Birthday Loot from Sooz!

Phew. Finals and the semester are over and now I can relax for a little while. First, thank you to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday both here and on Twitter it was a fun day filled with food, and presents. Oh yeah, and Sooz came alllllllll the way here to hang out because she's the bestest. We got all dressed like grown ups and went out to dinner with my family. I have a nice picture, I like it... Sooz hates it... so therefore you all lose.

Speaking of Sooz being the best... She bought me some pretty awesome stuff for my birthday. One of which I should be embarrassed to admit and I may very well not even say what it was, and the other is a thing of beauty. It has all the elements- it's dirty and it feels sooo good. Hey now! Get your mind out of the gutter people.

2010 Topps Sterling Robinson Cano /25 5x GU with DIRT!


The picture of these glove cards really do them no justice until you have it in your hand. They feel like leather, which makes the card even more unique and desirable. Now that I have one, I would buy one of each version if I were rich. They are that nice, not to mention the fabric is dirty. There is nothing I like more than a game used card with dirt on it. Not only does it look cooler but it makes you feel like it was an actual game used card.

Leave it to Sooz to find another card to add to my top Cano cards. I LOVE this card. She is spot on with the kinds of cards I would like in my collection. My first dirty Robbie card, I like him dirty. =)

P.S. Now that finals are over, you are all going to be hearing from me more. Especially since I went to Target a few times....

Happy Birthday, Marie

Today is Marie's birthday.

I just wanted to wish her a happy one on this BIG day.

Kim says happy birthday too.

The National is going back to Baltimore

I went to the National for the first time this year. It was a massive card show and got tiresome by the last day.

But, I had a great time.

I met some really great people, guys I still talk to even now. Spending a weekend listening to homeless people yell at you can have a really special bonding effect.

Well, the officials from the National Sports Collectors Convention said today the show is headed back to Baltimore in 2012. The vote came down to Atlantic City (a place near and dear to my heart) and Baltimore.

Initially, there were problems with the Baltimore site, the release stated.

"First, the Convention Center could not provide a 2014 date earlier than the middle of August (much later than the National has ever been held) and second, the Convention Center would not sign a contract with the NSCC more than 24 months in advance of those dates. Both of these issues posed large problems for the NSCC and show organizers"


But the Baltimore convention officials came back and offered a deal that would give the NSCC the dates they wanted four years away.

The dates for that show are Aug. 1-5, 2012.

Some of you may recall, the show was supposed to be in Cleveland in 2012. There was already a contract signed to have the show there, but NSCC officials worked out an agreement to move the site from Cleveland to Baltimore, but will return to Cleveland in 2014 and 2018.

Don't forget, next year is in Chicago though (technically, Rosemont) from August 3-7, 2011.

If I had money and collected football cards ... I would get this

Topps is slowly leaking photos of what could be its highest end football product, Topps Five Star.

We're talking about a box, which really just contains one pack of cards, for more than $400 a pop.

Topps put out just two cards in a little sneak peak today, but you have to admit, on-card makes everything prettier.

Brett Favre

Ohhhh ... and inscriptions. Fun!

It;'s only two cards, but what do you guys think?

Phew ...

I'm an overthinker by nature. One thing could happen and I'll imagine how it will change things 10 years from now.

When Derek Jeter was unemployed, I didn't really imagine him going to another team. I couldn't really picture him in another uniform despite the ever-popular cards that made their way through mainstream media recently.

But I did think about my collection. I have A LOT of Derek Jeter cards. When I packed my cards away for storage, one huge box took my whole Jeter collection.

I kept thinking, What the hall am I going to do now?

Did I really think Jeter was going to sign with another team? Not really, but I always like to plan for the worst. I always like to make sure I know I have a Plan B or C. In this case, I can rest easy. No plans needed.

Jeter is back home where he is loved and will make the most money. He should be the first Yankee to ever reach 3,000 hits in pinstripes.

I should be happy once again.

(I was never really worried)

Beginners Luck?

Recently I have been dabbling with basketball cards to fill the void left by the lack of baseball cards being released. Well, more like the lack of affordable baseball cards being released. I haven't been buying much because of the holidays and trying to buy presents, but when I have been in the mall if I got some presents for others I grabbed a cheap pack or rack pack for myself. I should reward myself for being jolly, right?

Anywho, I picked up a rack pack of 2010-2011 Panini Presitge a week or so ago and pulled this card:
Jordan Crawford auto /499



I have never pulled an autograph out of a rack pack of baseball, and RARELY if ever, pulled one from a retail pack of baseball. That was fun, I should buy people stuff more often.

Yesterday, I was in Target and just wandering around before grabbing some dinner and saw a FRESH box of 2010-2011 Panini Rookies & Stars, so I grabbed the second to last pack on the right and high tailed it to the checkout. Bada bing!

Daniel Orton 1/5 !!!!!!!!


Ok, so now I am convinced this isn't normal for being a basketball collector. There is hardly any chance of this happening on a regular basis, although if it could, I may seriously get into basketball cards. Serial numbered 1/5 in a retail pack?!!! Come on.

So for all you basketball collectors out there, is this luck or do you find that you get more out of basketball packs than baseball?

2010 Bowman Platinum USA and prospect cards trickling in

With 2010 Bowman Platinum popping up early in retail stores, naturally, singles are showing up on eBay.

What is interesting is that not as many base cards are popping up on eBay yet, but the USA, prospect and rookie cards. Seems as though the current dealer displaying the cards doesn't want to waste time with the regular stars.

Here are some of the USA cards:
Noe Ramirez
Sean Gilmartin
Steve Rodriguez
Alex Dickerson
Brad Miller
Mikie Mahtook
George Springer

Prospects
Kyle Drabek
Shelby Miller
Jose Iglesias
Jeremy Hellickson
Kyle Gibson

Rookie Cards
Andrew Cashner
Jose Tabata
JP Arencibia
Neil Walker
Austin Jackson
Mike Stanton
Carlos Santana

Got the winter baseball blues? Head to Target!

The baseball card world has been stale lately, even with some of the new releases.

Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects is set to be released later this month and the next MLB-licensed release isn't supposed to come out until January with 2010 Bowman Platinum, a new baseball product that gets its foundation from football.

But what's this?

Seems as though some folks over at Freedom Cardboard have found sealed blasters at local big box stores and there is even an auction on eBay with a guy ready to shop five blasters right now for a low, low price.

Here's another auction with 10 blasters that a guy is selling individually for a pretty ridiculous price. The seller is looking to cash in on the impatience of people thinking you'll spend that much money just to get a product more than a month early.

Here's a picture from the previous auction at the some of the base cards in the product.

With the set being 'leaked' early, it makes me wonder as to how and why this happened? Was there a mix up at the Topps factory where retail product of this was released a full month before the release date? How are hobby shop going to feel when they get their cases of this product and collectors don't come out because they might have had their fill from retail?

Was it released early so Topps could see sales figures and see if it needs to do another wrapper redemption program?

But, more importantly, I want to know what this set adds to the current marketplace?

Panini should give thanks for John Wall

There are two NBA rookies driving the market right now: Blake Griffin and John Wall.

Panini must be loving John Wall right now though. With their exclusive in the NBA market, they needed something to drive collectors to their cards. Other than Wall and Griffin, the rookie class is fairly light this year. But Griffin's rookie cards are not from this year's sets. They are from 2009-2010

That leaves just one guy - the Washington Wizards first overall draft pick.

Wall has had some outstanding games for the Wizards this season and has scored in double digits in every game so far. In 10 games, he’s averaging 18.0 points and 9.1 assists per game.

Wall has had problems with his health this year. He has missed five games this year and recently missed a game with a bruised right knee.

Even so, Wall is selling well and is the driving force behind this year’s Panini products. If it wasn't for Wall, the secondary market for cards this year may have been a bit watered down. There are those who still have high hopes on players such as DeMarcus Cousins and Evan Turner, but their cards aren't going to for as much as Wall's.

Wall’s 2010-11 Limited Gold Spotlight patch/autograph /10 sold for 1,200 on eBay recently.

His 2010-11 Rookie and Stars patch/autos sell for above $500.

We all love a hot rookie who lives to hype.

Sunday Question

Do we forgive or forget?

Last season, Michael Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as potentially the third-string quarterback. He had Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb in front of him. Then, the Eagles amazingly shipped McNabb to the Washington Redskins and proclaimed Kolb king for about a week.

Then, Vick took over.

And he was fantastic.

In seven games with the Eagles, Vick has completed 62.8 percent (120-for-191) of his passes, the best completion percentage of his career, has thrown for 1,608 yards and 11 touchdowns, and ran for 375 yards and four touchdowns. Remarkably, he has yet to thrown an interception.

Vick has led Philadelphia to a lead in the NFC East with a 7-3 record. Before the season, no one predicted the Eagles would have such a good record or that Vick would become an even better quarterback than he was when he played for Atlanta.

There was no way to know how a guy would play especially because he was in jail for about 18 months (I didn't look up the number).

When it comes to trading cards, Vick is king there too.

His 2001 SP Authentic Jersey/auto Rookie Card is on fire (ebay link). Right now, this card is selling far and above $1,000. Once upon a time, you could have gottten this card for less than $100.

Vick paid his debt by spending time in jail. He seems reformed by saying all the right things as he has become the center of attention again for this remarkable play on the field.

So the question is, have collectors forgiven or forgotten his past deeds?