Welcome to another edition of Alt Hits. Here’s a look at what’s happening in the alternative asset space before you fill out your March Madness bracket(s). Need some help there? Check out this in-depth look at every team with a chance of cutting down the nets, and the ones that will likely be one and done.

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And now on with the Hits…

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👟 LIKE MIKES

An 82-year-old man was arrested for selling and trading counterfeit basketball cards that he created himself and placed inside PSA slabs. The scam netted him over $800,000, but could end up costing him 20 years in prison. The elaborate ploy involved fake identities and real PSA labels, and helped shine a light on how easy it can be to trick people buying cards online. Plus, it’s further reason to buy and sell cards from secure sources, where all cards are authenticated.

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👀 BIG DEAL?

At the recent Topps Conference, Fanatics claimed that they’ll soon be unveiling “the biggest product announcement in the history of trading cards.” Any guesses?

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⭐ WORLD STARS

If you enjoy collecting Panini Prizm World Cup, Topps has announced a card set to coincide with the ongoing World Baseball Classic.

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🥊 PAIGE TURNING HEADS

Model slash fighter Paige VanZant recently sold a 1-of-1 card featuring her kiss imprint for $13,000.

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🥒 INTO PICKLE?

Parris Todd is one of the top Pickleball players in the world, and Leaf has debuted her first autographed card, which is available for just $29.99.

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🏎️ CAR FLIPPERS

Resellers have been making trading cards hard to track down in retail stores for the last few years, and now toy cars are suffering the same fate, as Hot Wheels have been vanishing off shelves.

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⚾ BRADY EXPOS’D

In case you missed it, one-time Montreal Expos draft pick Tom Brady will have signed cards in Bowman Draft Baseball this year.

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🎅🏻 SLEIGH THE HOBBY

Hunting for Downtown inserts in 2022 Donruss Football? You just might land one with famed passer (of presents) Santa Claus.

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🔨 FUNKO FAIL

Funko Pop toys were one of the hottest collectibles on the market for a while, but over $30 million worth of them will soon be destroyed due to lack of demand.

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🗑️ NOT YEEZY PEAZY

In a similar situation, Adidas doesn’t know what to do with over $1 billion in leftover Yeezy sneakers.

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🚨 STEALING BASES CARDS

A former University of Louisville baseball player was arrested for stealing over $40,000 in merchandise from a local card store.

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🪝 NOBODY COUGHT THIS ONE

A Pokemon card that last sold for over $900,000 recently failed to get a bid at $480,000.

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🚙 KARDS 4 KIDS

“From the kitchens of Chuck E. Cheese” comes Lankybox Kitchen, the “first-ever kids influencer virtual restaurant. If that sentence means nothing to you, at least this one will: they now have trading cards.

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