How to Prepare for Sports Card Shows

Sports card shows offer many great opportunities for both the new and the experienced sports card collector.

These collecting events come in all shapes and sizes. They are a venue where you can learn about new products, new collecting ideas and a place to meet other sports card collectors.

The larger shows provide a wider variety of dealers and products, but not necessarily more competitive prices than a smaller local show.

A local sports card show may provide a new sports card collector with the chance to meet other collectors from the community. Therefore these shows can provide not only a venue to learn more about the hobby and but perhaps an opportunity to find some sports card trading partners.

Preparation for a Card Show

• Make a list of the cards or products that you are looking for at the show and bring this checklist and a pencil to keep track of your trades or purchases.
  
  
• Bring the amount of cash that you will need, because most dealers (especially at smaller shows) are usually not equipped to accept credit cards.
  
  
• Pack a cloth bag to carry home your purchases. It will make your visit to the show less cumbersome.
  
  
• If you wear a coat, check it at the coat check before entering the show. Some of the venues hosting card shows can get very hot.
  
  
• Wear comfortable shoes. Walking and standing for hours on cement floors can really cause back and leg pain, taking the fun out of searching for singles to fill your check lists.
  
  
• Once you arrive at the show walk through the entire show before stopping to purchase. This scouting trip will allow you to see what is available. Many of the larger shows offer site maps of the show both at the door and many now provide this service on their website.
  
  
• Bring one or more card containers to protect your purchases from damage. I usually carry a selection spanning from 50 and 100 count plastic containers to a 400 or 800 count cardboard box.
  
  
• If you are shopping for vintage sports cards bring "measuring cards". These are a selection of cards representing various years and products. When I find a card such as 1969-1970 OPC hockey card or a 1962 Topps baseball card that I want for my collection I compare its size to the sample that I have brought along. This allows me to ascertain whether the cards have been "trimmed". "Trimming" involves carefully pruning the sides of a card to eliminate soft corners or ragged edges. A "trimmed" card has no value on the card market and personally I would avoid a dealer who is selling such cards.
  
  
• If the show features a player signing autographs, bring along cards, photos, pucks, or balls. But check before the show to determine what the player will sign. Also find out whether there is difference in cost between getting a card or baseball signed. (NB If you are planning to have sports card signed avoid using a rookie card. Many collectors feel that once a rookie card has been signed it ceases to have the value of a rookie and assumes the value of an autograph.)

Sports card shows can be an entertaining and educational collecting event. They offer the opportunity for one-stop shopping at a wide range of collectible businesses. Sports card shows also offer the new sports card collector with a chance to meet other collectors and perhaps learn something new about this great hobby.

The best advice that I can offer about a sports card show is to plan ahead and make sure that you have lots of time to spend. Some of my best and most interesting discoveries have occurred while perusing boxes of common cards. And, I have learned a lot by just taking the time to talk to dealers and collectors.

By: Paul White

Defining Cool: The Mens Motorcycle Jacket

From The Fonz to modern day, no single article of clothing oozes coolness quite like a men’s motorcycle jacket. From the traditional leather to the striking look of denim to the bold look of a men’s racing jacket, a men’s motorcycle jacket has been featured in movies, television and in theatre as a way to identify the coolest and most dangerous cats out there. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular men’s motorcycle jacket fashions out right now and see some possible additions to your wardrobe this season.

For years now, the folks at Rebel Ryder have been making some of the most dramatic and handsome men’s motorcycle jackets on the market and their recent additions are no exception. With their Live to Ride jacket, you can show the world, and everyone you leave in your dust, that riding is the most important thing in the world to you and to the people you love. Not only does this great looking men’s motorcycle jacket feature one giant can’t miss patch on the back but it also sports a series of smaller patches underneath, including a Proud to be an American patch as well as a Route 66 patch. Own the road with this beautiful Rebel Ryder men’s motorcycle jacket.

Some people think that when they strap on an authentic leather men’s motorcycle jacket that they are going to be freezing if the temperature drops below freezing. While that might have been the case a few decades ago, technology has advanced quite a bit and you can now buy a men’s motorcycle jacket with a Thinsulate liner to keep you warm on even the coldest days. The good people at Thinsulate also make some of the warmest leather gloves out there, so you know you’re getting a quality product. Don’t let a cold winter force you to hang up your favorite men’s motorcycle jacket this season, look for the Thinsulate name on your next jacket purchase.

Not everyone grew up with an overriding love of all things leather. You’ll find many a rider sporting a denim jacket that is pretty sweet in its own right. After leather, denim is one of the safest and best fabrics you can wear out on the open road to protect yourself from spills and other mishaps. Denim is also quite warm so it provides protection against the elements, as well. If you are in need of a handsome men’s motorcycle jacket this season and you want to avoid leather, check out a denim jacket at a retailer near you.

Finally, a men’s motorcycle racing jacket is a third option for the rider who wants to look perfect on the open road. Racing jackets feature a striped mid section, just like the old motorcycle and race car driving jackets of yesterday. Feel like a champion with a leather men’s motorcycle racing jacket this season and protect yourself at the same time. You can also purchase an insulated version of the same jacket as well.

