The Brill Report: The NFL; Less is Good?

By Bob Brill

  First off, let me thank you the readers for the overwhelming response to last week's column! Wow. We've never had so much response to any column we've ever written and the amazing thing is it ran 9-1 in favor of the position we outlined.

  While some of the faithful were a bit surprised the column took a political tone (Meg Whitman former eBay chief running for California governor) they none the less responded and with fervor. A couple of readers were not even hobby folks but rather people who ran across the column for one reason or another and threw in their opinion. The California primaries are next year so we'll have to see where it goes and what the voters do. Oh, by the way, those opinions expressed here were totally that of the author and not Sportsbuy.com. Thought we'd throw that in just for grins.

  Now on to this week's topic; The NFL and when the next shoe drops. Any day now we expect to hear something from the football licensors regarding the number of licenses they will have regarding NFL football cards. Will it be down to one? Will there be three as there are now? Will it be only two? Let's delve into a little history.

  It was 1989 when Pro Set (the official card of the NFL) came into being with Lud Denny leading the way. He got himself tied to a couple of John's working for the NFL (under the old NFL Properties division) which handled merchandising. Eventually those two John's were fired in disgrace as the NFL allegedly found them dipping into the perverbial cookie jar. Now to this date no one has been convicted and no charges have been filed but there is some good circumstantial evidence basically showing a couple of guys making lots of money on the back end supporting Pro Set, while their bosses were kicking in money to a company heading into bankruptcy. It's not that the owners were clean either but we will leave it at this for the moment.

  In a previous column years ago I wrote and got comment from at least three card makers that they basically had their arms twisted to kick back some "extra" product to certain inviduals in return for these licenses. No names were given but the same people were targeted. Only the then-Fleer VP we spoke to called me a "muck raker" for reporting the story. Of course he was the guy who got the license for the then "Official NFL Trading Card; GameDay." Wow! No conflict there, huh?

  Well the real life story is the NFL and the NFLPA (the Players Union) were battling each other in court over lots of things and while the owners had lots of money to burn, the players did not. They figured out if they licensed trading cards they could basically finance their lawsuit against the owners. So they did. They gave a license to every Tom, Dick and Wild Card who wanted to print trading cards and the money rolled in.

  At one point there were no less than 16 companies making NFL trading cards. Some with only the permission of the NFLPA. Of course as time went on Wild Card, Pro Set, Pinnacle, Collector's Edge and even the Ted Williams Card Company fell by the wayside. Even unique Action Packed was swallowed up by Pinnacle which ended up owning many of those brands. Finally there were only three.

  We have Upper Deck, Topps and Donruss/Panini/Leaf et al. Somewhere along the way someone at Upper Deck really ticked off the guys at the NFLPA. One insider told me "The PA loves Donruss and Topps and if the PA decides to go down to just two licenses Richard (McWilliam CEO of UD) will find a big surprise waiting for him."

  Well it looks like decision time might be around the corner and Upper Deck keeps losing licenses. They no longer make MLB Trading Cards or NBA Trading Cards. They sort of have an exclusive on NHL trading cards and they make NFL cards, for now. If indeed, in a dwindling market for sportscards, there is a cut it is likely going to be the boys from Carlsbad.

  Now don't go feeling sorry for McWilliam and his team. They have worked hard and secured lots of licenses for collegiate sports, NCAA, minor league guys and of course hockey. And they still have exclusive rights to Jordan, Lebron, Sid the Kid and Ovechkin. Not bad, oh and of course the only golfer anyone cares about; Tiger Woods. So it ain't so bad.

  The NFL has never allowed players to be exclusive with any one company so while UD has the likes of Favre, Manning and more it's not like those guys can't sign for pay for someone else. Yes it could come down to the fact the company which started the "Hobby" trend by making cards "for collectors" might just be the first one out of the shrine when it comes right down to the big boys and trading cards for 2010 going forward.

(DENVER & THE STEELERS) -- For those of you who know me well you know I'm from Pittsburgh and an avid Steelers, Pirates and Penguins fan. Monday brings my annual trip to Denver where a friend of mine has season tickets for the Bronco's. Each year he invites me to see a game of my choice and the last couple years it has been the Steelers. The guys is a good friend and he puts me up, takes me to dinner and handles my transportation. Really though he loves me to come because I have never gone to a game in Denver the Bronco's lost. I can't stand any team which plays my Steelers and I hate to see them lose. I almost didn't go this year because my Steelers are holding tough in an effort to repeat for the Super Bowl. I can't not go though, so think good thoughts for the Doc (my friend) and my hook up with Stadium Cards owner Mike Fruitman who will be there too. May I go home with a Steeler win under my belt.

(PATTI WAGGIN BOOKS) -- Just an update on my new book "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale." I'll be doing signings in NorCal shortly. Oakland I'll be at the Uptown Theatre Nov. 16, Chico at the Barns & Knoble Nov. 17, Sacramento's Avid Reader Books on Nov. 18 and at Russo's Books in Bakersfield on Nov. 19. If you are close by please come on out, buy a book and have some fun. I'd love to meet you. Check the website for times and addresses. You can contact Bob at any time at bob.pattiwaggin-AT-gmail-DOT-com

Tags: deck steelers mlb nflpa letters broncos upper baseball donruss denny stadium lud patti sports fruitman company nfl fan ebay topps waggin meg whitman

The Brill Report: eBay Still Sux and So Does the Potential Governor

By Bob Brill

Not only does eBay continue to suck but are you just tired of hearing how former eBay CEO Meg Whitman is going to fix California when she's elected governor and Arnie retires? Since I sit behind a microphone at the only all news radio station in Los Angeles at least 14 hours a week I have to listen to her commercials and hear her stretch the truth through her teeth while I watch the trading card industry suffer more losses due to the likes of eBay.

First of all let's look at "eBay!" When it first started it was a pretty good thing and became an industry standard. Then came their lack of policing autographs -- try looking for bad stuff and you'll see the same old guys selling the same old fakes. Over the years eBay did bring more collectors back into the market by putting a death knell on retail hobby stores. The stores were forced to play the eBay game right out of business.

Even today it's terrible although the overall economy hasn't helped, but eBay's policies are getting worse and worse. Why on earth can a buyer leave negative feedback for a seller, but a seller cannot leave negative feedback for a buyer? The only solution is to "not leave feedback at all" because it doesn't mean anything anymore! If all the buyer can get is a positive no matter what kind of malicious, perverted, demeaning, thieving, scumbag he/she is then what is the point?

