Mark Sanchez 2009 Exquisite Price History

It's still early, but Jets QB Mark Sanchez appears to be the biggest name to come out of the 2009 NFL Draft Class.  Over at Sports Card Radio, they will be taking a look at the price history of one of Sanchez's best RC cards - his 2009 Upper Deck Exquisite Patch Autograph.

2009 Mark Sanchez Exquisite Price History 

We will also be keeping a running tally in this thread of the early prices that the Sanchez Exquisite RC's are getting on eBay. So far just one has made it to completion and that was a very nice SP /25.

One thing to note is that the Jets' jerseys are not as colorful as the Falcons (Matt Ryan) and Ravens (Joe Flacco). Those two QB's have had some amazing Exquisite Patch Auto's the last couple years in large part due to the 4 and 5 color RC cards. It will be interesting to see the what the price will be for a Mark Sanchez prime jersey swatch, like the NFL logo, the Reebok logo, and/or the Jets logo.


2009 Exquisite RC Patch Auto Mark Sanchez 15/25 $750.00   

1961 Fleer Basketball High End Rookie Card Auctions

A pair of stunning, high grade Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain 1961 Fleer Rookie Cards are ending tonight. eBay seller prewarcardcollector is known for having some of the best stuff, and these are two of the finest examples of high grade vintage basketball to hit eBay in awhile.

• 1961/62 Fleer Basketball Complete Checklist

1961 Fleer Basketball Jerry West ROOKIE #43 PSA 9 MINT
Watchers: 62
Current Price: $2,510.00
Final Price: $4,175.00

1961 Fleer Basketball Wilt Chamberlain RC #8 PSA 8 NMMT
Watchers:  61
Current Price: $1,775.00
Final Price: $2,705.55 

2010 Early Press Pass Football Big Pulls

How are the 2010 NFL Rookie Cards doing so far?  Let's take a look at the sale prices for some of the top 2010 Press Pass Football cards to hit eBay.

FULL 2010 Press Pass Football Checklist

2010 PRESS PASS TIM TEBOW AUTO AUTOGRAPH GATORS GOLD 99 $156.99
NOTE: Other Tebow autographs selling for about $100.00 - $150.00

2010 Press Pass Jimmy Clausen Power Pick Red Auto 18/75 $100.00

Sam Bradford 2010 PRESS PASS SILVER RC AUTOGRAPH /100 $76.00

Ndamukong Suh 2010 Press Pass Silver Auto #/199 $69.01

Juice Williams 2010 Press Pass Inscriptions Auto #1/99 $37.75

2009 Early Upper Deck Exquisite Football Big Pulls

2009 Upper Deck Exquisite Football has been heating up eBay the past couple days, so let's take a look at what some of the top cards have sold for thus far.

2009 EXQUISITE Rookie Patch Flashback BARRY SANDERS $809.99

2009 Exquisite RC Patch Auto Mark Sanchez 15/25 $750.00   

2009 UD Exquisite Darrius Heyward-Bey RC Patch Auto 1/1 $600.00

2009 EXQUISITE MICHAEL CRABTREE PATCH AUTO 49ERS 84/99  $430.00 

2009 EXQUISITE STAFFORD/MORENO AUTO PATCH #1/10 (Book Card) $293.00

Josh Freeman 2009 Exquisite Auto Patch LOGO Gold #8/25  $280.00

 

Dan Marino Archie Manning 2009 UD Exquisite Combo Auto SP /5 $250.00
*Redemption Card*

MARK SANCHEZ 2009 UD EXQUISITE Rookie Jersey AUTO/30 NY $180.00

2009 Bowman Sterling Mini Box Break - Sports Card Report Sponsored

It's always fun busting open some packs. So at Sports Card Radio, we did our 2nd box break today, a mini box of 2009 Bowman Sterling Baseball.

The members of Sports Card Radio's fan forum have picked teams, and so far we've pulled some nice stuff. The 2006 Absolute Memorabilia Football Box Break we did yielded a sweet Kellen Clemens triple memorabilia auto RC, and some other great cards too.

I must admit, I am a little jealous of the forum member who got the Zack Wheeler autograph we pulled today. I am a big Giants fan, and will have to pick up one of his cards on eBay.

I don't bust packs and boxes any longer, so it's always nice to feel the rush of ripping into something!  Looking forward to the 09/10 Panini Basketball Break coming next month! It's nice to give back! My brother probably gets more fan mail then some major league relief pitchers, so we are going to keep buying and busting boxes, besides, winning them on eBay is half the fun anyways :)

2009 Bowman Sterling Box Break Video W/ Scans of Cards

Unique Trading Cards Helping Raise Money For Charity

There might even be a collecting angle to these Entrepreneur Heroes Trading Cards that Evan Carmichael has created. For just $5.00 you can get a pack of 5 cards featuring creative business icons like Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, and Seth Godin. Sounds like a good deal to me!

The fantastic thing about this project by entrepreneur Evan Carmichael is that all of the money raised from the sale of the cards will be going to Kiva, who's mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.

You can order yourself some cards here.

1985 Star Schick NBA Legends Collectors Series Set

The great thing about the old Star Company, who produced NBA Basketball cards from 1983-1986, is that they weren't afraid to try new things.

Star teamed up with razor company Schick to produce a NBA Legends set in 1985.  These cards feature old school NBA players and a few coaches as well. They were given away as a 25 card complete set at the 1985 NBA All-Star banquet. Some of the Star NBA cards can get real expensive, like the 84/85 Michael Jordan XRC, but this set can be found for less then $20 on eBay.

Complete 1985 Star Schick NBA Legends Checklist

Saturday Sneak Peak: 2010 Donruss Elite Football Box

Collectors can look forward to June 16, 2010 as Donruss Elite Football returns. Each 20 Pack box will contain 4 autographs or memorabilia cards ... with at least 1 being an autograph.

The top NFL draft picks including Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford and Jimmy Clausen will be included in the set, along with many other rookies. The early checklist is available, the rookies will be added once the 2010 NFL Draft takes place.

Expect the Passing the Torch and Throwback Threads inserts to be popular. New to Elite are the Super Bowl XLIV cards featuring the world champion New Orleans Saints. The Prime Jersey and Autograph parallels of most inserts and base cards should be popular hits with collectors. MSRP is around $6.00 per pack .

Find the checklist, photos and more: 2010 Donruss Elite Football Checklist & Preview

Rare 2003/04 UD Exquisite Basketball Case

This might be the crown jewel of basketball cards, and these cases and boxes of 2003/04 UD Exquisite Basketball have all but dried up.

A case has made it onto eBay courtesy of seller zcose-sports-marketing.  3 boxes come per case. A 2003/04 UD Exquisite LeBron James Gold /23 sold for just under $10,000 last week. The action on this case should be fierce as the auction draws to a close in 3 days.

03-04 UD Exquisite Basketball SEALED Case
Watchers: 156
Current Price: $7,100.00
Final Price: $8,700.00

03/04 Exquisite Basketball Checklist & Review

Game Used Vancouver Olympics USA vs. Canada Puck For Sale

The official 2010 Vancouver Olympics eBay account has some spectacular game used items up for sale, including a USA vs. Canada Gold Medal Game Used Hockey Puck.

The puck currently up for auction IS NOT the puck slapped in by Canada's Sidney Crosby to score the game winning goal, but was used in the Gold Medal Game.  The Crosby game winning hockey puck is currently in the possession of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

MEN'S GOLD MEDAL Game-Used Puck CAN vs USA OVERTIME
Watchers: 584
Current Price: $9,177.19 (US $$)
Final Price: $12,751.00

4Kids Entertainment Developing NFL Trading Card Game

With Upper Deck on the way out of the NFL trading card market, new suitors could be lining up for a piece of the action.

Panini already has a deal with the NFLPA, but might up the stakes with an aggressive move to jump into a market that Topps might shy away from. To further the speculation, 4Kids Entertainment, better known for their Pokemon & Yu-Gi-Oh television licenses, CEO Al Kahn had this to say in a March 16 conference call:

"We are continuing to work on the development of our NFL trading card game. If and when that game goes forward it will be with different additional group of partners which could fund the transaction and not leave the transaction funding on the doorsteps of 4Kids and any way shape reform."

Topps and Panini both have card games already in Attax and Adrenalyn. Topps Attax has been a revenue boost to the company but it's still too early to tell if Adrenalyn will be successful in the NBA market. Whoever gets involved with the NFL, it's clear they will bring a game along with them

Sports Cards Uncensored: UD To Lose Football License

Devastating news for football card fans today, Sports Cards Uncensored  reported today that Upper Deck will lose it's football license with the NFLPA due to non-payment of fees. 

