Aren't hockey moms embarrassed enough?

In this economy, it might be a buyers' market as many will be forced to sell low.

So, which baseball team will be the winner of the Manny Ramirez sweepstakes? Your first guess might be the team that always throws money at the game's top free agent to be, the former Best-Team-Money-Can-Buy, the New York Yankees.

The NY Daily News' Lisa Swan and Jon Lewin, while bemoaning the cancellation of a proposed closing ceremonies event at Yankee Stadium, cite the following reasons why the Steinbrenners will want Manny.

• He’s perceived as a winner, and it’s in the Yankees’ best interest to have Manny, not Torre, as the face of the Dodgers’ success. Plus, the hope is that Ramirez will do for the Yanks what he did for the Dodgers
• He puts fannies in the seats, and will get people talking about the Yanks again.
• The Yanks need a hitter who does well wih runners in scoring position. Manny is a monster at the plate.
• Manny is a Yankee-killer, and that’s the type of guy who usually gets a free agent contract from the team. Look at Carl Pavano - all he had was one World Series against the Yanks, and he got $40 million!
• He’s getting older, and wants a lot of money. Those factors are usually irresistible to Brian Cashman.
• Signing Ramirez could stick it to the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Mets. How can the Yanks pass that trifecta up?

 The baseball playoffs will finally resume tonight with the Phils and Dodgers squaring off in Philly. If you're thinking of attending, the Philadelphia Daily News' Paul Vigna reveals that a ticket to Game 1 will be the least expensive of any of the NLCS games to be played at Citizens Bank Park.

Sean Pate, of StubHub, said yesterday that prices had slowly decreased during the week.

"If I look at the last few days, it has been creeping down," he said. "Monday it was at $238, Tuesday at $241, Wednesday $239. Probably [today] you'll see $225 potentially. But again, that's going to be the steady average. As far as getting in, the low end probably will be in the $120 range.

"What might be interesting to look at is see what the tickets are listed for, maybe even in the morning. That's when you start to see some people getting desperate and wanting to get rid of these tickets."

 Chicago Tribune's Mike Downey reminds us that it's never too soon or too late to make fun of the Cubbies.

I know thousands of you must have had a World Series with the Cubs on your bucket list—things to see before you croak.

Sorry, my friends. It doesn't matter how much lipstick you put on this goat.

Your Cubs are still baaaaad.

Wednesday was the 63rd anniversary of the last World Series game won by the Cubs, for those of you at the assisted-living center in your "Party Like It's 1945" shirts and funny hats.

Tradition matters. But don't you worry, if Mark Cuban does buy the Cubs, he will make sure that they continue to be total losers in the very same way his basketball team is.

Still, in the spirit of equal time, he also finds time and space to slam the crosstown White Sox for being the first team to lose a playoff series to the fledgling Tampa Bay Rays, which he equates with, "a little like becoming the first Democrat or Republican to lose a presidential election to the Green Party."

 If you have some spare cash and are looking for that final piece of Brett Favre memorabilia to complete your collection, the Appleton Post-Crescent reports that the former Green Bay Packers quarterback’s home is on the market.

 There’s no “for sale” sign in front of the ranch-style home at 2085 Shady Lane, at the corner of Shady Lane and Morris Avenue, but it’s listed by local real estate agency Micoley and Company for $475,000. The nearly 3,000-square-foot home includes four bedrooms and three baths, according to Micoley’s Web site.

Say what you will about Adam "Don't Call Me Pacman No Mo'" Jones, who was involved in a fight with his Cowboys-installed bodyguard early Wednesday morning. On Mike and Mike In The Morning, Mark "Roc Hoover" Schlereth noted that Wednesdays are usually the day for special teams practice EARLY...so the former Pac-person was out in yet another bar fight just hours before he was due at practice.

Still, his former agent, the freshly fired Manny Arora, claims in the Dallas Morning News that his troubled ex-client is "a wonderful person."

I think he really turned the corner," Arora said over the phone. "I don't know how accurate everything that's being reported is. As far as I'm concerned, he's a wonderful person. He knows my family.

I helped him as much as I could. Unless somebody tells me that this is true, I'll stand by him. If this is true, unfortunately it's a step back, and there's going to be consequences."

Finally, the country's most famous hockey mom will be at center ice this weekend, also in Philly. (Editor's note: Sheesh, as David Letterman might say -- if he was still talking to McCain, that is -- this is almost too much entertainment!)

The puck stops here -- at the Wachovia Center for Sarah Palin as the Alaska governor is to drop the ceremonial first puck at the Flyers' regular-season opener.

"We are very excited she has accepted our offer and we are very proud of the publicity she is generating for hockey moms and the sport of hockey," said Comcast-Spectacor chairman Ed Snider, who runs the Flyers.

Last month, after Palin spoke in her acceptance speech about being a hockey mom, the Flyers launched a search for the area's "ultimate hockey mom." The winner will be on the ice with Palin for the faceoff.

No word on what the second place winner received.