Yesterday I did a small private signing with NBA superstar (and Steiner Sports Exclusive) Steve Nash. This was the third signing I have done with the Nash over the past year and it went great (just like the other two!) We did the signing in Manhattan so I brought some help as it is always difficult to load and unload product in the city. Every intern in my office volunteered to help out with this one. I let them fight it out and eventually JL won a spot assisting with Nash signing. Between him and BF we knocked it out in no time. Nash has become an incredibly fast signer so it only took about a half hour for him to sign all the basketballs, photos and jerseys. Over the course of the signing we talked a little NBA and baseball. I wanted to know his feelings about my boy DJ Strawberry getting drafted by the Suns. I think he could really help DJ develop into a solid NBA player. Anyway, once the signing was over Nash was nice enough to take photos with everyone that helped. What struck me the most about this signing was how excited the intern was to meet Nash (really how all of them wanted to go so bad). I am definitely desensitized to my experiences at this point but it was pretty cool to see how enthusiastic he was about being there. When he arrived back at our office JL described the experience to his jealous peers as "amazing". While it was an odd choice of adjective to use it was still pretty awesome for the kid.
We have a lot going on in the next few days including a Bobby Murcer appearance and a trip down to Orlando keep checking back daily for updates.

I spent a good portion of today with Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner. While we all know Ralph from his career as a Mets broadcaster he also has a phenomenal career playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Until Ryan Howard recently broke the record, Ralph had the honor of being the fastest man in MLB history to hit 100 home runs. Kiner was immortalized in Cooperstown in 1975. Anyway, I arrived at Ralph's home at about 10:30 this morning. He lives on a golf course so we ended up doing the signing in the course's clubhouse. It took a few hours for Kiner to complete the session so we had plenty of time to talk Mets baseball. The one thing that stood out to me is that he referred to the Mets as "We" or "Us". I thought that was pretty cool as Ralph's name has been synonymous with the Mets since 1962. Ralph also told me that Doc Gooden (who was my guy growing up) was the best young pitcher he had ever seen. That tells a lot coming from a guy who faced Bob Feller and all the greats over his illustrious career. Anyway, Kiner signed some awesome pieces including MLB baseballs, Hall of Fame inscription baseballs and an incredible image of him (as a Cleveland Indian) standing with the great Ted Williams. Interestingly enough Ralph recognized the photo and told me that on the other side of Williams was Joe Dimaggio (who was cut out of the photo) He said Joe was looking in the other direction and was bored with the conversation. Even without Joe D it is an amazing photo.
Tomorrow I will be doing a private signing with 2x NBA MVP (and Steiner Sports Exclusive) Steve Nash. Check back for a recap.

Last night was our appearance at Last Licks Scarsdale with Mets star pitcher Oliver Perez. OP has long been one of my favorites on this strong Mets rotation. I was one of the few (excluding Omar and Rick Peterson) that were truly excited about the trade for him last year. He has had electric stuff since coming up and just needed to get some control. Under Peterson's tutelage he has really come into his own. This season OP boasts a 3.00 ERA and is on his way to 18 wins. When all is said and done I truly feel that this guy will throw the first no-hitter in Mets history. His stuff is overpowering and , when he hits his spots, can be a double-digit strikeout threat every fifth day. This was Oliver's first local appearance and there was a great crowd on hand to meet him. For any of you that have been to a Perez game you know that there is a little-extra energy at Shea when he is on the mound. It isn't Pedro or Doc energy but it is definitely there. He has become a huge fan favorite. Oliver really seemed to enjoy talking with the fans (especially kids) and took photos with everyone. Once the line ended OP signed some amazing items in private including replica pinstripe jerseys, caps, MLB baseball and two insane images (one is him jumping over the foul line- very strong!) Perez also autographed a handful of great game-used items including baseballs and champagne bottles.
We have a lot of exciting signings going on in the next ten days so keep checking back daily for updates.

On Sunday afternoon I headed out to Last Licks Armonk for our appearance with the 7th Yankee Captain Graig Nettles. As always there was an enthusiastic crowd awaiting the legendary third baseman. Graig signed for the public for about a half-hour before beginning the private portion of the appearance. Nettles began by signing a few amazing project 16x20 photos that we have been working on. Hopefully within the next month they will be complete and will be available on the website. The only negative about this signing was the unbearable heat in the store. Unfortunately the air-conditioning unit broke earlier that morning and, with it being Sunday, was not going to be fixed until the next day. Nettles and I then decided it would be best to move the table outside. He knocked out the rest of the signing outside on Main Street in Armonk. We got quite a few looks from people in their cars but it was a lot cooler than in the store. Anyway, aside from the project items, Graig signed some awesome pieces including MLB baseballs, 100th Anniversary baseballs and a few special inscription balls.
I have one more entry to go to get caught up so check back later for my recap of the Oliver Perez signing.

