July 3rd, 2017 (June 2017 newsletter)

Hi there, sports fans! July is upon us (which is why I call this the "June Newsletter"), which means that 2017 is now half over. It also means the days are getting shorter which they will continue to do until that strange day in November when for some reason the day will be one hour longer. (Remind me to rant on "Daylight Savings Time" sometime.)

As I write this, tomorrow is July 4th, Independence Day in this country, when we celebrate our Forefathers' (no Foremothers need apply) signing of the Declaration of Independence, although, of course, they actually signed it two days before that. But close enough. Enjoy the day with the hot dog of your choice.

July 4th is one of our biggie holidays, but let's not forget some others coming up this month. July is "Eye Injury Prevention Month", a worthwhile endeavor if ever I heard of one. Although I wonder if we shouldn't at least TRY to prevent eye injuries EVERY month. July is also (I'm not making this up) "National Dog House Repairs Month". Fix up that doghouse, guys - never know when you might be looking for a place to sleep! HAHA! If you have a "heart of glass", July is "International Blondie and Deborah Harry Month". So there's lots to celebrate in July!

But enough chitchat.

Okay, this month's trivia question. A father and his son won Rookie of the Year honors, one in the NFL and one in the NBA. Who are they? (Answer below)

I like to report on current sports news, but I also favor you with some nuggets from sports history. Here's one. In the "what have you done for me lately" category, Ferdinand was a successful thoroughbred racehorse who won the Eclipse Award in 1987 as Horse of the Year. Some years later he was sent to Japan where he was slaughtered and possibly became pet food or steaks for humans. Sic transit gloria mundi, I always say.

You may have missed this big sports story out of England: on May 29th they held the annual Cheese Rolling competition. They send a cheese wheel rolling down a very steep hillside and the contestants try to catch it. Of course, they can't, because it reportedly reaches speeds of up to seventy mph. Not even Ferdinand on his best day (pre-Japan) could have gone that fast! There's much slipping, sliding and tumbling, with the occasional broken leg or two. Here's a video of the fun from 2013:

Cheese rolling 2013
Somebody commented that the English people are pretty "stupid", but remember this: the only sports the Brits have are soccer ("futbol"), the once-a-year golf match (played on courses that resemble the surface of the moon), and cricket. So I'm sure falling down a hillside is very special to them. I mean, cricket! If you think baseball is slow, I believe some cricket games have been known to go on for years!

ln more recent sports news, I think there was a basketball tournament of some kind, but the less said about that, the better.

In other basketball news, Phil Jackson was let go as President of the New York Knicks, after having led the team from mediocrity down to whatever's below mediocrity - proof, once again, if we need it, that the Peter Principle still works.

Major League Baseball is on pace to break the all-time record for most home runs in a season - not just break it, but shatter it. The league insists the balls are not "juiced". The record was set in 1980, when the balls may not have been juiced, but the players certainly were.

The U.S. "Open" golf tournament was held in June. It was won by a fellow with the unlikely name of Brooks Koepka, or something like that. The tourney was held, I'm told, somewhere northwest of Milwaukee, which I was sure put it solidly inside the Arctic Circle. But I've since learned it's not even quite in Canada.

My sources report that the Major League Soccer league of soccer (or "futbol") has been going on for nineteen weeks. Couldn't prove it by me. But my staff reports that the league's "all-star" game is scheduled for next month. As usual they can't find enough "all-stars" in the league to fill out two teams, so they will be playing some foreign team. For all I know, they'll bring in TWO foreign teams to play their all-star game.

Here are two actually true stories from the world of sports memorabilia collecting. First, Charlie Sheen (yes, THAT Charlie Sheen) sold his collection of Babe Ruth memorabilia - including the 1927 World Series ring and the original copy of Ruth's sale from the Red Sox to the Yankees - for four million dollars. Beats trying to find acting jobs. And, two, Michael Jordan's shoes from the 1984 Olympics were sold for $190,372.80. I believe the eighty cents was the deal clincher. This price is even higher than a pair of the new "Lonzo Ball" shoes.

Answer to the trivia question: Calvin Hill and Grant Hill.

Last month's show

We were somewhat contending with a show somewhere up I-81, so some of our regulars were missing. You know who you are! I would like to say to you who missed that those of us who WERE here sold nearly $4,000,000 in collectible stuff. Or maybe I'm thinking of Charlie Sheen. Anyway, we bought, we sold, and we traded, and we had our usual a great time. Thanks to those of you who attended.

July 19, 2017 (July 2017 newsletter)

Hello again, friends! It's late July as I write this, and I know many of the families are on or about to start end-of-summer vacations. If you're anywhere near here, it will be hot. But, of course, the good news for all you youngsters out there, you'll soon be back in those nice air-conditioned classrooms. Haha!

Hope you had a great July 4th holiday. Speaking of holidays, it's my job to remind you of upcoming holidays (whether you want me to or not). In August, the 4th is "International Beer Day", which I believe is followed on the 5th by "International Where Did I Leave My Car And Whose Car Did I Drive Home Day". August 8th is "international Cat Day", a day which is celebrated at our house EVERY day. August 19th is "International Homeless Animals Day", which is the day that homeless animals all over the world find their way to Paul Dameron's house. And we must not forget "National Toilet Paper Day", which (I'm not kidding) is celebrated on the 26th. Spare a moment on that day to reflect on what your life would be like without toilet paper. But surely rivaling all these days is August 7, which is MY birthday. If you're wondering what to get me, a Topps 1952 Eddie Mathews card in, let's say, EX-MT or better condition, would be just fine.

But enough wasting time. Let's get on to the sports.

