Going for Broke

In addition to the recently updated theme and some infrastructure-type tweaking, I decided to finally just throw everyone I like on the Single Page Sensations page and see what sticks.  Here are all the new additions, and re-additions, so let’s trade!

Cubs– Arismendy AlcanteraCJ Edwards, Derrick MayMiguel MonteroTuffy RhodesRock ShouldersDan VogelbachKerry WoodJulio Zuleta

Other Baseball– Mookie BettsCarlos DelgadoRay DurhamJermaine Dye, , Jose Fernandez, Charlie Hayes, Tadahito Iguchi, Paul Konerko, Hunter PenceYangervis SolarteYordano VenturaTaijuan Walker, Dave Winfield

BearsMarty BookerCurtis ConwayBobby EngramMuhsin MuhammedMarcus Robinson

Other Football– Jamal AndersonAnquan Boldin, Marques ColstonTerrell DavisKeenan McCardellJerry Rice, Barry Sanders, Jimmy Smith, Fred Taylor

BasketballLaMarcus AldridgePau Gasol, Artis GilmoreDanny Granger, Kirk HinrichEddie JonesKerry Kittles, Scottie PippenChris Webber

SoccerJermaine Jones

WrestlingDaniel Bryan

In addition, a few older Single Pages and full player collections are going to be reorganized.  Once I know what I’m keeping, the stuff I don’t want will be moved to the Trade Bait page.

I don’t know if burning through all of this in my 30th year of being will be my last great collecting hurrah or something else entirely, but I know I’m going to have lots of fun along the way.

I leave you with this rad Blue Prizm of Jorge Soler #'ed /199..

I leave you with this rad Blue Prizm of Jorge Soler #’ed /199, just cuz..

Thanks for stopping by!

Into the fire…

COMC Keepers: Basketball y Football

Hi!   Wow, we’re gonna be posting two days in a row!  If I may be so bold as to promote an internet buddy of mine’s podcast for my nerdier readers out there before we get to it, I’m listening to the latest Nerd Nation Podcast (with guest Savage Hawkman’s Mark Poulton) as I type this.  Lots of technical difficulties this week, but the interview is aces.  Check the archives too, they tend to get some pretty outstanding guests.

With the unsolicited promotion out of the way, let’s get right into this here recent COMC order then.  We’ll start with the basketball & football keepers I guess, since that’s what I typed in the title section.

First up, new Steven Jackson!

Early 2000s Upper Deck multisport Moss/KG and an LT /799..

Shakespearean Actor Eddie George!

It’s true.  He’s Julius Caesar!  I can’t find the review, but he’s apparently pretty good.

Sweet Spot Warrick Dunn, Prestige & BowSter Jamaal Charles..

Upper Deck & Philadelphia Marques Colston jerseys..

Flashback Fabrics and Blue Inception /209 MJDs. Two of the swankier cards in the whole lot. Good stuff..

Kareem Sticker, embossified AI, Jersey AI, LeClair, Granger, Love, and Pierce..

I guess LeClair isn’t strictly a keeper, but I’d need a Byfuglien or Marian Hossa relic for it, so the window is pretty narrow.  That’s also my first hockey swatch card.  My only other Hockey hits are Doug Gilmour and (I think) Tim Taylor autos.  I guess Kareem and Kevin Love could be had too, if you have something similar of someone I might like more.

Reflections football was one of my faves from the past decade, so being able to get the jersey third of my impending Paul Pierce trifecta from the basketball version was nice.

Studio Deron Williams powder blues & a Luther Head auto that's all kinds of classy. The ink is even silver. Freakin' sweet..

Finally, Luol Deng Bowman sticker auto, Trilo3y jersey, & Sterling jerseyfractor /199..

And that’s all for this one.  Baseball keepers are on deck (also Bears, I’m not going back and adding more to this post), random keepers in the hole.  All I need to do is hunt up my Deng & Head rookies or upgrade to cooler ones (all I have of either is plane ol’ Topps I think), and kapow, Trifecta complete!  Thanks for reading, folks. 🙂

Until our next…

More Cards to Check Out

I’m not up for posting anything thoughtful or intelligent or insightful or any other big word at the moment.  So how about pics of my latest batch of cards shipped from COMC?  (Another order, that I was intending to have shipped in mid-december, will be on the way soon.)

Minis! One with a piece of stadium seat in it. And one that I accidentally bought twice...

Yep, I accidentally bought two Nelson Cruz Kimballs.  I’m sure another blogger can use the second one though.

1975 Topps Minis of Cubs Hall of Famers in the wrong uniforms.  And Billy Williams rocking the late-career heel turn ‘stache.  Very nice.

Cy Young is a keeper.  I’d really like to knock out both mini Icons sets this year.

Ferris Fain is… for trade, I guess.  I kinda wanna keep it, but I’ll let him go for the right price.

Old timey players on shiny cards and current players on old timey cards.

