Getting to Meet a Current Yankee!

Hey guys, Drew back here! After another week of school has concluded, again without a single snowflake hitting the ground, I'm back here to show off my experiences from last weekend's "Man Show", a show dedicated to men, men, and well... men. At this packed show, there were all sorts of manly games, merchandise, beer, and what not. The reason Dad and I went there was because a company called Dream Team Promotions was holding an autograph signing! The Dream Team company has held many local signings of current New York Giants football players lately, with an occasional Jet or baseball star mixed in. They had two signers at this show- David Robertson of the Yankees, and Chase Blackburn of the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants! If you guys know me well enough by now you'd know who I was going to meet!

It was absolutely mobbed with men (and a few women here and there, along with my younger sister) at the show, and the lines were really long for the most part. I got into the Robertson line as soon as I could, and while we soon found out we were in the wrong line, we still didn't have to wait all that long for our opportunity to meet him. I forgot my digital camera at home, so I put my Dad and my sister in charge of taking pictures with my iPod touch and my dad's Droid. The pictures came out better than I thought, so I was happy about that.

The Yankees' "Houdini" was sporting his 2009 World Series ring, and the picture above is of him showing that thing off. I would too if I ever got a World Series ring! After about a 45 minute wait, I finally got my chance to have my meet and greet session. 

For the first time in a long time, I actually felt comfortable talking to an athlete. Normally, I tense up and get really nervous, and I have a loss for words by the time it's my chance. But, Robertson was really down to Earth and friendly as can be, so I was able to ask him about this upcoming season and if he's ready to take him another World Series trophy. He told me he would love to get a matching ring for his opposite hand, and that he's going to try to help the team bring home number 28!

I wasn't allowed a photo opportunity with him, as you had to pay extra money, which I find ridiculous, but oh well. I bought a photo at the show for him to sign, although my original intention was to have him sign my Mantle photo. I thought about it on the ride there though, and I thought he wouldn't really fit on a photo filled with former Yankee autographs. By the way, thank you to everyone who helped me identify all of the autographs, especially you Anonymous, who helped me identify the final auto, of Ron Davis. Anyway, Robby inscribed everything I wanted him to inscribe and more, which is just beyond awesome! I was worried with all of the steep autograph prices the company had that inscriptions would cost extra, but even if they did, he didn't seem to care one bit. He was a class act, for sure. 

I've always liked Robertson a lot, but after this signing my appreciation for him grew even more. Sure, he got paid good money to sign autographs, but it's really a rarity to see any young players doing signings nowadays in my area. I hope the Dream Team Promos company continues to succeed with these signings, because I would love to meet some more Yankee players who aren't locked up to contracts with Steiner yet. Robertson was well worth the money, as you can see from the autograph and the overall experience. Even though I didn't necessarily get a picture with him, he was just a super cool guy. 

Thanks again Dream Team, and David Robertson! You guys are awesome! Also thanks to Dad as always for taking me to the show, it was definitely worth it for me! 

See Ya!

Mail from William... Orioles Fanfest Pickup!

Hey guys, Drew back here. You may be a bit puzzled as to why the title contains "Orioles Fanfest Pickup", following "Mail from William", who is an Orioles fan. However, William recently went with his son to this year's Orioles Fanfest to meet many O's stars, past and present. One of the stars there was one I wanted pretty badly for my custom set. I didn't get the custom done in time, but William was still awesome enough to get a card signed for me. He sent it over my way a week or so ago, and it came out awesome! Before we get to that, first here are a few extras he threw in:

First are just a few mixed Yankees. Besides the Matsui, I don't think I had any of the others. But who knows. My basement is such a mess.

I thought this was pretty sweet. It's a Don Mattingly card from 1992 Upper Deck, part of the "Iooss Collection". Walter Iooss Jr. was a photographer who apparently took all of the photographs for this set. This card is numbered 5673 of 10,000, and features an awesome picture of Donnie Baseball. Definitely needed that one, for sure.

While those were cool, the main piece of the package was this signed 1973 Topps card of Jim Palmer! Like I said, I didn't get my card to him in time to get it signed, but this looks really awesome. He signed it in thick black sharpie, and the card is in pretty decent shape. Palmer was considered one of the, perhaps the best pitcher of the 1970's, winning 3 Cy Young awards and making 6 All Star teams. I already own one autograph of his, from one of those early 90's Nabisco products, but this one is my favorite of the two.

Thanks again William for doing this for me, it really means a lot!

See Ya!

