Mandel’s article, highlights the risks the Big Ten faces with an expansion, many of which are not discussed when the Big Ten expansion question gets raised. (That’s why Mandel is such a college football writer, FYI).

Therefore, any potential 12th team would have to add $22.6 million in “value” to renegotiated TV and bowl deals to prevent the others from losing money. With all due respect to Missouri, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Rutgers (the most commonly discussed candidates), there’s only one viable school that could guarantee that kind of gold mine: Notre Dame. The Irish rejected the Big Ten’s last invitation in 1999, and the school has given no indication it’s willing to reconsider.

We are grateful that he was able to take 30+ minutes out of his afternoon to talk with us, and impressed that he was able to be so composed…what with his beloved Yankees (especially Derek and Minka) preparing for Game 1 of the 2009 World Series tonight.

But I guess when you’ve already won 27 of them and can buy your way into the playoffs every year, it’s easy to stay even keel. (Actually, more on this topic later.)

If you are not familiar with his work, Jimmy Traina runs the Hot Clicks blog on SI.com and is an editor of the always entertaining Extra Mustard section of the site, which fuses sports, pop culture, and humor. Hot Clicks is one of the most visited sports pages on a daily basis, as any publisher knows who has ever received a link from Traina.

Let’s just say it can put a strain on your server.

Use the in-page player below to listen to the podcast, or feel free to download this and all MSF podcasts for free on iTunes.

Tonight’s game — between ex-Indians CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee — provided an excellent introductory topic, as Traina offered his advice to Indians fans (watch anything else) and went against the grain from what you might assume he’d say concerning payroll discrepancies in baseball.

We also discussed the pressure of always being expected to win, whether he thinks A-Rod can ever become a “true Yankee,” what it was like to meet his hero Derek Jeter, and his thoughts on Mark Sanchez and Hotdoggate.

From there, a very informative discussion ensued regarding his role and daily duties at SI.com, how he acquired what most guys would consider to be a dream job, and how his view of the media has changed over the years — including how being on TV or in a newspaper does not necessarily mean that you know more than the average sports fan. (And yes we’re talking about you Jay Mariotti and Chip Caray.)

Finally, we rolled out a new section of the podcast that is currently going by the ultra-creative name of Five Questions. We won’t give away of the answers — you’ll have to listen to the podcast — but here are the questions so you’ll know what to look forward to:

1. In honor of Aslyum.com’s Movember promotion to raise cancer awareness, what are your top 3 non-Mattingly mustaches?
2. Who is your favorite SI swimsuit model of all-time? (Hint: she’s pictured to the right)
3. If you were told that tomorrow was going to be your final Hot Clicks, which lovely lady would get the featured spot at the top of your last hurrah post?
4. What is the best Halloween costume you’ve seen? (This answer definitely surprised (and somewhat disturbed) me.
5. Choose one of the following options: film a documentary in which you go trick or treating this weekend with either one of the Road Warriors, in full costume…or…be the fifth wheel for a double date with Derek Jeter, Minka Kelly, A-Rod and Kate Hudson.

Once again, we thank Jimmy for his time and think you’ll enjoy this latest MSF podcast offering. It is both entertaining and informative, especially if you’ve ever entertained a career in sports media or had a massive man crush on Derek Jeter.

And if you want some solid Yankees commentary during the games this week and next, follow Jimmy on Twitter, @jimmytraina, and definitely make Hot Clicks a daily stop.

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* – Jimmy Traina photo credit: SI.com

* – Derek Jeter / Minka Kelly photo credit: Brian Bahr/Getty Images via SI.com

* – Mallory Snyder photo credit: MM Agency

Today’s edition of PHOTD (remember, that means Photo Hilarity of the Day) comes courtesy of the incredible SI Vault (via today’s edition of Hot Clicks). Andy Gray is filling in for Jimmy Traina this week at Hot Clicks, and included some pretty hilarious SI Vault photos among his clicks. He also provided his twitter account address so you can follow him, which I highly encourage you to do. Tons of great pictures linked just on the first page of his recent tweets.

But the greatest one, from my perspective, is of my favorite coach of all-time, Bob Knight.

The photo, which you can see below, is a picture of Coach Knight apparently passed out in a chair in the locker room during the 2002 season. He was at Texas Tech then, and you can see his players in the background. (Click here to see the full-sized picture).

Though it is obviously unintentional in this case, the picture is just further proof of why Coach Knight is one of the most hilarious and entertaining coach of all-time.

What this is pretty much stating is that Chicago has the 2 worst managers in the league according to the players. And you can add this to Lou Pinella’s bad week. He has been critized for having lost his “fire”, and was forced to apologize to Milton Bradley. On the other hand, Ozzie Guillen has always been a “different” manager. He has been criticized for some tactial stuff but overall it seems like his players and Sox fans both adore him.

