Bi-Weekly Market Report - September 20, 2006

A Fresh Look at Sports Collectibles News

From Tuff Stuff:

"REA Auctions will be liquidating the last of the voluminous Barry Halper Collection in an auction early next year. As might have been expected, sifting through the Halper Estate yielded a host of unique items, not the least of which was a group of 30 baseballs bearing a Pete Rose Ballpark Collectibles hologram and the intriguing inscription, “I’m sorry I bet on baseball,” along with an apparent “Pete Rose” signature.

Adding to the intrigue, the balls from the Halper Estate include an inscription edition number out of a total of 303 (Rose’s lifetime batting average).

“Everything tells me these are a hot potato,” Lifson said in describing the initial reaction to the “find.” The veteran auctioneer said the balls, all virtually identical and with edition numbers from around 240 to the 260s, will ultimately be sent to James Spence Authentication prior to the spring sale. All 30 of the balls in the Halper Estate are Bud Selig MLB balls. For his part, Spence said he has seen and authenticated nearly a dozen similar balls in the past."

My take:

Man, has their ever been a more greedy individual in sports than Rose? The ONLY reason he ever admitted to gambling was to sell his books. And now, as soon as he's out of the public spotlight, these balls surface with an apology...again, just to make a buck. I suppose there should be some collecting interest in these balls, but it would be nice to see people just ignore these balls and start ignoring Rose.

[read article]

From Spawn.com:

"The NBA season is right around the corner, and McFarlane Toys is proud to present the initial photography for our upcoming NBA 11 Sports Picks lineup. NBA 11 features two of the game's most popular players, the floor general for one of the league's best teams, and three stars expanding their horizons with fresh starts for new teams."

My take:

The set includes Kobe Bryant 4, Carmello Anthony 3, and the initial figures for Chauncy Billups, Joe Johnson, Wally Szczerbiak, and Ron Artest. Three thoughts when I see this series - first, Wally Szczerbiak probably doesn't deserve a figure. Second, I'm a Hawks fan so it's nice to see a JJ figure. Third, the Kobe figure is #8...and last time I checked he changed his number to #24 so it would have been nice to see the figure reflect that, although McFarlane's description mentions the 81 point game so maybe they're thinking the figure is a tribute to that game.

[read release]

From General Mills:

"Doug Flutie, football great and perennial fan-favorite, was honored today by Wheaties®, “The Breakfast of Champions®.” The new special-edition package, unveiled today at Boston College Alumni Stadium where the “Flutie Magic” began, continues Wheaties’ tradition of honoring legendary athletes and celebrates Flutie’s brilliant football career, adding yet another honor to his impressive list of personal and professional accomplishments.

Flutie first captured the nation’s imagination during a nationally televised 1984 game against the University of Miami. Down by four points with six seconds left on the game clock, Flutie completed an 80-yard Hail Mary pass caught by Gerard Phelan in the end zone, giving Boston College the win."

My take:

To be honest, I've always thought of Flutie as an over-rated midget living off his college accomplishments. When he retired this year, there was actually talk of him getting inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the basis of his great CFL career. Come on guys, if you induct Flutie than you should certainly induct Damon Allen and every other CFL great. In his mediocre NFL career he NEVER cracked the top 10 in any major passing category, and is 0-2 in his only playoff starts. Oh, and he's a pretty bad college football studio guy for ESPN...where's my boy Aaron Taylor this year? That said, I suppose that hail mary was pretty sweet...but not as sweet as Kordell Stewart's...where's his Wheaties box?

[read release]