And the value? Drop it off the edge of the planet Mac. For instance, this week I listed a 1955 Bowman Eddie Lebaron rookie card graded BVG 7.5. That is basically an 8 for a key rookie from 54 years ago and a HOF player as well. I started the bidding at $9.99 figuring it would go to about $40. It's real true value is about $60 and it should be $75. Well how does $10.50 sound? SUX to me but that is where it ended up and to think I once turned down $30 for it in my store when I had one.

Well enough of that and onto Meg Whitman. She left eBay as CEO and as one of the richest women in the world. Let me say that again "one of the richest women in the WORLD!" Does the word billionaire come close. Her reported NET WORTH is $1.4 Billion. That is right, "Billion" with a "B."

So now she wants to the Governor of California. Well la-de-dah. Her pitch is threefold. Here it is, via the radio commercials which I've heard ad nauseum.

1. Create new jobs because as she points out she created thousands of new jobs at eBay while she was CEO, creating thousands of new businesses. That is true, businesses with no benefits and thousands of new businesses who don't pay or collect taxes creating the largest underground economy in world history.

2. Government shouldn't spend more than it takes in so she will freeze spending, cut taxes and take those government service departments which are out of control and eliminate them and lay off thousands of people who are government employees. Wow! Talk to the state legislature about that before you do anything because that is what you have to. Let's see lay off thousands of state workers? Doesn't that kind of conflict with No. 1 above? Put more people on the street who are paying taxes and paying their bills. Hmmmm, now that sounds like a plan. Oh and getting rid of those departments which aren't paying their way? Schools, roads, the State Board of Equalization (the guys who collect sales taxes) and all those government watchdog agencies who keep an eye on all those oil companies and other large anti-green and anti-government oversight firms. Wow that will work. Cut taxes? How long do you want to stand in line at the DMV? The EDD? Or any other state required agency? Cut taxes, cut jobs and make lines longer and have services only available three days a week.

3. Schools. "We're going to give more choices to parents and reward better teachers by paying them more." So let's see that means school vouchers for private schools and home schooling (more money out of public schools) and Merit Pay for Teachers. All Merit pay does is create greedy money hungry administrators and teachers in the classroom. Merit pay works if your kids are widgets but they are not widgets. They are indivdiual learners who learn at their own pace and more often than not there is nothing any teacher can do which will make a slow learner, learn faster. Now you can get all the smart kids into a few classrooms and no matter who the teacher is they will perform better on those tests. That teacher will get more money because of the better grades.

Now here is something which might work. Teachers might go for it if you let them draft their kids just like NFL teams draft their players. Let's say you have three first grade classes in a school. Each teacher the first year draws their position from a hat. They draft from the upcoming 2nd graders in an even mannered order as in a Fantasy Football Draft, but the second year and from then on they draft in reverse order of finish. If teacher no. 1 has the best overall student test scores in year one, she drafts last the following year and so on.

You can even let the teachers trade kids. You give me two better than average kids for one dumb one and one highly intelligent kid. And there are some dumb ones just like there are intelligent ones. Now don't forget the Non English Speakers. We have to spread them out evenly which sounds a little like discrimination but hey this is corporation here, we can push that under the rug for now.

Under this system each teacher has a chance build a winning team to make more money. Otherwise, under the way it's actually planned, what is to prevent a teacher from offering half of his/her bonus salary to an administrator in return for stacking her class with smart kids. And if an administrator doesn't like a teacher what is to prevent them from stacking her class with dumb kids and kids who can't speak English at all? Nothing. This is why running a classroom is not the same as running a corporation. It only works with widgets and you may want widgets from your loins but my kids were never widgets.

You see what you will get for teachers in the future is not caring teachers who want to help kids. You will get greedy salesperson types who only care about the almight buck, not the kids. And why not? You are paying them more to get higher grades and getting higher grades is not teaching them to learn, it is getting them to get more points on a standardized test, biased test or not. Heck I might become a teacher. Show me the money! Who cares about those little brats? Whip them into shape, memorize things, reward them with candy, whatever it takes to get those little brats to get higher scores. Who cares if they learn anything? I don't. Just SHOW ME THE MONEY! Now for those of you who know me you know I'd never become a teacher under any circumstances. It's a very difficult job and you have to care, which is why Merit Pay does not work.

So Meg, yes you built up eBay, but let me ask you this. You keep saying cut taxes. If you are elected governor of  California are you going to go after all those new businesses you created via eBay and make them collect and pay their California Sales Taxes? Oh, that's right go to her web site and ask Meg? I'll wait until I get her on the air instead.

         ---------------

Finally I can announce copies of my new book are on store shelves as we speak. I'm told sales are good for "Fan Letters to a Stripper: A Patti Waggin Tale." I will be signing copies of the book this Sunday afternoon at Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd., in West Hollywood. You can also see a video of the making the book on YouTube. C'mon out and pick up a copy. I'll also be in four northern California cities in coming weeks. The week of November 15th I'll be in Oakland, Chico, Sacramento and Bakersfield for signings with one coming up in Ventura but it's as of yet not decided regarding a date. You can read more at my website.

Tags: whitman baseball grading merit waggin don ebay lebaron rudolph beckett california patti pay football psa meg governor

The Brill Report: Who Blew the Yankees?

By Bob Brill

Okay now here is the ultimate disaster for sports memorabilia. Was it Steiner? Was it the Yankees? Or was it the *&^xn&8#+-AT-! Mailman? But somebody blew it and someone needs to fess up!

The NYY and Steiner get together to offer seats for sale from the old Yankee Stadium. The price tag a whopping $1500 a pop! Now that is bad enough but for an extra $500 the collector/buyer can get the seat of his choice. So, John Lefkus decides he'll go for broke (which is an appropriate term here) and get the very exact seat he's sat in for 23 years. He's a freaking season ticket holder for gosh sakes! He ought to know where he parked his butt for 23 years and 81 games a season. He's sat in that seat for approximately 1863 games, or 16767 innings. He ought to know which seat is his.

Steiner and the NYY sent him a reburbished seat with new hardware! These are things Lefkus says they stated right in the ads they would NOT DO! HE showed his lawyer the ad and then added when he got the seat it had obviously been dismantled during demolition and reassembled without regard for what parts came from what chairs.

Now his rear end sat in that seat often enough to understand the seat ain't his. I'm sure he sat down, moved around to get his proper feel and it just didn't FEEL right. Again if anyone would know it would be Mr. Lefkus.

