My buddy Mookie Wilson came into town last night. He is in New York for a batting clinic with a local little league team. Mookie is the best. I am not just saying that (as a Mets fan). I have probably done more signings with Wilson and Bill Buckner than any other athletes. The Buckner/Wilson photo is one of our best sellers so I get to do a few signings a year with those guys. It is always a great time. Bill is just as cool as Mookie (aside from not being a Met alumni). Next time we have Buckner up i'll get into more detail about him.
I met up with Mookie a few hours ago to have lunch and sign a few photos. Every time I am with him I try to learn as much about the players in the Mets minor league system as I can. Wilson has coached on all levels of the Mets system so he is quite knowledgeable about the young players. He was telling me about David Wright and Jose Reyes a few years ago. Mookie was right about those guys. Both have become superstars. We ate, signed autographs, talked and watched the first few innings of the Met game. Mookie is just as excited as I am about this season. This is going to be a big year for both the current team and the 1986 championship team. It is the twentieth anniversary of the championship so to commemorate it we are doing a team signing this fall. That is always a lot of fun.
Keep checking for new posts as you never know where I may end up this week. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

I just finished a small private autograph signing with Yankees manager Joe Torre. The signing began a little later than expected as the New York Yankees game took almost four hours. It was incredible that the team scored in every inning. That does not happen very often. We got some great product signed including some awesome game used pieces. We talked a little bit about our friend Hank Aaron and also Roberto Clemente. There is a really interesting new book about Clemente that everyone keeps telling me to read. I'm going to pick it up tomorrow. I'll let you guys know if it's good.
After spending time with Joe Torre it is easy to see why he is so respected both on the field and off.
Check back tomorrow for an update. I'll be hanging out with my man Mets legend Mookie Wilson. It should be another exciting day.

Early this morning I took a ride downtown to do an autograph signing with Donnie Baseball. I haven't seen Don Mattingly since January, when I took the red eye back from Seattle and headed right to a public appearance at Hall of Heroes. That signing alone could take up a few paragraphs. It was awesome to see him. I love hanging out with the Hitman. We talked some baseball. I always learn so much about the game from spending time with Donnie. There are so many little things about the game that we, as fans, don't know.
You all have probably seen the classic Mattingly tag photo. I didn't realize, until today, that the player Donnie is tagging is Julio Franco. That is so cool. Julio had an unbelievable week for the Mets. He became the oldest player in history to hit a home run. He also stole an important base against the Giants in that classic extra innings game. That bag made Franco the oldest player in 100 years to steal a base. It's amazing that every time he comes to the plate a record is broken.
Donnie and I also spent some time discussing the new Springsteen album. I was going to mention the album earlier in the week but I knew it would be more relevant in the Mattingly posting. First of all the album is incredible. I recommend it to everyone. It was made with a 14 person band at Bruce's ranch in Jersey. It's all classic songs made popluar by folk legend Pete Seeger. I knew Donnie was a fan so I recommended it to him. Not five minutes after we changed conversation topics, the new Bruce video came on television and the Hitman flipped for it. I think he picked up the album shortly after the signing. The highlight of my day was definitely turning Donnie on to the record. How awesome is that?
Check back later for the answers to a few email questions as well as an update on a surprise signing I am doing after Saturday's Yankee game.

I mentioned in my last post that you never know where I may end up on any given day. Today I wound up at the Rangers offices at Madison Square Garden with Hall of Famer Rod Gilbert. It was really cool. I have been to the Garden well over one hundred times (saw my share of Springsteen shows there), but it was a real treat to go behind the scenes. The walls are decorated with a number of framed jerseys including Jaromir Jagr's. There is even an old game jersey of Gilbert's up on the wall. Rod told me all about Messier's retirement night. He was on the ice with Mark, Mike Richter and Eddie Giacomin for the entire ceremony. He spoke of how high an honor it is to have your number retired by the organization and how special Messier's night was.
Thanks for all your email questions for Don Mattingly. Even though I limited it to three questions I will try to get more answered. I will be conducting the signing with Donnie early tomorrow morning.
Check back tomorrow evening for an update on my signing with the Hitman.

