greatest victory of the season. Hitless in the top of the first, RFT took the field only to watch Chevys Fresh Mex bat its way through the order on the way a quick eight runs. Chevys added to its tally in nearly every ensuing inning and led 22-3 going into the final frame.
While Chevys' bats were finding a Jarlsberg wheel's worth of holes between RFT fielders, it was all RFT could do to not hit the ball directly into the gloves of its opponents. Chevys' man-mountain of a pitcher recorded so many 1-3 putouts that several RFT players questioned whether his girth wasn't exterting some type of gravitational pull on the ball.
As he does so often, Tom "Sox" Kavanaugh scored the first runs for the good guys, with a three-run blast over the fence in center field. Chris Schaeffer proved once again that the proper mixture of human-growth hormone and Busch beer can work wonders; the outfielder had another big day, going three-for-three at the plate and ably scooping up two flyouts to right-center.
Plays of the day, though, have to go to Ray "Ray" Richardson and Cathleen "Coach Cat" Joffray, who hit back-to-back, inside-the-infield home runs in the seventh.
Those "hits" brought the final score to 22-5 and left RFT with a 3-4 record on the season.
The team can only hope that next week's party in the parking lot will feature a more stimulating intoxicant -- say crack or meth. This team could use the pick-me-up.

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This is a book about modern marketing. I know, sounds pretty dull, but its not a textbook. It's really a pretty good book on popular culture and certainly taught me that I'm kinda of out of touch. We'll I am 56 years old. I don't consider myself a fuddy-duddy, at least not yet, so I'm happy to read something like this. The premise of the book is that old-fashioned mass marketing doesn't work with young adults (the people who apparently have all the money) anymore. The author presents a number of case-histories, in lively and entertaining fashion about what does work. About how people are embracing brands more and more, but in such a way that the consumer gives meaning to the brand instead of the producer.

Did you know that Pabst Blue Ribbon (or P
) was a dying beer brand until it was embraced by the bike messenger culture (really, there's a bike messenger culture?) in the Pacific Northwest? Pabst was smart enough to take advantage of it and has managed to increase sales.

Did you know that Timberland work boots are really popular with the hip-hop culture (this I've heard of)? Timberland didn't know it at first, it didn't understand this new market it was given at all. But they got on the bandwagon and moved from a $200 million company to a $2 billion company. And they've come out with a new line called Timberland Pro for their original marked.

Did you know that Red Bull created a whole market segment called energy drinks out of nothing, with virtually no advertising. Instead they sponsor various events. One is going on in Houston right now. It's an art contest where the contestants make objects out of Red Bull cans. There have been two big spreads in the local paper, and Red Bull got the space for free.

Did you know that there are several companies in the US that specialize in word-of-mouth advertising? How does this work? You sign up on a web site and they send you stuff. You talk the stuff up to you family and friends and send a report back to the firm. Why do you do this? Because you think its fun. Do you get paid for this? Prizes are available but hardly anyone who is involves bothers to get their prizes.

If you're interested in pop culture and in marketing and reading about how really smart people, like Mark Ecko, yeah, the guy who put the asterisk on Barry Bonds record breaking home run ball, made millions of dollars doing what was fun for them, read the book.

And, speaking of home runs, how 'bout that Josh Hamilton.

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The Art Channel showcases fine art consisting of Bronzes, Carvings, Drawings, Paintings, Photography, Posters, Prints, Sculptures, Silhouettes and Miscellaneous Art items. Works of Art featured in this channel range from original antique pieces to reproductions and contemporary art usually signed by the artist. Prices vary to accommodate everyone from decorators, to the beginning enthusiasts, to the most sophisticated collector. If you enjoy visiting museums of Art or Art exhibitions, we think you will enjoy this channel.

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yogiberra.com.
The 83-year-old Hall of Fame catcher for the New York Yankees sells plenty of autographed items, many at prices lower than you'll find elsewhere. Ironic, considering that the autographs are coming straight from him, eh?
A standard autographed baseball is $75. Considering the prices people pay for young stars such as Evan Longoria, Joba Chamberlain or Josh Hamilton these days, it's a steal. (After all, Berra has proven his place in baseball history.)
The real gems on his site, though, are the baseballs signed with Yogi-isms -- sayings like It ain't over 'til it's over and Ninety percent of the game is half mental. Of course, these baseballs take more time to sign -- and are probably in more demand because of their uniqueness -- and they are a bit more expensive. Yet, at $140, the ball is still cheaper than you would pay for a standard Yogi ball at some large dealer's Web sites.
Among the other autographed items up for grabs on the site are copies of his books (he's written three), bobbleheads, Hartland statues (the Sports Picks figures of the 1950s), jerseys, bats, caps, photographs, baseball cards and more. There are some gems to be found in the photos section as Berra and other past Yankees have signed some of the photos -- again for prices much lower than one would find elsewhere.
The most affordable Yogi autograph of the bunch? A $40 Hall of Fame plaque postcard.
And they say a nickel ain't worth a dime anymore ...
Chris Olds has collected sports cards and memorabilia since 1987. He'll be bringing more Sports Stuff to you daily here on OrlandoSentinel.com, so subscribe now! Have a comment or question? Send e-mail to colds@orlandosentinel.com.

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The fans have voted, and even though there was lots of campaigning in the blogosphere, Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays and Corey Hart of the Milwaukee Brewers are going to the All-Star Game!!!

More than nine million votes were cast for Longoria, who now joins two of his Rays mates, and eight million plus were for Hart, who also joins two of his fellow Brewers at the ASG.

With Alfonso Soriano out, Matt Holliday will start in his place. And with the final man voting over, MGR Clint Hurdle can add another person to the team.

If you want to get your 2008 Topps cards ready to use so you can tell who has already been in the game (what...you don't do this???), here are the card numbers for each player:

Starting with the NL:

Lance Berkman, 395
Chase Utley, 460
Chipper Jones, 500
Hanley Ramirez, 425
Ryan Braun, 430
Matt Holliday, 400
Kosuke Fukudome, no card
Geovany Soto, 478

Aaron Cook, 34
Ryan Dempster, 43
Dan Haren, 245 (as an Athletic).
Brad Lidge, 496
Tim Lincecum, 165
Ben Sheets, 160
Edison Volquez, 408
Billy Wagner, 65
Brandon Webb, 140
Brian Wilson, 397
Kerry Wood, 658
Carlos Zambrano, 155

Adrian Gonzalez, 475
Cristian Guzman, 17
Corey Hart, 42
Ryan Ludwick, no card
Russell Martin, 190
Brian McCann, 294
Nate McLouth, 522
Albert Pujols, 490
Aramis Ramirez, 560
Miguel Tejada, 40
Dan Uggla, 70

For the AL:

Kevin Youkilis, 104
Dustin Pedroia, 229
Alex Rodriguez, 1
Derek Jeter, 455
Ichiro Suzuki, 320
Manny Ramirez, 26
Josh Hamilton, 439
Joe Mauer, 33
Milton Bradley, 499

Justin Duchscherer, no card
Roy Halladay, 230
Scott Kazmir, 5
Cliff Lee, 317
Joe Nathan, 109
Jonathan Papelbon, 250
Mariano Rivera, 590
Francisco Rodriguez, 535
Ervin Santana, 241
Joe Saunders, no card
George Sherrill, no card
Joakim Soria, 489

Joe Crede, 649
J. D. Drew, 552
Carlos Guillen, 427
Ian Kinsler, 314
Evan Longoria, no card
Justin Morneau, 110
Dioner Navarro, 418
Carlos Quentin, 384
Grady Sizemore, 330
Jason Varitek, 122
Michael Young, 635

Have fun.

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The fans have voted, and even though there was lots of campaigning in the blogosphere, Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays and Corey Hart of the Milwaukee Brewers are going to the All-Star Game!!!

More than nine million votes were cast for Longoria, who now joins two of his Rays mates, and eight million plus were for Hart, who also joins two of his fellow Brewers at the ASG.

With Alfonso Soriano out, Matt Holliday will start in his place. And with the final man voting over, MGR Clint Hurdle can add another person to the team.

If you want to get your 2008 Topps cards ready to use so you can tell who has already been in the game (what...you don't do this???), here are the card numbers for each player:

Starting with the NL:

Lance Berkman, 395
Chase Utley, 460
Chipper Jones, 500
Hanley Ramirez, 425
Ryan Braun, 430
Matt Holliday, 400
Kosuke Fukudome, no card
Geovany Soto, 478

Aaron Cook, 34
Ryan Dempster, 43
Dan Haren, 245
Brad Lidge, 496
Tim Lincecum, 165
Ben Sheets, 160
Edison Volquez, 408
Billy Wagner, 65
Brandon Webb, 140
Brian Wilson, 397
Kerry Wood, 658
Carlos Zambrano, 155

Adrian Gonzalez, 475
Cristian Guzman, 17
Corey Hart, 42
Ryan Ludwick, no card
Russell Martin, 190
Brian McCann, 294
Nate McLouth, 522
Albert Pujols, 490
Aramis Ramirez, 560
Miguel Tejada, 40
Dan Uggla, 70

For the AL:

Kevin Youkilis, 104
Dustin Pedroia, 229
Alex Rodriguez, 1
Derek Jeter, 455
Ichiro Suzuki, 320
Manny Ramirez, 26
Josh Hamilton, 439
Joe Mauer, 33
Milton Bradley, 499

Justin Duchscherer, no card
Roy Halladay, 230
Scott Kazmir, 5
Cliff Lee, 317
Joe Nathan, 109
Jonathan Papelbon, 250
Mariano Rivera, 590
Francisco Rodriguez, 535
Ervin Santana, 241
Joe Saunders, no card
George Sherrill, no card
Joakim Soria, 489

Joe Crede, 649
J. D. Drew, 552
Carlos Guillen, 427
Ian Kinsler, 314
Evan Longoria, no card
Justin Morneau, 110
Dioner Navarro, 418
Carlos Quentin, 384
Grady Sizemore, 59
Jason Varitek, 122
Michael Young, 635

Have fun.

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I can remember wax boxes being sold at the time being identified by which print run they were from for collectors to determine whether they were buying the error cards or the corrected versions as many collectors were looking for "Craig" Nettles boxes.

In spite of the errors, the 1981 set was a very nice debut. Its hard to believe Fleer took such a major step backwards the next year after a promising initial offering with the universally panned 1982 set which has perhaps the worst picture quality of any set ever released, but they finally got back on course with their 1983 set and really hit their stride in 1984.

Because of its significance as being the set that Fleer wanted to produce that ultimately broke the Topps monopoly on the baseball card market, this set will always be one of my favorites. I have very fond memories of the Spring and Summer of 1981 building this set along with the Topps and Donruss sets, and remember how exciting it was to be a card collector at the time.

With the expansion in the number of card producers and collecting options, the hobby was getting ready for a wild ride ahead. The excesses (parallels, inserts, set proliferation, 1 of 1's, etc) which came as card makers continually tried to one up each other have caused the hobby to change dramatically were still many years away.

If Fleer hadn't decided to take on Topps back in 1975, its hard to say how many more years would have gone by before another company would have tried to enter the market. Its also an interesting question to consider how differently the hobby may have grown and evolved had Fleer not challenged Topps when it did.

Its a shame that the company that helped set the stage for the incredible growth the hobby experienced by breaking down the main barrier to entry into the market is no longer around.

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After my second pack of 2008 Upper Deck Heroes football cards, I could easily have said this ...
What is this that stands before me? Figure in black, which points at me ...
It was a card of Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi staring back at me. That's right, in a box of football cards.
More on him later -- first, the box break.
Here are the results from a randomly selected box I recently opened ...
2008 Upper Deck Heroes football cards (retail blaster box)
Price: $15 (Wal-Mart)
Packs per box: 9
Cards per pack: 6
Cards in this box: 54
Set completion: 52 of 276 (19 percent)
Duplicates: 2

Insert cards found: 0.
Notes: An interesting, but disappointing box all at the same time, considering that there were no inserts of any kind to be found despite there being many parallel versions of each card available. (Or, if some of the subsets are considered to be inserts, a checklist and/or some odds on packaging would be immensely helpful, Upper Deck.) ... This base set is loaded with rookies and stars -- and a few other people you might not expect to find. The first 100 cards are Football Heroes (current stars), the second 100 are Rookie Heroes (top draft picks) and the next 45 cards are Legendary Heroes (retired greats). Rounding out the set are nine Sports Heroes cards and 12 Guitar Heroes cards, which is where Iommi comes in. ... Among the Legendary Heroes in this box were Dan Marino, Bo Jackson and Fran Tarkenton. ... The set's Guitar Heroes are Iommi, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Steve Vai and Justin Hayward. Each star has three different cards, but this box included duplicates of Iommi and Morello. (And not one was a rarer serial-numbered insert like the one shown above.) ... The Sports Heroes are Olympians Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Michael Johnson and Rulon Gardner. ... An interesting idea, but I think it falls flat as having multiple cards of only a few non-football players doesn't get it done -- multiply that checklist by 10 and we're in business. ... But, that said, if there's an Iommi autograph card to be found -- and I think there is -- then I'm game. (Have I mentioned that a checklist and/or some odds would be helpful?)
Grade: * out of
Chris Olds has collected sports cards and memorabilia since 1987. He'll be bringing more Sports Stuff to you daily here on OrlandoSentinel.com, so subscribe now! Have a comment or question? Send e-mail to colds@orlandosentinel.com.

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Ahhh...Bazooka. The gum that, on the off chance that you had a few cents left over after buying a couple of packs of cards, you would buy on your weekly trip to the neighborhood drugstore. And if you're like me, when you got your work permit, you got a part-time job at that drugstore. But by that time they didn't sell cards anymore. Because by that time, Beanie Babies took up all of the rotating seasonal shelf space, and all of the end caps, and all of the spare space on top of the opened boxes of cigarettes, opened because the stupid overhead cigarette pack holder could only hold eight packs when boxes came in packs of ten, stupid Beanie Babies, stupid Beanie Babies collectors calling nonstop, asking if a new shipment had come in, forcing it into my brain that there actually existed a Beanie Baby named "Spangle" with a stars and stripes design, stupid Beanie Baby collectors, tying up the phone lines when there are legitimate human beings with legitimate health concerns like diabetes and asthma and seasonal allergies and rickets who should have unfettered access to the phones and the pharmacist and...

Whew... I guess I hated that job. But at least I became a smarter shopper because of it. Here's a little tip for everyone out there: That basket of fun size candy...that one that's sometimes sitting by the register and selling for 3 for 25 cents? Yeah... that's last year's Halloween candy. Good luck with that.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
214 John Koronka Blue Parallel (RC)
126 Jeff Francis Beat-to-Shit Gold Parallel (Seriously, I don't know how this happened. The top card is fine, but this one looks like it's been used as a teething device.

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What a buzz kill to open a box to find that your prize is a plain text card stating that you received a redemption ticket for a J.R. Towles autograph.  Yippee!!! Strike up the band and parade through the streetsafter you fish out a pen, develop writers cramp scrawling your name, address,phone number, work phone, social security number, pin number of your debit card, and waist and inseam measurements within lines the width of a toothpick.  Oh, and dont forget that stampwait, youre out of stamps!  Gotta go to the post office and buy a book of stamps because they dont sell them in singles anymore (not in my town anyway).  Then you have to scrawl out the address of the card manufacturer with your off hand (because you are still cramped in your writing hand) on an envelope you hopefully have, praying the whole time that it will be legible enough for the postman to read.  A paper cut on the tongue and jog to the mailbox later and you are ready to receive your card.  Waitif you read in the fine print you would notice that your card will take another 6-8 weeks to arrive, regardless of the fact that it takes 2-3 days for a package to reach virtually any cross-country destination.  Ah, a happy day is the day that your much awaited Albert Pujols redemption auto arrives in its nifty cardboard shipping box.  As you tear it open with childish delight, you are subjegated to the last proverbial kick in the chonies that the redemption boot offers; an apologetic letter from XYZ card company stating that your Pujols auto is out of stock, but an equally exciting auto has been issued in its place.  As you peek through the plastic hard case, you discover that Richie Sexson is not equally exciting and neither is the concept of the redemption card.

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Baseball cards are worth exactly what you decide they are worth.
Some cards have more value cause they are limited editions, some of them are autographed.
Are they open packs or closed. Only you can decide what they are worth to your collection.
Take a look at some of the EBay auctions, some cards wont sell for a 1 cent, and some go for thousands of dollars.
Some are authentic, some are replicas. So you decide what they are worth and how much you are willing to pay for them. And EBay has one of the biggest selection of baseball cards for sale.

