On the ropes

Fantasy baseball offer?

NEW YORK - Hey, Mets fans, that awful season was just a bad dream - if you believe StubHub. The company sent an e-mail Monday offering tickets for Mets playoff games.

"Be there alongside your New York Mets as they chase baseball immortality," the e-mail said. "Go to StubHub, where you'll find a fantastic selection of tickets to every playoff game - so you experience the championship chase live and in person."

StubHub said e-mails were sent to fans promoting several teams not in the postseason.

"This was due to an e-mail glitch," spokeswoman Joellen Ferrer said. "We regret the error and apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this may have caused. Follow-up e-mails will be sent to every person that received the e-mail, notifying them of the error on our part."

The Mets finished 70-92 and were out playoff contention by mid-July.

Bosox underwear for sale

Under the heading "You Can Buy Anything on eBay," file this: Sports memorabilia peddler Phil Castinetti of SportsWorld has three pairs of Boston Red Sox "game-used" underwear for sale.

Yes, for the right price, you can be the proud owner of underpants worn by Dustin Pedroia, Victor Martinez or Hideki Okajima.

"We did great with what we had last year," Castinetti told the Boston Herald. "We got between $200-$300 for A-Rod's underwear, although we had some problems with Josh Beckett and we had to take his off eBay."

How can the buyer be sure these really are Red Sox underwear and game-used?

"They are so used, I'd rather not be handling them, to be honest with you," Castinetti said.

Dunk with political punch

If Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Jordan Crawford appeared in a Jeopardy question, the correct answer would probably be, "Who are the people NBA star LeBron James would like to dunk on?"

Bryant won the 2009 NBA championship instead of James. Howard was denied a handshake from James after the Magic eliminated the Cavaliers from last season's playoffs. And Crawford dunked over James this summer at his skills camp, sparking more attention after Nike initially confiscated the video evidence.

But that answer is incorrect.

Maxim magazine recently asked James, "if there was one guy on the planet you could dunk on, who would it be?"

His response will likely produce as much reaction on Capitol Hill as it will on the basketball court.

"If it doesn't have to be a basketball player, George W. Bush," James said. "I would dunk on [him], break the rim, and shatter the glass."

Coach gets religious aid

You've heard the joke about the referee, a coach and a rabbi walking onto a basketball court, right?

Wait, this isn't a joke. This actually happened.

Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman intervened between replacement NBA referees and Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Pini Gershon in an exhibition game last Saturday against the New York Knicks. Gershon had been ejected for receiving two technicals, but he refused to leave the court.

Grossman was in Los Angeles on Tuesday for Maccabi's exhibition against the Clippers, a second series of games whose proceeds benefit Migdal Ohr, the world's largest orphanage that Grossman founded that houses 7,000 orphaned, abused and underprivileged children. And Grossman acknowledged he gave Gershon advice on how to avoid a second ejection.

"I said to him. 'Please try today to be OK and don't go out of your mind," Grossman said. "See that everything will be peaceful. The children from Israel and people from all over Israel are watching. I want this to be an example of friendship, not of fighting.'"

It seemed to work: Gershon didn't get a technical in the Clippers game.

A dome-field advantage?

It is a story that no doubt will shock fans of the St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions. According to the Wall Street Journal, NFL teams that play in domed stadiums have an advantage over those that don't.

In an article bearing the headline, "Is it time for the NFL to ban domes?" the Journal points out that three domed teams - the Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints - are undefeated and another - the Atlanta Falcons - are 3-0 at home.

The Saints are on pace to break the league record for most points in a season, the Vikings rank second in points and the Colts are third in yardage.

- From Wire Reports