OK, my hands are freezing, so I stopped inside the store to talk with Maria Schaeffer, division manager for retail. What's new and exciting this year? "A lot of Ryan Howard product" ... pennant, T-shirt, pin, all exclusive to the ballpark ... not sure about the bobblehead or the baseball with Howard's picture being given away at the park on special dates... Funniest thing? Most unusual? "Assuming we get MLB approval, we have a Phanatic bank. You put your money and you that crack of the bat sound." There will be a Phanatic bobble-belly doll, too. Yes, bobble belly. Biggest sellers? "Anything Ryan Howard." Most expensive: Poker set, with chips and cards, are $199. Should be in stock within a couple of weeks. About $750,000 of product coming in in the next five weeks. Oh, even more pricey: replica jerseys from Mitchell & Ness, about $325. New this year: A pin trading center. You can swap one of yours for another one. It's going to be in the Majestic Clubhouse Store. Sure have a lot of colors of hats these days:
Inquirer reporter Mike Jensen is the college basketball columnist for the Inquirer. Each year, he gives a special insight into the tournament.
Inquirer reporter Jeff McLane is the beat writer for Temple. He will pick the tournament.
Inquirer reporter Tom Fitzgerald will blog about Hillary Clinton's Pa. visits March 10 &11.
Inquirer reporter Larry Eichel will post updates on Bill Clinton's March 7 visit to Media.
Inquirer reporter Tim Panaccio will write about National Hockey League trade talk. 
Inquirer reporter David Aldridge will live-blog the week before the NBA's trade deadline. 
Peter Mucha began this blog, before moving on to other writing duties.
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