Is this a Beckett/Upper Deck Scam?

Here's the video from Beckett's box breaks. The StaleGum blog is doing a nice job covering this.

To protect their honesty and integrity, Beckett should change the way they accept boxes for box breaks. They should buy their boxes off the shelves like we all do!

Tigers Autographs from Spring Training

Guest Blogger Photos: Troy

Frequent SportsLocker Blogger, Troy, shared these autographs from this year's spring training.

Tigers' ace Justin Verlander signed this baseball. The location of this autograph is great. Too many people always get the autographs on the sweet spot. Logo'd baseballs like this Verlander ball and others (ie, All-Star Game baseballs) should be signed right under the logo. This way, the logo and the signature will show when you display it.

The bat is signed by Magglio Ordonez. The coolest part, is it's a personalized Ordonez bat... not some generic Louisville Slugger. Very Nice.

Troy - Give us the story. Where in spring training were these signed? Before a spring training game? Was this around a group of people or were the players walking somewhere by themselves?

New Baseball Stadiums

New public-financed baseball stadiums are one of the hottest trends in baseball. Some of these new stadiums are mostly funded by the tax-payers (the proposed Marlins park in a few years andPNC Park a few years ago).

I think that if the public is paying for the new stadiums, then the team's should be required to open their books and show what the public is paying for. For example, I think the Marlins should be required to show every year where their revenue sharing money is being spent.

What do you think?

Pete Rose Autograph Received

I received my Pete Rose autograph baseball today... less than a week after the autographcast from Las Vegas. Now that's fast service.


Pete was stationed at Ft. Knox for a few months after his rookie season. After talking about this with him on the phone, he signed the baseball with "Fort Knox 1963 - 1964." His company # is to the right on the baseball. I'm sure he's signed this before for people, but this is the first time I've seen it. What do you think?



After this experience, I'd definitely work with FansEdge again. They did a great job with only a few bumps.

The Baltimore Orioles Smell Like Ham

Nothing says "desperation" quite like using a new scoreboard to attract fans to a baseball game! But that's the state of today's Baltimore Orioles.

Yes, the Orioles have added HD screens to their center-field scoreboard, click here.

I knew a guy in college who smelled like he rubbed ham all over himself. He smelled odd, and that's the only way that I can describe it. But he had a huge TV in his apartment and we all came over to get the big time pay-per-view boxing fights. At the time, it was great and during the fight we forgot about the ham smell. But one night, things got rowdy and his TV broke. Without the TV and boxing matches, no one wanted to hang out with a guy that smelled like ham so we went somewhere else.

Like the guy I knew in college, the Orioles should spend their money so they don't smell like ham. Instead of getting a fancy TV, they should spend their $5 million to get a better set-up man, keep Erick Beddard, or improve their scouting departments to prevent signings like Javvy Lopez.

I love Camden Yards - I think it's the best of all the new ballparks and in my mind, it ranks just behind Wrigley, Fenway, and Yankee Stadium. And I like the Orioles, but come on... if you want people to see your team play, then improve the team! A bigger TV isn't going to get rid of that smell of ham.

Autograph Supplies - Get Them While You Can

Helmethut.com (and their store gridironmemories.com) have a big sale ending tonight. I've written before about using them to customize your autograph collection.

I don't work for them or know anyone there, but I've bought from them before and I think their products are top-notch. I bought a '52 Dallas Texans autograph for Art Donovan to autograph last year in Canton, OH.

If you're thinking about getting an old-school guy player autograph, then definitely check them out. The sale is 15% off plus free shipping... that's about $30 of savings. Check them out.

"Voice of God" Sheppard out 'till June

Bob Sheppard, the 97 year-old long-time PA announcer for the Yankees will miss the stadium's final home opener.

The NY Daily News reports that Sheppard is recovering from health issues and should be back in June.

I'm not a Yanks fan, but hearing Bob Sheppard do the PA is awesome. He is a huge part of the Yankee Stadium experience. Hopefully Bob can come back to do the last game of the season at Yankee Stadium and the first game at the new one.

This will be Sheppard's 58th season as the PA announcer for the Yankees. Just think of the historic moments he's been at the mic!

I have been on the signingshotline message boards asking for a "voices of the game" autograph show that would include Bob Sheppard! Maybe someone can still pull this together.

Tom Brady Autograph Prices = New Standard?

