Charles Murphy, a Houston real-estate agent, just sold Barry Bond's 70th home-run ball, whose shot tied Mark McGwire's 1998 single-season homerun mark, for $52,500. Murphy, merely a spectator in the stands, made the catch and turned down higher offers, calling them "ridiculous," with hopes of a seven-figure payday down the line. Of course, Bonds continued his record-setting pace into the very last game of the season, finishing with 73 homeruns.
But Charles Murphy is still happy with the decision he made, despite losing out on much higher offers exceeding the $100,000 mark. In the short span he had the ball in his own possession, Murphy took it to his son's school and taught the children a lesson: "super things can be achieved in life." It is questionable whether he was talking about Barry Bond's tremendous feat or his lucky catch.
Nearly $53,000 seems like an awful lot of money for catching a baseball but it is still over $100,000 less than what Alex Rodriguez makes every game.
Last Thursday night, the Los Angeles Lakers (56-23) hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves (48-31) in a battle between two Western Conference playoff teams. The match-up was broadcasted nationally on TNT with a 10:30 p.m. tip-off.
Before the game began, we were introduced to the announcing booth consisting of play-by-play man Kevin Harlin alongside commentators Danny Ainge and John Thompson. The game's atmosphere was special because it honored the long forgotten Minneapolis Lakers, a team that won six NBA championships before moving West in 1960. Their colors of sky blue and golden yellow (imagine old-school UCLA) were being worn by the Lakers that night in an attempt to relive the NBA's generally ignored past.
A sold-out Staples Center, full of Laker fans, gave life to the announcing team. All three men excelled in describing the fast moving back-and-forth feel of the game. Ainge gave insight to the relationships between the players on the court and the selection of shots taken to the players has he played against.
"At crucial moments of the game Shaq and Kobe talk, they decide who is going to lead this team. Much depends on the status of Shaq's foot, but do not underestimate Kobe; he could do just as much damage from the outside as Shaq can from the inside," said Ainge. This kind of analysis takes you closer to the game and shows why Ainge is one of the best.
Thompson, the legendary Georgetown coach, brought the wisdom he has gained from years of experience to the table.
"What annoys me about the Lakers is they play at the pace they want to, they don't just dominate and destroy you, they take you out when they feel like they're going to do it, you just don't see the intensity all the time," said Thompson.
Thompson offered a strong sense of the big picture that only a coach could provide and his take on the game mixed in surprisingly well with Ainge's.
Harlin is the adhesive that held this odd group together. His play-by-play was informative and lively.
The halftime report featured Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley in the studio. Their job is to review highlights from the featured game as well as to go over other news around the NBA. The loose atmosphere in the studio is what puts the broadcast head and shoulders above NBC's rendition. You can tell they're having fun, as it is largely unscripted and Sir Charles is as unpredictable as ever.
At the start of the second half, the game was all but over with the Wolves trailing by 10 points at 44-34 and the Lakers in complete control. Shaq and Kobe were dominating on both ends of the floor and Minnesota wasn't even in their league. This was nearly a practice for the Lakers, preparing them for their playoff run. Often games such as these would bore the viewer but TNT's announcing team kept the action interesting throughout.
The Lakers, favored by many to win their third consecutive NBA title, made easy work of the inconsistent Timberwolves, eventually defeating them 96-83. The ensuing post-game report followed the same formula as the halftime show giving us the highlights of the evening.
When it was announced that "Fletch Lives" would be broadcast following the report, Barkley spent five minutes preaching to the audience how poor the movie was and how it wasn't worth watching.
" I know I should give movies the benefit of the doubt, but the first 'Fletch' was great and this one is bogus. It is gar-bage," said Barkley. Smell the ratings.
This week on the tube will mark the end of the NBA regular season with two intense match-ups that could very well preview who we will be seeing in the finals this year. Tuesday night the New Jersey Nets will host the Detroit Pistons at 8 p.m. on TBS and Wednesday night the Sacramento Kings will meet the Los Angeles Lakers in L.A. at 10:30 p.m. on TNT.
