Ok..so I am finally grounded for a little while. After spending the better part of a month in Florida it is so good to be home. I have been back in New York for several days now and am gearing up for a big week or so of signings (right here in the Tri-State area) Wednesday we are starting yet another 2007 Giants team project which will culminate Friday evening at a special cocktail party at Mariano's restaurant here in New Rochelle (for more info on the event check out the upcoming signings page). Then this weekend I am heading over to the Football Spectacular show in Edison, NJ. We are bringing in a few Giants players as well as working on some exciting projects. This should be an extremely busy month so hopefully I will be able to keep up with the blogging.
Right now we are less than fifteen minutes away from the official start of the 2008 MLB season (the Mets opener). While they do have some issues I feel the Mets boast the strongest rotation in the National League. Aside from the robust one-two punch of Pedro and Santana, John Maine and Oliver Perez are poised to dominate this season. They will now be matched up against opposing team's third and fourth starters (versus two and three..sometimes one and two) and will feast on it. I predict 18 wins for both and the pennant...anything short of that will be a disappointment. With that said I am expecting that after many months of team oriented projects my next major one will be the Mets in November.
As said earlier this should be quite a week here at Steiner...so check back daily for updates, photos and more Mets talk.

If my memory serves me well I believe I last left off in Dallas about to leave for the Mavericks/Lakers game (the night before heading back to Tampa, Florida for more Yankees signings). The game itself was unreal. J Kidd hooked it up and I was seated three rows behind the Mavs bench. It was so strong watching Kobe Bryant, J and Dirk (the now injured Dirk) up close. I was also loving watching Mark Cuban , who was seated a few rows to my right, go at it with referees all game long. Some sports are better on television (football) but there is nothing like watching hoops in person.
Anyway, the following morning I hopped on yet another flight to Tampa. Once I arrived I immediately began setting up for a plethora of signings that would take place over four days. The first two signing were that very night with Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera. While most of my trip was dedicated to a few special projects that we are working on Robinson autographed quite a few individual pieces. The most robust of all these items are a special Big Stick Ash Signature bat. It is reasonably priced and a must have for any Cano or Yankees collector in general. Another strong item that we are going to be introducing to all of our Yankees collections is the Yankee Stadium Commemorative baseball. It has an awesome blue logo on it commemorating the years of the soon to be closing stadium. Robinson signed a handful of those as well as 2008 All Star Baseballs (which, in my opinion, he is a lock to play in)
The next day I signed with the Yankee Captain Derek Jeter. Aside from building up inventory of some of our best staple Jeter items Derek also signed game used batting gloves, cleats and a handful of those Yankee Stadium balls...very strong. After Jeter was done I did a few small signing with other Yankees players including fan- favorite Shelley Duncan. Duncan is quickly becoming one of the more popular Yankees and one of the most sought after autographs around.
After the Duncan signing I spent the next two days working on these Yankees projects...which we hope to unveil sometime in the next month or so. I am really looking forward to us going out with these and can't wait for you all to see the pieces. I finally arrived home for good (for now) a few days ago after spending the better part of a month on the road (Ft. Myers twice, Tampa twice, Dallas). We have a ton of exciting things going on over the next two weeks...most of which are in New York! Check back later for some final thoughts on spring training as well as an in depth preview of the beginning of April.
Have a great weekend!

Here are a few strong photos from my recent trip to Dallas and Tampa.
Check back later for a full recap of my journey as well as a preview of the next few weeks.

Sunday afternoon I flew out to Dallas, Texas for a private signing with Mavericks superstar Jason Kidd. This was J's first signing as a member of Dallas and the first I have done with him in quite some time. Monday morning I set up and awaited Kidd's arrival. Jason popped in at about 2:00 (right after practice) and knocked out the session in no time. J seems incredibly excited about being in Dallas...as he should. The West is as competitive as any conference in recent memory and with the Mavericks adding Kidd, the Lakers adding Pau Gasol, the Suns adding Shaq and the Rockets never losing it truly has become the wild west. Kidd and I spoke about how any of those teams are a three game losing streak away from dropping to the ninth spot (and out of the playoff picture). Anyway, the product breakdown for this signing was all Dallas. We did three sick new Mavericks images (in both 8x10 and 16x20) as well as that strong Sports Illustrated Kidd cover from a few weeks ago (in 16x20!..very robust!)
After the signing was over it took me no time to pack up and ship the pieces back to New York (a first). That brings us to today where I am enjoying a "day off" in Dallas. J was nice enough to leave me a ticket for tonight's Mavericks/Lakers game so I am heading over to American Airlines Center in a few hours for that showdown. If last Sunday's thriller in L.A. was any indication of how tonight will play out it is sure to be a classic. Tomorrow morning I am flying straight back to my March home...Tampa... for quite a few Yankees signings.
Check back tomorrow for an update from Florida as well as a few strong photos from yesterday's Kidd signing.

As I said last week we had two incredible events over the past two weekends. The first was an Islanders "Core of the Four" breakfast and team signing. It took place at the Nassau Marriott and was as strong an event as we have ever had. Stevie Sipps and his Last Licks crew did an amazing job coordinating it with our insanely robust marketing team. My main focus , however, was not the breakfast. It was the team signing that went along with it. Somehow, with limited issues, we were able to get seventeen guys on the pieces in about two hours. While a few players still need to finish what they started and a handful of guys have yet to sign the product looks unbelievable..as it should considering it is a reflection of one of the greatest dynasties in team sports. Here are some photos from the day's proceedings.







The following weekend (in between Florida trips) we had another interesting event at our Last Licks Massapequa store. We had ten..yes ten Giants signing...unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. There were torrential rains that hindered the day. We had a tent set up in the parking lot for the players to sign in. Over the course of the event the tent literally came up out of the stakes in the ground. We persevered though and it was a great success. Before the public portion began Last Licks unveiled a new ice cream flavor named after Giants running back (and Steiner Exclusive) Brandon Jacobs. Proceeds from sales of this flavor will go to charity...for more on this go to lastlicksicecream.com). Despite the horrendous weather (I was sitting by the "entrance" to the tent with Osi Umeniyora..it was freezing and a kid actually had to stand on the tent behind us to keep it from blowing over) it was yet another incredible job by the Last Licks crew and was a total win for us. Here are some prolific photos from that day:

Yesterday was our appearance at the Steiner Sports Store with two key members of the Giants Championship team...Justin Tuck and Kawika Mitchell. The day began up at our office where both Justin and Kiwika signed the bulk of their private items. We have already began a few new multi- signed project and this gave us an awesome opportunity to really get these going. Aside from a few projects Tuck also autographed some really strong Notre Dame photos. Due to our relationship with the school we are able to secure some of the most robust images you have ever seen...can't wait for all to check out the Tuck photos. After leaving the office we headed straight over to the mall for the noon appearance. There was already a huge line awaiting the two heroes...and they did not disappoint. Justin invited kids behind the table for photos and kidded adults about their jersey of choice (strongest line was to a guy wearing an Osi jersey..Justin told him to add 2 to the first digit and drop 1 on the second!). Mitchell has just signed a huge deal with the Bills and, much to my surprise, all the fans congratulated him on it and wished him all the best. He is a great player and will flourish in that system up there. The line was finally over at 2:00 on the dot and we were able to get the guys out of there right on time. This was the second time I had met Tuck and (you know I never say this) really recommend you all come out for the next appearance with him. He is one of the most personable athletes you will ever encounter. We had a blast.
Later today I am flying out to Dallas for tomorrow's private signing with Mr. Triple Double Jason Kidd.
Check back for an update for Texas.

