Money to burn

Michael Pineda
The Duncan Banner

DUNCAN October 06, 2008 12:10 pm

— There are questions throughout life that need to be answered. Questions that define who a person is and where his or her values lie. Today’s question is not one of those.
If given $10,000 to burn through, which sports personality would you pay to go out with?
It was reported this week that some benevolent soul bid $10,000 to go out on a date with Maria Sharapova, the star of Canon camera commercials who also moonlights as a professional tennis player.
And, as a sidenote, the winning bid was not her boyfriend, which goes to show you what a little desire and a big checkbook can accomplish.
Now several of you are probably saying to yourself, I would not pay that money to go out with anyone. And, if so, shame on you for not engaging in the spirit of the debate.
For those whose wheels have already begun to spin, thank you for participating.
For the longest time, Anna Kournikova would have been at the top of the list. I have gone as far as to watch her play tennis and it was very rewarding to see an athlete like that perform with such grace and elegance.
But it has been a while since she has been a force on the tour so I have three new names to submit. The first is Suzy Kolber, a sideline reporter for ESPN. I have chosen Kolber because she may very well be the wisest woman in football. I remember watching her on ESPN’s football show, alongside Ron Jaworski and Merril Hoge, waxing philosophical about the NFL.
The second choice would be Sue Bird. A classy and refined basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the WNBA. If only the Storm would have come to Oklahoma, I might have gone to watch it play.
My last selection would be Natalie Gulbis on the LPGA tour. Gulbis is the type of athlete that would help me gain the desire to work on my golf game.
The question was posed to others throughout Wednesday, with several interesting replies. Micah Franklin, a senior on the Duncan football team, figured why stop at $10,000? Spend $20,000 and go out with both Venus and Serena Williams. Houston Johnson would spend the money on just about any beach volleyball player or Sharapova, and Clint Miller would love to spend quality time with American Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson.
The question did prove confusing to some. Trusty sidekick Ryan Hatch opted for Barry Bonds or Michael Vick before the term date was stressed. Olympic softball pitcher Jenny Finch then got the heads up. Ron Booth said a heterosexual lunch date with Jason Giambi would be aces since his eye candy is at home but did state that ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews would be great to talk sports with.
Jayne Boykin was not really aware of any sports personalities other than Joe Namath because most of her spare time is spent watching the Food Network and HGTV. After seeing a picture of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, she did feel that he would make a suitable dinner companion.
Derrick Miller was one of the difficult ones who thought that he is the one that ought to be paid (ladies, break out your checkbooks). Miller did mention that he could spend the money on Oklahoman sports columnist Jenni Carlson. She has gotten easy on the eyes and, as an OSU alumni, Miller would like to discuss different points of view.
So feel free to discuss amongst yourselves. It isn’t like you don’t have the spare time. Look how much time you have burned just reading this column.

Michael Pineda is the sports editor for The Duncan Banner. He can be reached at 580-255-5354, Ext. 143, or via e-mail at m.pineda@duncanbanner.com.