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Riding through the ferns on stage 6.
Editor's Note: Race report by Tim Darwick. Photos courtesy A.E. Landes Photography and Harris Dunlap.
In Stage 6 of the Trans-Sylvania Epic, Justin Lindine (Redline) continued to build his lead in the Open Mens competition, while Amanda Carey and her NoTubes teammates regained lost time.
Known as the "Queen Stage" of the race, Stage 6 presented by BMC takes riders over some of the most known and loved trails in Rothrock State Forest. Most notably, riders transverse Tussey Ridge. A few years ago, the Ridge caught fire, burning the foliage from the trees in a large region at the top. As a result, the Ridge's leafless trees provide a picturesque view of the valley below from the beautiful, open trail covered in ferns.
With one enduro segment spanning Tussey Ridge and a second that dropped from "The Ridge" to the valley floor, riders faced 4900 feet of climbing over 40 miles. Adding to the tough characteristics of the course, the heat and humidity would create further problems for many racers throughout the key stage.
Justin Lindine battles it out with Sam Koerber for early placement in the stage.
Open Men
In Stage 6, Justin Lindine (Redline) defended his NoTubes Leader's jersey while extending his lead over his competitors with another first-place finish. Second-place finisher Sam Koerber (Progold) built a small gap exiting the second enduro stage, but Lindine put in an intense attack that allowed him to quickly surpass Koerber and gain almost three minutes in the last few miles of the course.
Lindine and third-place finisher Brian Matter (RACC/Trek/Progold) developed an early lead over Koerber heading into Jon Wert trail. Though almost a minute behind the race leaders, Koerber was able to close the gap on the technical, rocky flats of Jon Wert. The three riders would proceed to take short attacks against the others over the remainder of the course.
"I definitely had a few times were I was under a little bit of pressure," Lindine said, "All day these guys were putting the pressure on."
After dropping his chain on Three Bridges trail, Lindine chased down an attack from Brian Matter going up the road climb to Tussey Ridge. Once on the ridge, Koerber used his technical abilities to push the pace again and develop his small lead.
But the long week caught up to Koerber, who was unable to sustain his advantage on the road segment. "Seven days is tough," remarked Koerber, "today was the first day I really felt the fatigue."
With an additional three minutes added to his GC lead from today's finish, Lindine plans to "sit back a little and just be defensive" in the seventh and final stage of the race.
Amanda Carey rides a wide corner through the woods.
Open Women
After losing a significant amount of time in Stage 5 from going off-course, the Stan's NoTubes Elite Women put in an aggressive ride to regain their lost time and secure the top podium positions in the GC. Amanda Carey finished first, while Sue Haywood and Sarah Kaufmann took second and third, respectively, to move back up to the GC podium.
In the early stages of the race, Andrea Wilson—yesterday's stage winner—worked hard to stay with the lead group of women and retain her time advantage in GC. However, the pace would prove too aggressive for Wilson, who would eventually drop away from the lead group and yield over half an hour to stage winner Carey.
Wilson's finish would drop her down two positions to fourth in the overall standings, while Sue Haywood moved up to second and Sarah Kaufmann moved up to third. Carey holds a confident fourteen-minute lead over second place.
Enjoying the sun and view from the Tussey Ridge.
Local rider Madison Matthews (The Bicycle Shop/MBR/Maxxis) used Stage 6 to put large chunks of time into his lead competitors and take the U25 leader's jersey. "I went into it with the same mental attitude [as the day before]: just go from the start," said Matthews.
Matthews' aggressive start was not enough to shake Cory Rimmer (Piney Flats Bicycles/Dean Endurance) at first, who desperately wanted to reclaim time lost from multiple flats in the previous stage. Coming into the aid station, Matthews had Rimmer in his sites and pursued him viciously.
"Once [Cory Rimmer] gets on your wheel it's really hard to shake him off," commented Matthews on Rimmer's resilience. The former race leader would not give up easily, but eventually lost time in the more technical sections of the race.
"I'm just mentally defeated in the rocks right now," said Rimmer. Matthews, who trains frequently on the trails featured in Stage 6, mentioned that his tactical advantages in the stage came from his expertise in "riding the rocks and knowing where the tops of the climbs were."
Madison leads the U25 overall competition by ten minutes over second-place Gunnar Bergey (Team Seifert) and by sixteen minutes over Rimmer.
Despite his strong ride throughout the week, Rimmer remained despondent about his misfortune. "You come here to win," said Rimmer, "Second and third get pats on the back." Rimmer seemed open to the idea of returning to compete in the 2014 edition of the race, noting that he would be "a lot more prepared" for the race the next time around.
Riders set out from camp to the official start in a neutral pack.
In the single speed competition, the day began with the typical neck-to-neck racing between race leader Matt Ferrari (FreezeThaw/Hubcap Cycles) and second-place Dax Massey(Breck Epic/Honey Stinger/Light and Motion).
"Dax was going a little slow on the climbs yesterday, so I decided to try to turn the heat up early on," said Ferrari. "I dropped him on the first couple and he would catch back up on the trail when I was trying to recover."
Dax rode persistently with Ferrari for most of the race. But when the riders entered Tussey Ridge, Ferrari found the day's heat unbearable. A local rider, Ferrari commented, "I was dabbing on rocks I've ridden a hundred times." Pulling back his pace, Ferrari allowed Massey to develop a sizeable lead that would grow to two minutes at the end of the day. Dejay Birtch (Ride for Reading/Stan's NoTubes/Maxxis/Pivot) finished third in the stage.
Despite the strong finish in today's stage, Ferrari retains the Single Speed leader's jersey by twelve minutes over Massey.
Masters 40+
Nathan Ruch (Evolution) extended his lead in the Masters 40+ field today with a first place finish of 3:20:02. Bob Radzwich (The Bicycle Shop/Vassago), used his local knowledge of the trails to boost his way to a second place finish. Alex Hawkins worked to chase Radzwich, but would finish two minutes back in third place.
In the overall GC, Ruch and Hawkins remain in first and second, respectively, while Radzwich's strong ride moves him to third place.
Masters 50+
In the Masters 50+ competition, John Williams finished first with a time of 3:51:36, thereby adding fourteen minutes to his already strong buffer over second place stage finisher Joe McCarthy. Jack Dalzell (Team CF-Ohio) finished third in the day and retained his third place standing in GC.
