Swimmers get to the naked truth

As some of the top swimmers in the world gathered at the Santa Clara International Invitational over the weekend, the hot topic was a woman whose best days -- competing in the pool anyway -- are probably behind her.

Amanda Beard’s Playboy pictorial was all the rage.

Asked whether she would consider posing nude, Leisel Jones of Australia, world champion in the breast stroke, laughed and told Times reporter Lisa Dillman, “I don’t think I have the body for it. She’s got the looks; she can do it.”

Jones seemed happy for Beard, though, saying, “I think it’s quite exciting. Good honor.”

Or is that good off her?

Trivia time

Who wrote in his autobiography, “You can be a criminal, a druggie, a jerk of a person, have zero social skills, very little intellect, but, man, if you can play, there’s always a spot for you.”

Promises, promises

The first college football rankings are out -- for the 2008 season -- and the top-ranked program in the land is ... UCLA?

In recruiting, yes.

Judging early commitments -- never mind that these guys have months to change their minds -- Rivals.com says the Bruins’ projected recruiting haul is No. 1.

And yes, we said football.

Two safeties from L.A.-area high schools -- Rahim Moore of Dorsey and E.J. Woods of Encino Crespi -- lead the way. Moore is top-ranked in the nation at his position, and Woods is No. 3.

USC was No. 7.

Geiger counting

The St. Petersburg Times recently published an article about the 40-acre estate put up for sale by former NBA player Matt Geiger. It’s a 28,000-square-foot mansion that has 40 televisions, a cigar room, a deejay station and dance floor, several bars and hot tubs, and includes a 5,200-square-foot guest house, a 330,000-gallon pool with a central lava pit, a putting green and an artificial lake stocked with 2,500 bass. Asking price: $19.9 million.

Geiger signed a $52-million contract with Philadelphia in 2001, but knee injuries forced him into early retirement in 2002, and apparently some 76ers fans aren’t over it.

Among the responses to the article on the newspaper’s website were these: “He took that franchise down single-handedly,” and, “I think we paid Matt $1 million per point.”

We were just texting

A research group says it determined in interviews with nearly 1,000 sports fans who watched “one of the finals of three recent major sporting events” that 58% of viewers -- including 72% of those ages 12 to 34 -- were conversing with someone via phone or Internet while they were watching.

The test group came from those who viewed either the NCAA men’s basketball championship game, the final round of the Masters or Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

What? No Stanley Cup finals?

Oh, that’s right ... respondents had to actually watch.

When fish strike back

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently announced its Fish Empathy Project, noting, among other things, that our scaly friends “talk to each other, tend well-kept gardens, build nests.... “ The theme, to borrow from a popular Disney movie: “Fish are friends, not food.”

Yeah? Tell that to Taylor Owen. The 6-year-old from Old Town, Fla., was riding in a 20-foot boat with her family last week when she was struck by a sturgeon, a feisty, armor-plated fish known for being territorial.

She came away cut, bruised and with a broken leg. Her aunt was also injured.

Florida Fish and Wildlife authorities said it was the third “sturgeon strike” this year, resulting in four injuries. Last year, there were 10.

Trivia answer

No, it wasn’t Tank Johnson, Adam “Pacman” Jones, Kobe Bryant, Barry Bonds, Mitch Kupchak or even the president of the baseball Hall of Fame.

It was Bill Walton, writing years ago about the NBA.

And finally

Tony Parker has won three NBA championships with the San Antonio Spurs and he’s about to marry actress Eva Longoria, but, just for, you know, luck, the date of the nuptials will be 7-7-07.

Not that Parker has had much to say about the plans, which call for the couple to be wed at a French chateau. He has said time and again that Longoria is “doing everything,” telling CBS “Late Show” host David Letterman, “I’m just going to show up and say yes.”

mike.hiserman@latimes.com