The Brill Report

OJ TRIAL DATE SET, ROSEY GRIER SIGNS

VOLUME 2,  NUMBER 173

**HOT**BUTTON**STORY**

(ROSEY GRIER HITS TODAYS PLAYERS!!)

** OJ TRIAL DATE SET FOR 2008

** WHY CAN'T THEY ALL BE LIKE ROSEY?

** THE TRAGIC TALES OF KENNEDY AND TAYLOR

** CYBER MONDAY WINNER IS EBAY ** SP LEGENDARY TO GET A FACE LIFT **

TARGET AND MOUNTED TEAM UP ** TOPPS NAMES ROOKIE TEAM **

EDITORIAL COMMENT: ROSEY GRIER STILL THE BEST

DETAILS ON THESE AND OTHER STORIES IN TODAYS TBR: THE BRILL REPORT

                                             ==================

(SIMPSON TRIAL DATE SET ON MEMORABILIA STING)

The first week in April will see O.J. Simpson in court pleading his case and telling a jury he only went into the hotel room at the Palace Station a few months ago just to get his own memorabilia back. When asked in court this week Simpson responded with a hearty and loud answer.

"Not guilty, your honor," he told the court.

Twelve charges were filed against the former Buffalo Bills running back including armed robbery and the key charge of kidnapping. The latter could put Simpson behind bars for life. Two co-defendants, Charles Erhlich and Clarence Stewart also pleaded not guilty. Michael McClinton was dropped as a defendant as his attorney made a motion to separate him from the others and he might be held for a different trial.

Simpson and the others are charged with an elaborate scheme to try to recover memorabilia from dealer Bruce Fromong. Fromong, who was interviewed by The Brill Report previously, charged the men came in to the hotel room "military invasion style" with guns drawn.

A key link in the case was whether Simpson knew guns were going to be there. He has said he did not. Three others in the case agreed to testify against Simpson with at least two of them stating the former NFL star knew in advance about the guns with some testimony stating he requested the guns.

The men who turned state's evidence will likely go to jail for a short time in exchange for their testimony.

                                     ======================

(ROSEY GRIER DOES FOR DONRUSS)

He's 75 years old and still going strong but Rosey Grier laments the way NFL players hit today over when he was playing as part of the Fearsome Foursome of the Los Angeles Rams. Grier, walking with the support of a CANE, spoke with The Brill Report while signing autographs for dealers at a Donruss sponsored event in Southern California.

"Some of those guys are sticking their head in there, and they are in better shape, their bodies are really fine tuned and they are really trying to shock with the hits and I don't understand why they do that," said Grier. "Some of these guys deliberately do that."

Grier, who at 6-foot 5-inches tall and 300 pounds, was monster in his day along side Lamar Lundy, Deacon Jones and Merlin Olsen, said today's athlete is a lot different.

(Hall of Famer Rosey Grier signing mini-helmet)

"Today when you hit a guy you are hitting with everything you have and your body is finely tuned, and they play that way," he said. "They train year round so their bodies are hard."

The former Ram and NY Giant you may remember was an avid needle pointer which he says he doesn't do anymore. Today he collects eagles.

"I love those eagles you find as statues," said the three time Pro Bowler. "That is what I collect."

Grier is a signer for many Donruss/Playoff products and appeared on a meet the manufacturer day at Dave Bronson's Sweet Deal distributorship in Northridge, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. A number of dealers showed up for the event which also featured reality star MoJo Hunter. She also signed photos for dealers and is in the upcoming Donruss product; Donruss Americana, which is due in January.

Grier is now a board member of the Milken Family Foundation which is involved in finding a cure for Prostate Cancer as well as working for increased pay for teachers.

"We are trying to encourage the powers that be to get the teachers paid as they should," said Grier. "Because they are the ones who are teaching all the greatness in our society."

The former NFL lineman has a long history of supporting causes dating back to the end of his playing days. He is also considered a true hero after he wrestled the gun from the hand of Sirhan Sirhan immediately after the assassin shot Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Grier was back stage with Kennedy as one of his supporters.

                                         =======================

(KENNEDY AND TAYLOR LATEST TRAGIC DEATHS OFF THE FIELD IN SPORTS)

The horrible shooting death of Washington Redskins defensive player this week underscored the violence in society and comes on the heels of the death of pitcher Joe Kennedy just a few days earlier. The Miami Dade police say there is nothing so far to indicate Taylor was targeted in what is being called a home invasion robbery. Two shots were fired, one of them striking Taylor in the groin area. He died the following day.

(Sean Taylor dead at age 24)

As we usually do we try to get an idea of how many people try to capitalize on a tragic sports death and in the case of Taylor it is overwhelming. Taylor, injured earlier this year, was a high draft pick but never got the so called "hobby love" many talk about. Being a defensive player as well as a player with a less than spectacular off the field past, he was never a high volume or highly sought after player.

Death however, changes things. Case in point. There are 2671 Sean Taylor items listed on eBay. How many were listed after the announcement that he was shot? An amazing 2600!

In other words about 95-percent of all items listed for Taylor on eBay were listed because he got shot and a huge number of those because he is dead. Non-hobbyists consider this more evidence of the underbelly of the industry, while in reality it's more like human nature. Many of those doing the selling are just average folks who see this as an opportunity to sell items which will never be sell-able again. Sad but true.

(The late Joe Kennedy's Rookie Card)

In the case of Kennedy there are few items available in the first place. His was also not a well publicized, media blitz style story. Kennedy, 28, passed out and died while with his family the day after Thanksgiving. There are about 100 items of his listed on eBay. About half of them were listed after his death was announced.

                                       

======================

(EBAY CLEAR CUT WINNER ON HOLIDAY WEEKEND PLUS MONDAY)

Cyber Monday and Black Friday both belonged to eBay. Nielson statistics show of the 27.7 million people who went cyber shopping, 11.7 million hit eBay on Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving). Amazon followed far behind with 5.3 million unique visitors followed by Wal-Mart with 3 million, Target.com at 2.2 and Overstock.com with 1.9 million visitors.

It is a fact not everyone spent their holiday shopping list on-line because the malls were full on Friday, but it is an indication of the growing on-line shopping presence. eBay said it's numbers were up nicely. Overall there was a reported 15-percent more shopping done on-line on Monday than on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving).

"Cyber Monday brought a surge of traffic to many on-line retailers as shoppers returned to work following the holiday weekend ready to tackle their holiday gift lists," said Nielsen/NetRatings senior retail analyst Heather Dougherty in her report. "Heavy promotional activity will entice shoppers to take advantage of the discounts and free shipping offers that are being offered on-line."

Just about every etailer offered free shipping for Monday purchases. As TBR reported last week Steiner Sports was offering special Cyber Monday deals. CBS Tech Expert, Larry Magid put it bluntly on KNX 10-70 News radio.

"If you are paying for shipping on Cyber Monday you are a chump," he said. "Everyone is offering free shipping to get you to their site."

PayPal showed a 33-percent increase in activity this year over last over the Thanksgiving Day holiday. eBay subsidary Shopping.com saw a 28-percent increase in traffic on Cyber Monday 2007 over the previous year.

                                  =======================

(UPPER DECK REFRESHING SP LEGENDARY CUTS)

Since it's debut in 2001 Upper Decks SP Legendary Cuts has been controversial yet entertaining, and usually a pretty good product. It's been a great product for case breakers, an average product for box buyers and a terrible product for pack buyers. Now comes word the product is getting a face lift.

"We are deep into the changes for Legendary Cuts 2008," UD Hobby Sales Chief Mike Phillips told TBR on the Dr. Wax Battle Internet Show Wednesday night. "Rest assured we know the product needs some refreshing and you will see a new product next year and we will be releasing it earlier as well."

(A lesser card from Legendary Cuts.)

Phillips explained the reason not every box (retailing for about $120) can have an autograph is because to maintain the quality of the two cut signatures per case and the few other autographs, some boxes had to be left without signed cards. The cost dynamics of the project are distinct.

On another subject TBR asked about; the company has been trying to crack down on signers regarding the quality of their signatures.

"While we obviously can't sit there with every athlete and make sure they sign each card legiably we're getting tougher than previously regarding what we will and what we won't accept," added Phillips. "And to be honest it's not always easy to sit next to a 6'5", 329 pound lineman and tell him to write his name so people can read it."

(An example one sloppy versus one you'd keeper.)

Phillips said he was sympathetic with consumers regarding players such as Vincy Morrissey who signs his name with a "V" representative of a check mark. He added the company does reject some autographs and the players are getting better at it.

Phillips debuted a case of Upper Deck Black Baseball on the "live" show, three weeks before the product is being released. At $125 per pack things were going relatively well until a redepemption card was pulled.

"Well that's embarrassing," Phillips pointed out.

However, the set was all smiles when it was learned at least the redemption card was for a Ken Griffey Jr., signed short print.

                              ==========================

(MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL AUCTION COMING DOWN TO WIRE)

Major League Baseball likes the auction format and with only a few days left, there are 50 unique items MLB is auctioning off to the public. The auction features 50 game used items from the 2007 season including a Jason Varitek jersey and a Manny Ramirez signed ball.

The auction ends December 7 and can be found at www.mlb.com. Probably the most unique item is the can of bug spray used in the New York Yankees Game 2 of the AL Division Series. Fans remember seeing rookie pitcher Joba Chamberlain dodging bugs as he tried to pitch. The bug spray was employed but didn't work.

Also up for grabs are the hand warmers the Red Sox wore in their Game Three of the World Series. Game used balls and bases are for sale at auction as well.

                                                    ===================

(MOUNTED MEMORIES AND TARGET STRIKE DEAL)

For the first time in it's history Mounted Memories (Dreams Inc.) is going into Targetstoes in a big way. The two sides struck a deal for Target to begin carrying NASCAR memorabilia. Target will sell placques, signed items and other NASCAR related items. This is a coup for Mounted in moving it's merchandse into a major mass retailer.

"NASCAR is excited that Target and Mounted Memories have come together to deliver a truly unique product offering for Targets guests," said Paul Sparrow, director of licensing for NASCAR. "It is important to NASCAR that key partners like Mounted Memories continue to push the envelope with great new products for our intensely brand loyal fans."

Among the drivers who are participating are Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne.

"We have entered into a brand new and significant distribution channell with the receipt of this purchase order from Target," said Mitche Adelstein President of MM. "This order is expected to ehance the financial performance of our manufacturing/distribtuion segment for our holiday quarter this year."

Aside from autographs and placques there will be items featuring game used race tires as well.

                                     ========================

(TOPPS ALL ROOKIE TEAM ANNOUNCED)

Topps announced it's All Rookie Team no. 49. For 49 years the company has been naming the All Rookie Team for MLB and putting that little trophy designation on their cards the following year.

(Red Sox Rookie Dustin Pedroia.)

This year's team features the Dodgers James Loney at first, second baseman Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox, Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun at third for Milwaukee who was a unanomous choice. The shortstop was the Rockies Troy Tulowitzki with an outfield of Delmon Young (Tampa Bay), Chris Young (Arizona) and Hunter Pence (Houston) while Carlos Ruiz of the Phillies is behind the plate.

The pitchers are Bryan Bannister of the Royals and Hideki Okajima who played for Boston. Loney, Braun and the three outfielders were all unanomous picks.

                                             =================

CYBER MONDAY & HOBBY CRIME

NUMBER 2, VOLUME 172

*HOT*BUTTON*STORY*

(HOBBY DEALER, MOVIE AND NEW GAME HOT FOR HOLIDAYS!!)

(Who is this well known hobby dealer?)

** POINT & CLICK IT'S CYBER MONDAY

** HOBBY DEALER OFF AND SIGNING FOR HOLIDAY

** GAI BACK IN BUSINESS

** MORE CHARGES COULD BE FILED AGAINST TEXAS DEALER ** UPPER DECK EX-ROD CARD FOR REAL? ** UDE TO GIVE AWAY A QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS THIS WEEK ** BECKETT'S MISSING LINK **

DETAILS ON THESE AND OTHER STORIES IN TODAY'S TBR: THE BRILL REPORT

EDITORIAL COMMENT: CYBER AWAY, PLEASE

                                =====================

(CYBER MONDAY COULD BE GOOD FOR HOBBY)

It is called Cyber Monday and it is today, November 26 and it follows closely on the heels of Black Friday. Some experts say it will eventually pass Black Friday in the hearts of retailers - well actually etailer. Black Friday is traditionally the day major retailers make up much of their holiday business and even much of their annual business. It is the Friday after Thanksgiving and traditionally the busiest day of the year.

Then there is Cyber Monday. This is the following Monday and this year the days on-line sales are expected to exceed $700 million. Last year 77-percent of etailers said their business grew substantially on the Monday after Thanksgiving. In comparison last Friday sales posted over $530 million on the Internet or double what sales were on Thanksgiving Day. So far over $9 billion has been spent on-line since the holiday shopping season began and this figure is up 17-percent over last year according to a study from comScore.com.

"For all those who could not get to the stores or felt like waiting on those long Black Friday lines, mark your calenders now," shouts a Cyber Monday solicitation from hobby memorabilia king, Steiner Sports. "Don't forget to check your email for unprecedented never before seen pricing on over 100 collectibles."

The company promised exclusive and tremendous deals on the 26th for those who participate.

On-line shopping this holiday season is expected to grow to over well over $10 billion, according to a report from BizRate Research. A web site going for the gusto, www.cybermonday.com saw 300,000 people jump on the site on the Monday after Thanksgiving 2006. Figures show 68 million people will shop from the office on Cyber Monday, which of course shows a decrease in the amount of work done at the office on this holiday shopping day.

"As more people rely on the Internet for holiday shopping, retailers have stepped up their game to compete," said Scott Silverman, Executive Director of www.Shop.org. "This year promotions on Cyber Monday are extremely competitive as on-line retailers use an assortment of one day specials to attract on-line shoppers."

According to the survey 72-percent of on-line sellers will offer something special for Cyber Monday compared to 42-percent two years ago. In addition, nearly one fourth of on-line retailers surveyed said they are offering "free shipping" on Cyber Monday to attract new customers.

