We've opened a lot of boxes of cards the past few weeks, from high-end examples to some more collector-friendly items. Some of the boxes we have opened include:

• Icons Football
• Topps Co-Signers Basketball
• Bowman Sterling Football
• Legends Masterpieces Hockey
• UD Ballpark Collection
• Topps Football
• and more.

So when it comes time for you, the true collectors out there, to pony up for a box of cards - what do you shoot for? I'm looking for sport, high-end vs lower-end and what turns you on to the particular product.

For me, the high-end stuff is always nice to open, but I can't afford to play that game for any length of time. I like the base products that showcase the stars and rookies and can throw me a bone or two with a patch card or auto at least once or twice in the box. I still get a kick out of patch cards, regardless of their value.

We were talking in the office the other day in how affordable patch cards are, and they would make for an attractive display. Perhaps I can expand my Robin Yount collection....

So if you've been paying attention to my ramblings lately, you'll know the Brewers victory on Sunday - coupled with a Mets loss - is the sports highlight of my life. You see, in Wisconsin, there isn't a lot to choose from. I'm not a huge Packers fan, and while I enjoy college hoops, even the Final Four runs of the Wisconsin Badgers and Marquette Golden Eagles don't compare with my devotion to the Crew.

So to be able to sit in the stands on Sunday and watch Ryan Braun's home run fly over the wall and watch Sabathia pitch like a machine (bare-hand grabs of ground balls and all) was the ultimate for me.

Watching the players and fans celebrate on the fields for hours afterward was even better. I don't want to say I'm happy just that they made the playoffs, but it's a great big first step. Now if Ryan Howard can get the flu or something....

Also, don't forget to check out a new feature on the Topps website on Wednesday. In one of their first programs on Topps TV, an initiative by Michael Eisner to make the company more well-rounded, the focus will be on the Sklars brothers and their sports card collecting adventures. It's call Back On Topps.

In the first episode, the Topps brothers discover a card caper in a hair salon, and one of them exclaims, "Sweet mullet of Gaetti!" So, yeah, sports fans will get this more than others, and it should be something fun to watch.

And speaking of Wednesday, the Crew take the field at 3 EST.  
 

In the latest round of exclusive autograph deals, Tony Romo signed with Upper Deck for a memorabilia contract. He joins a long list of athletes who have partnered up with various companies to offer their signatures on items that will only be available through that company.

I have a few thoughts on this. First, if the athlete signs enough that an item will be available to me when I want it, I have no problem with it. However, if I want a Romo signed jersey though UDA (or whomever) and they are not available, then I get perturbed. I know the idea behind these arrangements is not to flood the market, thus keeping values high and the exclusivity as a positive thing. But offering only a handful once or twice a year also defats the purpose of actually getting these in the hands of people.

Also, the prices can get a little extreme. Romo is a good quarterback and all, but paying $370 for an 8x10 signed photo is out of my league. Yes, I know it's a legit autograph in a world that is filled with items of a questionable nature, but that's a little high.

So I invite others' thoughts on this topic. Do you buy from these exclusive deals (how else are you going to get a Tiger Woods signed pieces)? Do you feel the prices make it cost-prohibitive? Do you feel Romo is the new "face" of the NFL?
 

Yup, I swore at the Brewers (sorry, from Wisconsin) up and down for the last several weeks. And now they're one game out of the Wild Card. So what will I do? I'll be seated in Miller Park tonight, still holding on to some postseason dream world that has been with me for 26 years.

Why I continue to torture myself is beyond me. But in the advent they actually make the playoffs, I'll be the happiest man alive.

I'm guessing I'm not alone in that type of fandom.

Heck, if I'm lucky, Bob Uecker will toss some peanuts at me.

Gotta love the playoff push from the Central Division teams in baseball. (Oh, and the NL East).

Did you miss the lead story on the home page? Yup, we're offering new product pricing - before it's in the magazine. Basically, soon after our price guide analysts do their research and input the data, we're turning it around and offering it to you.

The first product hit today (Tuesday) and will be followed by a few more this week. Yes, it will cost $4.99, but it's the latest pricing available and we need to make a buck now and then, too. We've heard enough about not doing our part in offering pricing in a timely manner online, so this should help.   

