By Larry Harris

• Ultimate Disgrace: When the Steelers lost to the Broncos a couple weeks ago, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl suffered the absolute horror of having to don a Denver jersey and do The Tebow in front of a lot of people. There's no word whether Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is seeking to bet a few shares of an Indy Car race on the Ravens-Patriots game.

• Call The Medics: That NBA lockout and nearly absent training time is already taking a terrible toll on league stars, who are falling to serious injury by the dozens. Come April, they may be calling up guys from the YMCA leagues.

• Welcome Change: There are those who find the unusual humor and sarcasm of Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco a welcome breath of spring in the Year Of Armageddon this NFL season has become in Baltimore.

• Asian Conflict: Former Denver Nuggets sharpshooter J. T. Smith, always a flashy, controversial sort, hasn't slowed down during his current playing time in China -- but this one has a twist. He had to go into the stands the other day to break up a fight started by his sister -- who allegedly had cast a bottle onto the court and was grappling with an 80-year-old woman.

• Fancy Footwork: Novak Djokovic showed up at the Australian Open wearing sneakers that boasted logos of the three major tennis championships he won last year and a heel imprint of the Serbian flag. What, did Michael Jordan's shoe crew miss an opportunity?

Posted Jan. 20, 2012