Here are some photos from the past few weeks that I have yet to post. They are pretty cool, especially the one of Wade Boggs and the horse.
Anyway, we have a lot of exciting things coming up in the next few weeks. This Friday I am doing a private signing with The Hitman, Don Mattingly. Donnie is one of my all time favorite athletes to do signings with. He has so much insight into the game and I always learn so much from spending a few hours with him. With that in mind, I invite you to email me questions for Donnie to answer. I will ask Donnie the first three questions that are emailed to me. I will post the questions, answers, and your name on the site Friday evening.
Next weekend we have Mets pitchers Billy Wagner and Jorge Julio signing at Last Licks in Massapequa (May 6th). I am beyond excited to meet Wagner. He is undoubtably the best closer in the National League and is going to take us all the way to the series. We have some great photos for Billy to sign including an image of his first save as a Met. After a few shaky outings Jorge Julio is becoming a strikeout machine. He now has four consecutive scoreless innings under his belt and a total of 19 K's. The guy is sick and, when he's on, unhittable. This should be a great appearance for us.
Thank you all for your emails. I hope my answers have been helpful to you all. Please continue to email me and, as said earlier, the first three emails about Mattingly will get their questions answered by Donnie.
Keep checking back for updates as you never know what may come up with the Nets, Rangers and Devils in the playoffs (as well as the Yankees in town this week).

I am soaking wet right now. I just got home from a long, rainy day of signings. My day began early at our office, where I loaded up for a few appearances. After leaving New Rochelle I headed out to Last Licks in Huntington. We had Islanders legends Clark Gillies and Bryan Trottier autograph signing. Upon arriving at the store I unloaded my product (in torrential rain). I then heard the news that Trottier's flight was unable to take off (due to the weather). We will reschedule the signing this week. You can check the upcoming signing section for a new date.
Clark arrived right on time and started to sign for the drenched fans. They were all upset but understanding that Trottier was postponed. Islander fans are some of the most passionate I have ever encountered. I saw so many cool items including replica cups signed by every member of the 1980 team. Many fans also brought team signed replica Stanley Cup banners. Gillies is very excited about the youth movement in the Islanders organization. He feels they are headed in the right direction and that better days are coming soon. It was a lot of fun talking with the Hall of Famer. Clark finished at about 2:00 and I was on my way down the expressway towards Massapequa.
I kept close tabs on the Yankee game all afternoon. We had Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang signing so I needed to be able to gauge when they would arrive at the store. The Yankees locked up their win at about 4:30 and the two athletes began signing around 6. It was good to see Robinson. I have been doing autograph signings with him since he first came up last year and am glad to see him on such a tear right now. There was a huge line for both guys who took the time to shake hands and take photos with everyone. This was the first public autograph appearance Wang has done for us. It is amazing how popular he has become with Yankee fans. We got some great photos signed as well as jerseys and balls. Wang has a great signature. It is very unique. I had a really good time doing the signing with him. During the Tom Seaver signing last night we watched the first few innings of the Yankee game. Tom was impressed with Wang's location. It put a big smile on his face to hear that Tom Terrific was a fan.
The appearance ended at about 8:00. I loaded up again (in the rain) and finally headed home for the day. Despite the inclement weather Saturday turned out to be a very successful day. We got some great product signed and made a lot of people happy. I am looking forward to a day off tomorrow before starting another exciting week of signings.

