The large roar out of Tampa Bay has subsided with the Steelers winning the Super Bowl. What's left is a silence, sort of like when a pro golfer is lining up a putt, starts his swing and follows through.

What follows is a giant roar (when they make it). That's what the sports world is like for me right now. Sure college basketball is keeping me glued to the screen for Big Monday and the Saturday marathons, but it's the end of February and into March when that scene really heats up.

No, the silence now will lead to outright jubilation next week with the opening of spring training. Baseball is almost here. Can you feel it?

Sure Manny is still without a team, along with a bunch of other free agents that normally have a new home by now, but it's still baseball and nothing beats it.

I went to spring training in Arizona two years ago and wish I could go back every year since and forever. Green grass, warm temperatures and the chance to see the players up close in a relaxed atmosphere.

Nothing beats baseball, I don't care what football fans say on the heels of the Super Bowl.

I hope the MLB Network starts kicking it into high gear, as I'm growing weary of seeing their showings of recent playoff and World Series games. Give me some dirt and some interviews - something to set the stage for the season to come.

Until next week Friday, I remain silent, ready to erupt when I finally hear those words: "Pitchers and catchers, report!"

Upper Deck is releasing a special series of nine collectible insert cards titled “Historical Firsts Predictors.” The cards, which feature some very bold predictions, will be scattered inside its next baseball card release.
 
Topping the list of historic predictions will be cards predicting that an AIDS vaccine is developed, an alien life form is discovered on another planet and the Dow Jones reaches 15,000 points!
 
“Nobody could have guessed how 2008 was going to turn out, so we thought we’d have some fun and provide some thought-provoking predictions for 2009,” said Kerri Stockholm, Upper Deck’s director of Sports Marketing. “With the onslaught of news stories focused on the troubled economy, Upper Deck wanted to provide some hope and humor for collectors and fans. Who knows? Some of these predictions may very well come true.”
 
The “Historical Firsts Predictors” cards, inserted at a rate of 1:6 packs in Upper Deck’s 2009 Series One Baseball release, will be hitting store shelves on Feb. 3. Other noteworthy predictions in the series include gas prices plummeting to 99 cents per gallon, and the first African-American woman being confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice.

 
I like to keep my predictions related to sports, since the rest of the world is far too unpredictable with way too factors that I am not familiar with.

So I predict the Steelers will not repeat in 2010, the Tampa Bay Rays won't even sniff the playoffs this year and the NBA Finals will come down to Boston and the Lakers, again.

And if you're counting on Lance Armstrong in the Tour De France - go ahead and bet against him. I wouldn't.

I came across something I find a little intriguing – the Top 15-selling NBA jerseys. For some reason, it seems the NBA jerseys get the most attention among jerseys, or the league keeps the best track of them and then hands out that information. As seen in the latest news with NBA trading cards (Panini takes over as exclusive licensee), the NBA keeps a pretty heady grasp on things.

So here's the list:  

1.    Kobe Bryant – Los Angeles Lakers    
2.    Kevin Garnett – Boston Celtics    
3.    LeBron James – Cleveland Cavaliers    
4.    Chris Paul – New Orleans Hornets            
5.    Allen Iverson – Detroit Pistons    
6.    Pau Gasol – Los Angeles Lakers    
7.    Paul Pierce – Boston Celtics           
8.    Dwyane Wade – Miami Heat          
9.    Derrick Rose – Chicago Bulls    
10.    Nate Robinson – New York Knicks    
11.    Steve Nash – Phoenix Suns          
12.    Dwight Howard- Orlando Magic     
13.    Ray Allen – Boston Celtics    
14.    David Lee – New York Knicks
15.    Carmelo Anthony – Denver Nuggets

Kobe Garnett (with an added boost from the Boston fan base) and LeBron are easy to see. It's a tribute to Chris Paul and his game that he's in the top five. Allen Iverson will always be strong as well.

