"My father, God bless him, would have burst his buttons. My blessed mother would have been running from door to door to tell the neighbors the good news." Neither, alas, was alive to see their distinguished son Frank Sinatra invested as a grande ufficiale al merito della repubblica italiana. The citation read by Amedeo Cerchione, Italian consul general in Los Angeles, ranked Sinatra a "great and meritorious official of the Italian republic" for his philanthropic work, the prestige he has brought Italy as an Italian American and, of course, because he has "proved himself a brilliant actor, a most capable interpreter of drama with award-winning performances, and a talented singer whose voice holds an always identifiable quality of uniqueness." Sinatra accepted on behalf of "all those fine, decent people out there all over America who get out of bed every morning to do their share and more to reflect honor on their parents' country by contributing to this country."

Egypt, Morocco, the Bahamas and now Mexico. With yet another welcome mat yanked away, Cuernavaca was the latest stop for Iran's deposed Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Wife Farah, Son Reza, 18, and their royal entourage. After unpacking in a walled-in, eleven-bedroom villa ringed by cypress and bougainvillaea, the Shah resumed his tennis at the posh Cuernavaca Racquet Club and spoke briefly to newsmen. What of events back home? "Obviously, my heart is bleeding." One more move, north of the border? "It would depend on whether we were welcome." Henry Kissinger, for one, certainly believes they should be. Last week he admitted pressing Mexican authorities to issue the Shah his 90-day tourist visa. Said he: "I felt the U.S. had a moral obligation to stand by a man who had been a friend."

He may still claim to be the greatest, but West German boxing fans thought he looked more like the weightiest. Muhammad Ali, on a 20-day, seven-city European tour, was so flabby that he wore a T shirt during his exhibition bouts. The champ, now 37, claimed to be "at the most" only 22 Ibs. over his fighting trim of 220 Ibs., but others reckoned him 50 Ibs. above par. In Essen, a crowd of 2,500, who had paid up to $131 a ticket, watched dumbfounded as West German Boxer George Butzbach put the puffing champ on the ropes with a series of sharp counterpunches. A winded Ali never did finish another match with former European Champion Karl Mildenberger. As they said after World War II, All's ka-putt in Deutschland.

The scene had a passing resemblance to Semi-Tough: bedecked in formal duds rather than football pads, premier Pittsburgh Steeler Wide Receiver Lynn Swann, 27, ran an unfamiliar pattern down the aisle of Hollywood's United Methodist Church to wed a comely model and Santa Monica College student, Bernadette Robi, 21, with assistance from beaming teammates and friends like Franco Harris, O.J. Simpson and Sam ("Bam") Cunningham. As part of the mostly traditional ceremony, Swann, who writes poetry on the sidelines, recited one ditty composed for his bride ("My soul is your soul and time is our instrument to build life upon love"). He also explained the Swanns' way: "We're both very oldfashioned. That's why we didn't live together before we got married."

John O'Leary, Deputy U.S. Secretary of Energy: "There isn't a gasoline shortage. There's a driving surplus."

Frank Rizzo, mayor of Philadelphia, who leaves city hall in December after eight years in office: "This city could never pay Frank Rizzo back for what I've done--slept on floors, no holidays, no vacation. I knew I was the difference between destruction and disorder."

Headline of the Week from Variety: LOTS OF MULLAH IN IRAN'S SHOW BIZ

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