It's a dilemma every collector constantly faces. Since money is limited for most of us, you either have to sell a bunch of stuff or stop spending for a while. It’s probably a combination of both.

I’ve been waiting in the wings for about six months. Waiting for the economy to get a little worse and find some deals on collectibles that I want. I’m not sure if my recent buying spree is a result of these great deals I’ve been waiting for or simply because I found some things I couldn’t pass up.

It started a couple months ago when I bought two game-used bats from Mastro Auctions. Then I bought a Muhammad Ali single-signed ball from Iconic Memorabilia. Then a James Stewart single-signed ball from Bricol. Then a Richard Nixon single-signed ball from Memory Lane. And that doesn’t take into account the smaller items I’ve bought on eBay, like a 1996 U.S. Amateur complete ticket book set.

I’ve wanted a Yaz bat since I started collecting game-used bats five years ago. The Ali signature was just too nice to pass up and the Stewart ball was a natural fit since It’s a Wonderful Life is one of my all-time favorite movies.

I purchased the Nixon ball because I’m trying, like many others, to get a single-signed ball from every recent president. For now, I’m starting with Nixon and going forward with the possibility of filling backwards once I get the first goal completed.

The ticket book set fits nicely with my Tiger collection. I had the Sunday ticket from this set, but you don’t see many complete books around so I couldn’t pass it up. I wish I could find one from 1994 or 1995. I’ve got all of his Masters and British Open badges from years he won, and am still working toward the complete run of PGA Championship and U.S. Open badges.

Now I just have to figure out what to sell so I can start saving up for the big run of Nov. and Dec. auctions.

Sorry for the lapse in blogging, but my wife and I decided to travel to Costa Rica for our 10-year anniversary. We always like to get outside the mainstream tourist areas so we found these cool bungalows on the Southeast side of the country near Puerto Viejo. They were roughly five hours of jungle, rainforests and mountains away from San Jose (the capital city with a major airport). My excuse for not blogging is that we had no television, computer, clock or telephones where we were.

Besides the fact that Delta delayed us in Atlanta for a night, then lost our luggage so we had to wear the same clothes for four days, shower with handsoap and try to wash our clothes in the sink every night, everything went well. We repelled through the jungle, spent plenty of time on the beach, got some great exercise riding bikes and hiking around and ate a lot of very good food.

After three nights in the remote bungalows, we spent the final night in the middle of San Jose at one of the more historic hotels in the city (Gran Hotel). Of course there were no flight delays coming back when it really didn't matter if we got delayed or not, but the trip was fun and relaxing.

What happened while I was away? I'm still putting the pieces together. I did get back in time to watch the Brewers win the wild card. I know the U.S. won the Ryder Cup (thanks to spending Sunday night in Atlanta). I'll fill in the missing pieces through the next few days.

We had another great week of NFL action. While Week 1 will be remembered for some major injuries, led by Tom Brady, Week 2 can be remembered for some shootouts.

Green Bay put up 48 points. San Francisco nipped Seattle 33-30. Denver beat San Diego 39-38 on one of the more gutsy (if they had failed that word would read "stupid") calls when Shanahan went for two. And Monday night's matchup ended with Dallas beating Philly 41-37.

There were some odd events in Week 2. The Denver game should have ended when Jay Cutler fumbled the ball with less than a minute left and San Diego recovered...but no, instant replay and a referee blowing the whistle way too early gave Denver another chance and they cashed in.

The most bizarre event took place on Monday when Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson caught a long pass, tossed the ball aside and celebrated in the end zone. Unfortunately, replay showed he tossed the ball on the ground before he was actually in the end zone, but since Dallas didn't recover it, the Eagles got the ball at the one or two and scored on the next play. Otherwise, we would have been talking about this one along with Leon Lett and Jim Marshall running the wrong way.

A couple other rookies broke out in a big way on Sunday. Darren McFadden ran for 164 yards in a Raiders win, while Jonathan Stewart ran for 77 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Forte had another strong week with 92 yards. Eddie Royal impressed everyone again and caught the game-winning TD. And despite his horrible lapse in judgment, Jackson put up his second straight 100-yard effort in his first two games as a pro, which hasn't been done for 60 years. I wonder how many laps he's going to have to run this week though.

Have you read that article about Tony Romo helping a couple with a flat tire? It's amazing stuff and actually makes it hard to not cheer for the guy a little. First, he's from Wisconsin. Second, his girlfriend is kinda hot (ok, maybe that's first). If he didn't play for the Cowboys, he'd be one of my favorite players.

Anyway, last Sunday after flying back from Cleveland where the Cowboys beat the Browns, Romo stopped to help a couple with a flat tire. The couple was stranded in a stripmall parking lot at midnight and Romo took the time to stop and help them fix their tire. They didn't even recognize him for sure at first because of his 13-stitch gash and bandaged chin. The woman, Sharon White, told the Star-Telegram "The next thing I know, a nice-looking young man, very well-dressed, but with something strange on his chin, he walked up, smiled, and said, 'Hey, you need some help?'"

Crazy. I'm not sure if one in 10 people reading this blog would help someone fix a flat tire at midnight in Dallas. And Romo is worth something like $100 million, just played in an NFL game that day, flew back from Cleveland and was nursing a huge cut in his chin. It's hard not to like him (except when he plays the Packers in Week 3).

I can't help checking that E93 Honus Wagner card in the Memory Lane auction every day. It helps that I'm bidding on one item and watching several others, but even if I wasn't I think I'd check what the card is up to. It's up to $155,000 with a little more than a day left. The 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle SGC 9 is at $75,000 and the 1952 Topps Pee Wee Reese PSA 10 is at $28,500.

I normally try to stick to hobby stuff, but I found this video too funny to keep to myself, so I'm passing it on through my blog. Check this video out and watch a Fight Club-like match that ends quickly.

Mastro Auctions announced it will have a live auction at The Sports Museum of America (the new home of the Heisman Trophy) in New York City on Dec. 8. The auction features two distinct sessions, with the first focusing on Legends of the Gridiron and the second focusing on Legends of the Diamond.

The marquee item is the actual Heisman Trophy awarded to USC's Charles White in 1979. The trophy is just one piece in one of the largest private collections of football memorabilia ever offered, consisting of more than 300 items including game-used jerseys and helmets worn by Hall of Famers, future HOFers and Heisman Trophy winners.

According to Doug Allen, Mastro Auctions' COO and president, only a few Heisman Trophies have ever been offered for public sale. The record price is $395,240 for Minnesota halfback Bruce Smith's 1941 trophy. Allen expects the bidding to hit mid-six-figure range according to the press release.

Other items include in the Legends of the Gridiron auction are:

•    Jim Brown Cleveland Browns circa 1960s game-worn brown dureen jersey
•    Johnny Unitas Baltimore Colts 1971 game-worn white dureen jersey 
•    Jim Taylor Green Bay Packers circa 1966 game-worn green dureen jersey   
•    Ray Nitschke Green Bay Packers circa 1966 game-worn green dureen jersey
•    Tom Landry New York Giants circa 1952-54 game-worn red wool jersey
•    Dick Butkus 1974 NFC Pro Bowl game-worn blue dureen jersey
•    Don Maynard New York Jets 1969 Super Bowl III game-worn white dureen jersey  
•    Joe Namath New York Jets circa 1970 game-worn green dureen jersey
•    Bart Starr Green Bay Packers early 1960s game-worn helmet
•    Johnny Unitas Baltimore Colts 1969-70 game-worn, signed helmet           
•    Don Meredith Dallas Cowboys circa 1967 game-worn white dureen jersey
•    Merlin Olsen Los Angeles Rams 1969 game-worn white dureen jersey

The second session is highlighted by historical pieces of baseball memorabilia, led by an array of game-used bats, one-of-a-kind display pieces and high-valued baseball cards.

All items will be on public display at The Sports Museum of America on Sunday, Dec. 7, and a cocktail reception will be held that evening. For more information on the auction, bidding or to receive an auction catalog, call Mastro Auctions at 630-472-1200 or go to www.mastroauctions.com

If it was a big success in Topps Football, it'll work in Bowman Football. Topps added a Brett Favre on tractor mowing the lawn card to its Topps Football, along with a Lombardi image card as variation in Topps and has now announced it will do the same with Bowman.

Favre just completed his successful debut as the Jets quarterback, while Topps announced its encore to picturing him mowing the lawn at Lambeau Field. This time it's him on a lawnmower under the bright lights of Times Square wearing his New York Jets helmet. The card will be seeded in packs of Bowman Football, which releases the second week of Oct.

Not sure if you've been checking in, but the Honus Wagner card in Memory Lane's auction is up to $122,000. The crazy-rare Wagner is from the 1910 Standard Caramel E93 and is graded PSA 9, which is the only Mint-graded card in existence.