He filed a class action suit. You go GUY! Kill'em, nail'em to the wall. Get your butt in an uproar and put theirs in a sling. Aren't you just a little bit tired of those who can screw you in the collectibles world, will screw you? We're not talking a $1.25 baseball card here. We're talking $2000 worth of sitting down for 23 years. Plus Shipping & Handling which we're sure Steiner and NYY didn't throw in for the heck of it -- although for a 23 year season ticket holder they should have walked it to his house and threw him a party.

What a hack job! Oh by the way, Lefkus says Steiner put a different seat number on it and tried to pass off a non aisle seat as HIS Aisle seat. Now c'mon guys did you have to do that to the guy too?! If I'm paying $2000 plus the price of my season tickets I want the ^%&$*# right seat!

The guy wants $5 million. Brandon can afford it and so can the NYY! Pay Up or Go Away!

(LILLINGTON, NC) $40,000 worth of baseball and football cards were stolen from a home in Lillington, NC, as cards again are once again the target of thieves. Owner Bart Dillow says $400 in cash plus jewels also were taken. As the economy continues to be bad, thieves continue to look for easy to flip items and sports cards still are a sound investment for a thief.

(HOLLYWOOD SHOW STARS) Guess who appeared at the Hollywood collectibles show in October to sign autographs? Big names Debbie Reynolds, Mickey Rooney, Jackie Cooper and even Valerie Cartwright of Lost in Space and Make Room for Daddy fame. The show has really come on lately with the big name signers.

(CASH FOR CLUNKERS IN SPORTS) You read it right. Famed artist Don Marquess, who does lots of sports stuff for his Marquess Gallery, is offering a strange bit of twisting of the Obama Administration. If you turn in art, any art, posters or whatever you will get a one-third discount on any art you buy from him. It has to be at least an 11 x 14 size purchase to qualify and your art really doesn't have to be much of nothing to qualify. Check out his stuff at www.baseballfineart.com. Tell them you read it here. It won't get you anything special but thanx anyway.

(PATTI WAGGIN DON RUDOLPH BOOKS ARRIVE!) Yeah Baby! Finally. The books were delayed a month when the printer in China put the books on the wrong boat. Thank the Good Lord Somali Pirates weren't looking for a book on a baseball player and his stripper wife. Suggeted Retail Price is $49.99. Check it out on line at Amazon or the others, our own web site www.pattiwaggin.com, or at your local book store. Ask for it by name "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale," or by author name; Bob Brill. The Special Edition book is only available on our website and it's limited to 200 and sells for $199. It comes with an autographed item by the late Patti Waggin and a DVD of one of her performances and is signed by the author as well as numbered. You can also email me at bob.pattiwaggin@gmail-DOT-com

Tags: don waggin rudolph lefkus seats letters steiner yankees patti fan brill stadium sports stripper burlesque nyy

The Brill Report: Kobe in the fold

By Bob Brill

  There is no more perfect fit in sports marketing. Kobe Bryant and Panini. What more could you ask for after Kobe signed an exclusive deal with the trading card and sticker maker. Here are the facts as Panini sees them.

1 ) Panini is the exclusive maker of basketball trading cards in the world. Kobe Bryant is the no. 1 players in the NBA today, LeBron James notwithstanding Kobe has won championships.

2 ) Panini is an Italian Company with world wide distribution in stickers. Kobe was raised in Italy, speaks fluent Italian and collected Panini stickers as a child.

3 ) Panini knows how to market it's goods. Kobe is known world wide and is a very easy marketere. He is Marquee.

  It was only seen as inevitible and since UDA and UDC lost the rights to make NBA trading cards Kobe had to find someone to market with. His comments hold true.

  "I know from my own experience growing up, how fun collecting and trading these products can be. I really believe collecting these products has the power, through the unique emotions of sports, to unify and strengthen bonds within families and across social groups, no matter what age you are. Panini and I are passionate about developing this hobby in many new and exciting ways."

  It was a natural fit for the Italian company and the kid who grew up watching his father Jelly Bean Bryant play in the Italian version of professional basketball. Speaking Italian fluently means a great marketing tool for Italian TV as well. Kobe can address fans in their native tounge and this means a lot to those who have watched TV with subtitles.

  I like Panini and always have. They will bring a fresh new approach to the trading card game even though it will take some time. Having Kobe locked up shows they are serious.

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(PANINI AMERICA) -- I'm sold! Panini just sent dealers and journalists a nice new packet and it actually included something usable. It was a large round basketball mouse pad with the word "Panini" on it. Finally something useful in the mail from a card manufacturer as a freebie outside of shopping bags. I've always liked Panini, my Italian is descent and I have friends and relatives in Italy. OK Panini I've given you a plug, now how about a job?

(RUMORVILLE) -- My how rumors spread. A former customer came up to me this week to pick up her annual Topps Factory Sets. I hold them while she's out of the state for months at a time. Her first question to me was "Is it true none of the card companies are going to make cards will the players on them? Are we still going to be able to get our Topps sets?" I explained the licenscing situation and how it evovled and how only Topps will have guys in their uniforms and logos. Her answer was "Good Topps will be the only real cards then?"

(1991 DONRUSS) -- Six weeks and counting. It has been six weeks since I unveiled my plan to make 1991 Donruss and other products of that era hot and valuable again. No one yet has taken me up on it. Darn it! I tried to get rid of that stuff for you guys but no one would listen. Another tree falling in the forest and lots of lumber was cut from 1986-1993 for trading cards.

(MCFARLANE LTD) -- McFarlane is taking the collector thing to the next level on it's prime action figure line. The Sportspicks figures will carry six different levels of collectibility including MVP which will be limited to up to 50 figures. In this instant collectible world no one yet has figured out what makes the thing collectible and desirable is time and the end user, not the manufacturer today.

(CORRECTION) -- Brad Abbott owns www.Rickeyhendersoncollectibles.com and contacted us to correct us upon stating it was Rickey's site. It is not but he has worked with the Henderson people regarding the site and products. Thank you for letting us know.

The latest Patti Waggin Tale. You have heard me talk about my new book about to hit store shelves on September 28. Well "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale" has been delayed about a month. It seems the shippers in China put the books on the wrong boat and it's still on the water. They will get to my publishers warehouse October 18. Now as long as Somali Pirates keep their hands off my ship we should be fine. Delayed, but fine. Our book signing at Book Soup in West Hollywood will be on November 1, at 2pm.

