Paging Ms. Manners:

Lawyers Spar Over Fan Etiquette
In Bonds Baseball Court Case

SAN FRANCISCO -- The battle to claim rightful ownership of Barry Bond's record breaking 73rd home run ball played out for the second day at a San Francisco superior court today, with civil trial lawyers arguing over a key point of baseball fan etiquette: When is a foul ball truly "owned" by a recipient?

When Bond's homer flew into the stands on October 7, 2001, Alex Popov, 38, claims he caught the ball. Seconds later, he was knocked to the ground with about a dozen people on top of him. Once he was able to stand up, he saw another man, Patrick Hayashi, 37, being whisked away by security with the record-breaking ball held up high for everyone to see. Popov asserts that he is the rightful owner and is now suing Hayashi for assault, battery, and of course, the ball.

Unable to meet any sort of out of court agreement, both Popov and Hayashi walked into the courtroom with three lawyers and one paralegal apiece. Each team's challenge: To define the time honored etiquette as to when a home run or fly ball is no longer up for grabs and then to show how the court can draw upon this knowledge to identify the true owner in the Bonds case.

Unable to find an expert who specializes in baseball fan etiquette, the judge, Kevin McCarthy, asked lawyers in the case to create a "body of evidence from experiences of fans in the stands to help figure out the customs and practices."

Douglas Yarris, a dentist from Contra Costa County and a self proclaimed Giants fan, was the day's leading witness. Yarris was standing few feet away from Popov when he saw the Bonds ball fly into Popov's glove. "I never lost sight of the ball," said Yarris. "The ball went into the glove. In a split second we were all on the ground."

Yarris claimed that he was a baseball magnet and that out of more than400 games he said he has attended he hascaught four foul balls and was 20 feet away from the fellowwho snagged Bonds' 71st home run ball that broke the record set by Mark McGwire. "It would have been an out in baseball," is how Yarris explained Popov's catch of the ball in question.

But that's all Yarris saw. He was then pushed to the ground by surrounding fans. Once Yarris and the plaintiff stood up, Yarris saw in the plaintiff's hand what defense attorney Michael Lee called the "sucker ball."

At San Francisco Giant games some tricksters have been known to throw balls bearing the word "sucker" towards areas in the stands where home run or foul balls are going to land. The sucker balls are intended to distractfans so the sucker ball thrower and the thrower's accomplicescan swoop down on the real thing.

"Our premise is that Mr. Popov lost the ball very quickly," said Lee. Lee said that when Hayashi went down with the crowd he saw the ball on the ground and grabbed it. "It was a free ball," said Lee. Lee also stated that Hayashi never assaulted Popov.

Sports memorabilia experts estimate the Bonds ball to be worth more than $1 million at auction.

Although both lawyers declined to state how much the case was costing the two men, Martin Triano, Popov's lawyer said he is being paid by the hour and that the amount is "More than anyone should have ever spent."

A total of 24 witnesses and experts will testify. The lawsuit is expected to be over by late next week.

-30-