Forget Vick

Minor-league baseball teams with cellar-scraping talent dream of the kind of national press that the Kansas City T-Bones got last month. Only problem: It was for all the wrong reasons. Our otherwise earnest Northern League club had planned a "Welcome to the Neighborhood" promotion for Michael Vick, the shamed NFL star who is incarcerated at Leavenworth prison on dogfighting charges. On May 28, the T-Bones were to wear prison-striped uniforms that would be auctioned off after the game to benefit local animal shelters. Outcries of racial insensitivity from The Kansas City Star and the NAACP quickly nixed the ill-advised stunt, which will be replaced by the warm and fuzzy "Animal Awareness Night." Everyone involved in the debacle will likely breathe a sigh of relief when the focus shifts back to baseball and the T-Bones take on the Schaumburg Flyers at CommunityAmerica Ballpark (1800 Village West Parkway at The Legends, 913-328-2255). Tickets cost $7.50 to $10.50.— Richard Gintowt
Fri., May 23, 2008