His critics think he should be on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, and two US governors have offered him political asylum and a new identity in the witness protection program.
He is life-long Chicago Cubs baseball fan Steve Bartman, the butt of jokes from the Windy City to Hollywood and down to the Gulf of Mexico.
The 26-year-old snatched a foul fly ball out of the glove of Cubs fielder Moises Alou during a crucial World Series qualifying game here on Tuesday, a snatch some have attributed to the Florida Marlins triumph over the Cubs in that game.
Spat on and roundly abused by other Cubs fans, Bartman had to be escorted out of the Wrigley Field ballpark by security guards before the conclusion of that game.
He subsequently tendered a heartfelt apology, but when the Cubs lost that game, forfeiting their lead over the Marlins in the playoffs series, few "Cubbies" could find it in their hearts to forgive Bartman.
When the Marlins won the final match to reach the World Series, Bartman became a lightning rod for collective anger and frustration.
One Cubs fan even mocked up a FBI "Ten Most Wanted" poster with Bartman's picture and posted it on the Internet.
"Considered ignorant and extremely stupid," it said, wanted for "interfering with crucial play ... breaking the heart of an entire city. Showing no remorse. Wearing ridiculous headphones during a baseball game."
Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois offered to get Bartman a spot in the witness protection program.
Florida Governor Jeb Bush, also tongue in cheek, raised the possibility of political asylum in Florida, the Marlins' home state.
Fans of Chicago's other baseball team, the White Sox, offered up "safe houses" for Bartman in calls to local radio stations.
"He's really hurting right now," said a Bartman friend in the Chicago Tribune.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS