Preview: Unstoppable Cards- Night of the Living Dead

One of my favorite horror movies goes back to one of the original zombie movies, George A Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. The movie kicked off Romero’s career and led to a whole slew of “Dead” films. Even though the movie was made on a miniscule budget ($114,000) it was quite successful and has become a cult classic.

Unstoppable Cards will be bringing Night of the Living Dead to cardboard within the next few weeks. The officially licensed set should be available by early May through the Unstoppable Cards web site.

Premium Packs are $35 and will contain 6 base cards, 2 chase/foil cards, a sketch card and an autograph card. Boxes/Cases run $330 and include 12 Premium packs plus an exclusive sketch card incentive. The base set has a 36-card checklist and there are an additional 9 Gold Foil cards.

Autographs include Russ Streiner, Judith O’Dea, Judy Ridley, Kyra Schon, George Kosana and John Russo. The dual autograph cards are Streiner/O’Dea, O’Dea/Ridley and Ridley/Schon. There are more than 60 artists who will have their sketch cards included in the release.

Gold Foil

Gold Foil

Gold Foil

Upper Deck Employee Cards

Last week Upper Deck employees were issued two limited edition cards, a Landon Donovan relic card and a Cam Newton relic card. The cards are not numbered but taking in to account the number of employees Upper Deck has you can imagine that the cards are limited.

I have been watching the Donovan card and over the last few days prices have varied greatly. One ended yesterday at $5.56 (I lost out to a sniper) and then there is another one that is sitting at $26.00 with 1 day left. I am hoping that the low price was not a one-time fluke that I missed out on. The Cam Newton cards have been regularly selling around the $20-25 range.

Preview: 2012 Upper Deck MLS

Schedule Release Date: May 22, 2012

Box Configuration: 12 cards per pack, 20 packs per box

SRP: $94/box

Box Break:

1 Autograph card

1 Multi-relic or Premium Patch relic

3 Memorabilia cards

My Thoughts:

Upper Deck is the only company doing MLS cards and they are doing it right. The base design is basic and beautiful, you have a full-bleed action shot with a small design with team logo, player name, player number and position along the bottom. The inserts are what we have grown to expect from Upper Deck with an interesting design and a nice player image.

The set includes a 200-card checklist which breaks down in to 165 regular players, 15 MLS Debut cards and 20 SuperDraft cards. This year Robbie Keane will be making his debut in a MLS set. Sadly the SRP is inching upwards and now is closing in on the $100 price point without adding any additional value to the box.

Pros:

Nice Design

5 Hits per box

Cons:

Increased price

Sticker Autographs

Review:
I give this set 4 out of 5, it has a pleasnat design, includes a nice sized checklist for set collectors and includes a nice selection of hits. It looses slightly on the increased price and sticker autographs.

Random Blaster Box- 2012 Leaf Draft Pick (Retail)

As an Easter present I received a 2012 Leaf Draft Pick Football blaster box. There are actually 2 retail blaster versions, neither is metalized like the Hobby version.

One is a green blaster box and contains 20 packs with 4 cards each and includes 2 autographs and an Andrew Leaf 2008 US Army All-American high school card. The cards in these boxes have a red design and have a 50-card checklist.

The second is a yellow box and contains a complete 50 card base set, 1 autograph, 10 random Gold parallels and an exclusive 3 card RGIII subset. The cards in this box have a blue design and are a different 50-card checklist.

I got the green box and when I pulled two autographs out of the first four packs I was hoping that I would beat the 2 autos/box ratio but alas I pulled just two autos. I like the design, Leaf used some nice action shots (though the team logos are removed) so the cards have a “professional” appearance. The cool thing is that the base cards appear to have a nice space for TTM autographs. The autograph cards are similar to the base cards but the players name is shrunk down to fit the sticker on the card.

I am a bit disappointed with collation, out of 80 cards I ended up 12 cards short of a complete set plus 42 duplicate cards. I expected duplicates but you would think that with 80 cards you should be able to at least complete a 50-card set. I did pull 4 RGIII cards and one Nick Foles (which I was hoping for) along with the Andrew Luck Army All-American High School card.

Joe Jackson Gets Some Love Too

I know this is two days in a row with a 2011 Prime Cuts card but damn…

Surprisingly I am not a huge fan of the set, a lot of the designs do not appeal to me and I have a hard time justifying spending $250 for a pack that includes cards with stickers autographs. I love that some of my favorites; Griffey, Gehrig and Thorpe are in various hits but still can not put out the money in hopes of pulling one of these players.

But, this Joe Jackson Barrel Up card is sweet. I love the design and the colors used, even the font adds to the overall chemistry of the card.

Some Griffey Love

I came across this on Panini's Facebook page. A hard-signed Notable Nicknames from the 2011 Prime Cuts, I would have prefered to see him as a Mariner but I think I could overlook it if I came across one of these babies.

New Seahawks Uniforms

Today the biggest news from the NFL is the revealing of the new Nike uniforms. Most of the uniforms actually look very similar with only a couple of teams making slight changes. One team though handed over the design phase to Nike designers and go for the complete makeover.

The Seattle Seahawks have only had one major change in their history, in 2002, but otherwise stuck to small changes or the addition of an alternate jersey, like the 2009 Green Alternate jerseys, so some people felt it was time for an update.

I am not a fan of the “wings” across the front collar but the rest of the uniform I am digging. Three jerseys were revealed including home blue, away white (both with blue pants and white pants) and an alternate "Wolf Gray" jersey that will be worn at least twice a season. I would prefer to see the Wolf gray alternate worn with blue pants over the gray.

Home blue

Away white

Alternate Wolf gray

Vintage Card of the Month: 1970 Topps Steve Barber

Major League Baseball is kicking off this month, not counting the 2-game schedule between the Mariners and A’s in Japan, and I decided to go with a 1970 Topps Baseball card for the Vintage Card of the Month.

I am not a huge fan of the 1970 series, I prefer the ’71 set, but I picked up this card from Adam at Thoughts and Sox a couple of weeks ago. He included the card in a collection of Mariners cards he pulled aside for me. I scanned the card in at high resolution and it picked up all the print lines and wear on the front of the card. The card does not look like this in hand.

The ‘70s Topps Baseball set was pretty basic with a gray border, team name in the upper corner, player name and position. The back of the card was standard for the time and include the player’s basic info, a small write up and complete lifetime stats.

The Seattle Pilots spent one season, 1969, in Seattle before moving to Milwaukee and became the Brewers but the team still has a large following in the Seattle area. After spending 15 years in Seattle I have to admit I have a love for the team too but admittedly only 2 things of note came out of the Pilots time in Seattle, Lou Pinella (who never played a regular season game for the team) and Jim Bouton’s book Ball Four.

Steve Barber was drafted by the Pilots in the 1968 Espansion Draft, he spent only one season in Seattle and was released by the time the team moved to Milwaukee. He went 4-7 with a 4.80 ERA. and was defnitly on the downside of his career well before the team picked him up.

Box Break: 2011 Topps UFC Finest Part II

Here are the final hits from my box of 2011 UFC Finest. I have seen some insane hits in box breaks but I cannot include my box in that category. Each Master box includes 6 hits; 2 on-card autographs, 2 relic cards and 2 jumbo relic cards.

I will start with the die-cut Finest Atomic Refractors, a pretty sweet looking mosaic style refractor cards. I didn’t pull an Octa-Fractor but I did pull a very cool GSP along with Brendan Schaub, a young fighter who is coming on strong in the UFC (minus his last loss to Big Nog).

The autographs are built on the base cards with an on-card autograph. Shane Carwin is a decent pull but like most collectors unless you are pulling inserts/hits from top fighters it is no fun pulling the same fighter over and over. Mark Hominick is at best a mediocre-decent fighter and in a couple of weeks he will be fighting Eddie Yagin and if he loses he may find himself in a tough position.

I just had to include this photo of Hominick following his loss to Jose Aldo last April. This was actually a great fight with Aldo remaining Featherweight Champ on a 5 round decision. Hominick pushed Aldo to the limits but he will most likely be remembered from this fight because of the goose egg where his forehead used to be before the fight.

The Finest Threads came in the shape of a couple of decent fighters, Joseph Benavidez and Evan Dunham each have a pair of losses but have a solid future. Benavidez is currently in the running for the newly created UFC Flyweight Championship.

The Finest Threads Jumbo relic card is a Dominick Cruz t-shirt relic, though Topps is very vague about where or what the relic came from it feels like soft cotton from a shirt. Cruz is a dominant fighter, he is currently the UFC Bantamweight Champ and he will be fighting Urijah Faber this summer for Cruz-Faber 3, each fighter has one win each so this re-re-match will be the deciding vote.

I close on a Jumbo Mat relic card of Joseph Benavidez (yup him again). This mat piece is from WEC 45 where Benavidez beat Rani Yahya by TKO.

Would I buy another box of 2011 UFC Finest? Yes, I really do like the set and wouldn’t mind putting together a complete base set if I had the opportunity and hopefully a second box would offer me the chance to pull some better hits but with the boxes sitting well over $80 now I think I would pass and instead pick up a box of 2011 UFC Moment of Truth for less than $60 each. Maybe that will be my next box break.

Box Break: 2011 Topps UFC Finest

After sitting on the box I finally got the chance to bust it with my son and came away with mixed feelings. I really like the base set and pulled a good portion of the base checklist with no duplicates. An area of concern with Finest products, besides the bend, is the chipping along the edges and scratches from the sorting machine and fortunately none of my cards were damaged so a positive there. The hits I pulled were a bit disappointing but that is the chance you take and I cannot complain because I paid less than $70 shipped (boxes are now running around $85 plus shipping).

Some of my favorite base cards that I pulled include this duo that fought in February for the Interim Welterweight Championship belt. Ignoring the failed drug test by Diaz after the fight it was a decent fight with Condit winning by decision.

A nice collection of big hits with Silva pushing Michael Bisping out of frame by his face and Big Nog putting Randy Couture down.

I pulled 8 Refractors, and at 1:4 packs I did better than expected. Some of the notable pulls include Kid Yamamoto, who used to be such a dominant fighter but since 2009 has gone 1-5 dropping his record to 18-6 overall. Weidman has caught a lot of attention; he is currently 8-0 having fought 4 times in the UFC in the last year. I had to include Ryan Bader, beside Randy Couture he is my favorite fighter. He is from Nevada but has spent a good portion of his life here in Arizona. Sadly he went to ASU (Boo!) but he lives in Scottsdale and now trains in a gym about 5 miles from my house. After his losses to Jones and Ortiz (who was fighting to remain in the UFC)  there was rumor that if Bader lost again he would be cut loose but he took things in stride and has won two straight including a win against Rampage Jackson last month.

I pulled 3 X-Fractors and again I beat the odds (1:5 packs) but there was nothing to really write home about. Carwin has a solid 12-2 record, having lost his last 2 fights, but it was revealed last October that he needed back surgery. This is Carwin’s second major surgery in a year after having neck surgery in November 2010. Grispi seemed like a lock at 14-1 when the UFC took in the WEC but he lost his first 2 UFC fights and was pulled from a third and his career now seems to be in jeopardy. Big Country, what can be said about the guy? I read a story about him about 3 years ago in Sports Illustrated and he made it completely clear that he hates to work out; he wants to just get in the ring, fight and then go eat. Even though he is 3-3 (16-7 overall) in his UFC career Dana White must love this guy because Nelson is expected to fight Antonio Silva in his UFC debut in May.

I am having de-ja vu with my Gold Refractor, at one per master box you would think that the chance to pull a Grispi X-Fractor and Gold Refractor would be minimal but I guess I “beat” the odds again. Not really a win though.

Finest Moments is a nice insert, they cover a specific moment in the fighter’s career. Anderson Silva’s moment was at UFC 117 when he was down versus Chael Sonnen in the first 4 rounds and about to lose the Middleweight belt but came back in the 5^th Round to submit Sonnen. They are scheduled for a rematch in June with Silva going for his 10^th title defense.

The Gold Finest Moment Matt Hamill covers his rise in The Ultimate Fighter under Tito Ortiz and then 4 years later took on Ortiz beating him by a decision.

To be continued…