His voice carried from a phone in a New Hampshire home he hadn't seen in a month. His knee, on the same left leg in which his quadriceps was completely torn almost a year ago, is fractured. And, his grocery shopping technique is get there late, get out quick. All of this because of work; some life Paul Levesque has chosen for himself. Paul who? Oh, some of you probably know him better as Triple H, "The Game" because he is ... "that damn good!" And, if you don't believe that, he will prove it (all night) tomorrow at Mellon Arena, when the WWF returns for a TV taping of "Smackdown!" But, before that, Triple H took time from his off-day duties -- uh, whatever his No. 1 Miss Pretty, Stephanie McMahon, asks (she says: "jump"; he says: "how high"; we say: "youdaman, Hunter") -- to play our game, going "Out Of Bounds" with the Angry Young Man.

aym: Game you liked to play most as a kid?

hhh: Baseball, I was actually a pretty good catcher.

aym: Who's a better heel: Saddam Hussein or Yasser Arafat?

hhh: Hussein, just on consistency.

aym: Cheapest way to get heel heat in Pittsburgh?

hhh: Be me. Just being me would be enough.

aym: If you, as a heel, were wrestling Mario, would you go directly after his back?

hhh: Yeah, but ... I don't know who Mario Lemieux is, and that goes back to the prior question [laughs]. Quickest way to get heat with Pittsburgh people? I don't know who Mario Lemieux is!

aym: You're booking a show, who goes over: Bruno Sammartino or Kurt Angle?

hhh: I've got to give it to Kurt, just on [Bruno's] bitterness factor.

aym: Did seeing Kurt in a red thong on "Smackdown!" make you reconsider the whole comeback?

hhh: [Pause] It made me reconsider pulling his trunks down.

aym: Ever had a Primanti Brother's sandwich?

hhh: No, what is that?

aym: Well, it's a sandwich, but with slaw and fries on the sandwich.

hhh: Ooh, no, that's brutal.

aym: You're driving from Pittsburgh to Cleveland for a match, five CDs you'd want in the car?

hhh: Let me see ... "Best of Motorhead," something Metallica, probably some Pantera, maybe, like, a Marilyn Manson and, probably ... Ralphie.

aym: Celebrity you would most like to get in the ring?

hhh: Bob Saget.

aym: Any particular reason?

hhh: He annoys the [crap] out of me.

aym: I thought it might be the lady from "Weakest Link"?

hhh: Nah, she was actually pretty nice to me behind the scenes. Saget, I don't know him, but he's just annoying.

aym: Have you ever smelled what the Rock was cooking?

hhh: A couple of times. Sometimes there's only one bathroom in the locker room.

aym: Of all the DX members, including Shawn Michaels, who had the best crotch chop?

hhh: I'll say ... Shawn. He had the most, uh -- how should I word this? -- cruel intentions with his.

aym: Was it weird when you saw football players do that?

hhh: Actually, it was pretty cool. For a while there, everybody was doing it. In the movies ... the "Two Words: Suck It!" thing was in an Eddie Murphy movie. And, the crotch chop, there were ballplayers doing it ... very cool.

aym: Do you look back on some of the stuff you got away with and just kind of shake your head?

hhh: Yeah, definitely.

aym: Worst pickup line you have used or have heard used on a Miss Pretty?

hhh: Oh, God! Geez, I've heard some really bad ones. Can we come back to that one?

aym: Television show people might be surprised to know you watch?

hhh: "Blind Date," it just amazes me how stupid the people are.

aym: Those wrestling trunks, are they ... comfortable?

hhh: Fairly comfortable, sometimes they ride up.

aym: Favorite pro team?

hhh: Oh, I'll just go with the Lakers because they are so dominant?

aym: Laker Girls or Cowboys Cheerleaders?

hhh: Cowboys Cheerleaders ... because sometimes it's cold on the field.

aym: Tougher opponent: Stone Cold or Stephanie when she's mad?

hhh: Whoa, Stephanie, no question.

aym: Weirdest item you have in your house?

hhh: Hmmm ... a cap from a general in Kuwait.

aym: Really, how did you get that?

hhh: I had to barter some merchandise.

aym: Explain the reasoning behind choosing a sledgehammer as your weapon of choice? vhhh: I kind of fell into it. I needed to smash a coffin one time with Rocky in it and a sledgehammer seemed like the appropriate thing to use. Then, it just kind of became my thing.

aym: So, for coffin smashing ...

hhh: Yeah, yeah, exactly. For sheer smashing power, what beats a sledgehammer?

aym: Who does a better impersonation of the Hulkster: Hogan or The Big Show?

hhh: Um, probably The Big Show. He was good. Hogan's toned his down, he's a little calmer.

aym: I was distraught when you dropped the title at Backlash.

hhh: Who wasn't?

aym: The fans seemed to be pretty into it?

hhh: Well, yeah ... I knew they'd be into it.

aym: I was hoping you'd just go completely heel again. You seemed real comfortable being the bad guy.

hhh: I would love to.

aym: How many times can you curl a 65-pound dumbbell?

hhh: Probably 20.

aym: That's just insane.

hhh: I've done 80s and 85s for 10, so ...

aym: So, when you work out at a local gym, people just stare?

hhh: Sometimes. But, sometimes I go to a gym and there's a freak in there stronger than me. See, the thing to me is, to an average person, [80 pounds] seems impressive. But, I'm around guys who are 350 pounds, so, it's not that big of a deal. When you work with a guy like Mark Henry, who can basically move the entire world if he wants to ... it's pretty humbling.

aym: Eighty pounds, though, that's a great pickup line right there.

hhh: Actually, going back to that, I think one of the cheesiest ones I've heard was, "Hey, I'm a professional wrestler."

aym: Did that get a response?

hhh: Yeah, "Who cares?" Or, "What's the big deal?"

aym: How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?

hhh: I don't know? I don't have the patience, I always end up biting it.

aym: When it comes to spitting water, how did you become ... that damn good?

hhh: I'm not really sure. That's a question I get asked very frequently. More people ask, "How do you do that thing with the water?" I really ... just spit it, never really thought about it. I just did it and it went. It's not like I'm blowing fire.

aym: That would be pretty cool.

hhh: Well, yeah ... except for the lighting yourself on fire part. I actually wrestled Ricky Steamboat when he breathed fire. And, I don't know how he did it? He stank so bad of kerosene that it was making me sick. So, I don't know how he could put that stuff in his mouth and then wrestle with it.

aym: I'm still trying to get past the 80-pound dumbbell curl.

aym: You've got a reputation for being a great practical joker backstage. Who's your favorite target?

hhh: Any new guy. I used to ... Test, I used to get on him pretty good.

aym: First you steal his fiancee ...

hhh: Yeah, harmless stuff.

aym: But, he's Canadian, so ...

hhh: He didn't get most of the jokes.

aym: You got to Pedigree Steph at WrestleMania ... that's definitely not the first time you had her in that position, right?

hhh: Oh, no. Usually ...[BLEEEEEEEP]

aym: Man, this is a family newspaper.