We’ll get to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Poon the newest Indiana Jones movie tomorrow – have to; Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of the cheese-tacular movie season – but first, Dan Lamothe of Red Sox Monster chimes in on all the sports tie-ins to the flick. We also are hoping to find a name to what we hope will be Dan’s weekly column; feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments, or our inbox.

If you’re on MLB.com from time to time, you’ve probably seen it: smack-dab on your team’s schedule, a smoldering (?) Indiana Jones sits calmly on today’s calendar square, peering back out at us.

That’s of course because today is an unofficial holiday: “Indy Day.” But unlike the holiday for another important doctor — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — today comes with an onslaught of media marketing, flashy Web sites and (wait for it)… stories about chest waxing. Sweet!

In all seriousness, you know you’ve entered a perfect storm of showbiz and promotional wizardry when sports sites start letting their bread-and-butter content get overrun with Indy. And there’s a reason for that: Just about everybody — even sports bloggers — love Indiana Jones.

But wait! There’s more. According to a NASCAR blog called (what else?) Dr. Indy, driver Marco Andretti will have “Indiana Jones” running down the side of his car during a race Sunday. Which race? I dunno — but he’s excited about it!

The NBA also has adopted an Indiana Jones promotion, bringing us the NBA “Dunk of the Night presented by Indiana Jones” at least as far back as May 8. What do they have to do with each other? Uh… if you’re the Spurs, how about strange characters from all over the world?

Before you go thinking I’m getting carried away here, perhaps it’s time to note that a major metro newspaper, the Los Angeles Times, put a review of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on Page A1 on Monday, drawing criticism from many readers. Must be Star Wars fans, I’m betting.

There is such a thing as going too far with Indy, though. And if anybody has that down pat, it’s Michael Ryan, a fan in Washington state profiled here:

The genial and otherwise normal Kirkland man is a fan-extraordinaire of Indiana Jones and his celebrity alter-ego, Harrison Ford — and he’s got the movie posters, golden fertility idol, Indy pinball machine, miniature Ark of the Covenant, action figures and autographed photos to prove it.

“I’m kind of star-struck,” admitted Ryan, editorial manager at Pokemon USA in Bellevue. “I’m easily star-struck, actually.”

Here’s how star-struck:

He got married eight years ago in a white “Temple of Doom” dinner jacket and honeymooned on Kauai — his bride’s choice — after she tempted him with a visit to Gorilla Mountain, where the opening scenes of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” were filmed. She promised to take his picture.

And see, that’s where things just get scary. He totally should have picked the Raiders of the Lost Ark jacket.