Upper Deck's SPx products have become staples of the company's lines in all four major sports. The brand is known for its futuristic designs and for its autographed memorabilia rookie cards in football, basketball and hockey.

The baseball version of SPx has had a little more trouble finding a memorable hook, so Upper Deck continues to tinker with it. Last year it went to a format that offered one memorabilia or autographed card per pack, and this year it adds a unique, all die-cut base card design.

The 2008 edition also pays tribute to two players who have always been popular with baseball collectors: longtime company spokesman Ken Griffey Jr. and Yankee legend Babe Ruth. Along with special low-numbered memorabilia and autograph cards for Junior, both players are featured in insert sets that consist of one-of-one cards (like the one pictured here) with a box score and game date for each game of their careers.

It remains to be seen how popular these kinds of large, expansive insert sets will be in the long term, but they are definitely becoming more prominent in the hobby. It's hard to go wrong with Ruth and Griffey, so it's pretty safe to say a certain segment of the collecting public will find them intriguing.

Look for 2008 SPx Baseball to go on sale the week of May 19, and follow the link below to get more information on the rest of the product highlights.

• Press Release: 2008 SPX Baseball

Image courtesy of and copyright Upper Deck.

Collectors in the Midwest always look forward to early June, as Chicago plays host to one of the most prominent sports card shows in the country. Sponsored by the team at Sports Collectors Digest, the Chicago SportsFest will once again be held at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center the weekend of June 6-8.

Highlights of the show include a deep lineup of baseball, football and basketball stars signing autographs on all three days. The spotlight this year is on the Cincinnati Reds of the Big Red Machine era, with Joe Morgan, Pete Rose, Tony Perez and Johnny Bench all making appearances.

As you might expect, a full complement of dealer tables and company booths will offer just about all types of cards and collectibles imaginable. Beckett Media, Dave & Adam's Card World, F + W Publications, Mastro Auctions and PSA/DNA are just a few of the movers and shakers in the hobby that will have a presence at the show.

Meanwhile, news for collectors in the Bay Area of California isn't as good. The company blog at Beckett.com is reporting that the annual Labor Day show in San Francisco won't be held in 2008. The show has been around in some form or another for more than 20 years - most recently promoted by TriStar Productions - but may be done for good.

• Profile: Chicago SportsFest 2008

Fans of the USA Baseball box set, take heart: Upper Deck plans to have the 2008 set available by the end of May.

Baseball collectors who like to speculate on prospects well in advance of their major league arrivals should enjoy the USA Baseball set, which features players from both the National and Junior National Teams. This season's set comes with 60 base cards, seven autographed cards and two memorabilia cards, all in one box with a suggested retail price of $64.95.

Upper Deck has produced the box sets since 1992. This year, the company announced that it is limiting production to 10,000 sets.

"The USA Baseball National Teams Box Sets are extremely popular every year, but we really spent a lot of time working with them this year to make sure the content was a home run," said Jason Masherah, Upper Deck's Baseball brand manager, in a company press release. "From great player selection to providing exciting chase with a much better mix of higher-end elements than in years prior, we are confident the Box Sets will be extremely desirable in the hobby."

More Recent Upper Deck Press Releases:

• First Winner of Upper Deck's Box Break Contest Named
• Monthly Prizes Awarded for Yankee Stadium Legacy Entries

Topps is looking to make its 2008 Topps Baseball Series 2 a little more than simply a continuation of the set. So it's upping the content a bit and borrowing a successful idea from one of its other brands.

When Series 2 goes live on the last week of May, hobby boxes will contain one guaranteed autograph or relic (memorabilia) card for the first time. Jumbo boxes are getting a boost too, with one autograph and two relic cards per box.

Even more interesting is the announcement of Red Hot Rookie Redemption cards, like the one pictured here. Seeded one per hobby box, these cards borrow a page from Finest Baseball's popular redemption program and can be exchanged for a special Red/Gold Refractor of one of 20 players making their MLB debuts in 2008. And just like Finest, Topps will announce the Red Hot subjects gradually as the season progresses.

Last but not least, Topps has finally caught up with the times. The Red Hot cards will be redeemable online, a first for the company and a welcome change for those of us who sigh every time we have to send an exchange card in via snail mail.

It's a semiannual tradition with collectors in and close to Canada. The Toronto Sportcard and Memorabilia Expo has reached its 34th show, which takes place this Friday through Sunday at the Toronto International Centre.

As you might expect, the focus of the show is hockey. Quite simply, if it's hockey cards, collectibles and memorabilia you're looking for, this is the place to find them. The autograph guests include a number of past NHL greats - like Gordie Howe, Luc Robitaille, Mike Bossy and Gerry Cheevers - and hockey card manufacturers Upper Deck and In The Game both have a full slate of redemption programs and other events planned.

And collectors of other sports take note: the Expo has something for you too. In addition to hundreds of dealers and vendors, former Blue Jays Roberto Alomar and Duane Ward are also on the autograph list.

If you're within traveling distance of Toronto, this is a show that's well worth the visit. Click on the profile link below for more details.

• Profile: Toronto Sportcard & Memorabilia Expo

With the 2008 NFL Draft in the books, the thoughts of football collectors inevitably turn toward choosing which new rookies to add to their collections. Though it will be tough for any of the newcomers to have the same impact on the hobby that Adrian Peterson had in 2007, this draft class has several intriguing prospects at the two positions that almost always get the most attention: quarterback and running back.

