Whether the Wait Is Worth It Is Immaterial

The New York Jets have decided to charge the roughly 22,000 people on their season-ticket waiting list a $50 annual fee to remain on the list.

“All rip-offs are detestable,” writes Phil Mushnick of the New York Post, “but this one is a full-frontal assault on the minimal tenets of fair play. The Jets are charging something for nothing.”

Jay Cross, the Jets’ new president, explained the fee as way to “keep the fans in the family.”

Mushnick, calling Cross a “first-class, cutting-edge baloney grinder,” added, “To what family might Cross be referring? The Manson Family or the Gambino Crime Family?”

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Trivia time: When was the only time a World Series ended with a baserunner being thrown out attempting to steal?

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A different version: On the next edition of HBO’s “Real Sports,” which makes its debut Tuesday, Bryant Gumbel interviews 13-year-old golf sensation Michelle Wie.

Gumbel: “I saw where you said you’re not interested in money.”

Wie: “When did I say that?”

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Final error: “Ted Williams got the living part right,” writes Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He was a war hero, an ace fisherman, the greatest hitter who ever lived. Then he went and died. Big mistake.”

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Hazardous duty: ESPN camera operator Dan Roach got knocked down hard by competitor Stephen Murray during the Bike Stunt competition at the X Games on Sunday.

Said Roach, after getting up and dusting himself: “This is the X Games. Anything goes. Let’s get to the next rider.”

Meanwhile, Jill Stephenson, who was operating the Tee Velocity device for Sportvision at the PGA Championship on Sunday, was hit by Bernhard Langer’s club on the eighth tee when it slipped out of his hand.

Langer immediately went over to apologize. He no doubt was more than a little embarrassed.

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Bargain price: A frustrated New York Yankee fan is trying to auction pitcher Jeff Weaver on EBay, according to the Arizona Republic. The ad was posted after Weaver, who has an earned-run average of 5.78, gave up nine runs and 13 hits in an 11-0 loss to Kansas City.

The fan describes the 6-foot-5 Weaver as a pitcher “in fair-to-good condition, hardly used and showing minor wear.”

Bidding started at 1 cent and after 13 hours had climbed to more than $300,000.

The fan says he’ll also accept a bag of batting-practice balls in lieu of payment.

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Trivia answer: In Game 7 of the 1926 World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals led the New York Yankees, 3-2, with two out in the bottom of the ninth, Babe Ruth on first and Lou Gehrig at the plate. The Series ended when Ruth was thrown out trying to steal second.

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And finally: Mark Shapiro, who started out at ESPN as a production assistant in 1993, is now the network’s head of production. He and Mike Pearl, his counterpart at ABC Sports, will be working together to try to persuade Al Michaels to accept an offer to add NBA play-by-play to his ABC workload.

So where did Shapiro meet Pearl? At the 1995 wedding of Steve Michaels, Al’s son. Shapiro was the best man.