Kole Calhoun Signing at Stadium Nissan

I decided to check out the Kole Calhoun signing at Stadium Nissan this past Saturday. Kole was scheduled to sign autographs from 10:30-12:30. I love going to Stadium Nissan signings since the events are organized and always run smoothly. Most of the time you don't need to camp out for a free autograph which is always nice.

I ended up showing up around 9:30 and chilled with my friends Ryan and Alex who were already in line. My goal today was to get an 11x14 photo and an 8x10 photo signed by Kole.

Kole arrived promply on time riding his monster truck.

Kole was kind enough to sign my photos for me.

Afterwards I headed out to the stadium to graph the Angels.

I ended up getting John McDonald and Fernando Salas to sign cards for me.

Josh Hamilton was kind enough to sign my 2008 Homerun Derby Gold baseball for me.

I also ended up getting David Freese to sign my 2012 All Star ball with the 1st All Star Game inscription along with Matt Shoemaker and Gordon Beckham on ROMLBs on the SS.

I have to say that David Freese is one of the coolest ball players you will ever meet. He's always cool about inscribing and also uses his old jersey number on items that correspond to his playing time for the Cardinals.

Marshall Faulk Signing at Macy's Lakewood Mall

Thanks to a tip from my friend Greg aka guccigraphs I decided to check out the Marshall Faulk signing today at Macy's in Lakewood Mall. Marshall was scheduled to make an appearance today to promote Hugo Boss at Macy's fragrance department today from 2-4pm.

With a $75 purchase of Men's Hugo Boss fragrances fans had a chance to meet and take photos with Marshall Faulk and also received an autographed Hugo Boss football.

I arrived a few minutes after the event started at two. There was already of line of about 75 fans waiting for Marshall to arrive.

My goal today was to get my authentic Colts Marshall Faulk rookie jersey signed. Sadly no outside items were allowed to be signed but luckily I had my friend Greg who helped me get Marshall's autograph on my jersey. Thanks again Greg for the homie hookup. Everyone make sure to follow Greg on instagram.

Hideo Nomo

I ran into Hideo Nomo this weekend and he was kind enough to sign my 11x14 photo for me along with a baseball under the MLB logo which is the way I like it. Here he is coaching his traveling team from Japan.

It was nice to add more Nomo items to my personal collection. He was one of my favorite pitchers I looked up to as a kid.

Ladarius Green Signing Presented by Deluxe Signature Collection

Any signed item is $20 and comes with a raffle ticket for a chance to win autographed items from Keenan Allen, Philip Rives and many other Chargers.

Brewers Graphing Recap

Here is a small recap of the autographs I got from the Brewers series this past weekend. In terms of quantity it wasn't much but it was nice to finally get Ryan Braun's autograph in person.

I got cards signed by Elian Herrera, Mark Reynolds, Mike Fiers, Lyle Overbay, Scooter Gennett, and Jeremy Jeffress.

I also got a 12x18 photo signed by Elian Herrera who was surprised to see such a large photo of him. I had the photo prepared for Dodger Fanfest a few years ago but forgot to bring it and never got it signed. I assumed he would be with the Dodgers for a long time but he was always going back and forth from the minors and eventually got released. It was nice to finally get this photo signed by Elian.

My favorite autograph of the day was from Coach John aka "T-bone" Shelby. Before being an autograph collector I collected jerseys especially vintage jerseys and game worn or game issued authentic jerseys. I had this John Shelby Dodgers Game Worn Batting practice jersey in my collection for over a decade since it was worn when he was a coach for the Dodgers. Coach Shelby was even surprised to see it and even asked where I got it. I told him I got it from an auction. He jokingly said I bet you paid $2 bucks for the jersey.

Last but not least it was finally nice to get Ryan Braun's autograph in person. Ryan was nice as can be and made sure to sign for everyone who waited for him today. Earlier this year thanks to my friend Josh I was able to make a trade for a signed Ryan Braun ball on a standard ROMLB on the SS but it's always nicer when you get the autograph yourself in person. I decided to get a 2008 baseball signed under the logo since it was his first all star game. Thanks to my friend Jose I also ended up getting a 2011 all star baseball signed as well which was his MVP year.

Braves and Red Sox Series

I did pretty bad in terms of numbers of autographs in both series. The only autographs I got were from Evan Gattis aka "El Oso Blanco" and Yoenis Cespedes on a 2014 All Star baseball.

Evan Gattis is one of the all time coolest guys you will ever meet in baseball.

Yoenis is also a nice guy as well and is a class act in person.

Autographs from August

I haven't posted stuff in awhile due to pure laziness but here are some of my recent pickups below this past month.

I was happy to add Michael Irvin's autograph to the PC. Michael was kind enough to sign a football for me and also inscribe HOF 2007. He was one of my favorite receivers growing up back when the Cowboys were dominating football in the 90's. In person he is the same guy you see on tv always nice and cool with his fans.

I was also able to get a couple of floorboards signed the first being from another future hall of famer, Paul Pierce and Laker legend and Laker Coach Byron Scott. Unfortunately I didn't have a basketball with me so I settled for a floorboard.

Next up was from one of my favorite boxers of all time, Roy Jones Jr. The last time I ran into him was at Mandalay Bay Casino a few years ago for my friend's bachelor party. Coincidentally he was staying at the hotel while training for his boxing match versus Bernard Hopkins, and was actually on the same floor as our suite. Back then he was kind enough for a photo op with my friends but unfortunately I didn't graph much at the time so I didn't have anything for him to sign.

Today was a special day as I came prepared and got a boxing glove signed by Roy. His handler originally said he couldn't sign gloves but I told Roy I am a true fan and wanted his autograph for years. I even told him to personalize it and sure enough he took the glove and signed it for me in front of his handler.

Last but not least it was finally nice to meet Ozzie Smith aka "The Wizard" in person. Growing up in the 80s he was the most gifted shortstop in my generation. I always wanted to meet Ozzie and finally I got a chance to and he didn't disappoint. Ozzie was kind enough to sign a HOF ball along with a Gold Glove ball for me with inscriptions when I didn't even ask for them.

On a side note I also picked up another Trout baseball with the 2012 ROY inscription thanks to my friend Warren.

Javale McGee's 1st Annual Juglife Celebrity Softball Game 8-3-14

Thanks to my friend Ryan who gave me the heads up, I decided to attend Javale McGee's 1st Annual Juglife Celebrity Softball Game at UCLA. It was nice to be back on campus at UCLA. Every time I visit UCLA it brings back old memories of my college years.

The game was scheduled to take place at 3pm at Easton Field which is where the UCLA Women's Softball team play during the season. Admission to the event was $15 with all the proceeds going toward Javale's Juglife Charity which helps build water wells in Uganda.

Before the game started I was able to get Terrell Owens to sign my 49ers mini helmet. He signed two autographs coming in out of the ten graphers that waited for him. 

Next up was John Wall. John told everyone he would sign one autograph per person. Luckily I had shoes for him to sign and he signed both pairs.

We waited outside a bit longer and Ty Lawson ended up showing up late. He wore a throwback Vince Carter Raptors jersey which threw us off a bit. I ended up getting Ty to sign an 11x14 photo for me.

The signed floorboard was from the autograph session after the game which will be detailed later below on the blog entry.

Afterwards we went inside to watch the charity softball game. Everything was set up which made it impossible to graph during the game. Since it was a softball field they had nets which blocked any type of access to the field.

The game was already underway. I took a few photos of Javale near homeplate after his team scored a run.

Andre Drummond was one of the surprise last minute guests to the game. He was nice enough to pose for a photo for me.

And here is a picture of Andre batting below.

I also got a couple of photos of Terrell Owens chatting it up with John Wall. Here a photo below of John showing TO his swing.

After the game Javale McGee and the organizers of the event set up an autograph table.

Andre Drummond, Javale McGee, Terrell Owens and Ty Lawson signed autographs. Nick Young and John Wall left early and Nate Robinson and Kevin Love were no shows to the event.

Since I wasn't prepped for Andre Drummond I ended up having him sign a floorboard for me. For some reason he wouldn't switch pens and signed with the table pen which happened to be a black sharpie. I love floorboards since they always come in handy when a surprise guest shows up to an event.

Javale signed an 11x14 and an 8x10 photo for me.

I thanked Javale for hosting such a well organized event and also for setting up an autograph session after the game.

Terrell Owens signed an 8x10 photo for me.

Last but not least Ty Lawson signed a floorboard for me. His autograph looks similar to Justin Verlander's autograph.

I want to thank Javale McGee for hosting an awesome charity event and for helping raise money to build wells for the people of Uganda. I also want to thank my friend Ryan for the heads up on this event as well. I'll definitely be back next year to support Javale's charity.