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LeBron, Wade, and Bosh: The Birth of a Superteam?

Last night LeBron James announced that he would be joining a recently resigned Dwyane Wade and a recently signed Chris Bosh in Miami as he will suit up for the Heat next season. With their new triumvirate of superstars, Miami immediately becomes the favorite to win the NBA Title and will be considered by most as the basketball equivalent of a supervillian. While it remains to be seen what this will do for each players legacy, one thing is for certain; these three players will have no lack of media coverage for at least the next few years and their popularity will soar. There is no telling if their collectibles will jump in value immediately, but as it looks as though they are in line to win a couple of NBA titles, it stands to reason that it may be smart to invest in them now.

One thing to note is that all three players were drafted in the top five of the 2003 NBA Draft (LeBron first overall by Cleveland, Bosh fourth overall by the Toronto Raptors, and Wade fifth overall by the Heat). This means that basketball card sets from 2003-04 featured rookie cards of all three players (one card even has all three players). If I were a Heat fan there is no doubt that I would try and grab all three rookie cards from a couple of sets to display together...I may do it anyway. Here are the Topps rookie cards of all three superstars:

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Will Chipper Jones retire?

Reports were widely circulated today that Atlanta Braves Third Baseman Chipper Jones was going to announce his retirement effective at the end of the season. Media outlets have since backed off, claiming that Chipper's announcement is not impending. It can be argued that the talk was all rumors but those who follow the game wouldn't be surprised if Jones only decided to put off the media frenzy that would certainly follow an announcement like this as to not distract his teammates in the middle of the season. Though Jones has had a remarkable career, he has struggled this year and after years of injuries, his time may be coming to an end. As Ken Griffey Jr.'s retirement earlier last week increased the action on his memorabilia, now may be a good time to grab some Chipper cards before Hall of Fame talk starts.

Though he did not enter the league until 1993, two years after his rookie cards were released, Chipper Jones was the first overall pick in the 1990 MLB Draft, so his cards were definitely stored and are easy to come by in good shape. Chipper had rookie cards issued by Bowman, Classic, Topps, Upper Deck and Score in 1991. Unfortunately, that year was a particularly awful year for card collecting and those sets were some of the worst out there. His Upper Deck rookie is probably the most commonly seen of his rookies, but the Bowman (pictured, right) is probably the most sought after. It's not a bad picture of a young Jones and collectors should probably grab one while the getting is good. Of course, some fans might want to skip the whole rookie card thing and go straight for some autographs. It's never a bad idea to put some collecting effort into a future Hall of Famer, and Chipper should be no exception.

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Stephen Strasburg: The Biggest Thing Since Kevin Maas

Stephen Strasburg dominates college baseball for a couple of years, clocks in at over 100 MPH, gets picked first overall by the Washington Nationals, signs a $15 million contract, is named the most hyped pitching prospect by Sports Illustrated, plows through minor league teams for a couple of months, and has cards that sell for thousands of dollars despite being released just weeks earlier.

He gets called up this week to make his first major league start. Some might have thought we were all primed for a letdown, but what does he do?....strikes out 14 Pirates! (I know what you're thinking, but last I checked the Pirates are still a Major League ball club). And now the Hall of Fame has asked for a cap and ball from his debut, before he even has made another start.

The only two ballplayers that I have seen receive so much hype are 1990 Upper Deck Kevin Maas Ken Griffey Jr. in 1989, and Kevin Maas of the New York Yankees (pictured to the right on his Upper Deck rookie card) in 1990. Sure, Griffey went on to become one of the greatest players ever and is on his way to the Hall of Fame (he actually retired just last week), but Maas went bust....hard. So, before you shell out hundreds for Strasburg memorabilia this week, take a long hard look at Kevin Maas and let me know if you still think your "investment" is worth it. But, you might want to just buy one rookie card...y'know....just in case.