Okay, this month's trivia question. This is an easy one. This man won three straight Big Eight titles in the high jump and was also inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame. But he's most famous for another sport. Who was he? (Answer below)

In my sports history note for this month: On November 6, 1869, Rutgers University faced Princeton University (then known as the College of New Jersey) in the first-ever intercollegiate football game. I believe the halftime entertainment was a marching band. Nearly 150 years later, they still haven't come up with anything good for halftime.

Last month I made a comment about the lack of interesting sports in Britain, saying that they had only soccer ("futbol"), golf and cricket. Thousands of you replied to remind me that there is also a tennis tournament there each year. And, coincidentally, that tournament just ended at "Wimbledon". Wimbledon is so stuffy that they make the Masters seem like a bachelor party at a Hooters. Serena Williams was only a 5-3 favorite going in, but her odds would have been better had she actually been playing. I have no idea who did win, but you can look it up if you really want to know.

Also this month was the Major League Baseball "All-Star" game. Regular readers of this column know I'm no fan of all-star games, because I don't see the point. I mean, as an Atlanta Braves fan who roots whole-heartedly against the Washington Nationals for 162 games, am I supposed to all of a sudden cheer for Max Scherzer? Or, for goodness sakes, Bryce Harper? Don't be ridiculous! But of course there was the "Home Run Derby", a "sporting" event rivaled only (perhaps) by a golf longest-drive contest. I'm sorry, but I find it totally boring. I mean, they're not really even home runs - they don't even run the bases. I think you could train King Kong to swing a bat, and he could not only knock the ball over the fence, he could knock it into the Atlantic Ocean. What's the point?

In sports news that really matters (it's sports because it's on ESPN), the World Series Of Poker Main Event final table starts this evening. I may be a minority here - okay, I may be flying alone here - but I'd rather watch this than, let's say, a half dozen "Super Bowls". The tournament started with more than 7,200 entrants a week ago and is now down to nine finalists, who, by the way, will be playing for a more than $8,000,000 first prize.

Now some news that may affect your sportscard wheelin' and dealin'. First, Chargers' rookie Mike Williams, the seventh overall pick in this year's draft, could miss the entire season with a back injury. Next, Steeler rookie James Conner's jersey is the second best-selling jersey at Dick's Sporting Goods (Brady is first). Don't know exactly how that affects card values, but it does show popularity. Finally, Ezekiel Elliott, already awaiting a decision in a pending domestic violence case, has apparently dodged an assault charge in Dallas. Stay tuned for further developments.

Answer to the trivia question: Wilt Chamberlain.

September 4th, 2017 (August 2017 newsletter)

Hi there, card-collecting friends and anybody else who may have unfortunately blundered into this by mistake! I'm a little later with this than I'd like to be, but I've been down for some maintenance lately. I'll try to make up for it!

The big news lately has been the terrible disaster in Texas, and I'm not referring to either UT's loss to Maryland or Baylor's loss to Liberty. Of course, I'm referring to Hurricane Harvey and the mess it left. I hope if you have family or friends in those areas that they have come through safely. All sorts of celebrities have donated to relief efforts, perhaps most notably for the sports world J.J. Watt spearheading a fundraising that had collected $15M last I checked. Refreshing news, indeed, compared to the dreariness of much of the sports news, like domestic abuse and the never-ending Yankees-Red Sox games on tv.

Harvey has dominated the news, but we should not forget the horrendous wildfires in the U.S. west, not to mention the devastating floods in other parts of the world. This all makes sports seem insignificant, but it's what we do, so let's press on.

The biggest recent story is, of course, Va Tech's triumph over the West Virginia "Mountaineers". Unfortunately I don't have stats on how many couches were torched in Morgantown. Tech had great luck in that WVU qb Grier was not exactly accurate, otherwise it could have been a WVU blowout. Seemed like their receivers were running wide open deep all game. I ask every year how many more seasons do we have to hear what a GREAT defensive coach Bud Foster is.

Back by popular demand, this month's sports trivia question. This is another easy one. In sports, what is black, 1" thick, 3" diameter, and weighs 5.5-6 oz? (Answer below)

Previously I made fun of sports in Great Britain, and hundreds of my British fans called to complain - at least, I think they were complaining. I couldn't understand a word they said. Anyway I mocked "cricket", but that was before I ran across this picture:








Maybe there's more to this sport than I know about.

Of interest to two or three of you, I'm sure, the NFL season starts up this week. I'd give you my predictions for the games, but you'd do better to ask a random 3-year old you meet on the street. I see that "Brock Osweiler", if that's really his name, has been traded again. He has apparently made a bejillion dollars without ever actually playing for anybody. If you're not good enough to QB in Cleveland, well, never mind.

August gave us the MLS soccer ("Major League Soccer soccer") All-star game. The game was played before a sold-out crowd in Soldier Field. I cannot confirm the report from my sources that most of the people came to see the frisbee-catching dogs at halftime. Regulation ended in a 1-1 tie - how exciting that must have been! It took them ONLY 90 minutes to score two points! Then it was decided on "penalty kicks" when the visiting foreigners, "Real Madrid" (I believe they are the "Matadors", or in English, the "bull-stickers") won 4-2. That's right. Soccer ties are decided on penalty kicks, which is somewhat like a tied baseball game in the 10th inning having a home run derby to decide the game. Or like the PGA deciding a tied match after 72 holes by having the golfers play Putt-Putt. Or having a tied basketball game decided by a slam-dunk contest. Or ... well, I digress.

In MLB news, I see that the group that bought the Marlins want to cut salary and trade Giancarlo Stanton. One member of that group is Derek Jeter. Apparently it doesn't take long to transform from worker into boss.

Answer to the trivia question: Manute Bol . Haha! No, seriously, it's a hockey puck, of course.

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