Well, I just landed in Las Vegas for baseball's winter meetings. Yeah, I'm a little late, but I figured someone needed to get this party started in a proper style.

So I see CC Sabathia has taken the Yankees up on their offer. Not so fast. After all, the day before reports were he declined their offer. So let let me make a pitch for him. You want to hit CC in the National League? My new team, the Bartsch Bombers will let you bat fourth. We're located wherever you want to play, so I guess it's somewhere in California.

There, now you don't have to play in New York - where you really don't want to play in the first place and you only took their offer because the Player Association makes you take the highest offer to not upset the market.

Now I'll head to the hotel "lobby" where all the real action takes place. According to "sources," Barry Bonds is not on any teams' radar. Hmm, he likes to play in California, too, maybe I can sign him as well.

Rumors are flying that Seattle wants to trade their closer, JJ Putz. Perhaps I can offer them some advice instead. Keep your pitching, lord knows you need it after handcuffing yourself financially on such great hitters as Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson. Maybe I can trade some vineyard land my team will play on for Putz.

So I have a starter, closer and an outfielder. I don't need any more pitching because CC can pitch every day, and then I'll have Putz pitch the eighth and ninth innings every other day.

To fill out the rest of my roster, I'll just wait until February, when all these lesser tier free agents start to get really antsy because they still don't have a job. They wonder why they are still "free" when they are asking for $3-$5 million a year to hit .240. Meanwhile, the rest of the teams blew all their cash on Scott Boras' clients, so I can scoop in with a lowball offer.

With my team of Bonds, Sabathia, Putz and a cast of also-rans, I figure I can still beat the Reds, Nationals, Rockies and Pirates. Not bad for an expansion team.

And this just in: Sabathia has spurned the Bartsch Bombers and will take the 2008 season off to join a European basketball team.

Shoot, I'll have to rethink my strategy. 

I'll make this short and sweet. I love baseball, so the last month and a half has been a chore for me because  - well - nothing has happened.

Ahh, so begins the Hot Stove Report - fueled by the current winer meetings attended by baseball general managers. This is when teams are built or destroyed. When hopes are made and dashed. It's baseball free agent time.

But wait, where's all the action? Usually, something happens before the meetings, which kicked today. Thus far, all that's happened is a backup catcher getting traded. Hmmm.

Oh that's right, no team is making any moves until one of the big horses is signed - Mark Texiera or CC Sabathia.  These guys control nearly the entire free agent class.

CC will set the mark for pitching and for what teams can do with or without him. For instance, the small-market Brewers have to wait until he officially says no to their subpar $100 million offer before they can direct their attention elsewhere. They can't afford CC and another free agent (top-line or marginal). The Yanks want to sign him so they can start buying everyone else (Lowe, Burnett, etc.).

Texiera is the biggest bat, so teams are vying for him and then turning to Manny (Dodgers, Angels).

So right now, it's a big showcase of nothing. Before the meetings are over at the end of the week, I expect more trades than signings. And when super agent Scott Boras is involved with many of these players, you know the process will take longer.

Maybe I'm wrong, and by the end of the week you can tell me so. But so far, the Hot Stove hasn't been lit.

It seems the only time sports memorabilia get attention in the mainstream press is for bad things - or when Pete Rose offers a new enlightening inscription.

The latest episode involves O.J. Simpson, who had his sentencing after a botched robbery attempt to retrieve his sports memorabilia. He'll spend at the minimum at least nine years in prison with the possibility of parole after five years.

Is any sports memorabilia worth that much of a price. I mean, would you, even for a $1 million-item waiting for you on the outside, spend at least five years in prison to have it? I don't pretend to know everything about this case, and I know there were a lot of other scenarios involved with the sports memorabilia and the hotel sting, etc., but O.J. - use your head. You got what you deserved for this crime.

It makes me wonder how much more his stock will fall in the memorabilia market. I also wonder what will happen to Michael Vick's stuff once he's eligible to come back next season.