Sorry about taking last week off. Just too much to do and ran out of time. You can contact bob at bob.pattiwaggin-AT-gmail-DOT-com

Tags: rudolph baseball to a panini basketball burlesque fan waggin mlb kobe mcfarlane topps soup letters rickey nba book donruss stripper don patti

The Brill Report: Bummed on eBay

By Bob Brill

I'm Bummed, really Bummed. The only thing I really want these days is actually two things and one of them I will never see, let alone get. I just missed out on the second ever of such items and I'm bummed. The items in question are the Topps 1962 Civil War News Sets in both French and Spanish. I have the USA version and the UK version, but the other two are very, very rare.

I've only ever seen the French set twice in my life. I've spoken about it with other CWN collectors but the hallowed set has rarely ever been seen. Twice it has popped up on eBay in the last six months. The first one sold for around a thousand dollars from a UK seller. The second one, which closed this week with the owner from Canada, closed at $547. I bid $537 with 3-seconds left. The winner was obviously willing to go much higher. I would have but in the end it would have just driven up the price for him because he had more money to spend.

This wonderful set is based on paintings and came out shortly after Mars Attacks from Topps. It was the 100th anniversary of the War Between the States, or if you are from below the Mason-Dixon Line, the war of Southern Rebellion. Remember the cannons at the airport in Richmond, VA still point north.

The set is the most colorful and wonderful set ever produced by Topps and was the first box of trading cards I ever recieved as a child. My sister popped the $1.80 for her little bro for this one. I was a Civil War buff. I opened the box and bought a few packs and was finally only one card short of a a complete set. "Submarine Attack" tells the story of the CSA Hunley, the first submarine used in warfare and actually attacked an enemy ship, later made into a TV movie by Ted Turner starring Armand Assante. In 2004 a military funeral was held for those who died on her final voyage. The wreck was discovered a shorr time earlier.

I found that card on the final day walking out the door taking one more last shot at the last table at the 1991 National in Anaheim. The price? $2! I was more excited than a pig in s**t. Man this was it!

So later on I set my sites on 1) the UK set, 2) the never seen French set 3) and the very rare Spanish set. Oh and in the midst I collected the Confederate Money inserts and decided to put together a complete PSA 8 graded American Set.

I so far have all but 18 of the USA cards in PSA 8 grade. I have the UK set and would like to put together a graded set but not now. Funds being what they are. The UK set, which is made from Topps but distributed by a regional company and carries the tag name; A&BC cards. They are smaller in physical size and the back is more white than gray in it's back ground.

The French set is the same except the text of course is in French. The Spanish set is the same dimension and in Spanish text but all blood, guts and fire are removed and the set looks rather bland. I've only seen a few of the cards on line over the years and they are rather boring and ugly. What makes the set colorful, the fire and blood is all removed. Still it is the rarest of all the rares in this genre.

The story goes it was more of a test as was the French after the United Kingdom Set was actually a hit. The british are very interested in the American Civil War. I recently recieved a book about the war, written by a Scotsman, from a friend in Scotland. The take on the war is very interesting certainly and I read things I never heard of in USA books and studies.

The UK set is rather plentiful but the oh so nice and rare French is not. I tried to buy the set outright from the Canadian but it was his first attempt on eBay and he was playing by the rules. Good for him, bad for me. I didn't get it. The Spanish set? Now that is another story. Is it out there? Does it exist?

One of the unique items about this set overall is the fact there are "newspaper" stories on the back of each card, this Civil War News. The writers admittedly made it all up. In some cases they actually got it right. I read an article once where the authors of the cards were interviewed and they said several of the stories were complete fabrications but some of them were based on actual events. Either way they did a wonderful job. Too good perhaps.

                                          ==================

We are expecting our new book to be on book shelves any day now. "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale" is scheduled for September 28 but we understand it is a little ahead of schedule. The story of burlesque queen Patti Waggin and her husband former Washington pitcher, Don Rudolph is told through photos and fan letters as a coffee table style book.

Tags: topps fan letters 1962 mars french hunley brill waggin baseball news bob patti a&bc attacks uk war rudolph cwn don civil set spanish

The Brill Report: Roger Staubach Set Revisited

By Bob Brill

In 1994 friends of mine at the Ted Williams Card Company contacted me about writing the backs of a new trading card set they were producing. I had never done this before but I always longed to and immediately jumped at the job. I was handed the task of writing the backs of the 60 some odd base cards while my good friend Steve Ryan, I learned was chosen to write the insert card backs. The money was good too as I think I was paid about $50 per card. This became a lost art in the 1990's when card manufacturers in an attempt to save money decided to put no text on card backs. Instead there were stats and player details such at home towns and birth dates.

Since Steve and I both came from journalism backgrounds, he in newspaper me in radio as well as print, this seemed like a fun although somewhat daunting task. The end result turned out pretty good and unlike the initial offering of the Ted Williams Baseball Card Set, the Roger Staubach Set was pretty close to free of errors.

Well, I did put Bert Jones in the NFL Hall of Fame but aside from this mistake I think for my part it was error free. My biggest mistake was in assuming someone at the card company was going to be proofing everything I wrote. I learned very late in the game when I had to drop a player or two and add others, this was not the case. So for all my good intentions Bert Jones fans will be thrilled.

"It says right there in black and white on this football card, 'Bert Jones is in the NFL HOF,' and that counts," a fan might counter.

Well I'm here to say don't count on it. The only thing which might justify this error is if someday Bert Jones really is elected to the NFL Hall of Fame. His time may be passed. The first TWCC baseball set was loaded with errors and the company took some heat for it. Not so with what proved to be the only football set TWCC produced. It made one more baseball set, an attempt at basketball and then went out of business.

My real claim to fame in the set is the fact aside from cards produced by Signature Rookies, the O.J. Simpson cards was readily signed by the Juice while he was in jail. I took a strange sort of pride in looking down at a dealer's table noting the Staubach series Simpson card signed in jail, was "my handiwork," minus the signature of course. That was pretty cool.

I remember being instructed when it came to stats on the back I was to choose the players five best years which in most cases was pretty easy. Just look at the stats. There were some players we used however who did not have FIVE good years. Some did but not statistically. For instance Ray Nitschke has only three years of stats on his card while Buck Buchanan has none. What kind of stats do you put for a defensive lineman anyway?

The set was fun and it filled my need for research. I love research and while sometimes I don't do enough of it, finding the facts and putting together a story from them is just way too cool. I relish in it.

