5 million views for Scott Says blog -- so enter our contest and win a book

The online version of the "Scott Says" blog has existed since 2008, and I am pleased to report that the blog recently surpassed five million page views for its lifetime.

To celebrate, we are going to have a contest. We are going to give away five books -- one for every million page views -- as a small token of appreciation to all the loyal readers who helped the blog reach this landmark.

This is your chance to write something sports-related that will appear on this blog and in the newspaper. All you have to do is answer one question, and answer it in 100 WORDS OR LESS. The question is:

WHY DO SPORTS MATTER TO YOU?

I am looking for personal memories here more than big-picture ideas. Specifics, not generalities. And only 100 words or less, please! More than that and I will certainly read it, but you won't be eligible for the giveaway. There is a limit of one entry per person.

You can submit these via email to me at sfowler@charlotteobserver.com. Also send along your name, hometown and phone number.

I will pick three winners from those entries, and those three folks can choose to receive either a persnalized and signed copy of either The Observer's just-published, celebratory book on the life and career of Dean Smith or of my most recent Carolina Panthers book. Those three winners will also have their entries appear on this blog and in the newspaper at some point.

Don't feel like writing anything?

I can't blame you -- sometimes I don't feel like writing anything, either. In that case, just enter the contest without writing anything. Just by sending me your name, hometown and phone number via email at sfowler@charlotteobserver.com. I will have a random drawing for the last two books between those "non-writing" entries.

The deadline to submit your entry -- whether you choose to answer the question or not, and remember, just one entry per person -- is Sunday, March 8th. I will announce the winners by or before Wednesday, March 18th. Good luck, and thank you again for your help in getting this blog to the 5 million mark. (Note to stat junkies: Of the nearly 1,800 blog entries I have posted here over the years, by far the most popular was this one in Jan.2012, which exclusively revealed the details of the Panthers' new logo. Of the 5,000,000 page views, that blog post was responsible for about 120,000 of them.)

If you are one of the five winners, you can choose from either of these books: