Brews’ Prince King of Milwaukee

I’m not too sure how often Prince Fielder signs sports autographs outside Miller Park on game nights in Milwaukee, but one thing is for sure, the guy is just lighting it up. The Brewers are 4-1 over the past five games mostly thanks to their slugging vegetarian first baseman. Over the past five games, Fielder is hitting an obsene .400 with two home runs, nine RBIs and four runs scored. Great for baseball memorabilia collectors and fantasy owners, it’s also been a shot in the arm for his batting average, which has soared from .170 to .239. With mediocre, tasty pitching awaiting in his series with the Pittsburgh Pirates this week, look for Prince to be one of the hottest players in MLB apparel throughout April.

Next Start Huge For Mets’ Perez

Donning a New York Jets jersey and with a smile ear to ear, NFL rookie Mark Sanchez threw out the first pitch in tonight’s Mets-Marlins game at Citi Field. As the pitch soared across the plate, I joked with a Mets’ fan that he was officially the second-best hurler to put on a Mets jersey this season. Sarcastic? Yes, but truth be told that behind Johan Santana has been pitiful. Coming to a head this past week has been the future of Oliver Perez, who was resigned in the offseason despite being erratic and unpredictable for the majority of 2008. With an ERA of 9.31, it looks like Jerry Manuel might be ready to send the 27-year old lefty to the bullpen. While Mets memorabilia hunters should be happy to see the hot starts by Santana and center fielder Carlos Beltran, the rotation behind Santana and their ugly ERAs of 7+ might have the Mets looking for help sooner rather than later.

NBA Playoffs Set To Roll Saturday

As their fans and NBA memorabilia collectors turn their attention to the Playoffs, their teams will have one number in mind: 16. All sixteen teams still standing are just 16 victories away from winning the NBA Championship. For some, an NBA Championship will validate their status of one of the game’s greatest. For starters, Lebron James memorabilia collectors and long-suffering Cleveland sports fans would be beyond elated to celebrate King James’ first title. For others this year’s postseason represents a perfect chance to take a smudge of their legacy. The Lakers’ faithful and anyone who has a Kobe Bryant autograph would be excited to see the future Hall of Fame guard claim his fourth NBA Championship and first without Shaquille O’Neal. While it wouldn’t be a surprise to see either of those two superstars in the Finals, it’s going to be an uphill challenge for the defending Champion Boston Celtics. After head coach Doc Rivers admitted that forward Kevin Garnett will likely watch the Playoffs in his Celtics apparel from the sideline. Garnett has played in only four games since injuring his right knee on February 13th against the Utah Jazz. While Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen are a tremendous core, they’ll be hard-pressed to bring home banner #18 without “the Big Ticket” on the floor.

A Look At the NBA’s Western Conference

Though the Los Angeles Lakers finished the regular season with an 11-game lead over the second place Denver Nuggets, it’s not going to be a cake walk back to the NBA Finals. Just take a quick look at the teams ranked 5-8 in the Western Conference: the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Hornets and the Utah Jazz.

Now while any fan would love to have their basketball autographs, guys like Chris Paul, Ron Artest, Deron Williams and Dirk Nowitzki are players who you don’t want to run into in the postseason. The most dangerous team on the bottom rung of the West are the Dallas Mavericks. Collectors of Jason Kidd memorabilia had to be excited to see the 36-year old future Hall of Fame point guard grab his 103rd career triple-double in Wednesday’s 95-84 Dallas victory over the Houston Rockets. Truth be told, Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki had the best season nobody talked about. It’s actually safe to put them both in the same category as Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, Vince Carter, David Lee, Shaquille O’Neal and Kevin Love: monster numbers and results, little national recognition.

Chris Paul autographed jerseys have been a top-seller all season long and for good reason. While he’s not mentioned with Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, Paul lead the league in assists and steals and has turned David West and Tyson Chandler into stars in New Orleans. It’s not just Paul, as fans and sports memorabilia collectors in New Orleans helped sell over 98% of the home games at the New Orleans Hornets Arena this regular season.

If you’re looking for an upset coming out of the West, I’d seriously consider J-Kidd, Dirk and the Mavericks. Dallas has played some of the best basketball since the All-Star Break and have won six of their last eight entering their first round matchup against the San Antonio Spurs starting Saturday.

