First Fan Sides With Steelers

So word has it that President Barack Obama has picked the Pittsburgh Steelers to emerge victorious in Super Bowl XLIII. While we may not see the First Fan hanging around the White House clad in Steelers apparel or hanging Steelers items on the South Lawn, it’s no biggie that the Commander in Chief is backing Ben Roethlisberger on Sunday. After all, you couldn’t even tune in to any sports shows this week without hearing debate about if Big Ben is the next Tom Brady. While NFL memorabilia collectors will have to wait and see if their Roethlisberger signed items can match up to Tom Brady memorabilia in value over time, Big Ben certainly has the chance to edge closer to Tom’s elite status as an all-time great quarterback.

Fans who have collected Ben Roethlisberger or Kurt Warner autographs should be elated to the fact that in most cases, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback is often the game’s MVP. In fact, in the first 42 Super Bowls, the Most Valuable Player has been the winner’s quarterback an astounding 22 times! Does that mean collecting quarterbacks’ memorabilia is a wise idea? The answer is simple: absolutely!

Super Bowl XLIII Is Three Days Away!

We’re finally just days away from Super Bowl XLIII. It’s so close, I could almost smell it. And while I’m not necessarily sure exactly what that means, I do know that we’ve worked hard to lock up some great Super Bowl memorabilia just in time for the game on Sunday. Super Bowl XLIII memorabilia is in-stock and available now, and we should be able to offer some autographed NFL footballs from both teams before the middle of next week! Even while this year’s game may not have the star-power of the New York Giants and the New England Patriots, I’m sure this Sunday’s big game from Tampa will have all NFL memorabilia collectors, fans and most certainly yours’ truly tuned in.

Bryant Tops NBA Jersey Sales

It’s not a big surprise that Kobe Bryant autographed jerseys are top sellers in the world of NBA memorabilia. After all, the reigning MVP tops the list of NBA jerseys sold so far during the 2008-’09 season and his team has the top record in the Western Conference at 35-9. Anyone who knows sports knows that Bryant is a complete stud. The biggest evidence of his unmatched popularity comes simply from the sheer amount of how many fans show up in Lakers apparel to the team’s away games. While you can expect Bryant to have fans around the country, and even the globe, don’t expect too many yellow shirts in the house when Kobe and the Lakers head to Boston in a week from tomorrow. The Lakers-Celtics rivalry is as hot as any professional sports, and after being fueled by an NBA Finals match-up last June, you really get the sense these two teams (and fan bases) just do not like each other.

The Lakers, who play the most games on the road for the remainder of the regular season, don’t return to the Staples Center until February 10th when they square up against the Charlotte Bobcats.

White Sox Looking Forward To ‘09

With just under 20 days remaining until their pitchers and catchers report to spring training, the Chicago White Sox are looking to build upon their 2008 American League Central crown and look to return to their second World Series in five seasons. While they couldn’t get past the Rays in the MLB Playoffs last season, there has never been a more excited time to pick up some White Sox memorabilia. Standout guys like Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye have supplied us with a fresh inventory of autographed bats and autographed baseball jerseys, not to mention some new signed baseball items from veteran guys like Paul Konerko and Jim Thome.

Despite their high expectations, the White Sox play in arguably the toughest division in baseball not played on the East Coast. While I don’t have any doubt they’ll compete and possibly win the AL Central, the re-vamped Cleveland Indians and always-pesky Minnesota Twins will as always prove a tough customer for the South Siders.

Savvy Steeler Collectors Jumping On Super Bowl Berth

The outcome of Super Bowl XLIII has yet to be determined however don’t tell that to Steelers’ fans. Not only have we had a massive jump in calls for Pittsburgh Steelers memorabilia, but also big-time demands for Ben Roethlisberger autographed jerseys and Hines Ward signed photos. Is it you Steeler fans think you’ve got this one in the bag? Maybe, or maybe it’s because you’re wise collectors cognizant to the fact that the value and prices of sports memorabilia can skyrocket after a team wins a championship. Single players can experience this trend more than others. While Pat Burrell, Brett Myers and other Philadelphia Phillies saw a jump in their value, none of them could even touch the jump witnessed for Cole Hamels autographed memorabilia. The same could be said for the clamorous uproar over Eli Manning signed items after the New York Giants won Super Bowl XLII. So while I may think many of the Steeler fans out there may think they’ve got this Super Bowl already in their bag, they’re also taking a wise and oft-traveled approach to collecting NFL memorabilia.

Our New Arrivals Section Is A…New Arrival!

That’s right! Sports memorabilia enthusiasts can now check out our fresh hot items in our new arrivals section! We’ll be sure to add on new autographed memorabilia every day, so check back often if you’re thinking about adding some brand new autographed footballs, a signed baseball or just about anything to your sports collection!

