My Martin Brodeur Autographs

As an autograph collector, not having any Martin Brodeur autographs in my collection would be like a baseball team not having any baseballs. It would be absolutely ridiculous. Unfortunately, I do not have as many Broduer autographs as a baseball team, but the ones I do have mean a lot to me.

I have seen some Brodeur collections that absolutely blow mine out of the water. When I started collecting Brodeur, I envisioned myself becoming a Brodeur supercollector, but unfortunately, that neer happened. Instead, I have a couple of nice cards and some pretty cool photos of the greatest goalie that ever played the game.

2007 SportsKings Martin Brodeur Autograph

This was the first Broduer graph I picked up. I grabbed it off eBay for around 30.00. It's not the greatest card. SportsKings couldn't show The Devils logo, but despite that, I am quite fond of this card because it was the very first Martin Brodeur autograph I picked up for my collection.

2007/08 SPx Hockey Martin Brodeur Winning Materials Dual Jersey Autograph #'ed to 25

This card is probably the best in my limited collection of Brodeur autographs. This was a pick up at the Westchester County Sports Card Show a few years back. If I remember correctly, I picked this up at the end of the show for a lot less than the dealer was asking earlier in the day. I mentally noted the card, where it was and made sure to swing by later to see if he would take less for it. Surprisingly, he took a lot less. The card went home with me and to this day I am thrilled to have it in my collection.

2007 Fleer Hot Prospects Martin Brodeur Hotagraphs Autograph

This card was the last Brodeur autograph I have grabbed to this point. I'm always looking to pick up Brodeur autographs, but the prices are at times too high for me. Lucky, I found this card on eBay for a lot less than I paid for the previous two cards I picked up. I would love to have been the guy to thought of the name for this subset. I would have came up with one a lot better than Hotagraphs.

That's all my Broduer certified signed cards. I do have some signed Marty photo's in my collection.

This signed 8x10 was a gift from a fellow collector who was looking to clear out some clutter he had. Now, I don't know about you, but a signed Martin Brodeur picture should never be considered clutter. The only draw back to this picture is the fact that it's signed in black sharpie and most of the signature was signed on he dark part of the Stanley Cup. The guy told me he got this picture in person and I have compared it to other Brodeur autographs and I'm pretty confident that it's a legit Brodeur graph. Despite the placement of the signature I am very happy to have this in my collection.

This 5x7 signed photograph is my pride and joy of my Brodeur autograph collection. The one I'd never ever give up. Why? Because I got this picture signed myself. Marty made an appearance at the NHL Store here in NYC and I waited in line for 2 hours to meet him. I initially wanted to have him sign a puck that I had with me, but the store said he was only signing the picture that was provided. As long as I got to meet my favorite player, I was fine with that. He was nice, smiled and shook my hand and thanked me for the complements and that was it. I do hope too meet him again one day and maybe get that puck signed.

I also have a huge photo of the  Devils 2002 Stanley Cup winning team that Marty signed. I just haven't taken a picture of it as of yet. I will try to do so tonight and show it in tomorrow's blog post.

What about my "holy grail" signed items? The ones I dream of owning one day? Well, I still want a signed puck from Brodeur. That one is the easiest to get. I would also love a signed jersey, goalie stick and maybe a helmet. Those are the "Lotto Money" purchases. I can tell you if I ever did get those items, I would cherish them just as much as I cherish the autographs I have shown you today. There are not that many players I would spend that much on, but I would for Martin Brodeur.

An Era Ends Today

It's no secret that I am an Islanders fan. My favorite player growing as a kid was Mike Bossy and I do collect his cards to this day. But ever since 1994, my all time favorite hockey player didn't play on Long Island. He played against them and beat the Isles on numerous occasions and for that alone he should have earned my wrath. But ever since I watched  a young Martin Brodeur play for the Devils I knew I was watching someone very special. So, when word broke that Marty was hanging up his pads, I felt pretty damned emotional.

