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Author: Duerson, Adam

WHICH is the tougher work environment, Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park or the slightly muggier confines of the Amazon jungle? Phillies wunderkind Cole Hamels can find out: The rookie lefthander, 22, is dating former Survivor: Amazon contestant and Playboy cover girl Heidi Strobel. (Survivor-philes might recall that Strobel, who finished fifth, dropped her shorts in exchange for cookies and a jar of peanut butter.) The couple met two years ago while Hamels was with the Phillies' minor league affiliate in Clearwater, Fla. Now they find themselves bonding over the trials of celebrityhood. "She's gone through the hectic lifestyle," Hamels told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "That is the biggest help possible for me."

• American Idol winner Taylor Hicks's cheering section was known as the Soul Patrol, but he's been cultivating a fan base since his days as a Little Leaguer. Before last week's Idol finale Hicks's father, Brad, told The Birmingham News, "I think Taylor wants us here to watch him, just like when he was eight or nine and had a [baseball] game." Hicks, 29, also starred on Hoover (Ala.) High's basketball team, helping the Buccaneers to the second round of the 1995 state sectionals as a senior. Last month Hoover mayor Tony Petelos presented him with a retro hicks number 20 Bucs jersey.
• A tip for Yankees fans seeking revenge on Curt Schilling, who helped take down the Bronx Bombers in the 2001 World Series and the '04 ALCS: The Red Sox righthander is taking on all comers online. During next week's New York--Boston series at Yankee Stadium, fans can battle a character based on Schilling--it will look like him and is named after him--in the role-playing video game EverQuest II, which takes place in a fantasy world of magic and mythology (www.battleals.com). Every time the cyber-Schilling is defeated, EverQuest developer Sony will donate $5 to the ALS Association, a charity devoted to the fight against Lou Gehrig's disease. First up for Schilling: his son Gehrig, who says, "I think I'll kill him if I do it right."
• As if the Knicks need another drama queen. Point guard Nate Robinson, who won the NBA Slam Dunk contest in February, is spending the summer in his hometown of Seattle training for his second season and finishing the theater major he started three years ago at the University of Washington. Robinson plans to take classes this summer and hopes to earn his degree within two years. Then, he says, "I just want to be in one movie." He has already lobbied Knicks superfan Spike Lee for a role. "I keep a little bug in Spike's ear," Robinson says. "He says he'll squeeze me in one of these days." …Finally, a rendition of Take Me Out to the Ballgame that sounds more robotic than what Ozzy Osbourne warbled at Wrigley Field in 2003. Peter Frampton, with the help of his trademark talkbox-guitar effect, performed the ditty live in 2003, at a Reds game, and now a version is available on Cincinnati Clutch Hits, a collection of Reds-themed tunes recorded by Cincinnati musicians.

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By Adam Duerson

Edited by Mark Bechtel and Stephen Cannella