Why we love sports...

Has anyone been paying attention to the baseball pennant races lately? Specifically the American League Eastern Division. In case you haven't noticed, the name at the top of the standings does not feature the city name of either Boston or New York. It's not even Baltimore or Toronto. Who's left you ask? Why it's the Tampa Bay Rays. These aren't your old Devil Rays anymore.

With an infusion of young stars like Evan Longoria (he's no Desperate Housewife), B.J. Upton, Scott Kazmir, James Shields and the superstar Carl Crawford these Rays are no longer laughable. Despite some key injuries (Closer Troy Percival and Slugger Carlos Pena) this team just keeps getting better.

There's a lot of baseball left to be played but you know what they say about underdogs...the longer they hang around the more dangerous they become. The Red Sox are currently getting a taste of the new Rays having dropped two straight in a head-to head showdown.

So just when you thought it was another cakewalk to the playoffs for the mighty Red Sox and Yankees along comes cinderella wearing a stingray on her baseball cap. The clock hasn't struck midnight just yet and we're going to find out if the Beantowners and Bronx Bombers can swim...

2008 Basketball Draft

So this is a big week in the lives of 60 young men as they find out where their basketball futures will take them. Thursday night is the annual Draft and there is great debate about who Chicago will take with the #1 pick, Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley.

I really don't know what the debate is all about as this one is easy. It is Chicago native Rose all the way. It isn't often that a physical point guard like this comes along. Rose is already at the point (no pun intended) where he can physically dominate half of the point guards currently in the league. The point guard position is one of the toughest to fill in the pros so this is an easy pick if I'm the GM (and there's probably a good reason that I'm not.)

One thing's for sure and that is that you (the consumer) won't have to make any hard choices when it comes to your trading card basketball product as 2008 Press Pass Draft Pick Basketball will include all of the top picks in this year's Draft. We've been working hard over the past few weeks securing autographs and memorabilia from all of the big names.

So sit back on Thursday night, see who your favorite team drafts and then get ready to track down the brand new trading cards of the latest and greatest to hit the hardwood in the pro ranks.

Boston Tea Party

The folks in Beantown have been living a sports dream the past few years. The Patriots have become the NFL's salary cap version of a dynasty while the Red Sox have finally been able to shake off almost 100 years of rust to capture two titles in the past three years. Now the Celtics break a 22-year drought and add their 17th NBA title by throttling the one-man Kobe show otherwise known as the LA Lakers.

So you can bet that there will be a run on green shamrock branded items in New England. NBA merchandise has been a slow seller for the past few years (apparel excluded) but that will change now that one of the all-time great franchises in sports has returned to the pinnacle.

Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce put aside personal statistics for a shot at a ring and the three amigos were rewarded for their sacrifices. You can count on Garnett and Pierce's memorabilia values getting a bump. Allen has never been as flashy a pro as the other two but his autograph will be in demand as well.

It isn't March but the leprechaun dances anyway...Celtic rule has been restored to the NBA.

NASCAR's Next Big Star?

If you are looking for the next NASCAR star then look no further than 18-year old phenom Joey Logano. Logano became the youngest winner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ history by storming to victory on June 14th in the Meijer 300 race at Kentucky Speedway. Logano won the pole and led 76 laps in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota in only his third start.

Our industry is one that is driven by the excitement of the "next big thing" and his or her rookie card(s). Over the past couple of seasons there have been a couple of drivers that excited collectors initally but have yet to deliver the results on the track (see Montoya and Franchitti). However there has been buzz surrounding Logano since he was 15 years old and now that he has finally come of NASCAR age it looks like the sky's the limit for this kid.

While Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is still the most popular driver in NASCAR all eyes will be on Joey Logano for the immediate future.