POP UPS

My apologies for the annoying Casalemedia and Revenue.net popup ads that appeared on our site over the weekend. Looks like our website was hacked. It seemed to be kind of widespread as other websites were victims also. I just figured out how to get it off. If you are having other problems with access or other annoyances, please give us a call or email and let us know.

Site Improvements

I added AOL Instant messenger links on the front page. So if you have a question or need help for the website, just click the link and chat with me.



O.K. The USPS rate quote conflicts are still going on so I turned it off and implemented a table rate that mirrors the rates offered by USPS. Even though it doesn't say it in the checkout page, "Table Rate (Best Method)" is USPS.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Hope everyone had a great holiday. Mine was not bad considering the circumstances.

On December 9th, USPS's rate quote system went down for thousands of ecommerce sites like ours. And now our hosting provider and USPS are at a standstill. USPS rate quote can't be activated until USPS provides some IP numbers. I've made sure that it's not any problem on our end so that leaves me sitting in the middle begging for the two parties to talk to each other. In essence, USPS rate quote has been DOWN FOR THE ENTIRE CHRISTMAS SEASON! And it's still not working. AAARRGH!

So if you tried to buy something on HeadlineSports.net, the only choice you had for shipping was FedEx. FedEx is a bit more expensive but is great for domestic express deliveries. However, for our Canadian customers, FedEx sucks! They charge Canadians a hidden $75 brokerage fee when it arrives at your door.

I apologize for any inconveniences if there were any due to this glitch. If there were any problems, please contact us so we can get your order fixed. Your satisfaction is my pleasure. In the meantime, I shall cross my fingers and wait

Adam

Babe Ruth Autographed Baseballs

Wanna impress your friends? How about adding a "Holy Grail" to your collection. Sure, you can get yourself a T206 Honus Wagner ... yeah, right. Or you can get a Babe Ruth autographed baseball. No ... seriously! I'm talking about a genuine Babe Ruth signed baseball. Because compared to the T206, they're not hard to find, they're relatively inexpensive, and an autographed Ruth ball carries just as much prestige. And everyone knows Babe Ruth. Even people who aren't sports fans.

This particular one sat on my desk for about a day and is one of my favorites. It has Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Fox, and Connie Mack on the panels, but Babe Ruth nice and bold on the sweet spot. We used to see one every once in a while, but I've never seen so many in one place at one time. Whenever one arrives, we would all clamor around to get a glimpse of it before it's sold. Kent makes sure that they're PSA/DNA or JSA authenticated before they are allowed to sell so if you're in the market, give Kent a call. 713-672-2793

October 20, 2008 - Colt McCoy, Texas Longhorns (University of Texas)

The Longhorns be the Sooners and Colt McCoy is on the cover of SI. I'm not an authority but I think he might be pretty good. :P

A couple of years ago when he started as a skinny freshman, he was a boy amongst men. Look at him now. He is almost single handedly leading the Texas Longhorns atop the AP poll -- number one in the nation for two weeks in a row.

Even if they don't get an opportunity to play in the national championship game, beating the OU Sooners is good enough. It's that big of a deal.

Octubre, 2008 - Luis Castillo, San Diego Chargers (SI Latino)

I'm trying to get more information on SI Latino issues. We carry a couple of issues on the website, but they resemble more like commemorative issues.

The October 2008 issue that I recently found features Luis Castillo and is a supplemental that is stuffed in local Spanish newspapers. I've heard that they release regional issues as well so there may be multiple covers every month - American football in the West and Soccer or International Football in the East.

I'm going to try to broaden our stock of SI Latino issues. If there's a different cover in your area, let me know who it is.

October 13, 2008 - Manny Ramirez & Marian Hossa - Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Redwings

Two Covers this week.

1988, as I remember, was a very good year. The A's - with their power-hitting duo of Canseco & McGwire was the team to dethrone and the Los Angeles Dodgers was the team that did it. First they beat the Mets, and then Kirk Gibson hit that massive ninth-inning home run in game one. Oh, the memories. Twenty years later, Manny Mania is going to try to bring the glory back to Dodger blue. The Manny issue is available in the West and South.

Incidently, Marian Hossa is on the 2008 Hockey Preview, a regional East Coast cover. Down here in our hockey depraved sector of the country, I've never heard of him. He must be pretty good.