How many is too many?

It's not uncommon to see a hound offering a hockey player a sheet of nine cards for signing. Yes, that's right. Nine cards. That's why, across the land, these sheets are called nineboards. Here in Hockey Bay, it's an occasional topic of discussion, one that lacks a specific prevailing view. Some hounds practice this approach, with varying degrees of success. Others, though, view the use of nineboards with something just shy of disdain.

Apparently, though, it's not an issue among Hockey Hounds Universe readers, where a majority said that offering nine cards to a player at one time wasn't nearly enough. Wishful thinking? Perhaps. But it would be cool, in a way, to score 10 or more autographs from a player.

More than anything else, it takes a certain commitment to offer that many cards at one time. Just think of how long it takes to get that many cards ready for one player. Now, multiple that by at least 12 to 15, as most players have been around enough to accumulate that many different cards. You'd hope that kind of effort would be rewarded.

Another aspect to consider is what do players think about it? Do they view nineboards as a sure sign of a dealer, especially if half of the cards are the same? If not, do they view it as being greedy. Those answers come easy. If a player signs all nine cards, he doesn't have a problem. If he signs just one, well, then, that answer is pretty clear.

Bottom line, it depends on the hound. If you have that many cards and that kind of time, why not. The worst thing that can happen, besides not getting any at all, is getting only one or two cards signed. The best-case scenario, though, means going home with 2-inch thick stack of signed cards.

Question: Nineboards?

Not nearly enough: 10 votes out of 23 cast (43.5 percent)
Too many at one time: 7 votes (30.4 percent)
Just the right amount: 6 votes (26.1 percent)