All-Star Suffers Shoveling Accident

I'm pretty sure I have no clue what my spleen does, but Carl Pavano's spleen?  It'll keep dude unemployed and on the sideline for the next six to eight weeks.

According to Ken Rosenthal, the free-agent pitcher recently suffered a ruptured spleen after, wait for it...slipping and falling while shoveling his driveway.

Yup, the injury prone righty can now add "shoveling" to the list of things he should avoid.  And, as (bad) luck would have it, "shoveling" is going to be the thing that makes teams avoid him.

The 37-year-old, who started just eleven games last season for the Minnesota Twins, was reportedly being looked at by both the New York Mets and Colorado Rockies.

A quick glance over at Baseball-Reference shows that Pavano has made more than $70 million throughout his big league career, so that begs the question...what was the guy doing out there clearing off his own driveway?

Carl Pavano Among Goulet Award Finalists

Pop quiz, ninjas...what do Stanley Cup winning coach Joel Quenneville, UTEP's mascot Paydirt Pete and Minnesota Twins pitcher Carl Pavano have in common?

They all have mustaches?

Close.

They all have mustaches and have been honored to be among the finalists to be named "Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year" by the American Mustache Institute?

Absolutely.

The three are among the 19 finalists that will be competing for the honor at this year's upcoming 'Stache Bash 2010.

Last year, The Hall of Very Good threw its weight behind eventual winner...Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Clay Zavada.  This year...The Hall's full support is behind Alyssa Milano's former boy toy Pavano.

Why Pavano? Here's what the AMI had to say:

Many thought Carl Pavano’s baseball career was done. And then he grew a mustache. Since then, he resurrected his career with a 17-11 record in 2010, 3.75 ERA, and a Central Division Championship. His Pavstache single handedly brought the popularity of lip garments back to Minnesota and powered the team into the 2010 playoffs.

Add to that the fact that Pavano's lip sweater also fathered multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts and you've got one worthy 'stache.

So, here's the deal. Head over to the AMI site and vote for the Twins righty. Then...tell your friends and repeat.

It's kinda like the old "wash, rinse, repeat" thing from the shampoo ads...but with mustaches, rookie relief pitchers and Robert Goulet looking down from heaven with an angel on each arm smiling.

Twitter Tuesday: Carl Pavano's Mustache

From now until Friday, my good friends at the American Mustache Institute are taking applications for their annual "Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year" award.

Last year, The Hall of Very Good supported Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Clay Zavada and the outcome...victory.

This year...the thinktank is asking for your support of Minnesota Twins pitcher Carl Pavano.

That's right, the former future ex-Mr. Alyssa Milano (you following me?) decided to ditch the spousal compromise (his goatee) in favor of the full on mustache. And along with it...the righty was able to string together 17 wins, a 3.75 ERA and lead the Twinkies to the American League Central crown.

Oh...and did I mention that Pavano's mustache has spawned t-shirts (you can check out a couple HERE or HERE)? Take THAT Eric Holder!

And what about the 34 year-old's glorious 'stache on Twitter? Yes, please.

Here are some of the offerings offered up by the lip sweater commonly known as "the Pavstache".

@PavanosMustache: Some people have an angel and a devil on their shoulder; Carl has me.

@carlstache: People talking about magic numbers. I got a magic number, ladies. See if you can guess what it is.

@CPavanoMustache: Alright yall, goodnight...gotta get up early for a trim in the morning. OUCH!

So there you have it...three Twitter accounts dedicated to one mustache. Why not give each of them a follow?

In the meantime, check out Carl Pavano's Mustache on Facebook, hit up the American Mustache Institute and see what they're all about and nominate your favorite former Expos/Marlins/Yankees/Indians and current Twins pitcher.