We're looking for the best/worst of sports-related shirts from around the world to feature in this space. If you have a submission, send it to FirstCuts@sportingnews.com.

Manny Pacquiao will square off against Oscar de la Hoya in a welterweight bout on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas. To commemorate the occasion, Jeepney put together this limited edition "Thrilla From Manila" tee to celebrate their favorite boxer -- Pac-Man, The Mexicutioner, The Detroyer, Pambansang Kamao. I'm sure Large will weigh in soon on the bout, but in the meantime all you get is my uneducated opinion that has nothing to do whatsoever with boxing. I like this shirt, and I want seventeen nicknames like boxers do.

17 years ago, Dee Brown single handedly made the Reebok Pump a legend. During the 1991 Slam Dunk Championship, Brown reached down to his Reebok Pumps, gave the tongues a couple of pumps for good measure, and proceeded to take home the Slam Dunk Championship, edging out Shawn Kemp with his now iconic no-look dunk.

To celebrate the opening of their Flash Pop-up Shop in NYC, Reebok recently released a Reebok Omni Lite in a reverse Dee Brown colorway. Instead of the iconic Black/White/Orange colorway that Dee Brown brought to millions of people that night, the Reverse Dee Brown features a White upper with Black and Orange accents.

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Three episodes into its highly publicized run on ESPN.com, the new web-series Mayne Street is charting the heavily trodden path of many bland sitcoms that have come before. The principal characters are a collection of network comedy archetypes straight out of central casting – the deadpan, above-it-all front man who plays by his own rules in a corrupt environment, the tough-talking female producer who is ever exasperated with the uncompromising male lead, the numb-nuts too-young executive who speaks in a frenetic Hollywood argot, the burned-out camera man who is, you know, righteous.

What’s new about Mayne Street is that it’s ESPN serving up this glop and that it’s four- and five-minute episodes on the internet rather than 22-minute episodes on the boob tube. Otherwise, you’ve got something here that, dripping with the bitter icing of irony required of such shows in the era of The Office, remains a very familiar slice of TV crap cake. For some reason, I’m reminded of the show, Becker. Maybe it’s because Kenny Mayne’s unwitting sarcastic man’s man ex-athlete routine makes me think of Ted Danson. Norm MacDonald, too -- there’s a heavy dose of Norm MacDonald in Mayne’s routine.

Mayne Street is a mock, behind-the-scenes look at the life of Kenny Mayne as he goes about his hilarious business of being a SportsCenter anchor. The first episode (above) plays it straight down the pike, and is the best of the three for capturing a scenario that anyone who has ever worked in television is overly familiar with.

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XXL: MUST-SEE TV

Pistons vs. Celtics, TNT, 8 p.m.
Lakers vs. Suns, TNT, 10:30 p.m.

Oh word. High-octane NBA smackdowns tonight that have an early season air of potential conference finals about them. Detroit is coming off big wins over the Cavs and the Lakers and suddenly that A.I. trade is looking nice. Meanwhile the Celtics keep doing how they do. An Eastern Conference Finals repeat between these two clubs certainly seems like a distinct possibility.

In the nightcap, Kobe and the Lakers, coming off a loss for the first time this season, head to Phoenix where Shaq awaits, the same Shaq who recently was rumored to be blabbing about a potential return to the purple and gold, adding fuel to the always smoldering fire whenever Diesel and Kobe lock horns.

EXTRA LARGE

Chattanooga vs. Memphis, ESPN2, 4:30 p.m.
Duke vs. Southern Illinois, ESPN2, 7 p.m.
Michigan vs. UCLA, ESPN2, 9 p.m.

Lot of marquee college basketball on the deuce tonight, starting with defending finalist No. 13 Memphis against Chattanooga in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan. Then it’s onto the semis of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden, featuring No. 10 Duke versus Southern Illinois and No. 4 UCLA versus Michigan.

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eBay is full of hidden gems, particularly when it comes to sports-related items. David Arnott brings you the best oddities.

