They Are Milking It for All It’s Worth

Yes, they’re serious.

An animal-rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has asked Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials to drop the tradition of having the Indianapolis 500 winner toast victory with milk.

The organization claims milk production represents cruelty to cows, especially newborn calves.

“Please consider dropping this outdated practice, or to change the Indy 500 beverage to something humane and healthful, like orange juice or soy milk,” wrote Andrew Butler of PETA.

Indy 500 spokesman Fred Nation said race officials have no intention of ending the tradition, which began in 1933 when winner Louie Meyer asked for a bottle of milk after winning the race.

“We received the letter,” Nation said. “We’re taking time to digest it.”

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Trivia time: Who holds baseball’s record for doubles?

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For what it’s worth: Pat Day, who will ride Dollar Bill in today’s Preakness, has five Preakness wins, one short of Eddie Arcaro’s record.

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Add Preakness: Winningest post position for the Preakness is No. 6, which has produced 14 winners, most recently Charismatic in 1999.

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In his prime: Two years ago, Harold Stilson scored a hole in one but at 99 was by scant months too young to claim the record as the oldest ever to shoot an ace.

He fixed that Wednesday. His four-iron shot on the 108-yard 16th hole at Deerfield Country Club at Deerfield Beach, Fla., rolled into the cup.

At 101, he broke the mark set 16 years ago by a 99-year-old Spaniard.

Stilson, who took up golf 80 years ago, plays 18 holes three times a week, driving himself to the course.

“Sometimes I play nine on Sunday, to find out what went wrong on Friday,” he said.

His secret for a long life?

“Eat a lot of popcorn and beer.”

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The voice: Bob Sheppard, the New York Yankees’ public address announcer for 50 years, will receive an honorary doctorate of rhetoric today at Fordham University.

He has worked more than 4,000 games, among them three perfect games, six no-hitters and 19 World Series. Sheppard has also been the New York football Giants PA man since 1956.

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Saturation point: Is there anything not covered by a Web site?

SportsLetter, published by the Amateur Athletic Foundation, points out that there are two sites covering long-snapping, the fine art of centering a football to a punter or kick holder.

And, yes, there are even camps for long-snappers.

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They’ve arrived: You know women’s boxing has arrived when its participants are trash-talking.

Mia St. John has this zinger in the June issue of Razor magazine:

“Let’s look at Christy Martin--she looks like she sits around eating Twinkies and Ho Hos all day.”

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Worked for them: The Chicago Sun-Times’ Ron Rapoport commented recently on Chinese Olympic bid officials backing off from a plan to stage beach volleyball in Tiananmen Square because “transportation to the site is not very good.”

Rapoport: “Funny, the tanks didn’t have any trouble getting there.”

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Trivia answer: Tris Speaker (1907-1928), 793.

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And finally: Bill Scheft in ESPN The Magazine, commenting on the demise of the XFL:

“Smart move. You didn’t want the thing to become a laughingstock.”