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.

My Five Favorite: Martin Brodeur Game Used Cards

Continuing with my Martin Brodeur week in honor of his career and announcing his retirement, I am showing off my five favorite game used cards in my Broduer PC. Now, bare in mind, most of the game used cards in my collection are pretty boring. One color swatches of fabric that may or may not have been used in an actual game. I prefer to think of it all as game used, just to say I have something that my favorite player wore or used in an actual game. And besides, ignorance is bliss.

Also, the collection is pretty small, like I mentioned yesterday. Brodeur has gotten to be a pretty pricey player to collect. Comes with being considered one, if not, the greatest goalies to ever play the game. When you have 20 records as a goalie in the NHL, then I'd pretty much just hand you the title of greatest goalie ever, with apologies to fans of Patrick Roy, Dominik Hasek, Terry Sawchuk and Bernie Parent.

So, here are my five favorite cards:

5-2001-02 SPx Hockey's Treasures Game Used Stick And Jersey

The reason why this card means a lot to me is because it was my very first Brodeur game used card. I bought it a while back at the Westchester Sports Card show and paid $20.00 for it. I probably overpaid for it, but all I knew was I wanted to seriously collect Brodeur and I was buying as much Brodeur stuff at the show that I could. I think I only bought a few more base cards. But I came home with this gem as well.

4-2006-07 Bee Hive Matted Materials Game Used Jersey

This was an eBay purchase. I always like my jersey cards to have more than one color in them if I can help it. That's what drew me to this card. It's predominately white, but there is a touch of red in it. Plus, the price was pretty low because the seller misspelled Brodeur's last name in the listing. It always pays to check any variations of a player's name you can think of.

3- 2008-09 Upper Deck Ice Frozen Fabrics Dual Jersey

 
Another eBay purchase. And for the same reason as the Bee Hive card. I just love game used cards that have more than one color in it. This one is split red and white 50/50. Hey, I don't have a lot of high end Brodeur cards, so I find joy in my cards regardless of price or piece of material used.

2- 2007-08 SPx Winning Combos Martin Brodeur/ Patrick Roy Dual Game Used Jersey

One of the few Brodeur game used cards I actually pulled or had pulled for me from a group break. This one may be just one color swatches, but they are jerseys from two of the greatest goalies in NHL history. Anytime you can get two of the greatest on one card, it's a win.

1- 2010-11 Artifacts Tundra Trios Martin Broduer/Zach Parise/Patrik Elias Game Used Triple Patch Card

This one is my pride and joy of my Brodeur game used collection. This one was not cheap either. I made a trade with a fellow member of tradingcardcentral.com for this beauty. The price was an Evgeni Malkin autographed card I pulled from a box of Upper Deck Ice. The guy I traded with wasn't sure if that card was enough for what he was giving up, but agreed to make the trade. I am still very happy to have this beauty in my collection. The Elias patch is the only one that's not a triple colored piece, but I really don't care. This would have been out of my price range and I cannot thank the trader enough for trading this to me.

There you have it. My five favorite pieces from my Brodeur game used card collection. Hopefully over time I can pick up more pieces to grow my collection. I'm sure now that he's retired the prices will go up. But when you are a fan of a player, you will find ways to add new pieces to your collection and I'm no exception. Trades, purchasing, it doesn't matter. Anytime I can add a new Brodeur piece, I'm taking the plunge.

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.

My Five Favorite PC Cards: David Lee

I am a huge New York Knicks fan. I have been since the 1982-83 season. I have cheered for players like Ewing, King, Oakley, Richardson, Starks, Jackson, Houston, Marbury, Amar'e, and Anthony. I have cheered this team when they were great, I cheered this team when they were bad. I have always supported my Knicks.

Tonight, The Knicks won the Atlantic Division crown and the magic number for sewing up the number 2 seed in the playoffs is down to 2. As I celebrate this achievement, I find myself looking out west and keeping an eye on the Golden State Warriors, who right now are in for the 6th seed, yet haven't locked up a playoff spot. I am hoping they do soon. My current favorite player is on that team and I would like to see him get to the playoffs as well.

As you can guess, I am talking about David Lee. I have followed his career since his first year in the NBA. This guy was, and still is, good for a double-double every night. He hustled, fought for the ball, and was one of the better rebounders in the league. I remember in a double overtime against the Bobcats, he scored the game winning basket on a tip in with 0.1 seconds left on the game clock. He got better every year, but for some strange reason, when his contract was up, the Knicks signed Amar'e Stoudmire, he of bum knees and bad back and traded Lee to the Warriors. I consider that one of the dumbest moves the Knicks made in a while. Lee has averaged 18.6 points a game with 11.30 rebounds per game this season, while Amar'e has been injured much of the season. I know a lot of people like to say the Knicks don't get Carmelo Anthony if Lee is a Knick, which I disagree with. Anthony wanted to come here and would have even if Lee was here. My only fear is Lee would have been included in that deal.

I started collecting Lee cards during his time with the Knicks. I have kind of stopped because I focused on other things, but would still pick up the occasional card here and there. Lee is very affordable, so I know I can, and will, start picking up a lot of his cards in the very near future.

Here are my 5 favorite cards in my David Lee collection.

I'm a huge fan of patch cards. I love the Knick colors and I think they look great on card. Here's a pretty nice one. I picked this up off eBay pretty cheap. In fact, almost all of the David Lee prime cards (autographs and game used) I picked up were under 10.00, with the exception of 1, which I will show later.

This one is one of the more recent cards I picked up. Gorgeous 3 color patch. Love how the orange, white and road blue look on this card. Saw it and had to have it.

Love this Topps Front Row autograph. The silver card with the Knicks logo behind Lee in the background looks great...and shiny. I like shiny cards. Lee's autograph is a simple D-Lee, which is fine because that's his nickname. Of course, you want the full name, but I have seen worse autographs.

This Upper Deck Trilogy Signs Of Stardom is one of my very favorites because it was the very first David Lee autograph I picked up. Real cheap too.

This is my favorite David Lee Card. As you all know, Exquisite is one of the more expensive cards you can buy. I have seen this card on eBay recently for about 120.00. Remember when I said there was one card I paid over 10.00 for? This was the one and I paid the astonishing price of 12.00. How I got that deal, I will never know but I am happy it's in my collection.

I want to add more Lee to the collection. I do not have a card of him in a Golden State uni. My original intent was to collect his Knicks cards, but I am willing to grab some Golden State ones as well. I would love to add an autographed Knicks jersey, signed ball, 16x20 signed photo and maybe a game used shoe, signed.  Maybe one day I can. I have been hunting for a Lee jersey or T-shirt, Knicks, that I can wear and replace my Marbury jersey. Yes, I have a Marbury jersey.

Go Knicks!

My Sports Collecting New Years Resolutions

Everyone has them. Some keep them, while others will try for a day or so then revert back to their usual ways. I have resolutions just like everyone else. Personal, and otherwise. For this blog, I will list my ten sports collecting resolutions for the upcoming year, in no particular order:

-Organize

This seems to be a resolution every year for me, but I do really need to organize my boxes upon boxes upon boxes of Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Islanders and Devils cards. I have already started with the Yankees, which take up the bulk of my collection. Organizing usually is a calming thing for me. To sit down and go through all my cards, seeing cards I forgot I have, putting them into their proper boxes is a soothing thing for me, but when my back starts hurting, the repetiton and finally the reality that for as much work as I put in to the organizing, I barely make a dent in the organizing. This year though, I vow to see it through so I can finally see what I have, scan and catelouge the cards. I really want to know just how many cards I have already.

-Complete Team Sets

I believe I have completed Yankee team sets going back to the early 70's. I would love to do the same for the Jets, Knicks and Islanders.

-More Vintage

For all the Yankee cards I have in my collection; my pre-1973 Yankee collection is not very good. This is an area I would love to spend some time working on this upcoming year. I have some cards from then 1950's and a few more from the 1960's, but I would love to get as close to completing some team sets as possible. I know I might never own a Mickey Mantle card as he is very expensive, but if I can get close to completing some team sets, I might be able to justify my spending a little extra on some Mantles to finish off the sets.

I have already started picking up some vintage NY Jets cards from the 1960's, including picking up my first Joe Namath card from a 1971 Topps game. I would love to pick up some more as well as grabbing some early 1960's NY Titans cards.

The vintage pick ups doesn't have to end with sports cards, oh no. There are a lot of other cool stuff I want. This past year I picked up a 1969 NY Jets program from Shea Stadium. I would love to grab some more as well as old Yankee, Knicks, Islander programs. I have also kept my eye on those old Yankee popcorn holders that turn into megaphones from the 1950's, pins, pucks, etc. There just so many vintage items that can be added for a great price.

-Jerseys

I love Jerseys. I think they look great and I love wearing them. Problem with them is they are usually just so expensive. I'm not a big fan of knock-off's which is why I have to save up and buy them directly from the stores.

There are a couple I would really love to add to my wardrobe this year:

Mike Bossy

Patrick Ewing

Joe Namath

Mickey Mantle

Martin Brodeur Throwback

I actually have the Devils Throwback jersey. It's never been worn and it has a plain back. I have been meaning to customize it to a Brodeur jersey, but I want his original #29 on the back along with the NHL Anniversery patch as well as the NJ Devils 10th anniversey patch on the lower back by the CCM logo. I would love to have the jersey look like the one he wore when he came up with the team.

I realize I have to be careful buying jerseys off the internet. There are a lot of fakes out there and as a jersey novice, I could be taken for a sucker by one of these places.

-Add More Player PC

I have a few players who I currently collect. Right now, I collect Tino Martinez, Mark Teixeira, Mike Bossy, Martin Brodeur, Patrick Ewing and Wayne Chrebet. I collect anything with their likeness from cards, to figures to magazines, even cereal boxes have made their way into my player collections. I'm always on the hunt for more.

-Autographs, Autographs, Autographs

This past year I rediscovered my love of autographs. I have been adding to my collection either in person or through the mail or buying the autographs certified. This year, I would like to continue adding to my collections. I am working on Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Islanders and Devils players. I have also been working on a signed puck collection from NHL 500 Goal Scorers and I want to continue that as well. I will also look to add Hall Of Famers and other players of importance to my collection.

There are other things I would love to pick up like game used items, but stuff like that is too expensive. Maybe one day I could add a Tino game used bat or a Martin Broduer game used stick.

Hopefully this is a list that I can stick with. Of course, not everything can and will be accomplished but if I can get as much of this list in the new year I will consider it a successful one.