Even in winter, major league baseball teams try to keep busy. Between free-agent signings and winter meetings, there's also the long-standing tradition of fan fests hosted by individual teams.
At the Baltimore Orioles' FanFest on Saturday, several young fans got to ask questions of pitchers Miguel Gonzalez and Chris Tillman.
"What made you want to become a pitcher?"
Tillman: "Probably the fact that I couldn't hit. It was the only thing I could do."
"In the middle of a game, do you ever want to quit?"
Tillman: "Not personally. There's games where you want to go home, but you never want to quit."
Gonzalez: "No, never."
And then a young fan named Lily asked what is quite possibly the hardest question ever:
"Do you know why Buck Showalter never smiles?"
Tillman: "You know what? I think you need to ask him that. That's a good question. No, he's always smiling. He's just always thinking. He actually smiles a lot. He puts on a front that he's a big tough guy. Don't tell him I said that."
Season's beatings
It may be a merry Christmas after all for NFL defensive end Damontre Moore.
Moore, who was cut by the New York Giants on Friday after getting into a fight with teammate Cullen Jenkins, was signed by the Miami Dolphins on Monday.
Moore, a third-round pick in 2013, was fighting with Jenkins over some Beats headphones that were gifted to Giants players by wide receiver Odell Beckham. Apparently, Moore, 23, was mad he didn't get a pair.
It was the last of several dustups with members of the Giants organization, from players to management. The third-year player "repeatedly violated team rules," earning himself multiple fines this season, and the team decided to cut him loose.
"I've been a firm believer in what my daddy always used to teach me: 'You make your bed, you've got to lay in it,' " Moore said in an interview Saturday on The Dave Rothenberg Show with Steve Weatherford on WEPN in New York. "By no means in any way was I a saint. I had a lot of learning curves, maturity factors. I've grown over time. And I've felt like things just ran its course. It happens in this game."
Moore was not on Miami's roster for Monday's game, so maybe he had time to buy some Beats of his own.
Mic's on!
Even the referees were tired of watching Carolina Panthers' 38-0 blowout of the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Caught on an open microphone on the last series of the game, one official was rooting for one more short gain to get things over more quickly.
"Four more inches and we are out of here," said the official, who was later heard to use an expletive, presumably after realizing his mic was on.
"It was the most entertaining moment of the game," wrote D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Falcons had no comment. They were glad to get out of there as well.
Cage match
Somebody call Big Boss Man.
According to the ABC affiliate in Harrisburg, Pa., the Pennsylvania State Police are investigating an incident where a package was stolen from a home in Wayne Township.
The package contained $1,800 worth of wrestling singlets ordered for a Pine Grove Area School wrestling team.
If caught, the thief or thieves could find themselves in a lengthy cage match.
They said it
• ESPN broadcaster and former UCLA basketball star Bill Walton, during Saturday's game between Cal and St. Mary's: "I majored in biology at UCLA -- on sorority row."
• Fort Wayne (Ind.) News-Sentinel columnist Reggie Hayes on the Indianapolis Colts: "When your most productive players by mid-December are your kicker and your punter, it's a good time to look ahead to next season.
• Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald columnist Brad Dickson, via Twitter: "Serena Williams edged American Pharoah for SI Sports Person of the Year & posed in a seductive cover shot. Just as well the horse didn't win."
Sports quiz
Where did Buck Showalter play college baseball?
Answer
Mississippi State, under the name "Nat Showalter."
Sports on 12/15/2015