Who Am I? You Sure You Want To Know?

Yes, I realize I stole that line from Spider-Man, but I find it fits this particular blog post. I also realize I am late in my response. Please allow me to explain myself.

A couple weeks ago Brian over at Cool And Collected asked us to write a tell all blog. Who are we? What makes us tick? What are our favorite colors? Who is our favorite Spice Girl? Do we really think Miley is out of her mind? This is an assignment I really wanted to be a part of. But life took over and I missed the deadline on getting this blog in.

So, I said to myself, who cares? I will still write it up.

So here it is. The blog that will end all rumors about who I am and if there is no rumors, then I will start some.

-I call myself The Sexy Geek, yet I really don't believe that I am. Handsome, in a weird way, maybe.

-I collect Batman, Spider-Man, Luke Skywalker, The Beatles, and The Monkees, but I also have smaller collections of Iron Man, Superman and KISS.

-Yes, I am passionate about pop culture and superheros, but I a just as passionate about sports. I do collect the New York Yankees, New York Jets, New York Knicks, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils Among my possessions, I collect cards, autographs, bobbleheads, figurines and vintage items pertaining to my teams. I also collect players like Tino Martinez, Mark Teixeira, Wayne Chrebet, Patrick Ewing, David Lee, Mike Bossy and Martin Broduer.

-I also write a sports blog about my collection and hauls, in case you didn't know. Here is the link: http://thesexygeekssportsroom.blogspot.com. I don't post there as often as I would like and I am going to change that.

-I work as an accounts payable clerk for a background check company in Lower Manhattan. I hate my job.

-I cuss like a filthy sailor, but you will never read a swear word on my blog.

-I love music. I am always listening to my ipod, rocking the obnoxiously large Yankees headphones my kid sister bought me (I love them). The music I have on my ipod differs. I could be listening to the Man of Steel soundtrack, next song might be a Beatles song, then Metallica, then Harry Connick Jr, and round it out with the Monkees. Yeah, I said Monkees. Stop that laughing.

-My favorite bands/musicians are The Beatles, The Monkees, Depeche Mode, KISS, Billy Joel, The Foo Fighters, Nirvana, The Cure, Inxs and Genesis.

-I have a wonderful girlfriend who lives out in the Los Angeles area. I know in my heart she is the one and that we will be living happily ever after one day.

-I love beer. Blue Moon is my favorite, although I have been known to enjoy a nice apple cider or a Sam Adams Seasonal brew like Summer Ale or Oktoberfest.

-I have two tattoos and I want more.

-WWE Raw is a guilty pleasure.

-One of my goals in life is to visit every major league baseball stadium. So far, I have Yankee Stadium (old and new), Citi Field, Shea Stadium, Fenway Park, Citizens Bank Ballpark, SafeCo Field, Wrigley Field, Angels Stadium and Dodger Stadium crossed off my list.

-I am a huge fan of classic cinema. Some of my favorites are Sunset Blvd, The Apartment, Rebel Without A Cause, Pride Of The Yankees, Starlagg 17, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, The Maltese Falcon and Some Like It Hot. Anything Hitchock, Dean, Marx Brothers, Wilder and Lemon is alright with me.

-I really want to expand the Sexy Geek's House Of Swag. I just don't know how.

-I have never owned a car, but when I do, it will be a Jeep Liberty in Yankee Blue. I will settle for black if I can't get the blue. Batmobile, baby.

-New York City maybe the most exciting city in the world, but I'm tired of it. I long for a more peaceful life.

-I'm part of a baseball card team collectors group and have been for the past 7 years, I think. My Yankees collection has grown exponentially since I joined. The members are some of the most generous people I know.

-I love cartoons. I only watch the superhero cartoons that come out today, but I will watch Tom And Jerry, Loony Toons, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Top Cat, Battle Of The Planets, Superfriends anytime they are on.

-I don't have idols, but if I had to pick someone it would be Kevin Smith. He's done everything I have wanted to do. Made films, wrote comic books, opened a comic book store, wrote books and hosts podcasts. The man is freaking awesome.