It is 12:15 A.M.. I just returned home from our Tom Seaver signing at Last Licks in Scarsdale. I was going to wait until tomorrow morning to post this but I was inspired by the Mets/Padres game. Mike Piazza's name was just announced. In about 9 years Mike will be inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame. Right now there is just one Met enshrined in Cooperstown. That player is none other than The Franchise, Tom Seaver. Tom is extremely proud of his membership to that exclusive club. I have never seen him without his HOF ring and jacket. Seaver actually has the highest voting percentage of any Hall of Famer. He received 425 out of 430 votes (98.84%) and was inducted in 1992. We may only have one hall of famer (to date) but no other member has ever gotten more votes.
I always love going to our Scarsdale store. It was our first ice cream store. It maintains the feel of a neighborhood ice cream parlour while staying cutting edge with all our great new product. This was Seaver's first signing at one of our Westchester stores. Immediately upon entering the store Tom Terrific began to serve ice cream for all the kids. They all had such a great time joking around with the Franchise. It is easy to see how much Seaver enjoys spending time with kids.
Tom signed for the public until about 9:30. After the appearance we signed some incredible new product including an amazing new photo of the 1969 Mets ticker tape parade. This photo is dated and includes the inscription '69 WS Champs. It is really a great piece. We concluded the signing at about 11:00. As I walked Tom out of the store we saw a group of teenagers hanging outside. Seaver ended up talking with them for a while and even showed them a few pitching tricks. After Tom got in the car I could hear one of the kids boast "He shook my hand!". It's a testament to Tom's legendary stature that a 14 year old kid (who never saw him play) would be that affected by a simple handshake.
Tomorrow is another exciting day for me. Check back Saturday night for a recap.

First and foremost I would like to apologize to the blog faithful for the lack of posts this week. I assure you it won't happen again as my signing schedule is jam packed for the rest of the year. I just came from New Jersey where we did a small, quick private autograph signing with Martin Brodeur. The New Jersey Devils are on a big roll going into the playoffs and Marty is the reason why. He is so solid in goal and has been for this entire NJ run. They are, by far, the hottest team going into the Stanley Cup playoffs and my New York Rangers will definitely have their hands full in the first round. Marty is awesome. He calmly waited as I braved insane traffic on Route 80. I don't have good luck on 80 (as you all know from my Pennsylvania trek last week) Anyway, we got some incredible new product signed including a photo of Marty and rookie sensation Alex Ovechkin. Unfortunately,due to a lack of time and batteries, I wasn't able to get any photos from the signing.
I have a big weekend coming up. Tomorrow evening we have Tom Seaver signing at Last Licks in Scarsdale. The Franchise is one of my favorite athletes. I am really looking forward to seeing him again. Then on Saturday we have four players signing in Long Island. Islanders legends Bryan Trottier and Clark Gillies are appearing at Last Licks in Huntington at noon. It's always a great event when any of the old time Islanders sign. After that appearance I will be travelling a little further down the LIE to our Last Licks store in Massapequa. Yankee stars Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang are signing after Saturday's game. I have done several appearances with Robinson and it always a sell out. Yankee fans have really endeared themselves to this talented young player. This is Wang's first public signing so it should be quite an event. Check back throughout the weekend for updates.

Saturday was quite a day for me. This morning I went to our Last Licks store in Thornwood. We had Hall of Famer Wade Boggs appearing. There was a great turnout of excited fans. As always, there was a mix of Red Sox and Yankees supporters. There are also many collectors that simply collect Hall of Famers. I am always amazed by the number of multi signed HOF pieces brought to these appearances. The highlight of the signing was definitely a visit from the actual horse that Wade rode after winning the 1996 World Series. The old NYPD horse now resides upstate. His owner took him down to Thornwood to greet his old friend. Boggs walked outside the store to pet the horse and obliged many fans by taking photos with them (and the horse). I didn't know until today that Wade does not ride horses. He is actually somewhat afraid of it. He was just so caught up in the moment that he jumped on the horse. It's funny that Boggs barely remembers it but the ride remains such a vivid memory for all of us.
After leaving Thornwood I drove down to Garden City for an evening signing with Mets stars Jose Reyes and Anderson Hernandez. The two players arrived about and hour after today's game ended. There was a huge crowd waiting for them. Fans of all ages came out and they both were so friendly to them. We have a great photo of Hernandez's spectacular catch from the first Nationals series. Anderson flipped for the image. This guy is an unbelievable fielder and will play a huge role in the Mets success this year. These two players are on the fast track to becoming the best middle infield in baseball. Jose, as usual, was awesome. He has become one of the most popular Mets. Many fans came with photos they had taken with Reyes at our last appearance. The signing ended at about 8:00. Both signings were very successful. I had a lot of fun hanging out with a Hall of Famer and two possible future ones.

