Bowman Sampler

I've had very little time available over the past couple weeks to hit the LCS, so I had to rely on Walmart for some '17 Bowman. And it actually worked out pretty well with my hanger pack (3 10 card packs and 1 5 card yellow parallel pack)

Pack 1:

And my first 2017 Bowman card is...

A photoshop special. I do like the mostly full-bleed look this year.

The easiest way to break the 10 card packs down for me is to group the veterans/rookies, the prospects, the chromes and the inserts together.

The rest of the veteran/rookie content was pretty Dodgers intensive.

And yes, I did try to read the content on the sign behind Jurado.

Shiny cards! And one of them is a Mets card! WOO-HOO!

That's only 9 cards, so an insert awaits.

It's a buyback. These fall at a rate of 1:12 among retail.

Pack 2:

Some more rookies this time around among the non-prospect portions of the pack.

And some prospects.

And the Chromes. Coonrod's name sounds like an ethnic slur.

That was a pretty blah pack.

Pack 3:

The photo on the Springer is kinda nice, with the scoreboard shining brightly in the full-bleed design.

Your prospects.

Your chromes.

And since that was only 9 cards, there's another insert.

And it is an auto. A very Italian flag auto, with a green parallel of a guy named White playing for the Reds. I didn't think I'd land a penmanship binder card in this, but this certainly counts. It would probably look really nice if he wasn't confined by the size of the sticker. Green parallels of paper autographs are 1:617. So a very tough pull to go along with its niceness.

And the yellow parallels. Blue Jays niceness for me in here hits both my favourite teams, but that Bellinger is easily the big one here. Probably bound for Night Owl in a future Super Traders mailing.

And there you go.

Migraine Special: Throwbacks!

The appearances of throwback uniforms are also fun on football uniforms, shown here with a pair of Broncos looks from the 60s, and the Chiefs going back to another league (AFL) and another city (Dallas Texans) with theirs.

A non-football post tomorrow, depending on how coherent I am.

1989 Panini NFL Stickers Box Break - Part 7

More stickers!

Pack 62:

And it starts off with a dual serving of creamsicles. Ron Hall is also the final sticker to complete the Bucs page.

Pack 63:

Something you'll never see in a current pack of cards/stickers - 2 kickers among only 5 players.

Pack 64:

Ironhead!

Pack 65:

Random OL guy!

Pack 66:

Approaching the 2/3 mark with another "when in doubt, scan the foil sticker".

Pack 67:

2.5 stickers of the pack provides the Denver content, but a Super Bowl loss being commemorated kinda cancels out any hot pack status.

Pack 68:

This isn't a "when in doubt" scan, but it is this Miami sticker that finished off their pages.

Pack 69:

A punter!

Pack 70:

Not only a really great photo, but Mark Lee is the last Packers card I needed for that page.

Pack 71:

Another punter sticker, and although it wasn't needed in the album, an extra Bruce Smith is also nice.

Pack 72:

A two-team hot pack, albeit both for completed teams at this stage.

Pack 73:

When in doubt, scan the sticker of a guy named Vann McElroy.

And there you have another dozen packs. This group also finished the Bears portion of the album, but since they were 3 out when it started, it was somewhat unexpected. Thank you Dan Hampton, Mike Singletary and Richard Dent.

I promise. No stickers tomorrow.

1989 Panini NFL Stickers Box Break - Part 6

Another dozen packs!

Pack 50:

Since this is a milestone pack, I'll show off all the stickers here. Not too much of note, but if I had to pick a highlight, it would be the guy named Scholtz. The Gentry photo with the opponent's futile tackle attempt is pretty good too.

Pack 51:

Kicker sticker! Poetry!

Pack 52:

Not only did I land a Bills sticker, but this Shane Conlan makes the Bills the third completed team in the album.

Pack 53:

A great name in this pack with the two-last-named O'Brien Alston. I also kinda like the photo on Pitts, with the photo not cropped as closely as on most, allowing one to see some of the stadium/sideline behind him.

Pack 54:

A trio of Vikings stickers definitely makes this one a hot pack for them.

Pack 55:

I love this compact photo. After the recent post of Karl Mecklenburg, the Broncos linebackers had themselves some really nice looking stuff in this set.

Pack 56:

The second half of the puzzle sticker of which I pulled back in Pack #14. Kicker love as well for the pride of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Pack 57:

Even though he only spent a few seasons with the Bills compared to other teams, I still find it odd to see Lofton in any other uniform but Buffalo's.

Pack 58:

When in doubt, scan the foil sticker. Even with that provision, the Eagles logo sticker does look really nice.

Pack 59:

Not just a kicker sticker, but a barefoot kicker sticker.

Pack 60:

This man has no neck.

Pack 61:

Football needs more guys named Vestee.

And there you have another dozen packs.

1989 Panini NFL Stickers Box Break - Part 5

Another dozen packs.

Pack #38:

This grouping starts with a flashback to the shared stadiums of the 80s, with the an early season game and the dirt of the infield still visible. The Jarvis Williams celebration shot is pretty cool too.

Pack #39:

WOO-HOO! 2-14 baby! I already had this one in the album, so this is off to the 2-14 binder! I'll get a third for a Wolverines alum collector. Cornelius Bennett's all-pro card is along for the ride in this pack.

Pack 40:

My name is Max Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

Pack 41:

Bills foil! Along with the pride of North Battleford, Saskatchewan!

Pack 42:

I love the photo on this Karl Mecklenburg. It is as if he's just daring someone to try and get past.

Pack 43:

A Dolphins hot pack!

Pack 44:

More Bills content.

Pack 45:

The only "When in doubt, scan the foil sticker" this time around.

Pack 46:

When in doubt, scan the sticker of some random offensive lineman.

Pack 47:

More infield dirt. I'm also highlighting his teammate in Tom Newberry not to show off the Rams hot pack, but instead to show the sticker that completed the first team set in the album as Newberry slips into the final empty Rams spot.

Pack 48:

Football needs more guys named Tulch. And Hinkle. These two made the Steelers the second completed team in the album, and the first one that had a foil logo as part of the team set.

Pack 49:

A Bills sticker should be the highlight, but the Steve Jordan is kinda cool too for non-football reasons. And that's simply because of the time he showed off the perfect passer.

And I'm still not even halfway through the box!