On Sunday the New York Jets and running back LaDainian “LT” Tomlinson agreed to a two year deal to bring Tomlinson to New York. For the better part of the last decade, Tomlinson has wrecked havoc on opposing defenses including rushing for 28 touchdowns in 2006, an NFL record.

Tomlinson is 30 years old, which is often considered the time where a the success of an NFL running back ends. Personally, I believe Tomlinson will do just as well as Thomas Jones would have done if the Jets kept him instead. Tomlinson has had a below average offense line and fullback since 2006 while Jones has thrived behind the Jets dominant offensive line and future Hall-of-Fame fullback Tony Richardson. Tomlinson also is a great receiving running back, amassing over 50 receptions in every season except 2009, while Jones has only amassed 40 once.

A factor that I’m sure Tomlinson considered when signing with the Jets was also marketability. He already has a deal with Nike (which has led to some great commercials) and loves to market himself even if it involves a crazy music video. Tomlinson is hoping to become the face of football in New York the same way he was in San Diego. A few 100 yard games and  he might be able to win over the skeptical New York fans. Maybe even make the name LT a household name throughout New York…..

Oh wait….

Now I remember…..

Wasn’t there an LT already in New York? You might remember him….Big guy….Destroyed offensives schemes on a weekly basis….Looked just like the guy to the right of this paragraph…ah now you’re following me.

Tomlinson may revitalize his career in New York, but he’ll never really be LT again. Hell I don’t know if he ever was LT even when he was in San Diego. That’s how big Lawrence Taylor’s impact on New York and the NFL was. Taylor is widely considered to have altered the pass rushing schemes, offensive line play, and offensive formations used in the NFL because of his defensive prowess. He was in the spotlight from his time at the University of North Carolina and never stopped until he retired. He won Defensive Player of the Year honors his rookie season with the Giants and just to prove it wasn’t a fluke, he did it his second season as well. The next year he decided to be kind and share the award with someone else. LT anchored the Giants defense while leading them to two Super Bowl victories (XXI & XXV). He even had successful stints in Wrestlemania and on Dancing With The Stars.

Let me reiterate I do like the Tomlinson signing for the Jets. However Lawrence Taylor was, is, and always will be the face of football in New York and the real LT.

If you want to meet Lawrence “LT” Taylor, all you have to do is come to our Last Licks store in Rye Ridge this Saturday at noon. For more information go to lastlicksicecream.com

Want to know how people from the USA really felt about their hockey team’s performance in the Olympics? When Ryan Miller’s name was introduced pre-game versus the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night, the crowd roared and gave him a standing ovation. Now that wouldn’t be all that out of the ordinary, except that this was an away game, in Pittsburgh, and not even Sidney Crosby, the Gold Medal winner and the man who brought Pittsburgh a Stanley Cup last year received cheers half as loud as Miller’s.

Had the U.S. had won that game it would been the second greatest moment in our national sports history. It wouldn’t have quite been the 1980 game versus Russia (which may never be matched), but it still would have been an amazing accomplishment. Had the U.S. won the game it might have pushed a lot more Americans into watching hockey, a sport that has fallen out of favor in recent years. Had the U.S. won the game, the names Ryan Miller and Zach Parise would be synonymous with Mike Eruzione and Jim Craig.

The last point rings especially true in the world of sports memorabilia. The Jim Craig autographed pieces on the Steiner Sports website sell regularly whether it’s Olympic hockey season or the middle of summer. The commemoration of a legendary moment like that is always going to be a special piece to own. If the U.S. had won, you wouldn’t see any Ryan Miller or Zach Parise pucks left on the Steiner Sports site, because they all would have been gone in a flash. People like to feel connected to special moments in their life. That’s why you see the photos of the home runs by Bobby Thomson, Bucky Dent and Kirk Gibson still being purchased so frequently.

Even with this gut-wrenching loss, Miller, Parise, Ryan Suter and the rest of the team have still seen the value of their memorabilia jump. Kevin Lee, Director of E-commerce here at Steiner Sports, said in regards to the Olympians “They were one step away from Olympic immortality, but they still have become household names in the homes of non-sports-fans and sports-fans alike.”

Based off a survey we did through our Facebook & Twitter pages, most people who weren’t hockey fans before the Olympics, aren’t going to jump into loving the sport now. As one fan said, “(it’s) just like the world cup doesn’t convert non-soccer fans into soccer fans. People just support their country.” But some are clearly impacted by the exciting game that was the Olympic finals. I think you’ll see a bump in the ratings this Hockey playoff season and if we get a good showing in the playoffs (like maybe a Miller vs. Crosby first round matchup? As of today their teams are the 4th and 5th seeds) this could be just the boost hockey needs to get back on the map.

As for Ryan Miller & Zach Parise? Even a second place finish can’t steal away their appeal of two of the new faces of the NHL.

As we near conference championship weekend and start to turn our eyes toward the Super Bowl we are seeing the the face of sports in the United States once again make a run at the Super Bowl. And no, I’m not referring to Brett Favre. I promise. I’m in fact making reference to Peyton Manning, who slowly but surely has established himself as the favorite son of football.

It might have something to do with his game on the field. Since taking over the starting quarterback job as a 22 year old rookie in 1998, Peyton has brought the Indianapolis Colts out of the NFL’s doldrums and established them as one of the league’s premier teams for over a decade. During his 12 years as a starter Peyton has never missed a start, never thrown less than 26 touchdowns or thrown for less than 3,700 yards. His 2009 MVP award made him the only player in NFL history to have four MVP’s to his credit. Of course, we can’t forget about Peyton’s performance in Super Bowl XLI, which earned him the trophy he really coveted, the Vince Lombardi trophy.

It also might have something to do with his personality. When Peyton came into the league, he was known for being relatively quiet and not doing much else besides his job. Today, Peyton is one of the faces of Direct TV, Gatorade, Reebok, MasterCard and Sprint among many other well known companies. According to survey done by Street & Smith’s Sports Business Daily of 56 sports marketing and media execs, Peyton is the most marketable player in the NFL. Tom Brady came in a close second, but the rest of the competition was far behind the two gunslingers.

Even as a New Yorker, I love Peyton Manning. His commercials are absolutely hilarious. If you haven’t seen his MasterCard commercials I recommend browsing a few like this one. And yet as hilarious as he is off the field, on the field he is the consummate professional. Getting the job done year in and year out is what Peyton does best.

His Colts team is known for brandishing an invisible defense, the kind that forces Peyton to score a touchdown every time he’s on the field in order to stay in the game. Peyton does just that. This year he lost Marvin Harrison, a man he completed 935 passes to over his career. He lost his number 2 receiver in the first game of the year. His starting RB averaged a subpar 3.8 yards per carry. Yet this Manning still had enough in the tank to go out and win the MVP and bring his team now one step away from making the Super Bowl.

Peyton is now officially the face of football. He’s right up there with Lebrons and Jeters of the world and who knows? Another Super Bowl win this year and Peyton could place himself alone on top of the list as the face of sports. As cool as it would be to see my buddy Darrelle Revis to pick Peyton off six times, the realist in me seeing the Colts having a nice week off before their trip down to Miami for the Super Bowl

Playoff football is one the great anomalies in sports playoffs. In hockey, baseball and basketball, players have at least 3 games to prove their worth and make a name for themselves in the postseason.

It doesn’t work that way in football. A superstar can have one bad game and suddenly he’s labeled as a guy that doesn’t come through in the clutch. On the other hand, a no-name can make a few big plays and he becomes a guy you can count on in a big moment. The playoffs are funny like that. They don’t care if you’re stats are comparable to Dan Marino or Brady Quinn. The playoffs are a whole new season.

