The Sexy Geek's House of Swag

My First Artist Sketch

2012-02-08T23:39:00.003-05:00

I had never even thought about starting a sketch book until I saw some other comic fans collections on various sites. I saw some amazing pieces drawn by some of comics top artists and some drawn by unknown artists who will probably have a shot at drawing for Marvel or DC at some point.

I started asking collectors how to start one and how much the various artists charge at comic cons. I learned that most artists will charge anywhere from 20.00 and up, depending on who the artist was. Plus, it was best to grab the artist early for the sketch as he might get a lot of appointments and have but so much time to do them.

Armed with that information, I stopped by Staples and picked up a sketch pad. The next day I was headed to the big one, New York Comic Con. And I had already picked out the artist I wanted my first sketch from and I knew I had to be one of the first people there too.

Tim Sale drew three of my favorite graphic novels; Batman, The Long Halloween, Batman, Dark Victory and Spiderman Blue. Having learned he was doing free sketches for about an hour, I made a bee line for his table as soon as I got in. He had not arrived as of yet, so I wated on a short line till his arrival. When the line started moving, I noticed I was the only one with a sketch pad. Everyone else was having comics signed, so I got to his table rather quickly. I told him I loved his work on Spiderman Blue and asked for a Spidey sketch. He was really nice and sketched the piece you see above. I also bought an awesome black and white lithograph of Gwen Stacy and Spidey, signed by Tim. That I will have framed and hung up as soon as I can.

Not sure about the sketch though. Do I hang it up, framed or leave it in the book? I'm almost leaning toward framed and hung, but since I have the litho, I might keep it in the book. We shall see.

Now, I need to pick out my next artist for my next sketch. Can't wait.

Couple of Movies/Shows I've Been Watching

2012-01-26T09:39:00.006-05:00

So, a couple of my friends lent me some dvd's this past week. I had been looking for something new to watch since I just about ran through everything I own and my buddies did not disapoint.First up, we have the 1966 Filmation cartoon, The New Adventures of Superman. This show captured the essence of the character beautifuly. Everything about this show was terrific. The animation was great for it's time, the voices nailed the characters and the stories were pretty good as well. Most of the episodes revolve around Superman, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen and whomever the villian is. The villians are well represented as Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Toyman and Mr. Mxyzptlk show up as well. Superman's classic trademarks from ripping the shirt off to "Up, Up and Away" are also incorporated into the cartoon. What I loved most is Bud Collyer and Joan Alexander, who did the voices of Superman and Lois Lane in the radio show as well as those awesome Max Fleischer Superman cartoons in the 40's, both return for this series as Superman and Lois Lane respectively.

There are 36 episodes of the show on 2 disks in this collection. There is also some trailers and a documentary called Superman in 1966, which discusses the character's history up to 1966 as well as how Filmation, who never had produced any cartoons up to that point, got the rights to do Superman.

I know some of Filmation's later efforts turned out less than perfect, I think this show turned out real well and I want to see the other Filmation/DC offerings like the Aquaman and Green Lantern cartoons they produced. I'm still waiting on that Adventures of Batman cartoon show
from the 60's on DVD as well. I know the New Adventures of Batman and Robin from 1977 is out on DVD, so I will have to hunt that down.

My only question; after watching this and knowing how well Grantray-Lawrence did the Spider-Man show in 1967, you mean to tell me Grantray-Lawrence couldn't do a better job with The Marvel Super-Heroes show?

Then I got to watch The Spirit. I wasn't expecting much out of this movie, but it was better than I expected. Frank Miller is quickly turning into one of my favorite directors. His use of imagry in this movie should leave no one who seen 300 or Sin City shocked. The writing was pretty good and acting was ok. I thought Sam Jackson's Octopus was a little over the top, but that's to be expected.

I never read a Spirit comic, so I don't know how well this movie holds up to Wil Einser's character, but I enjoyed it and will probably add it to my superhero movie collection. And Eva Mendes, Va Va Voom!

So, if you have some down time, I suggest you give these DVD's a shot. They may not be Sense and Sensibilty, but you will have fun watching them. Pass the popcorn and don't skimp on the butter.

Retro Action Batman

2012-01-19T14:13:00.003-05:00

Well, I finally pulled the trigger on this figure. After seeing him in various stores and scoffing at the 20.00 + price tag, I grabbed him for the Batman collection and I'm glad I did.

I havent taken him out of the package yet. I'm loving the Mego-like bubble on card package this came in.

Once he does come out, he's going to look great next to my original Mego Batman. Too bad they halted production on these figures. I would have loved a Robin, Joker, Riddler and Catwoman to go along with this one.

Gotta go back and get Superman next.

Free To Be...You And Me

2012-01-12T15:56:00.000-05:00

If you were a child of the 70's, you surely remember this special.

I ran across it on youtube and was attacked by the memories of watching this special as a young kid. Hope you have fond memories of it as well.

Probably My Favorite Pick Up of 2011

2012-01-10T16:30:00.004-05:00

Anyone who knows me, knows that one of my all time favorite TV shows is the 1966 Batman series, Starring Adam West and Burt Ward. I'm not old enough to have watched the show during it's original run, but got the chance to see it on reruns here in New York City as a kid in the 70's. As a kid, I would run around in a blue towel with a Batman mask I made out of construction paper and rubber bands, fighting imaginary villians, screaming BAM! POW! ZAP! with each punch thrown (note to all, rubber bands hurt). And the Batman toys I got as a kid. Mego, AHI, Remco, and Corgi toys all filled my toy chest. God, I wish I still had them.

As an adult, I grew to love the show even more with it's campy humor and colorful villians and hilarious dialogue. Things like, "Some days, you just can't get rid of a bomb." or "Catwoman, you're not a nice person!" still crack me up to this day. A lot of ex-girlfriends never got my love for the series...which is why they are ex's.

When I started collecting, one of the things I wanted was a 12 inch Adam West Batman figure. None of the toy companies were making one and I had no talent to pull off one on my own. I certanly couldnt afford one of the customs people were churning out, so all I could do was drool over collector's Adam West figure.

One day, I recieved an email from someone over at 66batman.com, which is a message board that is all 1966 Batman. The gentleman let me know he had recently purchased an upgrade over the Adam West figure he has and was looking to sell the other. He asked if I was intrested in it. Was I?? Um, was Uma Thurman dreadful in Batman and Robin? (the answer is yes, dear reader) We worked out a deal and I received my Adam West Batman figure.

Take a look at this figure

These pictures do not do the figure justice. The paint job is insane. The customizer used high end materials and the likeness to Adam West is uncanny. I am so pleased to have this figure in my Batman collection. Maybe one day, I can add a Burt Ward and some villians. This is definately the centerpiece to my Batman collection.

Let's see if I can top this in 2012

2012 Goals...Collecting-wise

2012-01-09T10:50:00.004-05:00

Hey Everyone,

First off, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy belated New Year. I hope everyone had a safe and happy holidays. The month of December was crazy busy for this sexy geek, which explains the lack of postage from me. So, my list of 2012 Collecting goals are a bit late, but here they are nonetheless:

1-Card Collecting goals:

My card collection has gotten a bit out of hand. I have boxes upon boxes of unorganized madness, so I have decided a couple of things:

A-Concentrate On The Team Sets.

First and Foremost, I want to try to have as many complete Topps teams sets as possible, especially with my Yankees and Jets collections. My Yankees team sets are as complete as you can get from 1972 on. I might be missing a card here and a card there, but those sets are pretty complete. For the Yanks, I would like to concentrate on the years I'm missing. Of course, there will be cards I won't be able to pick up, like a Mantle or Berra or Ford or Maris, as my budget will be tighter this year, so unless I get a steal or a well loved card, my sets will be missing those key players for a while.

As far as the Jets go, this should be an easier task. Namath is really the only big name player in any older set and I can live without a Namath in my sets. My Jets team sets are nowhere as complete as my Yankees are, so persuing those sets are one of my top goals.

B-Forgo Game Used Cards.

I can't begin to tell you how much I have spent in the past on a blah game used card. I decided that unless the card is too good to pass or it's an awesome patch card, I will not be picking up a lot of game used this year.

C-Inserts, Inserts, Inserts.

I love these cards, especially inserts from the 90's sets. I am building binders full of these beautiful cards and will continue to do so in 2012.

2-Get Back Into Autographing:

The last year or two, my TTM'ing has gone down significantly. My thoughts were, why take the time and effort to find/make a card, write a letter and wait x amount of days for it to possibly return signed when I can just go on ebay and buy it, certified.

Well, my budget has dictated that if I want to continue to collect autographs, I'm going to have to go a cheaper route and that is TTM's or free signings. I have a lot of cards that I could put into use instead of them just sitting in a shoe box marked doubles. Time to whip out the pen and buy a roll of forever stamps.

Plus, there are projects I want to start. I'd like to go after wrestlers TTM, or try and put together a signed set of cards from a couple of my favorite teams, like the 1996 Yankees or work on a multi signed 8x10.

3-Read The Older Comics:

In 2011, I bought and read the Marvel Essentials Vol. 1's of Iron Man and The Avengers. Obviously, buying vol 2's are in order. I have also been collecting the Essential Amazing Spider-Man and reading those. I think I am at Vol 4, so I need to get the others this year.

I also would like to pick up the Essential Captain America, Hulk and Fantastic Four at some point. Since I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas, if I can get those digitally, even better.

4-Continue My Spider-Man/Batman Collections:

2011 saw me reembrace my inner geek when I started to pick up pieces here and there. I was buying figures, comics, t-shirts. Pretty much, anything I could get my hands on, I got. There was, and still is a limit to what I would get. I didn't want to buy a Polar Suit Spidey, complete with whale skin winter jacket or an Aqua Dive Batman, with green camo suit and bubble helmet. Nope. If the figure didn't come in the actual outfit, I wasn't buying it. I also did not really pick up any figures of the rouges gallery for Spidey or Bats, although I do have a few cool Venom's, Goblin's and Joker's in the collection. That might change this year, depending on space.

I do have certain things I'd like to pick up or continue to collect. I made some progress in my goal of collecting as many Amazing Spider-Man comics, issues 1-200, as well as Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man. I'd like to continue hunting down isses I need in 2012. I would like to start a Batman or Dectective Comics collection as well. Reason I have not started a Batman comic collection is $$$. Most of the older Batman comics are way out of my price range. But, the more I think about, with my Spider-Man comics, if the condition is decent or I can get a great deal, why not start Batman?

Figure-wise, I would love, love, love to grab the Hot Toys Spidey or Batman figures, especially the Michael Keaton one. Looking forward to the Captain Action Spidey re-release as well. I also need to go back and pick up some figures I am missing as well, so more comic shows, toy shows, flea markets and thrift store visits for me in 2012.

5-Fill other Holes/Start Other Collections:

I haven't really added to my Beatles, KISS, Back To The Future, Monkees collections in a while. There are things that I would love to grab, like the KISS: Alive box set or the Beatles Cartoon Series box set. I have been looking for decent prices on these, but I might have to suck it up and pay the prices I have seen on ebay/conventions if I really want them in my collections. I am also looking forward to Mattel's Back To The Future line coming out this year. I haven't heard or seen anything about them, so I hope the set hasn't been cancelled. If so, I will just grab the delorans I have seen or rebuy the BTTF Part 2 card set I used to have.

Been wanting to start a Avengers/Justice League figure set as well. I love the Classic Avengers box set I have seen and I'm kinda kicking myself for not grabbing it when I first seen it. I am just not thrilled with the 3 3/4 size of the figures, as well as the Marvel Universe figures. I had heard that the Marvel figures will be back to the 6" to 8" scale we have known and loved before, so I should be happy with that.

I would also love to pick up the Christopher Reeves/Michael Keaton/Linda Carter statues I have been seeing as well.

6-Have fun.

That, my friends, is what collecting is all about. I had a blast with it in 2011 and 2012 will be no diffrent for me. That, is a promise.

Wish List Part 3-Star Wars

2011-11-11T14:46:00.012-05:00

Like most of you out there, I am a Star Wars nut. I love the movies and will love nothing more than to throw on the movies over a tub of popcorn and just morph into geek mode. I'm old enough to have seen the original trilogy in the theathers on their first runs. My first memory of Star Wars was walking into the Lowes Paradise on the Grand Concourse in the middle of the movie (you were allowed to walk to see the movie whenever you got there). I remember just standing in the aisle, looking at the huge screen and seeing the Millenium Falcon being dragged into the Death Star. My poor mom, I made her sit through 3 viewing of the movie. My younger sister? She fell asleep before the end of the first showing?? I mean, how the hell do you fall asleep during a piece of cinematic genuis like Star Wars. I still bug her to this day over it. Star Wars was da bomb, Christmas Special aside.

Like most kids, I went all ga ga over the toys Kenner put out. I wanted to have everything. Of course, as I mentioned earlier, it was not to be. I had some things, but not everything like my bratty cousin did. I wish I still had my Star Wars stuff, but alas, my sis made sure of that. I used to play Barbie skydive, which pretty much was me throwing her Barbies, Strawberry Shortcake and Raggedy Ann stuff out of our 6th floor window. Once she got wind of it, I never saw my beloved figures ever again.

Now, my Star Wars collection is currently non exsistant, save for a few things. I am starting to get back into collecting Star Wars only now. I always thought there was too much merchandise, why bother to collect. Then I figured that I would only collect the main characters from the original trilogy. No Episodes 1-3 for me, thank you very much. Give me Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, Vader, Fett and the 2 droids any day. So, once I started thinking, I narrowed my must have five items to these choice items:

1-Escape From Death Star Game

Had this game as a kid and loved it. The object of the game was to escape from the trash compactor and make it back to the rebel base first by picking up good force/bad force cards. This was a cool game to have and I would love to be able to get it again

2-Darth Vader Action Figure Carrying Case

I had this:

Then my mom smartened up and got me this:

Loved it. I kept all my figures inside this huge chunk of plastic with Darth Vader staring right back at me. Now, as a Jets fan, I see him and I see an obnoxious Oakland Raiders fan staring back at me, but I can deal with having this back in my collection. I would also love to add the C3pO Carrying Case from Return Of The Jedi as well

3-Kenner 12 inch figures

I had both the Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader 12 inch figures. I was having them square off long before they actually did in Empire Strikes Back. Both came with lightsabers and Luke had the grappling hook as well. I would have still had these if it wasnt for a bully at school beating the crap out of me and taking them away. I wish I can say I got him back, but I never did.

I do have the Luke re-issue 12 inch and I love it. Would love to get these, but I think they're a pretty penny. I might look into the Collector's Editions. That Boba Fett is kick ass.

4-Vehicles

I currently have a Tie Fighter, thanks to my buddy, who gave it to me as a gift. The original box is falling apart, but all the pieces are intact. Once I get a place to display, I will be taking it out of the box. Would love to add the following

X-Wing Fighter At-At

This thing was ginormous! I remember my cousin having this and never letting near it.

Landspeeder

And the ship that needs to me in every Star Wars collection, the Millenum Falcon

These toys were awesome. Big, but awesome.

5-Death Star Playset

Remember yesterday when I said that I had one other holy grail? Well, this is it. This piece of awesomeness is the Death Star Playset. 4 levels of plastic/cardboard goodness. A working trash compactor, a working elevator, a missle launcher at the top and a retractable bridge to enact that famous scene when Luke and Leia swing accross the bridge. (We won't talk about the kiss either). As a kid, this was the thing I wanted most in the world, but never got. I think I would put this as my number one holy grail item. I mean, this thing is freaken sweet!

Before I wrap up, I want to take this opportunity to wish the Vets out there a Happy Veteran's Day. Thank you for protecting us and helping keeping it free so us geeks can create blogs to write about toys we have/had/wish we had. May the force be with you all.

Wish List Part 2-The Batman

2011-11-10T12:07:00.009-05:00

After Spidey, the character I collect the most of is The Batman. As much as I love the Adam West Batman or the Batman of today, the one I grew up with is the Neil Adams/Superfriends Batman. 4 of the 5 items I will prestent from my wish list are from the 70's and 3 were made by Mego. Again, these are in no particular order.

1-Remco Bat CSF Copter

As a kid, I spent hours playing with this awesome toy. It was a helicopter with Batman stickers on it, attached to a pole, which was attached to a base. It came with cardboard cut outs of villians like Joker and Riddler as well as a small building. All of which got destroyed in no time. I then used it with my Megos and other toys. I do remember trying to lift my plastic General Lee car with it, which resulted in an epic failure.

2-Mego Bat Lab

Honestly, to me, nothing screams Mego than Batman. Mego made so many things for the Caped Crusader to use in his adventures against crime. One of my favorite pieces was this Bat Lab. I remember seeing the commercials for it and begged my mom for one. Of course, I got something else instead. Not sure what it was, but I'm sure I had just as much fun with it. The van also came with a basket attached to a pole for catching crooks and bringing veggies or laundry back to Wayne Manor.

3-Mego Batman Command Console Probably the single coolest looking toy I ever owned as a kid. Look at this thing. A mini bat computer that flashed lights and picked up CB Radio signals. Of course, you couldnt talk back to anyone, but still, this thing was awesome looking and would look great in any Batman collection.

4-Batman Hand Puppet

So nice, I showed it twice. Well, it was an accident and I didnt know how to remove the 2nd pic. But it's still cool nonetheless. Other than the Soaky bottle, this is the one piece I will go out of my way to acquire for my Batman collection. Ideal came out with it in 1966, after the success of the Adam West show. Real nice piece.

5-Mego Wayne Foundation

Theres Something about this cardboard/plastic monstrosity that makes me drool. Aside from one other toy that I will mention in another blog, this would be my holy grail. Another piece of Mego goodness that I never owned, but am dying to have in my collection. Not quite sure how I would display it, but rest assured, I would figure something out. One of the more expensive Batman pieces, I rarely see this on ebay for anything less than 300.00.

I really believe Batman had some of the more cooler looking toys. Batmobiles, walkie talkies, costumes, etc. Whatever your budget is, there is something Bat-related you can find. Happy hunting.

Spider-Man Wish List

2011-11-09T14:40:00.010-05:00

As the holidays are almost upon us, I always look back on toys I either owned as a kid or always wanted to. Now that I am an adult (will never say grown up, cause we all know otherwise), I can always rebuy or finally add the items to my growing collection.

Over the course of the next several days, I will reveal some of the items on my wish list, by character, sport or whatever else I collect. Today, I will start by showing of the top 5 items on the character I collect the most: Spider-Man. These will be in no particular order.

1-12 Inch Mego Spider-Man

I'm a huge fan of the Mego "World's Greatest Superheroes" line, having had them as a kid and re-collecting them to this day. I own an 8 inch Spidey as well as the mini, plastic Spidey. I have never owned the 12 inch, either as a kid or adult, and I want one. This piece would look great on the Spidey shelf. The figure came with either a solid arm, or one that squirted "webbing", which was just water, I believe.

2-1966 Ideal Spider-Man Hand Puppet

I have never seen one of these in person, yet I want one really, really bad. I have seen the Batman at a flea market earlier this year and came so close to buying it. It was real cool, but the head was held to the vinyl with a safety pin and that made me walk away. I will own it one day as well as this beauty. I'd probably rank it up their as a Holy Grail of mine. I do know it came either boxed or in a plastic bag. I have seen both in packaging on ebay for well over 100.00. If I saw a loose one, for a reasonable price, I'd be on it.

