State fair creates high-fat version of a gymnast

Talk about buttering up a local hero.

The Iowa State Fair will honor Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, the 16-year-old reigning world champion from West Des Moines, with a life-size, 700-pound sculpture made of butter, the Des Moines Register reported.

Plans for a copycat statue in Alabama had to be scrapped, however, when fair organizers there couldn't round up enough cows to do a Charles Barkley.

Bring a parachute

Second-generation daredevil Robbie Knievel thrilled visitors to Six Flags St. Louis last Thursday when he jumped his motorcycle over 25 cars.

Hey, jump the Mariners over that 17 ½-game chasm in the AL West, and we'll be really impressed.

Pass the cauliflower

Snippet from a New York Times Q&A with ex-heavyweight wrestler Rulon Gardner, 37, who won Olympic gold in "The Miracle on the Mat" in 2000:

Q: What is the difference between wrestlers and other athletes?

A: "We're not like football players, like, 'Where are the ladies at?' We're like, 'Where's the buffet line?' "

Passing of a legend

Dan Cook, the colorful columnist and sportscaster who coined the phrase "The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings" during a 51-year career in San Antonio, died Thursday at age 81.

Once, newspaper pal Blackie Sherrod of Dallas told the San Antonio Express-News, the two were covering the Kentucky Derby when a friend approached Cook, an avid bettor, and asked where one of Cook's daughters would be attending college.

Cook's reply: "It all depends on who wins this race."

Talking the talk

• Titans coach Jeff Fisher, to The Tennessean, on Internet party photos, prying paparazzi and other modern-day pitfalls for athletes: "The only time you are off the field now is when you are at home, on your couch with the remote control and pizza on your chest."

• Canadian track coach Les Gramantik, to the Windsor (Ont.) Star, on the pressure of competing in the Olympic Games: "It's like performance on demand, like Cirque de Soleil. You can't drop off the trapeze or fall on your butt."

• Toronto comedian Frenchie McFarlane, on the frugal ways of late Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz: "When he took a dollar bill out of his wallet, George Washington's eyes blinked."

• Tony Augusty of the Detroit News, listing special rules for the aptly-named Granny Basketball League in Lansing, Iowa: "Players are not allowed to pound their chest after hitting a basket, unless they're suffering from heart failure."

Back for a Pitt stop

Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino has been elected as a special trustee at the University of Pittsburgh, his alma mater.

Political moderates, citing Marino's career 59.4 completion percentage, say there's little chance he'll overthrow the school president.

Sideline Chatter appears Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in The Seattle Times. Dwight Perry: 206-464-8250 or dperry@seattletimes.com