The Beat

HE RETIRED from the NBA 18 months ago, but Reggie Miller can't escape Spike Lee. The director text-messaged Miller before the Pacers- Knicks game on Nov. 4 to say, THE KNICKS ARE GOING TO WIN. (He was wrong.) Lee also wished the ex-Pacer good luck in his second career. Miller started a film company, Boom Baby Productions, in 2004 and premiered his first feature, Beautiful Ohio, starring William Hurt and Rita Wilson, in Los Angeles last week. (Miller also has an AAU basketball documentary and a drama based on the South's first interracial college hoops game in the works.) Asked how his first picture went, Miller, who may need a lesson in hyping his product, said, "Is [ Ohio] the best film in the world? No. But it sure ain't the worst."

? Jimmie Johnson is taking the mystery out of the Nextel Cup (page 126), so the puzzle of the week in NASCAR garages was Jeff Gordon's marriage to model Ingrid Vandebosch on Nov. 7. The couple (right), who've been an item since 2004, sneaked down to an undisclosed spot in Mexico for a small ceremony. Even Johnson, one of Gordon's best pals on the circuit, didn't know about it; he said he found out about the wedding while watching Live with Regis and Kelly. Why the secrecy? Gordon promised exclusive rights to the story to US Weekly, which made a donation to his foundation and will publish wedding photos.

? Kick Ass Red sounds like something Bears fans chanted in the 1930s, but it's a wine being sold by a Chicago figure of a more recent vintage: former coach Mike Ditka. In June, Ditka visited the Ukiah, Calif., vineyard of the Mendocino Wine Company to pick blends, and the first bottles are now available in Chicago. His cellar includes a chardonnay, a cabernet sauvignon, a merlot and the Red, a blend of zinfandel, syrah and petite sirah. Da Coach also has a pinot grigio, a favor, he says, for Da Missus: "My wife only drinks pinot grigio."

? Penny Marshall made her movie directorial debut with 1986's Jumpin' Jack Flash. Now she may handle Smokin' Joe Frazier. According to the Philadelphia Daily News, Marshall is developing a biopic about the former heavyweight champ and longtime Philly resident.... Dallas owner Mark Cuban, Yankees boss George Steinbrenner and Heat coach Pat Riley are among those narrating DVDs that teach sports—and sportsmanship—to toddlers. (Maybe Cuban should watch one himself.) The Team Baby Entertainment series also features Al Michaels and Bob Costas

PICTURE THIS
? Liftoff isn't a word often used to describe the Rockets' offense—showtime in Houston means dumping the ball in to Yao Ming—but the Toyota Center gets elevated during timeouts. That's when the Rockets Power Dancers hit the floor for their dunk routine: With the help of a trampoline, the ladies make like Michael Jordan. The ballsiest dunker? Carrie Barnhart, who double-dipped when Houston beat the Knicks last Friday.