In an attempt to cash in on the popularity of Bravo's "Real Housewives" franchise, VH1 will roll out a new 'reality' series following the lives of the wives and girlfriends of several notable NBA players. "Basketball Wives" will debut in March.

The initial eight-episode order will feature the women in the lives of Shaquille O'Neal, Antoine Walker and Jermaine O'Neal, among others.

Obviously, there's great potential for drama here -- NBA players, rightly or wrongly -- have the reputation of living personal lives that would make Tiger Woods blush. Hall-of-famer Calvin Murphy fathered 14 children with nine different women, and Shawn Kemp reportedly has as many as eleven kids with nine different women. Just among the initial participants, Shaquille O'Neal was reportedly having an affair with Gilbert Arenas' fiancee earlier this fall, and Antoine Walker is on the hook for about $900,000 in gambling debts.

That more or less blows the housewives of Orange County right out of the water, doesn't it?

• Check out some of the most famous wives and girlfriends of NBA players

Lots of highly entertaining videos circulating in the NBA blogosphere this morning:

• NBA.com follows Allen Iverson as he returns to Philadelphia. Unsurprisingly, Iverson showed up late for the game. Someone send Eddie Jordan a truckload of Tums, OK? He's gonna need 'em.
• Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban made an appearance on the WWE's Monday Night Raw -- and was thrown through a table.
• Boston College's Reggie Jackson proving that a dunk doesn't need to count to be impressive. (He was called for an offensive foul on the play).
• And just for added fun, here's LeBron James making a full-court shot. With a football.

Once again, the stewards of the best championship event in American sports are proving incapable of leaving well enough alone.

Ordinarily, the "March Madness should Expand!" chorus doesn't reach full voice until Selection Sunday, led by coaches on the outside looking in. (Note to said coaches: the solution to your troubles is simple. Win more games.) But this year the discussion is starting early, and it's at the NCAA level. You know what that means...

Money.

The NCAA has an opt-out in its deal with CBS after the 2010 Final Four. According to a report in the Sports Business Journal, they've started exploring the possibility of expanding the tournament to 96 teams and are floating the possibility with potential broadcast partners. Their reasoning is simple -- more games means a bigger licensing fee.

I can't stand the idea, personally. Adding teams to the postseason just cheapens an achievement that, for most schools, really means something -- and would most likely end up benefiting mediocre teams from big conferences more than anyone else. What's your take?

• Expanding March Madness
• Should the NCAA Tournament Expand to 96 or 128 Teams?

Allen Iverson will be in the starting lineup when the Sixers face the Denver Nuggets tonight, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Iverson will be in the backcourt along with Philly's other AI -- Andre Iguodala.

Of course, starting Iverson is an easy decision for Sixers coach Eddie Jordan; right now Jordan doesn't have a lot of options. Louis Williams is sidelined for the next six weeks or so with a broken jaw, and rookie point guard Jrue Holiday is unavailable for the Denver game with a shoulder problem.

Jordan did tell reporters he envisions starting Iverson and Williams together once everyone is healthy, which would mean Iguodala at small forward and either Thaddeus Young, Elton Brand or Sam Dalembert heading to the bench. He'll need to work center Mareese Speights (torn MCL) back into the mix as well.

Of course, these problems have a way of working themselves out. By the time Williams and Speights are healthy, the Sixer roster could have a very different look, as management is known to be shopping both Brand and Dalembert.