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.

Recent Autograph Adds

I love this blog. I love writing it. But due to work, gym and other commitments, I barely have time to write as much as I'd like to. As you can imagine, there blogs I'd love to post and after a while, it gets backed up. I recently realized I haven't posted any of my autograph successes in a long time.

So, for your veiwing pleasure, I will post my most recent scores.

This was one autograph I wanted for a long time and was finally able to add it to my collection. I remember Mark Jackson as a point guard with St. Johns and then with the Knicks. He never had a certified auto released save for a college card. My rule is, the player has to be pictured in the uniform of the team I collect. So, I passed up the college cards. When Jackson was hired to be the coach of the Golden State Warriors, I decided to take a shot. After about 2 months, I got my card back, signed. Thrilled to finally have a Jackson auto in my Knicks collection.

Blackhawk great Bobby Hull signed this custom for me in about a month c/o The Blackhawks

Sent former Jet, Mike D'Amato a custom and he sent me back this 8x10, signed and personalized to me. Very cool success.

Another former Jet, Ralph Baker, signed this custom for me in under a weeks time.

The next couple were in person sucesses.

About a week ago, I attended the New Jersey Devils annual blood drive. Each year, I give blood to The Devils blood drives. This year, I decided to bring my 2000 Championship puck just in case. Last year, 2 former Devils showed up and while I was glad to get the players to sign pictures they provided, I need one on puck. This year, I vowed not to be left out, in case the player I thought would show up, did.

I was able to get former Devil Ken Danyeko to sign the puck for me in blue sharpie. I think it came out well. It's my second Danyeko puck. The first I got at a charity event and it was a rush job. This time, he took his time signing it.

Last, but certainly not least For my Spider-Man collection

Andrew Garfield, who will be playing Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man, is on Broadway performing in Death Of A Salesman. I was able to get him on this 8x10 after a performance. His shoe lace was untied and I told him so and added I was sure his Spider-Sense didn't pick it up, which got a laugh from him and the people in my vicinity. Nice kid. Hope he does well.

I'm planning to send out a lot of autograph requests in the upcoming days, so I will hopefully have more stuff to show as they come in. Hopefully, you will have as much fun checking them out as I do writing and posting them. I have a few projects in mind and will tell you what they are as the autos come back.

See you soon.

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.

New York Knicks Player Apperances Sat 10/22/2011

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

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.

Please, No....

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.

A Very Merry Knicks-mas

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.

Recent TTM's

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

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....

Is Carmelo on his way??

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.

Re-starting TTM's

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!