I'm going to just come right out and ask because I really don't know the answer. With football games played in London and Mexico, basketball games in China and baseball games played in Mexico, Puerto Rico, etc., is there the same appeal for items like trading cards in those countries? And if not, why don't companies make a better effort to target their products there?

You couldn't sell the high-end items in some of these countries - there just wouldn't be the demand for it - but general trading cards of their "American" heroes would go over very well. Basketball players in particular are looked at like gods in Asia. Now imagine those same fans scrounging up basketball cards.

The one thing where I see this wouldn't work is there are only a handful of players that foreign countries (now a foreign concept since players in any professional sports now come from many different countries) would be interested in. I'm not sure a card of T.J. Ford will get the same response as a Tracy McGrady one.

But we are talking about millions of people - an untapped resource. Another hurdle, come to think of it, might be the Communist controls in China. I'm pretty sure they like to control what's offered to the masses. It's not a free market like we have here in the U.S.

I'd be interested in some of the programs either underway or on the way from manufacturers. It looks like I just gave myself a homework assignment.