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UFC President Dana White says he hopes there's a criminal investigation of EliteXC in the wake of Seth Petruzelli saying -- and then recanting -- that the promoters offered him extra money to keep his fight with Kimbo Slice standing up:

"It would be like the NFL, there's a game between the Patriots and the Browns and the NFL goes into the locker rooms and tells the players, 'Listen, the Patriots pull higher ratings if they make it to the playoffs and the Super Bowl than the Bornws do. So here's what we're going to do: The Browns have a great running game. We're going to pay your team more money if you just pass tonight, don't run, because we need the Patriots to make it to the next level.' That's f---ing illegal. They're being investigated by the Florida Athletic Commission. They ought to be investigated by the FBI, too."

In the Playoff Pulse series, our MLB editor takes on a hot October topic.

Over the course of his Game 1 start in the ALCS, Daisuke Matsuzaka managed to sum up his entire season brilliantly. He started horribly and flirted with disaster -- completely unable to find the strike zone -- but he somehow escaped. Then he got on a roll. A few innings later the only thing he was flirting with was a no-hitter and his team was scraping its way toward an unlikely win and the inside track on a World Series berth.

That's just life on the edge with Matsuzaka -- at some point you simply run out of ways to explain how or why he is successful.

He handed out 94 free passes during the regular season, yet managed to work his way into fringe consideration for the Cy Young Award by going 18-3 and posting a 2.90 ERA.

On Friday night, he threw 27 pitches in the first inning and loaded the bases, but wiggled out of it without allowing a run. He pulled a similar trick in the seventh inning, navigating out of a runners-on-the-corners, no-out jam to keep the Rays scoreless.

It's hard to imagine how a college football game could get more attention than Saturday's Red River Rivalry. Maybe Army vs. Navy, if they met as armed forces instead of football teams (which, coincidentally, is what we imagine a Tank Johnson family reunion might be like). Maybe Southern Cal vs. Notre Dame ... if Charlie Weis wore a song girls outfit. Or Maybe Michigan vs. Ohio State ... if Jim Tressel eschewed what's in his underwear drawer for what's in Marv Albert's.

But only maybe.

On the eve of Saturday's showdown at the State Fair, No. 5 Texas and No. 1 Oklahoma couldn't have more of the nation's attention if they were announcing a solution to the financial crisis on the finale of 'American Idol.'

And for good reason. Saturday's game should not only sort out the Big 12 South, but the BCS picture as well. That it will likely add another chapter to a rivalry that predates Oklahoma's statehood, determine a Heisman front-runner and be the best television of the football season not involving the Lingerie Football League is just mustard on the Fletcher's corn dog or icing on the Fried Twinkie.

(And thankfully, this game of the week is at noon instead of the usual night matinee that leaves us ready for a nap somewhere in the third quarter, which is a little too Joe Paterno for our tastes.)

But Saturday's State Fair showdown could be more coronation than rivalry.

Because if you think the stock market crash hit hard and fast, you haven't seen the Oklahoma offense.

The mainstream media has hit EliteXC harder than Seth Petruzelli hit Kimbo Slice this week, with prominent sports writers and commentators saying the MMA promotion is no better than pro wrestling and that Kimbo's loss to Petruzelli was fixed.

Today I asked EliteXC head of fight operations Jeremy Lappen what that does for EliteXC's credibility. Lappen told me he believes the media is focusing on something that's "not a story."

"I don't know what it does for our credibility," Lappen said. "I think it's an unfortunate situation. I think it's not appropriate for the media to say things like that when there's not a story. We didn't manipulate the fight. How somebody could think Kimbo Slice threw the fight, it's ridiculous. We should be getting credit, Kimbo should be getting credit and Petruzelli should be getting credit for putting on the fight after Ken Shamrock pulled out at the last minute. I think most organizations and most fighters in Kimbo's situation would have just said, 'Sorry, but we're just going to cancel the event.'"

Regarding the controversy over whether EliteXC paid Petruzelli a bonus (or, as some would call it, a bribe) to keep the fight on his feet, I pointed out to Lappen that he had seemed to contradict himself about what, exactly, EliteXC offered Petruzelli.

Larry Bird has been frank with his concern about the Pacers' image problem, telling the Indy Star last month, "All the off-the-court problems have been a disaster for us. ... It's something we said we were going to clean up and we're doing that."

He started a couple of years ago by dealing Stephen Jackson (guns!) and Al Harrington for a couple of overpriced stiffs and continued this summer by letting David Harrison (weed!) walk and exploring ways to move Jamaal Tinsley (target! Wait, how is that his fault? Okay, how about: bar fight! Better than nothing).

Today, Bird took one more step toward making his roster squeaky clean: Mike Wells of the Indy Star reports the Pacers have traded Shawne Williams (who has a tendency to be pulled over by police in cars containing weed and loaning cars to friends wanted for murder) to the Mavericks in exchange for Eddie Jones, two second-round picks and $1.8 million in cash.

