We're on the eve of the NFL Draft and I found something very interesting on NBA.com while surfing this morning. I went to one of my every-morning stops and noticed something different. On NBA.com, they have auctions and there's a bunch of game-used jerseys with the following wording:

"MeiGray Group, the Official Game-Worn Source of the NBA, offers collectors the highest standards of authenticity, integrity and reliability for an exciting array of game-worn and game-used items. Every game-worn and game-used item comes directly off the backs of the NBA’s greatest players and directly off the courts from the league’s most exciting events under the watchful eyes of an NBA or MeiGray Authentication Program representative.
 
"Every item offered by NBA And MeiGray is authenticated and registered into the NBA Authentication Program Database.  Every item is worthy of a Hall of Fame-caliber sports collection because every item is unconditionally guaranteed for life to be game-worn or game-used."

The authentication process is also described on the site: "Every item in the NBA Authenticated Program will be affixed with a tamper-proof hologram sticker (shown to the right) that includes a unique ID number. A certificate of authenticity will accompany each item and will also have a tamper-proof hologram sticker affixed with the same unique ID number to create a match. All NBA Authenticated items will be tracked by the NBA and available on NBA.com for fans and collectors to verify the authenticity of each item. The authenticity of all autographed and game-used items in the NBA Authenticated Program will be certified by an NBA or NBA Team representative."

Click here to check out the auctions. I haven't heard anything about this program yet, and will get in touch with the NBA to see if they are ready to announce anything yet, but this is a major step for NBA game-used jerseys. We all know that game-issued jerseys have been selling as game-used jerseys in many auctions and online for a long time and this program provides a way to make sure the jersey is actually game-used. This is a big move and should really help to clean up the market.

Also, I've been watching JaMarcus Russell since he was a freshman at LSU and the Raiders will be picking a great quarterback if they take him tomorrow. Everyone seems to be focusing on his arm strength right now...even implying that's all he's got, but he's a very good quarterback, who is smart and the most poised player I've seen in a long time. I've also been a Calvin Johnson fan for a long time so I don't think they can go wrong unless they take Brady Quinn.

Detroit is the team that's in a strange position. If the Raiders take Russell as expected, the Lions will face the choice of taking a receiver (Johnson) for the fourth time in five years or a much lesser player unless they can trade down. The positive side of all this is there are plenty of teams trying to get up in the draft to get Johnson. I'm sure Matt Millen will make the right choice, he always does (that was sarcastic).

The strength of this year's class appears to be at wide receiver, where Johnson, Ted Ginn Jr., Dwayne Bowe, Robert Meachem, Dwayne Jarrett,  and even Sidney Rice, Anthony Gonzalez and Steve Smith could all go in the first round, with at least the first four being locks.

I know there are a bunch of great auctions at the end of April and in May, but I'm pretty excited about SCP Auctions' next offering on June 5 at Sotheby's in New York.

I know several things about it: The Casey Stengel Collection; Alan Schlesinger's jersey collection; a private collection of game-used bats; the ball from the final out of the 1924 World Series signed by Walter Johnson; a vintage card collection with a T206 Eddie Plank; Lou Gehrig's circa-1931 Yankees home jersey; and a Tour of Japan collection with signed photos and balls. I've been lucky enough to see some of the items and can verify this is going to be a killer auction.

The Stengel Collection is full of World Series rings, contracts, his HOF induction plaque, hats, etc. The Schlesinger Collection has more than 100 game-worn basketball uniforms/jerseys, including Wilt Chamberlain's rookie uniform (yes, with the shorts), Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Elgin Baylor, Willis Reed (from his legendary Game 7 performance vs. the Lakers), Jerry West, Pete Maravich, Julius Erving, Michael Jordan's rookie jersey, etc. It includes around 40 of NBA's top 50 players of all-time. I got to see a few of these at NBA Jam Session in Vegas and they are amazing.

Finally, the Tour of Japan collection is going to blow you away. The photos feature some of the best Babe Ruth signatures I've even seen... on photography that I've never seen. There's also plenty of Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx signatures, along with signed items from the 1931 All-Star tour, the Ty Cobb Goodwill tour of 1928 and more. There are more than 200 photos and some of the earliest known signatures from Japanese Hall of Famers. The entire auction will have around 350 lots.

In other news, did you see what that Bobby Orr jersey in Classic Collectibles's auction ended at last night? It sold for $140,038 and the page had close to 9,000 views. That's an insane price for a hockey jersey and would imagine it's a record or close to a record (actually a 1967-68 Orr Bruins home jersey holds the record price of $179,654 from Lelands in the Spring of 2006...hey, Doug Drotman reads my blog!!!), but for a jersey that can be pinpointed to when he was drinking out of the Stanley Cup in 1972, it's probably a bargain. This 694-lot auction had 15 items that sold for more than $10,000 and was really loaded with more great items than you could shake a stick at. Sorry.

I'm off to watch O.J. Mayo, Eric Gordon and Derrick Rose in the McDonald's All-American Game tonight. If you don't know Mayo yet, you soon will when he's at USC for one year and then off to the NBA.