For hobby dealers is means likely strong eBay sales, especially if the sales are  promoted such as through an eBay store. Regular on-line auctions should not be effected much, but an active web-site would be if promoted properly.

                                       =====================

(HOBBY DEALER SCOTTIE SCHWARTZ ON THE MOVE THIS HOLIDAY AGAIN)

If you happened to watch Fox News on Sunday you saw hobby dealer Scottie Schwartz all over the tube. Schwartz, a child film star, is the main promoter of the cult classic "A Christmas Story" in which he co-starred. He's also the son of Southern California Hobby Store owner Dan Schwartz and spends much of the non-holiday year at the store, Baseball Cards and Movie Memorabilia. Fox did several stories covering the actors signing autographs at large shows during the holidays.

"Things get really crazy around the holidays," Schwartz told The Brill Report. "We, the guys from the movie and I, travel to shows from California to Michigan and all over the country doing signings and radio and TV interviews."

The youthful looking former child actor does just about all the set up and lining up for the cast. Most of the key members of the cast join in although not all, and one of them hasn't been heard from in years. A long-time promoter and show dealer in both trading cards and movie items, Schwartz is gone for nearly three months during the holidays.

"It is exhausting but people really love the movie and we're excited to meet the fans," he said. "They remember the leg lamp and everything about the film."

Their favorite part of course usually is Schwartz (Flick) putting his tongue on the frozen pole in the school yard. It stuck there teaching kids a lesson around the world. The movie was filmed in Canada. The cast most recently lost Darrin McGavin, who played the father of the two boys who were the main focus of the film.

The picture seems to be everywhere during the holidays, often making more appearances than other holiday classics such as "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." After the holidays the boys, now men, will be back at their regular jobs getting a well deserved rest. During the year Schwartz often sells his own autographed photos on eBay.

"Once a guy called to pay for the photo and got me on the phone, I didn't tell him who I was and he just assumed I was some eBay seller," Schwartz told TBR. "The guy asked me how could he be sure the signed photo was genuine and I laughed and told him 'trust me I got it from a good source.'"

Schwartz other starring role was with Jackie Gleason and Richard Pryor in "The Toy."

Meanwhile USAOPOLY is releasing a new Monopoly version of the film and a jigsaw puzzle. The tokens of course feature the Leg Lamp, Dad's car, Ralphie's broken glasses and the infamous snowsuit. There is even an interactive web site www.thepinkbunnysuit.com.

                                         =====================

(MORE CHARGES BEING SOUGHT AGAINST BUSTED TEXAS DEALER)

Police in Jacksonville, Texas are seeking additional charges against busted hobby dealer Eual Brent Hallford. Hobby dealers around the country are familiar with Hallford who previously worked for www.tradingcardcollectibles.com. He is charged with taking what could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars from unsuspecting collectors and not delivering on the product. He was arrested a week ago but authorities now say they are looking into additional Internet fraud charges.

"Because he was going outside the state of Texas with his sales he could also be brought up on federal charges for going inter-state," Detective Daniel Franklin told the Jacksonville Daily Progress. "The US Postal Service is also involved because some of the merchandise was shipped by mail."

Hobby dealers nationwide rejoiced upon hearing of Hallford's arrest as many say they had complaints lodged against him as well. In addition, he advertised items below what they could sell them for, which left a bad taste with them. He had been operating for years.

The Better Business Bureau said they had complaints from Michigan to California to Washington. Often, the customers settled with Hallford and then withdrew the complaints. Others just let it go while another group began to pursue him. This grabbed the attention of the authorities who took action.

Many of those complaints were against Trading Card Collectibles which went out of business in 2006 while others are against Hallford's web site. Authorities now estimate if all the complaints and allegations of fraud are filed upon the total could reach upwards of $300,000.

The investigation didn't begin until early September of this year. However, quick police work took place when the complaints started to pile up and a paper trail was likely easy to follow.

                                    =====================

(GLOBAL BACK IN BUSINESS FOR CERTAIN)

After an exclusive interview with GAI head Steve Rocchi The Brill Report has been assured Global Authenticating and Card Grading are fully back in business and consumers will get their merchandise. Rocchi reiterated to TBR it was a legal dispute with the landlord which ended up in court which led to the company closing temporarily.

"We had a problem with the landlord and we went to court and lost," he said. "Then we began negotiating with the same landlord then all of a sudden he broke off negotiations (then the eviction notice went up) and we were stuck."

Rocchi said they were forced to quickly shut down, put everything in storage, turn off the phones and the web sites. Those sites are still NOT fully operational.

"We were behind the 8-Ball and it was a mess," Rocchi told TBR. "I thought we could just turn the sites off and turn them on again, but I guess since we host our own sites the technicians said it was much more complicated than that."

The partial owner of GAI said he hopes to see the sites working properly again but could not give a definite time frame. He did say it will be soon.

"Everything is static right now with the sites," he added. "We are processing items, we are grading and we are authenticating autographs and we will continue to do this, we are still in business."

There was a fear amongst collectors and dealers who thought the company might be going under. Rocchi says that is not true and in reality for the mess that it left them, the move was a good thing for GAI.

"This actually turned out to be a good thing because we were able to get additional funding from our financial backer who said 'okay now you have a perception problem,' and they came through," he said.

The company did lose senior authenticator Justin Priddy who had been with GAI for four years. The change came well before the problem with the landlord. Rocchi says it was a mutual decision.

"It was mutual, we had some issues and it was better that we part," Rocchi said. "He really needed to be on his own."

Rocchi said GAI now has 10 full-time authenticators on staff and myriad who are independent contractors for the company. Global is now located at 232 Avenida Fabricante, Suite 109 in San Clemente, California.

                                     ====================

(UPPER DECK EX-ROD CARDS)

No official word from Upper Deck at this writing but it seems the company issued an error card. The card features Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez on a 2007 SP Authentic base card with the name as "Ex-Rod" rather than the customary A-Rod. The insignia also says "Boston Red Sox" rather than "SP Authentic." The card signifying his almost going to the Red Sox rather than re-signing with New York.

(SPA "Error" card from Upper Deck)

The card has sold for as high as $51 but seems to be settling in for much less. The first seller of the card listed it for a "Buy It Now" of $299 and evidently collectors begged off that one.

Earlier this year Topps issued a card of Derek Jeter which featured Mickey Mantle in the dugout and President George Bush in the stands waving. The card was a regular, common card. Sellers on eBay listed it as "rare" and "error" and sometimes both. As a result non-hobby savvy folks were paying hundreds of dollars for this card which lists in the low double digits.

It was reminiscent of the 1989 craze surrounding the Billy Ripken error card which Beckett lists as the "Rick Face" card, replacing the "F" word with "Rick." The card was selling for hundreds of dollars but now is worth less than $100. Several versions were re-released with the word either blacked out or whited out.

                                           ======================

(BECKETT MISSING HOCKEY PAGES)

Speaking of errors, Beckett Media announced it's new Hockey Annual is missing some pages.Beckett Hockey Price Guide no. 17 was missing a lot of pages but the company is offering owners a download of the lost pages for free at the company site.

In all about 56 pages didn't make the book covering In The Game to 1993-94 O-P-Chee Premier.