No one is ever going to label Tom Brady a bad quarterback. No one is ever going to say Brady isn’t clutch, or that he can’t come through when it matters. That being said, on Sunday he ran into a very hungry, very determined Baltimore Ravens defense and he was stonewalled. The Patriots didn’t do terribly on the ground, but when Brady took it to the air he ran into trouble with everyone from Ed Reed to Tom Zbikowski. Ray Rice, “Straight from New Rochelle, New York!” as Chris Berman would say, ran through the Pats like they weren’t even there. Brady will go home, hang out with his beautiful wife, his newborn baby, and his three Super Bowl rings. Poor guy.

The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers both had ridiculous offensive outputs, but there was no defense to be found until the last play of the game. This was a little surprising considering the Packers did have the #2 defense in football this year behind the Jets. I didn’t see any video of Packers coach Mike McCarthy after the game, but I’m going to assume his conversation with his defense was worthy of a Bud light commercial or at least one of these nicely remixed Auto-Tune videos.

Chad OchoCinco should change his name to Chad VeinteYOcho, considering 28 is the number of receiving yards he had in two games being matched up against New York Jets stud cornerback Darrelle Revis. Has everyone seen the list of receivers Revis has shut down this year?

• Andre Johnson – 101 catches during the season – 4 on Revis Island
• Randy Moss – 1,264 yards during the season – 58 in 2 games on Revis Island
• Marques Colston – 1,074 yards during the season – 33 on Revis Island
• Terrell Owens – 1,006 career catches – 6 in 2 games on Revis Island
• Steve Smith – 982 yards during the season – 5 on Revis Island
• Roddy White – 1153 yards during the season – 33 on Revis Island
• Reggie Wayne – 100 catches during the season – 3 on Revis Island

Moral of this story: Revis = Scary good. I know deep in my heart, as much as it pains me to say it, that Charles Woodson will win Defensive MVP over Revis, but there is no chance he deserved it more. Woodson made more “flashy plays” (fumble recoveries, interceptions), but he also didn’t have to deal with the plethora of Pro-Bowl caliber receivers Revis had to face and Woodson got burned for a number of big passing plays during the season.

You know who else looked scary good? The entire Dallas Cowboys team. The last time the Cowboys won a playoff game in 1996, Marvin Harrison was just being drafted. No other team from this weekend was clicking quite like the Cowboys. Tony Romo looked perfect. Felix Jones looked like a Pro Bowl RB. The defense would have made the Doomsday crew proud.

At least for another couple weeks we get to enjoy the thrills of playoff football. Enjoy the games.

After the New York Jets blew their hot start and allowed Jacksonville to squeak by them in Week 10 to leave their record at 4-5, not many people thought they still had a shot of making the postseason. So after that game when WFAN New York radio personality Craig Carton promised he’d walk across the Brooklyn Bridge in a speedo if the Jets made the playoffs, no one thought much of it. How could a rookie coach and a rookie QB come back from that? Then the Jets started winning again. And while everyone else in the league began to crumble, the Jets played hard nosed, downhill football.

So this morning, in front of a raucous crowd of thousands of fans that included everyone from the College Mansion cheerleaders to Jets superfan Fireman Ed, Carton walked the bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan in a speedo. No one enjoyed it more than Carton’s on air partner Boomer Esiason who wore a smile from ear to ear during the whole walk.

When Carton finished his walk in Manhattan (still in a speedo), he auctioned off numerous prizes including two photos from Steiner Sports, a Darrelle Revis photo and a Jerricho Cotchery photo. Carton has also signed a few of our Yankee stadium seats. A seat pair signed by Carton and Alex Rodriguez sold online for over $2,000 that went straight to The Boomer Esiason Foundation, which fights cystic fibrosis.

In 1985, BJ Surhoff was drafted #1 overall in the amateur draft. Will Clark went # 2. Barry Larkin went #4. Barry Bonds, #6.  Rafael Palmeiro, #22. In the 2nd round, The Montreal Expos pick #36 was a wild left-hander from the University of Southern California. This pick was viewed as a high risk-high reward due to the control issues the lefty showed during his time in college. And of course everyone was scared of the fact that a 6′10″ pitcher had never pitched in the big leagues before.

At the time, he wasn’t worth a 1st round pick. But when Randy Johnson retired this morning after 22 major league seasons, he will go down as the most feared left-handed pitcher to ever play the game. You can make your arguments for Sandy Koufax, Warren Spahn, Lefty Grove and Steve Carlton, but I’d go with the Big Unit every time.

When he came into the league he was just as wild as everyone feared and just as dominant as everyone hoped. In 1990 while playing his first full season in the American League for Seattle Mariners he led the league with 120 walks. Twice in a game he walked 10 batters. Of course that same season he struck out 194 hitters and and threw a no-hitter versus the Detroit Tigers. He led the league in walks the two years following as well. But as the number of walks began to dwindle, the numbers of strikeouts began to rise. Johnson led the league in strikeouts from 1992-1995, 1999-2002 and in 2004 at the age of 40. Not too shabby for an “old” guy.

Johnson was a downright scary pitcher, I mean haven’t you seen Little Big League?. The man frightened hitters to the point that most guys were just swinging with their eyes closed and praying that they made contact with the ball. I personally will always remember Johnson for that insane mullet he donned during the start of his career that put John Kruk’s best mullet to shame.  Speaking of putting John Kruk to shame, this video of Johnson vs. Kruk at the 2003 All-Star game is by far one of my favorites and even allows fans to see a lighter side of the normally very serious Big Unit. He did the same to Larry Walker in the 1997 All-Star Game, causing Walker to turn around and bat righty, even though he wasn’t a switch hitter.

If you look at his statistics you can’t deny that not only was Johnson one of the best left handed pitchers ever, but he in fact was one of the greatest pitchers ever to play the game of baseball. 4,875 strikeouts, giving him the second highest total of all-time behind Nolan Ryan. Ryan however only struck out 9.5 hitters every 9 innings (SO/9) while Johnson’s rate was a massive 10.6 every 9 innings, the best rate of all-time. The Unit also won 5 Cy Youngs, including 4 in a row with the Arizona Diamondbacks. His 2 second place finishes, although 11 years apart and taking place in different leagues, both came behind Roger Clemens, so technically you can almost give the Unit credit for 7 Cy Youngs (which would be a record). With the help of his Diamondbacks pitching teammate Curt Schilling, Johnson put Arizona baseball on the map and was named co-MVP of the 2001 World Series that the Diamondbacks won. He pitched a perfect game in 2004 at the age of 40, making the oldest person ever to accomplish that feat as well.

Remember in little league, there was that one pitcher in the league you were always nervous about facing because he threw harder than everyone else, he was probably already using steroids, and you knew if one of the those pitches hit you it would make you cry in front of all your teammates? That pitcher was Randy Johnson, only instead of doing it to little leagues, Johnson did that to Major League Baseball hitters for over two decades.

Don’t miss your chance to get Randy Johnson memorabilia! He’s a lock for the Hall of Fame and in a league of his own when it comes to dominance on the mound.

We’ve now passed the time where the normal person is saying to themselves “It’s almost time to think about Christmas presents” and we have since entered the phase of “I am in so much trouble. It’s the middle of December and I haven’t gotten anything!” That’s where I come in.

It has got to be near impossible for a person with no background knowledge of sports to buy a present for a sports fan. How do they (or you) know the difference between a Damion Easley signed photograph and a Pee Wee Reese signed photograph? One of those two players in a Hall of Famer, but you can’t tell just by looking at the photo. This is why I’ve outlined a few great gifts that can help you win the heart of the sports fan you love so dearly this holiday season.

The Smart Buys

For those of you looking to find the right gift, without breaking the bank, Steiner Sports has options for you. You’d be surprised to see how many great gifts there are on our website for under $100. No matter what the sport or the fan we have something that will fit their needs.

The House That Ruth Built Key Chain with dirt for the Original Yankee Stadium is a great gift for all those Yankee fans looking to carry around a bit of Yankee history with them wherever they go. Each Key Chain actually has dirt from the old Yankee Stadium before the Yankees made the move to their new home this year. And they only cost $20! Yankee fans could also go with an Original Yankee Stadium Foul Pole Piece with a Glass Display Case. A great way to take a chunk of the stadium home, it comes with  a glass case and engraved nameplate.

For baseball fans looking to veer away from the Yankee trend, there are loads of options as well. Just take a look at the list below:

• Moises Alou Autographed Baseball – Only $40 for a player who it over .300 with 332 homers in his career is a steal.
• Frank Robinson Autographed Baseball with “HOF 82″ Inscription – Not impressed by Alou’s numbers? How about a signed ball from a guy with 586 Home runs (7th all-time) for under $100? Not too shabby
• Fred Lynn Autographed Baseball with “1975 AL MVP/ROY” Inscription – The first player ever to win rookie of the year and MVP in the same season. Quality inscription baseballs are rare and not easy to come by.

For football I would direct you to the Final Season Texas Stadium Game Used Turf Plaque, a great gift for any fan who appreciates Troy Aikman, Emmit Smith, Roger Staubach and the gridiron greats from Cowboy past. Other great buys are:

• Doug Flutie Autographed Boston College Hail Mary 16×20 Photograph – Arguably the greatest play EVER. Not just in college football history. Not just in football history. EVER. Look here if you don’t believe me.
• Dwight Clark Autographed “The Catch” 8×10 Photograph – Another one of the greatest plays of all-time. 49er fans will never forget where they were when Joe Montana hooked up with Dwight Clark (not that kind of hooked up, get your mind out of the gutter). See the video here.

For basketball, the great deal of the site has got to be the University of North Carolina Championship Court 8×10 Plaque. With college hoops season in full force the collectible is a great way to remember the 2009 championship coached by Hall of Famer Roy Williams and led by current NBA players Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green. Some of our other great hoops buys are:

• Tony Parker Autographed 2007 Finals Lay-Up 8×10 Photograph – The is a great photo of the 3-time NBA Champion…and it would only be made better if his beautiful wife Eva Longaria-Parker of Desperate Housewives fame was in it with him.
• Jason Kidd Autographed First Game Back with Mavericks 8×10 Photo – #2 in assists all-time is enough to entice any true hoops fan

If you’re looking to spend a little more, I  always recommend Yankee Stadium Seats for an awesome piece of sports history that will have your friends green with envy.

Remember that a piece of memorabilia isn’t something that losing it’s luster over time. It’s also not something that you can grow out of. It’s not quite your High School Musical, or your Power Rangers or any other fad that comes and goes every ten years or so. As cheesy as it may sound, memorabilia is a gift that gives forever. If need more great gift ideas for that fan on your list just email me at acohensmith@steinersports.com or call 1800-759-SCORE for more information. Have a great holiday!

Congratulations to the Angels’ Mike Scioscia and Rockies’ Jim Tracy, the 2009 MLB Managers of the Year. Scioscia’s Angels, faced turmoil from the start, when pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in a brutal car crash. The team recovered strong, even with their depleted rotation, and won the AL West with a record of 97-65. Tracy, on the other hand, didn’t take over managerial duties until late May from Clint Hurdle, and led the Rockies to a 74-42 and a Wild Card berth under his guidance.

So both these men are great managers now right? They’ve earned that title for the rest of their lives? I think not. The discussion on the Steiner Sports Facebook Page led me to take a deeper look at the current MLB managers. Take a look at these facts

• Of the 16 award winners in the last 10 years (Bobby Cox, Jack McKeon, Lou Pinella and Scioscia have won multiple times)
• Only 11 of these managers still have jobs, and only 7 of those are still managing the team with which they won the award on.
• Both 2007 winners, Eric Wedge and Bob Melvin, are currently jobless.
• Only two current managers, Bobby Cox and Tony LaRussa, have managed their current teams for at least 10 years.
• 21 of the 30 current managers starting managing their current teams in the past three years.

So ask yourself this question: Is being a good manager simply the product of being in a good system? I don’t think so. Take the current Yankees.

