I’m excited to announce that SbB will be at the MLB All-Star game in NYC next week. The plan is to live blog from the game on Tuesday night and also provide some color from around town during my time there (I’m actually shooting a new SbB Girl on Sunday as well).

(SbB All-Stars Cora Skinner, Annie, Denise at Yankee Stadium)

There’ll be plenty of fotos, fun and frivolity. And perhaps even an occasional baseball mention. This trip marks the first of many this summer and (especially) fall. SbB will be on the road quite a bit, giving you boots-on-the-ground reporting from some of the biggest upcoming games this year.

We’re also expanding editorial, so if you have experience as a sports blogger and are interested in contributing to SbB, contact me here.

THE SMOKING GUN has details on Sacha Baron Cohen’s (Borat) latest manufactured mayhem in the deep south. Last month Cohen staged what residents of Texarkana and Fort Smith Arkansas, thought were real professional wrestling matches (with $1 beers!).

One small detail: The wrestlers were gay male characters, which of course, the audience absolutely adored.

Cohen’s next movie, due out in 2009, will center on his gay fashion reporter character “Bruno.” What that has to do with the aformentioned scenario, I have no idea.

New photo of Candice Houlihan, the latest stripper to claim a sexual dalliance with ARod:

Dan Patrick zings (at least that’s the way I took it) the current crew of ESPN SportsCenter anchors, when talking about his now watching the show: “I’ve had a harder time watching ‘SportsCenter,’ I’ll grant you that. … It’s sort of like Brett Favre having to watch Aaron Rodgers with the Packers.”

If he’s including Scott Van Pelt in there, I submit it’s more like the Majik Man watching Favre.

A.J. Daulerio of DEADSPIN reports that Bill Simmons is taking 10 weeks off from his gig at ESPN.com to finish his second book.

10 weeks? You wonder if Simmons really needs all that time away from the his main duties with the WWL, or if this is a signal that his departure from ESPN is coming sooner than later (which would surprise no one).

Case you missed it, the Cubs this afternoon countered The Crew with Rich Harden.

The WASHINGTON POST has the hilarious news today that the Washington Nationals have the lowest TV ratings of any team in MLB, at 9,000 viewers per game. That’s more than three times lower than the second lowest-rated club, the Kansas City Royals. And almost four times lower than the putrid Orioles.

Of course, the Nats suckage on the field has a lot to do with those paltry figures, but with the size of the DC market, you would think they would at least crack the five-figure barrier. Maybe added some Marion Barry crack-smoking rain delay video will help. And how do you think advertisers spending hundreds of thousands of dollars (millions?) on Nats’ broadcast ads feel about the news. One word: REBATE!

I’m also delighted to report that a first lieutenant in ARod’s stripper brigade, Joslyn Morse, “could be dragged into court to tell the judge what she knows about A-Rod.”

CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS’ Hilary Potkewitz reports Fox-TV is selling 30-second spots for its coverage of the MLB All-Star Game for over than $500,000! And that sales have “exceeded expectations.”

I guess that just confirms the vast economical downturn we’re all suffering.

There’s been plenty of rumblings that touted high school basketball recruit Brandon Jennings may forgo one year of college in the U.S. to play in Europe. His high school bio, via Mallory Rubin at SI.com’s CAMPUS CLICKS, may give a little clue about his future intentions:

Video of the Day, featuring the raucous ramblings of the Orlando Magic summer league announcers (via Brian Powell at AWFUL ANNOUNCING):

SPORTS BUSINESS DAILY reports that last night the Dodgers discounted 10,000 tickets to folks who are registered members of a website called travelzoo.com. $16 seats went for $3, $20 tickets for $6, etc.

Now, I’m a member of plenty of websites too - with many based in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley no less - so where’s my discount?

The final prep for the Olympics in Beijing is on, which as you might expect, involves Chinese citizens scrubbing down Tiananmen Square by hand, one stone at a time. Don’t forget to get the blood between the cracks!

If you look at the photo behind the slave manual laborers, you start to understand that the air pollution thing isn’t going away. Now I know the city’s air pollution has been widely reported, but with just a month to The Games, why isn’t the media really tackling just how big an issue this is going to be? With metered air tests that will indicate if the atmosphere is suitable for athletic endeavor? Is there some sort of media embargo going on? I really believe this is going to be the number-one thing people talk about during and forever after The Games.

Charley Walters of the ST. PAUL PIONEER-PRESS reports, “Lou Holtz, who abandoned the Gophers for Notre Dame, which he coached to a national football championship, will be honored with a life-size statue near Notre Dame Stadium.”

Charley’s note is a little vague. Does that mean the statue is affiliated with the school? Will it be on campus? So if that’s true, how come there’s no Jackie Sherrill statue at Pitt? Or Danny Ford statue at Clemson? Or Bill McCartney statue at Colorado?

The WALL STREET JOURNAL has a big piece this week on the NBA trying to tap into the India market. This might give you a clue on the league’s progress: “During the Euro 2008 soccer tournament, four of the NBA Finals’ six games ‘didn’t air live on Indian television because the local ESPN network chose to show highlights of the previous night’s soccer matches instead.’”

What do Tennessee punter Britton Colquitt and GGW’s Joe Francis have in common? They’ve both been assigned interstate trash detail by a judge.

Speaking of rough justice for a college football player, how ’bout jail for one sticking parking ticket in rural Kansas?

Arbitron this week announced that the NFL Giants have signed a contract to receive Portable People Meter custom radio ratings services for team broadcasts on WFAN-AM for the ‘08 season. (I’m sure the folks at WFAN love that development.)

Arbitron radio ratings over the years have always been voodoo science. With people meters, ad clients can now get a much firmer grasp on the actual number of radio listeners they are reaching, which of course, is catastrophic news for the radio advertising business.

USA TODAY’s GAME ON reports Phil Hellmuth showed up for his opening day of main event competition Sunday at the WSOP “in khaki, military dress garb. His helmet was adorned with 11 stars, one for each of the championship bracelets he’s won in World Series events. He carried a riding crop, a la General George S. Patton of World War II.”

More importantly, he arrived in a military vehicle “in the company of 11 female models also dressed in military attire.”

So 11 females paid to be eye candy in military uniforms? Where was Max Mosley?

The BOSTON BUSINESS JOURAL reports Fenway Park Senior Executive Chef Ron Abell said that Red Sox Owner John Henry is “His favorite dish is a simple roast chicken with steamed asparagus or steamed broccoli. Rarely does he snack or eat fatty foods, but he does like almond M&Ms.”

Wonder if Henry’s Yankee counterpart, Hank Steinbrenner, does the same?

I learned this morning from ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike show that the Brewers PR people are now telling the media that the club’s newest pitcher no longer wants to be known as C.C. Sabathia - but instead as CC Sabathia.

The NEW YORK DAILY NEWS reports that Kid Rock and some stray Detroit Red Wings crashed surfer Laird Hamilton’s July 4th bash. Rock brought along, “a retinue of leggy, cleavage-bearing, slightly-past-their-prime party favors.”

I prefer Hamilton’s own personal “leggy, cleavage-bearing, slightly-past-her-prime party favor,” wife Gabby Reece (right):

(I’ll take Katarina Witt (left) while I’m at it)

Best part of Kid Rock story: “Maybe they were distracted by Kid’s blond-tourage, or maybe the ice warriors were disoriented by the throbbing sun, but they forgot the Cup out on the beach. At least for a while. “People mistook the (Stanley Cup) trophy for an ashtray.“