Trading cards to die for

OK, so my pun was really bad, but it was the only thing I had.

I came across this disturbing story browsing the web. Apparently, two 10-year-old boys robbed a 9 year old girl in Sweden at knife point.

They wanted her Japanese cartoon trading cards, which were probably Pokemon cards or something of the sort.

I would have fought dirty and crazy if one of you boys tried to come after me for my Jeter cards.

There could have been five of you with UZIs and you would have had to cut me down to get my cards from me.

I wish I was in that park to help that girl out that day. I would have taught those boys just how cherished trading cards.

I'm thinking paper cuts ... on their mouth.

Get your favorite ... torturers?

Just when you thought you have seen it all, apparently the best way to get a point across is with trading cards.

The Center for Constitutional Rights created trading cards for the Torture Team highlighted by George W. Bush. The site is worth going to just for the sound alone.

There are different categories of torturers from The Executives (those in the White House) to Spies and Free Agents. The CCR created a flash site and clearly spent a lot of time on it. You can order the set of twenty cards (for free, apparently), examine evidence and, even, create your own cards.

The idea of the trading cards is to get all those involved out of the open and not just the principal members.

This isn't a forum for politics. So, I won't get into the viewpoints of how I feel about the former or current administration. The post was just to highlight a new product of trading cards - torture.

Topps should maybe get on this and put these as inserts into their product next year. It's better than a Ferris Wheel, I guess.

So, yeah, I ordered my free 10-card booster pack. Shipping is free for the 10-pack of cards. They should arrive in 3-7 weeks.

Sooz's View: I still don't like it

After getting the night to digest the information reported by the New York Times, my initial reaction hasn’t changed much.

I don’t like the idea of a monopoly. Upper Deck’s products had gotten a little stale over time (what were all those Xs about), but there were still products I definitely enjoyed. One of my favorite all-time Upper Deck products is 2007 Sweet Spot.

In reality, there is nothing the collectors can do about Upper Deck not getting its MLB license, however, it still has the MLBPA license.

Last night, during my outcry about the news, one of my Upper Deck Twitter buds (@ScoobyCub) said they could still use the players on the cards, just not any team logos. So, apparently there will be Derek Jeter cards just nothing that says New York Yankees or have the NY logo on it.

I am thinking portrait shots. Perhaps topless shots?! Guys in just uni bottoms and no tops?

Maybe this isn’t a bad thing for the female collectors out there.

All kidding aside, in a year’s time we will be able to gauge how this has affected the industry.

Topps will come out with invigorating products and drive the market because collectors want to get everything that is out there.

Or it will shut out the people keeping this business alive because they don’t like the idea of the companies pretending we don’t exist. This could have potentially big ramifications in the industry.

I am interested to hear MLB’s explanation for going with just one company.

Would you buy umpire cards?

Apparently, umpires for soccer are so popular in Australia that they are coming out with their own trading card set. It's a set of 72 cards featuring field goal and boundary judges.

According to former field umpire Bill Deller, these cards are popular:

"Now the cards are pretty well accepted and we get a lot of interest from the umpiring fraternity," Deller told The Herald Sun in Australia. "Interest is particularly from young umpires because a lot of them look up to the league blokes and they are keen to get their collections going."

And, it's the fourth release of this set. Not everyone agrees this is such a good idea because it will fuel the umpire's egos.

It begs the question: Do you want a trading card of Jeff Kellogg or Tim Tschida?

You can get pictures of them in a very animated strikeout call or going belly-to-belly in an argument. Here are some pictures one of the card companies could consider using for the umpire. After all, they don't get much notice because they are photoshopped out of MLB trading cards.