Card companies, the FBI & Fraud

[Eric]

According to the charges, the 6 people charged by the FBI sold to the card companies. Here's the exact wording...

"It was also a part of the scheme to defraud that the defendant and others involved in the scheme re-sold, consigned, and auctioned the same jerseys for hundreds of thousands of dollars to sports trading card companies and other buyers by falsely and fraudulently misrepresenting to the buyers that the jerseys were game used, when in fact, as the defendant well knew, the jerseys were not game used."

Have the card companies commented on this????
Doesn't this call into question the value of the high-priced cards in the high-priced packs that they sell?
I'm going to reach out to the companies and see what they say. I haven't seen this angle reported anywhere...
Eric

[LEGEND33]

Not bad news in my opinion to know that many of this pieces of jerseys does not come from game used jerseys (sorry cards collectors) :cool:

[jake33]

totally agree. The card companies have warehouses with game used equipment, is that ever checked? And what is the accountability?

I recall a while back someone opened a pack and have a byron leftwhich jersey card. The jersey was a red swatch ( while he was still with the Jags) and someone questioned the card company and all the card company did was give an appology (admitting fault). How is that acceptable? There is a written company-line COA on the back of the card assuring authenticity.

The thing with game used is everything really is a one-of a kind, and if you take that angle, everything in the hobby is not replaceable if any owner wanted to take a heavy stance on it.

[jppopma]

It would be tricky for the card companies being that they were unknowing victims in the fraud.

Would not want to be a dealer of any of these cards right now, as the mere speculation that the jerseys may not be real could hurt the cards. Many of these jersey cards are numbers 1/100 or lower, and non jersey numbered cards keep a pretty high value...so it may not be that much of an issue with them.

I bet the card companies will hide behind the 'claim nor declare any value' of their cards. When I bought my son a pack of cards a while back, I found it funny that they have a disclaimer to this effect printed on the packs.

Look forward to seeing if they answer you Eric.

[Ollie]

Didn't the card companies change the wording on the back of the Swatch cards because of incidents like this?

I think it used to say something along the lines of "You have "insert game used pieces here" that has been worn by "insert player here" in an official game." And now it says something like "This swatch was used in a official game/event" without mentioning whether it was used by that actual player?

TBH It breaks my heart seeing some of these patch cards surfacing, especially those of pre 1990 players. And bat cards, I never got the appeal of those, it's literally a chip of wood. At least a swatch of jersey still looks like a jersey.

[NEFAN]

Once got a card with a piece of a Superbowl XX ball in it. The piece had gold foil from the Wilson logo on it. That was not added to balls until sometime after that season.

When I contacted the company, they asked me to send it back and replaced it will several inserts of my favorite players. I quit cards not too long after that.

[MarinersFan34]

They've changed the wording over the years and now states most often; This item was certified to us as being game used.. This is not from any specific season, game or event, etc..

I believe the only one to come forward thus far is Brian Gray of Leaf, he posted on another forum, which had a SQL issue and they lost the last weeks of posts so it's gone now. He did state he stoof behind is products of course and that the game used items he uses are real. He had posted the final card pictures of the Ichiro 2011 jersey he hacked up that he got from Ichiro directly.

I seriously doubt we'll see any press on it from any of the major manufacturers or Beckett. Why shine more light on the bad situation they put themselves in? The card companies just shrug it off and say, well it was certified to US as game used and since we make cards we don't know any better. Beckett won't bite the hand that feeds even though they should make a story on it, imo. If They have done so, then I missed it.

[jake33]

not sure on the legal issue of this. But "unknowingly victims of fraud" still leaves a great deal of concern. if I buy a bike from a guy and it was reported stolen, I am legally at fault by owning stolen goods.

Now, with game used, it is not stolen, but card companies put that stamp on the back and their name on it. They signed up to do business like that. If they are not possitive on each "swatch" they put out there, they should not sell them at all.

And there is NO way they are positive at all. Heck, what about anybody working in manufacturing for those companies. You really are putting your authenticity in the hands of a guy in a factory making $12.50 an hour, yet the president of the card companies put their name printed on the back of the card (i.e. Upper Deck). I would assume that a CEO of a card company is not overseeing every memorabilia card that is printed with his name on it.

