Leaf Matrix Is Unveiled

During the Las Vegas Industry Summit Brian Gray had alluded to a coming change to the Metal technology that Leaf is known for using in many of their releases. He did not go any further in to what to expect, leaving collectors waiting until things were ready for a proper release announcement.

 

The time has come and Leaf has finally introduced Matrix, an etching in the card coating that works with a refractor like color creating an interesting appearance. To a point it can be described as similar to Topps Finest or similar to Panini’s Prizm technology.

 

The first product to include Matrix inserts will be 2012-13 Leaf Metal Basketball which is scheduled for release sometime in May. The basketball inserts, Hoop Matrix, appears to have a basketball type texture on the face of the card, which is appealing to me. I like when there is a connection like this, Fleer started using textures in the 1990s and some companies still carry on the tradition.

 

There will also be football and baseball Matrix inserts in upcoming Rookie Retro products. These inserts, Genetic Matrix, use the familiar metal and refractor technology but add in a chemical bond like etched design (hence the “genetic”) on the face of the card. I am not big on the Genetic Matrix design; I would prefer a texture similar to the basketball related Hoop Matrix inserts.

 

Overall, besides the chemical bond designs, I like the Matrix technology. I think that Brian Gray and Leaf are on to something here, especially with Panini adding Prizm to their repertoire and Topps Finest still hanging strong in the market.

 

 

Whoops... Aww Nobody Will Notice

Topps is once again in the center of questionable autographs being affixed to cards. This time it is the Donald Cerrone Bloodline autographs in the 2012 Finest UFC release.

 

A couple of days ago a fan sent Cerrone, through Twitter, a picture of a 1/1 Printing Plate (pictured above) that he had pulled because the autograph did not seem correct, Cowboy responded by saying it was not his signature. Topps got involved and soon after they claimed the autograph “not fake” and to make the whole thing a bigger joke, told the collector that he had won a box of cards.

 

Wow, talk about a coincidence, a collector points out another Topps screw up and somehow that same collector wins a free box of cards the day after he pointed out that the autograph was wrong. So even though Cerrone clearly stated on his Twitter feed that it is not his signature Topps stands by their own word that it is indeed Cowboy’s autograph.

 

Since the fake autographs have been brought to light all of the auctions with his fake autos have been ended by the sellers but auctions with his real autographs are still available. So far it appears that only the 4 printing plates and the Black Refractors (#/8) from the Bloodlines autograph were the ones involved.

 

I am sure this is just a case of a "Clubhouse Signature" where one of Cowboy's friends/entourage was just trying to help out and we know it does happen, I think what is the big issue here is that the cards affected are all low numbered cards which will draw attention much quicker than if these had shown up on a handful of unnumbered cards. It does not help the situation where Cerrone is involved yet Topps is standing their ground.

 

The two cards below are signed as "Cowboy Cerrone" and while you can see there are some differences between signatures it still looks like the same person signed both cards.


REAL Cerrone auto from 2010 Leaf MMA

REAL Cerrone auto from 2012 Topps Finest Bloodlines Auto

 The cards below, Black Printing Plate (1/1), Cyan Printing Plate (1/1) and Black Octafractor (#2/8), were all up for auction but have been ended by the seller since the news came out about the fake autograph. You can see compared to the real autographs (above) that the three below are obviously not signed by the same person.

 

 

Biogenesis, Does The MLB Investigation Even Matter?

With the MLB doing an investigation in to the Miami based Biogenesis clinic scandal and the connection to PEDs it was only a matter of time before Alex Rodriguez’s name started to appear.

 

Now that the investigation is in full swing it is being reported that A-Rod had not only been a client of Biogenesis, having purchased thousands of dollars’ worth of PEDs, but that he paid at least one employee to ensure that any documents connecting him to the clinic “disappeared”. So now we are not only finding out that he has been possibly using performance enhancing drugs, but he may also be tampering with evidence, a criminal act.

 

The questions now are…

 

Question #1 Does it matter for baseball?

 

For me, the short answer is “Not Really”

 

 

The dipshit (Bud) at the top wouldn’t do anything about it anyway, he sat on his hands while McGwire, Sosa, Bonds and many other big name players played home run derby for years all while the team owners were raking in the money exploiting the leagues lack of an honest drug testing program.

 

Now Selig’s “harsh” words and threats of 50 game suspensions have done little to nothing to stop the marquee players from ‘roiding up outside of a couple of big name bad apples but hey… that was just Manny being Manny.

 

Could you see Selig suspending A-Roid for 50 games? There is no way that he would do that; it would end up being a slap in the face of the league. Right now the league has plausible deniability, they have no physical evidence showing Rodriguez was juicing so just look the other way. The guy is 37 and coming off of hip surgery, Selig figures to just let the Yankees keep paying him ($29 million this year, that is $4 million more than the Astros entire payroll) for a couple of more years and let him retire and the whole thing will just clear itself up.

Question #2 Will it hurt A-Rod’s collectability?

Again, for me, the answer is “Not Really”

 

There has always seemed to have been a cloud over Rodriguez, the guy has been suspected of using steroids for years. His name has been rumored to have shown up on failed test lists and connected to various clinics and doctors who do nothing but jack up athletes.

 

His numbers have been dipping continuously over the last 5 season with the last 2 seasons being dismal for him. He disappears in the playoffs (.150 BA and a 2-1 SO to Hit ratio over the last 3 playoffs).

 

If this has not chased away the collectors than even proof positive would matter. The guy’s rookie cards are still demanding thousands for graded copies and autographs still seem astronomical in comparison to some of the other top players.

Is this investigation really anything that will surprise fans and collectors? Probably not, most people already have their thoughts on the subject and feel that the MLB is just raising the flags so they appear to be supporting rules that they never had any intention to support anyway.

Random Blaster: 2013 Leaf Draft Football

In anticipation of the upcoming NFL Draft, April 25-27, I picked up a 2013 Leaf Draft Football blaster. The blasters run $20 and include 20 5-card packs and 2 autographs. The base set is a 100-card checklist but I am not certain how many autographs there are in the set but I will note that there are some players who have an autograph but are not included in the set. Luke Joeckel, the project #1 Draft Pick, does not have a base card but he is included on the autograph checklist.

 

Leaf Draft Football, not to be confused with Metal Draft Football or Valiant Draft Football, is a bare-bones, floor model type of product. There are no parallels or inserts besides the autographs. Even the paper stock is plain; it is quite thin with a matte finish.

When the box contains 102 total cards you would expect to build a complete set plus the 2 autographs, but in my case I completed 99/100 with one duplicate (face palm). I am missing card #78, SMU’s Zach Line, and I got two cards #97, Penn State’s Michael Mauti.

 

Since this year’s draft will be pretty low key with lots of defensive players and O-lineman taken in the first round it is difficult to really sell a product like this especially with no major skill position players making a huge splash like last year’s draft class. Some of the big(ger) names are missing like projected #1 pick Luke Joeckel, Syracuse QB Ryan Nassib and UW CB Desmond Trufant but most of the other names are here like Geno Smith, Te’o, Barkley, E.J. Manuel, Tavon Austin and Eddie Lacy.

 

The autograph cards are designed almost exactly like the base cards; on the front the name banner is removed and replaced with the autograph sticker, on the back the player’s personal stats info is removed and the card number is different.

 

In the blaster boxes the two autographs are packaged separately with each card in a ridge protector and both rigid protectors in a team bag. You can still pull an autograph out of the packs but it is pretty difficult.

 

I pulled Florida State DT Everett Dawkins and Missouri LB Zaviar Gooden, both are projected as late round picks. Surprisingly none of the major players autographs have shown  up for auction yet, about the “biggest” named player to appear is E.J. Manuel with a $30 starting price and no bids, most other autographs can be found under $20 easily.

 

 

There was some fun with the blaster, it is always fun busting packs and knowing that you are getting at least 2 autographs makes it interesting. If you are interested in a better looking card or more value than Metal Draft or Valiant Draft is the way to go.

Griner In The NBA?

The 2013 WNBA Draft is next week, April 15^th, and barring any last minute trades the Phoenix Mercury will be drafting Brittney Griner with the #1 pick. The 2013 NBA Draft is two months later, June 27^th, and Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks owner, has said that he would be willing to give the 6’8”, 200-lbs Griner a chance to try out for the Mavs. He even said he would be willing to spend a Second Round pick on her just for the chance to get her in to town.

Brittney Griner would not be the first woman with the opportunity to play in the NBA, in the late ‘70s the Indiana Pacers brought Ann Meyers in for a try out but she was not signed.

By June 27^th the WNBA will be starting the second month of the regular schedule; Phoenix will actually be in Washington on the night of the NBA Draft. The NBA Summer League stars a few weeks following the NBA Draft, due to the conflicting schedules between the two leagues Griner would have to decide whether to remain in the WNBA or give the NBA a shot.  

The Circus Formerly Known As The New York Jets

Last year I wrote a post after the NY Jets traded for Tim Tebow entitled “Now What Could Go Wrong with This Situation?”

I began thread with this question:

Is there any way that this scenario does not end in someone losing their job at the end of next season due directly to this trade?

The short answer was “No” Two coaches and the GM were fired over a 9 day period, one coach retired and one coach left to work with the Buffalo Bills.

FIRED:

GM Mike Tannenbaum
Offensive Coordinator Tony Sparano
QB Coach Matt Cavanaugh

RETIRED:

Special Teams Coordinator Mike Westhoff

HIRED BY ANOTHER TEAM

Defensive Coordinator Mike Pettine


Oddly enough if you look at this list you will notice the one name that should have been the first person fired is missing, Rex Ryan (and owner Woody Johnson, but that dipshit can’t be fired).

Ryan stuck with Sanchez even though he continued to slump through the season (butt fumble anyone?) and when Sanchez was replaced it was with the #3 QB McElroy. Near the end of the season there was the rumor that Tebow told Ryan not to play him, even in a Wildcat situation. Then there was the Daily News story last November where a number of Jets players who all stated to some degree that they felt Tebow was not a good QB and that he was not making positive strides. This shows that the team and officials had no confidence in him.

To be fair, Tebow was never given a fair shake in New York. Woody Johnson (no matter what he claims) brought Tebow in for the media circus he would provide. He played roughly 40-50 offensive snaps all season, went 6-8 for 39 yards passing and added 102 rushing yards.

Now it is expected that the Jets will either cut or trade Tebow and possibly Sanchez. Currently neither Tebow nor Sanchez carry much in trade value, especially considering Sanchez’s salary, so I would expect to see one or both cut. Tebow could possibly end up some where as a back up, Seattle and New England have been mentioned, while Sanchez will probably end up back in California trying to bag USC groupies with Matt Leinart. The Jets have already begun the 2013 Jets Media Circus Extravaganza when they brought in 35-year old David Garrard, who hasn’t played since 2010 but is still expected to be slotted as the starting QB next season. I have also seen some draft experts projecting the Jets as drafting a QB, Geno Smith if he is still available at the #9 position or Matt Barkley (I shit you not… another crappy USC project QB) in the Second Round.

So, as Woody Johnson sits in his tower overlooking Metropolis his decision to cause a media sensation by bringing in Tebow has destroyed the livelihood of four coaches, one GM and Tim Tebow all while claiming clean hands with his dumbass lackey Rex Ryan sitting at his side standing clear of the madness.

Who knows, maybe I should make this a recurring storyline where I ask which NY Jets personnel will get fired following each season after Woody Johnson’s annual media circus blitz.

Preview: 2013 Topps Star Wars Jedi Legacy

Topps has two Star Wars related products coming out this summer, Jedi Legacy (5/22) and Galactic Files Series 2 (7/31), and with Disney’s recent purchase of LucasFilm and the announcement of additional movies coming out over the next couple of years it seems like a great time to be a Star Wars fan… as long as you ignore Disney’s decision to shut down LucasArts (the video game department) which almost definitely killed the highly anticipated Star Wars 1313.

 

Each $85 box will include 24 packs (8 cards per pack) and the box break should include:

24 Various Light Saber Parallels
2 The Circle Is Now Complete Inserts
12 Influencers Inserts
12 Connections Inserts
1 Film Cel card
1 Additional Hit- Autograph, Relic or Multi-Film Cel card

 

Leading off the release schedule is Jedi Legacy, a 90 card base set that focuses on storyline of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. The set is broken down in to 45 “A” cards, which are Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker cards, and 45 “B” cards, Luke Skywalker cards. There are 5 parallels for each base card; Blue Light Saber (1:1 pack), Magenta Light Saber (1:6 packs), Green Light Sabers(1:24 packs), Gold Light Saber (#/10) and Printing Plates (1/1 and seeded 1:30 boxes).

 

There are 6 insert sets total including the first ever Star Wars relic cards. There are three base inserts: The Circle Is Now Complete, Influencers and Connections. There are three “Hit” inserts: Autographs, Relics and Film Cel cards

 

Interestingly the base inserts can be connected, in one way or the other, to create “complete” story lines between Darth Vader and Luke. The Influencers and Connections inserts can be placed in between base cards to complete the scene using corresponding “A” and “B” cards. The Circle Is Now Complete cards are die-cut so when all 12 cards are laid out they complete a circle that shows the evolution of the relationship between Luke and his father. To add to the story there will also be a center piece that will fully complete the circle and this piece will only be available through an unannounced promotion. Any fans that complete The Circle Is Now Complete puzzle (including center piece) will be included in a drawing for additional prized like posters or film cels.

 

Influencers (9 card checklist): The characters who have had an impact on Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker. I would expect to at least see Obi Wan Kenobi, the Emperor and Yoda on this checklist.

 

Connections (15 card checklist): Characters who were involved in both Luke and Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker’s lives. Here I would expect to see Obi Wan, Yoda, Padme Amidala, Leia Organa and maybe R2-D2, C-3PO or Owen and Beru Lars.

 

Autographs (20 card Checklist): Twenty actors from all 6 movies are included on the checklist, so far only Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher have been confirmed though with Harrison Ford signing cards to be included in the Galactic Files Series 2 set he can probably be expected to be included here too.

 

Film Cel Cards (45 card checklist): There are 30 single cel cards (1: box), five dual cel cards (1:6 boxes) and 10 triple cel cards (1:6 boxes). The cels are from Episode IV, V and VI only and they all focus on Luke and Darth Vader.

 

Relics (3 card checklist): The relic cards are easily the HUGEST hit from the set, the cards that every fan will be hunting down. In 36 years of Star Wars sets being released these are the first relic cards ever. The Ewok Fur includes fur from Wicket, Logray or Teebo, though there may be other Ewoks included. Chewbacca’s fur is from the suit worn in the original three movies.

 

Ewok Fur- 1:5 boxes

Jabba’s Sail Barge- 1:14 boxes
Chewbacca Fur- 1:30 boxes

A Good Mail Day (In The End)

Sunday I was pretty lucky when I won a couple of pretty cool auctions. The first card showed up yesterday, when I opened the mailbox and saw the yellow padded envelope with the eBay shipping label I have to admit I got a bit anxious wondering which card would show up first. My daughter pulled out all of the mail and handed me the padded envelope. When I grabbed the envelope I felt a tear on the back side so I flipped it over and saw this…

 

The back side was ripped nearly the entire width and the tip of the card was sticking out. It looked as if either the card had fallen out and someone pushed it back in or someone pulled the card out to look at it and put it back.

 

Had the card been one of my normal pick-ups that cost a couple of dollars I would not have minded but this was one of those cards that I finally splurged a little on…

 

I have wanted a fossil card since they first made the scene but they were always pretty pricey, I finally gave in and chased one down. Two weeks ago I was in a bidding war for one of the Mammoth Femur cards and lost out by $1 when the auction closed. This time there was no bidding war and I got the Auroch Femur card for $5 less than the Mammoth card so that was pretty cool.

 

In the end, the seller had packaged the card securely in a snap tight case and there was no damage, not to mention these cards are quite thick and sturdy (about the thickness of an iPhone), but I am a little disappointed with how my mail carrier delivered it. She even placed the card in the mail box with the tear facing down and away from the rest of the mail in my box so you would think she knew of the rip. Oh well, all is well that ends well and I have now scratched another card off of my bucket list, next up is an Entomology card or Museum Piece card.

2013 Leaf Trinity Football

During the Las Vegas Industry Summit Brian Gray was talking about plans for Leaf products in 2013 and he glossed over a new pre-draft set that will be coming out soon, 2013 Leaf Trinity Football.

 

He spent a mere 56 seconds covering Trinity Football so there is almost no information besides what he talked about and the only pictures are 6 pictures that were released to Beckett. I wanted to hold up before writing about the set hoping that additional information or images would have been released over the last few days but nothing new has come out. So at this time the release date, price or even pack out information is still unknown.

 

Leaf Trinity Football is designed to deliver what collectors want with jumbo relics and on-card autographs. The set is made up of three types of cards; jumbo patch auto cards, inscription auto cards and autographed glass cards. All autographs are on-card, a plus, but the patches are “Player or event worn”, so a negative. The glass cards seem interesting; they are literally a piece of glass, not sure how that is supposed to work.

 

 

I am a fan of most Leaf products but this set has me on the fence. The glass cards could be very cool and jumbo patches with on-card autographs are always good but this is a weak draft class and this will be a high-cost product with a rather “meh” design.

 

I will try to do a follow up once more information is released.

Celebrating MLB Opening Day With A Topps Opening Day Blaster

It is officially Opening Day in baseball, not counting last night’s Astros-Rangers game, so what is more fitting that opening a blaster of 2013 Topps Opening Day Baseball?

 

The set is the same design as Topps Baseball, with the addition of the Opening Day logo and a different checklist. There are only 220 cards in the base checklist and the numbering is different than Series 1 Baseball. There are parallels and short print variations; again they are different than Series 1 Baseball. The parallels are Purple (no #), Blue (#/2013) and Printing Plates (1/1). The variations are Press Conferences/Public Events.

 

I pulled only one Mariner player, Jesus Montero. I was a little more fortunate with Diamondback players which included starting First Baseman Paul Goldschmidt, two of the five pitchers in the starting rotation plus a future fixture in the pitching rotation, Tyler Skaggs.

 

I pulled two Blue Opening Day refractors, Zack Greinke and DBacks #2 starter Trevor Cahill.

Fredbird, the St. Louis Cardinals mascot and Captain, the Texas Rangers mascot

I pulled a handful of inserts, 2 each from Ballpark Fun, Opening Day Highlights, Play Hard and Superstar Celebrations.

I close out with one of my favorite Topps inserts, the 3D cards. I think this year’s Opening Day Stars 3D cards are among my favorite Topps 3D cards along with the Topps 2020 3D cards from the 2010 Baseball Series 2 release. I pulled the one card that I really wanted, Felix Hernandez.