I’m not trying to open a can of worms or anything, but did anyone else notice Canada had an unfair advantage at the Vancouver Olympics?  It seems that Scott Niedermayer was playing with a tree…

Here is another photo that I’ll bet you haven’t seen.  Do you think that the Prime Minister’s office will license it for distribution?  What is a Sidney Crosby/Stephen Harper signed combo photo worth?

While on the topic of the Olympics, here is a breakdown of the auction prices realized for the Team Canada’s jerseys worn for the game versus Switzerland:

 

Bergeron - $4,550

Boyle - $4,050

Brodeur - $5,100

Crosby - $35,100

Doughty - $3,750

Fleury – Game-Issued (not worn) - $2,609

Getzlaf - $3,302

Heatley - $2,850

Iginla - $5,655

Keith - $2,550

Luongo - $4,700

Marleau - $2,550

Morrow - $3,050

Nash - $2,950

Niedermayer - $4,401

Perry - $2,275

Pronger - $2,550

Richards - $3,800

Seabrooke - $3,550

Staal - $4,350

Thornton - $2,850

Toews - $8,839

Weber - $4,150

 

Not too shabby for jerseys that were only worn one game.  It’s interesting to do a comparative amongst the players.  Is Jonathan Toews really 2X-3X as popular as most of his teammates?  Should Patrice Bergeron be as valuable as Roberto Luongo?  Is Dan Boyle 50% more popular than any of his Sharks brethren?

 

For a similar comparable, Frozen Pond auctioned off a number of autographed Olympic pucks in the days after the Closing Ceremony.  Here are the results:

 

Brodeur - $170-$330

Datsyuk - $95

Doughty - $75-$151

Fleury - $57-$129

Gustavsson - $60-$77

Heatley - $67

Iginla - $127

Kessel - $49-$62

Langenbrunner - $264

Luongo - $89-$184

Malkin - $112-$153

Ovechkin - $200

D. Sedin - $45

H. Sedin - $74

Zetterberg - $51

 

All of which proves one thing – that Jamie Langenbrunner is the most popular player in hockey, by far.  J  Either that or two people really wanted the only signed puck of the U.S. captain that was available on NHL.com at the time.

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Did anyone else find it coincidental that Sidney Crosby’s missing stick and glove were both “found” on the same day?  Basic instinct told me there was more to this story than what was being let on, and a little investigating confirmed my suspicions.  Apparently the stick was on its way to a wealthy and influential Russian hockey stick collector named Sergei Afanasiev.  The Globe and Mail even reported on the incident, although for some reason, it was not widely distributed.

 

So a Team Canada equipment person (or someone closely affiliated with the club) “accidentally” puts Crosby’s stick into a bag bound for the “IIHF Hockey Hall of Fame in Russia”, even though no such entity exists. What do you suppose this “person” was paid for his transgressions, and why has this not turned into an international incident?  Why did Hockey Canada lie about it, since even Afanasiev admits the stick was given to him for his own collection?

 

Or was the entire episode nothing more than a series of innocent mistakes?  Since I may have to work with some of these people in the future, I will leave the conclusions to the reader.    

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I went grocery shopping at Sobey’s the other day, and the cashier would not give me a penny off on my $80 bill in order to prevent me from breaking a twenty.  So I asked for my cash back, and put the entire purchase on my Visa, thereby burdening the supermarket with a credit card expense of about $1.50.  I will also no longer shop at that location.  Kind of a high price to pay for a penny, don’t you think?

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So Vesa Toskala is traded to Anaheim, cannot get a Visa to work in the U.S., and then is traded back to a Canadian team (Calgary).  Why is a player who lived and played in the U.S. for a number of years suddenly being denied a work Visa?  Again – is this purely innocent, or is there more to the story?  Was Calgary just looking to clear cap space at the end of the season, or am I in a conspiracy theorist mood today?

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We recently had an Alex Ovechkin autographed puck up for auction and someone decided to send us a query under the “Ask Seller a Question” link.  The email read “Alex – did you really sign the puck?” 

Wow – the fun we could have had replying to that one.  “Dear Sir – Yes, my $120+ million contract (not to mention endorsements) barely covers the cost of my vodka and caviar bill, so I have now taken to signing pucks and selling them myself via internet auctions. You can be assured that the signature is real as it includes a COA from a third-party authentication service.  Sincerely, Alex.  P.S. – I have to go score lots of goals now.”

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I am a Pierre Maguire fan, but there are those that say he talks too much and says far too little.  This great quote came while talking about Drew Doughty during the Canada vs. Switzerland Olympic game – “He tries to be strong but he doesn’t be strong.”  I couldn’t have said it better myself.

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This email was sent to us a couple of months ago.  Talk about a bargain, and just look at that quality signature…

Thank goodness for their lifetime guarantees and third party autograph authentication, otherwise I would have been really concerned about the legitimacy of this piece.     I see Muhammad Ali and Mickey Mantle autographs being offered all the time for $99 each and wonder what kind of ignorance it takes to purchase something at five-to-ten cents on the dollar and assume you are acquiring a legitimate signature.  That is assuming that any of these items are actually being sold.

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Tim Tebow – an exceptional college quarterback with marginal professional prospects who may end up in the CFL – recently had his first-ever public autograph appearance at a mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.  The former Heisman and national championship-winning quarterback is admired by the masses in Gator country for his accomplishments on the field and his clean-cut nature and religious devotion off it.

Regardless, many felt the asking price of $160 for an autograph and $75 for a photo with Tebow was a tad bit excessive.  Apparently this wasn’t the case for the 900 people that showed up and kept Tebow at the appearance for over 4 hours.  Wow – they either really love their college football in Florida or this guy is beyond larger than life.  That price is astronomical and possibly the worst autograph investment I have ever heard.  But alas, I have preached many a time that sports collectibles should be purchased due to love of the game and not for ROI purposes, so congratulations to those that waited up to 7 hours and received a thrill by meeting their hero.  I wonder if any of these folks are Leafs fans?    

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Jersey collectors better be prepared to shell out some big bucks come Fall, as eleven NHL teams will be wearing new sweaters next season.

 

The above Sabres jersey has by no means been finalized and may only be worn for the team’s 40^th Anniversary season in 2010-11.  Anaheim, Calgary, Columbus, Dallas, Nashville, NYI, NYR, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Toronto will all be altering either their home/road or third jerseys in some way.

 

For the Penguins, the baby blue third jersey will be replaced, while the Leafs are keeping their thirds intact but updating the striping and patches on their home and road uniforms.  Nashville’s third jersey will become their home sweater and their alternate jersey will be scrapped.  Several other jerseys will not be a surprise, such as the Flyers Winter Classic and the Flames retro jerseys becoming standard attire.  Expect a number of press releases over the summer months to officially debut the new designs.

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It was disheartening this past December when Paul Henderson informed me that he was in the early stages of leukemia. He had not gone public with the news and I respected his privacy in the matter. Now that he has announced his illness, I think some of Henderson’s story should be told.

Paul Henderson is a remarkable man and I have never seen anyone handle such a tragic situation as well as he has. He is the first member of the Henderson family to live past the age of 60 (he is 67) and is thankful every morning he wakes up. He is in the best shape of his life and credits his faith for helping in this time of need. He has an email list of 500 friends and supporters that pray for him every day.

 

It is too early in his illness to diagnose a strategy, so he is actually not taking any medications and his lifestyle has not changed. He has read about some radical treatments taking place in Germany, but says it is far too early to start considering them.  He is banking the knowledge though, should he need it at a later time.  He is in no pain.

 

Henderson is a national treasure in Canada and we wish him the best on his road to recovery.

 

The Pittsburgh Penguins recently held a charity event where each player served as a celebrity team captain for a competing bowling team.  The shirts worn by the players were then autographed and auctioned off on NHL.com.  So whose jersey do you think garnered the highest bid?  Nope – think again.  Nope – not him either.  And no, this isn’t yet another Marc-Andre Fleury plug either.

 

I was thrilled that McFarlane Toys finally decided to do a Marc-Andre Fleury figure, as I have been bugging them for years to do so.  But it would have been nice if they actually took the time to spell his name correctly.

There are actually several variations of the base of his figure, some with a patchwork fix-it job and some that look natural and are spelled correctly.  Regardless, this type of thing should not be happening.

 

 

 

We have noticed a recent influx in knock-off NHL jerseys, the ones that are being illegally manufactured and imported from China.  While the average fan may not notice a difference, the quality of these jerseys is horrendous.  The names and numbers are made from the wrong material and are often sewn in the wrong font.  The jerseys themselves are lightweight and extremely prone to ripping.

When the cost of oil shot up in 2008, UPS started adding a surcharge to all shipments.  Even though fuel costs are now reasonable again, UPS still charges the added fee.  Last year, they added a $1.00 surcharge for deliveries to residential addresses.  That fee has since gone up to $1.50, and now $1.85.  If you spell one letter of a street name wrong, or list the zip code incorrectly, there is an $8 charge.  That amount is up from $5 only two years ago. 

