With a jazz band belting out the "Rocky" theme, Salt Lake City's mayor was led into the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center by a troupe of "cheerleaders" waving orange pedestrian flags and wearing "Free-Speech Zone" T-shirts.

On stage Friday night, Rocky Anderson pumped his fist as the booze-fueled crowd bellowed. Moments later, the mayor would turn red - and sometimes white - during a raucous fundraiser for the Salt Lake Acting Company billed simply as the "Rocky Roast."

Between roasts - the panel ranged from former Utah ACLU Executive Director Dani Eyer to Utah radio icon Tom Barberi - Anderson was serenaded by homegrown satirists, the Saliva Sisters.

Here are some of the best zingers from early in the evening.

From Eyer:

Suggesting many Salt Lake City women must have a crush on the "passionate, articulate" Democratic mayor, she said she posed the following survey question to 2,000 women: "Would you have sex with Mayor Rocky Anderson?" The result: "67 percent of Salt Lake City women, when asked, responded 'Never again.'

"In 1999, we heard the funniest thing we'd ever heard of - Deedee Corradini was going to sell a block of Main Street to the Mormon Church. Ha, ha, ha. We laughed all the way to the 10th Circuit. Rocky laughed along with us - for part of the way."

From showstopper Jim Braden, spokesman for Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon:

-- "If it wasn't for Rocky, Merrill Cook wouldn't have won anything at all."

-- "Rocky's legacy: 'You're fired, you're fired, you're fired, nice tush, and you're fired.' "

-- "Congratulations: being the best-known Democrat in Utah is like being the thinnest guy at fat camp."

-- "If you can satisfy [House Speaker Greg] Curtis and [Sandy Mayor Tom] Dolan at the same time, you're probably picking up the tab at the all-you-can-eat buffet."

-- "I barely recognize him without all his Republican friends nattily draped in those cheesy soccer scarves."

-- "If you spent more time debating [Real Salt Lake owner] Dave Checketts than Sean Hannity . . . No, no, no - they were robbing Peter [Corroon] to pay Tom [Dolan]."

-- "We know it can't be easy auditioning to replace Rosie on 'The View.' "

From emcee Chris Vanocur of KTVX News:

-- "I need to sneak a peek over at the mayor and make sure he's laughing or he might . . . fire me."

-- "When Corroon came into office, he was a shy, stiff, bland politician. [But because of Braden. Corroon has magically been transformed into a shy, stiff, bland politician who hates soccer."

Trolling for bobsleds

Salt Lake City is "missing the bobsled" when it comes to promoting its Olympic background.

So says mayoral candidate Keith Christensen, a trustee on the organizing committee for the 2002 Winter Games, who is pledging to partner with the business community to create a more impressive Olympic identity, if elected.

"Let's brag about it," Christensen said last week. "There is consensus in the value of branding Salt Lake City as an Olympic city. As we consider the future of Salt Lake and the potential for tourism and economic development, this just makes sense."

Besides boosting the Olympic presence at Salt Lake City International Airport, the candidate proposes putting reminders at all freeway entrances to the capital, at downtown transit stops and at places like The Gateway and the planned City Creek Center.

No word on curling at the Gallivan Center.

Dining with Dems

Salt Lake County leaders treated Democrat legislators to lunch recently, hoping a little schmoozing would forge friendships for the next legislative session.

With a catered meal at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in Salt Lake City, the county pitched ideas about cleaning up the Jordan River, putting solar panels on the Clark Planetarium and providing financial help to the homeless.

Officials lobbied a little, educated a lot and pumped plenty of hands.

Just one thing was missing: Republicans.

While the county had five conservative councilmen at the table, GOP legislators don't get their lunch until May 22. The county just wanted to keep them separate for now - because of space.

As for this week's dining venue?

Corroon, a Democrat, mused that he will have to schedule the county cafeteria.

-- Have a tip? Contact Derek P. Jensen at djensen@sltrib. com, 801-257-8785; Cathey McKitrick at cmckitrick @sltrib.com, 801-257-8778; Resemary Winters at rwinters@sltrib.com, 257-8737; Kristen Moulton at kmoulton@sltrib.com, 831-0467, and Jeremiah Stettler at jstettler@sltrib. com, 801-257-8755