Hank Blalock – A Ray or A Bull?

There was an interesting signing on Monday. The Rays signed former Texas Ranger third baseman Hank Blalock to a minor league deal. Usually when you hear about minor league signings, it’s for veterans trying to determine whether or not they can a) still play and b) have the desire to play another season. [...]

Continue reading about Hank Blalock – A Ray or A Bull? »

Got this one in the mail yesterday:

A lot of you probably don’t know who Stetson is.  He is an AFLAC All American high school player that should be taken in the first round.  He not only signed my custom card, but also sent a nice Bowman AFLAC card that was only given out at this [...]

Continue reading about Through The Mail Success – Stetson Allie »

During the Olympics, I was thinking about what an obscure career Jarome Iginla has had.  Here we have a player starting on Canada’s first line, along with Sydney Crosby, he has had an amazing career that is Hall of Fame worthy.  He has played his entire career in Calgary and with all the stats he [...]

Continue reading about Jarome Iginla – A Hall of Famer Who Resides In Obscurity »

There are lots of free autographs to be had my avid hounds!  As always please check the venue before standing in line for ridiculous hours, make sure the athlete will be appearing and that the times are correct.
Thanks again to Signingshotline.com for the info:
Monday 3/8/10

Ben Gordon
Basketball
3/8/2010
4:00
through
6:00
FREE!
Meijer
49900 Grand River Ave
Wixom,
Michigan
(248) 449-8500
Unknown

Dustin Byfuglien
Hockey
3/8/2010
8:00
through
10:00
FREE! Radio show. Autograph not guaranteed.
The [...]

Continue reading about Free Autograph Signings – Week of 3/8/10 »

Got this one back yesterday:
Brian Matusz

This is a copy of the Ridiculous Rookies custom card I created a few weeks back <link>.  I think this one took about 2 weeks to get back and I sent it via Orioles Spring Training.  Brian is a great prospect for the Orioles this season and I think he [...]

Continue reading about Through The Mail Success – Brian Matusz »

There are lots of free autographs to be had my avid hounds!  As always please check the venue before standing in line for ridiculous hours, make sure the athlete will be appearing and that the times are correct.
Thanks again to Signingshotline.com for the info:
Friday 3/5/10

Guy Lafleur
Hockey
3/5/2010
11:00
through
1:00
FREE! First 250 people in line
Best Buy: Galeries D’Anjou
7200 Boulevard Des [...]

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I know, I know first I pick on Luke Hochevar and now I go and pick on another Kansas City Royal potential bust.  Alex Gordon was selected 2nd overall in the 2005 draft, behind Justin Upton.  He was by far and away the best player in college.  He had just won the Golden Spikes Award [...]

Continue reading about Alex Gordon – Will He Ever Be A Star »

Yesterday former first overall pick Luke Hochevar signed his second professional deal.  He should thank the MLB player’s union because he got much more than he deserved after the stinker of a year he put up last season.  The current CBA says that if a player resigns with the current team, the player’s salary can’t [...]

Continue reading about Luke Hochevar Needs to Prove Himself and Soon! »

I got two back yesterday.  Both are hockey related and both I am pretty excited about.
Taylor Hall

I sent this one out back in December and I didn’t have high hopes about getting it back so soon.  If you don’t know who Taylor is, don’t worry you will soon enough.  Most experts consider him the number [...]

Continue reading about Through The Mail Success – Puckhead Edition »

If you haven’t watched men’s hockey in the Olympics over the past two weeks, you missed some incredible hockey.  No one meant more to his team over the past two weeks than Ryan Miller.  Ryan is the starting goalie for the Buffalo Sabres and was the US top goalie for the Olympics.  Team USA was [...]

Continue reading about Ryan Miller – American Hero »

Here we go with another week of signings.  As always, please call the venue ahead of time to ensure that the player is actually signing and that the time is correct.  Also some events are now requiring advanced wristbands, make sure you call ahead to check on that as well.  Good Luck all!
All listings are [...]

