Picking up a Michael Sam autograph

Football is working its way back into the minds of collectors.

Press Pass, SaGe, Leaf and Upper Deck have released most of their pre-draft products, collecting on the hype of Johnny Football. Right before the first 2014 releases were to come out, Missouri defensive end Michael Sam announced he was gay.

So, card companies jumped on the national media attention surrounding him to get his autographs in products.

Press Pass came out too soon, but it did allow customers to send in a UPC from a hobby box to redeem a Sam autograph. Since I bought a box, I figured, why not?

I got the Sam autograph back in about a week – talk about a quick redemption time.

Sam’s base autographs are selling for about $10 to $20 oneBay. So there are easier ways to pick up one of his cards, if you are interested. 

For the football fans: Topps releases preview pics of Five Star

In the baseball card collector's past, many people haven't been happy with what Topps has put out when it comes to high-end products.

Triple Threads can be a little gimmicky, especially with some of the wording they put on the card (example).

Some of the autograph cards from Marquee are nice, but the jumbo relics (forever known as rags) have a lot left to be desired.

However, when it comes to football, Topps has a high-end hit on its hands with Five Star. It was popular last year with fans as the autographs were on-card. Additionally, Five Star was well-designed.

Topps just released some preview pics of the next installment on its Facebook page.

Cam Newton loses, but his card owners are the big winners

Of all the impressive quarterback performances we saw this weekend, one really stood out to card collectors on eBay.

Cam Newton shredded the Arizona Cardinals in a loss, throwing for 422 yards and two touchdowns. The Carolina Panthers still lost 28-21, but people are mostly talking about Newton's performance in that game. He just made it look easy at times.

Even though he lost in his debut, the big winners are the people owning his cards right now.

Foster makes his presence known - Sorry Peyton

As football ushered in its newest season this weekend, fans couldn’t stop talking about Houston Texans’ Arian Foster.

Foster signed with the Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and started just one game last season.

Yesterday, everyone learned his name.

Foster ran for 231 yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries as he the second-year player helped the Texans defeat the Indianapolis Colts 34-24 with the second-best, opening-day performance in NFL history. The only better opening day was O.J. Simpson’s 250 in 1973.

This was just the second time the Texans had ever beat the Colts.

His football cards exploded on eBay after his performance with over 200 cards listed since the game.

Chase cards:
- 2009 Bowman Sterling
- 2009 Bowman Draft auto
- 2009 Press Pass

Panini striking when hot

Panini figured out a way to capitalize right away the on the NFL Draft. The NFL Draft has become a television event just as much as anything else. It isn't just football people waiting for picks, but fans from every team across this country has followed the draft over the last two days.

Admittedly, I don't collect football cards, but I like what Panini did here.

The company posted pictures of their news card, which are the first for the player. FIRST!

As collectors, who doesn't want the first? This is a Sam Bradford card for 2010 Prestige.

Are they the best looking cards? No, but they hold a specific purpose and Panini did that. They are grabbing hold of the NFL interest while it's there instead of waiting until the preseason begins, when fans begin to get interested again.

Panini made several of these card images available on their Facebook page, along with cards that aren't sharp looking.

Panini had a cutout in each card of the draftees and inserted a plastic helmet on each card. This way they aren't committed to any one team and can make these cards with the players way ahead of time. For a first go-around, I think this is a great job by Panini.

Hmmm, maybe they could make MLB cards ....

P.S. I like how some eBay members are already using these pics in their auctions.

I'll show you what a mistake is

I could not have asked for a better weekend to be away from home. I’m at my parent’s, but anything has to be better than being in the Philadelphia region right now.

Of course, all the talk is surrounding the fact that the Eagles have signed Michael Vick. I was one of those people who thought he deserved a second chance. I thought, he paid his time and he should be allowed to play.

I think it was easier to base my decision on this because I just assumed he would end up with a team with known criminals. That’s the persona of the NFL anyway, right?

I’m not an Eagles fan, but covering Philadelphia sports makes situations going on there close to me. I don’t cover the Eagles, but they still affect my life. Now, that Vick has been signed by Philadelphia, I can’t help but wonder if he really did deserve to come back.

Athletes have abilities that everyday people do not have. I will probably never be able to hit a 90-MPH fastball or take a hit from a middle linebacker. There are reasons these guys get paid millions of dollars for what they do (though I don’t fully understand that).

The argument that shouldn’t Vick be allowed to pursue a job in his chosen profession shouldn’t even be valid. He has abilities that others do not posses, but I feel like he gave up the opportunity to pursue his profession when he started killing dogs for sport.

You’ll hear people say he’s made a mistake.

A mistake isn’t something you do repeatedly. Mistakes, of course, happen. But they happen for two years?

You’ll hear people say he’s paid his debt to society.

Where? Serving time in jail didn’t pay me anything. In fact, my tax dollars went to paying for his imprisonment. So, right now, he owes me.

You’ll hear people say he deserves a second chance.

Why? Because he got caught? He should have stopped the situation on his own rather than feel sorry about it until he was caught.

So, I’ve jumped off the “Give Vick another try band wagon.” THAT was a mistake. Once you use sound reason and judgment, the mistakes usually show themselves.