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(Updated to add Ill be bumping this to the top every day so you get sick of it and help me finish it.)
Originally I was going to launch this feature with 1990 Topps, but things have happened and I needed to change my focus for now. Still, I wanted to start with an easy one, and this set should fit the bill.
I hadnt touched baseball cards since 1994, when I bought a box of Fleer at a card shop that I had to roller blade for a half hour to get to. It was a hot, sweaty experience, but provided both good exercise and a good distraction from the rigors of college life.
I have a son now, and one of the memories that I have of my father is hearing stories about the guys on his cards. I wanted my son to be able to experience the same kind of thing with me, and for him to look in awe through plastic pages and see some of the legends of the game from both long ago and today. So with that in mind, I bought a box of 2007 Topps baseball.
The cards were nice, and brought back another baseball card memory of my father. We were looking at 1971 Topps cards somewhere and he told me how difficult they were to find in good shape because of those black borders. I figured things had come a long way as my series 1 box provided little in the way of damage and the surprise of a Gold Derek Jeter parallel.
The series 2 box, however, proved disastrous. This one contained more than its share of damaged cards, and I seriously considered buying another one to fill in some of the holes. Then for my birthday, my brother sent along a complete series 2 set. Crisis averted, right? Well, no. It, too, contained whitened corners on most of the same cards that I needed already. But I did fill in a number of gaps, too.
Im starting out 122 cards short of the complete set, and Id like to finish it quickly.
So heres my rules for Zeroing In: Until I complete the set I choose to zero in on, I cannot buy or trade for cards from any other set on my list. No game used cards, no starter sets, no vintage rookies - nothing until the sharp, seering focus I impose on myself is lifted by the completion of a set. So starting now, its all 2007 Topps in both trades and purchases until I get this thing done.
There is one exception, and thats for hobby boxes of new releases I plan to collect. Those can still be bought and opened.
So heres the list. Ill probably create a link on the side to keep you all up to date on sets I choose to do this with. Help me out, if you can, by emailing wants to handcollated at gmail dot com. I promise Ill give them a good home.

Read more...

(Updated to add Ill be bumping this to the top every day so you get sick of it and help me finish it.)
Originally I was going to launch this feature with 1990 Topps, but things have happened and I needed to change my focus for now. Still, I wanted to start with an easy one, and this set should fit the bill.
I hadnt touched baseball cards since 1994, when I bought a box of Fleer at a card shop that I had to roller blade for a half hour to get to. It was a hot, sweaty experience, but provided both good exercise and a good distraction from the rigors of college life.
I have a son now, and one of the memories that I have of my father is hearing stories about the guys on his cards. I wanted my son to be able to experience the same kind of thing with me, and for him to look in awe through plastic pages and see some of the legends of the game from both long ago and today. So with that in mind, I bought a box of 2007 Topps baseball.
The cards were nice, and brought back another baseball card memory of my father. We were looking at 1971 Topps cards somewhere and he told me how difficult they were to find in good shape because of those black borders. I figured things had come a long way as my series 1 box provided little in the way of damage and the surprise of a Gold Derek Jeter parallel.
The series 2 box, however, proved disastrous. This one contained more than its share of damaged cards, and I seriously considered buying another one to fill in some of the holes. Then for my birthday, my brother sent along a complete series 2 set. Crisis averted, right? Well, no. It, too, contained whitened corners on most of the same cards that I needed already. But I did fill in a number of gaps, too.
Im starting out 122 cards short of the complete set, and Id like to finish it quickly.
So heres my rules for Zeroing In: Until I complete the set I choose to zero in on, I cannot buy or trade for cards from any other set on my list. No game used cards, no starter sets, no vintage rookies - nothing until the sharp, seering focus I impose on myself is lifted by the completion of a set. So starting now, its all 2007 Topps in both trades and purchases until I get this thing done.
There is one exception, and thats for hobby boxes of new releases I plan to collect. Those can still be bought and opened.
So heres the list. Ill probably create a link on the side to keep you all up to date on sets I choose to do this with. Help me out, if you can, by emailing wants to handcollated at gmail dot com. I promise Ill give them a good home.