But the next 10 is filled with players you might not expect and it comes down to their markets. Nate Robinson and David Lee? They're all right, but never players who would roll off the tip of the tongue when considering popularity. The NYC faithful really love their basketball and is one reason why the Madison Square Garden is considered a mecca for hoops fans.

The only other surprise for me is Ray Allen. He's decent, but doesn't have the flash usually associated with jersey collectors.

I am wondering how Yao Ming didn't make the list considering his idol status in China, but I think that goes back to other countries not buying into the jersey buying/collecting fever we have in the U.S.

Anybody else see any surprises here?  

It's almost that time of year again – the annual Media Day at the Super Bowl. This is the event where media outlets of all kinds  - many of which have nothing to do with sports - converge upon the Super Bowl site, ask dumb questions and try to attract as much publicity as possible for themselves and the outlet they are representing.

Meanwhile, the players first get the same questions over and over about the game, their preparation and how the team has overcame this and that obstacle to get to the big game. How many times do you think Kurt Warner and Hall of Fame will come up?

But then they also have to answer really dumb questions, like favorite cereal, if Harrison is related to former President Harrison, what dogs do they have at their house and what's their favorite novel. But that's just for the star players (except for those interviews by Jay Leno's guest reporter, who makes a point to interview the guys that don't get interviewed).

The lesser known players just lie around with their shades on, waiting to leave or on their cell phones trying to get more tickets for the family.

In the end, it's just a circus. With two weeks between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl, every angle has already been dissected twice by everyone with a microphone or keyboard in front of them (me included).

There is just one commentary article I read from the media, and that's ESPN's Bill Simmons because, frankly, he's one of the best writers out there - funny and informative.

So sit and enjoy this week -it's going to be a wild ride – and that's before the game even starts.  

While staring blankly at my computer screen the other day, a co-worker was going on about seeing an article about top moments (not necessarily good moments) in a particular writer's lifetime, such as 9/11 Berlin Wall coming down, etc.

So my co-worker then turned it into something of a discussion about top sports hobby moments. Some of his examples were meeting Henry Aaron, opening his first box of 1959 Topps Baseball and visiting Shea Stadium for the first time.

And then he turned the tables on me: "What is your top sports or sports hobby moment?" he asked. And I sat there dumbfounded for a few minutes before the answer became abundantly clear: making the 18-hour car trek to Cooperstown to see the hall of fame induction of Robin Yount (and Nolan Ryan and George Brett, too, though I was there for Yount).

To be on this hallowed ground and to see the induction of my childhood hero (making good on a promise I made to myself many years earlier) was a treat I will never forget.

And then there was the circus that is Cooperstown on Induction Weekend. Holy cow. Players signing autographs on every corner. Leon Spinks just wandering around among the crowds. The collectibles of every sort on every sidewalk. The whole atmosphere is fun, all about baseball and truly exhausting.    

And I can't wait to go back again some day.

My second memorable moment is probably a little more focused. It was attending the opening of Miller Park in 2001 in Milwaukee.

You see, that stadium represented a new start for the franchise - a chance to show the world they were staying in Milwaukee, could house teams in a state-of-the-art facility and move on after the opening was delayed a year after a tragic crane accident killed three construction workers during its construction.

It was like a rebirth for the team and the state of baseball in Wisconsin. It took seven years to match the Miller Park attendance success and building a winning team, but the opening of the park was THE start.

Anyone else have some memorable sports moments or hobby tales that will forever stay in your memory?

Growing up, I didn't dislike winter as much as I used to. Perhaps I need to bust out the sled more often to get some enjoyment from feet of snow and endless days of sub-freezing temperatures.

But there's another reason I used to like winter as a kid – it meant it was soon time to enjoy the winter tours the Milwaukee Brewers players and coaches used to embark on throughout Wisconsin. Being a Brewers fan growing up, the season would conceivably end by the end of July, though actual play stopped the first week of October. So when the January winter tour started up, it help appease my growing baseball appetite.