If Vick does well, I could see a lot of people back on the bandwagon (if they ever left) and his stuff doing all right. You know people still have his cards stashed away - just in case.

Maddux
In better news, I just saw a report that Greg Maddux is going to announce his retirement. There isn't a better class act in the game. Never flashy, he just pitched and fielded his position at times better than anyone else. Sure he slipped of late, but at age 43, that's going to happen to a righty that doesn't just have to throw to one batter, like the lefty relievers that live on forever.

I hated when my favorite teams faced him, but he was a heck of a great pitcher and the league will miss him.

Boy if there aren't more polar opposites that Vick, Simpson and Maddux, I don't know what it is.

Well in case you folks don't keep up with the "News" portion of the Tuff Stuff Sports Collectors Monthly website, here are some hobby happenings.

MEARS is getting into the auction business, with its first auction slated to end Dec. 18. It's live now. This is a first for the company, and they are using it as a test for future development. Look for a lot of variety - not the just the usual high-end game-used items the company is known for.

Speaking of auctions, Legacy Sports Rarities, headed by Gary Bussineau, will conduct its inaugural auction in March. Look for classic 19th and 20th century sports rarities in the sale.

Topps is expanding its entertainment card brand by adding a trading card game based on the online Sony game Free Realms. the first product will be available next spring.

Tristar is releasing a few different products. TNA Wrestling has a new set in Cross the Line, which features the 5-year-old daughter of Kurt Angle. Hmm - is that soemthing you want your kid subjected to so early? Also, Tristar Prospects Baseball launched this week. Get the draft picks before everyone else wants them.

Also, Beckett Grading Services is now accepting Star Co. Basketball cards for grading. The move was initiated through a request from The Schonco Sports Collection to have BGS grade their inventory of Star Co. basketball cards prior to its release onto the market.

Star Co. was the exclusive licensed distributor of NBA cards in the early 1980s, and their limited edition sets feature some of the earliest and most valuable Michael Jordan rookie cards available. There are a lot of counterfiets out there of this product, so hopefully BGS can get the true stuff out there.

So the hobby isn't stopping for the tough economic times or for the holidays. They are moving forward, as I hope you are.

We just finished opening a box of Co-Signers Basketball the other day, and it got me thinking what my perfect pairs would be for autographs on a baseball card.

Now, I'm thinking they need to have some relative link - Nolan Ryan/Robin Ventura or Roger Clemens/Mike Piazza.

On a more pleasant level, perhaps George Brett/Nolan Ryan (HOF inductees the same year). Even a Ryan Howard/Prince Fielder card would be pretty cool. 

But when all is said and done, my Brewers colors flash brightly, and I would like a Robin Yount/Paul Molitor Co-Signers card. They are the ultimate Brewers players and both HOF inductees.

Of course, a Ryan Braun/Prince Fielder card wouldn't be a bad addition either.

When it comes to hoops, I'll go with Magic Johnson/Larry Bird or a Tim Duncan/David Robinson. I loved watching Duncan and Robinson in the paint.

Football? How about Jim Brown/Walter Payton? That would be fun to open, though I'm guessing it might be hard to do unless the autos were gotten of Payton from long ago. I saw Payton at a gas station once after a race. He was a big racing guy. I miss watching him do both sports.

I won't count presidents in this list, as this would be too hard to obtain and I don't really consider those to be sports cards.  

So I roll into the office after the turkey break and find holiday music screaming throughout the building courtesy of Muzak. I love being reminded that I should start thinking about doing some shopping every minute at work. It's great.

But I was also thinking about how quickly the end of the year is coming and what changes will be ahead. While there are new business starting up (MEARS just started an auction portion of its business and Legacy Sports Rarities is back in the auction game), you know some other businesses aren't going to make it far into 2008.

All of the bad economic news is going to affect this hobby, like it or not. I cringe every morning watching the Today show and seeing what they're saying on Wall St.