Jones is about as professional as they come and would be a great influence on Indy's roster, but HoopsHype cites a source claiming Jones will be waived immediately, which would explain why cash was included. Williams will be reunited in Dallas with Rick Carlisle, who coached Williams his rookie year. I'm not entirely sure how he fits in with the Mavs or whether his prospects for playing time will be increased, but a fresh start will probably do him as much good as it will the Pacers.

This is just heartbreaking. This morning, just hours before his team took the field for Game 2 of the NLCS, Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel lost his mother:

The Phillies said that June Manuel died Friday morning at Roanoke (Va.) Memorial Hospital after a brief illness. She was 87. The Phillies had no information about the cause of death.

Manuel found out Friday morning after a meeting with his staff before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Despite the loss, Manuel is in the dugout for this afternoon's game. How can you focus on baseball at a time like this? If I had to guess, you don't. You put on a brave face and you do what you've done for most of your adult life for a few more hours, but I don't think anyone can truly postpone the grieving process.

And that's okay. His coaching staff is extremely experienced and his players have been to the playoffs before. I wish him my condolences, and for at least the next few hours, I'll be rooting for the Phillies.

When I saw it Sunday, I was pretty sure Adrian Wilson would hear from the league for blowing up Trent Edwards' face (video after the jump). For some reason, referee Jerome Boger didn't think enough of the helmet-to-helmet hit to throw a flag, but the NFL Gestapo has carefully reviewed the tape, and after wrapping up the really important stuff (Reverend Shaw Moore approves!), they've determined that Wilson does, in fact, deserved to be fined.

The NFL has fined Arizona Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson $25,000 for unnecessarily driving Buffalo Bills quarterback Trent Edwards into the ground Sunday. ...

The NFL said in an e-mail to ESPN.com that Wilson violated Rule 12, Section 2, Article 12 (2) of the NFL Official Playing Rules, which states "a defensive player must not unnecessarily or violently throw [a player] down and land on top of him with all or most of the defender's weight. Instead, the defensive player must strive to wrap up or cradle the passer with the defensive player's arms."

Hey, Rule 12, Section 2, Article 12 (2) sounds familiar. Oh, right, it's why James Harrison was flagged in the Jags game even though, you know, he did none of those things described in the rulebook. Luckily, he accused the ref of betting on the game and it cost him 20 large.

Apparently Jose Canseco is taking his training for his next fight seriously, even if the opponent and date have yet to be determined. How serious? Details are still sketchy, but SPORTSbyBROOKS passed along the absolutely shocking news that Canseco is still juicing.

Apparently David Vassegh of KLAC-AM in Los Angeles reported that Canseco "was recently detained at the U.S.-Mexico border near San Diego by Federal authorities for alleged possession of steroids." Here's the embarrassing part: the specific steroid Canseco was caught with was HCG, or human choronic gonadotropin. For all of you non-bodybuilders out there, HCG is frequently used "during and after steroid cycles to maintain and restore testicular size." Zing!

For a guy who's been so cavalier about his steroid use in the past, I'm a little shocked that Canseco thought he could get away with making a quick jaunt down to a Mexican pharmacy without drawing the attention from a customs agent. I mean, that's what drug mules are for. (Unless ... maybe Canseco is so hard up for cash he was the drug mule? Hmmm ...)

As inevitable post-season rumors go, the Yankees getting involved in the CC Sabathia bidding is about as foregone of a conclusion as there is right now. The Yankees missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade and a half right now, they're awash with cash, and CC Sabathia is not only the best pitcher in either league at the moment, but a free agent. Even if the brash Hank Steinbrenner weren't running the team, it'd make logical sense for the Yankees to be in in the bidding. Well, it makes logical sense to everyone but Tracy Ringolsby. Buried in his notes column today is this gem:

The Yankees aren't expected to make a strong pitch for potential free-agent left-hander CC Sabathia, whom they fear might be too laid back for the turmoil of the Bronx.

But ... who says that? Ringolsby? His sources? The underpants gnomes? Why did that item run after a blurb about Jerry DiPoto? One would think that real information about where the biggest free agent on the market was going to land would be worth more than one sentence in the bottom of a notes column.

This seems more a set-up for an "I told you so" column down the road. I mean, I freely admit that Ringoslby might have some information that we don't, but don't you think that the ex-President of the Baseball Writers Association of America would do a better job presenting that information?

Kim Couture, the wife of UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture and a sometime fighter herself, is the latest person in the MMA community to have harsh words for EliteXC this week, telling Steve Cofield that the organization's treatment of Gina Carano is unacceptable:



"I do believe that Gina is probably the biggest draw that they have in EliteXC," Couture said. "Her pay, I think it was $25,000, I think she deserves more."

Couture then turned to the subject of Carano getting naked for her weigh-in, and she said she didn't understand why the promoters and the Florida Boxing Commission couldn't let Carano weigh-in privately, not in front of a crowd and shielded only by towels.