In the last year we have seen Topps release some very questionable relic cards. In January this year they admitted that some of the more prominent cards in the 2009 Topps Tribute Baseball set actually contained wood from stadium seats and not bats as originally believed. This included the Babe Ruth Dual and Triple relics, Ty Cobb Dual relic and both the Jackie Robinson and Mickey Mantle Triple relic cards. Most recently there have been questions regarding Topps 206 Mickey Mantle “Warm-up Jacket” relic cards. I am not positive but I am pretty sure that Mickey never wore a warm-up jacket with pink or teal on it.
I suggest that Topps takes a look at relics that will not be in short supply any time soon. How about a relic insert based on jail garb? Every month it seems like another athlete shows up in another mug shot, so lets take these lemons and make lemonade.
Please note that I am making this post in jest, I really hope that none of the card companies become so desperate as to actually consider this avenue. But, with that being said I introduce my newest custom card set, the Jailbirds relic set. Each custom card will include actual jail-worn garb (Just so everyone knows these cards are just digital mock-ups and will not actually be printed plus I wouldn't even know where to go to get the jail gear.).
Watch for your favorite parolee to make their appearance in this promising new insert set. First up is one of my favorite jail birds, and University of Arizona product, Gilbert Arenas in his Washington DC Department of Corrections gear.
Gilbert Arenas, one of the top rated Point Guards in the NBA, continues to disappoint. Not on the court, but out in the real world. Allegedly Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton were playing a card game on a return flight from Phoenix on Dec 19th and Arenas refused to pay his gambling debt, then a few days later Arenas reportedly brought three handguns to practice, which caused Crittenton to respond with his own threats.
I hate to disparage an Arizona Wildcat but Arenas has continued to make bad choices off the court time and time again. Either he is running his mouth or making horrible choices.
Agent Zero could have easily been ranked as one of the best Point Guards of this generation. He ranks near the top in Points Per Game, Rebounds Per Game and Assists Per Game. He could easily be grouped with Steve Nash, Chris Paul and Deron Williams but he is almost an after thought because of his off-court antics. You can find Arenas relics and autographs for under $1, which does not seem to do him justice. He turns 28 in a few days and still has a number of years ahead of him so it is possible to see him finally come to the front where he belongs, he just needs to grow up and shut his mouth, let his play define him and not his constant bickering.