                                            =======================

(UPPER DECK WOW TOURNAMENT EQUALS QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS)

Big Time World of Warcraft players will be competing this week at the San Diego Convention Center for prizes totaling more than $250,000. Upper Deck, which issues the game, says it is the richest tournament of it's kind with the winner getting a check for $100K.

"We are excited to bring an event of this large a scale to the World of Warcraft TCG players who have dedicated themselves to the game," said Ben Drago, Organized Play Program Manager. "We will be awarding over $260,000 in cash prizes which makes this one of the largest TCG events ever."

Players are coming from all over the world after competing in their own national tournaments. The tournament officially runs from Friday, November 29 through Sunday.

                                         ========================

THE JUICE GOING TO TRIAL

VOLUME 2, NUMBER 171

BREAKING NEWS: GLOBAL BACK UP AND RUNNING, SITES STILL DOWN

(THE BRILL REPORT WILL NOT UPDATE FOR THANKSGIVING. NEXT REPORT MONDAY 11/26)

(HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE HOLIDAY)

*HOT*BUTTON*STORY*

(MARVEL GOES DIGITAL HEAVY WITH ITS HEAVYWEIGHTS!!!)

** O-J BOUND FOR TRIAL

** MEMORABILIA DEALERS TAKE THE HIT

** GLOBAL (GAI) WEB SITE BACK IN BUSINESS

** EBAY VS. TIFFANY BACK IN COURT

** GTS MOVES GLOBAL OUT OF SANTA MONICA

** CARD SHOP CALLS IT QUITS

** EMMITT SMITH ETOPPS AUTOGRAPHS

** CRIMINALS BUSTED WITH MEMORABILIA

** PETERSON INJURY NOT GOOD FOR HOBBY ** MARVEL TAKES COMICS ON-LINE

** NEW CFO AT DREAMS ** NEW NUMBERS FOR COLLECTORS UNIVERSE & 4KIDS **

MORE ON THESE AND OTHER STORIES IN TODAY'S TBR: THE BRILL REPORT

EDITORIAL COMMENT: EBAY AND THE COURTS

                                          =======================

(November 22, 2007 UPDATE)

(GLOBAL BACK IN BUSINESS FOR CERTAIN)

After an exclusive interview with GAI head Steve Rocchi The Brill Report has been assured Global Authenticating and Card Grading are fully back in business and consumers will get their merchandise. Rocchi reiterated to TBR it was a legal dispute with the landlord which ended up in court which led to the company closing temporarily.

"We had a problem with the landlord and we went to court and lost," he said. "Then we began negotiating with the same landlord then all of a sudden he broke off negotiations (then the eviction notice went up) and we were stuck."

Rocchi said they were forced to quickly shut down, put everything in storage, turn off the phones and the web sites. Those sites are still NOT fully operational.

"We were behind the 8-Ball and it was a mess," Rocchi told TBR. "I thought we could just turn the sites off and turn them on again, but I guess since we host our own sites the technicians said it was much more complicated than that."

The partial owner of GAI said he hopes to see the sites working properly again but could not give a definite time frame. He did say it will be soon.

"Everything is static right now with the sites," he added. "We are processing items, we are grading and we are authenticating autographs and we will continue to do this, we are still in business."

There was a fear amongst collectors and dealers who thought the company might be going under. Rocchi says that is not true and in reality for the mess that it left them, the move was a good thing for GAI.

"This actually turned out to be a good thing because we were able to get additional funding from our financial backer who said 'okay now you have a perception problem,' and they came through," he said.

The company did lose senior authenticator Justin Priddy who had been with GAI for four years. The change came well before the problem with the landlord. Rocchi says it was a mutual decision.

"It was mutual, we had some issues and it was better that we part," Rocchi said. "He really needed to be on his own."

Rocchi said GAI now has 10 full-time authenticators on staff and myriad who are independant contractors for the company. Global is now located at 232 Avenida Fabricante, Suite 109 in San Clemente, California.

                                   ====================

(O-J HEADED FOR TRIAL AGAIN)

After a nearly two week preliminary hearing in Las Vegas a judge has found reason to bind former NFL star running back O.J. Simpson over for trial. The charges include kidnapping and conspiracy along with armed robbery. Simpson faces a dozen charges and will next appear in front of a judge in a Nevada courtroom November 28.

"The state has met their burden as to the kidnapping charges," said justice Joe Bonaventure.

The key charge in the Simpson case could, if convicted, send him to prison for life. Simpson, who said he was only trying to get his own memorabilia back from dealer Bruce Fromong, went into the room with others who had guns. According to Fromong they came in "military invasion style" and kept him against his will.

"O J said don't let anyone leave, which is where the kidnapping charge came in," Fromong told TBR earlier. "They kept us against our will, which is kidnapping in Nevada."

  The jurist on the bench said the state met it's burden on that as well as the robbery charge.

"The defense is without merit as regards to the robbery charge," Bonaventure told a packed court room. And as far as the defense trying to discredit the witnesses, the prosecution may have some problems.

"The defense made a compelling argument (as to the credibility of the witnesses) but this should be left up to a jury," he said.

The other defendants were also held over on all the charges, as Bonaventure declined to dismiss any charges in the case.

                                 ============================

(TESTIFYING DEALERS NOT WHAT HOBBY NEEDS)

(Would you buy a used car from this man? However you would buy autographs!)

This is how the non-collecting and to an extent the collecting public view what is going on in Las Vegas. Memorabilia dealer has become an AKA for "criminal element," in the minds of many out there watching the O.J. Simpson hearing. The problem is in much of the mind of the public they lump the good guys with the bad guys.

Even in the movie "Blast from the Past" a card shop owner is viewed as a guy trying to take advantage of a young uneducated man. The Simpson's Comic and Card Shop Owner is the typical caricature of the sleazy card shop owner and dealer. This latest event with Simpson and his cast of characters has taken the hobby to a new low.

The dealers and defendants who testified in the case not only contradicted each other but themselves. The worst flop probably was Walter Alexander telling the court he's not sure if he's now going to go along with his plea bargain if the case goes to trial because he's not happy with it. He said he might change his mind if he was offered money to testify.

Where does someone come up with these characters? They hang out with memorabilia dealers or people with cash all the time. And not just memorabilia or card dealers but these types seem to drift to coins, comics or anywhere a lot of cash floats. It just seems we have a higher number of them per capita in the hobby than any other business.

A dealer also testified he sold an audio tape of what went down in the case to the celebrity gossip website, TMZ, before the police heard it. The fact everyone decided to make money on this deal before the cops got the case is tell tale in the world of sleaze merchants.

(Bruce Fromong who was the target of the O-J Simpson "sting.")                                       

The man who got robbed, Bruce Fromong, testified he put some of his merchandise on eBay stating "This is exactly like the one O.J. Simpson stole from me." More tell-tale signs and more fodder for the tabloids and more negativity placed on the memorabilia industry.

No matter which way this thing goes the hobby is taking the hit.

