Thursday, May 22, 2008 | 2:50 p.m.
Barkley’s bag is gone.
Remember the piece we ran a couple of weeks ago? We obtained a Houston Rockets garment bag that Charles Barkley supposedly used when he played for that NBA team.
A friend knew someone who knew somebody who knew the owner of a swanky Las Vegas hotel, and the bag wound up in my trunk.
We also produced a video – yes, I did it in one take! – and a lucky reader or viewer would be rewarded with the bag.
That is 61-year-old Greg Went, who picked up his winnings Thursday afternoon in the Sun parking lot with his son, a junior-to-be at Centennial High whom Went adopted 10 years ago out of Russia.
The elder Went moved to Las Vegas eight months ago after spending more than 30 years in the oil industry in Houston.
His submission, in which he claimed to be Barkley’s campaign manager for the former Round Mound of Rebound, in his run for the mayoral position of Leeds, Ala., was the most compelling of the thousands we received.
Uh, OK. The hundreds. Er, dozens. Actually, Went’s was the only one we got. And no, he never was Barkley's campaign manager. But kudos to Went for his novel approach.
He’s more than deserving of the bag because of his affinity for all of Houston’s sports teams. He fondly remembers the victory parades after the Rockets won their two titles, and he proudly vows to carry food in his new/old garment bag.
“I’m sure Barkley would,” Went said.
Touche.
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