Not long after Houston Astros closer Brad Lidge said something off-color on television Sunday, his parents were on the phone.
Caught up in the moment of celebrating the win that put the Astros in the playoffs, Lidge was asked how it felt. He blurted out an expletive as part of his answer.
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Big number
1,111
Net yards rushing this season for Arkansas.
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"I tried to recover and said, 'I feel freaking great,'" he said.
It was too late. His mother, Debbie, and father, Ralph Lidge Jr., heard the comments while watching a broadcast in Colorado.
"I feel very bad saying it, obviously," Lidge said Monday. "My mom and my dad both saw it and called me immediately and said, 'What were you thinking?' Obviously I wasn't thinking."
The outburst made for an easy prank.
Manager Phil Garner had a fake letter typed stating that Commissioner Bud Selig would fine the Astros $25,000 for Lidge's "foul language."
Before Monday's workout at Minute Maid Park, Garner handed Lidge the letter and told him Astros owner Drayton McLane might want to see him about the fine. For more than an hour, Lidge was led to believe the fine was real.
Trivia time
Where do some hockey players inscribe their nicknames?
East-West wager on
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is betting two dozen hot dogs and a heap of pastrami, corned beef, brisket, three loaves of rye bread and two pounds of mustard from Katz's Deli; two pizzas from Staten Island; and lemon ice from Queens against a crate of California oranges and a surfboard that the Yankees will defeat the Los Angeles Angels in the American League Division Series.
Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle ponied up the oranges and surfboard, plus some Mickey Mouse ears, Anaheim chili pepper and an autographed script from the hit show "The O.C."
The mayors sealed the bet hours before the start of Game 1 yesterday at Angel Stadium, which the Yankees won 4-2.
Sidney – and his other name, Darryl
Penguins phenom Sidney Crosby has already donned the nicknames "Sid The Kid" and "The Next One," but he revealed to reporters his true nickname Monday. Darryl?
"Not too many guys know about it now, but when I was in juniors, my first exhibition game I got eight points, and (Hall of Famer) Darryl Sittler got 10 in the NHL (in a game in 1976), so they just said 'Darryl' and it kind of stuck the last couple of years."
Trivia answer
On the cuff of their gloves, where apparently Penguins teammates of Crosby noticed "Darryl" was written.
