Sports Memorabilia & Beyond

Doesn't Miss a Game of the World Cup

2010-06-23T04:53:39-07:00

Now that the World Cup soccer tournament is in full swing, I have found that actually getting my husband to do anything in the house has proved to be impossible. A few days ago I went grocery shopping with my sister and asked if he could take care of a few things in house while I was gone. He was off work that day and said he’d be happy to. Instead, I came home to find that not only had he not done what I’d asked, but that he and his friends were glued to the television watching the World Cup. I had a feeling that when we ordered the television online not too long ago that it would end up becoming the gathering place during football season. What I didn’t count on is that they would become so fanatical about the World Cup and that they’d be watching it almost every day as well. I decided since I can’t beat them, I’d join them and decided to take care of everything in the house on my own. It’s better than getting frustrated. After all the World Cup won’t last forever and when it ends, the to do list will begin.

Going the Distance with Sporting Goods Buy

2010-06-21T14:06:53-07:00

A few friends were talking about going down to the beach this weekend so I started to brainstorm fun games we could take down to the sand since the water is still a bit cold to swim comfortably. There is always beach volleyball or skim boarding. Personally, I love playing Ultimate Frisbee on the beach. The key is playing on a stretch of sand where there aren’t a lot of other people. I know of the perfect place up the coast where fewer tourists go leaving much room to throw a Frisbee really far without worrying about hitting someone sunbathing or building a sandcastle. After going into my closest to make sure my favorite Frisbee was still in there, I couldn’t find it anywhere. Must have lost it in the move or it just is buried somewhere else. This was sort of disappointing but at the same time a reason to visit a sporting goods store for new summer outdoors sports products.

Instead of leaving the house, I jumped on my computer and visited Olis Outdoors at http://www.olisoutdoors.com/. They have a beach section that had exactly the kind of sporting goods I was looking for. The Wham-O Freestyle Frisbee, 160g seen above is the exact kind of disc a person would want for the beach. It is designed for freestyle disc tossing, which means it floats slower in the air. Since sand is harder to run in than grass, a slower floating disc makes the outdoors sport more interesting. The disc is affordable and just what I need to replace my old Frisbee. Online shopping once again saved the day or I should say Ultimate Frisbee on the beach for this upcoming weekend. The goal now is getting enough people to play.

Like all outdoors sports, it is always better to have more people than not enough. Temperatures this weekend are said to be around the mid 80s so I don’t think it should be that difficult to get two teams together. Then again, the World Cup is on and a lot of people around here can’t get enough. I’m excited to see how America does in their next World Cup round after tying England to the horror of football fans across the pond. World Cup in the morning and Ultimate Frisbee in the afternoon sounds like a fantastic way to spend a day off work. From now until then I may have to go back to a sporting goods store for more summer gear.

World Cup Great Excuse for Weekend Parties

2010-06-19T07:46:02-07:00

For the past couple of weekends, I’ve been told about World Cup parties on either Saturday or Sunday. Last week, I met a few people at a sports bar to watch a morning game. It was sort of tough to wake up that early on a day off but after getting there, ordering food and laughing with friends, it was well worth it. This Sunday, a friend is hosting an 11 am World Cup party at his house. He sent out a mass text that simply said, “Food, beer and a 50-inch TV for the World Cup” with the address below. Short and sweet. Sunday is my day of relaxation and this seems like the right way recharge before another workweek.

I’m not much of a football fan. The World Cup parties for me are more of way to hang out with good people in a relaxed setting. There has been a lot of June gloom this week so staying indoors in front of a big flat screen is perfect. I need some kind of sporting outlet since the NBA season is now closed.

Baseball Memorabilia Overshadowed by NBA

2010-06-16T07:27:37-07:00

There is no short supply of diehard sports fans in the Los Angeles area especially this time of the year. While some are following the World Cup most have their sights set on Game 7 of the NBA Finals. This has been an extremely up and down series for both the Lakers and Celtics. There was that earlier game when Ray Allen broke his own playoff record for most 3-pointers after nailing 8 and then he went cold and missed something like 16 in the following match ups. Kobe showed his anger for his team’s lack of performance in Game 5, which had them explode during Game 6. Now it is all tied up and it doesn’t seem like anyone is talking about how the Angels or Dodgers are doing past the nightly Southern California sport’s recap.

