Maria Sharapova could be yours for a cool $10,000

This is one of those stories that makes you shake your head in disbelief -- first, that it happened, and second, that you didn't get in on it in time. Seems the lovely Wimbledon champ Maria Sharapova put herself -- well, a date with herself, anyway -- up for auction at a charity tennis tournament. The winning bid was $10,000, which seems a bit below market value. Lobbing up the awkwardness quotient is the fact that Ms. Sharapova's boyfriend apparently got outbid for the date. Think that was a comfortable ride home?

Oh, and one other thing -- Ms. Sharapova took in $26 million last year, making her the world's best-paid female athlete. That means that for her, a $10,000 bid is the equivalent of getting taken out for a McDonald's Extra Value Meal. She's lovin' it!

Now, in auctioning off the mealtime services of a beautiful athlete, some may see crass, thinly-veiled sexism. Me, I see opportunity. We've got ourselves a bit of a financial crisis in America these days, right? Well, if Ms. Sharapova is willing to let herself go for a mere ten large, how much do you think Tom Brady could fetch? Natalie Gulbis? Dale Earnhardt Jr.? Derek Jeter?

Time to think outside the box here, people. We've given our athletes so much -- is it so wrong to ask them to start giving back in return?