I've fallen behind as usual, but with good reason. I haven't been mailing as much, I've been 'graphing baseball a bit, playing floorball, and doing music with my church (Oak Cliff Unitarian Universalist) every week. And I want to add more music to the schedule. Plus my Cavs and Penguins are alive in the NHL and NBA playoffs. So most of my focus has been elsewhere.
On the positive side, the older ones I sent out have been trickling their way back in...
APRIL 6
Freddie Thompson, 4 cards and a short note, 23 days
APRIL 7
Esse Baharmast, 2 cards and a note, 24 days
APRIL 11
Eddie Radwanski, 2 cards and a note, 32 days
Jean Willrich, 4 cards, 28 days
APRIL 14
Tony Glavin, 3 cards and a note, 31 days
APRIL 18
Paul Dougherty, 4 cards, 39 days
Tasso Koutsoukos, 1 card, 19 days (to Canada)
APRIL 22
Mark Simanton, 2 cards, 43 days
APRIL 27
Drew Ferguson, 1 card and a note, 28 days
MAY 6
Batata, 2 cards and a note, 57 days
MAY 14
Scott Manning, 6 cards and a note, 45 days
MAY 19
Jim Gorsek, 5 cards, 73 days
I'm really happy especially to get Gorsek back. He was mailed the same day as Preki, Paul Wright, and Kai Haaskivi. A friend of mine got Preki back quickly while I'm still waiting, so obviously I was getting a bit worried that maybe that whole batch got lost in the mail. My paranoia is unfounded though: in addition to Gorsek, I had already gotten Tatu and six out of the nine baseball players I had mailed to in that March 7 mailing.
I have a roll of stamps and a list of football (as in NFL) players I'll be sending to in the next few weeks. I likely will add some soccer to that list too.
Friday, May 20, 2016
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Mail Call: The Early April Inbox and Outbox
Most of my recent mailings have been for other sports-- lots of baseball and hockey (and even a non-sports-related request to the great singer Bill Withers), but there have been a few for this project that have gone out as well.
On March 30, I mailed out to Greg Ion (new address; got RTS'ed on my previous attempt) and Scott Manning. Also got my Canadian stamps out and sent off to Pasquale Deluca, Drew Ferguson, and Tasso Koutsoukas. I was going to mail to Frank Klopas as well, but he's back in the States, so that'll save me a buck or two. Note that I mailed to a different address for Koutsoukas than what was in my 2016 Address List. If I get a response from it, I'll let everyone know and also change it up on the List.
I've gotten nine arrivals since my last update on here, in chronological order...
March 22: Gino D'Ippolito signed 2/2 (both on the back of the card in blue pen), and Stan Cummins also did 2/2, personalizing both cards.
March 24: Alan Mayer signed a pair and wrote a short note back. Cool thing about Mayer's sig that reader and local 'graphing colleague Brian pointed out to me, he draws goalposts around his sig. I'll post a photo or two later if I remember to once I'm home.
March 26: Kelly Mock signed 2/2, while Tatu did 7/7. One of those seven was the 1990-91 set's Dallas All-Stars card, which was already signed by Doc Lawson, Mike Powers, and Krys Sobieski, so it's the second All-Stars card I've completed besides the 1991-92 Cleveland card with Zoran Karic, Hector Marinaro, and George Fernandez. Also that day I got a message from Stephanie Ferretti via Facebook. She wanted to let me know that Bruno received my cards and letter-- I had mailed them to a house that she owns and rents out, but she received them and he would sign them and send them back. She said he really liked my letter, and that he does get out to a few Sidekicks games every year, coaches youth teams, and owns a tile and granite business in Farmers Branch. I looked up the address for it and changed it on the Address List.
March 29: Doug McLagan signed 4 cards and sent a letter back to me, saying I should try to get out to the Sidekicks game when the Comets come through-- he does travel with them and always likes meeting fans. I actually had hoped to go when they came through this season, but it was a midweek game so I couldn't do the 45-minute drive each way and be up for work the next day. Hopefully it'll be a weekend this season.
March 31: As expected, Bruno Ferretti's cards came in, three signed in black and one in gold. I love the way gold Sharpie looks on cards. If you find a good one, go with it. The bronze ones are nice too. Silver is just so unpredictable, some are great, some are terrible.
April 1: No fooling, Doug Neely came in, my longest success time yet on this project. I mailed to his home on October 27 following a RTS from his business and got it back about five months later. I'm certainly not complaining, as it beats the alternative.
April 4: Brian Hall signed 2/2 in about 3 weeks. Since he's head of a refereeing organization I hoped he might have a lead on Majid Jay. He didn't: he said NO ONE knows where Jay is now. So needless to say, any help in tracking him down would be greatly appreciated.
As of right now, here are the requests I have outstanding and when I sent them.
SEPTEMBER 2015: Erik Rasmussen, Brian Quinn, Steve Zungul, Beto, David Hoggan, Mark Frederickson, Steve Kinsey
OCTOBER 2015: Andy Chapman, Dennis Mepham, Scoop Stanisic, Mark Mettrick, Nenad Zigante, Gregg Blasingame
MARCH 2016: Paul Wright, Preki, Kai Haaskivi, Jim Gorsek, Batata, Jim Gabarra, Paul Dougherty, Eddie Radwanski, Mark Simanton, Kevin Hundelt, David Boncek, Marty Templin/Herb Silva, Tony Glavin, Freddie Thompson, Jean Willrich, Greg Ion, Scott Manning, Pasquale Deluca, Drew Ferguson, Tasso Koutsoukas
I certainly haven't lost hope on the 2015 ones: with Neely coming in recently it's certainly not hopeless and in other sports I've had seven that have taken two years or more. I'm planning on doing another big mailing in May since I already blew my April stamp budget on doing some mailings to Canada; hopefully I'll be able to start on some of the guys I only have one or two cards of. I hate sending just one card per request but that's the way it goes. Either that or I'll get crazy on the international requests. Regarding my comments last post about it, Ray in Baltimore recommended I just put a couple bucks in to cover return postage. I've had success that way sometimes so it may be worth a shot on guys I can't get stamps on. Looks like I can buy British ones relatively easily at least.
On March 30, I mailed out to Greg Ion (new address; got RTS'ed on my previous attempt) and Scott Manning. Also got my Canadian stamps out and sent off to Pasquale Deluca, Drew Ferguson, and Tasso Koutsoukas. I was going to mail to Frank Klopas as well, but he's back in the States, so that'll save me a buck or two. Note that I mailed to a different address for Koutsoukas than what was in my 2016 Address List. If I get a response from it, I'll let everyone know and also change it up on the List.
I've gotten nine arrivals since my last update on here, in chronological order...
March 22: Gino D'Ippolito signed 2/2 (both on the back of the card in blue pen), and Stan Cummins also did 2/2, personalizing both cards.
March 24: Alan Mayer signed a pair and wrote a short note back. Cool thing about Mayer's sig that reader and local 'graphing colleague Brian pointed out to me, he draws goalposts around his sig. I'll post a photo or two later if I remember to once I'm home.
March 26: Kelly Mock signed 2/2, while Tatu did 7/7. One of those seven was the 1990-91 set's Dallas All-Stars card, which was already signed by Doc Lawson, Mike Powers, and Krys Sobieski, so it's the second All-Stars card I've completed besides the 1991-92 Cleveland card with Zoran Karic, Hector Marinaro, and George Fernandez. Also that day I got a message from Stephanie Ferretti via Facebook. She wanted to let me know that Bruno received my cards and letter-- I had mailed them to a house that she owns and rents out, but she received them and he would sign them and send them back. She said he really liked my letter, and that he does get out to a few Sidekicks games every year, coaches youth teams, and owns a tile and granite business in Farmers Branch. I looked up the address for it and changed it on the Address List.
March 29: Doug McLagan signed 4 cards and sent a letter back to me, saying I should try to get out to the Sidekicks game when the Comets come through-- he does travel with them and always likes meeting fans. I actually had hoped to go when they came through this season, but it was a midweek game so I couldn't do the 45-minute drive each way and be up for work the next day. Hopefully it'll be a weekend this season.
March 31: As expected, Bruno Ferretti's cards came in, three signed in black and one in gold. I love the way gold Sharpie looks on cards. If you find a good one, go with it. The bronze ones are nice too. Silver is just so unpredictable, some are great, some are terrible.
April 1: No fooling, Doug Neely came in, my longest success time yet on this project. I mailed to his home on October 27 following a RTS from his business and got it back about five months later. I'm certainly not complaining, as it beats the alternative.
April 4: Brian Hall signed 2/2 in about 3 weeks. Since he's head of a refereeing organization I hoped he might have a lead on Majid Jay. He didn't: he said NO ONE knows where Jay is now. So needless to say, any help in tracking him down would be greatly appreciated.
As of right now, here are the requests I have outstanding and when I sent them.
