• Pete McEntegart: The 10 Spot -- Thur., Dec. 16 • Truth & Rumors: Mariners close to inking Beltre • Michael Bradley: These Buffs aren't shining • Josh Elliott: Here's what you're sick of • Arash Markazi: USC's Leinart enjoys NYC • More Blogs: Rolfe | Bechtel | Mannix | Scheft Click here for Today's Sign of the Apocalypse, Game to Watch, Leading Off gallery and much more!

1. Charles Barkley was treated like a rock star Tuesday when he visited his friend, Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas. Barkley posed for pictures and signed autographs for the crowd that swelled in the typically staid Supreme Court cafeteria. The former NBA star went to see Thomas to seek a personal extension of the First Amendment to include any words that might conceivably come out of his mouth.

2. The Expos' relocation to Washington D.C. is in jeopardy after the D.C. city council required that private financing fund at least half the cost of a proposed new stadium. The Expos might play just one season in D.C. while MLB searches for a permanent home, but baseball insiders say it will be difficult to sell the club amid such uncertainty. MLB's first call will be to the Mets, because they'll obviously buy anything.

3. Now that Pedro Martinez and his balky shoulder are with the Mets, 10 Spot reader Matt of Hoboken, N.J., raises an interesting question. Anna Benson, the wife of Mets pitcher Kris Benson, recently said that she'd sleep with everyone in the Mets organization if she discovered that Kris had cheated on her. Matt asks whether that group would extend to Nelson de la Rosa, Pedro's 28-inch tall good-luck charm.

4. Former Mississippi State football coach Jackie Sherrill has filed a suit against the NCAA, claiming that the regulatory body fabricated charges against him to drive him out of his job. In a related story, Sherrill was hit with a suit alleging pain and suffering by Wild Willie, the bull he castrated in front of his players in 1992.

5. A total of 47 Mavericks season-ticket holders have donated 140 front-row seats for injured soldiers who are recuperating at a Texas hospital to watch Saturday's Mavs-Hawks game. It's a terrific gesture, although it means the wounded soldiers must endure watching the 4-18 Hawks. As 10 Spot reader Rick of Vermont points out, haven't the soldiers suffered enough?

6. California State Senator Dick Ackerman, upset that the Cal Bears have been squeezed out of the Rose Bowl, has introduced a resolution to the state's assembly calling for the dissolution of the BCS. Ackerman concedes that the California body has no legal authority to dissolve the BCS and admits that he is half-joking. That's in contrast to the BCS, which is a complete joke.

Coming Friday! The debut of the SI.com Book Club. Each month, we'll review a book and offer an excerpt. Our first selection: FAITHFUL by Stewart O'Nan and Stephen King.

7. Amazing Race update: Reality TV has a new villain, and his name is Jonathan. It's worth tuning into this show just to root for his speedy downfall. On Tuesday's episode he berated his wife Victoria for picking up his heavy backpack on the frantic race to that episode's pit stop. (She feared someone would take it.) Nobody was surprised to see Jonathan explode when they were passed by another team, screaming at his crying wife and shoving her backpack (while it was on her back) before declaring, "She's going to have to live with her choices." I can think of one choice she might be regretting -- marrying this creep. Careful AR6 watchers will recall a few episodes back when Jonathan briefly raised his arm as if he might backhand his wife and she gave a brief but telltale flinch, which the 10 Spot felt compelled to view over and over in slow motion. It's riveting, if sometimes frightening, viewing.

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8. The Bulls are offering fans a series of "fantasy promotions" in which, for fees ranging from $1,000 to $5,500, they can serve as PA announcer, sweep the floor or sit on the bench during warm-ups. In one package, a fan paying up $1,500 can live the luxurious life of an NBA reporter by sitting on press row, interviewing the players in the locker room and writing stories for publication on the Bulls Web site. So how much would someone pay to be the 10 Spot for a day? Keep in mind that it entails sleeping until 2 p.m. and that SI.com reaches a much wider audience than the Bulls' site. I'll even throw in a signed copy of the hat I wear in my picture. That alone is worth $11.99 retail. We'd like to hear your offers, and creativity counts as much as the dollar figure. Almost, anyway.

9. Lance Armstrong filed a lawsuit Monday against his former personal assistant, Mike Anderson, who claims that Armstrong owes him $500,000 after firing him in November. That raises an important question: Just how much does Armstrong's personal assistant make? With that kind of scratch, perhaps he's interested in being the 10 Spot for a day.

10. Reader feedback was heavy on Tuesday's 10 Spot ethical dilemma in which the car I was riding blew a tire on my trip home from work. Most readers felt I did more than enough given the circumstances. Some felt I was a wuss for taking a cab the final 1.5 miles home rather than walking. (Fair point.) Others felt that the fact that I was taking a car service at all proved that I was an effete elitist out of touch with the real world. My mom even wrote in to ask if she had ever shown me how to change a tire. (She hadn't, but I've done so twice.) Thanks, as always, for your responses.