So what do you do when it's cold, windy and some flakes are flying around on a Saturday afternoon in Wisconsin? Sure, I did plant myself on the coach and watched some college football and basketball.

But aside from that, I started to sort through some of my sports collectibles and came across mounds and mounds of tickets, everything from Milwaukee Brewers tickets to tickets for the Marquette Golden Eagles, Milwaukee Bucks, Green Bay Packers and even some minor league games.

Why do I keep these? I have no clue. I'm even pretty sure I threw out a chunk a couple of years ago. It's not like I keep notes on them as to the score or some sort of significance to the game (and let's face it, with those teams, aside from the Packers in the mid-1990s which I don't have tix for, there's wasn't much significant going on). The only one of late that I made a notation about was the game last year when Prince Fielder hit his 50th home run.  

I guess I keep them to remind of just how games I've seen over the year, and some of them do rekindle some great memories. I have one ticket from a Marquette game against Wake Forest when Dwayne Wade was running the show. Both teams were highly ranked, with Wake Forest ahead of MU. I've never been in a louder arena in my life, as MU won. (I'm told the Louisville game a week later was even louder, though I find that hard to believe).

I also kept many of these tickets inside ballcaps, so some are a little stained with sweat, to the point some of the lettering is worn off. I've since learned to turn them the other way around or just keep them in my wallet.

I also kept some tickets for playoffs game that never took place, just because I had unrealistic hopes for my favorite team's success.

I'll keep hanging on to these tickets, even as another box filled up. If you have nothing to do some bad-weather day afternoon, open up some of your boxes of collectibles. It's fun to rekindle some good memories.   

Looking at the 2008 NFL draft class, there wasn't all thatexcitement. You had an offensive lineman taken with the first pick. Two defensemen lineman were among the top five picks. Not exactly the stuff card collectors get real excited about.

Aside from Matt Ryan, Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, there were some huge question marks about some of the offensive skill position players (the ones that attract the attention on the colletibles market). I remember strolling around the rookie premier and rying to guess who would make an impact this year.

Well, it turns out that a lot of the rookies are making impacts this year. Who would have thunk it?  McFadden has been sowed by injuries, as has Felix Jones. Matt Ryan has been leading the resurgent Falcons. But it's the "other" guys who have been making the most noise.

Steve Slaton, Joe Flacco, Chris Johnson, Matt Forte, DeSean Jackson, Donnie Avery, Eddie Royal, Dustin Keller, John Carlson, Ray Rice and Kevin Smith have all gotten some quality minutes and put up impressive numbers at times. If you saw that many rookies having that much of an impact at the beginning of the year, then you belong in a GM position.

All of these players should help the football card market. While new card sales aren't anything near healthy thanks to a current economic slowdown (to put it mildly), these players will get "hot" at some point. So now is a perfect time to get on board with these players.

What was thought to be a lower than average draft class might turn out to be one of the best. Now why didn't I see that coming in my Fantasy drafts?

In a blog this week, I'll ask Tuff Stuff's Sports Collectors Monthly's football pricing analysts to get me some rookie card numbers on the players mentioned above. Hey, they need something to do after a deadline:)

For this holiday season, do I spend millions on what could be considered an overweight pitcher or a head case outfielder? That's what owners and general managers are considering these days as the free agent market is now wide open.

In case you hadn't figured it out, the two players I'm referring to above are C.C. Sabathia and Manny Ramirez. Yes, they are the most talented players at their positions on the free agent market (and you could argue overall in baseball). However, both have huge question marks in my opinion.

Sabathia was a serious workhorse in 2008. He single-handily carried the Crew into the playoffs and was the best pitcher in baseball in the second half. but look at him. Think four years down the road and what he could look like. Would you want $50 million tied up in him when he's 300-plus? It's a risk you take, but the risk is there.

With Ramirez, well, I think I've written on this before. Great player, but he seems to get bored after a while. He'll play hard this next year (probably) and then start to lose interest the year after (most likely). He played for hsi contract, he'll get it and then soon he'll revert. If you can live with that, spend away.

