Group Break 2nd Team Randomization results...Let the trading begin!

Alright, I took the remaining teams that went unclaimed and filled the Randomizer - hit the button 3 times and these are the results.  I've added in red the assignments based on the order of the original sign-ups.  Let the trading begin!  Please make all trades via comments in this post so I know who gets what once it's all said and done.

I'll start things off by offering up Cardinals, Saints, Browns, Jaguars, Buccaneers, Chiefs, Lions or Falcons for the Rams, Jets or Raiders.

 List Randomizer

There were 21 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Bengals / Panthers - Cardboard Collections
2. Ravens / Texans - Matt Pederson
3. Titans / Packers - Josh D.
4. Bears / Chargers - Underdog Cards
5. Colts / Eagles - daddyohoho
6. Jets / 49ers - Brian Conrad
7. Raiders Chiefs / Broncos - Josh D.
8. Patriots / Cowboys - Play at the Plate
9. Bills / Vikings - Plate at the Plate
10. Dolphins / Redskins - Cardboard Hogs
11. Rams / Steelers - NY Hitman 23
12. Giants - Cardboard Collections
13. Cardinals - Cardboard Collections
14. Saints - Cardboard Collections
15. Seahawks - Cardboard Collections
16. Browns - Cardboard Collections
17. Jaguars - Cardboard Collections
18. Buccaneers - Cardboard Collections
19. Chiefs Raiders - Cardboard Collections
20. Lions - Cardboard Collections
21. Falcons - Cardboard Collections

Timestamp: 2013-05-31 03:47:46 UTC
You have randomized this list 3 times.

LAST CALL! Group Break sign ups closed Tonight at 9 PM EST

I still have slots remaining in this month's group break.  In order to give everyone time to trade their 2nd randomly assigned teams I'm closing the sigh-ups tonight at 9 PM EST.  I hope to have the randomization results posted later tonight.  Thanks to everyone that has already signed up and paid.

I've also posted this message in Blowout's forums hoping that we can get a few more participants.

Group Break Update feat. Panini Unwrapped (2013 Score NFL)

So most of you know that my next Affordable Group Break contains one 10 pack/50 cards per pack Jumbo Hobby box of 2013 Score NFL Football.  I was already super excited about the breaking the box as a host, but then Tracy Hackler of Panini had to do one of their box break videos that has me even more excited.

I decided to share the video here just in case you were on the fence of whether to sign up for my break or not.  One pack of this at your LCS will set you back at least $10 (assuming it's not marked up).  So why not save your $10 and put it towards the break where you get to choose 1 team and have 2nd team randomized?!

Looks fun, huh?  Panini has really amped up the Score brand for 2013 and I can't wait to get ripping.  UPS says the box will be delivered on Friday.  My wife's birthday is Saturday and I know I'm going to be busy, but I'm going to aim for busting the box Friday evening.  If there was enough interest I could try to do the video LIVE via UStream.  I've never done that before, but I'm always willing to give it a try.  Otherwise I'll upload the video to my YouTube account for all to watch while I craft a blog post with the contents.

The 2nd team randomization will occur as soon as possible.  I want everyone to have a chance to trade your assigned team so just bear with me.  If you haven't signed up yet, you still have time...but don't delay!  Click HERE for all the details.

Now that the 2013 NFL Draft is complete let's do a football group break featuring 2013 Score (Hobby Jumbo that's LOADED)

** UPDATE ** 
Box has been ordered, 05/28/13.  I'll leave the team sign ups open for a few more days.  If the break doesn't fill up we'll still do it, but I get to do what I please with the unclaimed teams.

As much as I love baseball, the NFL is a mighty juggernaut that just can't be stopped.  Football is quickly becoming the sport that everyone talks about year round.  I know I was excited about this year's NFL Draft and now that it's over some new 2013 football products are starting to release.  I thought about doing a box or two of Topps Archives, but then I checked out 2013 Score and the hobby only jumbo boxes are absolutely loaded!  Check it out:

Each Score Jumbo Box contains Three Autographs/Memorabilia Cards, Fifty Rookies, Ten Hot Rookies, and Ten Parallels!

Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Score Football with Rookie Cards inspired by the landmark 1989 design!

The first officially licensed 2013 Rookie Cards with updated draft information. Rookie Cards fall five per hobby jumbo!

At least two autographs per box!

Find Road to the Super Bowl subset featuring the Super Bowl Champions!

Look for the 1st official Rookie Cards & Rookie Cards Autographs!

PRODUCT BREAKDOWN:

25TH ANNIVERSARY: 110 Rookies, five per pack, based on the 1989 Score design, updated to reflect drafted team & round information, look for limited Black & Purple parallels.

HOT ROOKIE SIGNATURES: Combination of their new pro uniforms along with their 1st rookie card signatures will certainly makes these cards the
early highly prized chase cards of the season, look for rare Showcase, Artist's Proof & Showcase Artist's Proof versions.

ROOKIE SIGNATURES: The 1st autographs of the incoming 2013 Draft Class within weeks of the draft.

Printing Plates: Look for 1 of 1 Printing Plates of the Commons, Subsets, Rookies & Hot Rookies.

Hot Rookies: The top picks of the 2013 draft are featured in their new pro uniform, one per Hobby Jumbo. Look for Hobby limited Showcase, Artist's Proof & Showcase Artist's versions.

Inscriptions: Current stars (Peyton Manning/Adrian Peterson) & rising stars (Colin Kaepernick/Andrew Luck) are featured in this limited autograph insert.

10 Packs Per Box, 50 Cards Per Pack

  

 

I think Panini has done an excellent job "upgrading" the Score brand from previous years.  If we act now we can bust on jumbo box using a 2 team per slot format.

16 two team slots available.  Pick one team of your choice.  Once all the slots have been filled, then the unclaimed teams will be randomly assigned to all participants.  Each two team slot will only cost you $10.00 shipped!  Pretty good, huh?  To sweeten the deal I'll send each participant extra cards of the team you choose.  There might even be some extra loose packs tossed into the break.

1. Now I'm asking if you are interested in this break to claim your team and make your payment immediately. To claim your first team please leave a comment in this post with your choice.
2. Send your gift payment via PayPal to:  cardboardcollections @ yahoo . com
3. Please also e-mail me your mailing address to the same e-mail above.
4. The faster we can get this filled up the faster we can get to breaking!

If you have any questions please let me know.  Of course if we don't get enough interest in this break I'll gladly refund everyone's money.

01) Carolina Panthers (Cardboard Collections) (PAID)

02) Houston Texans (Matt Pederson) (PAID)

03) Green Bay Packers (Josh D.) (PAID)

04) San Diego Chargers (Underdog Cards) (PAID)

05) Philadelphia Eagles (daddyohoho) (PAID)

06) San Francisco 49ers (Brian Conrad) (PAID)

07) Denver Broncos (Josh D.) (PAID)

08) Dallas Cowboys (Play at the Plate) (PAID)

09) Minnesota Vikings (Play at the Plate) (PAID)

10) Washington Redskins (Cardboard Hogs) (PAID)

11) Pittsburgh Steelers (NY Hitman 23) (PAID) 

12)

13)

14)

15)

16)

Video Pack Break - 2012-13 Panini Past & Present Retail Value Pack

Decided to do something a little different this time around for a pack break.  My YouTube channel has been neglected for some time so I uploaded the contents of this pack I was curious about.  Ever since Michael Jordan made the announcement about the Charlotte Hornets returning, I've been in a basketball mood.  I couldn't help picking up a pack of this new Panini product to see what it was all about.  I was secretly hoping I'd pull a card of an old Hornets player, but I don't even know who is on the checklist in this set!  So here we go!

As I mentioned in the video, outside of the 2 Bobcats RCs, I have no intention on keeping the rest of the cards.  So if you want 1 or 2 cards please leave a comment and send me an SASE and they are all yours!

Goodbye Bobcats, Welcome back Hornets!

Just in case you haven't heard, the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats are officially undergoing a name change.  It may not be a big deal in the rest of the country, but for around these parts this is BIG.  Yes, the Hornets name is coming back to where it belonged in the first place.

Michael Jordan is set to have a press conference here in Charlotte later today with the announcement.

Now a lot of the critics say it won't matter what the team is called as long as the talent on the team "sucks".  True, it has been tough being a NBA fan in this city over the last 10 years or so.  The Charlotte Bobcats have really struggled to find their place in the city and with the fans after the original Hornets owner, George Shinn, moved the team in 2002 to New Orleans.

The team has positioned themselves to (hopefully) get a few good draft picks this year.  They are still searching for a coach after firing 1st year coach Mike Dunlap last month.  Free agents are a must and there is room underneath the salary cap is starting to be made.  There is a lot that remains unseen with Michael Jordan and this team.  Will the purple and teal return?  Will the old mascot, Hugo the Hornet return?  Will people show up to the games and support this team?

I believe the answers to all of the above are yes.  It will take several seasons before this team can contend for a playoff spot, but I'm confident that the name change is a step in the right direction.  The Hornets were the hottest ticket in town in the early 90's and while time has moved on and things have changed, it's nice to see that the Buzz is coming back to Charlotte.

In closing I'll leave you with this video clip from the 1993 Playoffs that is truly a piece of Charlotte sports history.

New TV purchase = free MLB.TV Premium subscription!

Late last week I was told by my former employer that I was being sent a "thank you" check for my time served.  The company I worked for was bought out at the beginning of last month.  Of course I thought this was a nice gesture and all, but I wasn't sure how much the check would be.  Well Monday rolled around and when I checked the mail there was an envelope from Durham, NC.  I opened it up and my jaw immediately hit the floor!  Let's just say they were more than generous with their gift.

I had heard some months ago when I knew the company was up for sale that there might be some money awarded to all that didn't "jump ship" during their sale.  I had joked to my wife that I'd buy the family a new, nicer TV if that were true.  So what do you think my wife and I did upon seeing this check?  We hit our phones to start researching our pending TV purchase.

I spent A LOT of time online doing my research.  I even talked to a pretty help Best Buy associate about what we wanted in a new TV.  Despite my brothers telling me to buy a Samsung, I ended up buying a very nice LG LED Smart 3D TV last night on Amazon.

Now some of you may be wondering "why is this guy sharing this on his trading card blog?".  Well let me tell you.  I knew one of the pre-loaded apps on the TV was MLB.TV.  I thought cool, but you have to have a subscription so I won't be using that.  Then I found this image last night after I completed my purchase.

LG is running a promo from April 14th to June 8th where if you buy a qualifying TV you get a free Premium subscription to MLB.TV!  Talk about a nice little bonus.  Now living in the upstate of SC I can already watch every Atlanta Braves game thanks to Sports South, however I am kinda excited about being able to watch other games outside of what ESPN and Fox carries in my market.  

I won't be able to travel and visit any other ball parks anytime soon so this is the closest I'll get.  My wife's family is from the New England area and they are big Red Sox fans so perhaps I can tune in a catch a Sox game.  Our local AAA team is the affiliate of the White Sox so if one of the guys I watch play down here gets called up, now I can watch them in the big leagues.

Of course too I'll be able to watch games/players that I've seen on cardboard the last few years.  Perhaps I'll catch Manny Machado play one evening?  Or go out west and see if Pujols is continuing to struggle.  The possibilities are endless!

The rest of our money will be spent on things we need instead of want (like this TV), but I do hope I can entice the wife to let me buy a box of cards.  Perhaps a 2nd box of A&G?  Or maybe I grab a box of Archives.  I liked last year's effort.  Or maybe I'll just focus on getting caught up buying those 2013 singles/parallels/inserts/autos of Tim Hudson that I've yet to find.  Decisions, decisions!

Cards in the mail...

After a long and tiring, but awesome Mother's Day I took a few moments to get some much neglected stacks of cards prepped to drop off in the mail today.  Heads up if you're ZIP code is either 76063 or 80301.

Sunday Verse

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


Isn't it uncanny how when you hear something from the Lord at the time and place that you need it most?  Last week started off kind of rough for me and my wife and that very same morning I had the above scripture waiting for me in my inbox.

Not much has gone on this past week for me card wise.  I haven't chased any new Tim Hudson cards nor have I made any trades, though I do have some cards that were sent to me  I need to share.  I saw that Bowman is out now, but that set never really gets me too excited.  I'm sure I'll buy at least one retail pack just for kicks, but other than that I'll skip Bowman and continue to wait for A&G to be released.  That said I guess I should look at a Bowman checklist to see what Tim Hudson cards I'll need to look out for.  Probably should just grab a Braves team set too and be done with it.

That's enough for today, after all it's Mother's Day and I've got 3 moms and a wife to take care of.  Have a great Sunday everyone and go make sure to call your mom or go hug her today and tell her how much you appreciate everything she does / has done for you!

A gift of Salmon

Tom of the excellent blog, The Angels In Order, asked me to send him a list of my Tim Salmon collection to see if he had any extras that I lacked.  Turns out he had a few that I didn't.  How on earth did I not have a 1995 Topps card of Salmon?!

As if that wasn't gracious enough, Tom also went through my Want Lists and found several cards I needed for various sets I'm collecting.  I am now able to cross off several 2012 GQ commons along with a few from 2012 Archives and 2008 UD Timelines.

   

I wanted this Upton card because 1) I'm collecting the set and 2) I love 3D cards.  Never thought he'd be a Brave that makes this card that much cooler now.  I got burnt out with the flagship Topps brand last year so by the time the Updates & Highlights set came out I only bought one or two packs.  I liked the one Cut Above card that I pulled from the lone pack I bought and wanted more, I just didn't want to buy more packs.  I'm slowly beginning to put together this set and I love the subtle die-cut design.  We need more die-cut baseball cards again.  Pacific...where are you?

"O" No! Another Trade Post

Sometime last year I posted an interview with Baltimore Orioles second baseman, Brian Roberts.  Shortly there after I decided to add Brain to my already crowded player collection.  I went back through all of my commons and trade stash and found a few of this cards, but nothing spectacular.  I grabbed one or two cheap relics off eBay around the same time.

I don't remember the time table now, but Ryan from "O" No! Another Orioles Blog sent me two team bags full of Brian Roberts cards.  He single handed gave my PC some much needed sustenance.  I grabbed 9 of my favorite cards he sent to share.  Thanks so much Ryan for helping share some Orioles love with this Braves fan!

Congratulations on 200 Tim!

What a game last night!  Congratulations Tim on 200 wins...and another hit home run to boot!