Upper Deck had one thing in mind when it designed NBA 2001-02 Inspirations Basketball: Rookies, rookies, and more rookies. With the youth movement going on in the NBA this set gives collectors a diverse and unique assortment of the league's top rookies.

The set's rookie theme partners up today's brightest rookies with veteran superstars. The fun doesn't stop there though, Upper Deck created five different rookie cards to offer variety and catch collectors' attention.

A special feature to the 2001-02 Inspirations Basketball is the movie memorabilia insert sets honoring the upcoming feature film " Like Mike" starring megastar rapper Lil' Bow Wow. These special inserts include dual jersey cards of Lil' Bow Wow with such NBA stars as Chris Webber, Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd and Gary Payton. Collectors will also be treated to authentic autograph cards of the rapper himself.

"Rookies were the inspiration behind this product. We wanted to bring a fresh new idea to fans when they collect rookies from this product," says, Brand Manager, Karvin Cheung. "With the addition of Lil' Bow Wow to the product the combination of rookies and rapper will create quite a stir in the industry."

The 181-regular set hits shelves this month and goes for the suggested retail price of $4.99 per pack. A complete list of each subset and insert sets follows:

· 90 Regular cards
· 13 Rookie Inspirations (numbered to 2249)

Subsets

Signed Rookie Inspirations- This six-card set features the best stars of today with the brightest of tomorrow. Superstars such as Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, and Kevin Garnett sign three cards while the another three are signed by future greats Kwame Brown, Jeff Trapanier and Eddy Curry. (Numbered to 275)

Dual signed Rookie Inspirations- This subset takes collectors above the rim by offering them two autographs on one card. Collect autographs of Lamar Odom, Earl Watson, Courtney Alexander and Kenyon Martin, to mention a few players. (Numbered to1149)

Jersey Rookie Inspirations- Collect a piece of the jerseys worn by athletes that made their NBA debut this season. Troy Murphy, Brandon Armstrong, Terrence Morris, Steven Hunter and more appear in this subset. (Numbered to 1399)

Dual Jersey Rookie Inspirations- This subset offers jersey swatches from both the mentor and the student. Hobbyists can collect great jersey combination cards of stars like Gerald Wallace/ Chris Webber, Tony Parker/ Allen Iverson and Rodney White/ Karl Malone. (Numbered to 1399 and 275)

Inserts:

Hardwood Imagery Floor Cards- This amazing insert keys in on the game's marquee players along with an authentic piece of NBA game floor. Collect NBA superstars like Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd and Michael Jordan. (1:47)

Combo Hardwood Imagery Floor Card- This insert takes the hardwood to the next level. Collectors are treated to not one but two of the very best on one card. Collect incredible combinations such as Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson and Steve Francis and Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker. (1:47)

Who's Hot & Who's Not

Picking "Who's Hot" this week was a breeze.

A picture-perfect swing developed through endless hours of practice made Red Sox Ted Williams one of the greatest hitters who ever lived. At the same time, a less-than-ideal attitude developed during numerous years of butting heads with fans and sportswriters made him a royal pain in the you-know-where.

There never seemed to be any gray area with Ted Williams. Either you adored him, or you disliked him.

As the baseball world remembers the last Major League player to hit at least .400 -- he batted.406 in 1941 -- both sides of the man emerge loud and clear. He could turn on the charm for a youngster or teammate and be a hero and friend for life. And he could just as easily ignore his Boston Red Sox fans wanting a tip of the cap, or a sportswriter wanting an interview.

Most of those who entered Williams' world were either hitters or fishermen. He had a passion for both and that never changed. Ted Williams was to hitting what Einstein was to mathematics.

The intense drive to reach that goal started when Williams was growing up in San Diego, California, which also happens to be our base of operations for the InterNet's Baseball Card Store. His father was a heavy drinker and his mother played her tambourine on the street corners in San Diego and nearby Tijuana, Mexico for money.

A hitting star began emerging in grade school and by the time Williams had entered Hoover High School, he already was well known in the area. Many kids idolized the man who would become known as "Teddy Ballgame" and "The Splendid Splinter."

When it came to hitting, Williams was ready and willing to talk about it and help anyone who asked for batting tips. Even if they were from other teams. Opposing teams tried to get into his head by using the "Williams Shift," putting three infielders on the first base side of second base. That didn't work.

Yankees manager Casey Stengel tried another tactic. Whenever Ted was batting, Casey would start whistling before every pitch. That didn't work very often either.

With Ted's passing, there's been a surge for his cards and collectibles. Here in San Diego, even street signs bearing his name have been taken from several cross-sections.

It was not that long ago that 76ers' Allen Iverson made our "Who's Hot' list. His "hood" demeanor was vanishing. He got his stuff together, both on and off the court. Then this.

Iverson will be charged for forcing his way into his cousin's apartment with a gun, authorities said Thursday.

The announcement came the same day police searched his suburban mansion and his uncle's home, looking for the gun Iverson was accused of carrying the night he showed up at the apartment looking for his wife, Tawanna.

Iverson will be charged with criminal trespass, simple assault, terroristic threats and gun offenses, District Attorney Lynne Abraham said.

Iverson, a former league MVP, was accused of going to the Cobbs Creek Court apartment complex to look for his wife and cousin, Shaun Bowman, who lives there. Neither was there, said Charles Jones, who has lived in the apartment since March.

Iverson's dazzling play on the court has made him one of the most popular NBA players, and his Sixers jersey is the league's top seller.

The charges in the gun case are just his latest problems with the law. Iverson completed 100 hours of community service, two years of drug testing and three years' probation, after which his record was expunged.

This latest incident may make him as forgettable as Dennis Rodman. And you know what that means. Toss his rookie cards in the trash. Because that's what they're worth right now.

Baseball season is still in full swing despite a possible strike, and so is the Fleer Trading Cards Baseball Card Flipping Tournaments. Fleer has brought the fun to six Major League ballparks so far and has had lots of success with the participants. The Fleer Baseball Card Flipping Challenge was staged at over 500 hobby stores nationwide from April- June.

Over 50,000 kids have competed in these local tournaments taking home a number of different prizes. Fleer then chose one store from each participating market and that store was awarded a trip to a Major League baseball game in their area. The store brought 32 kids with them and they competed in a second Card Flipping Challenge at the stadium then stayed to watch the game to follow. The highlight so far has been the prizes.

Each participant received a Fleer Card Flipping t-shirt and a prize tier was created as competitors where eliminated. Needless to say, every kid went home with a prize. The prizes consisted of Fleer Trading Cards, autographed memorabilia, and a variety of other prizes. The grand prize winners received all of the mentioned prizes, along with tickets to a future game (compliments of the hosting MLB team) and an authentic MLB team jersey of the winners choice (compliments of Major League Baseball).

Fleer will resume play after the All-Star break. The next event will be held on July 13 in Baltimore, Maryland at Camden Yards with more events to follow.

eBay & PayPal Get Married

In a move that will affect millions of Internet users, online auction giant eBay Inc. announced that it has agreed to acquire PayPal, Inc., the global payments platform. The acquisition, which is subject to various stockholder, government and regulatory approvals, is expected to close around year-end 2002.

eBay hopes that the transaction will strengthen its relationship with both online users and company shareholders, allowing easier, safer trading while minimizing shared operational costs.

The online auction house will reportedly acquire all of the outstanding shares of PayPal in a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction using a fixed exchange ratio of 0.39 eBay shares for each PayPal share. Based on eBay's stock price on July 5, 2002, the acquisition is valued at $1.5 billion.

According to preliminary estimates, the recognized purchase price is also expected to include approximately $18 million for acquisition-related costs. The calculation of the final purchase price may vary significantly from these estimates, and will depend upon a number of factors, including the length of time necessary to close the transaction, and the value of eBay stock at closing.

PayPal, which will continue to operate as an independent brand, is a leading online payments solution. Approximately 60% of PayPal's business takes place on eBay, making it the most preferred electronic payment method among eBay users. The remaining 40% occurs primarily among small merchants who constitute a potential new audience for eBay. Likewise, eBay's community of 46 million users worldwide represents a growth opportunity for PayPal. eBay's current payment service, eBay Payments by Billpoint, will be phased out after the close of the transaction.

As part of the recent announcement, eBay is also releasing results for the quarter ended June 30, 2002. Consolidated net revenues for Q2-02 are approximately $266 million, GAAP net income totaled $54.3 million or $0.19 per diluted share, with a gross margin of 83% and pro forma operating margin of 30%. The company also announced that pro forma earnings per share was $0.19.

The company's previously issued guidance estimated that revenues would be in the range of $260 to $265 million and that pro forma earnings per share would be $0.17. These stronger than expected results were highlighted by an accelerating US transaction business, which grew 48% year-over-year, combined with year-over-year growth from international operations of 148%.

On June 12, 2002, PayPal announced that its Q2-02 revenues could range between $53 million and $54 million, and pro forma earnings per share could range between $0.08 and $0.09. Additionally, PayPal estimated that its total payment volume could range from $1.61 billion to $1.63 billion.

eBay's complete second quarter earnings results will be announced on July 18, 2002. PayPal's second quarter results will be announced on July 24, 2002.

Where Does Baseball Go From Here?

The forecast for Major League Baseball.

Cloudy.

Really, really cloudy.

Big black clouds hovering overhead -- clouds looking suspiciously like Bud Selig, Don Fehr and a giant steroid, as a matter of fact. This All-Star forecast is not brought to you by Willard Scott, Al Roker or AccuWeather. It is brought to you by baseball, which never seems to run out of ways to get pancaked by its own parade float.

Last Monday, on what is usually a day to celebrate baseball and its brightest stars, the 60 best players on the planet (or you can supply your own Devil Rays joke here) awoke to find:

Player reps meeting with union officials down the road in Chicago, talking about -- but not setting -- a strike date.

The lead headline on the front page of USA Today proclaiming that 79 percent of all major-league players are in favor of steroid testing.

Strike-date announcement or no strike-date announcement, if you couldn't find a good labor debate to get into Monday, it was only because you overslept.

The players may not have announced a strike date Monday, but they'll announce one sooner or later. Then all the pre-work-stoppage hysteria can shift into the next gear -- until the final hours, at which point it could reach such a critical level that we may even have to call in (gasp) Larry King.

But the truth is, not even Don and Bud are looking forward to that. Or any of it. Remember that. They just happen to drive runaway trains that always seem to be careening in opposite directions down the same track.

Monday was Home Run Derby night at the All-Star Game. That used to be a fun thing. But by this Home Run Derby, the steroid hysteria had reached such an absurd pitch that a forthcoming USA Today poll is expected to show that 39 percent of all Home Run Derby viewers believe that if the participants didn't use steroids, 83 percent of their "home runs" would have been caught on the fly by the pitcher.

Or something like that.

But the problem is that if anybody at all thinks "steroids" while watching that Home Run Derby -- as opposed to, "Whoah. I wonder if that ball changed zip codes on the way down?" -- then it's all the more reason both sides have to address this issue.

Sooner or later, we're convinced, they will agree to it. The bad news is, they couldn't get that deal done before the first Home Run Derby bomb flew out of Miller Park -- and came down in North Dakota.

It's enough to make you long for next year's All-Star Game, by which time all of these issues will have been peacefully resolved forever and ever (sure they will) -- and we can go back to worrying about important stuff, like who gets to pitch the fourth inning.

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