Just One Pack - of 2022 WWE Prizm

 

I've been doing several solo-card posts since returning from vacation - so let's deviate completely from that with an entire chrome-y pack. 

The Empress of Tomorrow is my opener. No complaints here! The colours almost give Asuka's photo a Sportflics like effect. 

And your card backs are pretty much exactly what I'd expect. Given there's no real season with wrestling, I'll forgive the lack of stats on the back outside of the hometown.

These base chrome scans really show off the filth on my scanner.

The first 100 cards of the base set have horizontal formats, with the final 100 being vertical. The final 190-200 are for legends, but there are others scattered throughout the 200 card base set. My familiarity with the NXT UK portion is spotty at best, so they really seem odd here placed between Chyna and The Rock. 

In a nice twist, the orientation of the card back changes to match the front's.

My first parallel. I'm somewhat disappointed by the photo choice. Shanky is billed at 7'3, and he just  looks like some generic guy here. His stare is intimidating, but it would look so much better if they tried the "Andre the Giant standing on a box" look with a photo from a lower angle.

Here's those promised RWB parallels. This pack definitely had collation issues. But as long as these are nice and shiny, the important part of Prizm comes through. I probably should have shown off these patriotic cards on Memorial Day yesterday. Even if the only American in the group is the one who has a name that is a homophone with another country.

And here's a couple inserts to end it. 

A perfectly acceptable pack o'cards, although at the current cost of packs, this is definitely a one-and-done for me. I've done better on epack with AEW anyhow, even if I won't be about to show those off here for a couple months.

Patience Pays Off

 

Just wait, and you'll be able to get a goofy photo of a player with a bunch of gumballs in a container that is a SP variation for a fraction of the price it was originally at. It might not be a rally squttel, but at least this looks tastier. 

A hockey card rarity

 

You don't see fisticuffs too often on a hockey card, but here's Trevor Gillies picking up 5 of his 95 PIM during his one season in the KHL

I'm not sure when the back photo was taken in comparison to the front, so I can't say which player borrowed the idea for the haircut from which - Trevor or his fellow combatant.

Bad Timing on my Part

 

I probably should have scheduled this card to be posted during my trip a month ago

but better late than never!

What's In a Name?

 

When I hear a name like "Crestwell Pratt", I would think of the frat-boy rapist of the week during an episode of SVU, not a Bahamian-born minor league baseball player.

But seeing as I'm not exactly familiar with Bahamian naming conventions, maybe it is just their equivalent of John Smith.

Scorer of a Famous Goal

 

If you're seeing the title of this, and wondering what famous goal Rob Davison scored, it is one not so famous for him being the scorer, but for the goaltender that let it in.

It was Rob Davison that fired the puck down the ice, only for it to bounce in the net and enshrine Vesa Toskala in NHL lore as the goalie who let in what was likely the longest non-empty-net goal in league history. 

That was the third, and final goal of his NHL career.

And now he's in the Leafs system, as an assistant coach for their AHL affiliate.

There you have it!

2022 Adventures in Repacks - Part 16 - Dozens

 

Just a twelve-card hanger kinda day. Times 2.

Here's your opener. Oliver played two seasons in the CHL over here (the first with Sherbrooke), and has since returned overseas. But, he probably the only player I have a card with OO as his initials. 

Here's some junk wax era cards. I kinda waver whether I like or dislike those Parkhurst entries. They're plenty hideous, but that's what you expect from something from the mid 90s.

I swear 2020-21 Extended is going to become the junk wax equivalent showing up in repacks in 2055. There just seems to be so much of it still unopened on shelves. That Ultra is probably the oddball for this particular repack. 

And insert as the finale? Fine by me!

Here's a better look at the second repack's opening card. A rather patriotic card out of a Canadian Tire exclusive release. Kirk looks super young here, but if the photo matches the details on the back, he'd be 23 as this is from the 1989 World Championships.

That Dale Hunter is one of the more legible entries out of that Donruss release, where the only place the player's name would appear is in that silver portion. Hawerchuk's photo is actually pretty interesting, as he takes up only about 1/4 of the photo, but he's still maintaining control of the puck for a unique pic that wouldn't work if it was closely cropped or done horizontaly. DelGuidice does have one of my favourite errors among Pro Set's many errors in their hockey sets.

Since if you forget to change the column headers from a skater to a goaltender, you have the greatest player of all time.

Helmetless mojo! There's a keeper! There's also some pretty intense concentration on that Turgeon to make it another pretty nice looking photo on a card from 1990.

A base card isn't as unexpected an ending as the earlier Victory insert, but it still features a former MVP. 

There you have it!

Happy Victoria Day!

 

Another year, another reference! 

Bills! Bills! Bills!

I showed off some Raptors in a previous post - here's some Bills content from another group break that I bought into while I was overseas. Here are the results - some foily entries out of Phoenix.

And there's a complete base set of Bills. 3 rookies, 2 veterans and 1 legend. Sounds about what I'd expect out of a new NFL release with a smaller base set. As always this year, my favourite Carlos Basham cards are ones that enhance his already great last name with his nickname. I just need a 'Boogie' auto. Not a Basham auto - but one where he has signed 'Boogie'. I already have the former.

A foil set means that there will be colourful parallels within. Here's a /125 purple parallel of last year's 2021 #1 draft pick. The Bills were rather sparse in rookie content last year, but considering they drafted a few players from marquee offensive positions (RB James Cook and WR Khalil Shakir) should increase availability next year. 

Let's go lower than /125, and here's a /50 Fire and Ice parallel.  The blue and red on the corners make it so perfect for a Bills card, to go alongside the cracked ice element.

Shiny inserts! And they feature exactly the players you'd expect.

A solid hit is a great way to end a post. And this brings a lot to the table. It is the lowest numbered card in the break for the Bills, with there only being 24 more copies of this green parallel out there. That's a really solid swatch as well, with 4 colours on display. If it  wasn't evident from the slight bit of filth on the white portion of the patch, this one is also game used. That's always more interesting than a generic 'player worn' swatch. 

Tre'Davious might need to work on his signature, but I'm more concerned that he's healthy for 2022.

And there you have it!

Kicker Mojo!

 

Not only three kicker cards, but 3 other little oddities to go along with them.

You have infield dirt on the Mike-Mayer card (to go along with the unexpected location of the hyphen).

You have a weather card.

And you have a barefoot kicker (although the 'In Action' is pretty questionable).

The middle one is now the only thing you'll see again on cards featuring active players.

This Aged Poorly

 

To be completely honest, this probably reached the 'aged poorly' status right after it was printed. But, if I have this card, I might as well also have this one to keep it company.

Stanley

 

Always a great thing to find on a hockey card, and especially so when e-packs make it a cheap acquisition.

And one inexpensive Bergeron card with a cameo from Stanley deserves another. (Check out the extreme left of the photo)

This Sounds Painful

 

You might want to see a doctor about that!

Youth is Served

 

Here is the the newest youngest member of the 2/14 collection on an OHL card of the Kingston Frontenacs, born in 2004. And those lines at the top and middle of the card aren't paper loss flaws - it is part of the design. I'm not sure why you'd use a design that makes the card look damaged, but that's why I'm not designing cards. 

I Wanted a Revolution

 Before heading away, I picked up a couple group break slots for my team(s). With the Raptors being really expensive this year, even moreso after Scottie's ROTY victory, I'm probably limiting my buy-ins to ones where there's a decent number of base cards available - if for nothing else than as a consolation prize.

Such as these - and these are nice and shiny ones. It was only a half-case of the product, but I'm still surprised I didn't get a complete set out of this - I didn't get a Siakam base card. But he'll still make an appearance.

Gary Trent Jr also grooved on with this parallel. 

While Barnes is the big draw for for this season, I was just as excited to see this pop up. Banton was a second round pick for Toronto, and he also is part of an important piece of trivia in team history. He's the first player born in Canada to be drafted by the team. While his fellow second-rounder David Johnson made appearances in early releases, we had to wait for Banton's cardboard debut. It was worth the wait for this shiny beauty.

I actually didn't get a Barnes base card in this, but Scottie still made a couple appearances - one on an insert, and one on an Astral parallel. While lacking a base card is disappointing, these are still pretty nice instead. And these are rarer than a base on the whole, so it isn't all the bad.

Speaking of rare...

CASE HIT!

GALACTIC!

CHASE CARD!

Yes, it was definitely worth the wait for Siakam content,

There you have it!

How to Improve an Autographed Card

 

One way is to feature the home version of the Flying V jerseys! They're especially since most photos on the cards from the times of these were taken during road trips to Washington or Long Island.  So , you got the black versions.

Baseball 2/14s

 My final vacation pre-post.

Some rare Blue Jays content to start. Minor league content certainly counts as Jays content, even if he never reached the bigs. There are 3 baseball players named Crabbe listed at TCDB. 2 of those 3 are 2/14 babies - Bruce and Callix. Both would also be Blue Jays farmhands at one point, and neither would reach the bigs with Toronto.

Here's a new face for the collection. With designs like this, it is a shame that the Fort Wayne Wizards became became the Tincaps, since this starry design is ideal for a team with that nickname. 

There was briefly a tie at 1st place in the baseball portion in terms of volume with John Marzano and Scott Scudder knotted at 53 cards each. This minor league entry gives him the lead once again.

And let's increase his lead with my 55th card of his. This is a 'web code' variation. How so?

A faint, dot-matrix-looking code in the upper right corner. That's all. But it is a variation nonetheless.

Probably the last you'll see of last year's Heritage for a bit around here, but certainly not the last you'll see of Yermin Mercedes. He barely made his cardboard debut around this time last year, and with 15 cards already,  the numbers are sure to increase. He already has about 30 cards at a dollar or less at COMC, so top spot is already within reach. 

And there you have it!