Slick&Sporty

Andrew Bynum

I know what most of you are thinking after reading the title, but he WAS a promising young talent for the Lakers after Shaq left. Now he is injury prone, but still a force to be reckoned with in the post, when he actually plays. He is a Pacer for those who don't know. One of the only current (at the time) Lakers players to actually respond to fan mail, props to him.

Bynum 08 Topps

Wily Mo Pena

Wily Mo was an outfielder who was backup for Griffey Jr. He got some decent play time while Griffey was struggling with injuries and he wasn't bad at all. He also has an awesome name, lol. In 2011 I was getting into buying cards again and was going through what I had, I came across an 02 SGA set and Wily Mo Pena was in there. I wanted to get it signed and looked up where he was, AND HE WAS STILL PLAYING! He was on some Reno, NV team that is a Minor League affiliate of the Diamondbacks. I was lucky to get it signed and returned, and shortly after he was called up to play for the Diamondbacks for a few games.

Wily Mo Pena 2002 SGA

Bengals notecards

So in 2011 I bought tons of Topps and they put these nifty blanks in the packs. I kept all of mine to get signed for when I didn't have an actual card for the person, which actually happens quite often because I'm picky on cards I like and want signed. Here are all the notecards I've had Bengals sign.

Bengals Proshop signing

UC WR Armon Binns

ESPN 1530 Radio Show

Former Bengals Artrell Hawkins (Andrew Hawkins brother) and Dave Lapham (Bengals Radio Announcer)

Inside connection

Jeromy Miles (newspaper picture), Anthony Collins

Inside connection

Jeromy Miles

Bengals ProShop signing

Brandon Tate and Andrew Hawkins

2000 MLB HOF Commemorative Coins

In 2000 Kroger sold HOF commemorative coins for the Cincinnati Inductees Marty Brennaman, Tony Perez and Sparky Anderson. We bought like 6 sets of them. Unfortunately I can never get the Sparky one signed now but I have the other 2 and can try to get any others that come out from now onward.

Perez HOF coin

Brennaman HOF coin

Paul George and Lance Stephenson

Up until last season the only way to get Pacers autographs was in person TTMs never even came back, well now just about all of them come back.
ANY WAY
Anybody who watches the Pacers know that Paul George and Lance Stephenson are growing into perennial All-Stars and team leaders. In 2011 I went to a Pacers game I had no idea who either of them were but I things and they were signing, so I took it, they were the only ones to sign at that game.

Lance notecard and 10-11 Panini Prestige. Paul 10-11 Panini Prestige x2 (Draft Pick Rights (Blue))

NBA preseaon in Cincinnati

Every year Oscar Robertson brings an NBA preseason game to US Bank arena to see how big the Cincinnati NBA fan base is. Not a full house, but a good turn out. The game I got to go to was Cavs vs Magic (Kyrie Irving's rookie year). I didnt have many Cavs things so I was camped on the Magic side, I was the only one and was only there with notecards and cards for a few players (who didn't sign that night). I was able to get 2.

Justin Harper and Gustavo Ayon

RedsFest

So growing up as a (above average tall) kid I played basketball every winter. A few years ago I heard about a little thing called RedsFest and wondered why I had never been, that's right, basketball. Well now I try to make it yearly. I have had many great successes here. Not even just at the event Johnny Cueto ate lunch with his family at the Tower Place food court before RedsFest. Well here's (nearly) everything I've gotten from many frustrating hours of standing in lines with people who don't even know who half the team is, and some just there to make a few quick bucks off theirs. Many thanks to my brother Frank (him and I are dominant at squeezing through crowds to jump in line and had a dominate formula for getting only who we was on the list) (also I was afraid of asking for inscriptions at first so I always asked him to to those, sorry Frank lol), my brother Harrison (who helped me get a few gems and taught me that there are lots of free handouts I didn't even know about, because he was tired of waiting in lines.), and my wife (girlfriend at the time) Christina who does it just to spend time with me.
(not pictured Billy Hatcher and Eric Davis 1991 90's champs SGA set (that's for a different post))

Aroldis Chapman 2011 Rookie cards (1 inscribed 105 MPH)

Billy Hamilton notecard, Travis Wood 2011 Topps and SGA, Homer Bailey 2010 Topps and SGA, Johnny Cueto SGA (obtained after he ate lunch in my mall food court), Devin Mesoraco Bowman's Best, Tom Browning (Mr. Perfect inscription) 89 Topps, Jim Maloney 1970 Topps