What’S His Cyber Average?

In their argument before an arbitrator regarding how much their ace relief pitcher, Mariano Rivera, should be paid this coming season, the Yankees quoted the number of hits he’d made on the team’s Web site.

That’s Internet hits. Not baseball hits.

The Yankees’ star shortstop, Derek Jeter, got 727,196 clicks on the Web site last season, compared with 68,974 for Rivera. Therefore the pitcher did not deserve a salary comparable with Jeter’s $10 million this year. Or so claimed the New York Daily News, citing sources familiar with the negotiations.

Rivera had sought a salary of $9.25 million. The arbitrator ruled in favor of the Yankees’ offer of $7.25 million.

The world would be a better place

Adam Graves of the New York Rangers, who was recently given the NHL Foundation award, which recognizes a player who applies commitment, perseverance and teamwork to help the community, is known as hockey’s Mr. Nice Guy.

Once, Mark Messier and Mike Richter saw a large package sitting by Graves’ locker.

“There was a big box that said `Adam Graves’ on it,” Richter said. “Mess walks by and says, `So that’s how Gravy does it. He gets a box of nice delivered every day.’ ”

Get on board

Jay Greenberg of the New York Post on Mets pitcher Armando Benitez, rated by Greenberg as the most hated New York athlete in his own city.

“Mustard on the ball. To the other dugout, mustard on the brain. The only guy on the No. 7 train John Rocker understands and admires.”

The last dance

Michael Jordan is set to act decisively in his role as a Washington Wizards exec: firing the Wizard dancers. Newsweek reports Jordan told a source: “Getting the right players is hard. Finding cheerleaders who can count on time shouldn’t be.”

The mag quoted an unnamed dancer, lamenting, “They fired Gar (Heard) after a big win. They’ll probably fire us after one of our better performances.”

The last word …

“The NFL salary cap goes up to $62 million next season. But management has drawn a line in the sand: Bail will stay at $3 million per team.”

- Mark Kriegel, New York Daily News