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We noticed from our visitor statistics, a sharp increase in shoppers viewing our website from mobile phones versus the traditional personal computer or laptop and know that those numbers will continue to rise.
Our next goal is to optimize Sports Fan Treasures for the I-pad and other tablet devices to better improve the user experience for those shoppers too. We value your feedback, so please e-mail us with any suggestions to improve your visitor experience.
To access the mobile version of Sports Fan Treasures from your phone, just go to www.SportsFanTreasures.com, it is that simple! You can create an account if you would like, that is totally optional. Some of our customers have told us that checkout is much easier on a mobile phone if you already have an account set up because it reduces the amount of time it take to enter your data onto the checkout page.
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Shopping from your mobile phone for Officially Licensed NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NASCAR items has never been easier or safer.
The Collegiate Blanket Bedspread: A 2 in 1 Graduation Gift
By now most high schools seniors are ready for graduation. Many have already registered for college and waiting to be accepted. Once they have finalized what college or university they would like to attend, it is time for their family and friends to start shopping for that perfect graduation gift.
These days, many Universities are requiring Freshmen to live in the dorm. I lived in the dorm for a short time during college. There is not a lot of space and you usually have to share that space with a room mate. Thinking smart and taking items that are multi functional will make the best use of a small space.
The Collegiate blanket bedspread is one of those gifts that fits into this category. This blanket is large enough to use as a bedspread for a twin-sized bed and also large enough to keep 2 warm on a cold game day.
Here are some of the blanket bedspreads we have just added recently to the Sports Fan Treasures. The best part is: they are only $38.95 for a limited time. It is like getting a bedspread and a blanket for only $38.95. The 2 in 1 graduation gift.
Alabama bedspread
LSU bedspread
Iowa bedspread
Georgia bedspread
We have this product for many other teams. Please shop your team’s bedding category or give us a call, we would love to help you with this most important gift selection.
Graduation Gifts? Give A Cotton Colors Collegiate Ornament
It will be May before you know it and that means graduation time. Finding that perfect gift for your favorite 2012 graduate has never been easier. Whether they are graduating from high school and headed for college, or graduating from college and heading for the real world, a Cotton Colors Officially Licensed Collegiate ornament is a gift that will be treasured and remembered.
At Sports Fan Treasures, we stock many of the Cotton Colors ornaments year round. Why, they are not just for Christmas! You can celebrate the love for your team and display your ornament on your desk, hang them on your house plants, your rear view mirror in your car or just be creative.
Once you receive your Cotton Colors ornament, you may want to personalize it with their name or their graduation year.
Here is a list of their most popular ornament, the Logo Ornament:
University of Arkansas Cotton Colors Ornament
Alabama Cotton Colors Logo Ornament
Auburn Cotton Colors Logo Ornament
Clemson University Logo Ornament
Miss State University Logo Ornament
We have all of these team logo ornaments in stock. If your team is not listed, just send us an email to sales@sportsfantreasures.com to inquire if Cotton Colors is licensed to make your team ornament. If they do we eill be happy to special order it for you.
Cotton Colors Ornaments for the Graduate
High School Baseball in America
What is Baseball America?
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High School Baseball in America is arguably the most popular high school sport in the United States. With the advent of the internet, it has become easier for fans and scouts to keep track of high school teams across the nation. In addition to being very popular, it is currently the only major American sport that allows players to be drafted straight from high school. This fact gives the players added incentive to perform at high levels because of the chance they are being scouted by a Major League team. The popularity of high school baseball has especially boomed because Baseball America, which is a publication that focuses a lot of man power on high school baseball. This allows many Major League scouts to see what players are doing well and who should be seen in person for further evaluation.
Baseball America was founded in 1981 with the main purpose of the publication being to help evaluate young talent in high school and bring this information to minor and major league clubs across the country. Baseball America almost single handily brought high school baseball into the limelight and many high school players can thank the publication for them being scouted. Baseball America not only highlights players in high profile areas but also in more rural areas where a lot of high school players do not get the attention that they deserve.
