Century-old baseball cards to be auctioned in Biddeford

BIDDEFORD, Maine (AP) — The auction of the first of more than 1,400 century-old baseball cards has the attention of collectors.

Saco River Auction Co. says 212 cards from what’s been dubbed the “Portland trove” are up for bid Wednesday. The collection dates to 1909 and features many Hall-of-Famers including Cy Young and Ty Cobb.

Auctioneer Troy Thibodeau says the collection is so big that the cards are being sold in installments over the coming year.

Smaller than modern baseball cards, the so-called tobacco cards feature color lithographs on the front and a tobacco advertisement on the back. Also up for auction are 48 glass negatives used to create “Old Judge” cards in 1888.

Celtics swap Nelson for Nate Robinson

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets traded backup point guard Nate Robinson to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday for guard Jameer Nelson.

Robinson was a member of the Celtics for parts of 2009-10 and ’10-11. He averaged 5.8 points for Denver this season a year after tearing his ACL.

It will be Nelson’s third team this season. He signed with Dallas before the season and then wound up in Boston as part of the trade that sent Rajon Rondo to the Mavericks.

Nelson was the 20th overall pick by Denver in 2004, only to have his rights traded to the Orlando Magic in a draft-night deal. He’s averaged 12.3 points and 5.3 assists with Orlando, Dallas and Boston.

Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly said Nelson’s “veteran leadership will be of value to our team.”

Coyotes call up Samuelsson from Pirates

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Coyotes have recalled defenseman Philip Samuelsson from Portland of the AHL.

Arizona also waived defensemen Chris Summers and forward Brandon McMillan.

The 23-year-old Samuelsson had a goal and a pair of assists in 16 games with the Pirates. He is the son of former NHL player Ulf Samuelsson.

McMillan has a goal and two assists in 38 games with the Coyotes. Summers has three assists in 14 games.