Some links from all around as I sweat out the California heat wave without A/C:

• PRO FOOTBALL TALK divulges that Adam “Don’t Call Me Pacman” Jones is defaulting on the mortgage on his Tennessee home.

(This bedroom is part of the home that could be yours if you show up at the courtroom auction.)

• Mr. Jones is not alone on the real estate issues front, as THE BIG LEAD writes on the California real-estate company that’s on the down and out after getting investments from jocks like Matt Light, Roy Halladay, and Vladimir Guerrero.

• The IRISH BAND OF BROTHERS discovers Notre Dame is having some issues finding an alum willing to take on its vacant athletic director position. (Duties include keeping Charlie Weis’ chocolate fountain flowing at all times.)

• Gotta love Redskins TE Chris Cooley – via his COOLEY ZONE blog, he lets us in on his upcoming Eastern Motors ad, and is even looking for nicknames to use in the ad, too.

Read more…

THE SUN sends along spirited news that a soccer goalie for Arsenal believes his house is haunted.

Manuel Almunia claims he’s heard chains rattling and stereos turning on by themselves in the middle of the night at his Abbots Langley home. And his wife has even supposedly seen the ghost of a monk: Read more…

The EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE updates the latest on Shaq’s saunter to the Suns. O’Neal is expected to arrive in Phoenix early Wednesday morning by way of his private jet, and will head straight to his physical.

If Shaq Diesel’s tune-up goes as planned, Shawn Marion & Marcus Banks are off to South Beach to join the Heat.

Even if the deal goes through, O’Neal might not hit the court right away, as he’s been out the past six games with injuries. But as the Tribune points out, “he might have missed the games more out of a lack of interest than any truly debilitating problems.”

When your team’s 9-37 & you’re going through a costly divorce, it’s hard to pay much attention. But if the Big Aristotle is really relocating to the Valley of the Sun, he might want to step up efforts to sell his Star Island abode - no thanks to A-Rod.

We close out the first month of 2008 with two great gifts from Bristol, CT:

• The greatest Chris Berman video you’ll ever see:

• And if the vision of a sweat-stained Boomer ruins your day, pick yourself back up by scanning over this new shot of sideline siren Erin Andrews:

• The study also serves as a Spearmint Rhino: Super Bowl house rentals now come with a stripper option.

• Bill Walker must be relieved that K-State finally beat Kansas at home.

• Florida Marlins cheerleader tryouts - need we say more?

Read more…

The SPRINGFIELD (MA) REPUBLICAN comes across an unusual deal from an Arizona house renter for Super Bowl weekend.

The Craigslist ad - written IN ALL CAPS - offers a 3-bedroom home for rent from Friday through Monday, with all meals and transportation to the Big Game provided. If that’s not tempting enough, how about they throw in a couple of strippers?

As taken verbatim from the ad:

“AS AN ADDED BONUS WE HAPPEN TO BE FRIENDS WITH A FEW VERY ATTRACTIVE STRIPPERS, WHO WOULD BE WILLING TO STOP BY AND TAKE CARE OF SOME OF YOUR ENTERTAINMENT NEEDS!!!!!!!!!“

The renter emphasizes the point that he & his wife “really need the money“, and they would “bend over backwards” to ensure a pleasant stay - adding, “Our friends might be willing too (sic) do the same.”

All for only $1,000 a day. Does Jeremy Shockey know about this?

The NEW YORK POST’s Page Six reports today that Bob Costas dropped $11M for an apartment at 15 Central Park West in New York.

The 3,500- square-foot spread is a “three-bedroom, 31/2-bath unit on the eighth floor is a short stroll and a long drop from the couple’s 61st-floor digs at Time Warner Center. Other notable buyers at Costas’ new address include Denzel Washington, Sting, retired Citigroup honcho Sandy Weill and NASCAR champ Jeff Gordon.”

We suppose that makes all those lonely nights in Nagano worth it.

“SLUMLORD” KJ HAS LONG WAY TO GO TO CATCH DONALD T.: Concerned Sacramento citizen and activist Robin Ware this week to local TV station KTXL on former NBA player Kevin Johnson: “He’s a slumlord“.

KTXL reports Johnson owns “dozens” of properties in the Oak Park district of the city, but they “sit vacant or are in disrepair“.

Now a group of residents is protesting Johnson’s lack of action. More from Ms. Ware: “He’s let a lot of his properties go down the tubes and because of that, a lot of people are suffering and in pain, and he has to realize that.”

Contractor Jeff Guillot, who works with Johnson’s development company, said his goal for the Oak Park residences was “Tightening up the buildings, just nailing the boards back on the siding, that kind of thing.”

Now that’s what we call development! To be fair, Kevin Johnson is just getting started in the real estate business, and he’s got a long way to go to catch up to everyone’s favorite slumlord-turned-NBA-owner Donald Sterling (who we want to personally thank for the rent-control crack houses on L.A.’s Westside).

LEINART FOLLOWING BRADY’S FOOTSTEPS IN CHILD CARE: Ju