The Bus, Jerome Bettis, has just celebrated his 37th birthday.

Jose Cuervo celebrated it with him, gifting him this gorgeous bottle of Reserva de la Familia Platino with pictures from his playing career.

[HT: Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies]

So uh, when does Brendon McCullum get a bottle of 42 Below? I think he looks like a honey man, myself.

Is his 'sponsorship' deal with 42 Below the reason why he and Jesse Ryder appear to have such a good working relationship? 

The wonderful thing about alcohol? It helped me erase the memory of last night.

[I couldn't find a decent shot of his 42 Below wristband - if anyone has, please post it up]

Here's some 'educational' cricket viewing for you: highlights from New Zealand's win over India in the second (and last) 20-20 match that took place in the capital over the weekend.

New Zealand innings after the break...

And Brendon McCullum goes to the nice Indian gentleman from Kolkata for USD$700,000. 

This meant that McCullum was the Kiwi who attracted the most money at yesterday's Indian Premier League player auction. Here's a quick breakdown (all prices in US dollars)

• Brendon McCullum $700,000 Kolkata
• Jacob Oram $675,000 Chenai
• Daniel Vettori $625,000 Delhi
• Stephen Fleming $350,380 Delhi

Of course our boys were no where near the top bids (even with Dan and Jake being ranked top in their respective fields).

Chennai splashed out $US1.5 million  for Indian one-day captain Mahendra Dhoni while Hyderabad paid $US1.35m for Australia's Andrew Symonds

Shane Bond must be happy with his million dollar contract though, as Aussie fast bowler and Indian crowd favourite Brett Lee only managed $900,000.

I have to say that I love this idea. Each team has $5M to spend and have obviously set their targets beforehand. It's a great extension of the American sports draft system and one that would most likely work for rugby (like the Super 14). The players can't complain they aren't being paid what they're worth but at the same time it spreads the talent.

Of course the main question is: who would you bid the most for? and if someone else bid higher, would you chase them? Discuss in the comments