The Beat

Looks like we'll never find out which rapper is the better youth football coach. Snoop Dogg, who organized his own league, recently took two squads to a youth football classic at Dolphins Stadium in Miami. When his 12- and 13-year-olds faced a team coached by hip-hop pioneer Luther Campbell, referees had to halt the game--which was being played for charity--after a brawl broke out between the teams. Campbell told SI that Snoop should be banned from youth sports and called him a "hood" and a "pimp." (Snoop could not be reached for comment.)

? Pedro Martinez always seemed like a good catch: gainfully employed (he draws $13.5 million a year from the Mets) and good with the little ones (remember his affinity for Nelson de la Rosa, his 28-inch sidekick during the 2004 postseason?). But now he's off the market. Last week Martinez confirmed that he wed former ESPN Deportes reporter Carolina Cruz (above) in November in the Dominican Republic.

? When the Suns released him at the end of last season, Paul Shirley devoted himself to his second love: writing. He started a blog on ESPN.com called My So-Called Career. ( Shirley began blogging on the Suns' website when he was still in the NBA.) The premise of his writing has always been simple, says Shirley: "a normal guy in a situation--the NBA--that is absolutely ludicrous." Shirley, 28, has since scored a book deal, and last week Fox announced it will produce a pilot for a sitcom, The 12th Man, based on his blogging. Though it's set in a fictional league, look for familiar characters. "We can do a riff on Kobe with no difficulty," he says. "We'll just nickname the guy the Cobra [a play on Bryant's Black Mamba moniker]. The NBA won't get behind this show. I'm 100 percent sure."

? Turns out Jimmy Johnson's hair does move after all. The Fox analyst will sport a more disheveled look (below, right, with star Michael Chiklis) on an upcoming episode of FX's cop drama, The Shield. (Only the beard is fake.) Johnson plays a blotto vagrant who gets hauled in to jail. The former coach has a few lines--and manages to give a shout-out to a colleague. "You've got the wrong guy!" Johnson wails in one scene. "Terry is the guy you're looking for! Not me!" ... Trevor Pryce won't be playing in Super Bowl XL--his Broncos lost to the Steelers 34-17 in the AFC Championship Game--but he's still having a good winter: The Martin Lawrence vehicle Big Momma's House 2 features his song Private Dancer. The 30-year-old defensive end, who eight years ago started his own label, wrote the song and plays all the instruments; the vocals are by rapper Rhymefest.