Monaco Rare Coin Dealer

For the uninitiated, investing in rare coins seems incomprehensible. There are already enough investment opportunities like stocks, real estate, funds to deal with, so where is the spare cash to splurge on rare coins?

But there are advantages to holding tangible assets. Firstly, rare coins offer significant profit potential above the price appreciation of the underlying metal in the coins. From 1982 to 1989, there was a 600% appreciation and in today's terms, a return to previous highs will yield 300%.

There are limited supplies of rare coins available but increasing demand for those coins. As such, rare coin pricing is not so dependent on the fluctuations of gold and silver prices, but more on the scarcity of the coin and collectors' interest.

If you are interested in building a world class rare coin portfolio with exceptional appreciation potential without bursting your budget, you have to come to Monaco Rare Coin. They have been the specialist in precious metals investments for nearly 40 years, helping tens of thousands of investors invest over $25 billion.

Not every rare coin dealer has the wide resources, contacts, experience and commitment to their customer. Especially if you are new to coin trading, getting your own personal Monaco Account Representative can save you a lot of time and money.

Pursue tomorrow's best coin values by visiting the site today and see if their professionalism impresses you or not.

Ballack Not For Sale

Speculation about Ballack's future has been rife since he was left out of Chelsea's squad for the UEFA Champions League.

Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster revealed this week that he had tried to sign Ballack over the summer, and added that 'the door was not closed' on a move for the German. However, Kenyon has told Europe's top clubs that Ballack will not be going anywhere when the transfer window reopens. "We should kill that one, not just for now but for January," said Kenyon.

"Any suggestion of a transfer in January is rubbish. That is just something that is not helpful to the player or the club and we should concentrate on the facts."

Peter Kenyon maintains that Ballack's ankle injury was the sole reason for his omission from the Champions League squad.

"There have been no discussions. The decision to leave Michael out of the squad is purely medical. "There is no confusion, absolutely no confusion. The situation is very clear, he's injured. He's been injured for close to five months and he's still injured."

Hmm, looks interesting. Ballack is not for sale but it does not make business sense nor is it good for the team spirit. With the internal bickering going on since last season that Ballack is not contributing much and yet he is getting the fat pay packages while poor Lampard is living on a shoe-string budget but he is the one pulling the team together; well, I seriously do not see Ballack staying on at Chelsea with much future.

He will be better off moving on to Real Madrid even if Chelsea put a stop to it as his team-mates are not supportive of him. Player politics can be a destructive force and no matter how good a player Ballack is, he is not immune to it.

Should England Persist With This Team for Euro 08?

Guus Hiddink's men were supposed to dismantle the make-shift England's team and gave McClaren a lesson in soccer. Turns out that England demolished the Russians with a 3-0 result instead.

Once again, Gareth Barry gave a credible performance and the long-awaited return of Michael Owen has rekindled England's hopes of a major trophy since 1966. The worry that Owen's poacher's instinct and accuracy in front of goal were eroded by his injuries has dissipated over the last week as the goals start flowing.

Rooney will have to prove that he is still the premiere choice after he returns from injury as the Owen-Heskey combination now looks very good on paper. However, remember that the David-Goliath pair-up was used before and can be ineffective when the opponents got to studying and exploiting the weakness. A rotation involving all three strikers, with Peter Crouch making cameo appearances, will be a much better option.

Micah Richards was effective in blocking the Russian's attack down the right flank and the question now is whether Gary Neville should retire from the international scene and focus on his club. That will surely prolong his playing career and both Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes have proven that they enjoyed a new lease of life when they did that. However, Micah will have to be more adventurous and put in the overlapping runs and make those crosses at the bye-line to fully replace Neville's importance to the team.

The next question is of course Gareth Barry's position. If anything, he was not supposed to be in England's lineup and he will have to come after Lampard, Hargreaves and Michael Carrick in the pecking order. However, two qualifying matches later, he now stands a very good chance of displacing Frank Lampard as first choice for the central midfielder's role.

Now, let's not misunderstand that Frank Lampard is useless. Based on his club performance and prolific goals from midfield, he is a shoo-in for the job. Nevertheless, he has shown in many matches that he prefers to score the goals, instead of creating the chances for the front-line. (It is still ok if he converts but when he balloons all the chances...). That is his greatest failing and the fans are not blind to this fact.

Shaun-Wright Phillips, after spending time in exile while at Chelsea, has shown that Mourinho may have made a serious mistake of not doing more to uncover the hidden potential within this raw talent. That would definitely have benefited England if Joe Cole and SWP are both playing pivotal roles in Chelsea. At the moment, David Beckham can concentrate on recuperating from his injuries as England do not need his service.

England should not be complacent and must win the remaining three matches as Russia is still in a promising position and can overtake them to qualify for Euro 2008. Meanwhile, keep this team going.

Baseball Equipment For Your Kids

It is difficult (and unsafe) to play a game of baseball without the proper equipment. For a start, you will need bats, gloves and helmets; once you have adorned yourself with all these stuff, you are ready to rock.

When choosing a bat, be sure that it is not too long for you. A general check is to place it on the floor and the bat should come up to your waist. As you practice swinging, get a feel of the weight. You do not want a pendulous bat as it may affect your swing and even result in injuries. Neither can it be too light as you will not be able to deliver power shots.

Make sure the grip is comfortable too, this is important as you may be holding on to the bat for hours in a training session, and you do not want to drop the bat when striking the ball.

Baseball helmets are also essential. You will be glad you are wearing a helmet when faced with a pitcher with an errant throw. Helmets come in all sizes and colors. Pick one that you like but it should not be too big that it slips forward and block your eyes.

Another important component of baseball equipment is a pair of gloves. Gloves too come in many colors and styles. While you are trying them on, you will quickly notice what feels good on your hand. It must fit snugly and not be too loose that it flies off while catching a ball or too tight that you end up tugging your hand off.

With these basic knowledge in mind, you are ready to hunt for good baseball equipment. A good place to start will be kidsportsinc.com Their selection of baseball equipment is excellent and the prices are competitive. Browse through the site today and see if their products can cater to your needs.

NFL Jersey from Franklin Sports Team

Soccer has never managed to catch on in America. For now, it seems that the women's team is dominating the world rather than the men. However, the situation for football is vastly different; it is already one of the most popular sports there. There is an enormous fan base, and it involves all age groups.

Like soccer, football fans also love to show pride in their favorite teams, and what better way to let the world know what team you follow than to buy a NFL jersey.

What is the attraction of a jersey? Well, you wear the name of your favorite player, it is like getting into the thick of action when you sport a piece of clothing worn by the professionals on the field. This makes jerseys one of the most popular items sold in sports stores.

If you think only men are buying NFL jerseys, you are wrong. These days, women are not losing out in the support of their football idols. You will have noticed many women turning up at football games. Not surprisingly, more and more sports merchandise are tailored towards the ladies (and it is a lucrative market).

Many NFL jerseys are also purchased as collector's items. An authentic team jersey signed by a well known National Football League star can fetch a good price at an auction. Most recently, throw back jerseys (especially those from the '80s) have become popular.

If you want to find out more about NFL jerseys, make a visit to nfluniformset.com. Buying jerseys for the entire family will increase the bonding and it will look cool when your family goes out for an outing.

Afterthoughts on England vs Israel Match

For Steve McClaeren's 13th match in charge of England, it is anything but unlucky for him. England coasted to a 3-0 victory over Israel. I wouldn't say that he has scored a tactical victory, it is more like circumstances forcing his hand and the set-pieces falling into place for him.

With injuries to Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Owen Hargreaves, Frank Lampard, Gary Neville, Ledley King, Aaron Lennon, Johnathan Woodgate and Wayne Bridge, he has his back against the wall and can only call on Gareth Barry.

Fortunately, the Aston Villa captain turned out to be a revelation against Israel. His slick partnership with Steven Gerrard may have finally solved England's midfield troubles. If McClaren is not sleeping during the match, he should have realized that Lampard and Gerrard's partnership since 2004 is a failure and both players cannot be in the same team together.

I think based on this performance, Barry should be featuring prominently in the rest of the qualifiers, even if Lampard recovers in time. But will McClaren feels the same way?

He is embarking on the same path as Sven by picking the best man for the job and not the best team. Just select the players who are on form at the moment into their favorite positions and let them work their wonders; the manager can then sit back and relax. How easy that would be!!

However, things do not work out in this manner. If the players do not have a strong team ethics and cannot cast individual glory aside, then it is time to wield the axe, regardless of how talented each of them are. Prima-donnas have to be go, period. Look at Netherlands, their best team always self-destruct and fall to the underdogs.

McClaren has the luxury of several raw talents in his hand and he should not be afraid of using them, instead of worrying about stepping on the toes of the more senior players. Bearing in mind that the next game is against Russia, masterminded by Guus Hiddink, England should not be complacent; winning a match against Israel is after all a stroll in the park.