There were a lot of questionable guys in the set probably rather because the company could only afford certain guys, while others wanted way too much money. If you are picking the top 60 players of all time why on earth would you put Cardinals QB Jim Hart in this group? He was a four time Pro Bowler and a star during his time but he is not anywhere close to the top 200, let alone 60.

I had trouble with Hart who only completed 51.5% of his passes and threw 36 more interceptions than TD's. This just didn't add up. There were others as well but economics I'm sure played more of a part than sports reality.

There was also an insert set called "Dawning of a Legacy" which featured the Steeler's Neil O'Donnell. We all know how he turned out. He made it to the Super Bowl and became a goat then out of the NFL. Steve told me there were some insert sets he had trouble writing because he had to write so much and not be repetitive. This was surely one of them.

All in all it was a job I loved and would dearly love to do again. It was fun and profitable. And who knows maybe Bert Jones will make it to the HOF afterall. I know if I had a vote he'd be there if nothing more than to just prove myself right.

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(RICKEYHENDERSON.COM) -- It had to happen. Everyone else is doing it so why not Rickey Henderson. Henderson now has a memorabilia website where he sells his signature and other items. He is "the greatest!"

(PURDOM DOES TWO) -- Celebrated Sports artist Bill Purdom is producing two new litho's for the Bill Goff galaries, celebrating Yankee Stadium. The first shows Mariano Rivera throwing the final pitch at the old stadium while the second offers up C.C. Sabathia tossing the first pitch in the new ball park.

(FANTASY NFL) -- Get your FFL picks ready, that is Fantasy Football League. The NFL season is underway officially and it seems as if 75-percent of American males are in a league or two or three. We've noticed the last two years it seems (it seems no hard stats here) as if fewer people are being drawn to FFL. The economy is likely one reason the other is "time."

(DONRUSS A BUST?) -- SO is nobody going to offer to take us up on our idea to rejuvinate the likes of 1991 Donruss and 1988 Topps. Read the last two columns if you don't know what we're talking about but we are serious here.

You can reach Bob at bob.pattiwaggin-AT-gmail-DOT-com. You can also visit his website www.pattiwaggin.com, to read about his new book coming out shortly, or to pre-order it. "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale" details the life in photos and fan letters of burlesque queen Patti Waggin and her husband, White Sox and Senators pitcher, Don Rudolph. Check it out.

Tags: hall purdom roger goff rudolph ted patti staubach jones fame henderson of bill brill waggin hof ryan steve bert rickey williams don bob

The Brill Report: September Best for Baseball

By Bob Brill

It doesn't happen as often as it used to but the Dodgers did something this past week which brought me back to my youth and put a tingle in my spine. First of all, I hate the Los Angeles Dodgers. I do. I've never liked them and being born in Pittsburgh I've always been a die hard Pirates, Steelers, Penguns, Wrens, Pipers, Condors, Panthers, Nittany Lions fan. Hard CORE! Never liked the Dodgers.

However, I spent most of my youth and young adult years in Los Angeles so there was no way I could get away from them. I listened or watched almost every Dodgers-Pirates game from 1964 through 1971 that I could. This was my era, my time and I can still tell you the batting order for the 1966 Bucs against both left and right handed pitchers.

The Dodgers did something this past week which I really enjoyed because I believe it ensured them the division crown because they went back to their roots. It's not every team in contention who goes out and gets a basically washed up player for the stretch drive and puts them to good use. They are just end of the season September veterans who are looking for a last shot at a World Series with a club on the edge.

When Los Angeles went out and spent "two players to be named later" for Jim Thome and Jon Garland it brought back the memories of the mid-1960's all over again. If the Dodgers win the division by one game and Thome gets two game winning hits -- it's all worth it.

At the tale end of 1966 the Dodgers went out and got Wes Covington as a free agent after he was released from the Phillies. Basically washed up he would finish the season with Los Angeles and never play again. In 37 games he batted 33 times mainly as a pinch-hitter. The slugger didn't do much but did drive in 6 runs and smack one homer. The Dodgers won the pennant by 1.5 games over the Giants.

That same year, at the same time they picked up Dick Stuart, the aging first sacker after he was released by the Mets. While Stuart would go on to play another year with the Angels, all he did in the last month of the season was hit .264, smack 3 homers with 9 RBI. Again the Dodgers won that year by 1.5 games.

Remember Ken Boyer? How about Rocky Colavito? In 1968 in the last 40 games Colavito drove in 11 runs with 3 homers while Boyer was picked up earlier that season and batted .271 in 83 games with 6 homers and 41 ribbies.

In 1964 when Tommy Davis broke his leg they had to go out and get a veteran outfielder. Lou Johnson had floated from Mexico to Pittsburgh and more than once to Chicago. He came to the Dodgers with $10,000 for Larry Sherry. In 1965 he led the team in homers and added two in the World Series to become the Series' hitting star.

The latter two deals are a stretch from where I started but they proved the point the Dodgers seem to value; a veteran player despite where he is at the moment can make the difference. These guys are usually at a spot in their careers where they go all out for one last shot and if the Dodgers win the pennant look for Thome to win a couple games all by himself.

Thome is 12th on the all-time homer list and has one of the coolest swings on earth. Garland will eat innings which is something more valued than wins and losses in MLB 2009. So the Dodgers locked themselves in pretty tight and this time both players are eligible for the post season.

It might even make a difference in their trading cards? Nah. Both Covington and Stuart, while $10 cards in late 1966 were both in the uniforms of their former teams and both are treated as $10 commons.  Today it might be a different story but who wouldn't want a card like that? 

By the way: 1966 Pittsuburgh Pirates Batting order:

Against Righties: M. Alou cf, Gene Alley ss, Clemente Rf, Stargell Lf, Clendenon 1b, Baily 3b, Mazeroski 2b, Gonder c.

Against Lefties: Gene Alley ss, Manny Mota lf, Clemente rf, Clendenon 1b, Baily lf, Mazeroski 2b, Pagan 3b, Pagliaroni c.

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(DONRUSS-TBR) -- Did you guys think I was kidding last week? I wasn't! We need a warehouse to store all those cases and boxes and singles of all those 1988-1993 Donruss, Score and Topps cards along with Fleer. We're going to destroy millions of them to make the price go up. Any volunteers?

(UPPER DECK EURO TOYS) -- Believe it or not Upper Deck International has a huge selection of toys and is going marketing crazy. It lost Yu-Gi-Oh and most thought that would be the end since trading card games held about 70-percent of UDI. The CEO of the division says its toy market is actually bigger than its TCG's. Disney is one of the favorites under license but there are many other Euro and Asian based toys in the mix.

