did you know that the first ever rock and roll concert was held in Cleveland in 1952? I did not. Hence, the presence of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
2. Should you be chosen as the winner, you can make an entire week out of your trip to Cleveland. You can take your tour of the greatest music museum in the world, shoot on down to Canton and visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well, see the Goodyear blimp in Akron (also the hometown of LeBron James), and enjoy some outstanding parks and golf courses during your downtime.
3. Brady Quinn is still wearing a hat and holding a clipboard, so if you profess your support for John McCain and Sarah Palin, as Brady Quinn did recently, he might be compelled to accompany you on your tour. (Disclaimer: This claim is by no means guaranteed and is, in fact, utterly preposterous. Do not plan a trip to Cleveland hoping Brady Quinn will be your tour guide. Who knows — if the first half goes badly for Derek Anderson tonight, Quinn could actually be playing.) As of right now, Brady has nothing better to do, and he is obviously a rock and roll fan as evidenced by the picture of he and Brett Michaels from Poison to the right.
4. Our very own Ryan Russell, a Cleveland native who predicted a victory for the Browns tonight and is also a professional musician for The Franchize (who recently played a show at the Playboy Mansion), has been to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame “50 times” according to him, and thinks it’s a necessary trip for any music fan.
5. Karma. The more fans of the city of Cleveland who enter the sweepstakes, the better the Cleveland Browns chances of beating the New York Giants tonight and winning the AFC North. Don’t believe me? Well, answer me this: can it hurt? No. But it could, possibly, in some cosmic way help. To me, that says zero downside, but huge potential for upside. Right now, if you’re a Browns fan, you should be doing everything to increase this team’s karma and good fortune!

Prove your fan loyalty and sign up for the Rock and Rock In the Know Contest right now. Then come back here and leave a comment with your prediction for the score of the game. Whoever comes the closest to the actual game score (assuming a Browns victory — remember folks, we win and lose as a team) will receive two free passes to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, independent of the sweepstakes. We’ll roll the free passes over to next week if the Browns somehow come up short tonight. (Hint: There is NO incentive to pick the Giants to win. We’re all about boosting the Browns karma here at Midwest Sports Fans, objectivity be damned. Let’s see how long of a comment thread we can get of overwhelming Browns positivity!)

Aren’t you glad you kept reading?

So go sign up for the contest, leave your comment and score prediction here, and then cheer your heart out for the Browns tonight. The Season of Great Expectations is at a crossroads this evening, but a victory puts the Browns back on a positive track. We’ve already given you our predictions for the score of the Browns’ victory. What is yours?

[tags]cleveland, cleveland browns, rock and roll hall of fame, pro football hall of fame, ohio, contest[/tags]