I followed Marty's career ever since I first saw him play for the first time during the 1995-96 season. I may have actually seen him play during the 1991-92 season when he played four games for New Jersey when Chris Terreri and Craig Billington went down with injuries, I can't remember. I do know I first took notice of him during the 1993-94 season when as a rookie, he took the Devils to the Eastern Conference Championship and nearly led New Jersey to the Stanley Cup Finals with a fantastic performance that series, which went to 7 games. Brodeur won the Calder Trophy as Rookie Of The Year and I had a new favorite player.

Over the next few years, I got to watch Brodeur win a few Stanley Cups, a few Vezina Trophies as the top Goalie in the NHL and even a few Gold Medals for Team Canada in the Olympics. Even though I rooted for Team USA, I was happy that my guy got a Gold Medal. Every time I watched Marty, it seemed like he made an impossible save that would ultimately win the game for the Devils. I was impressed with Brodeur's hybrid style of goaltending, which has led him to the accolades and records he would achieve during his career.

One of my favorite moments of his career was a moment that I was actually in attendance for. After waiting outside the Prudential Center for hours, I was able to get tickets to see Brodeur take a shot at history. On March 17th, 2009, I was in the stands, watching the Devils beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2 with Marty becoming the NHL's All Time Leader in Regular Season wins with 552. I had never been at an event where history was made. I never went to a game where a No Hitter was pitched, I've never been at a Playoff or Championship game, but the excitement that emanated from the crowd during the game and the pure joy that was felt after the game was something that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

When I got back into collecting cards around 2003, one of the first players I knew I would be collecting would be Brodeur. So I collected as many cards of him I could get my hands on. My collection is more base and inserts than game used and autographed cards, although I do have those as well. As of this moment, my collection stands at 363 cards. That's not a lot, I know. I actually hd stopped collecting Brodeur because his stuff is pretty pricey. Getting an autograph will set you back $75-100.00. Even his inserts can go for a high price. But, I still pick up his cards whenever I see them for a good price and I will always. I would like to re-start my Brodeur collection once I get back to work.

Cards are not the only thing I collect of Brodeur. I have figures, bobbleheads, autographed pictures, a jersey, t-shirt, a puck, a mini stick, even a Wheaties box that I bought off eBay that came from Canada. I'm always looking for items to add to my Brodeur collection. I would like to have a shelf or display case dedicated to Broduer at some point, so I will continue to add to my collection whenever I can.

In the future, I would love to add a signed jersey, maybe a game used stick to my collection. That would take me either getting a six figure job or winning the lotto. I also have a Devils throwback jersey that I want to customize into a Brodeur #29 jersey, to make it look like the jersey he wore when he first came up. Getting the NHL 75th Anniversary patch is easy enough. Finding a Devils 10th Anniversary patch for the back is a lot harder. I would also love to get an autographed puck and have a Brodeur puck collection.

Over the next few days, I plan to show off pieces of my Brodeur collection as a tribute to my favorite hockey player,  It was a joy watching him mind the net for the Devils through out his career. And even at this late stage of his career, he still managed to stick it to the Islanders, this time as a member of the St. Louis Blues. All I could do was smile and shake my head. Somethings never change. I will be in attendance at the Rock when the Devils retire his jersey and raise his number to the rafters and say thank you number 30.

I Want Your Islanders!

As of late I have been working on getting my card collection in some sort of order. I went out and bought a 5 shelf book case from Target to house my 41 binders of Yankees, Jets, Islanders, Devils and Knicks collections. I also have binders for my Mike Bossy, Martin Brodeur, Mark Teixeira, Tino Martinez, Wayne Chrebet and Patrick Ewing collections. And I still need more binders for more cards and I will be starting a Joe Namath and John Tavares collections at some point.

On Sunday, I started moving my Islanders collection into a binder and I realized I didn't have as many Islander cards as I thought I did. I am missing sets I thought I had but didn't. I always try to complete the Topps sets and I barely have any Topps Islanders cards. Most of my "Topps" cards are really O-Pee-Chee cards from trades I had made in the past. Plus, I haven't really been buying any hockey cards lately, so I am missing current players as well.

So, I am looking to make some trades. I have base cards, maybe some inserts, game used and autographs to trade. It would probably be mostly base though. I am looking to trade team for team. Your team for my team. Just tell me in the comments below which team you collect and I will get back to you with what I have. If I have any game used or autos, I'll let you know. I can tell you, I don't have any Ducks because my buddy gets all my Ducks cards.

I also don't want to look for anything specific. That may take way too long for me. If you just collect a specific player, I will try my best to see what I have for you.

Hopefully, I can make some trades with you guys and we can help each other build our team sets together, so let me know what you have and let's make a few deals.

Random Thoughts

I usually keep my Random Thoughts to my pop culture blog, but today, what the heck? I can do the same here. I have a lot of sports thoughts running through my head and lord knows I do like to share my opinions.

-Why in the name of Thomas Vanek does it take the Islanders to be down 3-0 before they wake up and play hockey? And why does John Capuano still have a job when Peter Laviolette is still available? The Islanders season is done. They just lost to Colorado, so it's time to start getting rid of players. Vanek, Andrew McDonald and Josh Bailey, in my mind, are the top three candidates to get the heck out of NY. Fire Capuano either during the Olympic Break or after the season.

-So Alex Rodriguez decided to drop his lawsuit against MLB and the Players Union. Well la di freaken da as Matt Foley used to say. He knows that he there would be no way the players would let him back without a riot as long as that lawsuit was still on going. He knows that he screwed up and dropping the lawsuit was the smart thing for Rodriguez to do. Do I think he will be back in baseball in 2015? Yes, I do. Will it be as a Yankees? God, I hope not. At that point, he will be a 40 year old third baseman who will be out of baseball a year and has a bad hip. Time to cut the baggage and start over at third.

-I don't know about you, but I love seeing NHL players compete in the Olympics. I know the owners hate taking 3 weeks off because of all the lost revenue. Suck it up. This is a chance for your players to represent their respective countries. Most athletes would kill for that chance. Baseball players can't do it, that's why they compete in the World Baseball Classic. I can see hockey doing something similar if the owners insist on the players abandoning going to the Olympics. I mean, when they go, we lose out on that oh so exciting All Star Game.

-I've already participated in a case break of 2014 Topps Baseball. I cannot wait until my Yankee cards get here. I didn't get any hits, but I should have at least one team set and a few cool inserts.

-The Knicks are a mess. But they can still make a run at the playoffs. It's not because they have a good team. It's because the East is so lousy.

-Who else here is excited to see Masahiro Tanaka pitch? If he comes as advertised, the Yankees will be a contender. I have faith that CC Sabbathia will make some necessary adjustments to be competitive again and Hiroki Kuroda will be his usual solid self. If Nova can finally put together a full season, the Yankees could have the best staff in the AL East.

-I hate seeing that Geico Geko dance in front of Pat's and Geno's in that new commercial. Makes me want a cheesesteak sandwhich.

-I notice advertisements on Plexiglas behind some nets in a few NHL arenas. Isn't that obstructing the views of the fans that pay top dollar for those seats?

-I really like those Islander Stadium Series jerseys. What I like even better is that they are now the new alternates. The Islanders decided we have been punished enough and got rid of those horrendous black alts they sported for the past few years.

-Speaking of Islander jerseys, I am wondering if they are keeping the current jersey when they move to Brooklyn in 2015. If they do, they are going to have to add Brooklyn and Queens to the current logo, I would think. Or maybe the new alts will be the new home jerseys. I know that there is no geographical logo on it, but I would hate it if that happened. They changed the logo once and we all remember how that turned out.

-Say what you want about Curt Schilling and Lord knows I have called him everything under the sun, but I know how horrible a disease cancer is. My grandma passed away this past New Years Eve and seeing how much she suffered and I would hate to hear of someone else going through it. I will say a prayer for Curt Schilling.

-I was saddened to hear of the passing of Ralph Kiner the other day. Growing up a Yankees fan doesn't mean I didn't watch my share of Mets games. I've always thought Kiner was a great color man. He explained the game in a way that I was able to understand as a kid growing up. I got to meet Kiner a few years back at a card show and got him to sign a baseball card for me and was able to take a picture with him, which I still wish I had. He was extremely nice and we talked baseball for a few minutes before I went on my way.

