To know list

[1] DUNCAN OR DA KID?

Two superstars need your votes!

Nearly a month remains in voting for the NBA's most popular players--a process also known as All-Star balloting--but based on the early returns, there's only one reason to bother.

Nine of the 10 starting spots already are wrapped up, with Yao Ming--proving again the Chinese like to use the Internet--leading all vote-getters. But the one position up for grabs is a doozy: Western Conference forward. Tracy McGrady, listed as a guard last year, has one forward spot sewed up. Nothing wrong with that, especially because the All-Star Game is in Houston. But with T-Mac in the lineup, either Kevin Garnett or Tim Duncan will start on the pine. In the first returns, Garnett held a slim lead over the league's best player.

Another position switch has had a different effect in the East. Because LeBron James has moved to forward from guard, there's now room in the East's lineup for Allen Iverson and Dwyane Wade. If James still were a guard, Wade--whose jersey is now the league's No. 1 seller--likely would end up as a reserve.

Your probable starting lineups (visit nba.com to cast your lot; voting closes January 22):

West: Yao, McGrady, Garnett/Duncan, Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash.

East: Shaquille O'Neal, James, Jermaine O'Neal, Iverson and Wade.

--Stan McNeal

[2] TECH SUPPORT

Your days of skipping work to watch the NCAA Tournament are over

March Madness on Demand from CBS SportsLine.com and NCAAsports.com streams every game broadcast from the first three rounds of the NCAA men's basketball tournament on the Internet, and this year the package will be free for the first time. Users will be able to launch separate windows to see multiple out-of-market games simultaneously. So instead of sneaking off to a bar, you can watch at your desk and pretend you're working.

SportsLine's VP of Programming, Joe Ferreira, says free access should drive heavy traffic between noon and 5 p.m. ET on the first two days of the tournament, potentially making it "one of the biggest events in Internet history."--Seth Elkin

[3] TELEVISION

It'll be Football Night on NBC

NBC will be the destination for football fans on Sunday evenings starting next fall Though the network has yet to name John Madden's play-by-play partner, Bob Costas is set to anchor a one-hour pregame show at 7 p.m. ET that will be followed by the weekly Sunday night game. NBC has dubbed the studio show Football Night in America.

It's uncertain whether ESPN will stick with its long-running NFL Primetime highlight show in a head-to-head battle with NBC's coverage. But NBC Sports honcho Dick Ebersol must be glad Costas will be back on his network regularly. The 17-time Emmy winner's best work lately has been on HBO.--S.E.

[4] COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Four better or worse than expected

As holiday gifts go, some surprises are pleasant (plasma TVs) and some are not (socks and underwear). It's that way each December in college basketball, too.

Texas. The Longhorns lost to Duke and Tennessee by 48 points combined. Texas is a weak 3-point shooting team and hasn't found a way for low-post scorers LaMarcus Aldridge and P.J. Tucker to be effective together.

Memphis. The Tigers didn't get invited to join any of the big-time conferences, and good thing for all those leagues. Memphis is getting 76 points per game from players in their first or second years of college ball and has a 5-1 record against teams from the big-money conferences.

Stanford. Have we kicked around the Cardinal enough yet? Well, there's this: Virginia Tech 59, Stanford 52. Apparently not.

Jamar Smith. Not everything about Bruce Weber's recruiting at Illinois has been perfect, hut critics should at least have watched this kid shoot before firing away. Smith was 26-of-46 from 3-point range in the Illini's 10-0 start.

--Mike DeCourcy

[5] BESIDES, IT'S ONLY MONEY

$50 million to $85 million

If you guessed the combined payroll for the Devil Rays and Royals falls in that range, you'd be right. If you guessed that's how much the Yankees lost in 2005, right on again, Mr. Econ Major. Of course, any student of the game knows that baseball teams are notorious for trying to hide revenue to make their losses look larger. In the Yankees' case, the equalizing factor is the revenue generated from the YES TV network that is owned by the club. The New York Daily News, which reported the team's loss, says the club expects to bring in $60 million a year from YES. In other words, you don't have to feel sorry for the Boss and his boys.--S.M.

[6] TSN STAFF POLL

Which babe in the woods has the best shot to develop into a big-time NFL quarterback?

42% Charlie Frye, Browns

26% Kyle Orton, Bears

32% Alex Smith, 49ers

[7] BAD TIMES, BAD TIMING

Harbaugh passed over

There was that one glorious Colts season when the team was oh-so-close to the Super Bowl and its quarterback, Jim Harbaugh, was nicknamed "Captain Comeback." Well, the Cap'n recently pleaded innocent in a San Diego courtroom to driving under the influence.