Sheffield due to return to Tigers on Saturday (AP/ESPN)

Mercurial Detroit Tigers slugger Gary Sheffield will return to the club on Saturday after taking a leave of absence for undisclosed reasons, said skipper Jim Leyland.

News and notes while strapping on a feed bag…

Baseball’s deepest rotations (Hardball Times) We’ll give you a hint who is number one — it rhymes with ‘wins’.

Who is Pokey pokin’? (Seattle Hometown Homers) By process of elimination, it’s diddling.

Stress? It’s not a problem for NFL coaches (USA Today) The season that never ends.

Fehr wants to keep World Baseball Classic in March (AP/Yahoo! Sports) Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan doesn’t agree with you.

State money for Marlins park moves closer to being debated on state floor (South Florida Sun-Sentinel) That about sums it up.

LSU’s Mike the Tiger starting retirement (AP/ESPNU) Guess it gets Pokey’s name out of the papers.

News and notes while rolling out of bed…

YYYYYEEEEESSSSS!!! DUKE LOSES TO VCU (danshanoff.com) Friend of the blog Dan Shanoff puts an exclamation point on what most hoops fans feel the day after Duke loses in their opening round match-up against Virginia Commonwealth.

North Carolina takes it to Eastern Kentucky despite uneven effort (AP/Yahoo! Sports) Some fans on Tobacco Road are happy this morning…or hung over at the very least.

Complete March Madness coverage (USA Today) Catch up on all games from Thursday night that may’ve blown your brackets.

Bucs set to meet with Saints’ franchise DE Grant (ESPN.com) Len Pasquarelli delivers word that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking to bolster their defensive line by adding New Orleans’ Charles Grant.

Rosenthal: Around the horn at spring training (FOX Sports) FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal delivers the goods from around the league this spring.

Sosa makes the Rangers’ 40-man (AP/ESPN) One word: unbelievable.