This comes on the heels of the announcement that Panini would be jumping into the Hockey market. Sports card site and forum Freedom Card Board posted that link several weeks ago via Twitter, today Beckett confirmed the rumors.  Perhaps, and this is only pure speculation, the NHL was worried about Upper Deck's ability to come up with the licensing payment in their deal.

The glimpses of 2009 Exquisite Football were tantalizing. No other company, in the history or sports cards, produced the types of high-end cards like Upper Deck - that is unquestioned in my mind. Where UD goes from here one can only guess.   

Wall Street Journal: Topps Attax accounts for 25% of Revenue and Profits

Topps is bringing in the big bucks with Topps Attax, in fact, according to a Wall Street Journal article, it is one of the most successful products in the companies 72 year history.

Attax debuted in 2007 and has sold over 100 million packs worldwide. The fact that they state it accounts for a quarter of it's revenue is amazing.  No wonder Panini spent $2.5 million on the launch of their own trading card game, Panini Adrenalyn.

The game and set were created by a 26 year old employee working in London. Topps will not give away the name of the employee for fear he will be head-hunted by a rival!  Let's hope Topps at least gives the kid a Christmas bonus this year.

As A True American I Encourage You To Vote

It could mean a lot to the forums/blogs/sites that get to win an Upper Deck Award. I visit a lot of the nominees I saw on the Upper Deck Facebook page almost everyday.

From the 3 large forums (SCF, FCB, & Blowout) which each have a different 'feel' to it, but each are loaded, absolutely loaded, with information & trades on each site. Fantastic place to see what is going on, even if you only read or post infrequently.

I couldn't pick one blog if I tried. All different in their own way. That's the beautiful thing that maybe Topps and Upper Deck has missed out on the last few years........... There are a lot of people discussing what is going on. If you like baseball or vintage, or non-sport, or funny, or just Upper Deck, or just Topps, or whatever, chances are, there is a baseball card blog for that. If there isn't a blog in your collecting niche - start one!  

It would be great if Upper Deck then took the time to actually visit some of these sites that get a nomination. I am not sure how much they check out, but it would be a great gesture of goodwill to reach out to some of the people that put in the time and energy everyday to keep the hobby going on a grassroots level.

I know that most people don't like redemption cards in their products, but I want to create a big fat redemption card for UD that reads: Here is to a better and bright future - 2010 and beyond.

UPDATE: Be sure to read the comments as Sports Card Report gets roasted by anonymous! 

Somebody Busted Upper Deck's Chops

The mysterious Upper Deck Awards tweeter who has since changed his twitter account name from "UpperDeckAwards" to BustinYOchopz had this to say to the sports card world:

"WoW. Easier than I thought to get a rise out of part of the sports card internet world."

Yesterday, Bustin Yo Chopz was posing as a Upper Deck representative on Twitter and followed many of the internet's biggest sports card sites, blogs and forums.  Bustin Yo Chopz (aka UpperDeckAwards) then began engaging them in the upcoming UD Awards.  This person even provided a domain www.upperdeckawards.com.  At around 5 pm PST that site redirected visitors to legal documents from a US District Court in the MLB Properties vs. Upper Deck case that eventually saw UD settle out of court. 


There has to be some speculation about who BustinYoChopz is, and Voiceofthecollector hit the nail on the head - it almost certainly has to be a former Upper Deck employee. Who else would take the time to craft such a scheme?

Upper Deck: What Is Going On?

How come the (fake?) Upper Deck Awards website re-directed visitors to the MLB Properties vs. Upper Deck US District Court Documents? 

Theories:

The Twitter account @upperdeckawards is fake.  I noticed they followed Topps and Razor.  Kind of odd to do that.  They also never @ replied UpperDeckSports or mentioned UD's official website. The second the official press release came out, @upperdeckawards stopped tweeting, and perhaps that is about the time the re-direct to the court documents got set up.

It's still unclear to Sports Card Report if this is a legitimate contest, and at least some fair questions have to be posed to Upper Deck. If indeed the Twitter and website associated with the Upper Deck Awards is indeed fake, then I hope the company will take the time to acknowledge this and look into whomever started the account. It looks horrible! Was this a former employee?  They had a little bit of knowledge about the pending contest before the press release came out.

In my 20 years in the hobby, as a collector, dealer, manager, card shop owner, etc. I have never seen anything as wacky as the chain of events that have unfolded over at Upper Deck the last several months.  

The contest already put a bad taste in my mouth because the company had just laid off, by some accounts, over 100 people between December and March. Now they want the community of card collectors to rally behind the company?

Upper Deck: No Evidence of Collector Confusion

Thanks to Upper Deck's www.upperdeckawards.com website re-directing you to the complete MLBP vrs. Upper Deck Company court documents, we have these excerpts:  

MLBP has proffered absolutely no tangible evidence of consumer confusion - whether in the form of actual instances of confusion among consumers or consumer survey evidence. In contrast, the record contains evidence strongly suggesting that consumers understand perfectly well that Upper Deck's 2010 Series are NOT licensed by MLBP. Even assuming MLBP could establish that there is confusion among consumers as to whether MLBP sponsors or approves of Upper Deck's 2010 Series, MLBP has not shown that is is Upper Deck's use of player photographs that is the cause of that confusion. In fact, to the extent consumers are confused at all, one likely source of confusion as to sponsorship or authorization could arise from the fact that many consumers do not understand the difference between the Players Association and MLBP. It would be perfectly logical for consumers unfamiliar with the intricacies of baseball licensing practices to assume that products bearing the images of professional baseball players and officially authorized by "Major League Baseball Players Association" are also authorized or approved by MLBP.

http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-york/nysdce/1:2010cv00732/357850/11/

Upper Decks Argument: Players Association, "Highlight Agreements" and Derek Jeter

Thanks to Upper Deck's www.upperdeckawards.com website re-directing you to the complete MLBP vrs. Upper Deck Company court documents, we have these excerpts: 

6. As they have been for many years, Upper Deck's baseball products released in 2010 are officially licensed by Major League Baseball Players Association (the "Players Association"). Under the terms of this agreement, Upper Deck is entitled to use the images and likenesses of professional baseball players on and in connection with its 2010 baseball card offerings. The Players Association license also permits Upper Deck to use facsimile signatures of certain baseball professionals on and in connection with its products and packaging.


7. In addition to its license with the Players Association, Upper Deck has obtained what is known as "highlight agreements" which individual players, which enables Upper Deck to obtain these players' original signatures for use in connection with its trading cards.


8. Finally, Upper Deck has exclusive spokesman agreement with Derek Jeter that gives Upper Deck the exclusive rights to use Derek Jeter's image on its packaging or his signature on its trading cards. Not surprisingly, Upper Deck has chosen to make the most of this important exclusive arrangement by repeatedly featuring an image of Derek Jeter on the packaging of its most important product of the year, Upper Deck Series 1.

Michael Bernstein - Senior Counsel - Upper Deck

http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-york/nysdce/1:2010cv00732/357850/12/

UD Court Documents: Insight Into How Much Licensing Costs

Here is a little nugget of information that came directly from Upper Deck Awards website, which promptly redirected you to the MLB Properties vs. Upper Deck US District Court documents.

"Over the past decade, MLBP's revenue from baseball card licensing is well over $75 million."

"Upper Deck has negotiated at least six or seven trading card licenses with the MLBP in a 20 year period. The most recent license agreement between MLBP and Upper Deck granting the right to produce and distribute baseball cards in the United States became effective in 2006 and expired in October 31, 2009.  The license had a two-month sell off period that concluded on December 31, 2009."

Upper Deck's Defaults (Debts) Under Previous MLBPA Agrement

Thanks to Upper Deck's www.upperdeckawards.com website re-directing you to the complete MLBP vrs. Upper Deck Company court documents, we have these excerpts:  

Upper Deck's Defaults Under the License Agreements

42. In addition to its violations of the Upper Deck License Agreements discussed above, Upper Deck is also in default under those Agreements for failure to perform multiple terms and conditions prior to the expiration of the Agreements.

43. Those obligations include the failure to pay amounts in excess of $2,400,000 due under the Upper Deck License Agreements, specifically, Contract No. ML-2302H (the "Domestic Trading Card Agreement"), ML1-115B (the "International Trading Cards Agreement"), ML-4055C (the "Hall of Fame Trading Card Agreement"), ML3940B (the "Hall of Fame Authentication Program Agreement"), and ML-2949F (the "MLB Authentication Program Agreement"0

44. MLBP has demanded that Upper Deck pay these sums due but has not received any of the money owed.

45. MLBP has also identified the multiple other obligations of which Upper Deck is in default under the Upper Deck License Agreements, including in correspondence to Upper Deck dated December 1, 2009 and January 28, 2010. Upper Deck has not performed these obligations and remains in default of the Upper Deck License Agreements.

http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-york/nysdce/1:2010cv00732/357850/1/

More Baseball Trading Card Business Details Revealed

The Baseball Trading Card Business

18. The baseball trading card business is a highly visible one for MLBP and has been for decades. Over the past decade, MPB's revenues from baseball card licensing is well over $75 million.

19. Notwithstanding the importance of trading cards, the overall trading card business for the four major sports (baseball, football, basketball, and hockey) has been steadily declining for many years falling from approximately $1 billion at its height to approximately $200 million at present. In addition, the share within the trading card sector for Major League Baseball licensed cards has decreased over the years from approximately 75%-80% in the mid-1980's to roughly 15-20% of the total business (including non-sports trading cards) as of today.

20. As a result, in MLBP's reasoned judgment, having an excessive number of trading card licenses diminishes and dilutes the value of the trading card business for MLBP. MLBP has, therefore made the strategic business decision to reduce the number of companies that are authorized and licensed to manufacture and sell complete sets of official MLBP trading cards..

21. Specifically, MLBP has decided that it is currently most beneficial to enter into an exclusive multi-year licensing deal with just one trading card manufacture and distributor, The Topps Company, Inc. ("Topps"). Topps has become the "Official Baseball Card of Major League Baseball,": and under this exclusive arrangement, Topps has the exclusive right to use the MLB Marks on trading cards for retail distribution beginning on January, 1 2010.

http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-york/nysdce/1:2010cv00732/357850/1/

Upper Deck Awards Website Re-Directs To Court Documents

I clicked through the Upper Deck Awards link on Twitter and it redirected me to Justia.com which is a legal website and to this specific court case:

Upper Deck Awards

Major League Baseball Properties Inc. v. The Upper Deck Company. 

I wish I was making this up. I will read through all the documents and have more shortly.

UPDATE: VERIFIED by fellow bloggers, forum owners, and tweeters. The Upper Deck Awards website, in fact, 100% re-directed users to a law document website which included all of the legal arguments in the MLB Properties Inc vs. Upper Deck trademark infringement case.

Upper Deck Awards: Good Faith, Good Gimmick or Good Distraction?

The Upper Deck Company is in the process of launching a website and new Twitter account, to honor the trading card community through a series of awards, called quite simply - Upper Deck Awards.

Categories include:

• Best Pull
• Best Sports Card Forum
• Best Sports Card Retailer 
• Product of the Year
• Best Sports Card Blog

Upper Deck has been taking a beating lately, and admittedly I've provided many links to a lot of articles that do not paint UD in a favorable light. The Upper Deck Awards are probably a great way to get some positive publicity, however small, in wake of the companies continued legal troubles and layoff notices.

I would have loved for UD to find a way for the sports card community to not have to "compete" with each other in order to win. It could also be argued that the timing and motive for this contest is just an old worn-out PR trick. I was tempted to fire off an @ reply on Twitter with the 20-30 blogs I check out weekly, but will hold back doing so until UD launches the site and I see what additional information they can provide.

Card Collector May Revolutionize Sports Betting Industry

A very interesting story about Jeremy Levine, a 23 year old baseball card collector who thinks he has found a way to provide legal sports betting online.

The idea behind his website, StarStreetSports.com, is you treat each bet as though you are buying "stock" in the team or player. The shares only go up or down in value depending on the result of the game. If your team loses, your "shares" are worth zero. If you win the bet, you are awarded the winnings. 

Levine is an entrepreneur at heart, his love for baseball cards and business, started early,  “Rather than the gimmicky cards with the jerseys, I always wanted the rookie cards,” he said. “I was always playing with my friends, trading cards, trying to get the next big thing.”

Read more about Levine's bold business gamble at the Boston Business Journal.

2003/04 UD Exquisite LeBron James Gold RC Auto

Currently the hottest card on eBay is this 2003/04 Upper Deck Exquisite LeBron James Rookie card.

Featuring a 3 color patch autograph, and serial numbered 13/23.   The card ends tonight, and has 293 watchers and the bidding has almost reached the $10,000 mark. Seller CraigsSportsWorld, is a Top-Rated-Seller on eBay, so expect the bidding for this Exquisite Lebron James RC to get real competitive in the final seconds.