---

While as anyone selling, I try to refer to the MLb authentication number or PSA/DNA on NFl items I sold and i still sell them as "game used" even if I fully believe it, it does leave doubt and I too could be wrong like anyone else. The difference is that the card companies have a lot more to lose than I do.

[Eric]

Heres a thread where we explored bad jersey swatches...
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=8224&highlight=Youngblood

[sox83cubs84]

They've changed the wording over the years and now states most often; This item was certified to us as being game used.. This is not from any specific season, game or event, etc..

I believe the only one to come forward thus far is Brian Gray of Leaf, he posted on another forum, which had a SQL issue and they lost the last weeks of posts so it's gone now. He did state he stoof behind is products of course and that the game used items he uses are real. He had posted the final card pictures of the Ichiro 2011 jersey he hacked up that he got from Ichiro directly.

I seriously doubt we'll see any press on it from any of the major manufacturers or Beckett. Why shine more light on the bad situation they put themselves in? The card companies just shrug it off and say, well it was certified to US as game used and since we make cards we don't know any better. Beckett won't bite the hand that feeds even though they should make a story on it, imo. If They have done so, then I missed it.

I'm curious if SCD will abandon their standard "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" approach to hobby reporting and look into this?

On second thought, this is SCD we're talking about...I pretty sure I knew the answer before I asked the question.:mad:

Dave Miedema

[masp3392]

As a miami hurricanes game used/autographed card collector ive always had a skepticism about the game worn swatches / patches. Even with nfl jersey swatches i rarely ever saw any of the swatches with any game used, stains, hit marks etc.

beginning to question my own collection

[Eric]

Made inquiries to Panini, Topps and Upper Deck today. Let's see what they say.
Eric

[MarkakisMania]

This is all quite shocking. As we have learned to this point there is simply no possible way that JO Sports or Jerrod had any knowledge of this act or would have done this as evidenced by the myriad number of supporters on this very site. The FBI must be wrong. :rolleyes:

Jeb

[34swtns]

And I'll buy Bears jerseys from the FBI when they start stocking them.

Till then........

[gingi79]

I wanted to throw an idea to the crowd as we have some folks with knowledge of the law and lawsuits.


Let's say a collector spends thousands of dollars hoping to acquire a game used jersey card of "Player A". Boxes and packs of cards show said player on them with a message "Find a rare Game Used swatch of Player "A"!" Advertisements in Beckett claim that this players G/U card is available from packs and collectors have a logical expectation that within some very lucky packs is the players g/u card. When the dust settles, lets say "Player A's" jersey is shown to have been modified to look game worn but 100% was not. The card company advertised a product was possible but it was not. Can the card collector sue Upper Deck, Panini, Leaf, Topps, etc?

[xpress34]

I wanted to throw an idea to the crowd as we have some folks with knowledge of the law and lawsuits.


Let's say a collector spends thousands of dollars hoping to acquire a game used jersey card of "Player A". Boxes and packs of cards show said player on them with a message "Find a rare Game Used swatch of Player "A"!" Advertisements in Beckett claim that this players G/U card is available from packs and collectors have a logical expectation that within some very lucky packs is the players g/u card. When the dust settles, lets say "Player A's" jersey is shown to have been modified to look game worn but 100% was not. The card company advertised a product was possible but it was not. Can the card collector sue Upper Deck, Panini, Leaf, Topps, etc?

Gingi -

I'm not an attorney, but there could be merit to your idea as there is precedent on this issue.

I don't remember the specifics, but years back, a card from UD that had a cut AU of Babe Ruth and numbered 1/1 sold for an astronomical amount (around $80k if memory serves) on eBay. The issue that came to light from one of the foremost Ruth authorities was that the AU was not authentic and it was proven beyond a reasonable doubt that it was not authentic.

UD simply tried to reimburse the auction fee and sweep it under the rug, but the buyer (and seller) sued UD for false advertising, misrepresentation, etc and if I remember correctly, it cost UD almost $1m to get the thing settled.

I would imagine that if they could be sued for selling an AU that was 'represented to them as being authentic', they could be sued for selling GU that was 'represented to them as being authentic' as well.

Besides the fact that I believe there is some type of 'guarantee' on the backs of each of these cards. If they said anywhere that they could NOT guarantee them to be what they are purported to be, I can't imagine they would sell the way they do.

Just my .02

- Smitty

[otismalibu]

It's been discussed for years. Chase cards are where questionable jerseys go to die.

