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The Story Behind This Site

My name is Nick Wilson and I am a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley School of Journalism. I created this website based on a profile I wrote of San Francisco attorney, Mike Lee, and his work on Popov v. Hayashi, the legal dispute over Barry Bonds' prized 73rd home run ball from the 2001 season. I covered part of the month-long trial as a reporter and interviewed Mike Lee extensively after the trial.

At the time this website was created, Alex Popov and Patrick Hayashi had hired sports agent, Michael Barnes, of Barnes Sports Group, to broker the sale of their ball. Barnes coordinated the $3 million sale of Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball from 1998 and is known for handling private sales and auctions of valuable record baseballs. Popov and Hayashi, once enemies in the courtroom, are now business partners working together to get the most value for the ball. None of the photos I used are of the real Bonds ball and none of this information represents any endorsement from the University of California. Hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did!