Yesterday was a big 1969 Jets day for us. We had Joe Namath, Don Maynard, Matt Snell and Emerson Boozer all signing for the public at the Steiner Sports Store in Roosevelt Field Mall. When I last left you all I was en route back to New York from Cleveland for this monumental appearance. My flight landed at 7:30 AM and I headed straight to the store. Namath was slated to arrive at 10:30 and, with me out of the loop for a few days, had to get set up and prepared for the day. Joe arrived right on time and knocked out a few items in private before the public portion began at 11:00. Joe was unreal with the customers. He asked every customer what their name was and stood the entire time. Namath does not do many public appearances so their was a strong crowd on hand to meet him. Every customer walked away ecstatic. Joe finally finished at about 1:15 (I was three coffees into the day already at that point after not sleeping the night before). After Joe left Maynard, Snell and Boozer arrived. All three signed some great pieces in private before the appearance began. We even did some triple signed product including mini-helmets and an amazing 16x20 of the Super Bowl 3 program cover. Many of the same customers that came out for Namath stuck around to meet the other three. There were also a few new fans that needed one or all of them to complete some multi-signed pieces. The day finally ended at around 5:00 when Emerson signed his last mini-helmet. I was so ready to go home and sleep as there was to be a huge Mets game on Sunday (I am actually writing this a few hours after the disaster at Shea).
With all that in mind I feel the need to address the Mets thing for a minute: Yesterday was incredible. John Maine pitched as strong a game as any Met ever has. He was mowing down batters and gave the team exactly what they needed (a chance). I was there today and witnessed the train wreck live and in person. Needless to say I am incredibly dark right now...but I am confident we will retool and reload in the off-season for the 2008 championship run (a front-line starter, some new arms in the pen and a winter to re-learn plate discipline)
Tomorrow I will be flying out to Chicago for a signing with White Sox pitcher (and Steiner Exclusive) Mark Buehrle. Check back for an update from the windy city.

It is 5:15 AM here in Cleveland, Ohio. I just arrived at the airport after a marathon signing with Syracuse legend Jim Brown. I landed here less than a day ago and spent my first six hours in Ohio setting up equipment for the great running back to sign. I finally connected with Brown at a little after 9:30 last night. Jim started signing shortly after that and finally completed the session a little before 1:00 AM. While Brown is a Hall of Fame NFL player this signing was completely focused on his time at Syracuse. As I discussed last week (after the Donovan McNabb signing) we are extremely excited about our partnership with SU. Over the course of the three and a half hour signing Jim signed a strong variety of items including 'Cuse helmets, minis, footballs and a sick assortment of photos. Not only was Brown an All American football player he also was a bona fide lacrosse star and quite a basketball player in his own right. Aside from autographing some amazing football shot Jim also signed a spectacular lacrosse photo as well as one basketball shot. Over the course of the signing one could really see that he takes pride in signing his name and cares about pen quality and where he is signing. There is one awesome image where we tried a few different spots (first in blue, then silver). Once we decided on the perfect location Jim carefully stayed between the lines so as the silver signature remained exactly in the black part of his opponents uniform (that does not happen very often...most signers would just fly through it without putting too much thought into my he is signing in that area...very cool) Aside from being an expert autographer Jim is incredibly interesting to talk to. He is very smart and well-read and, as we all know, extremely opinionated. I really enjoyed talking mid-east politics and religion with him for the better part of two hours. Once the signing was finally complete I was back to work on shipping the incredible product back to our office. I finished the last box at about 3:00 AM. That brings us to now as I am typing this in the airport terminal waiting to board the flight back to LaGuardia. Once we land I am headed right over to the Steiner Sports Store where we have an appearance with Jets hero Joe Namath.
Check back for a recap.

Yesterday I did a private signing with the Strikeout King Nolan Ryan. While we have done many signing with Nolan in the past this was the first time he has been up to our office. Ryan diligently signed for a few hours while we talked a little present-day baseball. At one point I threw him a Mets jersey and told him we would need him tonight (we still may). It was quite interesting to get his perspective on the playoff races. Ryan is nothing like his touch demeanor on the mound. He is an extremely nice and polite man. Over the course of the afternoon Ryan signed an incredible mix of awesome pieces including blood photos, fight vs. Ventura photos, pitching rubbers, Mets jerseys, Astros photos and a limited number of baseballs with all 7 no-hitters inscribed (with the dates!). Ryan is an absolute must-have autograph for any serious baseball collector and those no-hitter balls rank up there with any great piece I have ever seen.
Later today I am flying to Cleveland for a private signing with Syracuse (and Browns) legend Jim Brown. Check back for an update.

Wednesday I had the privilege of spending the day with my favorite baseball player from my childhood, Dwight Gooden. While Doc has had his problems that did not matter to me as a young kid going to Shea to watch him pitch. There was such an energy to the stadium on those days that is very similar to when Pedro Martinez pitches...only it was better. Doc was our guy from our farm system. He was the best young pitcher ever over the course of his first three years. I read a quote once from Sandy Koufax in 1986 saying that he would trade his past for Doc's future. While Doc's future unfortunately did not hold to what is should have been he was absolutely electric for the Rookie of the Year season, Cy Young season and, of course, the championship season. As we all know Dwight caught on with the Yankees years later and pitched a no-hitter (it always baffles and bothers me that so many ex-Mets have pitched no-hitters while the Mets have never had one). Anyway I started the signing with Gooden at 8:30 AM. Every piece that he signed was to be inscribed so it took until 6:45 that evening (with a few short meal breaks) to complete everything. I was so impressed that Doc stuck with it (with no complaint) and got through everything. Over the course of the marathon signing Doc signed a nice variety of items including no-hitter baseballs (with the date!), Cy 85 baseballs, no hitter photos and a handful of pitching rubbers with Cy 85 (very strong!) Tomorrow I will be conducting a signing with the Strikeout King Nolan Ryan (another former Met who pitched a no-hitter in another uniform....actually 7 to be exact!) Check back for a recap.

Last Sunday I took that pleasant drive up to Foxboro for a private signing with Partiots star Tedy Bruschi. We have done a few signings with Tedy in the past but this was the first since 2004. Bruschi has become a sort of cult-hero in football. His coming back from heart problems a few seasons ago has endeared himself to fans not only in Massachusets but throughout the NFL. He is one the most respected and feared defenders in the game. Anyway, Bruschi was great (as expected). He showed up promptly at 8:00 AM (which I was shocked at considering that is an unorthodox time for an athlete even be awake- let alone do a signing). He banged right through it in a little over and hour and the product looks fantastic. Tedy signed a strong mix of pieces including mini-helmets, helmets (a handful with the 3x SB Champs inscription!) Super Bowl 39 footballs and some of those amazing snow photos from 2004. This was a relatively easy signing to pack up so I was on my way back to New York by noon. We have a lot going on this week so keep checking back daily for updates.

Last Thursday we had our public appearance with Yankees pitcher Phil Hughes. Hughes has been tearing it up since returning from the DL and has played such a huge role in this recent Yankees run (at present time they are an incredible 1.5 games behind Boston). There are many, including myself, feel that Phil should be the number four pitcher in the playoffs. Anyway, Hughes' appearance at Last Licks Massapequa was his first ever public signing. The fans came out in full force and he was greeted by clapping and cheers. Phil did not disappoint the excited fans. He took the time to shake hands and take photos with every one on line. It was arguably the biggest signing in the short history of public appearances at Last Licks 'Pequa and it was awesome to see literally every customer walk away ecstatic. After the line dwindled Hughes signed a small amount of items in private including Yankees pitching rubbers (very strong!), caps and 8x10 photographs. Overall it was an unbelievable job by everyone at Last Licks and the excited fans who waited for hours to meet the young phenom.
Later today I will be driving up to Foxboro to set up for tomorrow's signing with Patriots defensive superstar Tedi Bruschi. Check back later for an update from Massachusetts.