Fresh Off a Big Win, Knicks Auto Pickup!

Hey guys, Drew back here. Until this year, I've never really been a basketball fan, but I would watch it here and there. I got the privilege a few years ago to play on an NBA Court (Continental Airlines Arena), and I'll never forget making a 3 pointer on that court. I've bounced back and forth over the years as a Knicks and Nets fan, depending on how they were doing, but this year I decided to become a permanent Knicks fan. It's nothing against the Nets, but I love their current team, although they've struggled quite a bit. One of my favorite current Knicks is the one I just happened to pick up an autograph of recently. Take a look:

Out of the 2009-10 Panini Crown Royale product, here is a sweet di-cut rookie auto of guard Toney Douglas numbered out of 699! Douglas may not be Carmelo Anthony or Amare Stoudemire, but I think he's going to be a very solid player for a while. This season he's averaging a little over 8 points a game, and he's just a solid team player overall. I really like the design of this card, and I'm glad I stumbled upon it on eBay a while ago. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up a few more Knicks autographs for my collection (maybe Jeremy Lin next, after his performance last night!), and maybe they can be somewhat of a contender by the end of the season. I know I'll be watching!

Speaking of what I'll be watching, as a Jets fan, tonight will be a difficult night. However, I'm going all out for the Giants to beat New England in the Super Bowl, because there is no team in football I hate more than New England! Let's Go Giants!

See Ya!

Congratulations, Curtis Martin!

Hey guys, Drew back here. Today was the announcement of the 2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction class, and I was extremely pleased to see one of my all time favorite football players get a well deserved honor, in former Jets running back Curtis Martin. This is the first time that somebody I got to watch play quite often has been elected into any Hall of Fame, for that matter. I know it will be the first of many, but it is going to be truly special to watch Curtis officially become one of football's elite.

I began watching sports in 2004, starting in the fall when the Jets were contending in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the one highlight I remember most was Doug Brien missing a field goal that would have brought them into the AFC Championship game, and going on to lose to the young Ben Roethlisberger and his Steelers team. Somehow, as crushed as I was from that game, I continued to watch sports more and more. I guess it was love at first sight! Another part of that season I remember was when Curtis Martin won the rushing title over Shaun Alexander by a mere yard. So, to say Curtis Martin helped me grow interest in sports in general is a very fair statement.

Now, over 7 years later, I sit home all day writing about sports and collecting cards and memorabilia. Seeing the headline "Curtis Martin leads 6 HOF Enshrinees" on ESPN.com made me revert back to those days, before the collection, before the hobby entered my mind, and way before this blog was started.

Martin only played for 3 seasons during my football interest "era", but he to this day is one of my favorite players of all time. It's cool to think that I was able to see a Hall of Famer play in person, even though I know I've seen more future Hall of Famers play that just haven't been eligible for induction yet. I'm sure a majority of you all have seen players like this in your life, but I'll never forget the memories Curtis Martin left behind, and what he's helped me grow to love.

Thank you Curtis, and again, a huge congratulations on becoming a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame!

See Ya!

Topps Tier One Relic Pickups!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Moving along with the rest of the stuff cluttering my desk, here are a few cards I was able to pick up off of eBay recently, both of which go towards my new set chase! Take a look:

First off was this Brooks Robinson jersey relic out of 2011 Topps Tier One, numbered 76 of 399! Obviously, I know a certain blogger who would love the heck out of this card, but for the sets sake, it's going to have to stay with me. There's no doubting that besides Mike Schmidt, Brooks could be arguably one of the top 2 or 3 best 3rd basemen of all time! This card is so nice, and the jersey relic is so soft! 

The next, and final card for this post was this 2011 Topps Tier One relic numbered 179 of 399 of Mets Hall of Famer Tom Seaver! I'm not sure what to really make of this card. The design, photo, and just about everything was executed perfectly. But I'm a little stumped as to why they chose to use a bat relic of his for the set. It's very rare to find bat cards of pitchers, and it can be a cool find here and there, but in a high end relic set like this, wouldn't it be smart to choose something more, um, relevant to the player? Seaver was a lifetime .154 hitter, with 12 home runs, and 99 hits in 1552 at bats. Go Tom Terrific! Besides that fact it's a pretty nice addition to the set chase!

Alright that'll just about do it guys, please shoot me an email or comment if you have any of the Tier One relic cards. I'm only looking for the the single relics, except for these players- Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and Mickey Mantle, who I am interested in adding the dual relics for. Thanks!

See Ya!