Baseball memorabilia is outnumbered right now to Lakers’ memorabilia. I’m sure all online sporting goods stores who have Boston or LA NBA gear are making some really nice sales right about now. Until the NBA season concludes, baseball memorabilia is not going to get a fair shake.

Choosing Outdoors Sports for the Weekend

2010-06-10T08:23:24-07:00

With the weekend almost upon us, I have been trying to see who wants to do what during the afternoon. I’ve made it a goal to do at least one active thing every weekend. Jogging or going to the gym does not count either. I’m looking for outdoors sports like golf, tennis, flag football, a homerun derby, disc golf or beach volleyball. Each one of these is affordable (golf depends on the course) and a great way to enjoy a sunny day.

Summer hasn’t officially begun yet but the weather is feeling fantastic. It isn’t into the 90s here and the mornings are perfect for beating the later afternoon heat. There is probably a flood of sporting goods sales online this month. There are many people who want to get out there and enjoy the day with outdoors sports. I’m sure the World Cup is helping sell lots of soccer balls. My roommate plans to stay inside for all the World Cup matches this opening weekend so I’m going to need a new tennis partner. You find out quick what kind of shape you are in playing tennis.

World Cup Begins Tomorrow

2010-06-10T08:20:43-07:00

With the World Cup soccer match set to begin tomorrow, my husband and dad are making plans to watch the game together. I found some cute World Cup items online and ordered it for both my dad and husband and they should arrive any day now. Last night during dinner my husband asked if I had any plans for Friday afternoon and when I said I didn’t, he asked if I’d be willing to grill a few hamburgers for him and dad since they would be too busy watching the World Cup opening ceremonies to spend any time away from the television. I almost suggested that they take the television outside and watch it while they were grilling, but I knew that he would probably take me serious and try to do it. After all, if he could watch the World Cup from the pool, I think he’d have the best of both worlds. Instead, I said I’d be happy to do a little grilling for them and that I would also cook some extras and freeze them so that when some of the other World Cup games are played, all they’ll have to do is grab them out of the freezer and zap them in the microwave. I have a feeling I’m not going to see much of my husband during this tournament.

Week of the World Cup

2010-06-07T08:20:33-07:00

This morning my husband informed me that the week of the World Cup has finally arrived. According to him, Mexico and South Africa will kick things off this coming Friday with the opening game. He’s excited beyond words and it shows in the packages that we’ve been receiving and in our home. My husband has found some great websites online that offer World Cup memorabilia and he’s ordered some to decorate the house with. I have to say that things are looking pretty festive around here and even though I won’t personally be watching the World Cup, I know that my husband will be watching every game he can. He’s also mentioned having some friends come over for some of the games, so I have a feeling that the next month is going to be busy in our household. I think in anticipation of having the guys stop in to watch the games, I need to make sure that I have some food in the house to serve them when they come. I’ll probably make some mini quiches sometime this week and freeze them so when the guys stop in I can grab and reheat.

Football Memorabilia fo My Nephew

2010-06-02T12:01:24-07:00

My favorite nephew is in the Navy and right now is based out of Florida. He has been there for over a year now and I am sad to say has turned his loyalty to the Florida Gators. Having grown up in Arizona his loyalties were always with the local team, the Cardinals. My sister and her husband along with my husband and the kids all enjoyed watching the outdoors sport of football since as far back as I can remember. We would all attend as many, at home ,games as possible and I never thought any of us would ever change teams. I think a large part of it is peer pressure and have told him so, but he just laughs at me. I try and remind him of all the times I searched online at sporting goods stores to find a piece of football memorabilia I thought he might like. My thought being maybe I could guilt him back to our side, but it didn't work. Again he just laughed, so now I blame his parents. If they had raised him right this would not have happened. All kidding aside, his birthday was this past weekend and knew I was going to have to break down and buy him a football memorabilia piece that will support his new team. I really don't want to as I don't like to encourage bad behavior but my sister tells me he is an adult now and he can make his own decisions. With that in mind I went online to find a sporting goods store to find a Gators football memorabilia piece. As I was surfing the net I came across a store called Olis Outdoors that can be found by visiting their online store at http://www.route66megamall.com. It had a huge variety of sporting goods and football memorabilia for almost every team I could think of and found these 2008 Florida Gators National Championship Commemorative Executive Cufflinks w/Jewelry Box that I thought he would like. Before I bought then I wanted to double check with his mom by sending her the link and waiting for her approval. She got back to me quickly with her OK and I went ahead and ordered them. When they arrived I took a look and have to say they were gorgeous and the quality was great. I sent them off and now am just waiting to hear if he liked them.

Purple Sporting Goods All Over the Street

2010-06-01T07:38:55-07:00

Since the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Suns in the Western Conference Finals, I can’t go anywhere without seeing a car waving purple LA flags or Lakers’ inspired sporting goods. I live in the LA area and was very disappointed when Phoenix went down in Game 6. It was like pouring salt in the wound when every other person after the game was pumped their team made it to the finals. Now I’m now on the Celtics’ train. I’m really not a fan but the Celtics are the lesser of two evils. I may even go online and start looking for Boston inspired sporting goods to offset all the purple memorabilia covering the streets.

As a NBA fan, this will be a great match up because both LA and Boston have all-star players. Kobe has been clutch this entire playoff so I’m excited to see if he will keep it up starting this Thursday. Teams have trouble beating LA in LA. All of the waving purple sporting goods is enough to intimidate any outside fan or team. You have got to love this game.

So Excited about the World Cup

2010-06-01T07:27:00-07:00

My husband has been so excited about the World Cup beginning in less than two weeks that I decided to surprise him with a jersey of his favorite team. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to find anything, so I went online and started looking around and sure enough, I found just the right jersey. I had actually figured that since it was time for the World Cup, that I’d be forced to pay an inflated price for the jersey, but I was surprised to find that not only was it a great price, it was even cheaper than I’d seen at the local sporting goods store. I ordered the jersey this morning and I’m not going to say a word. The one thing I do plan to do is pick up some soccer related food items, like chocolate soccer balls, chips and that sort of thing. He’s planning to get together with his friends to watch the World Cup and since I have a feeling there are going to be plenty of those last minute gatherings, I want to make sure that I have stuff in house for them to eat when they arrive.

Kicking off the World Cup

2010-05-29T08:12:44-07:00

With the World Cup set to kick off in less than two weeks, I’ve been trying to plan a few parties for my husband and his group of soccer loving friends. I will be the first one to admit that the World Cup doesn’t interest me in the least, but I love parties and having people over, so that part has me excited. I’ve spent some time online browsing information about the World Cup, and I’ve also even managed to order a jersey for my husband’s favorite country. It’s going to be a great time for the guys, and I’ve been having an equally good time planning finger foods and other goodies for them to enjoy during the party. My husband doesn’t know it, but I’m actually considering setting up the TV for the finale outside so that he can invite a huge group of friends. As long as the weather cooperates I know it would be the World Cup party of the century for both him and his friends. Plus, that way I could keep an eye on them, while we girls spent the time in the pool.

World Cup Knocking on the Door

2010-05-26T06:30:18-07:00

My husband is a huge fan of soccer and is completely over the moon that the World Cup is about to begin. He’s already informed me that he’s going to be watching all of the games when he isn’t working, and I’ve also noticed that he’s spent a lot of time reading about the World Cup and who is favored to possibly win. I think every country hopes that their team will bring home the cup, but since I’m not a huge fan of soccer or other sports on the television, I’m sure I won’t watch.

What I did do is go online and find some World Cup merchandise and order a few things for my husband. I also have plans to throw a party for him and his friends when it comes down to the championship game. He tells me it’s the Super Bowl of soccer, and while I know this is true, I’d rather be shopping with my friends, or spending some time lounging in the pool. He did mention setting up the TV outside so that the guys could lounge in the pool and watch the games, but I don’t know about that.

Getting Ready for the World Cup

2010-05-23T06:59:05-07:00

With the World Cup soccer match just around the corner, my husband has already been planning several get togethers with the guys so they can watch some of the games. They tend to bounce back and forth with which teams they are rooting for, but in the end, I really don’t think it is about whose playing in the World Cup, but instead an opportunity for them to get together and watch sports. My husband has always been a fan of soccer and even had big dreams of playing professionally in Europe when he got older, but a hurt knee quickly ruined those dreams. Instead, he tries to watch as much soccer as he can, and the World Cup is something he rarely misses. He’s been browsing information online about the various teams playing in the World Cup games and has even found a shirt that he ordered last week to wear during the games. I know that regardless of who walks away with the championship, the guys will have a great time. I admit that I don’t know that much about soccer, but something tells me I’m about to learn.

The World Cup is Finally Here

2010-05-19T07:56:44-07:00

Sports fans have been talking about the South African hosted World Cup for what seems like an entire year. The day is almost here. Beginning in 22 days, soccer or I should say football fans are going to get to see their favorite countries compete in an extremely exotic locale. I have read that Cape Town, South Africa is doing their best to roll out the red carpet for the millions of international guests who will be converging on the area at the start of June. While Cape Town is a developed metropolis, the outlying areas are extremely rural. That image of lions, giraffe, tribes and harsh landscape is not much more then a stone’s throw away from the massive circular stadium. I can only imagine what the World Cup is going to do for South Africa’s economy.

I’m not a huge soccer fan but I will watch the World Cup. My roommate will not let me miss it. There is no other sport I can think of that calls for such endurance and lower torso control. It is no wonder the world loves this game.

My Kids Love Outdoors Sports Like Basketball

2010-05-18T21:09:33-07:00

My husband and I have five children, and they love to play outdoors sports. These are not the kinds of kids you will see sitting in their rooms playing video games all day long. They love to be outside, running, riding bikes, playing basketball and swimming. At night before bed they will play a video game or two to relax. During the day, they are out there having a great time playing outdoors sports, and just being kids outside. My boys especially love to play basketball. They play one on one, or two on two with friends, most of the time. Sometimes they will play a game of HORSE, and my girls will get in on that game. They have a nice basketball court in the back yard, it is a half court and works great for their games. They are always using up their basketballs, they are always needing new ones. I decided to check around the internet for deals.

I was browsing the internet for outdoors sports goods recently when I came across a company called Olis Outdoors. Their website, http://www.route66megamall.com/, has so many wonderful products. They carry outdoors sports things like basketballs, baseballs, bats and much more. They also have sporting goods for fishing and hunting, bicycling and things like that. I would return to this site again because I like how organized the website is, with categories and sub-categories on the left for easy shopping. The search bar at the top makes it easy to find a specific item very quickly. The prices on there are very affordable too. Shopping online at sites like this makes my life easier, saving me both time and money. I never have to fight a crowd in the store, and my feet don't hurt from walking because I'm sitting on my comfortable couch.

I found a lot of great outdoors sports items including basketballs when I was browsing the website. This Premium Regulation Size & Weight Basketball(Pack of 25) really caught my eye. This would be a great birthday gift or Christmas gift for the boys. They would freak to open a big box full of 25 basketballs! They'd never have to worry about losing a ball or having them deflate because of a hole ever again. The price on this set of 25 basketballs is really awesome, too. I can't wait to see their faces when they open this gift of outdoors sports supplies.