Jimmie Foxx is the only one available for trade on this page, again reluctantly.  The nonsensical shininess really works well with that particular photo, methinks.  I might just be too out of it to know better though.  I’ll at least need some form of one of the legends I collect (any version, any team) in return.

In the unlikely event you got your hands on the obscure early-2000s Donruss Estrellas set at some point and pulled any other Leyendas del Posados, I’m collecting that set.  You can find it on my page dedicated to set needs.  The only other one I have besides the three above is Tony Perez.  I need the rest.  I like… goooold.  Ahem, moving on.

Jerseys... Jerseys... And more JERSEYS!

Except Forte.  He’s just a bronze parallel #’ed /999.  Also, the two SPx jerseys on the bottom row were in rougher shape than the pictures indicated.  But oh wells.  The Colston is an eBay 1/1, being #’ed 250/250.  And cost me less than $1.  Actually only Tomlinson ($1.49) and Hester ($2.50) cost more a buck.  All of these are keepers, if you didn’t know.

Right then, one more picture for tonight.

All sorts of random silliness. Mitch and Roberto aren't even from COMC...

Yeah, Keith’s kid and Sandy’s kid came from Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius.  Thank you, Matt!  Did your stuff from me ever arrive?

Beckham is Razor Metal or something.  I never really paid much attention to any Razor offerings.  I wanted to see what these in particular were all about though, and it was priced at a solid shiny nickel, and I had just slightly more than that leftover, so I was all “Eh, why not?”, and there it is.  I know nothing more about these or Razor than I did before.  But it’s pretty cool looking I guess.  He and the Nomo are the two cards on this scan for trade.  I’m not keeping Moreland, but his destination has already been chosen.

Ah, Starfire, in presumably less terribly written days.  The Titans have had a lot more downs than ups in their existence, as I understand.

Cards like the Nomar above are mostly what I’m after of him.  Love the quirky inserts from the second half of the ’90s and first half of the aughts, and who better to go after than the Ken Boyer of his day, whose heyday coincides with the most unbridled creative time in the history of the hobby.  Haha, yeah!  Stamp-like die-cut, foil that can’t decide if it’s silver or gold (I still don’t know!), and multiple photos.  Man… the 1990s were truly the greatest decade ever.

And speaking of that 1996-2000 sweet spot of glorious cardmatic wonder, a pretty spiffy insert from a happier, more easygoing, less cynical point in the life of Topps Finest, celebrating the previous year’s MVP (TD), Super Bowl MVP (Tebow Hater Elway), and Rookie of the Year (Straight Cash Homey Moss).

Well, there ya go.  I woke up enough to get wacky at the end.  But for this post, this is the end.  And after just over 300 posts, I still don’t know how to segue to outtro.  So I’ll just be on my way then.  Seeya. 😉

Man I totally realized I left off at least two other people I owed cards to on my New Year’s post… 😦

 

The Trading Post: CamClow of Cardboard Heaven

‘Ello ‘ello, old chums.  Back with another trade post.  This one is from CamClow of Cardboard Heaven.  Only three cards in this, but they are all great ones.

MJD Jumbo Jersey /50, FergiePants, and Colston refractor..

As far as plain jerseys go, nothing beats a Donruss jumbo swatch, I tell ya.  It’s hard to explain, but they just do it better.  Maybe this is where the designing cards backwards comes into play (not that that makes it right).  I dunno, but I rarely see one I don’t like, even when the design blows (not the case here, thankfully) or the swatch isn’t that jumbo (it’s more medium-sized really).  The design on the Jones-Drew is nice and simple, especially considering this is Donruss we’re talking.  It frames the player and cool turquoise jersey swatch quite nicely and incorporates the Jaguars team colors into the card in a coherent way.  Good job, designer person!

Next, that Fergie Jenkins pants card is just a thing of beauty.  Upper Deck Vintage were amongst the greatest sets of the past decade, if not all-time, and the hits are no exception.  Just a stunning card.  Definitely one of the highest highlights of my Fergie Jenkins collection.

I’m a huge fan of late-rounders that go on to become big stars, which is why I loves me some Marques Colston.  Taken 252 overall (out of 255), he has put up numbers that are right there with the very best of a still very good draft class, even with some bigger name early picks stumbling to outright bombing.  He’s put up the second most receptions (369, behind Brandon Marshall’s 413), yards (5069, behind Greg Jennings’ 5222), and is tied for most touchdowns (40, with Jennings).  Overall, I’d say he’s easily top-10 in his draft class (he is tied for 8th in the 2006 draft class in career AV at 44, which backs that assessment up).  So yeah, Colston is a favorite and the rest of you should send me cards of him too. 😛

Needless to say, excellent trade, Mr. Clow.  I will get my end of the trade out to you as soon as I pick you up another jersey card for your 3000K collection (Clemens most likely).  Thanks for stopping by!

I’ll get you next time, Gadget…