Book It, Buzz: A pair of ESPN autographs for $6? (Yep.)

For years now, autographed books coming direct from the publishers -- or direct from the authors themselves -- have been an affordable way to collect ink from notable names in all realms of pop culture.

It's not a perfect system with stamped autos, fakes and autopens sometimes in the mix -- a problem for publishers to catch as they are not authenticators -- but thanks to dedicated collectors on the Blowout Cards Forum and elsewhere, those problems often get caught and fixed ... or at least become well-known enough to avoid if it's an issue that goes uncorrected.

Getting ink in-person is always best -- book tours still happen, of course -- but landing autographed editions from publishers, online sellers or celebs themselves via their websites or other appearances are common.

Our latest subject and autograph in this ongoing series? A duo from the sports realm, Mike Greenberg and Paul "Hembo” Hembekides.

THE RUNDOWN ... 
The Book: Got Your Answers: The 100 Greatest Sports Arguments -- Settled (signed bookplate edition via publisher)
The Authors: Mike Greenberg & Paul "Hembo” Hembekides
The Specs: Hyperion Avenue -- released on Sept. 24, 2024 (324 pages)
The Price: $6 ($14.99 cover price)
The Spot: Books-A-Million (still on sale)

The authors with one of their other books in the series.

Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I spotted this in a slasher sale just last week and it was fresh off the truck just today -- so that sale link where this came from is still live as I get this series back on track with signed books instead of some signed comics ... but I still think I’ll mix it up from time to time. This one is part of a series from the ESPN host along with the Get Up! producer and trivia guy known as Hembo.

Why this item: I tend to avoid formula/trivia books like this -- it is one for sure, though that's not a bad thing as a reader where you can pick off a few chunks and come back to it later -- but the price was right. I didn’t expect it to be signed by both but that’s how it arrived ... so two for that price was just an extra bonus and a cheaper little sports oddity for the autograph collection. I’ve had some ESPN ink in my stash for decades now, going back to Chris Berman and Peter Gammons among others.

Chase ink on cards: Greenberg does have a past trading card appearance -- 2016 Topps Allen & Ginter -- and that means parallels, Ginter X and then framed autos in each and the a memorabilia card. Framed autos can be found for $20-50, while authenticated and slabbed in-person auto cards can actually have higher asking and sale prices. (Why? Not sure ... but it is what it is.)

The Bottom Line: The price was right for a simple addition from within the sports realm.

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