Local aliens to invade Wrigley

Hockey players took over Wrigley Field last month for an outdoor NHL game, and this summer aliens will invade the venerable park.

The Las Vegas 51s have been invited to the "friendly confines" on Aug. 9 to play Iowa, the Chicago Cubs' Triple-A affiliate, marking the first time a team from the Pacific Coast League will play in the North Side park.

Last summer, Wrigley featured the Cubs' Class-A affiliate, the Peoria Chiefs, in a game that drew 26,000 fans.

The 51s will play this year under a new affiliation with the Toronto Blue Jays.

• TROTTERS HONOR OBAMA -- The Harlem Globetrotters will wear No. 44 jerseys Tuesday to honor the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States.

The Globetrotters will have teams playing in Reno and in Terre Haute, Ind., on the first night of Obama's presidency.

The famed team that Obama has noted for its impact on breaking down cultural barriers in the documentary "The Team That Changed The World" also worked with Spalding to create red, white and blue "Inaugural Balls" -- the kind that can be dribbled, not ones that involve dancing.

• PERFECT FOR VEGAS -- Lingerie Bowl VI is in jeopardy.

Organized by the Los Angeles-based Lingerie Football League, the two-day event features scantily clad women playing tackle football.

This could be the second straight year fans of women's underwear are denied the pay-per-view event during halftime of the Super Bowl.

Last year's event had to be canceled when organizers couldn't get approval from the city of Scottsdale, Ariz.

As of early this week, city officials in Tampa, Fla., had not given their OK for the event.

The Tampa Breeze, Miami Caliente, Phoenix Scorch and Los Angeles Temptation are scheduled to compete the first night in the "garter and lace conference" semifinals.

The NFL bans Las Vegas from having anything to do with its Super Bowl, but the Lingerie Bowl is a perfect fit for Sin City.

Our city should have an LFL franchise, too. It might be the only pro league that could survive here.

• ANOTHER VEGAS FIT -- The Florida Marlins are looking for more footloose fat men.

The team is holding tryouts for the Marlins Manatees -- an all-male, plus-size cheerleading squad also known as the "sea cows."

The Marlins want candidates who match the girth of manatees but dancers more mobile than the marine mammals, which have a propensity for getting mauled by boat propellers.

Last year's squad of burly men featured members with nicknames such as "Tiny," "Big Kahuna," "White Lightning" and "Mr. Mantastic." The group dances between innings at home games on Friday and Saturday nights. Candidates must be willing to learn a dance routine and don Marlins gear.

Tryouts are Sunday at U.S. Century Bank Arena on the campus of Florida International in Miami.

There's still time for Las Vegans to get to the tryouts, provided they can stay away from buffets for a weekend.

COMPILED BY JEFF WOLF LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL