Nicklas Lidstrom with the Stanley Cup during the 2008 Red Wings Parade

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that retired Red Wing Goalie Dominik Hasek might do some mountain bike racing.

Hasek, 43, lives in the Czech Republic but still figures to spend some time here, where his son, Michael, is a freshman at Michigan State. The two will meet in East Lansing this week, and Hasek also plans to be with the Wings when they visit the White House.

Hasek said he is happy with his decision to retire.

For now, he plans to run his business and play beach volleyball with friends. He also hopes to participate in mountain bike races.

It’s unclear whether he’ll be racing in Michigan or the Czech Republic.

I waved goodbye to Diesel Doll and Del Bomber as they pulled out of the driveway and headed out of town.  They’re on their way to Madison, Wisconsin for the East Regional Championships called Derby in Dairyland.  The top 12 roller derby teams from the east conference will compete for the championship and a chance to play at the nationals.

Last year Detroit was the cinderella story and finished fourth to earn a spot at nationals.  They’re hoping to do the same this year.

The home season begins November 1st when the Detroit Pistoffs take on the Devil’s Night Dames.  Diesel’s next game is December 13th when the Pistolwhippers take on the D-Funk Allstars.  All home games are at the Detroit Masonic Temple.  The full derby schedule is on-line.  Tickets are available at TIcketmaster, the Fox Theatre box office, Danny’s Irish Pub (Ferndale) and Detroit Threads (Hamtramck.)

But to whet your appetite until then, make sure you check out this video of New York taking on Texas.  Beyonslay is one amazing derby player.  She executes a perfect booty block 16 seconds into the video but then completely takes out of Rick Rocket — a hit that is now a part of derby legend.

Rodriguez plays upstairs at the Park Bar

If you haven’t read the article, watched the video, or heard the story on NPR about Rodriguez, you should.  It’s pretty mind blowing that a Detroit musician can record an album, think they struck out, hang out in relative anonymity within the Cass Corridor, and learn decades later that they are a huge hit in places like South Africa and Australia.

With all this recent media attention, the Park Bar booked Rodriguez for a one-night show upstairs.

Simply put, it was amazing.

Rodriguez sounded great but seemed perhaps a bit hesitant at first.  But he warmed up as the hometown crowd continued to applaud his every song.  He started filling the gaps between songs with smiles and assorted quips.

While I did take photos, I was certainly limited by my camera and perhaps more so, my skill level.  Yes, they’re grainy and often blurred but the alternative was worse as my digital camera flash washed all the colors away.

So if you’re not a Rodriguez fan yet, you should pick up a copy of his Cold Fact album.  There’s a pretty good chance you’ll become a fan just as I have.

Today was a special viewing of the Dom Polski DVD about Detroit’s Polish-American roots with an emphasis on the music.  The movie was shown at the historic St. Albertus Church, just northeast of Eastern Market.

This church really is a must see.  I’m so glad that it has a small but devoted group of supporters who are trying to keep this church open as a historic museum.  I’d last visited the church in 2003 and it seems there have been many worthwhile improvements since then.  It’s definitely worthy of any donations you can make.

The Dom Polski movie was really special too.  It covered a lot of ground, but perhaps my favorite portions were the old polish wedding home movies.  Of course any movie that serves paczkis and coffee at intermission can’t be bad.

Next Saturday, September 13th at 2 PM is the 4th annual St. Albertus Fest.  It’s only $5.  They’ll have pierogi, kielbasa and beer.  It’s a big fundraiser for the church, which is extra critical right now.  A scrapper stole a portion of the copper roof from the church and it’s cost $24,000 to repair it.

More details about the festival are on http://www.myspace.com/stalbertusfest.  The church address is 4231 St. Aubin at Canfield.