This Pop Generates Some Snap and Crackle

A firm that handles naming rights marketing and sponsorship research estimates that Pepsi received $680,000 in media value during the NBA All-Star game broadcast, based on the soft drink’s receiving 1 minute 42 seconds of exposure on TNT.

According to the firm, the breakdown included 40 seconds of in-stadium signage from the Pepsi Center in Denver, 12 seconds of on-screen graphics and five mentions by the broadcast crew.

More All-Stars: TNT analyst Charles Barkley took issue with the country music-themed halftime show, which included a performance by the band “Big & Rich.”

“I hope whoever put the halftime entertainment together is getting their resume ready,” Barkley said. “If you’re going to go country, then get Shania Twain and Tim McGraw. This is a hip-hop weekend. What do they think this is, a NASCAR race?”

Trivia time: UCLA is in danger of not qualifying for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament for a third consecutive season. When was the last time the Bruins missed three consecutive NCAA tournaments?

He’s the next ... Kournikova? Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times is tiring of the notion that Cleveland Cavalier standout LeBron James is the second coming of Michael Jordan.

“I mean, before the world anoints him as the Greatest Player Ever and discards this other No. 23 like a glob of trans fat,” Mariotti wrote, “shouldn’t he win a playoff game first?

“Know this right now: LeBron is not the Greatest Player Ever, never will be the Greatest Player Ever and is being discussed as the Greatest Player Ever only because the NBA and Madison Avenue are using their image machines to manufacture the buzz.”

Attention, EBay shoppers: Cash-strapped Jose Canseco is selling more than a collection of stories about whom he injected with steroids; his 2000 World Series ring can be purchased for $40,000 on his website.

“Other items listed include a game-worn jersey for $750 and autographed copies of his book for $58,” Barry LeBrock said on Fox’s “Southern California Sports Report.”

“At this point, Canseco’s soul is not listed as for sale, but you can always check back tomorrow.”

Looking back: On this day in 1980, the U.S. Olympic hockey team stunned the Soviet Union with a 4-3 victory in the medal round of the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. Captain Mike Eruzione scored the game-winning goal midway through the third period.

Looking back again: On this day in 1969, Barbara Jo Rubin became the first female jockey to win a race at an American thoroughbred track with Cohesian in the ninth race at Charles Town in West Virginia.

Trivia answer: UCLA did not qualify for the NCAA tournament from 1984 to ’86.

And finally: Alan Massengale of Channel 9 said he knew the rain-shortened Nissan Open was in serious trouble “when the National Weather Service issued a small-craft advisory for the first and 11th holes. The water in those barrancas was cresting at four to six feet.”