The Minnesota state high school hockey tournament This is a sold-out, hugely competitive, wildly entertaining spectacle televised live throughout the state every March. The finals are now held at the Excel Energy Center, which was built on the site of the former St. Paul Civic Center, whose rink was ringed by shatterproof see-through boards, which were ridiculously cool and made, I presume, of Kryptonite and Plexiglas. (The Civic Center, not incidentally, is where Courteney Cox was invited onstage by Bruce Springsteen in the latter's Dancing in the Dark video.) 2. Williams Arena for University of Minnesota basketball 3. Mariucci Arena for University of Minnesota hockey 4. Midway Stadium for St. Paul Saints minor league baseball 5. Excel Energy Center for Minnesota Wild hockey

The Chain of Lakes Three adjacent lakes, in the heart of Minneapolis, surrounded by beaches, bike paths, bandshells, running paths, Rollerbladers, volleyball courts, fishermen, cross-country street-skiers, coffee houses filled with goateed hipsters, and all manner of Minnesota humanity. (Mary Richards walks ruminatively along the lakes in the opening credits of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.) 2. Minnesota State Fair 3. Any of a million live music venues. First Avenue, across from Target Center, was the setting for Purple Rain, in case anyone remembers that movie. 4. Guthrie Theater 5. Walker Art Center

Nye's Polonaise Room A Polish beer hall/piano bar/karaoke joint in Northeast Minneapolis, a.k.a. "Nordeast", a neighborhood featured prominently in the movie Fargo, made by Minneapolis' own Coen brothers. It's a little known fact that, as you are now discovering, most movies, music videos and TV shows are shot in Minneapolis. 2. White Castle. There are many Twin Cities locations, but I prefer the one on Lyndale Avenue in Bloomington. 3. Al's, Excelsior Boulevard in St. Louis Park. My brothers' favorite bar. 4. Joe Senser's, Bloomington 5. The Hooters at Mall of America. It's on the approximate spot where Harmon Killebrew deposited the longest home run in the history of Metropolitan Stadium.

The Mall of America In the southern suburb of Bloomington (my hometown), it was built on the former site of Metropolitan Stadium (where the Twins and Vikings used to play) and Met Center (where the North Stars played hockey before moving to Dallas). Home plate is still visible in the mall's central square. It is worth a visit if you want to pay homage to Rod Carew, Fran Tarkenton and former Stars goalie Cesar Maniago, but otherwise MOA (rhymes with "Noah") is merely the nation's largest shopping mall, one more place to buy an Orange Julius. 2. Governor Jesse Ventura's residence 3. The Metrodome 4. The estate of The Artist Formerly (and once again) Known As Prince 5. St. Paul. That's a joke. Minneapolis and St. Paul have a sometimes bitter rivalry. I love St. Paul. Honest.

Twins' seven-game victory over the Braves in the 1991 World Series My personal and highly subjective choice. It was the most exciting Series I have ever seen, and Kirby Puckett's performance in Game 6, which forced the epic seventh game, was a Swiss Army knife of athletic achievement: Every time it was needed, he magically conjured offense, defense, leadership and -- if I recall correctly -- a corkscrew and can opener to help the Twins survive and, a day later, triumph. 2. Vikings lose NFC Championship Game to the Cowboys, 1977 3. Twins win World Series, 1987 4. Any and all of the Vikes' Super Bowl losses 5. The Miracle on Ice. Because Minnesotans comprised practically half of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey roster.