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Before he decided to take up mixed martial arts, EliteXC heavyweight Kimbo Slice would brawl in backyards and basements, and the videos would get posted on YouTube and millions would watch.

The only one of those fights that Kimbo lost was to a Boston cop named Sean Gannon. Now it's looking like a Kimbo vs. Gannon rematch could take place, and this time the millions won't watch on YouTube, they'll watch live in prime time on network television.

Kimbo is scheduled to fight in EliteXC's show on October 4 on CBS, and Josh Gross of SI.com reports that Gannon is looking like his most likely opponent. Gannon fought once in the UFC and was thumped out by Branden Lee Hinkle, and after that the Boston Police Department told him he wasn't allowed to fight in MMA anymore. But if Gross's report is correct, either Gannon has convinced his bosses to let him fight, or has figured he can make enough money in MMA to risk losing his job.

I don't much like the idea of Kimbo vs. Gannon II, as I think it will be a rather boring fight between two guys who don't have much MMA skill. But for EliteXC it's all about getting as many viewers as they can while keeping Kimbo -- their meal ticket -- undefeated. I suppose for those criteria, Gannon is as good an opponent as anyone.

I don't recommend watching the first Kimbo-Gannon fight -- especially if you're at work -- but it's after the jump (with an assist from Kid Nate) for those who want to partake.

Caught this on this afternoon's College Football Live. Unfortunately nobody seems to have the video up yet. What I would recommend is visiting this link here, and downloading the elusive commercial to your computer and watching it. We'll add it here if we find it.

The teaser intro from anchor John Anderson: "Sometimes it's not easy to find good talent for Sportscenter, which is why we brought in Les to help with recruiting".

In the absence of actual video, we present to you this amusing parody of Miles' press conference to debunk rumors of his having accepted the Michigan job last year.

Steven Jackson has ended his holdout and signed a huge extension with ... oh, what's that? He's coming into camp without an extension? Sounds weird, I know, but that's what FOX's Jay Glazer (scooop!) is reporting, along with the news that the Rams and Jackson's camp believe that within the next two days, they'll ink a for real extension.

"This is certainly a step in the right direction," coach Scott Linehan said. "We're hoping we can get this thing squared away real quickly."

Jackson had skipped all of training camp and the team's two preseason games in an attempt to force the Rams to give him a new deal. As of Wednesday, the holdout had reached 27 days, prompting Rams head coach Scott Linehan to tell the St. Louis Post-Dispatch earlier in the week it was "critical" that Jackson get into camp.

"It is getting critical to where time now becomes more of an issue for just the physical part of getting ready for the opener," Linehan said. "Every day we miss now ... does start to factor in as to what the workload will be from the start."

I like how "critical" is somehow a huge understatement in this situation. Make no mistake, S-Jax is the key to the Rams season. After all, if you're gonna get scored on, you gotta be doin' some scoring as well.

I think he'll play, not because he was called out by Marshall Faulk, but because he likes to play football and enjoys large sums of money.And that's what the Rams should give him, even if he's a little overrated.

When you're the most popular athlete person on the planet right now, it's hard for someone to knock you down a notch.

No worries, that is what swimmers allergic to clothes are for. Two-time gold medal winner and occasional Mr. Ed extra Amanda Beard was asked on Tuesday about America's baby Michael Phelps and if they were at all a medley team outside the agua.

Beard, 26, denied yesterday that she was dating Phelps, 23, saying, "Eww, that's nasty."

"I have never, ever hooked up with Michael Phelps," Beard said via telephone from Beijing on the "Johnjay and Rich Show," which is broadcast on Kiss FM 104.7 in Phoenix.

Honestly, there couldn't be a more American moment than in the wake of one of the greatest sports feats in our history, we have tabloids and radio shows talking about "hooking up."

Let's make sure we have this correct about Phelps. Facebook questions? Check. Celebrities trying to draw attention away from his incredible accomplishment? Check and check. Hearing that a swimmer isn't another swimmer's type? Check.

Ok, I'm ready for Thursday.

When one thinks of war images, nothing truly translates like that timeless Joe Rosenthal image of Iwo Jima. Six American servicemen took Francis Scott Key to another octave, raising our stars and stripes on Mount Suribachi during a battle that killed nearly 7,000 American soldiers.

So, when talking about the Ryder Cup, a golf event that brings tons of emotion between Europe and the United States, what could really get us Yanks a little hot under the collar? A Portuguese television station, Sport TV, using that fabulous image as a magazine ad, dogging the United States.

Thanks to Copyranter we have the full spread of the statue raising an 18th hole flag in the air with the dates of the tournament in the top left corner. This is disrespectful and ignorant on so many humanitarian levels, but let's just talk about golf.

The Ryder Cup is match play, so a lot of the groupings never even make it to the 18th hole. Also, Portugal, really? There has never been a Ryder Cup ever hosted in the country, not to mention there has never been an individual from the country on the team to represent the Europeans.

The ad is pointless and weak. You don't see the NBA advertising Carmelo Anthony dunking an atomic bomb on Hiroshima because it would be classless and ridiculous, so why in the world would a country so meaningless in an event like the Ryder Cup drop something so brash?

You're Sport TV, stick to soccer highlights and, umm, soccer highlights?

