There are some interesting things going on in the hobby the past few days.

First off, Topps announced a new card set called Topps American Heritage. the new set will be an extension of the Topps Heritage brand, while bringing in some pop culture references and other tidbits, similar to the Donruss Americana brand. Seems like this is one of the latest directions card companies are getting into to try and expand their horizons. Like it or hate it, that's where some brands are going.

Click here to read more.

Also, Upper Deck has announced a new line of figures called Pro Shots. The idea is to capture athletes in some of their finest moments (no, not Pacman Jones on a stripper's stage).

The line kicks off with UD exclusive spokesmen Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. Jordan is portrayed from the 1998 Finals with his game-winning shot, while Woods is featured tracking down a putt in the 2000 PGA Championship.

Of course, there will be deluxe hobby editions. To read more, click here.

And finally, be sure to check out the Tuff Stuff Sports Collectors Monthly Holiday Gift Guide. Shop for autographs, photos, game-used memorabilia, figurines and much more.

We'll keep the store open until Dec. 31. Start shopping HERE. 

I managed to catch a few of the football games this weekend, both college and professional, and man, did some teams miss a golden opportunity to win.

I first caught the end of the Wisconsin Badgers game against Michigan State and their Heisman hopeful Javon Ringer. While Ringer didn't set the field on fire, Michigan State did win courtesy of some questionable events from the Badgers. First, the Badgers coach was flagged for a 15-yard penalty that helped keep a Michigan State drive alive that led to a score. And then with the game tied 16-16 with about 11 seconds left and the Spartans scrambling to get a field goal unit on the field (no timeouts left), the Badgers inexplicably called a timeout. Maybe they didn't have the right number on the field or whatever, but why let the opposing team then get settled?

I didn't see it myself, but apparently all Texas had to do to seal a victory over Texas Tech was have one of their secondary players catch an easy interception. Instead, on the next play Texas Tech threw for the game-winning touchdown. Oops.

And then there is my Fantasy Football team. Never trust a "report" that says a player is questionable, but he should play without any problems. Yeah, so you start that guy, he doesn't play and you end up losing by a few points because the guy you left on the bench actually saw the field and posted some positive yardage.

I'll admit that I didn't re-check the status after about 10:30 a.m., so that's where I get my dumb coaching move of the weekend.

Lesson learned from me. But at least my mistake didn't ruin a perfect season - that was done a long time ago.

     

It's not often I find trading card news in my local newspaper. So when I saw an article on PopCardz, a new celebrity-based trade card set not from a sports card manufacturer, I had to take a look.

A former show business agent has started a new company that will supply cards of more than 40 celebrities. Young stars, such as Ashley Tisdale will join Megan Fox, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jessica Alba, among others. The back of the cards will feature the star's birth date, hometown, motto and favorite charity, movie, song, book, place, sport and food. There will also be a "secret" about that person on the back of the card.

Proceeds from the sale of the cards will be given to the celebrities' charities. Each card will also have a unique 10-digit access code printed on it that will provide additional online content at PopCardz.com (the site isn't currently active as of this writing).

I'll be real curious at the price point of this product because it's clearly aimed at the mass market. I see it pitched in the grocery store aisle next to the tabloids. All of this information can be found online (along with MUCH more in the case of some of the celebrities). What's the hook? Will there be autographs? Worn clothing scraps?

It's nice to see the proceeds going to charity; I just don't see this catching on. I hope I'm wrong. With good marketing and some additional "hooks," maybe it works. Any positive news regarding trading cards is good news for the entire hobby.

I was watching it rain (on TV) last during Game 5 of the World Series between the Phils and the Rays, and I thought to myself, "How much longer can this go on - it's really raining. And then I thought to myself (the Phils we winning 2-1 at the time), "Wait a minute, if the game is delayed, can they restart in this mess?"

This ultimately led to me eventually connect the dots enough to realize that if the game is halted, delayed and then ended, the world Series is over. After five innings, a game is considered complete. It's a good thing B.J. Upton can run like the wind even on a sloppy track, or baseball would have another black eye to deal with.

Has any World Series ended early due to rain with the outcome in doubt? A one-run game in a deciding game is no shoo-in for a winner. And teams have come back from 3-1 before. This would have been worse for Selig & Co. than the tie in the All-Star game in Milwaukee.  

And perhaps I got a little too slap-happy over Longoria. The poor guy has gone cold in baseball's biggest stage, and scouts are taking notice how the Phils are pitching to him. Expect, perhaps, a bit of a cooling off period for Longoria in 2009. Of course, he could be doing some adjusting, as well. Stay tuned.

As I look at the calendar and see the month of November approaching, I expect to see more deals like Topps signing with the UFC. Why, you ask? Well, the presidential race is coming to end (goodbye Presidential Predictor inserts, et. al). We'll also be waiting another two years until another Olympics comes rolling around (and it's winter Olympics – not nearly the viewing spectacular such as swimming or gymnastics in the Summer Olympics).

