Welcome to Thursday’s Morning Mashup, where we’ll get you caught up on what’s going on in the sports world and beyond.

If LeBron James wants to give football a try, the Browns would welcome him. So said Browns coach Eric Mangini, who has nothing to lose.

“I think he should come on down,” said Mangini, whose team is 1-8. “I know he’s pretty busy right now, but if he wants to give it a shot, the guy is gifted.”

FOOTBALL: Chris Price writes about Tom Brady’s resurgence. Jets coach Rex Ryan talked about crying in the locker room in front of his players, and he had some kind words for Bill Belichick.

Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown was placed on IR, ending his season. The Bills reportedly are pursuing Mike Shanahan to be their next coach. Browns quarterback Brady Quinn was fined for his chop block on Baltimore’s Terrell Suggs, who will miss a game for the first time in his career due to a sprained knee ligament injured on the play. JaMarcus Russell is being benched by the Raiders, who turn to the immortal Bruce Gradkowski.

Fred Smerlas is explaining himself after his basketball team made up of former Patriots apparently played a little too rough in a charity game against some local high school kids.

Dan Rowinski writes about Boston College seniors who are preparing for their final game at The Heights.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics pulled away from the Warriors. Jessica Camerato has the Three-Pointer of Things We Learned from the game. Camerato also talks to former Piston Rasheed Wallace on the fifth anniversary of the Palace Brawl.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 41 points and lifted the Mavericks over the Spurs in overtime. Joe Johnson (30 points) and the Hawks are on a roll. The Nets are 0-12. Cavaliers center Shaquille O’Neal might miss another couple of games with a strained shoulder. Trail Blazers forward Charles Outlaw is out 3-5 months with a stress fracture in his left foot.

Magic Johnson is OK with LeBron James’ idea to retire No. 23 league-wide in honor of Michael Jordan.

The woman in the Rick Pitino extortion case faced an additional charge yesterday.

HOCKEY: The Bruins reportedly are talking to center Marc Savard about a seven-year contract extension. Graig Woodburn has the return of the NHL power rankings, with the Devils in the top spot and the Bruins down at No. 22.

Ryan Smyth’s upper-body injury will have him out of the Kings’ lineup for a few weeks.

Sidney Crosby ran with the Olympic torch in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which is near his hometown.

BASEBALL: Terry Francona chatted with Dale & Holley — and listeners — yesterday at Fenway Park. Mike Scioscia (Angels) and Jim Tracy (Rockies) were named Managers of the Year. Tracy also got a new three-year contract from his team. Commissioner Bud Selig is working on reducing the length of the postseason by eliminating some of the off days.

SOCCER: Elizabeth Lambert, the New Mexico player who was suspended after her rough play in a game against BYU, spoke to the New York Times for a feature in which she shares her thoughts about her behavior.

France qualified for the World Cup and eliminated Ireland with a 1-1 tie, but France’s goal came on a hand-ball assist from Thierry Henry. The controversy is rocking the soccer world.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 19, 2000, which player became the Patriots’ all-time leader in games played with 207?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “There’s no getting into a jawing match or trash talk with Randy Moss. My reaction was everybody saw the game. He’s supposed to say that. He got shut out and he was frustrated. And I was cool with it.” — Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, on Randy Moss devaluing Revis’ effort after Moss was held in check during the teams’ first meeting this season

STAT OF THE DAY: 48 — Paul Pierce’s rank on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, after he passed Isiah Thomas (18,882 points) during the Celtics’ win over the Hawks last night

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Terry Francona visited with the Dale & Holley show yesterday at Fenway Park and took calls from WEEI listeners. When asked about the voters’ process for deciding which players deserve Gold Glove awards, Francona said, according to the automatically generated transcript:

“They kind of wanna make emergency over time it’s almost like — Arctic.”

What he actually said: “They kind of want to make him earn it and see it over time. It’s almost like making the All-Star team.”

‘NET RESULTS: Here’s Swedish hockey player Henrik Andersen celebrating a goal by jumping into the glass. Only, the glass doesn’t hold up. Awkward.

And here’s Miami of Ohio basketball coach Charlie Coles after Monday night’s heartbreaking loss to fourth-ranked Kentucky responding to a question about how the game got away from his team. Great stuff.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Offensive lineman Bruce Armstrong

SOOTHING SOUNDS: On Nov. 19, 1990, Milli Vanilla was stripped of its Grammy Award because neither of the group’s two singers sang on the winning album. Here’s the Jonathan Papelbon/Manny Delcarmen Red Sox rain delay version of “Blame It On the Rain.”

Here’s Milli Vanilli’s performance:

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