• If you let Natalie Gulbis know the secret of your success, you can win a chance to spend the day with the gorgeous golfer.

• TMZ learns that Ray Lewis is a cheapskate when it comes to paying for women.

• BIG LEAGUE STEW wants to know which Jason has the mightier mustache - the Yanks’ Giambi or the Cards’ LaRue?

• ESPN’s HASHMARKS spots Brett Favre at a Virginia football camp, where the ex-Packers QB says he’s not in a hurry to do anything.

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We reported yesterday that Barry Melrose was leaving the comfy confines of the ESPN studios for the back of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s bench.

But instead of just a simple statement wishing him the best in his future endeavors (i.e. Sean Salisbury), the Worldwide Leader decided to throw together a little tribute to their favorite - and as far as we know, only - hockey analyst (video after the jump): Read more…

Seems that Barry Melrose would rather be employed in sunny Florida than cold Connecticut, as the ESPN hockey analyst has been hired to become the new coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

We wouldn’t have really believe it, had it not been reported by the Worldwide Leader themselves.

Barry has always been fun to watch, even if his SportsCenter segments were usually slotted way later in the telecasts (such as it is when ESPN doesn’t broadcast NHL games). But Melrose must have had a bad itch to be back behind the bench - an itch that evenings spent with Steve Levy or John Buccigross just couldn’t scratch.

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Welp, there goes ESPN’s entire hockey department. (Maybe.) Barry Melrose is the center of a semi-opaque rumor that he’s going to be the next head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, even 24 hours after his parent company ran a story saying he was “enjoying his life as an ESPN analyst,” that he always gets asked to coach an NHL team every year, and would rather keep his current position in Bristol.

And yet here we are, with Tampa expected to hire Melrose and fire John Tortorella, the man under whom they won a Stanley Cup.

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• Have Tony & Jessica really called it quits? Alan Peppard of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS says Yes, while Mark Malkin of E! ONLINE says No.

• LARRY BROWN SPORTS thunders down news that Dan Majerle doesn’t want to be the Suns’ next head coach, but wouldn’t mind an assistant’s job.

• BABES LOVES BASEBALL is infatuated with how Manny Ramirez catches a fly ball, high-fives a fan in the bleachers, and still throws a guy out at first.

• BASKETBAWFUL chows down on the Ultimate Experience for some lucky Pacers fan - lunch with Larry Bird!

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BM DESERVES SALUTE FOR NOT BACKING DOWN (OH, WAIT): We want to issue a hearty salute to Barry Melrose for speaking the truth about Newark, NJ, last week. His assessment of the war zone that envelopes the city’s new arena, Prudential Center, was absolutely spot-on. We visited the site before PC’s official opening a couple months back and were appalled by the frightening blight of the nearby neighborhood.

Melrose’s statements are once again an example of ESPN’s unwavering attention to detail and willingness to stand up for the truth - which is the brick and mortar of what has built an unrivaled sports reportage empire.

Just because Melrose had never visited the arena when he made his statements about the building and environs doesn’t mean that he lacks credibility. Nor does his backpedaling today from his remarks faster than the guy landing planes at nearby Newark airport diminish his journalistic standing in our eyes.UPDATE: Moments after we posted this entry, the video of Melrose slamming Newark (linked above) suddenly became “unavailable”. Here’s a screen grab of the original SbB post:

We’re sure this is a complete coincidence. Or Colin Cowherd’s AM radio show, in which he regales us daily about grocery shopping, is draining too much of the mothership’s bandwidth.

MELROSE AFRAID TO STEP OUTSIDE NJ DEVILS’ NEW ARENA: We mentioned how crowds at New Jersey hockey games has been Devilishly low this season, despite playing in a brand-new rink. And now Barry Melrose passes us a good reason why:

The NEWARK STAR-LEDGER gets word that the ESPN hockey analyst is quiteimpressed with the $375 million Prudential Center, but not the surrounding neighborhood:”It looks great on the inside, but don’t go outside, especially if you got a wallet or anything else, because the area around the building is awful.

“It’s so different the inside and the outside where it’s built, it’s pretty humorous.”

But Newark city officials aren’t laughing. Mayor Cory Booker called Melrose’s comments “utterly absurd“, adding “This guy doesn’t know Newark.”

And the city’s police chief chimed in that no arena visitors have been victims of any crime - except maybe being ripped off by high ticket prices.

However, reading through comments on the article, many seem to agree with Barry’s assessment. Commenter GetACLueNJ asks, “Instead of making him apologize, why doesn’t the city try to prove him wrong?”

Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek does shoot back at Melrose, riffing that Barry’s opinions on the neighborhood are “like me saying I know what it’s like to wear a mullet.”