A shopping blog of cool gift ideas

I figured since Gift Guru Dan T,  already showed his love for the Yankees, I'd share some of my favorite Phillies fan gear gifts. Now that things are heating up with the World Series, us Phillies fans like to find every opportunity to show off our hometown pride.

Being a Phillies fan in New York is no easy task but at least I can take comfort in staying warm while I watch the game with this Phillies Therma Base Knit Hat. It's even thick enough to drown out the boo's I'll be hearing all night. Besides awesome fan apparel, if you really want to surprise him/her, send them a special bag of Custom Philadelphia Phillies M&M's.  They come in a variety of colors and even a special edition World Series Edition for the big win. Check out our Phillies Ultimate Fan Shop to deck out your loved ones in Red and White! 

MLB My Team M&M's Candies starting at $10.99.

The Fall Classic is underway and regardless of whom you’re pulling for, you’ll want take this time to do a gear upgrade.  Fortunately, we have team gear stores with the sweetest team products around.  Whether you’re looking for fan apparel, team memorabilia, or team home and office décor, we have a great selection to suit any fan. Since I’m a huge Yankees fan, two products I really like are the Yankees coaster set (with real dirt from Yankee Stadium inside!) or for the real die-hard fan, a bag of Yankees outfield grass seed (the same grass grown at the stadium).

But the classic fan gear that every fan of a World Series team should get is the commemorative World Series authentic cap- the same one worn by the players on the field.

New York Yankees Authentic On-Field Cap starting at $35.99.

Football fans have been waiting for this weekend for months. Millions of football fanatics will be hunkering down with tons of great food and beverages and taking in all of the NFL kickoff weekend action.  Whether you’re taking in the game at the stadium or at home, you’re going to want and need some new fan gear for the season. Regardless, of whom you root for, there’s some great new fan gear for you in 2009. A favorite item this year is the “Gameday Shirt Combo Set” from the NFL store. The combo set is two shirts- one team short sleeve and one team long-sleeve shirt. Aside from being two great looking shirts, when layered together, they look pretty sweet too. Basically you’re getting three great looking shirts that you can rotate for the entire season and beyond. The combo set is even a better deal when you figure in the completely reasonable $30 price tag.

Reebok Pittsburgh Steelers Gameday Shirt Combo Set starting at $29.99.

Contrary to what the NFL schedule says, the football season starts today!  Today is the official release day for the latest installment of EA’s Madden NFL franchise. 

Bottom line: Madden NFL 10 once again raises the (already high) bar with an astounding update to a classic game. I’ve been playing Madden 10 on the Wii for a few days now. There are numerous enhancements to the game that are terrific. “Call Your Shots” mode allows for more realistic game play, while “Spotlight Moments” allow for a close-up view of a move (which you dictate via the Wii remote) that could make or break the game. 

But I love that with Madden 10, ANY level of video gamer can very quickly get up to speed and fall in love with the game. For example, there are three modes of play calling which enable fairly simple game play all the way up to very sophisticated plans of offensive and defensive attack. The game is intuitive and will grow with you as your comfort and abilities increase. No need for wanna-be players to remain on the sideline. 

And lastly, (but for sure not least) the game looks amazing on a graphics level. The detail in the stadium, the crowd, the field and players are all getting mind-bogglingly close to what we see on game day Sundays.This is a no-brainer for video gaming football fanatics…but they probably already have it by now.

EA Sports NFL Madden 2010 starting at $48.99.

The Gift Gurus went on a field trip yesterday to the new Yankee stadium.  What a great day to see a ball game- the sun was shining, the peanuts and Cracker Jacks we’re especially delicious and the Yankees won!  So to make the whole visit to the Bronx “work-related” I decided to make this post all about gifts for baseball fans. 

The best way to shop for gifts for sports fans is by team.  That’s we’ve made shopping by team easy to do with our “Fan Shops”.  So browse by team and check out our picks for great fan gear.  My pick for the Yankee fan?  I love the inaugural stadium season fitted cap.  It’s the same cap the Yankees are wearing on the field this season.  Not a Yankees fan?  Check out gifts for all the MLB teams. 

New York Yankees On-Field Cap with Inaugural Stadium Patch starting at $35.99.

As far as sports fantasies go, shagging fly balls in centerfield in Yankee Stadium, doing a loop at the Augusta National Golf course and playing a set center court at Wimbledon would all be equally mind-blowing for me. Part of the dream has virtually come true with EA Sports’ Grand Slam Tennis for the Wii. 

Grand Slam Tennis allows you to not only play realistic matches at Wimbledon, but the other three Grand Slam tournament venues as well. Another cool feature is you can play matches as any one of some of the game greats like McEnroe, Navratilova, Borg, Venus, Serena, Becker, or Federer to name a few. 

But for me, the coolest part of Grand Slam Tennis is the very responsive shot making capabilities made possible with the Wii. So if you make downward motion with your Wiimote, you will slice the ball. If you swing low to high you’ll execute a shot with topspin. Swing early and you’ll (if you’re righty) pull the ball to the left. Swing late,  and you’ll push the ball to the right. In short, Grand Slam tennis offers game play that mimics real tennis. 

But here’s the kicker, Grand Slam Tennis can be played using the Wii’s relatively new Wii Motionplus attachment (connects to the bottom of the Wiimote). What Motionplus allows for is even more accurate active play experience.  Its refined sensitivity makes your movements even more literally mimicked within the game. Aside from just being cool, it’s just a little snapshot of some of the capabilities of the Motionplus enhancement. I love EA’s Grand Slam Tennis for tennis fans, sports fans, Wii fanatics and for anyone who just wants to try something pretty cool.

EA Grand Slam Tennis for Wii starting at $39.99.

For all those tennis lovers out there, Wimbledon is like the Superbowl of the racquet world. And with American powerhouses like Venus and Serena Williams dominating the sport, this yearly event has gained more of an audience across the pond.

For those who like to work on their backhand without scorching under the sun, this stylish and sporty visor is the perfect accessory. Made of durable raffia and a cotton stretch band, it will fit most head sizes with ease and blocks those harmful rays. It's great gift for your favorite Country Clubber. 

Helen Kaminski 'Marnie' Visor starting at $65.00.

Although the professional golf tour is already in full swing, most weekend hackers are dusting off the clubs after a (way too) long winter. Not so surprisingly, spring offers a great opportunity to get “The Golfer” a gift.  A graduation, a summer birthday or Father’s Day is the perfect time for a great golf gift. If fact, “Golf” is one of the crucial “5Gs” to remember when picking out a Father’s Day gift!

The key to getting a golf gift he or she will appreciate is to steer away from specific equipment (unless you’ve been dropped a very specific hint about what to get). Instead, think golf-themed or golf-related items. Two ideas I like for the golfer is getting them a newly published book on golf or a subscription to a golf magazine like Golf Digest.  A new golf book on my “To-Read” list is “Breaking the Slump: How Great Players Survived Their Darkest Moments in Golf” by noted T.V. golf/sports analyst Jimmy Roberts. In case your golfer is not a reader, there will be no mulligan needed with these other fine golf gift ideas.

Golf Digest Magazine starting at $14.97.

What’s your favorite season? Summer? Fall? Spring? (…don’t say winter!) Well those are all nice tries, but the correct answer, especially the first week of April, is Baseball Season!

Today is opening day for baseball and I couldn’t be more excited. As a gift guru, I feel it’s my duty, to honor the start of the 2009 season with some great gift ideas. So do know a baseball fan with an upcoming birthday? How bout Father’s Day? Here are some gifts the diehard baseball fan will really appreciate.

The first idea is to check out our MLB team “Fan Shops”. Each listing contains dozens hand-pick gift ideas organized by team. Another great gift idea for the baseball fan is a newly published book on baseball. Whether they enjoy a baseball biography, a book on stats, or baseball fiction, each spring a new crop of good reads makes for a great gift. As for me, the new Yankees inaugural stadium hat is already on its way!

Yankees/Mets Go Home Authentic Parking Sign starting at $37.99.

Okay, I’m currently in four NCAA tourney pools and counting. And although I am rooting for Connecticut, I’m not convinced it’s their year. But that’s beside the point. The point is, the NCCA tournament field is set and March Madness is under way.

Soon, office productivity will take a back seat to college hoops, and now’s the perfect time to re-fresh your college gear wardrobe. To make your search for great NCAA gear a little easier, here are some of our favorite top collegiate gift picks. Guru prediction? I like Louisville to cut down the nets on April 6th.

North Carolina Tar Heels Perennial Hooded Sweatshirt starting at $37.99.