                                     ==================

(EBAY VERSUS TIFFANY OPENS IN NEW YORK COURTROOM)

Tiffany and eBay are squaring off in a New York courtroom this week, doing battle over the preponderance of counterfeit Tiffany goods sold on eBay and what eBay should be doing about it. The dialog has the smack of the same old thing dealers and eBay have been facing with for years. Does eBay do enough to deter fraud?

Tiffany attorneys are charging eBay turns a blind eye to counterfeits, while eBay lawyers say they suspend hundreds of thousands of people for selling fakes. The hobby has charged the same thing since eBay's inception and gotten the same answers.

(It is real or is it fake? Tiffany is one of many counterfeited company items found on eBay.)

As a test Tiffany said it purchased 325 items of the 280,000 Tiffany eBay listings. Three fourths of them turned out to be counterfeit. Adding there was no evidence eBay did anything to stop the sales of fakes even when they are reported.

eBay in turn said it spends $10 million a year policing the site for counterfeits and enlists the help of company experts.

"It cannot get done by itself," said eBay attorney Bruce Rich.

The case continues in a Manhattan courtroom.

                                        ====================

(GLOBAL MOVE MADE BY GTS)

Global Sales out of Santa Monica has abandoned it's west side warehouse and moved to the San Fernando Valley merging with parent company GTI's valley site. GTS purchased Global nearly two years ago and continued to operate on Santa Monica Blvd., across the street from Santa Monica Sportscards. The retail store was sold a while back and was owned by Karim Wataghani who has been a partner in Global Sales for many years.

The move is nostalgic for many Los Angeles area dealers who began purchasing wholesale from the Valley location when it was Paul's Candy Company back in the 1980's and early 1990's. Paul Esacove sold his business to GTS which made Paco Martinez, Paul's long time employee, manager of the location. Martinez remains at the site along with employees of the now-defunct Santa Monica operation.

These moves reinforce the shrinking nature of the business as it pertains to stores and distributors and wholesalers.

"There has been a consolidation going on for quite some time and this is just another consolidation of distributors," Todd Crosner, president of the Van Nuys location told TBR. "Global Sales was the first purchase of a secondary distributor by a primary distributor and many people in this business feel there will be a wave of such purchases."

He went on to say there hasn't been any growth in a long time. Lloyd Kee is president of GTS and told TBR one of the ways his company has grown is through others consolidation.

"I just keep buying up my competitors and customers," Kee said.

He added it's become the nature of the business. Kee has been heading up GTS for well over a decade. He was a main distributor when the company was called San Jose Sales, in San Jose, California.

Wataghani, who helped build Santa Monica and later Global into a powerhouse distributor, remains with the company doing various jobs and is technically listed as a consultant.

                                        =====================

(EMMITT SIGNS ETOPPS)

One of the most expensive of the eTopps autographs ever is going on sale November 20 when Emmitt Smith inks 50 of his eTopps singles. As usual you must have the cards in your current on-line portfolio and the 50 will sell out very quickly.

The 2002 eTopps regular card and the 2002 Event card signed will cost you $169. There is a limit of only two per account.

                =====================

(CARD STORE SHUTS DOORS, GOES ON-LINE)

"Due to unfortunate circumstances SportsCard Central will be closing very soon!"

So opens an email from the hobby store but not all is lost.

Long time sports memorabilia store SportsCard Central in Sterling Heights, Michigan is calling it quits. The store will go on-line and shut down it's brick and mortar operation with a close out sale on everything from fixtures to wax but not single cards.

"We will not be accepting phone calls. You must come in. We will respond to emails when the sale is over," read a statement from the company.

Email requests for more information were not returned. Everything is being sold down to the showcases although they will continue to operate as an on-line entity under www.halfoffcards.com.

"We have really enjoyed meeting and knowing each and every one of you who walked through our door," wrote owner Rick. "We are each of us a product of our experiences and I personally feel blessed to have had each of you as a part of my life's experience."

                                      ======================

(ADRIAN PETERSON INJURY HURTS HOBBY)

It was only days ago we were talking about the impact of super rookie Adrian Peterson on the NFL and trading cards.

"If you didn't restock 2007 football last week you missed the boat," proclaimed one dealer.

(Adrian Peterson in better days.)

Well the best laid plans went haywire. What drove the market was Peterson's 296 yard performance two weeks ago. A rookie setting the all time NFL single season rushing record. His hottest cards were selling for just under $1000 with all the major high dollar products still to come out.

Then the injury, probably not season ending, but certainly hobby-killing.

                     ======================

(CRIMINALS USING SPORTS MEMORABILIA FOR LAUNDERING PURPOSES AGAIN)

Sports collectibles and memorabilia are hot right now and they are always liquid, which is one of the reasons they are hot during difficult financial times. It is well known sports memorabilia is good money laundering material

Case in point. In Kennebec County, Maine, sheriff's deputies raided the home of Robert and Sandra James. They found the usual stash of stuff alleged criminals stockpile; money, drugs, cash, scales, ledgers and packing material. What they were surprised to find was memorabilia.

Along side the marijuana and $114,000 in cash were Mickey Mantle signed bats, rare coins, a BMW, a set of Adolph Hitler's monogrammed dinnerware and more. Mantle never goes out of style. Wonder if officials will find out they were actually signed by Greg Marino?

                                   =============================

(DREAMS NAMES NEW CFO)

Dreams Incorporated named Dorothy Ducet-Sillano as their new Chief Financial Officer with a salary of $125,000 a year. She had been Dreams Controller but newly hired Jaime Adamczyk will take over the position vacated by the new CFO. Ducet-Sillano also remains as a company VP.

                                  ===============================

(COLLECTORS UNIVERSE NUMBERS)

Collectors Universe reported quarterly numbers showing an increase in net revenue but a loss from continuing operations of $100,000. Net Revenue for the quarter was $10.8 million and up from $9.9 million the previous year.

The company points out it had a 9-percent increase in revenue, an 8-percent increase in coin grading and a 58-percent increase in jewelry grading which was a new division. No mention in the company release was made of card grading and little reference to autograph authentication. The only mention was to say costs rose to promote the autograph division at trade shows.

"Our first quarter of fiscal 2008 improved over the first quarter of 2007 in every segment with respect to revenues and our legacy businesses increased their operating income," said CEO Michael Haynes in a statement.

He admitted much of the increase was due to a rise in fees of about 8-percent charged to consumers overall for grading services.

                               ============================

(MARVEL COMICS OPENS ON-LINE DIVISION)

It was inevitable but now you can read your Hulk, X-Men and other Marvel heroes on-line in a more virtual way. Marvel announced an on-line subscription service which provides access to its comic book archives.

(Digitally enhanced comics on line do more.)

"We are truly excited to be able to present in one location such an expansive treasure trove of Marvel Comics' favorites to a mass market audience," said Dan Buckley President of Marvel Publishing. "We wanted to make sure we presented a site that would set the standard in digital comics and offer readers an affordable way to experience our vast archive of content."

The Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited site will offer various options for readers and will include over 2500 titles. The cost of the service is $4.99 a month (if they agree to a longer contract) and look for Marvel to add about 20 titles a week based on listener requests. Readers can sample up to 250 titles. A monthly subscription on a month by month basis will be under $10.

