2/14s from Michigan

 

Another return to the TMV mailbag, and the  2/14 content, which was exclusively-gridiron related. Such as that Steve McNair opener. Another "my binders, my rules" quirk is that cards such as this, which specify a limited run but aren't serial numbered, don't get put in the hits/numbered collection. 

Volume wise, the king of this portion of the package was Drew Bledsoe - with his numbers in the collection slowly moving towards the 200 mark at 173. Maybe by 2025?

Jim Kelly remains at the top of the football portion with 239 current cards. This is a numbered base card out of something called TX Exclusive. Veterans were unnumbered, with retired players at /1099 and the rookies varying based on how highly thought of they were considered. The lower end ones were /1049, with the more hyped ones at /399. 

With a name like that, you'd think a set like that would be like Leaf/O-Pee-Chee baseball in the 80s, with a focus on the hometown teams. But it didn't seem too Dallas/Houston intensive.

So, the unexpected lack of Houston cards in one set segues into a printing plate that can produce a Houston card several years later. That's Jadeveon Clowney among the yellow on this plate. He's recently signed with Baltimore, but I'm left to hope that someone will provide me with cards of his to chase there. 

This is supposedly a gold parallel, even though it looks more like a rather unappealing shade of green. 

Another plate to end this! I already have the black version of this plate (I assume from a previous Dennis mailer), so now I'm halfway there! Do you have the cyan or the yellow? Hook me up! 

There you have it! 

"This is going to fund my retirement!"

 I'm guessing at least one person said that upon acquiring this card:

I don't think anybody is going to retire on the single digit dollar value I paid for this. 

Also, enjoy one of the earliest on-card autograph certifications! 

It can go nicely alongside my Wander Franco redemption if I ever get it in hand.

Mets from Michigan

 Back to the TMV mailer!

I was familiar with Alan Zinter, who made draft pick appearances in 1990 sets. But who is Mike? Did he have a twin that happened to wear the same number? Nope. Just an error(?) card that utilized Alan's middle name instead. But long live oddness like this!

Like with the Jays content - almost a complete 2018 Heritage team set.

Other than that, not much in terms of base cards in this portion, although I can finally welcome that gimmicky Thor card out of Archives to the collection.

Shiny inserts! Parallels! And whatever that card from Moments & Milestones is considered. Is there any better season to be saluted in a Donruss-themed set that 1986 for a Mets card? That DeGrominator card ups the gimmicky nature of a nickname variation by also managing to have a bunch of parallels of that variation. 

Even though tcdb lists 69 (nice!) Mets cards for Julio Franco off his stay there, it still doesn't feel like enough.

The back of this card states that Conlon would become the first Irish born player to reach the majors since the 40s should he make it, which he did for 3 games. It also states his birthplace as Belfast, Northern Ireland. Could a simple baseball card re-ignite The Troubles? 

Look at that thick patch! If I get a card numbered to 15 with a swatch on it, that's what a patch like that should look like. Even if it is event-worn. This is considered to be from the nameplate of the jersey, so I've got me a piece of the 'O'. Or the 'D'. They're similar enough on the back. Or maybe the G on an old Dave Telgheder jersey that Panini found at a yard sale. It wouldn't be the first odd, dated patch the showed up in a Panini product.

There you have it!

Chronicling

 Lots of retail Chronicles at Wally World! Let's bust a few of 'em!

Football is up first. Despite what it says on the pack, there were no green parallels to be found today.

And to play into the short-attention span nature of the the set, the first card out isn't even a Chronicles design. But if you take away the silver foil for the name, this is a pretty nice looking representation of 1993 Donruss baseball in 2023.

We have some group break dupes from a recent Seattle purchase here, even though this does provide me with my first actual pull of 2/14 baby Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

While I didn't get one of the green parallels, I did get one of the Astro parallels of the Revolution portion of the set. On a whole, the Revolutions are retail exclusive. This is also the third card that is of a current Seahawk, but since that break was of the hobby version, this one isn't new.

Some foil-y cards. Even with the re-used photo, the Black design might be my favourite design used in this release. In some lights, that does appear to have a green tinge to it, but I don't think it is one of the parallel. Also, back-to-back from the same set? At least one of them is of a dude (nick)named Tank, Tank > Nathaniel. 