Top 10 >>> baseball card topps

Ahhh...Bazooka. The gum that, on the off chance that you had a few cents left over after buying a couple of packs of cards, you would buy on your weekly trip to the neighborhood drugstore. And if you're like me, when you got your work permit, you got a part-time job at that drugstore. But by that time they didn't sell cards anymore. Because by that time, Beanie Babies took up all of the rotating seasonal shelf space, and all of the end caps, and all of the spare space on top of the opened boxes of cigarettes, opened because the stupid overhead cigarette pack holder could only hold eight packs when boxes came in packs of ten, stupid Beanie Babies, stupid Beanie Babies collectors calling nonstop, asking if a new shipment had come in, forcing it into my brain that there actually existed a Beanie Baby named "Spangle" with a stars and stripes design, stupid Beanie Baby collectors, tying up the phone lines when there are legitimate human beings with legitimate health concerns like diabetes and asthma and seasonal allergies and rickets who should have unfettered access to the phones and the pharmacist and...

Whew... I guess I hated that job. But at least I became a smarter shopper because of it. Here's a little tip for everyone out there: That basket of fun size candy...that one that's sometimes sitting by the register and selling for 3 for 25 cents? Yeah... that's last year's Halloween candy. Good luck with that.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
214 John Koronka Blue Parallel (RC)
126 Jeff Francis Beat-to-Shit Gold Parallel (Seriously, I don't know how this happened. The top card is fine, but this one looks like it's been used as a teething device.

Americano new top 10 >>> baseball card topps

Opening a pack of cards today isnt the same as it used to be.  First, you would have to buy a pack of cigarettes to get cards, and then a few decades later you could buy packs of cards wrapped in wax (dont forget the gum inside that stains the cards after a few years).  In todays hobby, cards come packaged in foil, plastic, clamshell casing, and even wood boxes.  Some packs of cards feel like it can take forever to get into, but there are still some brands of cards that are generally easy to open.  The more complicated the packaging is, usually means that the cards inside are of higher quality.  I have been watching a lot of people online breaking packs of cards and I have found it very interesting on how they get them open.  Some people break into them with their teeth, like it was their last meal on earth.  Others rip them open with their hands, use a pair of scissors, or use a knife.  Many people damage their cards while trying to get them out of the pack.  They tear apart the back of the pack and then try to pull the remaining wrapper over the edges.  By doing this, you can really damage the corners.  I use a pair of scissors to open my packs.  I cut off the top, and then tear the foil down the center which makes it really easy to remove the cards.  I never opened any boxes of Sport Kings last year but I really liked how those cards were packaged.  The cards were in a box, within a box, and then placed in sealed top loaders.  I think it will really be interesting to see how packs in the future compare to now.

The best top 10 >>> baseball card topps

However, SPx wasnt always a big autogamer clusterfuck. If youve been reading my blog, you can easily see that the late-1990s was largely about introducing new technologies to cards. SPx was no different. SPx burst onto the scene in 1996 and started as a single-card pack (well, at least it wasnt UD Black). These cards were die-cut all around the perimeter and featured a hologram photo of the player, as well as a regular photo. There were 60 cards in the set. A gold parallel and autographs of Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza were randomly inserted. In 1997, SPx returned with a slightly shorter base set and a LOT more parallels. In fact, every pack guaranteed to have at least one parallel. I know some people find parallels to be annoying, but Ive always had a fondness for them, as well as this product in general. I recently came across a box of these online for about 25% of the price of a box of 2008 SPx and just had to bust one. Heres what I pulled
Base cards: The base cards are once again die-cut, but in the form of an with a protruding oval where the players hologram is. There are only 50 cards in the basic set, but when you consider that there are only 54 total cards in the box (18 packs, 3 cards each) and a ton of them are going to be parallels/inserts, at least one more box would be needed to finish the set. I received 34 base cards with no duplicates. One downside to this set is the lack of rookies. I believe the only RC in it is that of Jose Cruz, Jr.
The stated odds of finding a parallel is 1:1. This applies to the Steel, Bronze, and Silver ONLY. The Gold and Grand Finale parallels have their own separate odds. With that said, here are the parallels:
Bronze: I received 5 Bronze cards. They were as follows: Eddie Murray, Tim Salmon, Chipper Jones, Manny Ramirez, and Larry Walker.

