Okay, so I dropped the ball...again. It has been an interesting two weeks and plan on getting you all up to speed over the next few days. My last post gave a bad prediction about the outcome of the NBA Finals (I have been exile since then). I was wrong about basically everything related to that series...at least I wasn't the only one. I am confident that Dr. Buss and Mitch Kupchack will do the right thing and add some much needed toughness and defense to the Lakers...we will be back stronger than ever next year (with Andrew Bynum at center!). Anyway, with all that in mind, we have added another incredibly strong name to our already impressive list of Steiner Exclusives. That name is none other than "The Truth" Paul Pierce. Personally it is always extremely difficult when my teams lose in a championship round or game as I always end up going right to the belly of the beast. This was never more difficult than in 2006 when the Mets lost to the Cardinals. While this won't be quiet as distressing a situation it will definitely be a little strange. Bottom line though is that Pierce is the real deal..big players show up in big spots and he did just that. He willed that team (can't even bring myself to use the hated C-word right now) to victory and deserves all the accolades (and the MVP award). He is definitely a must-have autograph for any NBA collector or Boston fan in general.
Check back over the next few days as I will be recapping all of the signing from the past week.

At a little after 9:00 tonight the NBA Finals finally tip off. I don't think there is a person in the country who isn't aware of who the two competing teams are as this is a big as it gets. Forget Yankees/Red Sox (which has become boring anyway) ... the best rivalry has been and will always be Celtics/Lakers. Granted I am a Lakers fan but for anyone that has turned on a television or read a magazine or newspaper this week it is definitely difficult to refute that statement. We are in for an all-time classic series. It would be virtually impossible for it not to be. Before I make any predictions this is as good a time as any to talk about some of the Lakers and Celtics collectibles we offer. Rather than go into depth on the pieces here are , in my opinion, the top three collectibles we have for both teams.
Lakers- 1)Magic Johnson Basketball
2)Kobe Bryant Home Jersey
3)Kareem Abdul Jabbar Skyhook 16x20 Photograph
4)Kareem and Magic Dual Signed Box Out 16x20
5)Kobe All Star 2007 16x20

Celtics-1)John Havlicek Basketball
2)Larry Bird Basketball
3)Paul Pierce Basketball
4)Larry Bird Driving against Jabbar 16x20
5)Anything Bill Russell!

With that all said we also have some incredibly strong dual signed Bird and Magic photos. Even if you have no interest in buying anything at this time go ahead and search Lakers and/or Celtics on this site as we have so many more unbelievable pieces than those I listed here.

Anyway, here are my thoughts on the series...and this is not solely because of my affiliation to the West Coast team: Lakers in 6! They have a better bench (Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and Luke Walton have and will continue to come up big and bring some real energy off the bench), better coaching (Jackson- 11 rings, 'nuff said), solid front court (Celtics may be a little better in this facet of the game..but not by much), experience and poise at the point with D Fish (.4 , 'nuff said) and lastly the best player on the planet (I can't see any valid argument against that statement) who in his own admission can get off any time he wants and is , by far, the best closer in the business (He's Mariano)
..Lakers in 6. Enjoy the game!

Yesterday morning we did a small private signing with Yankees pitcher Darrell Rasner. Rasner has been tearing it up this year and is arguably their most consistent pitcher. Despite a 3-2 record he boasts an impressive 2.67 ERA and is one of the main reasons why the hot and cold Yankees have remained afloat in the competitive American League East. With those kind of numbers it became obvious that we had to add Rasner to our current Yankees projects (the ones I have been working on since spring training). Darrell came up for about an hour and half. I could tell from the start that he would be extremely easy to work with. The signing flew by as he actually had more questions for me than I had for him. The guy is definitely one of the better stories in a very strange young baseball season. Aside from the special projects (which should be completed within the month...much more on these in the coming weeks..) Darrell also signed some robust items including MLB baseball and commemorative Yankee Stadium balls. We have been getting those commemorative balls signed by every Yankee over the past few months. They are the same balls being used at Yankees home games. As strong as they are individually it would make a great gift or item to pair up a bunch in one of our cases.
I know the blog had hit a stalemate for a while but the coming weeks should be as strong as any we have ever had...so keep checking back as I am going to try to keep you all up to speed daily.

As you all know from my past few entries we have been in Dodgers mode for the past few days. With them in town getting kicked around by the rejuvenated Mets we have been able to get some great signings done...none of which was more important than the small one I conducted Sunday with our old friend Joe Torre. The whole weekend must have been a whirlwind for Joe as he was back in New York for essentially the first time since signing on as Los Angeles' manager. Torre was nice enough (he really has been so accommodating to us over the years) to give us an hour Sunday morning (with such limited time I opted to not take any photos and maximize the signing) Before going into the plethora of amazing product that was signed I must say that Joe truly does seem happy, relaxed and..at the same time..excited about his young talented team. Anyway, the main focus of the morning was to finally complete our 1998 Yankees team project. I have been chipping away at it for months and ironically the final name to be added was the one to fill up the sweet spot on these impressive pieces. Overall these pieces came out amazing. We did a limited number of baseballs, bats, jerseys, batting helmet and three different images in 16x20...not to mention a small number of those classic Joe DiMaggio signs. The '98 team is one of, if not the, greatest team in the history of the game. As the years go on it will be harder and harder to get the whole group to sign so I definitely recommend picking up a piece or two (or three) from this run. Aside from the Yankees project Joe also signed some ridiculously strong game-used Dodgers items including baseballs and bases. As I said in my last entry we are slowly but surely building up an incredible collection of Dodgers items ranging from Sandy Koufax to Clayton Kershaw to Joe Torre. Los Angeles is one of the elite franchises in baseball and we are really excited to offer these robust pieces.
Check back later for some thoughts on another elite sports franchise from Los Angeles...

The day after the Kershaw signing we did yet another Dodgers signing. This time it was with rookie sensation Blake Dewitt. Dewitt is having a monster year so far...unfortunately a ton of that damage has been done against the Mets. He has been in the conversation for rookie of the year since practically Opening Day and the third baseman has already become an obvious favorite of manager Joe Torre. With all those accolades surrounding the young third baseman (not to mention the Dodgers/Steiner relationship and LA being in New York for four days) it was a no-brainer to get this incredibly talented kid up to the office to sign. Over the course of the two hour signing Blake signed MLB baseballs, bats and three very strong images in both 8x10 and 16x20...one of which is of his first MLB hit! Aside from those pieces Dewitt also autographed a good amount of game used product including baseballs from several games. He also inscribed most of these with stats from the games!..very strong. We are extremely excited about this partnership with the Dodgers. Over the coming months you will begin to see a major product line built around this special anniversary year for the storied franchise.

Ok, so this is my first posting in quite some time. The past few weeks have been pretty quiet on the signings end but we have said started to pick up some momentum over the past few days (just like a certain team out in Queens!) It all started on Thursday. A mere hours after the Dodgers touched down in New York their young phenom (and Steiner Exclusive) Clayton Kershaw came up to our office for a private signing. Kershaw had been one of, if not the, top pitching prospects in the nation and was coming off an impressive first start. I recall down in Florida a few months ago Sandy Koufax was raving about how special a pitcher Kershaw could/will be...coming from Sandy that definitely means a lot. Anyway we were able to get some incredibly strong product signed including MLB Debut inscription baseballs, Dodgers caps and a handful of awesome game used pieces (thanks to our partnership with the Dodgers). Kershaw is a can't miss pitcher...his stuff is ridiculously good. He truly is a must-have for any baseball collector (not just Dodgers faithful)