I just put up some more photos from the Jack Lambert signing. Check out the first two photos to see the river and bridge I talked about in the last post. I rented "The Mothman Prophecies" to confirm that the bridge is, in fact, the one from the film...it is.
Now that the Lambert trip is over it is time to start preparing for a busy Saturday.

We have some great signings coming up tomorrow at the stores. Wade Boggs is appearing at our Last Licks store in Thornwood. There is always a great turnout of both Yankees and Red Sox fans when Wade signs. After that appearance I will be heading to Hall of Heroes in Garden City. We have Mets phenoms Jose Reyes and Anderson Hernandez signing after tomorrow's win versus the Brewers. I am really excited for this one. The Mets are playing at such a high level right now and these guys are right in the middle of it. I have done a few signings with Jose before and am looking forward to meeting Hernandez. These are the guys (along with D Wright and Delgado) that will bring the pennant to Shea. Check back tomorrow night for an update.

I returned last night from our signing with Steelers great Jack Lambert. It was quite an experience. I was assisted by Mets enthusiast Dave Vassalo. We left our offices at about 2:00 Monday afternoon. The drive was a little over 7 hours. This signing took place in a small town in western Pennsylvania. One of the neighboring towns looked a lot like the one in the movie "Footloose" where there was that big church on the hill and dancing was prohibited. Anyway, the town where we did the signing is actually where the movie "The Mothman Prophecies" takes place. I have a great photo showing the bridge from that film.
We arrived just after dark Monday night and set for the next day's signing. Jack came at 8:30 Tuesday morning. He was awesome. It was really interesting talking with him. We talked a little bit about football but more about baseball. The awful Pirates had their home opener the day before. We got some great photos signed including the classic Lambert Sports Illustrated cover. We finished at around 10:00 and was loaded up to leave before 12:00.
I got so lost going home. After an hour of driving I actually ended up right in front of the hotel again. There are not many signs around there pointing towards the one main highway. After figuring out where it went terribly wrong, we retraced our steps and found the elusive 80 East. We got back to the Steiner offices at about 8:15 last night. It was a long day and a half but was definitely an incredible adventure. I will be talking about this one for a long time.

Today was the first signing I had done with Pete Rose in over a year. It took place at our Last Licks store in Massapequa. There is always a great turnout for Pete and today was no exception. He is accomodating to all fans by taking photos with everyone. We got some great new photos signed including a sepia tone 16x20 that even impressed Rose. Pete knows so much about the game so it is always educational talking with him. I learned today that Rose is the winningest player of all time. That means that, in games he has played, his team won more times than any other athlete. That is really amazing. The guy has so many individual achievements but he recognizes team winning as the most important end result. It is refreshing to hear that in this age of fantasy sports and individual statistics. Overall it was a great day and I am getting excited for the upcoming week. Tomorrow I am traveling to Pennsylvania to conduct a private signing with Steelers legend Jack Lambert. Check back Tuesday for an update

I just finished up a public appearance with Joe Pepitone at our Last Licks store in Scarsdale. Joe is awesome. If any of you have yet to meet Pepitone you should really come out for the next signing. He has so many great stories to tell about Mantle and Maris. I did not know until today that Joe actually has the longest home run in Shea Stadium history. He hit it in one of the old Mayor's Trophy games long before interleague play. Joe signed a ball for us commemorating that home run. It should be up on our auction site Monday so please check it out. It is very unique. Tomorrow we have Pete Rose appearing at Last Licks in Massapequa. I am really excited for this one as it is always a great time hanging out with Pete.

