Tyson's the perfect role model ... for a mutant

He's proud to be like Mike ... Tyson?

Actor Hugh Jackman lists the notorious heavyweight fighter as his prime role model — for the Wolverine character he portrays in "X-Men," that is.

"I think of Tyson because Wolverine is tough, wild and without any charm when he fights," Jackson told MSN.com. "Violence distances himself from the humanity he seeks."

Hey, old sport

Hot-dog eating contests on TV? Hey, don't laugh.

"Competitive eating is the most inherent sport known to man," Richard Shea, president of the International Federation of Competitive Eating, told the Boston Globe. "Thirty-thousand years ago, in a cave in Eastern Europe, in the dead of winter, 20 Neanderthals sitting around and a rabbit walks in.

"I would argue that was the first competitive eating situation."

This sums it up

• Headline on Jay Mariotti's column in the Chicago Sun-Times: "Woeful Cubs need a butcher, not a Baker."

Soccer gets the boot

The Linthwaite House Hotel in Cumbria, England, is making a run at soccer widows — billing itself as a "World Cup Free Zone" for the duration of this year's tournament.

Among the enticements:

• A constant barrage of romantic films such as "Dirty Dancing" and "Pretty Woman" on hotel TV screens;

• Luxury chocolates, massage, reflexology and aromatherapy sessions;

• A complimentary glass of champagne if a hotel employee is heard mentioning soccer.

"We've gone to great lengths to ensure we preserve the serenity for any football widows," said owner Mike Bevans, "and this means creating an exclusion zone from all matters football."

Quoth the mavens

• Toronto comedian Frenchie McFarlane, on the Detroit Red Wings re-signing defenseman Chris Chelios, 44, the NHL's oldest player: "He's so old he uses Absorbine Sr."

• Comedian Argus Hamilton, on Sen. Harry Reid accepting free fight tickets in violation of Senate ethics rules from the Nevada Boxing Commission: "You remember them. This is the governing body that once fined Evander Holyfield for chipping Mike Tyson's tooth with his earring."

• Andrea Wong, ABC executive vice president for alternative programming, to the Los Angeles Times, on why viewers are drawn to the National Spelling Bee: "They're all incredibly likable kids that you're rooting for. These aren't nerds; they are intellectual athletes."

• Comedian Tom Dreesen, also in the L.A. Times, on what lucky fan Andrew Morbitzer should do with Barry Bonds' 715th home-run ball: "Inject it with steroids and sell it as a basketball."

He's a flea agent

Heard about the exasperated pet owner who renamed his dog Pujols?

Seems the pooch won't stop leaving the yard.

Dwight Perry: 206-464-8250 or dperry@seattletimes.com