After one of the greatest Stanley Cup Conference tournaments in recent memory, here at MeiGray we know one thing ... We will win our second straight Stanley Cup!!
One year after the Boston Bruins brought MeiGray its first Stanley Cup champion since 2004, when the NHL-MGG Program worked with the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning and the Stanley Cup Finalist Calgary Flames, MGG has two teams in the Final again. It's the first time in eight years I will be running back and forth between locker rooms in the Final.
And we couldn't be prouder of the playoff runs of the Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils.
I will be at Prudential Center all day today, authenticating and logging the Set 1 Final jerseys that will be worn by the Kings and Devils.
For those of you not familiar with MGG's Stanley Cup Final procedure, MGG program teams wear two new sets of home and two new sets of road jerseys in the Stanley Cup Final, all with the unique Stanley Cup Final patch.
Set 1 Final in each color is worn by the program teams until one team in the series reaches three wins. Once a potential clinching game occurs, program teams switch to Set 2 Final. And that set, in each color, is retained by the team.
I can confirm that both teams have prepared an extra jersey for presentation to the Hall of Fame: Kings captain Dustin Brown and Devils captain Zach Parise will wear an additional jersey in warmup only to be donated by the teams and MGG to the Hall of Fame for their annual Stanley Cup display.
After the game, I will be in both locker room areas confirming the jerseys worn throughout the game, and completing our normal post-game authentication.
Stay tuned here throughout the Finals, as I will try and report on all the great jersey nuances that will occur throughout the Stanley Cup Final.
Good luck to the Devils and Kings. Here's hoping it's a great series.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
We'll be in Staples Center for Game 3-Check out our Game-Worn Jersey Exhibit: History of Kings' Playoff Moments
Ohhhhh baby.
The Kings are making playoff history game-by-game, and MeiGray will be in Staples Center tomorrow for Game 3 of the Western Conference Final vs. the Phoenix Coyotes. Come say hello to me when we introduce a new Game-Worn Jersey Exhibit, A History of Kings Playoff Moments.
We will be displaying a few of the great moments in Kings' Stanley Cup history with the actual game-worn jerseys from those great moments. Deadmarsh, Taylor, Lessard, Stoll ...
The best part of the exhibit is what's to come ... some of the best moments in Kings' playoff history are being made now ... and MeiGray will be there to bring them to you collectors throughout the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
We'll be on the Main Concourse near Section 109, by the Guest Services window. Some please come over, say hello, and share in some of the great moments of the Kings' past ... while we all are witnessing the great moments of the present.
The Kings are making playoff history game-by-game, and MeiGray will be in Staples Center tomorrow for Game 3 of the Western Conference Final vs. the Phoenix Coyotes. Come say hello to me when we introduce a new Game-Worn Jersey Exhibit, A History of Kings Playoff Moments.
We will be displaying a few of the great moments in Kings' Stanley Cup history with the actual game-worn jerseys from those great moments. Deadmarsh, Taylor, Lessard, Stoll ...
The best part of the exhibit is what's to come ... some of the best moments in Kings' playoff history are being made now ... and MeiGray will be there to bring them to you collectors throughout the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
We'll be on the Main Concourse near Section 109, by the Guest Services window. Some please come over, say hello, and share in some of the great moments of the Kings' past ... while we all are witnessing the great moments of the present.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Don't Jinx Your Team by Worrying About Jinxes
This is the time of year when everybody's worrying about jinxing their team.
Don't worry.
It doesn't matter what jersey you're wearing, or what you ate, or where you parked outside the arena ... because everybody else is worried, too. I got a chuckle this weekend as the LA Kings finished their sweep of the St. Louis Blues. Once a MeiGray program team reaches the Stanley Cup semis, we get a flood of requests for Finals jerseys.
And virtually every request we got last night said the same thing ... "I don't want to jinx them, but ..."
Think about it. The only jinx that matters is the one about being worried about jinxes. I didn't say the word no-hitter for the first 40 years of my life, and the New York Mets, my beloved baseball team, still has not thrown one in nearly 8,000 games of their existence.
Now I say no-hitter during every game after a Met gets a 1-2-3 first inning ... and they still haven't thrown one. I'm starting to believe I have nothing to do with it.
If you requested a Finals jersey for the Bruins last season after they won Game 7 vs. Tampa Bay, how did that work out?
By the way, I had planned to blog this on Saturday ... but I didn't want to jinx the Kings yesterday.
Don't worry.
