The Twitterverse, sports blogosphere and virtually every other digital-media celestial body flared up Tuesday night when paralyzed former college football player Eric LeGrand sent this simple playful tweet to Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones:

@lolojones want to race me?

— Eric LeGrand (@EricLeGrand52) October 2, 2012

And Jones, who finished fourth in the 110-meter event during the London Games, took the challenge seriously.

Her initial response to LeGrand's faux challenge, since deleted from Twitter: “Get checked for a concussion. Clearly, u’ve been hit in the head..Cos u arn’t beating a track athlete.” She continued to post, “I race for money or olympic medals…so how much u wanna wager? 40K? Just go ahead and write the check to Lolo S. Jones.”

Jones later admitted she had no idea who LeGrand was nor that he has been confined to a wheelchair since suffering a spinal injury while playing for Rutgers in 2010.

The reaction to Jones' tweets was swift and fierce.

She quickly learned of LeGrand's situation and history:

No, dnt know. sry dont know every football player. He challenged me 2 a race & I responded RT @finae25: u know he's a quadrapalegic now?

— Lolo Jones (@lolojones) October 3, 2012

Jones continued:

Great I'm gonna get murdered for that tweet. When I had no clue who that dude was.Just responding to any athlete who challenges me to a race

— Lolo Jones (@lolojones) October 3, 2012

But another potentially ugly moment on Twitter was quickly turned into another lesson in forgiveness, if not caution in what you tweet. LeGrand, not surprisingly, took the high road and was forgiving toward Jones:

@lolojones definitely did not take it personal, I understand exactly where you are coming from. All good over here

— Eric LeGrand (@EricLeGrand52) October 3, 2012

In the end, there were no hard feelings:

@lolojones yes this is wild did not know this was going to happen. You have a supporter in me for sure

— Eric LeGrand (@EricLeGrand52) October 3, 2012

LeGrand, 21, was signed by the Tampa Bay Bucs in May, won the Jimmy V Perseverance Award at the ESPYs in July and released a book last week. He continues to inspire millions every day, including, now, Lolo Jones.

Elsewhere:

• Athetes past and present such as LeBron James, Jacquizz Rodgers, Mike Vick, Cris Carter and Fred Taylor were tuned into ESPN's "30-for-30" documentary "Broke" Tuesday night. This entry on "Storify" offers a rundown of their responses on Twitter. It was an educational experience, to say the least.


• While there's no end in sight to the NHL lockout, hockey fans can always find a good play or hard hit on YouTube. Or, perhpas, even a clip of a New Jersey junior hockey player jumping through the glass after scoring a goal.





• After a seven-year absence from the major leagues, Adam Greenberg got his first at-bat Tuesday night in Miami.

Three pitches. Three R.A. Dickey knuckleballs. Three swings. Three misses. No regrets.

"I was going up swinging and going down swinging," Greenberg said on NBC's Today show. Greenberg was beaned in the head by the first pitch he saw in the majors back 2005. His at-bat ended a storybook odyssey but ended on three pitches in Miami's 4-3 victory over the Mets in 11 innings. "I was ready to play Major League Baseball and he got me."

There's no tougher challenge in the N.L. these days for someone making his first major-leauge at-bat than Dickey (20-6, 2.73), a Cy Young Award favorite.

"I only got to see three pitches. I was geared up and ready," Greenberg said. "The first pitch he threw dropped about three feet right in front of the plate. I didn't see another one like it. He has a way of adding speed and taking speed off his knuckleball and that's what he did."

If you see any offbeat links from your favorite sports site or catchy tweets that might be of interest to others, pass them along to me @billsperos or to bsperos1@gmail.com.