Jon Firth, Men's Duo GC leader, rides through camp at check in.
Duo Men
Jon Firth and Drew Simson (TransRockies/Honey Stinger/Planet Foods) rebounded after a rough Stage 5 and continued to develop their lead in the Duo Mens GC. The duo had a finishing time of 3:14:50, over 24 minutes ahead of second-place Mike Festa and Craig Lebair (Philadelphia Ciclismo). Pawling Cycle and Sport riders Paul Wojciak and Christian Baks finished third, while a surprising fourth place went to Marc Basiliere and Tyler Benedict (Bikerumor.com).
In the GC competition, Firth and Simson remain in first place with almost an hour gap over Festa and Lebair in second. Baks and Wojciak remain in third.
Duo Coed
Lawrence Plug and Kaarin Tae (Java Blend) finished first in Stage 6, only four minutes ahead of Crosshairs Cycling riders Libbey Sheldon and Chris Merriam. Though a close race, the first place finish allowed the Java Blend team to increase their lead in GC to over 32 minutes. Elizabeth Shaner and Sean Riley (Griggs Orthopedics) took third in the stage and remain third in the GC standings.
In a heated enduro competition, Brian Matter (RACC/Trek/Progold) and Zach Adams (Toasted Head Racing) tied for first. With the tie-breaker, Adams was awarded first place in the stage. Derek Bissett (NoTubes/Trans-Sylvania Epic/BMC) came in with a very close time to finish third in the stage.
Despite the stage results, the SRAM/Bear Creek Enduro GC remained unchanged, with Drew Edsall (Kenda/Felt) retaining the leader's jersey, Bissett in second, and Adams in third.
Epic Team
Unique to the Trans-Sylvania Epic, the Epic Team category enables riders to construct teams of two to five riders to focus on fun and camaraderie while competing in a GC event. While any and all team members may start any combination of stages, the Epic Team category requires at just one team member to finish a stage each day to compete in the GC competition.
In the Stage 6 Epic Team race, Cycle-Smart riders Alec Donahue and David Thompson continued their strong command of the field with a 3:10:11 first-place finish. Team Seifert, with the day's second-place time posted by U25 rider Gunnar Bergey, remains in second place in the overall competition, while Kelpius Cycling & Logan Taylor team finished third.


text: I recently upgraded my computer and lost some files that I used regularly. One of these files was a .gif I used as an avatar and it was of Jim Carrey doing the "ride the snake" dance. It was really funny and everyone loved it. I can't seem to find it on the web, and was wondering if any of you good people would happen to have it available?

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Four Michigan Tech Graduate Engineering Programs Rank in Top 50
By Jennifer Donovan | Published
Graduate school rankings released today by U.S. News & World Report rate four of Michigan Technological University's graduate engineering programs in the top 50 nationwide. Nearly 200 programs were ranked.
Michigan Tech's national rankings were:
* Environmental engineering - 26
* Materials science and engineering - 41.
* Civil engineering - 43.
* Mechanical engineering—48.
Michigan Tech's College of Engineering ranked 78th overall out of 198 schools evaluated, up from 84th of 191 schools last year. Michigan Tech's geological and mining engineering graduate program ranked 77th in the nation among earth sciences programs. That ranking was based on 2006 data and remained the same as last year's.
"We are very proud of this important external confirmation of the growing strength of our engineering graduate programs," said Michigan Tech President Glenn D. Mroz. "It shows that we are moving in the right direction toward making Michigan Tech a world-class technological research university."
Tim Schulz, dean of engineering, called the rankings "recognition of the quality and impact of our graduate and research programs and of the accomplishments of our outstanding faculty, staff and students." Schulz said he thinks the biggest factor contributing to Michigan Tech's improvement in rankings this year is the University's increase in reported research expenditures.
Each year, U.S. News and World Report ranks graduate schools of business, education, engineering, law and medicine. According to the magazine, the rankings are based on two types of data: the opinions of graduate school deans, program directors, senior faculty and employers of new graduates; and statistical measures of the quality of students and faculty, such as student to faculty ratio, research activity of the faculty and doctoral degrees awarded.
This year, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ranked first in mechanical and materials engineering and number one among engineering schools overall. Stanford University, which ranked second overall, took top place in environmental engineering, and the University of California, Berkeley, ranked first in civil engineering.
Highlights of the new graduate school rankings will be published in the April 7, 2008 issue of U.S. News and World Report, which goes on sale at newsstands on March 31. The complete guidebook, titled America's Best Graduate Schools, goes on sale April 1.
The weekly newsmagazine also ranks undergraduate colleges, universities and programs. Those rankings are released in August.
Engineering specialties were ranked solely on the basis of assessments by department heads in each specialty. The department heads surveyed were recommended by the American Society for Engineering Education.
All 425 master's degree programs in business accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business were surveyed. Of those, 127 were ranked. Specialty rankings were based on nominations made by business school deans and MBA program heads.
Rankings of doctoral programs in the sciences were based on surveys sent to academics in computer science, mathematics and physics during fall 2007; biological sciences and chemistry in fall 2006; and all other fields in fall 2005. Specialty rankings were based on nominations by department heads and directors of graduate studies at peer schools.
Neil Hutzler, acting chair of civil and environmental engineering, credited his faculty and graduates for the rankings Michigan Tech's graduate civil and environmental programs received. "We've got some great people doing some exciting things," he said. "Our faculty get out there and publish and hold offices in national professional societies. It's good to see that other people think we're as good as we think we are."
Of his department's ranking, Mark Plichta, chair of materials science and engineering, said: "I'm pleased that we're heading in the right direction, and I'm proud of the efforts being made by our faculty, staff and graduate students."
William Predebon, chair of mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics, called his department's ranking "an important recognition by our peers of the quality and accomplishments of our faculty, staff and students."
And Wayne Pennington, chair of geological and mining sciences, expressed pride that Michigan Tech's graduate programs in earth sciences continue to rank so high. "Michigan Tech is one of the few schools in the country where geological engineering and the sciences of geology and applied geophysics are fully integrated," he noted. "This enables us to promote the development and application of basic science concepts to the understanding of our planet and humanity's place in it."
