Free Wine!

of course, since the Pistons stomped on the Losers Lakers, the King Gropenator may have already broken the laws.....Free the Grapes: To Ensure Consumer Choice in Fine Wine:

"As the Detroit Pistons square off tonight against the Los Angeles Lakers with a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven NBA championship series, Free the Grapes! warns California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm that their friendly wager over the outcome may break wine direct shipping laws.


As reported elsewhere, the winner will send the loser a cornucopia of food and beverages popular in their state, which the loser must consume while wearing the winning team’s jersey. Governor Schwarzenegger’s offer includes California wine.


"The bet is made in good fun, but if the Lakers win the championship, then Governor Schwarzenegger's shipment of California wine to Granholm would be illegal under Michigan's antiquated law that bans interstate, direct-to-consumer wine shipments," said Jeremy Benson, executive director of Free the Grapes!, a national consumer coalition seeking to ensure consumer access to wine.


At Granholm's urging, Michigan has aggressively sought to ban direct-to-consumer wine shipments from all out-of-state wineries, denying its citizens access to a wide range of American wines. When Granholm was Attorney General for Michigan, consumers and wineries successfully sued the state over its shipping ban. In 2003, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, ruling Michigan's shipping ban unconstitutional. But wine lovers in Michigan continue to be cut-off from purchasing wines directly from out-of-state wineries because Granholm's successor, AG Mike Cox, petitioned the shipping case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The ban remains in effect during the appeal process."

can we spell "Irony"?