3-1970's Spider-Man Bank

One of my very favorite things I had as a kid was this humongoid plastic bank of Spidey's head and torso. This was one of those pieces, and still is, that looks great on any shelf. As far as I know, only Spidey and Hulk were made, but I could be wrong about that. I had placed a bid on one on ebay, only to lose. Then I check my messages on ebay a few days later, only to find that I had a second chance offer that expired already. Gahhh! I will own this piece again. Oh, and good luck finding one without a hole in the bottom. These banks never had a spot to remove the change you put into it. D'Oh!

4-1970's Spidey Webshooters

These babys are something I wanted sooooooo bad, but never got. I mean, what self respecting Spidey nut wouldnt want these to add to their collection.? But, alas, I never did get them. I even went as far as making my own out of construction paper. I was the only kid in Riverdale, NY running around with paper webshooters. Well, they went well with my homemade Spidey mask, so that's a good thing. The not so good thing? I never, ever see these on ebay.

5-Mego Stretch Action Spider-Man

I hated my cousin. He had EVERYTHING I wanted as a kid. All the megos, all the Kenner Star Wars stuff, Sho-Gun Warriors, Godzilla, etc. He was very smug about who he allowed to play with them and always put a time limit on the play time. I always wished I had his toy box because included in there was all three Mego Stretch Arena superhero dolls, which were a jump on the Stretch Armstrong fad of the 70's. But then again, Batman and Spider-Man are so much cooler than some blonde dude who was made of jelly. Again, I never see these on ebay either.

Of all the Spidey stuff I want, and there are others. Like the Spidey Mobile Crime Lab and the Helicopter and the Mego car and the Energizer Figure that I want. Then again, if it has Spider-Man on it and it's affordable, I want it anyway.

Excelcior!

Its Finally Happened.

2011-11-07T21:27:00.001-05:00

Right now, I'm in the laundromat, watching my clothes wrestle each other in the dryer, bored out of my mind. I decided to try to post a picture-less blog to give you all a quick update to what I've been up to the past few weeks. Plus, I get to test this Blogger Android app that I downloaded off the Android Market.

I finally decided that I've had enough of binders. I currently have close to 30 binders that house my Yankees, Jets, Devils, Knicks and Islander cards. I am running out of space to put more binder. Plus, to be honest, I'm thrilled with having to shell out 3-7 bucks a pop for binders, then 15 dollars for 9 pocket pages. With all the cards I pick up during a calender year, I will have to buy a home that has a massive library just to house the binders. Plus, I have close to 15 boxes of cards I have yet to organize. Sheesh!

So, I finally have joined the many masses that are puting their card collections into monster boxes, top loaders and penny sleeves. Not exactly what I wanted when I started collecting again, but with room at a premium, I have no choice.

So, I have started with Topps. I have made dividers from index cards and been moving the base into the box. I plan to keep the inserts in the binders as well as the player collections I have of Mark Teixeira, Martin Brodeur, Mike Bossy, Mark Teixeira and Patrick Ewing.

I'm hoping this works out for me. I'm tired of having to decide how I am storing my cards, especially between my Team Collectors group, trades, box breaks and ebay, I get a lot each month.

I also have been looking to build up my Knicks collection. Of all the teams I collect, they are the team I have the fewest of. So, I've been picking up a few cards as well as some Ewings. Its been coming along nicely and pretty soon, I should have a nice Knicks collection.

Spidey Shelves

2011-11-01T10:59:00.002-04:00

Kinda behind schedule on my blogs. My internet went down for a while and I am behind on my work. So today, I thought I would let the pictures tell the story. Here are shots of my Spider-Man collection. It's not the full collection. I have some figures I haven't put up on the shelf yet, but this is most of it.

Enjoy.

New York Knicks Player Apperances Sat 10/22/2011

2011-10-21T15:05:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow, from 2-4pm, former New York Knicks stars Charles Oakley and Allan Houston, along with former NBA player Kevin Willis, will be apperaing at the new Men's Wherehouse in Manhattan. The address is 730 Third Ave off 45th st.

I'll be there and will try to get Houston and Oakley to sign 2 mini basketballs I have, but will bring some basketball cards just in case.

Hope to see you there.

IP: Carmello Anthony

2011-10-19T10:01:00.003-04:00

I was at NY Comic Con last Friday (I promise you, there will be a blog post about that in the upcomimg days) and I get a text from my buddy that Carmello Anthony would be doing a free signing at a Modells Sporting Goods store in Manhattan that day. At first, I wasn't going to leave my first NYCC, but the more I thought about it, I knew 'Mello was a hard autograph and the chances of him doing a free signing anytime soon was not good, so I left the convention after lunch and headed over.

I got to Modell's an hour early. I spoke to some of the employees about the rules. Anthony was signing one item with the purchase of a "shooting" gel he was promoting. The gel was 10.00. I'll never use it, but hey, if it got me a free autograph, I was buying one. I also bought a basketball for him to sign, got my ticket and waited on the line outside. The line was pretty short, which amazed me. I thought for sure there would be a lot more people. Oh well, makes it eaiser for me since he was only signing for an hour anyway.

During my wait, a Modells manager came up to me and told me Carmello was only signing pictures that was provided by the company. It made me a little angry because I did speak with a few employees. Why wouldn't they tell me this before I spent 25.00 on a ball? No matter, I would return it after I got my picture.

Carmello arrived early and started signing right away, so I got to meet him really quick. When I got there, I shook his hand and he reached for the ball and signed it. I was surprised, but elated that there were no problems for Carmello's "people" about him signing the ball.

Here is my very first signed basketball:

I heard that Charles Oakley and Allan Houston will be doing a signing this weekend as well. I hope to make that and get a couple of mini basketballs signed.

New Yankee Card pick up

2011-10-18T15:54:00.003-04:00

Just to remind you all that I do still collect my Yankees, I just got this beauty in the mail. An ebay purchase, it is a 1998 Circa Boss Insert I needed for the Yankees PC.

This card is everything I love about inserts. The graphics, the colors and it's a Yankee.

Jeter has become even more expensive (If you can believe that!) since he joined the 3,000 hit club, but I was able to grab this one for a steal at 1.99, plus free shipping.

Now, I just have to put this bad boy with the rest of the 1998 Circa cards I have. That will be a task and a half. I still have piles of cards to put into binders. Anyone have any tricks of how you organize your cards?

One more day till New York Comic Con

2011-10-13T17:05:00.002-04:00

The first day of New York Comic Con is today. Although I did not go inside, I did stop by to pick up my press pass. I felt so very excited as I walked into Jacobs Javitz Center in Manhattan and saw all the people walking around. Some were in costume, others were not. It was not very crowded today. Tomorrow, when the con is open to the general public, I expect it to be a madhouse, Saturday worse.

Having never been to NYCC, I have done my reasearch by constantly looking at the official NY Comic Con web site and planned my time there. I picked out what I want to see, what I want to buy, which pannels and viewings I want to attend. I will mostly wander around, look at all the dealer tables and ogle the scantly clad women dressed as their favorite characters (I keed, I keed).

If you are attending, I suggest you show up early. Doors open at 10Am. Hope to see you there.

New York Comic Con Exclusive:Maximum Carnage Mini Muggs

2011-10-12T12:28:00.002-04:00

When I read about these yesterday, I knew I had to have them for the Spidey Mighy Mugg collection. Now, after seeing the picture, I might have to contain myself from being first in line for these buggers.

Mighty Muggs Adds

2011-10-11T21:32:00.009-04:00

With New York Comic Con 2011 a few days away, I am trying my best not to spend any money so I can blow it all at the convention. That said, A week ago, I was on shopgoodwill.com, browsing. I wasn't planning on buying anything until I saw a post that had these three Mighty Muggs. A Black Suit Spidey, a Venom and a Human Torch. I wanted to try and put together the Spidey set of Mighty Muggs as I already have the red suited one, still in the box. The auction was starting at 5.00, with 5.00 shipping. I placed a bid for 5.50, not really expecting to win. Heck, on ebay, Venom is usually a 25.00 figure. I thought what the heck.

I got an email from Goodwill a couple of days later informing me of the win. I expected to pay only 10.50, but to my surprise the total was 19.95. Apparently, there are taxes and fees placed on the winning bid. Never having bought anything from Goodwill before, I was a bit stunned. I just chalked it up to my money going to help the less fortunate, paid my bill and waited for the package which arrived today. I gotta tell you, the figures, not coming in their original boxes, were packaged great and look great in person.

Of all the Spidey villians, Venom shares the top spot with the Green Goblin. Hated the incarnation we saw in Spiderman 3, I perfer to think fondly of the Todd McFarlane version who tormented Peter Parker, wanting to eat Spider-Man's brains. As much as I like Venom, I don't have any Venon collectables...until now. I really try not to collect the villians due to space, but this Venom figure is awesome. Love that the tounge is not painted on this figure, which gives this Mugg a more demonic look.

Had to have this Spidey figure. This will look great on my Spidey shelf next to the red suit Spidey I bought a couple years ago from Toys R Us. All I need to complete the Spidey collection is the half Parker/half Spider-Man and the 2011 San Diego Comic Con Exclusive with the removeable mask. I'm hoping I can grab those at New York Comic Con. If not, there's always ebay.

Johnny Storm may be dead, but he looks pretty cool in Mugg form. This was the "throw-in" of the bunch. Not collecting anyone but Spider-Man and Batman, I'm probably going to trade this guy, although I am tempted to keep him. Again, love that the flames on his head are actually molded plastic and painted to look like he just Flamed On! Might have to think about holding on to this one...

Dispite the added costs, I'm very pleased with this purchase and would probably order through shopgoodwill.com again. I'm sorry they stopped producing these. Would have loved to have had a DC Line with a Batman made. I might actually put together the Avengers Set later on and might have done a Justice League had DC given up a licence to have them made.

Oh well, I will just enjoy the ones I have and continue on my search for the other 2 Spider-Men Mighty Muggs.

See you at New York Comic Con!

Finally, Some Haulage..

2011-10-05T09:21:00.006-04:00

This Past weekend, I was able to attend a flea market over in Wayne, NJ. I had'nt been to one in such a long time, but I was looking forward to attending. Especially after reading some other blogs and seeing the scores some people made, I wanted to try my luck.

I met up with my buddy in Yonkers at 9am. The flea market opened at 8 and since it takes almost 45 minutes to get there, we would be about close to 2 hours behind the ball. Didn't make a diffrence to me. I need sleep, since I don't get enough of it as it is. Before we left, my buddy had 2 gifts for me

Finally! After looking for these guys for months, I have my Batman Legacy Kmart Exclusive. I love the old style Batman and wanted this for the collection. Dig Batmite being in the package as well. I may keep this in the package. I did see a regular old school Batman figure without Batmite, so I might pick that up and open it up for display.

One of my all time favorite movies is Back To The Future. I'm trying to get a small collection of stuff from the movie. I already have a movie poster that was given away last year at the release of the remastered movie at theathers, a Delorean from Johnny Lightning and some stuff from the release of Back To The Future Part II. Hot Wheels released this Delorean recently that was hard to find, but my buddy managed to track it down and grab one for me.

We drove out to Wayne and once we parked I saw this van

I knew we were in the right place, although I never seen something like that at just a flea market. Usually, fun cars like that are reserved for conventions.

Once we paid our dollar admission, we walked inside to a nice sized flea market

There were some pretty good tables at this market. The dealers had some nice stuff. The prices varied from great to insane convention prices.
There was a lot of stuff collectors could have added to their collections. For me, I seen Yankees, Jets and Devils items I could have nabbed. I was very intregued by a table that had signed Devils pucks for 10.00 from players like Petr Sykora, Bill Guerin and Scott Neidemyer. The Neidemyer was the one I was torn about grabbing, but ultimately left it behind because I was questioning the authenticity of the autograph.

I seen a lot of Beatles items I drooled over like books, lunch boxes and figures. All that this Beatle-maniac wanted for the collection. But the prices were insane so I walked away.

The one item that I wanted was a 1966 Batman hand puppet I seen. The puppet's head had some paint rub, but the plastic costume looked clean. The dealer was asking 20.00 for it. I walked away thinking long and hard about picking it up. It's one of the items on my "must own" list. Why not add it today? I went back and asked to see the puppet before making a final decsion on it. I looked it over and found a large rip from the neck down to the shoulder that was held together by a safety pin. I could have still bought it cause it looked decent on display, but I didn't want to have to spend more money on an upgrade, so I left it behind.

I did manage to grab this 12 inch Spidey figure from the first movie for only 5 bucks. Haven't seen one of these on ebay for that low a price.

My buddy grabbed a few vintage halloween masks and gave this one to me

Vintage 1970's Spidey mask. A bit beat up, yes, but as my favorite saying goes, if it's for free, it's for me. This can display nicely until I find a suitable upgrade. The masks I have seen on ebay for pretty cheap.

I also snagged this Lando Calrissian figure for a cool 50 cents for my Star Wars collection

Been wanting to collect the vintage Star Wars stuff. Hate the new movies and will not collect from that era. I did pass by a Darth Vader action figure carry case that the dealer was selling for 30.00. Passed it by, but hopefully I can grab it next time. The flea market will return in November, so I'm hoping I can go back. I did enjoy it as it wasn't too crowded and I was able to add some nice pieces without causing my wallet to yell uncle.

After, we hit Nanuet, NY and the Target up there. My buddy needed to grab some stuff so I went along for the ride. I found the first season of the Spectaular Spider-Man on dvd for 14.99. I had never seen it before and was willing to pass it by until my friend saw me looking it over and mentioned he had a 50% off coupon for Target he was using for his stuff

Needless to say, it came home with me along with a box for Count Chocula cereal. Spent under 10.00 for both. I watched most of the first disk and have to admit, it's a very good show. The animation is better than the 90's Spider-Man show, although the storyline's on that show was better. Neither will take the place of the original '67 show in my heart though. Still, I do recomend the dvd.

All in all, I'd say it was a productive day. Even got to see Star Trek on Imax. I'm ready for my next flea market. Bring it on!

Recent Spider-Man Hauls

2011-09-30T16:35:00.014-04:00

One of the things I want to do is to start a collection of Spider-Man comics. Spider-Man is my all time favorite superhero, with Batman consider 1A. I want to collect as many vintage comics as my wallet can afford. So far, I have been able to get some nice books without putting me into the poor house.

I realize these might not be considered vintage, but for under 20.00, I couldn't pass them up

The 90's was a great time to be a Spidey fan. The cartoon was a hit on FOX, there was some great toys out and the comics were pretty cool.

Remember these oversized comics from the 70's?

I used to have a ton of them. I remember having the Superman vs Ali, Batman vs Spider-Man and some of the DC reprints. A friend of mine came by the other night and dropped it off. An awesome add to the collection.

I bought these off someone on spidermancollector.net

I'd say my Spidey collection is off to a great start.

I'm going to a toy show in Wayne, NJ this weekend. Hopefully I can find something to bring home with me.

About The New Title...

2011-09-22T21:39:00.005-04:00

So, I finally decided to rename the blog and put up a new templete as well. The title is acutally a joke between myself and friends and thought it would make a good title for this blog.

Let me assure you, I don't think I'm sexy. Geek, yes, sexy, not in this lifetime.

I'm in the process of making a brand new banner as well. I want to incorporate images of cards, vintage toys, and what I collect all into one banner. Problem is, Photoshop is not cooperating. As I am trying to extract an image, the screen blinks and I lose whatever work I had already started. I'm hoping I can find time to get that banner up this weekend. If not, I may have to hire someone to do it for me, if I can find someone who works cheap.

This weekend, I'm hoping to hit up the big flea market in Manhattan and find some treasures for the collection. I have been hitting up thrift shops and Salvation Army stores, with no luck what so ever. Not sure how other people have done it. I can never seem to find anything that's worth buying, except a book or two.

Hope you guys have something good planned for the weekend.

It's been a while...

2011-09-19T15:45:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since my last post. I'd like to be able to give you a reason why I haven't posted since July. Something like I got a new job or I moved or even I got a new girlfriend that takes up a lot of my time. But I got nothing. To be honest, I kinda suffered from a brain lock.

It's not as if I hadn't gotten anything new. It was just that I really had nothing to say. I would come on here, look at a blank screen and nothing came to my brain. No words for me to type. I felt like the well had run dry and my blogging days were over.

Then I had a thought. Why not blog about other stuff? As much as I love sports and collecting sports cards, I do have other intrests and stuff I collect. My love for Spider-Man and Batman has been rekindled and I have started collecting them again. I do collect The Beatles and KISS as well. Why not turn this into a Pop Culture/Sports blog? I couldn't think of a reason not to. Not only will it cover all my favorite things, I should be able to blog at least a few times a week about diffrent subjects.

Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about the new direction I will be taking my blog to. I hope the readers I have had will decide to stick around. It is fun to write this blog, but it's nothing without the people who read it and comment on it. I am very grateful I have readers, so I hope you will continue to read it. I will still talk sports along with comics, figures, movies, etc. I hope this new direction will be a sucessful one as well as a fun read.

Talk to you later.

Jeter Celebration Day #2

2011-07-12T15:25:00.003-04:00

First off, I wanted to congratulate Robinson Cano for winning the Home Run Derby last night. Robbie put on a display of power that stunned everyone, including myself. Anyone see the expression David Ortiz gave when Cano launched one off the Miller Lite sign in straight away center? Priceless. I actually did not want to watch this year, but got hooked when I saw Cano launch ball after ball into the ball hawkers in the stands. I just hope this doesn't screw up his swing for the rest of the year.

Now, on with day 2 of my Jeter Celebration.

Today, I'm showing off one of my Jeter bobbleheads. This one is from 2001 and it was given away at a Staten Island Yankees games. It was made by Alexander Global and given away to all who was in attendence. It was sponsored by Mortgage Links.

Done up in the classic bat pose, Jeter is sporting the classic Yankee home pinstripes, with blue cap with interlocking NY (as Michael Kay, the Yankee TV announcer, used to say when he was on radio). It's a very nice bobble, I think.

I actually was not there for this game. I bought this guy off ebay for under 17.00 dlvd. I got it for a steal as it didn't come with the original box or ticket stub, which is fine by me. I display these for my pleasure, not for profit.

Hope you enjoyed today's blog. Come back tommorow for day 3 of my Jeter celebration.

Jeter Celebration Day #1

2011-07-11T12:10:00.003-04:00

Yes, I know. I'm a little late to the party. But first off, congrats to The Captain for accomplishing what very few who have played this game has and that's getting 3,000 career hits. What a game for Jeter as well. 5 for 5, including the game winning RBI. It was vintage Jeter on display at the Stadium on Saturday.

Also, I want to offer congrats to Christian Lopez, who caught the home run, which was Jeter's 3,000 hit and returned it, not looking for anything. Not too may people like that are left in this world. I'm just glad to see the Yankees compensate him with bats, balls, autos and free suite for the rest of the season, including playoffs and world series play.

So, I wanted to celebrate Jeter's feat by showing off my favorite Jeter memrobillia in my Yankees collection. Everyday for the rest of the week, I will show off something Jeter. Today, we start off with this beauty from Fleer Legacy

There is a piece of game used baseball and base inside this card. I thought it was pretty unique when I saw it at a card show and bought it for 7.00. I would have prefered a game used ball, but for what I paid for it, it's a pretty cool card to have in the Yankees collection.

Marvin Washington TTM Autograph

2011-07-07T09:47:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, the first of my New York Jets requests came back. I had sent out about 5 letters to former Jets players a couple of weeks ago and Marvin Washington was the first to respond, sent in care of his home.

Marvin Washington is a former defensive end who was drafted by the Jets in the 6th round of the 1989 draft. He went on to play 7 seasons with the Jets before moving on to San Fransisco twice and Denver, where he won a super bowl in 1998.

Mr. Washington signed these two cards in silver ink.

I'm very please to add the autographs to my Jets PC. I just wish they weren't signed in silver, but what can you do? No complaints here.

Recent Adds to the Jets Collection

2011-06-24T12:26:00.002-04:00

I was recently able to add some new cards to the Jets PC. I have actually been ignore it for a while and while I was looking through the collection, I noticed I was missing a lot of players I've wanted in the PC.

I went on ebay, placed some bids, winning one and made a deal with a football card collector on sportscardforum.com.

Here are the new additions

I have been wanting a Vinny Testeverde auto for sometime now and I was happy to be able to add this card. Testeverde is one of my all time favorite Jets and Now I can cross him off the want list.

I used to collect Chad Pennington. This card will be a welcome addtion to the PC

For some reason each time I participate in a group break, I always seem to pull a Dustin Keller game used card, but never an autograph. With this ebay purchase, I was able to rectify that and cross Keller off the want list.

This is a nice one for the PC. I love to collect the patch cards and this one has a piece of patch, as you can see.

This card covers my love for patches and autos. It was a must have as I don't know if Edwards will be a Jet this season. He's a free agent and although his drops have considerably, well, dropped, I think Santonio Holmes is a must sign. Glad to add Edwards to the Jets auto PC with his beauty.

The trader threw in this Leaf Certified Red card. Nice add to the collection.

I have another card coming in off ebay soon. Hopefully, it will arrive today.

I was glad I could add to the Jets collection, especially since I have been working on organizing the Jets base cards I have. Will probably add more in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned.

J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS!

Problems?

2011-06-24T09:35:00.003-04:00

Anyone else having this problem? It seem that I keep getting bumped back to the sign in page. I write a response and when I click save, it takes me back to the sign in. Each and every time. I can't leave comments on anyone else's blogs either.

It's frustrating. I haven't wrote a blog with the exception of the Rex Ryan one because of this.

Anyone know how this can be fixed?

Rex Ryan Book Signing

2011-06-22T15:17:00.007-04:00

Last week, I attended the Rex Ryan Book signing at the Jets Store in Manhattan. Over 200 Jets fans attended the signing. I managed to be about the 70th person on the line, having gone straight from work.

3 of the Flight Crew, which is the Jets Cheerleading squad also showed up to greet the fans and sign autographs while you stood on line.

The store has a wide range of merchandise for the Jets fan in your life. Here's my personal favorite, jerseys.

And once you got inside, you were greeted by the man himself, Coach Ryan. He was extremely nice. I got to thank him for the tremendous job he and his staff has done in the 2 years he's been coach and I couldn't wait till he bought home a Super Bowl Title. He seemed genuinely thankful by that remark and told me it was fans like me that he's busting his tail to bring it home.

Here's the swag I bought home:

Signed photo by three of the flight crew.

Book by Coach Ryan

Inside of book, signed by Coach Ryan.

It was a fun day to be a Jets fan.

2003 All Star Bobblehead

2011-06-07T11:36:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, the mailman bought me my newest pick up. This is a 2003 All Star Game bobblehead, painted in Yankee colors and theme. The base of the bobble has the years the Yankees has been in existance. 2003 was the Yankees 100th anniversary and this bobble proudly displays that.

As you can see, the 100th anniversery patch the Yankees wore that year is painted on the back of the bobblehead. The years the Yankees had won the World Series is painted on the blue part of the leg as well.

All in all, it's a very nice bobblehead. I have seen these go for upwards of 75.00 on ebay. Thankfully, I paid nowhere near that. This bobble is one of the more simplier of the set that came out, where as the paint and logos are kept to a minimum. I have seen ones from other teams were the colors and logos are all over the place. But I like the simplicity of this one and I'm glad I'm able to add it to the collection.

Please, No....

2011-06-06T15:12:00.004-04:00

An open letter to one James Dolan, owner of the New York Knicks:

I have been a New York Knicks fan since 1981. In that time, I have seen a lot of people come and a lot of people go. from Hubie Brown to Mike D'Antoni. To Michael Ray Richardson to Carmello Anthony. Bernard King, Rick Pitino, Mark Jackson, Lenny Wilkens John Starks, Pat Reily, Chris Duhon, Stephon Marbury, Patrick Ewing, A'mre Stoutmire, I have seen a lot of player and coaches call Madison Square Garden home.

I have stuck with this team when Bernard King went down with what was at the time called a career ending injury. I watched the Knicks upset the Pistons in the 1983 playoffa before losing to the Celtics. I seen the joy on Dave DeBusschere's face when the Knicks won the number one pick in the 1984 NBA draft, which turned into Patrick Ewing. I seen Ewing lead the Knicks to the NBA Finals, only to lose to Hakeen Olajowon and the Houston Rockets. I have seen the Knicks become the first 8th seed to make the NBA finals, losing to the San Antonio Spurs. I have followed and stuck with this team through the good times and the bad. I have never not wanted to see anyone person return to the Knicks. Heck, I have wondered why Ewing is not coaching the Knicks in some capacity or Mark Jackson as the Head Coach.

There is, I must confess, one person I do NOT want to see return to the Knicks and his name is Isiah Thomas. Here in NY, we refer to Thomas's regin as the Dark Age. This man, single handedly, brought the Knicks to their worst period in their history. He bought in Stephon Marbury, Tim Thomas, Nazir Mohammed, Jerome James, Michael Sweetney and Eddy Curry., at the cost of a first round pick and said getting Curry was like getting a first rounder. Seriously. He fired Lenny Wilkens when Wilkens was making chicken salad out of chicken (censored). He didnt even give Larry Brown a chance to do something with this team. He let Don Cheany coach way too long and then there was that whole Anucha Browne Sanders mess. He gave away money like it was water to players who had no business making the type of money they were making, putting the Knicks in salary cap hell for years thanks to the contracts of Curry, Jamal Crawford, Malik and Jalen Rose, and Steve Francis. Not too mention the wonderful trades for Penny Hardaway, Jerome Williams and Maurice Taylor. As much as he should be complemented for drafting David Lee, I still want to know what in the name of Red Holzman was he thinking drafting Renaldo Balkman. The mere thought of Thomas coming back to be the General Manager of this team just sickens me. How could James Dolan even think about it, after the hell he put the Knicks through. Does he not remember the nightly "Fire Isaih" chants that rang through out the Garden? Does Thomas have picture of Dolan that Dolan doesnt want made public?

Look, I know this hasn't happened and if Dolan is smart, and no one can ever confuse of of that, it will not happen. But, just the mere fact that Thomas is still a New York Knicks consultant, as long as Dolan continues to call Thomas a friend, the threat is always there.

I do not want to see Thomas's smiling mug on t.v. re-intorducing himself to New York fans. I don't want to see him come in and destroy all the hard work that Donnie Walsh has done in his time here. If Dolan decides he must have Thomas back (which is like Leon Hess deciding he must have Rich Kotie coach the Jets), then he will lose a few Knicks fans, including me. I have gone through enough mocking from fans of other teams. I have gone through too much dissapointment ( I am a Jets fan after all) to have to endure Isaih and his garbage once again. If Dolan brings him back, then maybe he deserves Thomas to come in like the wrecking ball that he is.

But don't ask me to watch it, because I wont. Choice is yours Mr. Dolan.

New Statue Add

2011-05-31T15:31:00.003-04:00

With everything that has been going on recently, to my laptop getting a virus, to my grandmother being hospitalized, to work just getting backed up at the office, it was nice to be able to buy myself a few things that would make me smile as well as add to the Yankees collection.

It's not a bobblehead, but I will place this in my bobblehead bookcase. This is a 2010 All Star Mickey Mouse Statue, painted in New York Yankees colors and logos. This is a replica of the statues made for the 2010 All Star Game, which was played in Anaheim last year, home of Disneyland. For the past few years, MLB has been releasing replicas of the statues made for the All Star Game. In NYC a couple of years back, there were Statue of Libertys painted in the colors of every team in baseball, placed all around NYC. Those were made into figurines and sold to the public. Of course, I didnt get one, thinking I could get it later only to see them going for 30.00 and up on ebay. I have an All Star bobblehead coming in from a few years back. I'll post a pic of it when it arrives.

This was something I've wanted for a long, long time. I wasn't willing to shell out 50.00, plus shipping for it, so I bidded my time. I saw this one with a starting bid of 10.00. I made my bid and got it for 25.00, free shipping. Winner!

There is a Mickey figurine that was released this year and is selling at all ballpaks in the majors. I've seen the Yankees one at the Stadium and will be picking it up very soon. This one needs his brother to hang out with on the shelf.

R.I.P Macho Man Randy Savage

2011-05-20T15:03:00.004-04:00

Very saddened to hear of the passing of WWE legend, Macho Man Randy Savage, who died today after suffering a heart attack while driving his Jeep Wrangler and crashing it head on into a tree in Seminole, Fl. Savage's wife, was with him and escaped with only minor injuries.

I have been a huge wrestling fan since 1982 and continue to follow it to this day. Randy Savage was always one of my top 5 favorites. One of the most intense wrestlers ever, no one combined speed, agility and brawling like Savage did. He was a 2 time WWF Champion, 4 time WCW Champion, an Intercontinental Champion and won the 1987 WWF King of the Ring Tournament.

Savage wrestled in some of the most memorable matches in WWE history, including his classic against Ricky Steamboat at Wrestlemania III. He also had memorable feuds with Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, The Ultimate Warrior, and Jake "The Snake" Roberts. He was also a part of the NWO while in WCW.

For much of his career, he was bought to the ring by his real life wife, Miss Elizabeth and came out to Pomp and Circumstance. I cant hear that song at a graduation without wanting to scream OOOOOOH YEAH!

Thanks for the memories, Randy. Macho Madness will live forever.

New Adds to Yankees Autograph PC

2011-05-20T10:39:00.003-04:00

I attended the Westchester County Sports Card show last weekend. I initally went just to meet former Yankee Stan Bahnsen. I didnt want to spend too much money and thanks to the dealers there, I didnt. Almost everything was overpriced so I didnt buy much of anything except vintage New York Jets cards from the 60's, 70's and 80's for 10 cents a piece. The most I spent was 2.00 on a 1969 Don Maynard card. I have been meaning to try and put together all the Topps Jets team sets and I'm now on my way to doing that. I also came to the conclusion that if I am going to come home with a nice haul, I better stay away from game used and autographed cards. Not that there arent any deals to be had. There are. It's just that the Yankees are always over priced, the Jets are on their way to being and finding Knicks and Devils stuff is pretty hard.

I did manage to add 2 hard to get (well, for me anyway) autographs to my Yankees autograph collection. First up is this signed Matt Nokes card.

If you have been a regular reader of my blog, you would have seen an earlier blog where I wrote about how Nokes had sent back my request RTS. It was the third time I had sent out to Nokes and he didnt sign. So I found this signed card in a pile with other signed cards for a buck. Now, I finally got you Nokes, mwhahahahahahahahaha!

In the same pile was this signed card by another former Yankees catcher, Don Slaught. He was another who I wrote to and never got back. With Slaught though, I wrote to him when he was coaching the Pirates and he got canned right after I sent in the request, so I'm guessing he just never got the request. I was never able to find another address for him, so I was happy to pick this up for the PC for a buck as well.

1 new add to the Yankees signed baseball collection, 2 new adds to the Yankees autographed card collection and a bunch of new Jets Topps cards. All in all, a pretty successful day for my collections and I barely spent 10.00 for the day.

Yankees TTM-Austin Kearns

2011-05-13T14:53:00.002-04:00

Another add to the Yankees PC arrived today from Cleveland. Austin Kearns signed this 2010 Topps Series 2 card for me in about 3 weeks time. It was sent to him in care of Progressive Field. As you can see, it's signed in blue sharpie, which got a little smudged in the envelope.

The Yankees obtained Kearns from the Indians in a trade on July 30, 2010 for pitcher Zach McAllister. In the time he was here, Kearns was used as a 4th outhfielder, batting .235 with 2 home runs and 7 RBI's in 36 games. He resigned with Cleveland in the off season and hasn't gotten off to a great start, batting .149 with 0 home runs and 2 RBI. Hopefully, his year will get better for him.

I've always liked Kearns from his days in Cincinnati and Washington. I wanted him to resign with the Yankees and I'm rooting for him to put it together in Cleveland.

Happy Birthday Yogi

2011-05-12T14:29:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to the greatest living Yankee, Yogi Berra. Born May 12, 1925, Yogi is considered one of the greatest catchers in baseball history. Yogi is a 13 time world champion (10 as a player, 3 as a coach for the Mets and Yankees), a 18 time All Star, a 3 time MVP and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. Rightfully, his number 8 has been retired by the Yankees, although he did share the number with former Yankees catcher and HOF'er, Bill Dickey.

This game used card is from Upper Deck Ultimate. I picked it up at a card show a few years ago. I wanted to show off the two autos I have of his, but alas, they have not been scanned yet nor has the other game used jersey card or Yankee Stadium seat card I have. The only thing I'm missing is a signed baseball from Yogi and I hope to have that in June when he makes an apperance for the New Jersey Jackels in Montclair University in Monclair, NJ.

Happy Birthday Yogi. If you come to a fork in the road, take it.

My Favorite Teixeira

2011-05-03T00:32:00.004-04:00

It's been so hectic for me as of late. With work, gym, spending time with family and friends, I haven't had the time to devote to this blog. I've been wanting to post, but other obligations have kept me away.

Tonight, I decided I wasn't going to watch WWE Raw (quit laughing, I bet some of you still watch WWE). I was going to finally scan some cards using the scanner/copier/printer I got for my birthday a few weeks back. I scanned all of my Mark Teixeira game used and certified autographed cards. I really didn't realize it was going to be a few hours for me to scan all those cards, but I finally did. Finished at 12:30 AM, eastern time.

I guess I'll show off some of my favorites:

From 2010 Topps, I have this Topps Peak Performance game used jersey. Yankee jerseys really don't have much to offer other than a piece of the interlocking NY on the chest or number off the back, so I really prefer my Yankee gamers to have the pinstripe on the jersey. This one has a real nice pinstripe, so that makes me a happy camper

I love patch cards, a lot. This Teixeira card from 2009 Upper deck SPx has a sweet piece of patch from one of Tex's Rangers jerseys. I got a sweet deal on it off ebay. Too bad I can't afford a Yankee patch.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Sweet Spot has the best autographed cards. I really love this one from 2005 Sweet Spot. I actually had this card once before. I wanted to put together this set and bought this card for 7.00 at a card show. I later realized that alot of the autos in this set were going to be a bit pricey so I gave up on it and traded this card for one that escapes my mind. When I started collecting Teixeira, I had to rebuy this card. The second time around, it cost me 25.00, plus shipping. Morale of this story, when that voice in the back of your head is screaming, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!, maybe you ought to listen to it. Unlike me.

Another beautiful autograph card. This one comes from 2005 Ultimate. I, like most of you, can't afford the high end cards, so I have to scour the secondary market for the ones I need. And besides, I'm not paying 300 bucks to pull a Josh Tole autograph and a Kyle Davies game used jersey. So, I am more than happy to pay 10.00 for this beauty.

And finally, I have this card. It combines my two loves: Autographs and patches, all in one card. To get this 2005 Reflections Dual Patch Auto of Teixeira and Hank Blaylock, I had to trade some hockey autos, but its well worth it. This card has a prominent spot in my Teixeira collection.

If you guys want to see more of the collection, I'll post the links to the buckets here:http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y89/maniabeatle01/Mark%20Teixiera%20Collection/Autograph/

and here:http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y89/maniabeatle01/Mark%20Teixiera%20Collection/Game%20Used/

Let me know what you guys think.

I still have to upload all of the base and inserts. I'm not looking forward to that. Just thinking about uploading those, as well as my Yankees, Tino Martinez and Martin Brodeur collections hurts my tummy.

TTM Success

2011-04-21T12:48:00.003-04:00

It has been a crazy few days since I last posted. My apologies for the delay. With work and other commitments, its been hard to find time to post.

Anyway, today I show offf a TTM auto that was 2 years in the making. I sent this card out to Xavier Nady when he first signed with the Cubs in care of their spring training facility. I actually gave up on this card and was sent to try and make a trade for one when lo and behold, I find an envelope in my PO Box with an AZ postmark.

I'm very pleased to be able to add Nady's auto to my Yankee autograph collection. I have been working on a list of all the Yankees autographs in my collection and hope to be able to post a link sometime soon.

Other Recent Yankee Adds

2011-04-14T09:30:00.003-04:00

During the past week and a half, a few of my fellow team collectors sent me some packages of Yankees goodies. Here are some of the highlights included in the packages

Here's a 2003 Upper Deck Yankees Signature card of Ryne Duren. Duren was a fixture in the Yankees bullpen in the late 50's/early 60's. He was a 4 time All Star with the Yankees and led the American League in saves in 1958 with 20. He won a World Series with the Yankees in 1958. For you Heavy Metal fans, his nephew is Blackie Lawless, lead singer of WASP. Duren passed away this past January at age 81.

I also got an Upper Deck Piece of History Juan Miranda auto

And from Upper Deck Timeless, this sweet Jorge Posada game used jersey card with a pinstripe. When collecting Yankee game used cards, I always prefer the home swatches to have a pinstripe in it. Patches, especially Yankee patches, are pretty expensive. This is a low cost alternative to adding some color to the white swatches.

Last night, The Yankees beat the Orioles 7-4, backed by home runs from Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada. Mark Teixeira had 2 hits as well as Derek Jeter, who is now 65 hits away from 3,000. AJ Burnett pitched a good game, although he did allow a pair of home runs to Matt Weiters and Brian Roberts in the 7th. The bull pen trio of Dave Robertson, Rafael Soriano and Mariano Rivera finished the game.

Tonight, Phil Hughes (0-1 16.50 ERA) will try to get his season back on track as he opposes Jake Arrieta, who is 1-1 with a 8.68 ERA so far this season. Game time is 7pm at the Stadium.

Let's Go Yankees!

Tonights Yankees Starting Line Up

2011-04-13T16:57:00.003-04:00

If the game is played, here is the line up Chris Tillman will see: Gardner Lf Jeter SS Teixeira 1b ARod 3B Cano 2B Swisher Rf Posada DH Granderson CF Martin C -Arod is back in the line up tonight. Hopefully, the offense will wake up. -The Yankees called up Hector Noesi from Scranton to replace Luis Ayala, who is been placed on the 15 day DL Lets Go Yankees!

2011 Topps Heritage Break Part 2-Inserts and The "Hit"

2011-04-13T09:03:00.008-04:00

Yesterday, I showed off the base cards I pulled from a group case break of 2011 Topps Heritage. Today, I will show off the inserts and the one "hit" I got from the break Lets start with the New Age Cards Performers- CC SabathiaRobinson CanoAlex RodriguezThen and Now-Juan Marichal and CC Sabathia Sporting News All Star Robinson Cano. Don't ask me why, but I love these Sporting News All Star InsertsAmerican League Wins Leader Card. Love the creepy heads only card.Another of my favorite inserts are the Flashbacks. Here's The Real Single Season Home Run King, Roger Maris (I know I'm gonna get some flack over that remark)

The Chairman of The Board, Whitey Ford

My favorite all time Yankee (even though I never seen him play), Mickey Mantle

Here are the In Action cards

Derek Jeter

Mark Teixeira CC SabathiaThe Duo cards

Jeter and Cano

Teixeira and Arod

Next up are the Chrome cards. Here's one of one of my favorite current Yankees, Nick Swisher. I just love this guy's additude. He always seems to have a smile on his face. I really hope he has a good season and the Yankees resign him next year. This was one of Cashman's better trades.

Phil HughesCC SabathiaCC Sabathia Green chrome

Next up, is this insert set about the life and career of Babe Ruth. I like these cards. I especially like the first one here as it's almost exactly the same card Topps put out in the original set.

And here's the hit of the break, if you want to call it that. A Mickey Mantle card with an original 1962 coin enbedded into the card

It's cool. Would have rather had a cut signature or even a game used jersey card of his from that year. My friend who did the break told me that he saw one of these on ebay go for over 100.00. Pretty cool, if true. It's a unique add to my Yankees PC and I am lacking in Mantle stuff, so this will be a permanent add to the collection.

Overall, it was a fun break. I think I'm pretty close to having all the Yankee stuff that came out of this set. I'll go for any game used or autos via the ebay route. I would like to see a check list to see what I am missing though. I'll google for one later tonight.

Last night's Yankees game was rained out. No make up date has been set as of yet. The O's come back to the bronx a few more times during the season, so we could see a day/night doubleheader at some point. The pitchers from last night, AJ Burnett and Chris Tillman, will be starting tonight, 7pm game time. Let's Go Yankees!

2011 Topps Heritage Case Break part 1

2011-04-12T10:35:00.011-04:00

I was a part of a 2011 Topps Heritage case break in my Team collectors group. Of course, I got the Yankees. It was a pretty fun break. I am going to show off the cards I got, but break it into 2 parts. Today, I'll show off the base and SP's and tomorrow, inserts and any hits I got. Heritage is now my favorite product to bust. I love the throwback designs Topps uses each year and always look forward to seeing new pics of it before its release.

Here are the base and SP's

Mark Teixeira baseMark Teixeira SP. Good thing I got doubles for the Teixeira PC, which I'll show with other new adds later this week.Alex RodriguezNick SwisherRafael Soriano who, aside from one game, has looked great in that 8th inning role

Our DH, Jorge PosadaThe recently retired Andy PettitteEdwin Nunez rookie card. I still, for the life of me, cannot understand why Cashman refused to include this kid in the Cliff Lee deal, which ultimately broke off talks. For Lee, I would have given up Nunez and his brothers if he has any.New catcher, Russell Martin in his photoshopped best.The Sandman, Mariano RiveraJoba Chamberlin baseJoba Chamberlin SPThe Captain, Derek Jeter, who is 67 shy of 3,000 hitsPhil "what happened to my velocity" Hughes. I'm not worried about him. He will get back to where he was last season.Curtis GrandersonManager, Joe Girardi, sans braces.Brett Gardner. I still think he will be Crawford lite.CC Sabathia. Didn't have it against the Sox on Sunday night, but still kept the Yankees in the game. A Warrior.It's Cano, dontcha know?A.J Burnett. Hopefully, he will keep pitching well. Not just in April and May either

Tomorrow, I will show off the inserts and any hits I got. I need more binders and 9 pocket pages. I think it's time to think about buying those in bulk, lol.

Tonight, The Yankees start a 3 game set against the Orioles. AJ Burnett (2-0 4.09 ERA) goes up against Chris Tillman (0-0 3.38 ERA) Game starts at 7pm. Lets Go Yankees!

Started A Second Blog

2011-04-04T10:43:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to let you all know I started a second blog. It will be a Yankees only blog. I will try to update after every game with thoughts and scores and other happenings in the Yankees Universe. I will leave this blog up for the cards, autos, bobbleheads and such. If you can, go an check it out at your earliest. I'll be back later to update this with a proper post.

New York Yankees Sweet Spot Signatures

2011-03-28T11:08:00.006-04:00

Some of my very favorite autographs to collect were the Upper Deck Sweet Spot Signatures. One of the very best ideas Upper Deck ever had was to take a baseball, have it signed by a ballplayer, cut out the signature and put it on a card. Very collectable and looks great displayed. Unfortunately, Upper Deck, in the end of it's run, got greedy and made Sweet Spot a high end product and cut costs on the manufacturing for the Signature cards by using a synthetic baseball which didn't hold the autographs well. As a result, you see a lot of these cards with faded signatures. Because of that, I had stopped trying to collect the Yankees in this set. But I recently got hit with the bug again and I'm trying to get as many Yankees as I can again. I am working on a Yankees only set that Upper Deck put out back in 2003, which I will show at another time. Here are the ones I currently have in my collection.

Jose Contreras. Yankees out bid the Red Sox for him, which may or may not have resulted in Theo Epstein trashing his hotel furnature in a fit of anger. Contreras never panned out for the Yankees as he was very inconsitant during his time in New York. However, his signing with the Yankees gave them a new nickname courtisy of Red Sox President, Larry Lucchino; "The Evil Empire"

One of my favorite Sweet Spot Signature cards is this one of Yankees Hall of Famer, Whitey Ford. Played with the Yankees from 1950-1967. Won 236 games and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. Holds the Yankees all time record for wins as a Yankee.

"The Big Unit" Randy Johnson didn't have many signed cards as a Yankee, but had this Sweet Spot Signature card. I bought a lot of Yankee cards and this one was in the lot. Johnson pitched 2 seasons in the Bronx, winning 17 games in both years. While not a dissipointment, he wasn't the fireballing pitcher Yankee fans expected when he came over due to his back injuries.

Former Yankee Captain and current Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. Donnie Baseball has a few highly sought after Sweet Spot Signatures and after Derek Jeter, is probably the most popular Yankee. His Sweet Spot Signature cards often command a good price. I was lucky to get this at a steal for my PC. I am rooting for Mattingly to do a great job in Los Angeles.

Mike Mussina. One of the best Yankee free agent signings, Mussina has one Yankee Sweet Spot Signature card that I was able to grab for under 7.00 off ebay. Moose is a borderline hall of famer and I was surprised that I was able to get this card for so low. Mussina had a terrific Yankee career, retiring at the height of his career, winning 20 games in 2008. I think if he was a Yankee his entire career, he would have broken Ford's all time Yankees wins record.

Sorry about the picture on this one. This is a Sweet Spot Signature of former Yankees second baseman, Bobby Richardson. Richardson played on those great Yankee teams of the 50's and 60's. He won 5 gold glove awards, was an 8 time all star and won 3 world championships in 1958, 1961 and 1962. Always great to get the older players into the collection.

Finally, theres Javier Vasquez. This is one I have shown before. In two diffrent stints with the Yankees, Javier really didn't perform up to his capabilites. I feel he's better off in a smaller market where there isnt a lot of pressure to put up numbers. That's not a knock against Vasquez. He has shown that he can pitch and put up great numbers, just not in New York. Some people can play here, others can't.

After gazing over this collection over the weekend, I think I'm going to try and get the other Yankees that Sweet Spot made signatre cards of, if I can afford them. Then again, shopping for deals is my specialty.

Yankee IP Auto-Graig Nettles

2011-03-24T11:51:00.003-04:00

I was able to get Graig Nettles to sign this card at a Long Island card show at Hofstra University a few years back. I was very excited to meet Nettles because, growing up, he was my favorite Yankee. Unfortunately, he was the prime example of how disapointing it can be to meet your idols.

Graig Nettles was traded to the Yankees from the Cleveland Indians before the 1973 season. He was a main clog in those 1970 Yankee teams, appearing in the World Series 3 times and winning 2. He was considered one of the best defensive third baseman at that time. He also set an American League record for career home runs by a third baseman. His best season was in 1977 when he had 37 home runs, 107 RBI's, won the Gold Glove and won the World Series. He was traded to San Diego and appeared in one more World Series in 1984, losing to the Detriot Tigers. He retired in 1988 as a member of the Montreal Expos.

As a kid, his diving stops on ground balls thrilled me. Whenever I played baseball, I would always man third, my number was 9 and I would dive for ground balls, even if they were routine grounders. I remember being so upset when he was traded and rooted for San Diego in the World Series. I always wanted to meet him and when I found out he was appearing on Long Island, I jumped at the chance. My girl friend at the time lived in Brooklyn, so driving from her apt to Hofstra was not a problem.

I remember waiting on line, being real nervous too. I finally got to the front of the line and handed him my card. I told him how big a fan I was and how much he meant to my childhood. He looked at me and said, "Great, kid." and looked back down at the card. Signed it and passed it back to me and I was hurried away by the attendent sitting next to him.

Great, kid? That was all he could say to me? What a rip! I was so upset by it. My girl friend tried to cheer me up, but it was no use. I got the brush off from my favorite childhood ball player. Not even my favorite cheeseburger could cheer me up. Since then, I have soured on Nettles. I have met him twice after at diffrent functions and he was always the same crabby guy each time. Kinda stinks when you expect a person to be one way and you get something totally diffrent. I never heard any horror stories regarding Nettles, so it was a huge surprise to me. I had met a lot of players before him and they were all nice to me, so having your first bad experiance at a signing and getting it from your childhood idol really sucked.

Needless to say, I won't be going out of my way for Nettles anymore.

2008-09 Black Diamond Martin Brodeur Quad Jersey

2011-03-23T14:57:00.003-04:00

With yesterdays 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins, it seems like the Devils quest to make the postseason is pretty much dead. Unfortunately, the Devils horrific start was too much to over come. It's not that they're mathmatically eliminated just yet, but with about 9 games left and the Devils being 9 games behind Buffalo for the 8 playoff spot, they would have to win out right and hope for a lot of help from those in front of them to get in. It's going to take a miracle I think.

Broduer, dispite missing games due to injury, is having a solid season yet again. He is 21-23 with a 2.46 GAA and a save percentage of .902. He also has 5 shutout wins. In December, I was sure this would be his final season, but it looks like he will be back in net next year. That is good because he looks like he can play another year or two.

I managed to add this beauty to my Brodeur pc on Monday. It's an ebay win. Not numbered, but it looks great nonetheless. My Brodeur game used collection is growing and I look forward to add more to it soon.

What Should I Do?

2011-03-22T09:04:00.003-04:00

I gotta be honest with you all, I'm not a huge fan of how this blog looks. To me, it's pretty plain and not exciting. When I read some of the awesome blogs here, I see some of the best pages around. Pages like Wrigley Wax, Vin Scully Is My Home Boy, Dodgerbobble, Hoopography, just to name a few, all have these colorful, eye pleasing pages with some awesome banners topping their pages.

So, I ask you, how do you all do that? I'm not the most computer literate person in the world. I'm lucky I know where the power button is on most of these things. Plus I see some bloggers actually have lists of what's in there collections and what they are looking for. I wanna get in on that.

One of my "blogging goals" is to tighten up my page, make it look a lot better than the it does now. Maybe I offer a contest and give a nice prize to whom ever helps me give this page a much needed make over? Do I just go out and pay someone to do this?

What do you guys think? Any help would be much appreciated from everyone.

Thanks.

New Add to Yankees Auto Collection:Enos Slaughter

2011-03-21T14:37:00.002-04:00

I was finally able to add this HOF'er to my Yankees autograph collection, Enos Slaughter. Slaughter played 19 years in the majors, from 1938 to 1959. Although he spent the majority of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals, he had 2 stints with the Yankees from 1954 to 1955 and from 1956-1959. He also played with the Kansas City A's and finished up with the Milwaukee Braves.

Slaughter was a 10 time All Star and won 4 World Series championships, winning 2 with the Cardinals and 2 with the Yankees. He is best known for his "Mad Dash", scoring from first on Harry Walker's single during the 1946 World Series against the Red Sox. It turned out to be the winning run of the World Series that year. For his career, he batted .300, with 2,383 hits; 169 Home Runs and 1,304 RBI's. He might have gotten to 3,000 hits had he not missed 3 years due to his military obligations during World War II. His number 9 has been retired by the St. Louis Cardinals and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985 via the Veteran's Committee.

I checked this auto against other Slaughter autographs I seen on ebay, including some cuts and it looks like the real mccoy. I got this for under 5.00 dlvd. Very pleased to be able to cross off another Yankee off the autograph list.

Another new addition

2011-03-20T15:03:00.005-04:00

Well, It's been a while since I've been able to add 2 boobleheads to the collection in a weeks time, but thats what I was able to do this past week. First the Derek Jeter Bobble arrived, then I got this gem in the mail.This is a Woody booblehead doll, customized to him wearing Yankee colors. Anyone who collects bobbles knows that Disney released Woody and Buzz Lightyear bobbleheads wearing the colors of various baseball teams. Off the top of my head, I know that the San Fransisco Giants and the Chicago White Sox had Toy Story Bobbleheads released. I'm pretty sure the New York Mets had them as well. Not sure who else. I do know of one team that did not have them and that was the New York Yankees and I wanted to rectify that.

Enter my new friend Paul. He, like I am, is a member of a great bobblehead forum over at bobbleheaddolls51565.yuku.com/forum. If your a bobblehead collector like I am, I strongly urge you to join up (and tell them yankeesjetsfan sent you). He had originally made a Giants Woddy bobblehead. I let him know how good it came out and he dropped me a line letting me know he would be willing to make one for me, wearing Yankee colors. We negoiated a price and my Wody arrived yesterday.

I think Paul did a fantastic job with it. Lets take a closer look.

As you can see from the first picture, Woody is decked out in the Yankee road grays. Here's a picture of him from the back. Woody has his name on the back of the uni and is wearing a number 04. He also has a pull string, which helps him talk. Then again, if you've seen any of Toy Story Movies, you know that Woody really didn't need the pull string to talk.

Here's a view of Woody's cap, sporting the world famous interlocking NY of the New York Yankees

And finally, a view of the block on the base of the bobble, also sporting the interlocking NY.

I think Paul did a fantastic job of this customization and I'm very happy to add it to my Yankees bobblehead collection. Customizing bobbleheads are starting to become a hobby that a lot of collectors are trying their hand at. If you on youtube and run a search for slideball and SamuelYLam, you will see videos of some amazing work. I've been wanting to try my hand at converting the Peanuts bobbleheads that were given out by the Giants, Pirates and Angels, but it seems Samuel beat me to it. You can also check the bobble boards for some pics of other work as well.

I have been wanting to add more variety to my bobblehead collection. Although Disney has made Mickey, Goofy and Daffy Yankee bobbleheads, of yet I have been able to snag any of, they did not make any Toy Story, nor were there any Peanuts Yankee bobbleheads produced. As a fan of both, being able to customize these bobbles will be a fun way to add to the growing collection. Hopefully, my efforts will turn out as nice as Paul's Woody.

Thanks Paul.

New Bobblehead Addition

2011-03-18T12:37:00.002-04:00

I haven't been able to add a new bobblehead to the collection for a long time. Money's been tied up in other stuff and the little I do have is usually spent on cards.

While surfing through ebay, I came across this gem. I looked at the starting bid and it was pretty low. I bid on it and won it. for the price I paid, it was a deal.

This is a 2001 Derek Jeter bobblehead given away by the Staten Island Yankees. I usually see the bobble on the bay for about 35.00 and up. I was able to get this one for under 15.00 dlvd. That's because, and I'm guessing here, it didn't have the original box or ticket stub from the game. That stuff doesn't really matter to me as I dont ever intend on selling my bobblehead collection, which now stands at 51 diffrent pieces. Plus, I really don't have the room to keep the boxes, so I toss them.

I have another on it's way. I will post a blog once it's received.

Happy St. Patty's Day

2011-03-17T11:45:00.003-04:00

Wishing you and yours a very Happy and Safe St. Patrick's Day.

If your headed out to celebrate, please make sure you don't drink and drive. Have a designated driver handy. As James Dean once said, The life you save may be mine.

New Adds To Marty Brodeur Collection

2011-03-15T12:18:00.003-04:00

I recently made a few trades on Sports Card Forum for two Martin Brodeur cards to add to the growing PC. Didn't take much to add these beauties and I'm very happy to have them.

First up, is a In The Game game used Brodeur jersey card. It's my first In The Game game used card. In The Game is pretty hard to come by in the states, at least in NYC it is, so I have never busted this product. I could never understand why the cards come incased in the plastic loader. I'm gonna have to figure a way to store this in the box with the other Brodeurs.

Then I was able to trade for this 2010-11 SPx Winning Combos dual game used jersey card of Brodeur and Roberto Luongo. The card is not numbered, but it's still a pretty nice card. I had originally bid on this card on ebay and lost out at the last second, so to be able to trade for it was pretty cool.

As you can tell, I finally figured out how to use the focus on my Samsung Epic, so this pic is a lot clearer than the other. I might actually go back and re-shoot the pic of the ITG jersey card.

I have more Brodeurs coming in the upcoming days. If anyone has any Brodeurs they're looking to trade, drop me an email at yankeesjetsfan@gmail.com. Thanks.

Autographed Baseball:David Cone

2011-03-11T09:24:00.003-05:00

I love to meet sports stars. I love it even more if it's a free signing. Such was the case 2 years ago when former Yankees pitcher, David Cone made an appearance at a Home Depot in the South Bronx, not too far away from Yankee Stadium.

I had got there a little later than I wanted to. Of course, I over slept, so I rushed out of my apt and took the 4 train to 149th St and walked to the new Gateway Mall that just opened up right off the Major Deegan Highway. When I got there, the line was already out the door and inot the parking lot. My heart dropped and I was cursing my sleeping habbits. I still decided to get to the back of the line and try my luck anyway. Lucky for me, the line was moving, even though David hadn't arrived just yet.

Once I was in the store, I could see they had a table set up right next to the entrance, which meant the line wasnt as long as I originally thought it would be. Coney arrived not too long after and began to greet the fans and sign. As I got closer, store employees were handing out free baseballs with the Home Depot logo on the. When I got mine, I saw that the rawhide was a synthetic material and a signature would not hold up well over time. Luckly, I bought a Yankee Stadium Commeritive baseball I wanted Cone to sign for the Yankee Signed Wall I want to have for the future mancave. I glanced up and noticed I was next.

When I got to Cone, he greeted me with a smile and shook my hand. Most athletes are not the most gracious at these store events, but David was an exception. He went out of his way to make small talk with me and laughed when I told him he was the only Met I ever liked. I asked if he would sign the ball with his perfect game inscription and was more than happy to do so and asked if I wanted the free ball signed as well. Sure, why not. My cousin is a huge Yankees fan and would love the auto, so I got him to sign the ball, which I took to Seattle later that year and gave to him. David took a quick pic with me using my blackberry and I left with my new addition to the Yankees PC.