In a hobby where people will fake the entire jersey, we're to believe a swatch is surely legit. Ever see a swatch card with a picture of the entire (uncut) jersey on the back? Ever contact the card company and ask for a photo of the jersey that was used for certain swatch cards?

First they were supposedly "game worn" by the player on the card. Then "event worn" came on the scene. Now they're just "worn" by somebody.

You can pretty much slap anything on a card and number it. You'll get bidders. It's a rare 1/1!!!! Until the next run when they build another thousand 1/1 items.

[BrewCrewSackers]

Yes, this is a long time coming. I got out of cards in 05 and never looked back. After buying a handfull of MLB authentic jerseys from the Brewers I've made up my mind about authenticity of jersey/patch cards=they're all crap!!! Look at any high end patch card from say, 2011 Topps Triple threads. Not a single patch card look like the swatch was ever laundered. They all look like they came from issued/not used, brand new jerseys.

[legaleagle92481]

How can you prove it? The jersey is cut up into little pieces. An autograph at least there is something to examine. Noone on earth can look at a tiny swatch of jersey and tell you if its real or not unless there is an obvious error such as it is supposed to be a Mark Sanchez jersey and the swatch is orange and the Jets have never ever worn orange jerseys so hence it could not possibly be a Sanchez jersey.

[rj_lucas]

I wanted to throw an idea to the crowd as we have some folks with knowledge of the law and lawsuits.


Let's say a collector spends thousands of dollars hoping to acquire a game used jersey card of "Player A". Boxes and packs of cards show said player on them with a message "Find a rare Game Used swatch of Player "A"!" Advertisements in Beckett claim that this players G/U card is available from packs and collectors have a logical expectation that within some very lucky packs is the players g/u card. When the dust settles, lets say "Player A's" jersey is shown to have been modified to look game worn but 100% was not. The card company advertised a product was possible but it was not. Can the card collector sue Upper Deck, Panini, Leaf, Topps, etc?

Unlikely that any individual plaintiff could claim sufficient damages to warrant a civil suit. The more likely result would be a class action, assuming someone stepped forward as a lead plaintiff. Even then, no firm will initiate a lengthy and onerous class action unless they stand to collect a judgment in the multiple millions of dollars, which, frankly, may be blood from a turnip in the case of many of these companies.

Seems to me that a civil suit is probably a non-starter here, but if the Feds get a conviction for criminal fraud, it opens the door for a 'pile on' civil action i.e. with blood in the water it's much easier to build/prove a case.

[Ollie]

Ever see a swatch card with a picture of the entire (uncut) jersey on the back?

Y'know if memory serves me right, the Leaf company used to put images of the full jersey on the back of their cards. Sentimental wise, this just makes things more painful when you know the whole darn thing is in little pieces!

[Eric]

Look at any high end patch card from say, 2011 Topps Triple threads. Not a single patch card look like the swatch was ever laundered. They all look like they came from issued/not used, brand new jerseys.

Interesting point. It's tough to tell if things like this 35 year old Merlin Olsen jersey have any use at all...

Here's a history of Sand Knit tags from another forum. Look at the use on them
http://www.jerseycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=6830

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Merlin-Olsen-09-Classics-Game-Worn-LAUNDRY-TAG-Patch-SP-/260758729863?pt=US_Football&hash=item3cb66e7487

[ChuckFoPrez]

It always burned me up to see pieces of jerseys cut up in little squares to be inserted into cards. What a waste of a piece of history.

[otismalibu]

Y'know if memory serves me right, the Leaf company used to put images of the full jersey on the back of their cards.

Interesting. I tried to get UD to shoot me a pic of the Erving jersey they cut up. No luck. I have a hunch about one jersey, but it's pretty hard to prove that one swatch with some bleeding Sharpie, is from a certain auction house "gamer".

[gadsden86]

I have over 600 dolphins jersey/ patch cards. Some of them on back say something like this jersey was used in a game but not specific to a year or game and sometimes player.

I know at one point one of the card co's was found to be usng jerseys of players not game issued or game used. I think it was early donruss in some cases.

