Even Labor Trouble Won’t Stop Penguins

Mario Lemieux’s girlfriend, Nathalie Asselin, is pregnant with their first child, and the couple will get married in June. There is, however, another matter called the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Asselin is due to give birth next week, just when the Pittsburgh Penguin-New Jersey Devil playoff series might be entering its decisive phase.

“I’ve told Nathalie she can’t have the baby on a game night,” Lemieux said. “I’m not going to miss a playoff game.”

Even for a newborn child?

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Trivia time: What is the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy?

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Role player: While playing in the British Open at Muirfield, Scotland, in 1972, England’s Tony Jacklin was paired with Lee Trevino, known for his nonstop chatter.

“Lee, we don’t need any conversation today,” Jacklin said. Replied Trevino: “Tony, you don’t have to talk. You just have to listen.”

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Small detail: Bobby Bonilla of the New York Mets recently challenged writer Bob Klapisch in the Mets’ clubhouse over a book Klapisch co-authored entitled “The Worst Team Money Can Buy,” a chronicle of the 1992 Mets.

Then, on a postgame radio show, Bonilla was asked if he had read the book. Said Bonilla: “No, not at all, not at all.”

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Marathon man: Jerry Dunn told the Boston Globe he was once a 37-year-old alcoholic without a bright future.

Now, in his mid-40s, Dunn said he is addicted to running. He has run 28 marathon courses this year, including the Boston Marathon, and his goal is to run in 93 marathons in 1993--or, perhaps, 100.

Dunn is already thinking ahead. “The goal in 1994 will be to run in a marathon a month in 12 different countries,” he said. Dunn’s average time is four hours 40 minutes.

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They deliver, too: Don Pierson of the Chicago Tribune writes that Craig (Ironhead) Heyward, formerly of the New Orleans Saints and recently acquired by the Chicago Bears, is the only 300-pound fullback in the NFL.

“In Chicago, Heyward faces additional problems,” Pierson writes. “Not only are there more and better pizza places than in New Orleans, the weather is not conducive to maintaining conditioning.”

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No ID: From the Yogi Berra archives: After seeing his first streaker, Yogi was asked if the person was male or female. “Don’t know,” he said. “They were wearing a bag over their head.”

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Walk’s world: Manager Jim Leyland of the Pirates, commenting on unorthodox pitcher Bob Walk to Paul Meyer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

“He’s a rare guy. He has fun. He has fun playing. He has fun covering first base. He has fun hitting. He’s kind of a nut, to be honest with you--but a good nut.”

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Trivia answer: It is awarded to the NHL player who has shown the best sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct along with a high standard of playing ability. Wayne Gretzky has won the award the past two years.

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Quotebook: Larry Andersen, relief pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies: “If a guy is a good fastball hitter, does that mean I should throw him a bad fastball?”