Grab Your Team - 2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary Limited Factory Set

** UPDATE - ALL TEAMS HAVE BEEN CLAIMED **

I'm getting ever closer to getting my crap in order so I can resume some trading. I swear I've been saying that for the last year, but things are starting to fall into place. My want list and trade lists will be revamped and updated very soon. I've got a CRAP TON of stuff I'm not keeping either and will be looking for a new home. I'm thinking about filling up a large flat rate USPS box with everything (sets, both complete and incomplete of base Topps, Heritage and more) so if that sounds like something you'd pay the shipping on let me know and we'll work something out.

Now, the real reason for this post. Upon my cleaning up I found this factory set of 2011 Topps baseball. Now before you write this off, pay close attention. This is a set I won from Topps so the cards aren't your regular 2011 issue. Nope, for starters the Diamond Anniversary logo replaces the normal Topps logo and in silver foil above the name is "factory set limited edition". 

example

I hope that I haven't waited too long and that there are enough people interested in these variants.

A quick scan of eBay shows many commons from this set selling at a buck each. However I thought why not make team sets (contains both series 1 & 2) and let them go for $4 shipped? This would cover my shipping expense and get the cards into the hands of collectors. I looked at doing this for free, but if I'm being honest I don't gave the money to cover shipping for everyone. Lack of money is one of the reasons I cut back drastically on my card purchases.

I'm currently working on putting together a want list for 2014 Allen & Ginter & Gypsy Queen, so if you have a lot of unwanted base cards and maybe some minis/inserts, I'll take whatever you have as payment.

So if $4 shipped sounds fair to you, then all I ask is that you please leave a comment claiming your team or teams. (If you are interested in more than 3 teams, let me know and we'll work out a discounted price.) PayPal address is flywheels@yahoo.com. You can then e-mail me your shipping address. I ask that everyone gives me your address again as I have a new laptop and haven't switched over all of my files yet.

The Buzz - Charlotte Hornets on Social Media

Between Christmas and New Years, my wife and I spent a few nights in uptown Charlotte to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. Despite living just down I-77 in Rock Hill, SC now and growing up in Charlotte, I rarely find myself in uptown. It's always nice visiting, but with all the growth Charlotte has gone through I feel like I'm a visitor in my own town!

One of the evenings while uptown, we walked next door to the Time Warner Cable Arena and caught the Charlotte Hornets vs Milwaukee Bucks game. This was the first time I've been back to the arena since the Bobcats to Hornets transition. I haven't had the opportunity to tour any other NBA arenas, but I'm still amazed by the "cable box" each and every time I visit. I love the subtle changes that have been made in favor of the teal and purple returning. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me so I was only able to get a few pictures on my phone.

Just inside the arena, near a decent sized eating area I found these large 'Hornets Greats' pictures. I don't believe these were here before. The first group, far left is comprised of Muggsy Bogues, Dell Curry and Larry Johnson. The middle group is comprised of Kelly Tripuka, Alonzo Mourning and Kendall Gill. The group on the right is comprised of Glen Rice, Jamal Mashburn and Bobby Phills.

Just to the right of those Hornets pictures is the practice court for the team. You can grab a (incredibly over priced burger) and sit by the large window that separates the arena from the court. While we were strolling by, Hornets forward Marvin Williams was on the court taking a few shots.

We were staying next to the arena at the Hyatt House so we got to and inside fairly quick. This was my first look in person at the new court and looked great. I love the subtle honeycomb design on the court. Even the new arena is starting to grow on me. Even the scoreboard is really impressive. Did you catch the small Air Jordon logo underneath the screen?

While we were waiting for the game to start, I flipped through the program, The Buzz, we were handed as we walked in. Inside is your usual scouting report for that nights game, plenty of stats, advertisements and other little bits of info. Towards the back of the program was a section called Player Headshots. 

Listed beneath each player were their various social media handles. Outside of Facebook, I'm not all that active in social media, but I do find myself following certain athletes and getting a kick out of their status updates and tweets from time to time (Chipper Jones immediately comes to mind!). I don't think I knew many of the Hornets players were on social media to begin with so I found this kind of interesting.

Players of interest:

P.J. Hairston

Instagram: @kangaroo.jack

Gerald Henderson

Facebook: /GeraldHenderson

Twitter: @GhJr09

Al Jefferson
Facebook: /aljefferson25

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Facebook: /MKG14Official
Twitter: @MKG14
Instagram: @MKG14

Lance Stephenson

Facebook: /StephensonLance

Twitter: @StephensonLance

Instagram: @stephensonlance

Kemba Walker

Facebook: /KembaWalker

Twitter: @KembaWalker

Instagram: @_KW15

Cody Zeller

Facebook: /codyzeller40

Twitter: @CodyZeller

Charlotte Hornets

Facebook: /hornets

Twitter: @hornets

Instagram: @hornets

Cards on Cards Delivers!

Hosting group breaks is a lot of work. I did a lot of hosting, but rare was I a participant very often. At the end of 2014 I jumped on a small group break that Cards on Cards was hosting. The box was for 2014 Topps Mini, something I hadn't acquired one single card of. I grabbed the Atlanta Braves (of course) and proceeded to forget about the break! Blame it on Kerry's issues with mail theft and the holidays.

Upon arriving at home yesterday my daughters greeted me at the door with a bubble mailer, curious as to what was inside. Lo and behold it was my minis! The Topps Mini set isn't my favorite, but my 2014 Braves needed some new blood and the price was right. My team did manage to get one insert, a serially numbered gold parallel of fireballer, Julio Teheran.

Kerry was also nice enough to send me a few Carolina Panthers and Charlotte Bobcats cards along with a NC State alum for my other collections. Thanks for hosting the break!

#41/63

NFL Wild Card Weekend: Carolina Panthers vs. Arizona Cardinals

Oh my. Who would have ever thought the Carolina Panthers would be in the NFL playoffs this year? At one point my beloved home town team went 60+ days without a win! I know a lot of fans hate the fact that a team with a losing record won the division, let alone are in the playoffs. However I'm telling you know - don't sleep on this team.

I'm not going to predict the Panthers are going to win the Super Bowl, but I do believe they have as good a chance as any team, especially with the way they've been playing over the last 4 games. A lot rides on the legs of RB Jonathan Stewart in today's game. If Cam can be himself and the running game is a beast, combined with a stingy defense, I think the Panthers can handle the red birds.

So with Carolina's big day I figured now would be a good chance to show off some new Kelvin Benjamin cards. I know he has dropped some passes lately, but overall how can you argue with a rookie WR with over 1,000 receiving yards?

   

   

I'm really digging these new Topps Valor cards. I like the matte stock used. I just may need to track down a team set. Prime of course continues to be the Stadium Club of football with the excellent, clear photography. The Score Hot Rookies looks better than recent years' efforts. The Rookie & Stars consistently has a nice, clean design and this year is no different.

GO PANTHERS!