Dream Projects

In the team collector's group I'm a part of, our Pirate collector, Mark, who writes the great blog, Battlin' Bucs (check it out right here http://battlinbucs.blogspot.com/), asked a great question. Is there a project that you have always wanted to start, but never have for whatever reason? As soon as he asked, I knew of a few right off the bat.

1- Start A Collection Of Mascot Bobbleheads

I love mascots. I have been a fan of them for as long as I can remember and whenever one is close by, I try to get a picture with them. When the Yankees hosted the All Star Game in 2008, the mascots were all over the place at the Fan Fest, which was held at the Jacob Javitz Center. I was like a kid at a candy store, getting pictures with Mariner Moose, Southpaw and Slider, to name a few. I was disappointed that Mr. Met wasn't there. I did catch up with him later at Citi Field.

The Mets have a spot in the Kiddie pavilion in the outfield where you can meet Mr. Met and have your picture taken with him before the game. So, I went up and he was very nice to me. Gave me a hug and was ready to put his arm around me for the picture. Then my friend, who loves to stir crap up, decided to yell out "he's a Yankees fan!' Mr. Met looked at me, put his hands up, covering his eyes and shook his head. I told him that despite my allegiance to the Yankees, I still was a fan of his. Apparently, what I said did not appease him.

Despite Mr. Mets opinion of yours truly, I still have a couple of his bobbleheads in my collection as well as one of Mariner Moose. I would love to get a couple others. The Phillie Phanatic. Orbit, and, even though he no longer is a working mascot, The San Diego Chicken come to mind immediately. I was going to collect those Funko POP Vinyl mascots that came out last year, but I couldn't find any. The one I did find, Mr. Met, was at Citi Field and was pretty expensive.

2- Start A Bobblehead Collection Of Baseball Hall Of Fame Players

I live in New York City. I have never been to the Baseball Hall Of Fame. I know, I hang my head in shame over that fact. I plan to go one day soon and I'm hoping it's this year. Regardless, I have always wanted to start a collection of bobbleheads of players who have been inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame. This would give me an excuse to collect bobbleheads of some of the greatest players who ever played the game. Players like Willie Mays, Mike Schmidt, Johnny Bench, Roberto Clemente, Sandy Koufax and Tony Gwynn would all be able to be bought by me and added to a Hall Of Fame shelf or display case.

I do realize that I will have to add players from the Boston Red Sox. Player like Cy Young, Jimmy Foxx, Ted Willams, Yaz and Pedro Martinez would all have to be added to my Hall Of Fame collection. To be honest, I don't have a problem with adding Red Sox players because I plan to have a non biased Hall Of Fame collection. I will admit that I will have a problem with adding Pedro though. I really don't like him, lol.

My only prerequisite would be the bobblehead would have to match the cap the player went into the Hall with. So, even though I would love to have a Yankee Dave Winfield bobblehead in the collection, I would have to pick up his San Diego Padres bobblehead. There are players like Greg Maddux and Catfish Hunter I could take liberties with since they went in with plain caps. I will probably add the managers as well. The announcers may have to wait, depending on room.

3- Customize McFarlane Sports Picks And Bobbleheads

I have long admired those who had the skills to take a figure or figures, rearrange parts, paint them up and create a fantastic figure for their collections. I've seen people do the same with bobbleheads. They will paint the figure into different uniforms, either print out the logo or use clay and have a totally different bobblehad.

My problem is I cannot paint to save my life. I have messed up walls. There is no way I can sit down with something a lot smaller and have something that looks like the awesome customs I've seen on forums like Spawn Boards and Jomo's Customs. I may make an attempt sometime soon. Depending on how good it comes out, it may never see the light of day.

4- Have My McFarlane Sports Picks Autographed

As an autograph collector, I am always looking for different ways to add unique autographs to my collection. A few years ago, I had the idea of paring autographs with McFarlane's Sports Picks figures I collected. I usually only collect Yankees, Jets, Knicks but I would pick up one if I got an autograph of a player who a had figure.

I was having trouble figuring out what to get signed to pair with the figure. I tried baseballs and that didn't work. I tried index cards and I couldn't figure out a nice way to display the two together. Certified cards didn't work for me either.

