Ep Ideas:
1. Shawn And Gus undercover as rodeo clowns: A bull rider is killed during a rodeo, and written off as an accident occurring in a dangerous line of work, until the toxicology report reveals heavy doses of muscle relaxant in his system, which rendered him unable to hold on to the bull. Shawn and Gus must investigate.
2. The mob hires Shawn after the Don's nephew goes missing. Think of the possibilities: A scene where Shawn is mouthing off to/mocking a mobster while Gus stands there terrorized trying to get him to shut up. The outrage/disbelief from Lassie and the Chief that Shawn is working for the other side. Shawn and Gus doing entire scenes with faux Jersey accents. Scarface/Goodfellas references galore.
3. Some sort of spoof on indie/emo/hipster culture. Shawn and Gus attempt to investigate a death/possible murder, but are unable to break in to the ridiculously snooty world of pretentious hipsters. If you're familiar with any of the cliches associated with this subculture, you'll get the comedic potential:
No one will talk to them because they're dressed wrong, don't drink PBR, and when asked whether they like trendy indy band "x", they either reply "who?" *or* are snubbed when they respond in the affirmative but fail to add "but I liked them better before they got big." I think it would be hilarious if after their failed first attempt at going undercover, they analyze indie music and Shawn decides to pose as an indie singer/songwriter with Gus as his manager. He could write ludicrously mopey/alienated music as a gag and actually become a "hot new artist" on the indie scene while solving the crime. Plus: Shawn & Gus in way-too-tight jeans, vintage Chuck Taylors, sweaters, and indie-nerd square frame glasses would be too funny for words.
4. A murder or some sort of Tanya harding-esque incident which plunges Shawn and Gus into the world of professional figure skating.
because A) I bet Jules would love this or have some history of skating as a kid and

think of the "Cutting Edge" references...
5. Renaissance Fair. come ON!!!!! The murder weapon could be some sort of obscure medieval weapon, which of course Gus would go on a hyper-informative factual rant about and Shawn would then reply "HOW do you know that?" There could be the typical one-per-episode cute flirty girl (dressed in "lusty wench" apparel, no less). Perhaps a jousting scene? Certainly a bit with the cast around a long oak table enjoying mead and whole legs of mutton
6. Maybe a Ballroom Dance competition? I don't know, I just think there's some potential for hilarity there somewhere.
7. A local baseball hero tests positive for steroids, but swears he's innocent, and hires Shawn and Gus to figure out who set him up. In an ironic twist, after years of begging/manipulating their way into SBPD cases, the tables turn as Jules now begs S&G to be allowed to tag along on this one, as they have unlimited access to the team/stadium/etc. (because anyone who actually know who Lou Boudreau was... god I cracked up when I saw that scene. I 'm a huge baseball fan. Just fantastic) The guy in the Triple A farm team who would get the framed player's roster spot if the team suspended him could be a red herring, while the actual perpetrator would be maybe a crazed fan who thought the trade the team made to acquire him ruined their pennant chances or something. I'm picturing a great scene during a game where Jules is in the dugout to protect against future treachery, and gets into a huge argument with the coach over whether or not to pull the starting pitcher, or maybe just a scene in the clubhouse or front office where she berates him for a bad coaching move that cost them a world series a few years ago. Plus: Bull Durham/Field of Dreams references galore.
8. A competitive (adult level) chess or scrabble tournament. people actually take this stuff REALLY seriously, and there's apparently not-insubstantial money involved. Plus, either one of these would totally make Gus' day.
9. A Train Robbery case, since we now know there are train tracks in Santa Barbara. Again, not as well developed, but the potential for awesomeness is there.