-I love music from the 50's, 60's, 70's, and the 80's. Yes, I know I sound like a radio commercial.

-The two talents I wish I had was the ability to draw and play guitar.

-I love to cook.  I am limited in what I can make, but what I can make, I make very well.

-I am a carnivore to the fullest.

-I love my family and would do anything for them.

-I will only watch Star Wars Episodes III, IV, V and VI.

-I love YouTube.

-I like animals more than most people.

-I have to have coffee in the morning, I will be quite the grumpy geek if I am cafeless.

That is who I am. There maybe more, but I can't remember. It's late and I am a tired geek. As I go, I will leave you with these words of wisdom, never make a bet with a man who have "The" in his name.

It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me. I am now and forever The Sexy Geek. Stay Sexy my friends.

Recent TTM Autographs

I know what your thinking. You're thinking, "Hey, geek! Where are the autograph successes. We know you're sending them out still. Put down the Spidey figure, turn off Raw and show them". Well, in my defense, they just haven't been coming in. I have a bunch out there right now and I have only been getting 1 in. Maybe 2. But that really about it. It's frustrating because I watch youtube and I see these guys getting in 7 packages at a time and I only get 1 and that's per week!

Well, I am not giving up! I will continue to send out requests and be happy with the one success a week, dagnabbit!

So, here are the more recent successes:

Not sure if I have shown this one already, but just in case. This is legendary comic book writer/artist Walter Simonson. Notable works include Thor, X-Factor, Fantastic Four, Superman, Star Wars, Batman and Battlestar Galactica. He introduced Beta Ray Bill to the Marvel Universe and turned Thor into a frog for a bit, Walter drew me a quick Thor sketch and signed it in about 2 weeks.

I gotta tell you, I love getting these cards back from the artists. They are so cool when you see them in person. I have about 7 requests still pending. Hope I get them back.

Bobby Shantz was kind enough to sign this photo for me in a few days time. I had originally sent out 2, but I was unaware he had a brother who also played for the Yankees. I did find a pic of him in a Yankee uniform so I will be sending another request out to him soon.

I have always been a Burt Reynolds fan so I was thrilled to get a nice return from Mr. Reynolds. Loved him in movies such as Deliverance, The End, Cannonball Run, Boogie Nights and even Sharkey's Machine. But to me, he will always be the Bandit. I was pleased he signed these 2 photos for me as well.

Those will stay in my collection, I can assure you.

When I heard Steve Garvey was signing through the mail I quickly jumped on the opportunity to send out this photo. As happy as I am that I got it back, I am a bit upset that who ever opened the letter in his end left a long scratch on the photo.

Yes, even the Fonz knows I am powerful!

I was thrilled when Henry Winkler signed my photos. I have been a fan since I was a kid, watching Happy Days and clutching my Fonzie Mego doll. God, I wish I still had that figure. And his Jalopy too. Also loved Night Shift. I can still hear Michael Keaton's obnoxious humming to "Jumping Jack Flash".

I was able to get the Honkey Tonk Man to sign these 2 photos for me. Had to get one of the longest reigning Intercontenental Champion holding the belt and I like how it came out. I miss the days when that title ment something.

Former Knicks guard Richie Guerin signed these 2 photos for me in about a weeks time. Guerin was a star for the Knicks in the 1950's and 60's, becoming a 6 time All Star. and became the first Knick to score 2,000 points in a season when he scored 2,303 in the 60-61 season. He also signed a bookplate for me so I could start my Knicks project.

I was able to add another legend to my collection when Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat signed these 2 photos. I wasn't the biggest Steamboat fan growing up. All my affections were for Roddy Piper. But I always respected "The Dragon". I watched that thrilling match he had with Randy Savage at WrestleMania 3 and was blown away. I think that was the greatest match in wrestling history and it's a shame the WWE doesn't give it the proper respect as such.

I marked out for this guy in the 80's. Ted DiBiase had one of the greatest gimmicks in the business as well as one of the greatest heel laughs of all time. His theme song still cracks me up. Money, Money, Money, Moneyyyyy. The WWE really should have let him be the champion for a little while. Not only was he a great heel, but he was also a great technical wrestler. A match he had against Bret Hart was one of the best and it wasn't even aired on TV. Mr. DiBiase signed these 2 photos sent in care of his ministry.


