This Can Get as Dull as Raven Offense

Mixing reality TV with NFL training camp sounded like a snoozer until HBO was on hand to film the inside story of the Veterans Stadium debacle, when the Baltimore Ravens’ exhibition at Philadelphia was canceled because of dangerous turf conditions.

But Norman Chad, the wry commentator for AOL and other media outlets, takes a pretty good swipe anyway.

“Here is what you’ve missed in the first two all-access episodes of ‘Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Baltimore Ravens’:

“Brian Billick napping in a hammock!

“Qadry Ismail picking out produce!

“Reggie Waddell getting a haircut!

“And--Ray Lewis has a Bible on his coffee table!”

The HBO cameras even sat in as quarterback Ortege Jenkins was cut, Chad writes. “Billick told him how hard it is for a coach to let a player go and offered the following standard recitation from his BS 101 manual: ‘If there’s anything we can do to help you out, let us know.’

“(Translation: Please clear out of your room by 11. Leave the towels.)”

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Chad’s early assessment: “‘Hard Knocks’ is being produced by NFL Films, the fine folks who treat professional football as if it were the Roman Empire. So ‘Hard Knocks’ has a great look and great sound. It’s certainly better than a preseason game, though not as good as ‘Sex and the City.”’

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Trivia time: Pittsburgh’s Brian Giles needs one home run to become the third Pirate to hit 30 or more home runs in three consecutive seasons. Who were the others?

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All colors banned next? The Colgate University board of trustees has decided to drop the “Red” from its logo.

School officials said the decision was made to move away from the racial stereotype because it may be “offensive to the general public in ways that undermine the institution’s values and commitments.”

There’s a catch. The nickname Red Raiders was coined by Dexter Tweed, a former sports publicist at Colgate, and originally was a reference to the new maroon uniforms of the unbeaten, unscored-upon 1932 football team.

Only later were references to Native American caricatures and mascots adopted, and the university dropped its Indian mascot in the early 1970s.

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Going to the dogs: Serena and Venus Williams, Monica Seles, Elena Dementieva, Anke Huber and Martina Navratilova are just a handful of tennis’ biggest names who traipse their terriers around the tournament circuit.

“The concern is that there are so many dogs, the tour is going to have to start establishing rules,” Canadian Open tournament director Jane Wynne said.

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Trivia answer: Ralph Kiner (1947-52) and Willie Stargell (1970-73). Kiner hit 40 or more home runs during the first five years of his streak.

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And finally: C leveland Brown management brought in the musical group Run DMC for a training camp concert, much to the delight of the players. “The fellas just went crazy,” safety Earl Little said. “You don’t understand, you’re talking about the kings of hip hop, and the Browns brought them in here. It was unbelievable.”

So is the Browns’ record after two seasons: 5-27.