Yes they had an amazing team this year, but Joe Girardi is a great manager. For the most part, he managed his bullpen well, kept the team healthy for the majority of the season (most importantly, down the stretch) and didn’t succumb to the New York pressure. 

He turned no-name guys like David Robertson and Phil Coke into steady relievers. He gave the ball the Damaso Marte, who had a 9.61 ERA during the regular season, in crucial situations, and he came through. Girardi stuck to his guns and had Jose Molina catch A.J. Burnett throughout the postseason, which may or may not have been the best move, but you can’t argue that it did keep the 36 year old Jorge Posada fresh. People can (and do) still hate on Girardi for not making the playoffs his first season, but it was the way the team played, not the managing, that did them in.

And don’t forget the job he did with the Marlins. Just take a look at lineup they had the before he came versus his first season:

In 2005, here’s who the Marlins had playing for them:

C: Paul LoDuca

1B: Carlos Delgado

2B: Luis Castillo

SS: Alex Gonzalez

3B: Mike Lowell

LF: Miguel Cabrera

CF: Juan Pierre

RF: Juan Encarnacion

Starters: Josh Beckett, Dontrelle Willis, Burnett, Al Leiter, Brian Moehler

Closer: Todd Jones

Here’s who they had in 2006:

C: Miguel Olivo

1B: Mike Jacobs (1st year with over 100 ABs)

2B: Dan Uggla (rookie)

SS: Hanley Ramirez (rookie)

3B: Miguel Cabrera

LF: Josh Willingham (rookie)

CF: Reggie Abercrombie (rookie)

RF: Jeremy Hermida (rookie)

Starters: Willis, Scott Olsen (rookie), Ricky Nolasco (rookie), Moehler, Josh Johnson (rookie)

Closer: Joe Borowski

That’s 5 rookie position players (plus Jacobs, who was basically a rookie, if not technically a rookie) and 3 rookie starters. a 78-84 record was unbelievable. They subtracted Beckett, Burnett, Delgado, Castillo, LoDuca, Lowell, Pierre and Encarnacion and were still in contention for a playoff spot deep into September. That was a masterful job of managing.

I tend to think being the manager of a baseball team is easier than any of the other major sports. There are no line changes in baseball. No plays to be called on 4th and 1. Football, where you need to make subs on almost every play, adjust to formations, sometime call the plays on both sides of the field….now that’s tough.

What do you think? Open forum folks.

I don’t want to brag, but all I know is Mark Teixeira didn’t have a Gold Glove with the Yankees when he walked into the Steiner Sports offices yesterday, but by the time he was done talking to me…he was golden. Think it’s coincidence? Let’s look at the active players I’ve interviewed (Tex, Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner). Each player was  “goldless” (no rings, no gold glove) before coming for his Steiner Sports interview.

Alright Lebron, here’s your open invitation. Paul Pierce, a Steiner Sports exclusive player who already has a ring, has first shot, but if he passes it up, the championship is right here. All you have to do is come chat with me for 2-3 minutes…and sign with the Knicks.

As you can probably imagine, not every athlete is a walk in the park to deal with. I’ve heard stories of one player (who will remain nameless) who refused to come for a signing unless he got flown out in a private jet, had bottles of Dom Peringon in his hotel, and had his favorite meal prepared for him so he could eat while he signed. Yikes. So before I go to try to talk to an athlete I usually ask around the office to see if anyone has any information on him (that way I don’t end up having to buy any Dom Peringon and can stick to Poland Spring).

No one seemed to know anything about Tex. Since this was his first season in New York, and his first memorabilia line, no one in our office had had any real interaction with him during the season. We weren’t even sure if he was going to answer questions, especially because he was going to be accompanied by a representative of the dreaded Scott Boras’s agency.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Tex in our signing room at 9 am, clad in a long sleeve shirt and blue jeans, and looking not all displeased to be here. Tex is a great guy. He even threw in some jokes. When the president of our company Brandon Steiner asked him if he was an engineer at Georgia Tech (where he went to college), Tex quickly chirped back, “Nope, I was a baseball player”.