Here's a picture of the card. Sorry it's a bit blurry.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Kiner.

Stickers? I Went Ga Ga For Them

Over on one of my new favorite blogs, Mark's Ephemera, Mark showed off a haul of 1972 Sunoco NFL Stickers. These were stickers you could only get from the gas station, Sunoco. I was way too young to be able to collect these stickers, so I was never able to get them. I have always wanted to collect the Jets set, but I haven't gotten around to it just yet.

Now, about 9 years later, Topps released a set of stickers that I and every baseball fan I knew my age not only collected, but went absolutely nuts over.

I remember when the album and the stickers first hit the stands. I was in my third year of collecting baseball cards and I loved it. In fact, I remember how much I was enjoying picking up packs of cards and gnawing on the gum that came with the packs. One day, my mom and I went to the local newspaper stand. While my mom was picking up some lottery tickets, I wandered over the comics section. I was, as I still am to this day, a fanatical Spider-Man and Batman fan, so I was looking for the new issues. I remember spinning the rack one half spin when I saw a large yellow book. There was a picture of George Brett on the cover and it read Topps Baseball Sticker Album. Intrigued, I picked up the album and bought it to my mom. Knowing my obsession with baseball, she was more than happy to pick up the album for me. That and I'm sure the 25 cents cover price had something to do with it. Plus, a pack of 4 stickers were 15 cents and that pretty much sealed the deal. I remember walking out with the album and about 2.00 worth of stickers.

One of 262 stickers in that inaugural set. 

That summer, I bought pack after pack after pack of the stickers, trying to complete the Yankees page, then the set of 262 stickers. I would buy the packs, trade the stickers and even got some as gifts, but I don't think I ever completed the set. But it started me on a love affair with sports stickers that would last the next few seasons.

Later that year, I picked up Topps released 1 more sticker album that I picked up and also attempted to complete my team first, then the set.

The football album, Jets first, of course.

The obsession continued over the next few years. I even added a new sport to collect in 1982.

The 1982 Baseball Album with Gary Carter on the cover

Football

And Hockey. See Mike Bossy on the lower right hand corner? I didn't rest until I had a Bossy sticker and I did get him. I only wish I didn't stick it on the Islanders page. It would look pretty sweet in my Bossy Binder right now.

Fleer got into the sticker album biz as well.

I did not collect the Fleer stickers as passionately as I did the Topps stickers though. I don't even know how long Fleer lasted with them.

My sister even got into the sticker album craze.

I continued to collect the stickers and the albums for the next few years, but eventually, my passion for stickers and albums waned and I stopped completely.

A couple of years ago, I saw that Topps and Panini (who made the stickers for Topps in the 80's) started to produce stickers and albums again. I looked them over and they seem nice. But they did not reignite the interest I had for them that I once had in 1981. I may start to pick up the stickers again. Heck, I may even go on eBay and pick up the old albums and sticker sets. But even if I never get back into the sticker game, I will never forget the feeling if excitement I had when I first saw that yellow album on that spinner rack.

The Dilemma

Yeah, I see you. The guy who is a huge baseball card collector. Maybe your a player collector. Maybe your a team collector or even a set collector. The point I'm trying to make is you collect sports cards, just like I do.

Here is where we differ, and believe me, I wish it wasn't so. I see you on different card forums or posting on your blog pictures of how well kept your collection is. You either have them in binders by either year or brand; in boxes with rows. You obviously know what you have and what you need. You have a want list, a trade list and maybe even a holy grail list posted somewhere so someone, anyone, can read it and offer you what you need.

You have pictures of your man cave as well. Pictures of your signed baseballs, framed jersey, bobbleheads in cases, game used equipment and other goodies adorn your room. Your cave may be painted in the colors of your favorite team or there may be a bar somewhere in there with a large HDTV and a comfy sofa to sit in to watch your teams play.

Me? I look at those pictures and just drool all over my keyboard.

Where I currently live, I do not have the room to display all my stuff. I have 2 shelves up. My Yankee bobbleheads are on one shelf (and I've just about run out of room to display anymore) and my Yankees signed baseball PC is up on the shelf above it.

That's it.

Not that I mind. It is what it is for the moment. I have no doubt in my mind that one day I too will have a sanctuary where I can display my memorabilia, watch sports and drink beer. No, no. That's not what's bothering me.

Here is what is bothering me and has been for a long time.

That my friends is boxes upon boxes of sports cards...with a Dirt Devil thrown in between a couple of boxes. Btw, there are even more boxes that are not pictured above.

I didn't mean for this problem to arise. It just happened. I get cards from my team collectors or through trades and I will put the cards in boxes for safe keeping, until I have time to go through them and put them in the monster boxes I have waiting. Once I have them in their monster boxes, I plan to put the base cards into binders and keep the secondary releases in the monster boxes.

For example, I have monster boxes for Yankees Topps, Yankees Donruss, Yankees Upper Deck, Yankees Fleer, Yankees Panini and a box for just everything else. I also have monster boxes for my Jets, Knicks, Islanders and Devils cards. Once I have everything in the proper boxes, I would then take the main Topps release and put them in 9 pocket pages and stick them in binders. I would leave sets like Allan and Ginter, Turkey Red, etc in the boxes. I'm debating to have a Topps Heritage binder also.

Sounds like a good plan, right? Well, try and go through full box after full box and see just how far you go before you go mad.

See that? That's what I have to look forward to. Hours and hours of cardboard to sort through. This is something I never should have let get out of hand.

Now, it may seem like I'm complaining,,, OK, I am complaining a bit. But to be honest, I do love to spend a Sunday afternoon shifting through the boxes and organizing them. I may have a game on or music playing in the background as I do. Maybe have a drink while I work. I try to make it as relaxing a task as I possibly can.

I know I have a lot of work ahead of me. But, it needs to get organized. I too, would like to know just what I have, what I need and what I can trade. I am pretty sure that once I get everything organized, I will see that I have a pretty awesome collection, one that I can be proud to show off. I just need to figure out a game plan to get me to where I need to be.

Hey, I'm open to suggestions. Also, any quick and easy storage options you may have would be appreciated as well. If you have a blog post where you showed off your organized collection, I want to see that too.

I may also post a blog of any interesting cards I find in any box I work on. That way, I will be motivated to not only get my cards in order, but to continue to regularly post blogs here. I know I have been slacking and I apologize for that.

So, go ahead. Continue to post those pictures of your sweet collection. Show off how well organized your cards are. Let me know how many 1959 Topps cards you have. One day soon, I too will have my cards in tip top shape and will be able to tell you just how many of those 1959 Topps cards I need for my Yankees PC. That day will come and when it does, I will just add more cards to the collection because I will know exactly where to put them.

What Would I Spend $1,600.00 On?

One thing I love to do is to search the internet and find new blogs to read. I came across a blog called Drop The Gloves. There is a bat around blog where you are asked one question: How Would You Spend $1,600 For Cards On eBay? Here is the link to the blog: http://www.fightstrap.com/blog/2013/04/19/marathon-bombers-boston-and-a-contest/

 Admittedly, I had a hard whittling down the list I came up with. I came up with so many cool cards. Cards I have always wanted to add to my PC's, but after playing around with the list a bit, I was able to come up with 3 cards I would kill to have in my collections. They cover teams and players I collect, both vintage and modern. Here are the three cards I chose

1-2010-11 Mike Bossy UD The Cup Base Patch Parallel # 1/10-Buy It Now-149.99

I have autographs and game used cards in my Bossy PC. But I do not have a patch card in my collection. The one I chose has a gorgeous three color patch from what was the home uniform. Back when I first started watching hockey many, many moons ago, the whites were the home and the colored were the road unis. I miss those days.

2-2008 UD Premier Bat Barrel Mark Texieira-Buy It Now $449.99

I know. For that price, I could probably own a whole Teixeira game used bat. But since we are just spending our theoretical $1,600.00 on cards, this would be one card I would absolutely love to own. I'm betting this was a piece of a bat used from his days as a Texas Ranger, but I do not care. I have always wanted to own a bat barrel card and the chance to own one from one of my favorite players would be too good to pass up.

3-1965 Topps Joe Namath Rookie PSA 4.5-Buy It Now $990.00 

The number one card I have to buy before any other would be a 1965 Topps Joe Namath rookie card, the card to own from the 1960's. Originally, I was looking for a raw card as I generally do not collect slabbed cards. But the ones I saw were not in great shape, not that a grade 4.5 is. But this one looks better than the others and at the Buy It Now price, I could still pick up the other 2 cards for my collection. This card would be the centerpiece of my New York Jets PC.

So, there you have it. the 3 cards I would pick up if I could spend $1,600.00 on cards on eBay. I'm sure I probably could have gotten more if I played around some more, but if we are talking quality, then I don't think I could have picked a better 3 cards to add to my collection. Maybe one day, I will be able to. But for now, I will drool over these pictures. 

My 5 Most Wanted Autographs

As an autograph collector, I think I have built up a pretty good autograph collection. I have been able to get some personal favorites added to my collection from in person appearances like Carmelo Anthony, Joe Namath, Chad Pennington, Roddy Piper and Martin Brodeur. Others I got either through the mail ( like Harry Gallatin, Charles Oakley) or certified on sports cards (Babe Ruth, Walt Frazier).

As a collector of Yankees, Knicks, Jets, Devils and Islanders, there are many players I am still looking to add to my collections. My goal is to collect as many players who have played for these teams. My only rule is the picture/card I get signed has to have the player in the uniform of the team I collect. I have had a few people ask me if I was interested in Travis Hafner or Kevin Youklis autographs in Red Sox or Indian uni's. I turn them down as they aren't in Yankee uni's. If there aren't any autos in those uni's, I might get them in college or minor league unis instead.

As most collectors, I do have a list of players I am really after. These are players I don't have in my collection on anything. They are also tough autographs to get either due to lack of appearances or price range. For this blog entry, I dwindled the list down to 5 players that I would really love to have. The 5 players are in no particular order.

1-Bill Bradley

Former Senator Bradley is not really in the public eye these days. He works for an investment firm and writes political books. He was a key piece on the 2 NBA Championship Knicks teams as well as a Rhodes Scholar. I collect autographs from those championship teams and not having a Bradley auto is a glaring hole in my collection. His certified card autos are pricey. I had a shot at getting him at an appearance at Barnes N Noble last year at a political discussion for his latest book. There was no mention regarding autographs so I didn't go and I regret that move. If there is another appearance  I will not blow it. I do have a TTM request out there, but so far it hasn't been returned. Would love to get him on a basketball or 8x10.

2-Bernie Williams

Here's the thing about Bernie, I got him TTM, or so I think. There is a huge rumor that the TTM autos are ghost signed by a member of his family. Based on that, I will assume that I do not have a Bernie autograph in my Yankees collection. He has made sporadic signings in this area, but the prices on them were too rich for my blood. His certified card autos usually finish over 100.00, so I am obviously bargain hunting when it comes to Bernie. A Bernie signed baseball would be most desirable, but I would take a certified card autograph for the Yankees PC.

3-Billy Smith

Billy Smith was the goalie on the championship teams during the 80's. Known for his temper and his wacking at opposing players who got too close to the net, Smith was also the first goalie credited with a goal. Smith is not a real expensive autograph like the first two players on my list. I just haven't been able to pick up one up. The few times I bid on cards on eBay, I always got outbid. Smith has appeared in one card show out on Long Island and I was not able to make it out there. Would love a puck, 8x10 or certified card auto.

4-Scott Stevens

The hard hitting former captain of the New Jersey Devils, who led the team to 3 Stanley Cups has been a hard autograph for me to get. Just like Smith, I always seem to get outbid on eBay for his autographs. A few years ago, he appeared at a Devils Draft Party and I was on his line, only for it to be cut off bout 10 people in front of me. He is an Assistant Coach with the Devils, but I haven't seen a success for him TTM. Would love to add his autograph to my 2002 Stanley Cup piece that I already have Brodeur on, but a signed jersey or puck would be awesome for the Sports Room.

