A limited edition Michael Jordan Upper Deck Authenticated signed basketball has been put up for auction to end on Sunday, March 14.  The ball is one of a limited run of 123 made and this one just happens to be Jordan’s number 23 out of the 123.  While Jordan’s memorabilia always draws a lot of attention, items numbered to his jersey number usually sell for two to three times a normal item out of the set.  Jordan was also just inducted into the Hall of Fame.  This ball is from the Michael Jordan MJ’s Final Floor set and comes with both a PSA/DNA auction house letter of authenticity and the UDA hologram affixed to the ball.  Check out the auction here!

A vintage Babe Ruth Official American League Baseball has hit the auction block on eBay and ends Sunday, March 14.  This red and blue stitched Reach baseball with an Aug. 31, 1909 patent date has been signed on the sweet spot by the greatest player to play the game of baseball.  The ball comes with a full letter of authenticity from PSA/DNA.  This may be your chance to pick up an item held and signed by the Babe.  Click here to check out the auction.

You never know what you can find on eBay searching through the listings.  A vintage lot of Hillerich & Bradsby game used baseball bats have been put up at auction ending on Sunday, March 14.  If you’re not too familiar with Hillerich & Bradsby, they are better known as just Louisville Slugger these days.  The 120 year old company, which has made bats for stars like Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, all the way up to today’s stars Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols, have made thousands of bats over the years.  There are more than eighty examples in this auction dating from the 1910 examples of JF Hillerich & Son game used bats all the way up to a 1975 Hillerich & Bradsby Jim Rice game used rookie era bat.  The majority of the bats are from the 1920’s.  Most of the bats in the auction were found in the great Hillerich & Bradsby “Barn Find” and are side written by players and Louisville Slugger employees.  This is the perfect chance for fans to get a great vintage game used bat without dropping too much money.  Check out the auction here to see the names and years of the bats listed.

Free agency is officially underway and already it has impacted Seattle. Various media outlets (espn.com among others) report former Seahawks receiver Nate Burleson has signed a five year deal with the Detroit Lions. If the Seahawks wanted Burleson back they could have worked out a deal or placed the franchise tag on him. If the team tagged Burleson it would have cost them almost 10 million dollars in 2010. That is way too much coin for a guy, when healthy, is productive (63 receptions, 812 Yards and 3 TD’s in 2009) but not a number one wideout. Doesn’t it appear the Lions are turning into the Seahawks? They already have former Seattle running back Maurice Norris and former Linebacker Julian Peterson on the roster and now Nate Burleson.

The move is somewhat of a shocker considering the former O’Dea High School star said he wanted to stay around town, but you can’t begrudge Burleson for signing with Detroit for the money. Plus, you can’t argue with Pete Carroll and company for not trusting the 28 year-old’s body of work. Detroit is a desperate team in search of playmakers and yes they got one in Burleson, but giving him a five year deal for around 25 million is a questionable move. Seattle needs playmakers just as much as the Lions do, but Burleson apparently wasn’t worth the risk. Last year’s big ticket signing T.J. Houshmandezah, much maligned Deion Branch, and Deon Butler remain on the roster as the experienced ones. Without “Nate the Great” this clearly opens the door for the Seahawks to make a run at Denver’s disgruntled but talented pass catcher Brandon Marshall. The rumored trade between the Broncos and Seahawks is more likely to happen now that Burleson is off to Detroit. Bringing in Marshall would be an upgrade over Burleson. Marshall is younger and more physical than Burleson.

I’d like to thank Burleson for his time in Seattle. The grass might be greener on the other side in Detroit. For Burleson’s sake, I hope it is because from accounts he is a classy guy. I cannot think though the receiver is going from a bad team to a horribly bad team with the move. But then again, you have to take the money when its offered. Seattle wasn’t going to give Burleson 25 million to stick around. Detroit was and did; now he’s a Lion.

What would you pay for a signed Sidney Crosby Team Canada jersey at auction?  Maybe $5000?  Well this one will surely get above that.  The Official 2010 Vancouver Olympic Auction is under way on eBay and these prices are not low.  There are items from every Olympian athlete you could think of in this auction.  Even the pucks used in the Gold Medal game are up for auction.  Those are already well above $2000 a piece.  Check out all the 2010 Vancouver Olympic auctions here.

Major League Access has acquired the 2009 game used memorabilia of top MLB and Toronto Blue Jays prospect Brett Wallace.  Items acquired include Marucci, XBat and MAX BAT game used bats, Nike batting gloves, Wilson and Rawlings fielding gloves and Nike cleats.  All of the items acquired were used and signed by Brett and do come with a Certificate of Authenticity which is also signed by Brett from Major League Access. 

Wallace is currently ranked in the Top 30 Prospects by Baseball America’s 2010 Prospect Handbook and was ranked 2nd in the Oakland Athletics organization before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays.  He attended Arizona State University and won the PAC-10 Triple Crown twice while playing there before being drafted 12th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2008.  He was signed for $1.84 million and had made it to Triple-A before being traded to Oakland with two other players for Matt Holliday.  Wallace will most certainly hit well in the big leagues, but his defense is still a question.  He will probably end up at first base with the Blue Jays.

Go to Majorleagueaccess.com or click here to check out all his items.

The USA-Canada gold-medal hockey game will be held today in Vancouver.  The puck will drop at 3:15PM ET on NBC and will be one of the biggest games in the history of both the USA and Canada.  The Americans beat the Canadians earlier in the tournament 5-3 with that being their only loss.  People across the sport of hockey have not stopped mentioning the game being vital to Canadians as it is their national sport.  And while the majority of the players on both teams play in the NHL and have the utmost respect for each other, the gloves come off Sunday afternoon.

Gatorade announced Friday they are ending their relationship with Tiger Woods.  This makes Gatorade the third sponsor to drop Tiger Woods since his confessions of infedility.  The others include at&t and Accenture.  Gatorade will however keep their relationship with the Tiger Woods Foundation.  Nike has stood by Tiger along with EA Sports, Upper Deck, NetJets, TLC Vision and the planned Tiger Woods Resort in Dubai.  Gillette and Tag Heuer are still sticking with Tiger, although they have put all advertisements bearing him on hold until further notice.

The question that all Dallas Cowboys fans are asking as of late.  Where do the Cowboys go with Miles Austin?  Or is that Austin Miles?  Two first names and two last names?  I’m confused.  There is one thing known for sure.  The franchise tag deadline has come and gone; and Miles Austin was nowhere in sight.

Teams around the NFL had until midday Thursday to tag their players with a franchise or transition designation.  A few last minute additions to the lists around the NFL did not include 2009 Pro Bowler Miles Austin.  That tag would have cost the Cowboys $9.5 million for 2010.  After overpaying for another guy named Roy Williams, I really can’t blame the Cowboys for not wanting to pay that much for another wideout.  Two wide receivers getting paid an average of $9 million a year?  That hurts.  So when Jerry and Stephen Jones get together and say they want to sign Austin for the long haul, I believe them.  I just believe, along with them, that they can do much better than $9 million a year.

The next question.  What do they do if they can’t sign him long-term?  They would have to place a tender offer on Austin.  That would allow Austin to make $3.168 million in 2010 while allowing other NFL teams to make Austin an offer.  That offer would then have to be met by the Cowboys or that other team would then be signing Austin to that contract.  The Cowboys would receive a first and third round pick from that team if that scenario came about.  So what are the Cowboys and Austin saying about negotiations?  Nothing.  That’s right.  Nothing at all.  Austin says he’s not worried about it and that his agent will take care of it.  The Cowboys front office says that something will happen, they just can’t give you a time frame of when that may be.  So when do you start to worry Cowboys fans?  They need to get the ball rolling on a deal with Miles Austin.

The Charges let LaDainian Tomlinson go; releasing their franchise running back after nine seasons. Should Seattle take a run at signing Tomlinson? A lot of teams are probably asking themselves that very same question before free agency and the NFL Draft. On paper and reputation along, absolutely, go ahead and sign L.T.! But sometimes pulling the trigger on a deal based on those two factors isn’t always the best move (Courtesy: AP Photo/Denis Poroy).

The cons against signing L.T. might might very well outweigh the pros at this stage of his career. Tomlinson is a stud, but he’s going to be 31 years old at the start of the 2010 season. The older a running back gets, regardless of how good they have been, they have a tendency to break down. Last year, he rushed for 730 yards and 12 touchdowns (I’m sure the Seahawks would have taken that kind of production out of the backfield last year). Seattle, the fans, and the entire league for that matter knows the Seahawks need to upgrade at running back after last seasons woes.

Utlimately, how teams see Tomlinson will determine how much value they place on signing him. Most people would agree, L.T. is no longer a “carry the load” type back; he is more like a complimentary back. In Seattle’s case, L.T. could be a great “stop gap” type back. The team could bring him in, draft a stud running back to pair with him. Justin Forsett figures to be in the mix some how next year also. I know the Seahawks already tried this with Edgerrin James and it was clear that did not work out for the old regime.

Bottom Line: If the price is right, sign Tomlinson. He’ll have a chip on his shoulder to prove the Chargers made a mistake by releasing him. He’s a class act and from all accounts he is also a great locker room guy. Plus, what better running back for the young guys to learn from than one of the greats in the business.