Mo Hurts Himself 'Shagging'

To be sure, there's nothing funny about Mariano Rivera, pure class on and off the field, sustaining a season (and nearly career) ending injury. Even for the Yankee haters out there--sorry, rooting for Rivera's misfortune is off limits.

OK. Once that is clear, let's consider how it happened, and a delicious double entendre involved.

Rivera was, of course, shagging flies, as he does before every game, when his knee buckled.

As any fan of the game knows, that means catching BP fly balls.

It's known, simply, as "shagging," which has a much different meaning across the pond, as any fan of Austin Powers well knows.

"I'm glad it happened when I was shagging," said Rivera after announcing he would play next year. "That's what I love to do."

C'mon, at least that injects a hint of humor to an otherwise sad situation.

I've reached out to Paul Dickson, author of the Dickson Baseball Dictionary, to find out where the term "shagging" comes from.