(KILZ KILLS COLLECTORS) -- A new survey by the KILZ paint company says 39-percent of the women surveyed are turned off by sports memorabilia in a guy's home and 63-percent said the way a guy decorates his home reflects his maturity level. Mickey Mantle or my wife? Bill Mazeroski or my wife? Is the jury still out in your case?

($4 BILLION DEALS) -- Well if you were like us and wondering why on earth eBay would pay $4 billion for Skype when it happened a couple years ago guess what? So did they. eBay sold the VOIP service this week for basically what it paid for it; $2.75 billion. The company would have had to go to $4 billion when it bought Skype originally if profits increased. eBay could never figure out how to integrate Skype into the auction web site.

At the same time Marvel sold out to Disney for $4 billion. Remember when Marvel stock was .35 a share and several of you asked me if you should buy it and I said "yes." Marvel closed at $47 a share the other day.

(T206 WAGNER FOR $50) -- Want to read a great column, then read this link. We've been saying it for years and its good news the mainstreamers have picked it up.

(BOOK SIGNING) -- Bob Brill will be signing his new book "Fan Letters to a Stripper: A Patti Waggin Tale," September 24th at 5:30 p.m. at the Ventura Museum, 89 South California Street in Ventura, CA. Books will sell for $45 (less than SRP) with a portion of all sales going to the Museum. The coffee table style book details the life of the Burlesque queen and wife of former major league pitcher, Don Rudolph, in photos and letters from her fans.

Tags: honus ebay boyer thome garland udi skype patti rudolph brill colavito kilz waggin covington disney donruss stuart marvel jon dodgers

THE BRILL REPORT; MAKING 1991 DONRUSS HOT AGAIN

By Bob Brill

We are going to start a campaign to make lots of older, crap cards valuable again --- even more valuable than they ever were. Are you ready. We will need everyone to participate and no cheating please.

What is a box of 1991 Donruss Baseball cards worth today? A dollar a box and you over paid? How about 1989 Topps Baseball? 1992 Upper Deck? 1991 Leaf? Or the ultimate 1990 Score Baseball? If you took a box of each and paid $5 for the lot you would be wasting your money as it now stands.

So how do we rectify this situation? The answer is easy. The basic rule of thumb when it comes to collectibles is as follows;

"If everyone can have it, nobody wants it but if few people can have it everyone wants it!" Very simple Brill 101.

So the way to make those products and everything else with few exceptions from 1986 through 1992 worth something is to make it scarce. We are prepared to do this with your help. You have to help or you will not benefit. There of course will be those who will try to take advantage of the situation and not participate hoping to score big. Screw them! They are the same scum bags who have permeated this hobby for decades and only when they die a fossil's death and are extinct will their foul stench drift off into the sunset and the word "flip" will be useless in modern society.

Here is what we will do. We will set up a warehouse (any volunteers?) with cooperation of someone in the hobby. A huge warehouse. The space will need to be donated. Then we encourage everyone who has a financial interest (all of us) in this hobby to send every box and single of all baseball products from 1986 throu 1992 to this warehouse.

You won't get paid, you are giving it up! You will pay the shipping. The people recieving it will not get paid for storing it. When the warehouse is full and only then we will destroy the cards. Crush them, burn them, drop them in the Mississippi River. I don't care just legally destroy them.

Then we will do it again and add in football products from 1990 Pro Set and Score and Topps thru 1991 Football with exceptions such as Stadium Club. When the warehouse is full again, we'll destroy those. Burn baby Burn, sink baby sink and chop man oh man, chop. Singles too remember?

This will make a pretty good dent especially if we get the 100,000 caseload target for the two warehouses. By destroying 100,000 cases of products including singles we will take so much crap off the market it will be unbelievable. Sets too, dump them for burning.

Of course some of those scumbags will hold onto a few cases hoping to make a big strike when there is a demand for this stuff but so what. People will remember who they are. Now if you have 100 boxes, keep a box or two, or say 5% of what you have. If we get 80% of this stuff includings singles and sets into the dumpster can you imagine what that will mean for the rest of the stuff. Can you imagine paying $150 for a box of 1991 Donruss Baseball?

It will be a great scenario. Now here is what we need; who wants to donate a warehouse? More than one is fine. Call me, or better yet email me at bob.pattiwaggin-AT-gmail-DOT-com  Let me know if you have a warehouse you'd like to donate for this stuff. You can't keep it, you can only store it until we find a way to fill it and then destroy the contents when it is full.

As soon as we get the warehouse locked in, we'll start telling the public and dealers where to send the stuff. We are serious!

Lou Brown don't you have a warehouse we can use? Dave Bronson, how about it? Edge Man? Hamps? Dave & Adam? C'mon boys pitch in and win one for the hobby. Think of all the publicity we'll get for the hobby. Maybe just maybe someone can figure out a way to recycle the cardboard and save a tree.

C'mon and pitch in!

(UPPER DECK/TOPPS HOCKEY) -- Topps is coming out with a new hockey product licensed by the NHL in time for the coming season. It is not really a trading card product as Upper Deck still has the exclusive rights to the NHL. It is a licensed gaming product but we're sure fans of key players will collect their favorite player's game piece anyway.

(UD TO SUE TOPPS?) -- At least one publication, Sports Business Daily, is saying Upper Deck may sue MLB over the exclusive rights give to Topps to make baseball cards. As we reported here weeks ago the NFL is being sued over a similar decision when it comes to caps and the US Supreme Court is set to hear the case. A suit against baseball however has lesser legs to stand on due to MLB's standing with Congress. Congress long ago and the courts upheld it in 1972, ruled baseball is immune from anti-trust monopoly status because of its importance to America.

(CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU) -- Major league baseball has crossed the line by issuing a license for caskets and urns to stuff your ashes into. It's basically the ultimate fans way of saying "Yes I can take it with me." You'll be dead! You can't cheer from the grave and your team won't care anyway! You will be dead! MLB has licensed Eternal Image with the rights to offer team logo caskets for $4500, team logo urns for $800 and team logo headstone medallions for $200. The urn comes with a baseball on the lid which can be signed by your favorite player or you and kept for posterity. I repeat; YOU'LL BE DEAD!