Looking at the ball on the train ride home, I was quite pleased at how it came out. Cone has a great signature and fit the inscription on the ball perfectly. My heart dropped when I looked at the picture, however. The store employee didnt use the auto focus I asked her to use and the pic came out fuzzy. The morale of the story, never let a store employee take a picture for you.

TTM Success 3/8/2011-Mike Emrick

2011-03-09T09:19:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I got another TTM success back. This time, it was from New Jersey Devils announcer, Mike Emrick. "Doc", is also NBC's number one hockey announcer, working their national games as well as the Winter Classic and Stanley Cup Finals. He also works games for Versus.

Emrick has been the Devils announcer twice. He was their first announcer back in the 1982-83 season, leaving soon after and returning to New Jersey after the 92-93 season. He has been an announcer for Fox, ESPN, TNT, CBS, as well as the Flyers and has worked the Olympics. He has won the National Cable Ace Award, has won local Emmy's, the Lester Patrick Throphy and was honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame with the Forster Hewitt Memorial Award back in 2008.

"Doc" signed my two customs in 2 weeks time, sent care of the New Jersey Devils in Red ink. Very pleased with the success. Emrick is so good at what he does, that I can't watch a hockey game and enjoy it unless he's calling the game. That's as good as a complement I can give any announcer.

IP Autograph: Jesse Barfield

2011-03-08T10:05:00.003-05:00

One of the things I'd like to start showing off in this blog are some of my autographs and tell the stories behind how I aquired them. I love autographs and one of my goals is to try and get as many autos of players who played for the Yankees, Devils, Knicks and Jets. One of the main requirements I do have is that the player must be pictured in the uniform of the team I collect. I do realize it might be hard to do that as the player might have played only a handful of games and not had a card made in that particular uni. Thankfully, I can find a pic on the internet, use photoshop and make a quick custom. Good way to build the collection.

Today, I have this auto from Jesse Barfield to show off. When Barfield came to the Yankees, his offensive skills were diminishing. His best season as a Yankee was in 1990 when, after being traded for Al Leiter (a trade that still doesn't sit well with me), hit 25 home runs.

To me, what defined his brief Yankee career (he retired in 1992), was a play he made against the Indians that summer. I was at the game, sitting on the 3rd base side when the Indians hitter, who's name escapes me, hit a screamer past a diving Mattingly toward rf, geting an easy double. The hitter, feeling a bit froggy decided to go for three, especially after seeing Barfield slip and fall on the grass. Barfield, from his knees, gunned the ball to 3rd and got the runner out by a mile. His bat might have slowed, but the arm still had a few bullets left.

I was able to get this card signed by Barfield outside Yankee Stadium in Sept of '90, I think. Could have been '91, not too sure. The card was given out by the Yankees in a set made by Score. Barfield was a real nice guy and still is. I recently saw him at a card show in Westchester. He was passing me by and I put up my hand and he gave me a high five. Still has some strength cause it hurt like hell as well.

Nice to see some players still appreciate their fans.

First Spring Training TTM Recieved

2011-03-07T14:38:00.003-05:00

I finally got back a spring training ttm the other day and it was from Yankees center fielder, Curtis Granderson. I had originally sent him a 2010 Topps Heritage and a custom Yankee Stadium card and they were returned, unsigned. But he did send this card of his own, signed in black sharpie. After consulting with other ttm hounds on sportscardforum.com, it was deemed that this is a legit auto.

The total days it took to recieve back was 10 days. Thanks Curtis for allowing me to add your autograph to my growing Yankees autograph collection.

Post Number 100, A Ruthian Achievement

2011-03-03T09:19:00.004-05:00

This post marks my 100th post here. It took me a bit longer than I thought it would, but nonetheless, here I am. I'd like to take this time to thank those who read, comment and follow this blog. As much as I enjoy blogging, its you guy who inspire me to continue with this blog through your own terrific blogs and encouraging comments. I have been blessed to have gotten some positive feedback from some very talented writers here and I can only hope that the next 100 posts here will keep you all coming back to read it.

So, for my 100th post, I wanted to share an autograph that is the centerpiece of my autograph collection. For this story, I have to take you back a few years to 2007. I went to the Westchester Card Show. I had gotten a pretty good return on my taxes and was looking to spend. I believe that day, Mike Myers (the pitcher, not the actor or serial killer) and Scott Proctor were signing. I needed both for my Yankee baseball collection, so I decided to get them. While perusing the tables, I noticed a dealer selling 2005 Upper Deck Baseball tins for 25.00 a piece. I bought two, hoping for some Yankee legends to add to the PC. I walked to the back of the line and waited for the signing to begin. While there, I decided to open the tins. Now, when I go to a card show and buy any boxes, I usually wait till I get home in case of a huge pull. I wouldn't want to lose it during the day.

I open the first tin and lo and behold, I get a Yogi Berra autographed card. Sweet! Always nice to get a Yogi auto. I also pulled a Brooks Robinson auto, which was weird as I thought it was one hit per tin. The second tin produced nothing. Nice Babe Ruth insert though, me being the insert loving SOB that I am. Oh well, I thought. I hit with two autos on the first tin, I guess I can't complain. I glanced over the cards from the second tin again, passing the Ruth insert again when it it me. Why is there a facsmile auto on it? I went back and looked closer at it and realized something. This was no insert. It dawned on me that I just hit the pull of a lifetime. A 1/1 Babe Ruth cut autograph. Normally, I like to think I do act with a bit of decorum, but I allowed myself a loud HOLY S#!t!!! People looked at me like I was a weirdo. Then someone glanced over my shoulder and yelled out "this guy just pulled a Ruth auto!" People on the line offered their congradulations and went about their business.

As side from letting a father and son look and hold the card, I jumped off the line and bought a magnetic protector and put the card away. This baby was going to be kept in the most prestine condition I could keep it in. As soon as I got home, I took a picture of it and put it away in the family safe deposit box where it still resides.

I have had offers for the card, but I declined all of them. Some of my friends have told me to sell as it would help me financially, but no. As a Yankee collector, I know I would never be able to afford another at a later date and plus my Yankees collection looks really awesome with it in there. I guess I would sell it later if I need the money for retirement or if I ever kids and need to put one through college. But if I had my choice, that baby will be buried with me.

So, for the curious, I show you, my prized possessionThis card rules all others that came before it. Long live the cut!

2010-11 SPx Winning Trios Devils Triple Jersey #'ed to 50

2011-03-02T10:36:00.004-05:00

Been a while since I last posted. Been working extra hours and taking care of some personal stuff. A lot has happened since I last posted. Knicks getting Carmelo Anthony (Yey) and the baseball world losing Duke Snider (Boo). Heck, I only sent out 10 Spring Training autograph requests this year, down from the 20-30 I usually get out. It's March now and lately the only thing that's been on my mind is baseball and my beloved New York Yankees. That's why I'm showing off a hockey card.

Got this beauty in a trade on sportscardforum.com. It's a 2010-2011 SPx Winning Trios triple game used jersey card of Martin Brodeur, Patrik Elias and former Devils Captain Jamie Langenbrunner. The card is numbered to 50 and I'm pleased to be able to added to my Martin Brodeur PC.

I have a few other trades hopefully coming back soon. For my 100th post, I will show off my prized possession.

Al Toon TTM

2011-02-18T14:28:00.003-05:00

I finally have an Al Toon auto in my Jets collection. And it only took me about 2 years to get it back.

I sent Mr.Toon a Upper Deck Legends football card and a custom generic Jets card for him to sign and promptly forgot all about it, so when I recieved them back, I was surprised. Still doesn't beat my all time record of 4 years to get Ben Oglive back.

Could be worse. Could have been like what Ben Sheets did when he took 2 years to return my card, unsigned.

Al Toon played for the Jets from 1985 to 1992. He was drafted by New York in the first round, 10th overall, of the 1985 NFL Draft out of Wisconsin. He was a 3 time Pro Bowl and 3 time All Pro player who caught for 6,605 yards and scored 31 touchdowns in his NFL career. Unfortunately, he had to retire at the age of 29 years old due to suffering at least 9 concussions. He suffred from Post concussion syndrome after his NFL career was done, but recovered enough where he was able to participate in a triathlon in 2004. I understand he serves on the Board of Directors for the Packers these days.

Another Jet is crossed off the list. I am hoping I can cross another off within a few days.

New Teixeira Adds

2011-02-17T16:10:00.004-05:00

I got in a couple of Teixeira cards for my PC this week. One is an ebay purchase, the other was from a trade.

This is the ebay purchase. A 2010 Topps Peak Performance Game Used Jersey card with pinstripe. Love it! I love it when I can find a gu jsy card with the pinstripe on it almost as much as finding one with a piece of patch.

This next card was a trade I made over at tradingcardcentral.com. It was a trade that required cash and a trade of an autographed Bob Gibson card. Worth the trade.

2005 Reflections Mark Teixeira/Hank Blaylock Dual Patch/Auto card numbered to 25

This card is absolutely sick looking in person. It is definately the centerpiece of my Teixeira PC until I can afford a Game Used bat of his. (Are you listening Steiner Sports?)

I also added some base to the PC and the collection is growing. I just have to update the have list I have on the bottom of this page.

Hope to add more shortly.

I Knew This Was Coming

2011-02-15T12:10:00.002-05:00

So, I'm so happy that spring training finally started. I have new Teixeira cards to show off, but what do I see in todays paper?

Source says CC Sabathia may opt out of his contract at the end of the season.

I can't say I'm at all shocked. I kind of figured that once Cliff Lee got his money from the Phillies that CC would look at the 90 plus million he was still owed for the next 5 years and think it was not enough.

I hate these opt out clauses. Arod burned the Yankees a few years back with it and CC is poised to do the same. I understand why Brian Cashman gave it to Sabathia during negotiations. He was worried that the Angels would go hard after CC once Teixeira spurned them. I'm also sure he knew this would ultimately happen once he offered the clause, so I'm sure he has a plan in case it actually comes to a reality.

I don't think that CC is feeling the pull of playing near his California roots. I think this is just a money issue. That being the case, he should get the deal he wants. CC is 40-15 3.27 ERA in 2 years in New York. He's the unquestioned ace of the Yankees staff. Losing him would be a nightmare. I'm sure the Steinbrenners and Cashman will give him what he wants to stay. Plus, he's lost 25lbs in the off season, nixing his beloved Capn' Crunch cereal in an effort to lengthen his career.

All n all, I don't see him leaving. Just gonna have pockets full of green.

Upcoming Yankee McFarlanes

2011-02-10T13:50:00.008-05:00

I love these figures. I have a good sized collection of them. I taught I had most until I saw the check list on spawn.com and saw I still needed quite a bit of them. I'm missing the more recent figures and some of the older ones. I hope I can catch up on those during the year.

McFarlane released pics of the upcoming MLB Series 27 and Cooperstown Series 8 and I gotta say, I'm drooling over my keyboard seeing these pics.

Here is a pic of the Derek Jeter from series 27. To me, it's the best Jeter McFarlane has put out

What a great looking figure. Captures him in his classic Jeter jump and throw in the hole pose.

From Cooperstown Series 8

Lou Gehrig

Not as nice as his first figure, but pretty cool nonetheless

Catfish Hunter

He had a figure of him in a Yankee uni as a variant to the first Catfish fig McFarlane put out. Now, it's an official figure.

Rickey Henderson

Not too crazy about this one only because they used the wrong pose, in my opinion. I feel they should have gone with him leading off first base or sliding into second. This figure is also being released in an Oakland A's uni. I'm hoping this one is not hard to find.

I cannot wait till they are released. I will be spending some greenbacks on them.

2011 Trenton Thunder Bobbleheads Promotions

2011-02-09T13:43:00.003-05:00

The Trenton Thunder has released their promotions schedule for 2011 and, yes Virginia, there are bobbleheads being given away:

Fri April 29th-Robinson Cano

Fri May 13th-Phil Hughes

Fri July 15th-Andy Pettitte Home uni

Fri July 29th-Andy Pettitte Road uni

Fri Aug 19th-Derek Jeter Thunder Home uni

Fri Aug 26th-TBA

I can only assume that the Cano and Hughes will be in Thunder uni's as well. I only have one Trenton Thunder bobble and it's a Hideki Matusi in a Yankees Cap and Thunder uni

I have never been to a Thunder game and have wanted to go to one. Trenton is about an hour and a half away from me by NJ Transit. I probably would have to take off work the days I do want to go. I'm sure the crowds are crazy for the bobbles and will be packed early.

As a season ticket holder with the Staten Island Yankees, I had wondered why they don't have give a ways like this. The Brooklyn Cyclones have tons of give a ways and sell out every game, promotion or not. I spoke with the head of Marketing for the SI Yanks and was told that they did want to give away a bobble head to the season ticket holders, but would have had to raise the prices of the plan in order to do so. That idea was vetoed by the ticket holders. What's baffling to me is, as a ticket holder, I was never asked. Now to keep costs, they eliminated the second gift they give out and kept the cap, which I never wear anyway because it's cheaply made.

I'm thinking I may be at some Thunder games this season. I love watching the young kids play anyways and the bobble heads are a plus. I'll be looking at the Robinson Cano give a way as my first potential game.

I'll post pics of the bobbles as they become available

Does Your Better Half Understand The Obsession?

2011-02-08T22:39:00.003-05:00

So, I'm sure we all have experienced this. You date someone and everything is going great until the game starts. Usually, your significant other will leave the room and leave you to watch the game. If they stay and watch with you, then you know you have someone special. One, who should be treated very well for tolerating your screams of joy when your teams win, or you throwing your can of Budweiser and ruining the carpet. But what about your other obsession?

That's right, I'm talking about the sports memorabilia collecting. The cards in boxes, the autographs, the McFarlanes or Starting Lineups you've had since 1990, still in their original packaging, or the walls of signed photos that take up valuable real estate. Space where pics of her parents can go. Or how about those long hours you spend on a line, getting an autograph for your PC? Yes, I am going somewhere with this.

I had a rather interesting conversation a while back and it stuck in my head ever since. I used to work with this young lady a while back. One day, at the company Christmas party, the table I sat at got around to discussing what we do in our spare time. I mentioned that I am a collector of sports memorabilia, with a concentration on New York Yankees. The aforementioned young lady looked up and said, I would never let my boyfriend collect that junk.

(Here's where I turn into the Miz) Really? Really?

Now, I know not all women are like this. I have seen couples where both are collectors and are very happy together, or at the very least tolerant toward one another as far as their personal interests go. But what about the ones who aren't? Do they have to sneak around to collect or do they just give it up? Honestly, I can't ever imagine stopping. I love being a collector. Anyone I wind up with would have to accept it if they truly love me and want to see me happy. Naturally, I do have friends that can't understand why I love buying sports cards or anything that bears my team's logo. They'd rather use their money for other recreational activities.

So, I hope everyone who does have a collection of some sort has a special someone who understands and supports the habbit. Maybe even have a collection of their own or share in yours. Ether way, As long as they're understanding, that's all you can ask.

Good Bye Andy. Thanks For The Memories

2011-02-06T00:33:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, Andy Pettitte officially announced his retirement at a press confrence at Yankee Stadium. Yankees manager Joe Girardi, Yankees GM Brian Cashman and former Yankees CF Bernie Williams were in attendence to Pettitte's farwell address to the media. In his press confrence, Pettitte admitted that he was woring toward coming back for the 2011 season, but after some soul searching, decided he didn't have the hunge to compete and that his wanting to be with his family outweighted his desire to come back for another season.

So after a 15 year career, in which he won 240 games, was a 3 time all star, a 5 time world series winner and the all time winningest post season pitcher, Pettitte hangs up his cleats. I can't say that surprises me. I would have figured if he was coming back, he would have said so after the Yankees failed to land Cliff Lee. Instead, Pettitte never said a word and lingered before finally letting the world know. I don't begrudge a man for wanting to be with his family. Plus, Andy was as much a Yankee as Derek Jeter is in the years Pettitte played here, save for three seasons as a Astro. I can tell you one thing, Pettitte will be missed. After CC and Hughes, the rotation is an uncertainty. AJ Burnett needs to get his head on straight, a few rookies will be vying for the 4th and 5th spots in the rotation along side Freddie Colon, Bartolo Colon and possibly Mark Prior. Not exactly a rotation I would want to take into war against the likes of Boston, Tampa, Detroit, Texas and Minnesota. Baltimore will be improved, Seattle may get better and Oakland is worth keeping an eye on. The Yankees are not guarenteed a playoff spot and will have to make a trade of some sort to improve the rotation to contend.

In honor of Pettitte, I give you two of my favorite Pettitte cards in my Yankees collection:

1996 Leaf Certified Andy Pettitte on card autograph

2008 Upper Deck Game Jersey gu jersey card.

Good bye Andy. Your will be missed

Nick Swisher Signed Baseball

2011-01-31T15:25:00.004-05:00

One of the things I want to do this upcoming season is add more autographed baseballs to my Yankees collection. I would love to have a "Yankees Wall" of nothing but signed balls in my future man cave. I say future because where I live I can't have one. So, everything I have is stored away in those huge rubbermaid containers until the day I can proudly display my treasures. For now, though, I will show off what I have (and any future additions) on the blog.

I try to get balls signed at either free signings, ball parks or TTM. At most signings, baseballs are just too expensive, starting at 30 bucks and up. Since I'm on a strict budget for the time being, I will snoop for cheaper or free alternatives.

About almost two years ago, Nick Swisher apperared at the AT&T Store at the Empire State Building in Manhattan for a free signing. I decided to take the day off from work and head on over. Unfortunately, due to subway issues, I arrived late and there was a long line ahead of me. I was outside when I got on line. Lucky for me, AT&T personnel close off the line about 2 people behind me, so that pretty much guarenteed me an auto.

Once inside, the line moved pretty quick. There was a strict one auto per person and you could get your picture taken with your camera with Nick. While on the line, I also entered a contest with the local radio station, Z-100, for Yankees tickets. Not a huge fan of top 40 radio (give me rock music, alternative and new wave anyday), but for Yankees tickets, I would have entered in at a rap station.

Finally, after about a half an hour, I got to meet Nick. I had a baseball for him and he signed right on the sweet spot. I asked him how he liked playing at the then new ballpark and he replied, enthusisaticlly, he loved it and would love to play out his whole career at Yankee Stadium. I got my picture taken with Swish (Horns of course) and shook his hand and left with my new possession.

I was feeling pretty good about meeting Nick when I heard my name being called out. I loudly responded and a gentlemen came up to me informing me I was the winner of the Z-100 contest for tickets to Old Timers Day. Thrillsville! Sure, I would be up on top of the right field upper deck, but who cares, I was at the very first Old Timers Day at the new ball park.

What a great day.

Patrik Elias-All Star

2011-01-30T14:26:00.004-05:00

Today at 4pm, the NHL All Star Game will be held in RBC Center, home to the Carolina Hurricanes. This year, my favorite hockey team, the New Jersey Devils, will be represented by the franchises all time points leader, Patrik Elias. At the half way point in the season, Elias has been one of New Jersey's bright spots in an otherwise dismal season. Elias has scored 13 goals with 24 assists, good for 37 points. He leads the team in total points, assists and game winning goals with 4.