2003/04 LeBron James Exquiste Rookie RC Autograph 13/23
Watchers: 293
Final Price: $9,200.00

LeBron James 2003/04 RC Card Checklist

2010 Panini Prestige Football

Panini kicks off it's 2010 football card season with the May 13 release of 2010 Panini Prestige. The set will be loaded with recent 2010 NFL draft picks, including a bunch of high profile QB's, Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford, Jimmy Clausen, and Colt McCoy.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT:
2010 Panini Prestige Football Review
2010 Panini Prestige Complete Checklist Base + Inserts

The Collegiate Letterman Autographs are always a big draw for collectors. Here are the names included in the 2010 Panini Prestige Collegiate Letterman Autograph set:

#1 Jimmy Clausen - Notre Dame
#2 Sam Bradford - Oklahoma
#3 Colt McCoy - Texas
#4 Tim Tebow - Florida
#5 C.J. Spiller - Clemson
#6 Toby Gerhart - Stanford
#7 Dez Bryant - Oklahoma State
#8 Golden Tate - Notre Dame
#9 Mardy Gilyard - Cincinnati
#10 Jordan Shipley - Texas
#11 Jermaine Gresham - Oklahoma
#12 Ndamukong Suh - Nebraska
#13 Taylor Mays - USC
#14 Brandon Spikes - Florida
#15 Eric Berry - Tennessee

Be sure to check out Sports Card Radio's full preview of 2010 Panini Prestige Football. 

A Cardboard Problem Fantasy Baseball League - Part 1

I was fortunate enough to be invited to play in A Cardboard Problem's fantasy baseball league. Which actually reminds me I need to transfer $20 from one of my off-shore bank accounts I like to roll with cash $$ into paypal to pony up the buy in. Consider it a donation, cause "Dr. Phil" a.k.a Sports Card Report has a slim shot at winning.

It's not that I have not been around the fantasy block.  Sports Card Radio (a.k.a. Jesus Take The Wheel), and some of my other fantasy football enemies, will have no choice but to concede my greatness on the fantasy gridiron.  It's a group of highly competitive, ego charged, males who live out thier football dreams on Sunday. The leagues message board is where things get real interesting. Let's just say if Beckett Media or Upper Deck ever got a hold of some of the things that have come out of "Dr. Proven Commodity's" mouth - I'd have to put my apartment on craigslist out of utter shame.

It's all about business in this baseball league. I only follow the SF Giants and am heavily biased toward them.  One thing that helps me with NFL fantasy is I don't have a favorite team. I just watch the NFL. Every game, all the stats, everything. I only watch the SF Giants play. It doesn't interest me to watch any other MLB team..............  that was until I played fantasy baseball last year for the 2nd time. Somehow managed to find a way to come in 3rd. I'll gladly take that this season seeing how I am up against fellow bloggers, who do double duty as baseball wizards.

I will chronicle my journey, frustrations with injuries and under performing stars, and hopefully, a little success here.

Card Corner Club Radio - Episode 1

Doug Cataldo and Rob Bertrand (AKA the VOTC) are back at it on Card Corner Club Radio!!  Be sure to check out episode 1 on the Card Corner Club website.

They touch on all kinds of topics, from collecting, box breaks, Beckett, Upper Deck, and oh yeah, a certain few bloggers called into the show as well!

Card Corner Club Radio will be live on Blog Talk Radio every Friday at 11pm CST. If you haven't already heard past shows, you'll want to do some catch up listening here.

Award Winning Wikipedia Contributor Deletes Beckett Media Page

A veteran Wikipedia member, Atama, who has garnered so much respect on Wiki for his contributions that he has earned an "Iron Star" Editor Award, has decided to delete the page about hobby publisher Beckett Media.

On Atama's Wiki profile page, he says "As a Wikipedian I try to be fair and unbiased in my work on articles. I have improved articles on subjects that I dislike, and I have argued to delete articles about subjects that I admire."

His reasoning for recommending Beckett Media's page deletion was "While it has some content, almost all of the sourcing is from press releases, showing little actual verifiable notability for the company."

Story hat tip!! --- Hobby Insider Blog --- Thanks a lot! 

TriStar - San Francisco Autograph Schedule 5/14 - 5/16

Recently TriStar announced the Autograph times of the major athletes appearing at the May 14 - 15 TriStar Collectors Convention in San Francisco, CA. Tickets for the event go on sale in late March/Early April and we will have an update when those become available.

