Mark Emmons

Mixed-martial arts, the violent combat sport once relegated to the American sporting scene's back alleys, has gone Main Street.

Like it or not.

"The world is ready for us," said Dana White, the brash head of Ultimate Fighting Championship. "And for those of you who aren't, there are a thousand channels out there. Change the channel if you're not ready."

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- When Mike Pereira was the NFL's head of officiating, every Sunday began with good-luck fist bumps and prayers for no controversy.

Now that he has become a Fox TV celebrity as its resident expert on NFL rules, Pereira's game-day attitude is a little different.

"I look around at Fox, and the production people are fist-bumping and saying: 'Let's have some controversy!" Pereira said, laughing. "It's funny how it has turned around for me."

DANVILLE,Calif. -- As Chris Mullin sat in a Danville coffee shop Friday afternoon, he was just one week away from delivering his induction speech at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

He hadn't started writing it yet.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard had another fine game Sunday, stopping 35 shots in the Red Wings' 2-1 loss to the Sharks. But the question everyone wanted answered after the game was what he thought about the weather.

As in the snow showers the Sharks kept giving him after the whistle blows.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The boxing world has come full circle for Gilroy, Calif., fighter Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero.

A year ago, Guerrero announced that he was pulling out of the biggest fight of his career against Australian boxer Michael Katsidis because his wife, Casey, was preparing for a bone-marrow transplant.

But with Casey's leukemia now in remission and Guerrero back in the ring, The Ghost at last is getting his chance to fight Katsidis. The two will meet April 9 in an HBO pay-per-view bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Rob Blake, the rugged defenseman who controlled the blue line during 20 NHL seasons and captained the Sharks into the Western Conference finals this spring, is retiring.

Only it's not.

You can beat the odds.