Life-long fan snags historic HR that may be worth 100G - but fears Yankee squeeze play

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Baseball Today: Monday, August 6
Published 8/6/2007 by Art Martone (amartone@projo.com) at Projo Sox Blog
... WE HAVE A WINNER: The fan who caught Rodriguez' 500th home run thinks he's in for a $100,000 payday when he sells the coveted baseball . . . which, his brother says, trumps the Yankees' offer of a signed jersey for the ball. (New York Daily News) ...

Sonny's Got The Whole World In His Hands
Published 8/6/2007 by The Feed at The Feed
... Walter "Sonny" Kowalczyk might not have been thinking about investment opportunities when he spent his life savings to buy season tickets for the Yankees. It's funny how things can work out though. Kowalczyk finds himself the owner of Alex Rodriguez's 500th home run ball which could be worth more than $100,000 if he puts it on the open market, something he's still considering after turning down offers of memorabilia from the team on Saturday, offers his brother called "piss-poor". He also passed on a $10,000 offer inside the stadium, according to the Daily News, and is laying low while he figures out what he wants to do with the ball. Rodriguez wants the ball for himself, he sent his batting helmet to Cooperstown, but he isn't getting too caught up in the negotiations. ...

Is Alex Rodriguez Going to Get His No. 500 Homer Ball Back?
Published 8/6/2007 by PostmanR at FanHouse
... 's 500th. Well, a fellow named Walter "Sonny" Kowalczyk from New Jersey caught A-Rod's ball and it's looking like he probably won't be returning it. ...

Kobe Bryant Spotted At Topless Poll In Vegas Before Divorce Report
Published 8/7/2007 at SPORTSbyBROOKS
... " Referring to the Aussie tennis burnout as a "star" is a might charitable, but at least he had the good sense to jettison 48-year-old Jen Braff in the final episode. Braff is " an executive assistant to Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss. " • The NEW YORK POST reports " within minutes " of Alex Rodriguez hitting his 500th career home run Saturday afternoon, an ad pitching a $129.95 bat commemorating the milestone appeared on YES Network. Meanwhile, Brian Kowalczyk, the brother of the fan who caught Rodriguez' 500th home run, to the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS on the team's negotiations for the ball: " The negotiations at Yankee Stadium were p—s-poor . If A-Rod would have approached him, things would have been different. " Memo to Brian: ARod doesn't care (if he did he'd have shown his face). You and your brother will get nothing (after turning down an autographed jersey) a ...

The Fight For 500
Published 8/7/2007 by Jaime R <info@pinstripealley.com> at Pinstripe Alley
Now that the figurative confetti after A-Rod's 500th homer has been swept away, the anticipation deflated, and the business of baseball in the Bronx continues, a whole new angle to the story has emerged: What happens to the ball? ...

The Mets' Fancoeur
Published 8/8/2007 by mr. met at the metropolitans
... The Yankees want the 500th homerun baseball for a signed jersey. But hey, they are also willing to give 'a lot of things at their fingertips' and they 'think Clemens would give some stuff'. That roughly leaves the gap in value approximately $99,000 to $399,000. Sounds like a good trade to me! God forbid some poor guy gets to make some bank on a lucky catch. A-Rod can get in line like everyone else and being that he makes $25,000,000 a year, I think he can afford it. ...

Bronx Banter: Yankee Panky # 19: History, present and future converge
Published 8/8/2007 at Bronx Banter
... for a hilarious take on the home run, including a sweet David Bowie/Flight of the Conchords tie-in). Then, as is usually the case, the angles shifted from the significance of the home run not just from a historical standpoint but in the context of the game, it gave Phil Hughes an early 3-0 cushion to all the ancillary stuff that in a way demeans the achievement. Stories of who should get the ball , A-Rod or the Rutgers student who grabbed it were everywhere. In the Post s case, ...

The Week In Quotes: August 5-12 by Alex Carnevale
Published 8/13/2007 at Baseball Prospectus
... offered him a signed jersey, and he said no. The negotiations at Yankee Stadium were piss-poor. If A-Rod would have approached him, things would have been different." -- Brian Kowalczyk , brother of Walter Kowalczyk, who caught A-Rod's 500th home run ball. "It's his ball. I think it's obvious that I would love to have the ball, but we'll see what happens. I'm just going to let it sit for a few days." --A-Rod, on his negotiating strategy. "Alex wants the ball, but he's not going to give his left arm for it." -- Jason Zillo , the Yankees' media relations director. "It's A-Rod, and people like A-Rod. My advice is sell it right away." -- Victor Moreno , president of American Memorabilia of Las Vegas. (Mike Jaccarino, Nicole Bode and Adam Lisberg, New York Daily News ) HE MADE TONY GIGGLE "It's fun to come out here and try to prove you can do something not many people have ...