T.S. O'Connell Says He'll Blog from The National?!

What?!

T.S. doesn't blog from his own site why would he think he's going to blog from the floor of the National Sports Collectors Convention?

P.S. T.S. - I know I've said this before, but it isn't a blog if you aren't taking comments. It's a column.

SCD, Coach's Corner, and Scooby Doo

What is the relationship with Sports Collector's Digest and Coach's Corner? According to the NY Daily News . . . it's over.

To summarize the story like the end of every Scooby Doo episode:

- Coach's Corner and SCD were receiving a lot of tough questions from collectors over the authenticity of their auction items.

- Collectors began questioning the authenticity of the items and the alleged improper relationship between a company built to be a voice of collector (SCD) and a company with a questionable reputation (CC).

- TS O'Connell was tired of fielding questions about the authenticity of the items and the stopped taking comments on his blog (now an online column).

- The conversation didn't stop, it moved somewhere else - blogs like Mike the Ring Guy.

- Two organizations who may have been leaning on each other for survival are standing alone.

Was SCD pressured to stop taking advertising dollars from Coach's Corner? Did the internet and bloggers have an affect? Or as the comments on the Mike the Ring Guy's blog suggest - is this the tip of the iceberg?

"And they would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for you meddling kids!"

Are You Threatening Me?

Are you following the comments from Mike the Ring Guy's Sports Blog?

In May I blogged about TS O'Connell stopping comments on his blog because he was tired of getting Coach's Corner Sports Auction and SCD relationship questions. Since then, the The Sports Ring Sports Blog and others have decided to move the conversation from the SCD site to their own blogs and some aren't happy about it.

Check it out.

Autograph Alert - Is SCD DOA?

The fall-out over a Sports Collector's Digest possible conflict of interest continues. Autograph Alert continues the pressure.

SCD could have answered the questions on their forum and on their blog, but they decided to cut-off the debate by not allowing comments on their blog. Stopping comments/questions on your site does not end the discussion, it moves it. The discussion has moved to Autograph Alert, Voice of the Collector and Sports Rings.

I asked TS earlier this week to reconsider and allow comments again, but this hasn't happened yet. They need to get their arms around the situation and begin to answer questions from their customers.

Should You Remove Stains from Trading Cards?

Gone with the Stain - Cleaning Baseball Cards

Is it unethical to get a stain removed from a trading card for resale? What if the grading companies can't detect it the chemicals that are used to remove a stain?

This is the sports card collector's dilemma if they get a card cleaned by "Gone with the Stain." Chris Nerat at the Gavel Chat blog had a great interview and article with the founder of "Gone with the Stain."

According to "Gone with the Stain," they remove gum stains, etc from cards without being detected by the major card grading companies. They say the chemicals they use remove the stain only, do not make the card brittle, and do not have any odor.

I see the point that the cards shouldn't be touched or enhanced in any way especially if you are selling it. Or is it the same as washing/waxing your card before selling it to the car dealer?

Collecting Stadium Memorabilia

Sports Collectors Digest has an interesting article for collector's waiting to collect a piece of Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium.

The Yankees and Mets are in negotiations with the city to sell as much of the stadiums as possible before hitting them with the wrecking ball.

I would think Steiner Sports will have some involvement. Steiner sells everything Mets and Yankees on their site from used jerseys to locker room chairs. I sent an email to Steiner Sports today and asked if they would be involved in this effort. I'll post a response as soon as I hear.

I talked to Steiner Sports representatives at an MAB show last year. At the time, they told me they hoped they would be involved and they were also in negotiations with the city and the teams. Rumors on the message boards last year said that NY Mets season ticket holders were offered their season ticket seats for $800 a piece!

I have a jar of Yankee Stadium outfield dirt that I'll blog about later this month. I picked it up during a tour of the stadium in April, 2002.

Steiner also has a deal with the Dallas Cowboys, but so far, Dallas has been selling the seats to Texas Stadium through the team.

If you want real memorabilia from Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium, or other stadiums that get demolished, don't purchase the "last season" marketing branded t-shits, coins, and plaques. That's not memorabilia or a collectible, it's probably not worth the material its made out of. However, I think it would look great if you get some the last season branded baseballs signed by Mets or Yankees legends.

There's a great article about the new Yankee Stadium in the current SportingNews magazine. It's still on book store shelves if you want to read more about the revenue and how new stadiums have changed the way baseball teams make money.