SEPTEMBER 2015: Erik Rasmussen, Brian Quinn, Steve Zungul, Beto, David Hoggan, Mark Frederickson, Steve Kinsey
OCTOBER 2015: Andy Chapman, Dennis Mepham, Scoop Stanisic, Mark Mettrick, Nenad Zigante, Gregg Blasingame
MARCH 2016: Paul Wright, Preki, Kai Haaskivi, Jim Gorsek, Batata, Jim Gabarra, Paul Dougherty, Eddie Radwanski, Mark Simanton, Kevin Hundelt, David Boncek, Marty Templin/Herb Silva, Tony Glavin, Freddie Thompson, Jean Willrich, Greg Ion, Scott Manning, Pasquale Deluca, Drew Ferguson, Tasso Koutsoukas
I certainly haven't lost hope on the 2015 ones: with Neely coming in recently it's certainly not hopeless and in other sports I've had seven that have taken two years or more. I'm planning on doing another big mailing in May since I already blew my April stamp budget on doing some mailings to Canada; hopefully I'll be able to start on some of the guys I only have one or two cards of. I hate sending just one card per request but that's the way it goes. Either that or I'll get crazy on the international requests. Regarding my comments last post about it, Ray in Baltimore recommended I just put a couple bucks in to cover return postage. I've had success that way sometimes so it may be worth a shot on guys I can't get stamps on. Looks like I can buy British ones relatively easily at least.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Mail Call: A series of quick successes, and a return to the failbox
In my last post I mentioned that I had mailed out a few, had more to come, and then tacked on even more on top of that. Since restarting this month, my mailouts have gone to...
MARCH 7: Paul Wright, Preki, Tatu, Kai Haaskivi (written in Finnish), Jim Gorsek, Bruce Savage
MARCH 10: Don Popovic, Doug McLagan, Batata, Jim Gabarra, Paul Dougherty, Greg Ion, Eddie Radwanski, Mark Simanton, Kevin Hundelt, Charley Greene, Chico Moreira
MARCH 14: Alan Mayer, Stan Cummins, David Boncek, Kelly Mock, Brian Hall, Gino D'Ippolito, Esse Baharmast, Marty Templin (with Herb Silva), Ricky Davis, Ted Eck, Tony Glavin, Freddie Thompson, Jean Willrich, Gerry Gray
The results have begun trickling in this past week, with a deluge of four yesterday.
March 18, Don Popovic came rolling in, as he signed three cards and even wrote a short note on my envelope, saying the league needs more fans like me. Awesome! Popovic gives a small, vertical sig on the cards but it looks pretty cool.
The next day I got Charley Greene, as he signed three cards and wrote a short note back as well. Always glad to see the former Cleveland Crunch guys returning. I actually met Greene at the 2002 All-Star Game in Cleveland where he played in the Alumni Game.
Yesterday came Bruce Savage on five cards, Ricky Davis on two cards plus a note back, Ted Eck on three cards, and Gerry Gray on two cards plus a note back.
I'm planning on buying international stamps in April. I have a few hockey mailings to go to Canada and Slovakia, and I might see if I can send off a few soccer ones to Canada as well-- Carl Valentine, Drew Ferguson, Pasquale Deluca, Frank Klopas, Tasso Koutsoukos, Dale Mitchell, and Mark Karpun are all up there. No Slovakian players that I've found just yet.
I also need to look into getting postage for returns from the UK (£2.25, it appears? Looks like I have ten to mail out, so at least it's a nice round number), Bosnia-Herzegovina, Argentina, Croatia, Slovenia, and South Africa too. If anyone knows the prices or where I can buy stamps for the return envelope, I'd greatly appreciate it.
I also got RTS'ed by Chico Moreira. That's my third attempt and third failure on him so I may be done trying him unless someone else reports a success somewhere.
MARCH 7: Paul Wright, Preki, Tatu, Kai Haaskivi (written in Finnish), Jim Gorsek, Bruce Savage
MARCH 10: Don Popovic, Doug McLagan, Batata, Jim Gabarra, Paul Dougherty, Greg Ion, Eddie Radwanski, Mark Simanton, Kevin Hundelt, Charley Greene, Chico Moreira
MARCH 14: Alan Mayer, Stan Cummins, David Boncek, Kelly Mock, Brian Hall, Gino D'Ippolito, Esse Baharmast, Marty Templin (with Herb Silva), Ricky Davis, Ted Eck, Tony Glavin, Freddie Thompson, Jean Willrich, Gerry Gray
The results have begun trickling in this past week, with a deluge of four yesterday.
March 18, Don Popovic came rolling in, as he signed three cards and even wrote a short note on my envelope, saying the league needs more fans like me. Awesome! Popovic gives a small, vertical sig on the cards but it looks pretty cool.
The next day I got Charley Greene, as he signed three cards and wrote a short note back as well. Always glad to see the former Cleveland Crunch guys returning. I actually met Greene at the 2002 All-Star Game in Cleveland where he played in the Alumni Game.
Yesterday came Bruce Savage on five cards, Ricky Davis on two cards plus a note back, Ted Eck on three cards, and Gerry Gray on two cards plus a note back.
I'm planning on buying international stamps in April. I have a few hockey mailings to go to Canada and Slovakia, and I might see if I can send off a few soccer ones to Canada as well-- Carl Valentine, Drew Ferguson, Pasquale Deluca, Frank Klopas, Tasso Koutsoukos, Dale Mitchell, and Mark Karpun are all up there. No Slovakian players that I've found just yet.
