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McDonald’s on Thursday reported surprisingly strong sales in the latest quarter — and its chief executive cited the purple milkshake released in honor of furry mascot Grimace’s 52nd birthday.

“This quarter, if Im being honest, the theme was Grimace,” McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said on the companys conference call following the earnings report, according to CNBC.

The earnings report was released a month after the golden arches honored Grimace’s birthday with a limited-edition purple milkshake that was only available in the US.

McDonald’s also offered the Grimace Birthday Meal, which included the shake and the choice of a Big Mac, 10-piece Chicken McNuggets, or fries, though the offer ended on July 6, according to a McDonald’s tweet.

The photo-friendly purple drink — which was made with ice cream and blueberry and strawberry syrups — went viral on social media and was likely fueled by customers’ nostalgia for the rotund character.

As a result, McDonald’s — which has 13,513 restaurants in the US and over 38,000 abroad — recorded a revenue of $6.5 billion in the latest quarter, edging out Wall Street’s expectation of $6.27 billion.

The net sales marked a 14% increase from last year.

McDonald’s scored $2.31 billion in income — a sharp increase from the $1.8 billion reported in Q1.

McDonald’s share price closed up 1.2%, to $295.19, on Thursday.

On TikTok, Austin Frazier is attributed with starting the trend when he posted a clip of himself tasting the shake.

The video then cut to Frazier lying on the floor with the milkshake spilled around his head and mouth.

Since it was posted on June 13, the TikTok has garnered over 3.6 million views and caused a slew of other social media users to share clips faking their death after tasting the Grimace shake.

McDonald’s even acknowledged the trend, sharing a post of Grimace to social media captioned: “mee pretending i don’t see the grimace shake trendd.”

The Chicago-headquartered restaurant chain even changed the biography on its Instagram and Twitter pages to: “grimace is a close personal friend of mine.”

“‘Grimace’s Birthday’ quickly became one of our most socially engaging campaigns of all time,” the company said in its earnings report.

McDonaldland — the franchise’s fictional world inhabited by Ronald McDonald and his friends — welcomed Grimace on June 12, 1971, as “Evil Grimace,” a monster with four arms used to steal milkshakes.

But after he frightened children, McDonald’s phased out Grimace, along with other McDonaldland characters, in 2003.

The franchise later recast the purple blob as a warmer version of his old self, this time with two arms, and revived the beloved fuzzball in 2022.

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Rich Rod bans Mountaineers from TikTok dancing

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Rich Rod bans Mountaineers from TikTok dancing

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, like all football coaches, wants his players to show up on time, work hard and play their best.

Oh, and another thing: Don’t dance on TikTok.

“They’re going to be on it, so I’m not banning them from it,” he said Monday. “I’m just banning them from dancing on it. It’s like, look, we try to have a hard edge or whatever, and you’re in there in your tights dancing on TikTok, ain’t quite the image of our program that I want.”

Making TikTok dance videos is a popular activity among high school- and college-age users of the social media platform. Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, Boise State star Ashton Jeanty and Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola are among college football players who have posted dance videos.

Rodriguez is beginning his second stint as Mountaineers coach. He said he has talked to his players about the tendency in society to emphasize the individual rather than the team and that banning TikTok dancing is something he can do to put the focus where he thinks it belongs.

“I’m allowed to do that. I can have rules,” he said. “Twenty years from now, if they want to be sitting in their pajamas in the basement eating Cheetos and watching TikTok or whatever the hell, they can go at it, smoking cannabis, whatever. Knock yourself out.”

As for now, he said: “I hope our focus can be on winning football games. How about let’s win the football game and not worry about winning the TikTok?”

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Battle, DB star at USC and former Jet, dies at 78

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Battle, DB star at USC and former Jet, dies at 78

LOS ANGELES — Mike Battle, an All-American defensive back and a member of USC‘s 1967 national championship team who later played two seasons for the New York Jets, has died. He was 78.

He died of natural causes on March 6 in Nellysford, Virginia, the school said Tuesday.

In 1967, Battle led a USC defense that allowed only 87 points all season. The Trojans were 26-6-1 and won three conference titles during his three-year career. Battle played in the 1967, 1968 and 1969 Rose Bowl games, all won by the Trojans.

Battle was USC’s annual punt return leader in each of his three seasons and still owns the school record for most punts returned in a season. He was the NCAA statistical champion in 1967, when he had 49 returns for 608 yards, a 12.4-yard average. He also holds the school mark for most punts returned, with 99 during his three years.

He was chosen in the 12th round of the 1969 NFL draft by the Jets and played for two seasons in 1969 and 1970.

Battle appeared in the 1970 film “C.C. and Company,” a biker film starring Jets teammate Joe Namath and actor Ann-Margret.

He is survived by his wife Laura and children Christian Michael, Hunter, Frank, Michael, Kathleen, Murphy and Annie.

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Stars forward Hintz out a week with facial injury

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Stars forward Hintz out a week with facial injury

Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz will be sidelined for a week with a facial injury but avoided a fracture.

General manager Jim Nill said Tuesday that Hintz has to keep his heart rate down for 5-7 days to avoid pressure or swelling.

Hintz, 28, was struck in the face by a puck midway through the second period in Saturday’s 5-4 loss at Edmonton. He did not return.

Hintz is tied for second on the Stars in goals (25) and is fourth in points (52) through 59 games this season.

He has 362 points (172 goals, 190 assists) in 451 career games in seven NHL seasons. Dallas drafted him in the second round in 2015.

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