Win the Ron Artest Championship Ring

Athletes spend their entire careers chasing them. Ron Artest will spend Christmas auctioning his ring away. . . for charity.

On December 25, Ron Artest will raffle his LA Lakers championship ring to benefit his charity, Xcel University.

To purchase raffle tickets go to: ronartest.com.

Michael Jordan Autograph Jersey Taken from Tony Parker

Great idea... steal a the memorabilia and then try to sell it on Craigslist. Brilliant! Ah, the simple mind of a petty criminal.

A thief broke into Tony Parker's house and swiped a Michael Jordan autograph jersey (it wasn't even a Wizards jersey)! After filing a police report, investigators found someone trying to sell the stolen property on Craigslist. More info here.

However, all of Tony Parker's jerseys, shoes, basketballs, and NBA Championship Trophies were left untouched. How does a player feel when someone breaks into their house, but leaves all of your stuff and walks away with memorabilia from another player?

Greg Oden Rookie Card Hype - A Reflection

Remember Greg Oden's much anticipated rookie year? And then after his injury, the anticipation for his first year on the NBA court? I do.

Oden was top overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. After missing his rookie year due to injury, I thought it would be a brilliant idea to capture some of his rookie cards. I even had an article on the Cardboard Connection about it. D'Oh!

The sponsor of Oden's basketball-reference page asks if he is the next Sam Bowie? Seems like a good question today.

Oden's stats in the 2008/2009 season:

39 starts, 8.9 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game, and .5 assists per game.

Kevin Durant was the #2 pick in 2007 NBA draft. His 2008/2009 season stats:

74 starts, 25.3 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, and 2.8 assists per game. Durant also averages more than 1 steal per game.

But that was Durant's second full season and Oden's first. How does Durant's rookie year compare to Oden's (stats above) first year?

Durant stats in the 2007/2008 season:

80 starts, 20.3 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, and 2.4 assists per game. He also averaged 1 steal per game.

My other brilliant card collection ideas:

• Ryan Leaf rookie cards
• Brien Taylor rookie cards
• Lastings Millege rookie cards

Greg Oden Rookie Debut - One Year Late

- This was posted on the Cardboard Connection Blog -

It took a year, but Greg Oden will make his rookie debut this week when the Portland Trailblazer's season tips off. Oden was the first pick in the 2007 draft, but suffered a knee injury the following summer.

Without Oden, the Trailblazers managed to reach 41 - 41, but missed the playoffs for the fifth straight year.

The last time a rookie waited this long with this much potential was David Robinson. "The Admiral" brought a San Antonio team back to respectability and eventually helped turned them into NBA champions. David Robinson took the Spurs from 21-61 the year before he arrived to 56-26 the following season (an NBA record turnaround at the time).

Is Greg Oden the next David Robinson? That's probably not a fair comparison, but Trailblazer fans are hoping. Oden's rookie card prices are still pretty fair. Take a look at his cards before the season is in full swing. If Portland can finish at .500 without Oden, where will they finish with him?