In Phil Mickelson's year spent with the claret jug, he passed it around among friends and family members and those at corporate outings and golf clubs.
He even let some friends fill it with their spirit of choice, but Mickelson did provide a stipulation on how to treat the prize for winning last year's British Open.
"One of the things that I stressed is that we have to treat the claret jug with reverence and respect that it deserves and only put good stuff in it," Mickelson told reporters on Monday in preperation for this week's British Open.
So Mickelson, the golfer who famously wore the Master's green jacket for a spin in the Krispy Kreme drive-thru, let a friend dump a bottle of 1990 Romanee-Conti -- a $40,000 wine -- in the trophy.
It was all part of Mickelson's celebratory year with the trophy.
"I think the reason this brought out a little bit more emotion was everybody had a chance to share in it," he said. "Everybody has a chance to drink out of the jug or hold it and take pictures with it.
"There's really not much you're going to do with the [green] jacket, other than pull on the lapels. I think that's why it was a bit more emotional."
Fun at the park
Fan loyalty is a thing to be admired. But Nikolas Swope took things a bit too far Sunday night during a Texas League baseball game at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi, Texas.
With the home Corpus Christi Hooks beating the visiting Midland RockHounds 9-0 in the fifth inning, RockHounds pitcher Blake Hassebrock hit Telvin Nash with a pitch. As Nash was taking first base, Swope jumped over the wall along the third-base line. Video from the game showed Swope, 35, getting near Hassebrock in a position ready to fight him.
Instead, RockHounds shortstop Dusty Coleman approached the mound and pushed Swope down, allowing umpires to escort him off the field, where he was arrested. KZTV-TV in Corpus Christi reported that Swope, who police said had been drinking, faces charges of criminal trespassing and is accused of threatening assault.
"That guy was talking to us the whole game," Nash told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. "[The fan] was just saying, 'You don't do that, that's my boy' because I'd talked to him the whole game. It's just a good thing to know our fans have our backs."
The Arkansas Travelers, who play in the Texas League with the Hooks, visit Whataburger Field on August 15-17. Let's hope Swope doesn't make a return visit, too.
Fan opportunity
Want a chance to win a half million dollars? All that is needed is an internet connection and a working knowledge of the country's fall weather patterns.
The Indianapolis Colts are offering fans a chance to win $500,000 in their "Half A Million Dollar Weather Challenge" on their website. All fans have to is correctly predict the outdoor temperature at kickoff for all 20 Colts games this season -- that's 16 regular season games and four preseason games.
Also, fans must guess if the roof at Lucas Oil Stadium will be open or closed for the Colts' home games. The deadline is Aug. 7.
The Colts' promotion is similar in difficulty to one the St. Louis Rams unveiled last spring, in which it offered $100,000 to a fan that correctly predicts its 2014 schedule ahead of its release. The requirements were to predict all 16 games in order, including the bye week for the schedule that was released in April.
Sports quiz
Q. How many majors has Phil Mickelson won?
A. Five. Masters (2004, 2006, 2010), British Open (2013), PGA Championship (2005).
Sports on 07/15/2014