I did a blog about Upper Deck being worked over by Major League baseball. Well, they signed a multi-year exclusive deal to produce collegiate sports cards.

The one interesting thing about this for collectors is, getting cards of players before they hit the major leagues, which will now make their card the valuable "rookie" cards that are most valuable.

And this doesn't just mean baseball. Look for Upper Deck to give ya football, basketball, as well as hockey, swimming, lacrosse, and even women hoops.

TWEET TWEET

A Seattle Mariners pitcher might be bothered by autograph seekers more than most. You see, his name is Ryan Rowland-Smith. He's the only player in baseball with a hyphenated name. But on Twitter, he uses a hyphen, followed by 18, his number. So a reporter asked him why he doesn't sign his name this way.

He responded, "I won't be signing any baseballs 'hyphen 18'.

He's the only player on the Mariners using Twitter, which seems to be popular with athletes.

One San Diego Charger player recently got fined for Tweeting that he didn't like the food at the training camp. A few NBA players have gotten into trouble for Tweeting at half-time of the game (it makes the coaches wonder how focused they really are on the game).

Smith said he wanted a more direct connection with the fans, and that's why he joined. He has over 1,700 followers.