5-Freeman McNeil

Probably the hardest player on this list to add to the collection as I don't remember seeing a certified card or Freeman appearing anywhere. A 3 time Pro Bowler and a member of the Jets Ring Of Honor, he is an autograph I really want to add to my Jets collection. I have been keeping my eyes peeled for anything. A mini helmet or 8x10 is what I would love to add .

The year is still young and I am determined to find these autographs either at signings, eBay or anywhere else. As the collection continues to grow, these autographs are pretty important to my team collections and I hope they can be added without breaking the bank.

Five From The Collection: Martin Brodeur

My hockey world was defined by two legends. As a child, Mike Bossy was my favorite hockey player. As an adult, it's been number 30 for the New Jersey Devils, Martin Brodeur. I have been watching Marty play with the Devils since his cup of coffee back in the 1991-92 season. I had started watching hockey again the year before and was looking for the next "Bossy". The next player to capture my imagination like Bossy had.

Brodeur did that for me during his rookie year of 93-94 when he finished 2nd in the NHL in Goals Against Average and 4th in Save Percentage, winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL Rookie Of The Year. He led New Jersey to the second best record and almost took them to the Stanley Cup Finals, but lost a heartbreaking (for me at least) Eastern Conference Finals to the New York Rangers (excuse me, I threw up in my mouth a little) 4 games to 3.

From there on, Broduer won 3 Stanley Cups and  4 Vezina Trophy's. He is a 10 time All Star and has won 2 Olympic Gold Medals. He has broken records and still continues to play at a high level even at the age of 40. He hasn't said if he is retiring at the end of this season or if he will play another year.

My favorite Martin Brodeur moment was watching him break Patrick Roy's all time wins record. I took the day, March 17th 2009, off from work and got to the Prudential Center (or The Rock) at 8 am for a 7 PM game. I had to wait on line for the 10 dollar seats. Lucky for me, I was able to score a pair and watch Marty beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2. To watch him cut the net was a thrill for me, one that I will never forget.

So, as you can imagine, I do have a Brodeur collection. It's not as extensive as I would like it to be. Broduer is a very expensive player to collect. Even a lot of his game used cards are usually sold over 10.00 on eBay. I am pretty proud of the stuff I do have. Here are my 5 favorites

This Brodeur McFarlane was the first Sports Pick I owned. I loved this figure when I had it and had it prominently displayed at my desk at work. Unfortunately, someone either liked the figure and stole it or hated the figure and rubbed it out. Either way, it took me a couple of years to replace it. I found it at a comic book convention, of all places. Needless to say, I will not be taking this one to work.

Love this Topps rookie card of Brodeur. Here, his number is not 30, but 29. He's got on an almost all red goalie mask, but most important to me, he's rocking the old school Devils jersey with green in it. I prefer the "Christmas Tree" jersey, which is red and green as opposed to this jersey, which was the home jersey at the time. I would love to see the Devils wear this jersey one more time before Marty retires.

Sometimes, you will see a Brodeur game used jersey for under 10.00. When I do, I usually jump on it. I did with this card, winning it for 4 bucks. Love that its a 2 color swatch, probably taken from either the arm of the jersey or the bottom. Either way, this is a cool card and I'm glad I have it.

I don't own very many Brodeur signed items. Including the card above, I have 3 cards, a 5x7 photo from an apperance at the NHL Store in Manhattan and a huge group picture of the 2002 Stanley Cup team that bears only his signature. The above card was not cheap either. I was rocking my Brodeur home jersey at a card show when a dealer called me over to is table. He took out this card and told me he had just bought it and asked if I was interested in it. I didn't have a Brodeur autograph at that point, so I was extremely intrested until he told me he wanted 100.00 for it. I said no thanks and started to walk away. He called me back and asked me what I was willing to pay. I told him 50.00, still a hefty price for me. He counter offered with 75.00 to which I told him 60.00. He said he wanted the card to go to a Brodeur fan and sold it to me at 60.00.

Probably the coolest card in my Brodeur collection. I really dig this sick triple patch card of Brodeur, Parise and Elias. I traded Malkin autograph card to get this baby. A steep price to pay, but so worth it. It's a trade that made both parties happy as the kid who got the Malkin is a die hard Penguins fan, so I felt good trading it to him for this. What a filthy card. God I love it!

