ONE PROMOTION GONE AWRY: The NATIONAL POST's Chris
Jones reports that during the Blue Jays' promotional use of
the Hot Dog Blaster during Tuesday's game at SkyDome, hot
dogs "fragmented immediately upon their ejection ... and
spectators who stood to catch the treats were showered with
hunks of meat and bits of bun." Blue Jays Dir of Corporate
Partnerships Mark Lemmon: "Unfortunately, I guess the power
of the carbon-dioxide canister was too heavy for the hot
dogs." Lemmon had no reservations about conducting the
promo again last night: "Everyone thought it was hilarious.
Even the fans laughed their heads off. There was no reason
for us not to do it again." But fan Sarah Higginson, a
vegetarian, was not amused by the promo: "What if I had my
mouth open and a piece of hot dog landed in my mouth? ... If
I get sprayed with meat, I'm suing SkyDome" (NATIONAL POST,
4/20)....The Cavs admitted 122 fans 5'5" and under for
Tuesday night's promo around G Earl Boykins at the Hornets-
Cavs game. Admission was $5.50 for those fans (THE DAILY).
NAMES & FACES: Knicks G Latrell Sprewell, who "might be
known more for his coach-choking incident than his overall
game," has filmed a commercial for NBC's NBA playoff
coverage. Sprewell: "At least they don't look at me like
the villain of old, so to speak, and that's nice" (TORONTO
SUN, 4/20)....Eight top MLB players, including Alex
Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux and Barry Bonds, have
"teamed with ConAgra" in a $9M "marketing pitch" for the
company's Armour hot dogs brand. ConAgra exec Steve Silk
partnered with Atlanta-based Impact Sports Marketing
President Reed Bergman, whose client list includes
Rodriguez, on the effort (AD AGE, 4/17 issue)....U.S. Gold
Medalist Jenny Thompson taught a swim class yesterday to
girls at the Midtown YWCA in N.Y. to commemorate the launch
of the Swimming Champion Barbie doll (Mattel)....Mark Crear,
the current World No. 1-ranked 110-meter high hurdler and
'96 silver medalist, has chosen Octagon to serve as his
exclusive representative for both on-and-off the track
endeavors. Octagon Dir of Worldwide Track & Field Renaldo
Nehemiah will be Crear's lead representative (Octagon).
OTHER NOTES: In Pittsburgh, Chuck Finder profiles the
NFL's Junior Player Development program in which eight NFL
cities participate. About 65 Pittsburgh area youths
participated in the opening three weeks of the eight-week
program (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 4/20)....In N.Y., Paul
Beckett profiles the affinity credit card market and writes
that MBNA, "thanks to its more customer-focused approach,"
is "winning the race" against DE-based First USA. Both
companies market the affinity cards, which "account for 29%
of all U.S. credit cards" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/20).
