Deceased.

Deceased.

It's All Coolio

Dear Coolio,

Where are you now when America needs you the most?

Why have you foresaken us, Coolio?

Scooped

[photo caption] Your 2005 Miss USA, Chelsea Cooley. (photo courtesy MissUSA.com)


Charley "Shooter" Walters over at the Pi-Press totally scooped me on this one. This is what he wrote on Sunday, May 28, 2006:

"Twins catcher Joe Mauer and 2005 Miss USA and former Miss North Carolina Chelsea Cooley have begun dating on a semi-regular basis."

Oh, snap!

That Chelsea Cooley? Or this one?
How didn't I know about this?

Dammit.

Festina Affair Part Deux?

[photo caption] Team Liberty Seguros in better days. And without matching sneakers. (photo courtesy UCI.ch)


Huge news out of the Giro today: team Liberty Seguros is no more. With the arrest of Directeur Sportif Manolo Saiz and other team associates in Spain yesterday, insurance company Liberty Seguros cancelled, effective immediately, it's sponsorship of the Spanish team.

Here's the official statement from the Liberty Seguros offices (per VeloNews):
"As sponsors, we have always wanted to promote a culture of fair play and zero tolerance with respect to doping. In November 2005 after the suspension of a rider (Roberto Heras) for doping we made our contract one of the most rigorous with regard to this subject. The implications and consequences of the detention of Manolo Saiz are highly worrying - they damage our name and the name of cycling. We have cancelled our agreement with the owners of the team (Active Bay) and will respect outstanding financial obligations."

This situation casts a huge doubt on the team's ability to race in the Tour de France. Moreover, should the team not race, what happens to perennial challenger Alexandre Vinokourov? Will he be able to transfer teams in time?

Perhaps the most fascinating piece of information is this nugget, reported by VeloNews:
"Police sorting through the records of the doctor arrested along with Liberty director Manolo Saiz say that they have come across a rather extensive list of clients. According to news reports from Spain today, records indicate that several high profile cyclists, including T-Mobile's Jan Ullrich, were among Eufemiano Fuentes's patients."

Is this the end for Der Kaiser?

Open Letter

[photo caption] 23 year-old catcher Joe Mauer anchors the Minnesota Twins offense today, and for the next decade. (photo courtesy TheOaklandPress.com)


An open letter to Tom and Jeremy:

Our Joe Mauer conversation from last week just popped into my head. By the way, Mauer leads the Twins with a .338 average and is on pace to threaten 100 RBIs. His career batting average is .304.

He's only 23 years old. A hitter of his caliber could easier play until ages 36-40 if they desire. He probably won't end his career as a catcher, but it probably won't matter -- especially if the DH position still exists.

If he plays through age 36, based on his current pace, he would finish his career with approximately 3,122 hits. Based on the same projections, if Mauer played through age 40, on his current pace he'd total 4,014 hits -- #3 All-Time, behind guys named Rose and Cobb and ahead of a guy named Aaron. Just thought you'd like to know that.

Here's the batters that compare with Mauer based on his age (coming into the season). Info is courtesy of BaseballReference.com.

Benito Santiago
Bill Freehan
Shanty Hogan
Joe Torre
Derek Jeter
Milt May
Ed McFarland
Al Lopez*
Rich Gedman
Joe Sewell*

* = Hall of Famers. Add Jeter to that list, and possibly Torre (via Veteran's Committee).

Marxist Lady Friends

[photo caption] Epiphanies sometimes come with strange imagery. (image courtesy V.I. Lenin)

My Special Lady Friend is a Marxist. I never really realized this until I had to put together a lecture for today's class. The topic was Marx and Engels and The Communist Manifesto.

After a class reading on the Manifesto and a little biography of Marx, we used the Ford Motor Company to discuss was a car manufacturer looks like in a capitalist system versus what it would look like in a Marxist system.

Then, I asked the students if they could think of any local businesses that employ a quasi-Marxist approach. After some prodding, the students realized that co-operatives function according to some (though not all) principles of Marxism.

Given that My Special Lady Friend works at a local co-operative, my Logic 101 experience tells me that she's a Marxist.

Congratulations, Special Lady Friend! Way to stick it to those filthy capitalists! Yeah!


PS: JD from Rochester gets married tomorrow at 2PM. That means, at the time of this post, I only have 21 hours and 34 minutes to talk him out of it. I'll call you tonight, JD!

Adages

[photo caption] In 1500, Erasmus wrote a collection of, and called, "Adages". An adage is, of course, a short, but memorable saying, which holds some important fact of experience that is considered true by many people. (photo courtesy Wikipedia.com)


Words I've been living by:


1) "All good things must come to an end. Thankfully, so to must the bad things."

2) "Something good will come from this. It always does."

3) "A poor man is better than a liar."

Pizza! Pizza!

[photo caption] How didn't Minneapolis' Galactic Pizza make MSN's list? (photo courtesy GalacticPizza.com)


On the front page of MSN.com today was a feature presented by MSN's "Citysearch" arm. The article listed the top ten pizzas in your area based, it seemed, on consumer response.

Here is MSN-Citysearch's list for the Minneapolis - St. Paul metropolitan area. As someone who eats a lot of pizza, I've included my comments underneath each listing.

(Also note: some of these businesses have more than one location, so feel free to look up the location nearest you. The addresses listed are the ones included in the MSN article.)