Howard Emerged As Superstar in 2008-09

While Lebron James may indeed be the game’s best player and this season’s MVP, Dwight Howard has had a season for the ages. Basketball fans and NBA memorabilia collectors started taking notice of Howard last season, but the 6-11 big man has finally caught the national attention previously reserved for Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and the aforementioned James. The 2004 first-overall pick has shined since putting on a NBA jersey, and this season taken his game to new heights and no, that is not a Superman reference. Howard leads the NBA in rebounds and blocks while picking up his points per game from 17.2 for his career to 20.7 in ‘08-’09. His ascent to the top of the basketball hierarchy lead to a rush for his autographs, as well as fans trying to purchase his Superman cape and assorted other NBA game used memorabilia since the All-Star Break.

At 58-23, the Magic have the third-best record in the Eastern Conference and will take on Derrick Rose and the red-hot Chicago Bulls in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

Cabrera Celebrates Masters Win While Braves’ Glavine Ponders Retirement

Fans and sports memorabilia collectors alike were treated to a rather busy day in the world of sports. We finally saw golf memorabilia hunters respond to looking for signed golf balls and other items for Masters champion Angel Cabrera. The first Masters victor from South America, Cabrera told local media in his home country of Argentina that “green looks good on me”.

Meanwhile, future baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine is considering hanging up his baseball jersey for the last time while struggling with a sore left shoulder. The 43-year old Glavine underwent elbow and shoulder surgery in August of last year and says he’s tired of rehabbing the injury. It looks like if Glavine’s sore shoulder continues to ail him in two weeks, the two-time Cy Young Award winner and winner of 305 games at the big league level could call it a career as early as May 1st.

Reyes, Mets Ready To Unveil Citi Field

The New York Mets are set to open up their brand new ballpark Citi Field tonight when they host the San Diego Padres. After some pieces of Shea Stadium lead to a bidding war amongst baseball memorabilia collectors for some of the MLB game used items, and no, the home run apple was not included. The Mets will celebrate the 2009 opening of Citi Field with special patches on their home and away Mets jerseys as some of their speedsters will be looking to take advantage of the new park’s major power alleys. With an absolutely monstrous outfield, it looks like singles could turn into doubles and doubles into triples. That could mean a big return for anyone who collects Jose Reyes memorabilia or has him on their fantasy baseball team. If Reyes is ever meant to reach 20 triples in a single season, it may be 2009.

Cabrera Wasting No Time In Detroit

While all the news in the Motor City this past week centered on the Final Four, Miguel Cabrera has been putting on a clinic for anyone within an earshot of Comerica Field. One of the hottest finds for baseball memorabilia since putting on a Tigers jersey last season, Cabrera belted a grand slam and drove in a total of six runs in a 15-2 rout of the Texas Rangers earlier today. After leading the American League in home runs a season ago, Cabrera has belted three in the last five days, including the slam against Kris Benson today. Benson was making his first start since September 27, 2006 and was less than stellar in his return. It seems like just yesterday when Mets autograph hunters were going crazy for Kris Benson signed baseballs. On this day he gave up seven runs in a mere five innings. On the flip side is Cabrera, who through five games is batting .611 with three home runs and 11 runs batted in. American League MVP? It’s a real possibility.

Bynum’s Return Completes Lakers

That’s correct, a la Tom Cruise to Renee Zellwegger in Jerry Maguire, Andrew Bynum completes the Los Angeles Lakers. Throwing on his NBA apparel for the first time in two months, Bynum is set to take the floor tonight in his Lakers jersey against the No. 2-seed Denver Nuggets. Why does this complete the team with the best record in the Western Conference? It’s simple. Los Angeles now has players that can dominant at different, imperative roles. After winning three NBA Championships, Kobe Bryant autographs became must-have items for basketball memorabilia collectors because of his ability to take over a game. So with Bryant, an elite coach in Phil Jackson, a dominant big-man in Bynum and a strong bench captain in Lamar Odom, the Lakers have the complete package, and I’d look for them to roll over everyone on their way to their second consecutive NBA Finals.

Jordan Highlights ‘09 HoF Class

It’s a tough argument trying to decipher exactly which year saw the best class into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame. If 2009 is your pick, I sure will not argue with you. In the first of a three-part series, we take a brief look at Michael Jordan.

The day after fans and college basketball memorabilia collectors watched his University of North Carolina Tarheels claim the NCAA Division-1 Championship, Michael Jordan was given his rightful spot in the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame. The greatest player to ever step onto the hardwood, Michael Jordan autographs have never been more valuable. That’s right, even more-so than when the six-time NBA Champion skipped out on the game for a Chicago White Sox jersey back in the early 90’s. While it’s a safe bet that MJ could probably still play in the NBA, hanging up his Bulls jersey in Springfield concludes a career that saw six NBA Championship rings, five MVP awards and 14 All-Star Game appearances.