Posted on May 9, 2012 by
Jason Bobbitt Katie Hooker Wins Golden Puck Contest
Thanks to our loyal fans on Facebook, our West Coast Authentic’s Golden Puck contest was a huge success!
The contest that began on March 14, 2012 ran for 8 weeks and a grand prize winner emerged on May 9th. Katie Hooker of Bossier City, Louisiana found all eight golden pucks on our website with the help of our weekly video clues. Her name was drawn as the winner out of 81 other contestants that had also found all eight pucks.
As the grand prize winner, Katie had the choice of an autographed Wayne Gretzky jersey or an autographed Georges St-Pierre framed piece. She must be a big MMA fan because she chose “Rush” over the “Great One”!
David Kolochuk Wins Instant Prize
On May 2, 2012 we hid the eighth and final Golden Puck and it was a race for all contestants to find it quickly. After watching the video clue, David Kolochuck found the last puck within 6 minutes and was declared the winner.
David had a prize choice of a framed & autographed 8×10 photo of Anderson Silva or Jerome Iginla. He chose Iginla to add to his man-cave collection.
Posted on April 12, 2012 by
Jason Bobbitt Game Used and Fight Worn Sports Memorabilia
“Every man-cave should have at least one piece of memorabilia that has been used by an athlete at an actual sporting event.” - Jason Bobbitt
Imagine having your buddies over to watch a UFC event and one of them points out a pair of autographed UFC gloves nicely framed on your wall. How cool it would it be to casually mention that those gloves were worn by Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 and that those gloves were the last gloves ever to land a punch on Randy Couture at a UFC event. Or what about an autographed hockey stick used by Hall of Famer, Mario Lemieux in the 1996 NHL playoffs, or an autographed shoe worn by Kobe Bryant in his final regular season NBA game in 2009?
Having a piece of actual sports history on your wall will give you a surreal feeling every time you walk by it. Not only is it a conversation piece, but it tells its own story. A hockey jersey for example, worn by an NHL enforcer may have a slight tear from a fight, blood stains from another player, sweat and Gatorade stains or perhaps a black puck mark from blocking a 100 MPH slap shot.
Usually the cost for piece of game used and fight worn memorabilia is much more than regular memorabilia because it is difficult to obtain and is essentially a “one-of-a-kind” item. 
Having the athlete autograph the used item is yet another challenge. The best autographs include a few words from the athlete such as the name of the event and the date, for example a hockey puck may have something like “Game 7 overtime goal” or a fight worn glove may read “2nd round KO – UFC 66″ followed by their autograph.
If you look on the internet for game/fight used memorabilia items you will find thousands of items but how do you know it was actually used in a game or fight? And how do you know it was used by a particular athlete? The best way is to look at the seller and research their relationship with the athlete. Have they had public or private signings with the athlete in the past?
If you are buying any autographed memorabilia online it’s 
critical that you check out the seller’s website to screen out possible frauds. An obvious indication that a website is questionable is that it doesn’t have any contact information other than an email address or a contact form.
Legitimate websites will display on their Contact Page, an actual physical address and phone number. Look out for websites that only have a PO box and do not display a physical address.
Reputable companies will usually post an About Us page profiling the company and the owner as well as a Privacy Policy page. It is also important to ensure that the website’s ecommerce shopping store is secure and maintains a valid security certificate.
View more autographed Game Used & Fight Worn Memorabilia >>
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Posted on March 9, 2012 by
Jason Bobbitt Penticton Vees Then and Now
It was 57 years ago on March 6th that the Penticton Vees won the world Championship against the Russians. History has repeated itself with another incredible achievement by the Vees this year on the same day, March 6th. The Penticton Vees have now won 41 games in a row breaking records set by two Ontario teams more than 20 years ago. This recent win has put the team at 53 wins for the season, also a new record in the BCHL.
The news reached the highest level of the Government on Wednesday as Dan Albas MP, Okanagan-Coquihalla acknowledged the Vee’s great achievement to enthusiastic Parliament members at the House of Commons.
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada took time from his busy schedule to recognize the Vees and share his support.
The Vees now hit the road to finish off the regular season in Prince George followed by playoffs first round starting March 16.
As a strong supporter of the Penticton Vees, Jason Bobbitt of the West Coast Authentic is very proud to be a sponsor for such an incredible organization. We will continue to offer our full support through the playoffs and wish the team all the best! Go Vees Go!
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Posted on March 6, 2012 by
Jason Bobbitt WCA Helps Bretton’s Wish
Last year West Coast Authentic helped a little girl’s dream come true. Thanks to supporters of the Make A Wish Foundation he is now off to Disney World!
This year WCA donated items for auction to help fulfill the wish of Bretton Bannister. Jason Bobbitt and the staff of WCA are also donating $0.25 for every new “Like” on our Facebook Page so please pass this along to all your friends and family !!!
We are also hosting a contest and will be donating $0.25 towards Bretton’s wish for every new contest entry.
Bretton, age 8, from Springhill loves sports.He plays baseball, curling, ball hockey and started basketball this past fall. His dad coaches Midget level hockey. Bretton’s older brother, Brady plays hockey. Although Bretton loves hockey, he is unable to play due to a life threatening heart condition ~ Aortic Valve Stenosis.
Bretton’s family will be our guest family aligned with fundraiser ~ ‘Justice Scores For Wishes’. This hockey challenge will be between NS Dept of Justice Sheriff’s Department and the Halifax Regional Police. This fun event will take place at the BMOCentre in Bedford on March 31st from 1:30 – 3:30 pm on the “D” ice surface. A silent auction will also be part of the festivities.
Bretton loves the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, his favourite player is local boy, Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins. The Justice Scores for Wishes fundraising committee has coordinated a special surprise call to Bretton from Brad Marchand the prior to the event.
Bretton’s Wish is to have a family trip to Disney World. His best day ever was a trip to Magic Mountain… Imagine the fun he’ll have at Disney when his wish is fulfilled this Spring!
Read more about Bretton on the Make a Wish Foundation website
The organizers hope to raise over $7,000 toward Bretton’s Wish trip.
Please consider helping them “Score for Wishes”!
By entering West Coast Authentic’s Golden Puck contest, you will also be helping fulfill Bretton’s wish! Click the “Enter Now” button below to enter the contest. Good Luck!
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Posted on February 27, 2012 by
Jason Bobbitt UFC 144 in Japan did not Disappoint
Leading up to UFC 144, it was not known what the reaction would be by Japanese fans as it has been UFC’s first event in the Land of the Rising Sun since UFC 29, almost 11 years ago. One thing the event had going for it is the return of Rampage Jackson to the Japanese fans that made his career.
Although the odds were against Ryan Bader in this match, we at West Coast Authentic were confident as Ryan’s corporate sponsor, that he would upset Rampage.
“It was an easy decision to sponsor someone like Ryan, not only do we have an exclusive contract for his autographed memorabilia, we have also got to know him and his manager, David Martin of Martin Advisory Group and seen for ourselves what a great athlete Ryan Bader is and what a great team he has behind him” says West Coast Authentic owner, Jason Bobbitt.
Ryan called in to us just days before heading to Japan and said he was healthy, confident and not at all concerned that Rampage would be in front of his hometown crowd. He would see Rampage as just another fighter in the cage and Ryan’s job was to defeat him regardless of the odds. That it is exactly what Ryan Bader did. Ryan basically controlled Rampage for all three rounds and the judges score him 30-27 across the board.
Rampage certainly made the fight exciting, slamming Ryan to the mat in round two, just like Rampage’s old days in Pride. Ryan was rattled by the slam but quickly recovered and controlled Rampage for the rest of the fight. This is Ryan Bader’s second win in a row, improving his record to 14-2 and improving his chances at a title shot versus Jon Jones.
We had another fighter on the UFC 144 card that autographs photos, gloves and shorts exclusively for West Coast Authentic, he is now the new UFC Lightweight Champion — Ben “Smooth” Henderson.
We wanted Ben to take the title from Frankie Edgar for a couple reasons; we have an exclusive contract with Ben, and secondly, Frankie Edgar denied one of our other exclusive fighters from the title — Gray Maynard.
We spoke to Gray a couple weeks ago about a possible Edgar-Maynard4 and he was definitely hoping Edgar would hold on to his belt long enough for that to happen. We would love to see Gray have another shot at the title and maybe it will mean another Edgar-Maynard before Gray gets that shot.
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Posted on February 23, 2012 by
Jason Bobbitt Ryan Bader speaks to West Coast Authentic before heading to Japan
WCA: Troy Hunnie, West Coast Authentic here with UFC Light Heavyweight Ryan Bader. Ryan thanks for calling in today, how are you doing?
BADER: I’m doing well, I’ve just been training last week here before I leave for Japan and camp’s going perfectly, I’m healthy, I’m ready to go, I’m in shape, I feel good and healthy to go to fight.
WCA: Good to hear hey and thanks for signing those hundreds of photos and gloves we sent you last month, hope you didn’t injure your hand in the process!
BADER: No, absolutely, loved doing it, loved getting it out there to the fans and all that so check it out westcoastauthentic.com and get all your authentic MMA gear.
WCA: I imagine UFC144 in Japan is on your mind right now, are you looking forward to it?
BADER: Oh ya, definitely, you know in training camp you kinda put your head down and just grinding away but know that the fight is get closer you know you start to back off a little bit from the heavy, heavy training so you start see the light at the end of the tunnel and instead of beating up on your training partners all day and getting beat up by them you get do it to someone else you know so I’m excited about it.
WCA: Do you like sushi?
BADER: I do like sushi. We actually went up to Tokyo in November for the press conference so I got to check it out a little bit and know what to expect so ya it should be a cool experience and it was kind of nice to go there beforehand.
WCA: So you and Rampage, did you try and keep your distance when you were over there?
BADER: We were at the press conference and then the day after they had has going around seeing different sites and everything around Japan and some media stuff and we were pretty much with each other all day. Ya, it was fun.
WCA: So Rampage Jackson being a fan favorite over in Japan, do you think this will benefit him or will this be added pressure for him?
BADER: You know, I think it will just be the same really, I mean everywhere you go the fans are not really fighting the fight for you or anything like that you know, we are both travelling over there, we are both doing the same thing and we both train hard for this fight and it is only him and I in the cage you know I am not fighting all of his fans or all of Japan or anything like that I am just fighting him, you know that it really what it comes down to. You know he can have home field advantage but that doesn’t really get to me at all.
WCA: Ok, you’re coming off an impressive knockout win against Jason Brilz in November are we going to see a repeat of that strategy against Rampage?
BADER: Yeah, you know, we got some new coaching staff, I got a new head coach before that fight with Jason Brilz, watching film, running our camps and we had a new boxing coach before that fight also so I feel like I grown a lot as a fighter and definitely you know I gotta use all my tools against a guy like Rampage so am going to go in there, put on a good show, use everything together and go out there and get the win.
WCA: What’s your game plan for dealing with the long flight and time change?
BADER: Yeah, I fought in Australia before, it was a longer flight, I got there a little bit earlier you know you basically get on their time. We have been sparring at little bit here in the morning since we will be fighting around noon Sunday morning in Japan. I’ve done it before. In Australia we fought at like 10am so I’ve been there before and know what to expect and I won’t let that added pressure and added travel get to me at all. I am just going to do what I do, do what I trained for and show up and perform.
WCA: Are you going to spend some time in Japan after the fight?
BADER: We going to stay about three more days, it is going to be nice you know we fight in the morning on Sunday so we’ll have all that day to relax where usually you fight at night, get out of there about midnight and don’t have a chance to really hangout at all so you know we are going to go out there and stay until Wednesday and my coach will be out there and a couple friends are going to be out there so we are going to have a good time afterwards.
WCA: Now back to signing autographs for a second, do you find it to be a great way to connect with your fans?
BADER: Absolutely, anything where I can connect with my fans, you know they drive the sport and everything and for them to get something authentic, right from the source is a great way to connect with them and I’m honored to just be able to do that and that people actually want that.
WCA: What was the craziest thing a fan has ever had you sign?
BADER: Oh man, I’ve signed body parts yeah they usually say sign my arm and I’m like… really? you really want me to sign your arm here? Sometimes you sign a picture of you with a guy from a long time ago and then he sees you later and has you sign that picture that you just took with him then again another picture that he just took of the picture of the picture… that’s pretty crazy but definitely cool.
WCA: Are you a sports memorabilia collector yourself?
BADER: Not so much. I do have a lot of MMA stuff from just being around the sport and being around the guys. As a kid I lived in Reno Nevada and we use to go over to Oakland and my dad was a huge Yankees fan. I have some stuff signed by Don Mattingly and Paul O’Neil, a couple guys like that but other than that it is mostly MMA and I have some footballs, some hockey sticks and stuff like that from just being in the sport of MMA and meeting these different people. I guess I do a little bit and when opportunity arises you can get some from somebody or we do a little trade, I definitely like to do it.
WCA: Ok Ryan thanks so much for your time today, is there anything you would like to say or plug?
BADER: Just look out for this fight and to just let everybody know that all the stuff we are giving out and signing is the real deal so check it out and hopefully it will be worth a lot more after this fight.
WCA: I’m sure it will be. You can follow Ryan on twitter at twitter.com/ryanbader and be sure to visit westcoastauthentic.com for Ryan’s exclusive autographed memorabilia, so come and check it out. Thanks again Ryan and good luck in Japan, we will be rooting for ya!
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