I don't see a new insert coming out on world leaders or "celebrities" making the news, but that probably isn't too far behind. In my former life working in the toy industry, a company would capitalize on every news story by producing an action figure surrounding that event. For instance, they made a small diorama scene of Michael Jackson holding a baby over a railing. I didn't say it was politically correct, but it did get them in the mainstream media, which is part of every companies' success.

So for future insert sets, they will have to be something that is well known (in the news, on the radio, etc.) and can be easily deciphered by the average person. Maybe they'll have the Bonds' trial, or perhaps an O.J. Simpson "By the Blunder" set.

I'm not exactly sure what will come along in the months ahead, but card companies will have to come up with something clever to get into the mainstream media blitz – and hopefully it's not for something negative.  

In case you haven't heard about it yet - retired NFL players have filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL Player's Association over the use of their likeness in video games, trading cards and other areas.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Herb Adderley filed the suit in federal court in California. The suit represents more than 2,000 retired NFL players. The suit contends the NFLPA intentionally cut retired players out of licensing deals so active players could receive more benefits. This comes on the heels of what many believe is already poor pensions by the NFL for its former players.

Apparently there is internal correspondence from NFLPA officials that shows their notion to get less money for retired players.

This has been coming for a while. Many former players are furious at the Player's Association on a number of subjects. For any league that turns its back on its former players that helped bring the league to its current status (which is pretty good no matter what league is discussed) is just wrong. In a time when the NFL is dodging publicity nightmares as it is with its current players, this won't help the cause in public opinion.

If you're using the likenesses of the former players, they should be compensated for it - plain and simple. This is especially true when the current players get plenty of compensation for being in the same card sets or video games.   

So I was playing around in one of the Fantasy Football leagues I'm in (a bunch of old high school buddies), and one of them who admittedly has a talented roster, throws out LaDainian Tomlinson as possible trade bait. Now how many times have you seen that over the past three or four years?

I love this time of year because it's when fantasy players really start to get frustrated with their "stars" not performing at a high enough level. And being the consensus top pick in almost every draft I saw except one (and I watched dozens at the National Fantasy Football Conference in NYC where participants paid four figures to enter), Tomlinson was expected to bring more than four rushing touchdowns and just over 500 yards after seven weeks.   

So I traded Matt Forte for him - a rookie with the Bears who has put up slightly better numbers. I did so because I believe Tomlinson gets better as the season goes on - and he's getting healthy. Being able to grab a top pick from a disgruntled owner is part of the fun in fantasy, and I expect every league has a participant ready to dump a full-fledged star out of frustration or desperation. But the law of averages doesn't lie - these guys will get their numbers in the end.

Perhaps Peyton Manning is now available in your league. Anyone sick of Ryan Grant also running into a pile of nowhere (except last week, though his per-carry average still wasn't very good)? Now is the time to pounce on your fellow players and make some gains. 

I was checking out the latest episode of "Back on Topps" (www.backontopps.com) - comedy series that is based on fictional heirs to the Topps Co. While this show is getting away from anything actually related to the hobby, the name Steve Balboni did pop up in one of the episodes.

This reminds of some of the players I loved to make fun of growing up. Ron Kittle was another. I don't know, I just thought the name was funny. I also got a kick out of Chet Lemon, Dan Quisenberry, Mark Brouhard (the blowhard) and Mookie Wilson. Sometimes these are a lot funnier in a 10-year-old's mind.

Balboni also recalls some big boppers that quickly faded out. Kevin Maas comes to mind, as well. Dan Pasqua anyone? What about Kevin Reimer? I know this is like picking names out of the air, but these are names that stick with me, even the players didn't stick in the majors long.

Some day we might say the same of David Price, or Matt Garza. Arm injuries are omnipresent in pitchers. That's why we have to enjoy these players when they are performing well, so we can say we saw them when - no matter how short or far down the road that might be.

Anyone out there have some favorite "no-names" from the past that still roll around their memory banks?

Let's go Rays! Let's go Rays!

This team has captured my viewing attention. What great young talent. They can hit and pitch. While TV ratings might be down, this is exactly what baseball needs – any team can win any year.

Auctions
I was doing a little traveling online, checking out some of the upcoming auctions. There is some sweet stuff coming up for sale. Over at Game Used Universe, they are once again offering game-used jerseys in all different sports. Among the highlights are game-used jerseys of Cal Ripken Jr. (1988), Nolan Ryan (1980s Astros), Peyton Manning (2006 road) and many more.

And if you need to find any information on one of the pieces, just check out the Game Used Universe forums and ask questions. It's a nice little system.

Also, Ironclad Auctions is offering items from the last game played at Yankee Stadium. They offer game-used pieces from the final Brian Roberts (Orioles) at-bat. they also have items from Cal Ripken Jr., Eddie Murray and other stars.

And I read in a report over the weekend that Guernsey's auction of final Yankee Stadium artifacts didn't go over that well. Having not seen the results myself at this time, I can't say for sure. But the article mentioned how the economy was forcing people not to buy as much. That would be true, but the high reserves might also have something to do with it.