A Star Tribune editor presented a strange challenge/wish earlier this week: that Friday's Page 2 feature would somehow play off the movie release of "Fifty Shades of Grey."

For those unfamiliar, Fifty Shades is the popular erotic novel that has been made into a film just in time for Valentine's Day. As for the sports connection … that requires a lot of imagination and is a dangerous carrot to dangle in front of someone whose mind works in mysterious ways.

But after some soul-searching, and some reminders of how this is a family newspaper, we settled into a happy place that hopefully fulfills the request: The fake sports books/movies that are almost "Fifty Shades of Grey."

• "Fifty Shades of Gray." Just one subtle spelling change changes a romantic romp into a tell-all book about former Vikings defensive back Torrian Gray. You might not think you need to know all about the former second-round pick, who made 25 appearances and four starts for the purple, but by the end you'll be glad you did.

• "Fifty Grades of Shea." The Mets played at Shea Stadium from 1964 to 2008, a pretty long shelf life for a ballpark. It was often much-maligned, but really how much do you know about it? This documentary gives a virtual tour of the since-demolished ball yard, giving – you guessed it – grades on 50 different facets of the facility.

• "Shifty Fades of May." As suggested by Twitter follower and friend @cswamptown, who is, in his words, excited for "a look at all the deceptive fade routes thrown to former Vikings TE Marc May." Alternately, this would also be an excellent title for a book and movie about Twins pitcher Trevor May, who really is a DJ in his spare time, and all of his clever work using a crossfader.

• "Nifty Blades of Day." What if former Timberwolves player Todd Day had a Civil War sword collection? That's the premise of this book, which gets a little dry around page 300. But it really picks up steam again around page 550 with an anecdote about a mishap involving Rasho Nesterovic and a cavalry saber at a Denny's in Cleveland.

• "Thrifty Trades of Wayne." Wayne Krivsky has had two stints in the Twins front office, and in between there he was the GM of the Reds. This book goes deep into all the deals he has brokered — he was Terry Ryan's top adviser when the Twins received a ransom for A.J. Pierzynski in a 2003 deal — and the near-misses that will leave you shaking your head.