(PENNEY'S FOR YOUR DREAMS) -- Dreams Inc., slash Mounted Memories is hooking up with JC Penney for an on-line sports collectibles presence sometime in October. The on-line deal will tie the two together for fan collectibles such as mugs and stuff to apparel where the real money is. JCP did at one time carry collectibles such as signed items from The Score Board but dropped out when everyone else did. Now they are coming back in the on-line arena at www.jcp.com. The hook will be so strong you will see World Series collectibles the night after the event.

(CARD STORE DAMAGED IN FIRE) -- It is St. Johns, Canada where Maverick Sports and Collectibles has been standing but not so much anymore. A fire in the building next door led to damage as well at the sports store. Owner Andrew Corbett said it was the second time in five years his store caught fire. He expected heavy damage to his merchandise in this one.

(LUG NUTS AGAIN) -- Press Pass announced it's bringing back race-used lug nuts for its Main Event card product. Lug Nuts were the very first ever "game used" items when Press Pass debuted it years ago. Victor Shaffer, who invented the concept, is no doubt laughing somewhere.

(TOPPS DISCOVERS CREDIT) It only took them 50 or so years but Topps is finally giving dealers something they've cried for, for years. A second credit card on file, and Discover. The company will now start taking Discover cards with dealer purchases and in addition dealers can have a second card on file in case the first is full. Dealers fought for this for years but Topps management refused preferring to lurk in the dark ages. The company still does not take American Express. Upper Deck does.

You can reach Bob Brill through his website www.pattiwaggin.com or via email directly at bob.pattiwaggin-AT-gmail-DOT-com. Patti Waggin is the name of a long dead burlesque queen and any day now Bob's book on her will hit store shelves. "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale" is basically Patti's story and that of her husband baseball player Don Rudolph through photos and letters from fans. Two other books are planned. Bob will be signing September 24th at 5:30pm at the Ventura Museum in Ventura, and at Book Soup in West Hollywood on Sunday October 18, at 2 p.m. Check the website for details.

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Tags: credit donruss dreams letters fan caskets pass nhl maverick score topps shaffer press deck patti inc. card mlb penney lug nuts to urns brill upper lawsuit don waggin dead discover jc rudolph anti turst logos a stripper bob

TBR: Vintage Clubhouse Signatures to the Pro's

By Bob Brill

I was listing a bunch of baseballs on eBay and on my website www.pattiwaggin.com this week in anticipation of finally selling them. They are all baseballs certified by JSA, Jimmy Spence, and all either team signed or single signed to people I own the rights to. In doing so it again occurred to me even in the 1960's when a player got a team signed ball he couldn't be sure all the sigs were real.

Case in point. As you may know I own the rights and most of the estate of Burlesque Queen Patti Waggin and her husband Don Rudolph. Rudolph was a journeyman pitcher who had a wonderful minor league record and a mediocre major league career. In the estate I found many autographed team balls from both the big leagues and the minors. There were all-star photos signed, baseballs signed and all sorts of great stuff. I had JSA certifiy all of it.

When it came to the 1961-63 NY Yankees signed baseballs I was appalled by the fact Don Rudolph, a major league pitcher was given baseballs with clubhouse signatures. Mantle, Maris, Howard and occassional others would not sign baseballs given to colleagues. Not always true because a couple of the items were signed by the likes of the M&M boys.

I did notice most of the bad teams, and Don played for some of the worst, didn't mind signing. The early 1960's Washington Senators were good. Gil Hodges, then managing, could have passed. However, his autograph on the one baseball I listed was one of the most beautiful sigs I've ever seen. The likes of Woodie Held, Rich Rollins and Dick Donovan usually signed and happily.

The 1962 Indians baseballs I had were similar. On one Sam McDowell, Johnny Romano and Barry Latman were clubhouse signatures. On another only McDowell wouldn't pen is name. A local friend of mine was the Indians clubhouse keeper in 1964 to about 1966 and he admitted he was the "clubbie" signer for that team.

"I usually signed for Birdie Tebbits, the manager and the starting pitcher," admitted Billy Malone. "For the most part the mid-60's Indians were good about signing but Birdie was usually too busy and the starting pitcher rarely signed on the day he was pitching, so I had to, management ordered me to."

Malone went on to explain it was part of his job and usually under direct orders from management to finish the team signed baseballs given to sponsors of the club. Car dealerships, furniture and department store executives all wanted a signed baseball. Some got a "Billy Malone."

Everyone in the hobby knows about Charlie "The Brow" for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Johnny the clubhouse boy in Boston among others. Few folks know some players wouldn't sign balls going to players. In the case of the minor league baseballs we didn't run into any clubbie sigs but then again in the minors it was something to do between long bus rides, I guess.

One thing about Rudolph he signed when asked. I recently got a call from a older man who heard about the book coming out, "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale," and wanted to tell me about Don's kindness. Elliott Caine said he met Don at a minor league game in Indianapolis and got an autograph. Don became his favorite player right then and there. He continued to write to Don and Don continued to write back, sending him a post card from the big leagues in 1963 and encouraging the youngster.

He said he was always very enlightened by the fact this major league player whom he'd met in the minors put his on his Christmas Card Mailing List. He said for years he continued to get cards at Christmas signed by Patti and Don! That was pretty cool.

The minor leagues are still probably the best place to get a signed ball finally surpassing Spring Training. You just have to hope some of the guys on the baseball make it and make it big. Even in today's world this is a tough proposition.

 (NEW WEB SITE) Authentic Sports Collectibles is offering web sites affiliate like marketing similar to Google Ads. The site, which specializes in everything under the sun (some underpriced, much of it overpriced) offers competing websites the opportunity to flag some business for it and then pays a small commission if the sale is made directly from your site to theirs. Interesting concept if it works. However if you are selling the same thing as them how does it help you?

(UD OVECHKIN DEAL) Upper Deck still reigns in its element. The company inked NHL MVP Alexandre Ovechkin to an exclusive deal. Since it is the only company allowed to make NHL trading cards how exclusive can it be? It does mean when it comes to autographs and such stuff, he'll only be doing UDA for pay.

(QB WHO? WHERE?) Brett Favre in Purple and Mike Vick in Green? Now that is something I didn't figure on ever seeing in the NFL outside of a dream which turned into a nightmare. This last week we were treated to Favre coming out of retirement and signing with the hated Vikings and the hated Vick actually getting a contract in the NFL and inking with the Philadelphia Eagles. I always thought he should have signed with Cleveland so he could get boo'd by "the Dog Pound."

