I’ll be in Vegas from Wednesday night for Blogs With Balls 2.0, pimping free-market idealism and a badass poker tournament at the Hard Rock on Friday night. So as far as tomorrow (Tuesday), and Wednesday are concerned, With Leather will be business as usual. Thursday and Friday will be a bit more expo-centric. We’ll have videos of the city and interviews with some of the other people that you read online every day, along with notes from Punte, Brandon, and Ufford (maybe) about getting drunk with a clown and losing a bunch of money on craps.

Until then, continue to enjoy the daily fare here, and keep sending tips to WithLeather-Tips@Uproxx.com. Thanks again for reading.

The great Sports by Brooks alerts us that two-time Olympic gold medal that Katarina Witt is retiring from figure skating. But we also learn that ESPN, in documenting Witt's accomplishments, scrubbed her December 1998 appearance in Playboy from the original AP report. That issue was the second ever to sell out for the magazine (10 points if you can guess the first…answer after the jump) 

The drop-dead gorgeous Ms. Witt posing nude led to her wild popularity on the internet – and no doubt increased attendance for her pro skating appearances.

We expect to see plenty of retrospectives on her career in the MSM (including ESPN) over the next couple days. But if she’d never dropped the towel, do you really think the TV nets would be panting to revel in her career *accomplishments*?

I for one have always thought of figure skating as some old Communist bloc ritual for auctioning off nimble whores that never learned how to play tennis. Kind of like the NFL Combine now, but without the saturated media coverage.

UPDATE: Thanks to inertia53 for the spread link They are as NSFW as they are fantastic.

[Sports by Brooks]

A: Marilyn Monroe, December 1953 (inaugural issue)

In the midst of the Favre post-retirement fellatio treatment from the media, a lone, cranky voice of reason stands above the fray and proclaims that you, Brett Favre, better get off my damn lawn. Or Dr. Z made the point that we've been making all along: that Favre was the recipient of constant fellatio treatment from the media, who always made excuses for the catastrophic lapses that came with the life of a gunslinger. 

His fourth quarter and overtime meltdown against the Giants last season, which put a sad end to a remarkably classy season? Never mind … the redemption of the Giants' field-goal kicker was the angle. The goofy, looping interception that cost the Pack the Eagles' game in OT in the divisionals in 2004? Oh, let's put it on the defense for allowing McNabb his fourth-and-26 completion in regulation.

How can you blame the media, Dr. Z? You are the media. So you're sticking it to yourself? Just go back inside so I can leave this bag of shit on your porch and light it on fire. — Monday Morning Punter

[SI.com]

USC men's basketball coach and alleged chronic masturbator Tim Floyd said that asking O.J. Mayo to return for his sophomore season would be "irresponsible," citing that Mayo is already likely to be a lottery pick and that the coach had no intention of standing between Mayo and a huge stack of cash, saying something to the effect of "If it's his dream of playing in the NBA, he should do that."

Floyd made the remarks on Rome Is Burning last night. The rest of Floyd's appearance on the show consisted of having a take and not sucking.

Mayo would probably not be in the college game right now were it not for the NBA's recent rule that prohibits players from making the jump straight to the pros from high school, which is bullshit. Does Las Vegas make aspiring hookers take communion? Did the Hitler Youth have to get passing grades in economics? Why is Mayo in college to begin with? He should be averaging 15 and 10 a night for the Clippers before snorting blow out of some 31-year-old intern's asshole. I mean, if it's his dream to snort blow out of an intern's asshole, he should do that.

Mayo would be batshit insane to stay, even if it is USC. Why settle for Reggie Bush money when you can get LeBron money?

[MDS at FanHouse]

Actually, I want apologize for that headline (but not for ridiculing TO's alleged suicide attempt, because that was intended). By referring to the Raiders' newest wide reciever exclusively by his first name, I'm insinuating that Javon Walker–the same guy that Brett Favre ran out of Green Bay when he bitched about his contract–is among the elite at what he does. He's not. But the Raiders have no use for your logic and reason, not when they have all this cash to give away.

Tired of being teased by the rest of the league after giving Tommy Kelly that ginormous contract, the Raiders may have one-upped themselves by giving oft-disgruntled receiver Javon Walker a six-year, $55 million contract that guarantees $16 million and will be worth $27 million in the first three years.

So a guy that missed 8 games last year with a leg injury got a fatter contract than Randy Moss AND Bernard Berrian. Holy shit, free agency is just out of control this year. In fact, the Jets just called and offered me $10 million over three years. I'm thinking of holding out for fifteen. –Monday Morning Punter

[Football Outsiders]

The first pictures of Allison Stokke handling her pole for the Cal Golden Bears surfaced just about everywhere yesterday. But nobody's mentioned that the true freshman, despite looking less tan and a bit thicker in the britches (not that bloggers know anything about these kinds things) had a good showing at the MPSF Championships in Seattle last weekend.

In the women's pole vault, freshman Allison Stokke set both the school indoor and freshman records with her mark of 13-1.00 (3.99m). Fellow teammate, junior Katie Morgan [not the porn star (NSFW) --GEd. ] set the same mark, as both pole vaulters provisionally qualified for the indoor championships. Stokke and Morgan tied for third in the competition.

I won't be the first person to say that this pic is a bit of a letdown. I mean, it's not like I'm gay outside of the whole poetry slamming about other men thing. Fortunately there's a pic of Cal's Katie Morgan in that first link, and as you can see she's built like a brick shithouse. But in a good way. I can't wait until her father threatens to sue everybody for invading her privacy, right before a whistle-stop media tour. What does "whistle-stop" mean, anyway? – Monday Morning Punter

[Busted Coverage]