Then one day, I was at a card show and was looking at a few Salvino statues that I was interested in and it hit me.  I could get a "plaque" of some kind and have it attached to the front of the base of the figure and display it that way. Gosh, I thought I was a genius, strutting around the floor for the card show in a way that would make Ric Flair and Tully Blanchard proud. Then, I got on Jomo's Customs for the first time and saw that others had done it before. And actually figured out how to do it too. My ego deflated pretty darn quick.

Some customizers and collectors have the bases signed or they create special bases with a spot for signatures. For me, I like to have the autograph to be easily seen and if I have the figures on a shelf, you might not be able to see the autograph. The idea I like best is to use these:

These are the name plates (I think that's what they're called) from the old 12 inch McFarlane's. I have seen customizers print out their own stickers for these, with a spot for the player to sign. Usually, the customizer will also customize the figure, but until I have the guts to try one, I will stick with SP's that have already been made. My problems are I don't know the dimensions of the stickers and my photoshop skills aren't the best. I have made some custom cards before, but never a sticker. If I can find out the dimensions of the sticker, I will be in business.

Just that one question got this ole brain of mine thinking. I'm always looking for ways to kill time as the older I get, the more at home I am. I grew up with an arts and crafts bug building model kits, drawing pictures, among other things. I would love to figure out a way to bring that side out of me and start some pretty cool sports related projects. Then maybe I will be able to buy stuff at Michael's and not just wander the aisles, having the employees give me the "he's a shoplifter" eye.

Collecting Goals For 2015

Before I begin, I would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year. May you get you all get everything you want out of life and I hope all your additions are plentiful.

Now, because I still am having issues with my laptop, this will be another blog, sans photographs. I really need to get a new laptop.

Since 2014 was not the year of the Sexy Geek, I decided not to look back, but instead look forward. I want to look forward to what 2015 could bring to my collections. I have been keeping my eye on certain items I would add and hopefully 2015 will bring some much needed additions.

Since I do collect four teams and various players, I think I'm just going to concentrate on the one team I collect heavily, The Yankees.  Don't get me wrong, I love collecting the Jets, Knicks and Islanders, but since this is the largest part of my collection, I will be concentrating on them most in 2015.

Here's what I hope to accomplish with my Yankees collection in 2015:

1-Collect More Vintage

My Yankees team sets are filling up nicely, but there are a ton of holes, specifically in my 1950's and 1960's sets. Actually, there are no completed team sets in either decade in my collection. It's something I really want try to complete at least 2 sets sometime in 2015. That will be a difficult task, I know. Cards of Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford and Elston Howard do not come cheap. But if I want a real nice Yankees card collection, I know I have to add the nice vintage cards. I'm not ever thinking I will own a 1952 Topps Mantle, but if I can add some nice later vintage of the Mick, I'll be a happy man.

The cards aren't the only vintage items I would love to pick up. I have wanted to start a program collection for a long time. I have seen some great vintage programs that weren't too expensive that I'd love to grab. I also want to pick up a couple of vintage pennants and I have had my eye on a vintage Yankee Stadium game that I come across on eBay from time to time, but is priced out of my price range.

2-Organize, Organize, Organize 

This past year I finally got off my butt and started organizing my cards. I've moved some into binders and others into boxes. My ultimate goal is to one day have all my cards in binders, but because room is at a premium right now, So, for now, I will just have the main sets in binders (Topps, Allan & Ginter, Heritage, Upper Deck, etc) while I will have sets that 4 or less cards in toploaders, penny sleeves and in boxes.

I've also started to catalog my cards, starting with my Tino Martinez PC on Google Drive. It took a while to get the cards logged in, but now I know just what I have in that particular collection. I'm currently working on the Mark Teixiera PC. I will probably start the Yankees team sets once I have every card where it's supposed to be and I hope that happens sometime in 2015. I will probably start with the Topps team sets and work from there.


3-More Bobbleheads And Figurines  

In 2014, I wasn't able to really add to the bobblehead or figurine collection. I did get the Curtis Granderson Mets SGA bobblehead ( I will be getting it repainted to a Yankee ) and nothing else. I'm a member of a couple of bobblehead groups on Facebook and I drool over some of these collections I see. When I started collecting bobbleheads, I was strictly a McFarlane collector, but I felt the quality of the McFarlane figures were starting to lack. When my Jorge Posada figure started leaning down so far that his bat was keeping him from falling over, I stopped buying them and switched to bobbleheads. I wish I had done that years ago.

