But they might lose scholarships

Sockgate finally came to rest in Boston when television commentator Gary Thorne acknowledged he erroneously reported that the blood stain on Curt Schilling’s sock in the 2004 World Series was actually paint.

Thorne said he misinterpreted a comment from Red Sox catcher Doug Mirabelli, then proceeded to pass along that information during a telecast, setting off a firestorm of controversy. At least, that’s what the media would have fans believe.

In truth, according to a comment from Red Sox Manager Terry Francona in the Boston Globe, the team was never too worried about it.

“It’s not like the NCAA is going to put us on probation,” Francona said.

Pitcher’s got a rubber arm

Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe, a day before Daisuke Matsuzaka threw 41 pitches in one inning against the Yankees, mused about Matsuzaka’s propensity for throwing, noting that as a high school player in Japan, he once threw 250 pitches in a 17-inning complete game.

“Got one of those kids in your neighborhood who’s always playing basketball? The kid who dribbles a ball to school, then spins a basketball on his finger when he’s watching TV? That’s Dice-K when it comes to throwing,” Shaughnessy wrote. “If the Sox would allow him to do what he wants to do, Dice-K would make Warren Spahn look like a short reliever.”

Spahn averaged 21.23 complete games a year during his most active 17 seasons.

Trivia time

The recent celebration of the 60-year anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s debut in the major leagues was a reminder that Robinson, best known as a second baseman, began his career as a first baseman. How many positions did Robinson play during his 10-year career?

Prior restraint

Chicago Cubs pitcher Mark Prior has sat out parts or all of the last four seasons because of injuries, but Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune calls it bad luck, and he hopes the stretch comes to an end after Prior’s season-ending shoulder surgery last week.

“No surgery can be called successful right away,” Morrissey wrote. “With Prior’s luck, the right shoulder problem will lead to its only logical conclusion, an amputated left leg.”

Don’t discount the Fehr factor

Donald Fehr, executive director of the baseball players’ union, said last week that there was nothing wrong with the sport’s drug-testing program and speculated that years from now, people will wonder why so much attention was paid to performance-enhancing drugs.

“They’re going to say, with everything else that was going on in America, between global warming and a war and 9/11 and the collapse of health care and everything else, why did we spend all this time on steroids and Anna Nicole Smith and whether Britney Spears did this or that or the other and all the rest of it?” Fehr said. “And yet it dominates the news, it just dominates it.”

Lip service with a smile

Torii Hunter played Friday despite a severely swollen lip -- the result of getting hit in the face by a pitch from the Royals’ Zack Greinke the day before.

“I might need a collagen injection on the other side of my face so I match,” Hunter said.

Trivia answer

Six. Robinson played 748 games at second base, 256 at third base, 197 at first base, 161 in left field, one in right field and one at shortstop.

And finally

Barry Bonds, 42, wasn’t enamored of the idea of facing Randy Johnson, 43, when the San Francisco Giants played the against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, but it had nothing to do with the left-handed Bonds facing a tough left-handed pitcher.

“We’re old,” Bonds said. “What’s so special about two old guys on the field? We’re both about a step from life support.”

peter.yoon@latimes.com