Three Million+ Vote Howard Into All-Star Game

So while all the news this NBA season has been about the Celtics’ roaring start and LeBron James’ looming 2010 free agency, most of us have overlooked the Orlando Magic and the league’s best young big-man Dwight Howard. While we might not carry any of his Superman capes, we certainly do have a great choice of Dwight Howard autographs for all you savvy NBA memorabilia collectors looking for some new style for your collection.

That said, the cape would be pretty damn cool.

While the Orlando Magic center has become the first player in NBA All-Star Game balloting history to go into the 3-million vote stratosphere, it looks like he’s finally earning his place next to the Dwyane Wades and Kevin Garnetts of the world when it comes to pure talent. A look at Dwight’s scoring average per season indicates why he’s one of the hottest commodities in the autographed basketball market. Since his rookie campaign kicked off back in 2004, Howard has averaged 12, 15.8, 17.6, 20.7 points per game and is again above 20 per night this season. With their 33-9 record good for fourth best in the entire NBA, it may not be long before Dwight Howard joins Dwyane Wade and Kevin Garnett in one other fashion: NBA Champion.

Who IS This Guy?! Oh Wait!

Besides being one of the best stories in the sports world, the emergence, and current re-emergence, of Arizona Cardinals’ quarterback Kurt Warner is one for the record books. Of course the record books are more likely to reflect how impressive the 37-year old has looked in reaching his third Super Bowl as a starting quarterback. Oh, and that’s not to mention he’s leading a franchise to the Super Bowl that hasn’t won a championship since gasoline was $0.08 per gallon. The time has finally come for the two-time NFL MVP to get some love from sports memorabilia collectors, and we don’t expect autographed Pittsburgh Steelers memorabilia demands here, just a fair uptick.

The fact is that Kurt Warner autographed football demands are finally starting to creep up with that of Steve Young autographs and even Troy Aikman signed memorabilia. It’s pretty great news for a man who finally quit stocking grocery store shelves for a shot with the Arena Football League back in 1994. With his soaring highs with the St. Louis Rams and his crushing lows with the New York Giants in his rear-view, Warner now looks to cement himself as a first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback with an Arizona victory in Super Bowl XLIII.

Stars Have Much To Prove On Championship Weekend

With the exception of the Pittsburgh Steelers, I’m pretty sure everyone is as surprised by me by the other three participants in this Sunday’s NFL Conference Championships. I mean let’s be honest here, we’ve all poked holes in Joe Flacco’s maturity, the Cardinals’ oft-absent defense and the Philadelphia Eagles mostly nameless receiving corps. But all three of those supposed shortcomings really showed me something this past week. The Arizona Cardinals defense proved opportunistic, the Baltimore Ravens really do have a solid signal caller in the rookie Flacco and the Eagles’ DeSean Jackson is an absolute stud. Even though my team passed on Jackson despite needing a speed receiver, I wouldn’t recommend passing on one of his autographed NFL footballs. The same goes for autographed Donovan McNabb memorabilia. Already one of the most popular players in the NFL, a Super Bowl victory would make the former Orangeman a strong candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Besides Brett Favre and Peyton Manning, the greatest active HoF lock has to be Cardinals’ quarterback and two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Kurt Warner. Manning rebounded from a poor start to claim his second MVP award but my vote would have went to Warner. After putting up some of the most memorable seasons in NFL history, Warner was stashed behind Eli Manning in New York and was to be placed behind Matt Leinart in Arizona. Those first class receivers, head coach Ken Whisenhunt and those long-suffering fans in Arizona should be thankful No. 13 would have no part of that.

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Rays Ink Kapler

Just days after the Boston Red Sox signed away their oft-injured franchise staple Rocco Baldelli, the American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays agreed in terms with former Boston outfielder Gabe Kapler on a one-year deal. The 33-year old Kapler played four seasons in Boston before retiring to manage the franchise’s single-A affiliate in Greensboro, North Carolina. Just a year after proclaiming he was following his dream of managing, Kapler returned to the diamond last season for the Milwaukee Brewers and hit a career-best .301 with 17 home runs and 38 runs batted in. In my opinion, you can’t blame a guy who steps away for a year or two and gets his fire back for the game. Imagine what that would do for the hundreds of guys we think dog it around Major League Baseball every season.

At 33, Kapler becomes the second veteran agreeing to don a Tampa Bay Rays jersey in 2009. Pat Burrell, who split from the City of Brotherly Love just two months after helping the Philadelphia Phillies win their first World Series championship in just over two decades, will likely be the team’s starting left fielder if Joe Madden chooses to move the speedy Carl Crawford to center. I guess we’ll have to see if sports memorabilia collectors will now make some of Burrell’s autographed baseball memorabilia amongst the most popular in the industry. After all, we’ve already seen the boom in sales for Evan Longoria signed baseballs and autographed baseball bats after just one breakout season in the big leagues. Then again, people have been waiting for Burrell to evolve out of the .250 career hitter he’s always been, and a move to baseball’s toughest division might not have been the best remedy.