WILL HUGH HEFNER HONOR LARRY FLYNT WITH FREE SPEECH AWARD?

WILL HUGH HEFNER HONOR LARRY FLYNT WITH FREE SPEECH AWARD?

LOS ANGELES (Wireless Flash) -- Want proof politics makes for strange bedfellows? A group of free speech advocates wants Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner to give competitor Larry Flynt a free speech award. The group -- which calls itself "People With Bold Attitudes Like Larry's," or B.A.L.L.S. for short -- says it wants Flynt to receive this year's Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award. The award is given each year to individuals who promote free speech and the First Amendment. Although Flynt is a direct competitor of Hefner, a B.A.L.L.S. spokeswoman says she hopes newspaper ads in L.A. and New York will help Flynt get the award. The winner of the Hef Award will be announced in mid- April.