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PtP
Number of posts: 1406
Age: 21
Location: cleveland
Online Madden Names: pTpBRaYLoN17
Registration date: 2007-09-04
 |  Subject: bonds ball  Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:25 pm | |
| | Quote: | Public to decide fate of Bonds' record-breaking ball
By MARCUS WOHLSEN, Associated Press Writer
September 17, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The fate of Barry Bonds' record-breaking home run ball is now in the public's hands after its buyer announced Monday he was taking votes on whether to give the ball to the Hall of Fame, brand it with an asterisk or blast it into space.
Fashion designer Marc Ecko revealed himself as Saturday's winning bidder in the online auction for the ball that Bonds hit last month to break Hank Aaron's record of 755 home runs. The final selling price for No. 756 was $752,467, well above most predictions.
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Ecko had not even taken possession of the ball before setting up a Web site that lets visitors vote on which of the three outcomes they think the ball most deserves. He plans to announce the final tally after voting ends Sept. 25.
"I bought this baseball to democratize the debate over what to do with it," Ecko wrote on the Web site. "The idea that some of the best athletes in the country are forced to decide between being competitive and staying natural is troubling."
The 35-year-old Ecko is known for his pop culture pranks, including an infamous Internet video that showed him apparently infiltrating an airport tarmac and spray-painting graffiti on Air Force One. The incident turned out to be a hoax.
But the auction house that handled the sale confirmed that Ecko is indeed the ball's buyer.
"This transaction is happening and is going to be done by the end of the day," David Kohler, president of SCP Auctions, said Monday.
Kohler called Ecko's decision "brilliant" and said he had already visited the Web site and voted to send the ball to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Matt Murphy, a 21-year-old student and construction supervisor from New York, emerged from a scrum with the ball on Aug. 7. He decided to sell it, he said, because he couldn't afford the tax bill that would result from holding onto the ball.
Some tax experts said Murphy would have owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes based on a reasonable estimate of the ball's value even if he had never sold it. He may also have faced capital gains taxes as the ball gained value.
"This either makes him a lunatic or a genius, one of those two," Murphy said when told of Ecko's actions. "I'm leaning toward genius."
Murphy said he planned to vote to send the ball to Cooperstown.
Ecko himself said he voted to brand the ball with an asterisk, a reference to the belief of some Bonds detractors that the Giants slugger's record is tainted by his alleged use of performance-enhancing substances. Bonds has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.
Ecko said what really interests him is seeing what happens when an "American Idol" approach comes together with a serious public debate over drugs in sports.
"My vote really doesn't matter," said Ecko, who identifies himself as a New York Yankees fan. "The American public will tell us what to do with it."
On the Web:
Vote 756: http://www.vote756.com |
I voted for it to go to the hall of fame everyone used steroids so he mostly even the playing field and he still hasnt got caught...........yet |
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jagsfan
Admin
Number of posts: 1647
Age: 26
Location: California
Registration date: 2007-09-03
| | Subject: Re: bonds ball Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:29 pm | |
| i also voted for Hall of Fame ..Go Bonds! ..everybody on his back ..never been caught ..yet ppl like giambi and merriman ppl juss seem to forget or juss dont care that they did get caught wit steroids/HGH  |
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netsfan4190
Number of posts: 791
Age: 22
Registration date: 2007-09-04
| | Subject: Re: bonds ball Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:26 am | |
| I voted brand it and then give it to the hall.
Hes a joke, only... not a very funny one. |
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CHEECH
Admin
Number of posts: 1158
Age: 23
Location: Cleveland
Online Madden Names: CHEECHREBORN. Weezy 4 Prez
Registration date: 2007-09-04
| | Subject: Re: bonds ball Tue Sep 18, 2007 5:59 am | |
| i thought this was about bonds "balls".. haha just messin. but i agree completely with J. Its such BS that bonds has not been caught and everyone hates him, but then merriman (the new face of nike) and giambi are loved |
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x NeXt GuY x
Number of posts: 121
Age: 22
Location: Ohio
Online Madden Names: xFuNDiP
Registration date: 2007-09-11
| | Subject: Re: bonds ball Tue Sep 18, 2007 10:06 am | |
| just because bonds used that stuff doesnt mean he aint a good player he did break the home run recond and is 1 of the greatest hitters alive i think the only one 2 beat him is A-rod |
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jagsfan
Admin
Number of posts: 1647
Age: 26
Location: California
Registration date: 2007-09-03
| | Subject: Re: bonds ball Tue Sep 18, 2007 10:26 am | |
| | x NeXt GuY x wrote: | | just because bonds used that stuff doesnt mean he aint a good player he did break the home run recond and is 1 of the greatest hitters alive i think the only one 2 beat him is A-rod |
..hes never been caught 'using that stuff' |
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raysd52
Number of posts: 1096
Online Madden Names: ps3 kakes21formvp
Registration date: 2007-09-03
| | Subject: yupp Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:31 pm | |
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TaNnEr
Financial Contributor
Number of posts: 281
Age: 23
Location: Indiana
Registration date: 2007-09-03
| | Subject: Re: bonds ball Sat Sep 29, 2007 4:12 am | |
| If Gilbert Arenas has his way, the baseball Barry Bonds hit for his record-breaking 756th career homer will never be branded with an asterisk.
Arenas' solution? He wants to buy the ball.
Fashion designer Marc Ecko bought the ball in an online auction, then set up
a Web site so people could vote to determine its fate. Ecko announced the
winning choice this week: branding the ball with an asterisk before it's sent to
the Hall of Fame.
"I don't think he should mess up history like that," Arenas said Friday.
"It's history. It's still history. I mean, the guy's a man before he's some
big slugger," he added. "I mean, how you just going to take what this man's
done for his career and ... say, 'Hey, you were accused of this. You allegedly
did this. I want to take this away from you.'? I mean, what if we took away your
Ecko company? I mean, why graffiti the ball?"
Later Friday, Arenas posted an entry on his blog making the same point.
"I'll buy the ball from you Ecko for $800,000. If Barry Bonds is found
guilty, I'll give it back to you. I'm not going to let you go around like some
little superhero," the blog says. "I'll put it in my hall of fame. The Gilbert
Hall of Fame for Athletes no matter what you did." |
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chaumers
Number of posts: 56
Age: 35
Location: so cal
Online Madden Names: dwigt shrute
Registration date: 2007-11-05
| | Subject: Re: bonds ball Mon Nov 12, 2007 11:15 am | |
| Arenas is awsome.....
Barry recently said that if the Hall of Fame accepts the branded ball he will not attend his ceremony.
Go Barry!!! |
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