 

 

This jersey was seen at a recent autograph signing:

 

How would you like to be the promoter who booked New Jersey Devils players Niclas Bergfors and Johnny Oduya for an autograph session in New York on March 21?  Both players were shipped to Atlanta in the Ilya Kovalchuk deal.  Talk about bad luck.

I was surprised to learn that 25,000 Olympic volunteers had to PAY for their uniforms, which consist of a top and pants.  The cost – only $700.  I wish I could find some volunteers that will pay for the privilege of working.

 

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jean Beliveau.  Good health, my friend.

Signed Olympic jerseys may be tougher to come by this year, as it seems Nike seriously underestimated demand for their product. There are no jerseys to be had at the wholesale level right now, and apparently no more are being produced. I had a request to provide 30 Team Russia jerseys for the wives of the players to wear in the stands, but coming up with the jerseys was an impossibility. We are doing an autograph session with Phil Kessel this week, but have no access to Team USA jerseys.  We have a handful of Canada jerseys in stock, but are debating whether or not to save them for possible higher-dollar sales down the road.

 

I am sure that Nike had vast amounts of unsold product after the disastrous 2006 Olympic hockey results, and played it extra cautious this time around.  Hopefully there will be enough jerseys available to at least come close to meeting customer demand.

 

 

 

Sports Collectors Digest (SCD) has been the sports collectibles industry publication dating back to the 1970’s. It was a must read, and I remember eagerly anticipating each week’s issue and reading it cover to cover. In its heyday, some issues were over 400 pages thick.

 

The economic downturn has obviously hit the company hard. It was not unusual for issues in 2009 to peak at 36 pages, while they rarely exceeded 50.  SCD took to accepting ads from less than reputable companies in an effort to stay afloat. This never would have happened in the old days, when all advertisers were screened and the publication diligently followed up on customer service issues.

 

I let it go the first time, but there’s no way it’s going unmentioned again. The Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate that is also owned by the parent club, sent out an email blast in November promoting their upcoming bobble head nights. I had to send the Leafs an email, making note that 3 of the 5 players listed had their names spelled wrong.

 

Vesa Toskula (Toskala)

Terry Sawchuck (Sawchuk)

Jonus (Jonas) Gustavsson

 

Remember all the Fabian Brunnstrom hype last year? Dallas won the sweepstakes for the free agent Swedish star, and he looked like an amazing find after scoring a hat trick in his first NHL game (only the 3^rd player ever to accomplish the feat).  This year, he has one goal and eight points and has spent time in the minors.

 

We can actually play this game with a lot of players.  Last season I called Kyle Turris a “Jonathan Toews clone” and picked him to win the Calder Trophy. After a disappointing 20-point year, Turris has spent the entire 2009-10 season playing in the AHL.  Viktor Tikhonov and Mikkel Boedker also spent the majority of last season on the Coyotes roster and had huge expectations thrust upon them. Right now, both are struggling to score for the San Antonio Rampage.

 

Other players having disappointing seasons include:

 

Shawn Horcoff – 19 points in 45 games and making $5.5 million a year

Chris Drury – 19 points in 47 games

Sergei Samsonov – 15 points in 40 games (so much for his re-birth)

Dennis Wideman - -8 for Boston after finishing with a +32 last season

Chris Higgins – 13 points in 51 games for the Rangers

Jonathan Cheechoo – 13 points in 51 games for the Senators – did he really win the Rocket Richard Trophy in 2006?

Rod Brind’Amour – 12 points in 49 games

Andrew Cogliano – 12 points in 50 games

Ethan Moreau – 8 points in 49 games

Ville Leino – 7 points in 42 games; Justin Abdelkader – 6 points in 48 games – see my comments on them in “The Pond Chronicle”

 

McFarlane Toys recently released a promotional photo of Jonas “The Monster” Gustavsson signing bases that are to be randomly included in packaging for their NHL 24 series being shipped in April.

My favorite part of the image is the framed autographed photo of Patrick Roy in the background.  That was actually my Christmas gift to Jonas.  He idolized Roy as a youth, and the photo is inscribed “To Jonas, Best of luck in your NHL career, Your friend, Patrick Roy”. Thanks for your help Patrick.

I had never spent time with Roberto Luongo before we conducted an autograph session at a Toronto hotel last Friday evening.  The Canucks goaltender is one of the top players in the game today and one of the most desirable (nee - expensive) autographs in the hobby.  In fact, a weekend poll on Rogers Sportsnet ranked him second behind Alexander Ovechkin as the player viewers would most want to build a team around. 