Silver: I received 4 Silver cards in this box. Two were of Ken Caminiti and two were of Gary Sheffield. Seriously. I got 2 players in this set and each came with a dupe. Great collation, UD!
Steel: For some reason, I pulled as many Steel cards as I did Silver and Bronze COMBINED. Yep, 9 in total! They were: Nomar Garciaparra, Mo Vaughn, Sammy Sosa, Frank Thomas, Albert Belle, Larry Walker, Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, and Tony Gwynn.
Gold (1:17 packs): Like I said earlier, the Gold parallel has its own stated odds, about 1 per 18-count box. My card was none other than Jeff Bagwell.
A QUICK NOTE ABOUT THE PARALLELS: One can determine the parallel they have by looking at the die-cut. Notice how in the scan of the Silver Caminiti, the finish looks just like the Bronze and Silver. There is no holographic treatment outside the players On the Steel parallel of Frank Thomas, it is very evident that the holographic style extends outside the player window and into the Also, it should be noted that all of these parallels are completely colored on the back. Frank Thomas and Albert Belle have base card designs that look like a steel parallel. The only real way to tell them apart is to see the back of the card. If the back photo is in color, its a base card. If the back photo is colored gray, its a parallel. I, myself, had to do a double-take when pulling base cards of those two. I thought I had even more parallels than I did!
Bound For Glory (limited to 1,500): My final insert was entitled Bound For Glory. This card looks like the base cards except for the fact that the players regular photograph is surrounded by gold and the hologram photo is located inside a circle as opposed to the oval-like figure. Each card is limited to just 1,500. I pulled a Mark McGwire.
What WASNT Pulled: First off, there was one parallel mentioned before that I didnt pull. This was the Grand Finale. Of course, this was aptly named as SPx would halt the hologram cards after this year. These cards looked similar to the Gold parallel, except for the fact that there was a gold tint to the hologram as well. These cards are limited to just 50! Secondly, theres an insert called Cornerstones of the Game. This was a 10-card insert set that featured pairs of superstars, most of whom shared a common position. Some of these combinations included Mike Piazza/Ivan Rodriguez, Alex Rodriguez/Derek Jeter, and Mark McGwire/Mo Vaughn. These were limited to just 500. Lastly, there were five subjects from the Bound for Glory set who had autographed cards! These players were Jeff Bagwell, Andruw Jones, Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, and Ken Griffey, Jr. They are limited to just 250 and they sure dont show up often!
Final Thoughts: Although I hate the newer versions of SPx (well, their base set is alright, but who really cares?), 1997 SPx reminds me of how cutting-edge some products of the 1990s were. Sure, they led to some stupid, forgettable products, but they also ushered in some cool concepts still used today. This box was a fun one to rip, but again, parallels are somewhat of an acquired taste in this hobby. This box provides lots of great-looking cards, cool technology, and a chance for some rare inserts and even superstar autographs. The best part is it costs the same as about 2 packs of 2008 SPx. I dont know about you, but Id rather pull some sweet old-school SPx inserts than some crappy Aaron Rowand jersey anyway.
As always, thanks for the read and good luck with your own breaks.

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Let Me Tell You Why I Hate the Red Sox
Gentle Readers, (in my best Stephen King):
I despise the Boston Red Sox. It's a little odd, too, because there are a ton of reasons that I should like them. I love teams that draft and develop their own players, and the Red Sox have done a better job of bringing along their own talent than any other team in baseball. Even their outside acquisitions, guys like Josh Beckett, have been brought in largely due to Boston's ability to deal from a position of strength, i.e. they can afford to give up a fair amount of talent without hamstringing themselves due to the depth they've cultivated.
I'm a huge fan of Bill James, the baseball stat guru who still advises Theo Epstein, the Red Sox general manager. James is not only one of the smartest people in the game, but he's also one of the funniest and most down to earth, a far cry from so many of the joyless number crunchers who have taken his ideas and run with them.

