Morning briefing

She goes noisily on way out

Second-ranked Maria Sharapova might have been bounced out of Wimbledon by long shot Alla Kudryavtseva, but Sharapova did not go quietly.

The shrieks, yelps and grunts let out by Sharapova during her second-round loss at times reached decibel levels louder than a motorcycle or lawn mower, Britain’s Daily Telegraph claimed.

The paper said it used a digital sound-level meter to measure the piercing sounds from Sharapova, whom it said “is known as the noisiest player on the circuit.”

While normal conversation is between 60 and 70 decibels, Sharapova’s top reading Thursday was 103.2 decibels, the paper said.

“Last year, Sharapova broke her previous record of 102.7 -- equivalent to an ambulance siren -- by yelling at 103.7, greater than the noise of a small aircraft landing,” according to the Telegraph.

Trivia time

What other tennis player caused a fuss with her grunting at Wimbledon in 1992?

Roadblock

Danica Patrick may be a fan favorite, but she’s starting to draw the ire of some of her fellow IndyCar Series drivers.

After last weekend’s race in Iowa, Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon and Ed Carpenter complained that she got in the way of their faster cars.

Dixon called her “a menace,” and Carpenter said “Danica was doing her normal supreme block job,” according to SI.com. “That is two races in a row, and I am over her,” Carpenter said.

But Patrick, who made history in April by becoming the first woman to win in the series, defended her driving style.

Speaking to reporters in Richmond, Va., site of the series’ next race tonight, Patrick said “you should never give up spots and you ideally don’t want to be someone that’s just passive out there.”

It’s just a hat

Speaking of a fuss, there’s one brewing within Red Sox Nation over women wearing pink caps.

“Next to Yankees caps and [New York] Giants jerseys, the pink Red Sox cap has become the most polarizing piece of clothing a Bostonian can wear,” said the Boston Globe.

“Fans of the hats think they’re simply a cute way to show their love for the Sox,” the paper said. “Haters say pink-hat owners are latecomers who only support the Sox because it’s suddenly cool -- even fashionable -- to do so.”

One traditionalist is Don Martelli, who told the paper he has banned his young daughters from wearing pink hats in their home.

“Am I saying everyone in a pink hat isn’t a fan? Of course not,” he said. “But in my experience at Fenway [Park], whenever I see someone talking on a cellphone, not watching the game, it’s usually someone in a pink hat or some other color.”

Doing his part

As stock car racing’s hottest driver, Kyle Busch floors it whenever possible -- and as long as the fuel is on NASCAR’s tab.

When it comes to his own vehicles, “I’ve got some gas guzzlers and I try to drive them as least as possible,” Busch told reporters Friday when asked about soaring gas prices.

“I’ve got an Escalade and I’ve only got like 1,800 miles on that thing and I’ve had it for a year already,” he said.

“It’s a lot easier for us to fill up our car than it is for other people, but we still try to do what we can to save money and to save the economy,” he said.

Busch, with five wins already this year, added that “I do what I can to try to stay down on my driving -- going back and forth from the shops and stuff like that. It’s a lot funner to stay at home too.”

Trivia answer

Monica Seles. While playing Nathalie Tauziat at Wimbledon that year, Tauziat complained that Seles’ grunting was distracting, an episode that prompted English tabloids to set up courtside noise-measurement devices.

And finally

Comedian David Letterman’s top 10 ways that North Korea’s Kim Jong Il can improve his image included this suggestion:

“Step 1: Break leg. Step 2: Win major golf tournament.”

--

james.peltz@latimes.com