• Don’t forget to pick Kansas King Kong Mark Mangino for DEADSPIN’s Sports Human Of The Year:

• FOOTBALL GAB breaks the leg news of Joe Theismann netting $4 million not to work for ESPN.

• FREE DARKO goes through the mail, and uncovers this 1993 letter from President Bill Clinton to timeout-taker Chris Webber.

• CORN NATION is happy to report that ex-Husker coach Bill Callahan has found his true calling:

• THE SPORTS HERNIA prepares for the hilarity sure to ensue at the Mike & Mike Celebrity Roast.

• The SACRAMENTO BEE pays tribute to Warriors fan and basketball mom Ann Barnes.

• Despite injuries and only one tournament win in 2007, DOWN THE LINE cashes in news that Maria Sharapova is still rollin’ in dough:

• Speaking of green, SIGNAL TO NOISE learns that the Worldwide Leader has a big stake in the college football post-season, since they own five bowls.

• LARRY BROWN SPORTS sticks their beak into the Ravens crowing about bad officiating.

• FOOTBALL JESUS LAS VEGAS has some holiday gift ideas for the frugal female football fan:

• BLOG OF HILARITY needs some words of encouragement, as former UFC champ Chuck Liddell has been hanging with self-helpster Tony Robbins.

• PINSTRIPE POSTS gets a leg up on why Joe Torre isn’t at the Winter Meetings - the Dodgers manager needs a new knee.

BREAKING - RANDY COUTURE OFFICIALLY CUTS UFC TIES: The FIGHT NETWORK reports today that six-time UFC champion Randy Couture has officially cut ties with the MMA organizaton.

Excerpt: “UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture announced his resignation from the Las Vegas-based promotion, leaving two contracted fights, his job as an on-air analyst and his heavyweight crown on the table.

“In South Africa shooting scenes for his lead role in the upcoming feature film ‘The Scorpion King – Rise of the Akkadian,’ Couture made the announcement official in a letter to UFC president Dana White.”

Couture, who previously *retired* in 2006, claims that the UFC’s inability to find him the proper matches played heavily into the decision. Other MMA observers (we aren’t one of them) think Couture is upset over being overshadowed by former UFC stable-mates Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

Since Couture is arguably the biggest draw in MMA right now (thanks in part to Chuck Liddell’s recent collapse), it doesn’t appear to be such a bad idea to go out on his own.

SNEAKY BASTARDS STOLE MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE’S IDEA: SPORTS BUSINESS DAILY slogs through Nickelback videos so we don’t have to. SBD reports today that Chuck Liddell, Little E, Wayne Gretzky and Grant Hill (demo fullfillment) appear in a Nickelback video called “Rockstar”.

And in a major shock, Jim Tressel fails to appear.

Now pardon us while we retire to KOL.

UFC MAINSTREAM? ASK THE FINE PEOPLE OF MONROE, WA: While Chuck Liddell was the talk of the town during his UFC title run, the current champ seems to have less of a stranglehold on the sports public.

On the SHERDOG message boards, poster pudgelarson36 writes about meeting Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at a racing event in the town of Monroe, Washington.

Jackson was making an appearance on behalf of sponsor Toyo Tires. Pudge notes that although “thousands” of people were in attendance, “only about 50 people seemed to know who he was even though he was wearing the big UFC belt and his chain.”

After giving an interview over the event’s loudspeaker systems, fans were asked to “Give it up for UFC champ Rampage Jackson!!!“, to which about 12 people clapped and yelled.

As pudge summed up, “Shows how well the UFC promotes their NON LIDDELL champ.”

CLAIM - LIDDELL WAS IN REHAB JUST BEFORE JACKSON KO: In an interview with that esteemed bastion of sports journalism, BLOODY KNUX, UFC fighter Vernon White twice claims that Chuck Liddell was in rehab for a substance abuse issue just before his embarrassing defeat at the hands of Quinton Jackson on May 23.

White first said, “I can’t bad mouth Chuck. He just came off a hard loss. Chuck just got out of re-hab, but I do have to say it was stupid for him to come out of re-hab and fight Quentin the way he fought him. He should have fought a smarter fight. Quinton’s my boy, I love you, and hold that belt forever.”

White later clarified his remarks about Liddell’s stay in a treatment facility, but the gist remained the same: “I’d heard he’d been in drug rehab for an addiction, and got back in the cage too soon. He shouldn’t of taken a fight with Jackson so lightly.

“I heard it from a close friend, so maybe I shouldn’t have commented on it. After seeing him nod off on that talk show it seems very reliable. His publicist should be shot for letting him in public in that condition.”

CHUCK’S PRE-FIGHT CLUBBING HAD JACKSON ON RAMPAGE: After being spotted partying in Vegas nightclubs on more than one occasion the week leading up to his one-side loss to Quinton Jackson, UFCer Chuck Liddell has addressed the issue in the LOS ANGELES TIMES.