                                  ======================

(4KIDS NUMBERS FALL)

Third quarter numbers for the entertainment group 4Kids Entertainment saw a large drop in net revues. Net revenues fell to $12.2 million from $17.6 million a year ago. The numbers show a $4.2 million drop.

"While we are disappointed by the financial results so far this year, we believe we have taken important steps to strengthen our business for 2008 and beyond," said CEO Al Kahn. "We released our highly anticipated Chaotic Trading Card Game to comic and hobby stores nationwide and launched the public beta version of the Chaotic website and we expect sales to increase to the hobby and comic stores in the fourth quarter."

Chaotic is the one new project the company has been banking on for several years while it was in development.

                                        =================

UPPER DECK SUSPENDS HOBBY PROGRAM

NUMBER 2, VOLUME 170

*HOT*BUTTON*STORY*

(ADRIAN PETERSON SETTING HOBBY RECORDS TOO!!!)

** UPPER DECK SUSPENDS HOBBY PROGRAM

** GLOBAL AUTHENTICATED MOVING, SITES DOWN

** EISNER PITS JOE VS. MICKEY

** JAMES SPENCE GRAND OPENING

** E-A CLOSING FACILITY

** ADRIAN PETERSON, HOBBY MARVEL

DETAILS ON THESE AND OTHER STORIES IN TBR;

EDITORIAL COMMENT: THE HOBBY PROGRAM FAILS

                                ===========================

(UPPER DECK SUSPENDS HOBBY RESTRICTIONS)

After a much ballyhooed introduction of it's Brick & Mortar Store project several months ago Upper Deck has abruptly suspended it's new program restricting when hobby stores can sell their products on-line. The move came in a one paragraph statement from Upper Deck and ends a controversial move which frankly seems to have cut down on direct sales and kept prices at artificial highs.

"The Upper Deck Company announces that effective immediately, the terms of the 2007 Hobby Distributor and Brick & Mortar program will be suspended until further notice," the statement read. "The leading manufacturer of trading cards is committed to the long term welfare and viability of the hobby market, and is constantly evaluating and looking for ways to help it's distributors and retail partners."

Probably the most tell-tale sign is the next line in the statement.

"While the Upper Deck Company is committed to its current sales program, the short term health of the Hobby business takes priority at this juncture," it added. "As we enter the Holiday season it is more important that the hobby market maximize sales opportunities, end the year strong and prepare for a successful 2008."

The statement went on to say the program is under review and adjustments will be made when necessary. Dealers for the most part are happy with the move.

(Upper Deck is the father of high end products, but has it finally run it's course?)

"I like it a lot better because anytime the market can determine the prices the product will flow much easier, instead of basically price fixing to put it bluntly," said Jay Yoder of The Latest Craze in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. "I haven't had a significant amount of Upper Deck product in the last nine months and I wasn't about to go out and overpay for it, but now I will be back in the market for Upper Deck again."

The network of dealers most effected by the original UD program was Dealernet B2B, based in Pennsylvania. Dealers, accustomed to trading UD products from before release day, had to wait 60 days to conduct transactions. With this new policy the dealers are free to conduct business as they did previously. Officials at B2B declined to comment to TBR on the matter.

Yoder meanwhile, likened the move to what Fleer tried several years ago, an idea which also backfired.

"Products of quality are going to go above cost and lesser products with little quality will go below cost," he added. "You can't stop the marketplace in a collectible product."

Other dealers and wholesalers felt Upper Deck had no choice. Sales were down and not looking to get any better across the board.

"I really think they shot themselves in the foot trying to prioritize who can sell what and at what time," said Marty Bisk, long time wholesaler in Pennsauken, NJ, with Store on Wheels. "A lot of our customers stopped buying Upper Deck and they didn't miss it."

(Upper Deck chose to suspend it's unpopular Brick & Mortar Store Program despite early progress in propping up products.)

Bisk said smacked of a move by Pinnacle which set up a cartel of distributors who were the only ones getting wholesale quantities.

"And we all know what happened to Pinnacle, they went bankrupt," he said. "Topps is in a perfect position now and they've been making better products."

Jeff Snyder of Store on Wheels agrees.

"They had to make this change because they were getting stuck with products and so were their distributors and in the fourth quarter they need sales," said Snyder. "They made a lot of people mad and they couldn't just stick the distributors with the product so they had to make a change."

Snyder said the key however really is the other problem; content.

"It all comes down to content, the kids cannot afford it so they don't collect and Upper Deck has geared the entire business to gamblers," Snyder added. "I think the program itself was just putting a band-aide on a large wound."

Upper Deck would not comment further on the suspension of the program.

                                          ================

(GLOBAL WHEREFORE ART THOU GLOBAL?)

Rumors have been flying about what is going on with Global Authentication (GAI) the company considered number three in the grading and authentication business in the industry. The company web sites have been down for days, the phones have been disconnected and even company head Steve Rocchi isn't answering his cel phone. The Brill Report has placed several calls to him with no response.

Beckett Publications reported a statement from GAI vice president Steve Sipe who said the company is simply moving down the street to a new location. Why would GAI disconnect the phones in the move, and, even more suspect why take the web sites down? Sipe told Beckett the servers went down temporarily and things should be back to normal within 24 hours.

The Brill Report will update the story when this happens. One eyewitness told TBR he went over to the business yesterday and everything was shut down. He has some items there waiting for completion and was concerned. The man also found an "eviction" notice on the door and saw no signs of any activity elsewhere in the complex. As of Friday TBR has heard nothing from Rocchi or anyone else from Global with collector concern growing.

Questions surrounding the company's status have been floating for months and TBR has heard from several former customers of GAI who are concerned about the company. TBR did an investigative story months ago on GAI and Rocchi admitted GAI wrongly authenticated Tiger Woods autographed golf balls. He said they bought back most of them. A gentleman named Don Beck who brought his Woods signed GAI golf ball to the attention of TBR, has not gotten the same satisfaction as of press time. He has threatened to sue GAI.

As a result of the former TBR story GAI agreed not to authenticate any more David Wright autographed baseballs after Wright's agent said they had authenticated dozens and these were bogus. Agent Emil Bodenstein came to The Brill Report to detail his findings. Rocchi confirmed at that time GAI would no longer authenticate the New York Met's third baseman's signature.

                                         ===================

(EISNER TALKS ABOUT TOPPS AND BAZOOKA JOE)

If you read a recent article in USA Today you would think Michael Eisner was reading from the pages of TBR in giving quotes to the prestigious daily newspaper. Eisner, who recently acquired Topps, talked about the prospects of Bazooka Joe the Movie, the TV show, the new Mickey Mouse, the Internet star. In other words the Icon TBR has been writing about for the better part of the last year.

(Eisner picks Joe today.)

"Bazooka Joe could be the next big hero," Eisner told USA Today. "Bazooka Joe is my new Mickey Mouse."

Eisner, the former CEO of Disney through the glory years, won a hard fought battle for Topps against dissident board members and Upper Deck. He walked away with a steal, Topps had $84 million in cash reserves, the Topps Vault and the doing better than in recent years in the trading card market.

He did say he wants to make cards fun for kids again and that is a real positive.