It's fun to play general managers in our Fantasy Leagues, but doing it for real, with actual millions of dollars must be a nerve-wrecking job. Add in the judgment of millions of fans, and it can't get any easier.

For me, I'll just be thankful I just have to figure out what to spend money on for my wife. She's not a risk at all.

An update on the NFLPA vs. retired players lawsuit (parts compliments of the Associated Press):

Executives for the NFL Players Association will ask a judge to overturn a $28.1 million verdict a federal jury ordered the union to pay to more than 2,000 of its retired players.

The jury said the union owed the retirees $7.1 million in actual damages for failing to include them in marketing deals with EA Sports, trading card companies and other licensees. Punitive damages pushed the verdict to $28.1 million. Hall of Fame cornerback Herb Adderley filed the lawsuit last year on behalf of 2,056 retired players who alleged the union failed to actively pursue marketing deals on their behalf with video games, trading cards and others products.

Should the $28.1 million award stand, each retired player in the lawsuit would receive about $10,000 after lawyer fees. 

“It’s an unjust verdict and we are confident it will be overturned,’’ NFLPA lawyer Jeffrey Kessler said.

Lawyers representing Adderley and the retired players told the jury during the three-week trial that the union actively sought to cut them out of licensing deals so active players could receive bigger royalty payments. The retirees pointed to a 2001 letter from an NFLPA executive telling executives at EA Sports to scramble the images of retired players in the company’s popular Madden video game, otherwise the company would have to pay them. Only active players received a cut of the EA deal, the union’s largest, which surpassed $35 million for 2008.

Kessler unsuccessfully urged the jury to award far less, arguing the union could suffer economic harm if it had to pay a large amount. “It was the only sports union that tried to do retired players licensing deals,’’ Kessler said.

I'm glad to this this made it to court for one, and now I'm even happier that something was awarded, even though it will go through some more appeals, I'm sure. too many times it's all about today and today's players, while those who paved the way for those players are ignored. If companies are making money off of them, they should get a piece of the pie.

When I retire from whatever job I'm working at at the time, I will never do what some athletes feel the need to do years after they actually mattered in the eyes of sports fans – rip on my former employer, releasing an angst-filled tirade that really helps no one.

When I read remarks like those from LaVar Arrington concerning the Redskins, Joe Gibbs and Daniel Synder, I just shake my head. What's the point? Are athletes trying to make themselves feel better by ripping apart others? Do they want to make themselves appear more noble in the public eye by stating something to the effect that whatever happened when they were on the team wasn't because of them but because of the S.O.B. in the owner's box or on the sidelines?

For me, I won't look any less on Joe Gibbs. Daniel Synder? I have no clue. But what Arrington said about him won't make me think he's a jerk. Arrington has a long history of spouting his mouth to the point that whatever he says I take with a grain of salt, to put it mildly.

Does Arrington need more publicity for his sports bar? Did a sports writer need a column that would attract attention because he couldn't come up with anything else? I don't get it. If you're out of the game, let the issues of the past be just that - in the past.
 

I know most of you have read stories on autograph collecting that come from a first-person point of view where someone shares their autograph-seeking tales after a day chasing around athletes.

The summaries usually range from, "He (insert athlete name here) was great. He signed for everyone and told some funny stories at the same time." The other side would be. "He (insert athlete name here) was terrible. He didn't sign for anyone, much less acknowledge any of us."

Having only done the autograph-seeking adventure in person only once or twice (one at Spring Training, a relaxing atmosphere), I must say that I really don't like it. People aren't the friendliest and then you have to deal with the athletes – and some of the athletes just want to run and hide.

You have your pros who have the binders all ready for the particular team in town, so they can quickly grab a card or photo of the athlete who is signing. It's impressive, actually. they're also the loudest and most active of the bunch. It must work for them because they go home with tons of autographs. If you're more laid back like me, you won't get as many signatures, but you do get plenty of funny situations to take home with you.

I guess when it comes to autographs, I'd rather mail in requests, or better yet, attend a show and get them in person. Yes, it's going to cost more - sometimes a lot more - but I know I'll get something signed and I don' t have to fight the crowds to do it.  

Any other autograph hounds that have a preferred method in getting signatures?

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.