Below are the Autograph Times:

Saturday:
Cal Ripken Jr............... 12:00pm
Paul Molitor.................. 12:30pm

Rollie Fingers............... 12:30pm
Johnny Bench.............. 1:00pm
Gary Beban................... 2:00pm
Ozzie Smith.................. 2:00pm
Madison Bumgarner..... 5:00pm
Dan Runzler.................. 5:00pm
Pablo Sandoval*.......... 5:15pm
*Pablo's appearance is arranged through Sports Gallery Authenticated, Pablo's Exclusive Bay Area Autograph Agent

Sunday:
Ben Grieve.................... 11:00am
Bruce Sutter................ 11:30am
Andre Dawson............. 12:00pm
Robin Roberts.............. 12:15pm
Reggie Jackson.......... 12:30pm
Walt Weiss................... 1:00pm
Toby Gerhart................ 1:15pm
Rod Carew.................... 1:30pm
Orlando Cepeda.......... 2:00pm

Sports Card Report will be attending this event. Contact us if you are planning on going as well, would love to see you in San Francisco in May!

Beckett Media Headquarters For Sale On Craigslist

Got $3 Million?  You could be Beckett Media's new landlord if you do. Up for sale, is the sprawling 33,642 Square Foot estate home to Beckett Media's Corporate Headquarters.

Dallas Craigslist Ad

NNN Investment Offering

Beckett Media Corporate Headquarters
4635 McEwen Road
Farmers Branch, TX 75244

Features:
Great NNN Investment
New Long-Term Lease Through 2014
Building Size: +/- 33,642 SF
Abundant Parking
Single-Tenant Office / Flex Building
Upscale Finish-Out
Great Location Near I-635 & North Dallas Tollway
Near Dallas Galleria, Hotels, & Restaurants
Reduced Purchase Price: $3,395,000.00
NOI: $345,000
Cap Rate: > 10%

For additional information or to schedule a tour, please contact:

Steven R. Burris or Sean M. Porter

972-250-5858 or 972-250-5850

Report: Upper Deck Laid Off 33 Workers In January

A high traffic Chinese news & information website posted a list of layoffs by certain California companies. Upper Deck, located in Carlsbad, CA was on the list with a total of 33 pink-slips given out 1/11/2010.

It is unclear at the moment if, one, the report on this website is indeed accurate.  And two, are these the same layoffs that were reported in the entertainment division just a few days ago?

UPDATE: Layoff report is verified. Link to .GOV website.

UPDATE II: Special thanks goes out to Two Packs A Day - which is a great blog by the way - for providing Sports Card Report with a link to all of these unfortunate folks over at Upper Deck who were recently laid off.

The number represents the people laid off with that specific job title. 
ASSOCIATE EMPLOYMENT MANAGER  - 1
ASSOCIATE GAME DESIGNER  - 5
ASSOCIATE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER - 1
CATALOG MARKETING SPECIALIST - 1
CONTRACTS COORDINATOR - 1
DIGITAL FILE PREP OPERATOR - 1
DIGITAL QA CLERK - 1
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING -1
FULFILLMENT MANAGER - 1
GAME DESIGNER - 2
GAME PRODUCER - 1
GRAPHICS PROJECT SPECIALIST - 1
IT PROJECT MANAGER - 2
LICENSING MANAGER - 1
MARKETING EVENTS SPECIALIST - 1
MARKETING PROGRAM MANAGER - 1
NATIONAL SALE MANAGER - 1
SENIOR BRANK MANAGER - 1
SENIOR CORPORATE COUNSEL - 1
SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER - 1
SENIOR NETWORK MANAGER - 1
SENIOR PRODUCT MANAGER - 1
SENIOR PRODUCTION ARTIST - 1
SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER - 1
STORE MANAGER - 1
SYSTEMS ENGINEER - 1
WEB DESIGNER - 1

Red Flag: Google Blocks Beckett Media's MOG Site

Google has listed Beckett Media's Massive Online Gamer website as suspicious. The warning from the worlds #1 search engine is that visiting Beckett's MOG site may harm your computer.

The reason for the Google flag could be a number of reasons.  Over the last 90 days, 5 of the 17 pages Google visited resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. A staggering percentage considering the depth of the MOG site. Google last visited MOG and updated their advisory today. In some cases, third parties can add code to a website that will alarm Google.

Beckett Media Lp is considered the leading distributor of many sports trading card publications, including Beckett Baseball Magazine.  

Take a look for yourself at the screen shots provided to Sports Card Report.
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