Rachel Nichols Has Finally Extricated Herself From Brett Favre's Pocket

• She doesn't even notice when you call her pretty: "I'm blissfully unaware of that kind of stuff, which I guess is probably a good thing. I work a lot and I'm pretty engrossed in the stories that I'm covering and the work that I do and that's the things I try to follow." [ On The DL] • It makes a great fertilizer: "The Yuma Scorpions of the Golden Baseball League gave away manure to fans who attended their game Saturday night against Long Beach at Desert Sun Stadium. As part of Barnyard Night, fans brought their own buckets and wheelbarrows to help them make off with their loads." [ The Sports Point] • One tournament run can make you a very rich man: "We all knew that Jim Larranaga was going to get a serious payday from George Mason’s improbable run to the Final Four in 2006. But who knew that Jim would be hitting Jay-Z territory so soon? According to the Washington Post, Larranaga received a 40 percent salary increase earlier this year, and should be the Bruce Wayne of NOVA by next March." [ StetSports] • His faith in the Rays was unshakable — and profitable: "I’'l be the first to point out that a) I liked the Tampa Bay Rays enough to bet on them to win over 79.5 games in Las Vegas prior to the season starting (only $20 confident though); and b) I sure didn’t think they’d do it before September."[ Baseball Mastermind]