Tom Brady has a private signing this April with TriStar . . . if you can afford it. Check out the prices - mail in items start at $499!


Here are the prices if you mail in your own item (and can afford it):

• Flat Item Up To 11x14 - $499
• Flat Item Larger Than 11x14 - $549
• Mini Helmet - $549
• Football - $549
• Full Size Helmet, Jersey or Jersey Number - $599
• Artwork or Game Used Item - $749
• Multi Signed Item with 5 or more Autographs Already on Item - $749

And yes, inscriptions are extra $149!

Chicago Sun Times Show This Weekend

The Chicago Sun Times show is this weekend. I haven't been to one of these yet, but I've heard they are pretty good.

Mounted Memories is the company putting together the autograph list. I've been to a few of their events at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In they past, they've done a good job at keeping everything moving and on time. I know Chris at the Gavel Chat is going and may have updates on his blog from the floor.

If anyone is going, please leave a post with some information on how the show is.

The autograph guest list looks pretty good - I've been reading the updates from the mountedmemories.com web site and through signinghshotline.com.

If you are not yet a signingshotline.com member, then sign up! You get email updates for states, players, and your favorite teams. You also get 5-10% discounts on many autograph guests. The cost of the hotline membership pays for itself with these discounts.

Cards Sent to Beckett Grading Services

This weekend I sent a couple of cards in for grading. I found both of these in really good shape at the CSA Show in mid-March.

I sent Beckett a 1955 Bowman (large) football card of Tom Landry and a 1976 (rookie) card of Randy White. I think they should both grade pretty high, but we'll see.

I think Beckett's grading policy a little better than the others. I think they have good turnaround times, I like the 1/2 point grading, and I like having the penny sleeve inside of the case.

I like getting cards graded not because I think it increases their value or I think they look mint, but I want to be able to handle them. I want to be able to hand the card to a friend and not worry about dropping it or damaging the corners.

Beckett's web site has a promo code to use in March. Take advanatage of it if you can.

Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium Proceeds to Charity

According to Monday's NY Post, the ownership of Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium is being negotiated between the city of New York and the team's owners in order to maximize profits at the fans' expense... again.

Currently, the city owns the actual stadiums.

The teams are trying to lock-up the ownership of their facilities so they can get the majority of the profits by selling everything can of ball parks before the wrecking ball swings through. You can expect the Yanks and Mets to sell everything including: seats, signs, and sh*tters.

What is the Steiner Sports role in this?

I'm not sure how Steiner Sports may be involved. They currently sell everything game-used that deals with the two New York teams. When I talked to Steiner Reps at the National Card show in Cleveland and at an MAB Show last year, they said they were in negotiations with the city to be the broker of these items.

So it sounds like once again, corporate attorneys are fighting to see who can rip off fans the most. I'm worried about prices for these items will go insane. If the team, the city, and (maybe) Steiner are all asking for a percentage - this could get really expensive.

Instead of lining the pockets of the Steinbrenners, Wilpons, government, and (maybe) Steiner... I'd like to see these the sale of these items benefit the local charities! Proceeds from the destruction of these parks should go to Bronx and Queens based charities. They put up with the traffic, parking, and noise... why not let their community benefit from the wrecking ball?

Pete Rose Autograph via Web 2.0

I got the Pete Rose autograph via web 2.0 Saturday night.

How it worked
I signed up on the web site and bought a baseball.

• Someone for Pete Rose called me at 9:00 pm ET and asked me to go to the URL they provided.


• Then she said there would be a 25 second delay from Pete talking on the phone to me and what goes on the internet.


• She handed the phone to Pete and I talked to him for about a minute regarding his Fort Knox Ohio Reserve days after his '63 season and he personalized a baseball for me.


• He was really cool, but a little rushed on the phone.

I think it was pretty cool but the event had it's share of problems:

Date?
The email to me from FansEdge says the autograph is 3/23, but the web page said 3/22 in some spots and 3/23 in others.

7:30 - ish
I was supposed to get a call from Pete shortly after 7:30. He finally called @ 9:10. At that point, I thought the autograph was going to be tomorrow.

I think there's plenty of room for improvement on this and it is a big gimmicky, but I still enjoyed it. I should get the baseball in a few weeks, I'll post a follow-up with a picture when I receive it. When on the phone, I asked for a signature on the sweet spot with "Fort Knox" and his company number under it... just wanted to have a different kind of autograph.

