Finally, some real yellow journalism

When it comes to women’s clothing, yellow probably will never be the new black. It shows every smudge, every spot of dirt, and the color rarely flatters.

Unless it’s being worn by a Tour de France podium girl. They are unspeakably glamorous in chic yellow dresses and you never see them sweat as they present the yellow jersey to the leader after each stage.

One podium girl, who was not identified, told Bicycling magazine that the job isn’t as simple as it looks.

“We are expected to be beautiful and smiling at all times,” she said. “That’s not always easy. Sometimes we’re in these wild places in the middle of nowhere, where it’s hard to take care of our image.”

One yellow-clad presenter had a Donald Trump moment -- You’re Fired! -- in 2003, but there was a happy ending, reported the unnamed podium girl:

“We’re forbidden to get close to the riders other than to kiss them on the cheek.... A hostess named Melanie Simonneau was fired for going beyond the peck-on-the-cheek rule when George Hincapie passed her boss a note to give to her.

“It all worked out. They ended up getting married.”

A passing habit

Race car driver Danica Patrick kicked off Newsweek’s theme piece, “Women & Leadership, The Next Generation,” and in her first-person essay revealed that she goes fast even when she’s not doing her day job:

“Today I guess I drive pretty fast even on the highway in my Lamborghini. I don’t like to drive at enormous top speed, but I do like to drive a little bit faster than everyone else. So if everybody on the highway is doing 80, I’ll do 82 or something, and if people are driving 60, I’ll want to do 62.

“I think there’s something in my blood, in my instincts, that makes me want to overtake.”

Trivia time

Who scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in 2004?

Learning more

about Cuban

It’s no surprise that Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban plays basketball to relax.

But there were a few interesting tidbits in his 20-question session with Forbes.com, although some queries went unanswered, such as the worst day of his life.

He said he selected his own nickname on a whim: “Boris. I took Russian. The girl next to me picked Natasha as her name, I picked Boris. My buddies picked up on it and it stuck.”

On the best investment advice he has heard: “When you look at an investment, always look for the sucker. If you don’t see one, it’s you.”

Trivia answer

Left wing Ruslan Fedotenko of the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the 2004 playoffs, he had 12 goals in 22 games, compared to 17 goals in 77 games during the regular season.

Are they No. 1

in the stands too?

Ohio State has started an ambitious campaign designed to promote better fan behavior at its football games.

Up to $30,000 could eventually be spent on the “Best Fans in the Land” movement, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Student Michael Ross told the newspaper, “I think that the money that they’re spending on them is definitely a good step in the right direction. But I don’t know. You get a lot of people drinking -- one big group -- stuff can happen.”

And finally

Golfer Colin Montgomerie on the noise by fans Friday at the Ryder Cup:

“That is, without doubt, the noisiest and best reception I’ve ever had in all the years I’ve been involved in the Ryder Cup. It made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.”

lisa.dillman@latimes.com