It's Final...Over 500 Cards Make up the 2008 Indoor & Arena Football Collection.

Here we are, the end of the season and we just received the final expected set of team cards for the 2008 season. It looks like there are 14 team sets and a few single production cards to be included in the fourth edition.

Although we set aside our awards announcements for the 2007 year, we will bring it back for the 2008 season. The staff here at BMP are working to put together the seasons awards; toping the list of the seasons best are first year card contributor AIFA Saginaw Stings 9-card set, AFL San Jose Sabercats and Donruss came through with a few great sets with the AFL's Dragons and Desperados.

In addition to this 2008 seasons cards, collectors will also find a few more vintage sets; 1994 Fort Worth Calvary, 2007 Rochester Raiders and more including a few singles from 2003 & 2005.

Collegiate Football Card Collectors Take Notice!

Well....we've done it again. We have manage to take what was already a superb product and enhance it by a million.

As the premier leader in this industry of Indoor & Arena Football trading cards, BMP is continuing to blaze the path for collectors. It was BMP that was the first to put a reliable, accurate and up-to-date product together for collectors to rely on.

It was BMP that was the first to feature the only Indoor & Arena Football college cross-reference of it's kind to collegiate trading card colletors, Allowing collectors to now have the ability to find their favorite college alumnis trading cards for this untapped market.

Now, with the upcoming release of the fourth edition, BMP will blaze another path. We have enhanced the college cross-reference. Collectors will now have the ability to look up their favorite Indoor or Arena players name and followed below their name will list the college and pages that the players cards are listed on. Now although this feature was in the third edition it did not include the players college.

The most important improvement though comes in the form of an alphabetical list of all of the colleges with Indoor & Arena Football player cards. Now if your a person who collects former colligate alumni cards, you can look up your college alphabetically, which will then be followed by a list of players that attended that college who have player cards within the guide.

The swirl of interest that this generated around this is already encouraging. Check our website to see if your favorite college has player cards in the Indoor & Arena Football leagues.

Check Here

The Official Indoor & Arena Football Trading Card Guide - Featuring an ArenaBowl Winning QB on the Cover?

WOW!.....The Dragons rolled over the Desperados. The Dragons now head back to Philly for the second time this season and third overall meeting between the two teams. I'll say this again this week.....it's not easy beating a team three times in a season.

Garcia was as solid as ever, goes to show with a little bit of time he's unstoppable. With each touchdown I grew more excited about the idea of The Aaron Garcia being featured on the cover of our fourth edition.

Last Tuesday evening, I spoke with Garcia and firmed up some of the details about the feature cover. The one variable that was still to be determined was the timing of the photo shoot. I mentioned to Aaron that we'd like to get the photos done before he heads back home (California) and he of course follwed my statement with "Well, I hope we don't have to meet up until after the Arenabowl", I agreed and wished him good luck.

Fast forward about 72 hours, as the time ticked away in the final minute of the Dragons 77-65 victory over the Dallas Desperados, I began to think; "Wow, wouldn't that be nice if they went on to the Arenabowl". As a fan of the Dragons I'd be tickled but as an editor of the leading source for Indoor & Arena Football trading cards I'd be as happy as a little pig in mud! Imagine this....again, it's not easy beating a team three times in a season. I'll say this, if the Dragons can win in Philly, I think we have a solid shot at having an Arenabowl winning QB on the cover.

Along with the full color photo of Aaron Garcia on the cover, we will also have a 2-page Q&A. I'm hoping that we have to change a few questions within the next few weeks.

And Aaron, we don't mind you putting us of for a few more weeks...........Go Dragons!!!


Photo courtesy of newyorkdragons.com

Fourth Edition - Quickly approaching

With the regular seasons winding down our editing process steps up. This is the time of the year when many of the teams are finishing up their promotional trading cards. So as the Indoor and Arena Football trading cards begin to pour into our offices; let the editing begin.


Adding the 2008 Cards - Right now we have somewhere around 17 different team issued and single produced card sets for the 2008 season. The editing process is long and tedious; It starts when we receive the cards. Our editing team loads the sets information into the system, complete with a detailed description and data of each card. Next, we analysis the individual cards within the set and determine which card will show the best in the guide. We then scan that card, edit it to black and white then upload the photo with the text.


Changes Made for the Fourth - Each year we make changes to improve the overall quality of the guide and this year is no different. This fourth edition will have several new changes and modification to improve the references aspect of the guide. In the third edition we included the ability to locate each players card by pages, we also added the players colleges for those collectors that are interested in the college players cards.


Well, in this edition, we took it one step further....This fourth edition, collectors will now be able to look up the college by alphabetical order, then follow down the list of players with cards included in the guide from that college.


In the third edition the players names were listed with the first name first, followed by the last name (ex...Mike Smith), the fourth edition will list the last name first, followed by the first name (ex....Smith, Mike), making it much easier on the eyes for looking up the info.


The Cover - This is my most exciting part of the fourth edition. We just met with our photographer that will be shooting the fourth edition cover featuring Aaron Garcia. Now we just wait and see if the Dragons make the playoffs, we'd hate to be the reason the Dragons didn't win their playoff game because Garcia was out doing a photo shoot and not practicing.

Feature Story - We will include a Q&A with the New York Dragons Aaron Garcia. These questions are being complied by our junior editor, Ben Schwartz. Ben has been a helpful addition to our blogs and website graphics. We will work to have Ben master the craft of writing with a few articles for the guide, starting with this fourth edition Q&A with Garcia.

Bobbleheads, Helmets, Jerseys; Now Up for Discussion

Welcome to this new section of BMP's blog. Here we will go beyond the cardboard and will delve into the other collectibles of the Arena and Indoor games. While we may also discuss cards, we will primarily break down the other facets of the collecting hobby. Items such as bobbleheads, helmets, jerseys, game worn items, player statues, autographs, and much more will be featured here.

Arena and Indoor teams often either sell these items or give them away on occasion; these are called “Stadium Give Aways”, or “SGAs”. Teams will give them away to a certain number of fans who enter the game first, such as a bobblehead giveaway to the first 5,000 fans. These items often hold both monetary and personal value in that they represent the day you went to a game or a memory of your favorite player. Items that are particularly unique, rare, or are of famous players often sell for more than others, but Arena and Indoor collectibles almost always have at least some value.

Teams and sellers are constantly releasing new items, so there is always something to talk about in the world of collectables. Whether it is on ebay, the stadium, directly from other fans, or team shops – building a nice collection is not extremely difficult, but just like the card business it takes time, patience and usually money. This part of collecting goes along very well with cards, and often are cards (SGAs), so discussion of this should fit in nicely on BMP's blog. So, we hope you check back every once in a while for new articles, releases, pictures, and new finds so we can all build our collections to fit the way we love the game. After all, game worn and signed collectibles are your ticket to the inside of the game we all love.

Ebay....Now is the time!

Now with the end of the indoor and arena football season quickly approaching a rash of cards have sprung up on Ebay. Just in the past few weeks many sets have made their way through the popular auction site. Many times it takes several different search options to land the cards your looking for but it always happens that you get sidetracked looking at something else and thats where I found myself within the last few weeks.

So in addition to finding the rcently released 2008 Chicago Rush, 2008 LA Avengers and 2008 IFL Odessa Roughnecks, I happened to fall upon a few 2007 NFL Europe cards. Now because I'm a New York Dragons fan, one in particular stood out to me; John Walker. It took no time to confirm that this was the Dragons 2008 star rookie so I put my bid in for $3.

I watched the John Walker team issued NFL Europe Sea Devils card for the seven days that it was listed for and fortunetly for me I checked in on it about a half hour before the end to see that I have been outbid and someone else had interest in this card. It made me think of the time I watched a set of 1992 AFL Cleveland Thunderbolts and passed on it at $65 in 1999; It took me nine years to see another partial-set come through ebay and I won that bid of 8 cards at $65. So as time ticked down I made sure I was logged in and in bid mode....I wait til about 12 seconds left and bid $75 for my high bid, I felt assured that should do the trick if there was someone as fanatical as me about this on the other side. I was High bidder at $15.51 with 6 seconds, I refreshed to see I had won the auction at $23 and change, with shipping it'll be near $30.

I'm glad I got the card, I think I overpaid but thats what happens on ebay when you get that fever. I have since seen a few of these NFLE team issued cards on Ebay and have bid on a few others but no more than $6 or so.

Aaron Garcia; AFL QB Legend to be featured on the cover of the Fourth Edition

That's right! Aaron Garcia will be featured on the front cover of the The Official Indoor and Arena Football Trading Card Guide - Fourth Edition. Just after the release of the third edition we started working on the fourth edition. I give serious consideration to every aspect of the guide and how we can improve on it's interior and exterior content.