Continue reading about Free Autograph Signings – Week of 3/1/10 »

When Homer Bailey was drafted in 2004 by the Cincinnati Reds, it was expected that he would be at the top of their rotation by 2007.  Well they tried that experiment and had some mixed results over 2007 and 2008, it had less than desirable results.  In 2007 he went 4-2/5.76/1.57 then in 2008 he went 0-6/7.93/2.05. [...]

Continue reading about Homer Bailey – Act II »

There are lots of free autographs to be had my avid hounds!  As always please check the venue before standing in line for ridiculous hours, make sure the athlete will be appearing and that the times are correct.
Thanks again to Signingshotline.com for the info:
Friday 2/26/10

Andrew Giangola
Auto Racing
2/26/2010
7:00
FREE?
NASCAR Cafe: Sahara Hotel
Sahara Hotel
Las Vegas,
Nevada
Unknown

Bobby Labonte
Auto Racing
2/26/2010
7:00
through
9:00
FREE?
Stratosphere Hotel
200 [...]

Continue reading about Free Autograph Signings – Weekend of 2/26/10 »

Some of you know who I am talking about and some are scratching their heads.  Bryan Bullington was the number one pick in the 2002 MLB draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.  In typical Pirates fashion, they drafted him (rated 6th in the draft) first overall because they felt as though they wouldn’t be able to [...]

Continue reading about Possible Last Stop For Bryan Bullington »

There were two super star running backs released over the past couple of days.  First, LaDanian Tomlinson, the lightening fast, powerful back previously of the San Diego Chargers.  Second, Brian Westbrook, the dual threat back formerly of the Eagles.  Both were due rather large roster bonuses that their former teams were not willing to pony [...]

Continue reading about Anyone Want A Former Running Back Superstar? »

I sent this card out shortly after I created it.  I think it took a grand total of 7 days to get back.  I sent it out to him by way of Mariners Spring Training facilities.  Dustin is a local guy, he played high school baseball in North Carolina and college ball at UNC.  I [...]

Continue reading about Through The Mail Success – Dustin Ackely Rated Rookie Custom »

Hop on into your way back time machine, set the timer to 2000.  Johnny Damon, then a 26 year old, on the verge of a blossoming career is stuck with an awful team in the AL Central, the Kansas City Royals.  Following the season he requests a trade in his final year of his contract.  The Royals [...]

Continue reading about Johnny Damon Goes Back to the AL Central »

Here we go with another week of signings.  As always, please call the venue ahead of time to ensure that the player is actually signing and that the time is correct.  Also some events are now requiring advanced wristbands, make sure you call ahead to check on that as well.  Good Luck all!
All listings are [...]

Continue reading about Free Autograph Signings – Week of 2/22/10 »

There were two minor signings yesterday.  The Nationals signed Chien Ming Wang and the Dodgers signed Eric Gagne.  I figured to lop these two signings in one post because they are very similar.  Both are fighting to continue their careers.  Although it might be easier for Wang, who signed a major league deal worth $2 [...]

Continue reading about Wang and Gagne Given One More Shot »

There are lots of free autographs to be had my avid hounds!  As always please check the venue before standing in line for ridiculous hours, make sure the athlete will be appearing and that the times are correct.
Thanks again to Signingshotline.com for the info:
Friday 2-19-10

Aaron Brooks (H Rockets)
Basketball
2/19/2010
2:30
through
4:00
FREE!
Capital One Bank
3207 Westpark
Houston,
Texas
Unknown

Andrew Bynum
Basketball
2/19/2010
2:30
FREE!
Comerica Bank
21535 Hawthorne Blvd
Torrance,
California
Unknown

Brock [...]

Continue reading about Free Autograph Signings – Weekend of 2-19-10 »

As many of you know Pedro was selected 2nd overall in the 2008 MLB draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He was considered one of the best players in the country behind only Buster Posey.  I was surprised that the Pirates would go for him since he was obviously going for a big contract and rightfully [...]

Continue reading about Ridiculous Rookies 2010 – Pedro Alvarez »

The Oakland Raiders may not have a coach but they do have a kicker for four more years.  Sebastian Janikowski was given a record contract by the quickly loosing it Al Davis 4 years for $16 million including a guaranteed $9 million.  This once again proves that Al Davis is insane, only Al would pay [...]

Continue reading about Give Me Some Sea Bass . . . »

This news flew under the radar at least in North Carolina, Jonathan Cheechoo was waived by the Ottawa Senators this weekend.  Not only was he waived, but no team put in a claim for him and he was optioned down to Binghamton (AHL affiliate of the Senators).  Last night was his first game and he [...]

Continue reading about Jonathan Cheechoo, What Happened? »

This was another good weekend of successes.  I guess with players arriving to Spring Training early, they are hammering out those autograph requests as quick as they can.  Here are two more I got back:
JJ Hardy
This one was sent out mid season last year.  I sent it care of the Milwaukee Brewers, it had a [...]

Continue reading about A Few Recent Through The Mail Successes »

So what does a custom card guy make for his wife on Valentines Day?

Who says a custom card guy can’t be a romantic.  Happy Valentines Day Mrs. Chemgod!
Filed under: custom cards Tagged: custom card, valentines day

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After last weekend’s never ending list of free signings, we knew we were going to be in for a let down.  This week’s is sparse, but there are some good ones.  As always, please check with the venue to ensure that the player is signing and the time listed is correct.
All listings come courtesy of signingshotline.com
Monday 2/15/10

Adam [...]

Continue reading about Free Autograph Signings – Week of 2/15/10 »

After 19 years and 521 home runs one of the most consistent guys in the game is done.  The Frank “Big Hurt” Thomas will surely be missed.  Even the day he retired, he still looked like he always had.  A bare head and a big old smile.  It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost 20 years, [...]

Continue reading about Frank Thomas – I’m Done (Contest See Bottom) »

OK so the Super Bowl is over and two weeks until Spring Training, does that mean it’s the end of the world?  Of course not, there are lots of free autographs to be had my avid hounds!  As always please check the venue before standing in line for ridiculous hours, make sure the athlete will [...]

Continue reading about Free Autograph Signings – Weekend of 2/12/10 »

Check out a review by the Mojo Hand . . .

He and Beardy now share a blog.  Thanks for the write – up!
Filed under: Bad Wax Review

Continue reading about In Case You Are Wondering About My Custom Cards . . . »

Dustin was the second overall pick in the 2009 draft, only behind Stephen Strasburg.  He signed right at the deadline, 15 minutes before the deadline to be exact.  His first taste of professional ball was with the Arizona Fall League’s Peoria Javelinas.  There in just 73 at bats, he hit 0.315/1/12 and on November 2nd [...]

Continue reading about Ridiculous Rookies 2010 – Dustin Ackley »

In case you haven’t heard, Bob Gainey recently stepped down as the Canadiens GM. Stepping into his role is Pierre Gauthier. The Canadiens have an interesting situation developing. They have two young starting goaltenders on their team. With the trade deadline only a few weeks away it was thought that one [...]

Continue reading about Who is the Montreal Goaltender of the Future? »

I have recently gotten three through the mail autographs back, and I thought I would share them:
Anthony Ranaudo
I sent this c/o the LSU Tigers athletic department.  Anthony is going to be a top 5 pick in this year’s upcoming draft and has a solid chance of winning the Golden Spikes Award this year.  This past [...]

Continue reading about Recent Through The Mail Successes »

Yesterday Brian Giles was offered an invite to LA Dodgers Spring Training camp along with a minor league contract.  This comes on the heels of a terrible season where Brian was suffering from an arthritic knee.  Last year he put up a 0.191/2/23 in just 225 at bats.  Always being the stand up guy, he [...]

Continue reading about Brian Giles – This Might Be It »

Well, there may be some signings in the Mid Atlantic this week, but due to some inclement weather, they may or may not be on.  As always, please remember to call ahead to ensure that the player is indeed signing and that the times listed are correct.  Also several of the high-profile signings are requiring [...]

Continue reading about Free Autograph Signings – Week of 2/8/10 »

About a week ago I got a hobby box of 2009 – 2010 ITG Heroes and Prospects to review.  This happens to be my favorite hockey set to chase every year.  So needless to say as soon as I saw the box I just wanted to rip it open.  Too bad I had a homeowners [...]

Continue reading about Product Review – 2009 – 2010 ITG Heroes and Prospects »