I try to stay away from jersey acrds now adays as most are "event used"

See pic below.
http://cdn3.sbnation.com/fan_shot_images/195694/u3alj.jpg

[Eric]

Anyone know what size Ben Roethlisberger wore in 2007? Was it 48 like this jersey on a Topps card?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2009-Topps-Unique-Ben-Roethlisberger-Game-Worn-Jumbo-Jersey-Size-Tag-Patch-1-1-/320763033557?pt=US_Football&hash=item4aaef777d5


Or 50 like this jersey on this Topps card
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BEN-ROETHLISBERGER-TOPPS-UNIQUE-LAUNDRY-TAG-PATCH-1-1-/230662039294?pt=US_Football&hash=item35b48766fe

[5kRunner]

This one is my favorite.

Santo's last season with the Cubs was 1973 and retired after 1974. The Cubs didn't wear the "pajama" or reverse pinstripe uniforms until 1978.

[Eric]

Here's something interesting:
See this 2009 Panini Rookie & Stars Chad Ochocinco Laundry Tag Patch SP #'d /25 which shows size 44
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chad-Ochocinco-Johnson-2009-Panini-Rookie-Stars-Laundry-Tag-Patch-SP-d-25-/180738493427?pt=US_Football&hash=item2a14da8bf3
Through Twitter I was able to ask Chad what size jersey he has worn.
He said 42. Always. Never a 44. Whoops!
Still haven't heard back from Panini about how they acquire their jerseys.
Eric

[allstarsplus]

Here's something interesting:
See this 2009 Panini Rookie & Stars Chad Ochocinco Laundry Tag Patch SP #'d /25 which shows size 44
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chad-Ochocinco-Johnson-2009-Panini-Rookie-Stars-Laundry-Tag-Patch-SP-d-25-/180738493427?pt=US_Football&hash=item2a14da8bf3
Through Twitter I was able to ask Chad what size jersey he has worn.
He said 42. Always. Never a 44. Whoops!
Still haven't heard back from Panini about how they acquire their jerseys.
Eric

Good job on that Eric. Nothing like going direct to the athlete.

[otismalibu]

Here's something interesting:
See this 2009 Panini Rookie & Stars Chad Ochocinco Laundry Tag Patch SP #'d /25 which shows size 44
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chad-Ochocin...item2a14da8bf3
Through Twitter I was able to ask Chad what size jersey he has worn.
He said 42. Always. Never a 44. Whoops!
Still haven't heard back from Panini about how they acquire their jerseys.

That's hard to believe. Chad actually figured out how to register for Twitter? Next thing you know, he'll be learning the Pats' playbook.

[34swtns]

Well, you have to take athletes' knowledge of their own uniforms very lightly.

Mike Alstott recently told me that the 3 size 48 gamers I own of his couldn't possibly have been his because he "always wore a 52". :rolleyes:



He NEVER wore a size 52. EVER.

[Ollie]

Thought you guys might be interested of this video of some guys opening a new product called '2011 Hits Gallery of Awesome"

At least we know the Pedroia Jersey came from Steiners...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47lx-pJl7Uc&feature=feedu

[Eric]

No response from the card companies. I sent a message to Panini on Twitter today asking for an email address of a contact to ask questions about how they acquire jerseys.

I also stumbled across this
http://paniniamerica.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/hair-raising-history-panini-produces-troy-polamalus-first-on-card-autographs/
Does anyone know how to get in touch with Joe White, who is listed as Panini America’s NFL Acquisition Manager

Anyone know anything about him?
Post here or email me at ecky3@aol.com
Thanks
Eric

@ericstangel on Twitter

[Eric]

Does anyone know if Joe White, Panini America’s NFL Acquisition Manager is the same Joe White who was at one time VP of Historic Auctions? See here...

http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/archive/index.php/t-6245.html

[Eric]

Let me re-phrase the question
Does anyone know if Joe White, Panini America’s NFL Acquisition Manager is the same Joe White who used to work at Donruss Playoff, is the same Joe White who was at one time VP of Historic Auctions which was run by Brad Wells and used as authenticators "Expert Sports Authentication" which included Brad Wells and Bernie Gernay?

Wells and Gernay were among 6 people charged in a scheme to fake "game used" jerseys for the purpose of selling to card companies
http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/pr/rockford/2011/pr1025_01.pdf

Here is an old article from Beckett

Industry veteran Joe White, formerly of Beckett Publications and Donruss Trading Cards, has accepted a VP position with Historic Auctions, the Seminole, Fla.-based auction house that completed a successful maiden auction last December.

