The NCAA recently passed a rule prohibiting coaches from contacting high school players during the spring evaluation period. So how’s a guy like Nick Saban going to occupy his time from mid-April to the end of May?

By hitting the links & hitting the track!

WIAT-TV in Birmingham chronicles the ‘Bama coach’s busy Tuesday. First, Saban shot a few holes with fellow coaches Steve Spurrier, Tommy Tuberville & Rich Rodriguez at the Chick-Fil-A Bowl Alma Mater tourney outside Atlanta. And what was Nick’s favorite part of the golf outing?

Would you believe dining with Billy Packer? Read more…

No more candy & ice cream for the Yankees? Aw, nuts (& dried fruit & granola)!

• CBS might finally be telling college analyst Billy Packer to pack it in.

• Carmelo Anthony gets treated to special chants at Staples Center.

• An NBA D-Leaguer expresses his desire for “The Office” actress Jenna Fischer through the power of poetry.

• Massive Colorado mascot Ralphie buffalOWNS one of his trainers.

• Quite a weekend for the Manning boys - Eli hits the altar, while Peyton hits the bar.

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Bob Raissman of the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS reports that the suits at CBS are restless about renewing Billy Packer for next season because of comments he made during the Final Four KU-UNC game:

(Warning: Despite docile appearance, Leatherback Sea Turtles can still snap your finger right off)

The smoke has not fully cleared from the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Some Black Rock residents are still ticked over Packer cavalierly declaring Kansas a winner over North Carolina with 7:32 left in the first half (and the Jayhawks ahead 38-12) of their Final Four matchup on April 5. … telling viewers to turn off the TV is not a great idea, especially in a soft advertising market.

This is the same Packer who has previously survived at CBS despite calling Allen Iverson a “tough monkey“ and accusing Charlie Rose of “fagging out on me.”

So why would CBS consider firing Packer now? If you haven’t figured it out, let us help you. Read more…

• JOE SPORTS FAN gives a toast to this clever Tony La Russa jersey.

• DEADSPIN wants to know if you approve of Rachel Nichols.

• LARRY BROWN SPORTS notes the 3rd time’s the charm for Brandon Rush declaring for the NBA draft.

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• THE ANGRY T serves up a shot of tennis temptresses Maria Sharapova & Anna Kournikova together at last:

• With minor league baseball (and the between-inning promotions) underway, COMMOTION hopes they can catch a t-shirt shot by these guys.

• FOOD COURT LUNCH has the update you’ve been waiting for - of the world women’s curling championship.

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Just got back from some of the team *practice* sessions at the Alamodome. We watched Kansas and Memphis go through half-speed shootarounds. Thankfully, the cheerleaders and pep bands were there, which probably doubled the attendance in the building.

(Not the first time tripods erected behind the Memphis cheerleaders)

We were a little surprised by the lack of attendance in the building. We’re guessing there were 3-4,000 folks accounted for. All the concessions were open and completely stocked - with no one to wait on (a sure sign that Rick Majerus wasn’t in the facility).

How exciting was the afternoon? The highlight of our visit, besides enjoying the view behind all those “RESERVED” seats, was seeing Greg Anthony working as an analyst for something called “CBS College Sports Network” (formerly CSTV).

We don’t watch a lot of ESPN’s NBA studio shows, so we wonder if that means he was blown out by Bristol.

Also on set: immortals Steve Lappin (what the fruck is so funny?) and Jason Williams (no leather chaps or helmet). And thankfully we’re happy to report that fan favorite Billy Packer reared his pockmarked pate on-set.

As you can see, Packer was his normal, effervescent self. Read more…

• FOOD COURT LUNCH steps up with O.J. Simpson imploring you to “Show them your heels“.

• Darren Rovell of CNBC discovers St. Joseph’s nixing Nike, as the Hawks’ small-business uniform supplier suits them just fine.

• PRO FOOTBALL TALK learns that David Garrard thinks he’s better than Tony Romo.

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These Sharpton shenanigans are getting really dull.

• Boston beware? T-Wolves owner Glen Taylor claims that Kevin Garnett “tanked it” in his last two seasons in Minnesota.

• Former Mets GM Steve Phillips admits he wanted a player to take amphetamines. Would that make the drugs “Met-hamphetamines“?

• Boom! John Madden and Charles Barkley think it’s turrible that Dish Network would serve up ads featuring Frank Caliendo’s impressions.

• Jason Taylor gets his groove on for his “Dancing With The Stars” debut.

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• BUSTED COVERAGE wouldn’t mind huddling up with Maria Sharapova at quarterback.

• Michael David Smith of AOL FANHOUSE reports drug testing in cycling may be going a bit too far, as Kevin van Impe was ordered to immediately give a urine sample - in the middle of arranging his young son’s funeral.

• DEUCE OF DAVENPORT shoots us news that soccer had returned to war-torn Chechnya after a 14-year absence. Read more…

Michael Hiestand of USA TODAY has a piece on the sagging ratings of the NCAA basketball tournament. Lots of theories have been raised about why the recent ratings (down 12% last three years) have been down of late.

One such hypothesis is that online viewing has taken away from the TV numbers. Billy Packer shares that view, which is rather ironic we would say. Read more…