This edition I knew we needed to put a big-time players face on the fourth edition. We needed to score on this edition, so the first name that came to mind was my favorite AFL QB; Aaron Garcia.

So I tried the traditional approach and mailed the front office and spoke to a few heads up top but ultimately it was Aarons decision to make. So, being that I'm a Dragons fan and I go to their games what better way to get to Aaron then to waiting in line at the end of a game for an autograph. I got tickets to the April 13th home game versus the Destroyers, ironically it was trading card day, (Ironically? trust me I planned the timing).

So after beating on the Destroyers, I went down to the autograph lines, only this time I didn't want Aarons autograph, I wanted to introduce myself and pass along a copy of our third edition, I knew once he saw it he'd go for it. It was my turn, as he sat with the black Sharpie in hand I put the book down in front of him on the table and slid it toward him, he said "Do you want me to sign this?"...I respond, "No, I want you on the cover of our fourth edition". I gave him the copy and he seem semi-interested, but this wasn't the place to discuss it and I knew he had to skim through it to understand what we do. I told him I left my business card and he can contact me so we can discuss it.

A week or two had pasted and I received a call from a helpful staff member of the Dragons who had mentioned that Aaron was interested but they are focused on the season now, I assured him that this can happen after the season.

So, the impatient guy that I am, went to the Dragons home game versus the Force. Again, after the game I waited in line and again approached Aaron and his Sharpie. I asked Aaron if he had a chance to peek through the book, he lit up..."Oh Yeah!" he replied, "Are you interested in being on the cover of the fourth edition?", I asked. Garcia turned to Kevin Swayne, who was sitting next to him and said, "Have you seen this guys trading card book? Didn't I show you that?, it's pretty cool", Garcia turned back to be and asked me to email him and said he was very interested in doing the photo shot and seemed genuinely excited about it.

I couldn't have been happier, my AFL idol wants me to email him and wants to be featured on our book. I'm so pumped for this day!

Recently found Wil Goff card

Recently I was digging around doing some research for the upcoming edition. I usually run across my best finds when I've completely exhausted every other avenue for a particular card or set then I stumble across something completely different that I knew nothing about.

That was the case for a paticular card that I ran across about a year ago. I was doing my normal reseach and digging around on google for some cards (It could have been any crazy path I was on that day) and I came upon a photo of a player trading card of former af2 player Wil Goff. Although the card looked authentic, in the back of my mind I thought, "I would have known of this if it were a real card". I didn't notice a year on the card but then again I only had a pic of the front of the card. I saved that picture that I came across and once in a while as I was in the folder I would open it and take another look at it. I had done a slight bit of research on the card such as the player and team and yes, they matched. To the best of my knowledge the research narrowed it down to a 2003 card.

Well this morning I had a few extra minutes and I happened to open that folder and the photo file seemed as if it wanted to be opened today.....as if it were in bold (I know it wasn't but it sounds good for the story) anyway, I looked at that card again and had another thought to research the card. Long story short, within 8 hours I was speaking to Wil Goff himself and he confirmed that this is a real card. Wil seemed very happy that we wanted to include his card in the fourth edition.

Message From The Editor

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the fans, collectors and leagues for your continued support in BMP. Since our first publication in May 2006, we have quickly become the leading publication in the Indoor/Arena Football trading card industry and again we thank you for that, but like any industry when you’re at the top of your game others will collaborate ways to knock you from the top.

Right now BMP is experiencing issues that have affected our ability to provide you, the collectors and fans, with the most up-to date information within this collecting arena. In short, our research and hard efforts to collect the data necessary for collectors to stay on top of the industry is at jeopardy.

BMP’s staff puts an extensive amount of time and effort in the research and development of each guide, but within the past six months we have been unable to provide our research to you, the collectors and fans, for fear that our hard efforts might be lifted, and we take our copyrights and research very serious. We have invested over ten years of research and development into our guides and we are not taking this situation lightly.

In no way will this situation affect the status of BMP’s publishing of our current guide or any future guides, our fourth edition will still be released on its normal February 2009 date. We are confident that BMP will amicably resolve this issue and continue to bring collectors of Indoor and Arena Football trading cards the most accurate and current information on the market.

Sincerely,


Bob Garcia - Editor
BM Publishing

"Touchdown" Damien Harrell Breaks Eddie Browns AFL Career Touchdown Record With 304!

With just 54 seconds left in the first half of the March 22, 2008 game versus his former team, the Colorado Crush, Damien Harrell caught his 304th career touchdown reception, breaking the previous record held by former Firebird Eddie Brown. We've put together a list of the new all-time touchdown leaders cards and their current market values.

2005 Upper Deck #17 - $.75
2005 Upper Deck Arena Action #AA11 - $2.00
2005 Upper Deck ArenaGraph #DHA - $30.00
2005 Upper Deck ArenaGraph Dual, Harrell/Elway #EHA2 - $200.00
2005 Upper Deck ArenaGraph Dual, Harrell/McKenzie # HMA2 - $30.00
2005 Upper Deck Jersey #DHJ - $15.00
2006 Upper Deck #35 - $.75
2006 Upper Deck Arena Award Winner #AAW-2 - $3.00
2006 Upper Deck Arena Action #AA-18 - $2.00
2006 Upper Deck Fabric #FA-DH - $18.00
2006 Upper Deck ArenaGraph #AG-DH - $25.00
2006 Upper Deck ArenaGRaph Dual, Harrell/Dutton #AG2-HD - $100.00
2006 Upper Deck ArenaGraph Triples, Bailey/Harrell/Knight #AG3-BHK - $150.00
2008 Multi-Ad Chicago Rush - n/a

*Market values are based on the third edition of "The Official Indoor and Arena Football Trading Card Guide"

Never Gets Any Easier!!!

As we enter into our third season of publishing The Official Indoor And Arena Football Trading Card Guide, we continue to diligently research new and vintage cards. Just when we think that we have collected that previous seasons cards, another springs up and if it isn't hard enough to research the 100 or so current Indoor and Arena teams each and every year, we continue to discover vintage team sets.

Recently this had been the case, a few rare set were brought to our attention by you, the collector! And it is because of you, the collector, that we have been able to stay ahead of the "Industry Leaders". No other publication provides this market with more information than BMP and we would like to show our appreciation with a few sneek peaks of our recent finds. These two sets will also be included in the next edition that will bring the complete total sets to somehere around 175.

1994 AFL Fort Worth Cavalry Set - This is a 4-card set that was given away at a home gameduring the 94' season in preperation to the Cavalry (5-7) playoff run!What makes this and other sets like it so intriquing is the lack of design or even print quality. Like the 92 AFL Cleveland set, the print quality looks to be about 4 dpi, thats no true, but you'd think they were printed in 1949 not 1994.

2007 CIFL Rochester Raiders Set - The 2007 CIFL Champion Rochester Raiders released this set for fans to purchase during two home games. We always like when a championship team produces cards, they generally have some good stars in this set.

2008 Dallas Desperados

I just received the new 2008 AFL Dallas Desperados set. Nice set! It's Donruss, they produce nice quality cards on a nice thick card stock. they look to have spent a little more time on the designing. The front is equal to last years but the backs are nicer featuring a player photo in the background and just a bit nicer. They did use the same Marcus Nash photo (card #D-9) as last seasons 2007 set but thats the only one. Nice cards, they are being given away at each home game.

Going to the Dragons Home Opener

I'm going to the New York Dragons home opener this coming weekend. As I understand it the dragons will be giving one card away per home game, the first being the now-injured Aaron Garcia. I was hoping to get this card autographed from Garcia. We'll have to see he's around. Anyway, if this is the week that they start the promotion I'll get thecard and report back on them. Here's a preview card of what to expect.

Donruss Produces Dallas Desperados AFL Trading Cards

Courtesy Donruss.com

Arlington, February 20, 2008 - For the second year in a row, the Donruss Trading Card Company will be teaming up with the Arena Football League's Dallas Desperados to produce a limited edition trading card set for the upcoming 2008 season. Produced under the Donruss name, the 12-card set will be available only to those attending the Desperados' eight home games this season. Two player cards will be distributed at each home game to fans entering the American Airlines Center. The Desperados' open the season at home on March 7th versus the Columbus Destroyers.

"We're very excited to be working again with the Desperados on this promotion," said Donruss Marketing Director Scott Prusha. "Our cards were very well received last year and we're very excited to be getting trading cards into the hands of potential new consumers in this unique way."

Joining in on the fun will be Pepsi and Parkland. The cards feature the official Pepsi logo on the card front, as well as the Parkland Community Health Plan logo on the back. Donruss and Pepsi have worked close together in the past, most recently on a state-wide NFL trading card promotion in Cleveland surrounding the National Sports Collectors Convention.

Featuring current Desperados players, the cards contain the following players:

Donruss Desperados - #1 Clint Dolezel, QB (Al Lucas Hero Team, Second Team All-Arena)
Donruss Desperados - #2 Colston "Cee" Weatherington, OL/DL (First Team All-Arena)
Donruss Desperados - #3 Jermaine Jones, DB (Second Team All-Arena)
Donruss Desperados - #4 Rickie Simpkins, OL/DL
Donruss Desperados - #5 Bobby Keyes, DB (All-Rookie Team)
Donruss Desperados - #6 Josh White, FB/LB (Second Team All-Arena)
Donruss Desperados - #7 Andrae Thurman, WR (All-Ironman Team, First Team All-Arena)
Donruss Desperados - #8 Duke Pettijohn, FB/LB L
Donruss Desperados - #9 Marcus Nash, WR
Donruss Desperados - #10 Jeff Chase, OL/DL
Donruss Desperados - #11 Terrance Dotsy, OL/D
Donruss Desperados - #12 Will Pettis, WR/DB (U.S. Army Strong Ironman of the Year, All-Ironman Team)

Donruss Playoff is a leading manufacturer of sports trading cards under the Donruss, Playoff, Leaf, and Score brands. As the second oldest trading card company, Donruss has established a well-deserved reputation in the realm of sports collectibles. Donruss is known for pioneering the rookie card phenomenon and manufacturing the finest, high-end trading cards available at any price.

Now that the Arena Football season is less than two weeks away, we have complied what we think will be 2008's top performing cards. We've listed the cards in no particular order with the exception of one card, which has climbed up in value to surpass all other Indoor and Arena cards, no matter what his performance is. Find out what makes this card so special.Although we don't list all of the players cards produced, we have noted the most desired and a few other key cards.

1. Will Pettis
The 2007 AFL Army Ironman of the Year has only got better with time and we think he will continue to improve and surpass his 45 TD's in 2007.

Most Desired
2005 Upper Deck ArenaGraph #WPA
BMP current value $20

Other Key Cards
2006 Upper Deck Dual ArenaGraph Stoerner/Pettis #AG2-SPBMP current value $602007 Donruss Dallas Desperados Insert #PL1
BMP current value $10

2. Chris Jackson
Jackson reunites with Graziani in Philadelphia. While in Los Angeles Jackson hauled in more than 50% of the offensive touchdown passes from Graziani. If the past is any indicator as to what could happen when these two connect then we can expect Jackson to see somewhere around 50 TD's for the 2008 season.

Most Desired
2005 Upper Deck ArenaGraph #CJA
BMP current value $20

Other Key Cards
2006 Upper Deck ArenaGraph #AG-CJ
BMP current value $25

2004 Los Angeles Avengers team card (RC)
BMP current value $2

3. Siaha Burley

Need we say more. Burley is bordering on being called the best to ever play the game. Each year he seems to out perform the previous year. The only question mark here is, who will throw the ball to him. We're still confident that he'll still continue to excel.

Most Desired
2006 Upper Deck Dual ArenaGraph Germaine/Burley #AG2-BG
BMP current value $100

Other Key Cards
2004 Choice Sports Cards Arizona Rattlers team card #5 (RC)
BMP Current value $5

2005 Upper Deck ArenaGraph #SBA
BMP current value $25

4. Sherdrick Bonner
Bonner looks to wrap up a sure hall of fame career by going out with a bang. Now in Chicago with a few other key veteran AFL'ers, this potentially potent offense complete with Damien Harrell, could make a solid run at the ArenaBowl Championship.

Most Desired
1998 ELETE AFL All-Star #3
BMP current value $7

Other Key Cards
1998 ELETE Arizona Rattlers team card #10 (RC)
BMP current value $4

2004 Choice Sports Cards Arizona Rattlers team card #5
BMP current value $.75

5. Aaron Garcia

One of the most decorated QB's in league history, Garcia is coming into the 2008 season healthier than he has been in a few years. If the OL can give him time, he will have a very productive season with his former and current teammate Damien Groce.

Most Desired
2006 Upper Deck ArenaGraph Triples Graziani/Garcia/Dutton #AG3-GDG
BMP current value $175

Other Key Cards
1998 ELETE Iowa Barnstormers team card (RC)
BMP current value $30

2006 Upper Deck Dual ArenaGraph Graziani/Garcia #AG2-GG
BMP current value $100

6. Sonnie Cumbie

Last year Sonnie showed what he was made of throwing 83 TD's. With the addition of former Grand Rapids standout Timon Marshall, Cumbie should be one of the elite QB's for years to come.

Most Desired
2007 Los Angeles Avenders team set (RC)
BMP current value $6

7. Damien Harrell

Harrell joins future AFL hall of famer Shedrick Bonner in Chicago and should compete for an ArenaBowl appearance. Harrell has been a top receiver in the AFL for years. Coach Hohensee has assembled a great team that should allow key players like Harrell to flourish.

Most Desired
2005 Upper Deck Dual ArenaGraph Harrell/Elway #EHA2
BMP current value $200

Other Key Cards
2006 Upper Deck ArenaGraph Triples #AG3-BHK
BMP current value $25

2006 Upper Deck ArenaGraph #AG-DH
BMP current value $25

And lastly, the most desired card in the industry right now is:
2005 Mike Ditka Upper Deck ArenaGraph #MDA

Although we currently have the card listed at $100 this card is worth much more than that. Does this make us inaccurate? Well, with no evidence of any transactions that may have transpired then we can only go on experience and a touch on intuition.

With only 15 produced this card has been a topic of discussion with BMP and a collector that is in possession of one of these gems. We are told that numerous offers have been put on the table, some as high as $600. We will keep you updated!

Teams Make Collecting Better Than Ever

Here comes the 2008 season! All over the country fans are gearing up for the upcoming Indoor and Arena Football seasons. While fan clubs rallying the loyal locals and the fans are buying jerseys, tickets and anything else to show their spirit, the team staff members and players are scrambling behind the scenes to put the show together. Out of all this scrambling comes promotions and with promotions come, trading cards.

Trading cards, more teams are offering them and they are becoming a big part of the promotional programs that teams are putting in place. Most of these team sets are sponsored but recently a few of the “Big 3” trading card companies have done promotions with the AFL. Both Upper Deck and Donruss have made a go at it with the AFL. But for the most part, Indoor and Arena Football teams are offering full team which work out better for collectors since now you get 15-30 cards per team unlike conventional league sets that only include 12-15 cards per team.

Last season there were twelve Indoor and Arena Football teams to produce trading card sets and each year the quality of the cards improve. Teams have learned to use these cards as a way to offset expenses and offer a top choice promotion to the fans. In the last few years the quality of the cards has skyrocketed and teams are continuously trying to improve on their previous sets.

With progressing computer technology the designs and graphics have made huge strides from years past, but what stands out most for us is the improving quality of the card stock. With full 14-point, UV coated card stocks and improved graphics these cards are made to grade. That’s right, grading services have begun to recognize the quality of some of the team issued cards. Although we do recommend that you contact your chosen grading service before sending your cards away.

What do the NFL's 2007 New England Patriots & the CIFL's 2007 Port Huron Have in Common?

The Coincidental Derailed Road to Perfection

Meet the two teams that came up on the losing end of the largest upsets in modern day football. The 2007 NFL New England Patriots and the 2007 CIFL Port Huron Pirates. The reason we pick these are obvious; however, as we looked deeper into their similarities we noticed that there were quite a few. Although we don't expect the New England Patriots to change names and relocate such as the Port Huron Pirates have since the end of the 2007 season but with the more recent news of the teams spy troubles we certainly can't predict brighter days for them either.

We've listed some similarities between the two clubs that might show that these two might have more in common than anyone could have figured.

Both clubs enter the playoffs after a perfect regular season record.

Pirates 14-0

Patriots 16-0

They both had their respected leagues award winning coaches/players.

"Coach Of The Year"

Bill Bellichik - New England

Karl Featherstone - Port Huron

"League MVP"

Tom Brady - New England

Robert Height - Port Huron

"League Offensive Player Of The Year"

Tom Brady - New England

Robert Height - Port Huron

During the regular season they both held there opponents to just at 17 pts per game.
New England - 17.1
Port Huron - 16.6

The New England Patriots pummeled their opponents all season, breaking the all-time points per season record and leading the NFL with 589 total points. The Port Huron Pirates also blistered their victims by an average of 44 points per game leading the CIFL with 721 total points.

Flint, MI., where the 2007 CIFL championship game was held and new home of the relocated 2008 Pirates, is approximentaly 721 miles from Foxborough, MA., home of the New England Patriots.

On July 28, 2007, the New England Patriots opened training camp. That very same day the Port Huron Pirates were defeated in the CIFL Championship game finishing what could have been an undefeated season.

Both teams were defeated in their leagues championship game by a New York team with 10 regular season victories.

The Port Huron Pirated defeated the New England Surge during the playoffs, sending Tyler Grogan, son of the former New England Patriots great QB Steve Grogan and his New England Surge packing.

Both teams finished the season with their leagues best record.
14-1 - Port Huron
18-1 - New England Patriots

Both teams lost their championship games scoring the least amount of points they had scored all season.

During the off-season following the 2007 CIFL season the Port Huron Pirates suffered some hardships and have since relocated to Flint, MI and will play the 2008 season as the Flint Phantoms.

Again, we don't expect the Patriots to up and leave Foxborough, although we do anticipate that this off-season for the NFL's New England Patriots will suffer some hardships with the recent news of there possibly being more spygate evidence against them.

Indoor & Arena Footbal Signature Cards

We started adding "Signature Cards" to our site. This is just a fun extra for fans and collectors. Many of the collectors and fans that visit our site are part of that loyal bunch. They are often season ticket holders and very much interact with the players and organizations staff. These signature cards will benefit those fan so they can start there own personal collection of these players autographs.

We picked up Ben Schwartz, a die-hard New York Dragons and Mike Furrey fan (see Ben's blog sites below). Using a simple photoshop program ben, in most cases, can put together a signature card of any player in any indoor and arena football league. You do have to be a BMP member which is free to set-up an account, then find your players signature cards, can't find it? request it. Print them on a thick card stock from your home printer and have them autographed while at the game. The players love them and fans love to collect them. Here is the link to get started http://www.bm-publishing.com/page.php?239

These are designed for entertainment purposes only and for your personal collections.

http://furry4blog.blogspot.com/ and http://www.freewebs.com/mikefurrey/)

The 2008 Season is Almost Underway!!!

Wow! it seems like its coming at us at light speed. With the recent release of the 3rd edition it as seem to have jump started many things for us. The books are already selling quickly and we have already begun work on the 4th edition. We're beginning to learn of teams that will be doing cards for the 2008 season. I just received an email from Scott Prusha, Marketing Director for Donruss-Playoff and he says that both the New York Dragons and the Dallas Desperado's will have team sets produced from Donruss. Although we haven't learned of any details on how they'll be distributed, he does say that as soon as they become available he will get the details to us and we'll have sample cards that we will post. They'll probably be like last years Dallas set that gave one card per home game away to the first 5,000 fans.

As for us, BMP, we have reset our company goals for the next three years and are focused on the task at hand. Our goal is and will continue to help bring the sport/hobby of Indoor and Arena Football into every home in America.

With each edition, our vision of what is to come for Indoor/Arena Football and their trading cards changes slightly for the better. Each year more teams are doing cards and each team continues to produce a better product. To produce a quality product that collectors are willing to embrace, there is no cheap way out. Teams that produce quality cards pay a higher premium.

We have enjoy grading each set as they become available throughout the year in our "Product Preview" section, we started this just before the 2007 season and have had only positive responses from it. Collectors can get a feel for what to expect with these sets and to be honest when a set is selling for $30 each, I'd like to know a little something about what I'm buying before I shell out the money for a few sets.

Lastly, we're considering bring aboard another writer, we think that he'll have another creative perspective to add to the hobby. We are hoping to add specific individuals for the specific areas of the hobby to increase content and attention to detail. Thanks again to all the fans and collectors for your support!!!

Donruss to Release Arena Football Team Sets

Every year another major trading card manufacture takes their turn at producing trading cards for the AFL. In past years these rumors would generally amount to not much more than just that, rumors. Like many things in the AFL, this began to change in 2003. Donruss released it's first 9-card All Star AFL Standout set, 2004 saw Upper Deck produce their commemorative ArenaBowl XVIII card as a preview to the follow-up 2005 90-card league set which included insert jersey, autograph and dancer cards. The Upper Deck Company continued their allegiance with the AFL and expanded it's 2006 league set to include 190 cards and as many inserts cards as any Upper Deck set on the market. In 2007, with no league set being produced Donruss stepped back into the arena promoting a highly sought after Dallas Desperado's set that were a home game giveaway and with the popularity of that promotion Donruss has decided to continue what they have started.

The 2008 season will see Donruss produce team issued sets for the Dallas Desperado's and The New York Dragons of the Arena Football League. At this point we have no other official details. Our best guess is that it will much like last years Dallas promotion which was a home game giveaway to the first 5,000 fans, each week one was given away and the balance of the set was given away at the playoffs. As a fan and a collector I am really looking forward to these sets in addition to any other 2008 team sets. I especially want the Dragons sets since I lean that way!

Anyone know of any other sets?

Order Now!!!

The 3rd edition is available to order, we didn't realize the process would go so smoothly. The 3rd edition can be purchased directly through our online website store or from AuthorHouse. We have teamed up with AuthorHouse Publishing to handle most of the leg work. They will be doing everything from the intial press release and printing to shipping. If you prefer, you can also purchase the 3rd edition through your local book store (Borders, Barnes & Nobles, Walden, etc..) as well as nearly all online buying sources, however if you chose to do that then you will pay full retail of $13.95 and the issue will not be available for retail sale until after March 1, 2008. We hope that this strategy will free up time for research and developement for the upcoming issues.

As you know, no other publication offers fans and collectors more up-to-date and accurate information in the world of Indoor/Arena Football cards than us and we will continue to improve so that the collectors have the most reliabe source available on the market.

3rd Edition Just a Few Weeks Away!!!

We just received word that the 3rd edition of The Official Indoor And Arena Football Trading Card Guide will be available for purchase within the next few weeks. An official press release will be sent to many media outlets throughout the U.S. and Canada. The 3rd edition will have a price increase to $13.95 retail however, if you visit our site you can purchase the 3rd edition at a reduced price of $10.30, that's more than 25% off the retail cover price. Stay tuned, I'll keep the blog updated as to when things transpire.

Third Edition Just at One Month From Release

One month until the release of the third edition and kickoff to the 2008 season. We are excited about this year and have begun uncovering 2008 sets, check out our reviews as they become available at www.bm-publishing.com/ . With nearly 5,000 Indoor and Arena Football cards included in the third edition, along with college and player page cross-references this edition will be available to purchase at most online book sources and retail establishments throughout the U.S. and Canada as well as our own online store. An official press release will be issued within the next few weeks.

This edition will be slightly larger than its previous issues and will include 140 pages of photos, descriptions, checklist and the most up-to-date market values available to collectors of Indoor and Arena Football trading cards. This editon is all about content, content, content.

Thanks to all the fans, collectors, team and league staff for the solid support you have shown BMP in helping us bring the game of Indoor and Arena Football into every home in America.

10 Seasons of Indoor Football

As the 2008 season begins to take shape for Indoor Football we realized one thing, it's the 10th anniversary of Indoor Football. In 1998, Richard Suess formed the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL). Starting with 8 teams, the league suffered some hardship along the way yet was able to finish the season with 6 teams competing for it's inaugural championship game.

Although this league folded short after the 1998 season, the PIFL was the league that opened the door for other "indoor" football leagues and players throughout the U.S. Players now had an alternative to the alternative.

A few players took advantage of the opportunity to play in the new league and made the most of it. 1998 League Offensive Player of the Year, Green Bay Bombers QB Jay McDonagh, went on to have a successful career in the Arena Football League, while Louisiana Bayou Beast WR Michael Lewis left the indoor/arena game and became the NFL's poster boy for "hard work will pay off". Lewis has spent the last 7 seasons in the NFL, most recently with the San Francisco 49ers.

Since the emergence of the "Indoor" game many leagues have sprouted up, giving hard working football players across America and internationally, an alternative to the alternative and these players have been taking advantage of these opportunities for the last 10 seasons!

Arena Football - Pro Football Hall Of Fame

That last post with the vintage video reminded me of a photo that I have from a recent visit to the Pro Football Hall Of Fame where in the newly added Arena Football section was the origanal envelope that Jim Foster designed the league on. I thought that this too was a great piece of history and thought I'd share it. If you haven't been to the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in Canton, Ohio then you are really missing out on an unbelievable experience. If anyone has any other vintage or historical pieces they'd like to add, feel free.

This is a cool video that I picked up from the arenafootball.com message boards, I thought I'd share it cause I appreciated it. It is an Arena Football League highlight reel dating back to 1986. I put a few other AFL/Indoor videos on our youtube account. http://www.youtube.com/BMPublishing

Welcome Back

After some time away, I am back. It may take me a little bit to get reacquainted with this blog so bare with me. I’m excited about the third edition and all the thing that it brings. We’ve made tremendous strides in the last few years with our publication and we hope to continue to bring the fans and collectors of Indoor and Arena Football the most reliable and up-to-date source on the market.