Still Pooling For Sporting Goods

2010-05-13T22:14:02-07:00

When I was growing up, my best friend and I loved nothing better than getting ourselves some new sporting goods. Even at such young age, we would save all our money just so we could give our sporting goods collection a nice little upgrade every once in a while. Now that we’re a lot older our cravings for sporting goods have not faded and is going just as strong as the old days. The best thing of it all is that today it is so much easier to buy sporting goods and since we have a bit more money than we had back then we love to splurge on some online sporting goods shopping. Staying true to our friendship, we still like to pool our money so we can get the best of the best in the world of sporting goods and we are definitely enjoying it. Just last week we were in search for some cool outdoors sports equipment, now that the sun is out more often, and after pooling our money together we were able to land a really nice volleyball kit that everyone in his and my family were able to enjoy to the fullest.

Outdoors Sports are Fun in the Spring

2010-05-13T02:58:14-07:00

Now that Spring is in full-force, I am ready for some outdoors sports action! The weather is warm and inviting, and after the long, hard winter, I'm up for some outdoor time. My husband, kids and myself like to play a lot of outdoors sports together in the yard when it's nice out. We play basketball, volleyball, horse shoes, croquet, soccer, and lots of other fun games together. We have a nice big yard to play all of these sports in, so we don't have to go anywhere except to step out the back door. Playing sports together is an inexpensive way to spend time with each other and stay in shape too. It keeps the kids near us and they want to actually spend time with us when we play outside with them. It is a great way to bond with them and just be with each other. We play games that they all enjoy so no one is left out. Outdoors sports are a fun way to spend time in the spring with my family.

Shopping Online Early for Best Deals on NFL Football Memorabilia

2010-05-10T00:25:24-07:00

I really love and enjoy collecting NFL football memorabilia, and over the years there are a few tricks to the trade that I have been able to learn that have not only netted me some really great deals on the NFL football memorabilia that I so cherish, but that can save you some of your hard earned dollars too. One of the things I like to do is shop for NFL football memorabilia early—right after the NFL draft has taken place. This is because there are tons of newly drafted NFL players that have their NFL football memorabilia, but they are not stars yet. If you are like me, and you have followed these players as they made names for themselves in college—then you will have a great idea of what NFL football memorabilia to look for once the off season commences. As for me, right not I can’t get my hands on enough NFL football memorabilia of Tim Tebow—I just see future greatness written all over this impressive player, and I can’t wait to see him debut in the pros!

Getting the NFL Football Memorabilia I Crave for LESS MONEY!

2010-05-07T00:44:45-07:00

If you love collecting NFL football memorabilia as much as I do – and trust me, if you were to see the piles of awesome NFL football memorabilia that I have in my shrine for this amazing sport, then you would know I adore it – there are some ways that you can go about not destroying your wallet’s inseams by shopping for the NFL football memorabilia that you want! For me, I have been an avid shopper of NFL football memorabilia online for years now, and thanks to the easy savings and values, not only do I always net myself a great deal on the NFL football memorabilia that I opt to purchase, but I am able to afford to purchase it without compromising my rather stringent budget. Just the other day I was shopping for NFL football memorabilia jerseys of Tim Tebow of the Denver Broncos, and after looking around at a few online stores I got my hands on it for a lot less than I had first presumed it would cost me—about half the retail price my friends!

A Super World Cup Party

2010-04-28T22:10:20-07:00

When I was ten years old, one of my friends was from Peru and that same year he taught me what the World Cup was all about. I remember going into his house and the whole family was in there with World Cup fever. When I say the whole family, it was every single member of his family, friends and their dogs. Everyone was so hyped about the first game of the World Cup that it was like being right in the stadium. The funny thing was that not everyone was rooting for the same team so it was funny to hear them jokingly taunting each other assuring that their team was going to win. There was food and drinks all over the place and during the World Cup game half time, my friend’s grandmother finished making one of the most delicious cinnamon cakes I’ve ever tasted. After the World Cup game was over the whole family continued the party with music, dancing and more food. It was one of the coolest World Cup experiences I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy. My old friend has invited me to join his family again this year for another World Cup party and I can’t wait to get there!