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Edgy DC Jun 29 2005 04:04 PM

Putin Pockets Priceless Pride of Patriiots

metirish Jun 29 2005 04:22 PM

Love that story, he just pocketed it and walked out, you would think there is more to the story than that.

seawolf17 Jun 29 2005 04:50 PM

Funny. Didn't someone on the old board tell a similar story about Bud Harrelson's WS ring?

soupcan Jun 29 2005 05:03 PM

Me. 'Cept I didn't bogart Bud's bauble.

soupcan Jun 30 2005 09:32 AM

Riiiiiight, sure it was. June 30, 2005 Pats' Kraft Says Ring a Gift to Putin By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 1:52 a.m. ET BOSTON (AP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin walked off with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's diamond-encrusted 2005 Super Bowl ring during a recent meeting with U.S. business executives. But not to worry: Kraft says the ring was a gift to Putin, presented out of ''respect and admiration.'' Earlier, The Boston Globe had speculated that Kraft hadn't meant to give away the ring. ''I showed the president my most recent Super Bowl ring,'' Kraft said in a statement released Wednesday. The Russian president ''was clearly taken with its uniqueness,'' Kraft said. ''At that point, I decided to give him the ring as a symbol of the respect and admiration that I have for the Russian people and the leadership of President Putin,'' Kraft said. Putin met with the businessmen Saturday at Konstantinovsky Palace near St. Petersburg, Russia. Near the end of the meeting, Kraft took off the ring, and handed it to Putin. Putin tried it on, put it in his pocket and left, according to Russian news reports. According to Patriots spokesman Stacey James, the ring -- which is encrusted with 124 diamonds -- has a value of ''substantially more'' than the previously reported $15,000. A senior Kremlin official, Dmitry Peskov, told The Associated Press that Putin had given the ring to the Kremlin library where other foreign gifts are kept. Kraft's business interests include paper and packaging companies and venture capital investments. He handed out Super Bowl rings to players and coaches at his home two weeks ago. The Patriots have won three of the last four Super Bowls.

Edgy DC Jun 30 2005 09:41 AM

What else could he say at this point? "Slow down, Dudeski, I said you could look" wouldn't fly.

soupcan Jun 30 2005 09:48 AM

Yup.

Centerfield Jun 30 2005 11:50 AM

I want to get so important that I can go around taking what I want and people have to pretend they gave it to me. Where do I apply for that job?

Edgy DC Jun 30 2005 12:01 PM

If Victor Kiam still owned the Patriots, he would've called Putin a "Classic Bitch" and we'd be at DefCon 3.

metirish Jun 30 2005 01:53 PM

I'm sure Mr.Putin was more subtle in his KGB days.