Ex-slugger dabbles in new cream

More than two years removed from baseball, alleged steroid user Sammy Sosa barely resembles the man who hit 609 homers over 18 seasons before retiring in 2007.

But it's the color of Sosa's skin, not his physique, that noticeably has changed.

The formerly dark-skinned Dominican Republic native was photographed last week at the Latin Grammy awards in Las Vegas with a much whiter face than he wore during his playing days.

But Sosa insists he's not trying to look like late pop star Michael Jackson and is not suffering from any skin illness.

He said he's using a cosmetic cream he purchased in Europe to soften his skin, not to change its color, although he described it as a "bleaching cream" in an interview with ESPN Deportes.

"I'm not a racist," he said. "What happened was that I had been using the cream for a long time and that, combined with the bright TV lights, made my face look whiter than it really is. I don't think I look like Michael Jackson."

The cream apparently changes one's eye color, too, as Sosa's formerly brown eyes appear green in the recent photos.

Sosa, who turns 41 today, declined to identify the cream but joked "I'm going to market it; I'm a businessman."

Good luck with that.

• HOLD THE MUSTARD -- Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco tweeted this week that he planned to send mustard to the Pittsburgh Steelers before their AFC North showdown Sunday at Heinz Field.

"I got a nice present for the Steelers -- sending them some mustard since they'll never ketchup when we play Sunday," he tweeted.

Ochocinco reiterated his plan Wednesday in another tweet, but when Bengals coach Marvin Lewis learned of the proposed stunt, he told the hot dog to hold the mustard and forbid him from sending anything to the Steelers (6-2), who are tied with Cincinnati for the first place in their division.

• JOKE'S ON HIM -- Former Florida State linebacker Bradley Jennings, 31, is in jail for pulling what his lawyer claimed was an ill-conceived prank on the night before Halloween.

According to a police report, Jennings entered a convenience store in Jacksonville, Fla., wearing black clothing, gloves and a white mask, pointed what appeared to be a shotgun at the clerk and demanded the money in the register.

The incident ended when he asked for the contents of the safe. When the clerk told him she'd have to call a manager to get the safe open, he took off his mask and said it was all a joke. He then ran out of the store, but came back five minutes later to apologize.

Police arrested Jennings Monday at his home, but his lawyer, Reginald Estell Jr., claimed Jennings knew the clerk and was just having some ill-advised fun. "He wasn't seeking to harm anyone, he had a fake gun, and he didn't take the money," Estell said. "It was a bad-idea prank."

A really bad idea. Bank of America already had started foreclosure proceedings against Jennings, an assistant football coach at Mandarin High School who likely will lose his job for the "prank."

COMPILED BY TODD DEWEY LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL