The Philadelphia Phillies have been looking for a way to unload first baseman Ryan Howard and his $60 million contract.
The good news is another team has expressed interest.
The bad news is it may need a little help covering expenses.
The Phillies confirmed last week they were willing to pay $50 million of the $60 million still owed to Howard over the final two years of his contract in order to trade Howard. That drew the interest of the York Revolution, an independent league team located in York, Pa., that is a member of the Atlantic League.
Team officials did the math and discovered they were only $9,997,000 short of what they needed to land the 35-year-old first baseman for the 2015 season.
So what does an independent league team do when it needs to come up with $9,997,000?
What else? It asks it fans to help foot the bill.
"If there are roughly 400,000 people living in York County, we only need $25 from each of them to have the funds necessary to put Ryan Howard in a Revolution uniform," York General Manager John Gibson said. "Some dads might have to dock a kid's allowance for a couple weeks, big deal."
In hopes that the campaign will spread beyond the York area, the Revolution has since lowered the donation amount to $10. Each fan who donates also will be given two ticket vouchers to the team's April 24 opening night game against the Long Island Ducks at Santander Stadium.
The team said if it falls short of raising the money needed to acquire Howard, it will donate 83 percent of the funds raised to Penn-Mar Human Services, a nonprofit agency that provides services to families and individuals with disabilities or human service needs in the area.
That just happens to be the same percentage of Howard's remaining salary the Phillies are willing to pay to unload the former National League MVP.
Hey, they offered
So is Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh really worth $5 million a season?
Harbaugh doesn't think so.
The question was posed recently to the Wolverines' new football coach during a television interview with Fox 2 in Detroit. Harbaugh's deal ranks among the top 10 salaries for FBS coaches, but even he admitted that he couldn't honestly say he felt he deserves such a lucrative deal.
That doesn't mean he's giving it back.
"I like making a buck just like the next guy," Harbaugh said. "But I'm not doing five times as much work as somebody else, or doing more work than someone who's not the head football coach at the University of Michigan."
In this corner...
Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney will fight Evander Holyfield in Salt Lake City to raise money for a local charity in Salt Lake City.
You read that correctly.
Romney will square off against Holyfield on May 15 as part of a fundraising event for Charity Vision, a humanitarian organization that helps provide medical equipment for poor areas around the world.
Stepping into the ring with a former heavyweight champion may not be the brightest idea, but at least Romney is smart enough to avoid any trash-talking.
"It will either be a very short fight, or I will be knocked unconscious," Romney told reporters, explaining that he anticipates more of a sparring session than an actual boxing match. "It won't be much of a fight."
Jay Evensen of the Deseret News isn't so sure.
"Holyfield is a little worried," Evensen wrote. "Mike Tyson bit part of his ear off once in the ring, and he has heard no one is better at permanent earmarks than a politician."
Sports quiz
Where did Ryan Howard play college baseball?
Sports quiz answer
Missouri State (1998-2001).
Sports on 03/25/2015