After the long strange Ft. Myers trips were over we had a huge Giants event out in Massapequa. We actually have another Giants signing out at the Steiner Sports store tomorrow so I will be recapping everything in a massive Giants blog later this weekend. With that said I will move on to my next Florida trip..Tampa.
Tuesday afternoon I flew down to Tampa from JFK. It amazes me how much time I have spent at the Jet Blue terminal at Kennedy over the past few weeks...and there are still more trips to come. Anyway, I arrived in Tampa at about 8:00 Tuesday evening. Wednesday morning I began setting up for two signings. The first was to be with the Yankee Captain Derek Jeter. I had not seen Derek in quite some time and was looking forward to catching up with him. I have known Jeter for close to five years and always enjoy hanging with him. He seems as excited as ever for the upcoming season. DJ popped in at about 11:30 and banged out the entire signing in about an hour and a half. He still remains one of the fastest signers ever but also boasts one of the most consistent signatures..very strong! Probably the most of robust new item that was signed was the 2008 home Yankee jersey..it has both the all-star and final year patch on it. It is sure to become a major staple of our strong Derek Jeter Collection.



Right after Derek was finished Phil Hughes walked in. Hughes seems primed for a big, big year. He showed glimpses of greatness last season and is sure to win his share of big games in 2008. This kid is the real deal and a must have for any serious Yankees collector. Phil finished his small signing in no time and I began packing up.



It took me most of the day to prep all the items to ship back to New York. I finally got done about 7:00 that night.
That brings me to yesterday when I flew right back to JFK (Jet Blue...Blue Parking 4 ..again).
We have a ton going on in the next week (and I will really try to stay on the ball and do entrys daily). Tomorrow we have appearances with Justin Tuck, Kawika Mitchell, Bob Gibson and Lou Brock. Then on Sunday I am flying out to Dallas for a a signing with Mr. Triple Double Jason Kidd...then right from Dallas I am going back to Tampa for more signings.
Keep checking back daily as I will be updated constantly.
Enjoy the weekend!

Ok..so I know I have been weak of late. I have been flying back and forth to Florida the past few weeks and have definitely neglected by blog duties. I have been Benitez..not Mariano. Well, with that admission noted, I am going to try to redeem myself today and get you all up to speed.
Two weeks ago I flew down to Ft. Myers (spring training home of the Red Sox) for two signings (that was actually the first of two Ft. Myers trips..both of which I will document here) The first signing was with rookie phenom Jed Lowrie. Lowrie is the Sox shortstop of the future. He is tearing up the minor leagues and is on the fast track to the show. He will undoubtedly be Dustin Pedroia's double play partner for many years to come. This, being our first signing with the kid, was a small session. Jed autographed a small amount of MLB baseballs and we are extremely excited to be able to offer a special two ball set (Jed and Dustin).


After Jed finished I began setting up for Big Papi. David arrived several hours later ane we immediately began our marathon signing. Over the course of three hours David signed 2004 World Series balls, 2007 World Series balls, jerseys and bats. As always the room was a complete mess after the signing. It is very difficult to keep things in order when on your own. It took me hours to get everything back in order. I shipped much of the product back to New York and held the balance of blank product for our next signing..which was just a few days away.
The next day I hopped on the first flight back to New York and began getting ready for our "Core of the Four" Islanders team event. I will be getting into the whole Islanders thing in about a week or so as we get closer to completing the pieces. Overall the event was a huge success..more to come on this.
Anyway, the Isles event was on a Sunday and the very next day I flew right back down to Ft. Myers for another signing with Big Papi. This Ortiz signing was actually a lot easier than the first. The bulk of this session was photos which take a lot less time to pack up. We focused on a few current images but mostly the strong classic shots from 2004. This signing took half as much time so this was a lot more in and out than the first. It was deja vu again as I took the same flight back to JFK the next day.

I am sorry about the lack of posts this past week. It has been a hectic few days that have included both a strong Ft. Myers trip (spring training home of the Red Sox) and an Islanders team event. Check back over the next few days as I try my best to get you all up to speed.
Enjoy what is left of the weekend!