The best of the old and the best of the new come together in Fleer Throwbacks NFL Football cards. Combining the stars of yesteryear and today, Throwbacks football features an "old-school" design, short-printed rookies, numerous insert set and game-used cards, plus autographs from more than 35 retired stars! You'll find an autographed or game-used card at the unbelievable rate of 1 per 6 packs!

Basic--An old-school design shows off the best players from yesterday and today. Card backs feature a write-up on every player, plus complete, year-by-year statistics.

New Era Rookies--Twenty-five of the top first-year players are pictured in old-time poses.

On 2 Canton--A common theme relates the Hall of Fame-caliber players on these dual-player cards.

On 2 Canton Game-Used--A special parallel of the On 2 Canton insert set, thes cards feature a piece of game-worn material from each player and are limted to just 50 of each card

Super Stars--This insert set pays tribute to players who were voted the Most Valuable Player of a Super Bowl.

Super Stars Game-Used--A parallel of the Super Stars insert set, each of these cards has a piece of game-used material on it.

Quarterback Collection--The biggest stars at the game's marquee position are included in this set.

Quarterback Collection Game-Used--A partial parallel of the Quarterback Collection insert set, with each card featuring a game-used swatch on it.

QB Collection - Dream Backfield--These dual-player cards feature some of the top running backs and quarterbacks from selected franchises.

QB Collection - Dream Backfield game-used single--These cards feature a game-used swatch from one of the players featured on the Dream Backfield cards.

Lambeau Legends--This set features uniform pieces from some of the greatest players from one of the NFL's most storied franchises, the Green Bay Packers

Greats of the Game autographs--Some of the greatest players from the NFL's rich history autographed cards for this autographed insert set.

Who's Hot & Who's Not

It's been quite a while since we had a second baseman grab our "Who's Hot" award, but Yankees' Alfonso Soriano is the most deserving of the trophy. A top-notch leadoff hitter with a cleanup hitter's power describes Soriano. Consider him the "souped-up" version of Rickey Henderson in his hey-day. Right now he's leading the American League with 74 runs scored and 25 stolen bases. He's 2nd in batting with a .316 average, 2nd in hits with 127, 1st in doubles with 33.

As a rookie last year, Soriano came on like gangbusters, easing Chuck Knoblauch's transition to the outfield while establishing a hint of things to come. He had a great season at second base, providing playoff heroics with his bat and spectacular, if unsteady, play in the field. He already is being touted as a 40-40 candidate and a great complement to shortstop Derek Jeter.

His reputation was as a free-swinger who was loath to draw a walk, but his patience grew over the course of last season. Scouts and team personnel marveled at how the ball jumped off the bat of the righthanded-hitting rookie.

Alfonso's ALCS homer in Game 4 and game-winning hit in Game 5 of the World Series proved he isn't scared of going the other way or of late-inning pressure.

The sky is the limit for Soriano, and collectors are starting to take real notice of his rookie cards. Right now, the cards RC hunters are after are the 1999 Bowman Chrome ($40) & 1999 Upper Deck Ultimate Victory ($80) issues.

The Arizona Diamondbacks seem to be heading towards the NL West title, and without any help from this week's "Who's Not Hot." That would be Matt Williams.

Activated from the disabled list after playing in only 6 games this year, Williams looks to be a player who should certainly give retirement a second thought. Batting .150 with one homer and one RBI are signs that maybe it's time to get out of baseball.

A variety of leg injuries cost Matt Williams almost two months in the middle of last season. He endured a number of false starts before he actually came off the disabled list. And when he did return, Williams soon lost his job as Arizona's cleanup hitter. His power was well off his standards from previous years, although he did produce a respectable RBI total, given his playing time.

He still can make solid contact and drive the ball to all fields. But his leg problems over the past few years may be costing him home runs, as he isn't generating power with his lower body and hips. In addition, his bat speed is slowing. When Williams is on, he hits the ball from gap to gap instead of pulling it. Even when he's healthy, which is never a given, Williams no longer is a cleanup-type hitter.

If you're wondering about game cards that are condition rarities, your first stop should be Cadaco. The Cadaco All-Star Baseball spinner game was made with a few interruptions from the early '40s through 1989, which should tell you something right there: This was a good game. It worked. It was fun. Kids and grownups liked playing it. That's your first tip that the cards are in for a beating.

Most of the years the discs lacked pictures, but at the end Cadaco tried to take advantage of the trading-card boom by adding mug shots. It didn't make the discs any more or less collectible, though it may have hastened the game's demise.

The reason Cadaco spinner discs are at the top of the most-mashed list is because the game was played mostly by kids and involved sticking a disc on a spindle so you could spin the spinner and get a result. Kids sticking anything on a spindle - bricks, headstones, rebar, tungsten-carbide drills, pieces of the space shuttle - are going to turn that spindle-stuck-something into mush within a couple of weeks.

It shouldn't be any surprise that the majority of older spinner discs are found creased, torn, fixed with tape, lopsided, or fuzzy at the edges. Why wouldn't they be? What self-respecting child of the '50s or '60s wouldn't play the heck out of his spinner discs?

The same might apply to Strat-O-Matic and APBA game cards, except for one thing: Those game cards weren't played with as physically. Older kids and adults played the game and took better care of their cards. You'll find plenty of older APBA and Strato cards in less-than-Mint condition, but often the defacements are things like rubber band marks or new teams pencilled over the old. Torn cards are a relatively rare occurrence.

People collect old Cadaco cards, but there aren't nearly as many Cadaco collectors as card collectors and they don't pay nearly as much for their cards as they would for baseball cards of the same vintage. The big reason why: No pictures. Right or wrong, a picture is one of the requirements of a collectible trading card. Pictures on cardboard rule. Never mind that the divisions on a spinner disc provide as clear a picture of a player as some of the pictures that graced Leaf and Bowman cards. If it don't got a picture, it don't count.

Of course, lots of game cards have pictures, but only some of them display the wear earned by cards from fun, popular games. The Milton Bradley baseball games, for instance, aren't bad games. They're playable and everything, but they're inbetween games that just aren't as much fun as a Cadaco spinner game. You'll find some superstar cards from the Milton Bradley games that display inordinate wear, but that's about it.

And if surviving examples are any indicator, no one at all played some of the earlier baseball card games, like the Tom Barker Baseball Game, the National Game or Fan Craze. The cards that made it look pretty darn nice, and the fragments of the games left on the cards look pretty darn boring. A rousing hand of whist has it all over a spin around the Tom Barker board.

Sorry to say, modern games seem to be cut from the same cloth as the Tom Barker. Donruss' Top of the Order appeared during the first collectible-card-game wave of the mid-'90s. Its cards featured player photos and game actions, and if Donruss could have included a cryptographer with every pack it may have been on to something. Wizards of the Coast's MLB Showdown is a baseball game that plays like a collectible card game, which is both a blessing (CCG players who aren't necessarily baseball fans like it) and a curse (baseball fans who aren't necessarily CCG players don't).

Still, there may be the ultimate fun baseball card game out there, a game so much fun that people played with the cards until they were nothing more than lint, and then they played with the box and the board and the markers until they ground to dust in their hands. Maybe, but I doubt it. Cadaco may be as good as it gets.

A Big Set To Complete

Leading the trend to super size trading card sets, Upper Deck released its largest baseball card set ever to hit shelves. 2002 Upper Deck MLB 40-Man Baseball features more players than any other baseball card set on the market

This record breaking 1,184-card set will have set builders smiling from ear to ear. The set includes 50 of this years top prospects and 50 of Major League Baseball's brightest superstars in new innovative designs. Added to the eye-catching formats are first-time inserts such as Mark McGwire buyback cards and the Lumberyard Wood cards.

Mark McGwire's autograph is rare since the slugger refrained from signing trading cards during his superstar career. Now for the first time McGwire's autograph is available on 44 different cards dating back to Upper Deck's debut year. His signature is inked on classic Upper Deck cards from 1989 to 2002 at a number no higher than six. These insert cards are sure to be the buzz of this season's baseball cards.

But, that's not all! Upper Deck reveals an innovative new insert card with the debut of the Lumberyard Wood card. This unique insert is made of wood with a laser-etched image of the MLB's very best. The wood grain feel and great detail of each image make this a super unique collectible.

2002 Upper Deck MLB 40-Man Baseball is scheduled to have a suggested retail price of $2.99 per pack. A complete list of each subset and insert set follows:

· 1,012 regular cards
· 40 New Hitmakers
· 40 New Releases
· 40 New Power Chart
· 40 Rotation
· 12 Checklist
· 40-Man Electric (silver parallel version excluding the checklist, 1:4)
· 40-Man Rainbow (gold version excluding the checklist numbered to 40 for hobby only)

Inserts:

Looming Large Jersey cards- This set highlights Major League Baseball's "bigger than life" players such as Sammy Sosa, Roger Clemmons, Frank Thomas and Ken Griffey Jr. (Numbered to 250, gold version numbered to 40)

Super Swatch Jersey cards- Just like the baseball diamond they play on these players shine in the spotlight. Collect such superstars as Chipper Jones, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez and Ichiro. (Numbered to 250, gold version numbered to 40)

Mark McGwire Flashbacks- This special set gives collectors a pictorial retrospective of Big Red's historic big league career. (1:24 packs)

Mark McGwire Buyback cards- This first-time set offers collectors 44 different cards from 1989 to present, all autographed by one of the best players to ever step foot into the batter's box. (Cards numbered no higher than six)

Lumberyard Wood cards- The debut of this set is sure to cause conversation. Collectors are treated to laser- etched wood cards of such greats as Mantle, DiMaggio, Giambi and McGwire. (1:168)

How eTopps Works

Unlike other cards that are sold in packs, etopps are sold individually so you know exactly what you're going to get. Every card is guaranteed to be in mint condition and include: a hand inserted metal medallion, tamper resistant security sticker, the highest quality photography and construction, and rainbow metallic highlights.

Featured on these cards are some of today's greatest sports stars as well as rookies destined for greatness. Offered exclusively online by Topps, and produced in very limited quantities, etopps are only available through our IPOs or Trading Floor on eBay .

It's important to know that demand may outweigh supply. What that means is you may not always get the card(s) you ordered. You'll soon discover what it feels like to be a disappointed G.M. on draft day. However,the cards you missed out on will be found on The Trading Floor at eBay - the place to buy someone else's cards and/or auction off your own. In the event that an IPO is not sold out, the remaining cards will be destroyed.

Everything you've been working for leads up to this moment - It's the etopps Trading Floor on eBay. This is the place that separates the men from the boys. The Mr. Octobers from the Mr. Mays. The awesome from the average. Here, you'll decide which of your players you can part with - and bid on those you can't live without. Are you a Steinbrenner, always wheeling and dealing, constantly looking for that final piece of the puzzle? Or, are you eccentric Charley Finley, handing over every one of your all-stars without so much as a fight? It's the etopps Trading Floor on eBay and it's not for the faint of heart.

Then it's time to begin your front office duties. You're the GM for your very own team and My etopps is the place you come to monitor your investment. Whether you're a hands-on, roaming the sidelines, Jerry Jones-type or a more reserved, hands-off, more comfortable in the background, Wellington Mara-type, this is the place for you. My etopps is broken down into three sections: Portfolio | Orders | Profile

Keep tabs on your player rosters and strategize your next moves in the "My Cards" section. Watch all the wheeling and dealing that takes place on "The Trading Floor, from Cards on eBay." And, review your entire "Account History " -with a detailed play-by-play of every move, from the smart to the bonehead, you've made on etopps.

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