Alas, Danica Patrick is more than pretty face. She actually won the Japan Indy 300, proving that she can accomplish as much in a racing suit as she does in a swimsuit.

What was stranger, her winning this race or her rival Helio Castroneves winning “Dancing with the Stars” last year?

“I’m just part of a wave of women that are doing different things, great things outside of the [norm], so I don’t think it’s just me, but it’s just showing that we’re capable of anything,” Patrick told reporters. “And vice-versa; there’s so much more gender crossover now than there ever has been.”

Lyn St. James, the second woman to race in the Indy 500, compared her victory to tennis star Billie Jean King’s “Battle of the Sexes” triumph over Bobby Riggs.

“I’m really proud to be that person,” Patrick said. “This is a great platform to be able to do good things from and to be active in charitable causes and all kinds of things. But I’m really honored that Lyn would say that it’s the biggest thing since Billie Jean King. That’s a big deal.”

Still, she is still better known as a sex symbol than as a competitive driver.

“Being a female and doing photo shoots and things like that, people are quick to criticize,” she said. “It’s all part of it. The more popular you get, the more good and bad press you get. The best thing I can do is put my head down as a driver, and if I can walk away at the end of the day pleased with my performance, that’s really all that matters.”

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while wondering if the Miami Dolphins are just pulling our leg with this whole Jake Long infatuation:

• Has Alfonso Soriano noticed how well the Cubs are playing without him?
• Shouldn’t the Brewers patch up that bullpen if they want to contend?
• And shouldn’t they fix the lighting in right field before somebody gets killed?

MASTERING THE COLLEGE BOARDS

During a chit-chat with NBC funnyman Jay Leno, TNT commentator Charles Barkley was asked about his academic record at Auburn.

“My grades turned out pretty good,” Barkley said. “I was the leading rebounder in the SEC. I wasn’t worried about flunking out of school.

“I knew if I got 10 rebounds a night, there was a place for me in the world.”

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “Major League Baseball this week celebrated the 61st anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the sport’s color line by having about the same number of black players as it did in 1947.”

Dwight Perry, Seattle Times: “In a classic gotcha moment, an ESPN interviewer whipped out a 1974 birth certificate on Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada, forcing him to admit he is actually two years older than he’s always claimed to be, making him 33. Veteran baseball watchers say they hadn’t seen Tejada this red-faced since Danny Almonte struck him out looking at the 2001 Little League World Series.”

Mike Downey, Chicago Tribune: “When they got out of bed on Monday morning, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Frank Thomas might very well have felt like getting all dressed up to go to work, but none had anyplace to go. They had gone from legends to lepers. Not a one of them — four gargantuan figures of the national pastime, virtually certifiable Hall of Famers — had officially quit playing the game of baseball, yet not a one woke up on Monday as a member of a major-league team. Shunned. Blackballed from baseball, after a fashion, in at least three of their cases.”

Norman Chad, syndicated columnist: “Hey, Mao made mistakes with his Cultural Revolution, but he never pushed Stephen A. Smith onto his people.”

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel: “Can you believe the University of Florida’s 2006 crystal national championship football trophy was knocked off a shelf earlier this week and shattered into a million pieces? My first question: Where was Ron Zook at the time?”

Jay Mariotti, Chicago Sun-Times: “In a month when a Red Sox fan has tried to bury a David Ortiz jersey in the foundation of the new Yankee Stadium, Jose Canseco has tried to paint Alex Rodriguez as a steroids user and the Popemobile wasn’t allowed to touch the Stadium grass last weekend — oh, the pomposity — here comes an old lyric from The Who. Meet the new Boss, same as the old Boss. Ensuring perhaps 25 more years of Steinbrenner zaniness, here we have Hank Steinbrenner, George’s chip-off-the-old-blockhead son, using the word “idiot” to describe a decision made by his general manager and manager. Hank might be dead-on correct when he says phenom Joba Chamberlain, a super-setup man in the bullpen, should be a starter in a rotation currently bogged down by struggling youngsters Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy and old man Mike Mussina. But did he have to say it publicly?”

MEGAPHONE

“We have everything this year. We can take it to where we want to go. When you talk about the Cubs, it’s not only defense, but it’s offense, pitching, good bullpen. We just have to play smart.”

Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano, talking up his team to the Chicago Sun-Times.