Is this normal?

I don't buy many boxes of cards, especially hobby boxes in part my limited budget.  I've noticed however over the last week that many of the "wholesalers" on line have jacked the price of 2011 Topps hobby boxes up around $15.00 as the release date has gotten closer.

Granted Topps did announce the wrapper redemption for hobby wrappers.  Is it coincidence that the prices rose right after this announcement was made?  So if one were buying hobby boxes I guess it's better to get in early and place a pre-order versus waiting until it's released?

Help me finish off these 2010 sets before 2011 product hits shelves!

In my excitement of 2011 Topps coming this week I really would like to finish off a few 2010 sets.  I have plenty to offer up in trade.  Look for my trade section in the side bar to the right.  Let me know if you can help me out! 

2010 Topps Update
15, 192, 193, 197, 313, 320

2010 Topps Allen & Ginter 
44, 47, 53, 70, 74, 77, 97, 168, 189, 212, 254, 256, 298, 302, 304, 306, 307, 310, 311, 325, 326, 341

Sunday Verse

Today's verse comes from 1 John 4: 9-10 (NIV)

" This is how God showed his love among us:  He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love:  not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. "

When I stop and think about the sheer magnitude of God sending his only Son for me...for me it just blows my mind.  I am so flawed.  I fall short of the expectations He has set for me every single day.  Sometimes I don't understand why He loves me as such.  Sometimes I don't understand why He continues to provide for me.  Scratch that...I know why.  He loves me.  Plain and simple.  It's easy to love people who love you.  Let's all try to reach out this week and show love to people that don't love us.  It could be a total stranger.  It could be another family member.  Have a great week everyone!

February Group Break - 3 Boxes - Featuring '07 UD Elements

After taking in some feedback and looking at our options I've decided on 3 boxes for this group break.  I hope it appeals to everyone as the boxes will yield some autograph and game used hits as well as a fair amount of base cards including a few rookies.  87 packs in total!

* 1992 O-Pee-Chee (36 packs)
    - low cost and will up bump up the number of cards per team
    - NOT the Premier version
    - Manny Ramirez RC

* 2005 Topps Total (36 packs)
    - Rookies include Dan Uggla, Ian Kinsler, Matt Kemp & more
    - 5 insert sets to chase
    - 1 silver parallel per pack
    - 1/1 Printing Plates and Autographs

* 2007 Upper Deck Elements Hobby (15 packs)
    - 3 mini boxes, 5 packs each, 3 cards per pack
    - 1 game used, 1 autograph, 1 game used/auto
    - base cards feature different "technology" - foil board, light f/x, clear acetate
    - Rookies include Tim Lincecum, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Adam Lind & more

If you link this post on your own blog I will throw in some freebies for you for helping advertise the group break! 

To sign up please leave a comment to claim your team or teams.  Please submit your payment upon signing up.  The sooner people sign up & pay the sooner I can order the boxes.  Prices per team include shipping.  Payments can be sent via PayPal to colbeykatie at comporium.net.  Please be sure to mark the payment as a GIFT please.  Include your shipping address with your payment please! 

For the box of UD Elements we'll hope we don't get one of the redemptions as they have already expired.  If we do pull a redemption for a team that was claimed I will do my best to replace that card with something similar.  Any insert/hit of unclaimed teams will be random off to teams without a hit.

PICK ONE TEAM FOR $9.00 OR TWO TEAMS FOR $16.00
* Marlins & Rockies can take $2.00 off the price since one box is before their time

Atlanta Braves - Colbey (paid) 
Baltimore Orioles - IkesCards (paid)
Boston Red Sox - Cardsplitter (paid)

Chicago Cubs - CommunityGum (paid)

Chicago White Sox - CommunityGum (paid)

Cincinnati Reds - BA Benny (paid)
Cleveland Indians - Jason (paid)
Colorado Rockies * - Eric L (paid)
Detroit Tigers - sewingmachineguy (paid)
Florida Marlins * - TheBrooklynMet (paid)
Houston Astros - Cam (paid)
Los Angeles Angels 
Los Angeles Dodgers - michael spiegel (paid)
Milwaukee Brewers - cynicalbuddha (paid)
Minnesota Twins - Play at the Plate (paid)
Montreal Expos / Nationals
New York Mets - TheBrooklynMet (paid)
New York Yankees - dawgbones (paid)

Oakland Athletics
Philadelphia Phillies - dawgbones (paid)

San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants - IkesCards (paid)
Seattle Mariners - IkesCards (paid)

St. Louis Cardinals - IkesCards (paid)
Tampa Bay Rays
Texas Rangers - Play at the Plate (paid)

Toronto Blue Jays

PICK ANY OF THESE TEAMS FOR $6.00

Arizona Diamondbacks - dawgbones (paid)
Kansas City Royals - Eric L (paid)
Pittsburgh Pirates - sewingmachineguy (paid)

Super Duper Easy Contest Results!

First of all thank you to everyone that signed up and followed either this blog or my other blog, Random Toy Reviews.  I've loaded all the entries into the randomizer @ Random.org and the top 5 names will each win a redemption card for a 2010 Topps Gridiron Giveaway Tim Tebow RC.  Without further delay here is the screen shot with the results!

Congratulations to BA Benny, cynicalbuddha, Eric L, Matt Hickes and Cuby!  Please e-mail me your mailing address to claim your prize!  Thanks again everyone.

Few hours left to enter my "contest" to win a Tim Tebow RC

There are a few hours left to enter my super duper easy "contest" for your chance to win a Tim Tebow 2010 Topps Gridiron Giveaway RC redemption card.  All the details can be found HERE.  Contest closes at 9:00 PM EST this evening.

D.J. Augustin

I've been watching a fair share of Charlotte Bobcats games since the NFL's regular season came to an end and one thing that has stood out to me has been D.J. Augustin's performance at point guard.  Originally hailing from North Carolina I naturally watch a lot of college basketball, esp. ACC.  While I'm not necessarily a UNC Tarheels fan (NC State Wolfpack baby!) I wasn't sure what to think when the Bobcats let Raymond Felton leave and sign w/ the Knicks.

Now I'm beginning to see what Jordan and his staff didn't freak out over Raymond leaving.  They knew that D.J. was going to be the point guard they needed him to be.  It's been a lot of fun watching him play and that resulted in me searching for some of his cards.  I've been away from the basketball card scene for quite awhile so unless I've read about something on someone else's blog I don't really know what is out there.

One of the first cards I ran across was a beautiful orange refractor version of his 08-09 Topps Chrome RC.  The orange fits well w/ the Bobcats' team colors and the card is numbered 140/499.

I also searched to see if I could find any affordable autograph cards of his and I found 2 for less than $3 bucks each!

 

On the left is a 09-10 Upper Deck Sophomore Sensations autograph and on the right is a 10-11 Panini Timeless Treasures #'d 84/99.  Even both cards are sticker autos they are very nice.  I do have to say that D.J.'s signature is rather plain and simple when compared to other athletes.

I believe this is my favorite card of the bunch however.  09-10 Panini Certified #'d 11/25.  I love the large embedded orange jersey piece.  I've been really impressed with the basketball cards Panini has been releasing.  They keep making beautiful cards like this and I'll continue to track them down.

Trades Galore!

Wow, a lot has been happening over the last week and I've got stacks and stacks of cards laying around my laptop and printer/scanner.  I'm trying my best not to let things get behind too much, but it seems every day brings more and more mail with great new cards!

You'll have to forgive my shoddy recent memory but reader Johnny Robinson sent me a small stack of cards for my PCs featuring Franco, Glavine, Justice, Puckett, Smoltz as well as some random Atlanta Braves.  Down at the bottom of the stack however was this really nice patch card of Ichiro from 2008 Topps!

I have never seen a card like this so this was a really nice surprise.  Thank you Johnny!

Sewingmachineguy e-mailed me last week letting me know he could help me out with some of the cards from my Goodwin Champions want list.  He sent me 38 cards in total.  If it weren't for those stupid SPs I may actually be able to finish off this set before 2012 rolls around!  Thank you for helping me out with this awesome, yet frustrating set.

And finally (can I start a sentence w/ and?) Rhubard Runner from e rayhahn, rayhahn inquired about some random Twins he found on my trade list.  He asked me if my want lists was current and a few days later e-mailed with me several inserts off my 2010 Topps want list.

I believe my favorites are the 'Yo Mamma' cards - esp. the Gwynn.  Still looking for the real version of that card for my small PC.

Finally BA Benny from BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet and I worked out a trade for a Luis Castillo autograph card I had posted from a recent box break.  He offered me up a Sean Casey jersey card from Topps Opening Day.  The odds on pulling anything good from any Opening Day product isn't very consumer friendly so we traded and now I can add the card to my PC.

He also threw in some Atlanta Braves for me and to my surprise a few packs work of WWE Heritage cards.  I have seen a few of these cards online before, but I wasn't buying cards at the time those were released so finding them in the stack was really cool.  Thanks Mike!

Group Break Feedback Needed!

It appears that everyone that participated in this month's group break was very pleased because I keep getting asked "When is the next group break?".  I've been looking at a lot of different options for different boxes to open, but I wanted to pose a question to everyone before announcing the next break.

I know everyone appreciates the low price point I generally feature in my breaks and I aim to keep them affordable.  What I want to know is would you rather the next break be "as is" meaning 2-3 boxes of late 90's/early 2000's that features a lot of base cards and inserts or would you like the break to feature one box that guarantees multiple hits with less base cards/inserts?

I've thought about '07 Upper Deck Elements, '08 Donruss Threads, '09 Topps Ticket to Stardom, '09 Topps Unique and most recently '02 Donruss Originals.  I believe we can do a box of something like this and keep the individual team prices at no more than $10-$12 w/ shipping included.  Less popular teams will most likely be discounted to help fill up the slots.  I'm open to suggestions for boxes w/ multiple guaranteed hits too.  Feel free to e-mail me (flywheels at yahoo dot com) your suggestion(s) along w/ a link to where they can be purchased.

Like I said I've got lots of ideas for product to feature if the majority of people want the next break to be like all the previous ones.  Leave me a comment and let me know what direction you want February's break to lean.  Keep doing "as is" or feature 1 box w/ multiple hits.  I'll tally up everyone's comments after a week or so and see what the majority opinion is and go from there.

A trade that nearly fell into the Collector's Crack

Sorry...it's the best title I could come up with!  A few weeks ago I initiated a trade w/ the Collector's Crack and I apologize that I'm just now getting around to posting the cards I received.

I sent him a gold numbered Brett Favre from 2010 Topps Unrivaled along w/ some random Brewers I had in my trade box in exchange for a few Braves and Panthers cards.

I love these mini cards and Mark came through and sent me several that I didn't have.  Now that I finally was able to track down the pages that fit these cards they'll look great filling up the sheet.

I also got this neat 3 card panel.  I'm not sure what year it is or where it came from (magazine insert perhaps?), but I love getting oddball type items like this.

While none of the Panthers rookies knocked off my socks with plays made on the field I still enjoy adding cards of them to my team collection.  The black bordered mini from Topps Magic of Jimmy Clausen looks great!  The Tony Pike Unrivaled RC is numbered 356/999.

And speaking of Tony Pike he also sent me this nice Epix autographed RC numbered 408/499.  With the QB struggles Carolina had this season I still don't understand why Pike didn't get more of an opportunity.

I love it when a good trade comes together!  If you want to pull off a trade just e-mail me and we'll work something out.

2010 Panini Donruss Rated Rookie Football Box

Is it a blaster or something else?  To be completely honest I hadn't heard of this product before today.  After doing a quick Google search however it appears that it has been covered on a few of the big blogs.  Here is my take on what I think is an awesome deal.

The premise of this box is fairly simply.  101 trading cards...all of which are rookies + 1 autographed rookie for 20 bucks.  All of this is packaged inside a small fat box just larger than the cards themselves.  I gotta say this is a great way to package cards as there is virtually zero wasted space versus the standard blaster box.  The downside however is cards aren't really protected.  There is a blank white card on the top and bottom of the stack, but it really doesn't offer any protection to the corners of the cards.  This is a small complaint however as all the cards out of my box escaped any damage.  Just make sure if you buy one of these boxes to inspect the corners before you buy.

The design is colorful and rather simple.  I love the new old Donruss 'd' in the upper right hand corner.  Cards feature a glossy sheen, but not they aren't too shiny.  Cards are printed on a above average card stock.  My only gripe with the design is I wish Panini had used the old school Rated Rookie logo on the cards as they did w/ their recent basketball release.  Another great thing about this box is that you get all the big name rookies like Bradford, Tebow, Bryant and Spiller but you also get cards of other players that aren't highlighted in other sets.  For example my hometown Carolina Panthers are represented by all the offensive rookies - Jimmy Clausen, Tony Pike, Brandon LaFell, David Gettis and Armanti Edwards.

I'm sure the other main attraction for collectors and fans alike will be the guaranteed rookie.  Yes it's a sticker auto and from what I hear the chances at landing an auto from one of the big name rookies is slim, but it's a autographed rookie none the less.

My autograph was of Titans rookie wide receiver Marc Mariani.  Since I don't watch as many AFC games during the season I'm not familiar with this player.  After a quick scan on eBay however I've decided to list it for auction unless someone makes me an offer for a Panthers autograph from this set.  Most of these cards will be available for trade (minus Tebow and the Panthers players) so hit me up if you are interested in claiming your favorite team(s).

For $20.00 it's hard to argue the value you get in the tiny box.  While you don't get actual packs to rip you do know what you are getting.  Unless you have a lot of disposable income and don't mind having more than one set I don't see many people buying more than one box.  I love this idea and I hope to see Panini it again in the coming future. 

Sunday Verse

Today's verse is one of my favorites and comes from the New Testament book of Philippians 4:13:

" I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. " 

We all go through life trying to handle everything that is thrown our way...especially men.  We try to be the best husband/boyfriend, the best father, the best worker to support our families and so on and on.  We may try our best, but ultimately we will fail at something.  Our shoulders just aren't broad enough to carry the weight this world gives us.  That's one of the best thing about Jesus.  He tells us to cast all our problems and our worries on Him.  Place these issues in His hands and move on.

I'll be the first to admit that it isn't always that easy.  I constantly put things in His hands and soon take them back when I don't get the reaction or answer I'm looking for.  Sometimes I think I know what is best for me...that I know what is better for me than God does.  Boy am I stupid!  However when I do place my worries in His hands and leave them there I am amazed at the outcome.  I just have to remind myself that my time table and God's aren't always the same.

Right now I am in one of those stages of life where it's hard to see the positive in everything.  There are financial issues we have to face with only having one income with another baby on the way.  Insurance issues which alone are enough to make you cry yourself to sleep each night.  Even now I still don't know how things will all work out in the end.  The one thing that I do know is that God doesn't give us anything that we can't handle with His help.  I constantly have to remind myself of this verse from Philippians and remember that no matter how bleak things may be or may look - with God's help nothing is impossible!

Thanks for reading.  If you have any questions or comments please pass them along.  Until then, go Steelers!  Go Packers!

Wishing I was as lucky as the Sewingmachineguy

I've been buying random packs and blasters here and there of 2010 Topps Magic Football since it was released.  With each pack I rip I keep hoping to be as lucky as the Sewmachineguy.  So far I haven't been that lucky, but I finally got a hit out of one of the retail packs.

All I said was that it was a hit...didn't say it was a great hit!  I'd like to trade the card for a Panthers auto from Magic if anyone out there has one.  Or if you really want the card just make me an offer.

I am building this beautiful set so if you can help me with this click the link to my want list in the side bar to the right.

After Disappointment...Topps Delivers

On September 5th, 2010 I redeemed a redemption card from 2010 Topps WWE for a Ted Dibiase swatch relic card.  The estimated shipping date was mid December.  A week or so ago I got one of those auto response e-mails (I assume it's automated) saying they were having trouble fulfilling my redemption card.  Why?  I don't understand.  It's not like it was for an autographed card that they were able to get autographed.  It was for a swatch of t-shirt or something similar.

I'll admit I was a little cheesed that they couldn't follow through with the redemption, but at least they sent me this card today as a replacement.

While I'm not really a John Cena fan I gotta admit it's a nicer card than what my redemption card was for!  I've never seen this card before so it was a nice surprise.  Topps more than made up for their blunder by sending this substitute card.

Super Duper Easy Contest! Win a Tim Tebow Gridiron Giveaway RC!

The other night I placed a bid on a 2010 Topps Gridiron Giveaway Week 15 redemption card for Tim Tebow.  What I didn't realize when I placed my bid was that it was for multiples of this card!  I don't need that many Tim Tebow RCs so I thought about doing a simple contest giving 5 winners a redemption card.

 Contest rules are real simple.  No real guess work involved.

1) Become a follower of my blog.  Simply click on follow at the top of the blog.  If you are already a follower just make a post about my contest on your blog for an entry.  Please leave a comment with a link to your blog so I can verify your entry.

2) My other blog, Random Toy Reviews needs some lovin' so if you are into action figures the sign up as a follower and you'll get another entry.

That's it!  Told you it was easy.  Last day to sign up will be Friday, 1/28/11 at 9:00 PM EST.  After sign-ups have closed I'll enter everyone's name into Random.org and run it 3 times.  Top 5 names each win a Tim Tebow Gridiron Giveaway Week 15 redemption card.  Redemption card expires 2/28/11 so if you win don't forget to redeem your card quickly!

Loaded Contest @ All About Cards

Who doesn't like free cards?  Who doesn't like free boxes?!  Head on over to All About Cards ASAP to check out the details of their latest contest.  You've got baseball, football, basketball and NASCAR to satisfy your cardboard addiction.

91-92 Skybox Series 2 Team Sets Up For Grabs!

Just for kicks I opened a box of 91-92 Skybox Series 2 NBA basketball cards.  While it was a lot of fun reminiscing of when I was big into the NBA and basketball cards I just don't have to desire to keep the cards minus a few of the Michael Jordans and the Charlotte Hornets cards.

That said I'm offering up the team sets for the cost of shipping (about a buck).  I doubt they'll be much interest, but I wanted to try here.  If no one is interested then I'll be passing these on to a charitable organization.

Trip to the Post Office...

Just about everyone who participated in my recent group break should be receiving your cards soon.  I dropped off most of the packages today so with any luck maybe they'll start popping up in your mailbox by the weekend.

I apologize for the slight delay in mailing the cards.  I've been trying to get my mortgage refinanced all while looking for some part time evening work and fighting off a cold. 

Again I really appreciate everyone's participation and I hope to be back next month with another affordable group break.

Basketball Bonanza!

I guess I'm just trying to fill the sports void right now as I've started watching a little bit of the NBA.  Some nights I just flip on ESPN or load up ESPN on my Xbox 360 while I organize cards or blog about them.  Some nights however I've stopped to watch the games (at least in spurts) and I've enjoyed them.  I haven't really followed the NBA much since George Shin moved the Hornets out of Charlotte and down to New Orleans.  I watch the ACC basketball games when I can, but watching the NBA just hasn't wowed me as much.

All that said I have enjoyed the few games I've watched along with the handful of Charlotte Bobcats games I've caught on the television.  This somewhat renewed interest got me to looking for cheap cards of both Bobcats and Hornets online.  Here are just a few that I've recently added to my very small basketball card collection.

 

There really isn't much to these die-cut cards, but for whatever reason I think their pretty cool.

I like the orange jerseys so any relic card with a piece of orange jersey appeals to me.  The fact that I ended up getting this card for free was even better.  There was a big crease running down the card just below the "H" in Heroes.  I contacted the eBay seller and he promptly refunded my purchase price of $2.00.  Nice to know there are still some good sellers on eBay.

 

Ah, LJ...whatever happened to you?  Until Shinn gave you that big stupid contract everyone in Charlotte adored you.  You were Muggsy's gentle giant.  Then you went to New York and disappeared.  I still remember peering across the street from my aunt's house in amazement that you lived right there on Lake Wylie.

Huge Score for my Rey Ordonez Collection!

Years ago when I first started chasing all the cards I could find of Rey Ordonez I set out to make a checklist of all of his cards (minus 1/1s).  During that big task (who knew he had so many cards?!) I discovered he had a few Upper Deck SP buy back autograph cards.  At the time I didn't know much about these and to be completely honest I still didn't know much about them until a few days ago.  I ran across an auction on eBay for a Rey Ordonez 1997 SP buy back autograph!  I didn't waste any time in placing a rather decent bid.  A few days later and a few bids by others I got the sweet sweet notification e-mail that I won the card!  I quickly checked out and paid for the card and then came the downside to buying cards online.  Waiting.

I waited a few days and nothing.  Then I had to sit through a holiday waiting again since the mail didn't run.  Well the wait was finally over and it was worth it!  Behold...

  

Isn't it a beauty?  Hand numbered 03/40.  The card is part of the Marquee Matchups where the background is etched in silver foil.  The regular card itself is rather easy to find, but it's still a very nice insert.  The added autograph is the cherry.

The seller also inserted into the top loader this card that mentioned the buy backs were part of the 5th anniversary of SP (1997) and how the card was repurchased by Upper Deck from the hobby and hand signed by the player.  It also says the serial number on both cards are entered in UD's database at their home office and even gives a 1-800 number that you can call in and lay claim to the card so they can add you as owner of the card into the database.  Pretty cool...kinda like registering a star in your name.  I'm not sure if Upper Deck is still doing the whole registering your name thing since they lost their MLB license.

This has to be one of the best cards in my Ordonez collection and by the far the best card I've been able to add in recent memory.  His cards don't show up on the secondary market like they used to...especially the higher end inserts and autographs.  When they do the seller usually wants far more coin then I am willing to part with.

One more card to finally scratch off the want list...several more still to go.

Contest @ Hoopography

Keeping my recent interest in the NBA alive I ran across a contest being held over @ Hoopography this evening.  Everyone has a chance to win a box of Panini's Timeless Treasures!  Why don't you check it out.

Sunday Verse

In the sports world Sunday is a big day.  We have our NFL games, afternoon MLB baseball, NASCAR races, golf tournaments, NBA games and the list goes on and on.  As a sports fan I look forward to these events just as much as the next fan, however I can't forget the real reason I look forward to Sundays.

I've been kicking around the idea of sharing something small and personal on my blog each Sunday.  I don't do it to be preachy or to offend, only to share an important part of my life.  Each Sunday going forward this year I just wanted to share a short scripture verse from the Bible that is laid on my heart.  Sometimes it'll be one of my favorite verses while other times it may be a verse that was presented to me @ church.  Either way it's just something small I wanted to share.

Today's verse comes from the new testament book of Mark.  Someone had asked Jesus what the great of all the Commandments were and this was His response:

^{Mark 12:30 (NIV)
30} Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

Many of you who follow my blog may remember reading about some struggles my family and myself have gone through.  I would be stupid to think that I could handle all this on my own.  My shoulders are simply not broad enough to carry the load.  God has been so good to me and my family and I could fill up paragraph after paragraph with the things He has done for us.  Thanks dad, I love you!

Pack Break - 10-11 Donruss Basketball

Over the last week I've had a little more downtime thanks in part to the winter area slowing things down.  In that downtime I've read on several blogs review of Panini's latest basketball release (Donruss).  I've been so intrigued that I just had to try a pack for myself.  Stopping one more @ Walmart for some sinus medicine I noticed the card aisle had some new product to choose from.  I finally saw the 2010/11 Donruss basketball cards.  I had rack packs and blasters to chose from.

I was never good in math growing up, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what the better deal was.  Rack pack yield 40 cards at the cost of $4.99.  Blasters have 10 packs with 8 cards for a total of 80 cards at the cost of $19.99.  As far as I could tell the inserts and odds were the same so I went with a rack pack.  I do love how Panini prices their rack packs for their various products.  Topps could learn a thing or two.

This probably marks the first pack of basketball cards I've bought period in the last 15 years (at least).  Ever since the old Charlotte Hornets moved to New Orleans I lost the desire to follow the NBA.  Recently however I have started to watch a few Charlotte Bobcats games and it's been fun.  With baseball season still a few months away and the NFL slowly wrapping up it's season I've found the occasional basketball game fills that sports gap rather well.  It helps that the local team has played much better since Larry Brown exited as coach with Paul Silas running the show.  Perhaps Michael Jordan's hands on approach is starting to make a difference?

Anyhow, back to the cards.  This is a card blog after all!  So I'm getting 40 cards for 5 bucks sporting an old school design that is very attractive.  I won't bother scanning in the base cards as plenty of other outlets on the web have covered those already, but I will share any hits I get (if any).  I'll start off with the top half of the rack pack.

#067 Andrew Bogut
#025 Andre Iguodala
#082 Aaron Brooks
#039 Joakim Noah
#096 Hasheem Thabeet
#054 Jonas Jerebko
#110 Tony Parker
#159 D.J. Augustin
#118 Kenyon Martin
#166 Dwayne Wade
#124 Darko Milicic
#171 Juwan Howard

#060 Dwight Howard - Production Line jersey (056/399)
#034 Al Horford - Production Line
#091 Aaron Brooks - Production Line
#211 Sasha Vujacic
#281 New Orleans Hornets Team Checklist
#207 Andrew Bynum
#236 Gordon Hayward - Rated Rookie
#280 Memphis Grizzlies Team Checklist
#223 Omri Casspi

Alright, a hit from a retail pack!  Only having watched a handful of games last season and this season I'm not familiar with a lot of the players, but the basic design (front and back) are enough to keep me interested.  Pulling a jersey card of a high profile player is a big plus.  Let's open the bottom half of the rack pack now and see what else we'll get.

#100 Trevor Ariza
#058 Tayshaun Prince
#016 Amar'e Stoudemire
#073 Drew Gooden
#030 Leandro Barbsosa
#116 Al Harrington
#164 Derrick Brown
#122 Kevin Love
#169 Mario Chalmers
#126 Corey Brewer
#172 Carlos Arroyo

#088 C.J. Watson - Production Line Emerald die-cut
#053 Jose Calderon - Production Line
#011 Gilbert Arenas - Production Line
#204 Derek Fisher
#294 Checklist
#257 Lazar Hayward - Rated Rookie
#215 Robin Lopez
#275 Miami Heat Team Checklist
#242 Larry Sanders - Rated Rookie

Thankfully I already knew about the die-cut cards in this product otherwise I would have thought that card of C.J. Watson was severely miscut!  Not a bad pack at all.  I don't feel jipped and it was fun opening the pack.  Will I buy more?  Maybe.  I can see the draw with this set as Panini has done a very good job in my opinion.  Now if only Panini could score a MLB license and give Topps some competition.  I've love to see the Donruss brand back on the baseball card scene.

Group Break Idea - Any Interest?

While I had lots of fun with the group break we just wrapped up, I can't help to think it was a little less than exciting for a lot of us.  Ever since I've tried my hand at hosting breaks I've aimed to stick with lower end stuff from the 90's or early 2000's.  I've also tried to keep the cost at no more than $10.00 per team. 

Well I wanted to poll you the reader, past and present group break participant.  Would you be interested in breaking higher end product that would yield multiple hits?  I've participated in a few on other blogs and while I've never ended up with a big hit there was much more excitement "in the air" at the possibility of what your slot would bring.

All that said I wanted to propose the following boxes for the next break.  Yeah I know the timing may not be the best seeing how I haven't even mailed out the cards for the break that just wrapped up...but I have a small window of opportunity to get the boxes of cards at a good price.  Here is what I'm thinking about:

- 1 hobby box of 2009 Topps Unique (sell sheet)

- 1 hobby box of 2009 Topps Ticket to Stardom (sell sheet)

Each box contains 3 guaranteed hits.  Each product is different enough that we shouldn't end up with run of the mill jersey or bat cards or autographs of players you've never heard of!  I've attached a sell sheet (.pdf format) for each product above if you aren't familiar with either set.  Each team would be $18.00 shipped.  I may price a few teams even cheaper (like the Pirates, Dbacks or Royals).

I ask those of you who are reading this to comment and let me know if you'd be on board.  I would need to get about 10 participants/teams to make this work.  I would also have to place the order within the next couple of days as I'm not sure how long the stock will last.  If we can make this work I'd be game to try other newer releases later this year like Gypsy Queen for those of you on a budget.

Group Break - Final Results & Random.org Drawings

Each team did pretty good, though some times did receive more base cards and inserts than others.  If your team had several inserts/parallels pulled (like the Yankees) then that participate isn't in the drawing for the inserts of the teams not claimed.  Don't worry though if you think your stack of cards is too small...I've hand picked several cards to add to just about everyone's stack!

We'll start the process for the Pro Sigs Bobby Abreu silver parallel:

Next is for the Pro Sigs Manny Ramirez silver parallel:

Next is for the Pro Sigs Mark Prior silver parallel:

Up next is the Pro Sigs Signature Sensations autograph:

For the Sports Illustrated inserts we'll throw just about everyone's name in the virtual hat.  Starting with the Barry Bonds Headliners.

Next is the Fleer SI Nomar Garciapara Headliners:

Next is for the Fleer SI Troy Glaus One to Watch:

Last insert to be raffled off this the Fleer SI Manny Ramirez Headliners:

I believe I have addresses for everyone so I'll start packing everything up this weekend.  Due to the NFL playoffs I won't be mailing anything out until early to the middle of next week.  RGB - send me the address you want me to ship to please.

I hope everyone enjoyed this break.  If you did make sure to spread the word on your blog.  I have so many ideas for future breaks and the more people that participate allows me to open more or better product.  If all things go as planned I'll be back sometime in February with another break.

Group Break - 1999 Fleer Sports Illustrated

We're down to our final box of cards for January's group break.  We'll be opening a hobby box of 1999 Fleer Sports Illustrated.  I did a box of '98 Fleer SI a few months ago and it was a lot of fun.  The cards all sported great photography and we got some good inserts.

Speaking of inserts here are the inserts we're looking for.  Headliners 1:4, Ones to Watch 1:12, Fabulous 40's 1:20 packs, Diamond Dominators (pitchers 1:90, hitters 1:180).  Exclusive to hobby:  Fabulous 40's Extra (#'d to 642 & J.D. Drew autographs (hand #'d to 250)

Again, I'll only be listing the cards of the teams that were claimed.

Pack 1:

#067 Jeremy Giambi | Dermal Brown | Chris Hatcher / Team 2000 (Royals)
#008 Jim Leyritz / Postseason Review (Padres)

#17HL Nomar Garciaparra - Headliners (Red Sox)

These Headliners inserts have a felt like feel on the front with Headliners printed in silver foil.

Pack 2:

#020 Sammy Sosa (Cubs) | Juan Gonzalez (Rangers) / Most Valuable Players

#047 Ronnie Belliard | Valerio de los Santos | Rafael Roque / Team 2000 (Brewers)
#150 Javier Lopez (Braves)
#169 Eric Karros (Dodgers)

Pack 3:

#001 Derek Jeter / Post Season Review (Yankees)
#060 Matt Clement | Ben Davis | Stan Spencer / Team 2000 (Padres)
#156 Jeff King (Royals)
#144 David Cone (Yankees)

Pack 4:

#046 George Lombard | Adam Butler | Bruce Chen / Team 2000 (Braves)
#093 Ray Lankford (Cardinals)

#10HL Manny Ramirez - Headliners (Indians)
#174 Tom Glavine (Braves)
#149 Alex Rodriguez (Mariners)

Pack 5:

#069 Corey Koskie | A.J. Pierzynski | Benji Sampson / Team 2000 (Twins)

#017 Tom Gordon (Red Sox) | Trevor Hoffman (Padres) / Saves Leaders
#161 Jeff Bagwell (Astros)
#157 Bernie Williams (Yankees)

Pack 6:

#086 Andy Pettitte (Yankees)
#058 Jay Payton | Mike Kinkade | Masato Yoshii / Team 2000 (Mets)
#113 Bobby Higginson (Tigers)
#164 Chan Ho Park (Dodgers)

Pack 7:

#013 Rickey Henderson (A's) | Tony Womack (Pirates) / Stolen Bases Leaders
#071 Mike Lowell | Jay Tessmer | Ryan Bradley / Team 2000 (Yankees)

#7OW Troy Glaus - Ones to Watch (Angels)
#104 Vinny Castilla (Rockies)
#130 Derek Bell (Astros)

Ones to Watch insert has a reflective foil (?) background.

Pack 8:

#056 Carlos Guillen | David Holdridge | Giomar Guevara / Team 2000 (Mariners)

#039 Dennis Martinez (Braves) / Season Highlights

Pack 9:

#088 Jeff Cirillo (Brewers)
#077 Devon White (Dodgers)
#043 Mitch Meluskey | Mike Grzanich | Daryl Ward / Team 2000 (Astros)
#128 Denny Neagle (Braves)
#171 Edgar Martinez (Mariners)

Pack 10:

#018 Kerry Wood (Cubs) | Ben Grieve (A's) / Rookie of the Year
#165 Damion Easley (Tigers)
#119 Rondell White (Expos)

Pack 11:
#041 New York Yankees / Season Highlights

#21HL Derek Jeter - Headliners (Yankees)

Pack 12:

#079 Barry Larkin (Reds)
#066 Derrick Gibson | Mark Strittmatter | Edgard Clemente / Team 2000 (Rockies)
#026 Todd Stottlemyre / Season Highlights (Cardinals)
#152 Derek Jeter (Yankees)

Pack 13:

#035 Ken Griffey, Jr. / Season Highlights (Mariners)
#090 John Olerud (Mets)

#19HL Greg Maddux - Headliners (Braves)
#133 Trevor Hoffman (Padres)
#107 Andrew Galarraga (Braves)

Pack 14:

#003 David Wells / Postseason Review (Yankees)

#11FF Rafael Palmeiro (Rangers) - Fabulous 40's
#134 Gary Sheffield (Dodgers)
#125 Livan Hernandez (Marlins)
#116 Edgar Renteria (Cardinals)

Fabulous 40's insert is embossed, much like the Circa Boss inserts.  I know this card shows Palmeiro in a Orioles uniform, but the team logo on the back is the Rangers.  I hate it when card companies do that.

Pack 15:

#172 Cliff Floyd (Marlins)
#145 Greg Vaughn (Padres)
#122 Al Leiter (Mets)

Pack 16:

#068 Rob Fick | Gabe Kapler | Marino Santana / Team 2000 (Tigers)
#053 Kirk Bullinger | Fernando Seguignol | Tim Young / Team 2000 (Expos)
#007 Greg Maddux / Postseason Review (Braves)

#140 Moises Alou (Astros)
#179 Checklist

Pack 17:

#016 Roger Clemens (Blue Jays) | Greg Maddux (Braves) / ERA Leaders
#154 Kevin Brown (Dodgers)
#012 Bernie Williams (Yankees) | Larry Walker (Rockies) / Batting Average Leaders
#120 Jamie Moyer (Mariners)
#110 Larry Walker (Rockies)

Pack 18:

#063 Jonathan Johnson | Rob Sasser | Scott Sheldon / Team 2000 (Rangers)
#044 Eric Chavez | Blake Stein | Mike Neill / Team 2000 (A's)
#177 Dean Palmer (Tigers)

Pack 19:

#033 Mark McGwire / Season Highlights (Cardinals)
#111 John Smoltz (Braves)

Pack 20:

#29 Tony Clark / Season Highlights (Tigers)

#09OW Eric Chavez - Ones to Watch (A's)
#102 Kenny Rogers (A's)

#123 Mark McGwire (Cardinals)

Pack 21:

#074 Rafael Palmeiro (Rangers)
#173 Vladimir Guerrero (Expos)
#148 Tony Clark (Tigers)

Pack 22:

#031 David Wells / Season Highlights (Yankees)
#098 Chipper Jones (Braves)
#082 Jason Giambi (A's)
#117 Andruw Jones (Braves)

Pack 23:

#002 Scott Brosius / Postseason Review (Yankees)
#048 J.D. Drew | Placido Polanco | Mark Little / Team 2000 (Cardinals)

#14HL Barry Bonds - Headliners (Giants)
#103 Kevin Millwood (Braves)
#129 Johnny Damon (Royals)

Pack 24:

Missing!  I swear guys my box was one pack short of the 24 it should have had.  I even went back and counted the wrappers to make sure my numbering wasn't off.  Sorry everyone.  If you've participated in any of my past breaks you should know I generally throw in some extra cards to everyone's stack just because.  This time I'll toss in a few more extra to make up for the missing pack.

I'll have a wrap up post following soon with totals for each participant.  We'll also random off the various inserts (using Random.org) of teams that weren't claimed.  Because of the NFL playoffs this weekend it'll be the first of next week before I'll be able to ship off everyone's stack of cards.