Mayfair at last gets a slice of the pie

Pro golfer Billy Mayfair is a bit of a journeyman when it comes to his career on the PGA Tour but he pulled off a grand slam when it came to his wedding to former college golfer Tami Proctor this week. At this celebration, the bride and groom weren't the only pair drawing attention. The other couple were the wedding cakes. One was a 10-tier confection with took two months to "bake" and cost $50,000 (€39,000). The other was a 46kg chocolate creation of more than 40 layers in the likeness of Homer Simpson, one of Mayfair's favourite characters, cost unknown. After the bride and groom carefully cut the ceremonial first piece, a pastry chef team, using a 12-foot ladder, dismantled the sweet piece of art. Julia Baker of Julia Baker Confections is still nursing the blisters on her hand from cutting the cake. "We didn't begin with a budget of $50,000 for the cake," said Julia Baker, the designer of the cake. "It just grew after we sketched several designs and redesigned the Styrofoam models." Baker said much of the cost was because of the labour and the hours she and a crew of five spent on the smallest of details. Edible sugar flowers with more than a thousand leaves and petals were painstakingly hand-crafted. Several specialists, including electricians, were hired to light up the crystal globes on the cake with LED lights. The cake designer also moulded the 55-by-55-inch wooden baseboard with Home Depot experts. Steel legs withstood the cake's weight, which was never determined. But all agreed the wedding was more than just a piece of cake.

Dusk 'til dawn, Hayek has no time for Becks

As David Beckham prepares to make his loan move from LA Galaxy it looks like he may be leaving behind at least one outstanding issue. Last February, Salma Hayek bid over $350,000 at a charity auction in New York city for the Raising Malawi organisation for a one-hour training session with Beckham. So far, Hayek has yet to collect on her winning bid because of the pair's busy schedules. "As yet, we haven't been able to sort out a date that suits all parties," a Beckham spokesman said. Hayek apparently is a soccer fan and was spotted last month at a game in Rennes with her ex-fiance, French billionaire Francois Henri Pinault. The couple, who reportedly broke off their engagement in July, attended a match at the Stade Rennais between the local team and rivals Sochaux. It's not clear what part of Hayek's game she is hoping to improve when she finally receives her lesson – she does have a daughter, but at 15 months old she is probably a bit too young to learn how to ponce around the right wing with her hands on her hips.

Knott unties himself to finally finish first

Horse racing's worst jockey is celebrating his first win after 28 years in the saddle. Amateur Anthony Knott, 44 stunned punters by romping home at Wincanton. The dairy farmer jubilantly stood in his saddle to wave to the crowd and was almost overtaken on the finishing line but held on to break his career-long duck at 7-1. Knott, who was riding his own horse Wise Men Say over fences in the 2.30, said, "There was a massive roar from the crowd and it was just instinct to stand up and give them a wave. Then I heard another horse coming up behind me and thought, 'Oh God, it's not finished yet.'" Having finally ridden his luck to victory, Knott has decided to get out of the saddle. "I just wanted to win one race. I've done it now so I think I'll leave it at that," he said.

Birds of no feathers get bowled together

As you may be aware last Thursday was Thanksgiving. Originally conceived as a holiday to give thanks for the harvest, nowadays it's an excuse for Americans to stuff themselves silly with turkey and cranberry sauce before slobbing back on the couch to watch American football for the rest of the day.

Now Cincinnati has come up with a unique way to combine turkeys and sports with the Second Annual Turkey Bowl. Contestants had to knock down 10 pins by sliding birds down a holiday ice skating rink on the city's landmark Fountain Square. Thankfully the frozen birds used were at least discarded store turkeys.

This year's winner was Dwight Logan who knocked down 19 out of a possible 30 pins. While he won this year's contest, he didn't beat the record of last year's winner, Mark Bower of Green Township, who knocked down 22 pins. Logan claimed $100 cash and seminal comedy WKRP in Cincinnati DVDs for his bird throwing.

Drug-test eluding device takes the...

The inventors of one of the more unusual methods for avoiding positive drug tests are facing jail. George Wills and Robert Catalano came up with 'The Whizzinator' a fake penis that contains a heating element and fake urine to help people test negative for illegal substances and have been selling it over the internet for the past three years.

Wills and Catalano pleaded guilty to two charges of conspiracy in a US federal court and could face up to eight years in prison and a $500,000 fine. Their online business, Puck Technology, sold the Whizzinator and a similar device, known as Number One, between 2005 and 2008. The device is still available on amazon.com and comes in white, black and latino versions to help fool eagle-eyed drug investigators.

The website says "The prosthetic penis is very realistic and concealing it is simple, while our quality production and materials assures you that the Whizzinator will let it flow again and again, anytime, anywhere you need it".

It hit the headlines in American back in April 2005, when Minnesota Vikings running back Onterrio Smith was caught at Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport with a Whizzinator and several pouches of dried urine. He was subsequently suspended for the year by the NFL.