Pack War

A 2011 Topps Football Repack Box Pans Out Nicely

2012-01-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

I was looking to pick up a repack football box to do my Super Bowl prediction like I did last year and instead felt the call of a 2011 Topps football repack box instead. I picked up the Topps box, which contained 11 packs of 2011 Topps football plus 2 Chrome Refractors and 1 Super Bowl Legends code card. I decided to just bust this box for fun and I will pick up the random repack box next week to use for my prediction.

You start with a Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert Chrome Refractor and a Super Bowl Legend code card, and this is before even opening a pack. Once the pack busting began I hit a pretty solid lucky streak until I came across a nice surprise. The last few packs were pretty average s but I was happy no matter what even though I did pull 11 duplicates.

Here are some of the better pulls and inserts from the box:

A trio of Seahawks including Mr. Skittles, Marshawn Lynch

A nice group of rookies

My required Clyde Gates rookie card (This year’s Mardy Gilyard)

Takeo Spikes, does this guy have bad luck or what? He has been in the league 12 years now and played over 200 regular season games but he has never been to the playoffs.

The former (potentially) starting QB for the Jets and the future (potentially) starting QB of the Jets if rumor unfolds in to truth.

The inserts:

Faces of the Franchise

Game Day

Super Bowl Legends

Super Bowl Legends code cards

Which turned in to these

Chrome Refractors

Bowman Football

Beginning top left: Cooley, Bradshaw, Best, Johnson, Peterson, Mallett

The surprise highlight of the box:

A Bowman Football First Color Logo Ndamukong Suh parallel #31/50

In retail packs these are 1:1060 (even in hobby packs they are 1:350)

Has Leaf Created Buzz Or Just An Error?

2012-01-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

The other day Leaf posted the first licensed Andrew Luck up for sale through their eBay store. What was not noticed was that Leaf proofers missed the misspellings of both “Anderw” and “Hight” on the backs all of the prismatic parallels. Since the Base cards were not affected they are still up for sale but all parallels auction have been ended. The Base and Metal (#/350) were selling with a BIN price and 39 of the Metal cards sold before the auction was ended. Leaf’s Brain Gray has stated that those 39 cards will be shipped with the error but all remaining cards with the misspelling will be destroyed and reprinted.

Some people have even suggested that the error was done on purpose to increase the attention of these cards. Admittedly the error and subsequent announcement by Leaf has drawn the attention of many collectors and those who were fortunate enough to purchase one of those 39 Metal error cards have begun to profit with 6 cards already posted up for auction by this afternoon, two have since sold. Prices currently range from $150 (with 8 days left) to a BIN of $349.99 (with 4 days left.), not bad for an original purchase of $14.99 plus shipping.

I have highlighted the errors on the card.

2011 Topps Magic Football- Worth It? Yes or No?

2012-01-22T02:00:00.000-07:00

Next week (1/25/12)Topps will be releasing the 2011 Magic Football set and there will be somechanges from the 2010 release. First this will be a rookie only release andsecond the product will only be sold through Topps’ online store. Each $19.99box contains 10 rookie base cards and 1 rookie autograph. According to a Topps repthe shipping will be $8-12 (WTF?) depending on shipping preferences andlocation.

The set contains 100 base cards and 10 shortprint parallels for a 110-card base checklist plus 68 autographs. There arealso 68 Black Magic Autograph parallels (Black bordered and #1/1) and 8 BlackMagic Cut Signatures (Silver inked cut-signatures).

The ToppsMagic Football set has changed over the years, 2009 was an NCAA product and 2010was an NFL product but the most obvious change has been this year’s product. Thesebase cards use some awfully bright colors, bordering on fluorescent in somecase, and to counter that the autographed parallels are muted in color. I haveto admit, besides the colors I do like the design but I am disappointed thatTopps is shutting down the card shops/online retailers and requiring buyers togo through them and their insane shipping costs.

Cam Newton Base

Cam Newton Base SP

Cam Newton Bae Auto parallel

Cam Newton Black Magic Cut Signature

Mark Ingram Base SP

Mark Ingram Base Auto parallel

Mark Ingram Black Magic Cut Signature

Doug Baldwin Base

Ryan Williams Base

Preview: The Guild

2012-01-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

Last month Iposted a write-up for The Guild, a set being released by Cryptozoic Entertainmentin February. Initially only the autograph cards were shown but they have now postedimages of the base cards and both chase sets. There is also a shot of a FeliciaDay wardrobe card in the “Coming Soon” header for the release.

Each base cardwill show scenes from an episode from the first two seasons (which changed fromthe initial announcement of the first three seasons). As you can see Cryptozoicuses one design with a scene on the front and a second scene on the back with ablurb about the specific sequence.

One chase set is based on Cyd/Codex's video blog, there are 9 cards in the set.

The secondchase set is the actor’s biography. Each card depicts a different actor andthere are 9 cards in the set.

Gordie Howe Signs With In The Game

2012-01-20T23:33:00.001-07:00

Over the pastdecade Gordie Howe has been an Upper Deck exclusive. He did shown up on a genericcard, the 2010-11 ITG Ultimate Memorabilia Top 10 relic card, which did not containhis likeness and only basic details but if you wanted a licensed Mr. Hockeycard you went to UD.

In a recent announcement,In The Game has stated that Gordie Howe has come to an agreement with them andwill have both autograph cards and game-used memorabilia cards in their productthis year beginning with the 2011-12 Heroes & Prospects set which releasesnext month (February 23, 2012).

Leaf Releases Licensed Andrew Luck Cards

2012-01-19T20:51:00.001-07:00

Leaf hascreated the first Andrew Luck “licensed” card using his 2008 US ArmyAll-American high school image. They have a base card #/500 with parallelsMetal (#/350), Green (#/99), Blue (#/50), Red (#/25), Super Prismatic (1/1).

Leaf hasreleased the cards through the Leaf eBay store in the last hour and the auctionsrange from 3 days to 30 days. The Base and Metal are being sold using BINprices ($9.99 and $14.99 respectively) with the other 4 cards selling using atraditional auction style. The Super Prismatic is already up to $415.00 with 3days remaining.

I have toadmit, I am a bit surprised to see that an Andrew Luck card in his US ArmyAll-American jersey is selling at these prices. In another 4-5 months we willbe seeing cards picturing him in his professional jersey and these prices willsuddenly seem absurd.

Metal parallel #/350

Green parallel #/99

Blue parallel #/50

Red parallel #/25

Super Prismatic parallel 1/1

2011 Leaf Legends of Sport

2012-01-19T05:56:00.000-07:00

Schedule Release Date: Ship by February 24, 2012

Box Configuration: 3 cards per pack/box

SRP: $160/box

Box Break:

3 Auto cards

My Thoughts:

The base card (Represented by the Ichiro card) has apleasant design and the dual-auto base cards are functional. The set checklistis quite amazing and is made up of current and retired stars from around thesports world and includes: Ichiro, Pete Rose, Cal Ripken Jr., Mike Tyson, NolanRyan, Bill Russell, Mike Ditka and Alastar Overeem. Additionally there are cut-signaturesof Babe Ruth, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron, Joe Namath and Sandy Koufax(possibly more).

In addition to the base set there are 6 subsets and allcards are #/50 or less with some parallels limited to 1/1. The subsets are:

Award Winners: Autographs of major award winners

Moments of Greatness: Autos from players who reached acareer highlight

Remembering the Games: Autos from Olympians

Numeration: Autos limited to the players jersey number

Perennial All-Stars: Autos of athletes who made theirspecific sports All-Star game, the cards are limited to the number of All-Stargames in which the athlete appeared.

Dual Signatures: This is the base autograph card but withdual autographs

I admit I do like the base design and the Remembering theGames subset, the Numeration subset reminds me of Fleer designs from the 90s.

Pros:

Every card is an auto

Amazing checklist

Limited numbering

Cons:
Expensive

Sticker autos

2011-12 Parkhurst Champions Fossils & Artifacts Cards Redemption Set Finalized

2012-01-18T16:54:00.001-07:00

Upper Deck hascompleted the redemption cards for the 2011 Parkhurst Champions Fossils andArtifacts set and posted up some images of some of the cards. I know there arecollectors who do not like non-sports cards in sports card sets but you have toadmit that Upper Deck has done an amazing job with the fossil and artifactcards. There are 18 cards total on the checklist, this includes both regularand mini-cards. There are 4 cards that are available as both mini-card andregular (Roman Coin, Greek Coin, Aztec Blade and Auroch Skull) and 1 mini(Raptor Tooth) that is only available as a mini-card.

Some of the photos that they posted (Raptor Tooth, Aztec Blade and Greek Coin) appear to be the mini-versions. There iscurrently one mini-version of the Aztec Blade up for auction with a $350 BIN price. The card up for auction looks like it sits inside a large white border, probably a holder or protector for the card.

Preview: 2012 Leaf Oval Office Cut Signature

2012-01-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

In 2008 Leaf(Razor at the time) released the 2008 Razor Cut Signature: Oval Office Edition, a$2,500/box release. Each box contained 1 cut signature card and there were 99boxes made with each card #1/1. The set consisted of single cuts of the US Presidents and dual cuts including multiple US Presidents as well as US Presidents/VicePresidents, US Presidents/President's Wives (or mistresses), Presidential competitorsand a couple of Presidents/Assassins (or attempts).

Since 2008 a handful of cards have been sold,usually for well below the $2,500/box price. Currently there are 2 auctions froman Australian dealer; they are both set with a BIN price set at $1237 AUD ($1276USD).

Fast forward 4years and we see Leaf scheduled to release the 2012 Leaf Oval Office Cut Signature set. They will once again be 1 card/box pack out but there will beslight differences. There will be a max of 275 boxes but because this is aproduct that will be printed based on the number of orders there may actuallybe less than the announced 275 boxes. Each card will be numbered to #/5 or less,another difference compared to the original 1/1 release. No price or releasedate has been announced but I would think the $2500/box will probably return.

This set will include single cuts of the 43 USPresidents along with dual cuts of multiple US Presidents, US Presidents/VicePresidents, US Presidents/President's wives and a couple cards that include USPresidents and foreign leaders like FDR/Hitler, JFK/Castro, Reagan/Gorbachevand even a Ulysses S Grant/Robert E Lee.

I do want to note that on the sales sheet it states: "Cut Signatures are examples only, actual card styles may differ after production"

eBay Toads- Sammy Sosa Would Not Even Buy This Card

2012-01-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

I am at a lossfor words. This auction for a 1990 Topps Sammy Sosa card has to be listed inthe “Are You Fu**ing Insane?” category.

To make things worse he lists it in a way thatwould make you think that it is a graded card and even listing subgrades whenit is obviously not graded.

But wait… thereis more…

A 1990 ToppsTiffany Sammy Sosa

A 1990 Topps Frank Thomas

A 1992 Topps Draft Pick Derek Jeter

I honestly donot know if this is someone who is so oblivious to the market or is an eBaytoad hoping to catch that one juicy buyer who is ignorant of pricing for thesecards. He has a zero feedback and registered just a few days ago.

So Long eTopps

2012-01-11T21:26:00.001-07:00

Once againTopps has shown their true feelings towards collectors. Last month Toppsannounced a significant increase in shipping to take delivery of an eTopps cardto $12.75 (It was $4.25 and .70 cents for each additional card) for the firstcard and $1.75 for each additional card to a max of 3 cards per order. Now thisweek they announced that eTopps will no longer be offering new cards. Theannouncement was first made through the “Important Announcements” link on theeTopps home page; it was later verified on their Twitter page. Topps has statedthat they will continue to maintain trading, selling and shipping services (fornow).

I can understandthere are business reasons for ending the program, probably a decline in salesand delivery would be my guess, but I think most collectors who have madeeTopps purchases are probably more upset about the way it was completed with aserious price rise for shipping and an announcement made on Twitter.

In 2000 I tookpart of the early beta testing, purchasing a 2000 eTopps Emmitt Smith (that Ilater sold for $200 when he broke Payton’s rushing record in 2002) so I couldreport on my experiences. For taking part in the program I was awarded 5 Rookie/FutureProspects Baseball eTopps cards for free; Bobby Bradley, Eric Munson, JoshHamilton, Luis Montanez and Sean Burroughs. I later bought a Mike Cameron 4 HREvent card in 2002 and nothing since, though I did try but kept missing out.Currently I own 6 cards and besides the Hamilton card none are worth more than.50 cents, the Hamilton card is sitting at $2.75 right now. If the shippingcost was still $4.25 I would take delivery on the Hamilton but no way am Ispending $12.75 on any card unless it held some type of value.

My Precious...

2012-01-10T11:53:00.003-07:00

The 2012 ToppsAllen & Ginters set, for me, is all about this card. I am truly happy thatTopps decided to use an image from the early 90s when he was still “The Kid”. Sadlyit will probably be awhile before I add this card to my personal Griffey

I noticed thatthe image that Topps used appears very similar to his 1990s Topps Tiffany cardbut shot from a different angle. Everything seems to be dead-on including hisgloves and the way he is holding the bat, the tape on the bat, the angle of hishat, the “almost but not yet grown in” mustache and even the way his jersey is buttonedand it is slightly open between the “R” and “I”.

Happy Birthday To Mr. Addams

2012-01-08T02:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday,January 7^th, would have been Charles Addams 100^thbirthday (he died in 1988). Addams was one of the finest cartoonists around inhis day and his work still “haunts” us even today. His first cartoon waspublished in 1932 but it was his Addams Family cartoon strip that made himfamous. Between 1938 and 1988 his Addams Family cartoons appeared in the NewYorker which led to the original television show in 1964, a show that I grew upwith watching re-runs in the 1970s. Following his death in 1988 there was aslight revival of his work in the form of two feature films, an animatedtelevision series in the early 90s and the New Addams Family television show inthe late 90s. Even today the Addams Family is still getting attention followingthe announcement that Tim Burton will be directing a stop-motion Addams Familymovie though no release date has been announced.

I decided to create a custom set (using designsthat I created for a Jackie Earle Haley custom set), the family in one design andother characters from the show using another design. I tossed Cousin Itt in tothe “other” list because he was not a main character of the show and onlyappeared in less than half the shows in the series.

WOW! A Sweet Lou Gehrig Relic... But For Real This Time

2012-01-07T02:30:00.000-07:00

Last Septembera Topps Triple Threads 1/1 Lou Gehrig relic (bat knob and dual relics) wasposted up for auction and many collectors noted that the dual relics appearedto be made of a polyester fabric and not wool like the uniforms that Gehrigwould have worn during his playing days. Polyester did not even make it in toplayer’s uniforms until the 1970s, well after Lou Gehrig had died so there wasnot even the chance this was an Old-Timers Game uniform or a Tribute wornuniform.

Within a week the news was all over the blogosphere(I found out about it while reading Sooz’s post on her blog A Cardboard Problem) and other hobby outlets. Some were claiming it was simply a mistake(Really, a mistake with a 1/1?) and some claimed it was an altered card by thecollector who was fortunate enough to own this beauty but no matter what anyonebelieved the major question on everyone’s mind was “What will Topps do?’

Fast-forward three months and we find thatTopps has stepped up to correct the problem, removing the questionable fabricsand replacing them with a Lou Gehrig cut-signature. I applaud Topps for doingthe right thing. Topps has yet to explain how the problem happened in the firstplace but I figure we will never hear the truth on that one.

2011 Leaf Metal Baseball Draft Player Editions

2012-01-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

Leaf has just posted up a selection of Player Edition cards from the 2011 Leaf Metal Baseball Draft. According to Brian Gray, Leaf prints an additional 50-60 cards for players who participate in their products and these cards are marked “PLAYER EDITION” across the front. Leaf then gives 25-35 cards to the player and decided to auction of the remainder to collectors as an exclusive card.

Originally all the cards were going to be sold as a BIN auction but they decided to instead sell the cards in a standard auction style with cards beginning at .99 cents to ensure that the cards are available to anyone making a bid and not just one collector who is fast on the BIN button.

As expected, with 6 days left, the Ichiro card is leading the pack followed closely by Bubba Starling and a couple of different Trevor Bauer cards.

Topps Team USA

2012-01-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

This afternoon the U.S. Olympic Committee announced that Topps has signed an exclusive contract with them to produce Team USA cards, just in time for the 2012 London Olympic Games. This will be the first "Complete" Olympic set since Impel's 1992 U.S. Olympic set (which featured the original Dream Team). Other Olympic releases include the 1991 Impel U.S. Olympics Hall of Fame and the 1983 Topps Olympics sets and Upper Deck inserted an Olympics Medalist set in to the 2009-10 Upper Deck NHL Series Two release.

The agreement states that Topps will release cards of top Olympians, Paralympians and hopefuls and will also include former athletes from past Olympics. Additionally there will be autographs, game/event-worn clothing, Manu-patches and Manu-medals.

Topps will be donating a portion of each sale to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams.

Shawn Johnson Base Card

2012 Olympic Gold Medal

Tyson Gay Manu-Patch

Hope Solo Autograph

Misty May-Treanor Event-Worn Relic

Joe Frazier Cut-Signature

Leaf Metal Draft Football Test Proofs

2012-01-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

A little over a week ago Leaf announced that they were going to be releasing test proofs from the 2011 Leaf Metal Draft Pick football set, a set that includes the top picks from the 2011 NFL Draft. The test proofs were used to test different types of technologies so Leaf could see the best “metal” route to take with the set and potential future uses.

The listings include cards from the 4 different metal tests; Brushed Metal, Rust Metal, White Metal and Hybrid Metal (Which used both White and Rust Metal on the card) and each card is clearly marked “TEST PROOF” across the front and serial numbered on the back.

Brushed Metal- The cards contain a brushed on metal finish

Rust Metal- The cards have “rust” like appearance

White Metal- The cards are white metal

Hybrid- The cards contain both the rust and white metal finish. The interesting thing about the Hybrid cards are that they do not all have the same finish; some have more rust or white.

Currently the only cards up for auction are being sold directly by Leaf with the most expensive being the Cam Newton Brushed Metal #/11 with a $39.99 BIN price.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Series Two Coming Soon

2012-01-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

Every so often I need to engage my inner-geekdom and focus on a non-sports card set.

Last July Rittenhouse Archives released Star Trek TNG Series One which contained 88 base cards with each card depicting an episode from the shows first 4 years (1987-1991). Series Two picks up where Series One left off and contains 88 base cards with each card depicting the 88 episodes from 1991-1994. Additionally each box will contain 4 autographs plus a random selection of inserts including 90 Parallel Base cards, 18 Tribute cards, 9 Best of the Holodeck cards, 9 U.S.S. Enterprise cards and 5 Communicator Pin cards. Series Two is set for a February 15, 2012 release and will run $84/box.

Because Series One autographs contained the major characters Rittenhouse had to dig a bit deeper in to the archives to find note-worthy signers. Along with Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi) and Colm Meaney (Chief O’Brien) we will also see Denise Crosby (Lt Yar) and Ashley Judd and Kelsey Grammer. The major hit from this release is a James Doohan Cut-Signature card (Series One included a Gene Roddenberry Cut-Signature card).

I love the incentive cards too; when you purchase 3 cases you get an exclusive Brent Spiner autograph card, not as Data but instead as Dr. Soong. When you purchase 6 cases you get a Leonard Nimoy autograph card.

UFC Fight Of The Year

2011-12-30T19:09:00.000-07:00

The final UFC fight of the year, UFC 141, contains one of the most aniticpated fights of 2011 with the return of former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar versus Alastair Overeem.

Brock Lesnar last fought in October 2010 when he lost the belt to Cain Velasquex (who lost the belt last month in his first title defense against Junior dos Santos). Overeem last fought in June in Strikeforce (a rather boring fight against Fabricio Werdum) but then fell in to limbo after a falling out with Strikeforce and his Golden Glory team. He signed a contract with UFC in September (he is currently with Xtreme Couture).

This fight has been highly anticipated since Overeem’s September signing and the winner will be heading in to a Heavyweight Championship fight against dos Santos next year.

Vintage Card of the Month: Amos Alonzo Stagg

2011-12-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

The College football bowl season has started and I decided to go with a college legend for this month’s Vintage Card of the Month. The card, Amos Alonzo Stagg from the 1955 Topps All American set.

Stagg played as an End for Yale in the late 1880s (1885-1889) and was selected as a First Team All-American in 1889. The year after his graduation he began his coaching career at Springfield College before moving on to the University of Chicago a few years later, he spent 40 years coaching at Chicago and even won two National Championships there (in 1905 and 1913). While at the University of Chicago he coached one season for the basketball team and he was the baseball coach for almost 20 years.

After he left Chicago he continued coaching until he was 96-years old, at Susquehanna University and the University of Stockton. In his almost 70 years of coaching he revolutionized the game including changes to the offense and defense and is believed to have a “hand” in the creation of the forward pass in 1906 and the creation of the Line Backer position.

As was pretty common at the time, the card is cut off-center as well as being off top-to-bottom also. The top two corners are rounded pretty awful but the bottom two corners are in decent shape, the white border has yellowed a bit and the colors have muted over the years. The picture include of Stagg was from his later career (from his time at the University of Pacific) instead of from his college days.

Most ungraded copies sell in the $25-50 range with graded copies running a bit higher depending on grade.

Merry Christmas To All

2011-12-25T00:01:00.003-07:00

Merry Christmas to all

and to all a good night!

The Mrs. Claus Secret

2011-12-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

For years I have been hunting down the 1992 Pro Line Santa autograph card to add to my collection and this year after being hidden away a couple have made it up for auction, though I am not currently in a position to drop $65-80 on an autographed Santa Clause card, but the important thing is that some of the cards are surfacing and I had forgotten which set the card was part of so now I have saved the search for the future.

But as I was looking thorugh the various auctions I came across the Mrs. Claus autograph card, which Pro Line released along with Santa's auto, and I noticed something odd. Do you see something different between the two cards?

Card #1 has an additional "Santa" autograph on the 1991 Pro Line card in the picture frame next to Mrs. Claus. The first card with the additional autograph sold recently at $35 where Card #2 is sitting at $68 with no bids. I think that was pretty cool that the signer added in a little additional bonus auto for the collectors.

What Is So Special With Topps 2011 American Pie?

2011-12-23T01:02:00.000-07:00

I am trying to figure why so many people have a boner over the new Topps American Pie release. I know there is some reminiscing and nostalgia involved which can be fun and has done well in the past but the main reason people buy sets like this is the hits included and this release seems to be seriously “reaching” when it comes to the personalities included on the checklist. While previous American Pie releases included relics from Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe the best this set can muster is the likes of AJ Hammer, Tia Carrere. and Dean Cain. Hell, out of the 6 different “relic” sets only 1 is a true relic (American Pie/Pieces Relics), the rest are made up of The Walk of Fame, Letters and Fold-Out Letters (Manu-patches), stamps and coins.

OK, Jimi Hendrix does have a true relic in the set and John Wayne, James Cagney, Duke Ellington and Gary Cooper do have stamp or coin relics but come on…

There are some autographs that make up for the lack of relics including Charlie Sheen, cut signatures of the Odd Couple, Cheech and Chong and some quad-cuts from Gilligan’s Island and some buyback cards signed by Paul McCartney and right now there is a Richard Nixon cut sig/relic card up for sale at $12,000 BIN but when you look at the autograph card numbers they are extremely limited making it more likely that your 3 hits will be relics or a Wilmer Valderrama chicken scratch.

Like I said back in August when I did a review of the set, this seems to be a rushed attempt by Topps to counter Panini and Leaf's nostalgic sets and they did a pitiful job with it. I will probably pick up a blaster to have a closer look and I may hunt down some of the American Pieces relics but when it comes to the better nostalgic sets I think Panini may have a slight edge with their Americana release.

The Guild Autograph Signing Party

2011-12-22T00:15:00.000-07:00

Last week I did a write-up about The Big Bang Theory set that Cryptozoic Entertainment is putting out early next year and I brought up that they are also working on a The Guild card set too and to my surprise they just released some updated information about the autograph checklist along with some preview images for The Guild set. I like that to get all of the autographs done at the same time they invited the entire cast of the web show to a party and had them sign all together.

Among the information that has been released so far includes pricing and inserts: 5 card packs will run $3.50 each and there will be autograph and memorabilia cards plus two 9-card chase sets. The set will cover the first 3 seasons of The Guild, Season 5 just finished so expect to see additional sets if this release does well.

One thing that you will notice is that the autograph card design reflects the guilds that their characters are in, or connected to, with most of the main characters being in the Knights of Good with a couple in the Axis of Anarchy. Additionally the main actors have autograph cards as their in-show persona as well as a second card as their character from The Game. For example, Felicia Day has an autograph card of her as Cyd Sherman, her everyday character in the show as well as Codex, her Cleric Priestess character in The Game. I like that Cryptozoic did this, it is a nice way to involve characters who play dual personalities in the web show. I wonder if one will be a short print or if one will be a bigger draw then the other?

One autograph that drew my attention is Wil Wheaton, who plays the Axis of Anarchy guild leader. This gives me hope that he signed for the Big Bang Theory set too.

If you a gamer or even enjoy playing video games The Guild is a wonderful web series, there are now 5 seasons with each season having between 10-12 episodes. Each episode is only 8-10 minutes long so you could easily watch all 5 seasons in one evening.

Preivew: 2012 Leaf Metal Golf

2011-12-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

Leaf is once again going after an untapped market in collecting, this time it is golf. It has been almost a decade since we have seen an all golf product, though some golfers have appeared in various sets from Topps and Upper Deck over the years. Brian Gray has announced that early next year, February or March, Leaf will be releasing 2012 Leaf Golf Metal. Each box will contain 2 base cards and 3 autographs and boxes should run around $70 each. No checklist has been released but Gray did make it clear that since UD has an exclusive contract with Tiger Woods he will not be included.

Leaf has released some preview images of Jack Nicklaus autographs to show the various versions that will be included. Additionally, every autograph will be on-card.

Yu Darvish To Texas

2011-12-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

Last night the MLB announced that the Texas Rangers had won the right to negotiate with Hokkaido pitcher Yu Darvish with a posting bid of $51.7 million. The team now has 30 days to sign a deal with Darvish or he will return to Hakkaido, it is expected that the initial offer will be 5 or 6 years and around $12-15 million a year.

It seemed like Toronto had the edge in the bidding war but the Rangers were talked about a bit when it came to Darvish and I think that collectability-wise he will probably draw more attention in Texas especially considering they have a solid core of players and their two recent World Series trips. It is possibly he may just end up being the final piece to put the Rangers in to the “Win” column if they are able to return to the World Series.

The Bidding Is Done And Yu Darvish May Be On His Way To America...Well Canada

2011-12-18T02:14:00.000-07:00

The final posting bid for Japanese star pitcher Yu Darvish has been made and it is rumored to have topped the $51.1 million that the Red Sox paid to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka back in 2006, which now in hind-sight appears to have mostly been a bust for the Red Sox.

The team believed to have come out on top? The Toronto Blue Jays!

Once the posting bid has been accepted the winning team will have 30 days to come to terms with Yu Darvish or he will return to Hokkaido.

Currently Darvish has a handful of World Baseball Classic Topps cards including Bowman Chrome, Bowman Sterling and Topps Triple Threads with his refractors and relic cards commanding a premium, with some sellers setting prices teetering on the edge of insanity.

In 7 seasons playing for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Darvish is 93-38 with a 1.99 ERA and 1,259 Strike Outs. He is a two-time MVP, an Eiki Sawamura Award winner (Japan’s Cy Young Award), he has been selected to 5 All-Star Games and a Japan Series Champion (Japan’s World Series) in 2006 plus a World Baseball Classic Gold Medal in 2009.

I am sure there will be some serious clamoring for his first true rookie cards and if he turns out to be a lights-out pitcher similar to his past 7 seasons he will probably keep the attention of fans but you have to wonder if people will really pay top dollar for a Blue Jays player?

Trade News- Chris Paul & Dwight Howard

2011-12-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

Today the New Orleans Hornets traded Chris Paul to the Clippers for Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman and Al-Farouq Aminu plus an unprotected First Round Draft Pick. Paul seems to be excited about the move and is looking forward to playing alongside reigning Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin.

The question of the day is will this trade increase or decrease Chris Paul’s collectability?

Now that the Chris Paul trade has gone through I think many people are turning their attention towards the possibility of the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard being traded. This has been an interesting situation beginning last week when the Magic brass claimed the Nets began talks with Dwight Howard violating the NBA’s tampering policy. This was followed by rumors that Howard would demand a trade on Friday, the first day talks could begin and low and behold, Howard did indeed demand a trade on Friday morning. Reports have claimed a Howard trade is in the works with the Nets but the Lakers and Mavericks have also begun to appear in rumors. Currently the Magic claim trade talks are off and they are trying to work things out with their star Center but according to Howard’s Twitter and Facebook page the trade request is still on. Only time will tell.

Question #2 of the day, will Dwight Howards collectability increase or decrease with a trade to the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets? How about a trade to the Lakers or Mavericks?

The Big Bang Theory Gets Some Love

2011-12-13T19:41:00.000-07:00

Cryptozoic Entertainment, a company that you can really describe as an all-around entertainment company who produces games, comic books and trading cards, has just announced an upcoming entertainment card release for the hit television show The Big Bang Theory.

The set is scheduled to be released February 14, 2012 and each 24 pack box will run between $60-80 each. There will be 5 cards per pack and inserts include autographs and wardrobe cards though no pack out information has been announced.

So far the 5 main actors (Cuoco, Galecki, Helberg, Nayyar and Parsons) have been confirmed for the autograph list. I wonder if we will see Mayim Bialik or Melissa Rauch and I would not be surprised to see a Will Wheaton autograph too. I know he has been in only a handful of episodes but Cryptozoic Entertainment is also doing a The Guild card set (If you have not seen any of The Guild webisodes and you are a gamer I suggest you take a look at the show) and Wheaton is on that show too so they could get him in for both cards sets at one time.

Random Rack Packs: 2011 Topps Chrome Football

2011-12-09T19:06:00.000-07:00

Since I have been going through a lull in pack opening I grabbed two rack packs of Topps Chrome Football recently. Each rack pack contained 3 packs of Topps Chrome Football and 3 additional Orange Refractors.

Like my rack packs of Topps Prime Football that I opened last month almost every card pulled was either a Running Back (9) or a Wide Receiver (16 counting Tight Ends). Besides pulling an A.J. Green rookie most of the other RCs were disappointing including a number of players who have already been cut/waived or are close to losing their jobs. Last year it seemed like ever pack I opened always contained a Mardy Gilyard rookie and this year that bad luck has been replaced with Clyde Gates. To make it worse I pulled a base Clyde Gates refractor as well as an X-Fractor, talk about a disappointment.

To close out my pack break I pulled a Blue Refractor Ronnie Brown #/199, 6 Orange Refractors and 2 Bowman Chrome Rookies- Ryan Mallett and Ryan Williams.

Preview: 2011-12 Fleer Retro Basketball

2011-12-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

With the return of the NBA comes a slew of basketball sets and Upper Deck is going the retro way with the release of the 2011-12 Fleer Retro Basketball. The base set (50-card checklist) of this high-end product will appear familiar to many late 90s Fleer sets and the set will also include 33 Rookie Sensations that will use the 1990-91 design.

Each 20-pack box (two 10-pack inner boxes with 5 cards a pack) will run $200 and include 6 autograph cards and 4 inserts. The autographs will be either from the Autographics set (1996-2000 designs) or Fleer Retro Cards set (1961/62, 1986-89 designs) and the inserts will be from one of 15 insert sets:

Precious Metal Gems- Red #/150, Blue #/50 or Green #/10

Fleer 1961/62 1:100 Packs
Fleer 1986/87 1:20 Packs
Fleer 1987/88 1:10 Packs
Fleer 1988/89 1:5 Packs
Golden Touch 1:180 Packs
A Cut Above 1:144 Packs
Noyz Boyz 1:144 Packs
Big Men on Court 1:180 Packs
Competitive Advantage 1:144 Packs
Metal Championship Hardware 1:90 Packs
Intimidation Nation 1:180 Packs
Ultra Court Masters 1:90 Packs
Ultra Stars 1:180 Packs
Flair Showcase #/150

It will definitely bring back memories of the junk wax era for those of us who collected during the 1980s and 90s and it may have done well if the price point wasn’t so high not to mention the players are all depicted in their college or high school uniforms. I am betting that the nostalgic collector will probably stick to buying singles instead of dropping $200 on a box hoping to pull a LeBron or Jordan autograph.

Preview: 2012 Press Pass Total Memorabilia

2011-12-04T00:09:00.000-07:00

Last year at this time Press Pass introduced collectors to Press Pass Five Star, a super high-end product that included some solid card designs and loaded with amazing hits from a decent checklist. This year another new product is being introduced by Press Pass, the 2012 Press Pass Total Memorabilia release. Look to see the product drop February 2012 with boxes running $125 each.

Each 5-pack box (9 cards per pack) will include 5 hits, 1 per pack. To keep things easy there are only three different hits Rising Star Autographs (#/125 or less), Total Memorabilia multi-relic card or Total Memorabilia Signature Collection booklet card (#/10 or less).

I like that Press Pass is putting some serious thought in to what collectors want, unfortunately Press Pass is the only company that is doing this and it is limited to NASCAR but you have to admit they do put out a sweet set.

Preview: 2012 ITG NHL Enforcers

2011-12-01T21:43:00.000-07:00

When it comes to hockey everyone loves a scorer and the goalies grab whatever love is left over but the enforcers are what makes hockey really hockey. As the old joke goes “I went to a boxing match and a hockey game broke out”.

In The Game, the first card company to create a goalie-only set has now turned their attention towards another ignored group, the enforcers. If you look closely you will notice that the autographs and some of the memorabilia cards have blood splatters included in the design. This reminded me of a card I pulled a number of years ago from a Pacific product, it was a Yzerman/Lidstrom dual memorabilia card and the Lidstrom sweater patch had blood on it, one of the coolest cards I ever pulled. I sold it when I was clearing out my collection, that is one card I wish I could get back just because it was different.

You will notice that Marty McSorley is included in the autograph checklist. What Enforcers set would be complete without McSorley, one of a handful of players to actually be charged with assualt following an on-ice hit?

2012 In The Game NHL Enforcers is scheduled to be released January 15, 2012 but no pricing information has been released yet. Each 12-card box will be hand-collated to ensure proper pack out and will contain:

5 Autographs
2 Memorabilia cards
5 Base cards

Base Inserts include:

Record Holders compiles the stats
Tale of the Tape offers a glimpse at both combatants in classic battles
Bloody Battles is an artistic rendition of notable scraps (This is not a sketch card)
Tough Franchise pays tribute to the legacy of various teams' enforcers

Memorabilia Inserts include:

Instigator
Combatants - Dual Memorabilia cards
Tough Franchise - Quad Memorabilia cards
Fight Strap (#/8)
Fight Strap (#/1)

Griffey Is Back

2011-11-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

Regular readers know that I am a huge fan of Ken Griffey Jr. and when I found out that he just signed an autograph deal with Topps I could not have been happier. Before signing this deal he had an exclusive contract with Upper Deck and he does have over 1000 different autographs but since UD lost the MLB license no new autos have been released in over a year. Now we finally get to see The Kid gracing new product again.

Griffey’s first Topps autographs will be released in 2012 Topps Tribute (Feb 5, 2012) and 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen (April 18, 2012). I am not a fan of the Tribute autograph design but the Gypsy Queen version would fit nicely in my Griffey personal collection.

The NBA Is Back But Is It To Late?

2011-11-26T23:25:00.000-07:00

If everything goes as planned the NBA is set to begin the 2011-12 NBA Season on Christmas Day and will play a 66 game schedule.

The question I have to ask right now is “Does anyone care?"

In a year where we saw lockouts in the NFL and NBA fans and collectors are feeling ignored and dejected. Two groups of millionaires (owners and players) fighting over who gets to take more of our cash has really isolated them from the fans. Over the years the NHL and MLB saw serious dips following lengthy lockouts/strikes and while the NFL was fortunate enough to not see a loss in fan approval following the summer lockout the NBA will probably feel the wrath.

The NFL ended the lockout before the season started so all we lost was a couple of pre-season games, add in some interesting turns in the standings (who really expected Detroit and the 49ers to look good?) and some great rookie play and fans are willing to overlook the lockout.

The NBA on the other hand has been a nasty divorce story since Day 1 of the lockout, we have already lost ¼ of the season and we will probably see the same teams sitting atop the standings with Miami leading the way before flaming out in the playoffs. A couple of teams are going to be in a difficult situation because some players have decided to go overseas and signed deals without an opt-out clause or even worse, got hurt like the Nuggets J.R. Smith who hurt his knee while playing in China and Utah’s Andrei Kirilenko broke his nose and got a concussion during a game in the Russian League.

Is Ndamukong Suh Hurting His Career With His Choices?

2011-11-25T02:22:00.000-07:00

During Thursday’s nationally televised game between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers, the Lions Ndamukong Suh was ejected in the 3^rd Quarter after pushing the head of Packer’s Guard Dietrich-Smith in to the ground three times then getting up and stepping on his arm. Suh claimed he was only “getting himself on balance” when he accidently set his foot on Dietrich-Smith’s right arm but this seems to be an on-going situation. In only his second season Suh has been fined $42,000 (not counting the impending fine from this game) and even spoke with the NFL Commissioner to clarify the rules and why he was getting fined in October.

Surprisingly he was not fined for his vicious face mask on Falcons Matt Ryan during the game last month or the following push on Falcons Guard Joe Hawley after the game and then again he surprisingly missed being fined last week when he ripped off Bear’s QB Jay Cutler helmet. Suh has even claimed innocence in most situations and it seems to be a concern to some people in the sports world, including ESPN, Sporting News and FOX Sports analyst (and former NFL VP of Officiating) Mike Pereira that he is either a straight up liar or does not realize the consequences for his actions.

As one of the few defensive players who’s cards regularly draws collectors attention you have to wonder if a suspension will cool his prices especially if he continues to play in this manor?

I have to admit that before this game I did not feel one way or the other about Suh even though I have heard that he plays dirty. It is football after all and the hits will come hard and fast but when someone goes out of their way in an attempt to hurt a downed opponent is definitely beyond necessary. If his intent was to injure Dietrich-Smith I hope that a fine and possible suspension will get Suh on the right path because he is clearly one of the best Defensive Tackles in the game today and I would hate to see his career marred by bad decisions.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T00:52:00.000-07:00

Today is a wonderful day, it is the day that we give thanks for everything that we have and we get to spend it with our family. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend. Today's artwork has lovingly been provided by my daughter.

2011 Certified Football Live

2011-11-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

2011 Panini Certified Football is now live and cards are showing up on eBay including some of the “better” hits but I am not a fan. I do like the Quad Autos, not so much for the design but getting 4 prime patches and an on-card autograph is still pretty cool. The Hometown Heroes are doing nicely too.

The Immortals Patch Auto card are hideous, you wonder who decided to build a card and then cut a window for a quarter-sized patch and then add a sticker auto right over the player’s image. The patch only versions are not bad because the sticker auto is not covering the player.

One of the cards that Panini released during previews of the set had really drawn attention, the Quad-Patch Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith and Curtis martin card. I think pulling a 4-patch card of the best running backs in history overshadows the bling bling silver foil background.

eBay Trolling The Walter Payton Way

2011-11-22T20:57:00.001-07:00

The other day while I was checking up on the Wayne Gretzky Parkhurst Masterpiece that I wrote about I came across an interesting auction for a 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces Walter Payton Black Border parallel.

A normal 2008 UD Masterpiece Payton sells for a couple of bucks while the various parallels can all be had for under $10 but does anyone else feel that $2000 for an uncorrected manufacturing error is a bit too high? The black border is mis-cut, if anything this card should be cheaper.

I can not tell if he is trolling or trying to find a sucker. The guy buys and sells a significant amount of 2008 Masterpiece border parallels and has 100% feedback on 205 deals so you would expect him to have an understanding of true prices on this set.

Vintage Card of the Month: 1922 Chelsea FC

2011-11-21T17:28:00.000-07:00

I have seriously slacked on the Vintage Card of the Month posts so time to bring it back. In honor of the MLS season coming to a conclusion (The L.A. Galaxy beat the Houston Dynamo for the Cup) and Chelsea’s loss to Liverpool yesterday (plus my soccer season ended last Friday night) I decided to go the football route.

I selected a card from a 1922 issue of The Magnet, a sports periodical that included cards in the magazine. Cards contained either a player or team shot on the front with a short write-up on the back along with an ad for an upcoming Magnet issue.

This particular card is from the November 18, 1922 Magnet issue and shows the Chelsea FC team. The team lost to Burnley 0-1 the day that this issue was released and the 1922-23 season ended in disappointment going 9-15-18 and coming in 4^th to last in the First Division (Premier League) missing relegation to Second Division by only 6 points.

This card is in pretty tough shape with a bend in the upper right corner and chipping in the upper left corner and the back has some staining. The Magnet Library cards are pretty easy to find and usually sell for only a few dollars.

Suck It Sun Devils!

2011-11-19T23:41:00.000-07:00

There is only one college football game that matters in the State of Arizona, the Duel in the Desert, the annual University of Arizona vs. Arizona State University game which goes back to 1898. Coming in to this game nobody considers records, schedules, possible bowl games or streaks; this game is a fight and tonight was no different.

ASU’s QB Osweiler and WR Robinson ran a passing clinic on the U of A defense but it was the final 5 minutes of the game that sealed the win for the Wildcats. Fear struck when Arizona QB Nick Foles went down with what appeared to be a phantom injury and was replaced by rarely used Bryson Beirne, who had thrown 11 passes all season. Beirne hits Criner for a 20-yd TD pass and the Wildcat D went in to effect and sadly ASU was moving until Osweiler threw his second interception with 2:15 left in the game. ASU got the ball back with 1:19 left and actually moved the ball to the Arizona 16 yard line with 4 seconds left but Arizona’s D looked back on the Desert Swarm days of the 90s and shut down ASU’s receivers and walked away 31-27.

Living in the Valley I am in Sun Devil territory, something difficult for a life-long Wildcat fan and the Cats may only be 3-8 but I can walk proudly with my red Arizona jersey after a win like this.

The First Wayne Gretzky Parkhurst Masterpiece

2011-11-17T22:29:00.000-07:00

Upper Deck released the 2011 NHL Parkhurst set just about a month ago and a carry-over from other Upper Deck sets is the Masterpieces, a hand painted card limited #/10. Upper Deck created the Masterpieces set with a 30-card checklist with each card limited to 10, there were multiple artists including Ben Young and Kelly Akins.

The big names on the checklist, Gretzky and Howe, were painted by an artist that regular readers of my blog will recognize, Jared Kelley. Last Friday the first Wayne Gretzky card (#7/10) showed up with an opening bid of $10 but was at $100 in only 23 minutes. After 7 days and a number of bids the card closed this evening with a winning bid of $312.65, well above the other Parkhurst Masterpiece cards currently up for auction.

It makes you wonder if the painted Parkhurst Masterpieces will become as popular as the painted Presidents from Goodwin Champions.

Panini's Black Friday Pylon Relic Insert

2011-11-16T16:49:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year Tracy Hackler wrote a story about Panini picking up a pair of end zone pylons from Super XLV along with game-used footballs and autographs from both the Packers and the Steelers players.

Now we get to see what happened with the pylons. Panini created a Super Bowl XLV insert set that will be included in the special Panini Black Friday redemption packs. These inserts will include both Relic and Auto-Relic versions.

I like the group shot of the Rodgers cards with the NFL Shield though you have to wonder why the upper right corner of the shield was placed horizontally in the card instead of vertically.

A Random Topps Prime Football Rack Pack

2011-11-13T01:32:00.000-07:00

I picked up a rack pack of Topps Prime football to pass the time and while there was nothing spectacular in the pack there was something odd, out of 12 base cards all I pulled was Wide Receivers and Running Backs. Most of the vets were having solid seasons, excluding the injured players, and the rookies were all dregs including one, Jordan Todman, who has already been cut.

I pulled 5 Wide Receivers, 4 veterans and 1 rookie: Sidney Rice, Steve Johnson, DeSean Jackson and Miles Austin and rookie Clyde Gates.

I pulled 7 Running Backs, 3 vets and 4 rookies: Ahmad Bradshaw, Felix Jones and Knowshon Moreno with rookies Jordan Todman, Da’Rel Scott, Taiwan Jones and Bilal Powell.

I got a rookie QB Quad Combo, the only highlight from the pack, with Gabbert, Locker, Mallett and Dalton. I like this year's Quad Combo over last years version and the relic parallels are pretty cool to boot.

I like the base cards; they have some nice action shots with the backgrounds blurred so the focus is on the player. The player’s names are highlighted with subtle team colors and a bit of foiling to top it off. Not a bad looking set from the front, the backs are pretty basic with some bio info, a write up and one season’s stats. I think I would prefer just a basic stats back on a card like this and leave it at that.

An Interesting Deal For Christian Slater

2011-11-11T00:05:00.000-07:00

Rittenhouse is set to release a new Star Trek set next week: Star Trek Classic Movies Heroes& Villains, a premium set where packs cost $50/pack and a box is $750/box. Why the high cost? Each pack contains 9 cards including 5 Heroes and Villains base cards, 1 Tribute card, 1 Die-cut card and 2 autographs. Each box contains 15 packs and is guaranteed to contain at least 1 Shatner or Nimoy autograph and a Crew Patch box topper (Which appears to be a manufactured patch).

What caught my attention of the set though was a write up from Beckett’s Susan Lulgjuraj. Christian Slater is one of the signers for the 20-card autograph checklist and unlike most autograph sessions Slater did not charge Rittenhouse to sign, they instead worked out a trade where Slater received Star Trek cards from the set. A very interesting deal, it takes a true fan of the show/movies to be willing to work a trade like this one.

Preview 2011 SP Authentic Auto Rookie Patch Cards

2011-11-08T22:38:00.000-07:00

Getting behind a college set has been difficult for most collectors; see the lack of attention given to Press Pass over the years. The main problem that we have is that most of the players depicted have all moved on to the pros and we want them in their most recent uniform. Upper Deck has done their best to keep collectors entertained in hopes of eventually returning to the land of NFL licenses.

There are 2 main categories of college collectors, there are player collectors who will hunt down every card of their favorite athlete and then there are college collectors who love to see their favorite university on cardboard. Growing up in Tucson I am a devout University of Arizona fan myself and will hunt out certain players in their U of A uniforms to add to my collection.

Upper Deck is set to release SP Authentic Football in a couple of weeks and a couple of months ago they started posting up some mock up pictures of the base cards along with random inserts. They have now begun to post the actual image of the cards including an Andy Dalton card and a Cam Newton card.

Mockup Cam Newton

Back in August Upper Deck posted a picture of the Newton card, which people flipped over due to the “sick” patch. I am lost with the patch though; it appears to be an older Orange Bowl logo, not the Tostitos National Championship logo.

Actual Cam Newton

On a sad note, yesterday we saw Smoking Joe Frazier lose his battle with liver cancer. When Muhammad Ali was told of Frazier's passing he said "The world has lost a great champion. I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration"

A New Look For Hockey Heroes

2011-11-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

Hockey Heroes has become an automatic expectation with Upper Deck’s NHL release each year, the problem is that besides a few minor cosmetic alterations you cannot differentiate the insert set from year to year. Upper Deck designers have decided to put an end to this copy and paste process and redesign the set entirely.

For reference, here are cards from the 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 Hockey Heroes sets.

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

We are now going to see a set that will focus on players from the past, an homage to “the old-school”. In the 2011-12 Series One release we will see a 12-player checklist from the 1950s, 2011-12 Series Two will include 12 players from the 1960s, 2012-13 Series One will bring us 12 players from the 1970s and 2012-13 Series Two will bring us 12 players from the 1980s.

Additionally, with the 2011-12 Series One in Hockey Heroes insert 10 of the 12 cards on the checklist will include an on-card autographed parallel of the base insert card #/15. Does a hockey collector need more? A 13^th card has been added to the checklist, a painted art card (not sure if this is really painted or printed) of Howe, Bathgate and Hull has been included in to packs and will also include an on-card triple autograph parallel version #/10.

The cards will also be numbered sequentially from set to set to allow collectors to build a complete set. The 1950s set will be numbered HH1-HH12, the 1960s set from Series Two will be numbered HH13-HH25 and so on for the 1970s and 1980s sets. Apparently the painted card is not considered part of the base insert set.

Panini's Special Black Friday Packs

2011-11-05T23:16:00.000-07:00

With Donruss Elite Extra Edition set to hit shelves on December 21^st, the first baseball set that Panini will release since signing the licensing agreement with the MLBPA, they decided to draw attention to this signing with a release of a special “Black Friday” wrapper redemption product which will feature MLB players and will be handed out to customer who purchase specified product and amounts of product on November 25^th at select card shops. The packs will also include cards from NFL, NBA and the NHL but most people seem to be drawing their focus (and ire) on the baseball cards.

Because Panini only has a MLBPA license they can only create cards with the players but they cannot be in uniform and there cannot be any connection to the MLB like team uniforms, team names, logos or anything else owned by the league. This can be a difficult task, just ask Upper Deck, so Panini decided to skip all the extra time of brushing out an action photo and instead went with the posed shots. It brings back memories of the early-90s Leaf Studio cards.

As a special release or an insert I like the cards but if Panini built an entire set in this design I would pass, I prefer an action shot and even an airbrushed action shot would be better than a posed image.

Additionally, randomly inserted in packs will be Kobe Bryant, Ryan Nugent Hopkins, Marshall Faulk and Tim Tebow autographs.

A Sneak Peek At 2012 Topps Gyspy Queen

2011-11-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

Base Card

Some early preview images of the 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen set have been released from Topps along with some basic information about the upcoming set.

Base Blue Parallel Card

-The base card parallels: Blue- #/599, Black- 1/1 and Printing Plates.

Base Mini Card

-The mini card parallels: GQ backs, Straight Cuts backs, Black parallels, Green parallels, Sepia-tone parallels and printing plates.

Aaron Auto

-Autographs will include base autographs, autograph-relic cards, dual auto-relics and triple auto relic cards and all cards will be hard signed.

Koufax Auto

-There will be 40 players on the autograph checklist including: Hank Aaron, Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays, Albert Belle, Allen Craig, Bob Gibson, Carlton Fisk, Clayton Kershaw, Felix Hernandez, Frank Robinson, Frank Thomas, John Smoltz, Robinson Cano and Ryne Sandberg.

Mays Auto

-The mini autograph checklist will include on 15 players and only Frank Thomas, Nelson Cruz and Matt Kemp have been announced.

Relics

-The relics included in the set are Indian-Head Pennies, jersey relics, framed mini-relics, patch sketch cards and stadium seats.

Braun Auto-relic

-The auto-relic set has 20 players on the checklist including Reggie Jackson, Carl Yastrzemski, Ryan Braun, Carlos Gonzalez, Nelson Cruz, Jesus Motero, Ralph Kiner, Dustin Pedroia, Andrew McCutchen, Ernie Banks, Starlin Castro, Chipper Jones and Evan Longoria.

Hamilton Glove Stories insert

-The inserts will be: Moonshot (Homerun hitters), Glove Stories (Top rated fielders), Slide Show (Base stealers) and Gypsy King plus all inserts will offer a mini framed printing plate version. Replacing the Gypsy relic cards from last year’s set will be a 12-card set featuring the “mythical” 1887 Barnstorming team and will include autograph and bat relic parallels. Read this as a fake relic set (Gypsy) from last year will be replaced with another fake relic set this year.

A Ty Cobb Mini And I Missed It

2011-11-03T22:34:00.000-07:00

A number of weeks ago I picked up some packs of 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen and I finally got around to putting away the cards in to a 5000-count storage box and I noticed that a mini that I pulled is actually a Sepia-toned parallel #/99 of Ty Cobb. This was a very pleasant surprise.

A Long Distance Trade

2011-11-02T17:28:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from a reader (Rune) asking about the Abdul-Jabbar/West Dual Game Materials jersey card I pulled from a blaster box in June 2010. He let me know that he was one card short of completing the 100 card base Dual Game Materials checklist, this was the card he was missing and he was wondering if I would be interested in trading for the card. In return he offered the Abdul-Jabbar/West Gold version #/150 for the base card. After a couple of emails we worked out a trade and packages were sent out.

Rune lives in Norway so it took about two weeks for the package to be received but along with the Gold version Abdul-Jabbar/West Dual Game Materials he sent a collection of Suns cards to add to my personal collection.

- 2002 SPx Shawn Marion Winning Materials dual-relic card (Shooting shirt and Warm-ups)

- 2002 Topps TX02 First Shot Casey Jacobs relic

- 2003 Upper Deck UD Glass Shawn Marion relic

- 2004 Topps Pristine Fantasy Favorites Amare Stoudamire Warm-ups relic

- 2005 SP Authentic Fabrics Jim Jackson relic

- 2008 Bowman Elevation DJ Strawberry Auto/Relic Rookie

- 2009 Topps Signature Alando Tucker auto

Additionally there was a 1999 Topps Chrome Pat Garrity RC plus 1996 Topps Seasons Best Board Member Charles Barkley and a 2008 Fleer Hot Prospects Supreme Court Steve Nash.

Rune sent me a link to his completed collection and I have to say this is a very impressive set which includes some amazing dual cards. I never realized that some of the sweet pulls include various relics including Jordan, Moses Malone, Dr. J, Magic, LeBron, Bird, Rodman, Frazier, Worthy, Carmelo, Amare, Chris Paul and Abdul-Jabbar.

Update On 2011 Leaf Metal MMA

2011-11-01T22:21:00.000-07:00

Some recent updates about the upcoming 2011 Leaf Metal MMA release:

-Expected release date is now December 5, 2011.

-Base set is scheduled to include 55 fighters.

-All cards will be on-card autographs and they will all be inserted in to packs, according to Brian Gray there will not be any redemption cards.

-First Autographs will include Cris Cyborg, Fabricio Werdum, Gegard Mousasi, Megumi Fujii and Rory MacDonald.

-The Champions Autographs will be a completely new checklist from the original Leaf MMA release.

-National Pride Autographs will return but there will not be an international version.

-A new autograph set will be introduced, AKA (Also Known As) Autograph set will include fighter’s nickname autographs.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T22:24:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone has a happy, and safe, Halloween.

NFL Kickers Get Some Attention

2011-10-30T02:33:00.000-07:00

Panini has dusted off an old Pacific insert that we have not seen in just about 10 years, Net Fusion has made its way back in to a football product with the inclusion of the insert in the 2011 Crown Royal release.

Between 1999 and 2002 we have seen a variation of Net Fusions from Pacific in baseball, football and hockey releases but with Pacific Trading Cards hitting hard times in 2003 (and shutting down the following year) they did away with a lot of the odd ball inserts while they tried to right the ship. The problem that most people have with the insert is that the nets are not game used and to be specific are not even sports equipment. I guess you could say these are among the original manufactured patches. But, on to the current insert.

NFL Kickers are getting the attention with the re-introduction of the set, 20 kickers are on the checklist including some grizzled vets like Adam Vinatieri, Neil Rackers and Jay Feely along with some younger players like David Buehler and Graham Gano. I would expect to also see Sebastian Janikowski and Jason Hanson (Is this guy having an awesome comeback season or what?).

The cards are case hits and Panini is expecting the cards to hit “unheard-of secondary-market values for kicker cards”. Now taking in to consideration that kickers do not usually have much of a following and it is very rare to find relics or autographs it is possible that these cards may find a niche in certain types of collector’s personal collections. There are a handful of current auctions for 2011 Crown Royale Net Fusions and both Josh Scobee and Billy Cundiff have auctions topping $10 with plenty of time left on each but most other auctions are in the $1-3 range.

A Little More Love For 2012 Topps UFC Knockout

2011-10-20T22:21:00.000-07:00

OK, I have been pretty hard on Topps lately but I have to say the decision to include redemption cards for actual fighter-worn gloves in the upcoming 2012 UFC Knockout release, scheduled to hit shelves in January, is definitely going to make fans happy.

One thing that I noticed about the announcement was that Topps used the term “fighter-worn” gloves and not “fight-worn” gloves so I do not know if that was just an error in the copy or if the gloves are just event-worn gloves.

There will be 40 fighters included on the checklist and they each signed two gloves so 80 redemption cards total. The entire checklist has not been released so at this point I do not know which 40 fighters will be included in the signed glove checklist but so far 7 fighters have been announced:

AG-LM Lyoto Machida
AG-AN Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera
AG-JA Jose Aldo
AG-AS Anderson Silva
AG-CS Chael Sonnen
AG-RC Randy Couture
AG-JDS Junior dos Santos

2011 Panini Limited Cuts

2011-10-18T00:08:00.000-07:00

Other companies have tried the complete cut signature release including including Razor/Leaf Cut Signature, TriStar SignaCuts and Upper Deck’s SP Legendary Cuts all too mixed feelings by collectors. Admittedly they each have their own nuances with highlights (decent card design) and low lights (unusual or shredded cut signatures and the occasional forged autographs) and most will probably agree the Upper Deck has the best to offer with SP Legendary Cuts due to an overall appealing card design and a great selection of cuts. But, if Panini’s Limited Cuts preview images are the actual cards and not mock ups we may be looking at a contender to the SP Legendary Cuts crown.

No dates, pricing or pack out information has been announced but Panini has stated that each pack will include 1 cut signature and every card will be numbered to #/49 or less. No checklist has been released but there will be athletes, politicians and entertainers included on the list and the baseball checklist will include Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Cy Young, Jackie Robinson, Walter Johnson and Honus Wagner. Multi-cuts will include the 1912 Giants, 1927 Yankees, 1929 A’s, 1955 Dodgers and 1961 Yankees and regular readers will probably recognize the names Eddie Cicotte, Chick Gandel, Charles Comiskey and Kenesaw Mountain Landis. That is right, Panini has promised their own 1/1 Quad-cut Black Sox booklet card to counter Upper Deck’s Black Sox Quad-cut booklet.

Grover Cleveland Alexander

Grover Cleveland Presidential

Cosell-Ali Dual

Dean Brothers Dual

Dodgers Quad

Golfers Quad

Walter Lantz TV

Dual Movies

Gene Roddenberry TV

Babe Ruth

Dual Cuts

William Taft Presidential

Preview: 2012 Topps Heritage Baseball

2011-10-16T22:11:00.000-07:00

2012 Heritage - free slideshow

Schedule Release Date: March 14, 2012

Box Configuration: 9 cards per pack/24 packs per box
SRP: $60/box

Box Break:
1 Auto or Relic
1 1963 Buyback or 3-card ad box topper

My Thoughts:

Based on the 1963 set we will see a release that is pretty similar to previous years, 500 base cards with the final 75 cards being short-prints (1:3 packs). Additionally there will be various Flashbacks inserts, New Age Performers and Then-And-Now inserts plus a 100-card Chrome, Chrome Refractors and Black Chrome Refractors and like the original 63 Topps set there will be a Stick-Ons insert, a 46-card sticker set. As a Hobby bonus there will also be over 100 stickers from the original 63 Stick-Offs set inserted in packs.

As a final tip-of-the-hat to 1963 we will also see a 7-card John F Kennedy set including stamp relic card parallels and a JFK Mint card with a JFK Half-dollar #/48.

The Real One autographs will probably be the big draw with 40 players signing including Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Jesus Montero, Adrian Gonzalez, Bob Gibson, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Hank Aaron, Sandy Koufax, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda. Additional autographs (on relic cards) include Matt Holliday, Pablo Sandoval, Starlin Castro, Frank Robinson, Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Jones, Luis Aparicio and Carl Yastrzemski. The Real One autographs will also include red ink versions #/63.

I am really drawn to the Clubhouse Collection inserts, I like the coloring used and it has a nice design. I like the way the autograph and relic are used in the design. I am not sure why but the Flashbacks relics are appealing to me, I would even be happy to pull a seat relic card as long as it was the Mantle card.

Pros:

Based on the nice 1963 design

Clubhouse Collection Relics/Autos

Cons:

Another throwback set

Coin relics (I am not a big fan of coin relics, just as bad a manu-patch)

Rating:

I give this set a solid 3(3 ½) out of 5, nice design, not over burdened with parallels and pleasant autographs and relics.

Preview: 2012 Topps UFC Knockout

2011-10-11T21:48:00.000-07:00

2012 UFC Knockout - free slideshow

Schedule Release Date: January 25, 2012
Box Configuration: 5 cards per pack, 8 packs per box
SRP: $200/box

Box Break:

2 Autos-Relic cards
2 Autograph cards
4 Relic cards
5 Parallels

My Thoughts:

As a regular reader you will know that I am a MMA fan and up until a few years ago there have not been too many options to choose from and they were usually smaller, lesser known sets so I love to see major releases hit the shelves. We just saw the release of Topps Finest, next month brings us Topps Moment of Truth and now Topps has set the date for 2012 Knockout, a hobby-exclusive release.

Like most high-end products this one is geared towards hits and autographs but the base set seems to just be fluff. There are some pretty cool action shots but the design is just boring, Topps designers should have wet with a full-bleed action shot and name and called it good instead of adding in the color and textures.

I think the Between Rounds Auto-Relic cards will probably go over well with collectors, the Octagon Girls get lots of love. Expect to see Arianny Celeste, Rachelle Leah, Chandella Powell and my favorite Brittney Palmer.

I like the addition of the Fist-ographs box toppers, on-card autographed fist marks from 10 different fighters but with only 10 fighters on the checklist and each card #/5 (meaning 50 total cards only) most people probably will not be pulling one from their box.

I do want to point out that the promo image that Topps has provided shows the card clearly marked "1/10" so either the information I have seen (stating 10 fighter checklist with each card #/5) is incorrect or this Stann fist-ograph card is a mockup. I will look in to this further and update if I can find out the specifics of the Fist-ograph checklist.

Sadly most people will drop almost $200 and probably not pull a box topper and they will get a box loaded with parallels that add no value and plain relics.

Another thing I want to bring up is that Topps still has not completed all redemptions for the 2010 Knockout autographs checklist, don’t you think they should put a little more effort in to completing one set before churning out another set that will be loaded with redemptions? Many MMA collectors feel burned with this redemption fiasco, paying out $175-200 for a box with redemptions that still are not filled 8 months later and now Topps is ready to begin the whole thing all over again?

Considering that the autographs are stickers, how about only create a checklist consisting of autographs you already have in hand before releasing the set? I may be going out on a limb but I bet there are fighters Topps plans to include on the 2012 auto checklist that never signed for their 2010 autographs.

Pros:

Fist-ograph box toppers

Plenty of sweet hits (1 hit per pack)

Multi-relic cards

Relic-autograph cards

Octagon girls autographs and relics

Cons:

Crappy base design

Parallels galore

Plenty of plain relics

Triple Threads booklet cards (Can you say hideous sayings all around?)

Sticker autographs

Expensive

Rating:

Being an MMA fan and I have to say Topps does a decent job, I will give this set a 3 ½ out of 5. The lack of a solid base card and over use of the parallels really is a drag.

Early 2012 Topps UFC Knockout Preview Images

2011-10-08T00:24:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago Topps tweeted some pictures from the 2012 UFC Knockout release. No other information has been released about the set so we will have to patiently wait to find out release date, SRP and pack out information.

Preview: 2011 SP Game-Used MLS

2011-10-06T00:47:00.000-07:00

11 SP Game-Used MLS - Online Slideshow Creator

With the MLS season winding down over the next few weeks (with my Sounders sitting securely in a playoff position) Upper Deck has released some preview shots of the upcoming SP Game-Used MLS set which is scheduled to hit shelves right in the middle of the playoffs in November.

Upper Deck, currently the only card designer with a MLS license, usually produces a single set each year which they keep tight wraps on until right before release. In prior years they have even held the sales sheets close until mere days before the product was scheduled to hit so this was a bit unexpected but I think with the set being so similar to the NHL SP Game-Used set they were a little more open on posting information.

No pricing information has been announced and none of the authorized dealers are even offering pre-sells yet but with a similar pack out to the NHL product I am going to guess the product probably runs a similar $175-180/box price tag, a serious price increase over the base MLS sets. I wonder how soccer fans will take to the higher price?

Box Break:

3 cards/pack, 6 packs/box

1 Auto or Memorabilia card per pack
3 Numbered Rookie cards

Some of the highlights include first cards of Charlie Davies, a solid phenom, as well as rookie cards for Juan Agudelo and WPS rookie Alex Morgan. Upper Deck is also introducing By The Letter Game Used relics to soccer plus multi-relic hits and oversized patches.

From my understanding these card images are mock-ups.

The Rated Rookie Set Is Back

2011-10-04T23:56:00.000-07:00

Panini has just posted up some pictures for the 2011 Donruss Rated Rookie set, a follow up to last year’s successful complete set release. Once again each box will contain the entire 100-card base set and 1 autograph card. No price has been set but we can probably expect a similar $19.99 price tag like last year, expect to see the set hit shelves around December 28.

Preview 2011-12 NHL SP Game-Used

2011-10-04T04:30:00.000-07:00

11-12 NHL SP Game-Used - slideshows

Schedule Release Date: January 2012

Box Configuration: 3 cards per pack, 6 packs per box
SRP: $180/box

Box Break:
1 Memorabilia card #/100 or less
1 Autograph card #/100 or less
3 Authentic rookies
1 Parallel #/100 or less

My Thoughts:
With basketball being shelved, at least for now, hockey products will probably be drawing some pretty good attention this winter and Upper Deck contributes with another solid product. SP Game Used has been re-designed and will be offered up loaded with autographs and some pretty cool memorabilia cards, including goalie pads.

Added to this year’s release will be the 500 Goal Club Autographs which will feature 11 Hall of Fame players including Wayne Gretzky.

Pros:

1 Auto or Relic per pack
1 Rookie per pack
Hot Boxes
500 Goal Autographs
Multi-relics up to 8

Cons:

Almost $200/box

Rating:

I rate this 4 out of 5, it is a solid product and offers up a lot of value for the price.

Again With The Production Errors?

2011-10-03T02:35:00.000-07:00

So while the world anxiously awaits Topps explanation for the “production error” with the Lou Gehrig Triple Threads polyester game-used jersey we now come across a similar case with a Ty Cobb Quad-patch from the recent 2011 Topps Marquee release. From what I have read on the FCB board it was supposed to be a quad-bat relic card but somehow another player’s patches made it in to this specific card (#4/5). Apparently Topps has requested that the card be returned to them and are offering the collector who pulled it a couple of boxes of cards in return.

I know it is just another error and that errors happen in card production, but as has been pointed out on a number of occasions when we are talking high-end cards in limited numbers you would expect these types of problems caught before pack-out and not after a collector pulls it.

Random Blaster Box- 2011 Topps Lineage Baseball

2011-10-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

Now that the baseball regular season is over and the post-season has begun I decided to close out another Mariners losing season with a final baseball blaster box review. Again behind the times I grabbed up a couple of Topps Lineage boxes to review and I have to say I am satisfied with the product.

I like the mix of players that has been included; we see some vintage players like Wagner and Cobb, toss in some post-war players like Mantle and Jackie Robinson and finish up with modern players Ichiro and a sprinkling of youth like Pineda and Upton. The cards are all colorized, which makes for a cohesive set and the border works mostly, I don’t like the open right-hand it just feels unfinished though. Completing the cards are the logos for each player, with retired player’s logos being the actual logo from the team at the time. I pulled one Venezuelan card, a Derek Jeter. The cards are no different than the basic set card except for the back being in Spanish.

There is a plethora of parallels including Diamond and Platinum Diamond but the Stand Ups are one of my favorites, I pulled a Pujols and Jason Heyward, not a bad pair to get. I also pulled a Jackie Robinson Cloth Sticker, another interesting parallel. Unfortunately none of the 3D cards made it in to my box.

Closing out the blasters are the 1975 minis, a decent addition but I can understand how some people are getting tired of minis being put in almost every set, not to mention the whole retro being overdone things. I pulled 4 regular minis with Lou Gehrig being my highlight of almost the entire box, tying with the Robinson cloth sticker. Each blaster also included a 75 mini relic card, a Nelson Cruz (mhm) relic and a cool Joe Mauer relic that has some stitching along the left side.

Jared Kelley Signs With In The Game

2011-09-30T16:42:00.002-07:00

Back in July I highlighted artist Jared Kelley and his Upper Deck Masterpiece cards of Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and Mark Messier. You may also recognize his name if you are a fan of the 2011 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions release, Jared is the artist who painted half of the US Presidents Goodwin Masterpieces cards. A couple of his Presidential Masterpiece cards are currently up for auction including a James Madison, a James Monroe and a Zachary Taylor.

He is in collecting news again with his recent signing deal with In The Game where he will be producing work for the 2012 Sport Kings Series E; set to be released early next year. According to Dr. Price, he is hoping to add something new to his products and as a fan of Jared’s work I am looking forward to his new artwork.

I have talked with Jared and he let me know that the Magic Johnson card that is appearing with the announcement is in fact one of his paintings that will be included in the 2012 Sport King Series E release.

To keep up with his work you can follow Jared’s blog.

WOW! A Sweet Lou Gehrig Relic... maybe not...

2011-09-28T23:14:00.000-07:00

First I would like to thank Sooz from A Cardboard Problem for bringing this auction to light (courtesy of @JuddFamily Stone on Twitter) but it appears that once again Topps is giving collectors a middle finger followed up by a “Suck It!”

In the 2008 Topps Triple Threads release Topps included a fake Ruth/Gehrig autograph card:

In the 2010 Topps Sterling release we saw this beautiful game-worn Honus Wagner polyester jersey card:

Now let’s fast forward about 10 months and take a look at this sweet Lou Gehrig 1/1 Bat Knob card (which would have been awesome on its own) but to make it even more awesomer (Is that even a word?) Topps adds in two game used relics including a pin stripe. How fucking cool is that?

Here is a close up of the game-used relics:

…Oh wait… aren’t those relics… um…polyester? Why yes they are…but didn’t polyester uniforms show up in the 1970s some 30+ years after Gehrig died? Why yes, you are correct again.

I expect to once again hear crickets coming from Topps corner when people start asking for an explanation. I do like the addition of “The Relics contained on this card are not from any specific game, event or season” as a way of CYA. Maybe they should consider adding in “Any specific player” to the list too to ensure complete coverage.

If this card is indeed real and pulled from a sealed pack from Topps there is a serious problem, especially considering that it has happened before. Some sort of verification needs to be ensured with autographs and memorabilia and I thought cards like this were hand packed which means that it should have been caught during manufacturing or at least during the pack out. Anyone that spends any amount of time producing sports cards can tell you the difference between a polyester jersey and a wool flannel jersey.

Custom Cards- Movie Edition: Dead Man

2011-09-26T16:48:00.000-07:00

After an exhausting few weeks I have finally found some quite time to relax and I got the chance the other day to watch Dead Man, an independent Western film made in 1995 featuring Johnny Depp and Gary Farmer. You will also see Robert Mitchum in one of his final films, Crispin Glover playing a creepy guy (besides Back To the Future, does he know any of the type of character?), Iggy Pop as a cross-dresser and Billy Bob Thornton as one strange-ass trapper who loves beans.

The movie is not your standard western but if you appreciate a well written, although strange movie, this is definitely well worth the time to watch it if you have the chance. I just felt the need to build a set off of the film, the grainy black & white visuals and historical connection just seemed right to see the major character on cardboard.

There was never a time reference so I did not have a date to build off of but the 1887 Old Judge set seemed to be a nice fit. There were no real printing standards at the time and if you view the cards from the era you will see a lot of variety even within the same set and I love the sepia coloring. This will allow me to change things up.

I started with the 2 main characters, William Blake (Depp) and Nobody (Farmer) and then I will build on to the set. I also have a Train Fireman card (Glover) because he is one of the first characters you meet in to the movie. Up next will probably be John Scholfield (Hurt) and John Dickinson (Mitchum) when I get the chance.

Preview Images: 2011 Leaf Pete Rose Legacy

2011-09-24T01:44:00.000-07:00

In a couple of months (November) the 2011 Leaf Pete Rose Legacy set will be hitting the shelves and from what images that have been released it appears that it may be similar to the Leaf Muhammad Ali release.

There will be a decent selection of hits including some very interesting inscription autograph cards (including Rose-isms and Nicknames) along with jersey and bat relics plus patches, name plates and tags, which apparently came from an Expos uniform. Odd considering he spent only 1 year in Montreal and that was the direction that Leaf went with the relics. But I am sure that most Rose fans will be happy just to have the opportunity to pull Rose autographs and relics out of packs again.

No prices or pre-order information has been released and only the word “high-end” has been used to describe the product so we may be looking at $75-100/pack and possibly a similar pack out to Leaf’s Ali product.

Preview Images Topps Chrome Football Autographs

2011-09-21T07:59:00.000-07:00

Topps Chrome Football is set to hit shelves at the end of October but Topps is already working on the on-card rookie autograph cards and have posted up some images from Mark Ingram’s signed cards on their Twitter page. I have to say they do appeal to me with the Bowman Chrome being my favorite, but for some reason I am not feeling it with the refractor.

Who Is A What?

2011-09-20T04:13:00.000-07:00

While not sports related I thought this was too funny not to bring it up. The other day a seller posted this Civil War era picture up for auction for $1,000,000 claiming a famous connection. The picture was taken in 1864 and is a photograph of Lt. G.B. Smith, a Confederate prisoner being held in an Ohio POW prison.

The reason for the $1,000,000 opening bid price? The seller claims that this picture is a 146-year old piece of evidence that Nicholas Cage is in fact a vampire.

After receiving numerous questions and comments in the Q&A section pointing out holes in his theory, the seller has since removed this item from sale.

I have to admit, upon first glance the two do look similar and if you were to tell me that Lt. Smith and Nicholas Cage were related I would definitely say that is a possibility but as for being a vampire I don’t see it. Cage has aged seriously since his “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and “Valley Girl” days and as someone humorously pointed out… vampires supposedly cannot be photographed.

Leaf Responds To Topps Lawsuit

2011-09-19T08:47:00.001-07:00

Recently Topps filed a lawsuit against Leaf because of the inclusion of graded Topps cards in Leaf's Best of Baseball release. Leaf and Brian Gray have responded according to the Facebook page:

Leaf Trading Cards, LLC has filed a counterclaim against The Topps Company, Inc. seeking a declaratory judgment, actual damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs. These claims were filed along with an answer to Topps’ complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York regarding the marketing and sale of Leaf’s 2011 “Best of Baseball” product. Brian Gray, Leaf’s President stated that “Leaf respects the intellectual property rights of its competitors, but Topps’ lawsuit is a wrongful attempt to exercise monopolistic control in the trading card industry. Leaf is entitled to advertise products by displaying images of products that we legally acquired and are entitled to sell. We are confident that the court will vindicate our business practices.”

Additionally, Brian Gray said “Leaf respects the intellectual property rights of its competitors, but Topps’ lawsuit is a wrongful attempt to exercise monopolistic control in the trading card industry. Leaf is entitled to advertise products by displaying images of products that we legally acquired and are entitled to sell. We are confident that the court will vindicate our business practices.”

Being a graphic designer I have worked with copyrights, I have copyrighted designs and I have worked with copyrighted images and graphics both in personal projects as well as “Work for hire” projects. I actually just did a study and research paper recently on the copyright laws in comparison to public-domain and fair use laws in regards to artistic work.

The problem that Topps will have is that Leaf is not advertising that they created the Topps product nor are they including the name Topps in any of the pre-sales information/copy. They even clearly state “Graded” and “Graded/Slabbed” and do not list any corporate names. Yes they do include images of the Topps cards (which may be a sticking point for Topps) but they purchased these cards on the secondary-market and as an end-user have the legal right to sell them as long as the product is represented properly. Think of this as you selling a Topps card on eBay, you can list Topps in the title and description and you can include an image of the card as long as you do not attempt to make claim to creating the design or create a new product and list it as a Topps creation.

The only thing that may come out of this, on Topps side, would be the requirement that Leaf remove any images of Topps product from their sales materials but I would be floored if a judge issues an order halting Leaf from selling the product or removing Topps cards from the release. If anything harsher were to happen it would set precident that potentially could handcuff dealers, retailers and even people selling items on eBay or at auction. We would be at the mercy of Topps’ legal team, which could get as bad as an Orwellian society forcing us to request permission to list a Topps product for sale.

Preview Images 2011 Topps Five Star Football

2011-09-18T00:17:00.000-07:00

Topps posted up some pictures of the upcoming high-end 2011 Five Star Football release. Pretty sweet Montana/Rice dual auto. How cool would it be to see a Dave Krieg/Steve Largent dual auto? I know... not going to happen but I can hope right?

If you had the disposable income ($500/pack) would you pick up some packs?

A&G Minds That Made The Future

2011-09-17T02:29:00.000-07:00

Rounding out my favorite inserts from the 2011 Topps Allen & Ginters set is not from the minis category but is one that I am glad Topps chose to add to the release. The Minds That Made The Future set at 40 cards is the largest non-baseball insert set (not counting the 50 States Relic set) but is also the most informative set by far.

Because the list is extremely long and it would take some seriously long and detailed research to cover them all I decided to just list them and hit on a couple that are important to me or contain some interesting facts.

MMF1 Leonardo da Vinci
MMF2 Alexander G. Bell
MMF3 Eli Whitney
MMF4 Nicolaus Copernicus
MMF5 Johannes Gutenberg
MMF6 George W. Carver
MMF7 Samuel Morse
MMF8 Granville Woods
MMF9 Elisha Otis
MMF10 Alessandro Volta

MMF11 Tycho Brahe
MMF12 Gregor Mendel
MMF13 Carl Linnaeus
MMF14 Johannus Kepler
MMF15 Isaac Newton
MMF16 Marie Curie
MMF17 Carl Friedrich Gauss
MMF18 Sigmund Freud
MMF19 Bernhard Riemann
MMF20 Leonhard Euler

MMF21 Robert Fulton
MMF22 Ada Lovelace
MMF23 Florence Nightingale
MMF24 Nikola Tesla
MMF25 Galileo Galilei
MMF26 Charles Darwin
MMF27 Louis Pasteur
MMF28 Guglielmo Marconi
MMF29 Antoine Lavoisier
MMF30 Michael Faraday

MMF31 Dmitri Mendeleev
MMF32 Robert Koch
MMF33 Euclid
MMF34 Archimedes
MMF35 Jagadish Chandra Bose
MMF36 Aristotle
MMF37 John Deere
MMF38 George Eastman
MMF39 Samuel Colt
MMF40 Benjamin Franklin

Leonardo da Vinci- I was fortunate enough to study his art in college, he was advance well beyond his years and is most connected to the European Renaissance artistic movement more than any other artist. He did everything with a scientific approach; he took detailed notes and kept all of his anatomy studies in journals for future reference. Only a few of his paintings remain but a number of his journals have been found detailing his life’s work.

He was known for being a procrastinator, often leaving paintings and other art projects unfinished. Did you know that he would take completed paintings and re-use them by painting over them to try new paints or styles, which would ruin the original painting? See, art school prepared me for an awesome game of Trivial Pursuit.

Samuel Morse- .... . / .-- .- ... / .- -. / .. -. ...- . -. - --- .-.

Sorry, I could not help myself there. This dude was a conspiracist that felt other countries were attempting to stymie America’s freedom. He hated immigrants and Catholics, was a racist and an anti-Semite. Strange how those little tid-bits do not make it in to the history books.

Tycho Brahe- He was an astronomer during a time when if your belief did not jive with everyone else you could be tortured or killed but a more interesting fact? His nose was cut off in a duel and he wore a fake nose the remainder of his life made out of copper but on occasion he may have worn a silver or gold nose.

Benjamin Franklin- What da Vinci was to the European Renaissance Franklin was to America’s history. He was a politician but also an inventor and an amazing writer who was able to see the world through other’s eyes. Look up Richard Saunders (Poor Richard), Silence Dogood, Miss Busy Body, Anthony Afterwit or Alice Addertongue and you will get an idea how his mind worked.

I only pulled the Leonardo da Vinci card from this set, the one card that I really wanted, and it is difficult to find more then a handful of cards sold in a lot together so I definitely will not be building this set.

Woops, Somebody Made A Mistake

2011-09-15T08:01:00.002-07:00

Today's WTF moment goes to Panini.

I open up Panini's Donruss Facebook page this morning and I am greeted by the top two most recent posts on their page. Looks like someone missed something.

Warning:The images are NSFW