This Politician Knows How to Improve His Lie

South Carolina Gov. David Beasley, a Republican in his first year in office, is a sports nut who has played golf at the Heritage Classic in Hilton Head and dropped the starting flag at Darlington Raceway.

Recently in a speech to students at Rock Hill’s Northwestern High, Beasley said he once ran the 100-yard dash in 9.5 seconds and the 40 in 4.3 seconds.

This is known as spiking the old resume. When asked about it, Beasley said he was just kidding or something.

“I admit to some exaggerations, but that’s it,” Beasley told the Charlotte Observer. “And I’d take it very seriously if anyone were to suggest that these off-the-cuff remarks in any way reflected negatively on my personal integrity and/or character.”

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Trivia time: Who was the first UCLA basketball player drafted by an NBA team in the first round?

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Bill and Jerry: Catch this one from humble Cowboy owner Jerry Jones, in a coming HBO appearance with Bryant Gumbel:

“There’s no ego in my life. But 15, 20 years ago, I was wandering around Arkansas and Bill Clinton was [too]. Who would have ever thought that one would go on to power, prestige and fame? And the other would end up President of the United States?”

Thanks, John: Denver Bronco Coach Mike Shanahan, who lasted 20 games in his 1988-89 audition with the Raiders, can blame his quarterback, John Elway, for getting him into that mess in the first place.

Raider owner Al Davis called Elway in 1988 to ask what he thought of Shanahan, then the Bronco quarterback coach.

“I told him Dan [Reeves] runs the show but Mike is a big part of it,” Elway said. “I just said that he’s very capable and that Mike would be the best guy for the job.

“He said he didn’t like me, but he respected me. He laughed when he said it.”

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Add Shanahan: After refusing to discuss his firing for years, Shanahan opened up before Monday’s meeting, noting that Davis owes him $300,000--the Raiders insist it was a loan--and saying the game would be special to him.

“OK, Mike, you can’t say it, I’ll say it,” wrote the Rocky Mountain News’ Bob Kravitz. “ ‘I can’t stand that greaseball Al Davis and I never got a fair shot with the Raiders because Al doesn’t let you coach and I hope I beat them about 106-0, and, by the way, I haven’t seen clothes like that since KC and the Sunshine Band.’ ”

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Oops: Former Bruin Don MacLean, the NBA’s most improved player two seasons ago, turned down a $12-million, two-year extension from the Washington Bullets, he said, to go after the really big money.

Last season, he sat out 43 games with injuries and lost his starting job to Juwan Howard as his scoring average dived from 18 points to eight.

MacLean just signed a one-year, $925,000 extension.

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Trivia answer: Walt Hazzard, by the Lakers in 1964.

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Quotebook: Dino Duva, promoter of Evander Holyfield, on the possibility of the Holyfield-Riddick Bowe winner facing Mike Tyson: “It’s not a money issue, just whether [Don] King would have the guts to put Tyson in with the winner of this fight. Mike Tyson is not even one of the best five heavyweights in the world.”