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Some scattered Saturday subject matter, as well as some scattered subjective matters:
* Bowman football will have Peyton Manning and Tim Tebow available in May — in their new team uniforms. “It’s important to capture the sport accurately, which is why we’re doing everything we can to get the players in their new uniforms,” Topps vice president of sports Mark Sapir told the Associated Press. The retouched cards will have Manning in a Denver Broncos outfit, and Tebow will be in a New York Jets uniform.
“Literally, as soon as the Tebow announcement was made, there were emails made back and forth, doing everything as quickly as we can to make sure we get that card for football fans.”
The Manning and Tebow cards will be printed on a limited basis. Well, everything is limited, but the cards of the two quarterbacks will be more limited than usual. Not because of time constraints but because of financial considerations. Sometimes known as greed.
“These cards are going to be a big deal,” Sapir said, “and they’re going to be super valuable.”
Meaning football card collectors — or speculators in general — should rush out once the cards hit stores and purchase as many packs as possible in the hope of finding a Manning and/or Tebow.
Cuban baseball star Yoenis Cespedes, who recently signed with the Oakland Athletics, has a card deal with Topps. He will be in the company’s Bowman Baseball — as redemption No. 1 in “Bowman Lucky Redemptions. He also will have an unsigned rookie card in the product.
Cespedes is scheduled to sign autographs in Tier One, Allen & Ginter, Bowman Platinum, Topps Finest, Topps Chrome and more.
Speaking of collectible cards …
Ernie Banks is a card -- in more than one sense.
* Let’s redeem two. Topps announced Friday Chicago Cubs icon Ernie Banks is the card redeemable for Week 7 in its 2012 Home Run Legends Prime 9 program. The card company is in the process of announcing a “Prime 9 Player of the Week.” Collectors holding the corresponding Prime 9 Redemption card for that week can bring the card into their participating local HTA store and redeem it for an exclusive limited edition Topps Chrome Refractor.
Redemption cards are in 2012 Topps Baseball Series 1 Hobby packs (1:18) and Jumbo packs (1:5). Each card is denoted by a Week number. The redemption cards to date:
Week 1 Willie Mays
Week 2 Babe Ruth
Week 2 Babe Ruth
Week 3 Hank Aaron
Week 4 Reggie Jackson
Week 5 Mickey Mantle
Week 6 Alex Rodriguez
Week 7 Ernie Banks
* The Green Bay Packers apparently have agreed to a deal with free-agent center Jeff Saturday, who most recently was with the Indianapolis Colts. No official word from the Packers. Maybe Green Bay is waiting to be able to announce a Saturday signing in more ways than one.
* New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton apologized for the team’s bounty system that led to his suspension for the 2012 season, which will cost him a reported $5.8 million. He took “full responsibility” for the program that existed for three seasons during his regime. “I share and fully support the league’s concerns and goals on player safety,” he said in a written statement from the team. “It is, and should be, paramount.” The NFL said Payton initially lied about the bounty system’s existence during the league’s investigation. So how much credence can you put into anything he says going forward? Not that his quote is not an accurate reflection of his sentiments, but once you lose credibility, the only way to regain it is through some redemptive process — or the gullibility of the listening audience.
* For Saints fans in need of some consolation and/or distraction (and even for non-Saints fans), here is some video that might do the trick:
Bull-riding, anyone? The lovely and talented April Rose, one of the favorites on this site, gives it a shot during her recent visit to Austin, Texas. Her form is incredible. Of course, that happens to be true whether on a mechanical bull, posing in any kind of attire and merely being herself. You can assess her bull-riding technique in the accompanying video:
The Chicago Bulls, in conjunction with Midway Moving and Storage and Vienna Beef, are holding a food drive on Saturday (March 24) to benefit the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Fans attending Saturday’s Bulls game against the Toronto Raptors who drop off non-perishable food items at United Center admission gates will be entered into a raffle for an autographed Derrick Rose jersey. The winner will be announced during the game’s third quarter. The food drive is scheduled for 5:30-7 p.m.
Canned soups, fruits and vegetables, cereal, pasta and peanut butter are among the sugested donations to the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Fans not at the game may help by making a financial donation at Bulls.com/fooddrive.
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