William The Refrigerator Perry Cancels Again

Is William "The Refrigerator" Perry in poor health? For the second time in the last few months he's canceled an appearance at an autograph show.

He was scheduled to appear at the Land of Boz Superstar Sports Signing Oct. 19 in Canton, OH. A make-up date has not been added to the site. During the summer he canceled for an appearance at CincyCardShows in Cincinnati, OH.

I hate to see the last minute cancellations. Hopefully the Fridge is OK. I'm ready for some more William Perry GI Joe figures!

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?

Top 5 All-Time BYU Quarterbacks

On the 133 year anniversary of the founding of Brigham Young University, here are the top 5 quarterbacks in the football program's history:

5. Steve Sarkisian - 1996 Sammy Baugh Award Winner

4. Robbie Bosco - 1984 Sammy Baugh Award Winner

3. Jim McMahon - 1985 Super Bowl Champion, 3rd place in 1981 Heisman Trophy voting

2. Steve Young - NFL Hall of Famer, Super Bowl Champion, 1983 Heisman Trophy runner-up

1. Ty Detmer - 1990 Heisman Trophy Winner, 3rd place in 1991 Heisman Trophy voting

Adam PacMan Jones Suspension - Who's to Blame?

Adam Jones was suspended (again) by the NFL this afternoon for the fight he had with his bodyguard last week. Those on the scene of the altercation say Jones had been drinking which is a violation of his parole with the NFL, although police did not give him a breathalizer test and charges were not filed.

Who's to blame for Jones' suspension just 6 games into his first season with Dallas? Obviously he shouldn't have been reinstated if he can't stay clean before the half-way point of the NFL season. But who should get more of the blame?

• Do you blame Jerry Jones for trading for him and taking a chance on him? This wasn't a good move for the team.
• Do you blame NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for allowing him back into the league? Jones wasn't ready to return to work if he can't stay away from bottle just 6 weeks into his reinstatement.
• Do you blame the NFLPA for not doing more to help Jones? Should the NFLPA have done more to help Adam, make sure he's not chemically dependent on alcohol and provide him with all the help he needs?
• Or is Adam Jones the one person to blame for his situation? Does it matter if Jones becomes diagnosed as an alcoholic? If that's a disease that he can't control, is he still to blame?

Billy Mays - As Seen on TV - Autograph Success

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  UPDATE: RIP Billy Mays. Sad to see him go.
  
  Yes, those are autographs from the Billy Mays that sells everything at 2am from "Mighty Putty" to "Orange Glow." No one sells products (and does the hand gestures) like Billy Mays does!

I've been a fan of Billy Mays for a while and then I read this article in the Washington Post last month.

I like Billy Mays because he's someone who rose to the top of his profession (yes, selling this stuff is a profession) by starting at the bottom. The founder of Orange Glow met him at a home show in Pittsburgh and that started the Billy Mays double-the-offer path to success.

After the Washington Post article, I sent Billy Mays the baseball (see picture) and a letter on Sept. 4, 2008. I put the baseball and the letter in a box and included the return postage. A month later, I wasn't sure if I had the right address in Florida and I lost hope that I'd see the baseball or the autograph photo I requested.

On Friday, October 10, I received the box from Billy Mays with the baseball and autographed photo. I requested that he sign the photo to Todd, a coworker of mine who still believes the Sham-Wow guy is better. Please!

