Ground Hog Day, USA
| published February 2, 2015 |

By Thursday Review staff

If legend is to be believed, we have six more weeks of winter, thanks to everyone's favorite furry animal, groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, who not only saw his shadow today at 7:25 a.m. in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, but also gave the mayor a small nip on the ear for disturbing his (the irascible marmot's) chilly weather slumber.

Phil may be the world's most famous weather prognosticator, with a track record apparently better than that of many professional meteorologists and crystal ball gazers.

Phil, however, did not have a favorite in Sunday's Super Bowl game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, so he said he slept through the proceedings in anticipation of his busy Monday in Punxsutawney. Phil's agent says the adorable mammal officially has no favorite team, but locals say he is sometimes seen sporting a Steelers skullcap in cooler weather. Phil, who vacations in Tampa, has also been spotted at the occasional Bucs game during NFL pre-season.

Though he was once hugged by actor Bill Murray, he says he has never been hugged by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.