I just got back from our private signing with Red Sox reliever Eric Gagne. The Sox are in town to play (and possibly bury) the Yankees. While Gagne's first few weeks in Boston have been tumultuous he seems to be on the right track. After all, the guy is a proven commodity as one of the best in the game. He is sure to play a huge role in Boston's postseason push. Anyway, I arrived at the team's hotel at about 10:30 to set up. Gagne walked in right on time at 11:30 and finished the small signing in less than a half-hour. Eric is a really nice guy and seems to be quite fired-up about being with the Red Sox. Once the signing concluded I packed up and headed straight back to our office. We got some unbelievably strong product signed including game-used Red Sox baseballs. MLB baseballs and a great photo (in both 8x10 and 16x20).
Later this week I will be doing signings with Ralph Kiner, Shelley Duncan, Andy Phillips and Chien-Ming Wang as the Mets and I march full-steam ahead into the upcoming holiday weekend. (Magic Number=28!)

I just returned home from our appearance at Last Licks Massapequa with the Sack Exchange. It has always been difficult getting our product signed at these appearances. There is only so much room at the stores and, with four guys signing the same things at once, it creates a very claustrophobic situation when they are autographing equipment. Today was different. Joe Klecko arrived at about 11:00 and immediately began signing. Abdul-Salaam came about twenty-five minutes later and basically shadowed Joe. Then Marty Lyons walked in fifteen minutes later and started right behind Aby. I could not have asked for a better situation. Obviously at that point the million dollar question was "Where is Mark Gastineau?" There was a small mix-up with Mark's car earlier in the day so he was running a little late. Mark, who is a friend and way up there on my list of best guys to work with, finally arrived at about 12:35. We got through the line in no time and Marty and Joe were able to leave at about 1:40. Salaam finished shortly after those guys and it was then time for Mark to begin signing the private items. For those of you who have yet to meet Gastineau I recommend coming out for the next event. He is one of the nicest people you will ever meet and loves talking to the fans. The only downside of Mark is the length of his name. It took him a few hours to finish signing but the product did come out fantastic. We were able to re-up on helmets, mini-helmets, that great sideline photo and those classic images of them in and outside of the New York Stock Exchange. It is amazing that those guys and those pieces are just as popular today as they ever were.
We have a big week coming up so keep checking back daily for updates.

Yesterday was a crazy day (even for me). The day began early in the morning at our loading dock where me and BF loaded up the back of his Navigator with soccer balls, jerseys and photos for the Mia Hamm signing. Soccer balls take up a lot of space so we had to put them in loose (rather than in the original six-pack boxes) BF and I then headed down to Manhattan for the signing. Mia was in town with her husband Nomar Garciaparra (who was in town with his team the Dodgers to play the Mets). She was also stopping though on her way up to Oneonta where she is set to be inducted into the Soccer Hall of Fame on Sunday. Anyway, we had to make a quick stop on 60th and 2nd. That is where the day got interesting. After leaving our stop we turned onto the next block and, at the next traffic light, a man came running up to the car saying that the back door opened and boxes were falling out as we were driving. Apparently one of the jersey boxes must have hit the automatic open switch. I jumped out of the car and proceeded to pick up a few soccer balls and then noticed a guy on the corner rounding up all of our stuff. I got the boxes back from him (amazingly and thankfully nothing was missing) and we were back on our way. There were five minutes there of absolute insanity. We finally arrived at the hotel about an hour before Mia was coming to sign. It took five full hotel carts to get all of the product up to the room. We were able to set up just in time and were ready when Hamm walked in. I reintroduced myself (which I usually do with people I have only done a handful of signings with). Mia's reaction was "You're the big Mets fan, right?" I was glad to see that I made an impression. She blasted through the
signing in no time. We talked a little about the upcoming Hall of Fame induction but mostly about baseball. She, obviously, is a Dodgers fan so we had a lot to talk about. I kind of wish the signing was tomorrow so I could rub it in a little about the weekend (Duque, even with giving up the 2 bombs, was strong today!)
After the completion of the signing it took about an hour to package the product and get it all down to load back up in the SUV. Once it was all loaded I did a triple check on the backdoor and we were on our way back to the office.
We got some unbelievable product signed including soccer balls, jerseys, triple exposure photos and that awesome celebration on knees photo in both 8x10 and 16x20.
Today was our appearance at Last Licks Massapequa with the Sack Exchange. Check back shortly for a recap. Lets Go Mets!

Yesterday afternoon I had the privilege of conducting signing with two Steelers legends. Rocky Bleier and Franco Harris were both in town for our radio show on ESPN. Before heading over to Mo's New York Grill (which, by the way, is unbelievable) for the broadcast they stopped by our office for private signings. I always enjoy watching and listening to the interaction between two former players (especially two former teammates). Rocky and Franco seemed really close and it was great talking college football with them. Franco went to Penn State and Rocky attended Notre Dame. We talked about the different recruiting processes and really everything about the schools. It was incredibly interesting. Both guys signed some strong product. Franco's autograph session focused on Steelers items including helmets, mini-helmets as well as that amazing "Immaculate Reception" photo. We are coming up on the 35th anniversary of that play and the legend of it seems to grow each year. Rocky signed all Notre Dame product. His coming into town gave us an opportunity to add his name to the Fighting Irish projects that I have been telling you all about (almost finished and can't wait to go out with it). Besides signing the multi-signed pieces Bleier also autographed an outstanding new photo of him at Notre Dame playing against Army. It is one of the best ND images I have ever seen (and that is saying a lot).
Tomorrow I will be doing a private signing with Mia Hamm. Check back in the evening for a recap.

Earlier today I went out to Rutherford, New Jersey for a small private signing with Giants legend Phil Simms. Unfortunately in my haste to leave the office I left my camera sitting on my desk (I apologize and it will, hopefully, never happen again) Anyway, the office where Simms was set to sign is on the second floor of a small, non-elevator building. After about twelve trips up to the office we finally got all the product up there and began setting up. It only took Simms about 15 minutes to knock out the entire signing. That is the funny thing about my job (well it is one of the funny, ironic things about this line of work) It took a half-hour to get there. It then took a half-hour to unload and set up and after the signing it took another hour of packing up and driving- all that for fifteen minutes of signing. However the end result product is always worth the schlep. Simms has an awesome signature and will always be a must-have for any Giants collector and/or Super Bowl MVP collector. He played perhaps the greatest game a quarterback has ever played in going 22-25 for 268 yards (in the Super Bowl!) For that reason (among others) a fan needs at least one Simms piece in their collection. I always enjoy doing signing with Phil because he so knowledgeable about the game. He has become one of the best television analysts out there and I love talking to him about the current state of the NFL.
As said earlier we got some spectacular product signed including footballs, mini-helmets and full-size Giants helmets. While I love the new Giants logo there is something to be said about the helmet that they won it all in. Hopefully I will be saying the same thing about the newer logo come February 2008. While it doesn't look good right now you still have to play the games on the field (to quote SBXXI MVP Phil Simms). Tomorrow I will be doing signings with Steelers icons Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier. Check back for a recap.

Yesterday afternoon I headed up to Fairfield, Connecticut to do a private signing with tennis star James Blake. As I do not know much about tennis (or pretend to) I did my research before driving out there. Blake is one of the top players in the world. He overcame great adversity by coming back from serious injury to return to the top of his sport. He is currently ranked #6. Anyway, we arrived for the signing at about 2:00. It took thirty minutes to set up all the racquet's, shoes, balls, shirts and photos. Once everything was set James came in and knocked it all out in less than an hour. Blake is not new to the signing world. He has a best-selling book and has been doing quite a few public book signings to promote it. (I actually picked it up last night and is the next thing I read after I finish Lou Holtz's newest piece) One thing that I have to mention is that Blake is a huge Mets fan. I had read that online and jumped at the first chance I had to discuss the team with him. He is as excited as I am at our chances in the upcoming post-season (especially if Pedro comes back strong). Once the signing finished it did not take long to box everything up (there is a world of difference in the pack-up when you are loading it into a car or truck versus shipping it). The product came out outstanding (especially the photos- we have four different incredible images in both 8x10 and 16x20). We finally arrived back at our office at about 4:30 and, after unloading the product, I began preparing for the next few days.
I should be quite busy from not until at least the middle of next week. I will be doing signings with Phil Simms, Franco Harris, Mia Hamm and the Sack Exchange (just to name a few). Keep checking back daily for updates as I am will try my best to get a post in each day.

The end of last week was pretty interesting for me. Yankees star Melky Cabrera was slated to sign on Thursday. Unfortunately Melky was pushed back to Friday which created an incredibly busy day for me as I was set to do a signing with Whitey Ford early that day. At the end of the day Thursday I loaded up for both signings. First thing Friday AM I headed over to Whitey's home in Long Island. I love going over to Whitey's. He always has amazing stories to share about Mantle and Billy Martin. Throughout the signing he seems to disappear several times and come back with the sickest photos and memorabilia to show me. I recall last time I was there he showed me his Junior High School class photo and dared me to guess which kid was him. I was right on just the second guess. This time Whitey showed me some awesome Mantle photos. Anyway, we finally finished the signing at about 11:45. Within the course of three hours he signed an impressive variety of inscription baseballs including HOF, CY 61 and even a limited number with his lifetime ERA (just to name a few. There are even more cool ones- too many to list here). After loading up the balls I headed out to New Jersey to do the signing with Melky Cabrera. Unfortunately, as we all know, Friday traffic in the summer is ridiculous. It took me forever to get to Melky's. Thankfully my boy MC got Cabrera started and, by the time I arrived, we were able to knock out the remainder of items in no time. Melky has really come on as of late and has provided a huge spark to the team both in the field and with his bat. We got some spectacular items signed including that classic catch photo (in both 8x10 and 16x20), bats, jerseys, game-used balls and a strong photo of Melky dual signed with Robinson Cano. After leaving Cabrera's I braved my way through traffic and finally arrived back at our office at about 3:30. With no appearances this weekend I was really looking forward to a few more days off (as we all know no vacation is ever long enough)
We have a lot of exciting signings going on this week including ones with James Blake, Mia Hamm and The Sack Exchange. Check back daily for updates.

Last night I did a private signing with the Yankee Captain Derek Jeter. Despite yesterday afternoon's loss the Yanks are on a roll right now. They have narrowed the seemingly insurmountable gap between them and the Red Sox and, in the process, have become the front runner for the American League Wild Card. Jeter is having another incredible season batting .324 with 158 hits to date. Derek signed for about an hour and, in that time, we got some spectacular product autographed by The Captain. DJ signed mostly game used items including baseballs, cleats, batting helmets and bats. I am sorry to cut this entry so short but I am off to Melky Carbera's where we are doing a small private signing with the emerging star. Check back later for a recap.

I am officially back from my five day hiatus. I spent four of the five days up in Bridgeport at The Vibes (highlights are way too many to name all here but George Clinton doing Flashlight- which was out of control- as well as the entire Mickey Hart set and Bobby's show with Steve Kimock stand out the most in my mind). Anyway, we have a ton of signings coming up in the next few days. Tomorrow I will be doing a private signing with Yankee Captain Derek Jeter. Then on Thursday I will be with Melky Cabrera who has caught fire as of late (as much as it pains me to say it the whole team is on fire). On Friday I will be doing a small private signing with Yankees legend Whitey Ford. That brings us to next week where we have an appearance with Endy "The Catch" Chavez as well as signings with tennis star James Blake and The Sack Exchange. There should pretty much be something every day so keep checking back for updates.

Hi everyone, Dietz here with a special update. On Monday we sent out an e-mail to all registered Mets fans in our e-mail database asking them to send in their question for William Hayward Wilson, better known as Mookie. I just got out of the conference room where right now our most popular photo in the history of our company is being hand signed…the infamous Game 6 squib off Mookie Wilson’s bat that was hit down the first base line that somehow magically found its way between Bill Buckner’s legs enabling the Mets to win Game 6, and eventually take Game 7 which gave the Mets their first World Series Title in 20 years!

I first sat down with Mookie and talked with him briefly about the photo and he couldn’t believe that it had already been 20+ years since it happened. He also couldn’t believe that I was only 3 years old when it happened! Without wasting much time I dove right into the 5 winning questions that Mookie was kind enough to answer…

1) Was it difficult playing at Shea Stadium? And if so, why?
Initially it was tough with all the distractions the stadium has to offer, especially the jets flying overhead but after a while you got used to it and it ended up being a lot of fun. It was one of the few stadiums that I got the chance to play at where when the crowd really got into the game you could actually feel the vibrations on the field.

2) When you look back on your career, what memory still puts a smile on your face?
Winning the World Series is always something special but really when I look back on the people that I got a chance to play with and more importantly against just makes me sit back and say “wow.” I got the chance to play against, and do rather well against, guys like Steve Carlton, Phil Niekro and Nolan Ryan, who are all Hall of Famers.

3) Mookie, I have heard that you and Bill Buckner get along quite well these days. When you first started doing autograph signings together was there any awkwardness between the two of you because of the situation and that same picture being signed over and over?
Never. Bill and I were friends long before it happened. I actually played Minor League ball with his younger brother. If anything I think that our friendship was strengthened after it happened.

4) Over the past few years, you have had some managing/coaching stint within the Mets organization. Do you aspire to someday coach baseball at the Major League Level?
Well I have coached now in the organization for 6 years. Everyone definitely wants to do it at the Major League level but those jobs are very very rare.

5)When you are mentioned the play involving Bill Buckner is always brought up. While this is many fans most memorable baseball moment for you, I would like to know what you consider your most memorable baseball moment.
Well there are a couple, number 1 being back in I think 1981 when we were playing St. Louis, I was playing centerfield and we were winning in the 8th inning. A ball was hit to me out in centerfield and I didn’t get a glove on it, sun glasses fell over my head, you know…I misplayed it. (Laughs) The ball ended up dropping and Tito got an inside the park homerun to put the Cardinals up by one. Frank Tavares then got a base hit for us in the 9th inning and I came up with two outs and ended up facing Bruce Suter and ended up hitting a 2-run homerun to win the game for us.
Another was our games against Los Angeles. I loved playing out there and facing guys like Fernando Valenzuela.

Once again if your question is listed above you have won a FREE Mookie 8x10 signed photo. Please check your inbox for a message from me stating that you've won and don't forget to send me your shipping address! To all that participated I thank you and to all the winners congratulations!

Last last night I landed at LAX and headed straght to my hotel. Thankfully I was staying right across the street from Tony Parker's agent's office so I would not have far to walk in the morning. I awoke at 5:00 AM as I was set to beging prepping the product at 6:00. It took several hours to set up and Tony walked in at about 10:00 AM. Parker was a little pressed for time as he was a mere hours away from flying back to France to rejoin the national team. He did persevere through it all and finished right on time (I am pretty confident that he made his flight) The reason that the signing took so long was that Tony did a good number of inscriptions. Parker , as we all know, was named the NBA Finals MVP and, as you knew we would have him do, he inscribed that honor on quite a few pieces. After Tony fnished signing it took about three and half hours to box up and prep all the product to ship back to New York. That gave me just enough time to hit In and Out Burger on the way to the airport (where I am patiently waiting to board the red-eye back to New York) After I land and dig my car out of long-term parking at JFK I will be driving straight to my office for a few minutes and am then going on vacation until Tuesday. I will be spending the bulk of my off-days up in Bridgeport at The Gathering of the Vibes (looking forward to seeing Buddy Guy close it out Sunday night!)
When I return on Tuesday I will post a preview of the next few weeks. Have a great rest of the week and weekend! Let's Go Mets!

Before I start this one I would like to say that it actually is August 6th here in Los Angeles but, as far as I am concerned, it is August 7th (love Eastern Time Zone). Anyway, last Saturday I finally touched down back at LaGuardia at about 4:00. I treked my way (carrying product and all) over to a different terminal to get my car. I then proceeded to drive over to Last Licks Massapequa for the evening's Yankees appearance. Luckily the game ended pretty late so I had plenty of time to get over there and set up. The guys arrived at a little after 7:00. Everyone on line was extremely understanding and were just excited to meet them. There was a nice crowd on hand for Andy Phillips and Doug Mientkiewicz. There was an insanely strong crowd there for Shelley Duncan. It is incredible how this kid has become such a fan favorite over the course of just a few weeks. All three guys were magnificent with the public. They shook hands and took pictures with everyone. Not once did any of them complain that it was pushing 9:00 when we finally were nearing the end. Once the public portion ended all three Yankees signed some great product in private including photos, balls and bats. We have two outstanding Shelley Duncan images from that two home run game. Doug mostly signed that classic "Last Out" photo from the 2004 World Series and Andy added his great signature to a handful of bats as well as Yankees caps. Once the three of them left it took a few hours to box up everything and load it up to take back to our office. On the private end it is always a whirlwind when you have multiple guys signing at a store. I finally left Massapequa at about 11:00 and got home around midnight.
That brings us up to speed. Lastly- while I have been running around on the road the Mets have been heating up and slowly getting that NL East lead up to where it should be (had to throw that in there!) Check back tomorrow for a recap of the Tony Parker signing.

I woke up really early the morning of the Weis signing. I have been having a harder time lately sleeping in hotels anyway and wanted to make sure I made it to the Athletics Complex before the sun was in full effect. It was going to be another brutally hot day in South Bend and wanted to avoid the heat at all costs. When I arrived at the building I set up the items for Coach to sign, Charlie arrived right on time at 11:00 and we banged through the multi-signed projects (before starting the individual pieces). He seemed excited about the upcoming season. As a sidenote- it is incredible what goes in to preparing for the season. I actually witnessed a huge group of volunteering students breaking in 200 plus footballs for upcoming practices. Anyway, once again Coach Weis and I talked music more than anything else. He just got back from seeing Bon Jovi in Chicago. While I am not a big Bon Jovi fan we are both huge Bruce fans and, with a new E Street Band record set to drop in October, we are both looking forward to Springsteen touring with the band. We also talked a little baseball. Charlie is a Yankees fan and is amazingly knowlegeable about what is currently going on in MLB (I was shocked they even had ESPN News in South Bend) Once Coach Weis completed the signing I immediately began packing up the product. I was pumped up to get out of there, head to the airport and then home. Unfortunately I just missed an earlier flight that I was going to try to get on standby. I ended up having to sit in South Bend Airport for about five hours waiting for my flight. I am not sure if any of you have ever been to South Bend Airport- you have to see it to believe it. I finally boarded my plane at 7 and things were looking good. Unfortunately (sorry to use that word so often but it fits) upon landing in Detroit (where my connecting flight to NY was) I checked the board and saw that my flight was cancelled. This was due to the horrendous weather in New York. The worst part about it was that the airline had put me on a flight the next day at 1:40 PM. I then proceeded to check into a hotel and caught some sleep. I knew I would need the rest as I now had to go straight to Last Licks Massapequa upon landing in NY Saturday for our appearance with Shelly Duncan , Doug Mientkiewicz and Andy Phillips.

Thursday morning I took a ridiculously early flight to Cleveland where I would then be taking a connecting plane out to South Bend. I have been on my share of airplanes (I am actually on one right now) but the one from Cleveland to South Bend was, by far, the smallest and most uncomfortable one I have ever been on. It sat 20 people....it was crazy. Upon landing in South Bend I took a cab right over to Notre Dame to begin setting for that day's round of signings. Everyone has been so excellent to me every time I go to the school. All the equipment guys and really everyone associated with the school and with Coach Weis have been so helpful. On that day I was to be doing signing with former Coach (and legend) Ara Parseghian, Tony Rice and Reggie Brooks. They were coming in to add their name to the multi-signed projects that I had shipped straight from Orlando. Coach Ara was the first to arrive (thankfully Double C had secured three separate times for the guys to come in) After Ara was done I had about fifteen minutes until Tony arrived. It only took Rice about twenty-five minutes to complete the items. Then about an hour later Reggie Brooks walked in. He was, by far, the most talkative of the three. We talked a little NFL and a lot about Maryland. Reggie had played for the Redskins and was pretty familiar with D.C. and College Park. It was nice to meet someone else that has memories of The Vous. Once Reggie was done I headed over to my hotel to check in. I always stay at the same spot as it is a two minute walk to campus. After checking in I braved the oppressive heat and walked some of the campus. This was the first time I had been there in the summer. Every other time I had been to South Bend it had been soaked from cold rain and/or snow so I figured now was as good a time as any to check it out. It really is an incredible campus. People are not exaggerating when they describe it. There is definitely a feeling and an aura to the place.
After walking Notre Dame in my bright orange Pedro Martinez shirt (I caught a few looks and even got a pound from some kid!) I went back to to the hotel to rest for the next day's signing with Charlie Weis.

Just hours removed from that incredible Bobby Murcer appearance I hopped on the first flight down to Orlando, Florida. I was going down a day early to set up all the equipment for our signing with Lou Holtz. I landed at about 11:00 AM and headed straight to the hotel to begin the set up. It actually didn't take me as long as I thought it would to prep all the helmets, mini helmets, posters and photos. After I finished I was even able to get an hour at the pool- which was strong considering it was pushing 100 degrees that day. Anyway, on Monday I met Coach Holtz in the lobby at 9:00 AM. He was right on time (to the minute). Strangely enough this was the first signing I have done with Coach Holtz. Every time he has come up to our office I seem to be away (maybe its not that surprising after all?) He is a really nice guy. We talked for close to two straight hours about college football, the NFL and even some baseball. I have all his picks for this year but you are all going to have to wait for the first airing of College Gameday. I was shocked at how fast and efficient a signer Lou is. Most guys around his age would take about 8 hours to sign what Coach knocked out in 2 (see the Ralph Kiner blog from a few weeks ago) The bulk of the signing was devoted to some insane Notre Dame projects that we have been working on as well as mini-helmets and photos. I bring up the ND projects because , as soon as Holtz finished, I packed up that product first and 2-day'd it straight to South Bend. My next trip was to be on Thursday where I would be flying back out to South Bend for two days of signings.

Last Saturday (well acutally 2 Saturdays ago- not sure what that's called?) we had our appearance at Last Licks Huntington with Yankees legendary player and broadcaster Bobby Murcer. Bobby has been successfully battling cancer over the past year. He looks great- even better then about a month ago when he came up to our office. There was a huge line awaiting Bobby's arrival. Little did most of the public know that Murcer showed up quite early and we were knocking out the bulk of the private items in the back of the store. Bobby and I walked out towards the front of the store and were greeted by thunderous applause (I think it was for Bobby, not me) The fans were so excited to see Murcer and , more importantly, to see that he was doing so well. While Murcer was an outstanding player it is his work as a Yankees broadcaster that has really endeared himself to the fans. It is always that way with the great announcers and their audience. They make you feel like they are one of us (Just like Gary, Keith and Ron- yes I said it) What I noticed most about how Bobby was with the fans is that he asked every fan on line what their name was. I thought that was awesome. Also, there was a customer on line that actually brought a letter that Murcer had sent her in the '60s. She, as a big B Murcer fan, sent him a birthday card and, with Bobby being Bobby, he wrote her back thanking her for the thought. Once the public portion was over we quickly completed the private signing. We were able to add Bobby's name to a strong Yankees project that we have been working on as well as re-up on that classic fight versus Boston photo (in both 8x10 and 16x20).
After the signing I headed home to pack for Orlando. I was slated to fly down there on Sunday for a private signing with the iconic former Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz.

Right now I am on a flight to Los Angeles where I will be conducting a private signing with the 2007 NBA Finals MVP Tony Parker. With four hours left to go until we reach LAX I figured this would be as a good a time as any to get you all up to speed on what has been going on these past two weeks. To paraphrase Costello- I have been driving 100 miles an hour with the hood up. It would be an understatement to say these past few days have been crazy. Over the next few hours I will attempt to get you all caught up.

I would like to apologize for the inactivity on the blog the past few weeks. While the blog has been dormant I have been quite busy traveling. Unfortunately I wasn't able to bring my laptop because as we all know, FAA regulations only allow one bag and one carry on item. I have been traveling with this unbelievable Notre dame project that we have been working on. Those pieces have taken the place of my laptop in numerous overhead storage bins. Check back this weekend for a complete recap of this past week.