Who's Hot / Who's Not

WHO'S Hot

Seton Hall Hoops

Where'd these guys come from? Unranked and having lost three of four, the Pirates, led by guard Donald Copeland (right), steamrolled No. 15 N.C. State in Raleigh, then knocked off No. 25 Syracuse. Said Seton Hall coach Louis Orr, "Our guys, they played with a lot of courage."

Men in Tights

LeBron James's Cavaliers are 5-0, and he has averaged 37.2 points since he started wearing tights to protect his sore right knee. ("I don't look good in a knee brace," he explained.) And Jerry Rice put on a pair for ballet lessons to help his performance on Dancing with the Stars. ("I came here to win," he said.) Somewhere Mel Brooks is smiling.

Shooting Stars

Nothin' like a good ol' Texas shootout: Dallas is 8-0 in games decided by the NHL's newly installed penalty-shot contest. Secret weapon? Rookie Jussi Jokinen, who is a perfect 8 for 8.

Football Leagues

The XL matchup ain't all. On a weekend in which the AFL opened its 20th season, with two more expansion teams (in K.C. and Salt Lake City), the NFL announced it will keep a coveted batch of eight Thursday and Saturday NFL night games in-house next season, airing them on the NFL network. Gulp. Can full-blown pay-per-view be far behind?

WHO'S Not