Pop Kernels

Looks like Rocky Balboa’s red and yellow boxing robe, his gloves and several other items from the sets of the Rocky movies will be enshrined in the Smithsonian, alongside Dorothy’s ruby red slippers, Abraham Lincoln’s top hat and Thomas Edison’s light bulb, according to the AP. Even after 30 years since the first Rocky flick, over 2,000 related items sold on eBay over the past two weeks at about $25 a hit. Not bad, Sly. Mickey would be proud.

Those artists who hauled the most hardware at the Billboard Music Awards on Monday – Mary J. Blige (9 awards), rapper T.I. (5), R&B singers Chris Brown and Rihanna and rock bands Nickelback and The Fray (3 each) – all saw modest bumps in sales of their music on eBay the day after the show. Although former American Idol winner Carrie Underwood (5 awards) saw a drop, and Fergie (0 awards, 1 on-stage performance) saw a small increase in sales. Hard to know who was busier, the guy wheeling the awards to the winners dressing rooms or the guy bleeping out all the not-ready-for-prime time language.

Of the 10 teams in college football’s Bowl Championship Series, it’s Notre Dame who wins the eBay BCS standings with nearly 3,500 ND football related items selling over the past month. Ohio State is second at nearly 2,000 sold over that span, and Michigan is a distant third at 1,100. Fans of BCS first-timer Boise State need to get clicking as only 20 items BSU football items have sold on eBay over the past 30 days. Someone needs a pep rally!

Sony’s late October/early November PS3 television spot featuring the exploding Rubik’s Cube may have rekindled interest in the 1980s puzzle game. From Oct. 26 – Nov. 8, over 1,100 Rubik’s Cubes sold on eBay, up 60 percent from the previous two weeks. It may get another bump in popularity when Will Smith solves the Cube in his upcoming movie, “The Pursuit of Happyness," hitting theatres Dec. 15. After solving the Rubik's Cube, next challenge is learning to spell "happiness."