At $1,000, You Better Get to Keep the Cup

If you’re at the Kentucky Derby on May 6 and a friend offers to buy you a drink, tell your friend you’ll have one of those “ultimate” mint juleps. Then watch the expression on your friend’s face when the bill comes.

An “ultimate” mint julep, sold only on race day, costs $1,000. It’s made with one of Kentucky’s best bourbons, mint from Morocco, ice from the Arctic Circle and sugar from the South Pacific. It comes in a 24-karat gold-plated cup with a silver straw.

No, the Churchill Downs people haven’t gotten greedy. Only 50 “ultimate” mint juleps will be sold, and the proceeds go to the New Jersey-based Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, which provides homes for retired racehorses.

Trivia time: Who was named most valuable player of the NBA Finals in 2004, when the Detroit Pistons defeated the Lakers, four games to one?

In need of a stiff drink: When James Brown left for CBS, there was speculation that Terry Bradshaw might slip over to the host’s chair on “Fox NFL Sunday.” But it doesn’t appear as though that is going to happen.

Ed Goren, Fox Sports president and executive producer, told Sirius Satellite Radio: “I love Terry. He is the old straw that stirs the drink. But there isn’t enough alcohol in Los Angeles for me to consume if I had to produce a show with Terry being the band leader.”

Maybe Goren should try one of the $1,000 drinks being sold in Louisville on Derby Day.

Hot streak: Google reports that the most requested topics of the week ending April 10 were the Masters and Katie Couric.

The connection here is Sean McManus. As the president of CBS Sports, he was in Augusta, Ga., to oversee the television coverage of the Masters. And as president of CBS News, he signed Couric.

Nice gesture: Andre Miller, the former Clipper from Compton who now plays for the Denver Nuggets, has donated $500,000 to the University of Utah, the school he helped lead to the NCAA championship game in 1998.

Another nice gesture: When Shaquille O’Neal heard that his fourth-grade teacher, Annette Swann, was coming to the Miami Heat’s game against Orlando on Sunday, O’Neal arranged hotel accommodations and provided eighth-row seats for Swann, 76, and her daughter.

O’Neal recently said Swann was his favorite teacher.

“I was a medium-level juvenile delinquent, class clown,” O’Neal told reporters at Sunday’s game. “And she would just say, ‘Shaquille, that’s not nice.’ ”

Looking back: On this day in 1957, the Boston Celtics won the first of their 16 NBA championships, defeating the St. Louis Hawks, 125-123, in double overtime in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Rookie Tommy Heinsohn had 37 points and 23 rebounds.

Trivia answer: Chauncey Billups.

And finally: Billups, as a guest on FSN’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period,” was asked who would get his MVP vote for this season. His answer: “I’d give it to myself.”

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.