CHICAGO -- Remember the children's game known as Telephone, where one kid tells his friend a sentence and then watches to see how the context changes by the time it gets to the end of the line with his or her buddies?

White Sox third-base coach Joey Cora can relate. Prior to Monday's series opener with the A's, a rumor took root concerning Cora having bit Cubs right fielder Jacque Jones during Saturday's bench-clearing brawl. By the time said rumor reached Ozzie Guillen's pregame session with the media, the White Sox manager also had heard it included a criticism of his three sons being involved in the fight.

All of this chatter stemmed from a Monday morning appearance made by Cubs closer Ryan Dempster on 670-AM The Score's morning show, hosted by Mike North, one of Chicago's top radio personalities. But the truth actually had a little less bite than the fiction making its way around the ballpark.

North asked Dempster about "hearing that Joey Cora might have bit someone," suggesting that someone was John Mabry. Dempster provided the following direct criticism, a critique without any mention of Cora's choppers.

"I thought that was one of the most bush things I've ever seen," said Dempster of Cora's actions during the fight. "You are on the other side of the white lines and can't play anymore, so don't come swinging fists and sitting there.

"Just break the fight up. Don't act like you are a player anymore, because you are not. If you are going to do that, you are going to end up getting yourself hurt one day."

Dempster added that first-base coach Harold Baines had to pull Cora out of the fight and remind him they were coaches and had to act that way. Cora declined direct comment, but did issue a rather comical statement through a White Sox spokesman.

"I did not bite anyone in this fight," Cora said.

When Cora was a player for San Diego, he bit the arm of a player who was choking out his pitcher during a fight to get him to release his arm. One school of thought is that particular story, mentioned on Saturday's FOX broadcast, was confused with Saturday's fight.

Whatever the explanation, Guillen took a shot at Dempster for his comments. He also had fun with the pregame talk, especially the usually-quiet Baines' lecture of Cora.

Dempster actually called Guillen after hearing of his reported comments, denying all of what had been floating around. Dempster also told reporters in Florida, where the Cubs were playing, that he would no longer be a regular guest on North's show after this week following this round of misinformation.

Guillen, in turn, apologized for criticizing his friend following Monday's 5-4 victory over the A's.

"I want to apologize to him for what I say," Guillen said. "I've known Ryan for a long time and he's one of my favorite guys. We hang around together in a lot of places. He knows my kids real well, that's why it surprised me.

"It takes a big man to call me and clear the air. It was my mistake that the information wasn't what I thought."

Meanwhile, general manager Ken Williams had no problem with the overall behavior of his staff.

"I saw them get out there to conduct themselves as peacemakers," Williams said. "If something was said that was over the top or done that was over the top, sometimes you take the good with the bad. I'll take these guys on a daily basis with their attitude on how to keep a team together and cohesively try to win games."

More from the rumor mill: Although Dempster never said anything directly in the interview about Guillen's sons, Ozzie, Jr., Oney or Ozney, being involved in Saturday's fight, Guillen had a classic answer to the accusation in theory.

"If my kids were on the field, [they were] going to get [their rear end] kicked," Guillen said. "What's Ozzie [Jr.] going to do? Eat somebody. My other one is 20 pounds and the other one is only 14.

"One is a baby, one is too little, another one, the only thing he can do is eat somebody or drink somebody," Guillen added with a laugh.

What a relief: Veteran reliever Jeff Nelson soon will be joining the White Sox bullpen. And that's soon, as in Tuesday.

"He threw the ball great [Sunday]," said Williams of Nelson, who he observed in person during his weekend trip to watch Triple-A Charlotte. "He's coming."

When pressed on the "he's coming" part of the statement, Williams continued.

"Stay tuned," Williams said. "I'll talk more about that [Tuesday]."

The veteran right-hander will be trading places with Agustin Montero in the back end of the bullpen, after Montero was optioned to Charlotte following Monday's win. Nelson has pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings since signing a Minor League deal with the White Sox, allowing four hits, and striking out seven.

Williams expressed slight displeasure with the team's overall defensive play and the way the White Sox have pitched out of the bullpen. Williams is not one to let a problem sit and fester too long.

"If there's something we are dissatisfied with and we don't think is performing up to expectations, we will make a change," Williams said. "Unless some things change, we are going to take aggressive measures to correct them. That's nothing new.

"I know this, I've watched games, probably four to five games per day, including our game, and there still isn't a guy who has a better breaking ball in the league than Nelson has to get tough right-hand hitters out. He brings experience, as somebody that can go in the back part of the bullpen."

Quote of the Year: Leave it to White Sox captain Paul Konerko to put a perfect wrap on this past weekend's highly competitive and somewhat bizarre three-game set with the Cubs.

"This series is like going to Las Vegas," Konerko said. "It's great for two or three days, but then you just want to get it over with and get the [heck] out."

Third to first: It was a good week for White Sox Minor League pitchers. Heath Phillips took top International League pitching honors, after throwing 15 scoreless innings, while Jack Egbert earned the Carolina League award. Egbert is 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA and 18 strikeouts in his last three starts. ... Guillen (Manager of the Year) and Neal Cotts (Setup Man of the Year) were presented with their respective MLB.com awards prior to Monday's game. ... White Sox pitchers entered Monday with a streak of 24 consecutive innings without issuing a walk, which ended when Jon Garland walked Nick Swisher in the first inning. The staff's 103 walks allowed ranks second-lowest in the Majors.

Down on the farm: Chris Kelly finished a triple short of the cycle, including his seventh home run, leading Class A Winston-Salem to a 4-2 victory over Lynchburg on Sunday. Egbert earned the victory, allowing three hits over seven innings. ... Gustavo Molina knocked out three hits in Double-A Birmingham's 5-0 loss to Montgomery. ... Javier Lopez suffered his first loss, allowing one run on two hits in two innings, during Charlotte's 1-0 loss to Durham.

Up next: Javier Vazquez has found as much luck against the A's as the White Sox have over the past few years. The right-hander brings an 0-2 record with a 9.00 ERA against Oakland into Tuesday's start against Kirk Saarloos. Vazquez is 4-1 with a 3.11 ERA in five starts at U.S. Cellular Field.