February 13, 1985

AT dawn on a Saturday, Wayne Fox, a Manhattan investment banker, floats silently over the hillocks, farms and rivers of southern New Jersey in a hot-air balloon. A few hours later, Maurice Matiz, a computer consultant, rises and goes to practice his Frisbee throw, preparing for his next nationwide tour with Kaboom!, a team of amateurs whose game is known as ultimate Frisbee. And if weather permits, Patrick McGarrigle, a Columbia University junior, puts on white slacks and a blue blazer, and, mallet in hand, meets friends to perfect his game of croquet. ''We are just people who want to party and have fun and be pompous for a couple of hours,'' the 19-year-old Mr. McGarrigle explains. The three New Yorkers are among the tens of thousands of people who put aside their usual chores each week to take part in what outsiders may consider offbeat sports - a wide variety of organized activities in the metropolitan area that have small but devoted followings.

ON Feb. 1 the Food and Drug Administration put off a decision to ban six artificial colors that have been found to cause cancer in test animals. To those who have been following this proposed regulation, the delay could hardly have been a surprise: It was the 26th time that the agency had postponed action since the proposal was first made, in 1960. While 26 postponements in 25 years may be a record, there are a number of other proposed regulations for food, drug and cosmetic additives that have settled into a similar limbo. Here are some examples: * A decision to ban saccharin has been overridden by Congress periodically since 1977; * A decision to ban sulfites has been pending at the F.D.A. since 1982; * A ban on antibiotics in animal feed was first proposed in 1977 and action on it is still pending. At the end of 1984 there were 120 F.D.A. proposals dealing with food additives on which action was still pending. Some of them go back to 1973.

The Going Out Guide on Saturday misidentified the Franz Werfel play being presented by the Jean Cocteau Repertory at the Bouwerie Lane Theater. It is ''Goat Song.''

An article in the Business People column yesterday about the Pabst Brewing Company misidentified William F. Smith Jr. He is president and chief executive officer.

Carl C. Icahn, the New York financier, yesterday revised his $8.1 billion takeover bid for the Phillips Petroleum Company for the third time. But Wall Street traders seemed unimpressed because of the large number of conditions he placed on the latest offer. Mr. Icahn, who already owns 7.5 million shares, offered to pay $60 a share for 70 million shares, enough to give him slightly more than half the stock. If he succeeded, he said, he would swap $50 worth of securities for each remaining share.