Color Him Happy If Team Goes on Streak

Lou Piniella is dyeing for a three-game winning streak.

The Tampa Bay manager said Friday he will dye his hair any “legit color” the players want if the struggling Devil Rays put together three straight wins.

“I told the players if they can win three games in a row at any time this year, I’ll dye my hair any color they want,” Piniella said. “I told them no purple. It’s got to be a legitimate hair color.”

The Devil Rays have won two straight games six times.

“Losing isn’t fun,” Piniella said. “I can tell you that. It’s no fun.”

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Trivia time: The Dodgers’ infield of Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell and Ron Cey set a record for the longest tenure -- 8 1/2 years -- of any infield in major league history. What were their nicknames?

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No worries: Josh Hamilton, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ No. 1 draft pick in 1999 and Baseball America’s selection as the game’s top prospect in 2001, rejoined the team’s minor-league affiliate in Orlando after a mysterious six-week absence.

A week later, the organization announced he had “requested and been granted a personal leave for the remainder of the season,” to “address certain private non-baseball matters.”

Josh’s mother Linda told the St. Petersburg Times: “He’s fine. He’s just taking some personal time, like everyone else.”

Hey everybody, we all get the summer off!

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Retreat! You may be one of those NFL fans who hates prevent defenses, but you’ve got to give Tennessee Titan safety Lance Schulters credit for recognizing when it’s time to take a deep drop.

Schulters stepped around the corner of a Nashville restaurant last week to get into his Mercedes and came face-to-barrel with a handgun. The gunman said nothing, but cocked the hammer. Schulters dropped his car keys and backpedaled to the restaurant door.

The gunman took the car and Schulters proved he’s one of the smartest players in the league.

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Sit it out: An online survey of more than 2,000 American adults conducted during the recent war in Iraq shows that 70% took direct action to avoid the coverage of the war.

Of those, 25% chose to participate in various outdoor recreation activities. The particularly grueling sport of bird watching led the way, followed closely by bicycling, climbing, hiking and trail running.

Couch-potato activities, however, were far more popular escapes.

The survey, executed by Harris Interactive, found that 82% watched something else on TV, 71% surfed the Internet, 39% played video/computer games and 31% went to the movies.

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Dumb question: Asked of Serena Williams after her loss in the French Open. “There’s a lot going on in your life these days with modeling, acting, business. Do you think perhaps you’ve let your focus on tennis slip?”

Uh, Williams is 35-3 this season.

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Trivia answer: Garvey was called “Popeye,” Lopes was “Rat,” Russell was “Ropes” and Cey was “Penguin.”

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And finally: What’s the difference between renowned gamblers Pete Rose and Rick Neuheisel?

Neuheisel actually won some money.