NEWS AND NOTES

--Stiller injury update: Keisel, Marvel, and Townsend are all out. Parker and McFadden are questionable. Holmes is good to go. Ernster is gone. [Trib]

--Quick, name one of the nation's top five safe havens for real estate. Time's up. It's PITTSBURGH. [Yahoo! Real Estate]

--The trailer for Adventureland, the Kennywood-filmed comedy featuring Twlight's Kristen Stewart and Ryan "Husband of Scarlett Johansson" Reynolds, is up and running. Enjoy.


--FSN Pittsburgh will be re-airing some classic Pens games from the 2007-08 season on Thanksgiving day, including the Winter Classic and the triple-OT Game Five of the Stanley Cup Finals. Sure, we know the outcomes of the games, but it's still better than watching the Lions. [Pittsburghpenguins.com]

--Steelers are #4 in the latest ESPN Power Rankings, which puts them in either the Orange or Fiesta Bowl if the season ended today. [ESPN]

--Hot on the heels of the recent news that Cam Bonifay has found gainful employment with the Cincinnati Reds, former Bucco skipper Jim Tracy will be the bench coach of the Colorado Rockies. And the final piece to a World Series return is now in place. [Bleacher Report]

--Mike Florio calls for an investigation of Gerald Poindexter, based on some wildly inappropriate behavior that you'll have to click to read more about. [PFT]

--Browns owner Randy Lerner admits that he is envious of the Steelers. And well he should be. When we have an e-mail scandal, it's with a position coach and not the GM of the franchise. [ESPN]

--Purely for the reader once known as "Louis Lipps is My Homeboy", here's an interview with the real Louis Lipps. [Pittsburgh Magazine]

--Looks like Warren Sapp and Derek Hough mixed it up on the Dancing with the Stars set. Wait a minute...this is the same guy that called out Keyshawn for appearing on an interior decorating show, right? [TMZ, Fanhouse]

--Here's the full list of George W. Bush's 14 pardons. Michael Vick did not make the cut. [Yahoo!]

--Satellite radio is dead? I'm sure Howard Stern will read this article on the air...when he comes back from vacation, that is. [Datamation]

--Cool table on where IQs fall in relation to jobs. Can this be translated to Wonderlic scores? [Neatorama]

--And here's 10 video games to keep away from your kids. I don't know, Left 4 Dead sounds like good, clean family fun. [Yahoo! Games]

Send your news, tips, and links to Mondesishouse@gmail.com.

A STEELERS SOFTBALL SATURDAY

This is the best I could do for a "Steelers Softball" photo

For anyone interested in watching football players play softball, tomorrow is your lucky day. At 1 PM at North Allegheny HS, several Steelers take to the diamond for a celebrity game to benefit the Pittsburgh Foundation.

Hines Ward, Deshea Townsend, Casey Hampton, Santonio Holmes, Charlie Batch, and Jeff Reed are scheduled to appear. And don't quote me on this, but I could've sworn that I heard on the DVE morning show today that Big Ben might be there as well.

And as reported earlier in the week, the Washington Wild Things will also be hosting a Steeler-laden softball game on Saturday night. That game will start at 7:05 pm at CONSOL Energy Park. While their rosters have not been set, their website indicates that "over the past few years prominent Steelers like James Harrison, Chris Hoke, Bryant McFadden, Anthony Smith, Deshea Townsend, Nate Washington, Santonio Holmes, and Louis Lipps."

Will any Steelers pull an Ernie Banks and attempt to play two? I doubt it. But the prospect of watching James Harrison taking a swing is mighty intriguing.

If anyone out there attends one or both of these, feel free to email mondesishouse@gmail.com with any recaps and/or photos.

Join the Hooters Rooters

A few weeks back, Stephon Marbury was visiting the Century III Mall to promote his new line of shoes, and your smart-mouthed host speculated that Marbury may have been signed by the Pittsburgh XPlosion. Well, the XPlosion did just sign Coleco Buie, but Marbury will be back in New York for another year of disappointing basketball with the Knicks.

While perusing the XPlosion website and checking their other links for future comedic purposes (such as a "store", filled with the five finest ABA league logo items on the planet), I stumbled on quite possibly the most absurd promotion in Pittsburgh sports history: The Pittsburgh XPlosion Hooters Rooters Bus. How this flew under the radar without comment to this point is simply unreal. This was a Blogger's Goldmine. I will let the XPlosion's website describe this experience in their own words:

"Before the game: Have dinner at your local Hooters, then ride the HOOTERS ROOTERS BUS to the game venue with the HOOTERS GIRLS!

During the game: Watch the Xplosion take on the best of the ABA in the special HOOTERS ROOTERS section with the HOOTERS GIRLS!

After the game: Ride the HOOTERS ROOTERS bus back to your local Hooters for the post-game party!"

Wow, I have about a million and one questions concerning this. Where do I begin? This is a team, that as far as their own website shows, looks like they average about 10 fans a game, with 8 of the 10 probably getting free tickets.

Any chance we can move the XPlosion to Kansas City?

So how many rabid XPlosion fans are planning an evening around not one, but TWO trips to Hooters, riding a bus with Hooters girls pretending to be interested in them, AND watching Armon Gilliam hoop it up? What does the attendance jump to, 15? Does Gilliam come back to Hooters for the post-game party and regale you with Jerry Tarkanian stories? Does anyone find it odd that this team not only has a scantily-clad "dance squad", they also have a cheering section of Hooters girls?

Most importantly- has anyone out there ever participated in this traveshamockery?

Here's some more facts you may not know about the XPlosion:

October 30, 2005 was proclaimed "Pittsburgh XPlosion Day". That Pittsburgh City Council sure has its priorities in order.
City Council was XPloding with pride last October

The XPlosion played the Steelers in an exhibition game on May 19. I've linked a photo of Louis Lipps on defense just for our devoted reader and commenting legend "Louis Lipps is My Homeboy".
Lipps inexplicably breaks into jumping jacks during the game

The XPlosion play in a division named after their owner, Freddie Lewis. Lewis played 11 seasons in the ABA and NBA and scored over 12,000 points, averaging 17 per game. He was a four-time All Star and a McKeesport High product.

The original Fred-Ex

According to their website, it sounds like the XPlosion are gearing up for season 2.0, so we'll have to keep an eye on their progress. Anyone out there who has been to an XPlosion game on on "the bus", please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.