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News that Madonna put the finishing touches on the American leg of her Sticky And Sweet tour by spending most of Thanksgiving week with New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez at A-Rod's rented home on Miami's swanky Star Island--reportedly to be followed by the two heading off for more quality time in Mexico City--has certainly added some more sizzle to the ongoing story of the Material Girl and the 25-million-dollar-a-year baseball slugger.

While no one knows yet just where this relationship will lead--be it a Kaballah Water endorsement deal for A-Rod, or a standing order for National Anthem duties for Madge when the Yankees open their new ballpark next spring--theirs is simply the latest in the fashionable trend of liaisons between pop stars and pro athletes.

While Madonna may not have written the book on the topic, the A-Rod affair comes after several celebrated Madonna sports hookups in her notorious past--most notably her early-to-mid 1990s "friendships" with two high-profile sports bad boys, A-Rod's fellow baseball player Jose Canseco and NBA hoopster Dennis Rodman. (Both of them later claimed that Madonna wanted to have their children, though only Rodman promoted a book by wearing a dress and "marrying himself.")

The Madonna "template" of female singer with male athlete has certainly become something of a thing in recent years, though admittedly not with the same kind of fortune/fame equal footing as Madonna and A-Rod. Former "Posh Spice" Girl Victoria Adams's musical career generally paled once she became the celebrity wife of soccer superstar David Beckham. Jessica Simpson tried marrying a singer (98 Degree-er Nick Lachey) and tried dating a guitar player (John Mayer) before settling in with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Romo, of course, is an experienced singer-dater, having already been linked to Carrie Underwood--although for a time, both women were deemed "jinxes" by Cowboy fans because Romo tended to play badly whenever any of his singer girlfriends were in the stands.

Probably the saddest recent singer-dating-athlete story has been that of country music vocalist Mindy McCready, who recently divulged a nearly 10-year affair with married pitcher Roger Clemens. McCready, who was once engaged to TV Superman Dean Cain, has had several drug-related suicide attempts and prison spells to deal with, while Clemens has been accused of taking steroids while he was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. Two of his teammates with those clubs? Jose Canseco and Alex Rodriguez.

Small world, indeed.