Singing for dollars: Cleveland Indians food-service operator recruits singing, dancing, shouting...

Antonio Solomon has sung about a lot of things in his life--love, faith, hope--but Cracker Jack?

Solomon was one of eight contestants for the Cleveland Indians' first-ever Vendor Idol, a talent competition to select the top attention-grabbing vendors of beer, hot dogs, peanuts and any

"I love show business," says Solomon, who has recorded as a background singer on numerous gospel albums. "I like to entertain, l like to have fun, but I also thought this would be a great thing to support the Indians."

The idea came from the Indians' food and concession service provider, Sportservice, owned by the Delaware North Cos., which wanted to boost the numbers of applicants vying for vendor spots. Twenty-five contestants had registered on the Indians Web site in late March to compete, but a heavy snowstorm the previous night--or maybe a case of stage fright--kept most of the vendor hopefuls at home.

The top three contestants, as chosen by a panel of veteran ballpark vendors (including the one-and-only "Beer Dude"), will compete against seasoned vendors later this baseball season.

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Solomon, who placed first in the competition, was confident in his performance.

"I think I'm a winner," he says. "Winners always hang [out] with other winners, like the Indians."

The Contestants

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Name: Antonio Solomon

Talent: Singing

Result: First place in Vendor Idol competition

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Name: Lucas McLaughlin

Talent: Shouting, boundless energy

Result: Second place

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Name: Stephen Ogrodnik

Talent: George W. Bush impressionist

Result: Third place

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Name: John Henry Sullivan

Talent: Booming voice

Result: Offered a job, but no spot as a Vendor Idol