John Deere is up for the lifetime achievement award

Cooperstown ... Canton ... Springfield ... Mowtown?

The home city of sports' newest shrine — the Lawn Mower Racing Hall of Fame & Museum of America — will be announced July 4, the U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association announced, honoring those who pioneered and nurtured mower racing all the way back to its inception in 1992.

As for winnowing the list of nominees, no word on when they'll make the first cut.

That's a drop shot

"Anna Kournikova rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange one morning [last] week," noted Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

"Moments later the Dow Jones index fell 6-0, 6-0."

Oh, brother

Some notable sports siblings, courtesy of TheOnion.com:

• "The Boones: Second baseman Bret and third baseman Aaron made major-league history by becoming the first set of brothers to get their tips frosted at the same time.

• "The Sharpes: Shannon and Sterling made a name for themselves in the NFL as the brother tandem whom everyone most wished would shut up.

• "The Ripkens: Billy Ripken holds the record for most consecutive games watching his brother while grinding his teeth with jealousy."

Putting on airs

The Nottingham England Rugby Club put 1,000 blow-up dolls in the grandstand seats to make the atmosphere look better on TV and film, champions365.com reported.

Or as NBC's Len Berman put it, "The newest way to inflate your attendance figures."

Money pit

Bank of America extended its sponsorship with the New York Yankees, and economists immediately hailed it as the ultimate win-win.

The team gets much-needed signage for its new ballpark, and the bank gets to borrow money whenever it needs it.

Leave it to Beavers

So, did anybody else have Oregon State (16-17) in their Last Pac-10 Basketball Team Alive office pool?

Talko time

• Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, on Japan's repeat title in the World Baseball Classic: "They have stolen our game. Americans everywhere hide their faces in shame. (Pause.) OK, I'm fine now. When's the season start?"

• Headline at Fark.com, after John McEnroe was duped in an art scam: "What, are you blind?"

• Ian Hamilton of the Regina (Sask.) Leader-Post, after trainer Freddie Roach claimed world champ Manny Pacquiao ran away from home at 14 and landed in a Philippines boxing gym after seeing his dad eat his pet dog: "Was Pacquiao's dog a boxer? A pug?"

• Comedy writer Jerry Perisho, on AIG changing its name to AIU Holdings, Ltd., for PR purposes: "In other news, Alex Rodriguez will now be known as Brooks Robinson."

Three-down territory

Former NFL referee Jerry Seeman lived 73-plus years without hitting a hole-in-one, then bagged three aces in three weeks in Palm Springs, Calif., the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

No word on whether he had to flag his bar tab for excessive celebration.

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