This will be the final post of 2006 as I am going on vacation tonight through January 3rd. I would hope, after I quickly recap the year, you would all agree it is well deserved. I am not going anywhere on my hiatus. I have been traveling all year and am really looking forward to going out, spending time at home and hitting up a few shows (Gov't Mule at the Beacon - don't miss it, special guests each night)
All year I have kept a record of the signings I have done. It isn't 100% accurate as there have been quite a few "surprise" signings. You guys would not believe how many times something comes up out of nowhere and, next thing I know, I am heading out to a signing. I would probably say there are about fifteen signings (some small, some big) that I haven't recorded. With those in mind I have executed about 189 signings over the last 356 days. Keep in mind that many of those signings are team signings (with the help of just Dave V I did the entire Texas Western team signing, yeah Dave! I counted that as one signing. I also took part in team signings with the '86 Mets, '86 Giants and '69 Jets as well as with the Sack Exchange twice and Kiss. I counted those group signings as one rather than count all the individuals that signed the pieces.) According to my calculations I have spent about 111 hours on airplanes over the course of the year. I also tried to figure out how many miles I have traveled (not counting simply going to our office). I came up with 58,280. Those are serious numbers.
The best part about it is that I have pretty much (give or take a few roadblocks, cancelled flights, delayed flights) enjoyed every minute of it. I got to hang out with the Seahawks the day before they left for the Super Bowl. I was privileged enough to get to know Kiss (dude- KISS!) I made some new friends like my boy Chien-Ming Wang (the first and last Yankee I will probably ever root for without remorse) I flew to El Paso, Texas to work with Don Haskins which still remains one of the coolest experiences I have ever had.
Lastly , I have had quite a bit of help along the way. There have been many conflicting signings and, unfortunately, I can only be in one place at one time. I am working on that though. You will all be the first to know when I figure it out. With that in mind I would like to thank AJ, Dave, Brendan, Chris, Paul, Leonard, Steve, Bob, Robert and Larry for backing me up. I also want to give a shout out to the immortal Joe Cancel for preparing all the baseballs for signings this year. Without his efforts I would have been lost on several occasions.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. 2007 is going to be even better than '06 (for both us and the Mets) so start checking the blog again on January 3rd. In the meanwhile, and really always, take a look at the rest of the site. The end result of the travels documented on this blog are on every page.

I just finished my final signing of 2006. It was with the UConn legend and current WNBA star Diana Taurasi. Diana was great. She spoke in length with all her fans at our office. I do not know a lot about women's basketball (other than that the Terps are defending National Champs!!) but am definitely excited about learning after meeting her. It seems to focus more on fundamentals than the current NBA which is a good thing. Taurasi also loved our warehouse. I think she is still walking around as I am typing this. We got some great product signed including WNBA basketballs (both official and indoor/outdoor), WNBA photos and amazing UConn photos (including an image of Diana cutting down the nets after winning yet another championship)
Check back shortly for a final look at 2006.

I just returned from a private signing with Derek Jeter. This was our final signing of 2006 with the Captain and my second to last signing of the year. This was an important signing because it gave us an opportunity to get last minute Christmas gifts for customers. Derek signed all the Christmas gift items first and, thanks to Bob F bringing those directly back to our warehouse, we were able to ship those pieces out today so they arrive to customers before Christmas (I love it when a plan comes together)
Tomorrow is my final one of the year. I will be doing a small private signing with WNBA star Diana Taurasi around noon at our office. Check back Friday afternoon for a recap.

Saturday afternoon we had an appearance with the Sack Exchange at Last Licks in Thornwood. I don't usually get that excited anymore about these but I was pretty pumped for this one. We had a few great new photos and projects to do with the guys that I couldn't wait to get signed. They all arrived to a raucous big crowd. I was actually pretty surprised at how big the turnout was considering we just had them in Huntington two months ago. Again there were many customers there to get Abdul Salaam on their multi signed pieces. Abdul does not sign often so when he is in public may people come out just for him. The most frightening moment of the appearance was when Joe Klecko grabbed me (jokingly) and gave me a bearhug. It didnt hurt too much then but I definitely felt it hours later. It was kind of like the time Rodney Harrison playfully punched me in the arm. I was bruised for close to two weeks. The new pieces came out awesome. We have an image of the four of them standing in front of the stock exchange and a new oversize photo. There is also a cartoon cell that ranks up there with any of the strongest product we have ever gotten signed. Along with the Sack Exchange pieces we also did some individual items. Gastineau signed a few different photos including a great black and white image of his sack dance. We also did a new cool Marty Lyons photo.
Tomorrow I am doing a private signing with Derek Jeter. It is the next to last signing of the year. Check back tomorrow night for a recap and throughout the week as I will be looking back on all the 2006 signings.

Monday night four Giants players appeared at Last Licks in Thornwood. They all arrived to an enthusiastic crowd that was really pumped from Sunday's big victory. Strahan and Osi sat together and took photos with everyone. Each customer inquired about Michael's health and when his return will be. I have a feeling he will be back before all is said and done this season. It was great to see the interaction between Strahan and Umenyiora. Osi is definitely (if not already) the heir-apparent to Michael and it was awesome to hear them talk football. At the other table sat Jared Lorenzen and Jim Finn. Every week I am more amazed by Finn. He plays every down like it is the final two minutes of the Super Bowl. Jim and Jared took group pictures with a few kid's football teams. All four athletes were unbelievable with the kids that came out to see them. They seemed to really enjoy it. We got some incredible product signed by these guys. We even got some University of Kentucky product signed by Jared Lorenzen with some cool inscriptions.
This Saturday I will be back in Thornwood for an appearance with the Sack Exchange. Hope to see you all there. Then on Tuesday I am flying back out to South Bend for a signing with Charlie Weis. This time I will have a little more time to check out the school. I am hoping to see some of the team's practice for the upcoming bowl game.
Check back for updates.

Yesterday we had our appearance at Last Licks in Thornwood with Mariano Rivera. Mo, as always, was awesome. The appearance was advertised from 11:00 - 12:30. He stayed until the very last customer walked in a little after 2:00. Not only did Rivera stay and sign but he took the time to take photos with everyone on line. This was no suprise to me as Mo has always been so gracious to his fans anytime we have had him sign in public. The one thing that I did notice yesterday were the number of multi-signed Hall of Fame pieces that customers brought in for Mo to sign. He is unquestionably a first ballot hall of famer. It was pretty cool to see him sign those great HOF pieces. I am noticing more of a trend in that as people are coming to appearances and sending in HOF product for future immortals like Mo and Derek Jeter to sign.
Tomorrow night we have Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, Jared Lorenzen and Jim Finn appearing at Last Licks in Thornwood. Then on Thursday I am heading up to Boston for a private signing with Nuggets superstar Carmelo Anthony. Check back throughout the week for updates.

I flew out to Indiana early Tuesday morning. I was set to meet up with Larry Bird between 4:45 and 5:15 (great Who song off of Quadrophenia!) in the afternoon at my hotel. The reason that I flew out so early was to set up all the equipment. It takes quite a long time to unload basketballs, flip them to the appropriate panel and line them up. I spent much of the day listening to Phish's 1994 Halloween show on my headphones while setting up basketballs. I got finished prepping the product about an hour before I was to meet up with Bird. Larry walked in at about 5:10 and we got right to work. Bird, as always, was extremely quick. There is not much time for talking as the guy is a machine when it comes to signing. We plowed through the basketballs and then moved on to jerseys and photos. Larry was done before 6. Bird, Danica and Jeter remain the three fastest signers ever. The product came out great. We got some awesome new photos signed including two college images. After Bird left I popped my headphones back on and got back to work. It took almost three hours to bag up basketballs, tape up boxes and prep the product to be shipped back to New York. I got through two sets of a 1998 Phish show and the entire Ziggy Stardust album (which I finally understand the storyline) before finally carting the boxes out to the hotel's shipping department. I landed back in New York early this afternoon and am already looking forward to the next few weeks of signings before Christmas. I am also glad to be grounded for a little while. While there are a lot of signings coming up all are within a car ride away. I think I set a personal record with six airplane trips in twelve days.
This Saturday we have Mariano Rivera appearing at Last Licks in Thornwood. For those of you that have yet to meet Mo I recommend that you come out. Not only is his autograph a must-have in any collection but the future hall of famer is so nice in person. It will definitely be another great appearance.
Check back later for updates as I am sure something will come up between now and Saturday.

Monday night Tiki Barber appeared at Last Licks in Scarsdale. We arrived to one of, if not the, longest lines I have ever seen at that store. People waited out in the cold for up to three hours to meet Tiki. Barber, as always, was great. He stayed until the last person walked in at about 9:00. Despite staying way after the appearance was scheduled to end, Tiki spoke to, shook hands, and took photos with everyone on line. The thing that really stuck out to me was that from the first autograph to the last (hours later) Barber continued to add his number to every auto. Most, if not all, athletes would not do that. They would have stopped putting their number after about two hours. Ironically,towards the very end I noticed Tiki not putting the # 21 on a copy of his and Ronde Barber's children's book "By My Brother's Side". I immediately called him out on it but Tiki simply smiled and says he doesn't put his number on the books as they aren't football items. The very next customer came up with a few photos and Barber went right ahead and added his number to the bottom of his autograph.
Upon leaving the store I headed home to pack for an early flight out to Indianapolis the next morning. I was flying out there for a private signing with Larry Bird.
Check back later for a recap of the trip.

A few hours after arriving at LaGuardia from Atlanta I woke up and went right to our office to pick up the product for the afternoon signing with the Yankee Captain Derek Jeter. Ironically Derek was the recipient of my boy's award this season (The Hank Aaron Award). After loading up I headed into Manhattan to set up for the signing. When Derek arrived it was like a whirlwind (as always) because he signs so fast. We banged right through jerseys, baseballs, photos and some great game used product. We talked a little NBA basketball and college football. Derek is a big Michigan fan. Jeter signed for about an hour and a half at which point everything was boxed up, loaded in my car and I finally headed home. I am looking forward to resting on Sunday before starting another big week. Monday night we have Tiki Barber appearing at Last Licks in Scarsdale. Then on Tuesday morning I am back on an airplane. This time I am travelling to Indianapolis for a private signing with Larry Bird.
Check back for updates. Enjoy the rest of the weekend. Go Giants.

Last Thursday morning I flew down to Atlanta for a two day signing with Hank Aaron. I had been looking forward to this trip for a while as Hank and I have become really tight over the past four years. I arrived at about 10:00 AM on Thursday and went right to my hotel to set up for the signing. Hank came at noon and signed until about four. We got through quite a lot in the first day. The Home Run King signed some great new photos as well as the classic 715 image. The first day we spoke a lot about possible moves that the Mets and Braves may make in the off season. After Hank left I spent a few hours boxing up the product and prepping it to ship back to New York. The next morning Aaron showed up for breakfast at about 9:30 (we eat a lot over the two days of signing). The first items that were signed on Friday were these awesome Milwaukee mini helmets. After that Hank signed baseballs for a few hours and then headed out to work (promising to return at 6 to complete everything). Aaron did come back at 5:30 and got right to business. It was at that point that we got into a really interesting discussion about the 1969 Mets. We have talked about a lot over the years but this was the first time we really got into it about that team. Interestingly enough it was Hank's Braves that the Mets defeated to get to the World Series. Hank told me that Jerry Kooseman was one of, if not the, toughest pitcher he faced in his career. He spoke of how tough the Mets rotation was back then and how hard it was to win two in a row off of them (let alone a playoff series). I can imagine how good they were with Kooseman, Seaver, Gentry and Ryan. We finally finished a little before 7. I was already way ahead in shipping product back so it only took me a half hour to complete my work. I then headed to the airport where there were massive delays due to the windy weather. After sitting on a runway for two hours and then circling Queens for an hour upon landing I finally made it home in the middle of the night. I went straight to sleep to get some rest for the big Derek Jeter signing the next day.
Check back later for a recap of the Jeter signing.