Two elderly women have been given what is described as a sentence of one year of "re-education through labor" after they applied for permits to stage protests at the Olympic Games. The New York Times reports:

Wu Dianyuan, 79, and Wang Xiuying, 77, had made five visits to the police this month in an effort to get permission to protest what they contended was inadequate compensation for the demolition of their homes in Beijing.

During their final visit on Monday, public security officials informed them that they had been given administrative sentences for "disturbing the public order," according to Li Xuehui, Ms. Wu's son.

Mr. Li said his mother and Ms. Wang, who used to be neighbors before their homes were demolished to make way for a redevelopment project, were allowed to return home but were told they could be sent to a detention center at any moment. "Can you imagine two old ladies in their 70s being re-educated through labor?" he asked.

I can't imagine it. The International Olympic Committee promised that the Games would be part of China's reformation. Instead, the Games have led China to tear down people's homes, and to jail those people when they complain about it. What a disgrace.

In news that shouldn't surprise anyone, the Ravens have decided when you have a former Heisman Trophy winner at your disposal, maybe you should keep him in the starting rotation.

Second year quarterback Troy Smith will be the starter this Saturday against the St. Louis Rams, dethroning, at least for now, that other guy, Kyle Boller. Smith, THE former Ohio State standout, started two games last season for the Ravens as a rookie, completing 40 of his 76 attempts for an eerily similar percentage as Boller.

Head coach John Harbaugh said you better get used to seeing both quarterbacks out there this season and starting Smith gives them an opportunity to see how much he's improved in year two.

Harbaugh's explanation was simple and very logical. He said the Ravens were already aware of what veteran Kyle Boller could do at the position, and the coaching staff wanted to see more of Smith.

Boller has been fairly steady throughout training camp and the preseason, and everyone is aware of his strengths and weaknesses. We also know something about Smith, but really haven't seen enough. Smith didn't get the chance to throw a lot last week against the Minnesota Vikings because the Ravens ran the ball so well. Like many of us, it seems that Harbaugh has come to the conclusion that throughout the season we're probably going to see both quarterbacks, because there will be a lot of ups and downs between the two of them.

There have been three real tight games in the Olympic men's basketball tournament, but the Argentina-Greece has been without doubt the most entertaining. There were something like 179 lead changes. Greece and Argentina traded spurts through the first three quarters. On the backs of Carlos Delfino and Manu Ginobili, Argentina took slight control in the fourth. But Greece stuck close, nailing improbable three after improbable three.

The most improbable came with 30 seconds left, the shot clock winding down and Argentina up by five. Panagiotis Vasilopoulos (!) banks in an off-balance trey. Argentina by two. A difference of six seconds between the shot clock and game clock. After a timeout, Manu handles the ball up high. He begins his move with about 12 seconds left, steps back and shoots a three. Clank. Greece captures the rebound and -- down two -- races up the court. With three ticks left, Vassilo Spanoulis takes a contested three from the top of the key. Clank. Luis Scola bats the ball around and ... game.

Manu almost saw his team get eliminated by a point after that miss. Given Greece's earlier luck from behind the arc, Spanoulis's shot looked good when it left his hands. The utter ecstacy after the buzzer shown by Argentina looked more like excitement than relief. It tells me this team won't be afraid of the Americans on Friday (in fairness, the Australians weren't afraid either). Argentina might have gotten away by the skin of their scalps, but it was because Greece played phenomenal more than Argentina being a step behind its 2004 version.

If either of Friday's games are anything like Argentina-Greece, we're in for some treats.

Photo: China's Wu Jingyu celebrates her victory over Thailand's Buttree Puedpong during their women's taekwondo gold medal match on August 20 in Beijing.

China continues to blow away the rest of the world in the gold medal standings at the Summer Olympics, with 45 gold medals through the conclusion of Day 12. Team USA is second with 26 golds.

The Americans maintain a narrow lead in the overall medal standings, with 81 medals in all. China has 79 medals.

China added two more golds today, with Wu Jingyu winning in the women's 49-kilogram and under taekwondo competition, and Yin Jian winning in women's sailing. China also picked up a bronze today when Wenxiu Zhang finished third in the women's hammer throw.

The Americans added medals today in the men's 200 meters (Shawn Crawford, bronze) and women's 400-meter hurdles (Sheena Tosta, silver).

Like most NHL fans, I'm an unabashed fan of hockey fights and the men who drop their gloves to protect their more skilled teammates. In their guts, most fans know that if it wasn't for players like Donald Brashear and Brian McGrattan, skaters like Dany Heatley and Alex Ovechkin wouldn't have nearly as much room to dazzle us the way they do.

Now, there's solid empirical evidence to back it up. In a study published by Ruhr Economic Papers, Blood Money: Incentives for Violence in NHL Hockey, John P. Haisken-DeNew and Matthias Vorell found a positive correlation between fighting and winning in the NHL.

Here's how The Atlantic saw the paper:

After analyzing league statistics-including penalty minutes, goals scored, and salary figures-the authors determined that strategic fighting can improve a team's playoff chances, and that players possessing the unique skills of an enforcer are duly rewarded for their efforts.

[...]

While a player earns a "wage premium" of $10,925 when he assists on a goal, they calculated, he earns $18,135 for winning a fight and $11,993 even for losing a fight.

According to the researchers, the most effective way to curb fighting in hockey would be to levy a $36,000 fine on each team per fight, and then apply the fine against the team's salary cap. I'm sure that idea would give Anaheim GM Brian Burke a sever case of agita.