Some of the bobbleheads I really want to pick up are the Yankee Stadium SGA's from the past two seasons. I do have the Mark Teixiera and the Yogi Berra, but Yogi's throwing arm is broken and needs to be fixed. I would like to grab the Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Lou Gehrig and Hideki Matsui bobbleheads first, but those are the most expensive. I also want to get the Charlie Brown and Lucy bobblehead as well as the Hello Kitty that was given out this year and the Cubs gave out a "Called Shot" Babe Ruth bobble that needs to find it's way into my collection.

I have a few statues and figurines in my collection also. I have really wanted to start a Danbury Mint Yankee collection as well. Again, an expensive hobby, but some of those statues are pretty sweet. My favorite isn't even of a player. I love the vintage Yankee Stadium that was released a number of years back and have been wanting to add it to my Yankee Stadium collection for quite some time. I hope that happens this coming year.

4-Add More Yankee Oddball Stuff

One thing I love about collecting the Yankees is there are so many things you can pick up to add to your collection that doesn't have to be cards. I have seen people add lighters, pens, fans, keychains and other goodies to their collections. I do have a few things that may be considered oddball.

I have wanted to pick up the vintage Topps and Dell stamp collections. I used to collect the Topps sticker albums in the 80's, but these are more team oriented and that would fit in my collection perfectly. Another odd ball item I would love to add is the 75th Anniversary of Yankee Stadium record album as well as as add more pins to my Yankees pin collection.

5-Add More Autographs

One of my goals for 2014 was to get my Yankees signed baseball collection to 50 different players, but I fell short in my quest, finishing at 46. I was able to add players like Hideki Matsui, CC Sabathia, Johnny Damon, Ron Guidry and Willie Randolph to the Yankees Ball PC. This year, the goal is to get to 60 signed balls, Lowering my expectations a bit, I know. But I guess by giving myself an attainable number, I can push past it and exceed my expectations. I hope to get players like Tino Martinez, Mariano Rivera, Carlos Beltran and others to sign balls for me throughout the course of 2015.

6-Have Fun Again

2014 was a tough, tough year for me. I lost a lot, some people I care about, jobs and most of all, my smile. 2015 will be a year where I rediscover myself, regain my confidence and live life. I love collecting the Yankees. They have bought me great joy ever since I discovered them as a 5 year old. I plan to jump back into the collecting game head first and get back to what I enjoy the most out of life. Collecting cards, bobbleheads, autographs, jerseys, caps, anything that has something to do with the Yankees is what I am going to collect. I mean, if you can't have fun collecting your favorite team, then what will make you happy?

I am all about making yourself happy. Collect what you want. Buy that card if you want. Over spend for the autograph of the back up shortstop from the mid 80's who hit a buck ninety, only because he lives out of the country and you need his autograph for your collection. Do whatever you want that will make you happy because, no one is going to make you happy except yourself and family. So, Have a very Happy New Year and collect.

(Bleep) Yeah, I Want This

When McFarlane released the Joe Namath figure earlier this year, I was doing back flips...until my back gave out. When I recovered and saw the actual figure we were getting, I was happy, but disappointed at the same time. Only because it was not the pose I thought we should have gotten.

This was the figure we got. A cool figure, yes. But I felt it didn't capture that Namath "essence". This figure looks like it was modeled after an early 70's Namath, when he was always injured. Don't get me wrong. I like this figure. I have been waiting for a Namath McFarlane forever and I finally got one in my Jets collection. Just not the pose I was hoping for. I think that's why this figure is just sitting on pegs in the Toys R Us stores I go to. I think fans agree with me.

Then McFarlane announced a second Namath figure would be released later this year. I guess the last figure sold enough to warrant a second figure being released. Either that or they wanted make sure they milk that Namath license. This time, I hoped we would get the pose I think he should have gotten in his first release. My luck, we would get a Namath Los Angeles Rams figure. Thankfully, a photo was released of the figure we are getting.

Oh Yeaaaaaaah! This is the figure I felt we should have gotten before. I mean, McFarlane released the last one around the Super Bowl because it was being held here in New York/New Jersey. Why not release one of the NFL's most iconic moments in Super Bowl history? Why release a generic pose? I thought releasing this one during the Super Bowl made more sense, but what do I know? I don't work in this toy industry. I'm just a fan who buys the figures.