Baseball America is known for its ability to scout up and coming baseball players quite accurately and have over 17,000 players across the country in their database as of May 2009, with the majority of these players having full scouting reports in addition to their basic statistics and information. Many major league scouts will only use Baseball America in order to evaluate talent before seeing the player in person because of the reliability that Baseball America has shown over the years in finding the next big thing in the baseball world. Since 1981, Baseball America has awarded a player of the year for high school and every player on this prestigious list has made it to the Major Leagues. The list of players includes but is not limited to Dwight Gooden, Jose Canseco, Frank Thomas, Manny Ramirez, Derek Jeter, and Josh Beckett. It seems than whenever Baseball America touts a new hot prospect they are rarely if ever wrong on evaluating their potential.
Baseball America while great at evaluating talent is also great at evaluating teams and ranks teams across the country into a Top 25 poll every week during the season. This gives teams without the next breakout star to have a sense of team pride when they are considered in the top echelon of teams across the country. This also allows Major League and Minor League scouts to check out these teams during high profile games and see if any player that went unnoticed previously is someone that could help improve a team at the next level.
Baseball America is a very integral part in the success of High School baseball in America and without their hard work and dedication to bringing information on prospects to the correct people, the high school baseball world as we know it might not be the same today.
How has Baseball Equipment Changed
Baseball & Baseball Equipment Over Time
Baseball has changed so much since it was first invented. American baseball was formed from cricket, which is a British game. The British game was called “rounders”. This game was a favorite pastime in the 1700s. Alexander Joy Cartwright is credited with the development of baseball. He came up with a baseball field in which we use a similar one today. Of course, things have been changed since then. He founded the baseball field in 1845. Also, he came up with some rules of the game. Baseball was a sport that was a leisure activity for rich white males. Baseball became more popular after the Civil War. Soldiers came back from fighting and introduced the sport of baseball into their cities where people would watch and then play. It didn’t take very long for people to catch on to the rules. People became better and better at playing the sport after being involved in many games
As Baseball Evolved, So Did The Equipment
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Baseball began to be noticed by the National Association. The Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first pro team in 1869. Other teams developed and rivaled after the Red Stockings because they were the first team. The first World Series featured the National and American League teams playing each other. They didn’t have all the equipment as we do today. Baseball wasn’t as fair as it is today. Blacks couldn’t play until 1947. That’s when Jackie Robinson became a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers and broke the color barrier. Baseball evolving and equipment evolving go hand in hand.
What Was The First Baseball Made Of
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The first baseball was made of horsehide with a rubber core. The ball was in size somewhere between a golf ball and a softball. The Spalding Sporting Goods Company was given the rights to make the first league ball which weighed five ounces. The ball is not the same ball we use today. That ball produced few home runs and also low scores. The Reach Sporting Goods Company came up with a ball that was much livelier. It contained a cork in the center of the ball that allowed a hit ball to travel much further. As expected, more runs were scored and pitchers tried out new pitches. Now, cowhide is used instead of horsehide because of economical reasons.
Baseball Bats Have Changed
There are many baseball bats
nowadays. They originally came in different shapes and sizes too but they are not up to par as the ones that are made now. Baseball players ended up using rounded barrel bats after they experimented with different kinds. Baseball bats had to have 2.5 inches in their diameter but could be of any length. This was in 1859. A decade later, the bats could be a max of 42 inches long at the most. This is currently the max today.
Baseball Bats Have Changed
There are many baseball bats nowadays. They originally came in different shapes and sizes too but they are not up to par as the ones that are made now. Baseball players ended up using rounded barrel bats after they experimented with different kinds. Baseball bats had to have 2.5 inches in their diameter but could be of any length. This was in 1859. A decade later, the bats could be a max of 42 inches long at the most. This is currently the max today.
The Early Catcher’s Glove Did Not Have Full Fingers
The catcher often used leather work gloves that didn’t have full fingers to catch balls. They added padding to minimize and avoid injuries. The catcher was the first person on the field to wear a glove. This makes sense because of the wear and tear they would endure without one.
