I've just discovered, to my surprise, that stud isn't a noun whose sexuality is strictly masculine. A broodmare, for instance, is also known as a studmare. And the Urban Dictionary defines stud as "basically, a badass . . . This person can be a male or a female gay or straight. Studs do not discriminate."

So should I fold my tent and disappear? Probably, but I'll speak my piece regardless. Wednesday's Sun-Times sports section carries a profile of Jenny Behan, a slugging junior on the Carmel High softball team. She's someone coach Jason Raymond has had his eye on for years: reporter Bill Harrison tells us, "He had heard through the grapevine that Carmel was in line to nab a stud catcher who was in seventh grade at the time."

Are you cool with that? A junior high girl a stud? Read and discuss.

Visual aid: the Google panoply of stud-dom.