An Idea

Are USA Cycling racing categories designed to a) protect against sandbaggers taking victories from lesser riders or b) protect "better", "more experienced" riders from the great unwashed masses?

If the answer is the former, I completely understand. And there should be something to protect against that.

However, if the answer is the latter, I don't get it. For instance, let's say a Category 4 rider has the skill and fitness to compete in a Category 1/2 race -- why shouldn't he/she be able to? What's the harm? Why, in essence, keep a legitimately strong rider from competing? Does meeting some arbitrary "minimums" suddenly make someone a credible rider? I don't think so.

Thus, why does USA Cycling even bother to have upgrade minimums? If someone is stoopid enough to upgrade to a level beyond their competence, why stop them? They will get shelled anyway, so no one will be out anything.

Thoughts?

Where have you been, Tuffy?

a) I've been outside. Get there. It's wonderful
b) I've taken on a second job. Have to get some extra cash for the H3 I'm buying this summer.

PS: My NCAA bracket is in shards. I'll post the final tally next week.

Finally: Looks like Ale-Jet Petacchi is giving Erik Zabel a run for his money as "best lead-out man in the world".

How did I do?

Florida
Maryland
Oregon
Wisconsin
Kansas
Southern Illinois
Pitt
UCLA
North Carolina
Texas
Washington State
Georgetown
Ohio State
Tennessee
Louisville
Memphis

That makes me 39-9 overall.

However, my bracket is cooked. The Texas loss did me in...

A Star is Born?

Discovery Channel's Alberto Contador spent his week winning two stages of Paris-Nice and the overall GC, thanks to an escape on the final climb on the final stage.

Just 24, could Contador be a "star on the rise" to complement, then displace, Disco's Ivan Basso?

Went riding with SuperRookie yesterday...

Went riding with SuperRookie yesterday. At one point, we came upon another unknown rider and SR decided he wanted to beat the bloke to the city limit sign just up ahead.

Here's what happened (with thanks to HotPinkEvil for getting all of this on her hot, pink, and evil digital camcorder):

Just so you can play along at home...

Here are Tuffy's 2nd Round Picks:
Florida
Maryland
Oregon
Wisconsin
Kansas
Southern Illinois
Pitt
UCLA
North Carolina
Texas
Washington State
Georgetown
Ohio State
Tennessee
Louisville
Memphis

Good luck in your pool(s)!

If a tree falls in the woods...

If you fill out the best bracket you've ever completed but don't enter it...

I just checked my NCAA men's basketball bracket after all the first round games were completed.

My results? Of 32 games, my record right now is 28-4. Twenty-eight and four. I can't friggin' believe it.

The part I can't believe the most? I'm not in any tourney pools. Not one.

I filled out a bracket on Tuesday morning, meant to enter a bunch of friends' pools, and never got around to it.

Now, I'm stuck with my masterpiece, and potentially nothing to show for it.

Here are the games I got wrong...
Texas Tech over Boston College -- I'm a Bob Knight fan. What can you say?
Duke over VCU -- When in doubt, go with the better program. Except for this year.
Gonzaga over Indiana -- Couldn't really care less about these two teams.
Villanova over Kentucky -- Really thought this was Tubby's swan song.

But...here's the best part:
All the winning teams of the games I got wrong I have going out in the next round anyway...

Overjoyed and completely frustrated at the same time...

PS: Here's my Final Four...
Oregon
Kansas
Texas
Memphis

Cat's Outta The Bag

[image caption] LGR womens phenom King Kongsley in the formerly mysterious LGR '07 kit.

Flipped Out

Flip Saunders-to-U of M Update:

Source: "There's zero chance of Flip Saunders coaching at Minnesota."

Oh...

...and this makes five posts in one day. A new record.

Search Terms

The second highest search term for the site today was "horse+pussy"...

