As the 2005 All-Star Game approaches, baseball is bending over backwards trying to find ways to exploit the game that make the Spiderman 2 fiasco from last year look as innocuous as the fan-friendly "I Live For This" campaign.

Witness the "2005 MLB/Dale Jr. TM All-Star Experience Sweepstakes Extravaganza-palooza". Not only should baseball not be dealing with a man who trademarks his own name—Dale Earnhardt Jr.™?!? —, what are they doing promoting another (alleged) sport?

"Baseball invites you to start watching the NFL when training camps open (and your local nine are fading) with the 'MLB Pennant Race/Michael Vick ™ Reality Experience'!"

What are they thinking? Then again, any organization that believes that a trip to Detroit—"Detroit? No, not Detroit"™—is a "grand" prize, is not worthy of having its thought system plumbed.

And how wholesome is the sport when it promotes "Budweiser One Night Stand Concert". Why don't they just stick their stars in Lucky Strikes™ ads like in the old days™.