But aside from that, it's been a fun year. We've seen a name and somewhat format change for Tuff Stuff's Sports Collectors Monthly, added a new website, kicked off a great forum and saw some great collectibles come through the pipeline.

So I'm curious - what was your hobby highlight of the year? Did you pull a great product, complete a great set (anyone aside from Tommy Baxter getting close to the UD Yankee Stadium Legacy set?), get that elusive autograph?

This year, I got a few new Brewers autographs, keeping the vintage yearbook collection growing and am looking at ways to keep my sports room when the family get a little bigger next June.

Next year will be interesting all the way around, and I look forward to reporting the changes to you. 

Sports can be really funny at times. It seems no one is content with the present, instead always looking ahead to some other deadline or opportunity. Don't get me wrong, teams do have to look ahead in terms growth, but sometimes it's ridiculous.

For instance, let's talk about LeBron James. Instead of his current play with the Cavs and the potential for another postseason run, all anyone wants to talk about is how he could be a New York Knick .... in 2010. Yup, James played in MSG, scored at will and all anyone in the NY media could think  about is how he will look in a Knick uniform TWO years from now. Do you know how much can happen in two years?

Of course James deflected the answer as to whether he would like to play for the Knicks, though he didn't deflect the answer as to whether he would turn down more money to bring in better talent on whatever team he is on. He's all about having talent around him, but he wants his pay-day, no question.

So I guess for all the Knicks fans, especially after all of the salary cap-focused trades last week, just sit on your hands for the next two seasons. After all, you might – just might – get LeBron James in free agency in 2010. Don't mind that whatever you'll see on the court in the meantime will be nothing short of garbage.

This will most likely be my last blog before we get a brief reprieve from work for the Thanksgiving holiday. I hope all of you get a little break as well.

When I return, I hope the mess that is my desk magically is cleaned. Now there's something I would be thankful for.

I'd also be thankful if Michael Turner would score four touchdowns every game, but I realize that's selfish, if not a little greedy.

I'd be thankful if the card hobby would get past the refractors, 1-of-1s and hair cut cards and get back to appreciating the basic card for what it is - a link to the players that entertain us each day.

I'd be thankful if I never saw Pacman Jones or Michael Vick on the football field again (alas, they'll be there soon).

I'd be thankful if the economy would turn around (while keeping gas prices low) so the hobby would be humming again and I don't have to hear, read or report on more companies going out of business.

I'd be thankful if Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Sandy Koufax would do a public signing - together. Imagine the crowds for that (unless it would be $500 per signature, which is probably even less than it would take).

I'd be thankful if I had the opportunity to see a game at Fenway Park. (I have toured it, but alas have never smelled the hot dogs during a game.)

I'd be thankful to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame not on induction weekend, but at a time when I can take it all in at a snail's pace without elbowing other patrons to see all of the exhibits.

Ah heck, really I'll be thankful to live a long healthy life, enjoy my work, see the world become a little better place and enjoy a Brewers World Series Championship. Some of that might be a dream, but dreaming is something we always have.

I just read something about the Baseball Hall of Fame offering a Character & Courage statue at the Hall depicting Lou Gehrig, Roberto Clemente and Jackie Robinson. I don't think you'll find anyone who will argue with the selections for such a statue with that title.

In a time when it would be very easy for the general public to sour on professional athletes, it's amazing the reverence athletes of the past have. And that's a good thing. Many of today's athletes can thank their lucky stars the people before them paved the way to the money, fame and fortune they accumulate.

Gehrig had to retire because of an incurable disease. Robinson had unimaginable battles in breaking the color barrier, and Clemente died in a plane crash on his way to help earthquake victims.

The racism question is behind us (mostly), athletes can still contract inoperable diseases (though this gets far less attention these days) and athletes raise plenty of money for relief efforts. Yet in a day and age of here today, gone tomorrow, none of these instances stand out as much today - hence the reverence for players of the past.

Just an observation on this lovely snowy morning in Wisconsin.