It?s astonishing that anyone can go 13-1 in picking National Football League winners in this era of parity. Why is the Examiner?s “Pigskin Picking Princess” so successful? It?s simple: She eats worms.
“[Football fans] are eating chicken wings and she?s eating super mealworms,” said Colleen Layton-Robbins, Bimbo?s owner, who gives Baltimore?s favorite monkey a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. “They?re sitting in traffic, and she?s here with people waiting on her, hand and foot.”
Layton-Robbins claims Bimbo?s ability to calmly watch the game with her monkey friends Oogie, Zoey and Cocoa, as she relaxes on her golden-yellow couch as another reason why she?s been so good this season. But she?s never been as good as this past week, when she was probably the only primate outside the Land of 10,000 Lakes who picked the Minnesota Vikings to defeat the San Diego Chargers.
Whether it was New England rallying to defeat Indianapolis, or Detroit pounding Denver, Bimbo called them all ? coming within a Jacksonville loss at New Orleans from going a perfect 14-0. It might have caused her to beat her chest like King Kong, though Layton-Robbins doubts the mellow 36-year-old capuchin would act that way. Besides, being loud and throwing things is apparently her friend Oogie?s job.
“She knows she looks good,” Layton-Robbins said. “She?s looking at herself in the mirror, like, ?Do I look good?? You look great!”
Bimbo is sitting pretty after easily defeating all three of last week?s opponents ? Baltimore-area morning radio personalities Mickey Cucchiella of 98 Rock (8-6), Chris Emry of The Bay (11-3) and JoJo Girard of MIX 106.5 (9-5). However, all three ? as well as anybody else who loses to Bimbo ? will be offered a rematch during the final week of the regular season. But since we felt so badly for 98 Rock, we decided to give Cucchiella?s co-host, Amelia Ryerse, a chance to regain her show?s football-picking credibility that hangs in the balance after Cucchiella thought it was a good idea to pick the Ravens, Jets and Oakland last week.
Bimbo is also facing Ryan McKibben, the Chief Executive Officer of Clarity Media, which owns The Examiner. Bimbo is 1-1 against Examiner management, as he lost to Michael Beatty, the publisher of The Examiner, but defeated The Examiner?s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Phelps.
EVERY DOLLAR CAN HELP
No donation is too small to support Bimbo and her friends at Frisky?s Wildlife & Primate Sanctuary, a non-profit organization that is strictly supported by tax deductible donations. To donate to Frisky?s, which provides refuge for needy and displaced animals, please go to www.friskys.org.