Still, I'm finally going to have the figure I've been waiting for. It will be displayed in my Jets cabinet...when I get one. Or I could make a Namath shelf. I have a few Namath items already. This would just look great among them. The figure is due to be released in December, so I will be looking for this in my Christmas stocking.

My Jets may not be any closer to contending to a Super Bowl, but at least with this figure, I can be reminded that the Jets have won a Super Bowl in the greatest upset in the history of the game. And the guy who did it, came from Beaver Falls, PA and had an Alabaman drawl. Players have come and go, but people still remember Broadway Joe Namath.

The Start Of My Roberto Clemente PC

As a Puerto Rican American, I am fully aware of big baseball is in our culture. In Puerto Rico, Baseball is king. The first Puerto Rican born player in the Majors was Hiram Bithorn, who pitched his first game for the Chicago Cubs on April 15th, 1942. Since then, Puerto Ricans have played and flourished in the Majors. Players like Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Ivan Rodriguez, Roberto Alomar, Carlos Beltran, Orlando Cepeda, Edgar Martinez and the catching Molina Brothers. But to me, and most Puerto Rican baseball fans, the man is and will always be Roberto Clemente.

Clemente is widely considered to be the greatest Puerto Rican born baseball player who ever lived. Clemente is the first Hispanic born player to win a World Series as a starter, win a MVP award and a World Series MVP. He was a 15 time All Star, won 12 Gold Gloves and was a 4 time batting champion. He had a rocket for an arm and had 3,000 hits during his 18 year career, all with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

With all the accomplishments Clemente has on the baseball field, it's his charity work that I respect more. Clemente was very active in various charities and when he heard that supplies that were intended for the victims of a massive earthquake in Managua, which is the capital city of Nicaragua, never made it to them, he went on a charity mission to personally make sure the supplies would make it to the people who needed it most. Unfortunately, the plane, supplies or Roberto never made it to it's destination as the Douglas-DC7 that was carrying Roberto crashed into the ocean almost immediately after take off on New Years Eve 1972. Roberto's body was never recovered. He gave his life to help others and that is why Clemente deserves all the accolades he gets to this day and I feel his number 21 should be retired around the majors, but that's another discussion for another time.

I grew up idolizing Clemente, despite never seeing him play a baseball game, he died when I was just 1 year old. I read all the books that came I could get my hands on, I watched any documentary about him I saw on TV. At times, I would root for the Pirates when I watched Mets games, just because Roberto played for them. I even traded 10 baseball cards for a 1973 Topps Roberto Clemente card, which mysteriously found it's way into a former friend's baseball card collection, denying any wrong doing of course.

When I got back into collecting cards, one of the things I wanted to collect was Roberto Clemente. Of course, as I always do, I got side tracked building my Yankees, Jets, Knicks collections as well as my various player collections. Plus, prices for Clemente cards are pretty high. But I think I can build a really nice Clemente collection without spending a great deal of money. Here is what I have so far:

I bought this Clemente McFarlane figure when it was released. Unfortunately, the packaging was crushed under a heavy box. Stupid me. But this will be opened and displayed on a Clemente shelf I am planning on building.

Now, the cards. The cards I have are from recent releases, so I don't have anything mind blowing. But, they are very nice cards nonetheless:

I see Topps used the same picture twice. I'm sure that is not the only time they pulled this stunt.

What did I tell you?

This card is my prized possession in my Clemente Collection. I pulled this card myself from a pack of 2005 Donruss Greats. You couldn't get card off me at no price. It's not worth much, monetary. But it's priceless to me.

I hope to one day be able to add the following in the upcoming months:

- A Mitchell & Ness Clemente Jersey
-Some vintage Clemente cards, if I can find them at a good price
-Some of the Clemente SGA bobble-heads and statues. I have seen some nice figurines and bobble-heads that the Pirates have given away over the years that are affordable. I would love to add them to my collection.

That is just the beginning of what I hope to be a wonderful tribute to a man who gave us his all. It's been 41 years since he left us way too soon. Not a day goes by when I hear his name being mentioned by a sports announcer, a player or someone who is just talking sports. Clemente left behind a terrific legacy, both on and off the field. One that lives to this day through the Roberto Clemente Award, through the Hispanic born players who cite Clemente as an influence and through fans like me who knows a great man when they see one.

