Upper Deck is bringing its line of All-Star Vinyl figures to the masses this winter with several series of 10-inch figures that showcase some of the sports world’s biggest names.

While we previously previewed the NHL line, here’s a look at the upcoming figures (and drawings to be used for figures) for football, baseball, basketball and perhaps a couple of other guys you might have heard of …

First, the football line, which includes San Diego Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson (above) along with …

Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb

New York Giants QB Eli Manning

Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning

New England Patriots QB Tom Brady

… and finally Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo. (I’m not going to speculate whether there’s already an All-Star Vinyl curse, but these guys haven’t had the best of luck with injuries this year.) Aesthetically speaking, I think the best one of the bunch will be Tomlinson, followed by Romo.

NBA

The basketball figure photos have not yet been released, but sketches that will be the basis for a few NBA figures released in December have. Here are three:

Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics

LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
It’s hard to gauge which one of these three will look best when sculpted — I’d say it will probably be the Garnett, helped in part by the fact that his Boston threads still look a bit refreshing vs. another Kobe in gold and another LeBron figure.

MLB
The baseball line will arrive in stores next year — and here’s a preview of the first two lineups:

From left, St. Louis’ Albert Pujols, the Mets’ David Wright, Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard, Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki, Boston’s David Ortiz and the Yankees’ Derek Jeter. I think the winner here is Ortiz.

From left, the Cubs’ Alfonso Soriano, the Angels’ Vladimir Guerrero, Cleveland’s Grady Sizemore, the Mets’ Jose Reyes, the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez and Boston’s Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Soriano figure and the Matsuzaka will probably be of most interest to many as the Soriano pose is great and the Dice K should draw interest from bidders around the globe.

Other sports
And, coming in January are a pair of legends …

U.D. spokesman Tiger Woods, along with …

… boxing icon Muhammad Ali.

Neither one of these figures strike me as defining their persona, but there’s no doubt that they will be popular.

Chris Olds has collected sports cards and memorabilia since 1987. Before coming to Beckett Media, he wrote about the hobby for the Orlando Sentinel on his blog, SportsStuff, and for the San Antonio Express-News and The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News. Do you have a comment, question or idea? Send e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com.

Upper Deck‘s popular line of sports figures — All-Star Vinyl — soon will expand into a larger series of 10-inch figures available at retail stores. While it appears they will be produced for several sports, here’s a look at the NHL line set to hit stores in February  …

Chris Olds has collected sports cards and memorabilia since 1987. Before coming to Beckett Media, he wrote about the hobby for the Orlando Sentinel on his blog, SportsStuff, and for the San Antonio Express-News and The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News. Do you have a comment, question or idea? Send e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com.