John Daly, football kicker?

By Dan | @DGood73

John Daly remains larger than life.

Big, booming drives. Out-sized personality.

But a football kicker?

Yes, golfer John Daly was named an alternate kicker on the 1991 All-Madden Team. George Foreman was also included as the squad's "eating coach," whatever that entails. The honor provided Daly with his first trading card – an Action Packed issue that shows the golfer lining up a putt, a gold foil leather helmet in the card's corner.

After years of inconsistency, Chris Davis has finally put it all together

By Dan | @DGood73

Chris Davis has finally put it all together.

Through his first 57 games this season, the Orioles first baseman has destroyed opposing pitching, ripping 20 home runs and batting .355. Both of those totals rank near the top of the American League leaderboard, the type of production the Rangers had hoped for during Davis's early big-league days.

"Crush," as he's nicknamed, always had tape-measure power.

Hitting the ball was the problem.

My issues with rookie cards (And why I enjoy Topps Archives football)

By Dan | @DGood73

I miss the simpler times.

It's difficult to pinpoint when investment eclipsed innocence, but a series of flash-points triggered our current collecting landscape. The Ty Cobb T206 card. Junior Griffey's Upper Deck smile. Autographed Baseball Heroes cards. Embedded game-used materials. Grading popularity.

Rookies, rookies rookies ...

Last year's football products were stuffed with rookie card potential - the first appearances of once-in-a-generation talents such as Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck. A handful of other rookies stood out too, such as Russell Wilson and Doug Martin, Justin Blackmon and Alfred Morris.

That's six special (investment-worthy) players. What about the nearly 200 others?

Lamar Odom shows off his cards on a 1999-00 Skybox Apex promo card

By Dan | @DGood73

No, he never really was "Magic Johnson with a jump shot."

That's how a rival NBA coach described Lamar Odom on the back of a 1999-00 Skybox Apex promotional card. The card shows Odom posing with cards after being named a Fleer/Skybox spokesman, joining Keith Van Horn and Stephon Marbury. Interesting spokesperson lineup, eh? I picked up the card - numbered to 2,000 - at a recent card show for $3. The cards-within-a-card perspective drew me in.

Odom was 19 years old at the time the card was released, an emerging rookie presence for the Clippers. He still plays for the Clippers today - with additional stops with the Heat, Lakers and Mavericks - but he's a 33-year-old role player now, trying to win another ring (he already has two).

Remembering Moses "Fleetwood" Walker, the player who beat Jackie Robinson by 63 years

By Dan | @DGood73

Jackie Robinson was a pioneer, breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947.

But Robinson wasn't first.

No, six decades before Jack Roosevelt Robinson came Moses "Fleetwood" Walker. The Ohio native learned the game from Civil War veterans and later played for Oberlin College and the University of Michigan.

The Glove gets the call to the Hall

By Dan | @DGood73

The Glove is headed to Springfield.

Gary Payton, the longtime Sonics guard, was voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, it was announced Monday. Other honorees include Bernard King, Rick Pitino, Jerry Tarkanian and Dawn Staley.

Payton was one of the sickest defenders - and most prolific trash-talkers - of the 1990s and early 2000s, teaming with Shawn Kemp to make Seattle one of the league's top teams.

After spending 13 seasons with the SuperSonics, Payton took his talents to Milwaukee, Los Angeles and Boston before winning a ring with the Heat in 2006.

He even showcased some fantastic phone skills on his 1990-91 Hoops rookie card - listening intently on a green phone, preparing for the next step in his NBA journey. That journey came full-circle with Monday's call, giving The Glove basketball's biggest honor.

The Biff Pocoroba initiative: a look at buyback cards

By Dan | @DGood73

Alf deserves some respect.

Ivan Drago, too.

Remember 2011 Topps American Pie? The set revolved around pop culture. A "Jersey Shore" card was included. Kato Kaelin signed cards, as well as Mickey Rooney, the subject of one of my favorite feature articles.

The most memorable inserts from American Pie involved buybacks – actual cards from previous sets, now stamped with gold foil and re-inserted into packs at a rate of one per 24 packs. Collectors could bust current product and pull entertainment cards from the 1950s and 1990s, offering a feel for collecting's timelessness, the cardboard continuum in full display.