Earlier this week, Edmunds.com - a respected automotive website - ranked Michigan Tech's automotive engineering program as one of the top three in the nation.
Michigan Technological University is a public research university, home to more than 7,000 students from 54 countries. Founded in 1885, the University offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, and social sciences. Our campus in Michigan's Upper Peninsula overlooks the Keweenaw Waterway and is just a few miles from Lake Superior.


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|Birth Date:
|Bristol, CT
|High School:
|Bristol Eastern
Collegiate Personal Bests:
100 Meter Dash: 13.64
200 Meter Dash: 28.15
400 Meter Dash: 58.66
2013 Outdoor Track: Competed for CCSU at the NEC Championships in the 400m dash where she placed 23rd in the prelims with her time of 1:02.46...Best finish came at the UMass Pre-Conference Meet where she placed 9th in the 400m, crossing the finish line in a season-best time of 1:01.20.
2013 Indoor Track: Competed in the 400m dash preliminary at the NEC Championships where she finished 22nd with her time of 1:02.79...Best 400m dash place came at the Army Crowell Open where she finished 5th of 21 competitors with her time of 1:04.21...Also ran the first leg of the 4x400m relay at the Army Crowell Open where she helped the squad place eighth, crossing the line in 4:23.27.
2012 Outdoor Track: Ran the final leg of the 4x400 meter relay at the Northeast Conference Outdoor Championships, the team placed seventh with a time of 3:58.28...Placed eighth in the 400 meter dash at the NECs, crossing the finish line in 59.16.
2012 Indoor Track: Ran the first leg of the 4x400 meter relay at the NEC Indoor Championships, the team crossed the finish line in 4:01.41 for sixth place.
2010-2011: Ran indoor and outdoor track & field…Career-best time in the 400m event crossing the line at 58.66…13.64 in the 100m and 28.15 in the 200m both in the outdoor season.


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I've been thinking about the video diaries that I have and also all the video data that I don't have too. It seems that the managers that have the flip video cameras as data collection tools hate pointing the camera at themselves and then talking to the camera's eye. I tried it. I've been videoing feedback for my innovation students straight after lecturers and workshops. It is a weird feeling. It makes you terribly self conscious as it gives you the feeling of being both watched and judged. It works to some extent but I've been wondering what else ethnographers could use. There is a new piece of kit coming out (it's not on the market yet but worth taking note of). It's called SenseCam. This is what the Microsoft site says about SenseCam:
"SenseCam is a wearable digital camera that is designed to take photographs passively, without user intervention, while it is being worn. Unlike a regular digital camera or a cameraphone, SenseCam does not have a viewfinder or a display that can be used to frame photos. Instead, it is fitted with a wide-angle (fish-eye) lens that maximizes its field-of-view. This ensures that nearly everything in the wearer's view is captured by the camera, which is important because a regular wearable camera would likely produce many uninteresting images.
SenseCam contains a number of different electronic sensors. These include light-intensity and light-color sensors, a passive infrared (body heat) detector, a temperature sensor, and a multiple-axis accelerometer. These sensors are monitored by the camera's microprocessor, and certain changes in sensor readings can be used to automatically trigger a photograph to be taken."
Imagine the data you could get with this! You manager moves and you get to see what he goes, who he meets, what he sees! I can see many exciting opportunities with this technology as a data collection tool. There have already been trials in the medical profession with Alzheimer's patients to help jog memory (see for example, Berry et al 2008). Maybe SenseCam could be used as an aid memoir to in interviews as well as raw data.


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Do you want to live in a safe community? The answer seems obvious yet, when it comes to reporting crimes or tips, most citizens are not as prepared as they could be to help take criminals off the streets.
The importance of tips was illustrated last week. Michigan authorities arrested a suspect who, for weeks, had terrorized motorists by shooting at vehicles on suburban Detroit highways and roads. One tip out of 3,000 led to the arrest in Wixom and an end to the shootings.
Lenawee County Crime Stoppers recently improved its ability to handle anonymous tips by enabling people to send in text message tips anonymously. It's a feature that reflects the growing trend of people communicating via text rather than phone calls.
Tip systems work best, though, if residents have the information handy or plugged into their mobile phone or tablet. Anyone can send a tip by texting it to CRIMES (274637), and including the keyword "Lenawee." Of course, phone-in tips also work, and can be called in anonymously to 266-6161 or 877-276-8477. Online tips can be submitted here. Emergency calls for fires, accidents or crimes in progress should continue going to 911.
This week's identification of an Indiana woman's body found in Palmyra Township is a reminder of unsolved crimes in our area. A few others include the abduction of the three Skelton brothers from Morenci two years ago this month, the home invasion on Lime Creek Highway in Medina Township more than one year ago, a rape in Clinton's Tate Park a year ago and a series of church break-ins in Woodstock, Cambridge, Ogden, and Palmyra townships and in Morenci. The break-ins are believed related to others in Washtenaw County and Fulton County, Ohio, which shows how reporting crimes in one area can make an entire region safer.
Rewards are often available for anonymous tips that solve Crime Stoppers cases.
We don't know whether Lenawee County officials will approve additional funding for law enforcement in the upcoming budget discussions. We do know that stopping crime will always begin with citizens doing our part. Being prepared to call — or text — in a tip is one way. It's part of what it takes if we really want to live in a safer community.


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Helion Aluminum Front Shock Set (Orange) (2) (Animus)
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Helion Animus Aluminum Front Shock Set. With a full range of orange anodized aluminum upgrade parts you can turn your Animus into a thing of beauty that boasts increased strength, improved rigidity and refined handling. From wheel hexes, shocks and shock towers, to chassis plates, drive shafts, caster blocks, and more, the list is extensive and the effect of the upgrade outstanding. Package includes two factory assembled front shocks that are compatible with the Animus 18MT, 18SC and 18TR models.