White spent four years with Donruss from 2002 to 2005, where he was charged with acquiring the vast majority of that company’s autographs and game-worn memorabilia. His time there was highlighted by the purchase of a 1925-era Babe Ruth Yankees pinstriped jersey for $265,000 in 2003. Prior to that, White spent five years at Beckett as an assistant price guide editor for Beckett Football.

“I’m proud to be working with a company of Historic Auctions’ caliber,” White says. “They are well respected in our industry and I’m honored to be a part of their team. I look forward to using the experience and knowledge I’ve gained in the game-used memorabilia arena to help Historic grow their burgeoning sports auction business.”

[CollectGU]

Let me re-phrase the question
Does anyone know if Joe White, Panini America’s NFL Acquisition Manager is the same Joe White who used to work at Donruss Playoff, is the same Joe White who was at one time VP of Historic Auctions which was run by Brad Wells and used as authenticators "Expert Sports Authentication" which included Brad Wells and Bernie Gernay?

Wells and Gernay were among 6 people charged in a scheme to fake "game used" jerseys for the purpose of selling to card companies
http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/pr/rockford/2011/pr1025_01.pdf

Here is an old article from Beckett

Industry veteran Joe White, formerly of Beckett Publications and Donruss Trading Cards, has accepted a VP position with Historic Auctions, the Seminole, Fla.-based auction house that completed a successful maiden auction last December.

White spent four years with Donruss from 2002 to 2005, where he was charged with acquiring the vast majority of that company’s autographs and game-worn memorabilia. His time there was highlighted by the purchase of a 1925-era Babe Ruth Yankees pinstriped jersey for $265,000 in 2003. Prior to that, White spent five years at Beckett as an assistant price guide editor for Beckett Football.

“I’m proud to be working with a company of Historic Auctions’ caliber,” White says. “They are well respected in our industry and I’m honored to be a part of their team. I look forward to using the experience and knowledge I’ve gained in the game-used memorabilia arena to help Historic grow their burgeoning sports auction business.”

Paging Joe White, please pick up line 1. I have someone from Quantico, Virginia that needs to speak with you about all that "experience and knowledge you used to help Historic grow their sports auction business".....

[Eric]

Trying to figure out which card companies may have purchased bad jerseys to include in their cards. None of the companies have admitted to anything.

I have several questions in to Panini and will post the answers as soon as I hear back.

The ASI website is long gone, but you can still look at it in an archived form. Some interesting things.

Background:
ASI- Authentic Sports Inc. was a company owned by Brad Wells. In the indictment, Wells is charged with a scheme to fake game used jerseys and sell to the card companies and consign to auction houses and sell to buyers. Here is the description.

3. The object of the scheme to defraud was to sell, consign, or auction jerseys by falsely and fraudulently representing to the buyers that the jerseys were game used, when in fact, as the defendant well knew, the jerseys were not game used.
4. As part of the scheme to defraud, the defendant and others obtained and caused to be obtained hundreds of jerseys from a variety of sources, including retail sellers.
5. It was also a part of the scheme to defraud that the defendant and others
frequently changed, or caused changes to the jerseys’ appearance by roughening, scuffing, washing, dirtying, or otherwise changing the appearance of the jerseys to make them appear that they had actual “wear and tear.”
6. It was also a part of the scheme to defraud that the defendant and others re-sold, consigned, and auctioned the same jerseys for hundreds of thousands of dollars to sports trading card companies and other buyers by falsely and fraudulently misrepresenting to the buyers that the jerseys were game used, when in fact, as the defendant well knew, the jerseys were not game used.
7. It was also a part of the scheme to defraud that the when the defendant and others re-sold many of these jerseys, they provided or caused to be provided to the buyers, certificates of authenticity that falsely and fraudulently misrepresented that the jerseys were game used jerseys.
8. It was also a part of the scheme to defraud that the defendant frequently re-sold the jerseys, or caused the jerseys to be re-sold in the name of Authentic or Historic.

The entire document can be found here...
http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/pr/rockford/2011/pr1025_01f.pdf

Wells' case is still pending.

Looking at the Authentic Sports Inc. web page from 2006 (thanks to Wayback Machine) it is interesting to see who ASI lists as their "Friends" on an October 14, 2006 snapshot

http://web.archive.org/web/20061014025925/http://www.authenticsportsinc.com/index.cfm?&fuseaction=main.Friends

Photo 1 lists "A special hello and thanks to our friends at Donruss Playoff."

