It’s Just a Name Game for Megabuck Mike

When he was a kid, he was Mike Jordan. When he went to college, he was Michael Jordan. When he got to the NBA, he became Air Jordan. When he went to the mirror and saw his hairline receding, he turned into Hair Jordan . . . naw, not really.

But seriously, it’s time to end some major confusion about the person we have come to know as Michael Jordan. Such as, what exactly is his first name? In an interview in the latest issue of Playboy, Jordan cleared it up, once and for all.

And the answer is . . . Mike.

“That’s news to us,” said Joyce Szymanski, assistant director of media services for the Chicago Bulls. “He’s never said anything to us about it. I think he’s just playing along with his Gatorade commercial, to be honest.”

This Mike business, you mean it’s all a publicity stunt? In case you have missed it, the jingle in Jordan’s Gatorade commercial says: “I want to be like Mike.”

Add Mike: Jordan also told Playboy that his first choice of colleges was UCLA, not North Carolina. “But I never got recruited by UCLA,” he said.

Jordan added that UCLA heard he wanted to stay close to home in North Carolina, which “was not necessarily true.”

Trivia time: Lyn St. James is attempting to become the second woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. Who was the first?

Distress signal: According to an America’s Cup story in Forbes magazine’s glitzy “FYI” supplement, the word yacht comes from the Dutch verb jacht, which means “to throw up violently.”

Ahoy: Do you find the America’s Cup a little dull so far? To liven things up, Steve Hummer of the Atlanta Constitution suggests putting cannons on the yachts.

The Boonedocks: There are two Aaron Boones in intercollegiate athletics at USC. One Aaron Boone is a setter on the volleyball team. The other is an infielder on the baseball team and the son of former Angel catcher Bob Boone. Both Aarons are from Orange County, the volleyball Boone from Villa Park and the baseball Boone from Huntington Beach.

Ringing endorsement: General Manager Rick Sund of the Dallas Mavericks said the NBA club kept Coach Richie Adubato because “he did an adequate job.”

The first time: Last week, St. Louis Cardinal outfielder Brian Jordan, who is also a safety for the Atlanta Falcons, broke a 0-for-19 streak with his first home run.

Said Jordan: “It’s like scoring your first touchdown.”

So Jordan was asked how many touchdowns he has scored: “None.”

Truth in advertising: Tom Thumb, a grocery store in Dallas, is a sponsor of a basketball camp featuring the 5-foot-7 Spud Webb.

Dallas dossier: For what it’s worth, the Dallas Cowboys compiled a 25-page file on Texas A&M; cornerback Kevin Smith before drafting him in the first round, the 13th pick overall.

Inflation: In 1938, playing Class-C baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals’ farm system, Stan Musial made $65 a month, or $6 less than today’s players receive each day in meal money.

Star gazing: There is an abundance of stars in the desert these days at Mission Hills Country Club. Fred Couples, No. 1 in the SONY golf rankings, owns a home there and Jim Courier, No. 1 on the ATP tennis computer, works out regularly with Jose Higueras.

Trivia answer: Janet Guthrie in 1977.

Quotebook: Forty-five-year-old pitcher Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers: “Physically I feel fine. It’s my ERA that’s not in too good shape.”