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You can reach Bob at bob.pattiwaggin-AT-gmail-DOT-com. His book "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale" is due out any day from Schiffer Books. You can order it on line or on Bob's Website at www.pattiwaggin.com where you can also see some of those wonderful baseballs he talked about.

Tags: waggin indianapolis held deck letters association cleveland the hodges report minor rudolph maris sam brill fans indians leagues team malone fan patti baseballs mantle upper woodie autographs mcdowell american gil billy signed

The Brill Report: Upper Deck Goes Back to School

By Bob Brill

If you needed more evidence the new trading card market is in the tank just look to the latest movements in the category. Consolidate, eliminate and now reach in places you would not have reached for if the market were strong. Upper Deck, on the heels of it's losing its Major League Baseball License, signed a deal to take over much of the collegiate card market with the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC).

The tell-tale sign is the quote from CEO Richard McWilliam in the company press release.

"The move strengthens Upper Decks already firm position as the industry leader in delivering the most sought-after rookie cards in the market."

College cards have never ever been considered "Rookie" cards by anyone, especially the self proclaimed authorities on the subject, the price guide magazines. The term "RC" does not and will not appear in price guides for trading cards not licensed by the major sport and league. These cards have been and always will be "first" cards of a player, but never his "rookie" card.

The move shows the desperation of another card company trying to regain something it has lost. By adding college baseball players to it's package officially, Upper Deck is sending out the message it will look to try what Donruss has done somewhat sucessfully the last couple of years. Make baseball cards with draft picks and minor leaguers with no logo's and add in retired players.

The difference is Upper Deck has the right to use current major league playes in it's sets but without team logo's and MLB trademarks. It's license with the MLB Players Association allows it. Does it allow these major league players to appear in sets with non-union members however? This has always been a sticking point with the union.

Remember Barry Bonds dropping out of the union contract for baseball cards? The union said he could appear in any set the company wanted as long as no other current players were in the set. Well that says a whole lot. Topps eventually worked out a deal to bring Barry back as an insert somehow by himself with Barry as the ONLY player in the set. Remember the Barry Bonds chase to 714 cards? Topps overpaid a bundle for that mistake.

So what will Upper Deck do? Will they make players from college and retro college players (which they now have the right to do) and put them in stand alone sets? Yes, this is a given. These will be sold at stadiums, college book stores, college publications and more. Will the company also mix in some of those players into MLBPA sets it puts out? Without the logo's you might wonder if the union will allow it. No matter what UD does, the union will take a cut and with dwindling baseball card products on the market they will still be looking for their cut. We'll have to wait and see.

What does it mean for companies such as SAGE which is putting out a 2009 College Draft Picks Football Series, several of them? Sage basically with 6 autographs per box is selling autographs of players coming out of college who are willing to sign with a small company. With UD's autograph dollar power will Sage be on a short leash and will the company survive? It survived Press Pass because it created a niche. Upper Deck has the money to do that niche better.

A few years ago UD got the wrong idea when it got the license to make USA Baseball Player cards. They thought they could put these USA players into certain sets as "Rookies" but soon found out there are only specific uses for USA players allowed and what amounts to the Olympic team put a stop to it. Topps had already given up the license with USA.

Don't get this wrong because it looks as if UD will also be joining the draft pick market in a different way in both basketball and football. There will be other players too which means track, swimming and women's hoops. This all gives UD more autograph potential, cheap autograph potential as well as cards for "Americana" style sets.

If times were good Upper Deck, Topps and Donruss would not be going after college trading card licenses. The products were crap when they came out in the early 1990's and while it is believed UD will make much better cards than were made then, they are still college cards. Each college has a strong fan base who buy apparell, teddy bears, pencils and anything else with a logo on it. They do not necessarily buy "trading cards." It is a different animal and while they will translate into gift sales they will not translate into collector sales to any strong degree. The wide variety of schools will probably translate into a few big name schools.

You can count a dozen key places before you get to second tier. There are only so many Notre Dame, Penn State, USC, Michigan, Florida and Texas fans before you move into the next level of fans. Don't get me wrong all schools have their rabid fans. Will they be enough to warrant making trading card series or is "any additional money which comes into the pot good money," the stretch of an idea here?

The license kicks in during 2010. Upper Deck, Topps and Panini hope the market turns before then. If it does and dramatically, a collegiate license may just be history.

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(CARLSBAD) -- Another $50 pack of trading cards from Upper Deck. Prominent Cuts has 6 boxes in a case, 5 packs in a box and 4 cards in a pack. Cost for dealers is just under $30.  Retail would normally be $50. This means there are 120 cards in a case. In the old days they wondered if people would buy cards if they jumped from 40 cents a pack to 50-cents. Then UD came along and broke the $.99 pack barrier and a new order was formed.

(TIGER WOODS) -- Does the renewed play of Tiger Woods in the majors mean a return to the good old days when his Rookie card shot into the thousands of dollars? Look out Tiger is on a roll and already his memorabilia is beginning to attract attention again. The cards should follow.

(WASHINGTON) -- The Supreme Court will look to the expertise of Sonia Sotomayor in an upcoming case involving the NFL. The case could but not likely reflect on the exclusive deal given to Topps over Upper Deck to make baseball cards. The justice, in earlier times, helped settle baseball's labor problems. Now she will help decide Needle vs. the NFL. Needle makes hats and the NFL gave another company the exclusive right to make caps. Sounds like anti-trust and what does it mean for Topps/Upper Deck? Probably not much since in 1922 Congress granted baseball anti-trust exemption as our National Pastime. It was upheld back in 1972.

(AFL) -- Does the demise of the Arena Football League mean those few trading cards Upper Deck and others put out will become valuable? Not likely except for a few guys who might make it in the NFL, but what will become valuable are things such as stickers and front office letterhead which were likely shredded on the way out the door.

(VENTURA, CA) -- For those of you who might be interested in getting a signed copy in person of "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale," Bob Brill will be doing a signing in Ventura on September 24th, a Thursday night at the Ventura, California Museum downtown on California Street. It will be at 5:30. Books will be available at a discounted price if you want to purchase and the autographs are of course, Free! Such a deal. You can contact Bob at bob.pattiwaggin-AT-gmail-DOT-com for more information or go to our web site www.pattiwaggin.com to find out more. The Special Edition books may not be ready by then, but if they are we will have them as well.

Tags: supreme afl mcwilliam deck fantasy us topps don footbal cards court football woods mlb waggin richard league college rudolph upper anti trust mlbpa arena trading donruss sotomayor tiger collegiate bob patti clc panini brill