A Minneapolis bowling alley, Memory Lanes, is naming a gutter after Lino Rulli, Sirius XM Radio's "The Catholic Guy."
That says it all. The hip religion show host is returning to St. Paul, where he'll broadcast his normally New York City-based Sirius Catholic Channel radio show for three days this week. The residence of Angelo and Gina Rulli, Lino's parents, is serving as the broadcasting site for the show airing from 3 to 6 p.m.
Those without Sirius XM probably lost track of Rulli when he moved to NYC in 2006, taking with him two Emmys for his work on the cable-access show "Generation Cross," a behind-the-scenes look at the Catholic Church and its people, and a travelogue when Lino felt like going to Rome. He also did a stint as "Soul Man" on WCCO-TV, where he won an Emmy for a World War II documentary.
Maureen McMurray, producer of his XM show, said they wanted the bowling alley gutter named for Rulli as a joke: "We thought it would be kind of funny. We were just basically going for the most ridiculous things to see if people would actually agree to do it. We thought people would say no, and people in Minnesota are just so polite."
Speaking of ridiculous, Rulli's also receiving the key to the Cathedral of St. Paul, as if they would allow this man about town anywhere near a key that was anything but purely ceremonial. In other more believable honors coming Rulli's way, Kieran's Pub is naming a restroom stall for him; Tom Reid's Hockey City Pub a drink, and Stella's Fish Cafe a lobster that will then be sacrificed for dinner by members of Lino's crew.
That's the other unusual element of Rulli's return: Lino's GOT PEOPLE! Important people, too. When Rulli lived in the Twin Cities, he contacted me himself for publicity. Now, Joseph Zwilling, GM and director of communications for the Archdiocese of NewYork, manages Rulli's media contacts.
I told Zwilling that despite the single Catholic guy's active romantic life, I've always thought he was fighting a call to the priesthood.
"You know, some people are working on him," said Zwilling.
Lino on the line After getting my voice mail about how he'd gone big time on me, Lino Rulli did call me.
He didn't realize the GM of the station had reached out to me. I told Rulli that there must have been something divine about Joseph Zwilling's e-mail. The reference to "Lino" in the first sentence meant nothing to me except Lino Lakes, and I was this close to deleting it without reading more, thinking that there was a huge mixup if I was on the "Archdiocese of New York" e-mail list.
Sheletta's outta here Look out, Cincinnati: Sheletta Brundidge is moving in, even though she can't yet spell the name of this Ohio city.
"I'm not the speller in the family. I'm the talker," she said.
In a yarn fit for her life as a drama queen, the former MyTalk107.1 show host, who had just landed a new gig at WCCO-AM, resigned before she worked a day because her health care exec husband, Shawn Brundidge, got a new job in his native state.
As you may remember, Sheletta lost her show at FM107 when the station decided to fill that slot with Gayle King's show. (King has a very pleasing voice and access to everybody who's important, but were she not Oprah's best friend, Gayle wouldn't have this show, because she's too laid back to be compelling.)
"I hate I'm not going to be able to take that WCCO-AM job, because I work best when I'm learning from people like Kevyn Burger," said Sheletta.
Sheletta was producer of Burger's show until Burger, a breast cancer survivor, was dismissed in October 2009, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. "I was going to be morning news assistant, looking for stories, writing and occasionally doing news cut-ins. I really was looking forward to learning from Bruce Hagevik, Steve Murphy, Dave Lee, Telly Mamayek. People like that help you bring up your game; they do journalism with excellence."
The move puts Sheletta's family in closer proximity to Shawn's recently widowed father, who has health issues.
When we get lonesome for Sheletta, there is always her website, Sheletta.com. Monday, she was riffing on the sex scandal at the doorstep of Atlanta minister Eddie Long. "The travesty in all this [isn't] the allegations. ... It's that damned dead rat Bishop Long is wearing on his head and passing off as a wig," wrote Sheletta.
She said it's difficult to imagine after seeing that thing on his head that Long looked in the mirror and said, "Yes, that's it, that's what I was looking for. This is the BOMB!"
C.J. is at 612.332.TIPS or cj@startribune.com. E-mailers, please state a subject -- "Hello" doesn't count. Attachments are not opened, so don't even try. More of her attitude can be seen on Fox 9 Thursday mornings.
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