For those of you not familiar with a winter tour, it basically consisted of three of four coaches and players visiting various cities throughout Wisconsin, offering free autographs and general baseball discussion. It was meant to drum up ticket sales and fuzzy feelings among the team and fans, which was needed with the Brewers lousy record for years at the time.

One event I remember was a winter tour stop in Appleton, Wis., at the home of the Single A Seattle Mariners farm system (though not related, the place offered a local link to baseball, I guess).

One of the guests there was Fernando Vina, who would later play for the St. Louis Cardinals, among other teams. We struck what I thought at the time was a good conversation with me, as he promised to get me and my friends some tickets in the future.

So the next game we went to, we got there early and scrambled down the dugout. When Vina came out, we shouted, "Hey Vina, the 'Appleton Boys' are here." He gave us one of those knowing nods and was our favorite players before he switched teams.

No, we never got tickets, but it remains a fond memory of ours all these years later. And thus brings me to the point of winter tours – they bond younger fans to teams even more, leading to more tickets sales and more importantly, a fan for life.

The Brewers don't hold winter tours any more, citing some nonsense about not wanting to cart it's multi-million-dollar players around Wisconsin in winter weather. So they hold one event in Milwaukee in January, thus putting their fans at risk on the road instead.

I haven't attended one of these Fan Fests yet, but the images of large crowds, pay-to-get autographs and travel time don't really appeal to me.

And trust me, even with the Brewers recent success (OK, just 2008), I don't think they can afford to ignore the average fan just yet.

Do any other teams continue with the winter tours? Any memories of your own from them?   

There is one beauty in having to move desks at work (and only one beauty) - the items you discover in, on and around your desk when cleaning up.

Throw in a few more co-workers who have to do the same process – those who have resided at their desks for several years – and you have a jackpot of good things coming out of the woodwork.

The first item to appear was a Yogi Berra signed piece of artwork bearing his likeness. And then a Wayne Gretzky signed puck. Pretty nice, eh?

And then I come back to my desk after running some errands, and I find a stack of Rena Moreno signed photos on my desk. In essence, these photos look like a biker gal, and unless you are really into wrestling, you would have no idea who this is.

Rena Moreno is better known as Sable from the WWF. The same Sable who enjoyed her time in the limelight after posing for Playboy. She was really popular in college for me, which now dates to early 10 years ago. Sadly, (or not. Heck, I don't care) no one from today's generation has a clue who she is.

What made us chuckle was a bobble head of Mike Cramer, former founder and president of Pacific Trading Cards. Oh, it was a nice rendition. But it just goes and shows you the largese involved in the hobby in the 1990s.

Among other items were some buttons of Roberto Clemente, Thurman Munson and Lou Brock. In all, it will display nicely in my new cubicle space. Though I don't know if it can compete with the Jack Lambert McFarlane figure staring at me from across the hallway . . . Darn those Steelers fans.

I'm guessing the Cardinals fans have yet to jump on the bandwagon publicly yet in the office.  

While enjoying the absolutely frigid temperatures here in lovely Wisconsin, I snuggled under some blankets and watched college hoops last night. Though limited in scope, I observed a few things that I found rather alarming.

First, I'll give you a little background, so you don't think I have an inflated ego about my athletic prowess. I'm short, 5'6" short, and my basketball skills were never much and they've gotten worse with age. That said, I can shoot a left-handed layup and I know the basic principles to breaking a full-court press.

Sadly, it seems some of today's college players can grasp neither.

I watched one game where a player made a steal, drove the length of the floor dribbling left-handed and when it came to finish, shot right-handed - right into the defender who blocked the layup attempt. If he would have simply used his left hand, he would have gotten the "hoop and the foul." Easy.

These guys play basketball all day every day. If I can shoot a left-handed contested layup by practicing drills in my old, musty basement at age 12, they should be able to master this simple concept.

And now to breaking a full-court press. One of the main "rules" in attempting to break a press is to not dribble all that often, and when you do, stay out of the corners where you can get trapped.

