Edict puts Raiders fans on alert

The NFL has instituted a "Fan Code of Conduct" to control behavior in its stadiums and parking lots to create "a safe, comfortable and enjoyable experience."

The edict bans unruly, disruptive or illegal behavior; foul or abusive language or obscene gestures; throwing objects onto the field; and verbal or physical harassment of the opposing team's fans.

Look for the Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles to apply to join the Canadian Football League.

• BARE BEARD -- Amanda Beard wasn't expecting to compete in her fourth Olympics, but after finishing second in the 200-meter breaststroke at the U.S. Olympic Trials, she's in Beijing to defend the gold medal she won four years ago.

But what is making her newsworthy in China this week is her stance against fashion fur.

The 26-year-old added to her nude legacy by unveiling a poster for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' "Be Comfortable in Your Own Skin" ad campaign.

"I'd much rather go naked than ever put a dead animal on my body," said Beard, who appeared nude in Playboy magazine last year.

The PG-rated poster can be seen at PETA.org.

• GOOD SEATS AVAILABLE -- The New York Mets and New York City will offer seats from soon-to-be-torn-down Shea Stadium for $869 a pair at an online sale this month.

The team will begin playing in a new ballpark next year.

No word on the status of dusty seats from the Mets bandwagon last season.

They were not used over the last three weeks of the 2007 season, when the Mets lost 12 of their last 17 games and blew a playoff spot after being in first place for 140 days.

• SHORT SHORTS -- U.S. men's volleyball team members didn't like the mandate from the international volleyball federation that the inseam of their playing shorts must be 4 inches during the Olympics.

Instead of the required midthigh shorts, the Americans prefer surfer-style shorts about knee length.

The team has a video on YouTube.com (search USA volleyball shorts) in which it vows to pay a $10,000 fine so it can wear its long ones.

The video shows the team -- we believe in jest -- standing along a Southern California freeway entrance with signs saying, "Help me, help my shorts get longer" and "Will trade shorts for food" as means to raise money to pay the fine.

• DODGERS CUTOFF -- Dodgers manager Joe Torre and Los Angeles Times columnist T.J. Simers have a bet over whether newly acquired Manny Ramirez will return to Dodger Stadium next week without his shoulder-length hair, as mandated by Torre.

"Torre asked Manny Ramirez to cut his hair, but I have this hunch it will never happen," Simers writes. "Torre disagrees, so now one of us will be making a charitable donation."

Whomever is wrong will make a donation to a charity of the other's choosing.

Making this "cutoff" is a decision the outfielder must dread.

COMPILED BY JEFF WOLF REVIEW-JOURNAL