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The chart on the upper left is none other than the New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), which owns and operates the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, and 16 other daily newspapers. The Company also runs more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com.
Directly to the right of NYT is Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI), a leading international news and information company that publishes 85 daily newspapers, including USA TODAY, the nation’s largest-selling daily newspaper.
Below NYT and GCI are the Washington Post (NYSE: WPO), a diversified media company best known for its flagship Washington Post newspaper; and The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI), the third-largest newspaper business in the U.S. McClatchy owns and operates 30 daily newspapers, including The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Kansas City Star, The Charlotte Observer, and The (Raleigh) News Observer.
As you can see, NYT has gone from $45 to $16 over the past five years. GCI has fallen from a high of $90 to the low-$20s. WPO hit a peak of $1,000 and fell to a recent low of $550 before recovering to its current price of $590. MNI has fared the worse of them all, dropping from an all-time high of $75 just three years ago to the single digits.
With subscriber rates and advertising dwindling, newspaper profits are getting squeezed due to the decreasing revenues in a high fixed-cost business. It remains to be seen whether these companies can turn things around fast enough to remain viable longer term. In the meantime, look for more consolidation, layoffs, and plant closures to reduce capital expenditures and costs. Shareholders may face possible dividend cuts if cash flow weakens to the point where it no longer can support the current payouts. I wouldn't rule out bankruptcies or unwanted takeovers from opportunistic suitors, who most likely would finance the majority of such acquisitions with debt. Servicing high-cost bank debt and junk bonds would make it that much more difficult for the old media to survive without major changes to their business models.
If the truth be told, the newspaper behemoths were in the best position to lead, rather than lag, the growth in the online media space. Forward-thinking managements, while perhaps not entrepreneurial enough, could have beaten the Googles, Yahoos, eBays, and Monsters to the punch, ensuring not only their survival but prosperity for years and perhaps decades to come. Instead, newspapers are downsizing while changing their business models to focus on local events and become more like magazines by devoting space to features rather than old news.
Meanwhile, the news for the industry is chilling. Advertising revenues have dropped 12% year-over-year, the third-consecutive annual decline, as readers move online and companies follow them to what is a more measurable and targeted medium for such advertisers. Although the bulk of the downturn is secular, some of the recent problems can be attributed to cyclical issues, including a softening economy that has negatively affected subscription rates, national and local advertising, plus classified ads heretofore the "bread and butter" of the newspaper business.
Prior to the advent of the Internet, the newspaper business was viewed positively by investors. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has held a large stake in WPO for decades and has owned off and on stakes in several media conglomerates, including a number that have owned and operated newspapers. For the longest time, the vast majority of these businesses had little or no direct competition operating in markets large enough to support only one daily paper, while the larger papers had brand names and loyal readerships that served to reduce the potential threat of newcomers.
But times change and the New York Times and Los Angeles Times (and others) need to change with them. While most of us who have relied on the Internet as our only platform have sought to get the respect previously bestowed on print journalists, the latter have turned to blogging in an ironic twist of fates that, I guess, could be found in the department of "If you can't beat them, join them."
As it relates to the baseball world, I only hope that the Baseball Writers Association of America is paying attention. Otherwise, it may go down the same path as the newspaper business.

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June 24, 2008 Leave a Comment
Carolina Ardohain has been modeling since 2001. Born in the La Pampa region of Argentina, she is nicknamed Pampita, although now she lives in Santiago in the neighboring country of Chile. Her fantastic body is the result of good genes and Carolinas passion for dancingshe was a Professor of Aerobics at the Instituto Argentino de educación Física. Carolina said that her bust became five centimeters larger as the result of breastfeeding her first-born. She also said that she planned on having two more children.

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Rose's angle for why he should get a chance now, years after coming clean (via a book to hawk) after years of denials? The steroids issue.
[My gambling] had nothing to do with the integrity of the game. Rose told SCD. It didn't make the score different or alter the outcome of the game. That's what steroids do; they make guys stronger and they hit more home runs. And I don't understand why Bud Selig doesn't know that.
In the column, Rose sounds off on several topics and says baseball has ignored him because there's no money to be made, nothing that the times he has been at MLB functions such as the All-Century Celebration or the Most Memorable Moments event it's because MLB's corporate sponsors -- those writing big checks -- insisted he be included if selected.
O'Connell's take isn't a simple one, as to why SCD would in essence endorse Rose, but without giving anything away he did write this: To my recollection, nobody in this country has been punished to a comparable degree for essentially telling America one big, fat lie. As the Watergate gang can attest, it's the cover-up that will ultimately do you in.

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