A bunch of other factors also have roles in determining who the hottest rookies are in any given year. Some of these include the player’s college, the NFL market he’s headed to and his potential for immediate playing time. There's also an "it" factor, an almost indefinable star quality that helps the most collected players separate themselves from their peers.

No one can say for sure who will have the most sought after cards until the season plays out, but it is possible to make an educated guess. I do just that at the link below, picking Darren McFadden and Matt Ryan atop my list of 10 candidates to lead the way in 2008.

• Top 10 2008 NFL Rookies to Collect

While you're watching the NFL Draft later today, you'll get a chance to see the first cards of the new rookies in their NFL uniforms... sort of.

Donruss announced yesterday that it was teaming up with EA Sports to instantly show the world what all the newcomers will look like in their new threads. The rookies will appear on a Donruss football card template on the Madden NFL 09 website as soon as each pick is announced.

Cards of the top 10 picks will actually be produced and will be included as a special bonus for anyone who orders their copy of the new Madden video game through EASTORE.com. Depending on how the top of the draft plays out, this could be a cool way to get some different rookie year cards of players like Darren McFadden and Matt Ryan.

Check out the official Madden 09 site to watch as the players are unveiled and learn more about the promotion.

• More on the NFL Draft

How do you create some interest in a sluggish basketball card season? How about some Michael Jordan autographs?

That's one of the features that Upper Deck is touting for 2007-08 UD Premier Basketball, which is on sale now. As an Upper Deck exclusive, Jordan signs each year for a number of the company's basketball sets, but he's really featured on a number of different signed inserts in this one. All autographed cards in Premier are numbered to 99 or less, and most are on-card signatures.

Production of the product has been limited to less than 4500 one-pack boxes as a result of Upper Deck's decision to reduce print runs on its basketball brands. That means Premier may be more difficult to find than usual, and almost certainly will cost you more than its recommended price of $300 a pack.

Still, with the promise of six low-numbered autograph or memorabilia hits per pack, limited quantity, and yes, that Jordan guy, high end basketball collectors may want to give UD Premier a look. If you count yourself among that group, take a peek at the card gallery below for a look at the rookie card design and some of the MJ goodness.

• 2007-08 UD Premier Basketball Card Gallery

Image courtesy of and copyright Upper Deck.

Baseball season is well underway, the NHL playoffs are heating up and the NBA postseason tips off this weekend. Yet football collectors know that a wave of new football cards are just about to hit.

Early season football releases are great ways to get autographs of the incoming rookies who will be joining the NFL when the draft takes place April 26 and 27. As usual, SA-GE has the first cards on the shelves, and Press Pass will be joining them with their first draft pick set any day now. These sets aren't licensed by the NFL, but they have loads of signatures, plus they're fun for college collectors because they picture the players in their college uniforms.

The three manufacturers that make NFL football cards will also be weighing in soon. Donruss has Playoff Prestige on tap for May, which is almost always the first set to include draft information on its rookie cards. Topps has an all new brand called Rookie Progression Football which should be interesting.

But the biggest change comes from Upper Deck, which is bringing its Draft Edition Football to stores before the draft. It will feature the very first NFL rookie cards of players like Rashard Mendenhall (pictured here) and offer five rookie autographs per box.

I'll be weighing in with the top 10 rookies to collect for 2008 right after the draft, but you can check out how I fared with last year's class at the link below. Some of my picks let me down (I'm looking at you Robert Meachem), but I did manage to do alright with my top pick, a guy you may have heard of named Adrian Peterson.

• Top 10 2007 NFL Rookies to Collect
• Press Release: 2008 Upper Deck Draft Edition Football

Image courtesy of and copyright Upper Deck.

Topps has a pretty good handle on how to merge the past, present and future of baseball together in its baseball cards. Now it looks like the first part of that formula is about to get a big boost.

The company announced today that it has signed a deal with CMG Worldwide to obtain exclusive rights to produce trading cards of 16 former MLB stars through the 2010 season. And these aren't just any old players, but a veritable who's who of baseball history: Jackie Robinson, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Cy Young, Honus Wagner, Tris Speaker, Thurman Munson, Roy Campanella, Rogers Hornsby, Mel Ott, Johnny Mize, Jimmie Foxx, Pee Wee Reese, George Sisler and Christy Mathewson.

A similar deal with the estate of Mickey Mantle has led to a number of interesting cards, so this move seems like a natural fit for Topps. It's not hard to imagine all kinds of ways these Hall of Famers can fit into some of the manufacturer's retro-themed sets, such as Topps Heritage and Allen & Ginter.

For now, though, collectors will get their first taste of the CMG group in a decidedly modern brand: 2008 Topps Triple Threads. The six-swatch card pictured above is one of a number of cards utilizing the legends that will appear in the set, tentatively scheduled for a June release.

"Topps is synonymous with great athletes and we are thrilled to form a partnership with CMG giving us exclusive rights to baseball's greatest legends," said Warren Friss, Topps' GM of Sports & Entertainment, in a company press release. "We look forward to incorporating these players into our upcoming products and giving our loyal fan-base cards that cannot be found anywhere else."

Image courtesy of and copyright Topps.