Who are these guys?

Yesterday, the speeches from Canton's newest additions taught me a couple of new things...

A. There's still so much for me to learn about some of football's greatest players. I'm embarrassed to say that I had never heard of Les Richter, Chris Hanburger, or Ed Sabol.

B. Although I've known for a long time that Deion Sanders is one of the greatest shut-down corners in the history of the game and that he's also one of the most arrogant players to ever run onto the field... yesterday I learned... that he did it all for his mama.

C. I knew he was a good broadcaster and an amazing football player... but his speech yesterday showed the world that... Shannon Sharpe is one cool brother.

And it reminded me of a few things too...

A. Music doesn't have to come from The Beastie Boys, Michael Jackson, Metallica, The Police, Bob Marley, or Biggie Smalls to be cool... NFL Films has some of the coolest music out there. Thank you Mr. Sabol.

B. Although they're arch-rivals of my favorite team and it pains me to say this... Richard Dent and the 1985 Chicago Bears were truly dominating and quite possibly the greatest teams assembled in my lifetime.

C. If Marshall Faulk was on your fantasy football team from 1998 to 2001... you were probably your league's champion.

D. I'd much rather be "humble" than "conceited" any day of the week.

E. I need to hurry up and frame these photos that I recently purchased from Inside Sports, so I can hang them up in my office.

Today's Question of the day:

Who will be enshrined in Canton next year?

Here are my picks:

It's time Mr. Carter and Mr. Reed receive the credit they deserve... and Mr. Brown will round things out... making it the year of the Wide Receiver.

I very much dislike the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers... therefore, I've never been much of a Mr. Haley fan. However he won five rings with those teams... went to five Pro Bowls... two First Team All-Pro... and recorded 100.5 career sacks. In short... he was a monster.

Last... but not least... Mr. Martin may not meet the superstar requirements for Canton... but he makes up for it in durability and numbers.

Well... that's all folks... but before I leave...

Congratulations Mr. Dent, Mr. Faulk, Mr. Hanburger, Mr. Richter, Mr. Sabol, Mr. Sanders, and Mr. Sharpe on your NFL Hall of Fame enshrinement!

Everyone else... enjoy your Sunday... and sayonara!

MLB Dream Team: Managers, Catchers, & Pitchers

I just came home from a quick trip to Vegas where I hung out with my parents and got some much needed rest. Compared to the Bay Area, it was so hot and surprisingly humid. So when we weren't going out to eat and gamble, we stayed home in their nice air conditioned home.

While I was there, I watched this video from the great nblackford1412 on YouTube and was inspired to create my dream MLB roster.

The timing of this video and my trip couldn't be more perfect, because I had access to a lot of my PC cards. So for almost two hours on Wednesday, I sorted cards and scanned part of my collection. While I looked through cards I hadn't seen in months (and in some cases... years)... I started thinking about who would be on my MLB Dream Team.

I decided to focus on my personal favorite players, instead of choosing players solely on skill... so save your "Are you crazy... how could you leave Babe Ruth off of your list?" comments.

I originally was going to make this one post... but it ended up being "sort of" long, so I'm going to divide it into three parts:

Part A - Manager, Catcher, & Pitchers

Part B - Infielders

Part C - Outfielders & Designated Hitter

So without further adieu... here's Part A of my all-time dream MLB roster along with some honorable mentions I felt guilty leaving off the list:

Manager - Billy Martin

Most people associate Martin as a Yankee's manager... but I only picture him in green and yellow. He arrived in Oakland at the start of the 1980 season and helped the last place Athletics take second place in his first season. His three seasons in Oakland left a lifetime impression on millions of A's fans. Who could forget (the philosophy known as) Billy Ball, which helped a young Rickey Henderson steal 100+ bases three times early in his career (2x under Billy himself). But the two things I'll always associate Billy Martin with... are his animated tirades, which involved him kicking dirt on umpires and his "no quitters allowed' mentality.

Honorable Mention - Earl Weaver

Catcher - Kurt Suzuki

Kurt is one of two Suzuki's to make my dream roster. And although he's struggling at the plate this year, he's still my favorite player on the A's. First... he's one heck of a defensive catcher. Second... he's on my favorite team, the Oakland A's. Then throw into the fact that he's from Hawaii... and my relatives have been watching him play since high school. And finally... he's Japanese and share the same middle name.

Honorable Mention - Johnny Bench

Starting Left-Handed Pitcher - Steve Carlton

As a fellow lefty... I loved Steve Carlton when I was growing up... but only recently have I decided to start collecting him. My goal is to eventually acquire all of his regular issue Topps base cards released during his playing years. Hopefully, I can pick up his rookie card at a reasonable price at the GTSM card show in a few weeks.

Honorable Mention - Fernando Valenzuela

Starting Right-Handed Pitcher - Greg Maddux

Some people admire pitchers who can pump out the heater. I've always appreciated the control pitchers more. Greg Maddux epitomizes the term. It was amazing to watch him get the best hitters in the game to ground out in key situations. Plus he's won four Cy Young Awards and eighteen Gold Glove Awards. Cool piece of trivia: He named his son "Satchel" and his daughter's middle name is "Paige".

Honorable Mention - Dwight Gooden

Relief Pitcher - Rollie Fingers

There are numerous reasons Mr. Fingers are on this list. He's my childhood buddy's uncle. He played for both of my favorite teams: the A's and the Padres. He's a 7x all-star, 4x Rolaids Relief Award winner, an AL MVP, and a Cy Young Award winner. But let's be serious... the number one reason he's on my all-time roster... he has the coolest mustache in MLB history.

Honorable Mention - Dennis Eckersley

Stay tuned for my next post... where I'll share my dream infield. Until then... I'm interested in hearing what you have to say...

Who are your favorite managers, catchers, and pitchers of all-time?

Have a great day... only two days until the weekend. Sayonara!

Contest Alert: Jaybarkerfan's Junk

Jaybarkerfan is about to hit his 100th post and he's celebrating with a contest. You have two ways of entering his contest:

A. Comment on his contest post. Click here for the actual post.

B. Mention his contest on your blog.

Each entry earns one spot on his random.org list... where he'll randomize ten times. The top 10 names will be invited to his party.

That's where things get fun and crazy. The party has ten rounds... each round has a theme (see his blog for the different themes)... and each theme has 10 prizes (one for each entrant).

There will be a four day trading period too... so you can trade one of your unwanted themes to someone else for one of the themes they don't want.

I love contests which involve creativity... so I'm definitely in. I encourage you to head over to the party too. Let's have some fun!

Thanks Jaybarkerfan... I'll be crossing my fingers in hopes of being invited to the party!

Sayonara Salute #11: Matt Hasselbeck & Lofa Tatupu

I love the Seattle Seahawks and have been a fan of them since the early 80's. In the franchise's thirty-five year history... they've accumulated a 262-286 record, have reached the playoffs eleven times... and have made one Super Bowl appearance.

Six of those eleven playoff appearances have been in the past eight seasons and a huge part of that success falls on the shoulders of Matt Hasselbeck, who is the all-time leader in Seattle Seahawks franchise history in the following categories:

Games Started: 131

Pass Completions: 2,559

Pass Attempts: 4,250

Passing Yards: 29,434

I'm interested in seeing how the Hawks will fare this year without the guy who's been their offensive leader the past ten seasons. All I know is that franchise QB's don't grow on trees and hopefully Pete Carroll knows what he's doing.

And if losing their offensive leader wasn't enough... the Hawks decided to part ways with their defensive leader as well.

Lofa Tatupu was drafted in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks in 2005. He immediately made an impact and helped the Hawks get to the Super Bowl his rookie year. In his first six seasons in the NFL, he's made the Pro Bowl squad three times.

It looks like the Seahawks asked him to take a pay cut... and his release was a mutual decision between him and the franchise.

I don't think anyone considered the Seahawks to be Super Bowl contenders this season... but now that Hasselbeck and Tatupu are gone... it doesn't look like they can even contend in the sad... sad... sad... NFC West.

According to Carroll... "It's always business". I just wonder if the Seahawks are going to become the Oakland A's or San Diego Padres of football. If they do... I'll still love them... but I'd be lying if I said it was "kosher".