                                            =================

(JAMES SPENCE OPENS NEW WAREHOUSE)

James Spence Authentication had it's grand opening in Parsippany, NJ with a live cast on the Dr. Wax Battle Internet Show November 7. Spence took the time to announce an agreement he reached with Beckett for grading and slabbing autographed cards through the Beckett site with a priority status. And he's been very busy.

"People have been coming in left and right to our office and we've been very busy here for the first two months," said Spence. "And after 18 years of two hour jaunts to Philly, this is nice with only a 32 minute drive from the Newark Airport to my new house."

Spence, who spends a lot of time on the road, moved his operation from Eastern Pennsylvania to New Jersey.

                                        ===================

(EA TAKING HITS, CLOSING PLANTS)

Electronic Arts, the video game maker, is closing it's Chicago plant to save money. The employees were told this week the facility would be shutting down. The division developed Fright Night and Def Jam.

As part of the restructuring EA Sports also announced it's closing a plant in England.

                                        =====================

(ADRIAN PETERSON SETTING RECORDS AND MORE)

Nearly 1600 Adrian Peterson items sold on eBay the day he broke the all-time NFL Single Season Rushing record in the NFL. Pretty amazing for a guy who didn't get picked in the draft until late in the top 10.

(Adrian Peterson rolling for more than just yards.)

Peterson's Topps Chrome RC is selling for $40-$50 while his big issues are going strong. His Upper Deck SPX RC autograph is selling in the $1000 neighborhood after the record breaking game. The one which sold for that price was graded by Beckett and pulled a 9.5.

His Topps rookie autographs are selling for between $800 and $900. Peterson is a spokesman for Donruss/Playoff and you can expect the company to capitalize heavily. His Rookie Threads Letterman autograph recently sold for $475.

                                     =======================

OJ ACCUSER SPEAKS TO THE BRILL REPORT

VOLUME 2, NUMBER 169

HOT*BUTTON*STORY

(JOBA FACING LEFT, MAKING MONEY TO THE RIGHT!!!)

** O-J SIMPSON ACCUSER SEEKS OUT BRILL REPORT

** IS TOPPS AT IT AGAIN WITH "ERROR" CARDS?

** MORE MIXED UP CARDS MAKING NEWS/SALES

** MIXED MARTIAL ARTS MAKING HOBBY SING

** FORMER U-D EXEC LANDS C-F-O JOB

** NEW BOOK ON SLEAZY PACK SEARCH HITS SHELF

** COLLECTIBLES AND RETIREMENT? NOPE

                                         =========================

DETAILS ON THESE STORIES AND MORE IN TODAY'S TBR: THE BRILL REPORT...

EDITORIAL POSITION: TOPPS AT IT AGAIN? WE THINK SO

                                          ========================

(O-J SIMPSON ACCUSER SPEAKS OUT IN INTERVIEW WITH THE BRILL REPORT)

When memorabilia dealer Bruce Fromong said he wanted to tell the "Real" story behind what happened that night in a Las Vegas Hotel Room, he called The Brill Report. It is a case of what happens in Vegas doesn't necessarily stay in Vegas.

"There were approximately 700 items in that room --- 12 or 13 once belonged to O-J."

"Kidnapping --- we were held against our will."

"There was another dealer --- with thousands of O-J items --- who didn't show."

"O-J Simpson is guilty of what he is charged with."

"They came in with guns --- O-J never had a gun."

The above are all quotes attributed to Fromong in his exclusive interview with TBR this week. It gives you an overview of what really happened. Below is our story.

("Simpson had been mis-informed" -- Fromong)

Bruce Fromong, a memorabilia dealer who goes by "Superbowlkid" on eBay as well as selling wholesale, says it is a night he will never forget. Four men burst into his hotel room, two of them with loaded semi-automatic hand guns, followed by O-J Simpson.

"One of the guns was pointed directly at my face," said Fromong who admitted fear at that point but relief when Simpson walked in. "My first thought honestly was 'O-J how stupid can you be?' everyone in this room knows who you are."

Fromong says Simpson began yelling at Al Beardsly who brought Fromong and Tom Riccio together for it was Riccio who set up the meeting. Then Simpson made what could be his ultimate mistake. It was a mistake which led to the worst charge he is facing; kidnapping.

"Once they got into the room he told his guys 'nobody leaves this room, don't let anybody leave' we were held there against our will, which is kidnapping," Fromong told TBR. "I want to make one thing perfectly clear, there were guns but O-J himself never had a gun."

Fromong said there was supposed to be another dealer who had lots of Simpson personal memorabilia who did not show up for the meeting. He would not divulge his name, stating the investigation is on-going.

"He literally has thousands of pieces everything from photographs and negatives and stuff from O-J's childhood, but he had acquired them legally as well from a storage place which hadn't been paid for and it went to auction," added Fromong. "O-J had been misinformed, Riccio and he should have realized that when he came in and saw it all (Fromong's memorabilia)."

Of the 700 items in the room belonging to Fromong, he says only about a dozen were once owned by Simpson and the dealer said he got those "by legal means."

"There was a Joe Montana litho, a Pete Rose signed ball, a Duke Snider signed ball and more," he told TBR. "I was told I was going to meet a high profile buyer who liked to buy personal items from athletes and was interested in O-J Simpson items and I was told to bring other stuff as well."

As for the FBI knowing three weeks ahead of time, Fromong has no trouble believing this at all.

"Riccio had gone to the FBI and tried to pass this idea onto them he wanted to work for them and to recover this stuff for Simpson," said Fromong. "There was not a lot of merit and I'd been told Riccio was a convicted felon and there is not a lot of credibility there."

Fromong says he spent 20 years in the military, had "secret clearance" and an honorable discharge. He adds he's built his business from scratch and is doing very well mainly due to his honesty in dealing with people. The dealer tells TBR he worked for Simpson previously as an agent along with Mike Gilbert who ran Locker 32 which was Simpson's memorabilia company.

"I had about $100,000 worth of memorabilia confiscated in that incident and it's slowed down business some, but that's okay," said Fromong. "If O-J had realized it was me he was meeting he probably would have said 'okay everybody out Bruce and I need to talk' and we could have straightened this all out."

("Yeh, he's guilty," said Fromong of the Juice.)

As for being guilty? Fromong says there is no other conclusion.

"He is guilty of what he is charged with -- he had the option to go into that room or not to, he knew there were guns there, he was walking into a situation he knew exactly," he said. "He said he wanted to walk in and get his stuff well you don't walk in with guns."

Fromong said he will continue to sell Simpson items adding for every five people who won't buy Simpson memorabilia there is one who remembers the glory days and will buy. The dealer said he contacted TBR because he says "he's been unfairly lumped together with some unsavory characters." Overall, it's been a bizarre situation which isn't over yet.

(Simpson in the Glory Days.)

"This isn't the old O-J Simpson we remember doing charity work and as an actor, foot ballplayer and announcer," Fromong lamented. "This is an O-J Simpson doing irrational things."

For his part, Fromong would love to have his memorabilia returned to him, and as for former O-J agent in memorabilia, Mike Gilbert?

"I don't know where he's at, I haven't heard from him in a long time.

                                           ============================

(JOBA REVERSE NEGATIVE?)

