BOISE’S IAN JOHNSON GETS NEEDLE FROM NCAA: The IDAHO STATESMAN reported earlier this season that “the NCAA has instructed Boise State sophomore tailback Ian Johnson to stop selling — or even giving away to charity — the beanies and scarves he crochets.

“The NCAA previously had said Johnson could sell the items as long as he […]

NASCAR DRIVER ADMONISHED FOR BUSH CHENEY STICKER: The WASHINGTON EXAMINER reports that in 2004, the buffoons at the Federal Election Commission (FEC) had nothing better to do than send an “admonishment letter” to unsponsored NASCAR driver Kirk Shelmerdine.
The reason: Shelmerdine apparently stuck a “Bush-Cheney ’04″ decal on his rear quarter panel during four races in […]

Today I’ll co-host “The Big Show” on ESPN Radio in Los Angeles, as I pinch-hit for John Ireland and join Steve Mason on the air.

The show starts at 3pm PT. You can listen online.

CHELI’S CHEAP SHOTS: The DETROIT FREE PRESS reports two people who worked at a Chris Chelios-owned restaurant in Detroit were stabbed to death inside the establishment this week.

So I guess this means that Cheli’s cheap shots are no longer merely limited to the ice.

FLAGGED CARPET: SbBer Mark gives us the heartwarming holiday news that the old artificial turf from Veterans Stadium has apparently found a home:

STADIUM CONSTRUCTION TO START WITHOUT MASON: Don Muret of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL reports on the plans for the new open-air(!) football stadium for the University of Minnesota.
The 50,000-seat on-campus facility will open in 2009 and feature 36 suites, 1,150 outdoor club seats, 55 to 60 loge boxes and 300 indoor club seats. A 25,000-square-foot club will […]

SPORTS BAR MILKS MEDIA WITH LAME CONTEST: Mark Brown of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES has a piece on the Chicago ESPN Zone’s yearly publicity grab called the “Ultimate Couch Potato Contest (it’s obviously still working after five years of milking the media for free advertising).
The contest features four sad souls competing to see who can watch […]

RADIO FEED SQUELCHES BRYANT BELCH: By now you’ve probably heard about Bryant Gumbel supposedly burping during the NFL Network’s Giants-Redskins broadcast last weekend (which Gumbel subsequently denied).
What you haven’t heard about is that the same scenario played out on the game’s national radio broadcast feed - on the Westwood One network.
During a break in […]

(MY)SPACE INVADERS DESCENDING ON BRONCOS: The upstart Boise State Broncos successfully took a projectile diarrhea dump on the college football establishment Monday night with their miraculous comeback victory over powerhouse Oklahoma.

Before the victory, nobody outside the 208 area code knew or cared about the blue-carpeted bunch, but now the Broncos can count on plenty of […]

DUI-CHARGED COACH ON HIS ALCOHOL OF CHOICE: Cal Poly’s student newspaper recently had former Fox Sports Radio host C.J. Silas accusing employees of the network of unrelenting sexual harrassment.
ESPN Radio has since hired Silas, which proved to be a coup based on her interview with new A-State coach Dennis Erickson.
During a stream consciousness exchange […]