The Tom Brady situation is back in the news (both with the commissioner reviewing the case and his few scenes in the movie Ted 2). Yet instead of dissecting whether or not a 4-game suspension was too harsh for one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, I found this a much more interesting story.

One of the balls used in that famous game is up for auction on July 17^th. Bidding will be starting at $25,000 – and it’s a must-have for any Patriots fan on your list.

This is a ball that was used in the second half of the game against the Colts, and after a touchdown run by LeGarrette Blount, a teammate (Brandon LaFell) picked it up and handed it to fan Laura Nichols. Her and her husband left the game early because of rain, but now they think they’ll cash in.

The football is autographed. Sort of. Referee Walt Anderson initialed it with gold Sharpie, after checking to see that it was properly inflated to the 12.5 pounds per square inch.

The person that wins this should try to get it autographed by Blount, and of course, future Hall-of-Famer Tom Brady.

Many might remember that Charlie Sheen bought the baseball that went through Buckner’s legs costing the team a World Series. I think he spent a million dollars for it. He sold it years later for $40,000 (I’m probably getting those numbers wrong, as I’m going from memory).

Speaking of baseballs…a guy named Zack Hample caught Alex Rodriguez’s 3,000 hit ball. A lot of times, fans that catch balls that have significance for the players, give it back when the team offers up a signed baseball or bat. Hample has no such plans, and he’s getting lots of hate mail for his decision.

A-Rod is only the 29^th player to hit 3,000, and it was a home run. Had it not been a homer, he would’ve easily gotten the ball back.

His quote at the time was, “I think that someone like Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez, who has made half a billion dollars in his career, doesn’t really need a favor from a normal civilian and fan like me.”

The weird thing is…this wasn’t just a normal fan. He has caught thousands of balls at MLB games over the years.

The 37-year-old Manhattan resident said he wants the Yankees to make a big donation to a charity he’s worked with. He also has a wish list of items he’d like.

A lot of the websites, and his own Twitter account, have given him a lot of grief over wanting so much from A-Rod. And a lot of the debates remind me of ones people have with celebrities that don’t sign autographs because they think somebody will sell it. People say things like, “Why would Paul McCartney care? He has a billion dollars.”

It’s a great point. If A-Rod makes millions…to give this guy $100,000 or his charity $250,000…doesn’t seem like a big deal. Although if I were A-Rod, I’d also have this take – who cares about that specific ball? He has all his awards and everything else. Having a baseball sit on your shelf, just because it’s the specific baseball you got to that milestone with, just doesn’t seem that big a deal.