Tuesday, April 11, 2006 | 7:25 a.m.
GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS
It's official: Kurt Busch now has no friends. The most despised man in NASCAR may have lost the last ally he had on the racetrack in Texas this weekend when he tapped the car of former teammate and heretofore chief apologist Greg Biffle and sent it careening into the wall.
Afterward, Biffle burned Busch a new one on national TV, but that paled in comparison to the tongue-lashing his girlfriend, Nicole Lunders, gave Busch's fiancee, Eva Bryan, on pit road.
Guys fighting on the track, girls fighting in the pits. If NASCAR gets any better, they are going to give it a jammer's helmet and call it roller derby.
I WENT TO A FIGHT ... AND ANOTHER FIGHT BROKE OUT
Speaking of extracurricular activity, that was a lovely parting gift that Zab Judah and Floyd Mayweather's uncle Roger gave Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Marc Ratner at the Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday.
After Judah struck Floyd Mayweather with a low blow during their world title fight, uncle Rog, working Floyd's corner, flew into a rage and then the ring. Judah hit him in the head with a rabbit punch - the only time he hit somebody named Mayweather all night, is the way one scribe put it - as a melee ensued.
Afterward, referee Richard Steele, who seems to attract controversy like a giant Acme magnet in an old "Road Runner" cartoon, was chastised for not disqualifying Floyd Mayweather when his wacky uncle became the fourth man in the ring.
But other observers said Steele should receive a medal for letting the fight continue after a cooling-off period. Sometimes when trouble is brewing - according to a news report, at least one member of the fighters' camps was packing heat at ringside - the Marquis of Queensbury must defer to common sense.
The bottom line is that the guy who won the fight did. And nobody got hurt.
Or shot.
17
The age of Bishop Gorman's In-Bee Park, who will make her professional debut in this week's Takefuji Classic at Las Vegas Country Club.
5
Park's finishing position in last year's Takefuji Classic as an amateur.
FRESNO A GO-GO
The 51s are off to a great start, having outscored Fresno 35-9 in a four-game series over the weekend, and just think how good they would be if they still had their first baseman. James Loney, who was expected to start the season in Las Vegas, instead was called up to Los Angeles when Nomar Garciaparra managed to hurt himself again. Loney made one of the ESPN plays of the day Sunday, diving to snag a hot smash during the Dodgers' 6-3 loss to the Phillies.
Only Harold Reynolds called him "Lonely."
Still, it was an outstanding play, "L" or no "L."
RODDICK'S PERFORMANCE FLAGGING - IN A GOOD WAY
I've been harsh in my criticism of Andy Roddick since he stiffed our Tennis Channel Open virtually on the eve of the tournament by announcing he was too tired to play in it.
But in that I'm feeling a little like the Grinch on Christmas morning, Roddick deserves some kudos for the enthusiasm he displayed in his Davis Cup match against Fernando Gonzalez of Chile on Sunday.
Down a set, Roddick turned it up a notch, diving for loose balls and playing with reckless abandon as if he had tossed down a six-pack of Red Bull during the changeover.
Afterward, when Gonzalez was hiding away - or at least complaining about a bad line call that went against him - Roddick ran around the court with a giant American flag, providing that it is still possible to wave one without the presence of thousands of illegal aliens.
"Evidently, he lost his mind."
Outgoing Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Marc Ratner on Roger Mayweather climbing into the ring after his nephew Floyd was struck with a low blow by opponent Zab Judah in their world title fight at the Thomas & Mack Center.
MUSHER RECOVERING FROM 'EYE-CICLE'
Paul Ellering, a musher in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, says he is doing better after his contact lens froze to his eyeball in 50-degree-below weather during this year's race.
Keep that in mind when August rolls around.
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