• Bruce Pearl has Volunteered his heart for marriage once again, as the UT coach announces his engagement to the quite tasty Brandy Miller.

• Jessica Simpson gets so worried when Tony Romo is on the field that she texts everyone to pray for his protection.

• Sorry, folks, tonight’s Yankees game has been called on account of rain. Oh, it hasn’t? Well, too bad - you’re still not getting back in.

• The Green Bay Packers warned us about this sinister swine flu epidemic - over 30 years ago!

• Regis Philblin is almost murdered by a menacing throw from the Marlins’ Hanley Ramirez.

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PITTSBURGH SPORTS AND MINI PONIES trots out a fun little story about Dr. Michael Bummer. The good doc is a Pittsburgh-area gynecologist and avid Steelers fan. And he recently made the trip out west to CBS Television City to appear on “The Price Is Right” - decked out in a Steelers jersey.

During the show, Bummer was asked to bid on a lovely diamond necklace. Since he was the last of the four contestants to give his answer, Dr. Mike could have gone the safe & easy (and really annoying) route of bidding $1. But he decided to get clever - and bid $69, dude!

And he won. Video is after the jump.

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Is Manny Ramirez really going to end up being a Yankee when all is said and done? The pinstripers look like they’re willing to attempt to buy a World Series title for their long-suffering fans (seriously, there are Yankee fans in college who haven’t seen a championship since they were in junior high!). The NY DAILY NEWS is saying that the Brewers have taken the Mike Cameron for Melky Cabrera trade off the table, leaving the Yanks looking for an outfielder.

(get ready to see this a lot next year, Yanks fans)

It makes perfect sense. Manny is from New York City and grew up literally within a mile or so of Yankee Stadium. Manny also cares about placating Red Sox fans possibly less than anyone who has ever played in Boston (and you thought Sawx fans were mad about Johnny Damon going to the Bronx). Manny’s also the kind of guy who would probably go play in Kazakhstan if they offered him the most money, so if the Yankees offer the most cash he almost certainly will go there. The DAILY NEWS claims that Hank Steinbrenner is pushing for Manny, while Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman aren’t entirely sold on the idea. Stay tuned.

Joe Johnson bricked a free throw with three seconds left last night, and the Celtics did something they couldn’t do in last year’s playoffs – win in Atlanta. Boston won its 16th consecutive game with an 88-85 victory over the Hawks. At this point, I think it’s legitimate to start considering the C’s a potential 70-win team. They’re 24-2 now, and are not entirely reliant on the “big three.” Guys like Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins are turning into legitimate players, and they just don’t seem to have any major weaknesses (well, there is Ray Allen’s defense).

In another big game, the Hornets went on a late 13-0 run and beat the Spurs 90-83 in New Orleans. Chris Paul set an NBA record by recording a steal in his 106th-straight game.  And  LeBron James got a standing ovation last night for his 32-point performance…in Minnesota. That’s how desperate T-Wolves fans are to cheer for something. It must warm Kevin McHale’s heart. The Cavs won the game 93-70 to improve to 21-4.

Elton Brand dislocated his right shoulder in the third quarter of a win over the Bucks last night. Anyone think that it’s just not in the cards for Elton? Every team he plays for isn’t any good, and he keeps finding new and exciting ways to injure himself.

Now it’s time for you to guess how many links I’ll be providing you now — without going over (don’t be that guy who bids $1):

• I know this is a sports blog, but we need to talk about The Price Is Right for a second. On Tuesday, a guy got the price of his showcase exactly right. This has only happened one other time in this history of the show, back in the early ’70s (the exact date isn’t known). But the big shock in all of this is that Drew Carey reacted to this unbelievable achievement as if the dog he just had neutered was hit by a car:

So what’s the real story here? Well, it seems that there was a ringer in the audience. Apparently, there are people so obsessed with TPIR that they memorize the prices of anything and everything that could be on the show (and I guess some prizes are repeated), and one of those people just happened to be in the audience and shouted out the exact price of the showcase, which Terry used as his bid (Terry also got his one-bid item right on the nose earlier in the show, presumably with the help of the mystery man). And the guy has been found. His name is Ted. After Terry’s bid (but before Drew revealed the actual answers), suspicious producers stopped the taping and met for what is rumored to be as long as 30 minutes to decide what to do, but then realized that no rule had really been broken (people are allowed to shout suggestions from the audience). But Drew knew exactly what was going on, and thus didn’t even pretend to be excited when he announced the winning bid. I feel bad for the other lady, who was only $400 off. Tough break.

•  CBS2 in L.A. brings us sad news. MMA fighter Justin Levens and his wife were found shot to death in a Southern California condo yesterday. Levens had a 9-8 professional record, and had fought for various brands, including UFC. One of his losses was to Evan Tanner, who died earlier this year when he ventured out into the desert alone and ran out of water.

• The last surviving member of the football Hall of Fame, Sammy Baugh, died yesterday at the age of 94. DC PRO SPORTS REPORT memorializes the man who revolutionized the quarterback position.

• Scott Shafer resigned as defensive coordinator at Michigan after one season, and blamed the “demise” of the program on himself. No, it certainly didn’t have anything to do with the horrible offense. The DETROIT NEWS has the full story.

• FOR THE RECORD has their five worst officiating calls of the year. Poor Ed Hochuli, rooting very hard for a Bronco loss this weekend.

• More unfortunate news, as former Astros and Cubs closer Dave Smith died yesterday at the age of 53. Smith is Houston’s career save leader with 199. FAN HOUSE points out that Smith will most be remembered for giving up a walk-off homer to Lenny Dykstra in the 1986 NLCS, but Smith was an excellent pitcher. His career 2.67 ERA was well below the league average for relievers during his career.

• Here’s a doozy. BROOKLYN MET FAN says that Bernard Madoff, who screwed Mets owner Fred Wilpon out of about $300 million in his giant Ponzi scheme, has already paid for two season-tickets behind home plate at the new CitiField. Something tells me Bernie might not be showing up for those games, though. Meanwhile, the Mets are having to squash rumors that the team’s in financial ruins because of all of this. To get your mind off all of this, Met fan, let’s look at this random photo of Shea Stadium’s destruction:

• London Fletcher isn’t exactly happy with being left out of the Pro Bowl yet again, considering he’s the leading tackler of the decade in the NFL. THE BIG LEAD says Fletcher is calling himself the “Susan Lucci of the NFL.”

• Knicks players basically ignored Stephon Marbury last night, according to the NY DAILY NEWS. Marbury bought his own ticket to the game and showed up to watch, but received no acknowledgment from any of his “teammates.”

• Tony Romo tells USA TODAY that he missed T.O.’s birthday party because he “couldn’t walk,” alluding to a back contusion he suffered against the Giants. Take that, Ed Werder.