`Hey, didn't you used to be the Heat-Knicks rivalry?' (Caught On The Fly).

* Fly's opening act at the Improv: Did you hear that the SPORTING NEWS is looking to hire a copy editor? It's believed that Nick Saban and Bob Stoops are candidates for the job.... Why did Cincinnati officials pick a Sunday to make Riverfront implode and go up in smoke? Because those kinds of things always happened on Sundays at Riverfront.

* Word outta N'Awlins is the cleanup at the (S)Aints' house this offseason will rival the one on Bourbon Street every Ash Wednesday. There will be so much dust from the defensive side (holdovers are Charles Grant and Darren Howard, then who knows?), that one could, well, choke. But that doesn't mean that high-powered offense won't get tidied up a bit, and talent won't be the only factor, as a serious attitude check is in order. At the top of the 'tude-do list: Kyle Turley, whose name rhymes with surly.

* After home losses to San Diego, Northern Arizona and, ugh!, Michigan, Steve Lavin officially has changed the way Westwood hoops home should he spelled. It's now Pall-ey Pavilion. (Hey, Dan Guerrero, got that short list updated?).

* The victory column isn't the only place where the Mavs' numbers are rising, as the minutes of Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash and ...