Surprise Christmas Package...That I'm Just Now Getting to Posting About

Right around Christmas I came home from work and was greeted at the door by my lovely wife...although she didn't have that lovely look on her face. Nope, I walked in the door to her stink eye. She was standing there, holding a rather large USPS Priority box.

You see, I have a lot of hobbies and tend to spend too much money at times. Whenever a package shows up she wants the 411 on it and this was one time that I couldn't tell her what was inside...because even I didn't know! I thought the return address looked familiar, but I wasn't sure so I proceeded to open up the package.

To my surprise I found new, sealed Kenner Starting Lineups of Braves players David Justice and Kevin Millwood. There was an empty Pinnacle Inside can featuring Chipper Jones, a Topps Screen Plan tin again featuring Chipper (and the card inside too!), a large tin of Donruss Preferred featuring Carolina Panthers QB Kerry Collins (and some guy named Aikman) and a 100 count box of cards. Inside the box was a slew of Braves and Panthers players, including some nice older cards of Phil Neikro. Inside the Preferred tin were a few more cards. An autographed card of Bruce Chen (of who I share the same exact birthdate), a Stefan Lefors football/jersey card and a very cool Keary Colbert card featuring cut pieces of his helmet mask. Yeah, those players never really lived up to their expectations and did much in the pros, but the cards none the less are very cool.

So, who sent me all of this loot? It was none other than Dennis from Too Many Verlanders. I'm really embarrased that here it is the 10th of February and I'm just now typing up my thank you post. Dennis' gift absolutely came out of left field and I really, really appreciate it. I know I haven't been as active with my blog, reading and commenting on other blogs or trading as I would like. I'm sure there are plenty of other Braves fans that blog so I'm humbled to receive this loot. Looks like it's time for me to Pay It Forward. Thanks again Dennis!

More Carolina Panthers from a Michigan Fan

I'm really starting to feel guilty here as I have received several bubble mailers full of great cards (mostly Carolina Panthers) from Dennis (Too Many Verlanders). Other than from the goodness of his own heart, I'm not sure what I did to deserve receiving these awesome cards, but a huge thank you! I swear Dennis, as soon as I find something relevant to what you collect it'll be in the mail to you!

2002 Upper Deck SPx DeShaun Foster Winning Materials Rookies #WMR-DF

This big, thick card features a raised rubber square with the Panthers logo along with a big black swatch of jersey. Foster was a pretty good running back before injuries started to set in place. He would eventually wind up in San Francisco with the 49ers before fading into obscurity.

2005 Upper Deck SP Stefan LeFors Rookie Authentics #223 (487/890)

One could argue that before the Panthers "won" the lottery and drafted Cam Newton, our QB play hasn't been that good. Yeah, Kerry Collins had a few good years even Jake Delhomme took the club to the Super Bowl one year, but how many Stefan LeFors have there been? At least this is a pretty card to look at with an on card signature.

2006 Upper Deck XL DeShaun Foster XLmemorabilia #XL-DF

While not the best looking card out there, this is just another example of why I miss Upper Deck. At the time the quad relic was still something special. While card technology has far surpassed this now a days, I'm grateful to own another relic of Foster.

2007 Topps Co-Signers Steve Smith / Dwayne Jarrett RC #85 (24/50)

Jarrett had a lot of hype coming out of the University of Southern California, but he couldn't quite make it with the Carolina Panthers, or the NFL for that matter. I always kept hearing in the local media that he had a hard time adapting to a pro style offense and that he could read the playbook. Kinda funny he's matched up with Steve Smith who obviously didn't have a hard time making himself known in the NFL for his style of play.

2013 Panini Contenders Kawann Short Autograph RC #159

I have to be honest here, this card surprised me. I'm used to receiving early 2000's era Panthers cards from Dennis, so to receive a modern card...and a rookie auto at that caught me by surprise. Kawann is just now starting to come in as his own player at the Defensive Tackle position. For years the Panthers have had a pretty good defense and it's key guys like Kawann that have help with the Panthers D what it has been.

I haven't cataloged all my Panthers cards yet, but I do believe this is my first Kawann Short card, period. Thanks!

This is just another reason that I love to blog about cards...it's the cool people that I've met over the years. Of course I'd say this about Dennis or any other blogger even if I didn't receive any cards out of it. Thanks again Dennis and I'm serious, please let me know what I can send you in return.