Trading Leon was an Anheuser-Busch league move

Talk about a pitcher of beer.

The Schaumburg (Ill.) Flyers of the independent Golden League have traded hurler Nigel Thatch — 0-3 in seven starts but better known for his portrayal of self-centered athlete Leon in the beer commercials — to the Fullerton (Calif.) Flyers. For 60 cases of Budweiser.

"This trade is a bargain for us," Fullerton GM Ed Hart told the Chicago Tribune, "as we were prepared to throw in a Clydesdale as well."

Countered Schaumburg owner Rich Ehrenreich: "Nigel really gave us a unique presence in the sports marketplace last summer. In the true spirit of 'Leon Time,' we'll have a cold one courtesy of Fullerton and thank Nigel for his time here."

Playing his part

When the Devils' John Madden scored his third goal in a playoff win over the Rangers last week, New Jersey fans littered the ice with the usual flurry of hats.

And one toupee.

Guess he didn't have time to mullet over.

Green means no

Larry Bird epitomized Celtics green, but he won't put his lips to a green bottle. Not anymore, anyway.

"It all goes back to a party one night in college," Bird told the Boston Globe. "I picked up the wrong bottle, a green one, and started chugging and didn't know what was happening until that third cigarette butt went down my throat.

"That was it for me and green bottles."

Pass the ice packs

"Tonya and Nancy: The Opera," loosely based on figure skating's Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan scandal, makes its debut tonight with two performances in Medford, Mass.

It might sound redundant in this case, but ... break a leg!

Talking the talk

• Richard Oliver of the San Antonio Express-News, on the Bulgarian second-division soccer team that sacrificed a lamb and smeared its blood on the field — and still couldn't stop a seven-game losing streak: "Obviously, they just didn't have the chops."

• Oldham manager Ronnie Moore, to BBC Sport, on his soccer team's lack of aggression: "We can play creamy football, but where are the crunchy bits and the hard bites?"

• Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post, on why drug-suspended Dolphin Ricky Williams should make a run for the border and play in the CFL: "The grass always is greener on the other side."

• Mike Downey of the Chicago Tribune, on the Heat's James Posey — suspended for his Game 3 hit on the Bulls' Kirk Hinrich — claiming it wasn't intentional: "Oh, please. The last time anybody got blind-sided like that, an airbag came out."

Bet he looks good on film

Denzel Washington's son — John David Washington, a running back from Morehouse College — signed a free-agent contract with the St. Louis Rams.

And in Tennessee, fans were stunned that he didn't remember the Titans.

Dwight Perry: 206-464-8250 or dperry@seattletimes.com