by Juan Martinez In 1998, SLAM Magazine ran a cover story on an Orlando Magic guard that was set make a comeback. Hampered by injuries and bad luck, he claimed to be healthy and ready to lead the Magic back to the promised land. The interview was at times poignant, but also tinged with vengeance, as if to let the doubters know that rumors of his demise were … [Read more...]
Gaming Helps San Diego Area Shops Survive
The parade of kids with Beckett price guides coming into the shops that used to be a staple of the hobby in the early 1990s has dwindled and the focus has shifted. Operating a sports card store has changed immensely in 20 years, but some have survived by accepting what their new customers are asking for. High-end packs and boxes are strong. Trading card games like Magic … [Read more...]
Jordan Signing Lots of Autos For Upper Deck
Upper Deck announced plans for its 2011 All Time Greats Basketball product on Wednesday. The checklist features only twenty different athletes, but is heavy on big names and includes one Michael Jordan autograph for every six boxes. The company is promising a "limited production run" and hasn't released pricing information but one can reasonably expect they won't be … [Read more...]
Amway Arena Auction Draws Crowd
The contents of the former home of the Orlando Magic went on the auction block over the weekend. Amway Arena is where the franchise got its start--although it was called simply Orlando Arena when Shaq, Penny Hardaway and Nick Anderson were part of the mix in the early 1990s. The auction lasted eight hours. Fans and collectors had the chance to purchase furnishings, … [Read more...]
2010 Topps Magic Football Box Break
One of the great joys of opening new product is to see what card companies do, whether it may be a completely new concept or a way of refining an old concept and adapting that concept to card collecting in 2011. The new Topps Magic football product is a product that harkens back to the original but with with some of what collectors expect in a modern day product. Magic, of … [Read more...]
Upper Deck Ultimate Hoops Set Offers Legendary Autos
Upper Deck is utilizing its autograph contracts with Basketball Hall of Famers to bulk up its latest product. 2010-11 Ultimate Collection Basketball offers autographs from some of yesteryear’s biggest stars including Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Dominique Wilkins, Julius Erving, Bill Walton and Jerry West. Starting with a 60-card regular set, Ultimate … [Read more...]
What’s That Magic Johnson Autograph Doing on My Jordan Swagerty Card?
Donruss' Elite Extra Edition product is geared toward big league baseball draft picks, but so far the buzz surrounding the product has been about the old school basketball player whose autograph has somehow shown up on the front of a young pitcher's card. Panini has confirmed that Magic Johnson autographs were inadvertently applied to the cards of St. Louis Cardinals … [Read more...]
Rhode Island Bartender Has Ultimate UD Man Cave
It's a collection 20 years in the making and now Roy Lautieri has something else to add to it. The 29-year-old bartender has been named the winner of Upper Deck's “Hunt for the Ultimate Man Cave” contest. With one room in his house completely decked out in signed memorabilia, Lautieri’s video entry was compelling enough to sway the judges despite the more than 50 entries … [Read more...]
Howard a Dream for Fans, Collectors
Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard may be a superstar, but he's almost always in tune with fans and autograph seekers. … [Read more...]
Remembering the 1979 NCAA Championship
ESPN was barely a blip on the sports radar screen. Home computers were still more than a decade away. No blogs. No YouTube. No college hoops on TV every night. Whatever hype surrounded the 1979 NCAA Championship game was largely because the country had read about Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in their daily newspapers or issues of The Sporting News, Sports Illustrated or … [Read more...]