I thought the Midwestern ethic was all about stoic strength in the face of adversity. O Pioneers! and all that jazz. Apparently, it doesn't extend to University of Michigan football fans. First, coach Rich Rodriguez felt the need to tell the melodramatic wingnuts in the fanbase they needed to "get a life". Now, one crazy has decided that Rich Rod's disappointing first season warrants auctioning his fandom to the highest bidder.

This is not an original concept. In recent history, a blogger raised money for AIDS research by selling his baseball fandom, and some poor Chicago Cubs fan despaired enough to renounce his fandom after the North Siders slipped out of the playoffs with a whimper this year.

However, this one gets major points for creativity and the ability to turn the auction into an epic tragedy. Let's start with the photographs and examine how they're loaded with meaning. This person is still wearing Michigan gear, as if letting go is too difficult to do all at once. He doesn't want to change, but the team has forced his hand. He's even gone to the length of juxtaposing a mini-helmet, possibly procured from a gumball machine, with handwriting expressing his disappointment. Is this, perhaps, a nod to his childhood, now lost forever to an entity that didn't love him as he loved it?

Ultimately, the winning bid will raise a few bucks for a charity of the winner's choosing, which is to be commended. But, as a final word, from this San Francisco Giants (72-90), San Francisco 49ers (3-7), and Charlotte Bobcats (32-50) fan to all of Wolverine Nation: Chill. They were 11-0 two years ago. Seriously, dudes and dudesses. We wonder about you, sometimes.

Major tip of the cap to Mottram for sending me this post from seanahern which features John C. McGinley, better known from Office Space, Scrubs, etc., competing on American Gladiators. I'd love to know what year this was from. I mean, looking at his IMDB page, he hasn't really been "out of work," so when did he have time to kick it and go on Gladiators?

Just an hour or two prior to waking up on Tuesday, it was 18 frickin' degrees in Charlotte. The high didn't get out of the 40s. This, my friends, is not the South I signed up for. Anyway, what apparel is more appropriate for this time of the year than a few t-shirts.

In our latest FirstCuts giveaway, we're aiming specifically at people who wear (or want to give away) SIZE LARGE t-shirts. We've got three lovely offerings for you from No Mas, UNDRCRWN and Adult Swim.

From No Mas, we give you the "Lovetron" shirt in blue and orange. Lovetron is, of course, the planet from which Darryl Dawkins came to this earth. From Adult Swim, we've got the simple, understated "Adult Swim" logo t-shirt. This one is made by American Apparel actually, better known for their ads that look sort of like hostage photos. And finally we've got the Colorado shirt from UNDRCRWN, which reads "What happens in Colorado, stays in Colorado" across the chest. It has gold and purple on this white shirt. Hmmm ... I wonder who this is referencing?

Drop us a comment, say what's up, wish us a Happy Thanksgiving, send us an awesome t-shirt tip, talk to us about a movie, TV show or video game. You get the picture. We're just trying to hook it up for the holidays. This contest will run until at least Thanksgiving, and maybe a bit longer based on responses. (And once again, these are size LARGE, so if you want Double-XL or something, sorry, we're really just giving away what we've got in house.)

Marcus DiNitto, the managing editor for sportingnews.com, is at the SportsBusiness Journal/SportsBusiness Daily's Sports Media & Technology Conference in New York.

Dick Vitale was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield in September, but Billy Packer "should have been there first," Packer's former broadcast partner, Jim Nantz told several hundred sports media executives at SportsBusiness Journal/SportsBusiness Daily's Sports Media & Technology Conference in New York on Wednesday. No disrespect to Dickie V, of course, Nantz was careful to mention, but he reiterated: "My man Billy Packer needs to be there."

Nantz took some of the blame for his partner not being enshrined yet. Why? He didn't realize someone must first be nominated before being inducted. Oops. Well, breathe easy Packer fans, the wheels are now in motion, as the CBS team has since taken the necessary steps to make sure Packer gets his due.

When it was put forth to Nantz that the opinion of his former partner among sports fans, blogs and radio types was, um, less-than-favorable, it clearly struck a nerve.

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