They're gobbling up more than just football foes

If you thought the SEC dominates college football, check out the latest obesity rankings.

Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama sit 1-2-4 in the latest listing of the nation's fattest states, as compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And five more SEC states — Arkansas, South Carolina, Kentucky, Texas and Missouri — are in the top 12, all with adult obesity rates above 30 percent.

Mississippi is No. 1 in the Gravy Belt for the seventh straight year.

Tee ball

Golfer Phil Mickelson was officially approved as a minority owner of the San Diego Padres last week.

First order of business: Swinging a trade for J.J. Putz.

Big screen's a must

Attention, movie buffs: "Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader" is set to premiere Aug. 25 on the EPIX network.

Here's predicting it gets two huge thumbs up.

Eat, fight

and be merry

MMA champ Ronda Rousey has no qualms about her chosen profession.

"(Fighting) is one of the most human things out there, the most natural thing for people to do," the former judo bronze medalist told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "Eat, drink, reproduce, fight. To suppress that in society is usually unhealthy."

IOC? IOU

Swimming champion Michael Phelps faces possible fines or forfeiture of medals after photos of him in Louis Vuitton ads were leaked on the Internet during the London Games in violation of Rule 40 in the Olympic guidebook.

In other words, now the IOC might be going for the gold.

Welcome, baseball buffs

Toronto officials, bending to pressure, have given their approval for women to protest topless in city parks.

Team marketers, sensing a surefire sellout, immediately scheduled the first Protest the Blue Jays Night.

Talko time

• E-mailer K.C., to ThatsSports.com, after Chad Johnson got arrested, fired, had his TV show canceled and saw his wife file for divorce, all in the same week: "Just one more mishap, and he'll be 'O-for-Cinco.' "

• Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon Express, on feisty ex-Orioles manager Earl Weaver turning 82 last week: "He celebrated by kicking dirt on his birthday cake."

• Headline at SportsPickle.com: "Washington puts Robert Griffin III on strict pass count that will end his season in late November."

• R.J. Currie of SportsDeke.com, on a ski resort planning to open a restaurant 10,000 feet up Wildspitze Mountain in the Austrian Alps: "It's expected to have great food, but not much atmosphere."

That's a tall order

A federal appeals court in Hartford, Conn., has ruled that colleges cannot count competitive cheerleading as a sport for Title IX purposes.

Pity the poor sap who gets the task of telling the 50-foot cheerleader.

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

By Dwight Perry The Seattle Times

By Dwight Perry
The Seattle Times