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6

More gum in Topps packs?

Topps announced it new CEO today, Ryan O'Hara, who worked at TV Guide and TVGuide.com.

When people think about Topps, they think trading cards. However, Topps make of their money through candy. O'Hara is a confection man. He worked for Nestle before and probably will be able to help in that direction.

What does this mean for trading cards though? (I don't really like candy)

- O'Hara has embraced new media and, perhaps, so will Topps. Personally, I think Topps has one of the worst companies when it comes to social media. The company has gotten better with a few tweets here and there. Hopefully, this means O'Hara will make the company better.

- O'Hara has worked for sports companies. He worked for Fox Sports Net. I don't know what position he had with the company, but it shows he won't be completely clueless when it comes to the sports card side.

Scanning the articles on the move (there aren't many), these are two things I have come up with.

With Topps gaining exclusivity with baseball, regardless of the UD lawsuit going on, why do you think O'Hara has come in now as the new CEO?
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6

Trip to the Hobby Shop

Saturday I was in the gym and I noticed my phone had the blinking red light indicating a message. It was an e-mail from Dave over at the Baseball Card Store saying they opened a pack of 2010 UD and decided not to leave it out because I would want it and to stop by when I had time. We all know what happened next. I finished up my workout, grabbed a shake, and hit the road for the card store.

You can't send me an e-mail like that and expect me to not run there immediately. I have no patience, and no will-power. I hauled tail to Jersey and no one was surprised that I was there so fast. Dave throws me the pack and I flip through them somewhat slowly to enjoy whatever I was going to find.

Here is why they saved the pack for me:

However, the pack also contained these pretty awesome cards...



I have to say this is the most hilarious card I have seen. I might even like it better than the Pujols card. It is perforated down the middle for separation but I'm leaving it intact. Awesome card. They could really make a whole set of these caricatures but as baseball players, I think they are fun.

Oh yeah, and instead of a thick cardboard filler I ended up with this:

Ichiro 2010 Exquisite serial numbered /75. These cards are super thick and very nice if you ask me.

I may make a trip to the shop after class since I am anticipating being snowed in tomorrow I will need something to keep me occupied. Oh and I will need something to blog about, which is always a great excuse right?

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10

2010 Upper Deck Series 1 Rack Pack






Don't get too excited, this blog is short and sweet. I noticed not many of you have seen the Tape Measure Shot cards, so I decided to scan them for you all to see. I bought one pack pack and it guarantees 2 of these cards per rack pack.

All that was in the rack pack were the 2 Tape Measure Shots, and a Biography card. The rest were base cards so I'm not scanning those since we have all seen them already.

I still have to show you guys what I got in the pack from the hobby shop the other day. Well worth driving down there for it.
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4

Super Bowl

I must say I really enjoyed watching the Super Bowl this year despite having no allegiance to either team. The game moved along quickly, there weren't many penalties and it was close the whole game.

I didn't realize I cared about the game until the Saints won the challenge on the 2 point conversion and I was screaming and clapping. I realized it again when I was willing Peyton to throw an interception so the Saints could ensure a win. Someone was jumping and screaming at the tv to "go go go go!!" when the Saints intercepted.

I don't know what football teams many of you root for but if you are a Saints fan (for longer than the last week), congrats and hope you enjoyed seeing your team win their first Super Bowl. It was a nice moment to watch Drew and his little boy together after the game having a moment.

What did you guys think of the game?

On another random note, more snow is forecasted for tomorrow in some areas South from VA up, and in my area for Wednesday. This better not be a tease for my area and we get nothing again because I would like an excuse to skip my Wednesday class.

10 days until pitchers and catchers report....
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9

Sunday Question

Is Spring Training really about to start?

Because I can't see out of my windows with all the snow covering it.
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6

2010 Upper Deck Series 1 Hobby Packs



Since my favorite card shop was still waiting on their delivery of this product I resorted to my back-up store to check out. Normally this store is incredibly overpriced, however, on this product they are probably the best price around at $4.75 per hobby pack. I have zero patience when I want to check something out and will exhaust all avenues before waiting which is why I ended up getting packs at this place.

I asked the guy behind the counter to pick the packs for me since I always pick air, and the last time I bought packs there I pulled a BTL auto from 09 SP Authentic. He picked out 3 packs for me, I paid and left. Sort of. I can't buy 3 of anything and it felt dirty almost so I had to go back and get one more. I opened the one I picked first just to see how great my instincts are, and well wouldn't you know... AIR! Overall, I think I did ok on what I pulled.

Here is what I like about the product so far:
-Card design is great, reminds me of the old ESPN sets they used to put out
-Pictures are good, despite most of them being of the back end of a swing or some odd angle they are still nicely done for a company who supposedly couldn't make cards
-Biography subset is exactly what last the Documentary set should have been if they had put an hour of thought into that set in the first place. This set chronicles one game for each game of the season, with the correct player on the card (what a concept).
-Big fan of die cut cards as inserts, they are always fun to pull.

Dislikes, well I don't really have one yet. If I were a set builder I might be kind of annoyed that there are 600 cards in Series 1, but that is the norm for Upper Deck so I would also be used to it, I suppose. I also think the game used jersey card design is the same as a year or two ago with minor tweaking.

The only card that wasn't grouped into the same pack as these base cards was Jeter, the rest of the scan were in one super glorious pack.
I scanned the Rookie cards I got so you guys could check them out. The logo they designed isn't terrible but not sure they needed to point out that it's a rookie card twice on the card.
Biography subset, 2 per pack. Nothing too exciting to me.
Portraits cards, which some of you seem to hate. I rather like them, but then again I like vintage looking cards of todays players.

Pure heat die cuts
Crawford, the next Yankees outfielder... LOL, kidding.

This last card I actually bought from the store. They opened up one pack to show what the cards look like and what not and I asked to look through them and saw this. I picked it up for a buck, which is way better than paying $3 shipping on eBay.

All World Russ Martin.

There you have it. 4 packs of hobby fun.

I was also at the hobby shop tonight after getting an e-mail from them. I'll tell that story after I put in some study time with my Anatomy & Physiology books.
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15

6 Topps redemptions...

and 6 Suck it, Topps! Suck it, Topps! Suck it, Topps! Suck it, Topps! Suck it, Topps! Suck it, Topps! from me back to them for screwing us on these.

Last year as some of you might recall Sooz and I bought a case of 2008 Series 1 Jumbo boxes and there were 6 World Baseball Classic redemption cards in the case. They did not say they were specific to a certain card number on the cards so I punched in the codes and waited... I got home today to see 6 Tri-Star envelopes and was excited to see what we ended up with. Now, I just want to punch someone from Topps right in their suckhole.

How would you feel if you redeemed 6 cards and got these? I don't care what team you are a fan of, who the f- needs 6 of the same card? If we got 6 Pujols or 6 Jeters I would still be annoyed.

Just something else that makes no sense. Someone should tell Topps their redemption process sucks, as well as collectors having to redeem codes and bulls--- 12 weeks or whatever the hell for delivery.

I'm done now. Now I am going to scan my GOOD cards, the 2010 Upper Deck Series 1 hobby packs which had ZERO redemptions and were still COOL despite not having a team name on them.
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6

Bloggers helping bloggers

Technically, it doesn't need to be bloggers. Anyone with a computer connection - and a weekend blizzard - can help out.

SRUChris, Stale Gum and others have been compiling a Wiki on baseball cards. Here you'll find checklists and basic information about sets.

Check out the link here.

Obviously, there are so many sets and so much going on that it's nearly impossible for a few people who have other responsibilities such as school, work and life to be able to create the entire list. But, you can help. It's simple with direction right on the page.

Eventually, I think the BaseballCardPedia is going to be expendable source. It would be amazing if people could help out, no matter how small. Everything adds up.

I mean, look how great this is. They already have a 2010 Upper Deck checklist.
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6

This is why people hate the Yankees

It's not the pies that makes other people hate the Yankees, but the fact that those outside of the Yankees have to glorify it.

Topps announced 12 variations in 2010 Topps Series 1 that feature Yankees getting pied after their walk-off wins. As a Yankee fans, I enjoyed every single one of them. I attended four or five of them, which was a 90 percent rate considering the amount of games I got to see at Yankee Stadium last year.

However, why does anyone is not a Yankee fan care about these variations? Furthermore, why does a set like this need to glorify it this way?

I'm not saying I wouldn't lick the pie off ARod's face - actually I am going to say that, I would - but when else has Topps or Upper Deck commemorated a team winning over so many different cards.

Every year there is card highlighting the World Series champions, which I think is a great idea. You don't  know when your team is going to win again and it's a nice piece to add to your collection when it's your team.

But 12 cards featuring guys creaming each other? Perhaps this should go in another set that is not sold to children.

Here's some more information regarding these cards (link) and another mystery that has yet to be revealed (link ... look toward the bottom for the mystery) regarding 2010 Topps Series 1. Where's Stale Gum when you need him? 
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11

My first video box break

OOOOOOOK

This is my first video box break. It was an interesting process.

It's a two-box break of 2009 Ultimate (received from Atlanta Sports Cards) and all of :45 seconds long because I showed just the cards and condensed the box break.

The music has nothing to do with anything. Just one of the few songs I have on this computer. 

Please be kind. This is the first video I've EVER created. EVER.




What is interesting about the jersey card was the way it was sealed in the pack. The card came in a penny sleeve because it also came with a separate card stating who was on it and its authenticity. However, the penny sleeve was stuck to the lining of the wrapper that was sealed by the machine.

There was no damage to the card, but I was slightly concerned about it when opening the pack.
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7

2009 UD Signature Stars Packs

After class today I started sweating and shaking and knew what it was from. I headed straight to the card store because it was withdrawal. We have all had symptoms at one time or another and we all know the cure is to rip some packs.

I had e-mailed Dave of the Baseball Card Store to see if they had any 2010 Upper Deck Series 1 in, and their shipment was delayed for legal reasons apparently, and would not ship out until today. Schucks, I will have to go back tomorrow or Monday, how will I ever deal with that?