Shop X

Let me take a minute to clarify my position on Shop X:

I have no beef with Shop X. My dealings with Shop X were always professional and smooth. Shop X has good employees, helpful and dedicated in all capacities. Shop X was a fine sponsor.

Bottom line: I AM NOT TRASHING SHOP X.

But, when you put out a shop calendar and don't bother to include the team that you sponsor, well, that's kind of stoopid, I think.

Uniform Nooz

New San Diego Chargers uniforms with the image courtesy of wherever UniWatchBlog.com pulled it from.

The big news here is the white helmet and the inclusion of powder blue as an old/new color.

Click on the image for better detail/resolution.

Sponsorship Nooz

So, it seems like everyday that my decision to switch teams for the '07 season was the right one.

Today's case-in-point:

I'm still on the mailing list from my old teams' shop sponsor. Checked my mail today, and lo and behold, the new Shop X Bike Race / Event Calendar. I paged through it looking for some sweet pics of my old squad.

What did I find?

Not one picture of my old team.

Shop X's owner couldn't find one month out of the twelve to publicize the only true team flying his name. Not one fucking month. Not even February, fer chrissakes.

Oh, there were pictures of riders from other local teams, though. There were infinitely more pictures of Grand Performance/SPBRC and Loon State riders than there were of my old squad.

And, in the shop owner's final "Tuffy's Old Squad Can Kiss My Ass" salute, the shop owner found the space to include not one, not two, but three pictures of himself -- including the mf'ing cover.

Must be a proud day for the old team...

Chas Walters: Commenting on the Youth of America

[image caption] Reed Larson thinks that the kids of today have a lot of shit between their ears.

From the St. Paul Pioneer-Press column of Charlie Walters:
Former Detroit Red Wings star Reed Larson, on his alma mater, Minneapolis Roosevelt, having had just one player on a City Conference hockey co-op team this season: "I know there's a whole bunch of trophies in the hallway at Roosevelt just collecting dust, and I don't know if all that history means anything anymore to those people in the hallways."

No, Mr. Larson, your hockey experiences of the 1970s don't mean shit to those kids. They look at that trophy case not for the plastic-on-marble exhibits exemplifying the past athletic acheivements and glory of their fellow Mpls Roosevelt Teddies, but, instead, in hopes of seeing their beautiful reflection in the glass.

Here's a better explanation of why:

"Study finds today's college kids a bunch of self-centered assholes"

Prepared to be stoopified

The baddest kits on Planet Tuffy have arrived in Tuffy Town. Prepare to be stoopified.

And don't forget the sunglasses.

Ranking the 2007 ProTour Team Kits

20. Discovery Channel

Likes: Nothing, really; this is a terrible, terrible kit

Dislikes: Color combo; Vertical sponsor name; Huge planet on hip; Asymmetry; Yellow cuff for guy who doesn't even ride anymore

19. Liquigas

Likes: The shade of green they use has possibilities, though it's a remnant from a former sponsor

Dislikes: That striping (which continues onto the bibs) is an absolute eyesore; Blech

18. Astana

Likes: The fact that this team no longer has to dress up in those Liberty-Seguros clown suits

Dislikes: One word -- teal; More words -- fellas, get rid of the Liberty-Seguros kit template already!

17. Saunier-Duval

Likes: The interplay between the white and yellow; the fact that its not their 2006 kit

Dislikes: There are better ways to do yellow/white/black (see: Tinkoff); plus, they're using that same asymmetrical grey stripe, a la 2003 FDJ

16. Euskaltel-Euskadi

Likes: Well, it's unique

Dislikes: Orange with green accents? Really? At least they're going with orange/black bibs this year

15. Rabobank

Likes: Blue and orange can look really good

Dislikes: Blue and orange look really bad here; asymmetry

14. Unibet.com

Likes: Good color scheme and good logo

Dislikes: The logo is too small on the chest and those fading polka-dots remind you of the Birchwood spanks ("spanks" is used lovingly)

