WHICH CAME FIRST -- THE DINGER OR THE EGG?

     A CO-based marketing company has filed suit against the
Rockies claiming the team stole their idea for a dinosaur team
mascot.  This morning's Colorado Springs GAZETTE-TELEGRAPH
reports that Akmad of Aurora, CO, claims they pitched the idea
for a dinosaur mascot to be launched Opening Day from a giant egg
in the fall of '93, only to be rebuffed by the team.  The club
then debuted "Dinger," its dinosaur mascot, in a similar egg-
breaking ceremony on Opening Day '94.  When Akmad complained,
they were informed that "the Rockies investigated the matter and
determined that the Rockies' mascot was created in New York by an
independent subcontractor" in association with MLB Properties.
The firm claims to have copyrighted the "Colorado Rockiesaurus" -
- the name they gave to their dinosaur -- in February '94, and
that the team violated that copyright (AP/Colorado Springs
GAZETTE-TELEGRAPH, 1/4).