They had a hobby box of 2010 UD Signature Stars still sealed so I popped it open and starting opening packs. Odds were good, 1:4 packs would get a hit, but my luck I figured I'd have to open 10. I picked the bottom pack, top right, and got air. I picked the bottom pack, top right, and got air. Bottom right pack, you see where this is going.... Finally bottom left, I got a hit if you want to call it that.

Dave then decided to open a pack, and he gave me the cards out of pity for my pathetic display of luck I think. I didn't get a single Yankee, Pujols, or Lind. I don't care about Lind or Pujols because I had already bought them on eBay figuring I wouldn't be opening any packs.

I scanned all the cards, wrapper including for the purpose of showing that the wrapper states TWICE that they are not licensed, and so do the back of the cards which you will see on two that I scanned the backs of. I scanned the back of one guy because I hate him, and the other guy was just who was left so poor Giles. I also kept one wrapper from this fiasco in case Tribe Cards wants it.




Despite the logos of the teams missing, the cards are like any other card they put out in years past. The one thing I don't like about this particular set is that they used a color Upper Deck logo in the upper right that reminds me of a cheap set like First Edition. This is supposed to be a higher end product so I think the logo should have blended in more, but what do I know I don't make cards.

I'm willing to trade all of these except Braun and Gordon. Here are the cards I got in 5 packs:






There you have it, 1:5 packs there is an autograph. They never guaranteed it would be good, nor a guy that you have heard of.

I am holding out for Upper Deck Series 1 for now. I went to Target today also to see if they had anything and zippo so far. I will be vigilant in checking for our loyal readers because I want you all to know when they hit the shelves.... yeah that's why. I'll keep telling myself that.
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7

This post has nothing to do with baseball or cards

I went to a concert last night in New York City and I've been looking through YouTube for clips of the show. I saw lots of people with their phones and digital cameras taking photos.

Here's one song of My Favorite Accident with Motion City Soundtrack.



One of the coolest part of the show was near the end. An acapella group came out and performed one of Motion City Soundtrack's songs.

Justin Pierre, co-founder and lead vocalist, said they found these guys on You Tube and invited them out.

Here's the You Tube clip of the Williams Octet originally performing the song.



I was in sharing kind of mood today.

Thanks for entertaining me.
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9

2010 Fantasy Baseball

OK, here is where we stand as of now:

1. The Franchise
2. The Dude
3. Purple Donkey
4. Carolina XFractors
5. Boneyard Braves
6. Cards on Cards
7. Victorious Secret
8. MOJOJAZZ
9. Grand Cards
10. Mr. Scott
**11. Peterson
**12. Anthony K.

I told everyone that played last year that they would be given the option to vote for 10 teams or 12, so please leave your preference. If 12 is the vote then the 2 new additions are listed already.

I also would like to make sure that everyone is for head-to-head as opposed to roto style as well as if you would like daily roster changes along with daily add/drops, or weekly roster changes. There will be a cap on transactions per week because I think that it will this more competitive. If you guys feel differently I am all for hearing about it, so bring it on.

Also, I am thinking of doing the draft possibly the first weekend in March and whichever day is good for the majority will win.
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2

Psst.... Look what I found...

Sorry I have been so quiet lately, but the only excitement in card collecting I have had are 2010 Topps blasters, and I can't get excited enough to scan another blaster. There isn't much worth scanning in them, and I am lazy about scanning. I've also been attempting to get my brain back into school mode and out of Spongebob mode.
Anyway, I picked up a couple of cards for my PC but still need a few and I am hoping that someone out there can help me fill in the gaps. Here is what I found: I still need to get my mitts on gold #42 and #206. If anyone has those and could offer them for a trade, or CTBNL (card to be named later) that would be awesome.
From the last blaster I opened (I've opened the one I showed on here and this other one) I pulled the usual types of inserts but there were only 2 worth scanning to me. I was shocked to have pulled a Pujols throwback and for it to be his actual base card and not one of the others made me doubly happy. I am also looking for throwback #4, 42, 206, 327. Oh, I just realized I lied. I pulled 3 Yankees throwbacks as well, Sabathia, Dunn RC, and Yankees checklist card with Jeter, A-Rod, and Cano.
I have all my Tigers throwbacks put aside for Grand Cards, and if anyone is interested in trading throwbacks let me know, I am only keeping the guys I collect.
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2

MLB Suing Upper Deck

Well, that didn't take long

Here's a story from the AP:

NEW YORK -- Major League Baseball's licensing wing is calling out a baseball card maker for allegedly stealing trademarks.

Major League Baseball Properties Inc. filed a trademark lawsuit seeking unspecified damages against The Upper Deck Co. Inc. on Monday in federal court in Manhattan.

The lawsuit said Upper Deck is continuing to sell baseball cards featuring professional baseball players even though the company is no longer licensed to show MLB trademarks. Major League Baseball Properties began this year to license only The Topps Co. Inc. in a bid to increase its revenues from the cards.

MLB Properties is indirectly owned by the 30 major league clubs and acts as their licensing agent.

A message left for Upper Deck in Carlsbad, Calif. was not immediately returned Monday.
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