A Little Knowledge Might Be Dangerous Thing to Ripken

Cal Ripken Jr. doesn’t know much about Lou Gehrig, doesn’t want to know much about him, actually.

“I’ve held off that curiosity,” he said in the Dallas Morning News. “If you learn about Gehrig and other stuff, you run the risk of changing your approach. I don’t want to affect the purity of my approach.”

The approach is to Gehrig’s record for consecutive games played, 2,130, which Ripken, the Baltimore shortstop, can tie Sept. 5, barring rainouts.

One thing Ripken has promised: If he breaks the streak on Sept. 6, he will be in the lineup again on Sept. 7.

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Trivia time: Who holds the Laker record for most points in a playoff game?

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About time: Even while the Lakers were dominating the NBA in the 1980s, Jerry West, their general manager, was not named the league’s executive of the year. But after this season’s turnaround, says Scott Layden, Utah’s player personnel director, “We shouldn’t insult Jerry West by naming him executive of the year. We should name the trophy after him.”

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Dialing her in: Serena’s Song, a filly, will run in the Kentucky Derby and is certain to be a crowd favorite, for her gender as well as her performance. So what, trainer Wayne Lukas says: “If we wanted to get the public opinion, we could have gone on ESPN and had a 1-900 SERENA and you answer yes and no.”

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Sign of the times: A sign on the 12th tee at Riviera Country Club on Monday: “It was under this tree that Humphrey Bogart used to sit while watching the likes of Hogan, Sneed and Nelson play.” Wrong. Ed Sneed never played Riviera with Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson, but Sam Snead did.

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Pathfinder: When the New York Islanders recently got back a player who had been injured, defenseman Scott Lachance, Coach Lorne Henning said, “He’ll lead us out of the wilderness.”

In reply, Jeff Williams of Newsday wrote, “The Islanders are so deep in the wilderness that not even Daniel Boone is likely to lead them out.”

Henning was fired Wednesday.

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Name needs a nick: From Bob Matthews of the Rochester Times-Union: “The all-time sports team nickname is coming back after a 21-year absence. The Macon (Ga.) Whoopees will be members of the Southern Hockey League next season.”

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Money game: From Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Constitution: “In 1966, no Braves player made $100,000. This season, the team’s average is about $1.8 million.

“In 1976, Ted Turner bought the franchise for $12 million. This year, many of his players could afford a team at that price.”

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Trivia answer: Elgin Baylor, 61 against Boston in 1962.

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Quotebook: Rob Zatechka, a guard from Nebraska who has always idolized Lawrence Taylor and worn No. 56, was a New York Giant draft choice with no pretensions: “If I had to block LT, I’d probably get my butt handed to me.”