Steiner Sports Marketing announced Mark Messier's deal with
Topps Exclusive Collectible cards has recently ended. Steiner
Sports is in the process of looking to renew a card deal for the
Rangers star. Brandon Steiner told THE DAILY they are pursuing a
deal with either a traditional card company or a corporate wide
partnership (THE DAILY)....A class-action lawsuit has been filed
against Pinnacle Brands sports trading cards that accuses the
company of running "an illegal gambling enterprise through its
marketing of sports trading card packages, some of which contain
randomly inserted 'chase' cards of substantial value." The suit
charges Pinnacle has used the three elements of gambling through
its marketing -- "consideration (purchasers must pay for the
cards), chance (the chase cards are obtained by chance), and
prize (the chase cards have value)." A Pinnacle spokesperson
said they had not been served with the suit yet, and would not
comment (DALLAS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/12 issue)....ESPN
"SportsCenter" examined how MLB's labor strife has hurt the
baseball card industry. Among those interviewed were Pinnacle
CEO Jerry Meyer, Upper Deck President Brian Burr, Fleer/SkyBox
CEO Jeff Kaplan, and Topps Dir of Pr Marty Appel ("SportsCenter,"
ESPN, 8/13).