I would love to one day own a game used stick of his. That is the holy grail for my Brodeur collection. I would also love a signed puck and jersey as well. Like I said, he is an expensive player to collect, but I do hope I can be abe to add these items to my collection one day.

It's sad how little attention Brodeur get in this area. He is one of the greatest players to ever play the game and should be revered like Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Mark Messier and Lawrence Taylor is, but because he played in New Jersey his whole career, he goes largely unnoticed in NYC. It's too bad. When Brodeur retires there will never be another like him. I guess the best way I can pay tribute to him is to continue collecting and watch him play until he skates off the ice for the final time.

Some Bossy Love For The Sports Room

Late last week, I picked up some Mike Bossy cards off ebay for my Bossy PC (Player Collection). I haven't been able to add any new cards to the collection for sometime. I was able to pick up 3 nice new cards. I bought 1 jersey card, 1 insert and one "vintage" card. The first card arrived today.

I picked up this for about 3.00. This is a 1985-86 NHL Collectors Series card #12. This was part of a set of 25 cards that was distributed by 7-Eleven stores across Canada. This is not like a regular card. This has a glossy finish and is made of thicker stock, almost has a plastic feel to it. It's the size of a credit card, which is what I guess they were going for.

The back of the card gave you some information about the team who's card you snagged. There was a card for each team in the NHL at the time, I believe. These cards were made by Super Star Sports. I tried to find some info about Super Star Sports, but was unable to find anything.

Anytime you can add an oddball/Food card like this one for a low price, I think you should jump at it. These premium cards can be hard to find at times. Whenever I see one for a player or team I collect and it's affordable, 9 times out of 10 it will be added to my collection.

Hope the rest of the goodies arrive soon.

Recent Additions To The Sports Room.

To be honest, as of late, my sports pick ups have kind of slowed down. Most of my disposable income has been spent on my pop culture/Spider-Man/Batman/superhero collections. But, that doesn't mean I don't keep my eye open for some sweet deals for my sports collections. The past week, I was able to add a few pieces to my collections. 2 Islander autographs and 1 sports TTM.

The 2 Islander autographs are of players I grew up watching and have wanted to add to my Islanders collection for a long time.

I'm so thrilled to finally have an autograph of the Captain of the Islanders dynasty teams I grew up watching. Denis Potvin was a 3 time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner as the NHL's top defenseman. He won 4 Stanley Cups with the Islanders and was elected into the Hockey Hall Of Fame in 1991. He also won the Calder Memorial Trophy as Rookie Of The Year for the 1973-74 season and was the 1st overall pick in the 1973 NHL Draft. When he retired, he was the NHL leader in goals and points by a defenseman, both has been since surpassed. I have fond memories of watching Denis Potvin play, but even fonder memories of watching him hoist the Stanley Cup over his head four straight years.

Pat LaFontaine was the only player to have ever spent his entire career playing for New York based teams, having played for the Islanders, The Buffalo Saberes and The New York Rangers. He was drafted 3rd overall by the Islanders in the 1983 NHL Draft. His 1.17 points per game is the best average for an American born player. Unfortunately, he suffered from concussions, which would end his career a bit too early. I remember when he scored the winning goal in the 4th overtime in Game 7 of the 1987 playoffs against the Washington Capitals which is now known as the Easter Epic as it started Saturday night and ended at 2am Easter morning. LaFontaine was a hard auto to get as he doesn't make apperances or sign TTM. He's only started signing certified cards, so I grabbed this one as soon as I could.

I got my first TTM in the mail in a few months. TTM, for those who don't know means Through The Mail. When I found out that Hall Of Fame QB Y.A. Tittle was signing ttm, I gave it a shot. I had a 5x7 printed out of this Sports Illustrated cover and sent it in along with a book plate for my Sports Illustrated Football book project and he signed both for me in a few months time. Tittle played for the Colts, 49'ers and Giants. He made 7 Pro Bowls, was a 2 Time MVP and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in 1971. Very happy to add his autograph to my collection.

I still have one more item coming to me. I hope to have it by Wednesday. Keep your eyes peeled for it.