Tex was open enough to answer a few questions which you can see on the video at the end of this blog. Tex mentions that the collectible he would most want from this past season is the final out ball from the deciding Game 6. But he has no idea where it is! No one does…hopefully this doesn’t lead to another Doug Mientkiewicz incident (that’s back-to-back blogs containing Mientkiewicz references!)

After Tex left we had a nice surprise visit from Yankees former first baseman and four-time World Series Champion Tino Martinez. His visit was such a surprise that no one in the office even realized he was here until he walked by on his way out the door! Tino has been working in the Yankees organization as a special consultant to GM Brian Cashman and said that he knew Tex was going to produce in New York as soon as he met the slugger in spring training. As a Yankee employee Tino said he got those same butterflies before the last out of the World Series that he did when he was a player. I asked Tino if he had offered any advice to Tex being that Tino knew what it was like to be a 1^st baseman thrust into the New York spotlight. Tino said he told Tex to never make excuses, even if you start slow.

It’s no coincidence that Tex did start slow (.197 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI through April 29^th) much like Tino did in his first year with the Yankees (.226 AVG, 2 HR, 10 RBI through April 29^th). Neither player made excuses. Neither player allowed fans to remember April by the end of the year (.292 AVG, 39 HR, 122 RBI for Tex – .292 AVG , 29 HR, 117 RBI for Tino). Both players walked away from their first year with a title.

Coincidence? I think not.

Before Game 6, a few of the guys in the Steiner office were in deep discussion about who was going to be the MVP of the Series. Most guys said Rivera. A few guys said A-Rod. I was sticking with Damon.

No one, not one person even mentioned Matsui. Who would have guessed? Here was a guy who hadn’t started the last 3 games and he ends up winning Series MVP. In an earlier blog I wrote about how I didn’t think Matsui would be back with the Yankees next season. I stand by that statement. But if this was his final game as a Yankee, man-oh-man did he cement his place in Yankee history. A record-tying 6 RBI in his final game, a World Series game, in Yankee Stadium? You couldn’t write a better ending to a strong career in New York.

It has been a madhouse in the Steiner offices since the Yankees won. We’ve been clamoring to get all of the Yankees to stop by the office for signings. Yesterday we were lucky enough to get enough visits from Eric Hinske, Hank Aaron (I know he’s not a Yankee, but Hammerin Hank still deserves a mention!) and the “Warrior” Paul O’Neill.

First off, Paulie looks like he can still play. I’d still hit him three-hole and stick him in right-field for at least half of the current major league ball clubs. It’s not every day you get to talk Yankees baseball with a 5-time World Series Champion (4 w/ Yankees, 1 w/ Reds) the day after the Yankees win a World Series. It was evident he happy for the boys he used to play alongside: Jeter, Pettitte, Rivera, Posada and Girardi, but I could see he definitely still had the itch to get out there and play.

At the end of this blog is an interview with Paul where we asked him a few questions submitted by our Facebook fans. My one question to Paul was going to be about his practice swings in the outfield. Every game, while the other team was getting ready to bat, you could see Paul O’Neill out in rightfield practicing his swing. I couldn’t find a video to show here, but anyone who went to a Yankee game in the late 90’s knows what I’m talking about. Thankfully one of our fans had the same question so I didn’t feel too bad asking him about it.

Today we’re expecting an onslaught on people to stop by the offices including:

• Hank Aaron
• Sparky Lyle
• Joba Chamberlain
• Damaso Marte
• Brian Bruney
• Ramiro Pena
• Dave Eiland (Yankees Pitching Coach)
• Mick Kelleher (Yankees 1^st Base Coach)
• Rob Thomson (Yankees 3^rd Base Coach)
• Mike Harkey (Yankees Bullpen Coach) 

Check out the Steiner Sports World Series Collection right here to get everything from Yankees celebration T-Shirts to signed World Series baseballs!