Pete Rose Autographcast Date Questions?

For Pete's sake - Are you confused on the date of this thing too?

My email said it was Sunday, March 23, but the FansEdge website has two different dates: March 22 and March 23. So which is it?

I called their 888 phone number and the girl on the phone told me it was probably on Saturday. What? Probably? When I told her about the different dates on the site she advised me to call the number on the web site.

Um, sweetie... that is the number I called and you answered the phone!

So I emailed customer service a few minutes ago, and I just got a response that their customer service was closed on weekends.

This isn't off to a good start.

Follow-up 3/25:
I got an email Monday night from FansEdge. They apologized and said that Pete needed to reschedule to Saturday night which is why there was the time confusion. FansEdge is a pretty good site and Pete is the StarsLive365 big star, so I have no doubt this will go smoother and improve as their autographcasts continue.

Autographcast - Give it a try?

I'm thinking about trying this autographcast.

I really enjoy a lot of the new web technologies (even if I'm not very good at any of them). Like many of you, I've done the webinars, webcasts, and some virtual trade shows, but I haven't done an autographcast.

I wonder if these will get to a point where you can watch the item submit (if you had multiple signatures on something) get signed?

Anyone else thinking about trying this?

Pete Rose Autographcast Via Web 2.0

I got an email today from FansEdge about a virtual Pete Rose signing this Easter Sunday!

The event is with StarsLive 365 and FansEdge. StarsLive 365 promotes the Pete Rose signings that he does with Caesar's Forum Shops in Las Vegas.

OK, so it's not the same as being there in person, shaking Pete's hand, and getting to sit next to him... but I think this is really cool.

This Sunday, Pete will call you when he's signing your item. You can also watch him sign your item through http://www.autographcast.com/fansedge/

Through the FansEdge site, you select the item you'd like Pete to sign. Then you'll get a URL that you'll need to visit on March 23. At that time, Pete will call you to get the personalization you'd like and then you watch him sign it.

I've been lucky enough to see Pete at the Forum Shops several times. I'm a big fan and have a Pete jersey, bat, photo, and a few baseballs. But for those who can't get to Las Vegas for economic reasons or handicap issues, then this is the next best thing!

This won't replace autograph shows, but hopefully we'll see more of these from athletes that don't want as much public interaction as autograph shows, but can still stay in contact with their fans.

I don't prefer private signings because you never get to see the person sign the item you send in or purchase. I'd like to see more private signings became autographcasts like the one StarsLive 365 and FansEdge are doing.
http://www.autographcast.com/fansedge/

Great Herb Adderley Autograph from CSA Show

This is another reason why I really enjoy this hobby. This is a picture of my autograph on March 15 @ the CSA Show from Herb Adderley.

Herb Adderley's signature is clean, crisp, and really stands out. He signed my Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl VI helmet. Herb gathered his 6th and final championship by helping Dallas win their first Super Bowl. I've read that Herb didn't exactly enjoy his time in Dallas, but he didn't saying anything negative to me.

Waiting in line for the signature was another story. It took forever! I couldn't figure out why it was taking so long until I got near the front of the line.

Herb was not only taking his time giving everyone a great signature, but he was talking to everyone. It was great. He wasn't a machine just writing his name as fast and sloppy as he could, but Herb Adderley was really taking time to meet the people and give everyone a great signature.

Thank you Herb Adderley for the great signature and thank you CSA for providing a great guest.

Smooth CSA Show

This is how an Autograph/Memorabilia show is supposed to be run. I've been to a few CSA Shows and I think the autograph pavilion area and card tables are better each time. I went to the show on Saturday, March 15 and really enjoyed it. Here are some of my observations:

Autograph Pavilion

• For the most part, all of the guests were on time - although there were two cancellations (not CSA's control).
• There was plenty of room between all of the autograph lines.
• The area around the pavilion was crowded, but I think that was due to the popularity of the guests.
• The people calling the autograph numbers were organized and kept things moving.

Autograph Pavilion 2

• The front autograph pavilion was a bit crowded and pushed to the side.
• I know these are the lesser-known guests, but it seemed like they were pushed into a corner a bit. I don't know the solution for this, but you couldn't see the Green Bay Packer reunion because of the Buster Douglas/Bone-Crusher Smith table.

