You’d Think He Wouldn’t Be Blue After Winning

When three American midget car drivers--Ricky Shelton, Steve Paden and Clay Klepper--went to New Zealand to race over the winter, they decided to dye their hair in patriotic colors.

Paden’s was red, Klepper’s white and Shelton’s blue. It must have created quite a stir at Western Springs Stadium in Auckland when the blue-haired driver from Huntington Beach showed up in the winner’s circle.

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Trivia time: What is the most popular name for a golf course in the United States?

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It’s not fun: Yips, a nervous twitching that sometimes afflicts golfers, has been defined medically as “Focal dystonia, which is thought to originate in the nervous system, causing normally flowing muscles to jerk uncontrollably when a player is trying to putt.”

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Fair warning: Len Calinoff, writing in Speedway Scene, has this to say about Tony George’s plan to bring Formula One to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway next year:

“They better have Ivory soap sponsor that one, because Tony will take a financial bath when the beans are counted.”

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Close call: If you owned a boat and your spouse fell overboard, how many of you would jump in for a rescue attempt?

Eighty-seven percent, according to a Boating magazine survey.

And how about if your dog was in the water? Eighty-four percent said they’d make the jump.

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Just wondering: In the New York Post, Michael J. Gorman asks, “Will Latrell Sprewell choke in the clutch? Whom will it be.”

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That’s mean: Overweight Shawn Kemp shouldn’t be a problem for Cleveland Cavalier Coach Mike Fratello, says Joe Knowles of the Chicago Tribune.

“He can look on the bright side, such as the fact Kemp now can double-team someone all by himself.”

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Airplane anguish: Shortly after Mike Piazza signed his $91-million contract with the New York Mets, he was on a flight from Los Angeles to Kennedy Airport when the plane hit severe turbulence.

“When they started asking if everyone had oxygen masks, I got pretty scared,” Piazza said. “I was thinking, ‘Here, I’ve signed with New York and I’m going to die before I get to play.’ ”

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The name game: Cleveland State basketball player James Madison, on why he canceled a recruiting trip to James Madison University:

“I wanted to be known for my game, not my name.”

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Trivia answer: Riverside, with 46 courses, including one in, you guessed it, Riverside. (Note: There are six in Texas).

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And finally: Montreal Expo Manager Felipe Alou told a Santo Domingo newspaper that Vladimir Guerrero would be “the greatest player ever from this country [Dominican Republic].”

That would include Felipe himself, Moises Alou and Sammy Sosa.