 

Vancouver must be a very difficult team for the autograph hounds, since they are an extremely unrecognizable bunch.  What exactly do Bieksa, Burrows, Raymond, O’Brien, Mitchell, Kesler, Pyatt, and Bernier look like, especially when they’re wearing toques?  Luckily, I was able to pick Luongo out of the crowd and he started signing for us almost immediately.

 

Louie, as his teammates call him, was personable but far from outgoing.  He is extremely intense and wanted to finish up as soon as he could.  His game day preparation actually starts the night before, and he was anxious to get into his regular routine.  This includes ordering room service, as he hates to leave his hotel.  He knew how to conduct an autograph session though.  He signed everything in its proper place and knew when to switch pens.  He knew not to write on the dark part of the photo and to allow items time to dry before stacking them. 

 

His autograph may be one of the worst ones in hockey, even by today’s standards.  He told me that his original signature used to contain every letter of his name, but those days have long since passed.  I wonder if his older signatures would command a premium?!? 

I learned that his favorite television show is Entourage (he liked my ring tone), and I learned that the Captain’s “C” on the chin of his mask is nothing more than a sticker.  He told me that his Captain’s duties do not at all affect his on-ice performance and instead come into play when planning team functions or speaking at meetings and the like.

 

He chuckled when I asked if he would rent me a room during the 2010 Olympics, but I never actually heard him say no.  Maybe I will just show up at his place in a year and hope for the best.   He told me he has not been contacted as of yet by anyone with Team Canada, but expects to attend their orientation camp this summer.

 

Luongo was a good guy and it was a fun signing and everyone’s orders hopefully will ship this week.

 

I still don’t understand the NHL’s point system.  Some games are worth 3 points and some are worth 2.  Is there another sport that has such a discrepancy? 

 

I say all games should be worth 2 points.  In the event of a tie, both teams split the first point, and the overtime or shootout winner gets the bonus point.  Does it really matter if half-points start being used? 

 

While we are at it, I still think the shootout should be 5 shots per team (instead of 3) and players should take their helmets off to participate.

 

Even in a depressed economy, some things never change. 

 

I received my Toronto Maple Leafs season ticket renewal form, and the prices have gone up 5%.  Wouldn’t it have been nice if they respected their fans and supporters the teensiest bit and maybe lowered prices for once, or at least kept them the same?  This will be the fourth consecutive season the team has missed the post-season, and they played the year $7 million under the salary cap.  Exactly how much money does this organization need to make, and why do they consistently feel the need to gouge the most dedicated fans in professional sports? 

Oh well, I guess they have to pay Jeff Finger’s contract somehow.

While we are at it, have you ever seen a team change a rink board advertisement in the middle of a game?  During the first intermission of the Leafs/Penguins tilt last week, several of us noticed a crew putting up a new ad just inside the blueline.  We thought the original ad may have started to peel off, but the crew then proceeded to change the same advertisement on the other side of the ice.

 

I have not called the Leafs for a comment, but do you think it’s possible that they are now selling rink board advertising by the period?  If there was extra revenue in it, that wouldn’t surprise me one bit.  But it’s more likely that the incorrect ad was up in the first place (how does that happen?).

I noticed that the Foreword in Dave Hanson’s (Hanson Brother #16) new book was written by Gordie Howe.  Now, not only do I know that Gordie Howe and Dave Hanson are far from good friends, but I am also aware that Gordie is getting up there in years and no longer has the ability to convey his thoughts in an articulate, well-written manner. 

 

I did a little research into the matter and found out that book forewords are rarely written by the person stated.  Either the named subject is so busy or has such poor writing skills that the task is often delegated and then just sent to them for approval.  Often the author will write his own foreword and just get permission from a celebrity to attach their name to it.  I know Wayne Gretzky has at least one book foreword that was not written by him and I am told this may be the case in up to 90% of the sports books on the market.

 

You learn something new every day.

With all the Calder Trophy discussions going on, I had wondered why Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne never had his name mentioned.  After all, his statistics are more than worthy (17-10-1, 2.23 GAA, .923 Save Percentage, 5 Shutouts), and everyone loves it when a goalie comes out of nowhere and shines. 

 

I thought maybe he was too old, as in 1990 the rules for awarding the Calder were amended so that players could only be eligible if they were 26 years old or younger by September 15 of their rookie season.  But Rinne didn’t turn 26 until last November 3^rd, so he has as much claim to the trophy as anyone else.  It’s too bad he is not even being considered.  Is it because he plays in Nashville?

Is Rick Nash being considered as a Hart Trophy candidate?  The guy is averaging more than a point a game on a team that has only two other players with more than 30 points this season.  He plays on the power play, he kills penalties, and he’s on the verge of captaining the team to the first playoff birth in the franchise’s history.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he got a few votes as League MVP.