Without looking, I'm guessing that is Dustin Pedroia, Cole Hamels, Pete Rose and Dusty Baker.

I had no clue that The Cleveland Show, the spin-off of Seth MacFarlane’s wildly popular Family Guy, was still on the air when I saw today’s news that the show will have a special baseball-themed episode when it returns after the World Series. But apparently the show is still alive and kicking, and I don’t mean this to knock its producers and whatnot, but I always thought that if any of the original show’s characters should have had a spinoff, it was Quagmire*. But that’s another conversation for another UPROXX site.

Throwing another log on the “Simpsons did it” fire, Cleveland will be joined by some of Major League Baseball’s best players in an episode that features Peter Griffin’s black friend. Sadly, the episode will not feature time traveling Jose Canseco.

Not long after this year’s World Series, Fox’s The Cleveland Show will round the bases with an episode devoted to America’s pastime. And though Peter Griffin’s old pal won’t actually become a star baseball player during the half-hour, he’ll get close when he realizes his dream of becoming a major league scout.

We’ve got your exclusive first look at the November episode, which includes the guest voices of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, the Boston Red Sox’s David Ortiz, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins and the Cincinnati Reds’ Joey Votto. (Via TV Line)

Above, obviously, is Ortiz, Rollins, Votto and Dusty Baker, and after the jump you can see Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier yelling at someone. Probably Magic Johnson.

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"First the Cartoon Network Awards, then a Nobel Prize!"

Last summer, while both the NFL and NBA were locked out, I questioned why more athletes weren’t attending the Teen Choice Awards to try and gain a little favor from the public. Seriously, the athlete attendance was limited to Shaun White and 3 puppies from Air Bud’s litter, while half the NBA sat at home picking fights on Twitter. Well it turns out that the answer was pretty simple – make the whole thing about athletes and they’ll attend.

This was proven Saturday night when the Cartoon Network honored our favorite athletes at the second annual Hall of Game Awards, which is not to be confused with Spike’s F*CKIN’ ATHLETES, BRO! SLUTS! Awards, which are held on Vin Diesel’s birthday each year. Shaquille O’Neal played host for the Hall of Game Awards, and he was joined by dozens of child actors that I’ve never heard of. But plenty of athletes showed up to have their egos stroked.

You can wait and watch the whole show tonight (especially if you’re a fan of Flo Rida and who isn’t?) but I’ve got some photos after the jump. Shockingly, they did not name Jeremy Lin their new overlord.

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Since we last checked in on the big picture of the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder (12-2) and Chicago Bulls (12-3) have made it clear that they’re the early favorites and the teams to beat, despite Chris Bosh’s assurance that his Miami Heat (8-4) are still the best team in the NBA. What a relief that is, too. Because their star and leader, Dwyane Wade, is dealing with a foot injury that typically sidelines players for weeks and even months, I figured the Heat might focus on winning instead of talking. But that would be boring and thankfully Bosh is stepping up.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers (10-5) got their swagger back – namely from Kobe Bryant and his return to MVP form – which leaves the Orlando Magic (9-3) in a precarious situation as the trade deadline nears. As it stands, Lakers center Andrew Bynum is playing almost as good as Dwight Howard, so the Magic could be losing their best trade scenario, and as the Nets continue to blow, Howard has now shifted his focus to the Los Angeles Clippers (7-3), which sucks for Orlando because aside from Blake Griffin and Chris Paul – who won’t be traded – the Clippers have nothing of longterm value to trade.

If you thought that a shortened season would be short on drama, then you were oh so wrong. Welcome once again to our Week in Pictures.

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