We're also offering FREE pricing on vintage sets over at our sister magazine, Sports Collectors Digest. Check that out, too.

These are some of the steps we're taking, probably long overdue, in better serving your pricing needs.

Well, three weeks have passed in the NFL season, and there is already one coach on the outs (Raiders' Kiffin), a quarterback on the rocks (Browns' Anderson) and one who has been replaced supposedly for the remainder of the year (Vikings' Jackson).

Meanwhile, the Cowboys have emerged as the team to beat in the NFC, while the AFC could be anyone's game, and that doesn't include New England or San Diego.

While lying on the coach on Sunday a little under the weather (not self-induced, mind you), I watched a lot of the pregame stuff. I was amazed at how these guys were talking like it's make-or-break already in the NFL. It was do-or-die for teams, players and coaches. Say what?

If I remember correctly, the Giants started out last year quite poorly and ran away from everyone at the end. I don't think San Diego is going to stink all year long (though we'll see after MNF against the Jets). I also don't feel Buffalo is going to run away in the East, despite the Dolphins mashing the Patriots. (However, I do feel KC is horrible, brutal even.)

So it will be interesting to see which team tights the ship and which ones come back to earth. Sixteen games is a long ways to go, and two wins or losses in the next two weeks brings everyone back on an even playing field.   

So no predictions thus far from me - I don't get paid enough to look stupid in print, much less on TV. 

The major sports in the U.S. have become a melting pot of nationalities. No matter the sport, you'll now find players from nations around the world participating.

So why do they still conduct events like the Ryder Cup (right now the U.S. vs. Europe) and host hockey All-Star games with the U.S. vs. the world? Don't the Olympics cover the arena enough, where one country can say they are "better" than the other? And actually, now that athletes can pretty much participate with whatever country they want, even that's not a true testament to a country's athletic prowess.   

I think the time of one country trying to say it's the best in the world at any sport is ridiculous in this day and age, and this contrived competitions are done simply for ratings.

So why don't they have U.S. vs. Japan in hot dog-eating contests? Or make the American Gladiator series a country vs. country spectacle? Bowling anyone?

Perhaps someone can explain this to me.

Ichiro Suzuki matched Willie Keeler's major league record of eight straight 200-hit seasons last night. That's a pretty remarkable feat, no matter how Ichiro hits them.

I wasn't sure what to expect of this Japanese phenom when he first entered the league, but he has been nothing short of great. On a team that failed expectations miserably this year, he just continues to produce - out of the spotlight.

And because of his hit record, I asked Joe Clemens, Sports Collectors Monthly's baseball card pricing analyst, to pull some rookie card prices for me on Ichiro. As you can see, these prices range from the high-end to affordable. I wonder, do the Japanese jump on sports memorabilia as much as collectors in the U.S.?

Here are some values for Ichiro rookie cards:
2001 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection #120, $1,800.  
"I guess its obvious that this is his best rookie card judging by the crazy price. It's autgraphed and serial numbered to 250." - Joe Clemens

2001 SPX #150, $750.
"This one is also autographed and has a jersey swatch, too." - Joe Clemens

2001 Bowman Chrome #351, $80.

Peter Gammons said Ichiro is on a straight path to the Hall of Fame. He's have to play awhile to reach the vaunted 3,000-hit club (while on U.S. soil; he has 3,000 combined hits from Japan and Seattle). But maybe he doesn't need that many to prove that, while here, he was among the best in the game.
 
 

Sometimes the news from the East Coast cracks me up. Not only is any hang nail that affects the Yankees or Red Sox the most pressing news of the day, but the sensationalism is just too much.

Derek Jeter just set the record for hits in Yankee Stadium. So? You bet some great players have played on those "hallowed" grounds, but why is this such big news on ESPN, etc? Sure, the stadium is being torn down after this year, but this statistic - in general - seems pointless to me.

Team records are fine and dandy to keep track of. But stadium records that stray from first home run, first no-hitter, etc., aren't fodder for headlines.

The Yankees are out of the playoff hunt, their stadium is being torn down and now it won't get the press it deserves as the season winds down. Baloney - I'm sure there are many specials in the works for those last few games so everyone and their grandmother can learn about this great stadium and the Yankees franchise, again.

I expect some Yankees fans to jump all over this, but sometimes news is news just because it's New York. And that gets old, quick.