I am sure you all have noticed that lately we have done a ton of signings with Pittsburgh Steelers players, both legends and current. I have posted before on a few of these but not all so I thought this would be a great time to recap it. Shortly after the Super Bowl I did signings with Ike Taylor and Willie Parker. Both are young exciting players who had breakout seasons for the champs. We did some great photos with both. Willie had the longest touchdown run in Super Bowl history and we have an unbelievable image of it. We also did a signing with the entire Steel Curtain. Willie Parker was actually up at our office the same time as L.C. Greenwood. It was very interesting hearing the young superstar and legend talk football. It took a few weeks to get all four guys up here but it was finally completed the end of March. We have some great photos as well as helmets, footballs and mini helmets. I also did a signing with Hall of Fame cornerback Mel Blount. Blount was such an important part of those Super Bowl teams. If it was not for Mel's fumble recovery in the 1979 AFC Championship game the Steelers would not have reached the Super Bowl. I had a great time talking with Mel. I have learned so much about football these past few months. I didn't know as much as I thought I did about the game. This Tuesday I am going to Pennsylvania for Jack Lambert. I am really excited about this as he is the last of the Steelers legends to sign for us. It should be another amazing experience. We have a lot going on before I leave for the Lamber signing. Check back this weekend for updates on Joe Pepitone, Brooks Robinson and the Hit King Pete Rose.

This morning I had the privilege of doing a signing with Steelers great Rocky Bleier. Rocky is really an unbelievable guy who overcame so much to become a running back on the four time Super Bowl champs. He went to college at Notre Dame and was drafted by the Steelers after graduating in 1968. Shortly after being drafted by Pittsburgh, Bleier was drafted by the army and sent to Vietnam. He was severely wounded in battle to the point where he could barely walk. Rocky persevered and through hard work and dedication finally made it to the starting roster of the Steelers. It was really inspiring to spend some time talking with him. Rocky signed some great Steelers photos and mini helmets, as well some Notre Dame images.

Next week I am doing a signing in Pennsylvania with Bleier’s old roommate Jack Lambert. I am very excited about finally meeting Lambert after hearing so much about him from all his old teammates. It should be quite an experience.

We just had our public signing with Rangers legends Phil Esposito and Eddie Giacomin. These guys were great. Fans of all ages came to our Last Licks store in Armonk to get an autograph from these two Hall of Famers. Phil is really interesting. He has his own radio show on XM Radio and has a lot to say on all sports, not just hockey. A big topic of conversation with both guys was Jaromir Jagr and the season he is having. We all agree that he will run away with the MVP award this year. The three of us also discussed Mark Messier's number retirement night at the Garden. Eddie was on the ice for the ceremony and could not stop raving about how special it was. Esposito signed some great Rangers photos and pucks as well as Bruins pucks. There are some unbelievable Giacomin photo that were also signed. Overall it was an exciting weekend. I'm already looking forward to next Saturday and Sunday. We have Joe Pepitone, Pete Rose and Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson signing at the ice cream stores.

It is 8:45 Wednesday night. I just finished shipping back the product from our signing with David Ortiz. I arrived in Ft. Myers Florida this morning to set up. David came shortly after the Red Sox spring training game this afternoon. This was our first signing in 2006 with Big Papi. I first met him in Boston the day of the Red Sox victory parade in 2004. It is always interesting hanging out with David. We talked about the World Baseball Classic in which he loved playing in and speaks with a lot of pride when talking about the Dominican team. Ortiz signed WBC jerseys and baseballs. They came out great. We also did an unbelievable new 16x20 collage which commemorates some of David's legendary walk-off heroics. Big Papi is really excited about the upcoming season. He has good reason to be after the Red Sox off-season acquistions of Coco Crisp and Josh Beckett. Even with Toronto's improvements it still should come down to the Yankees and the Sox in the AL East. I'm on the first flight back to New York tomorrow morning where I will be preparing for an exciting few days of signings this weekend. Check back Thursday night for a rundown of what I have going in the days to come.

I just got home from a very busy day. Yogi Berra and Don Larsen signed at our Last Licks store in Armonk. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Don's legendary World Series perfect game. We had him sign some great product commemorating it including a new collage photo. Berra and Larsen appear at our stores several times a year. It always amazes me that so many people come to each show. Last Licks was packed today. I had not seen Yogi in a long time. I think the last time we were together was up at Cooperstown last summer. Yogi, in typical Berra fashion, immediately poked me and asked where I have been. The guy is probably the biggest fan of our ice cream stores. Yogi leaves the store every time with a few pints of Vanilla/Chocolate swirl and some popcorn.