Here's the long list Billy Mays products:

• Aquapel Awesome Auger, Ground Aug, Weed Auger, and Power Extender gardening tools
• Bedazzler
• Big City Slider Station
• Black Swan Furniture
• Bloomin' Onion Maker
• Buddy Putty
• Calcium Lime Rust
• Currie Motors Chrysler Credit Hotline
• Cutco Kitchenware
• Ding King automotive dent remover
• Easy Off Bam!
• Energize energy supplement
• EngraveIt
• FixIt car scratch remover
• FoneFree wireless cellphone headset
• Foodsaver
• FreeFone wireless phone holder
• Gopher reach extending tool
• Handy Switch
• Hercules Hook wall hangers
• iCan Benefit Group, LLC
• Kaboom
• Lint-B-Gone lint brush
• Liquid Diamond car waxing product
• Mantis Roto-Tiller
• Micro-Men Duster
• Mighty Mend It
• Mighty Putty
• Never-Scrub tile cleaner
• Orange Clean, Orange Glo
• OxiClean
• Quik Strip wire stripping tool
• Ragazzi's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria
• Samurai Shark knife sharpener
• Sandstrom OnTV
• Sealtite Tire Sealant
• Simoniz Fix It Scratch Remover
• Slider Station Burger Maker
• Steam Buddy
• Street Options Auto Accessories
• Swiffer SweeperVac
• Tommy and Rumble
• Turbo Tiger vacuum cleaner
• Vidalia Chop-it
• Vidalia Slice-it
• Vidalia Slice Wizard
• Zorbeez absorbent towels

Have a Date with the 1986 Mets

MAB Celebrity Services is hosting a VIP Cocktail Dinner with the 1986 Mets. For $299 per person, you can have two Mets from the 1986 team seated at your dinner table. You get food, drink, a giftbag and the chance to bid on 25 items on auction.

With my luck, I'd get Rick Anderson and Dave Magadan at my table. I'm sure they're both very nice people... but when I think of '86 Mets, I don't think of Anderson and Magadan. Dave Magadan used to drive me nuts when I was a kid. All I heard Steve Zabriskie say on WWOR was "Magadan has hit .300 or better at every minor league level." He had a good year in 1990, but never seemed to live up to the hype. Now's he's the hitting coach for the Boston Red Sox.

Personally, I'd like to find that worm hole, go back in time 22 years, and play texas hold 'em poker with Roger McDowell, Doc Gooden, Wally Backman, and Darryl Strawberry! Now that's a poker table!

New Sponsor Ideas for the Arizona Diamondbacks Pool

Riviera Pools is filing for bankruptcy and will no longer sponsor the swimming pool just beyond the right-center fence.

Here are my ideas that Chase Field could use to sponsor the pool next year:

- Viagra: We help everyone and everything swim better

- Vivid Films: Getting people wet is what we do

- Taco Bell Volcano Taco

- Travis Henry: His boys swim anywhere & everywhere

Thanks: AZCentral.com and Baseball Think Factory

Two Things You Can't Have Enough Of

You can't have enough t-shirts and plastic cups!

OK, obviously there are more than these two things, but these are definitely two of them. Why can't you have enough t-shirts and plastic cups? Each t-shirt and plastic cup captures a moment in your life and tells a story.

(Guys - use this excuse when your wife or girlfriend or both complain about the plastic cups in the cabinet and t-shirts in the closet.)

I wear t-shirts all year and most of my t-shirts tell some kind of story. They are stories are about where I picked up the shirts and what they meant at the time. For example, I have a Pac-Bell Park t-shirt that I bought in August 2001 during the Barry Bonds home run race. I went to games there on a Tuesday and Thursday and Bonds homered on the Monday and Wednesday (of course). Willie Mays was on the field on Thursday and it was great to see a legend like him in person and on the baseball field. The t-shirt reminds me of that trip, before baseball was intoxicated in PEDs, and before our country changed a few weeks later.

Yes the souvenir cups cost more at the game, but those things last forever! I use a Cincinnati Reds souvenir cup that I bought (full of diet coke at the time) with Ken Griffey Jr on it. In 2000, I bought it at the Cincinnati Reds opening day game. It was Griffey's first game in a Reds uniform and it was a rare Cincinnati home opener that was called for rain. The Reds tied the Brewers that wet afternoon 3-3. Junior was hitless in two at bats.

Keep your dignity and don't throw out those old cups and worn t-shirts! Keep them and bore someone with the story of when you bought them!