I also need to look into getting postage for returns from the UK (£2.25, it appears? Looks like I have ten to mail out, so at least it's a nice round number), Bosnia-Herzegovina, Argentina, Croatia, Slovenia, and South Africa too. If anyone knows the prices or where I can buy stamps for the return envelope, I'd greatly appreciate it.
I also got RTS'ed by Chico Moreira. That's my third attempt and third failure on him so I may be done trying him unless someone else reports a success somewhere.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Mailing out!
Bought a roll of stamps, and it's time to get back to mailing.
Most of my requests will be soccer-related ones with a few baseball and hockey ones that will go on my main autograph blog. A quick rundown, here's what I've sent so far and what's coming next...
MAILED MARCH 7
Paul Wright, Preki, Tatu, Chico Moreira, Kai Haaskivi, Jim Gorsek, Bruce Savage
UPCOMING
Don Popovic, Doug McLagan, Alan Mayer, Batata, Jim Gabarra, Paul Dougherty, Greg Ion, Eddie Radwanski, Mark Simanton, Stan Cummins, Kevin Hundelt, and David Boncek
I also have others who will be going out soon too, including most of the referees in the 1990-91 set. Brian is hooking me up with an extra card on each, so those will get written and sent as soon as they arrive.
I wrote Kai Haaskivi's letter in Finnish, so I'm hoping that might help things. I'm half Finnish myself and with a little (lot) of help from Google Translate, I got a letter cranked out. Here's to hoping it works, as I haven't seen many successes from him.
Most of my requests will be soccer-related ones with a few baseball and hockey ones that will go on my main autograph blog. A quick rundown, here's what I've sent so far and what's coming next...
MAILED MARCH 7
Paul Wright, Preki, Tatu, Chico Moreira, Kai Haaskivi, Jim Gorsek, Bruce Savage
UPCOMING
Don Popovic, Doug McLagan, Alan Mayer, Batata, Jim Gabarra, Paul Dougherty, Greg Ion, Eddie Radwanski, Mark Simanton, Stan Cummins, Kevin Hundelt, and David Boncek
I also have others who will be going out soon too, including most of the referees in the 1990-91 set. Brian is hooking me up with an extra card on each, so those will get written and sent as soon as they arrive.
I wrote Kai Haaskivi's letter in Finnish, so I'm hoping that might help things. I'm half Finnish myself and with a little (lot) of help from Google Translate, I got a letter cranked out. Here's to hoping it works, as I haven't seen many successes from him.
Friday, February 26, 2016
A Visit To Allen
I made another trip out for the Sidekicks last night since it was their final regular season home game and thus the last chance to get my (and Ray's) team set cards signed. I ran into Brian as well-- as expected-- and we finally saw Gordon Jago up in the press box so he signed for us and chatted for a bit-- five cards for me. He did confirm that the Sidekicks will be back again next year. Apparently they didn't know for certain if they would have a team until about three weeks before the start of the season this year. Brian also gave me a bunch of extra cards of the local guys-- those came in handy later.
During the game, Brian messaged me that he was pretty sure he saw David Doyle talking to Jago but wasn't certain. We took a walk at halftime hoping to find him, but no luck. We did however run into Terry Woodberry who signed the four cards I had from Brian's stash.
After the game, Mike Jones signed a card I had for Ray and Brian told me he did indeed see Doyle, who signed the four I had. His signature was different tonight. I'll post a comparison later. On the field Dejan Milosevic and Patrick Shamu each signed two cards-- one for me, one for Ray. Unfortunately I missed out on David Kamali, didn't see Rubencho signing at all, and never saw the other four I needed (Fernando Garza, Michael Grba, Paul Hason, and Franck Mbemba). To finish off the night, Brian gave me one of the team logo cards from the 1991-92 Soccer Shots set, which Nick Stavrou and Doyle both signed. It looks pretty sharp signed in gold.
This week, I'm planning on getting a roll of stamps and sending out a good 50 requests. Most will be soccer with a few baseball and hockey sprinkled in. I'll post a list of who I send off to. Also Ray said he'll send me a few as compensation for getting most of the Sidekicks team set signed for him, so I'll certainly post what I get from him as well.
During the game, Brian messaged me that he was pretty sure he saw David Doyle talking to Jago but wasn't certain. We took a walk at halftime hoping to find him, but no luck. We did however run into Terry Woodberry who signed the four cards I had from Brian's stash.
After the game, Mike Jones signed a card I had for Ray and Brian told me he did indeed see Doyle, who signed the four I had. His signature was different tonight. I'll post a comparison later. On the field Dejan Milosevic and Patrick Shamu each signed two cards-- one for me, one for Ray. Unfortunately I missed out on David Kamali, didn't see Rubencho signing at all, and never saw the other four I needed (Fernando Garza, Michael Grba, Paul Hason, and Franck Mbemba). To finish off the night, Brian gave me one of the team logo cards from the 1991-92 Soccer Shots set, which Nick Stavrou and Doyle both signed. It looks pretty sharp signed in gold.