Technology Has Made Baseball Equipment Better
Equipment has evolved over time. Ideas were taken and made into top-notch equipment that is available today. Even now, the popular equipment has added technology to make it even better.
Types of Sports Equipment
Sports equipment refers to anything that is used in a sporting event or for sports. Such equipment is available in branded as well as non branded varieties. The branded equipment is naturally a little bit more expensive than the non-branded variety but is best in terms of quality. There are many types of sports equipment available, some of which are discussed below.
- Protective equipment form a major part of the sport equipment category. As it suggests, these are protective gears worn by sportsmen to get protection from injury during any event. Such equipment is available for all parts of the body and is available of all sports. They are specially needed in all types of racing sports, in case of contact sports such as hockey and in case of those special games which can cause injury to the player due to collision. These are needed in games like football, hockey and boxing to name just a few. Equipment that is used can be helmets, mouth guards, skin guards, goggles and also soft pads.
- Footwear is vital sports equipment which cannot be ignored. Footwear is extremely important in case of sports like snowboarding, wakeboarding and surfing. Footwear is also of prime importance to athletes, for roller skating, water skating, water skiing and also just normal skiing. Though many kinds of footwear are available, each type of footwear is related to a specific sport and cannot be used in any other game, as they are specially designed to suit another purpose.
- Vehicles are also an important part of sporting equipment and which includes in many different kinds of sports such as cycling, while sailing, in case of hot air ballooning and in case of aeronautics also. These sports are not possible with such equipment.
- Exercise equipment is an integral part of any sports equipment. Sportsmen need to stay healthy and fit all round the year and for this reason they need proper exercise equipment to stay health. Such equipment includes treadmills, Swiss balls, weights and training instruments among other things.
- Other common equipment that is needed in any sports includes balls, rackets, clubs, wickets, bases, nets, goals, rods and also tackles.
Youth Baseball in America
The Popularity of Little League Baseball
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Since the early beginnings of youth sports in America, the game of baseball has usually been the most popular. The majority of younger kids at one time or another has played youth baseball while they were growing up. Due to the fact that the game can be tailored to every skill level, it allows kids to be able to learn to play a new sport while being able to have fun at the same time without the extra added pressure.
The most popular youth baseball organization in the United States is Little League Baseball. Little League baseball was founded by Carl Stotz in 1939 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The league is open to all children and young adults from the ages of 5-18. The league currently consists of six different leagues organized by age and talent level. The leagues (in order of age and difficulty) are tee ball, minor league, little league, junior league, senior league, and big league. The league was started with three teams in the Williamsport, Pennsylvania area. The league currently has over 200,000 teams in over 80 countries around the world. Up until 1974, the league was only open for boys into 1974; however it was opened for women after that. As of 2007, there are currently over 2.3 million players around the country involved with little league baseball, including 400,000 girls.
The Little League Baseball organization grew rather quickly and by 1953, the Little League World Series showcasing the best teams around the country was televised on CBS and ABC. The event was showcasing the young talent across the United States and this helped the organization grow at unprecedented rates. Within two years, there was a Little League organization in every state with over 3,000 separate leagues.
The success of Little League Baseball in the United States began to expand across the World. It first expanded across North America, in Canada and Mexico, as well as expanding to Hawaii and Alaska. Just a few years later, the Little League Baseball organization had crossed over the Atlantic into Europe. With the Little League Baseball organization expanding at such a rapid rate, the Little League World Series showcased teams from all over the world and was broadcast live for the first time on ABC.
After Little League Baseball expanded to Europe, it was only a matter of time before it expanding to Asia and Africa. The most decorated team in Little League World Series would begin playing around this time. Taiwan has won over 17 World Series titles in their short history and is arguably the most successful team in Little League World Series history.
The success of the Little League World Series forced organizers to include more teams to compete in the tournament. The tournament expanded from 8 to 16 teams in 2001 and all teams were separated into 16 different regions, with 8 of those being in the United States and 8 being international teams. The teams still play the Little League World Series in the city in which the organization it was founded, Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Some Girls Love Football Too
Many girls I know don’t know that much about football. They might watch it with their friends, boyfriends, or dad’s but they have no idea about any of the fundamentals. As a matter of fact, my best friend did not even know what a quarterback was when we were watching a game the other day. But growing up in a football fanatic family, I have learned a lot about the game over the years. My dad was a high school teacher/football coach for twenty-five years and my older brother also played football in high school and a little in college. Football took up most of his time when I was growing up, so obviously I became somewhat interested in the game being the daddy’s girl I am. I began to learn more and more about the game of football through the years from watching game with my dad and brother. They might have got a little frustrated with me asking all kind of questions during the games, but I had to learn somehow! Though I would never consider myself anywhere close to an expert, like my dad, I do consider myself very knowledgeable about the game for a girl. Over the past few years, I have really come to enjoy watching football and really seem to get into the games, especially when my favorite teams are playing. There is nothing better on a beautiful fall day, than going to a tailgate with a group of friends and family then going to watch your favorite team win a big game! If I can’t make it to a game, the second best thing is cooking out on the grill and watching all the games on TV. I look forward to every Saturday in the fall, because that’s when I get to spend quality time with some of my favorite people. Everyone in my family works so hard at their jobs, so we usually don’t get to spend that much time together. But it is a given that every Saturdays are always set aside for watching college football. I love the smell of the grill along with the excitement of the games! There is always yelling and cheering going on at my house with the fanatic we have in our family. Though it might scare my little puppy when we start screaming at the TV, I wouldn’t have it any other way!
See our Florida Gator Ornament or our Michigan Wolverine Ornament or our Texas Longhorns Ornament
Top 10 Gift for the High School Graduate Headed to College
High school graduation is an exciting time, especially for the proud parents, family and friends of the graduating high school senior. There are so many special events leading up to the graduation commencement day that honors the graduate-to-be, such as parties, awards day, college visits, scholarship announcements, graduation practice and my personal favorite, “senior skip day.”
Once the graduation announcements arrive in the mail, it is time to start thinking about that perfect gift for your favorite grad. What do they want? Where are they going to college in the fall? Where will they be living? A dorm? An apartment?
No doubt, it will be their first time leaving the nest so there are many options of collegiate licensed merchandise available to boost their team spirit décor.
1. Collegiate blankets with the embroidered or screen printed logo are perfect to take to the fall football game once the weather turns chilly. They can also serve a dual purpose of cuddling up in their dorm room or apartment while studying or relaxing after class.
2. Collegiate bedding and comforter sets are a practical gift that the new college student will be able to use and enjoy both day and night of their campus life.
3. Desk lamps with the college logo and team colors can illuminate their special spot for studying, reading assignments or cramming for final exams.
4. Picture frames are a welcome gift and are available in a variety of materials such as wood or acrylic with either the team logo or mascot.
5. Laundry bags are popular for carrying home the dirty clothes on weekends and you can even get creative and personalize the bag by painting their name on it.
6. Pillowcases with the team mascot and school colors can also be personalized and are popular with the high school girl graduate.
7. Auto accessories such as license plate frame, car tags, automobile mats and key chains are favorite college send-off gifts and let others on the road know where your graduate is headed.
8. Genuine leather accessories with the collegiate logos, such as belts, wallets, handbags, messenger bags and laptop bags are classic graduation gifts that will be appreciated for years to come.
9. Flip-flops with the school logo are great for that senior trip after graduation and on into the fall for casual wear to class.
10. Swimwear with the collegiate logo for guys, such as board shorts and for the girls, bikinis, halter tops and cover ups in their school colors with embroidered logo are must have apparel items for the summer before starting college.
So there you have it, the top 10 gift ideas that high school graduates heading for college want you to give them. If you are still not sure, most collegiate licensed merchandise stores offer Sports Fan Treasures gift certificates and they are very convenient to purchase them online and send them electronically or print them out to mail them with your graduation card.
