Chris Webber has told ESPN.com he is going to sign with Detroit on Tuesday after he officially clears waivers, news that adds even more credence to the nice story dug out by our own Steve Aschburner, which details a possible trade of Marko Jaric to the Pistons for one of their big men. As Steve notes, all three players they might get back — Nazr Mohammed, Antonio McDyess and Dale Davis — have their own specific benefits in terms of what they might bring to the Wolves. All three could provide some inside muscle. All in all, it looks like a trade that could help both teams.

… and when you come out the other end, Eddie Griffin has a five-game drug suspension. It’s not a big deal basketball-wise — Griffin hasn’t exactly been playing meaningful minutes this year — but again, not exactly good PR for the Timberwolves. As for Griffin, he’ll have plenty of time on his hands … er, we mean … just … walk … away.

Skier Rainer Shoenfelder (not to be confused with Rainier Wolfcastle) does not back down from a dare. He went for a practice run. Naked. OK, not buck naked, but wearing only skis, boots and an orange helmet. He said he was happy it wasn’t very cold. Seriously, he did.

Kobe Bryant has the most popular jersey in the NBA. That’s according to a press release we received about an hour ago. The list only includes the top 15. KG? Not on it.

We’ll allow you to make any mental leaps between what caused us to search for this video clip of a past “Celebrity Jeopardy” from Saturday Night Live.

But apparently the Rockets’ 7-6 center has a thing for Nia Long, an actress perhaps best known for her work on “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” (that is, of course, unless you’re a fan of the Big Momma movies). Hey, she shares a birthday with RandBall, though she’s six years older. Annnnnyway, Yao is smitten with the 5-2 actress, and it says here they’ve been on a few dates already and that “sparks are flying.” We could say something here about low post moves, but that would just be wrong.

Mark it zero: The Wild was blanked 3-0 in Calgary and fell to 0-10-1 in its past 11 road games. In fact, Minnesota’s last regulation road victory was Oct. 21 in San Jose. This road thing is past the point of ridiculous.

It’s a league game, Smokey: The Mavs beat the Jazz 108-105 in what seemed to be somewhat of a Western Conference statement game. Dirk Nowitzki had a season-high 38 and Jerry Stackhouse was tossed after his second flagrant foul.  

Also, my rug was stolen: The write-in campaign for Rory Fitzpatrick yielded about 550,000 votes for the journeyman Canucks defender — about 23,000 short of what he needed to make the All-Star game. It was a good time while it lasted.

Donny, these men are nihilists: Tom Coughlin, who oversaw the train wreck of a Giants football season that somehow yielded a playoff spot, might get one more chance to lead this club, sources say. Oh, that sound you just heard? Eli Manning punching a wall.