Elias was drafted in the second round (51st overrall) by the Devils in the 1994 NHL Draft. He was called up to the Devils during the 96-97 season and finished that season with 2 goals and 3 assists in 17 games played. He went back down for 3 games in Albany before being called back to New Jersey for good. During his career, he's been a part of top scoring lines like the A Line of Elias, Jason Arnott and Petr Sykora and the EGG Line of Elias, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta. He holds the NHL record for most overtime goals in a season with 4 and holds just about every Devils scoring record you can think of. He has also won 2 Stanley Cups, assisting on the Cup winning goal in 2000

The above card is from my personal collection. Its a 97-98 Be A Player Autograph from his rookie year. I have a small Elias collection with a few other autographs, a couple game used cards and a game used stick I picked up from the Devils Draft Party a couple years back. He is always a player I have considered collecting as he is not expenisve. He has always been a good player for the Devils and I hope he decides to retire as a Devil. I have no doubt his number will hang from the rafters of the Purdential Center after he retires.

2010-2011 Artifacts Brodeur, Elias, Parise Triple Patch

2011-01-28T23:12:00.003-05:00

I recently added this goergous card to my Martin Brodeur PC. It's a 10-11 Artifacts Tundra Trios Triple Patch card of Marty Broduer, Patrick Elias and Zach Parise. The card is # 11/15.

I aquired this card through a trade on a site I frequent called Trading Card Central. I have been a member for years and it has some real nice people on it. The gentleman I got this from actually offered it up to me. There were a couple of card he was intrested in that I no longer had. He finally agreed to trade it for my 08/09 Ice Evgeni Malkin Autographed swatch card I had. At first, I was doubting the trade. I was actually hpoing to hold on to the Malkin for a Brodeur auto, but once I saw the card in person all my doubts erased and I'm very pleased to have it. I never would have been able to afford it if I had to buy it off ebay or something.

I have another Brodeur on it's way in. Not nearly as nice as this one, but still a pretty cool card to add to my growing Brodeur PC.

New Have List Added

2011-01-28T00:52:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to post up a quick blog to bring your attention to a new page I have at the bottom of my blog. I posted my Mark Teixeira Have List. I'm always looking for trades to add to the Teixeira PC. At your leisure, please peruse it and if there is anything you might have that I need, please give me a shout and maybe we can work something out.

It took me all evening (save a half an hour at 11:30pm to watch Batman on HUB) to type up the list and then another 15 minutes for me to figure out who the heck I managed to put up the Broduer Have List before. That reminds me, I need to update that list too. Between work, gym and life, been a bit too busy to do that.

Yawn, gonna hit the sack. Good night everyone.

An Open Letter To The New York Jets

2011-01-23T00:02:00.004-05:00

Dear New York Jets,

With your AFC Championship game just hours away, I felt compelled to write. I just wanted to find some way to convey how excited I am and what this game to myself, the fans of this team and most importantly, this franchise. A franchise that was once a laughingstock, is now one game from the Super Bowl.

I have been a Jets fan since 1980. My earliest memories of the Jets is watching Richard Todd toss touchdown passes to Wesley Walker and Joe Klecko terrorize the opposition at the old She Stadium. Freeman McNeal shredding defenses and the Sack Exchange bringing down the QB. As fond as those childhood memories are, I also can say in the 30 years I have been a fan, I have seen anything that can happen, happen. From AJ Duhe and the 1983 AFC Championship game against Miami, dubbed the Mud Bowl because Miami didn't cover the field during days of pouring rain, to the 1986 AFC Divisional playoff game against Cleveland where a late hit on Bernie Kosar by Mark Gastineau on a 3rd and long allowed the Browns to drive down, tie the game in regulation and then win the game in overtime. To Dan Marino's fake spike to John Elway and Denver beating the Jets in the 1999 AFC Championship Game. To Bill Belicheck resigning after 2 days as Jets head coach to last year's loss to the Colts in the AFC Championship game. What I have not seen in my lifetime is the Jets in the Super Bowl. Let's face it, New York City still belongs to the New York Football Giants. Especially after they pulled off a shocking win over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Yet, this city is in a frenzy over the Jets for the first time since probably 1969 when Broadway Joe won Super Bowl III. You guys can own this city if you win two more games. Everyone is wearing Jets cap, stores are hanging Let's Go Jets signs in their windows and Mark Sanchez has surpassed Derek Jeter as NY's resident dream boat. It's a great time to be a Jet fan. Plus, no one likes you guys. They say you talk too much. Who cares?? I'm glad to see some swagger in this franchise. For too long all I have seen are Jets players with their heads hanging down after a heartbreaking loss. Since Rex Ryan has taken over, there has been no taking a backseat to anyone, no more "Same Old Jets". This team has been to the AFC Championship game for the past two seasons, no Jets team can say that. Now is time to take that next step. This team can do it. This team is good enough to be in Dallas, playing for the Lombardi Trophy.

So, as I rest my weary head tonight, I will say my prayers and include a special prayer for the Jets. No one expected you to be in Pittsburgh and no one expects you to be representing the AFC in the Super Bowl. You have been proving the critics wrong so far. A win tomorrow would be a swift kick in the rear to all those nay sayers. Tomorrow night, I want my facebook status to read "Let's have a F'ing Snack, The Jets are going to the Super Bowl". Make it happen.

Signed,

Long Time Jets Fan

2010 Mark Teixeira Cards

2011-01-19T14:29:00.007-05:00

With The 2011 baseball cards set to be realised within the next month, I wanted to take a sec and reflect on the 2010 Mark Teixeira cards I was able to add to my Teixeira PC during the past year. The collection stands currently at 222 cards and I'm anxiously waiting for the new releases so I can add more to the growing collection.

Here are the cards I bought, traded, begged, pleaded and cajoled for in 2010:

Topps

Topps Finest base

Topps Legandary Lineage Teixeira/Gehrig insert

This was an insert I picked up at a card show for a penny. Love that price

Topps Peak Performance

Allen & Ginter base

Topps 206 base

Bowman base

Topps 206 Gold Border Paraell

Topps Attax

Allen & Ginter This Day In History Insert. Teixeira's bithday is April 11th, same as mine.

Topps 206 mini

Topps Legandary Lineage Teixeira/Mantle

Topps Heritage All Star

Topps National Chicle base

Topps Opening Day Toppstown card

Topps 206 base 2

Topps base

Topps Heritage

Topps Turkey Red insert

League Leader cards

Now for the Upper Deck cards. Bear in mind there wasn't much due to UD losing the MLB license:

Pure Heat insert

Upper Deck base

Biography inserts

Obviously, this is not all the Teixeira cards that were released in 2010. I am still working on getting to as complete as possible. I would most likely have to pass up the high dollar cards, but that's fine as long as I'm happy with my collection.

I'm sorry for the cruddy pics. I really need to get a new camera or buy a scanner.

I will also be working on getting my Teixeira have list on here. I'm always looking for Teixeira cards, GU, autos, posters, bobbles, figures, etc.

Bring on 2011 Topps!

Yanks Reel In Soriano

2011-01-14T16:19:00.003-05:00

Yanks finally pull the trigger on a deal which brings former Rays closer, Rafael Soriano, to the Bronx on a 3 year, 35 million dollar contract. He will have an average salary of $11.67 million per year and he can opt out of the contract after each of the first 2 years of the deal.

The plan is for Soriano to be the primary set up guy and then take over for Mariano Rivera once his current contract expires. Rivera just re-upped with the Yankees for 2 more years this past off season. This signing for the Yankees seems to be a good one as he can become the closer in 2 years, if he decides to stay in New York.

I personally think it's a good move for the Yankees. Soriano went 3-2 last season with a 1.73 ERA with an AL leading 45 saves. He also had 57 strikeouts in 62 1/3 innings and posted a WHIP of .802. With Rivera, Soriano, Joba Chamberlin, David Robertson and Boone Logan, the Yankees could potientally have one of the best pens in baseball. It reminds me of the 1996 Yankees, with Rivera, Jeff Nelson, Graham Lloyd, David Weathers and John Wettland, if the Yankees had the lead after 6, the game was over. I think that is the plan Yankees GM Brian Cashman is looking for. To recreate "The Formula, as Former Yankees manager Joe Torre called it then.

Right now, all signs are pointing toward Andy Pettitte retiring which would leave the Yankees with a thin starting rotation. If the Yankees can have a pen that they can give a lead to after 6 innings, that would help the alot. There doesn't seem to be anything intresting, starting wise, that would help fill the void Pettitte would leave behind, even if the Yankees pick up Justin Duchscherer, which is the rumored next pick up for the Yankees. A strong pen can keep a lead for the Yankees or hold team down for the Yankees to try and come from behind to win a game.

The next couple of months will be very intresting....

My Three Favorite Signed Mini Helmets

2011-01-09T00:13:00.003-05:00

A great game by the Jets.. well, almost. Yeah, they eeked out the win by 2 points over The Colts, but Mark Sanchez drove me absolutely nuts in this game. Over throwing, under throwing recievers, yet when it counted he made the most of his throws. None was more improtant than the throw to Braylon Edwards with under a minute left in the game to give Nick Folk better field position to kick the game winning field goal.

Loved the ground and pound game by LT and Shonne Greene and the defense made the stops when they needed to. Now the Jets play Tom Brady and the New England Patriots next Sat @ 4:30. Not going to be an easy game, especially on the road. If the Jets win this game, then I will be convinced they are Super Bowl bound.

To celebrate tonight's victory, I will show off my three favorite signed IP mini helmets:

Don Maynard-I got this throw back signed by Maynard a few years back at the Long Island Sports Card Show at Hofstra University. Nice guy,but didn't really say much. Still, it was an honor to meet the greatest wide out in Jets history.

Curtis Martin-Remember when I said I didn't get Martin to sign my Jets football when Iwent to training camp? This is why. I managed to get him on this mini helmet. After practice, he ran in from the field and started signing by the stands. I was the last one he signed for. The only bad thing was there was this guy behind me that kept pushing me to get to Martin. There was two small kids in front of me and because of this guy, I kept practically falling on them. I told him to quit it cause of the kids. He actually told me he didnt care about the kids. C-Mart came over and the started to sign for the kids. He actually tried to cut in front of them. I couldnt take the guy's rudeness anymore and put myself in his way so he couldnt get to cut in front of the kids. Martin saw that and said thanks, signed my mini helmet and ran off. The guy behind me was livid and actually followed me out, threatening to kick my butt. Just when I thought I would have to fight this guy,the kids dad showed up. This dude was about 6'6'' and stacked. He was watching froma few rows back and scared the dickens out of this guy without saying a word. The guy ran off and the kids dad wanted to thank me for looking out for his kids. To me, kids come first in this hobby. They are our future and really, I love seeing the smile on a kids face when they meet their favorite athletes for a few seconds. I always try to let a kid go in front of me at a sporting event and if I don't get the auto, then it wasn't meant to be.

Joe Namath-A couple of years back, Namath did a free signing at a Sprint Store in Manhattan. Very rare to see Namath at all anymore much less a free signing. I made sure I took the day off for that one. Funny thing was, practically no one showed up. They were letting people come back for 2nds. I wish I bought a football or jersey to have him sign. Oh well, I'm just glad I got to meet Mr. Jet. I did ask him inscribe Super Bowl III MVP,but he said he couldn't as his older brother would beat the s*&# out of him as he isn't the MVP of his house. Okkkkkkk. I guess that was code for "Steiner Sports has me under contract and I can't inscribe that". Oh well, I'mjust thrilled to have his autograph in my mini helmet collection without having to shell out $400.00 at a convention.

I do like getting mini helmets signed. I think they are a great way to build a football autograph collection. Plus, they don't take up as much room as footballs do. Hopefully, when I do get a man cave, I'll have built the collection and will be able to display them prominatly.

J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS!

2005 New York Jets Team Signed Ball

2011-01-07T14:11:00.004-05:00

One of my pride and joys of my New York Jets collection is this team signed ball, although I would hesitate to call it team signed as it's not the complete team. There is no Chad Pennington or Curtis Martin (There is a reason why there is no Martin on here, which I will explain tomorrow). No Wayne Chrebet or Lavernus Coles. No Herm Edwards or Shaun Ellis. Dispite the lack of bigger stars, there are 27 signatures on this ball and I'm very pleased to have it.

I went to Jets training camp in the summer of 2005, when the team was in Hofstra on Long Island. It was my first Jets training camp and I have not been to another since they moved their camps upstate to Cortland. It was the first 2 days of camp, so you can imagine who crowded it was. I was able to pick up this ball at the tent Modells put up and it came with a marker. Not knowing any better, I used the pen instead of a sharpie. At times the pen faded while the player was signing it..

Off the top of my head, I can remember getting signatures of players such as Jay Fiedler, Kevin Mawae, Mike Nugent, Kerry Rhodes, Justin McCareins, Chris Baker, Jehrico Cotchery, Brooks Bollinger, Bryan Thomas, Victor Hobson, Terry Bradway and Mike Tannenbaum on the ball. There are others, but I just don't remember who else signed it. I tried to keep a cheat sheet of who signed, but in the rush of getting signatures, I forgot to keep tabs at times.

I had a lot of fun going to training camp and would love to go back again. The Jets have a beautiful training facility in Florham Park, NJ. I'm not sure why they just don't have camp there. I'm sure Rexy has his reasons. Maybe it's too close to the nightlife of NYC and he doesn't want his players distracted? Anyway, until I can get a car, I will not be making the trip to Cortland for training camp.

Also, with these white pannel balls, I have heard that the signatures will eventually yellow or fade. I hope not. I have had the ball for 5 years and so far, the ball looks as good as it did the day I got the autographs. But next time, I'll just get an official ball and a paint pen. Or maybe a regulation sized helmet.

J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS!!

Chad Pennigton Game Used Helmet Card

2011-01-04T09:28:00.007-05:00

Chad Pennington was the Jets QB from 2000-2007 before he was let go in favor of Brett Farve. He was a first round draft pick, 18th overall, taken out of Marshall University by then Jets GM Bill Parcells. He took over the position from Vinny Testeverde after the fifth game of the 2002 season, when the Jets were 1-4 and led them to a 9-7 record and the AFC Eastern Division title. Dispite injuries that plagued him throughout his career, he managed to lead the Jets to the playoffs 3 times, including a 41-0 thumping of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2002 Divisional Round. His lack of arm strength was always an issue, but when he was healthy, he found ways to beat you. An incredibly smart football player, he was a finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship, he is the NFL's all time leader in completion percentage with 66.1%. I truly believe, had he stayed healthy, he could have lead the Jets to the Super Bowl. He's going to be a hell of a coach one day, if he goes that route.

I used to collect Pennington. I have autographed cards, game used cards, base, inserts and rookie cards. Out of all the cards I own of his, I think this one is my favorite. It's a game used helmet card from Leaf Limited. I believe it's from 2005. What I love about this card is that the T and the S from the Jets emblem on the helmet is so prominent. I saw it at the Westchester County Sports Card Show in White Plains, NY one year. I asked the dealer how much it was, with trepidation as I figured he would say it was a 50.00 card. To my surprise, he said it was 10.00. I couldn't get my wallet opened fast enough and it now sits proudly in my Jets collection.

I have been thinking about re-starting the Pennington collection. I really don't collect any Jets players right now. None of the players we have now are ones I follow with interest. The main reason I stopped collecting Pennington was because he went to Miami. Miami is a team I pretty much despise and I just couldn't see myself collecting any cards of Pennington in a Dolphins uni. If I do resume, it will only be of his Jets years. That's how I choose to remember him.

J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS!

2009 Leaf Certified Ronnie Lott Game Used Jersey Card

2011-01-03T09:17:00.005-05:00

Although I really don't mention them too much, I am a huge NY Jets fan. Have been since 1980. Anyone who follows the Jets knows that just making the postseason is usually cause for celebration in it's self. Sure, it's not like we haven't been to the playoffs before, but it usually ends in defeat for us. Sometimes in stunning fashion. From AJ Deuhe intercepting Richard Todd in the 1982 AFC Championship Game, dubbed the Mud Bowl to Mark Gastineau's late hit on Bernie Kosar in the 1986 AFC Divisional game to the more recent flops, like letting John Elway back in the game in the 1998 AFC Championship Game to Doug Brien missing field goals against Pittsburgh to last years AFC Championship game and Peyton Manning waking up in the second half. I guess I shouldn't complain. Lots of teams haven't sniffed the playoffs in a while. I guess it's the way the Jets lose is what's haunting. Just when you believe they can pull it out, the bottom drops. Let's hope this season is different. It's a toughie right out the shoot when they travel to Indianapolis and face Peyton Manning and the Colts on Saturday night for the 8pm game.

In celebration of the Jets making the post season, I've decided to show off my favorite Jets memorabilia this whole week. Today, we start off a game used jersey card of Ronnie Lott from 2009 Leaf Certified. Some may say it's a patch card, but I don't think it is. The part of the jersey they use is of the sleeve of the jersey, so you have the white paint in the card. It's a beautiful 2 color card with the white and green. Just pops out at you when you look at it. I'm very pleased to own it.

Even though Lott was toward the end of his career when he played his 2 seasons with the Jets from 1993-1994, he still had something left in the engine. There was a couple of times I remembered seeing a flash of green and the QB on the ground with Lott on top. It's too bad he played on two mediocre teams finishing 8-8 and 6-10 his two years there. By that point the 10 time Pro Bowler was just a complementary piece to the Jets defense. I'm just glad I got to see him play in NY on a regular basis for 2 seasons. Now, if I can just find a decent priced auto of him in a Jets uni, that would be awesome.

Lets Go Jets!

PS-Moe over at My 2008 Topps set, is holding a contest. All you have to do is follow his blog and you will be entered into a contest to win a box of 2010 Bowman Chrome. Here is the link:http://topps08.blogspot.com/2011/01/contest-win-box-of-2010-bowman-chrome.html#comment-form.

Head over and follow him. Tell him Yankeesjetsfan sent you.

Happy New Year!!!

2010-12-31T20:47:00.004-05:00

From my family to all of yours, have a safe and happy New Year. Thank you for supporting NYC Cards during 2010 and hopefully 2011 will be a great one for all of us.

Please, do not drink and drive. As James Dean once said, The life you save might be mine.

Happy New Year!!

2011 Is Just Around The Corner...

2010-12-30T15:02:00.003-05:00

With the calender just about to turn it's pages into a new year, this is the time to reflect on another year passed and anticipate the possibilites of a brand new year. A clean slate to start fresh and accomplish goals everyone sets for themselves at the start of the new year.