By: Brent Crouch

Barbie Dolls - Girls Best Friend

For a small girl, playing with toys seems natural and enjoyable too. She can even have her own Barbie house, play room, and such other accessories along with the doll. There are also websites of Barbie dolls, where the person can get to personalize or change the Barbie doll web page as per their taste. This web page includes Barbie doll dresses, her room style, pets and such things.

There are some fantastic types of Barbie dolls for the girls on Barbie doll websites too. These include Farm girl style Barbie, Red Carpet style Barbie, Campus Sweetheart Barbie doll, My Melody Doll, Kimora Lee Simons Barbie doll and many more. The Barbie doll has been designed to show that women can handle and accept a range of roles in their life. The Barbie doll has been sold with various titles like Doctor Barbie, Nascar Barbie and Miss Astronaut Barbie doll too.

However, even if there is a lot of criticism showered on the Barbie dolls, a lot of girls still love such dolls as they take her to be their role model. The doll has expanded her horizons too with changing times. Barbie dolls are available, as a business woman, police officer, athlete, girl draped in sari and many more roles.

Anyone interested in collecting these amazing dolls can get to join the Barbie fan club, get renewals on sale and view the collector dolls around the world and many more. One can either buy such wonderful dolls from toy shops or browse through websites and search their choice of dolls and buy these online.

The Barbie doll is one of the best selling dolls in the global market. The concept of this doll was introduced by Ruth Handler, who is the creator of the Barbie doll. It has been around fifty years or so for Barbie as an important part of the fashion toy doll market. As the years have passed, there have been a lot of controversies and lawsuits on the concept of the Barbie doll and her lifestyle.

The prime Barbie doll has zebra striped swimming suit and a ponytail too. This doll was available to both brunette and blonde girls to play with. Barbie dolls were primarily produced in Japan and her clothes were stitched by the Japanese home workers. Moreover, approximately 350,000 of them were sold during the commencement year itself.

The full name of Barbie is Barbara Millicent Roberts and her parent's names are George and Margaret Roberts from Wisconsin. Barbie doll also has some friends, namely Hispanic Teresa, Steven, Midge and Christie who is African American. There are various other toys along with the Barbie doll which a girl can enjoy. These include pets like cats, dogs, horses, rabbits, a lion cub, a zebra and a panda too. One can also get wide range of Barbie related vehicles like trailers, jeeps and pink convertibles. There are also a lot of dress accessories, hair styles and make-up kits along with the Barbie doll.


By: Victor Epand

How fast is fast enough when it comes to winning a horse race?

I feel the need the need for speed

Remember that line from Top Gun? A great line from a great film. Ok, maybe not so great a film but still a great line.

But does it work for horse racing? Does the fastest horse always win?

The answer simply is no and also yes. No It does not always work and no the fastest horse does not always win and yes on the day the fastest horse does win.

The problem is that just because it is the fastest horse on the day does not mean that it is the fastest horse overall.

But why? If a horse is faster than the other horses in the race, should it not automatically be the best horse in the race? Once again no.

The reason lies in tactics and the need for some horses to lie up behind horses. To be covered up. I'm sure you have heard race commentators saying this time and time again.

This is a requirement of all too many horses. Remember horses are herd animals and their instinct is to run with the herd. It is often apparent that a horse performs best when it is covered up during a race. Once it is exposed it runs green or expends a huge amount of nervous energy which causes the animal to under perform and lose the race.

Another disadvantage of having a horse that requires to be covered up is that the pace of the race can be slow, especially in small fields, which allows less talented competitors to be in with a chance in the final furlong.

When a race develops into a sprint in the last couple of furlongs, a lot depends on the gaps coming at the right time and so it is not always the fastest horse that wins the race but the horse who can quicken the best off the slow pace and/or the horse that gets the first run.

You have to understand that there is a major difference between a horse who can cover 5 furlongs the fastest and a horse who can quicken appreciably in the last couple of furlongs off a slow pace.

On the one hand you have a horse who can maintain a very fast pace but who may not have the ability to change gears and accelerate at the end of a race. (If you can find a horse who can do this pay special attention as you will have found a real money spinner.)

On the other hand you have a horse who cannot maintain a very fast pace but who can change gears and accelerate at the end of slow run race.

This allows a slower horse to win in tactically run slow races. Any race with six or less runners runs the risk of being tactical. Look for a front runner who has clocked a fast time or who has the proven ability to quicken appreciably at the end of a race.

You will most likely be looking at the winner as he will be able to dictate the pace and when he quickens at the end of the race he will be difficult to catch.

But what about big field handicaps

Things change in favour of the fast horse when he is faced with big field handicaps. The pace is usually frenetic which allows the horse with the high crusing speed to lay up with the pace and because they are already going a strong pace he/she does not have to quicken all that much to reach top speed.

By: E G Gordon