IGN has put together a nifty FAQ full of known info about SSBB, very useful...a good way to catch up for those that don't keep track of the daily updates.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/809/809868p1.html

I found this interesting as well:

Question: Will Super Smash Bros. Brawl be online?

All reports indicate that yes, it will. Brawl has been planned from the beginning to be a flagship title for Nintendo's free Wi-Fi Connection service, and though the feature hasn't yet been 100% confirmed, you can rest soundly in the knowledge that it's an almost surefire guarantee.

IGN has been fairly confident that Brawl would be online, but now they seem more sure than ever.  Here's hoping.

Yeah, I really hope they are right. Honestly I'm pretty sure it will be as well. It's not 100% guaranteed or anything, but I think there is a very good chance.

I think the FAQ is a good idea, this is another way IGN stay relevant with all the blogs which report faster.

The online "contraversy" is Nintendo's crafty form of marketing yet. It's almost confirmed - but they leave enough mystery so everyone will argue for months. Then right between the big media blow out and the reviews they are going to announce that it does have it. This will generate literally hundreds of positive articles, if not thousands, and play as more free advertising (which Nintendo is really good at getting in the first place).

Oh, and I am surprised that in the brief description on the first page didn't note that this is the first time that a 3rd party character will be joining the brawl.

This FAQ is a godsend for me! I have always been reluctant to get involved in the smash thread because I haven't followed the updates and I think by the time I read the first 50 pages you guys would have another 30 for me to read =P

Seriously though, its nice to be able to catch up because I am very interested in the game but not so much so that I would spend hours and hours reading through a thread =P

Excellent FAQ, thanks for posting, Obi-wan.

What i found interesting was the rumor that:

Super Smash Bros. Brawl will utilize the Havok physics engine.

characters would bang into each other in mid-flight, or you could throw one of your enemies at another to take them both out. Items and elements of the environment could be more interactive as well

i hope that this rumor is real that would be so awesome

 http://smashboards.com/blog/2007/08/26/havok-cleared-up/

Pouring over the 15 Second Movie Presentation from the DOJO, I stared to notice some things that were not as apparent to me previously. It may be Havok, or it may simply be the new way Sakurai is designing Smash. Either way, it’s worth taking note of.

In Melee, when you were hit by an explosion, you typically flew away in the same way every time. No matter what part of the explosion hit you, you would fly up and out at about a 45 degree angle. This doesn’t make much sense. If an explosion is a force expanding in all directions, then depending and how it hits you, you should be able to fly in all directions. Brawl has fixed this. Check out this first example.

1. Fox’s first shot mostly hits the ground. The explosion moves out from there and clip Bowser in the jaw. Bowser flies up diagonally. But because the blast wasn’t a direct hit and Bowser is quite heavy, he only flies up a little bit.
2. Fox hits him directly in the stomach. This is a much stronger hit, and Bowser flies off at a correct angle to the explosion.
3. Link gets blasted right at his feet. Guess where he flies? That’s right! Straight up!

In this second example you can see how the same explosion can send players in various directions.

1. All three characters are near the bomb.
2. Samus is furthest away taking a weaker shockwave of the blast. Kirby and Zelda take the blast at full force.
3. Samus is merely knocked out of the air and skids to a stop. Kirby is blasted out at an angle that’s more parallel to the ground while flying much faster than Samus. Because Zelda is below Kirby and the bomb, she is blasted down, colliding with the side of Eldin Bridge, and rebounds in the opposite direction.

In this example, Pikachu uses his final smash, Volt Tackle, to ram DK and Mario. Notice that Mario and DK fly at the same angle that Pikachu attacks at. The preservation of angles and momentum is exactly what I’ve been saying Smash needs.

It’s all so clear to me now. I hope my arrows will help you see all of these subtle changes happening as you watch the video in real time.

And yes, Havok's official site did have Smash Bros listed as one of the games that uses their engine.

But it got taken down recently...probably for secrecy.