Big catch: Scott Myers, a Baton Rouge native, caught the home-run ball that led the New York Yankees to win the World Series. Myers, a Dunham graduate who now lives in New York, caught the ball Yankee slugger Hideki Matsui hit in the second inning of Wednesday night’s game. Matsui was named World Series MVP and his homer led the Yankees to a 7-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Myers works as director of sales and trading for Mission Capital Advisors. He has reportedly received offers of up to $50,000 for the ball.
Pledges to battle disease: New Orleans Hornets owner George Shinn says he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer but remains healthy and is optimistic that he will conquer the disease. “My wife, Denise, and I remain strong in our faith and will maintain a positive attitude as I battle this with intense fervor and drive,” Shinn says in a news release issued by the Hornets today. A businessman from Kannapolis, N.C., Shinn, 68, has been the owner of the team since he received an expansion franchise in Charlotte, N.C. in 1988. He moved the team to New Orleans in 2002, and worked with the NBA to provide the team with a temporary home in Oklahoma City for the 2005-2006 season after floods from Hurricane Katrina virtually shut down the city for weeks and damaged the New Orleans Arena. Team spokesman Harold Kaufman says no details were available on treatment options for Shinn. In the news release, Shinn says the doctors he is consulting are optimistic.