Earlier today I did a private signing with Celtics legend Larry Bird. I may have already told this story so I will give the quick version- Larry was the first real big signing I ever did. It was in 2002 in Naples, Florida. When we do basketball signings the balls are generally bagged after they are signed. That helps avoid smudging during transit back to our office. Basketballs come in a cardboard packaging that allows it to be stood up instead of bouncing all over the place. The balls are flipped to the approriate panel and are signed right in the box. Afterwards they can be bagged while still in the cardboard. Bird was my first signing (I was kind of just thrown in there) so I was very nervous about the whole process. Instead of setting up the balls in the boxes neatly I took all of them (was over 200) and laid them out loose on the floor. They were bouncing everywhere and Larry laughed as hard as I have ever seen. It took me about 8 hours to pack that one up. Suffice to say I have learned a lot and am constantly still learning. Anyway, this signing was a lot different. I set up the balls (the right way) this morning and Bird showed up at 4:30 (like he always does) Bird is a pretty quiet but we did talk a little bit as we have a mutual friend in Jerry Koosman. Larry signed a strong variety of product including basketballs, that classic spotlight photos and even added his name to a few incredible Magic Johnson signed 16x20s. Once Bird finished it took me about two hours to pack everything up (six hours less than my first signing with Larry). Overall it was a stress-free lay up of a signing. I am on the first flight out to New York tomorrow morning so, barring any unforseen travel complications, the story ends there.
We have two major Yankees appearance tomorrow evening so be sure to check back for the "happy recap" (thanks Bob Murphy).

Early Tuesday morning Bob F and I hit the Jersey Turnpike for our trip down to Philly for the Donovan McNabb signing. All was going great. We were making amazing time and stopped for breakfast right before exit 11. When we got back to the van the unthinkable happened (well not really unthinkable since it happened just two days before)....it would not start. We tried for about fifteen minutes to no avail so we tried to get a boost for the gas station attendant...still would not start. A tow-truck had to come get it (Turnpike restrictions would not allow the rental company to come for it). We had to unload all the product and await a replacement van (these things really do happen to me on a daily basis...nothing on this blog is embellished!) Eventually the van came and we had to give the driver a ride back to his location. I ended up squatting in the back of the van (only a two seater) for the ten minute ride down the pike.





Finally we were ready to roll and re-hit the road. We ended not being too late and Donovan was extremely understanding. We had to set up in a hurry (ironically the whole point of leaving at the crack of dawn was to not have to scramble). The signing itself was a total success. McNabb was there to sign Syracuse product as part of our Syracuse/Steiner partnership. He signed 'Cuse helmets, 'Cuse footballs and a wide variety of incredible Syracuse photos. Not only did Donovan sign the items but he inscribed quite a few of them with a variety of things including "Go 'Cuse!" and his college years. The product really came out unbelievable. Aside from giving us those awesome inscriptions McNabb made for some great conversation. I told him a few horror stories about fellow Giants fans getting abused in his stadium. He could not believe how ruthless his supporters are (but they are). Anyway, after the signing was over we banged through the pack up in about an hour and went through the always inconvenient reload at a hotel loading dock. After that Bob F dropped me off at Philadelphia International Airport where I was slated to fly to Indianapolis (for a private signing with Larry Bird). As always I had a slight flight delay but eventually touched down in Indy at about 9:00. On the plane ride I read Tiki Barber's new book in it's entirety (I am not very good at many things but I read incredibly fast). The book is awesome. I recommend you all pick it up (or I'll trade you mine for an Endy Chavez bobblehead).
Check back later for a recap of the Larry Bird signing.

So I guess this is the first part of my 9/17-9/19 trilogy (I considered doing it out of order like Tarantino but I would probably even confuse myself). My trek actually began on the 16th (Sunday). After the Mets and Giants both lost their afternoon games (real surprise there) I got a ride over to our office where I had a van packed and ready to go. I was heading up to Bristol (Home of ESPN..that saying is plastered on every street up there) to conduct a private signing with Notre Dame and Eagles great Mike Golic. You and I are probably more familiar with Golic from his role on ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning. Anyway, I sat in the van and turned the keys and ...it wouldn't start. After ten minutes of revving it up the engine finally turned on. I went straight to a gas station to have the battery checked charged. After being reassured it was ok I hit the highway and arrived in Bristol around 6:30. Now the hotels in Bristol are not like the ones in Manhattan or any other large city. I had to bring the helmets in two boxes at a time down one level on one tiny cart. After about fifteen trips I finally was done for night. The next morning I set up for signing and awaited Golic's arrival. Mike showed up promptly at 11 and we knocked it out in no time. For the past few months I have been raving about our soon to be completed Notre Dame project. The purpose of this signing was mainly to add Golic's name to the pieces. Aside from that amazing product Mike also signed an impressive 8x10 photograph of him at ND. I really enjoyed talking to him about everything in sports. Lately I have been catching bits and pieces of his show and love his perspective on things. After Golic finished signing it took about two hours to pack up the product. Then I took those same fifteen trips out to the van to load it back up. Fortunately I was able to park it a little bit closer this time so it was semi-better. I finally arrived back at our office at around 5:00. The van was quickly unloaded and then reloaded. I was about to head back out in the van early Tuesday morning for a trip to Philadelphia to sign with Donovan McNabb.
Check back later for a recap of my Philly adventure.

