Cricket fans rapped as clothed minded

Scantily clad women are part and parcel of sports in America, but in Sri Lanka such frivolities are frowned upon, as evidenced when locals protested the addition of skimpy-outfitted cheerleaders to a recent Sri Lanka-India cricket series.

“It’s not in keeping with our tradition,” said Cultural Minister Yapa Abeywardena.

Humbug, said the New Zealand Herald, stating: “Clearly, that tradition has nothing to do with the 5th century Sigirya rock fortress, a World Heritage site near the [cricket] ground known for its frescoes of bare-chested women.”

Presumably the rush to see the frescoes didn’t harm attendance at the cricket.

Trivia time

Other than Max Hall on Saturday, who is the only other Brigham Young quarterback to have beaten UCLA?

What shade?

The woeful Miami Dolphins have lost 20 of their last 21 games, dating back to 2006, but on Sunday, backup quarterback Chad Henne did engineer an 89-yard scoring drive during a 31-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Not that the Miami Herald’s Greg Cote was impressed.

Wrote Cote: “It was, to slightly adapt a recent notable quote from Barack Obama, ‘like putting lipstick on a pigskin.’ ”

A list

David Thomas of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram noted that Derek Jeter has moved up to second place on the New York Yankees’ career hit list.

“He’s in the top four with Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle,” Thomas wrote.

“That’s almost as impressive company as another list of names he has been associated with: Minka Kelly, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Mariah Carey, Scarlett Johansson, Jordana Brewster, Vanessa Minnillo. . . . “

Auto pilot

Asked how quarterback Bob Griese had performed in leading Tampa Bay over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Buccaneers Coach Jon Gruden said only, “He managed the game.”

Commented the Orlando Sentinel’s Mike Bianchi: “That’s coachspeak for, ‘He’s about as exciting as a white Buick LeSabre, but he didn’t mess up too much.’ ”

Trivia answer

Steve Young.

And finally

In Switzerland, a $9-billion particle accelerator is up and running, and Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times said the most microscopic thing scientists have seen so far is “a near collision between a proton and the Yankees’ playoff chances.”

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grahame.jones@latimes.com