But tonight it's not about the Seahawks... it's about giving Matt Hasselbeck and Lofa Tatupu their proper goodbyes.

Mr. Hasselbeck... Thank you for keeping the Seahawks in the playoff picture for the better part of your ten year tenure. I wish you the best of luck in Tennessee.

Mr. Tatupu... Thank you for being the great defensive leader that you are. You were one of my favorite Seahawks and I wish you the best of luck wherever you end up. You'd be an asset to any team in search of a talented middle linebacker.

Alright... your turn.

Which team will win the NFC West this season?

And just for kicks...

How many wins will Pete Carroll and the Hawks have at the end of the season?

I'm going out on a limb and will take Kevin Kolb and the Cardinals. After watching Bradford last season, I believe he's the real deal... and will become a solid NFL quarterback. However... I'm one of those guys who believes in sophomore slumps too. And until the 49ers solve their QB situation... I just can't pull the trigger on them yet.

As for the Hawks... I think they'll go 4-12 and take fourth place in the NFC West. Hopefully... I'm wrong... and they surprise me.

Well that's it... have a great week everyone... and Sayonara to Hasselbeck, Tatupu, and until my next post... all of you!

Postage Rates & Online Trading

Last week, I read an article that stated the United States Postal Service was facing an 8 billion dollar deficit and may be looking to close more than 3,000 post offices across the country.

Well today, I served my postal duty to this country and spent just under $45 shipping out fifteen packages (actually eighteen, but three of them only required a regular postage stamp).

I don't know about you... but for me postage is starting to make a serious dent in my wallet. I'm not talking about shipping a letter or paying my water bill... those cost me one "forever" stamp. I'm talking about the preferred shipping package of card collectors... the padded envelope. Today, I discovered that the minimum shipping charge for a padded envelope is $1.71. That doesn't include delivery confirmation, insurance, or the price of the padded envelope for that matter.

Online trading is going to take a serious step down on my list of hobby priorities. It's just not worth it to ship a memorabilia card (with a book value of $10, but has the street value of $2) for $1.71 + the cost of the envelope.

I know what you're thinking... $1.71... who cares? Well by itself... it's not a big deal. But when I consider that I made well over 150 online trades in 2010... then you can see where the pennies start adding up.

Anyways... those are my thoughts on shipping charges and online trading. I'm not going to say that I'll never trade online again... but I know that if and when I do... I'm going to make sure it's worth the price of shipping.

Okay... now onto this summer's contest winners and their prize package selections:

First Place: Kirk Jacobson

Package K: Baseball Autographed 8x10 Lot (Feller, Boone, & Jethroe)

Second Place: John Bateman

Package G: 2008 Popcardz Set (1-40) + 1 Wax Pack BV: $18

Third Place: The Diamond King

Package B: 2009/10 UD Basketball "Masterpieces" Starter Set BV:$24.50

Fourth Place: Hairylemon

Package J: 1981 Fleer Willie McCovey Autograph BV:$?

Fifth Place: The Lost Collector

Package E: 1999 SP Top Prospects Set w/2 AutographsBV:$22

Sixth Place: Baseball Nut

Package C: 2009 SPx "Shadow Box" #S-KS Kevin SmithBV:$20

Seventh Place: Play at the Plate

Package A: 90's Football Inserts/Parallels BV: $30+

Eighth Place: Eric L

Package F: 2010 Panini Threads Football Base Set (1-150) BV:$20

Ninth Place: Mariner1

Package D: 2000/01 UD ICE Hockey Base Set (1-40) BV:$15

Tenth Place: Ryan G

Package H: 1999 Roox Women's World Cup Set (1-19) BV: $?

Eleventh Place: Offy

Package I: Transformers Video Game for the PS2

Stadium Club Master Photos: Kazi

Team USA Magnets: Chris P

Consolation Prize Packages: Martyn & jaybarkerfan

Congratulations to all of you who won a prize package... and thank you to everyone who took the time to participate and read my posts. Believe it or not, I've already started collecting prizes for next summer's contest.

Happy Monday everyone... and have a great week. Sayonara!