Happy Spring Training Day! Even if they are just stretching and getting on the scale, it good to see the Boys of Summer checking in on this fine February day. Bring on baseball (steroid talk be damned)!

News this week on the hobby front includes some of the following:

Upper Deck's Richard McWilliam said in order for the company to be the exclusive licensee for the NBA card market (the league only wanted one producer of cards), it was have put the company in economic jeopardy. Goodness, is the NBA that popular to demand such money? From all accounts, basketball card sales have decreased for the past five years. Good luck Panini, I hope you bring some fresh, new ideas to the market. Do that, and collectors will come.

For those who collect non-sports cards, Rittenhouse Archives is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The company is known for its evergreen properties of James Bond, Star Trek and other properties that have a long shelf life.

Tristar Productions CEO Jeff Rosenberg was the winning bidder for the 1869 Peck & Synder card that received a lot of attention, including an appeance on Leno with its owner, Bernice Gallego. Rosenberg paid $75,285 with the buyer's premium through Memory Lane and he hinted the company might give it away in the future. Oh, and it will be "on tour," including a visit the National this summer. For a card that is worth less than $100,000, it sure is getting a lot of face time. Think anyone will remember it when the National rolls around?

Some of the latest "relic" cards to be inserted into cards (this courtesy of Topps in the American Heritage brand) will be "chads" from the Florida fiasco in the 2000 Presidential election, pieces of the White House roof and floor, Shea Stadium wall padding and cuts from a JFK sweater. Hey, at least they aren't running out of ideas yet...

And remember, only another week or two before some actual games are being played again. God bless baseball.