Your Late Night Fix 3.27.07 [J. Mark English]

• NFL Owners vote to make replay permanent. I guess this is a good thing? But I think the coaches should not be the ones to have to deal with the decision of whether or not to review a play. To much is on their plates already.

• Cincinnati Bengals reciever, Chris Henry, was cited on traffic charges. I think breaking the law is a right of passage in order to play for the Bengals.

• Adam 'Pacman' Jones will meet with the NFL commish next week to discuss the incident taking place during the NBA All-Star game. He will meet with them for the following reason: Las Vegas police said Monday they recommend prosecutors file a felony charge of coercion and misdemeanor charges of battery and threat against Jones for the Feb. 19 strip club fight and shooting.

• LeBron James is building a house for the ages. Some details about the mansion: New house is shaping up as a palace fit for a king -- with a theater, bowling alley, casino and barber shop... The 35,440-square-foot house in Bath Township, about 20 miles south of Cleveland, is under construction and is to be finished next year. It is being built on 5.6 acres of land that was purchased with an 11-bedroom house in 2003 for $2.1 million. The Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star and Akron native razed the house to clear the way for the new one.

• Tom Verducci has the latest on Dice-K's assortment of pitches which sounds more like a sushi bar then anything to do with pitching: Seriously, I know the gyroball is a cool, real concept and Matsuzaka already has this air of mystery about him that invites possibility and that everybody likes a good story, but enough already. A Marlin by the name of Jason Stokes, after facing Matsuzaka in a spring training game, pumped the legend of the demon pitch when he announced in wonderment, "I saw the gyroball." He did stop short of saying it emitted a beam of light that transported him into a flying saucer, where his innards were removed bloodlessly before he was returned to the batter's box.

• Senator John Kerry continues to press MLB to hold off on its Direct TV deal saying: "This would ensure that for the next two years at least, all baseball fans would have access to the 'Extra Innings' package," he said. "If we're unable to reach an agreement when the channel launches, we'd give baseball the right to cancel the 'Extra Innings' deal. We think this is a fair compromise." It kinda makes you wonder why the Senator is getting so involved in this. I mean isn't it hard to believe that this isn't some publicity stunt? I mean only about 200,000 nation-wide will be affected by this. And no offense, but why not let the private sector deal with its own issues, and stay out of the way Mr. Kerry.

• Gary Bettman, commissioner of the NHL, comes out and says that yes fighting is part of the game. But also focuses on safety. Can you imagine a commissioner from any other league saying that fighting is okay? I mean he literally said: We've never taken active steps or considered eliminating fighting from the game....I've always taken the view that it's a part of the game and it rises and lowers based on what the game dictates. Wow, I mean talk about a double standard. I have no issues with fighting is part of the game, and i agree with what Chrissy wrote earlier. Imagine though, David Stern saying that what Carmelo Anthony did when he cold cocked Marty Collins, that "oh thats just part of the game." Why does the NHL get a passed...or really...why is the NBA given such a black eye over a fight that is not all that different from a typical NHL fight?