Gopher QB MarQueis Gray appears to be wearing his twin babies like shoulder pads in his Twitter.com picture.
"Im a cool dude who is laid back and loves to play football!!!" is how Gray describes himself on Twitter @goldengopherqb5.
When the babies learn to read and write maybe they'll tell Big Daddy that "Im" requires an apostrophe.
The twins, MarShawn and MarZell, were born Nov. 11, the night before their daddy led Minnesota to a 43-13 loss to Wisconsin.
Gray had no fumbles during that game -- and presumably none during this Twitter photo shoot, either.
Gray as cheer-giverDon't know how many diapers MarQueis Gray is or isn't changing, but he is lifting spirits.
Gray was recently at Children's Hospital to spend time with Croix Hurtis, 11, who's from the New Richmond, Wis., area. Croix is being treated for leukemia. Steve Massey, CEO of Westfields Hospital in New Richmond, knows Gray and arranged for the QB to drop by the same day the boy was being visited by his hockey teammate, Kyle Massey, son of Steve.
"He [Gray] spent about 45 minutes with him [Croix] on Martin Luther King Day," said Massey. Gray gave Croix " a game day jersey he [the QB] had worn, a backpack with sports memorabilia. I joked that he was a Badgers fan now converted to a Gophers fan," said Massey.
Up-and-coming designersKeep your peepers on Coco and Breezy, because they've already got their shades on Beyonce and Lady Gaga.
The 21-year-old twins behind cocoandbreezy.com are eyewear and accessory creators-designers who called Minnesota home from the time they were 7-year-olds. When they were 19, they left the Twin Cities -- and their mom, Diana Aponte, who still lives here, and their dad, Cornell Dotson, now of Houston, Texas -- for New York City to pursue an entrepreneurial dream with $1,000 in their pockets.
"We quit our jobs at the Mall of America. We had no jobs and no place to stay in New York. But we knew we had a dream, so we just bought tickets and left," Coco told me Monday.
Their look, their ever-changing hair color, their blue lips are all out there, as you can see at their website, where Breezy assures us that "The way we dress, in 10 years this is going to be normal."
The way the creative twins adorn their orbs is already normal for Lady Gaga and Beyonce.
Coco said they have no idea where Gaga got a pair of the dark glasses they make, which are being sold through their online store and in boutiques all over the world, as in Japan, Germany, France and Bermuda. But Breezy said they recognized a pair of their dark glasses on Gaga, in the quick scene where the egregiously dramatic singer is holding a piano keyboard in her "Marry the Night" video. (I'll take Breezy's word for this since I can't stand to watch Gaga.)
The designing twins know exactly how Beyonce got hip to their eyewear, and it's some memory.
"We've been good friends with Beyonce's stylist for two years, but we never asked about Beyonce. About six months ago," Coco said, "he wanted to put Beyonce in one of our bracelets for a video they were doing. He told her about our brand, and wanted us because the whole style of it [her video] was [Coco and Breezy] fashion inspired. Six hours before the [shoot for another video] we got a phone call: Beyonce wants you guys on set. Can you guys make it?
"I was like, 'Oh, my God! Yes! We can make it!' Beyonce sent a car to come and pick us up and we spent like the whole day with her," said Coco. "She's so humble, so sweet."
The twins are in Beyonce's "Party" video featuring Andre 3000, Kanye West and J. Cole. Don't blink -- that's Breezy sitting on the bed with Beyonce, and that's Coco with the shaved head dancing scene and their dark glasses.
Thursday night between 6 and 8 p.m., Coco and Breezy's will sell their eyewear for 50 percent off at Studiiyo23 in Minneapolis.
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 Thursday mornings on FOX 9.
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