I have also had my share of failures:

I was thrilled that I got this return from Richard Dreyfuss, until I saw i didn't match up with any certified autographs of his. Upon further investigation, I found out his autos in the mail are secretarial.

This one is up for debate

I have heard that these are phonies while some say that they match up with some in person autos they have seen so who knows. I need to do some further investigating to come up with my own conclusion on if they are real or fakes.

I hope to be able to show off more through the mail successes in the very near future. I have a bunch of requests still pending and I plan to send off a bunch more this weekend. Hopefully, the mail will start picking up shortly and I will have my own 7 return days as well. There is nothing like the thrill of finding one of your self stamped addressed envelopes in your mailbox. Its why I continue to send out requests and I hope you too will experiance it for yourselves. Once you get that first return, you will never stop.

Lest We Forget....Bobbleheads!

As of late, I realize I have been blogging more about my love for all things pop culture, then my love for sports. But make no mistake, I am still a collector of all things Yankees, Jets, Devils and Knicks. I have been picking up cards here and there as well as autographs that I will show off in upcoming blogs. With baseball season soon to be here, I am very excited about the possibilty of a Yankee World Series.

But today, this is not about the Yankees. This is about bobbleheads. More specific, new adds to my bobblehead collection.

I haven't added any new pieces in quite a long time. That changed recently with a gift and 2 ebay purchases, both of which were absolute steals. I mean, highway robbery. I paid a lot less than what I have seen these bobbles go for on ebay and I am quite happy to own them.

First, we get to the gift.

A buddy of mine in my baseball card team collectors group sent this to me. Me being the non-politcal guy I am, had no idea where this particular bobble came from. I knew it was George W. Bush, but wasnt sure which team gave this out and when. A quick google search told me it was a SGA from the Rochester Red Wings back on 7/22/2002. It's a nice bobble, but again, I am not a politcal guy, so I am not sure if it will be up for trade at some point or, being that it is a gift, I will hold on to it.

Next, we come to the first bobble I bought off of ebay for a whopping 5 bucks dlvd. 99 cents for the bobble, 4.99 shipping. It's a Kerry Jenkins New York Jets SGA Knucklehead Bobble. I'm not sure of the date on the actual give away. I ran a search on it and came up with nothing. All I know is the Jets give the fans in attendance a voucher to pick up the bobbles at participating P.C. Richards in New York and New Jersey and the race is on. I'm not sure if the bobbles were limited, but I have heard of fans getting shut out on these.

I've never really been a fan of Knucklehead bobbles. The likeness on these to the players are not the best and I really hate how they make the players look like they are wearing clown shoes. I have seen Yankee Knucklehead bobbles and have held off from picking any up, even though there are a few players I would like to have in my bobblehead collection. Ever see the Randy Johnson one? Scary.

So far, I have just these 2. The Sanchez was the first one I picked up. I will be going for the set eventually, since these are really the only Jets bobbles I see aside from the Forever bobbles and the few Alexander Global bobbles I see. This set will eventually be mine.

I will post once the 2nd bobble arrives. I'm expecting it within a few days.

Things That Made Me Go Whoa!

This week, the League of Extraordinary Bloggers had but one simple mission. Write a blog about the things that made you go whoa. I've seen a lot in my 40 years on this earth and I considered few, like the Tim Burton Batman or the first time I saw Star Wars as a kid in the theaters. But instead, I went with these three that, as Darrell Sheets of Storage Wars would say, had the "Wow" factor for me.

First up for me is the the movie that is still the standard of all Superhero movies, Superman The Movie. While, Supes is not one of my favorite heroes, this movie is definitely one of my all time favorites. The film was well written, wonderfully acted and still stands the test of time. What got me as a kid was seeing Superman fly. It wasn't the George Reeves bounce on a trampoline 195o's style. He actually lifted off the ground. As a kid, seeing this blew me away.