This week, I'm planning on getting a roll of stamps and sending out a good 50 requests. Most will be soccer with a few baseball and hockey sprinkled in. I'll post a list of who I send off to. Also Ray said he'll send me a few as compensation for getting most of the Sidekicks team set signed for him, so I'll certainly post what I get from him as well.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Buy, Sell, and Trade
It's rare that I buy autographs. Part of it is that you can't guarantee authenticity without seeing something signed right in front of you. The top authenticators say up to 90% of what's on eBay is fake. Granted, they have a stake in that: by their fear-mongering, it makes people likely to flock to them even though the science of authentication is an inexact one at best and puts more money in their pockets.
Fortunately, fakes are rare in the indoor soccer world, if they even exist. When the top scorers of all-time are all VERY willing signers, there is no reason for fakes to exist. And so I don't hesitate to buy from other collectors if they have something I need.
This week I picked up a few major needs from another Baltimore-area collector, Jeff, who is a friend of Ray's whom I have mentioned on here before. Getting a Slobo Ilijevski, a Billy Ronson, a Preki, a Kai Haaskivi, and two Tatu certainly helps to lighten the load of big names and deceased players. I also grabbed a few others to whom I had written once and didn't include every single card of them in Gary Heale and Fernando Clavijo.
He also tossed in a 1992-93 NPSL Victor Nogueira. So I guess that means I need to start on that set next! Hell, maybe I should go for that 1991-92 Soccer Shots set eventually too.
Brian sent me an eBay auction for a signed Stan Stamenkovic card from the 1987-88 set. But at $50, I'll have to pass on it for now. If I'm too cheap to pay $5 for Ryne Sandberg for my baseball sets, I can't see myself spending $50 on Stamenkovic just yet. Maybe once I'm down to the last few...
I'm finally getting prepped to mail out all the 11x14 hockey photos I mentioned in my last post. So March 1 should be the next grouping of soccer mailings. I'll likely post a list later this month of who I'll be sending to.
Fortunately, fakes are rare in the indoor soccer world, if they even exist. When the top scorers of all-time are all VERY willing signers, there is no reason for fakes to exist. And so I don't hesitate to buy from other collectors if they have something I need.
This week I picked up a few major needs from another Baltimore-area collector, Jeff, who is a friend of Ray's whom I have mentioned on here before. Getting a Slobo Ilijevski, a Billy Ronson, a Preki, a Kai Haaskivi, and two Tatu certainly helps to lighten the load of big names and deceased players. I also grabbed a few others to whom I had written once and didn't include every single card of them in Gary Heale and Fernando Clavijo.
He also tossed in a 1992-93 NPSL Victor Nogueira. So I guess that means I need to start on that set next! Hell, maybe I should go for that 1991-92 Soccer Shots set eventually too.
Brian sent me an eBay auction for a signed Stan Stamenkovic card from the 1987-88 set. But at $50, I'll have to pass on it for now. If I'm too cheap to pay $5 for Ryne Sandberg for my baseball sets, I can't see myself spending $50 on Stamenkovic just yet. Maybe once I'm down to the last few...
I'm finally getting prepped to mail out all the 11x14 hockey photos I mentioned in my last post. So March 1 should be the next grouping of soccer mailings. I'll likely post a list later this month of who I'll be sending to.
Monday, February 1, 2016
Keeping on top of things...
Anyone who says hockey players are the most gracious signers in pro sports is full of it. It's indoor soccer players. And I say this as one who collects hockey first and foremost.
Sure, the MASL isn't one of the Big 4 Leagues (nor were the NPSL or MISL) but I'm sure most would put the NHL as a very distant fourth among those Big 4-- almost to the point of a Big 3-- and some might even argue to put Nascar or the MLS or even the PGA as the fourth.
But the attitudes of the players is night and day with most others. Saturday night, I went out to Allen and saw the Sidekicks get stomped to the tune of 13-4 against the league's top team. Afterward, the players still came out and signed at two tables set up on the concourse. Other players who weren't scheduled to be at the table signed as well while walking around. And several more signed out in the parking lot as they left. And I even ran into a much-needed alumni player inside.
Saturday night was trading card night, with Panini sponsoring a 20-card set of players in their Donruss design. Looks sharp-- and I'm not just saying that as a Panini employee, then genuinely look good. After the game, I was able to get 12 signed for myself and also for Ray in Maryland. Clint Ritter, Juan Gamboa, and Cody Ellis were at the first table, with Gamboa even apologizing for the bad scoreboard result. I told him it happens, as a goalie myself in floorball I've been on the short end of a 15-2 score in a tournament. While waiting for them, VcMor Eligwe and R.J. Lauvano signed as well while walking around. On my way to the other table, I ran into Willie Molano, who signed six cards I had of him. This made up nicely for me misidentifying him four weeks prior on Alumni Night.
The other table had Arthur Ivo, Ray Aguayo, and Ricardinho. Cameron Brown, who got hit cheaply from behind resulting in a concussion was even still there, chatting with and signing for fans despite the injury. I was surprised, I thought for sure he'd be in a dark quiet place but there he was. I've gotten a concussion before in hockey-- but that was with a helmet and cage and even with it I was still a bit loopy after the game. My best friend at the time came to the game and afterward I asked when she got there... she rode to the rink with me. She swore she'd never go to a hockey game again.
Anyways, after that the group of us there headed outside and to the back where Jamie Lovegrove, Mike Jones, and Fabinho all signed. Jones was battling a shoulder problem as well-- same guy who took out Brown caught him with a bad hit. At least that one got whistled for two in the box instead of just a free kick. And the guy later got thrown down right in front of the ref with no call.
Meanwhile today I got my first success via mail in a few weeks as Zoran Karic completed my 1991-92 Crunch All-Stars triple, my 1990-91 Karic-Goossens ASG dual, and three others. I'm planning on getting crazy with the mailings again pretty soon. Not sure who I'll go for first; Brian recommended referee Gino D'Ippolito, so I may try all the referees. I also need to find an address for J.P. Dellacamera to go on my other checklist.
Sure, the MASL isn't one of the Big 4 Leagues (nor were the NPSL or MISL) but I'm sure most would put the NHL as a very distant fourth among those Big 4-- almost to the point of a Big 3-- and some might even argue to put Nascar or the MLS or even the PGA as the fourth.
But the attitudes of the players is night and day with most others. Saturday night, I went out to Allen and saw the Sidekicks get stomped to the tune of 13-4 against the league's top team. Afterward, the players still came out and signed at two tables set up on the concourse. Other players who weren't scheduled to be at the table signed as well while walking around. And several more signed out in the parking lot as they left. And I even ran into a much-needed alumni player inside.
Saturday night was trading card night, with Panini sponsoring a 20-card set of players in their Donruss design. Looks sharp-- and I'm not just saying that as a Panini employee, then genuinely look good. After the game, I was able to get 12 signed for myself and also for Ray in Maryland. Clint Ritter, Juan Gamboa, and Cody Ellis were at the first table, with Gamboa even apologizing for the bad scoreboard result. I told him it happens, as a goalie myself in floorball I've been on the short end of a 15-2 score in a tournament. While waiting for them, VcMor Eligwe and R.J. Lauvano signed as well while walking around. On my way to the other table, I ran into Willie Molano, who signed six cards I had of him. This made up nicely for me misidentifying him four weeks prior on Alumni Night.
The other table had Arthur Ivo, Ray Aguayo, and Ricardinho. Cameron Brown, who got hit cheaply from behind resulting in a concussion was even still there, chatting with and signing for fans despite the injury. I was surprised, I thought for sure he'd be in a dark quiet place but there he was. I've gotten a concussion before in hockey-- but that was with a helmet and cage and even with it I was still a bit loopy after the game. My best friend at the time came to the game and afterward I asked when she got there... she rode to the rink with me. She swore she'd never go to a hockey game again.
Anyways, after that the group of us there headed outside and to the back where Jamie Lovegrove, Mike Jones, and Fabinho all signed. Jones was battling a shoulder problem as well-- same guy who took out Brown caught him with a bad hit. At least that one got whistled for two in the box instead of just a free kick. And the guy later got thrown down right in front of the ref with no call.
Meanwhile today I got my first success via mail in a few weeks as Zoran Karic completed my 1991-92 Crunch All-Stars triple, my 1990-91 Karic-Goossens ASG dual, and three others. I'm planning on getting crazy with the mailings again pretty soon. Not sure who I'll go for first; Brian recommended referee Gino D'Ippolito, so I may try all the referees. I also need to find an address for J.P. Dellacamera to go on my other checklist.
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Mail Call: Kim Roentved
My first attempt to Kim Roentved a few months back got RTS'ed, but I can't complain much.
After all, even though it took a while to get back to me, I got Jan Goossens back in that time from the Netherlands. And he signed the two All-Star cards you'll (hopefully) see below. I then was able to send these along to Kim and add his signature to them as well.
If I feel like taking a chance on Dale Mitchell soon, I'll send the 1990-91 card to him next. The 1991-92 card could go to Carl Valentine, Jim Gorsek, or Iain Fraser next.
I also got a card sent to me this week from Mike Powers. I spoke to him at the Sidekicks Alumni Game and he got my address and set me a team card from the 1986-87 Sidekicks Championship squad and signed it. He tossed in a couple extras as well and asked me to pass them onto Mark and Dave. I don't have a photo of it due to the aforementioned camera issues, but I'll hopefully post one up soon.
After all, even though it took a while to get back to me, I got Jan Goossens back in that time from the Netherlands. And he signed the two All-Star cards you'll (hopefully) see below. I then was able to send these along to Kim and add his signature to them as well.
