July 4th through July 10th, 2011, Day 206 -212.

Two names stood out to me this week, Christian Lopez and Johnny Hoogerland.  The first, Christian Lopez, caught Derek Jeter's home run ball.  It was Jeter's 3000th hit and has an estimated worth between $250,000 to $400,000.   As soon as he caught the ball Yankee security personnel ushered him and his father out of the stands, "What do you want for the ball?" the security person asked.  "I just want to give it to Jeter," he said.   Even when told that the ball was worth a lot of money he was asked again, and he said, "I just want to give it to Jeter."

The Yankees offered four seats in a suite for the rest of the season, front row seats in the Legends Suite for Sunday’s game, some autographed jerseys and autographed balls. Lopez nodded. It all sounded great but he really just wanted to give the ball to Jeter.

“He deserves this, he worked hard for it,” Christian said.

Who does something like that?  Would you?  Here's a 23 year old Verison Cell phone salesman who still has student loans!  I was so inspired.  In this world where greed seems more often the norm then the exception, here was a man who could use the money, but thought of someone else before himself.  My hat is off to you, Christian Lopez, I hope you get a million dollars in appearance fees and appear on TV talk shows across the country.  What an inspiration!

Here's the full story;

Fan Grabs Jeter's 3000th Hit ball

Then, in the Tour de France this morning, in the 9th stage, a television car veered into the pathway of some of the bikers, sending one of them, Johnny Hoogerland, flying head over heels into a barbed wire fence at over 25 miles an hour.  He had 7 inch lacerations, and will be hospitalized.  The accident took away Hoogerland's chances of a stage win and he will probably not be able to recover and defend the polka dot jersey, which he was winning (the jersey goes to the best mountain stage climber).  
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"It might be a scandal but I don't think they did it in purpose. Everything's well taken care of over here but... you can be mad but I don't think they did it on purpose," Hoogerland repeated. "I know that I'll be in a lot of pain during the rest day. I hope I can recover. It's a pity, but I'm a Zeelander. We're not easy to tear apart. I'm still alive. Wouter Weylandt wasn't that lucky," Hoogerland said, referring to the Belgian rider who died in a crash during the Giro d'Italia almost two months ago.

Take a look at the picture below of Hoogerland being extracted from the barbed wire.  Would you have been so forgiving.  I'm afraid to say, I don't think I would have been.

Yes, today I was inspired, not once, but twice, and both times by the sports world, who would have thought?