That photo was listed on their site as early as October 26, 2005 and while some of these pics came and went, it was still up Dec 23, 2007

Could Wells and ASI have sold jerseys to Donruss Playoff?

Photo 2 shows "Sam Newman & Brad Wells pictured in downtown Chicago"

Samantha Newman is listed in this article as "Donruss Acquisitions Manager"

http://www.paniniamerica.net/dspNewsDetail.cfm?nid=298

According to her LinkedIn resume, she has worked for Donruss, Panini and Leaf
Acquisitions
Leaf Trading Cards
August 2011 – Present (4 months)

Licenses Acquisition Manager
Panini America, Inc.
March 2009 – June 2011 (2 years 4 months)

Entertainment Acquisitions Manager
Donruss Playoff
Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Publishing industry
August 2004 – March 2009 (4 years 8 months)

and lists under her summary

"•Obtain memorabilia for trading cards"

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/samantha-newman/5/118/68

Again, could Donruss have purchased questionable jerseys?
(Note- this photo was in the "Friends" section in 10/26/2005, but was taken down by 12/23/2007)

Photo number 3 lists "Brad Horn & Brad Wells"

Does anyone know, is this Brad Horne (name misspelled on the website) who pleaded guilty last week in the same sports memorabilia fraud case?
http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/pr/rockford/2011/pr1121_01c.pdf

Also interesting to note that in their "Museum" section, the "game-used" Shaun Alexander jersey they have listed for $4000 has the wrong font on the nameplate

http://web.archive.org/web/20060913014337/http://www.authenticsportsinc.com/index.cfm?&fuseaction=Museum.ShowItem&item=712&dept=GJY

It was addressed in this thread at the time...
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=6215&highlight=shaun+alexander

Thoughts?
Eric

[godwulf]

Anybody else remember the guy who took I don't know how many swatches - dozens, maybe even a hundred - from baseball cards and put together a sort of jersey-shaped collage, and tried to sell it on eBay some years back? I always think of it as "Frankenjersey", a name I gave it on another forum. I recall that some folks were all outraged that he'd destroyed the cards to make Frankenjersey, while apparently glossing over what the card companies destroyed to make those cards in the first place. Pretty ironic.

I will buy the occasional "memorabilia" card, if I like the design and it's inexpensive, just like I'd buy (and do buy) an attractive card without something stuck to it. I have exactly zero expectation that the swatch or bat chip or whatever is an authentic anything, and I shop, pay and collect accordingly. Most of the cards I buy cost three or four bucks, occasionally as much as ten; I think I once paid twenty for a very cool-looking three-color Randy Johnson patch card. I honestly don't understand paying big money for these things, regardless of whose stuff they're supposed to contain or how good the provenance.

I'd love to see somebody get ahold of Derek Jeter's (or someone comparable's) trash, and put together some parody "memorabilia" cards. One containing a piece of Jeter's electric bill, or a piece of a Cheetos bag. Even without the actual trash, I'd think someone talented in the photoshop area could have some fun with this idea.

[rj_lucas]

I'd love to see somebody get ahold of Derek Jeter's (or someone comparable's) trash, and put together some parody "memorabilia" cards. One containing a piece of Jeter's electric bill, or a piece of a Cheetos bag. Even without the actual trash, I'd think someone talented in the photoshop area could have some fun with this idea.

Or even someone not talented in Photoshop :D

[nycpropain]

An athletes opinion on a jersey is next to worthless. Not only do they use hundreds in a career but even when they only wore a few they get it wrong. Look at Mantle and the now infamous #6 jersey. There is video of him saying there is no doubt it was his rookie jersey. Well according to scientist unless somehow they invented a fabric 20 years earlier its impossible.

[godwulf]

Or even someone not talented in Photoshop :D

Just change the wording to something like "Authentic Game-Ready Snack Bag" and you've got the idea!

[SkubeBats]

Eric,
Any updates you can tell us about??

[Eric]

I just put up in a different thread a story the Chicago Tribune ran about JOSports, the Chicago Bears the NFL and the hobby. According to the piece, two teams are already severing their ties with JOSports.

Still waiting to hear back from Panini. My contact there said it was being passed along to the proper channels. I have since followed up twice and have not gotten a response.
Eric