Apparently, it’s barrels of fun

Want to make some new friends or land a hotly contested business account?

The answer is simple: Go take some shots.

Not just on the basketball court or a golf course. Shooting, it seems, is quickly becoming the new golf, a trendy way to bond, according to a recent British survey of companies about popular recreations for employees.

Better yet, skill apparently doesn’t matter. Hey, just ask Vice President Cheney.

“In golf, if you’re no good it’s painfully obvious,” public relations executive Baron Phillips told The Sunday Times. “In shooting, if you keep missing birds nobody minds, so long as you enjoy the day out in the countryside.”

This hasn’t quite translated to our shores. Phillips told the newspaper: “There have been stories of groups from American investment banks being sent packing after the first drive of a shoot because they are spending all their time on their mobile or BlackBerry.”

Trivia time

Who was the Norwegian athlete to win four gold medals at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City?

Leave it to Cheever

It was definitely a rough road game the other day for Tony George, chief executive of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

George, 47, driving away from home, crashed his Daytona Prototype sports car on Friday at Daytona International Speedway and was not injured, according to the Indianapolis Star.

The newspaper said the car was purchased from Eddie Cheever’s sports car team.

George had been testing for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. There you have it.

A friend of Briefing said if it had been the Timex 24 Hours of Daytona, the car would have taken a licking and kept on ticking.

No sweat

And now for the cocktail party random fact of the day (winter sports division):

The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics stated that a survey conducted at the 2002 Olympics revealed that the biathlon was the No. 1 sweat-producing event at the Winter Games. Hmmm. And everyone thought that drug-testing officials had the least glamorous job at the Olympics.

Trivia answer

Biathlete Ole Einar Bjorndalen.

Trump’s penalty box

Olympic hockey star Angela Ruggiero appeared Sunday on the season premiere of “The Apprentice.” According to promotional material, the show was to feature 18 contestants, among them five attorneys.

Still, the hockey player could be the one to watch. Host Donald Trump better tread lightly with this sports star. After all, she does know how to handle the stick.

And finally

North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough, to ESPN magazine, on the Tar Heels’ habits after important victories and how Coach Roy Williams often joins the fray: “We have a mosh pit in the locker room after big wins -- a big road victory or a particularly huge win at home. This year we had one when we beat Ohio State.

“Everybody gets really physical, jumping around against each other. Even Coach gets into it. In fact, he’s pretty aggressive.”

lisa.dillman@latimes.com