For the rear aluminum set, see part# HLNA0162
This product was added to our catalog on May 20, 2016


text:
Aired a Flo & Eddie interview of Frank Zappa; played Elizabeth Cook & Tim Carroll (great show at Lee's), also Nick the Feelin' bootleg, Michelle Shocked, Joy of Cooking, Allman Bros., Chuck Prophet, Nick Lowe, JJ Cale, Poco, and lots of other groovy stuff. To see the entire playlist, click "Episode Details". You may also link into the archive of the show, should you decide to give it a listen
Roy Wood's Wizard "I Wish It Would Be Christmas Every Day"; Robert Earl Keen's "Merry Christmas From The Family", Moby Grape, Charlie Parr , Brinsley Schwarz, Nick Lowe, Love Scultpure, Graham Parker & The Rumour, Detroit Cobras, Ducks Deluxe, Flo & Eddie, etc. Click "Episode Details" for the complete playlist..plus you may link to the archive from that page, too.
A big hug to Angie Pykonen, hostess of KFAI's "In Your Ear", for sitting in with me today. Curtiss A, Animals, Black Keys, Willie Murphy, Hot Tuna, Flo & Eddie, Liquor Pigs, Roky Erickson, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Elvis Costello….just a sampling of artists played this week. Want to give it a listen? Click "Episode Details" to link to the archive and review the playlist.
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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.—A minister and her adult grandson have been found fatally shot inside a South Florida home.
Miami Gardens police responded to the home Tuesday afternoon after a neighbor noticed 70-year-old Annette Anderson had not been seen outside since Saturday. Neighbors told police it was strange for her to miss church on Sunday.
Anderson was a pastor at Jesus People Ministries, and her grandson—20-year-old Tyrone Walker Jr.—was studying to be a computer engineer.
The Miami Herald (http://goo.gl/2J0CW ) reports that Anderson's brother arrived and accompanied police inside where they found the bodies. Police said the two were tied up with duct tape and shot execution-style.
Detectives didn't immediately report a possible motive for the killing.
Information from: The Miami Herald, http://www.herald.com


text:
OAKLAND -- The haters will have to wait another day.
The Dolphins season, on the brink, survives today because the Miami got great efforts all around in this 33-17 victory over Oakland.
They got a great effort from Chad Henne, who threw for over 307 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
They got a great effort from the wide receiver corps that didn't seem to notice Brandon Marshall was missing. Davone Bess had 111 yards receiving on six receptions. Rookie Marlon Moore caught a 57-yard touchdown pass.
They definitely got good work from the defense. Miami had three turnovers. And the Raiders running game was absent today because Miami erased it.
It was a solid victory. The Dolphins are 6-5.


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Smoking with Siragusa
Tony Siragusa is holding court, sitting at a bar in his restaurant, punctuating his speech by poking the air with a thick Partagas Black cigar. Animated as ever, he recalls the time he built actor Charlie Sheen a man cave. The "Goose" has dropped major weight since his playing days when he shook the earth at 340 pounds, but his head and neck still appear enormous enough to plug both tubes of the Holland Tunnel. His moon-pie face, as elastic as pizza dough, assumes countless expressions in under a minute.
"Charlie smokes these killer cigars. If the cigar is under $100, he doesn't want to smoke it. He gave me a box of Cubans." He stops to light the cigar and a flame, set high enough to weld alloyed steel, lurches upward. "You wanna talk about a guy who knows sports-he's just a great guy. He gets a bad rap. But listen: he's living the dream everybody wants to live. All of a sudden he's gotta be some great guy and he can't party? Fuck that! You know what I'm saying?"
We do indeed. Siragusa shares a love of frankness with the famously libidinal actor—and a consequent loathing of political correctness. He retired in 2002, a year after he won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens. His post-football life is head-spinningly abundant. In-season he is a Fox sideline analyst. Year round he cohosts "Man Caves," a kind of home makeover show for guys. He and his wife Kathy are raising three children in northern New Jersey. He owns a restaurant called Tiffany's, watches over his philanthropic Tony Siragusa Foundation, does TV commercials and has acted in a Spike Lee movie and in "The Sopranos."
Through it all he lives—and curses—with few restraints. As anthropologist Ashley Montagu argued in his book The Anatomy of Swearing, cursing is a relief mechanism "whereby excess energy is allowed to escape without doing anyone any serious injury." So what if Siragusa cursed about 20 times in the course of an interview? It's one of his ways to let off steam.
Siragusa came of age in Kenilworth, New Jersey, which he called "a little dot of a town" in his autobiography Goose. There he grew to be competitive at baseball, football, wrestling, even shooting pool. A trophy of his state wrestling championship sits in a case at David Brearley High School, next to one with his wife's all-around gymnastic score—still a school record more than 25 years later.
Despite his rounded athletic prowess, Siragusa has referred to himself as a "grinder," compared to the "stud athletes" of the Baltimore Ravens: Ray Lewis, Chris McAlister and Peter Boulware. Goose didn't flourish on the gridiron due to blinding speed and agility. There was talent, but his story is more one of will than skill.
His father Peter was also a grinder. "My dad was a blue collar guy—a tool-and-die man. He drove a cement truck and drove a limo, too." Peter also played high school football and owned an Italian restaurant in New Jersey. Tony was making pizzas there by the time he was 12. "I told my father I wanted to be the manager the first day I worked there." His father had other plans. Tony ended up washing the dishes for six months, then making cold sandwiches, then dinner, then pizzas. Later, when the elder Siragusa told his son he could finally manage, the father explained why it took so long. "He said, 'Listen, you have to work your way up in life. If you go right to the top you don't enjoy everything.' " And, explained the elder Siragusa, if anyone who works for you leaves, you know how to go and fill in when needed.
Siragusa grew up watching the New York Giants with his family, and he excelled on the football field at David Brearley High, not only playing the defensive line but punting and taking kicks. Life was looking up as he started looking at colleges. He visited the University of Miami, Iowa State, Boston College, West Virginia, then Penn State. He found the Nittany Lions cheap-they charged his father a dollar for a couple of cookies. "They want me to come here, and I'm going to make millions of dollars in television money for them, but I have to pay a dollar for cookies?" Siragusa decided to pass. He told his father, "These guys can kiss my ass."
He settled on the University of Pittsburgh, a five-hour drive from New Jersey, close enough that his father could afford to come see a game. He made 78 tackles in his second year and the buzz around him began to build, but in his junior year, in the fifth game against Boston College, running back Eddie Toner rolled over his right knee and tore Siragusa's medial lateral ligament, medial collateral ligament, and lateral collateral ligament. Thanks to Dr. Fred Fu, a leader in ACL surgery in the country, he was back on the field by the following April, but while practicing Siragusa shredded the ACL in his left knee. This time the repair was more difficult and he missed the whole season while rehabbing.
