• Tuesday night, SbB gets back in the live blog groove, as we cover Game 2 between the Spurs & Suns. Should be a big hit!

• WITH LEATHER notes the Friendly Confines just got a lot friendlier, as SI cover girl Marisa Miller appears at Wrigley Field to throw out the first pitch.

• SUPERSONIC SOUL digs up some old video of David Stern praising Seattle’s Key Arena.

• BASKETBAWFUL follows their nose, as Tyson Chandler gets a whiff of Dirk Nowitzki’s pits.

• This should go well - MONDESI’S HOUSE drinks in news that shirtless Steelers wonder Jeff Reed will be showing up at a minor league team’s Thirsty Thursday game.

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It’s becoming dangerous to be a big man in the NBA’s Western Conference. The Rockets’ Yao Ming is out for the rest of the season. The Lakers’ Pau Gasol has been benched the past couple of days with an ankle sprain.

And now the Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki has fallen with some leg issues of his own. The Mavs’ official site announced that an MRI on the reigning MVP revealed a “moderate” left high ankle sprain and “mild” left knee sprain. So, how long will Dirk be riding pine? Read more…

Brett Favre finally calls it a career. But will he make a South Beach encore?

• Allison Stokke is back in action, making the vault to college competition.

• A Boston scout is caught pulling his Dick Williams out in public. Try to keep it in your red sox next time.

• Speaking of Beantown baseball, a group of fans - “some with Irish accents” - beat up a guy wearing a Yankees hat.

• Huge news from Green Bay today - ESPN actually credits Fox Sports for finding something.

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Somebody needs to find Dirk Nowitzki and tell him that the NBA doesn’t give out Awkward White Player Of The Year Awards, because he might destroy everything in his path before the Mavs even get started in the playoffs.

CHEAP AND DIRTY brings us a YouTube clip of the closing moments of the Mavericks-Spurs game last Thursday in where Nowitzki finds Erick Dampier and collides with him headfirst, absorbs his own blow, and tumbles to the floor like your grandmother down a flight of stairs.

Did we mention that he and Dampier are on the same team? But Dirk was just warming up.

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KOBE-FOR-DIRK TRADE DEFLATED; BULLS STILL AN OPTION: A SoCal paper reports that Kobe could end up in Dallas, but only if Dirk Nowitzki starts suiting up at Staples Center:

The SANTA MONICA MIRROR reflects news that L.A. owner Jerry Buss would consider shipping the sullen superstar to the Mavericks, but on the condition that the gargantuan German center would be sent to the Southland in return.

However, fresh off his exit from “Dancing With The Stars“, Mavs owner Mark Cuban has said he’s “not interested” in a Kobe-Dirk swap.

Just down the I-5, Randy Youngman of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER adds to the trade rumors by suggesting that Bryant will be with the Lake Show until at least mid-December:

The speculation is that by then, the Lakers’ front office may be able to get a favorable deal from the Chicago Bulls, one of the few teams Kobe has said he would play for.

The Lakers’ regular season begins next Tuesday against Houston. Many sets will be tuned into TNT that night - not for the game, but to see if Kobe shows up in gold & purple.

• Joe Buck turns out to be a man of his word. HOME RUN DERBY has video proof of the Fox Sports broadcaster uttering the words “Jub-Jub” during the World Series, as a promised favor to Conan O’Brien:

• The LONDON TIMES ONLINE keeps a stiff upper lip, as they run down Britain’s 50 greatest sports losers.• The PIG PEN gets ready for the NBA season by looking back on the life & times of Dirk Nowitzki.

• THE WIZARD OF ODDS does a double-take, as they examine some college football separated-at-births:

• MR. IRRELEVANT takes some belts around the Beltway, as they review recent DC-area sports media feuds.• PART MULE brags about a study that says the popular kids at school also think of themselves as the most athletic.