13. Bouygues Telecom

Likes: It looks like they've darkened up the blue a tone or two since last year

Dislikes: Still looks a little off; the Bouygues Telecom logo sucks; asymmetry

12. Predictor-Lotto

Likes: They went out on a major limb using a unique color

Dislikes: Their sponsor is a pregnancy test and it doesn't look pink, it looks salmon; asymmetry

11. Gerolsteiner

Likes: It's not terrible

Dislikes: They've lost their way since they traded navy for baby blue a few years ago; ab graphics; asymmetry

10. AG2R

Likes: It's unique and not quite terrible. Blue/yellow/white are ok together.

Dislikes: Blue/yellow/white don't look great together (hear me, LSC?); what's with that graphic on the gut?

9. Lampre

Likes: Very original; makes asymmetry look good; blue/hot pink work well together

Dislikes: No real changes from 2006 kit

8. Milram

Likes: A very classic kit template; the more you look at it, the more you like it

Dislikes: They've added a red stripe to the bibs this year to match the chest, but it doesn't look all that good

7. Caisse d'Espargne

Likes: The pattern in the black gives a "textured" look; black/red/white is always cool

Dislikes: What's with the red shoulder triangles?

6. T-Mobile

Likes: The only true classic in the ProTour right now; T-Mobile's had this same template in place since they switched their name from Team Telekom

Dislikes: I'm all about UNICEF and poor kids in Africa...except when it messes with good kit design

5. Cofidis

Likes: Finally, someone picked up the Saeco all-red kit torch; a massive improvement from their 2005-06 kits, which were terrible

Dislikes: The red front / white back could work, or it could look hideous; whoever the fat model was who modeled this jersey; phone numbers on a kit

4. Francaise des Jeux

Likes: Simple. Stylish. White.

Dislikes: When they use those blue bibs in the Classics -- let's hope they don't this year

3. CSC

Likes: Black/red/white looks good, with the bonus of more red this year; the ab graphics; the "feather" shoulder graphics

Dislikes: Their best kit was the 2004 version, and they're moving farther away from that kit every year

2. Quick-Step

Likes: A very classy, and classic, look for 2007; Solid blue with grey sleeves -- nice, simple, understated

Dislikes: That Boonen's not in the rainbow kit this year

1. Credit-Agricole

Likes: Great color scheme; great interplay between jersey and bibs (white highlights continue onto bibs)

Dislikes: That they don't win more

Speed-Reading CNN.com This Afternoon

[image caption] "After I huffed and I puffed, I still never really thought that I could go ahead and blow y'all's houses down. And for that, I'm sorry," said Bush.

After speed-reading the front page of CNN.com this afternoon, I'm amazed more people aren't talking about these strange news stories.

For instance, I learned that Steven Speilberg, along with being an Academy Award-winning director, is also an art thief. When his alter-ego was discovered by the FBI, Speilberg holed himself up in his Norco, California home. Soon after, the FBI started a fire to try to smoke Speilberg out, only to find him holding over a million rounds of ammo. The FBI also found that Speilberg was in the beginning stages of digging a tunnel to China.

In other news, the hot air constantly emitted by President Bush caused a tornado in Alabama and Georgia. After apologizing for his gaffe, Bush urged citizens affected by the storm to, "Hang in there."

NASCAR Trivia

Trivia time for all you NASCAR dorks out there (and you know who you are)...

QUESTION: In Spring 2001, Dale Earnhardt Jr. visited the Twin Cities. While in our fair metropolis, which of the following did "Junior" NOT do?

OPTIONS:

a) Make out with a Budweiser sales representative in a posh Minneapolis hotel

b) Ride the Zamboni at a Minnesota Wild game

c) Visit the HUB Hobby Center at MN Hwy 36 and Rice Street

Post your best guesses in the Comments section. If there is a tie, bonus points will be awarded to the person who picks the correct answer AND explains why that answer is not true.