Before he graduated, Siragusa would face another challenge. Tony was at home visiting his parents after a summer backyard party. Everyone went to bed. In the middle of the night his mother was screaming that his father had a heart attack. Tony tried CPR, but Peter died at the hospital. Tony was 22.
Now he had to rehab and finish his senior year without his father. "I felt I had to do something with football to support the family," he says.
Six years after his father died, he and Kathy were driving down the Garden State Parkway, and he told her he wanted to stop at the cemetery to see his dad. He got to the headstone and his eyes welled up. He started to speak, but the words refused to come through the tears. "She looked scared," he says. "She told me later that she thought I was about to break up with her. But I had bought a diamond for her and I asked her to marry me right there in the cemetery. She started crying and said yes."
In 1990, Siragusa endured the horse auction better known as NFL Draft Day. His mother had invited everyone in earshot to the house to watch the drama unfold on television. They sat and waited. And waited. They watched as 12 rounds were completed. All told, 331 players had their names called out. Six of them were from the University of Pittsburgh, but none were named Siragusa. As it turned out, he had a better chance of being drafted by the Army in peacetime than being drafted by the NFL.
The silver lining was that drafted guys do get cut. Just as some Broadway shows close after a week, even No. 1 picks can turn out to be flops. And some of the greatest players—including Johnny Unitas, Kurt Warner, and Tom Brady—are either drafted late or not at all. Siragusa's agent Gus Sunseri was fielding calls. Indianapolis called. After Sunseri explained where it was (Siragusa, who hadn't yet left the Northeast, thought he meant "Annapolis")—Tony called an old mate from Pitt who assured him that he would be the best defensive lineman on the team.
He got a $1,000 signing bonus and a rookie salary of $75,000, with another 10 grand coming if he made the team. And just in case Goose had another knee problem or suffered some other injury, language in the contract made it clear that the Colts were not liable for a dime.
No matter. A persistent edginess, fueled by people who underestimated him, always carried Siragusa. If overlooked or cut from his position, he snapped back and sought a "I'll-prove-you-wrong" brand of revenge.
He needed it. "I made the NFL on hustle. When I first got to Indianapolis I really didn't know anything. I just knew that if I tackled that son-of-a bitch with the ball behind the line it's going to be a good job." A college coach taught him how to watch film, and he used craft and guile to figure out how an offense really thinks. "I made believe I was an offensive lineman and sat in the offensive meeting rooms," says Siragusa. "I was listening to the offensive line coach and how he was telling his guys how to block a defensive guy. And then I used that against him. So it was almost like being at war with Patton, and being on the other side, and sitting in a room and picking Patton's brain and being able to screw him up."
In Indy he also met Ted Marchibroda, who he would play for again in Baltimore. "He just handled things differently. He didn't get in your face. He treated you like a man. He confided in me, which I really liked. He asked me what I thought about certain people," says Siragusa. "Even though he was gone after the 1998 season, he was a vital part of the camaraderie and the guys who got together and won that Super Bowl."
Siragusa was playing for Marchibroda with Indy in the game he will never forget, a 20-16 loss to the Steelers in the AFL championship game in January, 1996. "It was the most memorable game I ever played in, with Jim Harbaugh being our quarterback and a bunch of nobodies," says Siragusa. They fell short one play from getting into the Super Bowl.
"I never wanted to be in that situation again," explains Siragusa. "I never wanted to be at the tip—you know, feel it, taste it, but not getting there. I carried that feeling into the Super Bowl with the Ravens. I said 'I'm not leaving here without a win.' "
The Colts asked Siragusa back, but he wanted out. "We would have killed for Ted Marchibroda, and our ownership comes in and fires him! And then they hire Lindy Infante." Infante had doubted Siragusa when he said he had a knee injury, and even kept him off the active roster for the first playoff game. He was a free agent. Siragusa once thought of living in Indiana, but the quintessential Jersey guy living in Indiana makes about as much sense as Woody Allen relocating to Nebraska.
One call came from the Raiders. "[Oakland owner] Al Davis brought me in and he offered me a deal and then he
decided he was going to go $50,000 lower the next day. He said, 'Every day is a new day.' I said, 'You're absolutely right. Give me my fucking plane ticket. I'm outta here.' "
He settled with the Ravens. His fourth year there felt special, even though the team started out with a 5-4 record. "We needed to get better. We went five weeks with no [offensive] touchdowns with Tony Banks as our quarterback. It was like, 'Alright, we have to get better.' "
The Ravens calling card was a smothering defense, with Siragusa and Sam Adams on the defensive line, and linebackers Peter Boulware, Jamie Sharper and the unstoppable Ray Lewis. The city that once boasted one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time in Johnny Unitas now enjoyed a whole other identity, rolling off 11 straight wins to conclude the season.
"We shut someone out, but we [felt we] can do it even better, we can hold them to less yards. If we hold a team to 105 yards, then we can hold them to 100. It was a pride thing," says Siragusa. "And we had more fun. We busted more balls. But when we went out to practice and they blew the horn, everyone would turn from the biggest jokesters ever, messing around, to the most serious motherfuckers you ever met in your life. It's almost like when you look at the military and everyone is joking around and all of a sudden this general comes in. And the whole attitude completely changes. We didn't have a general, but we knew when it was work time, everybody would flip that switch. You didn't want to be in front of us. It was a freight train coming."
Over the 11 straight wins, only three opponents scored 10 points or more against the Ravens. In the conference championship game against Oakland, they held the Raiders to just 24 yards on the ground and stifled them 16-3. Weighing in at 340 pounds, Siragusa leveled Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon, separating Gannon's shoulder. The league fined him $10,000 for "an illegal hit." Gannon went on ESPN, describing the pain.