It doesn't matter what jersey you're wearing, or what you ate, or where you parked outside the arena ... because everybody else is worried, too. I got a chuckle this weekend as the LA Kings finished their sweep of the St. Louis Blues. Once a MeiGray program team reaches the Stanley Cup semis, we get a flood of requests for Finals jerseys.
And virtually every request we got last night said the same thing ... "I don't want to jinx them, but ..."
Think about it. The only jinx that matters is the one about being worried about jinxes. I didn't say the word no-hitter for the first 40 years of my life, and the New York Mets, my beloved baseball team, still has not thrown one in nearly 8,000 games of their existence.
Now I say no-hitter during every game after a Met gets a 1-2-3 first inning ... and they still haven't thrown one. I'm starting to believe I have nothing to do with it.
If you requested a Finals jersey for the Bruins last season after they won Game 7 vs. Tampa Bay, how did that work out?
By the way, I had planned to blog this on Saturday ... but I didn't want to jinx the Kings yesterday.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Where is the Civility?
Game-worn jerseys collectors are a passionate bunch.
Hockey fans are a passionate bunch.
Game-worn jersey collectors who are hockey fans are a very passionate bunch ... but it makes no sense to cross the line and it diminishes us all when somebody personally insults and attack another person for his opinion.
It happens too often. And it happened again today on gameworn.net when two people disagreed on the Penguins and Sidney Crosby.
I don't care which side of any hockey argument anyone falls on ... there is no excuse for name-calling. Two people who live hundreds of miles apart and share a passion for collecting jerseys and watching hockey should be able to argue all the time about who is the better player, which is the dirtier team, who should be suspended, who should win the Cup ... whatever.
Without somebody saying someone is an idiot. C'mon everybody. Smarten up.
------------------------
Playoffs start tomorrow. My first-round predictions:
Rangers over Senators in 6
Devils over Panthers in 7
Penguins over Flyers in 5
Bruins over Capitals in 5
Canucks over Kings in 7
Predators over Wings in 5
Blackhawks over Coyotes in 6
Sharks over Blues in 5
---------------------------
MeiGray is delighted that 6 of our 8 program teams made the Stanley Cup playoffs. We know how to pick 'em, don't we!!!
MGG is now taking pre-orders on the playoff sets the Bruins, Flyers, Devils, Capitals and Kings will be wearing. The Predators are retaining the sets they are wearing in the playoffs.
But all 6 of our program playoff teams will wear two new sets of home and two new sets of road jerseys if they reach the Final. It's too early to start preparing those jerseys, but here at MGG we start thinking now about when to order the additional 60 home and 60 road jerseys we will need two months from now if one or two of our teams makes it. We don't like to jinx anything ... but you can never be too prepared!!!
Hockey fans are a passionate bunch.
Game-worn jersey collectors who are hockey fans are a very passionate bunch ... but it makes no sense to cross the line and it diminishes us all when somebody personally insults and attack another person for his opinion.
It happens too often. And it happened again today on gameworn.net when two people disagreed on the Penguins and Sidney Crosby.
I don't care which side of any hockey argument anyone falls on ... there is no excuse for name-calling. Two people who live hundreds of miles apart and share a passion for collecting jerseys and watching hockey should be able to argue all the time about who is the better player, which is the dirtier team, who should be suspended, who should win the Cup ... whatever.
Without somebody saying someone is an idiot. C'mon everybody. Smarten up.
------------------------
Playoffs start tomorrow. My first-round predictions:
Rangers over Senators in 6
Devils over Panthers in 7
Penguins over Flyers in 5
Bruins over Capitals in 5
Canucks over Kings in 7
Predators over Wings in 5
Blackhawks over Coyotes in 6
Sharks over Blues in 5
---------------------------
MeiGray is delighted that 6 of our 8 program teams made the Stanley Cup playoffs. We know how to pick 'em, don't we!!!
MGG is now taking pre-orders on the playoff sets the Bruins, Flyers, Devils, Capitals and Kings will be wearing. The Predators are retaining the sets they are wearing in the playoffs.
But all 6 of our program playoff teams will wear two new sets of home and two new sets of road jerseys if they reach the Final. It's too early to start preparing those jerseys, but here at MGG we start thinking now about when to order the additional 60 home and 60 road jerseys we will need two months from now if one or two of our teams makes it. We don't like to jinx anything ... but you can never be too prepared!!!
Monday, April 2, 2012
It's Already Playoff Time!!
The NHL has one week to go, but at MeiGray, it's already playoff time.
Program teams are preparing their playoff sets, and planning for when the sets will hit the ice.
Although we work closely with our program teams, we make it our business NOT to get involved in hockey decisions. If a team likes to wait until the Trade Deadline for making its Set 2s, we wait until the trade deadline. If a team likes to wear its Set 3, the playoff set, late in the regular season to break them in, that's fine with us.
This season, the Washington Capitals have prepared their third home red set so that they can break them in before the playoffs begin ... if the Caps make it. The New Jersey Devils broke out their home red and road white Set 3s in late March. The Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers plan to start their playoff sets in Game 1 of their respective series.
If the Los Angeles Kings make the playoffs, and what a race that is out in the Pacific Division, they will start the playoffs in new Set 3s.
On the ice, it figures to be a great final six days before the season ends with all 30 teams playing on Saturday, April 7. At least one or two playoff spots might be up for grabs on that final day of the regular season.
By the way, we expect Washington and Philadelphia's Set 1s by the end of the regular season, so we will start closing out and shipping those jerseys in time for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Program teams are preparing their playoff sets, and planning for when the sets will hit the ice.
Although we work closely with our program teams, we make it our business NOT to get involved in hockey decisions. If a team likes to wait until the Trade Deadline for making its Set 2s, we wait until the trade deadline. If a team likes to wear its Set 3, the playoff set, late in the regular season to break them in, that's fine with us.
This season, the Washington Capitals have prepared their third home red set so that they can break them in before the playoffs begin ... if the Caps make it. The New Jersey Devils broke out their home red and road white Set 3s in late March. The Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers plan to start their playoff sets in Game 1 of their respective series.
If the Los Angeles Kings make the playoffs, and what a race that is out in the Pacific Division, they will start the playoffs in new Set 3s.
On the ice, it figures to be a great final six days before the season ends with all 30 teams playing on Saturday, April 7. At least one or two playoff spots might be up for grabs on that final day of the regular season.
By the way, we expect Washington and Philadelphia's Set 1s by the end of the regular season, so we will start closing out and shipping those jerseys in time for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Are We Ready to Advertise our Jerseys?
There's been a lot of chatter lately regarding the pros and cons of adding advertising to major-league jerseys. We saw them in major league baseball earlier this week with the As-Mariners series in Japan. We've heard an influential and incredibly prescient owner like the Dallas Mavericks' Mark Cuban weigh in with his favorable views.
Is it inevitable?
Nobody doubts there will be millions, probably tens of millions, of dollars in revenue for teams if the leagues begin allowing it. Nobody doubts there will be a flood of major sponsors eager to slap their logos on the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL jerseys that have been traditionally free of any commercial emblems.
Now let's take a little closer look. In truth, there have been ads on jerseys. For years, the manufacturers have slapped their small logos on sleeves, hems, or anywhere they could get away with it. In the NHL, the local customizers who slapped names and numbers on the jerseys added their names (Cosby's, Eagle, Eastside, Gunzo's, Steichen's, Syosset Sports to name just a few) in the late '80s until the NHL banned the practice for the 1988-89 season, when the league did its first big jersey deal with CCM.
We all know what ad-spangled jerseys look like in European soccer, in foreign elite hockey leagues, and in the minor leagues on this continent. They range from the interesting to the ridiculous.
Major-league sports has shifted the line recently, as professional football and hockey teams do have practice jersey sponsors. MeiGray is proud to be the Official Practice Jersey Sponsor of the Los Angeles Kings, and I can tell you we have gotten some nice publicity ... even if our patch does need a little adjustment to its size and shape!!
I think ads on jerseys in our four major sports is inevitable. I think it's 5-10 years away. I still want the crest front and center and not relegated to thumbnail status. As long as we don't turn our athletes into billboards, I'll be OK with it.
***
Finally, in the spirit of tonight's big news around the country ...
MeiGray would like to announce our 2012 MegaMillions Sale ...
Any MeiGray customer who wins the grand prize of the MegaMillions lottery tonight can take 50% off an order of $2,000,000 or more.
If MeiGray wins the MegaMillions lottery grand prize tonight, we will announce that victory on Monday. And then after that announcement, every MeiGray customer can take 99% off any jersey in stock and they can purchase Stu's file cabinet with all his MeiGray Vintage information neatly organized (in seven-foot piles on his desk) for an additional 50 cents.
In that case, please expect 1-2 years for shipping since we will all be sailing to the Caribbean beginning Tuesday morning.
Good luck winning the second place prize, everybody!!!
Is it inevitable?
Nobody doubts there will be millions, probably tens of millions, of dollars in revenue for teams if the leagues begin allowing it. Nobody doubts there will be a flood of major sponsors eager to slap their logos on the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL jerseys that have been traditionally free of any commercial emblems.
Now let's take a little closer look. In truth, there have been ads on jerseys. For years, the manufacturers have slapped their small logos on sleeves, hems, or anywhere they could get away with it. In the NHL, the local customizers who slapped names and numbers on the jerseys added their names (Cosby's, Eagle, Eastside, Gunzo's, Steichen's, Syosset Sports to name just a few) in the late '80s until the NHL banned the practice for the 1988-89 season, when the league did its first big jersey deal with CCM.
We all know what ad-spangled jerseys look like in European soccer, in foreign elite hockey leagues, and in the minor leagues on this continent. They range from the interesting to the ridiculous.
Major-league sports has shifted the line recently, as professional football and hockey teams do have practice jersey sponsors. MeiGray is proud to be the Official Practice Jersey Sponsor of the Los Angeles Kings, and I can tell you we have gotten some nice publicity ... even if our patch does need a little adjustment to its size and shape!!
I think ads on jerseys in our four major sports is inevitable. I think it's 5-10 years away. I still want the crest front and center and not relegated to thumbnail status. As long as we don't turn our athletes into billboards, I'll be OK with it.
***
Finally, in the spirit of tonight's big news around the country ...
MeiGray would like to announce our 2012 MegaMillions Sale ...
Any MeiGray customer who wins the grand prize of the MegaMillions lottery tonight can take 50% off an order of $2,000,000 or more.
If MeiGray wins the MegaMillions lottery grand prize tonight, we will announce that victory on Monday. And then after that announcement, every MeiGray customer can take 99% off any jersey in stock and they can purchase Stu's file cabinet with all his MeiGray Vintage information neatly organized (in seven-foot piles on his desk) for an additional 50 cents.
In that case, please expect 1-2 years for shipping since we will all be sailing to the Caribbean beginning Tuesday morning.
Good luck winning the second place prize, everybody!!!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
We Call it Progress, Part 2
Sold an Oilers' Khabibulin jersey today to a collector who attended a game on the road in St. Louis where Khabby played. The collector wanted this particular jersey because he attended the game, and when I described the extensive game use, he knew exactly the stick and puck marks to which I was referring.
That's the beauty of this hobby. We can go to games, watch our jerseys, and then own them ... with photo evidence to back the jersey. It reminded me of something I used to wonder about in the late 1990s, when I was a collector, before I started this company, when authenticity and legitimacy was so speculative.
The conventional wisdom back then was teams wore very few jerseys. Another mantra echoed by veteran dealers and collectors 15-20 years ago was that photo-matching "was a needle in the haystack" endeavor. One dealer said that exact thing to me in 1997.
I wondered how these two contradictory theories could both be true. If teams wore very few jerseys, why wasn't it easy to photo-match? It's not like teams did not take pictures of their players then. It's not like video did not exist. When MeiGray acquired the New York Rangers Collection in 1997 and we began pulling jerseys out of boxes to inventory them, we photo-matched them within seconds from the media guide, programs, and videotapes.
The simple truth is, this hobby has made tremendous progress. Today's hobby is so much more professional than it was in the '90s because a guy in St. Louis can watch a Blues-Oilers game, check out the game use on a Khabibulin jersey, order it from MeiGray, and know exactly the jersey he is getting.
That's the beauty of this hobby. We can go to games, watch our jerseys, and then own them ... with photo evidence to back the jersey. It reminded me of something I used to wonder about in the late 1990s, when I was a collector, before I started this company, when authenticity and legitimacy was so speculative.
The conventional wisdom back then was teams wore very few jerseys. Another mantra echoed by veteran dealers and collectors 15-20 years ago was that photo-matching "was a needle in the haystack" endeavor. One dealer said that exact thing to me in 1997.
I wondered how these two contradictory theories could both be true. If teams wore very few jerseys, why wasn't it easy to photo-match? It's not like teams did not take pictures of their players then. It's not like video did not exist. When MeiGray acquired the New York Rangers Collection in 1997 and we began pulling jerseys out of boxes to inventory them, we photo-matched them within seconds from the media guide, programs, and videotapes.
The simple truth is, this hobby has made tremendous progress. Today's hobby is so much more professional than it was in the '90s because a guy in St. Louis can watch a Blues-Oilers game, check out the game use on a Khabibulin jersey, order it from MeiGray, and know exactly the jersey he is getting.
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