We  had a contest at The 30th Annual National Sports Collector’s Convention that took place between July 29th and August 2nd, 2009 at the IX Center in Cleveland, OH. For every $50 dollars spent, people would get an entry form to win a trip for 2 to either Las Vegas or Disney World, Orlando,FL – Winner’s Choice! Thank you to everyone who participated in the contest and visited the Dave and Adam’s booth! The response was so great that Dave and Adam decided to give away 2 TRIPS!!! Winners were chosen randomly.

As a way of commemorating Upper Deck’s 20^th Anniversary, the company has produced a gigantic, 2,500-card set that chronicles the last 20 years of sports, politics, pop culture, world history and technology. The 20^th Anniversary cards are inserted randomly into all 2009 Upper Deck Baseball releases. Tiger Woods cards in the set show his start in the professional ranks from 1996 to his rise to legendary status today.

The 20^th Anniversary insert set also has a memorabilia card subset which includes two Tiger Woods cards. These cards include a swatch from one of Tiger’s tournament-worn shirts embedded on the card front.

In late April, collectors can search for rare Tiger-signed cards in 2009 Upper Deck Goudey Baseball where he appears in the “Sports Royalty” insert set. In the past, Tiger Woods autographed cards from this set have sold for thousands of dollars due to their rarity and the high-demand for his collectibles.

Two limited signed insert sets of Tiger are included in 2008 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection Football, which released last week, and 2008 Exquisite Football which releases on March 4. The signed Tiger Woods “Ultimate Champions” cards from 2008 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection shows Tiger as we last saw him, celebrating the putt that forced a one-round playoff at the 2008 U.S. Open. The Exquisite Signature Patch cards include not only Tiger’s signature, but a swatch from one of his match-worn shirt as well.

It is important to note that Tiger added a special inscription to one card from each of these sets. The inscription reads: “08 U.S. Open Champion.”

“Trading cards of Tiger Woods remain a huge draw for collectors and golf fans around the world,” said Jason Masherah, Upper Deck’s senior brand manager. “Upper Deck is excited to bring his fans so many unique offerings in a variety of our products this year. We are proud to be partnered with such a great champion.”

The Upper Deck Company is releasing a special series of nine collectible insert cards entitled “Historical Firsts Predictors.” The cards, which feature some very bold predictions by the sports card leader, will be scattered inside its next baseball card release – 2009 Series One Baseball and will no doubt provide fuel for conversation, laughter and actual contemplation by collectors.

Topping the list of historic predictions will be cards predicting that an AIDS vaccine is developed, an alien life form is discovered on another planet and the Dow Jones reaches 15,000 points!

“Nobody could have guessed how 2008 was going to turn out, so we thought we’d have some fun and provide some thought-provoking predictions for 2009,” said Kerri Stockholm, Upper Deck’s director of Sports Marketing. “With the onslaught of news stories focused on the troubled economy, Upper Deck wanted to provide some hope and humor for collectors and fans. Who knows? Some of these predictions may very well come true.”

The “Historical Firsts Predictors” cards, inserted at a rate of 1:6 packs in Upper Deck’s 2009 Series One Baseball release, will be hitting store shelves on February 3. Other noteworthy predictions in the series include gas prices plummeting to 99 cents per gallon, and the first African-American woman being confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice.

Upper Deck also included a few sports-related predictions. The scenario most likely to come true is probably that the National League – following a 10-year drought – actually wins this year’s MLB All-Star Game, which is being played at St. Louis’s Busch Stadium. The two remaining sports predictions include Chicago being named host city of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, and college football adopting an actual playoff system to determine the national champion.

They are now being cut so they can be placed into the cards. The larger bones, from creatures like the Woolly Mammoth and Woolly Rhinoceros, will probably make at least 100 cards, but any cards that feature teeth will be much rarer.

“We didn’t want to ruin the feeling that you were actually getting a tooth by cutting them up too much,” said Matt Bromley, Upper Deck’s associate hockey brand manager. “But they were too thick to just include them whole. We moved ahead with cutting them vertically in half so now there will be two copies for each of these unique cards.”

Tooth cards will be made of dinosaurs like the Spinosaurus, Pterosaur and the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

“The 2008-09 Champ’s Hockey product is a perfect vessel to deliver something truly unique like this to the hobby,” said Josh Zusman, Upper Deck hockey brand manager. “When we saw these pieces coming in, everybody was in awe. The inclusion of these cards in this hockey release helps bring the Ice Age to the ice.”

2008-09 Champ’s Hockey should hit shelves in mid-March.