Saturday afternoon I had the privilege of conducting a private signing with Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller. Ryan has only been in the league for a little over two seasons and has already established himself as an elite goaltender. He has 30 plus wins in both years (40 last season!) and happens to have one of the top selling jerseys on NHL.com. Ryan arrived at about 1:00 for the marathon signing. We spoke a little about the NHL, the Rangers and Miller's idol Martin Brodeur. It was pretty cool to hear Ryan speak so highly of Marty. We are around him so much that we are somewhat desensitized to how much of a legend he really is. Over the course of several hours Ryan signed an awesome mix of unbelievable items. Miller autographed sticks, pucks, mini-sticks, Sabres hats, mini-standees as well as a few exquisite (good Clyde adjective) images in both 8x10 and 16x20.
One thing that I have taken with me from my past few hockey signings is that there is a renewed excitement about the league. Young players like Miller and Ovechkin (not to forget Crosby) have gotten plenty of people pumped up for the future of the sport. I have never been a huge hockey fan but am definitely looking forward to the start of the season as these young talents will be on display nightly.
On the memoriablia end all these guys, especially Miller, are a must have for the serious hockey collector.
Check back later as I am half-way through getting caught up on these blog entrys.

Last Friday I did a small private signing with baseball legend Don Zimmer. Zim came up to our office for about an hour to autograph a variety of incredible pieces. I had first met Don a few weeks ago in Tampa (while I was down there for the Duke Snider signing). Zimmer was in New York with the Devil Rays (for whom he now works for). We spoke a little about his young, talented team and especially about Carl Crawford who may be the only one in the league faster than Jose Reyes and Carlos Gomez. Anyway, one of our all-time best sellers is the classic Don Zimmer helmet image. We were able to get some of these signed in both 8x10 and 16x20. Zim even inscribed a few with his nickname- "Popeye"- very strong!. Aside from the photos Don signed both MLB baseballs and Yankees 100th Anniversary balls.
I will be playing catch up most of the day as I have been quite busy over the past 72 hours. Keep checking back for updates.

Earlier today we had a customer event at our office. All of our wholesale clients were invited to check out our operation, do some shopping, have dinner and get to meet a few New York sports legends. This first to arrive was Clark Gillies. He came up this morning to finish off an exquisite project that we have been working on. A few months ago we discovered an incredible image of Gillies, Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy. We did so great with the photo the first time around that we decided to re-up and continue the edition. Bossy and Trottier each signed the 16x20 photo a few weeks ago so, with Gillies adding his name today, now they are finally complete. After Clark left we finished setting up for John Starks, Walt Frazier and LT. John arrived at about 4:15. It took him no time to knock out the photos and basketballs. With him coming up it gave us a great opportunity to get some more of that classic dunk photo signed. The dunk is , by far, one of the biggest moments of semi-recent Knicks history. John even inscribed a few with "The Dunk" and dated them- very strong! After Starks finished signing he went across the hall and mingled with our customers. They all seemed thrilled to meet the man who dunked over Bill Cartwright. About halfway through the signing Lawrence Taylor arrived. He sat at the other end of the table and banged through his product quickly. Lawrence has been around a while and has become one of the fastest signers. Not only did LT sign equipment items but we were also able to find a few awesome new images. Clyde Frazier arrived at about 6:15. Clyde, as I have said in the past, is one of (if not the) nicest and most genuine sports figures any of us have ever encountered. He is still extremely passionate about the game and talked Knicks basketball with a few of our interns for close to thirty minutes. Clyde swooped and hooped his way through our office signing basketballs, photos and Knicks hats. Frazier even signed a limited number of balls with a few of those classic Clyde quotes. After completing the signing I walked Walt across the hall to eat and hang out with some of our customers. He was unbelievable with them as he took photos with practically everyone. Overall it was a great event and an incredibly strong day.
Tomorrow I am off to Los Angeles where I will be conducting our first signing with Steiner Sports' newest exclusive Tony Parker. Check back for updates from the west coast.

I just returned home from our appearance at Hall of Heroes with Rangers star Sean Avery. My day began with a message from Sean saying that his flight was delayed. Originally the signing was to be from 11:00- 12:30 but yesterday we had to change it to 12:00-1:30. Now with Avery's flight delay we would not be able to begin until almost 1:00. I arrived at the store at 9:30 to begin setting up. I was shocked to see a decent size line already formed. All the customers were extremely understanding and patiently awaited Sean's entrance. He was greeted by thunderous applause at a little after 1:00 and immediately began signing for the people. I don't think there was a fan on line that would not have traded their newly acquired autograph for Avery's name on the dotted line of a new contract. The hot topic of conversation was whether or not Sean was in town to sign a new deal. It is amazing how much Avery has endeared himself to the fans during his short time in New York. He is undoubtedly one of the most popular Rangers and I would be shocked if he isn't wearing blue for the next few years. Avery was unbelievable with the public. He actually stood up for almost the entire time so as to stand up and pose for photos with the fans. After the public portion was over Sean stayed and signed some incredible items in private including pucks and several strong photos.
This week will somehow be even busier than the last one so be sure to keep checking back for updates. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

I just returned home from Milwaukee where I was quite busy doing signings yesterday afternoon and last night. I landed at about noon and headed straight to my hotel to begin setting up for the signings. The first signing was to be with the Brewers All-Star reliever Francisco Cordero at 3:00. Cordero showed up right on time and we knocked it out in less than a half-hour. Francisco and I spoke about the All-Star Game. He was pretty excited about the whole experience (especially meeting Willie Mays). Once Cordero left I started packing up his finished product and awaited a phone call from Jeff Suppan. I have done (as you all know) many signings with Soup since the Cardinals won the World Series. He is one of the coolest athletes I have ever worked with. If you didn't know who he is was you would never know that he is an ace pitcher and CS MVP. He is that down to earth. Anyway, Soup has become a really fast signer. He finished in less than an hour. That gave me plenty of time to box up and prep the Suppan and Cordero product to ship back to New York. So far the whole day was timed perfectly as I was more than ready when Prince Fielder arrived at 6:00. Prince has become one of the elite players in the National League. Earlier in the week he started his first All-Star Game and is leading the National League in homeruns. From the minute you start talking to him you realize that none of that has gone to his head as he is extremely nice and respectful. While his teammates strictly signed MLB baseballs we had quite a strong product mix for Fielder. He signed three incredible images (in both 8x10 and 16x20), 2007 All-Star baseballs, MLB baseballs as well as authentic home Brewers jerseys. All these items are sure to become staples in our fast-growing Steiner Sports Milwaukee Brewers collection. This team is on it's way to the playoffs and, with their solid pitching and young core, can really do some damage once they get there.
Yesterday was an off-day for Milwaukee. The Rockies flew in last night for a three game set which begins today. With that in mind we made a phone call and were able to secure a private signing with Colorado All-Star Matt Holliday. Holliday is one of the front-runners for the NL Batting Title. He is currently batting an amazing .341. He has kept the Rockies in wild-card contention all season and, unfortunately, he and his teammates ruined the Mets last road trip. Anyway, I finally received a phone call at about 9:45 last night that the team plane has landed and that they were on their way to the hotel. I then grabbed my supplies and a few cases of baseballs and took a cab downtown (It was not easy moving around with all those balls but , as always, I got it done). I had to hang out in the lobby for a little while as the players were all checking in. We finally got to do the signing at about 10:30. Holliday signed MLB baseballs as well as a few black-leather balls (which is a Steiner Sports web-exclusive). Thankfully I was able to ship the balls back from the team hotel (I did not want to load them back in a taxi again). I finally made it back to my hotel at midnight and set my alarm for 4:30 AM. Upon waking up I headed straight back to the airport, boarded my flight and here I am- back in New York preparing for tomorrow's Sean Avery appearance at Hall of Heroes. That was the busiest 24 hours I have had in quite some time (by far not the busiest signing day ever but probably in the top 20)
Check back tomorrow for a recap of the Avery signing. Have a great weekend! Let's Go Mets! Tell 'em to run Rickey!

Yesterday morning I had the privilege of doing a signing with former Notre Dame and Raiders great Tim Brown. It was great to have visit the office here at Steiner Sports. The guys here were pumped! As I have hinted at recently we are working on some amazing Notre Dame multi-signed projects. With Tim coming to town for Michael Strahan's charity golf outing we were give an awesome opportunity to add his name to those pieces. The project would have definitely been incomplete without Brown's signature. Tim won the Heisman in 1987 (first wide-receiver to win the award) and went on to go to 9 Pro Bowls. He is arguably one of the most-successful ND football alumni of all time. Anyway , aside from the projects, Tim also signed some incredible product including Notre Dame footballs and a few strong 8x10s with inscription.
Later this week I will be flying to Milwaukee to do a private signing with Brewers' star Prince Fielder. Check back for a recap.

First of all I would like to, once again, apologize for the lack of posts recently. We are experiencing technical difficulties that are beyond my control. Anyway, with that in mind, I am going to backtrack to last Friday. Last Friday morning I headed downtown with our intern Screech (he really looks like Screech) to conduct a private signing with Louisiana Lightning Ron Guidry. Gator was really looking forward to the following day's Old Timer's Game. He had his family in town and was so pumped to to see his old teammates. We knocked out the signing in no time as Ron has become a pretty fast signer. The only things that takes a long time is the "Louisiana Lightening" inscription. Gator hates signing that so , if you don't have a ball yet, I would definitely pick one up. I don't see him signing that inscription for much longer. Aside from the 'LL' baseballs Guidry also signed "Gator" inscription balls as well as "1978 Cy Young" inscription balls (very strong product) After the signing Screech and I packed up and headed back to the office. While there were no signings over the weekend (which made me extremely happy) there is a ton of signing coming up over the next two weeks. Check back later for a preview.

Earlier today I did a private signing with former Notre Dame player (and current Dallas Cowboys star) Anthony Fasano. Fasano came up to add his name to a few amazing Notre Dame projects that we have been working on over the past few months. Hopefully they will be complete soon so keep checking the site for them. Aside from the multi-signed pieces Anthony also signed an incredible action Notre Dame 16x20 photograph. The signing was over in no time but we did talk a little NFC East football. Dallas opens up the season against the Giants. There seems to be more parity than ever in the NFC so it should be pretty interesting.
Despite this being a holiday week we still have some exciting signings coming up.
Check back daily for updates.

Early Friday morning I headed over to LaGuardia to pick up my friend Hank Aaron. Hank was coming in for a private signing at my office and then a public appearance at Last Licks Thornwood. He was mobbed, as usual, at the airport. We quickly (well- as quick as a 73 year old and me on a broken foot can move) made it to the car and, within seconds, the Mets-Braves talk began. Hank and I have been going back and forth arguing the NL East for four years and I don't see it stopping anytime soon.
Hank signed in private for most of the afternoon. We got some of the strongest Aaron product ever. Not only did he sign bats, batting helmets and jerseys but I was also able to get a small amount of baseballs with inscriptions. After several hours of signing (and a few bowls of soup- Hank loves soup) we headed over to Thornwood for the appearance. There was a huge line awaiting us. I am always amazed at how well Aaron does in public. I understand how big he is but he is still not a New York player. That really shows how much people love him. There was a huge line of Mets and Yankees fans anxiously waiting to meet a Braves (It was awesome). Hank was unbelievable with the people. He took photos with practically everyone and really seemed to enjoy talking to the kids. After the appearance I drove Aaron back to his hotel. Again we were mobbed in the lobby (I have never heard the words Mr. Aaron more in life than Friday). After escaping the crowd I finally got him up to his room and we parted ways. I am hoping to make it down to Atlanta for the next Mets/Braves series. It will definitely be pretty surreal for the Braves fans to see Mr. Aaron walking around with a guy wearing an Oliver Perez jersey and a Mets cap.
Despite the constant fighting about our teams Hank and I have gotten really tight over the past few years. It was great to see him doing so well and I am already looking forward to his next visit.
Check back later for a preview of the upcoming week.

Last last week I did a small private signing with Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony. Carmelo was in town for the NBA draft as a well as a public appearance we had him in on Friday. While my past signings with Melo were comprised of mostly Denver items this one was focused entirely on Syracuse collectibles. We (Steiner) have a partnership with the school which gives us access to incredible game used pieces. Melo signed a great 8x10 photo of him celebrating the National Championship with his teammates. We will now frame that photo with a piece of the court. It will undoubtably be a strong seller. Right after the signing Carmelo did an interview for our show on the YES Network. Anthony does not do many sit-down interviews so it was awesome to watch. He is really excited about the upcoming FIBA games in Las Vegas and actually guaranteed the gold for the US team. You guys all need to check out the show when it finally airs.
Check back later today for a recap of the Hank Aaron signing. (I am going to be playing catch-up on the blog for the next few hours)