"I'm lying in bed with my wife and we're watching TV, and she comes up with the best line," says Siragusa. "My wife is all of about five-foot-one and 100 pounds. She hears Gannon complaining and says, 'You jump on me twice a week and I don't complain about it. If I complain, do I get $10,000?' I started laughing and I said, 'I'm using that one.' "
On the day of the Super Bowl, Siragusa arrived at the stadium six hours before anyone else. "Because I played with emotion-my adrenaline would get flowing and I just had to calm myself down. Stay calm, stay collected, stay relaxed. I was reading through the program and it had the picture of all the different Super Bowl rings. I went around with a razor blade and cut it out and stuck it in everyone's locker. So everybody had one. So they knew that when they came the first thing they saw was this ring. I said, 'This is the reason why we're here. Not for any other reason. Not for national television, the biggest spotlight,'" he says. "We're here to get a ring. If we get that ring, we'll be together for the rest of our lives because they will also bring us back as the group that won the Super Bowl."
The game itself was an anticlimax to the dominant three months that had preceded it. The Ravens won 34-7, not even allowing the Giants an offensive touchdown. It was fitting: the 2000 Ravens' defense holds the record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game season, 165. That is more than two points per game less than the 1985 Bears, who allowed 198 points.
Siragusa got his ring, and since his retirement at the age of 34 in 2002, Siragusa has eased seamlessly into his new life. One steady gig has been with "Man Caves" on the DIY Network on cable, a show where Siragusa and cohost Jason Cameron build rooms where guys can be guys and enjoy cigars, pool or whatever their favorite hobby might be. "My agent called me up and said, 'Do you want to do this show? It's almost like "Total Home Makeover," but it's for guys.' I said 'Yes—we're gonna give guys their nuts back.'"
In one instance a guy wanted a fantasy football headquarters room for him and his buddies to watch the NFL draft. He wasn't allowed a glimpse of what was happening until the work finished. Jason Cameron and the "Man Caves" crew built him a sports ticker, put in a conference table with a surface like a football field, mounted a fish tank, added a leather couch and chairs, a bar, a 46-inch and two 26-inch televisions. Other projects have included golf simulators, poker tables and, yes, smoking rooms.
Siragusa is known for his tough side, but his Tony Siragusa Foundation raises money for terminally ill kids. He has also given money to the Make-a-Wish program, the American Cancer Society, and other things too, such as Little League.
Siragusa's acting career got an unexpected start when he was shopping at Home Depot. "Someone calls me up and says, 'Hey Goose, this is Spike Lee.' So I thought one of my buddies is fucking with me. So I said, 'Yeah, yeah—I'll call you later,' and I hung up." Undeterred, Lee phoned him back. He wanted Siragusa to be in a mob movie. Siragusa saw a natural fit.
"He meets me at my agent's conference room. He comes in and doesn't say anything about the goddamned movie. He says, 'Hey man, you did a great job in the Super Bowl.' Then he said, 'It's not going to be an Italian mob movie, you're going to be a Russian and I'll call you later, I gotta go.' "
A confused Siragusa called his agent. Acting in a mob movie but playing a Russian? Then Lee sent a person to teach the former NFL star how to speak Russian. "I had to speak with my tongue on the roof of my mouth," he says. The movie was The 25th Hour and it included Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ed Norton and Anna Paquin.
"The Sopranos" acting experience wasn't nearly as smooth. He played Frank Cortese, Tony's driver and bodyguard, but he disliked spending 18 hours on the set and being filmed for two minutes. "I said to this lady, 'You're wasting my life.' With Spike it was like 'Goose, you're on. Be here at this time.' Boom. You're done. But these guys were making up "The Sopranos" as we were sitting there. They're saying, 'Oh, what do you think he should do?' 'Oh, I think I should go over here.' 'Alright, you go over there and what do you want to do?' 'I'm going to go over there. Uh, let's talk about it,' " he says. "They had four writers, so it was a little bit crazy." The spot ended when they wanted him to shoot during a planned vacation.
Siragusa's perennial, and natural, gig is being a sideline analyst for the Fox Network during football season. "When you are in the booth, you are away from the game. You don't have a feel of the whole momentum of the game or the players going through the elements or anything like that. So my being on the sideline is like having the booth down on the field and having the understanding of what players are doing, what's actually happening and how they are talking to each other, what's going on. And if you get into the end zone-every coach and player whenever they watch the game, they watch it from the end zone.
"I like during commercials when the players come over and say, 'Hey, what did you see on that replay?' It's the interaction with the guys. Or when the offense is coming at me and they are on the two-yard line. I can say, 'Right before that play the quarterback was touching,' or 'You knew that the play was going that way and they read it really good.' Or, 'They had no clue because you read people's eyes.' "
Siragusa prepares to light a second Partagas, which begins a conversation about what he likes in cigars. "Look, I'm no connoisseur of cigars. A good cigar, though, is nice. You know you got a good taste in your mouth. Relaxed. I'm not the kind of guy either that feels that you gotta smoke the whole entire cigar. You know when I smoke a cigar—like right now—I'm nice and relaxed. I smoked a nice piece of the cigar. Then I'll put it down for a little while and enjoy it. I'll light it back up.
"I smoke a lot of Cubans. I like a Montecristo. It's a good smooth cigar. I like torpedoes. I could smoke more of a Montecristo and less of a Partagas Black," he says of the Dominican cigar, known for being among the more powerful of General Cigar Co.'s smokes. "Partagas Black—when you smoke a couple of inches of it, you smoke half a cigar-w-o-o-o-o. You get a buzz."
Smoking cigars helps Siragusa get away, to take time for himself. "I don't smoke cigars just to smoke cigars. I want to relax. It slows me down. Especially where we live; New Jersey is like a fucking rat race. It's unbelievable. It's crazy. It's your own little time. You're in your own little capsule," he says. "I don't have to be inside. I can be outside. I can be on the golf course. I can be at the beach. I can be wherever I want. But I have a home theatre and wine cellar and like a 1,000-cigar humidor that has all the cigars.
"I don't want to bother anybody with my cigar smell or anything like that. I don't want to show anyone that I smoke cigars. I want to go and just relax somewhere and have a cigar a couple of times a week."
Siragusa's take on cigars is much like his football career. Just as he might leave a bit of his cigars unsmoked, he could have stretched his playing days a bit longer. "I quit on my own terms after 12 years. I might have made a couple of more million dollars. But I might have been in a wheelchair or getting a knee replacement by now. I knew that I was about to move on and I'm going to go do something else," he explains, taking another hearty puff of that Partagas. "And whatever I decide to do, I'll be good at. That's the way it is."
Kenneth Shouler is a philosophy professor at the County College of Morris in Randolph, New Jersey and a frequent contributor to Cigar Aficionado.