Both teams are underplaying preseason expectation. The Cubs currently have a 36-38 record, and are 4.5 games out of first. The Sox currently have a 39-38 record, and are 4 games out of first. But records don’t seem to have swayed the players who voted. There are plenty of other teams with bad records, but their managers did not make the top 5, not even the Nationals’ manager Manny Acta!

To me this was a huge shocker. I would have never guess Chicago has the 2 least liked managers. I am sure both Cubs and Sox fans will also be shocked.

When I am talking about podcasts that I participated in or stories that have discussed my role in the steroid speculation / blogger v MSM controversies that were all the rage last week, is it an engregious foul of douchebaggery for me to refer to myself in the 3rd person? I feel like it makes a better title and is more descriptive, so that people just glancing at titles have a clue beyond the word “me” for who is in the podcast being mentioned. But I’ve always hated it when people refer to themselves in the 3rd person.

And what should I do with the silly moniker JRod now? Sure, it is an oft-used nickname for me by people for whom five letters is too much but four is just right, yet a) it’s too close to “ARod” and “KRod” for my own personal comfort; b) most people reading MSF know my full name now anyway; c) there is nothing inherently clever or interesting about it.

Suggestions are welcome in the comment section below, but only after you visit our good friends at The Sports Bank who were kind enough to invite me on their podcast last evening with Peter Christian, the friendly and insightful Minnesota fan who manages The Deposit and who provides the regular “Callouts” section. Obviously we discussed the Ibanez story and then delved a little deeper into blogger responsibility and whole blogs v MSM thing, but my favorite part about the discussion was Peter’s interesting suggestion that the Big Ten should add Memphis as its 12th team.

I’d never heard this idea posited before, and have to think about it some more before making a judgment, but it’s certainly a welcome and intriguing diversion from the constant Notre Dame to the Big Ten talk.

Anyway, here is the link to the audio file and the podcast is also available on iTunes. And don’t be afraid to hop on over to The Sports Bank and browse around. Sure, their tagline (“your most valuable option for Midwest sports”) is a point of dispute here at Midwest Sports Fans, but friendly competition is always good — as is their site.

Also, thanks to Hugging Harold Reynolds for pointing this out because I had no idea, but Joe Posnanski penned an article in the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated (with Kobe on the cover), entitled Without A Clue: In the steroid age, those who cover the game struggle to describe what they see, in which he discusses the Ibanez debate of the last 10 days and mentions me and our site.

This week has been a lot of things and I have received my fair share of support and criticism, but 10-20-30 years from now I will always be able to say the following: I was on ESPN and my name was in Sports Illustrated.

There is no need to beat around the bush: that is awesome. It’s definitely a dream come true that I feel really fortunate to have had. The circumstances were certainly surprising and unexpected, but it does provide an enhanced sense of purpose (and responsibility) every time I wake up and log in here to our little corner of the sports blogosphere.

And now, because I’ve been horribly lax in proving you with compelling non-Ibanez links over the past few days, here are a few non-Ibanez links for your viewing pleasure on this fine Thursday morning:

Worst Kept Secret Ever Revealed by New York Times — (Hugging Harold Reynolds; it’s about the Sosa story that you’ve already heard of, but the old school jheri curl Sox picture of Sosa is worth the click.)

Steroid Era: Best Of The Rest — (Josh Q. Public; my only gripe is that Frank Thomas is not included.)

Kobe Bryant on Conan O’Brien — (The Hoop Doctors; saw this interview and it was definitely entertaining. Conan and Kobe at their best.)

Can Joe Mauer Bat .400? — (Bugs and Cranks; not with the reborn Jose Contreras back in the AL Central!)

Who Has the Brainiest Team in Baseball? — (Wall Street Journal; well it ‘aint the Natinals.)

Are AL Pitchers feasting on the NL? — (The Sweet Spot Blog by Rob Neyer)

Paul Konerko Should Probably Stop Talking for a While — (Rumors and Rants; which includes my new favorite line when somebody throws some steroid speculation: “Not to go all Jerod Morris on you, but…”)

The Most Honest Man in Baseball — (Sparty and Friends; hint: it’s not Sammy Sosa.)

The Five Worst Mascots in the Major Leagues — (Shay Roddy’s Phillies Phanatics; what, no Steve Bartman?)

Recasting “Major League” With Today’s Ball Players — (America’s White Boy)

The NBA Finals Confused Jason Whitlock — (Joe Sports Fan)

Have a great Thursday everyone. Work and care-for-the-recovering-dog time.