Memorabilia Tables

• I thought there were plenty of tables and plenty of room between the rows.
• There was also a decent variety of items.
• There was a good mix of current card tables vs. pre-1970 card tables.
• I thought the people running the tables were well-informed and were friendly to everyone. I found a table that had a lot of 1955 Bowman football cards that were in great condition.

Admission and Will Call Tickets

• This area was the most congested due to the popularity of the show.
• I think the will call and admission ticket booths could be outside before you go through the two sets of doors.
• This could clear up space when you first walk in and around the 2nd autograph pavilion. Of course, this is all weather permitting.

Autograph Tickets

• If you order your tickets ahead of time (I definitely recommend), this line isn't a problem, but for others this became the longest line of the day.
• The problem is you have people looking for items to buy to get autographed and people who just need the tickets.
• I think there should be multiple registers at this area. Mounted Memories generally sets it up like this. They have just one big table with 5 or so different registers. This makes each line smaller and allows for people to do one-stop shopping and to just get autograph tickets. This could prevent one long line snaking through the ropes.

Online COA

• I don't pay and do the online COA stuff because I don't ever plan on selling my items, but I was told this line was run really smooth with efficient and friendly people.
• This area wasn't even backed-up following the Terry Bradshaw autograph line. Hello Triump and Prova... are you listening?

If you have the chance, take a road trip and go to one of the CSA Shows. They do a good job and have great guests. Check out their website @ www.csashows.com

CSA Autograph Show this Weekend

The quarterly CSA Show in Chantilly, VA is this weekend. I haven't been to one of their shows since last summer, so I'm really looking forward to this one.

This show seems to have more of a Steel Curtain and '70s Miami Dolphins theme. And as mentioned earlier on this blog, there are plenty of ex-boxing legends. I'm only going for a few people: Terry Bradshaw, Ralph Kiner, and Herb Adderly.

CSA has put on a well run show every time that I've gone with good guests and plenty of memorabilia tables. I'll report next week how things went.

Mr. Saturday Night in Pinstripes?

Are you kidding me? Billy Crystal has signed with the Yanks to play a spring trianing game for the Yankees against the Pirates tomorrow night. I guess Pay-Rod needs another day of rest.

What? Are we turning spring training into the MTV Rock/Jock softball challenge? Is Roger McDowell going to come back and pitch?

Does Billy Crystal have something better to do? Like start working on the much anticipated and hyped "Mr. Saturday Night 2?"

The NY Post has a good review on this.

Today's NY Newspapers

I know, this isn't sports memorabilia related, but I can't get enough of the NY Papers when a scandal hits the scene like this!

Buyer Beware of Favre Memorabilia

The auction markets are really pushing the Brett Favre memorabilia. The World of Sports blog has a great article about this.

If you're looking for Favre memorabilia pieces keep in mind:

• The sellers feedback rating and reputation
• The quality of the autograph itself
• The quality of the memorabilia the autograph is on - look at both independently
• Is it PSA or JSA authentic?
• Do you receive a photo of Favre signing the item

Remember: If it's too good to be true, then it probably is.

Farrvvvrreeeeee Memorabilia

How does the Brett Favre retirement party affect his memorabilia sales?

I think like any other sports legend, we'll see a spike in card and autograph prices. But will it be as high as other sports legends? Did the 4-year rumor of his retirement already attract people looking for his rookie card or autograph helmet?

Be careful if you're looking on eBay for Favre memorabilia. Unfortunately, these types of legend retirement parties also bring out the people making bogus autograph memorabilia.

Triumph Looking Good

Triumph's April show in NJ is looking awesome!

Dan Reeves has just been added to the line-up. This is huge! Reeves doesn't do many signings so this is a big win for Triumph. Triumph is also delivering on it's 30 Cowboy promise - they have about 25 at this point. Nice job.

I wish I lived in the area or was planning on going to that one. If anyone goes, please let me know how it went.

Brady Quinn Value Going Down?

Two years ago it was sky-high. He was the senior QB at Notre Dame and a Heisman hopeful. Last year he was a first round pick of the Cleveland Browns and named "the future." This weekend, the Browns' pro-bowl starting quarterback, Derek Anderson, signed a huge contract extension.

What will this do to Brady Quinn's card and memorabilia value? Surprisingly, Quinn's cards last month were still high on the Beckett Football "Hot List."

Does Derek Anderson's contract value diminish the card value for Quinn's cards? He still the back-up, and could be the starting QB on any given snap,