Yesterday was great for me. I was able to catch up on all my non-Giants work and, in the process, knocked out two key signings. At around 1:30 Yankees legend Bobby Murcer came up for a small private signing. We have done quite a few signings with Murcer over the past few years and I have enjoyed them all. He is very easy to work with and there is always great conversation. I was happy to hear that Bobby, being in good health, will be doing about a hundred games for the YES Network this season. Murcer signed some seriously strong pieces including black bats with his lifetime stats, batting helmets and MLB baseballs.





After the signing with Bobby we began setting up for the next autographer- Miroslav Satan. Satan has been making it happen for the Islanders big time over the past two seasons. He is a big reason why they are in the mix right now in the Atlantic Division. Anyway, Miros popped in at about 4:30 (right after practice). He is a genuinely nice guy and really showed interest in what we do here. Over the course of the small signing Satan autographed some robust product including Islanders pucks, mini-helmets (which are extremely strong) and a handful of awesome photos.
Tomorrow I am flying out to Atlanta to spend a few days with the Home Run King Hank Aaron. Check back tomorrow for an update.

Here are a few more prolific photos from this past week.

My long strange Giants trip is finally over...for now (talk to me Sunday night around 11:30!). I just returned home from the last signing before the team flies out to Arizona for Super Bowl XLII. Today's signing was with none other than #44 Ahmad Bradshaw. This was my first time meeting Bradshaw and he did not disappoint. He is real cool and very down to earth. He is as excited as anyone on the team about the upcoming game and has played such a humongous role in them getting there. Ahmad and Brandon Jacobs have become a two-headed monster...the real deal thunder and lightening. We did the signing at Bradshaw's home in New Jersey and it took a little less than an hour to complete. Over the course of that sixty minutes Ahamd autographed some incredibly strong pieces including Giants mini-helmets, Super Bowl XLII footballs and three different images from that sick Green Bay game (in both 8x10
and 16x20).
So there you have it...your 2007 NFC Champion New York Giants. We have such an impressive variety of items signed by all the key guys so get it now while it's hot because these guys are a week away from winning it all!
Enjoy what is left of the weekend! (I am pretty proud of myself for keeping up with the blog over the course of this hectic week)

Late yesterday afternoon (after the Giants practice...it's incredible how in tune I have been all week with when practice began and ended) I conducted private signings with Giants stars Michael Strahan and Amani Toomer. While I have done a ton of signings with Michael in the past (he is one of my all time favorite people..let alone athletes or Giants) this was the first one I had done with Amani. Toomer is as nice in person as he comes across in interviews. He really was a pleasure to work with. Michael showed about forty five minutes before Toomer and was out the door a mere minutes before Amani popped in. Both guys seem a little more reserved about the upcoming game than the others. They are the only Giants who were a part of the 2000 Super Bowl team and, after spending time with them both, you get the vibe that they both feel there is some serious unfinished business to take care of. We got some amazingly strong product signed by both including Super Bowl XLII helmets, Super Bowl XLII footballs, Super Bowl XLII mini helmets and a serious variety of magnificent images from this magical run (in both 8x10 and 16x20). I am now off to so my last Giants signing of the week. Check back later for a recap and a preview of the upcoming five days.

Early this morning (when it still dark out) I headed over to our office to begin setting up for a few Giants signings. Michael Strahan and Amani Toomer are slated to sign after practice today. The reason that I had to come set up so early was that Giants legend Y.A. Tittle was appearing at Last Licks Scarsdale at 12:00. My plan (which worked perfectly) was to set up for Stra and Amani then pop over to Scarsdale for the Tittle signing. I literally walked in the door at Last Licks right a minute after Y.A. did. I had all my product dropped off there last night so I was ready to roll. We got Tittle up there a little early as he is a little older and takes a little longer the sign. Before the public even started we were able to knock out almost all of the private items. As you all know the big piece with Y.A. is the "Blood" photo. It is one of the most classic football images of all time and has always been one of our strongest sellers. Y.A. likes the Giants chances next Sunday but we did not talk too much about it. The bulk of the conversation was about lower Westchester in general. He lived down the street (in Eastchester) from the Scarsdale store while playing for the G-Men and told us all about the restaurants and life in the area back in the day...it was really cool to hear. Y.A. also told us about what it was like to play football in Yankee Stadium and sit on the bench and locker room where Ruth and Gehrig sat. Tittle claimed that most teams were so awestruck by that they would come into they game down by seven already. Anyway, there was a pretty legit crowd on hand. I am starting to notice a lot of the same faces at these Giants signings (L.T., Bavaro, Harry Carson). There is such a strong connection between these Giants players and the fans. Many of the customers have multi-signed unique "Giants Greats" pieces that I have seen being worked on for years. It is all very cool. I left the Y.A. appearance early as to come back here to finish preparing for this afternoon's festivities. That brings me to this very moment where I am awaiting the arrival of the only two Giants remaining from the 2000 Super Bowl team. Check back later for the post-game analysis.