Liddell, who was also photographed at a Vegas club immediately after he was knocked out in the first round by Jackson, said “It’s nothing that I’ve never done before; it was just like any other fight. I just go and hang out. I don’t drink. I just kill time, hang out with friends at whatever club they’re at. I’ve been doing that as long as I’ve fought in Vegas.”

The LAT reports that Jackson’s trainer Juanito Ibarra used the news of Liddell’s pre-fight partying to inspire his fighter: “That shows disrespect and I told Rampage that, ‘He doesn’t respect you, son,’ I know I’m old school but if that was my kid out there I’d be [upset.] If he thinks he’s so good, that he can take me so lightly to think he can stay up so late … that’s disrespect.”

Speaking of completely killed time, Liddell was once again seen out on the club circuit last weekend, attending the birthday party of musician Dave Navarro.

CHUCK DOESN’T LET BOUT GET IN WAY OF BOTTLE SERVICE: You know about Chuck Liddell getting rocked in the first round by Quinton Jackson last Saturday in Vegas:

You may know that Liddell was spotted partying on several occasions around Sin City the week before the fight at various Vegas hot spots.

You don’t know that only hours after his catastrophic loss to Jackson, which some say set UFC back significantly as it vies to become a legitimate sport, Liddell was back on the party circuit, lensed multiple times by NapkinNights.com at Studio 54 inside the MGM Grand.

We’ve got a photo shoot coming later today (new pics will be up tonight), so here’s a roundup of what’s going on that will (hopefully) tide you over:

• GENDER REASSIGNMENT CREATES NEW LAT ASSIGNMENT: The LOS ANGELES TIMES notes on its website today, “Starting today, check out latimes.com/sports for Christine Daniels’ “Day in L.A.,” a daily column on the sports events, personalities and themes that matter most to Southern Californians.

“Responsive, thoughtful, experienced commentary from one of the area’s most talented and versatile journalists, updated throughout the day as events happen.”

Sounds like someone will be bookmarking SbB, DSpin, ASB, WL and TBL!’

Meanwhile, LA OBSERVED reports the L.A. Times recently introduced a huge inter-office promotional campaign (wot?) featuring gigantic photos of selected editorial staff in the elevators (wot?) of the Times building.

Notable omissions in the campaign: Daniels and J.A. Adande, who is apparently requesting a buyout.

• The wedding photographer who posted the Village People shot of Brady Quinn online responds to the ASSOCIATED PRESS, and tells A.J. Hawk to buzz off.

• BAYOU BUZZ reports Reggie Bush recently went to Spain to “film a commercial with global soccer star David Beckham.”

Bush: “That was a lot of fun. We bascially were teaching each other about our different footballs and what to do with them. It was great to get over to Spain and see the different cultures and see parts of the world that I never expected to see when I was younger.”

• Greg Oden last night after Dan Patrick jokingly (har har!) asked if he had “another job you can fall back on“: “I could probably break dance on the side of the street, make a couple of bucks here and there.”

• The TORONTO SUN reminds us that before the De La Hoya fight, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., said UFC “ain’t nothing but a fad.”

The Sun’s Jose Rodriguez notes UFC President Dana White “took offence and offered Mayweather a scrap against UFC lightweight champ Sean Sherk.” That forced the cowering Mayweather to “change his tune to say the comment was merely trying to build hype for his fight.”

Chuck Liddell’s response to Mayweather’s false bravado: “(The) fact mainstream boxing is talking about the UFC shows they’re worried.”

Liddell: “A few years ago, they wouldn’t have even mentioned us. Now they’re taking shots at us to try to sell more [PPVs]. That says a lot about how far we’ve come.”

• SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL’s Terry Lefton reports this week that Donovan McNabb participated in an ad shoot for Bruce Willis’ upcoming film
“Live Free or Die Hard.”

McNabb also had a “a role in last week’s lavish ESPN upfront presentation (and) McNabb and ESPN are getting chummy enough to contemplate a relationship that could include everything from using the QB as a sideline reporter on NBA games to being the host of the weekly highlights during ‘Monday Night Football’ telecasts.“

CHUCK LIDDELL’S IPOD LIKELY LITTERED WITH SHOWTUNES: Some handy facts about Chuck Liddell courtesy a feature piece in the most recent ESPN Magazine:

You also gotta love the fact that Liddell’s profile was penned by someone named “Glock”.

UFC FIGHTER LIDDELL KNOCKED OUT FOR TV INTERVIEW: UFCmania reports UFC legend Chuck Liddell did an interview with WFAA-TV’s “Good Morning Texas” in Dallas yesterday that lasted three minutes and forty seconds - which was about 3:39 too long.

Liddell fell asleep during the visit (he had to be awakened by interviewer Gary Cogill), and was eventually so incoherent that Cogill had to cut the visit short (the only thing he said that was intelligible was that he wanted to fight boxer Tommy Morrison … huh?).

Cogill also recounts the debacle on WFAA’s site.

In another weird twist, Liddell was on the morning TV show not to promote a UFC event, but the upcoming Warner Bros. movie “300″. There’s just one problem with that idea - he wasn’t in it.