sports metaphors needed: price? $2,500

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both received $150,000 apiece to have a "conversation" in Toronto yesterday. The lowest priced of the 6,000 available tickets was $250. VIP tickets ran $625 and for $2500 you could sit front row and get your picture taken with both presidents. If $2500 seems like a lot of money to you (it does to me) just to put it in perspective, a center-court ticket to the NBA finals at the Staple Center in LA will set you back a similar amount. An infield box seat for this year's MLB AllStar game in St. Louis is also going to cost you about $2,500. The NBA finals and All-Star game are likely to be more entertaining than Bush/Clinton acting nice and holding hands under the table.

Note to entrepreneurs: selling 5,000 of the "conversation" tickets at the lowest value ($250) would gross 1.25 million. This doesn't account for any VIP tickets or concession sales. So, after paying off the two shills, you'll have pocketed nearly a million dollars.

Photo: Prince Albert launches one @ Busch Stadium, the site of this years MLB AllStar Game.