I am extremely proud to announce that we have added yet another name to the already robust list of Steiner Exclusives...Brandon Jacobs. While we have done quite a few appearances with Brandon in the past we are beyond excited about officially having him on board here. With that said, today was our first signing with Jacobs as an exclusive. Unfortunately for me our conference room was being used for a marketing event so I had to make due with our lunchroom for the signing. As a side note- the marketing event was a Q and A session with my boy Goose Gossage. It was yet another strong job by our marketing team and a big success. Anyway, Brandon arrived shortly after practice at about 4:30. He, just like all his teammates, cannot wait until next Sunday. After spending a good amount of time with all those guys it is easy to see that they would have loved to play the very next day after the Green Bay game. Bottom line is they are flat out hungry right now. A trend I have noticed over the past few days is that the conversation inevitably turns to discussing how cold it was in Green Bay. Today was no different. Brandon said it was a cold as he has ever experienced...we even did a few photos of Jacobs with his hands on his knees where you can see his breath big and clear. Aside from that strong image we were also able to get one of Brandon from the Tampa Bay game (which is an absolutely dazzling image...trying to use another Clyde word there!) and another from the Dallas game. He also autographed Giants mini-helmets, helmets, Super Bowl mini helmets, SB helmets and Super Bowl footballs. The Super Bowl footballs finally arrived minuted before Brandon popped in...strong timing there! Jacobs is an incredibly fast signer and crushed the whole session in less than hour. These items are just the beginning of our Brandon Jacobs Collection...which is sure to become one of our best and most popular (especially when they have the SBXLII Champs inscription!)
Tomorrow is our appearance at Last Licks Scarsdale with the legendary Y.A. Tittle. Check back for a recap....plus there will be a few more Giants signings to talk about.

Last night I knocked out two more Giants signings. There are even more to come so I am not going to beat to death how special a time and team this is (we all know this by now and are living it every day as we get closer to SB XLII...it's all happening. We were able to get two of the Giant's young defensive stars up to our office for a quick customer meet and greet and a small private signing. Corey Webster and Aaron Ross popped in about 7:30 and headed straight to our conference room for the autograph session. Webster had that crucial pick against Brett Favre last week and we were able to get two images of that prolific moment (in both 8x10 and 16x20). Corey was benched earlier in the season but kept positive and has come up so huge throughout this improbable playoff run. On the other hand Aaron Ross has been so consistent all season and played a gigantic role in the G-Men's push to the post-season. This is the second signing I have done with Aaron and it is easy to see that he has become a major fan favorite. People keep about Plax, Eli, Amani Toomer and Strahan but it is worth noting that the Giants have eight (yes 8!) rookies playing for them...and that alone merits using the word special again.
After the signing Aaron and Corey hung around and chatted with a few clients. After a few words (and many congratulations and good lucks!) the two headed out and I began setting up for Friday...which would be yet another day of serious Giants signings...strong.

Early this morning (5:30 AM to be exact) I took my loaded up rental van over the George to begin setting up for today's Eli Manning signing. Eli, over the past few weeks, has solidified himself as a true franchise quarterback. He has out-dueled the best in the game and in the process has taken his team to the Super Bowl. The most telling thing about Manning (and this is no secret) is that he as team-first a guy as their is in sports. After Sunday's dramatic victory he stood at the podium and answered all the questions that got thrown at him. What I found most interesting and refreshing is that every question that really should have been answered with an "I" was answered with a "We". That is what the Giants have become...a true team in every sense of the word...and it starts with their quarterback Eli. Anyway, with all that said Eli..being part of the Steiner team as well... was kind enough to give us a few hours of his time for a signing. After unloading the van and setting up we were finally ready to roll at about 9:30. Eli popped in right on time at 10:00 and got right to work. Over the course of two hours Manning signed some incredibly potent product including mini-helmets, footballs and several new photos...a few from Sunday's amazing win. Once Eli was done it took about an hour to pack up and we headed right back over the GWB towards New Rochelle.
This is an unbelievably exciting time for Giants fans and collectors alike. Personally I have not been this pumped about a team in quite some time and, with being in this industry, am really ecstatic about being around some of the players and checking the pulse and vibe of the G-Men...it feels uncannily similar to all the other championship teams I have been around over the past few years. The best part about it is that, finally, it's our team in the big game.
There are still a ton of strong signings coming up over the next few days so keep checking back daily for updates...i'll try my best to keep up.

Late this afternoon I had the privilege of meeting and doing a small private signing with Giants superstar Plaxico Burress. Plax made himself a household name (if he wasn't already) on Sunday when he lit up the Packers for 11 catches and 154 yards. I have been on the Burress bandwagon for quite some time and it seems that it is getting pretty crowded right now. Bottom line is that the guy is the man. Accorsi knew it when he picked him up a few years ago (he actually dedicates a good number of pages of his book to that signing). Any way you look at it Plax is heading to the Super Bowl and we got some seriously strong product signed to commemorate that. Over the course of about forty-five minutes Burress signed mini-helmets, footballs and several awesome images (including two from Sunday's legendary performance!) The Plax signing was the first of a few Giants signing that I will be conducting over the next few days. The next is with franchise quarterback (yes, you can now undoubtedly use the word 'franchise") Eli Manning. Check back later for a recap.

Sunday afternoon we had a sick Islanders appearance over at the Steiner Sports Store. The Isles are really starting to roll and two of the main reasons behind that surge are stars Mike Comrie and Bill Guerin. Personally I was excited about the appearance (despite my being completely hockey illiterate) was that it was taking place a few hours before the Giants/Packers game. It definitely kept me busy rather than sitting at home freaking out over the upcoming game. The guys arrived pretty much on time to a raucous crowd. I have realized over the years that Islander fans are some of the most passionate in the country (and that they honestly truly hate the Rangers..it's not just for show). Bill and Mike were unbelievable. They took photos with every single person seemed to love interacting with the kids. Once the line was finished we started knocking out the private items. We got some incredibly robust items signed including pucks (both individual and dual signed) and a nice array of photos (both individual again.....and dual signed!) We got done with the signing at about 4:00 and I was well on my home by 5:00. That gave me plenty of(but not too much) time to get home and get ready for the Giants game.
Well by now (because I dropped the ball for a few days on writing these) we all know the outcome of the game. Big Blue is on their way to Arizona for Super Bowl XLII!!
While I am not a big hockey fan (and not an Islanders fan) I will always remember the Comrie/Guerin appearance because it took place on such a special day. I will be getting much more into the Giants over the next day or so as I have (and will continue to) be deep into some strong G-Men signing.

I know I have been slacking a little in the blog entry department over the past week. Despite starting the year strong with almost daily writings I have fallen behind once again. For what it's worth (1st ever Buffalo Springfield reference on the blog) I have been quite busy and never want to write a quick, weak entry just for the sake of it. So, with that in mind, I am now in catch-up mode.
Last Friday we had a serious day of signings up at the office. It began at about 12:45 when Mets legend Keith Hernandez popped in for a private signing. Mex is one of my all-time favorite players and announcers. While Ron Darling and Gary Cohen are strong play-by-play guys, Hernandez is a legit storyteller and really can relate the game so well to the average fan. He, in my humble opinion, is at his best during a blow out telling amazing stories from the glory days. Anyway, with this being the final season at Shea we made sure to get some prolific product signed commemorating the end of an era. Interesting story (at least to me)- My friend's grandfather did some of the original construction on Shea Stadium so every time we drive past it he refers to it as "The House My Grandfather Built"...never gets old to me. So with the end almost near Keith signed a handful of balls with the inscription "Shea Goodbye" as well as a few Shea Stadium subway signs inscribed "Last Stop 2008".





