LEFTOVERS: SI swimsuit issue never disappoints

It’s February, which means it’s time for Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issue.

And this being the issue’s 50th anniversary, this year’s magazine is especially meaningful.

To commemorate the occasion, the magazine brought back favorites Christie Brinkley, Cheryl Tiegs and Tyra Banks, among other former cover models for a big photo shoot.

Yes, we know, what does this have to do with sports?

OK, not much, but SI again features athletes as a way to tie into sports.

One of those athletes, soccer player Alex Morgan, liked her previous experience so much that she’s back. She left little to the imagination by posing in body paint in 2012, but opted for bikinis this time.

Joining Morgan are basketball player Skylar Diggins and surfer Anastasia Ashley. We at Leftovers knew about Diggins but had never heard of Ashley.

After looking at Ashley’s (very) revealing photo spread, we all should be outraged.

Surfing doesn’t get near the media coverage it deserves.

■ DO NOT DISTURB — Everyone should be allowed to enjoy their vacations, those getaways that are necessary to refresh and create fond memories.

Most people, though, would take a break from their break if offered $52 million.

Not so for pitcher Matt Garza.

He was seeing the sights with his wife in Turks and Caicos Islands in December when the Los Angeles Angels made their four-year contract offer.

But it was a limited-time offer, and Garza wasn’t going to spend more than 10 seconds thinking about any kind of deal until after the Caribbean trip.

The Angels pulled the offer, and he wound up accepting $50 million in guaranteed money from the Milwaukee Brewers.

“I found a team that wants me and makes me feel at home,” Garza told mlb.com. “I was looking for a great fit, and I believe I found it.”

Yeah, but he’ll be in Milwaukee when he could have been spending his off days relaxing at Newport Beach.

Might have been worth taking 10 minutes to pick up the phone.

■ NOW HE TELLS US — Sounds like someone’s doing some backpedaling.

Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, chairman of the NCAA Football Rules Committee, previously made clear the controversial 10-second rule his committee passed last week was in the best interest of athlete safety.

The rule, which still must be adopted by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel, says offenses must wait at least 10 seconds before snapping the ball to allow the defense to substitute so player health isn’t compromised.

Some, such as UNLV’s Bobby Hauck, liked the new rule. Most of the noise, particularly from Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez, was from those vehemently against it.

Calhoun then gave two national interviews this week saying the rule doesn’t necessarily improve player safety.

Talk about reversing course faster than one of his triple-option plays.

Calhoun obviously also knows something about a well-timed audible.

COMPILED BY MARK ANDERSON LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL