Monday, May 31, 2010

Memorial Day, A Day For Honoring Our Soldiers

Today is a very important day to Americans, Memorial Day. Many people may not know the origins of the day or even why we celebrate it, it only means another long weekend and a BBQ to ring in the holiday. Being in a large military family Memorial Day means the world to my family and me. You see, today is the day that we celebrate the veterans who have given the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country.

The sports world is not without some who stepped above and beyond when the call was made. To honor those players who have given their lives in the line of duty I created a custom set, this was the least I could do on a special day like today. There are 3 baseball and 3 football players in the set.

Baseball:

Eddie Grant played 10 years in MLB with the Cleveland Naps (Indians), Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants. He retried from baseball in 1915 and when the US joined WWI he enlisted in the Army. He was killed October 5, 1918 while out searching for a group of lost soldiers when a shell exploded near him. In an interesting side note, the New York Giants had some funky uniforms in the early 1900s and in 1915 actually had purple stripes and letter patches.

Elmer Gedeon may have only played 5 games for the Washington Senators in September 1939 but he played well over 200 games in the Minor Leagues and was called up the Majors again in 1940 but did not play in any games. He was drafted in to the Army in January 1941 and eventually became a pilot in the Army Air Corps in 1942. He died April 20, 1944 when the bomber he was flying was shot down over France. He chose to remain in the plane attempting to keep it up so as to give time to his flight crew to parachute to safety.

Robert Neighbors signed with the St Louis Browns in 1936 and spent most of his time in the Minor Leagues. He was called up a number of times to the Majors but was only able to eek out a .182 BA in the pros. In 1941 his wife died in a car accident and he decided that baseball was not right for him so he enlisted in the Army Air Corps where he served WWII in the US as a pilot trainer. He remained in the military following the war and eventually was shipped to Korea following the outbreak of war in 1950. He was a B26 Bomber pilot and was believed to have been killed on August 8, 1952 when he reported that his plane been hit during a mission over North Korea. The plane never returned and his body was never found.



Football:

Al Blozis was drafted by the New York Giants in the 1942 NFL Draft; he played Tackle for the team from 1942 through 1944. He enlisted in the Army in December 1943; he actually played 3 games for the Giants in 1944 while on furlough. He was killed January 31, 1945 in France when a couple of soldiers from a patrol that he had sent out failed to return, he went looking for them alone in the snow. Within minutes he was dead, never seeing the German soldier who fired the fatal rounds.

Bob Kalsu was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1968 where he played the entire season and was named the teams Rookie Of The Year. Following the season he enlisted in the Army to satisfy his ROTC obligation and was sent to Vietnam. He was an Lt in a Field Artillery Unit and refused to stand back while his soldiers were in danger. Kalsu was killed July 21, 1970 when his firebase came under heavy mortar fire. Two days later his son was born and a few hours later his wife found out about his death.

Pat Tillman is a name that many know because he is the most recent professional sports related military death. Following a successful career with the Arizona Cardinals Tillman signed up for the Army rangers following the September 11, 2001 attacks. He initially was involved with the Iraq invasion in 2003 and then returned for a tour of duty in Afghanistan. He died April 22, 2004 in Sperah, Afghanistan while his unit was out on patrol. The initial listing of death as being killed in an ambush by Taliban has now been refuted and changed to “friendly fire” following numerous investigations and is believed by some to actually have been murder.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

It Slips Away So Easily



With my birthday looming over me, I was hoping to get a nice present from the Phoenix Suns a day early. Unfortunately, I find myself crying tears of purple and orange.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

2009-10 Panini Platinum Basketball


Scheduled Release Date: July 7, 2010
Box Configuration: 5 cards per pack, 18 packs per box
SRP: $108 per box

Box Break: 2 Autographs, 3 Rookies, 2 Prizm Green, 1 Jam Masters, 1 Future Stars, 1 The Franchise and 4 Others

I have become a fan of Panini but this set just seems plain. The base cards are not bad; an action shot of the players with a base that contains the players name and “Rookie” if this is a RC. The cards just seem over designed, to many lines and angles and I am not a fan of parallels. The autograph cards just are not memorable and the blue autographs clash with the colors.

My Thoughts:
This is a pass for me simple as that.

Rating:

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Topps Frankenstein's Monster


AllenGinter
Originally uploaded by Jumper48
Will someone please explain to me why Topps would take 2 cards that would be amazing pulls on their own and instead create this “Frankenstein” of a card? Either of these would be a once in a lifetime hit but together they create a horrid book. Maybe if one player was used for both sides of the book it wouldn’t be so bad but I just do not understand this. Topps, please stop doing things like this.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Panini Hall Of Fame Basketball


Scheduled Release Date: July 28, 2010
Box Configuration: 11 cards per pack, 1 pack per box
SRP: $100 per pack/box

Box Break: 2 Autographs, 1 memorabilia, 1 Common Black Border and 7 Other cards

First thing first, this set is all about Hall of Fame players. There are no duds, no may-be or never-were players on the checklist. You can pull some real winners here. Funny thing is that when Topps returned to football and had asked for collector’s input on how they should precede this was one of my suggestions, creating a NFL HOF set and Panini shows that it can be done decently.

This set brings me back to classic Donruss. The cards are well-designed, no extra lines or awkward angles. The die-cut windows seem logically placed and the biggest plus of the set is that besides the Famed Cuts the rest of the autographs are on card. A huge step for Panini in the right direction.



My Thoughts:
On card autographs, 1992 Dream Team jersey cards and HoF Cut signatures, you cannot go wrong with the set. There is one downside though; a certain “Airness” is not included in the set because of his contract with Upper Deck.


Rating:

I give it a rating of 4 out of 5 Corkys, the checklist, on card autographs, 1992 Dream Team relics and just all around theme make this set a top selection.


Thursday, May 20, 2010

2010 Panini Classic Football





Scheduled Release Date: July 28, 2010
Box Configuration: 5 cards per pack, 18 packs per box
SRP: $105-110 per box

Box Break: 4 Autograph/Memorabilia (at least 1 card will be an autograph), 4 Rookies, 2 Legends, 1 Timeless Tributes Parallel, 1 Team Colors, 4 Other Inserts

The base cards actually remind me of the cards produced by Hit, while I like simple base cards this actually doesn’t do it for me. The big draw for me in this release is the inserts. The Legends Autographs checklist includes signatures by Elway, Marino, Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders. The Hall of Fame Class Autographs checklist include Smith and Rice and Panini’s use of cut signatures is well justified in this product, you can pull some amazing names like Walter Payton, Bear Bryant and George Halas.

My Thoughts:
I cannot complain about the checklist, you can pull some serious hits from a box. The base set does not interest me and I definitely will not be looking to build a set, but with packs selling around $6 a piece it might be worth grabbing some packs.

I love the Monday Night Heroes insert


Ratings:
I gave this release a 2 1/2 actually because half of my interest is in the base set and since this base set is of no interest for me I have to rate this based on the inserts alone.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Will You Be Looking To Pull This?


Wall
Originally uploaded by Jumper48
Since the Washington Wizards won the NBA Draft Lottery yesterday the talk has now shifted to who the #1 pick will be when the 2010 NBA Draft begins in 35 days. The talk is all surrounding John Wall and Evan Turner, the most likely suspects for the #1 pick.

I am just not a Wizards fan, or a Bullets fan before that. I laughed when they drafted Kwame Brown but if they do indeed take Wall, this draft looks to be different and may help guide the team back in the correct direction.

The question is will Agent 0 return back to his controlling, never share, me first ways or will he become a team player? I hate saying that about a University of Arizona product, I try to like like Arenas but he is arogent and he plays for the Wizards, a double whammy.

I have to say, one of the most humerous predictions that I have seen was from a Wizards fan actually saying that he thinks the Wizards will draft Wall and then sign LeBron James to create a dominent factor in the East.

Monday, May 17, 2010

2009-10 Panini Studio NBA


Base
Originally uploaded by Jumper48

I grabbed a couple of Panini 2009-10 Studio NBA rack packs over the last week; you get 30 cards for $4.98 so not a bad deal. I have not bought any of these since the release in March so I figured I would give it a shot and see what I pull.

I actually like the cards, there is a “classic” feel to them. A nice clean layout that contains a color close up of the player and a black and white action shot on the front and each card’s color layout is based on the team colors. So, the Suns have a purple hue and the Celtics are green. I like this use of color because it adds to the overall design and makes it so the cards are not just cookie cutter cards where each looks like the next.

I was a little disappointed that I bought 2 rack packs on 2 separate days and ended up pulling 9 duplicates between the two packs. Another thing that caught me odd was Panini’s quality control; I received sequential numbers of 10 or more twice between the two packs and then a few other runs of 3-6 cards. They were actually in order in the packs too, like they were stuck together when they were packaged.


I was also fortunate enough to pull a Studio Essence Materials of Andre Iguodala #/249. I was quite happy to pull a University of Arizona product; only a Kobe, LeBron or Channing Frye would have been better. You may ask why I would want to pull a Frye, because he also played for the U of A and currently plays for the Suns, a double positive in my book.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

2010 Upper Deck MLS



Upper Deck is taking the hype from the upcoming World Cup (6/11-7/11) and carrying it over in to the 2010 Upper Deck MLS set scheduled to be released in a few days on May 18th. I am a footy fan, I play soccer, I coach soccer and I support my Seattle Sounders FC and the red devils of Man U but to be honest I have never been a collector of MLS cards though I do have a decent selection of early 20th Century English football cards that I picked up in some trades with an English dealer in the early-90s.

I watched a box break on Beckett’s Blog and while Chris Olds did not take part in the break, they did pull some nice hits. It is weird, but I actually like Tracy Hackler.

Scheduled Release Date: May 18, 2010
Box Configuration: 20 packs per box, 12 cards per pack
SRP: $89.99

Box Break: Four memorabilia and 1 autograph per box.
1 memorabilia card will be a Premium Series Memorabilia Patch Card #/35 or less

From what I have seen in the box break this actually looks like a good set. Upper Deck used their typical action photos, reminiscent of their baseball and football base sets from years past. The set is 200 base cards and an interesting mix of memorabilia and autograph cards.


My Thoughts:
I love soccer and the Beckett box break did produce a relic of Seattle Sounders All-Star Fredy Montero, but I really cannot make a solid decision without seeing more of the set. I really wish I could get my hands on a box or even a couple of packs to get an honest review.


I will say that for $90 you seem to get a good variety of cards and a decent deal for the price for any MLS fan.

Rating: Undecided at this time

Friday, May 14, 2010

Am I Wrong?

Topps Triple Threads is scheduled to be released this coming August and we are beginning to see previews as well as reviews around the blogsphere. While I am not a big fan of Triple Threads, I feel the cost versus reward is not balanced, I do not care for multiple parallels and the biggest turn-off is sticker autographs. Lick-em Stick-ems are bad enough but to use them on a high end product is just atrocious.


Now, having said that, am I a bad person for actually liking some of the hits? The Cut Above Relics set looks pretty decent; who wouldn’t want to pull a Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth cut signature and 3 relics? I personally do not like the books, they are difficult to display in a pleasant manor but it is a cool set nonetheless. Some of the All-Star sets are pretty cool too; lots of variety and the cards are not overflowing with die-cuts and miss-matched relics.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

2010 Topps UFC




Not long ago Topps released a preview of the 2010 Topps UFC set scheduled to be released later this summer. The design fits the package in this case; the coloring and designs work well together and evoke an energetic feel that you hope to get when you hold a UFC card in your hands.

Scheduled Release Date: August 20, 2010
Box Configuration: 8 cards per pack, 16 packs per box
SRP: $99.99

Box Break: 2 Autograph cards, 2 relic cards, 16 parallels and 16 inserts per box

An interesting set made up of 200 base cards total, including 135 UFC stars, 20 Highlight Reels, 30 UFC Debuts, 15 Personalities and then there are parallels consisting of Gold, Onyx (#/188), Ruby (#/8) and Diamond (#/1).

There are a total of 5 insert sets, not counting autographs and relics, and parallels of each insert. You will pull 1 insert per pack for a total of 16 per box. There are 9 different autograph inserts plus parallels on some of the inserts. One of the cooler autographs is a set called “Thoughts From The Boss” which contain an autograph of Dana White and various fighters. The relics sets are pretty cool too, there are 3 different relic sets made up of fight used tape, fight mats, gloves, shirts and shorts.

My Thoughts: As a UFC fan I am hyped about this set, I love the design and the insert sets are all pretty cool. I would love to pull a “Tale Of The Tape” relic card, this is an original idea all together, I have never seen tape used in any set ever.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Could You Be Pulling This From A Pack Soon?


BrooklynNetsTrip
Originally uploaded by Jumper48
Last November I created this custom card and posted it on The Custom Card Blog showing a “What If” based on the scenario if LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were to join Jay-Z and play for the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets.

Today turned out to be a big day for Nets fans, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov was approved by the NBA owners to purchase 80% of the New Jersey Nets, so now there is money to be had to pay the big boys to come play for the Nets. Now the Nets fans, with billionaire money supporting the team and the upcoming move to Brooklyn, can only hope that the team includes two newcomers wearing #3 and #6 when the team arrives at Barclays Center in 2011.

In related news, the Cavaliers lost tonight and the Celtics are up 3-2 with the next game in Boston. It is possible that Cleveland has seen LeBron play his final game in a Cavaliers jersey.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

2010 Panini Court Kings

Now mid-way through the NBA Playoffs and I am mid-way through Panini’s NBA releases. Timeless Treasures Basketball has been released; Absolute Memorabilia is coming up in just about 2 weeks so I will be covering Court Kings next. Here is Panini’s NBA releases over the next couple of months; Timeless Treasures Basketball (4/28), Absolute Memorabilia Basketball (5/19), Court Kings (6/02) and Platinum NBA (7/7).

Court Kings is another top end product from Panini, each pack will contain 11 cards of which you will get at least 1 Auto, 1 Memorabilia, 3 commons #/325 or less and the remain cards will be various inserts possibly including autos or memorabilia cards.

Scheduled Release Date: June 2, 2010
Box Configuration: 11 cards per pack, 1 pack per box
SRP: $ 80-100

Box Break: 4 Autographs or Memorabilia cards (at least 1 Auto and 1 Memorabilia), 3 commons #/325, 1 Bronze parallel and 3 other cards, which could include autographs or memorabilia cards. You will also receive a 5x7 Box Topper, which could be autographed and #/75 or less.

This set is a bit different then most of Panini’s recent releases. First thing is that there are not a ton of parallels, only Bronze (#/149), Silver (#/99) and Black (#/1) and there are autograph and relic versions of each card but I don’t know if I would call those parallels.

The base set consists of 120 cards and is broken down in to rookies, commons, stars and retired. The checklist contains the standards like Stephen Curry, Blake Griffin, LeBron James, Kobe and Clyde Drexler and Lenny Willkins, so you can expect to pull a myriad of players.

The inserts list is a pretty interesting variety so as to appeal to a large group of collectors and consist of Gallery of Stars, Artistry, Masterpieces, Dribble Kings, Supreme Court, Portraits, Il Bello Cinque and Box Toppers plus a couple of others that are not listed here.

I have selected a couple of the inserts to highlight that really appealed to me out of that list. First up would be the Dribble Kings. This set focuses on the top dribblers in the NBA, players like Steve Nash, Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant. I love the design, the colors give the impression of a basketball court and even though the autographs are stickers it works well in this case.

The Masterpieces stood out to me because this card is designed well; I feel that Panini has come a long way from their first designs that were released when they first came to the US market. I love the colors on this card, the borders, the action photos that are used and even though the relic is a small dime sized piece it stands out. The Masterpieces set focuses on high flyers, players that are known for their slam-dunking ability. Of course LeBron leads off the checklist but the list contains some dunkers that will bring back memories for us all. Dominique Wilkins, Larry Johnson, Clyde “The Glide” Drexler and then everyone’s favorite slam-dunk contest winner. Spud Webb. One of my all-time favorites players are also included, Cedric Ceballos. He was one of the best 6th-man in the game during his days with the Suns and their 1993 run to the NBA Finals.

My favorite insert also happens to be the one I have to hate the most. Il Bello Cinque, translated it means “the beautiful five”, consists of 5 artistic renderings of Kobe Bryant. The card design resembles a painting inside a frame, a true thing of beauty. The reason it barbs me is that being a Phoenix Suns fan my entire life I am wired to hate the Lakers and all who wear the Purple and Gold. There is also an autographed version of this insert #/24 (of course).
For those who are wondering, yes it killed me to watch Cedric Ceballos during his 2-¼ years with the Lakers.



My Thoughts:
Only one thing that I can say about this set- “Il Bello Rilascio”. I love this set, I feel that this is a beautiful release. Panini got this one right and hopefully will be used as the benchmark for future sets. It is very limited and the inserts are pretty amazing in my book.

Don’t get me wrong, I did find some things that I did not care for in this release. The autographs are stickers, which you would expect hard-signed cards in a release that runs $100/pack. The relic pieces are dime sized, but in that defense the cards look good with the smaller relics because it gave more room for card design and player portraits. For some reason the Supreme Court insert rubs me wrong, I don’t know why but I don’t care for it.

I would have to say that this release is well worth the cost and you are going to be happy with your pulls. I would love to get my hands on a couple of packs, now if I only had a couple of hundred bucks that were burning a hole in my pocket.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

2010 Razor Cut Signature Edition

Razor Collectibles is coming pretty serious with another release in August 2010 Cut Signature Edition. Like the 2010 Razor Sports Icons, the Cut Signature Edition will include amazing cut signatures but this time the focus is on celebrities.

Scheduled Release Date: July 2010
Box Configuration: 1 card per pack, 1 pack per box
SRP: $60 per pack/box

Box Break:
1 Cut Signature per pack

About 2 weeks ago I posted a preview of the 2010 Razor Sports Icons set scheduled to be released next month. I really liked the set; it included a huge checklist including some very limited signatures. Well, I actually feel that the 2010 Cut Signature release tops the Sports Icons set. Of course there are differences with Sports Icons being sports related and Cut Signature Edition focusing on famous personalities like celebrities and politicians.


This an amazing checklist with well over 600 current, retired and deceased personalities from many walks of life including politicians, actors, sports heroes and musicians. Each card is limited with many signatures limited to only 1 with the highest numbered to #/30 and the multi-signature cards limited to #/11 or less. With only 299 cases produced, there are 12 boxes per case and that means there are only 3,588 total cards in the seriously limited set.

The checklist includes some amazing autographs like Abraham Lincoln (Above Left), Alfred Hitchcock, Charles Lindberg, Bernie Mac, Michael Landon, Snoop Dogg, Mark Twain (Above Right) and Will Smith. The multi-signature cards have some expected matches like Cheech/Chong and Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale but Razor obviously went out of the way to create some multi-signature cards that many would not expect to ever see like George H.W. Bush/Saddam Hussein. One of the cards I find more humorous is the Dick York/Dick Sargent multi-signature card. The ultimate pulls in the set, besides Abraham Lincoln, would be the quad-signature containing all 4 members of the Sex Pistols (Rotten, Vicious, Jones & Cook) or the quad-signature containing all 4 members of Queen (Mercury, May, Taylor & Deacon).

One suggestion I would make would be to include the name of the personality on the front of the card because some of the autographs can be difficult to decipher without checking the back.

My Thoughts:
This is a set that I definitely will hunt down. At $60 a box you have the chance to pull an amazing signature, the checklist justifies the cost. Like I said with the previous post, I am normally not a fan of cut signature unless it is from a deceased personality or one unable to still sign but I will overlook that with this set because the checklist is so amazing.

UD Entomology Redemptions To Be Filled

Upper Deck announced on their Twitter page today that all of the bugs for the Entomology cards from 2009 Goodwin Champion set have arrived and they will begin shipping soon. I am not sure how many redemptions there are for the set but this is some positive news considering many people never expected the redemptions to be filled.

Though I am not able to find any Entomology redemptions up for auction right now, I wonder if now that UD has announced that the redemptions will be filled if people will begin to put them up for sale. I always thought this was an interesting insert, obviously it is not for some collectors, but I have always liked the odd ball card sets.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Topps Wants To Know- Football 2010

Topps is back in to the football game and they are looking for input for the collectors. They have 5 questions on the Topps Blog and they are asking for our honest input. The top 3 selections will receive prizes:

One Grand Prize: Hobby Box of 2009 Topps Triple Threads Football
Two Runners Up: Hobby Box of 2009 Topps Football


It is nice to see that Topps is turning to the community of collectors and asking our ideas and thoughts. This is a great way for the company to get back in to the NFL and it gives us a chance to have our voices heard.


1. What products from our previous Topps football lines would you like to see us continue or bring back?

Some of the standards such as Topps/Chrome, Bowman/Chrome and possibly Finest would be a good base.

National Chicle, but I would like to see it based more on the baseball release instead of last year’s football release with unimpressive artwork and a so-so checklist.

Stadium Club, but based on the 90’s versions not the 2008 release.

Platinum and Sterling are good options for the upper end product. I am not a fan of Triple Threads though.



2. What new products or ideas would you like to see?

First suggestion would be to limit the use of sticker autographs, they are impersonal and they are to easy for scammers to wipe and re-use. Not to mention when you pay top dollar for a product and you pull a sticker auto you feel gypped.

Cards that are special, limited or short prints, such as special autographs, 1/1, multi-colored patches, Rookie Premiere Autos, etc., be marked as such and not with a generic sticker label. To many times scammers will remove a plain patch, cut a new and amazing multi-color patch and put that in to the card, stick a 1/1 sticker on it and sell it for top dollar.

Box hits like Autographed Mini Helmets (footballs, jerseys, etc).

A Heritage type set that is based only football players that are retired or in the Hall of Fame. Include players from the inception of the professional football era through recent retirees. You could include players and teams that were important to the origination of pro football like Pudge Heffelfinger, Amos Alonzo Stagg and teams like the Frankford Yellow Jackets, Duluth Eskimos and Canton Bulldogs. Players that helped usher in various eras and barriers of football could be include like Jim Thorpe and Fritz Pollard.

Player progression cards, images on the same card of a player through his career.



3. Which 2010 NFL Rookies would you like to see us sign to autograph deals?

Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, Jimmy Clausen, Tim Tebow, C.J. Spiller, Dez Bryant, Golden Tate for offense. Sean Witherspoon, Rolandon McClain, Earl Thomas, and Eric Berry for defense. This gives a variety of players on both side of the ball.



4. Regarding our product calendar, which releases would you like to see early in the season, late, etc?

Topps base and Bowman early to take advantage of the rookies in their NFL uniforms, Chrome and the upper end products towards the end of the schedule so jerseys and autographs can be included.



5. Are there any NFL-related themes, anniversaries, celebrations, etc. you’d like to see featured in our 2010 products?

Throwback uniforms would be a nice insert/subset or if possible a relic insert.

The Super bowl patches in the blaster boxes were pretty cool even though they were manufactured patches. My son was excited every time he busted a box because he knew he was getting a historical patch.

A number of teams are celebrating anniversaries this year; possibly have an insert/subset focusing on these teams and their highlights over the decades. Parallels could be autographed by the players.
50 Years- Bills, Patriots, Titans/Oilers, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders, Chargers and Cowboys
80 Years- Lions
90 Years- Bears and Cardinals

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Just A Commentary


LosSuns
Originally uploaded by Jumper48
Short and sweet. I am not posting a political statement. I would prefer not to turn this in to a tit for tat argument among collectors.

But why do some people have to read in to things and turn it in to something that it is not?

The Suns are wearing the "Los Suns" jerseys because Game 2 is on May 5th, Cinco de Mayo, and the team wants to honor the rich Latino heritage here in Arizona. The Suns have worn the jerseys before so this is not a "sudden" change or a political statement.

Every sports writer seems to have taken their own impression and have created something that was never there. Why can people not just see this as a Cinco de Mayo game and leave it at that? The Spurs management even commented about how they would have worn "Los Spurs" jerseys but didn't have time to get them ready.

No offense, but I look forward to the game being over so we can just get back to enjoying the sports that we watch.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Steve Nash- Game 1 Version

As I am watching the last few nail-biting minutes of the Suns game, I decided to keep tonight’s post short (so I can watch the Suns play hot and cold streaky basketball). This post is all about Steve Nash.


Here are a couple of Nash hits that I have come across over the years. I pulled one of the Winning Materials and then when I saw the black/red version on eBay I added it to my collection. The relics are from his warm-ups.


When Topps brought back Stadium Club I was a happy collector, when I came back to collecting during the 92-93 basketball season I stuck with Stadium Club because I loved the photography compared to other releases at the time. The interesting thing about this card is that the back contains facts about Steve Nash. Did you know that he practiced with the NY Red Bulls of the MLS in 2007?

The game has now ended, the Suns winning 111-102 over the Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals. Steve Nash ends with 33 Pts, 3 Rebs and 10 Assists.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

2010 Topps WWE

Tonight’s post goes out as a favor to my 10-year old son. He is a wrestling fan and every Monday and Friday night he has WWE on TV and he watches every bone-cracking moment.

Last week Topps released some early previews of the 2010 Topps WWE wrestling series, it is scheduled to be released in August 2010.

Scheduled Release Date: August 19, 2010
Box Configuration: 7 cards per pack, 24 packs per box
SRP: $44.99

Box Break:
2 hits per box- 1 Autograph and 1 Relic
Each pack contains 1 Parallel and 1 Insert

The 2010 WWE set contains 110 base cards along with parallels of each base card. There are 4 different parallels of each base card including Red #/1, Printing Plates #/1, Gold #/50 and Blue #/2010. You receive 6 base cards and 1 parallel card per pack.

The autographs sets consist of Superstar Signature Swatch Cards, basic Autograph cards and Dual Autographs. Each autograph version also includes 3 different types of parallels including; Printing Plates #/1, Red #/1 and Gold #/25. You receive 1 autograph card per box.

The relic set consists of Superstar Super Swatch Cards #/30, Superstar Swatch Cards and Elimination Chamber Cards containing a piece of canvas from the 2010 Elimination Chamber Pay-Per-View. The Superstar Swatch and Elimination Chamber Cards have Red parallels #/1 and Gold #/25 or #/50. You receive 1 relic card per box.

There are 10 other inset titles include Championship Material, various Puzzle Parallels, History Of and National Heroes among others. You receive 24 inserts from these 10 titles per box.

Additionally, each 8-box case contains either 1 Autograph Relic card or a Relic Card #/30 or less.

My Thoughts:
If you are a wrestling fan, this is a good purchase. For one thing, it costs $45 per box and you are guaranteed 1 Autograph and 1 Relic per box along with 24 inserts and 24 parallels. Secondly, there are some wonderful action shots of the wrestlers, a nice clean design and a large variety of inserts that you will receive per box. I am considering picking up a box or two to bust with my son, this looks like a set I would be interested in collecting and the chance to pull a John Cena and Rey Mysterio autograph or relic would be extremly cool.

2009-10 Upper Deck SP Authentic Hockey





While I was a hockey collector at one time, I am no longer a serious follower of the sport and only have a handful of hockey cards left in my collection. But, I haven’t posted anything about NHL releases since I began the blog and figured I would give hockey a bit of love as the second round of the NHL Playoffs begin.

Upper Deck recently released some additional images of the upcoming 2009-10 UD SP Authentic hockey set scheduled to be released in June. The set has already been delayed twice, originally scheduled to be released April 1, 2010 it was delayed until May 8, 2010 and then delayed again until June 8, 2010. Hopefully it isn’t delayed or shelved before June.

Scheduled Release Date: June 8, 2010
Box Configuration: 5 cards per pack, 24 packs per box
SRP: $99.90 at Blowoutcards.com pre-sell

Box Break:
3 Autograph Cards
- 1 Autograph will be a Future Watch
2 SP Holo F/X Cards
3 SP Essentials



My Thoughts:
Not being a hockey fan my thoughts are limited on the product. For $100 this seems like a good purchase, there are 3 autos per box and the Holo F/X cards, which you should pull 2 per box, look pretty cool. The hits are very limited with most being numbered to #/100 or less and there are some sweet looking patches that you can pull.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Gehrig Logoman Patch


Gehrig
Originally uploaded by Jumper48

After reading Sooz’s post on A Cardboard Problem about the 2010 Topps National Chicle baseball inserts that are starting to hit on eBay, I had to take a look at the Gehrig 1/1 Red Umbrella SP.

Being a Lou Gehrig fan leaves me heartbroken quite often due to the nature of his cards. Cards from his playing days are limited and often-high dollar, though I am fortunate enough to have a PSA graded 1933 Goudey #92 Lou Gehrig.

While searching through some Gehrig auctions I came across a 2010 Topps National Chicle Lou Gehrig MLB Logoman patch. Now of course this is a manufactured patch, but I really like this card. It is a great picture of Gehrig and a cool logo patch. Even the price is right, sitting at a little over $25 with a day left.

This is a situation where a manufactured patch does not bother me. Gehrig played in a time when many teams did not even have numbers on their jerseys, so this is a way to bring a pre-war player in to the modern era. This is one card that I will hopefully be adding to my collection before long.