Towards the end of the Hernandez signing he was joined in our conference room by former (just declared for the NFL draft) Rutgers star running back Ray Rice. Ray is a serious legend in my neighborhood. He is a graduate of my former high school (NRHS!) and will eventually (if not already) be known as the greatest product of our city and school district of New Rochelle (it's definitely not me). This was Ray's first signing so there was a serious buzz in my office that day. To me the coolest thing was watching Keith introduce himself to Ray. I am still kicking myself for not getting a photo with both of them together. While Rice seemed a little overwhelmed at first he got in a major groove and banged it out in no time. We got some impressive product signed including Rutgers jerseys, mini-helmet, helmets as well as a major array of strong photos. The best thing about Ray (aside from the fact that he is just an awesome kid in general) is his signature..he writes out every letter and you can read it. I must have told him five times to never change his signature. Everything came out so great and we are extremely excited about our relationship with the young superstar.
So there was part one of me catching up on my blog entries. There are sure to be many more posted over the next twenty four hours so keep checking back (there will be a few surprises that you will not want to miss reading about- Go Giants!)

With somewhat of a lull today I figured it was about time I talked a little about one of the strongest components of the Steiner world- The Marketplace. SVL and his crew have been working hard on this for months and it seems to grow in leaps and bounds each day. The premise of The Marketplace is simple...you send your item into us and we sell it for you on the auction site. Steiner takes a small seller's fee (which is considerably less than what ebay takes as a fee) and you get to set the minimum you want for it. Each day we get in magnificent, one of a kind pieces for both the auction and Marketplace. I, myself, have even put a few items up on there in the past. It is a great way, as a collector, to sell some of your older items and get a little extra scratch towards purchasing some of the new prolific items we add to the site daily. The three hottest pieces up there right now (in my humble opinion of course) are a Yankee Stadium subway sign autographed by Goose Gossage and inscribed "Next Stop Cooperstown HOF 2008" it is the only one in existence with that inscription!), a Babe Ruth AL Reach baseball (Ruth balls are as rare as can be and are the #1 collectible item of all time), and a Mickey Mantle baseball (Mantle balls are not as easy to obtain as they used to be...in a decade they will be as rare as a Ruth ball). Those three pieces are just a small sampling of the strength of the Marketplace/Auctions on our site. You all should pop into the site and check it out.
I just got wind of a small signing later today so check back tonight for a recap of Wednesday's mystery autograph session.

Last night I did our first private signing of 2008 with the Yankee Captain Derek Jeter. Derek popped back into town for a day or so which gave us the opportunity to start a very exciting project that we have been planning....our 1998 Yankees team project. I will be getting much more into this in the coming weeks but I have to admit (even as a Mets fans) it is going to be strong. We have an eclectic variety of product that, when all is said and done, will have almost the entire '98 roster. I am most excited about the special bats we had made up...solid! Aside from the team pieces, I was able to get a good amount of equipment stuff done. I was so happy that we were able to have this quick signing in New York so that I wouldn't have to ship gloves, cleats and bats down to Tampa for spring training. Speaking of Spring Training- Derek seems extremely excited about getting back to work and the upcoming season. Yankees fans should be pumped up as well considering they have some of the best young pitchers in the game (and Alex Rodriguez for the next ten years). Most of yesterday's conversation was actually about football. Congratulations to the Giants on that huge win in Dallas Sunday. They are sixty minutes away from the Super Bowl and they have a legitimate shot of beating Green Bay. Eli and Strahan (really the whole team) are performing at such a high level and you can definitely see how tight this group has become as a unit. As you can probably tell I am pretty excited for Sunday's game.
We do, however, have a lot coming up before 6:30 Sunday so here is the rundown.
On Friday I will doing a private signing with one of my all time favorite Mets- Keith Hernandez. I cannot wait to get Keith's take on the off season (or really lack of) moves made in Flushing. Then on Sunday at the Steiner Sports Store, Islanders stars Bill Guerin and Mike Comrie will be appearing from 2:00-3:30...which leaves plenty of time for all us to get home for kickoff. There are sure to be a few more things popping up over the next few days so keep checking back for updates.

I just returned home from our appearance at Last Licks Thornwood with New York Knicks legend Walt Frazier. Clyde's game commentary is the only bright spot in this pathetic Knicks season. It actually has been the only positive aspect of the team in quite a few years. As always, I grilled Clyde for a few new descriptive words (which I will be unveiling gradually over the next few blog entries). This time I was actually able to somewhat return the favor by turning him on to thesaurus.com (he is always looking for cool new words to use too). Anyway, Frazier popped in at about 11:45. This gave us about fifteen minutes to knock out some items in private before the public began. While it was not the longest line I have ever seen, the fans passionate enough to come out were able to get a good amount of face time with the "schoolyard legend". He took photos with everyone and commiserated with all the depressed Knicks fans (last night's loss seemed to even sting Frazier a little) After Clyde dazzled the crowd for about an hour we began to get deep into the private pieces...and I mean deep. Going into this signing I dug hard and found a handful of new prolific photos (including an college image of Frazier at Southern Illinois). We also had a mesmerizing new photo made up (it's a sepia-tone image of Clyde outside with a schoolyard hoop in the distance) where Clyde added seven inscriptions (all Clyde-isms)...very strong!. Overall I had a blast today talking hoops with Frazier. He knows that I am a huge Lakers fan so the bulk of the conversation dealt with my team's recent success (Would anyone trade Andrew Bynum now?) as well as his team's misery. He did tell all the fans to stick with the Knicks and keep the faith. Clyde assured them all that better days are coming.
We have another huge week coming up so check back daily for updates.
Have a great rest of the weekend! Go Giants!...hopefully they can continue "winning and grinning" for another 180 minutes!

Today was a serious day of signings. It began at about 8:00 AM when I began setting up for Goose Gossage which meant maneuvering around the Sack Exchange product. After some tinkering I finally moved everything around enough to make for a comfortable atmosphere for both Gossage and the Sack guys to sign at the same time... in harmony. Goose was the first to arrive. Cooperstown's newest member popped in at about 10:45. As always the Goose had plenty to say...which was great considering the signing took about three hours. This was obviously Gossage's first signing as a Hall of Famer so every incredible piece was autographed with the HOF 2008 inscription (yes- he even wrote out 2008, rather than 08...very strong!) The highlight of the Goose signing was, by far, a phone conversation I proudly coordinated between Gossage and Mariano Rivera. Mo had known we were doing a signing with the Goose and wanted to congratulate him. It was awesome to watch the two greatest Yankees relievers talk shop for a few. Mo will undoubtedly be joining Gossage in the Hall in about seven years. As I said earlier we got some sick product signed including MLB baseballs, Hall of Fame Logo baseballs, 2008 All- Star baseballs and Yankee Stadium subway signs...all with the HOF 2008 inscription (strength at it's best)






About halfway through the Goose signing Abdul Salaam arrived. Thankfully I had arranged the signing space the correct way and there was plenty of room for the two sessions to co-exist (I'm sure you all can tell that I am proud of that feat).
Abby banged through the marathon Sack Exchange signing in about two and a half hours. Ironically the two guys with the longest names signed on the same day (Klecko and Lyons breezed through it yesterday).



The product was really starting to shape up after Salaam was finished and it was then down to one name...Mark Gastineau. Mark usually (by coincidence) is the last one to sign the Sack pieces. Today, of course, was no different. He popped in at about 3:00. If you have read my past Sack blogs entrys you will know by now that I am a huge Gastineau guy (if you haven't you should really check the archives..there is a plethora of strong stuff all over the place). I am not a Jets fan (nor do I pretend to me) but, as a person Mark is my man. The guy is as nice as can be and we have really developed a good relationship over the past two years. He is doing unbelievable and it definitely in the best place he has been in quite a long time. Anyway, the Sack Dancer knocked out the signing in a little over three hours. He has the longest name of anyone and really took his time to give us the best signatures possible...just one of the reasons why Mark is my boy. So with Gastineau done the Sack Exchange project was complete.



We got some major product signed by all four including mini-helmets, footballs, helmets and that awesome stock exchange floor photo (in both 8x10 and 16x20). Not only did we get those staple pieces done but we also had two new photos. About five months ago Marty, Joe, Abdul and Mark were invited back to the NYSE to ring the opening bell. I had found out about this and came up with idea of sending a photographer to take some new photos of them. Out of the numerous shots the guy took we agreed on two ridiculously strong images. They are a must have for any Jets collector as well as any Jets fan that works on Wall Street.
So with the Sack Exchange and Goose done we now move on to the next signing which happens to be with the Wordman..the Schoolyard Legend..the Hall of Famer Walt "Clyde" Frazier. Hope to see you all up in Thornwood Saturday (12:00- 2:00 EST)!

Earlier today I began our newest Sack Exchange project. As the years go on Jet fans seem to get even more nostalgic about their glory days on defense. I have done countless signings with the four but this one is actually a little more special than the rest. For years we have been bringing Joe, Marty, Abdul and Mark to our stores for public appearances. There is always a strong turnout and after the public part is over we do some signing in private. Having all four of them at once in a store is not that conducive for a serious signing. I have been saying for years that we need to bring the four guys in separately to our office to sign during different time slots. We were finally able to coordinate that and it all began at about 11:00 this morning when Joe Klecko arrived. It takes a minimum of an hour and half to get through all the pieces so there was plenty of time for conversation.... and as we all know too well there is so much going on in sports and politics and now somewhat of a mixture of both that no one should be at a loss for words for awhile. I immediately grilled Joe on his playoff predictions. Him and I both are rooting hard for the Colts in the AFC. His son Dan is a defensive tackle for Indianapolis. Dan also has three Super Bowl rings at the age of 26 (how sick is that?) . Anyway we like the Colts and the Giants.
Klecko completed the signing at about 12:50. Less than five minutes after he departed I saw Marty Lyons coming up the escalator. Marty has always been one of my favorite people. He does such amazing work with his foundation and really has an understanding of our industry as well. I urge you all to check out his website so you can see firsthand the incredible (I do throw around adjectives a lot on here but it truly is incredible) job the Mary Lyons Foundation has been doing for terminally ill children for the past twenty five years. Anyway, the topics of conversation with Marty were basically the same as the ones with Joe. They are the two most extroverted of the Sack Exchange so I knew I would get an earful on all the hot topics (I enjoyed every minute of it) Not only are Joe and Marty the vocal leaders of the four but they are also the fastest signers. Marty clocked in at about an hour and a half (beat Klecko by about twenty minutes) After Lyons was done I reset up the room for tomorrow's signings. Abdul Salaam will be coming in the morning to add his signature and the great Mark Gastineau will be arriving sometime in the afternoon. In tomorrow's post I will get a little more into the product mix. We obviously re-upped on some of our strongest Sack pieces as well as added some tenacious new photos to the line.
Not only are Mark and Abdul signing on Thursday but we will also be visited by Cooperstown's newest member Goose Gossage. I have worked with the Goose for quite some time and was ecstatic to hear that he finally got in (it was long overdue). Hopefully next year the writers get it right with Jim Rice.
Check back tomorrow for a recap of the day's activities.
Congratulations Goose!

Hope you all had a great holiday and are as excited about 2008 as I am. My vacation was unbelievable. Not only was I able to catch up on sleep and see family and friends (which is easier said than done when you travel like I do) but I also caught also three Govt. Mule shows (not to mention the after party show in Gramcercy that Saturday). They were off the hook with New Years clocking in at about five hours of serious sound. Anyway, with that all said, I am ready to jump right back into blogging and even have a few new ideas that I will be incorporating over the next few days.
Yesterday morning I had the privilege of conducting a private signing with Rangers legend Brian Leetch. Leetch is just a mere two weeks away from having his number retired by the Rangers. We all can recall how special it was for Richter and Mess to have their numbers raised next to Gilbert's and Giacomin's. Now Brian will be immortalized forever with the other four. So, with that in mind, this signing could not have been timed better. We stocked up on all the classic Leetch product including pucks and all the awesome old photos (the in-air being the strongest!). Aside from that we also were able to get Leetch game model sticks which haven't really been available before.
We have a ton of major signings coming up over the next few days. Tomorrow I will be beginning another round of Sack Exchange signings. It will be over two days and we also be introducing some new photos to our already strong Sack line. Then on Saturday we have our appearance at Last Licks Thornwood with Clyde Frazier. I had the privilege of hanging with Clyde at the Lakers/Knicks game right before Christmas. He gave me a few new adjectives that I am planning on unveiling in a few days. Clyde is, by far, one of the coolest athletes to talk to. I am really looking forward to the appearance. Hope to see you all there!
Check back tomorrow for a recap of Day 1 of the Sack Exchange.