Not so hard next time

Perhaps former Columbus High School star Frank Thomas should have checked his swing.
Thomas, the designated hitter for the Toronto Blue Jays, starred in a Canadian TV commercial that didn’t receive a passing grade from the nation’s regulatory agency for private network advertising.
In the commercial, Thomas returns home at night and hears two children creating commotion upstairs. He goes upstairs, enters a bedroom and finds two children engaged in a spirited pillow fight.
‘‘Hey, you guys are supposed to be in bed,’’ Thomas tells the boys.
One child hits Thomas with his pillow.
‘’Oh yeah?’’ Thomas responds, seizing the pillow.
He takes a healthy swing with the pillow, hitting the boy and sending him tumbling backward off the bed. A slight thud noise can be heard.
Thomas drops the pillow and jogs out of the room triumphant, as if he's just hit a walk-off home run.
The fallen boy raises his head just over the top of the bed and says, ‘‘Wow!''
A caption reads: ''Frank Thomas, designated hitter, Toronto Blue Jays. It's always game time.’’
The rejected commercial can be seen at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMdelLmvUf0
Telecaster Canada ordered it reshot because of fears that it made light of child abuse.
Instead, Telecaster Canada's mandate reeks of humorlessness and sensitivity run amok.
Watch the commerical. It doesn't condone domestic violence in any way.
It's funny. The child gets up, healthy, happy and free of emotional trauma.
It's a clever piece of marketing built around Thomas, who stands just 13 home runs removed from becoming the 21st member of Major League Baseball’s 500 Club.
Baseball has plenty of problems already, with suspected steroid user Barry Bonds closing in on the all-time home run record, controversy over DirecTV's ''Extra Innings'' package and stratospheric salaries.
Thomas' commerical isn’t one of them.