Today’s Column Is Brought to You By . . .

Where are we? 3Com? Qualcomm? Cinergy? Pro Player? Alltel? Houlihan’s?

If you haven’t guessed, they’re the names of stadiums in San Francisco, San Diego, Cincinnati, Miami, Jacksonville and Tampa, the result of that charming new tradition, selling the name to the highest bidder.

“When you change the name to a local computer company or an underwear manufacturer or whatever, it leaves the impression that we’re a sport that’s looking for every possible dollar,” Bengal General Manager Mike Brown told USA Today.

“The reason is the system we have. Player payrolls have skyrocketed. A dozen years ago, these naming-rights deals would have been laughable.”

Get ready for News Corp. Stadium, home of the Dodgers, or Rupert Murdoch Field. We can just call it the Rupe.

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Trivia time: Four USC Trojans have been the first overall pick in the NFL draft. Who were they?

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We’re not making this up: Japanese insurers sell about $220 million of policies each year, covering golfers against costs incurred . . . if they get a hole in one?

It’s true. A Japanese golfer holing out in one is expected to throw his partners a party and lavish gifts upon them. In the halcyon ‘80s, golfers spent as much as $8,800 on affairs at plush hotels and pricey golf course tree plantings.

With the economic slowdown of the ‘90s, parties have toned down, but golfers still typically spend $1,750 on gifts such as telephone calling cards and towels.

About 30% of Japanese golfers are estimated to carry insurance, paying premiums of $65.

“I always thought a hole in one should be avoided because everyone makes such a big fuss--and it costs a lot,” says Ikuo Ikeda, who just got his first ace but had insurance and collected $1,060 for gifts.

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Real deal: To show a team of Philadelphia youngsters what the Negro leagues were like, the Reviving Baseball in the Inner City program took them barnstorming in a vintage bus, all the way to Kansas City to participate in a Royals’ salute to Jackie Robinson.

“We are experiencing what Jackie Robinson had to go through,” 10-year-old Bilal Rogers told the New York Times. “We can’t play video games or anything.”

In Des Moines, a restaurant manager demanded to know where the team got free-sandwich coupons, which had been donated by stores in Philadelphia.

“Now,” said a disgusted Steve Bandura, manager of the team and father of its only white player, “they’re getting the whole Negro League experience.”

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Trivia answer: Ron Yary (1968), O.J. Simpson (1969), Ricky Bell (1977) and Keyshawn Johnson (1996).

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And finally: Newsday’s Jon Heyman says the new announced distance of home runs, sponsored by MCI, is a “total sham.” Writes Heyman: “It’s too bad, because it would be nice to know the distance of the Mark McGwire home run off Randy Johnson and the Andres Galarraga home run off Kevin Brown. The MCI figures are reached when someone in the PR staff checks a chart. However, the figures don’t account for the trajectory of the ball or the eyesight of the people in the PR office. In other words, it’s a guess. And usually, a bad one.”