I have goals. Both personal and hobby related. For the sake of this blog (and not to bore any of you readers out there), I will just keepit to hobby related. I made a list of goals that are obtainable and realistic for me to accomplish. I mean, Icould be bold and say I want to add a Lou Gehrig cut auto to put next to the one of Babe Ruth that I already have, but it's not realistic. Therefore, here are the realistic goals I'm setting, hobbywise, for 2011:

1-Add to my growing bobblehead collection.
I started seriously collecting bobbleheads in the early stages of 2010 when I picked up three Forever bobbleheads up at the Westchester County Baseball Card Show. I snagged a Ford, Rizzuto and Jeter bobbles. It started me on a quest to add more nodders to the three I had already bought. Now, my collection stands at 50 and I want more. There are some elusive bobbles I have bid on and lost on ebay, like the AGP SGA bobbles the Yankees and Columbus Clippers have given away. I hope to add Ruth, Dimaggio, Maris, Stengel to my collection as well as Pettitte, Wells, Clemens, and Jeter. Then there is the 2009 World Series Champions bobbles. I only have Mark Teixeira right now. This is a set I really want to concentrate on finishing by the end of the year. Getting a better display case for them is also a priority. I've just about run out of room in the three shelf unit they are in now.
Adding more Jets, Devils and Knicks bobbles would be a plus as well.

2-More Yankee Vintage
In an earlier post, I showed off the oldest Yankee cards I have in my Yankees collection. A pair of 1956 Topps cards. As a team collector,I would love nothing more than toadd more vintage to my collection. I know adding cards from Mantle might not happen anytime soon,but I don't see why I can't add others. I always see Ford, Berra, Howard, among others at decent prices. Mybe a well loved Mantle will fall on my lap,who knows. Plus, I'd like to finish my 1971 Topps Yankees team set too.

3-More Yankee autos
Right now, my Yankees autograph collection stands at close to 150 diffrent Yankees on cards, balls, mini helmets, pictures, etc. I'm always looking for diffrent players I don't have in my Yankees collection. I really don't have a must have list,but I have an idea of who I need. I would also like to finish up this large black and white photo of the old Yankee Stadium from the upper deck,with the facade hanging overhead. I have been getting diffrent players to sign it and it looks pretty good. I might try for a few more and then get it matted and framed.
I also would like to start a signed Yankees baseball collection too.
During the course of the year, I will post blogs of the autos I have.

4-Finish Team Sets
I do have holes in my teams sets. I have team sets of Topps Yankees cards going back from the late 60's to the present. Would like to try and finish them.

5-Don't Forget The Others
Although I am concentrating on mainly my Yankees collection, I do have team collections of the Jets, Knicks, Devils and Islanders I don't want to ignore. Also, adding to my Mark Teixeira, Tino Martinez, Martin Brodeur, Mark Sanchez and David Lee PC's as well.

6-Organization Is Key
This is my main goal. I want everything in binders or Top loaders and penny sleeves as soon as possible. Waiting so long to do take care of this was the worst mistake. Now, I find myself digging through boxes, piling up cards and putting them in binders. It's a long process, but it must be done. I would like a final count of what I own soon.I also want to put create a spreadsheet as well. Right now, I have 22 binders of Yankee cards alone. I can honestly see that number grow to 30 by the time I'm done.

7-Improve The Blog
I'm always thinking of ways to improve this blog. One I would really like to do is change the picture on top. I would rather it show off the love I have for bobbles, cards, autos, and mcfarlanes. Also,I would like to find a way to throw Yankees, Jets, Knicks and Devils in it as well.

So, that's the list of New Years Resolutions I have for my hobby. They are goals that I think I can reach within this upcoming year. Will I do all of them, plus the personal ones I have set aside? Well, one of my best friends told me that if I can visualize it and if I have the drive, I can achieve my goals. My motor's running.

What are your goals?

Kelly Stinnett Game Used Bat

2010-12-29T12:02:00.004-05:00

One of the areas of my collection that I would love to try and grow in the upcoming year is my teeny tiny game used collection. Collecting game used equipment is not exactly a cheap hobby, but it is holding a piece of equipment that was used in an actual baseball game.

So today, submitted for your viewing pleasure, I give to you the only Yankees game used bat I own, my Kelly Stinnett game used bat. This was a gift from a secret santa in my team collectors group. Stinnett played 14 seasons in the majors as a backup catcher. He played only part of the 2006 season with the Yankees after signing a one year deal with them. He batted .228 with a homer and 9 RBI's in 34 games played with them. He did start 24 games behind the plate and threw out 20% of the runners who attempted to steal on him and had a fielding percentage of .989. He was designated for assignment on July 26th 2006 after the Yankees traded for Sal Fasano. He finshed that season with the New York Mets.

Lets take a look at the bat.

I'm not a bat expert, but as you can see, it's light colored bat.I believe the term used for the color is blonde.

His name is etched into the bat head as well as the team he was playing for, in this case the Yankees

You can also see, Stinnett did like to use the pine tar. The bat has lots of the stuff on it.

And probably the coolest part about the bat, the break in the handle. Love seeing use on equipment.

I'm not sure what game this was from. I really don't know how to look that up. It's still a cool piece to own in my Yankees collection. I would love to get more bats especially of Tino Martinez and Mark Teixeira as those are the Yankees I specifically collect. Like I said before, collecting game used equipment is not cheap. If you want to learn more about the hobby from other collectors, check out gameuseduniverse.com. You can see other collections, learn and even buy pieces to start your collection.

If you have any game used in your collection, post what you own in the comments section.

What I Did During The Blizzard

2010-12-27T10:16:00.003-05:00

As New York City got hit with a snowstorm the like we haven't seen here in quite sometime, and since my Jets got me PO'ed, I decided to do something to take my mind off it all. I worked on organizing my cards.

It's a goal I have for the New Year. Get all my Yankees cards organized by putting them into their binders. Right now, I have boxes of cards I recieved through trades, purchases or from my team collectors group that I open and put into boxes since I'm a lazy mutt. I have been doing this for months now and I looked at the boxes piling higher and higher and realized I needed to get them put away. And it's not just Yankee cards either. I have Jets, Knicks, Devils and Islanders cards I need to organize too. Since the Yankees cards take up about 75% of my card collection, I decided I would tackle it first.

I decided to go by brand and Topps would be the first one I start with. I had actually started the project about a week and a half ago. I first hit just the Topps base series. I have some cards that go back to the 50's and 60's. Not many, just a couple. Once I organized all of them and put them away, I tackled the Topps subsets. Allan & Ginter, Heritage, Stadium Club, TEK, Stars, 205, 206, etc. All those sets needed to be put away. I started right after the Jets lost their game to the Bears, yet backed up into the playoffs (thank you Washington Redskins), which was around 4:15 EST. I didn't call it a night untill 11:30pm and I still haven't finished. I threw all the doubles and triples into boxes to be sent to my tier 2 Yankees collector and for trades. And there was a lot too. Plus, with A&G and Heritage, I had to make sure I wasn't putting the paralls into the boxes as doubles. Anyone who collects A&G, how do you store your mini's? I just put them into 9 pocket pages along side the regular sized cards.

As much as it is as task to put away all the cards, it is also so much fun to me. I just sit and look over the cards and just soak in the designs, the feel of cardboard (or chrome) in my hands and it just takes me back to when I was a kid, organizing my cards and watching the Yankees game. I can still hear Frank Messer, Phil Rizzuto and Bill White call the game as I look over my cards. As much as I'm into other things like comics and Batman/Spiderman collecting and McFarlanes and bobbleheads, nothing brings me as much joy as when I complete a team set or get a Yankee autographed card I need for the collection. Things may come and go in life, but the one constant I have is my card collecting hobby. Always brings a smile to my face.

A Very Merry Knicks-mas

2010-12-25T17:21:00.005-05:00

The New York Knicks gave their fans a pretty nice Christmas gift this afternoon, beating the Chicago Bulls 103-95 behind dual 20 point games from A'mare Stoudmire and Raymond Felton. As well as the Knicks played offensively, it was their defense down the streach that gave the Knicks a hard fought victory before a national T.V. audience.

Wearing their Christmas greens, The Knicks played a complete game, getting clutch shots and holding Chicago when they had to in the fourth. Stoudmire came up with 2 key defensive plays in the fourth quarter, first blocking Luol Deng and then drew a charge on Carlos Boozer. Wilson Chandler scored 10 of the Knicks final 12 points to put the game away.

A packed Garden was rocking in the fourth quarter as the Knicks pulled away. The past month, The Garden has an energy that I haven't felt since the 90's Knicks team were running over opponents on a nightly basis. Watching the game on T.V, I was wishing I was there. But family time during the holidays is more important. I got more of a charge watching the game with my grandma, who flew in from Puerto Rico than I would have sitting next to a stranger at MSG. The memory of us clapping together when the Knicks won is a memory I will have with me for a long time and that was my real Christmas gift.

-Found this great article by Frank Isola of the Daily News. He writes a short article about some of the people we may have seen at the Garden, but really don't bring much thought to. Take a look:http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/knicks/2010/12/the-people-that-make-the-garden-bloom

Hope you all had a merry Christmas. I know I did.

Merry X-Mas to Everyone!

2010-12-24T18:06:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to take this moment to wish everyone a very merry christmas. May all your christmas wishes come true. Have a safe and healthy christmas. Please, no drinking and driving either. Thank you for reading my blog this past year. Hopefully, you will keep reading it as I plan to keep writing it. I enjoy being a part of this blogging community and hope to make more friends here.

As John Lennon once sang, A very christmas and a happy new year. Let's hope it's a good one. Without any fears. War is Over, If you want it.

Don Mattingly Bobblehead

2010-12-22T15:29:00.004-05:00

Today bought me a bobble I have been meaning to add to my collection. I was so excited about this one that I couldn't wait to get home and take pics of it, so I used the pic off ebay. Not too sure how ethical it is, but no matter. I present to you, the newest add to the bobblehead collection, former Yankees first baseman ad current manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Don Mattingly, or as he's know in these parts, Donnie Baseball.

To us Yankee fans, when you think of Yankee Baseball in the 1980's, you pretty much think of Don Mattingly. Mattingly came up with the Yankees during the 1982 season. At first, he played more outfield than at first base because Steve Balboni was playing first at that time, but Balboni was traded to the Kansas City Royals in 1984, paving the way for Mattingly to open the '84 season there. What a season it was. he hit .343, beating out Dave Winfield for the American League batting title on the last day of the season. He also had 207 hits and 44 doubles, which lead the league in both categories. He topped that season in 1985 by hitting .324 with 35 home runs, 145 RBI's and 48 doubles, the latter tow lead the American League. he was awarded the AL MVP for that year. he also won the first of 9 Gold Gloves for his defense at first.

Matting would have an outstanding season in 1986, batting .352 with 32 home runs and 113 RBI's. He finished 2nd in the MVP voting that season to Roger Clemens, dispite leading the league in hits (238), doubles (53) and total bases (388). In 1987, he hit .327, with 30 home runs (including hitting a record tying 8 game home run streak and also hit a record six grand slams) and 115 RBI's. Sadly, this would be Mattingly's final solid year, statistically. In June of 1987, Mattingly seriously hurt his back wrestling in the Yankee clubhouse with Bob Shirley. Mattingly would never fully recover from this injury and his home run total would never approach 30 home runs again.

He missed time in the 90's because of his back and became a singles hitter rather than the doubles machine he was previously. His final great series was against the Mariners in the 1995 ALDS series where he batted .417 with a homer and 6 RBI. He hit a memorable home run in game two that had Yankee Stadium rocking. The saddest thing I have seen in all the years watching baseball was the sight of Mattingly, sitting in the dugout in the Kingdome, watching the Mariners celebrate. He took 1996 off and offically retired in 1997. When the Yankees won the series in 1996, he was the first person I thought of.

Mattingly came back to the Yankees as a hitting coach in 2004 and became Joe Torre's bench coach in 2006. When Mattingly did not get the Yankees manager position, he left the organization to become the Dodgers hitting coach and finally, manager. I can understand why I he didn't get the position, it's still funny to see Mattingly in any other uniform but a Yankee uniform. I wish him nothing but the best because if any one deserves it, it's Donald Arthur Mattingly.

This bobble was given away by the Trenton Thunder during the 2004 season and was sponsored by WaWa, which is a gas station/convience store in the east. Can't wait to get home and put him up on the shelf.

Recent TTM's

2010-12-21T11:20:00.003-05:00

I recently recieved two returns on some custom cards I made not too long ago. Simple designs, but they look great when signed.

Harry Gallatin signed this card in under a week's time. He played for the New York Knicks from 1948-1957 befor playing a season and a half with the Detroit Pistons. At 6'6", he was an undersized center, but still made 7 All Star Teams, pulled down a Knicks record 33 rebounds in a game and made the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. Not a bad career for an undersized center. very pleased to be able to add "The Horse" to my Knicks autographed collection and he also gave me permission to send a mini basketball for him to sign.

Bubby Brister is probably more know for his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers where he played from 1986 to 1992. But he did spend a year with the Jets in 1995. It was not a good year for the Jets. They finished the year at 3-13 in Ritchie Kotite's first season as Jets head coach. Who knew the worst was yet to come. Brister backed up Boomer Esiason that year. He played in 9 games, was 93-170 for 726 yards, 4 Touchdowns and 8 Interceptions. Not great stats. After the '95 season, he moved on to Denver and won 2 Super Bowl rings as the back up to John Elway. Bubby signed this card in about a months time for my Jets autograph collection.

Meet New York Knicks Forward Danilo Gallinari 12/16/2010

2010-12-15T14:38:00.004-05:00

All you Knicks fans can go meet Danilo Gallinari tomorrow from 6-7pm and nab a free autograph while helping the Daily News Readers Care to Feed the Hungry of New York Food Drive (quite a mouthful, eh?). Any fan who brings any non perishable food item to Modell's, located at 234 W 42nd st, will recieve a free autograph. If you have any questions, call 212-764-7030.

I do hope to attend. My company holiday party is tomorrow night, so if I go, I'll have to leave work an hour early and go then go the pah-tay.

I will be in attendence tonight as the Knicks play the Celtics at MSG. Hopefully, I can nab some autos and even more importantly, I hope for a hard fought game that results in a Knicks victory.

Me thinks I need to check the Garden store for bobbleheads....

Well, I didn't See This One Coming...

2010-12-14T13:58:00.003-05:00

Wow...

I'm still kinda stunned by this. When I received a tweet on twitter informing all that Cliff Lee had indeed spurned the Yankees, the years and mucho dinero to resign with the Phillies, I was wondering how this happened. I, like all of you, had heard there was a "mystery team" that was lurking. I had also heard that this (Dr. Evil hand gestures quotaions) "mystery team" was far behind the pack and that it would ultimately come down to New York and Texas for his services. I honestly felt that he would sign with the Yankees, even though the contract they were offering was crazy.

Little did I know that he would take his talents to the City of Brotherly Love.

Honestly, the longer this took, the less confident I felt Lee was coming to NY, especially after that whole spitting incident with his wife by a couple of drunken yahoos. Normally, if a player wants to be here, it's usually done at the winter meetings. But when Lee took his time in answering and then entertaining the Rangers for a third visit, I felt that's where he was staying.

Then again, who knew he had called the Phillies himself and asked what it would take to get back there. Who knew how long had this been going on and just been kept secret? Ultimaely, he took less money and less years to go back to Philly, where he helped lead them to the World Series in 2009. I will say this much, that's quite a starting four they are going to have in Philidelphia. Halladay, Lee, Hammels and Oswalt is as imposing as any rotaion in recent memory. Maybe as imposing as the one the Yankees had with Clemens, Pettitte, Mussina and Hernandez. Obviously, this makes the Phillies one of the favorites, if not THE favorite, to win the World Series. But then again, that's why they play the game, right?

What now for the Yankees? First off, I seriously doubt that Zack Grenke is coming to the Bronx as anything other than a visiting player. The Yankees are on his list of teams he wouldn't accept a trade to. Secondly, his well documented history with social anxiety disorder & depression would not help him in the demanding city that is New York City. what happens when he allows 5 runs in 3 and 1/3rd to Boston? The papers, and most fans, would be all over him. I don't really believe this is the place for him to thrive. And even if he does decide to come, what of Andy Pettitte? He still hasn't said if he is retiring and he is taking an awful long time (there is that time thing again!) to inform the Yankees if he will be at Spring Training or home in Deer Park, TX. The Yankees, as of now, have 2 spots to fill before Feburary. The signing of Russell Martin today pretty much tells me that Jesus Monetro is now trade bait for a pitcher. Martin will be a one year catcher until Austin Romine is ready. Now begs the question of who do the Yankees go after with Montero as the tasty morsel being dangled. Josh Johnson? Clay Kershaw? The Yankees are going to have to get creative and fast, otherwise those dreaded Crimson Sox of Boston will beat them as if they owed them money. With that lineup, it may not be pretty.

Here is where Brian Cashman earns his money. The two players he targeted, Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford, both signed elsewhere. Andy Pettitte may not be back. What do you do Brian, What do you do? If I get a tweet that the Yankees sign Carl Pavano to a three year deal, the sounds of pain you will hear from New York, will be from me, screaming and pulling my hair out. Please Brian, I don't want to be bald.

Is Carmelo on his way??

2010-12-13T13:48:00.003-05:00

ESPN is reporting that Carmelo Anthony will not sign any extension with the Nuggets unless he is traded to the Knicks. Now, don't get me wrong. I'd love to see 'Melo sporting the orange and blue while calling the Garden his home, but a couple of things bother me.

First of all, it's going to take a lot to get him here. I have heard a couple of things regarding what it would take to make the trade. First of all, Denver wants a number one pick, which the Knicks do not have right now. It went to the Rockets in the Tracy McGrady deal, one that Knick President Donnie Walsh regrets making to this day. From what I read, the Knicks are trying to get that pick back from Houston and are willing to deal Anthony Randolph for it, which I honestly do not mind at all. Randolph has done nothing since he's been here and is just another body in the Mike D'Antoni dog house. Ask Nate Robinson what it would take to get out of it. I'm sure he would tell you leaving town is the only option. So, I would make this deal in a heartbeat, if Houston wants him.

If, and only if, the Knicks manage to pull off the trade, I'm sure they will be asking for either two of these three players; Danillo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, or Landry Fields. Maybe all three. Now, Yes, the Knicks have been just God awful for the past 10 years and yes, Carmello Anthony is one of the top 5 players in the NBA. So, why is it I have a hard time wanting to make this trade? It maybe that the Knicks are doing pretty well as is. Granted, they have played against the bottom teams of the NBA, but their win over Denver surely had to show even the harshest of critics something. Plus, all three players have shown growth so far, especially Chandler, and to give up even two of these pieces, would hurt the depth of this team.

Maybe trading for Mello would make the Knicks more appealing to Chris Paul when he becomes a free agent in 2012, but what would the Knicks look like then anyway? To me, I say, if Carmello Anthony wants to be a Knick that bad, he should just stick it out in Denver another year and become a Knick in 2011 when all it will cost them is money. But, then again, what do I know? I'm just a fan.

2007 Topps Johnny Damon 2006 Season Highlights Autograph

2010-12-12T00:43:00.002-05:00

Well, Cliff Lee may not be under the Yankees Christmas tree yet and Carl Crawford will not be, I was able to add this card to my Yankees Autograph PC. Damon was an auto I had been trying to get for sometime. Either I would be outbid or the price would be too high. In any case, I now have him.

This card commemorates a ninth straight year of 100 runs scored and 30 doubles in a season. As much as I'm glad I can finally check off Damon in my Yankee auto want list, I'm just not to crazy about the sticker auto. Normally I dont care about sticker auto's, I'm usuallly just thrilled to have the auto. It's just that this particular one is such an eye sore. The placement of the silver sticker is just horrendous and kinda takes away from the photo. I have to check the checklist for 2007 Topps and make sure there isn't any other Yankee autos I need from that set.