Christopher Reeve's portrayal as Superman/Clark Kent remains the definitive one. He was terrific as the Man of Steel and equally great as Clark Kent, managing to totally separate the two with different styles of acting. Reeves played Superman as the quintessential good guy. The guy who you couldn't corrupt and you believed he really stood for truth, justice and the American way while playing Clark as a dorky, clumsy, reporter. He nailed what mild mannered was supposed to be. Plus, he showed his acting chops when he displayed rage, sadness and love all at once over the death of Lois Lane. The producers initially didn't go with Reeve as Superman because he was too skinny and not a known actor. They tried to get people like Robert Redford, Sly Stallone, Paul Newman, Charles Bronson (Charles Bronson?? Really?? Can you image him as Superman? Hey, scumbag. Drop the cash.). Thankfully, after bulking up a bit, Reeves got the part and the rest is history.

Any kudos to Reeve's performance has to have some left over for Gene Hackman's comedic performance as Lex Luthor. A bit over the top, yes, but it worked. Hackman, played Luthor as an intellectual smartass, but you knew this guy was pure evil. Surrounding himself with the beautiful Miss Tessmacher and the oafish Otis, Luthor set out to destroy California for real estate purposes with the use of nuclear missiles, one was aimed at California and the other was aimed at toward New Jersey. Superman could only save one and Luthor knew that. Luthor also managed to secure a bit of Kryponite to kill Superman. This was not a nice guy. Hackman's Luthor was obviously the basis for Kevin Spacey's Luthor in Superman Returns.

Superman The Movie had my jaw open throughout the whole movie. It was the first Superhero motion picture and in someways, still remains the best ever made.

My next wow moment, and probably my biggest one, came along in late 2001. Anyone who knows me knows Spider-Man is my favorite superhero (Batman being 1B). If you go back in my blogs, you can see the two shelves I have of Spider-Man stuff. So, you all can imagine the excitement I had when I saw this online



I was thrilled, tickled pink, beside myself with excitement and any other word you want to throw out there to describe how I felt that Spidey was finally coming to the big screen. Spider-Man had been trying to get on screen for years. In 1986, Cannon Pictures was supposed to have a Spider-Man movie with Michael Bean playing Spider-man and Tobie Hooper directing it, but never materialized. Then James Cameron had a script ready in the 90's and wanted Leonardo DeCaprio for the part and that was never done. Finally, Sam Rami bought it to the silver screen with Tobey Maguire as Spidey.

Spider-Man is not the greatest movie, I will admit (I think part 2 is a better picture). I never liked Kristen Dunst as Mary Jane nor was I fond of the armor Green Goblin had. He looked like a Power Ranger in this movie. But Wilem Dafoe's chilling performance as Gobby made up for it. Also, James Franco did a great job as Harry Osborne as did Rosemary Harris as Aunt May and J.K. Simmons as J.Jonah Jameson.

I was just happy that Spidey was finally getting a movie. I was at the first showing with my buddy when it opened and I had the biggest, cheesiest grin on my face through out the movie. It was so big it should have been surgically removed to get it off my face However, Spider-man 3 did that for me.

The last thing that made me go whoa happened in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS between the Boston Red Sox and my New York Yankees. I'm one of the biggest Yankees fans around and have been since I was a five year old. I saw Chris Chambliss send the Yankees into the World Series back in 1976, but was too young to appreciate the magnitude of that moment. I saw Bucky Dent's Home Run in the one game playoff between The Red Sox and Yankees back in 1978, but that only sent the Yankees into the playoffs. Aaron Boone did Chambliss one better.

The Yankees and Red Sox started their ace's for this game. Pedro Martinez for Boston and Roger Clemens for NY. The series was already highly emotional thanks to the bench clearing brawl between the two teams in Game 3 when Pedro first threw at Kariem Garcia and then Manny Ramirez charging the mound when Clemens pitched inside. That was also the game that Pedro tossed Don Zimmer to the ground, earning the wrath of not just Yankee fans, but people all over for tossing a man 40 years his senior to the ground. Heck, even the Fenway grounds crew got in it with the Yankee bullpen later in the game.

