It can happen to any of us. At any time.

It's called "The Upgrade." And it happened recently to Rick Carlisle.

	Sorry, Rick. Consecutive 50-win seasons just aren't good enough.

In its simplest definition, "The Upgrade" occurs when somebody gets unceremoniously dumped for somebody else who is deemed a better catch. In Carlisle's case, it happened when Joe Dumars decided Larry Brown was a better catch to coach the Pistons.

So what did Carlisle do to warrant being victimized by "The Upgrade?" He won 100 games in 2 seasons. He was the NBA Coach of the Year in 2002. And he guided his offensively-challenged team to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Not good enough. For all of those achievements, Carlisle gets a pink slip, a tarnished rep and some lovely parting gifts. Now it looks like he gets to go from a team of hard-working ballers to a job working for a hard-headed owner in either Washington with the Wizards or Los Angeles with the Clippers.

So Carlisle is just another victim of "The Upgrade." Here are some other "Upgrade" victims who feel Carlisle's pain.

The "You don't know what you've got until it's gone" Upgrade: Trent Dilfer, who won a Super Bowl for Ravens but wasn't good enough to come back the next year. Coach Brian Billick booted him in favor of the now-retired Elvis Grbac.

The "Addition by subtraction" Upgrade: LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett got Le Boot after Destiny's Child downsized from four members to three.

The "Let's collect another Hall of Famer while we're at it" Upgrade: Chris Osgood was tossed aside like an octopus by the Detroit Red Wings in favor of Dominik Hasek.

The "I guess you can upgrade white trash after all" Upgrade: Tommy Lee got dumped by Pamela Anderson for the likes of Kid Rock.

The "It sure looked like one last year" Upgrade: Marty Schottenheimer got kicked to the curb by the Redskins and was replaced with Steve Spurrier's "Twang-n-Bang."

	Coming soon to a Six Flags near you.

The "It might not be good for record sales, but it'll make for a great episode of Behind The Music" Upgrade: David Lee Roth was fired by Van Halen in favor of Sammy Hagar. The Red Rocker was eventually replaced by, um, Gary Cherone.

The "If you have an odd first name, I'm diggin' you" Upgrade: Sergei and Pavel were volleyed back and forth by Anna Kournikova. She's now topping the charts -- music, that is -- with Enrique.

The "She's going through the Upgrade Manual one page at a time" Upgrade: Ojani Noa was J-Lo's first hubby, Cris Judd was #2, and Ben Affleck is slated to bat third.

The "No wonder Tubby Smith won't leave Kentucky" Upgrade: Rick Pitino crashed the Celtics after being given the keys to The Green. M.L. Carr took 'em for a joyride before Pitino showed up.

The "Shaken, not stirred" Upgrade: Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan all took their licks playing James Bond.

The "Thanks for setting the table" Upgrade: Tony Dungy was fired from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in favor of Jon Gruden. All Dungy did was turn the Bucs from a punch line into a power house.

The "She just might get a second chance" Upgrade: Robin Lynn Macy, the original singer for the Dixie Chicks, could get her old job back if Natalie Maines doesn't shut up.

The "I better play my derriere off or I'm next" Upgrade: Tony Parker is having a breakout season, but the Spurs are reportedly smitten with Jason Kidd.

The "At least I can hold my head up high" Upgrade: Tate Donovan was dumped by Jennifer Anniston. She later married some dude named Brad Pitt.

The "If SportsCentury had a Top 50 countdown about upgraders, this guy would be #1" Upgrade: The always cuddly George Steinbrenner.

	Fluff -- is that short for David Crosby?

The "10% cut sure adds up" Upgrade: Fluff Cowan was canned by Tiger Woods. That's Steve Williams' bag now, baby.

The "Shhhh, I'm in the process of completing the" Upgrade: Scott Foley, star of the cancelled show "Felicity," got dumped by "Alias" and "DareDevil" star Jennifer Garner. She met Foley on the set of "Felicity" when she made a guest appearance years before she was famous.

The "I can't believe she hasn't been upgraded yet" Upgrade: Brenda Warner, wife of NFL and Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner, is on the clock.

The "From The Man Show to having his own show" Upgrade: Jimmy Kimmel put his name in bright lights with "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

The "Check out the stones on that guy" Upgrade: Drew Bledsoe was kept on the Pats bench after he recovered from an injury. Coach Bill Belichick opted to keep Tom Brady as the team's starting QB and they won Super Bowl XXXVI.

The "Silence is golden" Upgrade: Eric Dickerson was dropped from Monday Night Football in favor of nobody.

Gino Bona is irreplaceable on his "Wink & The Gun" site, which can be reached at www.winkandthegun.com . E-mail him at gino@winkandthegun.com.