Yuck!

Re-starting TTM's

2010-12-06T14:03:00.009-05:00

When there is no baseball, I usually have a lot of free time on my hands. I sometimes watch MLB Network programming or pop in a Yankeeography dvd or bid on ebay. I do watch the Knicks, Jets and Devils as well. Or I'll pop in a movie, hit the gym or play xbox. When I have some down time after all that, plus work, I send out autograph requests.

Now, mind you, I don't send TTM's as much as I should. but when I do, I'll write up a quick letter, throw in a card or a ball and send it out with the hopes I get said item back quickly and safely. There have been times when I send a baseball or puck out and not gotten it back (Are you listening Mariano Rivera, Paul O'Neill and Jacques Lemaire?) I usually don't send anything of value out unless I know I'll get it back in return. What I usually send out are cards.

I will only collect the player in the uniform of my teams. Why? Because there are so many players who have played for my teams (Yankees alone have had 1,516 players don the pinstripes in their illustrious history). Aside from Hall of Famers, that's plenty to chase. Besides, I really dont care about getting a signature of a shortstop who played for the Angels in 1981 and batted .190 in 18 games, unless he played for the Yankees at one point.

So, what if there isn't a card I can find of the player in either a Yankee, Jet, Knick or Devil uni? Simple, I will make one up to send off to the athlete. I will start by googling or looking on Yahoo for a pic of the player. I'll save the pic and upload it to my Photoshop elements program. I have some ready made templates of the teams. The hard part for me is cutting out the player from the pic. My skills in photoshop are elementary, so I sometimes have to re-do the card untill I get it as right as it will get. Here some pics of some I have already made up:

Now, here are some signed examples:

The designs are pretty crude (especially my earlier Knicks customs) and easy to make. I'm not the greatest at Photoshop, heck, I can't even draw a curved line on it. But I am pretty happy how these came out and even more thrilled when they come back signed as they look pretty sweet, if I do say so myself.

I have a few Knicks customs already sent out. I'll update when I recieve them back. I'm also working on custom cut signature cards.

Tonight, there will be no autograph request letter writting, nor will I be watching Monday Night Raw. Nope, tonight I will have my butt parked in front of my TV, an ice cold Blue Moon in one hand and a Buffalo Wing in the other, rooting for my Jets on Monday Night Football. First place in the AFC East is on the line and this game could also have serious playoff seeds on the line as well. This is probably the most important regular season game in recent Jets history and I have been a die hard fan since 1979. Let's Go Jets!

11/26/2010-Anthony Mason In Store Apperance

2010-11-26T20:54:00.004-05:00

Today former Knick Anthony Mason made a rare apperance at Last Licks in NYC. All autographs at this apperance was FREE! Since I need a Mason auto in the Knicks PC (and one of my mottos is if it's free, give me three) I ventured to Manhattan for the apperance.

When I got to the store, there was a small line formed and the session had already started. I wandered around, looking for something for him to sign. Originally, I want to get a mini basketball, but could not find any in NYC (Big Shock there) and I didn't know about the regular size balls, I settled for an 8x10. If anyone knows where I can get mini basketballs, please let me know. And not the generic kind either. I'd rather get the ones that look like the actual NBA ball and not the ones that have the Nike Swoosh.

When I got on line, there was only two people ahead of me, so I was able to get to Mase pretty quickly. He was very nice and asked if I wanted to make the signature out to anyone. I gave him my name and I now have a nice signed 8x10 of Anthony Mason in my Knicks PC, personalized. (Note: if you meet Anthony Mason at anytime and shake his hand. Be warned, he has a grip on him)

I was very happy to meet one of my favorite Knicks and it got me thinking, why do we not see any former or current Knicks doing any signings in NY? As a die hard Knicks fan, I would love a chance to meet the guys who donned the orange and blue and build my autographed Knicks collection in the process. I know Walt "Clyde" Frazier does apprances, but what about players like Willis Reed or Bill Bradley? What about Earl Monroe or Jerry Lucas? Or John Starks or Allan Houston? Im sure the Knicks fans would line up for a chance to meet these great players.

I'm not one to wait outside an arena or at a hotel for players and coaches to sign. My only chance to meet some of my favorite Knicks would be at an apperance. Gallinari is doing a signing in a week or two, then that's all. I hope the former Knicks will be doing more apperances. It was pretty cool to meet Mason and I hope I have the opportunity to meet more players in the near future.

My Yankees Wishlist

2010-11-17T13:53:00.004-05:00

The Holidays are quickly coming upon us. Kids are starting to write their lists to Santa and dreaming of opening gifts on Christmas day. While most are dreaming of Playstation 3's, iphones or money, my wishlist shows something diffrent. And this list is not for my personal enjoyment either. No, I'm not greedy. I would be more than willing to share, provided the Yankees can put these players under my navy blue and white themed christmas tree:

1-Cliff Lee-Seriously, did you expect me to say anyone else? The man is one of the top 4 pitchers in baseball and would look great in pinstripes. The Yankees almost had him in the summer, but Texas jumped in last minute and gave up Justin Smoak for him (I wonder if the Mariners are rethinking on passing Jesus Montero), which worked out great for Texas as he pitched them to their first world series appearance. Dispite being on the shelf, he went 12-9 with a 3.18 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and averaged 7 k's per nine innings. A top three of CC, Lee and Hughes looks pretty nice.

2-Resign our own- Not that I expect them to leave the South Bronx, but resigning Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera are musts. Dispite being 40 years old, Mariano Rivera still posted great numbers going 3-3 with a 1.80 ERA, 33 saves and a 0.83 WHIP. Players know what's coming and still can't hit the cutter. That being said, I would be fine if the Yankees go year to year with him, like they do with Andy Pettitte. A 2 year offer is probably more likey though.
The Captain did show signs of age last year, posting his lowest batting average in years, hitting .270, but did hit 10 home runs in the lead off spot with 67 RBI's and 18 stolen bases while winning another gold glove. His value is immersurable to the Yankees and only the Yankees. I honestly think they will over pay to keep him, but quite frankly, he's earned it. He has one 5 world titles as a Yankee and will become the very first Yankee to collect his 3,000nd hit around June. When most people think of the Yankees, Derek Jeter is the player that pops into their heads.

3-Fix The Bullpen-For starters, the bridge to Mariano has been filled with holes and was very rickity. Kerry Wood, of all people, came in and provided a stable bridge when Joba Chamberlin could not. Mind you, Joba is coming into his third full year into the majors and now knows his place is in the pen. While I am hoping beyond hope that he finds what made him a cult hero before bugs took away his aura in Cleveland, I wouldn't be opposed to trading him either. His value is low, so for now, I'd keep him. Damaso Marte looks like he is out for the year. The Yankees pen will have a returning Alfredo Aceves, Boone Logan, David Robertson, Joba and not much else. For a while, Robertson looked like he was going to be the 8th inning guy, but that didn't happen. Maybe this will be the year he grabs a hold of it. Until then, I wouldn't mind the Yankees sniffing around Brian Fuentes, who was the Angels closer until a mid season trade to Minnesota and didn't allow a run during his time up there or Iron Man Pedro Feliciano. I also think another lefty is needed, so how about Scott Downs? He only held lefties to a .152 batting average. Grant Belfour is another 8th inning option.

4-And Finally, Coming Off The Bench-With Marcus Thames looking more and more like he is going to be playing in Japan next year, the Yankees will have a spot open on the bench. The possibilty of using Juan Miranda in this role is appealing, but highly unlikely. Instead, I would like to see the Yankees sign Bill Hall. He can play almost every position, batting .247 with 18 hr's in 344 at bats. I'd take that from a part time player, although the sentimental side wouldn't mind seeing Melky Cabrera come back either. Maybe coming back and playing along side his best buddy, Robinson Cano, will re-energize the Mellk Man and he can regain the playing form he exhibited as a Yankee.

So, here's to hoping Santa Cashman checking my list and going over it twice, cause another season of Javier Vasquez ould certainly not be nice.

Per Request....

2010-11-12T13:57:00.007-05:00

I got a comment from Dodgerbobble yesterday. If you don't know who he is, he writes a great Dodgers blog, I highly recommend it. Like me, he is a collector of bobble heads and asked if I picked up any new ones since I last posted.

Have I got any new bobble heads?

Well, feast your eyes on these beauties.

I realized when I downloaded the pics that it really has been a while since I posted pics of my adds. I added 9 bobble heads since I last showed any off. I will start with this Yogi Berra Bobble I won off eBay.

It was a SGA from the Columbus Clippers when they were still the Yankees Triple A team. This was given away back in 2003 and is a real beauty. I love AGP bobble dobbles.

Next I have a Tino Martinez 2002 SGA given away by the Yankees (Hal, if your reading this, please start giving away bobble heads at Yankees games again.) at the old Yankee Stadium. The give away was sponsored by Hormel as they had that summer with other bobble head give aways with the Yankees. Tino is one of my all time favorite Yankees and I had been trying to add a Tino to my bobblehead collection for quite some time. Very pleased to have it.

I also picked up a 2009 Mark Sanchez bobble head which was given away by PC Richards at a New York Jets game. Well, actually from what I have heard they gave away a certificate to go and pick the knucklehead bobble up at a PC Richards store. So, most fans would jump into their cars and race all around New Jersey/New York looking for a store that had them. Seems a funny way to have a SGA, but I'm not too familiar with NFL give aways. I have only been to one and they gave away Shrek ears cause at one point, as former head coach Herm Edwards said, they won Shrek ugly. And yes, I did wear my Shrek ears at the game, thank you very much. A Jets win over Cincinnati.

I also picked up a Ken Daneyko SGA bobble head which was given out by the Devils on Ken Daneyko Night, when they retired his number. The giveaway was at the Continental Airlines Arena, which is now called the Izod Center, which before that was the Brendan Byrne Arena. Whew! Anyways, this one was done by AGP as well, although it looks different then the others I have. I almost mistakenly took this for a Forever bobble head.

I finally was able to add the NJ Devil bobble head to my Devils collection. He was a SGA at Continental Airlines Arena back in 2003. This bobble has been wily and elusive, evading my grimy hands on more than one occasion. Usually, this is a 50-75.00 bobble head. I managed to get it for a lot lower than that. Jeez, look at my desk. I'm shocked my boss hasn't hired a maid to clean it up.

And finally, I grabbed these guys, just cause I love Marvel superheroes

Although they are plastic, I think Funko did a great job with these. I found these at a Big Lots in update NY for 5 bucks each. I couldn't resist snagging them. No Spidey though and he's my favorite superhero. Him and Batman. I did put Wolverine back. Oh well, next time Logan. Avengers, Assemble!

Thoughts During My Lunch Break

2010-11-11T13:25:00.002-05:00

First, before I go on, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all of our vets a Happy Veteran's Day. This country is a free country thanks to the efforts of all you great men and women. I'd also like to say a special prayer to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this land.

I was doing doing a bit of thinking today. Has any of you ever felt like your collections were getting out of hand? Like you were spreading yourselves out a bit too thin? I have as of late. I have tried to add hockey, basketball and football to my collection as well as bobbleheads and figurines as well. Unfortunatley, my Yankees collection has been ignored, almost to the point where I really haven't added anything to it in quite sometime. I was looking at ebay this morning and I realized I am missing so much from this year's Topps. I'm pretty sure I do have most of the base cards, but I have none of the game used and autos. I'm really digging the manucatured bat barrell cards as well. So I have decided to go concentrate on my Yankees collection only for the time being. Unless I can make a trade, I will put all efforts into adding more goodies to the Yankees collection. I may actually post pics of what I own already so everyone can see the collection, which I think is pretty darn impressive.

I'll let you know what I add in the weeks to come.

November 10th, 2010

2010-11-10T22:36:00.004-05:00

I'm going to change this blog up a bit. I have been wanting to for a long time now. I didn't want to just write a blog about new stuff I was adding to my collection. I wanted to make this blog a bit more personal than that. I just didn't know exactly what to do because I wanted to keep this a sports collecting blog and not really change that. Then, it came to me...

Why not write about myself a bit more? Maybe make it a bit more personal. Let you guys get to know me just a little bit. Granted, there is always the fear that you guys might find me boring and not read my blog anymore. But the more I think about it,the more it makes sense to me. See, there are days when I don't have any mail or really don't want to go off on a tirade on my teams and give my "opinons" on what they are doing wrong. Some days I just want to write how my day went and maybe vent a bit or share a special moment with you guys. I mean, I'm still going to talk sports and show off my goodies, but I want this blog to be more than that. I would like it to be a not so private diary about who I am.

So, let me tell you a little bit about who I am. I'm a 39 year old New Yorker. I currently reside in the Bronx, home of the world famous Bronx Zoo and New York Yankees. Where I live, well,to call it a dump would be an insult to actual dumps. It's a rough area. Anything and everything goes down around here and it's usually not good. As long as you mind your p's and q's, go about your business, your fine. Plus, my family has been in this building since 1974, so the natives know us and we are not bothered. Heck, the young holligans actually hold the door to my building open when I come in. As long as you say thank you and show respect, they'll do it all the time. Currently, I'm sharing the apt with my youngest sister as she is in college. I'm the bread winner. I pay everything here, which doesn't leave much for anything else. My sister's ok although I feel she takes advantage at times. I have had to pay far too many $200.00 electric bills than I'd care to remember.

I work in Manhattan as an accounts payable clerk for a background check company. I pretty much do all the grunt work for the finance dept. I spend my days faxing, scanning, filing, entering expense reports, cutting checks, taking phone calls and emailing the messages to our out sourcing spot in Mumbi and fixing/creating accounts. You know,the exciting stuff. The pay stinks, I only make in the low 40's, haven't had a raise in 2 years dispite my company buying up other company's and I'm pretty much treated like the bus boy of the office. I one time handed the CFO a check for his signature and he kinda threw it back at me after signing without looking up. At least I have people I kid around with and talk sports with. If I didn't, I might have walked around like a zombie the entire time.

I know times are tough. I should be thankful I have a roof over my head and a job that barely pays all the bills and I really dont want to turn this into a woe is me blog. I just feel that there is something better out there for me. I don't want to hate my job, my living situation or my life. I feel I can get more out of life the question is how? I feel stuck. Stuck in this apt and stuck in my boring 8:30 to 5:30 job, with no way out. Another question is, what can I do? My experience is limited to menial office duties although I have worked in call centers (ever talk with a guy who actually asks "who be this?" Not so fun).

I guess my ideal life would be going to a job I love, doing something that I love doing. Living in a nice place in Westchester (I am dying to get out of the city. I want to be a suburb man.) and having a nice car. Maybe even having a girlfriend. It's been a while for me,but I stay alone because until I clear up my issues, I'll never make anyone happy. I've been in too many crummy relationships. Time to have a great romance for once. And being able to bust boxes of cards whenever my geeky heart desires :D

Well, I guess that's all for today. It's 11:30 pm here. I want to watch Family Guy before I pass out and start another day in this wonderful life.

Thanks for reading.

Yankee Announcing

2010-10-07T16:03:00.006-04:00

A great come from behind win by the Yankees put me to bed with a smile on my face. My favorite player, Mark Teixeira crushing a pitch over the Right Field fence which gave the Yankees back the lead and ultimately the game had me giddy like you wouldn't believe. However, something about that home run made me queasy. In fact, the whole game kinda bored me and it had nothing to do with the actual game it's self.

TNT had the brilliant idea to put Ernie Johnson, it's in studio basketball host, to be the main play by play announcer during it's coverage of the playoffs and, lucky me, he gets to work the Yankees-Twins series with John Smoltz and Ron Darling. Now, on paper, it's an upgrade from last seasons announce team of Chip Carey and Ron Darling. Darling was not the issue. He's quickly surpassing Tim McCarver as the best color guy in the game. I enjoy listening to him and will on occasion, watch the Mets so I can listen to him, even if I have to deal with the ramblings of Keith Hernandez. Chip Carey, on the other hand, was nauseating. I intentionally went to bars to watch the games, just so I couldn't hear him speak. when I heard that TNT fired him, I was beyond pleased. Then I heard Ernie Johnson speak. Now I'm wishing I was deaf. The home run call of Teixeira sounded like he was either not paying attention or just didnt care. I'm not asking for John Sterling over the top home run calls, but jeeze, it came at an important part of the game, at least make it seem like it. I wanted to reserve judgement on Johnson for another game, but it got me thinking about the Yankee Broadcasters.

If you watch, or listen to a Yankees game on either YES Network or the Yankees Radio Network, you will probably know that Yankee broadcasters are not really considered top notch. I miss the days of Bill White, Phil Rizzuto and Frank Messer when Yankee games were enjoyable to listen to. Bobby Murcer was a good one too, God rest his soul. The some of the announcers the Yankees have arent easy to listen to. If I owned the Yankees, heres who I would have doing the games:

TV Broadcasters

You can't go wrong with having Bob Costas as the lead announcer. He doing basball games for MLB Network now and is doing a great job. I always enoyed his announcing from when he was calling NBC Games of the Week. He's a Yankees fan since his childhood and it makes perfect sense for him to call the Yankees. He's the only one I would give a blank check to and work around his schedule, even if it means him calling only Yankee home games

If Costas turns me down then Kenny Albert would be my next choice, followed by Gary Thorne.
Yes, I will admit, it took me a while to warm up to Ken Singleton, he of monotone voice. But once I got past that, I realized he's a terrific color man and knows the game very well. He's also good for a fill in as play by play guy when needed.

Another who is one of the games better color men, Al Leiter is one I always enjoy listening to. I enjoy how he explains the game from a pitcher's view and often shows the views how a pitch is thrown. He is the perfect third man for my TV Booth

Radio

Michael Kay is currently the Yankees main TV guy. My problem is I feel he's a radio man, trying to be a TV announcer and it just doesn't work for me. I liked Kay when he was calling the Yankee Games on the Radio and that's where I'd stick him, but as the main guy, not John Sterling's sidekick.

Paul O'Neill is getting better as an analyist as each season goes on. I like his knowledge, humor and the chemistry that he and Kay have together. That's why I would stick O'Neill in the booth and hope that he continues to grow as a broadcaster.

I would keep the studio with Bob Lorenz (just keep him away from calling a game. Those of you who watched him fill in on games in Toronto and Seattle this past season know what I'm talking about) and Kim Jones/Jack Curry as roving reporter. I would love to hire Rachel Nichols to replace Nancy Newman as Lorenz's fill in and move John Flathery as in studio anylist.

I would let go of John Sterling and Susan Waldman. Frankly, I have had enough of the cheesey home run calls and missed calls. Waldman would be a hard decision, only because she has been with the team for so long and is a NYC staple, being she was on WFAN and worked Knicks games on MSG. Maybe I can give her an interview sgement for pre and post games on the radio. If not, then I would let her go as well. Originally, I also had Flathery going out the door as well, but watching him as in studio analyist, I think that would be the way to go with him.

I think this lineup works. It's not perfect, but I think it's a serious upgrade over what we currently are subjected to every year. And if it doesn't work, I'll be in cemetary's looking to bring Mel Allen back from the dead.