Someone explain that to the Wisconsin Badgers, who blew a late lead (sizable at that) because their guards loved to bring the ball into the corner (on the opposing end, mind you) and then either have to call a timeout or throw the ball up in the air near half-court for anyone to grab. It was embarrassing to watch for them.

For a Bo Ryan squad, which usually does the fundamentals correctly with the limited talent he recruits, it was unusual. I hope they learn from it or that's all they're going to see from opponents for the rest of the year.

What does this have to do with collecting? Not much. However, Ralph Sampson III plays for Minnesota. He's like 6'10" and only a freshman, so it might be fun to watch his progress down the road - though keeping up with his dad might be difficult.  

The latest insert idea in trading cards takes on a prehistoric feel with Upper Deck announcing that it will include artifacts from dinosaur teeth and bones in an upcoming product.

That upcoming product would be 2008-09 Champs Hockey. So as Joe Clemens so nicely put it in the Tuff Stuff forum, "I can see it now, archaeologists sniping hockey collectors on ebay for Dinosaur teeth inserts!!"

Here's the story:

Upper Deck has dug deep to procure a variety of bones from ancient dinosaurs for inclusion in its upcoming 2008-09 Champ’s Hockey set.
 
These unique finds are currently being cut so they can be embedded onto trading cards in the set. The larger bones from creatures like the Woolly Mammoth and Woolly Rhinoceros will likely yield enough bones to make at least 100 cards, but cards that feature teeth will be much rarer.
 
“We didn’t want to ruin the feeling that you were actually getting a tooth by cutting them up too much,” said Matt Bromley, Upper Deck’s associate hockey brand manager. “But they were too thick to just include them whole. We moved ahead with cutting them vertically in half so now there will be two copies for each of these unique cards.”
 
Collectors may find tooth cards of ancient dinosaurs like the Spinosaurus, Pterosaur and the Tyrannosaurus Rex in 2008-09 Champ’s Hockey.
 
“The 2008-09 Champ’s Hockey product is a perfect vessel to deliver something truly unique like this to the hobby,” said Josh Zusman, Upper Deck hockey brand manager. “When we saw these pieces coming in, everybody was in awe. The inclusion of these cards in this hockey release helps bring the Ice Age to the ice.”
 
Collectors can sink their teeth into 2008-09 Champ’s Hockey when it hits shelves in mid-March.

I know hockey players lose a lot of teeth, but the dinosaur versions aren't made for humans.

I guess I could better see this in a Americana set of some variety, but the fact it's in a hockey set made me chuckle a little.

The Hall Call came once again in baseball, and the winners are Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice.

The Rickey call was easy, as he once was one of the most feared players in the league for quite some time, and it wasn't because he hit home runs all of the time or for his penchant to fight. Rickey (I'll refer to him in the first name because this is how he often referred to himself) was a beast on the basepaths and one of the best leadoff batters ever. Imagine this: He stole more than 100 bases in a season on three occasions. Some fans (and fantasy players), are amazed today when a player hits 50 SBs.

To me, Rickey is best known for setting the all-time stolen base record and immediately proclaiming himself the "greatest." While, yes, he now held the SB title, I'm not a big fan of the ego that was involved with that statement. But he definitely belongs in the Hall.

Jim Rice was the other lucky entrant, getting just enough votes on his final try into the Hall. The 1978 MVP certainly had some great years in his career, but he doesn't necessarily stand out among the greatest to ever play the game. Hence, the long time trying to get in, I guess.

I didn't watch much of Rice, as I got into baseball during the tail-end of his career. My best reference to him is the 1987 RBI Baseball game from Nintendo (that Boston team was good!). The argument, of course, is if he gets in, where is Andre Dawson, Dale Murphy and a few others?

I'm not sure, and I don't know the HOF's criteria for who gets in and who doesn't. Rice didn't reach the automatic milestones (3,000 hits, 500 HRs, etc.) but you could say for the number of years he played, he was among the best.

The Rice debate gets heated every year, so I'll be interested in hearing from the Rice lovers and haters when it comes to HOF status.