After leaving Armonk, I headed out to do a small private signing with Paul O'Neill at a hotel. We talked a little college basketball as we watched "Knight School" on ESPN. It is really a great show. Paulie is one of the most loved Yankees ever. He endeared himself to the fans with his hard nose play and dedication to winning. We have a great line of O'Neill product including the classic Tip Cap photo. Even as a Mets fan I always admired Paul (and wished we had him during the dark times)
Tomorrow is another exciting today. We have NY Rangers greats Eddie Giacomin and Phil Esposito signing at the Armonk store. Check in Sunday night for an update on that. On another note Monday is opening day at Shea Stadium. I think the Mets have a real shot of overtaking my buddy Hank Aarons' Braves and winning the National League East.

Let’s face it I could have created a zillion unimaginative titles…”The Wright Stuff”, “Wright On”, “Wright Now”, “The Wright Time”…there are certainly plenty sprinkled throughout this blog…instead, I opted for some subtlety, not because David Wright’s star isn’t rising faster than any New York athlete since Derek Jeter, but because, like the rest of the Mets, he is simply letting his performance speak for itself--and with over a million All Star votes so far (dominating the NL 3rd base balloting), it would appear that David is quite successful in that regard.

In addition to David’s game used locker room nameplate, cap, helmet and uniform pants, check out this phenomenal game used jersey we have to offer—it certainly leaves no doubt that David Wright leaves it all on the field…and if you think that this might just enhance your collection a little, then simply send me a note requesting to be on the Game Used Blog Newsletter…by joining, you will have access to special promotions and pricing on selected game used collectibles from your favorite players and teams, as well as opportunities to win Mets & Yankees tickets and other great prizes…no fluff, just the inside track on the best I have to offer…!

Now, “let’s go to the videotape” (and first reader to guess the name of the local sports anchor that made that phrase famous gets their choice of Mets-Steiner or Yankees-Steiner T-shirt)…I do need to acknowledge that the home teams—especially the Yankees, are beginning to struggle a bit…that Farnsworth debacle caused a domino effect in the bullpen this past weekend that just crushed the Bombers in the late innings, and Aaron Heilman is doing his best Aaron Small impersonation (as in rapidly causing us to forget all good things from last year)…but A-Rod is starting to hit again—no doubt due to my pleas on Saturday’s post, and let’s face it, both teams are still the best in their respective divisions at this point…so no need to be on the ledge just yet.

Lastly, congratulations to the Hartford Whalers for winning the Stanley Cup and I am going out on a limb to predict that the Heat will close out the Mavs in tonight’s game 6, which means that if you happen to reside in Vegas, where speculating on sports is legal, go the other way…the Mavericks will probably win by 25…!

I just finished our signing with the Big Unit Randy Johnson. It went awesome. Just like the rest of us Randy is really excited for the upcoming season. I didn't realize until today that Randy is on pace to join the exclusive 4500 strikeout club this year. That is a serious milestone. We got some great product signed including an amazing 20x24 photo. I wasn't able to take the picture with him. Randy is way too tall and my arms are way too short...so the Unit helped me out and held the camera up to get the shot. I think it came out pretty good.
It is now time for me to finish boxing up all the product to ship back to New York. I have an early flight tomorrow morning and am gearing up for another exciting week which includes a trip to Ft. Myers.

I am posting this from Tampa where I just completed a signing with Derek
Jeter. This was Derek's first signing of 2006. It is amazing how many mail
order items have come in for the Yankee Captain to sign these past few
months. Our customers are able to send in their own items to be signed by
the players and Jeter definitely gets more than anyone else. People send in
everything from old magazines and newspapers to balls and jerseys. Even
today there was an old newspaper from 2000 that Derek had never even seen
before. The signing was awesome. I have done more signings with Derek than
any other athlete. Our last signing was a legendary marathon jersey signing
in December (we now carry these great replica Jeter jerseys). It was good
to see him and talk a little baseball and a lot of college hoops. This
tournament has been unbelievable. Derek really changed my opinion of the Yankees when I first met him. It is really hard to root against him. He plays the game the right way and is as good a guy off the field as he is on.
On another note I think I am becoming a pretty decent photographer. I took
the photo of Derek and me. I think if I had longer arms it would have come
out better. Speaking of arms, tomorrow I am doing a signing with one of the
best arms in baseball.....so check back in Sunday night for an update.

