ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The St. Paul Saints tried to do their part to declare a winner in the drawn-out Minnesota Senate race.
The independent minor league team said third-party candidate Dean Barkley threw out the first pitch at Saturday night's game against the Sioux Falls Canaries.
Barkley ran against Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken in an election that's now before the state Supreme Court.
The first 2,500 fans received a doll with the faces of both Coleman and Franken on one body, according to team spokesman Sean Aronson. The doll was dressed like Count von Count from "Sesame Street" and was called the "Re-Count."
Aronson said fans could turn the doll's head to show one face or the other, and lawyers were on hand to help determine their intent. Challenges could be submitted to the Saints Fan Services Booth, he joked.
The team promised to make the game results official by mid-June -- hopefully after the courts decide the real Senate race.
Between innings, two Saints team interns dressed up in sumo suits and wore Franken and Coleman masks. As they grappled, the real Barkley "came out of nowhere and bodyslammed them both," Aronson said.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