Clemens was out of the game by the 4th inning after giving up 4 runs. Mike Mussina relieved him and pitched 3 innings of shutout ball. By the 8th inning, it was 5-2 Boston. Pedro, dispite giving up 2 solo shots to Jason Giambi, was pitching a good game, but was tiring. He gave up a double to Derek Jeter and a single to Bernie Williams. At that point, Boston Manager, Grady Little came out. Dispite having a left handed Alan Embry ready to pitch to Hideki Matsui, he allowed Pedro to convince him he can continue. That move cost Little his job in Boston as Pedro gave up a double to Matsui and a bloop double to Jorge Posada to tie the game at 5. No one else scored until Aaron Boone came up in the bottom of the 11th when Aaron Boone launched the first pitch he saw from Boston pitcher Tim Wakefield into the October night to send the Yankees to the World Series.

I was watching the game at home with my mom and kid sister. After the 9th, my mom went to bed and my kid sister stayed with me to watch the game. I was on the edge of my seat after each half inning when no one scored. When Boone came up, I told my sister it's over. That was something that was said instinctly. I didn't even think about it when I blurted it out. Before my sister could respond, Boone had swung and was going up the first base line with his arms out stretched. I was jumping up and down in my living room like I had just hit the home run myself, much to my sister's amusement. To this day, I'm shocked I didn't wake y mom or the downstairs neighbor didn't bang the their ceiling with a broom to quiet me down. All I know is I was ecstatic that my Yankees were going to the World Series in one of the most dramatic fashions in Yankee history ending one of the most emotionally charged series in baseball history.

As you can see, each one of these events caused a level of excitement that no other event had. I'm sure the rest of the League members have different events that rushed the beat of their hearts like the three events I wrote about and I look forward to reading all about them. If you'd like to check out the other blogs, you can find a list of all the blogs here:http://coolandcollected.com/the-league-of-extraordinary-bloggers/league-members/. Tell them the Sexy Geek sent ya.

Its Finally Happened.

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.

6/3/2010 Mail and The Countdown To 200 Continues..

Yesterday, the God's of cardboard saw fit to visit my mailbox. I got two ebay wins and a TTM.

Blair Thomas signed this custom card for me, sent to his home address. Thomas is a former first round pick (second overall), who played running back for the Jets, Patriots, Cowboys and Panthers. He led all AFC rookies in total yards and yards per carry in his rookie year, but really didn't pan out as hoped. He co-owns a chain of bars in Pennsylvania called KoKoMos.

My first ebay win was this 2 card auction for a Panni Threads Walt "Clyde' Frazier autographed card and this triple autographed card of Ernie Vandewege (Yes, Kiki's dad played for the Knicks), Eddy Curry and Spencer Heywood from SP Authentic. I was able to win both cards for under 15.00 dlvd. Sorry abouth the picture. For some reason, it came out small. You would think I would have invested in a scanner by now.

My other ebay win was this In The Zone insert from 2007 Fleer Baseball of Mark Teixiera. It is my 192nd diffrent card of his and I am inching closer to my goal of 200 before the end of July. I would like to have 400 by the end of the calender year, but we all can't get what we want.

First Post

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here on blogger. Allow me to tell you all a little about myself.

My name is Mike. I was born, raised and still residing in The Bronx. I am a die hard Yankees, Jets, Knicks and Devils fan. I collect sports cards, autographs, McFarlanes, memorbilia and anything else that has to do with my favorite teams. I am part of a group of people that collect cards of our favorite baseball teams. We started out when the Beckett message boards used to be fun. We break packs and boxes and send cards of teams to the collectors and vice versa. It's a fun, tight knit group. Because of their generosity, my Yankees cards number somewhere over 10,000.

I wanted to have a place to blog about what I get from the group, through trades, autos through the mail or in person or random purchases I may make. So here I will post what I get and post pictures as well. I hope to make friends through this community that last a long time and possibly add to my collection. Please always feel free to comment on what you read here. I look forward to posting and reading what you all have to add.

TTFN, Ta ta for now.

Mike