A non-profit organization is linking cancer to hot dogs outside one of the most iconic U.S. sports parks.

The Cancer Project is reminding fans of the Chicago Cubs baseball team of the connection between consumption of hot dogs and the occurrence of colorectal cancer with a billboard outside Chicago's storied Wrigley Field.

The 48-foot-wide billboard (pictured above) -- featuring an image of hot dogs jammed into a cigarette pack labeled "Unlucky Strike" --  is scheduled to debut on Monday at the intersection of W. Addison and N. Halsted, just east of Wrigley Field.

The organization is not asking the Cubs to ban hot dogs at Wrigley. (They don't want a fan insurrection after all). The group even lauds the Cubs for offering such vegetarian options as veggie burgers and hummus at Wrigley. 

What the Cancer Project asked in a letter to Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney dated Aug. 3, however, is for the team to place "dietary disaster" warning labels near where hot dogs are sold at the ballpark since processed meats have been linked to colorectal cancer.

"Baseball stadiums need to be frank about the cancer risk posed by hot dogs and other processed meats," Krista Haynes, a Cancer Project dietitian, said in a statement. 
   
"Just as tobacco causes lung cancer, processed meats are linked to colon cancer," she added. "Like cigarettes, hot dogs should come with a warning label that helps baseball fans and other consumers understand the health risk."

Kenney and a Cubs spokesman could no immediately be reached for comment.

The billboard is part of Cancer Project's national campaign, launched in July with a similar billboard outside the home park of Cubs rival, the St. Louis Cardinals.

There are no further plans at this point to expand the campaign, a Cancer Project spokeswoman said.

More than 21 million hot dogs are expected to be sold this season at U.S. major league ballparks, the Cancer Project said, citing a survey by the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.

In March, the National Cancer Institute published a study of more than half a million people showing red and processed meat intake is associated with a higher risk of dying from cancer and cardiovascular disease, according to the Cancer Project. 
 
In 2007, the American Institute for Cancer Research published a report showing that just one 50-gram serving of processed meat (about the amount in one hot dog) consumed daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer, on average, by 21 percent, the Cancer Project said. Every year, about 150,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer and about 50,000 die of it, the Cancer Project said.  

The Cancer Project is affiliated with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which advocates a vegetarian diet as a way to better health, based on research and not animal rights beliefs.
 
(Billboard image provided by Cancer Project; Reuters photo of Wrigley)

Walt Disney is turning to baseball to hype a 3-D movie about secret-agent guinea pigs.

Walt Disney Pictures has signed a deal with Major League Baseball for undisclosed terms under which the entertainment giant will give away 1 million tickets to the movie “G-Force,” scheduled to open nationwide on July 24, if a grand slam home run is hit at the sport’s All-Star game on July 14.

“G-Force” is a comedy adventure about a covert government program in which guinea pigs are trained to work in espionage. “Armed with the latest high-tech spy equipment, these highly trained guinea pigs discover the fate of the world is in their paws,” says Disney.

Under the program, a grand slam at baseball’s mid-summer classic means a free ticket for the first million people to register at Disney.com between April 22 and July 14, as well as the more than 46,000 fans attending the game in St. Louis.

If no grand slam is hit, no free tickets. In 79 previous MLB All-Star games, the only grand slam was hit in 1983. (Thank you, Fred Lynn).

Most U.S. sports have been hurt by consumer and corporate spending cutbacks in the recession. Major League Baseball officials expect attendance to fall as much as 10 percent this season, but that still translates to more than 70 million people at the games. And companies are still drawn to the sport as recent marketing deals have shown.

The last movie to use the MLB All-Star game to promote its debut was Disney’s “Angels in the Outfield” in 1994.

“G-Force” also will be part of the All-Star voting, appearing on more than 20 million ballots distributed at the 30 MLB ballparks, more than 100 minor league parks, and through in-stadium messages and announcements.

The Jerry Bruckheimer-produced movie stars the voices of Sam Rockwell, Tracy Morgan, Penelope Cruz, Nicolas Cage, Jon Favreau and Steve Buscemi.

Hey, it may be guinea pigs, but check out Bruckheimer’s track record. His credits include such hits as “Flashdance,” “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Top Gun” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” in theaters, as well as “CSI” and “The Amazing Race” on TV.

Baseball is careful about how it ties into movies, however.

You will see no “G-Force” logos on any bases. In 2004, baseball officials scrapped plans to promote the “Spider-Man 2″ movie on its bases after a major public outcry.

(Photo courtesy of Disney.go.com)

Pity Major League Baseball.

The U.S. sports league will be the first to face the recession from the beginning of its season, and team officials are bracing for a decline in attendance of as much as 10 percent.

Two-thirds of the 30 MLB teams have frozen or cut their ticket prices and many have made similar moves on their concessions and souvenirs, team officials said. Combine that with the cutbacks in spending on suites and blocks of tickets by companies and the sport's revenue also could slip.

Baseball officials are especially worried about teams in California and the Midwest.

The league already has frozen its budget and hiring, echoing moves made by most sports. The NFL, NBA and several NASCAR race teams have cut jobs, Arena Football canceled its season and a couple of teams in smaller sports have folded.

Far from striking out, however, baseball is in good shape. It saw record revenue last year, just launched a new TV network and has long-term broadcast agreements in place to weather the economic storm.

If the recession does not land beyond this season, baseball and other sports should recover nicely as consumers still love distractions in tough times, analysts and sports industry executives have said.

(Photo: Reuters)