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| It's a little blurry at the edges. My phone's camera lens cover shattered this week and instead of forking over $112 to have it repaired, I found out I can do it myself for about $6 in a few weeks. |
I also got a card sent to me this week from Mike Powers. I spoke to him at the Sidekicks Alumni Game and he got my address and set me a team card from the 1986-87 Sidekicks Championship squad and signed it. He tossed in a couple extras as well and asked me to pass them onto Mark and Dave. I don't have a photo of it due to the aforementioned camera issues, but I'll hopefully post one up soon.
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
More in the Mail, and a cross-town venture
Thanks to the holidays and battling an ear infection, I never got around to putting up photos on my previous entry. And I likely won't on this post either. But I'll try to stay on top of things in 2016.
First up, a run through the TTMs...
DECEMBER 22
Homer Screws, 3/3, 2 months
DECEMBER 23
Diego Mandagaran, 7/3, 2 months - he also sent four signed photos and a couple unsigned ones
DECEMBER 26
Tim Wittman, 6/6, 2 months
Peter Ward, 4/4, 2 months
DECEMBER 28
Kia Zolgharnain, 4/4, 3 months, also sent along some coupons for Dick's Sporting Goods
JANUARY 4
Jan Goossens, 8/7, 3 months, also sent a short note and returned my postage money from the Netherlands
I also got a RTS from Theo Kulsdom-- or the person living at the address I had for him. She recommended I try Facebook and it looks like he's now in England.
On January 7 I re-sent to Bruno Ferretti (third time is the charm, I hope), re-sent to Kim Roentved, and sent for the first time this go-around to Zoran Karic. Zoran was very fast for me a few years ago so I'm hoping for a similar response time this year.
Right now, I'm at 57/88 from my 2015 mailings. Once I remove the RTS's and such, I'm still waiting on 14: Erik Rasmussen, Brian Quinn, Steve Zungul, Beto, David Hoggan, Mark Frederickson, Steve Kinsey, Andy Chapman, Dennis Mepham, Scoop Stanisic, Mark Mettrick, Nenad Zigante, Gregg Blasingame, and Doug Neely.
I got out across to Allen for the Dallas Sidekicks' Alumni Game, and got a few guys to sign there. Doc Lawson signed 6 cards for me, Mike Powers signed 6 as well, Dev Reeves 3, Terry Woodberry 1, David Doyle 2, Rusty Troy 3, Krys Sobieski 7, Billy Phillips 1, and broadcaster Norm Hitzges 1 (I decided I'd get a broadcaster on each 1990-91 set checklist-- Norm on one, and maybe JP Dellacamera on the other). I missed Mike Uremovich, Willie Molano, and a few I was hoping to help Ray in Maryland with, but aside from that, not a bad day. I have addresses on Molano and Uremovich at least.
Hopefully I'll be mailing more in the next few months. I'm also planning on buying some from a friend of Ray's soon as well.
First up, a run through the TTMs...
DECEMBER 22
Homer Screws, 3/3, 2 months
DECEMBER 23
Diego Mandagaran, 7/3, 2 months - he also sent four signed photos and a couple unsigned ones
DECEMBER 26
Tim Wittman, 6/6, 2 months
Peter Ward, 4/4, 2 months
DECEMBER 28
Kia Zolgharnain, 4/4, 3 months, also sent along some coupons for Dick's Sporting Goods
JANUARY 4
Jan Goossens, 8/7, 3 months, also sent a short note and returned my postage money from the Netherlands
I also got a RTS from Theo Kulsdom-- or the person living at the address I had for him. She recommended I try Facebook and it looks like he's now in England.
On January 7 I re-sent to Bruno Ferretti (third time is the charm, I hope), re-sent to Kim Roentved, and sent for the first time this go-around to Zoran Karic. Zoran was very fast for me a few years ago so I'm hoping for a similar response time this year.
Right now, I'm at 57/88 from my 2015 mailings. Once I remove the RTS's and such, I'm still waiting on 14: Erik Rasmussen, Brian Quinn, Steve Zungul, Beto, David Hoggan, Mark Frederickson, Steve Kinsey, Andy Chapman, Dennis Mepham, Scoop Stanisic, Mark Mettrick, Nenad Zigante, Gregg Blasingame, and Doug Neely.
I got out across to Allen for the Dallas Sidekicks' Alumni Game, and got a few guys to sign there. Doc Lawson signed 6 cards for me, Mike Powers signed 6 as well, Dev Reeves 3, Terry Woodberry 1, David Doyle 2, Rusty Troy 3, Krys Sobieski 7, Billy Phillips 1, and broadcaster Norm Hitzges 1 (I decided I'd get a broadcaster on each 1990-91 set checklist-- Norm on one, and maybe JP Dellacamera on the other). I missed Mike Uremovich, Willie Molano, and a few I was hoping to help Ray in Maryland with, but aside from that, not a bad day. I have addresses on Molano and Uremovich at least.