I have definitely been neglecting the blog so far this week. I have received several emails asking for updates and I sincerely apologize for the lack of entrys. I am currently in Indianapolis packing up basketballs (which is always fun) and plan on getting caught up by tomorrow morning. Over the past three days I have been in three different states with three different athletes. I have been on quite a caper since Sunday evening and, as always, I have had my share of travel problems (and my problems pale in comparison to that of my beloved Mets...despite this past week's meltdown I do, in fact, still believe). Be sure to check back Thursday for a full recap of my journey.

I just got home from our appearance at the Steiner Sports Store with Mets legend Endy Chavez. First of all this was the first time I have been in the store since it was renamed and remodelled- the place looks incredible. You should all go to Roosevelt Field Mall and check it out. It is, far and away, the best memorabilia store I have ever been in (and I am not just saying that). Anyway, Endy arrived at about 6:30. He came straight from that brutal loss to Philadelphia. Before I go any further I have to ask the question- why is Chavez not up there to bunt when the Mets need to move a runner over? He is the best bunter on the team (second is Glavine). Sorry to digress from the typical blog format but I had to get that out.
Endy entered to a huge applauding crowd that had been eagerly awaiting him for several hours. He has become a true cult hero since that catch last October. This was the first time we had him solo at a public appearance and it turned out to be one of our most successful in quite some time. Chavez, as always, was extremely gracious with his fans. He stood up to take photos with everyone. Many fans came armed with the Endy bobble head that was given away last month at Shea. (I, badly, want one of these so if any of you have an extra please email me). Once the public portion concluded we began the private signing. EC signed a variety of items including game-used bases and balls, MLB baseballs and that ridiculous catch photo (both versions in 8x10 and 16x20). That photo is an absolute affordable must-have for any Mets fans (and yes I own one). Overall today was a great job by everyone at the Steiner Sports store and the fans that came out full-force for Endy (hopefully he is in the lineup tomorrow as the Mets try to salvage this series and cut the magic number down to 10, which happens to be Chavez's uniform number)
Tomorrow evening I am heading up to Bristol, Connecticut to set up for Monday's private signing with Notre Dame great Mike Golic. Check back for a recap (and check back often this week as it is about to get quite busy)

Last night I was at Shea Stadium for our appearance with Jerry Koosman. I met Jerry over at the Mets offices at 5:00 to being signing items in private. Over the past few years we have done this incredible 16x20 photo of Koosman, Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan. With Koos in town for the appearance it was a no-brainer to start up another batch of this classic shot. He signed for about an hour and half at which point we took a break before the public session. While it was sporadic there was a good crowd on hand to meet the legend. This was my first experience doing a public at Shea and I think it will grow into something pretty special. Koos is one of the best pitchers we have ever had. He won the deciding game of the 1969 World Series and will always have a place in the hearts of Mets fans (which was obvious during the ninety minute appearance). People came up with unique items such as newspapers from '69 and those cool ESPN signs from the "believe in miracles" campaign. Most customers came over with their kids. They wanted their children to shake the hand of a true Mets legend. The funny thing was that 90% of the kids were wearing #7 jerseys and Jerry kept asking them if Ed Kranepool was their favorite player (all had a puzzled look on their face). Regardless it is very cool that when these kids are older (and Shea is no more) they will be able to reflect on the September night when they met Jerry Koosman. After the public dwindled down Koos signed a few more items in private including MLB baseballs and 8x10 photos.
Later today I will over at the Steiner Store for our appearance with Endy Chavez. Hope to see you all there.

Earlier today I did a small private signing with the head of the Manning Family (deserves to be capitalized) Archie Manning. Archie is the father of quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning (both Steiner Exclusives). This was my first signing with Archie and truly enjoyed the hour I spent talking to him. I have known Eli since he first came into the league and, as you all know, had the privillage of doing several signings with his brother Peyton. It was really cool to hear a little bit about them as kids and talk serious NFL with Archie. Archie was a college football and NFL star in his own right starting for Old Miss (just like Eli) and the Saints. We, at Steiner Sports, are very proud to have the entire Manning family as Steiner Exclusives. Over the past few months we have developed an amazing line of Manning Family product including triple-signed helmets, footballs, mini-helmets and collage photos. Over the course of this signing we started another round of these. Aside from the multi-signed pieces Archie also autographed a few incredible Saints photos, Saints minis, jerseys and even a handfull of Ole Miss mini-helmet (dual signed with Eli!).
Later today I will be heading over to Shea Stadium for a private signing and public appearance with Mets legend Jerry Koosman. Check back later for a recap.

A few hours removed from the Tiki Barber signing I began our private signing with Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim. This was my first encounter with the legendary coach. Jim just got back from Las Vegas where he worked as an assistant coach for the USA team. It was incredible to hear the stories about Carmelo Anthony, Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James (on the same team!). He is already looking forward to next summer's Olympics and seemed pretty confident in our chance of bringing the gold back home. While I really enjoyed talking USA basketball the highlight, by far, was conversing about college hoops. As you all know I am a huge Maryland fan and it was cool hearing his perspective on our team and the ACC in general. Over the course of the hour signing session we were able to get some unbelievable product signed including photos (with the 03 Natl Champs inscription!) NCAA basketballs and a handful of game-used balls. We now have this incredible relationship with Syracuse and you will all be seeing these awesome photos in some new collages and pieces (very cool stuff). Coach Boeheim even signed some strong images of him as a player (he was amazed that we had those).
We have a ton of great signings coming up in the next few days including Archie Manning, Jerry Koosman and Endy Chavez (just to name a few). Keep checking back daily for updates as I will be holding a contest sometime in the next few days.

Earlier today I did a private signing with Giants icon (and holder of every team rushing record) Tiki Barber. Tiki is currently working for NBC on both their Sunday night football broadcasts and the Today Show. He really seems to be enjoying life after football and is about to release his much-anticipated book. Tiki is one of(if not the) most intelligent athletes I have ever worked with. It is always interesting to spend time with him and discuss football and everything else imaginable. Just as he worked his way up to become one of the top running-backs in the NFL it is only a matter of time before he is considered one of the best journalists around. As a Giants fan it was extremely unsettling to watch them take the field on Sunday without Tiki. I think being here in New York kind of desensitized us to the fact that we had one of the top rushers in the NFL. It is always someone else's guy that is breaking records and is at the top of the game. Over the past few years we actually had that guy (for once) and he was able to leave the game on top and on his terms. Anyway, we got some outstanding product signed including Giants helmets, mini-helmets and a new awesome collage photo (in both 8x10 and 16x20).
Once the Barber signing was finished we began setting up for a small private signing with legendary Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim.
Check back later for a recap.

Over the past few months we have been working on this incredible Notre Dame project. While it is not yet completed we got one step closer yesterday afternoon. Legendary Irish defensive-tackle Chris Zorich payed us a visit to add his name to our already impressive pieces. Zorich goes down as one of, if not the, toughest players to ever wear the blue and gold. His arrival in South Bend marked the beginning of a new era in South Bend. We talked a lot about this yesterday. Lou Holtz brought in a plethora of harder players than what was then the norm at Notre Dame. This changing of the guard led to a National Championship. Chris was a two-time All-American, a recipient of the Lombardi Award and was the MVP of the 1991 Orange Bowl. With that in mind he was a must-have signature for our multi-signed project. I really enjoyed doing this signing as I did not know much about Zorich and learned a ton about ND football during our brief signing session. Aside from the multi-signed pieces Zorich also autographed some incredible 8x10 photos. The whole Notre Dame thing still continues to amaze me. There is such a strong culture around it that really trancends football. It seems that every day I am educated more and more about the rich culture and tradition of the Fighting Irish. It is so much bigger than just a game there. I can't wait for us to unveil these pieces once the project is done (which should be pretty soon)
Check back later for a recap of the Tiki Barber signing.

The September 8th John Starks/Anthony Mason appearance has been postponed. We should have a rescheduled date sometime in the next few weeks. We have some serious signings coming up next week including Mookie Wilson, Tiki Barber and John Maine (just to name a few). Be sure to check back daily for updates. Have a great weekend!

Yesterday morning I headed out to New Jersey for a small private signing with the ace of the Yankees pitching staff Chien-Ming Wang. As you may remember Wang and I got pretty tight last year over the course of many signings and appearances. With this being our first signing of the year we had plenty to talk about. Since I last saw Wang he has become (no question) the ace of the Yankees staff. Even with Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte in the rotation he remains the most effective and consistent pitcher that they have. Wang is well on his way to 20 wins and should be starting game one of the ALDS (unless Detroit gets hot). Anyway we got some unbelievable product signed including jerseys, MLB baseballs and a new incredible exposure photo (in both 8x10 and 16x20). I was also able to get two three-foot bobbleheads signed with Wang's name in both English and Taiwanese. They look amazing and will be up on the auction site soon. As a side note I forgot to mention that Wang was down on my new shaved head look (told him it was a Mets thing and he wouldn't understand...he laughed)
On Saturday we have our appearance with Knicks legends John Starks and Anthony Mason at Last Licks Scarsdale. Hope to see you all there!

Yesterday afternoon Yankees star Johnny Damon came up to our office for a private signing. I have been working with Johnny since the Red Sox won it all in 2004. This was the first signing we had done in quite a while so it was fun catching up with Johnny. We are both big wrestling fans so most of the conversation revolved around Batista and the return of Triple H. Anyway, Johnny has been getting a good amount of playing time recently and has responded in a big way. Last week he had several key hits (including a pair of huge home runs)and has been an important catalyst as the Yankees push towards the post-season. We got some great items signed including MLB baseballs, ash bats and a limited number of amazing game-used pieces.
Tomorrow is our private signing with Yankees ace Chien-Ming Wang. Check back for a recap.

Here are some strong photos from the Roger Federer private signing.

A few hours after the Kiner signing I loaded up and headed to Last Licks Armonk for our appearance with Yankees stars Shelley Duncan and Andy Phillips. There was a huge line there awaiting the players. They had just completed a sweep of the Red Sox and are on a real roll right now. Phillips has always been a fan favorite but Duncan has really become sort of a cult hero to the Yankee faithful. I was amazed at how many grown men were salivating just to do an elbow bump with the player (a little weird to me but to each his own). Shelley's energy has definitely brought some life to the workman-like Yankees clubhouse. Once the public portion ended we began signing items in private. Phillips finished about a half-hour before Shelley and took off. That was great for me because now I had enough space to get everything signed. It is always difficult to get our inventory items signed at the stores when there are multiple athletes signing (due to the lack of space). Both guys signed some awesome product including photos, baseballs and a few outstanding game-used pieces. These guys should be a must-have for any Yankees collector. The items are affordable and both have great signatures. After the leaving the appearance I then headed BACK to our office to load up tennis racquets for Friday's Roger Federer signing. Check back later for a recap.

This past Thursday and Friday were a complete blur for me. There was so much going on that it took me a few days to even process it all to tell you about it. My Thursday began with a small private signing with Ralph Kiner at his home in Connecticut. Ralph and I immediately began talking about that terrible call by homeplate umpire CB Buckner the night before. As we all know the Mets game ended with an interference call against Marlon Anderson. Kiner and I even went as far as checking the rulebook for the definition of interference. It was definitely not interference as Sean Green would have been safe and the second baseman had plenty of room to touch the bag. Interference is when the expected course of the play is interrupted (which it was not). Anyway, after we vented for a few minutes Ralph knocked out the signing in about an hour. I then packed up and headed back to the office to load up for that evening's appearance with Andy Phillips and Shelley Duncan.