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Community Success - Working Against Youth Violence Everywhere
When a Kitchener youth was murdered in 2001, the CMHA Grand River Branch responded by creating a peer-to-peer violence prevention program called WAYVE (Working Against Youth Violence Everywhere). WAYVE brings together youth volunteers from high schools in the Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge area and supports them to address youth-identified issues such as bullying and cyber-bullying, harassment, racism and discrimination, youth suicide, self-harm and gang violence.
Community Success - North Glengarry Youth Centre Maison des Jeunes
When a group of youth in Alexandria – a rural community in the Township of North Glengarry – were getting into trouble for skateboarding, they pointed out to staff at the North Glengarry Youth Centre Maison des Jeunes that they would not be skateboarding in areas they weren't supposed to if there was a designate skatepark. This started a long journey to improve youth infrastructure in Alexandria.
Community Success - South Etobicoke Youth Assembly
Back in 2000, 10 youth decided that things in their community had to change. Youth-related issues were not being addressed in their neighbourhood, and they wanted to increase dialogue with local political leaders and councilors. They organized an event to bring youth together to talk about the lack of services and recreational opportunities for youth. This laid the foundation for the South Etobicoke Youth Assembly (SEYA), now housed at the LAMP Community Health Centre.
Community Success - Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre
Video production. Photography. Audio arts. Graphic design. Comics and zines. Print journalism. Instrumental music. Music recording. New media. Web design. What's the connection between these varied forms of media arts and substance use prevention? One only has to look to Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre and its well-recognized work with youth in Toronto's Regent Park neighbourhood to answer this question!


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The uneasy place which race inhabits in the collective American psyche leaves most discussions of the subject to academics, activists or attorneys. But its reality permeates much of the social-cultural fabric.
Rhetoric about race is common. Conversation, less so. In these politically correct times, with a topic so tinged by the emotional weight of the past, no one wants to offend; therefore, often nothing is said. Except for brief periods, race has not been at the forefront of a national dialogue. Keeping it at bay adds to the angst, be it white guilt or minority outrage. In Omaha, where the geographic and socio-economic gulf between races is great, opportunities for exchange may be few.
So it is not surprising a formal apparatus exists for bringing people together over the very thing that often divides them. Omaha Table Talk (OTT), now in its seventh year, is a forum for individuals, couples, friends, acquaintances and complete strangers to share personal testimonies, discuss issues, watch films and hear presentations that touch on race.
It's not alone, either. Since 2009 Progressive Omaha, First Unitarian Church, Nebraskans for Peace and other sponsors have sponsored Black-White Dialogues.
Table Talk's free, October 20, 6:15 p.m. to 9 p.m. signature event will find hundreds gathering at homes, community centers, places of worship, companies and restaurants to talk about race-ethnicity over dinner. The idea is that breaking bread with The Other allows you to get to know someone beyond assumptions or roles.
Valerie Hankins signed up for a 2009 Table Talk to represent how a black woman like herself can be a professional and should not be reduced to a media image. A staffing specialist at Sterling Computers, she got about what she expected at the confab.
"I truly felt there were people from diverse walks of life." She says it was evident certain biases she and other black guests described were revelatory to some white participants. "I felt as if a lot of the things we discussed that night were things they were unaware of -- they were oblivious to it. A lot of times people just don't know what they don't know."
An average of eight to ten participants attend each dinner. There's a host and a facilitator. A few set questions, such as 'Why are you here?' and 'Have you experienced a racial incident?' act as conversation starters.
Phyllis Brown has become such a Table Talk advocate she now serves on the nonprofit's board.
"It just turns out each time I've attended, hosted or facilitated it was a great experience, it really was," says Brown, Single Parent Displaced/Homemaker Coordinator at Metropolitan Community College.
She enjoys the liberating forum OTT provides.
"There's things we may want to ask, things we may want to say, and you can really say it and do it in those settings," Brown says. "Some of the subject matter is very heated. There's some defensiveness. There's yelling sometimes. But if you have a great facilitator who reminds people what we're there for, you will walk away a changed person, you'll take something away from that table. And if you don't, you at least had that opportunity to have that dialogue."
Yes, tempers can fly, she says, "but at the end of the day whatever that commonality is that brought us all together we end it on that. That's the beauty to me."
OTT executive director A'Jamal-Rashad Byndon is convinced the program makes a difference.
"Though it may seem insignificant, there's great things that come from these events. We just have to figure out how to measure that. The end result of this is, How do I build a relationship with the people in the room and how can we maybe continue this? Our tag line is, 'You come in as strangers, you leave as friends.' It doesn't take a lot but a meal to break the ice."
He says Table Talk off-shoot "groups are starting to get together." Miriam Aviva Datya facilitates one called ALLIES. It grew out of a 2010 Table Talk she facilitated that, she says. "was such a positive experience…we decided we wanted to continue the discussion." The topic-oriented group meets monthly. Datya says, "Some of our previous topics include white privilege, use of the N-word. We also watched a documentary, The Color of Fear. What makes the group successful is we are willing to challenge each other in a way that's courteous."
Phyllis Brown says a dinner she hosted at her home led some women guests to invite her to join their book club.
"I now am a member of a great book club," she says. "We do outings together. Some friendships have been forged from it. It's probably a group I would never have connected with on any other level. I'm telling you, it has just been a beautiful experience. There's some other groups I meet with that are spinoffs from Table Talk."
These sprouts, say Brown and Byndon, are evidence the spirit of Table Talk can and does find new expressions. "If you come with an open mind it can just lead to some wonderful things -- whatever you really want to do with it," says Brown.
There is a preaching to the choir element to it all, as OTT attracts progressive, educated folks who already embrace racial harmony and support inclusion. Some, like Byndon, an activist and educator, work on the front lines.
Ironically, OTT itself has lagged in diversity says Byndon. "Our goal was to have one third to one half of participants be people of color, and that has not always been the case. That's one of our biggest shortcomings."
He says African-Americans comprise the vast majority of racial minority participants, followed by Latinos.
Numbers aside, everyone is there to affirm interracial-multicultural unity.
McFarland concedes "there is that perception you're only preaching to the choir," but adds, "Maybe you're going to have a conversation you didn't know you could have or you're going to learn how to handle a conversation in a more meaningful manner. You maybe now have a different comfort level addressing issues."
