BP paints itself into a mess again

Bad publicity continues to flow for BP.

It would seem impossible for the British-based oil company's image to get much worse after its ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

The oil spill prompted BP to cut back its presence as a major sponsor for the World Cup in South Africa. The company replaced BP billboards with signs promoting its Castrol motor oil.

Now BP must deal with another problem back home.

The company announced a nationwide recall Tuesday of a brand of England World Cup face paints after four children suffered health issues in the United Kingdom.

Four brothers, ages 5 to 11, complained of skin irritation, swollen eyes and breathing difficulties about an hour after applying the paint.

People who bought the product for today's England-Slovenia game are being advised to return any unused face paints for a full refund.

Unfortunately, there is no such recourse for English fans who bought tickets for England's dismal efforts in its first two World Cup games.

"As a responsible retailer, BP withdrew the product from sale immediately when it became aware of the problem," a company spokesman said.

Too bad BP wasn't as proactive when its gushing oil began painting the Gulf brown.

■ HORNS BANNED -- A racetrack should probably be the only place that vuvuzelas are allowed, where the cacophony of 43 cars' 800-horsepower engines could drown out the annoying drone of the plastic horns.

But vuvuzelas, popular among South African soccer fans and ubiquitous at this year's World Cup, have been banned at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for this weekend's NASCAR races.

The speedway's general manager, Jerry Gappens, is planning a "ceremonial destruction" of the noisemakers during Sunday's prerace ceremonies.

Keeping with NASCAR's Southern roots, however, ahooga horns on Model A Fords will be permitted at the race.

■ LEBRON OFFERED DEAL -- A minor league baseball team near Cleveland is trying to take LeBron James off the free-agent market.

The Lake Erie Crushers will offer James a maximum contract under Frontier League rules on "Keep LBJ in the C-L-E Night" next week. The team said the contract is worth $1,600 a month and will include a host family so the NBA superstar won't have the "stress of a potential commute" from his hometown of Akron.

The Crushers will don Cavaliers-themed jerseys next Wednesday, and each player will wear No. 6 to honor James' pending switch from No. 23.

Admission is free for anyone named LeBron.

■ TEBOW JOINS MADDEN -- EA Sports' Madden NFL Arcade video game allows players to download an updated roster that includes first-round draft picks such as Tim Tebow.

An option for Tebow's likeness is to select a favorite Bible passage to imprint on his eye-black patches.

COMPILED BY JEFF WOLF
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL