BLONDE AMBITION: NEW NIKE SPOT SEEN AS A BOOST FOR BASEBALL

          TV viewers "couldn't escape" a new Nike ad this weekend
     featuring Braves Ps Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine talking
     "about hitting like [Mark] McGwire in hopes of impressing"
     actress Heather Locklear, according to USA TODAY's Michael
     Hiestand.  This "might be good news for baseball, as its
     players are rarely used in national marketing efforts.  And
     baseball might finally have a slogan fans will at least
     remember, thanks to the ad's tag line: 'Chicks dig the long
     ball!'" (USA TODAY, 5/10).  In Boston, Peter Gammons wonders
     if there is "a better ad than the Nike spot. ... Why can't
     [MLB] do stuff like that?" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/9).