1. Punch Neapolitan Pizza 704 Cleveland Ave S, St Paul, MN. This diminutive Highland Park pizzeria serves the most authentic pies in town.

Punch serves gourmet, traditional Italian pizza -- they've got the certification to prove it. While I generally like their fare, I have never found it filling. The price is very reasonable for something considered "gourmet", however.


2. Red's Savoy Inn and Pizza 421 Seventh St E, St Paul, MN. Some claim that this St. Paul dive has the best pizza in town.

Oh, man! This is the best "American-style" pizza out there. You want greasy? You want sloppy? You want filling? This is the place. What makes this spot even better is the occasional car/motorcycle missing the turn off of US Hwy 52 and slamming into their front entry area. I always enjoy restaurants where you physical well-being hangs in the balance!


3. Cossetta's Italian Market & Pizzeria 211 7TH St W, St Paul, MN. A bustling Italian eatery that's been serving home-style delicacies since 1911.

Mmmm, Cossetta's pizza. A great slice of New York-esque style pizza. Don't tell anyone, but the mostacolli's better.


4. Fat Lorenzo's 5600 Cedar Ave S, Minneapolis, MN. A lovable little Italian joint serving big pizza, lots of pasta and hot hoagies.

Never been there. But Fat Lorenzo, you're on my list.


5. Broadway Pizza - River Road 2025 W River Rd, Minneapolis, MN. Specialty pizzeria offers two kinds of crusts (New York thin or Chicago deep dish) for made-to-order pies; pickup, delivery, catering.

Again, never been there. But word-of-mouth is great. On a related note, one night last winter when I was under the influence of alcohol and the devil, my designated driver did a great job of avoiding a collision which would've totaled my car right in front of Broadway Pizza. Good job, designated driver!


6. Green Mill--Hennepin Avenue 2626 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN. This local pizza chain continues to shine, year after year and bite after bite.

Their pizza is above average, but what makes their pie great is:
1) Their interesting toppings
2) Their amazing happy hour (10pm-close) in which you can get a couple slices of pizza, split a pitcher of barley pop, and still not spend $10.


7. Pizza Luce 119 N 4th St, Minneapolis, MN. Hip Warehouse District pizzeria that's a perennial favorite with the late-night set.

Anytime you see "hip" in the description, you must (MUST) immediately think "overpriced" and "over-rated". Pizza Luce helped to inspire this altruism.


8. Arezzo Ristorante 5057 France Ave, Edina, MN. Pricey fare and charming Italian decor find a fit in this trendy neighborhood.

Who eats in Edina? Are you kidding?


9. Davanni's Pizza & Hot Hoagies - Hennepin Avenue 1138 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN. It offers everything you want in a hometown pizzeria.

Decent. Not my favorite, and I certainly don't frequent their establishments. In fact, I think I can clearly remember the crucial details of all three of my Davanni's visits.


10. Mama's Pizza 961 Rice St, Saint Paul, MN. Eating at Mama's doesn't seem like a formal restaurant experience. It feels more like, well--like eating at your mom's.

Go here for the pizza if you must (similar in style to Red's Savoy Inn -- see above), but make a special trip to Mama's just to take in the Rice St. freakshow that is so typical of the North End. Mama's also is one of the few restaurants remaining with personal size pay-per-view tv's in the booths.

Trendsetter

[photo caption] Colgate, prepare to hear from Tuffy's lawyers. (photo courtesy chenardwalcker.com)


See if you can spot the trend:

Tuffy's 2006 Palmares (chronological order)
Dogwood Classic (MO): 24th
Durand RR (WI): DNF
Ken Woods Mem. RR (MN): 19th
Avon RR (MN): 13th
Lilydale TT (MN): 9th

Grab Bag

[photo caption] What kind of jackass attaches his Ph.D. status to a photo credit? Give me a break! (photo courtesy Mark Adkison, Ph.D.)

A quick Super-Rookie-esque entry to give all of you something to chomp on.

--A busy week of racing. OPUS on Tuesday, Avon Road Race on Saturday, and the Lillydale TimeTrial on Sunday. I didn't win any of them. The streak continues.

--BMC construction has ground to a halt. There's going to be some issues with routing the internal cables. The main issue is that I don't want to do it; I want someone else to do it and just present me with a finished bike. Post in the comments section if you want to do it for me. There might be a sixer in it for you. Everything else is done, though.

--Stewartville and Chatfield (both MN) were happy to host Tuffy on Saturday night as he attended a portion of JD's bachelor party. We're also happy to report that Tuffy was not asked to leave Strikers, the Down Under, or the Coyote Club. Plus, he got to see Sweet Pete jump -- not once, but twice -- through a hedge out front of the Coyote Club. Well done, Pete!

--I'm tired. And I have to tune-up a friend's bike today and then settle in for the Giro d'Italia update. Basso will not win the Giro; that's a Tuffy guarantee!

BMC SLT01

C'est belle! Il est arrive, finalement. Construction commence demain.
(It's beautiful! It has finally arrived. Construction begins tomorrow.)

Write Your Own Caption Contest

Cast of characters:
Little 500 Festival Queen (l) and Super-Rookie of Super-Rookie.com (r)

Setting:
Anderson Stage Race / Sat Apr 29, 2006 / Anderson, IN


Write your own caption contest! Check the comments section early and often for the best entries!

Begin!