We just did a small private signing with Tampa Bay defensive back Ronde Barber. It is unreal how similar he is to his identical twin Tiki. A few people actually mistook him for Tiki. He is also just as cool as his brother. Ronde signed a few footballs as well as one very unique helmet for our online auction. You should all check out this one of a kind dual signed Virginia helmet signed and inscribed by Tiki and Ronde.
This weekend we have Mike Bossy signing at our Last Licks store in Huntington. It should be great. Unfortunately, I will not be there. I will be flying down to Tampa to execute signings with some of the Yankees. Keep checking out the blog as I will be updating it from Spring Training.

Today we did our second Rangers appearance in as many weeks. This time it was at our Last Licks store in Thornwood with roommates Petr Prucha and Jaromir Jagr. The store did great with the signing. Jagr hit the 100 point mark Saturday night and his fans came from all over to congratulate him. He accomodated them all by taking pictures with everyone. This was the third public appearance Jaromir has done for us and every time has been unbelievable. I saw many fans that had been at the last signing a few weeks ago. Some came with photos that they took with Jaromir at our Hall of Heroes store in Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island to get signed. They just can't get enough of the future MVP.
This was the first signing we have done with Petr Prucha and it was sold out. Just like Jagr he was coming off a huge Saturday night where he had a goal and two assists. I knew we would have a good turnout but could not believe how many people came out to get an autograph and take a picture with the rookie star. He is definitely becoming one of the most popular players on the team. He is a serious goal scorer. We got some great photos signed as well as pucks. I really believe that Prucha and Jagr will bring Lord Stanley's Cup back to the Garden this year.

I spent a lot of time this week preparing for future appearances. I did catch the Allman Brothers at the Beacon. The highlight of my week was definitely a 27 minute "Mountain Jam" to open up the second set Monday night. My weekend really started Friday morning when I began loading up a 15 foot box truck for our Saturday appearance with Giants' legends Phil Simms and Mark Bavaro. The truck was packed with Giants helmets and mini helmets, Notre Dame helmets and mini helmets, footballs and jerseys.
My alarm went off at 5:00 A.M. Saturday morning. I went back to our offices to pick up the truck and drove out to our Huntington Last Licks store. I arrived at about 7:00 and with the help of Lenny and store manager Steve Siporin the truck was unloaded pretty fast. Phil arrived at about 10. He had a ton to sign and wanted to get through it before the public began. After talking football with him I understand now why he is so successful as a commentator. Simms really understands the game and doesn't just have a quarterback's perspective. I learned a lot just in the few hours we spent together.
Mark arrived a little later. We had some unbelievable photos for him to sign. Aside from being the greatest tight end in Giants history (love Shockey though), Mark was a star player at Notre Dame. You guys should check out all the amazing Notre Dame pieces that we have. Bavaro signed some different ND images and they came out great. He really gets into talking about Fighting Irish football. I never got the whole Notre Dame thing until last October during the World Series. Joe Buck mentioned that the White Sox have the famous "Play Like A Champion" sign hanging in their locker room. After hearing that and spending time with the White Sox it hit me that the Notre Dame aura really transcends more than just a college football team. Mark signed some great Giants and Notre Dame product.
Both guys were amazing with the customers. They took the time to talk with everyone on line. The public did not start until 12 but Phil signed for everyone waiting out in the cold at 10:00 when he arrived. That is the kind of guy he is.
The high point for me was putting on Bavaro's Super Bowl 21 ring. It was really cool. It's interesting to see how the rings have progressed over the years. I did a team signing with the Patriots last year. Their rings were four times the size of the 1986 ones. Even if they were ten times the size there is still nothing more special than winning one in New York.
After the signing we loaded the truck back up. I was back on the road about 4:30 and back at our warehouse at 6. It was a long day and a ton of work but it is was awesome. I'm looking forward to tomorrow when we have Jaromir Jagr and Petr Prucha signing at our Last Licks store in Thornwood. It should be another great day.