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.

Showing Off My 5 Favorite Knicks Pieces



Yesterday was an awesome day. The Knicks opened the 2012-13 by steamrolling over the Miami Heat 104-84. Carmello Anthony..ahem, excuse me, Melo Anthony scored 30 points and grabbed 10 boards, Steve Novak Discount Double Checked 17 points off the bench, Raymond Felton scored 14 points and had 9 assists and Jason Kidd scored 12 points in his first game as a Knick. Heck, even Rasheed Wallace got into the act by taking the floor late in the game, per the fans request, and draining a three. It was a great way to open up the season by winning a game against the defending champions. Tomorrow, the Knicks will host the Sixers at the Garden with a Noon time tip off.

I have been a Knicks fan since about 1981-82. When I started watching the team, they were coached by Red Holtzman, in what would be his final season as Knicks Head Coach. They players like Michael Ray Richardson, Marvin Webster and Bill Cartwright. The next season, Hubie Brown took over and Bernard King joined the team and they made the playoffs and I was hooked. I watched Bernard King have back to back 50 point games, I watched Dave DeBusschere pound his fist as the Knicks got the first pick of the 1985 NBA Draft and used it to pick my all time favorite Knick, Patrick Ewing. I watched as players such as Charles Oakley, John Starks, Anthony Mason and later Larry Johnson, Latrell Spreewell and Alan Houston would be coached by Pat Riley and later Jeff Van Gundy would coach successful seasons in NY, making the finals twice. I watched the 4 point play against Indiana, The Dunk against Chicago and becoming the first NBA team to be the 8th seed in the playoffs and make it to the Finals. I lived through the Isiah Thomas mess, the regression of Stephon Marbury and the fire Isiah chants. I am tremendously excited about the upcoming season and hope to see the Knicks make another step toward an NBA Championship.

I have been collecting Knicks stuff since I got back into collecting sports cards. I have been able to add cards, autographs, posters, apparel and even a piece of the Garden floor. I'm going to now show off my 5 favorite pieces of my Knicks collection, which wasn't easy to narrow down.


5-Multi Signed Knicks Picture

I picked up this multi signed piece from a noted autographer. This piece is signed by Stephon Marbury, David Lee, Eddie Curry, Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph. I have matched the signatures up with certified autographs I have and I am confident that these are the real deal.

4-Walt "Clyde" Frazier McFarlane

I love collecting action figures, bobbleheads and figurines. Having a classic Knick like Walt Frazier in my McFarlane collection is pretty awesome. I picked this figure up in Philadelphia, of all places. That might explain the price tag on it.

3-Harry Gallatin Autographed photo

Again, I just love the classics. Harry "The Horse" Gallatin is a NBA Hall Of Famer who played for the Knicks from 1948 to 1957. He is a 7 time All Star who once pulled down a Knicks record 33 rebounds in a game. Mr. Gallatin signed this photo through the mail for me. I would love to get a mini basketball out to him very soon as I already have his permission to send him one.

2-Willis Reed Certified Autograph

To have an autograph of the Captain of the championship teams is a thrill. I wasn't born when the Knicks won their first NBA Championship and was only 2 years old when they won their 2nd and last one, so I haven't been able to enjoy a Knicks championship. I do own the History Of The Knicks DVD set that has Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Championship in it's entirety so I can watch Reed limp down the tunnel as much as I want as well as the Knicks beating the Lakers for the title.

1-Carmello Anthony Signed Basketball

Thanks to a friend alerting me to a free signing, I was able to meet Carmello Anthony in October of 2011 at Modells in Time Square. I was shocked that it wasn't packed and was able to have Melo sign this basketball for me. It's my favorite piece in my Knicks collection and I am so very glad to have it.

With a new Knicks season, The Nets opening up the Barclays Center and becoming the first professional sports franchise to play in Brooklyn since the Dodgers left, basketball is hot in NY. Merchandise is flying off the shelves as fans are choosing sides; black and white for Brooklyn or a new blue and orange uniform for New York. As you can see, I have chosen my side along time ago and I am looking forward to 2012-13 season.