Since Baltimore is such a dreadful city these days and the O's are worthless all we've been hearing about in the area is "Caaaal going to the Hawwwl" (Baltimore speak for Cal Ripken going into the Hall of Fame). The guy was even on QVC last night getting rid of some pillows and whatnot from his closet.

Well anywho, the Baltimore Sun has collected some quotes from the people around Ripken, and they are exactly what you expect them to be....all but one. See if you can pick it out....

"More than any other player in its history, Cal Ripken understands what makes baseball a great game. It's not the great players, but the great fans."- Steve Phillips (Aww!)

"He emptied the bucket, then walked around the field retrieving all the balls himself; there was a nation of baseball fans and some clubhouse kids who would have done this for him, but Cal did it -- his penance, it seemed, for his slump. Then he returned to home plate, and started over, hitting balls into the twilight."- Buster Olney (Good story Busta Bust)

"He had this boundless energy. He'd wrestle his teammates in the dugout, and finally we turned to Earl [Weaver] and said, 'Please, please, please put him in the lineup.'"- Mike Flanagan (Coming from the best GM ever!)

"When Cal arrived in the clubhouse before the game, we were set up to meet him to conduct a brief interview. I looked at him with a straight face and said, 'Cal you think you might get in tonight?' Cal laughed, and then we had a great interview for the telecast. Next time I saw him, he thanked me for, at least for 30 seconds, letting him laugh and relax on that unbelievable night."- Chris Berman