Hopefully I'll be mailing more in the next few months. I'm also planning on buying some from a friend of Ray's soon as well.
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Quick Holiday Update - TTMs and Purchases
Photos to come later; this is just a quick write-up.
I've slowed down a lot the last couple of months. My normal postage budget went into savings for potential Black Friday deals at my local card shop. When those didn't pan out, I bought a mandolin and put some aside to mail out some hockey requests. But on the positive side, I do plan to start hitting the soccer requests hard in the new year.
I was able to cut down on my potential writer's cramp though by buying a few off Ray in Maryland, whom I mentioned a few months back when I picked up some Kai Haaskivi and Billy Ronson items. This time I bought a bunch off him-- 45 to be exact-- including 11 from the 1987-88 set, 6 from 1988-89, 14 from 1989-90, 9 from 1990-91, and 5 from 1991-92. So that knocks out 45 that I needed right there.
I got six back in November and December as well. The first one was an oddity-- former MISL commissioner Earl Foreman kept my cards, instead signing three ABA cards signed on the back. My second attempt at sending to Cacho Cordoba came back successfully, as he signed four cards and wrote a short note.
I went about three weeks without anything, then received Walter Schmetzer and Mike Sweeney. I had a success via mail from Andy Schmetzer, and Paul in Seattle got me Brian Schmetzer, so my mailing from Walter finishes off the entire trio. Sweeney signed four cards, personalizing them all, and even wrote a short note back apologizing for taking so long. Not a worry-- I still have ten out there whom I've been waiting for even longer (and even got a baseball success back recently that took seven years).
Moving into December, Joe Waters signed four cards and wrote a short note back as well. The lone disappointing success (a paradox if I ever heard one) was from Pato Margetic. I sent him three cards and he kept two, signing and returning only one of them. At least it was my Cleveland Crunch card.
I had a few RTS in there as well: my second attempts on Chico Moreira and Bruno Ferretti were unsuccessful. A trio of Moreira sigs were in the ones I bought from Ray though, so I only have two more to get on him. And I bet I can find another address for Ferretti. I also got Kim Roentved bounced back due to the demise of the Wichita B-52s. Like Ferretti though, I'm sure I can find an address on him as well.
Hopefully January will have a lot more writing. I plan to end out a lot more, plus I'll be writing for SportsCardForum.com on various subjects. Maybe I'll see what I can do on the MISL sets for them.
One final positive: January 2 will be the Dallas Sidekicks alumni game. I hope to get a few cards signed there as well.
I've slowed down a lot the last couple of months. My normal postage budget went into savings for potential Black Friday deals at my local card shop. When those didn't pan out, I bought a mandolin and put some aside to mail out some hockey requests. But on the positive side, I do plan to start hitting the soccer requests hard in the new year.
I was able to cut down on my potential writer's cramp though by buying a few off Ray in Maryland, whom I mentioned a few months back when I picked up some Kai Haaskivi and Billy Ronson items. This time I bought a bunch off him-- 45 to be exact-- including 11 from the 1987-88 set, 6 from 1988-89, 14 from 1989-90, 9 from 1990-91, and 5 from 1991-92. So that knocks out 45 that I needed right there.
I got six back in November and December as well. The first one was an oddity-- former MISL commissioner Earl Foreman kept my cards, instead signing three ABA cards signed on the back. My second attempt at sending to Cacho Cordoba came back successfully, as he signed four cards and wrote a short note.
I went about three weeks without anything, then received Walter Schmetzer and Mike Sweeney. I had a success via mail from Andy Schmetzer, and Paul in Seattle got me Brian Schmetzer, so my mailing from Walter finishes off the entire trio. Sweeney signed four cards, personalizing them all, and even wrote a short note back apologizing for taking so long. Not a worry-- I still have ten out there whom I've been waiting for even longer (and even got a baseball success back recently that took seven years).
Moving into December, Joe Waters signed four cards and wrote a short note back as well. The lone disappointing success (a paradox if I ever heard one) was from Pato Margetic. I sent him three cards and he kept two, signing and returning only one of them. At least it was my Cleveland Crunch card.
I had a few RTS in there as well: my second attempts on Chico Moreira and Bruno Ferretti were unsuccessful. A trio of Moreira sigs were in the ones I bought from Ray though, so I only have two more to get on him. And I bet I can find another address for Ferretti. I also got Kim Roentved bounced back due to the demise of the Wichita B-52s. Like Ferretti though, I'm sure I can find an address on him as well.
Hopefully January will have a lot more writing. I plan to end out a lot more, plus I'll be writing for SportsCardForum.com on various subjects. Maybe I'll see what I can do on the MISL sets for them.
One final positive: January 2 will be the Dallas Sidekicks alumni game. I hope to get a few cards signed there as well.
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