Here we go again! Topps Update and Highlights seems to have a hot card Topps released without letting anyone know in advance?

The "Reverse Negative" Joba Chamberlain No. 312, the hot Yankee rookie pitcher, is selling for strong numbers. Three have sold so far with the highest selling for $300. Today two have been purchased by a Fontana, California collector going by the eBay name 401Kards, while the other now belongs to MSNBC host and the hobby's premier collector among the well know, Keith Olbermann.

No word yet from Topps as to how this card got out or if it was planned. Topps will likely deny it was released on purpose but collectors and dealers are wondering why a key card such as a Chamberlain RC would just happen to be the "rare" reverse negative.

In the debut 1989 Upper Deck set a hot Dale Murphy card was the key error card in a year when collectors were chasing "error cards." His too was a reverse negative. The following year, 1990, it seemed every card manufacturer had numerous "error" cards including several of the Nolan Ryan error cards which went to ridiculous lengths to reach error status.

In the first series of Topps a card featuring Derek Jeter, George Bush (in the crowd) and Mickey Mantle (in the dugout) sent collectors and new collectors chasing hard and fast. They were also paying what most would call "stupid" dollars for the common card. As it turns out it was a common, and not an error card. The previous season it was the Alex Gordon rookie card which was featured in several dimensions; full, cut, cut out and many different versions of color coding.

                                           ==================

(TOPPS UPDATE RARE CARDS)

Two additional cards are selling well as Short Prints from Topps Update & Highlights. The Poley Walnuts card, featuring a squirrel who hangs around Yankee Stadium, is becoming a hot favorite. The card is selling for as high as $200 but has settled in for much less as several dozen have popped up on eBay.

(Poley Walnuts? A Topps 2007 U&H Shortprint.)

The other seems to be possibly another one of those suspected planned errors. The other hot rookie toward the end of the season and in the playoffs was Red Sox youngster Jacoby Ellsbury.

The Ellsbury card is wrongly given the no. 100 which belongs to another player on the checklist. The no. 100 Ellsbury does seem to be rare while many have sold on eBay for up to $243. Over 50 have sold on eBay as of today.

The two different cards, the squirrel being strange enough for a baseball card, are good for the hobby in terms of hobby-speak.

(Card no. 100 Joba Chamberlain is pulling up to $243) on eBay after error was discovered. The card on the checklist belongs to Abraham Nunez.)

Ellsbury's card looks to be a true error whether or not it was planned by Topps. This happened back in 1995 when  Carlos Beltran and Juan LeBron were on the same card under different versions. The switched pictures was a true error card. The photo with Lebron's face is considered Beltran's RC because his name is on the card. The card actually picturing Beltran is only worth a minimal amount, except to master collectors who must have both versions to complete a set.

Error in photo cards is nothing new. Former Angel Aurelio Rodriguez's rookie card actually pictured the Angel's batboy but the card was never corrected.

                                          ==================

(NEW ENGLAND FANS LOOKING FOR BANNER YEAR)

The Patriots 24-20 win over previously unbeaten Indianapolis on Sunday has New England fans salivating for what could be a sports championship trifecta. The Red Sox won only their second World Series in 90 years and second by the way in the last four years, the Pats could win another Super Bowl and the lowly Celtics are off to a hot start.

If the latter two do win championships trading card companies are going to have to seek permission to make some sort of triple series of cards featuring all three winners.

                                          ================

(MIXED MARTIAL ARTS AND NEW ACTION FIGURES)

Do you know who this man is? He could easily do an American Express commercial because most of America couldn't tell you who Matt Hughs really is simply because Mixed Martial Arts, while a growing sport, isn't a main stream sport.

Hughs, a bona fide champ in the MMA, is getting his own Action figure soon to be available at leading toy stores across the nation. Mixed Martial Arts is a sport being promoted heavily through Pay Per View and while it isn't challenging Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) just yet, don't write it off.

The Action Figures are being released by Round 5 out of Ontario, Canada. Hughs by the way is a nine time UFC champion as well.

(MMA figures who are seen regularly on Spike TV.)

"This first series showcases the most exciting championship fighters to date in their most well known poses," said Barron Lau, marketing director for the Canadian company. "We are honored to be releasing these collectibles at a time when the sport has achieved so much success."

The dolls are six inches high and feature strong details. MMA is shown on Spike TV, a male dominated sports network developed in recent years.

                                     =====================

(FORMER UPPER DECK EXEC LANDS NEW JOB)

Former Upper Deck executive, Ruby Randall, is the new Chief Operating Officer at Vistage International in San Diego. Randall's previous position was at Robbins Research International in the same city, where she was President and CEO.

Randall will oversee internal operations at the company which touts itself as being dedicated to enhancing the lives of chief executives around the globe and states it generates $300 billion in annual revenue.

                                     ======================

(NEW BOOK CITES SLEAZY GUY WHO RIPPED COLLECTORS BY "SEARCHING")

The book is entitled "Running the Table" and it details the life of pool player, Danny Basavich, also known as Kid Delicious. The Kid as the book details was a hustler who at one point quit his $4 an hour job because during one phase of the baseball card craze he became one of the world's best "pack searchers."

(Danny "Kid Delicious" Basavich, pack searcher.)

He would go into Wal-Mart and other stores with a micrometer and measure Upper Deck packs to find the thickest ones, or the ones with the key inserts. He soon learned Topps packs of cards, at that point, featured certain runs. By slightly opening a pack and seeing one card, he could tell if there were other valuable rookie cards in the pack.

"He would purchase packs for $1 and sell the contents for ten times that," the book states.

His parents thought he was selling drugs because he was buying, selling and spending so fast it took them by surprise. They owned a clothing store in Brooklyn but the family had moved to New Jersey long before.

He was later busted for running school gambling pools as well as other misdeeds. A true hustler, the L. John Wertheim book depicts the New Yorker as the, always looking for an angle kid, gone wrong the right. The most well known of the recent pool hustlers the Kid Delicious book is must reading for any card dealer although "collectors" might want to swear off. It might depress you.

                                     ====================

(GETTING RICH ON CARDS AND COLLECTIBLES? FOOL SAYS NO)

Getting rich on your sportscards and collectibles is possible, but according to one "expert" in the field don't count your cards just yet. The "expert" field by the way is not collecting, but financial business and retirement. John Rosevear writes for Motley Fool, the highly respected series of columns dealing with stock and business and as an avid car collector he says cards and collectibles will help but they should only be part of your portfolio.

"Markets aren't terribly liquid and valuations are subject to whims and fads and fluctuate wildly," he writes. "Unless you are a professional car broker, numismatist, art dealer or similar expert it is difficult to know the true value of a particular item and predicting the direction of the market can be a crap shoot even for experts."

All of the above is accurate and he goes on to point out collectibles do well as part of your portfolio because they are poorly correlated with the stock market. At TBR we've always pointed out the beauty of collectibles is their own intrinsic value as well as something you can hold in your hand. It is a prooven fact when economy is soft and the market drops, vintage collectibles seem to come to the top. It seems, just a bit of a hedge, that when folks are unsure of the market they find assurance in collectibles, vintage collectibles.

                                     ==========================