"In some ways," says McFarland, "you might be preaching to the choir, but you never had the chance to find out there's other people in the same choir, right? You didn't know there were other choir members from around the city at the same table. Omaha's perceived as a city of towers, but when you come to the table you find out there are other people that don't see that the city has to be that way, and that you can make a difference in your neighborhood."
Inspired by a column syndicated journalist Leonard Pitts Jr. wrote about the Dallas Dinner Table diversity program, Table Talk began as an outreach of the Catholic Charities of Omaha social justice committee in 2004. Byndon, then senior director for public policy with Catholic Charities, joined fellow committee members McFarland and Partsch and chair Kathleen Jeffries in forming OTT.
Before going public, Catholic Charities staff and invited guests convened a trial dinner. That first dinner led to a couple more and before long OTT became a citywide event with ever increasing participation. While the numbers are no longer doubling as they did the first few years, Byndon says a record 500-plus folks met to eat and opine last year. He expects more participants this year.
As many as two-thirds who participate today are repeats, says Byndon, who followed the program when it left Catholic Charities in 2009 to become a freestanding nonprofit housed at the Neighborhood Center, 115 South. 49th Avenue.
What makes OTT a draw, he says, is the non-threatening framework it offers for addressing things that too often are not discussed.
"Omaha is a very racially divided, silo community with our north, south, east, west divide. We've had a lot of issues and incidents, you name it, and people repeatedly say they want this type of venue or platform to share some of their positive and negative experiences. There aren't a lot of organizations and entities who bring people from the grassroots and the treetops levels together to break bread and have conversations."
Byndon, whose late mother Lerlean N. Johnson was among a group of Omaha parents who brought the lawsuit forcing the city's public schools to implement mandatory desegregation, says he was reared to promote integration and racial accord.
"I think Table Talk is a small way for some people to do that; to walk the talk."
"I think there's probably an unmeasured but very great hunger in this and every other community to do the right thing, and this is a painless way to do the right thing," says Patrsch, retired Omaha World-Herald editorial page director.
The by-registration-only event allows participants to self-select what level of dialogue they desire: entry, intermediate or advanced.
"The people that come to the table have varying levels of experience and different levels of comfort in talking about racial issues," says McFarland.
"I think it's very important Table Talk has expanded its levels to take on deep business, because you don't want to take an entry level person and give them one exposure and say, OK, go out and thrive," says Partsch. "That's not enough probably in most cases. But if we're ever going to make a difference, it's going to be to find the people who are on the sidelines now."
McFarland says she long yearned to connect with people of color, who were not where she worked, shopped, prayed or lived. Table Talk gave her that entree.
She says it's not so vital what level you sign up for as simply being willing to listen and share. "This is not a lecture system," she says. "The premise of this is to allow everybody that comes to the table to have a voice, and that's the purpose of the facilitator, to not let one person run the conversation and get on their own platform."
"You have a facilitator to be sure the train doesn't come off the tracks," adds Partsch.
If a facilitator does it right, OTT organizers say, participants feel they have permission to say what's on their mind without censoring themselves.
"It's really an opportunity for people to tell their personal experience, where they've been, where they've come from, and then ask other people about their experiences, and not judge them but actually have a dialogue," says McFarland. "It's an opportunity for people to take their coat off, loosen their tie and not be judged and have stones cast at them for asking some of those questions that are taboo. It gives people a chance to have a voice with that stuff and to share it."
Cathy Nelson recalls everyone at the 2010 Table Talk she attended leading with their weakness, sharing some vulnerable moment from their lives, from the man who served time to the college student who came out to his family as gay. She appreciates how "authentically" people communicated that night.
Partsch says participants like himself are invariably "visibly affected" by the sharing.
Organizers say there's almost always a nervous admission by one or two guests that it is the first time they've sat down to dinner with a person of another race or visited the home of someone of a different race. Others acknowledge they are visiting a part of town they've never been to before. And for still others Table Talk may be the first occasion they're discussing race outside their own home or inner circle.
Nelson says, "Race was the least of issues for me. Going to dine with strangers was more of an issue. Who wants to go have dinner with people you're not really comfortable with or you don't have experience with?" But the Blackburn High School teacher appreciates the importance of pushing beyond her comfort zone to learn new realities. "People have got to get out of their neighborhoods and see what this city has to offer. We have to be open to each other."
McFarland says OTT has a way of teaching tolerance. As a result, she says, "My world has way opened up."
Partsch says, "If it has changed me it has made me a lot more optimistic about the community and its future, seeing the amount of goodwill that's out there."
Byndon says, "One of the things I've learned from doing Table Talk is to have patience. Back in the day, if you didn't agree with me you weren't right. But I've learned you can be from the same racial group or a different racial group and have a different lived experience, and we can validate that. If we come with that notion, that there's going to be different perspectives and different world views, then we can move forward."
For online registration, visit www.omahatabletalk.com. For a schedule of OTT panel discussions, open dialogues and other events, call 402-561-7594 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Read more of Leo Adam Biga's work at leoadambiga.wordpress.com


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Free report: 3 Steps to 110% Training Attendance
April 28, 2015
About The Author
Alexis Kingsbury
Alexis is founder of the Parentpreneur Accelerator and Making Greatness Ltd. He is a serial entrepreneur, with experience creating start-ups in a variety of areas, particularly in SaaS and EdTech. He is also a lucky husband and proud dad, and now helps other 'parentpreneurs' like him to achieve their dreams of having successful businesses, making a difference in the world, and spending time with the people they love.
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While many companies just build stripped-down versions of their current sites with a few links and maybe an image, others have taken the time and energy to really think about the advantages of mobile and truly become destinations that can be accessed on any platform. (Mashable)
Rule 4: Audio quality is crucial; viewers won't put up with poor sound. (OnlineVideo.net)
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"If you want to transform a legacy media operation into a mobile-first company, top executives — CEOs, publishers and general managers -– need to lead the way to a mobile-first future. need to lead the way aggressively, firmly and consistently."
We're talking about site-abandonment, and especially early abandonment -- the kind that leaves you feeling like a toddler dropped off at a nunnery, and you never know why, though you spend your life trying to find out.
Landing page optimization is paramount to a successful enterprise.