Thursday, May 31, 2012

Hornets History

You won't see a lot of basketball cards on this blog...especially after the NBA screwed Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Bobcats last night in the Draft Lottery.  That said the lottery combined with the playoffs did get me strolling down memory lane.



All of Charlotte was cheering w/ Alonzo Mourning hit the shot.  This shot was just as big for Charlotte as "the slide" by the Braves' Sid Bream was for Atlanta.  I really miss that team.  Too bad Larry Johnson and 'Zo couldn't get along as they made a formidable duo in the early 90's.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

A helping hand

Competition isn't always bad. It's always cool to run across fellow Braves collectors where we can help each other out from time to time.  Awhile back a reader contacted me about something...can't remember what exactly.  Turns out he too was a Braves fan and was looking for new trading partners.  From time to time I send him Braves stuff and he sends me Braves and Panthers cards.  He even started his own blog not too long ago, Chipp 'n' Dale.  Recently he contacted me about a Steve Smith card and tossed in a nice little bonus...

2012 Panini Prime Signatures Steve Smith (426/499)
2012 Panini Prime Signatures (426/499)
92-93 Fleer Ultra Alonzo Mourning RC
92-93 Fleer Ultra RC
I love getting old Hornets cards!  I'm not as big a fan of the NBA now as I was in the early 90's, but that doesn't stop me from wanting more old school Charlotte Hornets...you know, the real Hornets.  I really really hope Michael Jordan renames the Bobcats the Hornets again since the name is being freed up.  The whole city is behind the movement.  Come on Jordan, Bring back the Buzz!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Braves Win! Braves Win!

The losing streak in Atlanta is over!  The Braves ended their 8 game streak this evening against the St. Louis Cardinals.  Kimbrel came in to fan the last two batters for the save and the win.  Whew!  The Braves aren't out of the woods yet with Chipper on the DL and not knowing w/ Freddie Freeman's problem w/ his dry eyes will be resolved...but it's a start!

Go Braves!  That's why we chop.

August 2012 Affordable Group Break - 2012 Topps Chrome (x3 boxes!)

Product image for 2012 Topps Chrome Baseball Hobby Box (Presell)

About this time last year I ditched the typical boxes of baseball cards I feature in my monthly Affordable Group Breaks in lieu of trying Topps Marquee.  We had marginal success and it was a lot of fun.  I don't get the chance to open stuff that doesn't appear in large quantity at retail so perhaps that was a selfish motivation of mine to host something "high end".

Over the Memorial Day weekend I got a chance to peek inside the newest issue of Beckett on newstands and I saw the preview for both 2012 Topps Chrome and Topps Finest.  I thought featuring either one of those products would be different and fun to rip.  After looking at the checklists and prices of the boxes I decided to feature Chrome over Finest.  It seems more bang for our buck per box (24 packs versus 12 and 2 autos guaranteed in each box).  For a complete checklist click HERE.

After crunching the numbers it comes out to $17 per slot - less than the cost of a blaster!  14 slots available.  Pick a team and have the 2nd team randomized.  Product isn't scheduled to be released until August 22nd or 23rd, but I wanted to open up sign-ups now to gauge interest.  So if you are interested keep on reading.

To sign up I am asking that you pay up front.  Reason being I want to order the boxes ASAP so we can lock in the current pricing.  As you know the closer the release date approaches the higher the prices can creep up. This will only go down if all 14 slots are filled.  I'd like to offer some kind of incentive to "pimp" the break on your own blog, but cash is tight.  That said if for some reason we can't get 14 people to join in on the fun then I'll refund everyone's money.

To claim a slot(s) please:
  • 1) Leave a comment letting me know your team of choice (or teams if claiming multiple slots)
  • 2) PayPal your payment via gift to:  cardboardcollections at yahoo.com
  • 3) E-mail me (same address as payment) your screen name, full name, address and the team(s) claimed
01) Atlanta Braves (Cardboard Collections) (PAID)
02) Toronto Blue Jays (D a V e) (PAID)
03) Milwaukee Brewers (cynicalbuddha) (PAID)
04) Washington Nationals (arfmax) (PAID)
05) New York Yankees (The Dutch Card Guy) (PAID)
06) New York Mets (TheBrooklynMet) (PAID)
07) St. Louis Cardinals (IkesCards) (PAID)
08) Baltimore Orioles (Ryan H) (PAID)
09) Philadelphia Phillies (daddyohoho) (PAID)
10) Chicago Cubs (Matt Pederson) (PAID)
11) Texas Rangers (aj245) (PAID)
12) Arizona Diamondbacks (Farrell Quinlan) (PAID)
13) Los Angels Dodgers (Dodgers88) (PAID)
14) San Francisco Giants (arpsmith) (PAID)
15) Tampa Bay Rays (Farrell Quinlan) (PAID)

Monday, May 28, 2012

Baseball Cards, Sports and Life (and a contest too!)

I love find new blogs to follow and read.  Throw in a contest and it's even better finding that new blog!  What is this blog I'm referring to?  Baseball Cards, Sports and Life.  If you haven't already checked out the "new blog on the block" then go ahead and do so.  Contest ends Wednesday of this week!

Trade with Plaschke

Continuing my catching up on trade posts, next up is a fantastic trade that was in the works for quite a while.  Back during all that Peyton Manning hoop-la I decided to let go of several Manning and Drew Brees RCs that I essentially forgot I had.  Greg from Plaschke, Thy Sweater Is Argyle expressed interest in them so I said just send me something of "equal value" from the teams or players I collect.  Boy did he ever do a good job picking out some cards.  Take a look...

1966 Topps Eddie Mathews
1966 Topps
I don't normally do vintage, but there is a certain charm about these old cards.  This has to be the oldest Braves card in my collection now.

2002 Playoff Piece of the Game jersey
2002 Playoff A Piece of the Game
2002 Topps Gold Label MLB Award Ceremony Relic
2002 Topps Gold Label
I loved the Gold Label set and these relic cards are equally as nice.  I wish all relic cards could be as thin as this one.

2002 Topps 206 Mini Framed Relic
2002 Topps 206
I love these framed mini cards.  I don't think I have anything from '02 Topps 206 so this was a pleasant surprise!

2010 Topps Magic RC
2010 Topps Magic RC
One of the best looking Tebow RCs in my opinion.

2010 Panini Crown Royale David Gettis auto (099/199)
2010 Panini Crown Royale auto (099/199)
Us Carolina fans are expecting good things out of David Gettis as well as the rest of the WR core in 2012.

2011 Bwman Sterling DeAngelo Williams Veteran Relic
2011 Bowman Sterling Veteran Relic
I still don't get the red jersey swatch...

2006 Topps DeAngelo Williams RC BCCG 10 Mint
2006 Topps  RC BCCG 10 Mint
I only have 2 other graded cards in my various collections - not something I've really pursued.  However these slabs of plastic are still pretty cool.

Greg really out did himself with this trade.  He selected some fantastic cards and I couldn't be happier.


Sunday, May 27, 2012

Sunday Conversation - Brian Roberts

I'm not exactly sure how I stumbled across this interview w/ the Orioles' Brian Roberts, but it was a good read so I thought it appropriate to share it on a Sunday.  I'm trying really hard to resist collecting yet another player.  Let's just say going forward I may not be placing his cards in my Orioles trade stack.

Sunday Verse

James 1:19

[Listening and Doing] My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this:  Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry...

I need to work on this one myself.  I'm going to enjoy the day w/ my wife kids free!  My wife turns 30 on Friday so we're taking advantage of my mom's offer to watch the kids and I'm taking her to the Melting Pot for a early birthday dinner.  Have a great, safe Memorial Day everyone!

Saturday, May 26, 2012

"O" No! Another Trade Post

PhotobucketI've really been lagging behind on spreading the joys of trading with fellow bloggers.  Now that I've got some cataloging of new cards behind me I figured now was as good a time as any to get caught up on giving certain traders their proper trade post.  So bear with me as the next few posts as I share some new acquisitions.

We'll start off by looking at some cards graciously sent to me by Ryan of "O" No!  Another Orioles Blog.  When those 2012 Topps Series 1 / Heritage Value boxes first hit retail I picked up one out of curiosity and ended up pulling a nice on card auto of the Orioles' Adam Jones.  I figured Ryan may have wanted this card and it didn't take him long to leave me a comment.  He had already been working on building a stack of Braves for me and once he saw the Jones auto he tossed in some more great cards.  There was a total of 2 team bags full of Braves, here are just a few:

2011 Bowman Julio Teheran Bowman's Best
2011 Bowman's Best
2011 Topps Chrome Dan Uggla Vintage Collection
2011 Topps Chrome Brian McCann Vintage Collection


2011 Bowman Freddie Freeman Blue (077/500)
2011 Bowman Blue (077/500)
2011 Bowman Brandon Beachy Orange (041/250)
2011 Bowman Orange (041/250)
2011 Topps Triple Threads Green (218/249)
2011 Topps Triple Threads Green (218/249)
2011 Topps Chrome Jason Heyward Orange Refractor
2011 Topps Chrome Orange Refractor


















2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Bronze Framed Paper

Friday, May 25, 2012

Pack Break - 2012 Topps Archives

Like many others I couldn't resist picking up a retail pack of the new Archives.  When I saw a new freshly opened box sitting on the shelf I knew the packs hadn't been all molested and such so I figured why not take a chance.

Then I grabbed a rack pack and a blaster.  I'm weak.

Even though it's a new set that was just released I'm sure some readers are already getting tired of seeing the same images over and over...so I'll just share the contents of the loose pack and then some of the inserts and such that I pulled.


While there are some similarities to the Lineage set from last year, I'm much happier w/ Archives.  Even the wrappers are cooler than Lineage's.

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I know using Topps design's from yesterday w/ current players isn't a new concept (Heritage), it is nice in my opinion to see designs not from the 50's and 60's.  I love the 1984 design personally.  Nothing too great in the first 6 cards, though I was happy to see the Martin Prado.  I didn't notice at first that the Larry Doby card is one of those gold foil stamped reprints.

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I can't say I've really heard much of this guy outside of the blog-o-sphere so I wasn't sure if I should happy this was in my first pack.

2012 Topps Archives 1982 In Action

Loving this 1982 In Action card of Josh Hamilton.

Babe Ruth

1968 3D Babe Ruth - Like the 3D cards in Lineage I'm loving these and plan to build the set.

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These sticker cards are somewhat cool, but not for me.

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1969 Deckle Edge inserts are different.  Not sure how I feel about them at the moment.

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1977 Cloth Stickers - just like from Lineage.  I still kinda like these, just not enough to build the set.

2012 Topps Archives Reprint

More reprints.  At least I got a keeper in Gary Carter.  Next!

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Gold Rainbow Foilboard parallels - yawn.  I do want the Tim Hudson parallel though...

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1956 Topps Relic

Always nice when you find a hit in your retail pack/blaster box.  Hoping to trade this for a Brave's relic (Hanson, Heyward, Hudson, Uggla)

For whatever reason I still like this set.  I may take a stab at building the 200 card set.  I'm over trying to collect large amounts of SPs so other than a few Braves that are in the last 40 (or is it 41?).  I love the 3D inserts and there are several Braves for me to chase so Archives oughta be fun for awhile.


Thursday, May 24, 2012

7 reasons to buy 2012 Upper Deck Avengers Assemble

I've already shared a few 1/1 sketch cards from Upper Deck's new Avengers Assemble set, but if those are exclusive to hobby boxes one may ask why bother w/ retail?  I'll give you 7 reasons.

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#1

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#2

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#3

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#4

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#5

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#6

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#7

Need I say more?

In all seriousness Upper Deck did a great job with this set.  I like how they took images from both Iron Man movies, Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America as well as the new Avengers movie.  I've put together 75% of the set already and I hope to post my want list and extra cards soon just in case anyone else is working on this set as well.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The 'art' of collecting

If you've followed my blog for any length of time you'll know I collect more than just sports cards.  While I have cut back on non-sports card purchases, I am still intrigued by some of the Marvel Comics stuff.  A month or so ago Upper Deck released their Avengers Assemble set of movie cards.  I'll probably do a post on those cards themselves soon, but for now I wanted to talk about the 1/1 sketch cards found exclusively in hobby boxes.

Sketch cards aren't anything new, but they have seemed to get better and better over the years.  Since I don't buy many hobby packs I didn't know that sketch cards were included in this Avengers set.  I actually found out about them after my wife introduced me to Pinterest.  I started a board to showcase some of the great cards and artwork I could find online.  This lead to a few cards of some characters that caught my eye.  1) I was impressed with the art and 2) I was impressed that these lower tier characters were included.

JackofHearts

I was first introduced to Jack of Hearts when he blew up the Avengers Mansion right before the Avengers Disassemble story.  I took the opportunity to go back and pick up other books he appeared in as my appreciation for the cosmic Marvel characters was growing.

Mockingbird001

Mockingbird was a member of the West Coast Avengers and married for a time to the Avenger Hawkeye.  She was thought dead until she and others were found alive during Secret Invasion.  Ever since I've been a fan of the character.  This card actually depicts her in her old uniform.  While dated, I still prefer it over her current look.

Starhawk

I was first introduced to Starhawk back in the early 90's when my brother bought me the first issue of Guardians of the Galaxy.  He is a strange character to say the least, but I always enjoyed the way Jim Valentino wrote him.

Darkhawk

Darkhawk001

The early 90's were full of new, great Marvel characters.  Darkhawk was one of those.  He gained a cult following with his own title and continued to appear in other books after his ended.  He became a member of the New Warriors (my favorite team book) and later played a big role in the cosmic story War of Kings.  This card is particularly cool because it's signed by the artist on the back.  There is a small silver foil "AP" stamped on the front signifying it was signed by the artist.  If the 1/1 wasn't already cool enough this really puts it over the top.

I don't own many cards like this so these are the new highlight of my Marvel card collection.  I previously had one black and white sketch card (of Nova) so I was stoked to get 4 colored sketch cards.  Sure beats buying an expensive hobby box and getting stuck w/ a crappy sketch card of a character you don't want.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Redemption day

I don't mess with a lot of redemption cards these days - especially after Topps screwed up and sent a card to someone else and refused to acknowledge their error and replace the card.  That said I bought a redemption card from 2011 Topps Platinum football last year for a penny of Carolina Panthers rookie WR Darvin Adams.  I like Refractors and on card autos and cheap cards so it was a match made in heaven.  Plus I thought it was cool that Darvin was on the receiving end of several of Cam Newton's TF passes in college at Auburn.  I redeemed the card on Topps' website in early January 2012 and it arrived yesterday.  Nice.

2011 Topps Platinum Darvin Adams Rookie auto Refractor (1623/1725)
#1623/1725