On the very bright side, the incident we write of here involved nothing more than Michael Jackson and Yankee Stadium.

Make that, fake Michael Jackson and Yankee Stadium.

The details: On Wednesday night, New York City's finest arrested five people in the home dugout of the Bronx baseball palace--accusing one of them of pretending to be the King of Pop, the other four of pretending to be his entourage.

Yeesh.

According to reports, the whack Jack, who had duped Yankee personnel, was waiting for the call to throw out the game's ceremonial first pitch when apprehended.

Double yeesh.

The alleged Jackson imitator was identified in reports as 28-year-old Frederick Oliverier of New York City. Once busted, the suspect's supporting crew reportedly told cops they were with the VH1 hidden-camera prank show, Sledgehammer. Today, a VH1 spokeswoman would not confirm or deny the connection, begging off all questions with a "no comment."

Sledgehammer, which debuted September 13, is the sort of show that (true story) tries to induce laughter by dressing up a cast member as Elvis, dispatching him to a dry cleaners and asking him to demand "the jumpsuit I dropped off in '72." (Note: Oliverier's name does not appear on the show's regular cast list.)

Jason Zillo, assistant director of media relations for the New York Yankees, says the bogus Jackson (wearing a facemask and fedora, natch) arrived at the stadium (in a limo, natch) about 20 minutes prior to the game between the World Champs and the Chicago White Sox.

Jackson was not previously scheduled to appear at the stadium, and, according to the New York Daily News, police stationed outside the venue didn't want to admit the celebrity-come-lately. Private stadium security guards reportedly gave the faker the greenlight and Yankee management apparently decided to let him toss out the first pitch.

Once inside the stadium, another cop recognized the "Jackson" crew as the same bunch of jokers he'd encountered earlier in the day at the Bronx Zoo, according to Zillo.

So much for the concept of the "Smooth Criminal."

Reports say the five suspects were booked on charges of false impersonation and trespassing.

Michael Jackson's MJJ Productions had no comment on the incident. Although we did get them to assure us that the Moonwalk devotee was "not even close" to New York City on Wednesday night.