It is a Tank hot pack once we get to the acetate portion of the pack! Although I'm more hesitant to proclaim that Tank > Cartavious.  It is also a Zay Flowers hot pack, as he makes a second appearance here. Such is the nature of a rookie-heavy set.

WOO-HOO! New Jim Kelly for the 2/14 collection! The best thing about this being a Miami card is that there's no doubt that this will end up in that binder as opposed to the Bills one. If you've being doing the math, this is also the 16th card in a purported 15 card pack. Last year, a Score pack contained Jadeveon Clowney and Drew Bledsoe with a few cards of each other, so this isn't the first time I've gotten a pair of 2/14 folks in the same pack.

One nice pack deserves another!

A dupe from the previous pack isn't the best way to start. Aside from that Walker being a dupe from the Seattle break, everything else here would be new.

No green in this pack either, but here's another Astro parallel.

Here's some foil-y cards. Another double image card here, but I think I prefer the Black design just because the background image isn't as overwhelming there. This is just a little bit too crowded. I'm not sure why, but Lamar Jackson collegiate cards are a favourite of mine. I'm disappointed there's no little factoid on the back of the Classic design in this set.

Hey! A hit! It is a hit of the only person on the planet who should tell airport security that "No, I didn't pack my own bags.". This card was supposed to be released last year, but Prizm Draft was shelved, and some of the lower end cards for that set ended up here. But an auto in retail is still an auto in retail, even if he can't stay on the sticker. 

I'm not sure who I'd be more surprised to see in a 2023 release back in 2015/6ish. Geno Smith or Johnny Manziel.

And the finale for this pack. At least Revolution isn't the sole domain of veteran content. 

An auto is nice, but finding a pair of 2/14 cards in the same pack, even if one was a dupe, makes the first pack the easy winner of the two.

Let's end with some NBA Chronicles!

First up, an actual base design this time. The set is a little different than football, in the sense that the whole set, aside from parallels and autos, are a base set. The base design is really the only one with a notable veteran presence. 

The paper base cards. Banchero is the big name in this bunch (and the only guy from the packaging in this pack), but Luminance is probably my favourite design from this pack to show up. I love the darkened arena vibe. There's also a nice collection of alternate/City jerseys in this bunch. The variety of the jerseys along with the design is one of the reasons Chronicles is my favourite basketball release.

More City jerseys with the foil portion of it. 

Unlike with the football and the green parallels, I actually did get some Teal content in this pack. Given the past 4 cards, maybe this pack should have been available for purchase in Texas instead. I'm divided whether or not the teal parallel of that Malaki Branham card, complete with that jersey would be perfect or obnoxious.

I think Classics are also exclusive to the hanger format. The Memphis Grizzlies also make their third appearance among the 15 cards. This one is an orange parallel limited to 75, and any time you can get a card numbered within double digits from a retail pack, that's some good luck to make you forget about the lack of team variety. 

Factoid on the back too! WOO-HOO!

There you have it!

2023 Adventures in Repacks - Part 24 - Another Hat Trick

 That means another three hockey repacks, These ones, to be exact:

There different types too! I'll use the usual L-R show-off method.

Here's what's in the Surprise Bag. All cards this time!

Not too bad for an AHL pack. I can't hate anything that contains a mascot card. Nylander is also a SP.

As expected, the HOFer card in that pack was a junk wax card. So, the most interesting card in here goes to a player I had no memory of aside from cards - Jason Bowen.

With the dupe status yet to be determined, all three are mask binder candidates. The subtlety of the Puppa is my favourite here, even if the blue lightning bolts don't really stand out too much on the black background of the rest of the mask. 

What's behind that Zajac in the hanger w/ a hit?

We've got a Kitchener Rangers alum in that card of Logan Stanley, although that has to be a dupe. The Verdun College Francais, the team on the Jeannot Ferland card is going to likely be the most obscure team in these repacks. The Chad Kilger is a card that looks like a parallel, and somewhat surprising for a Classic release from the 90s, actually is - a gold version.

There's a more recent gold parallel. You can't go wrong getting one of a HOFer. 

The hit? But who is Mark Flood. He spent a grand total of 6 games with the Islanders, more with the Jets, before heading overseas. So, I highly doubt this swatch is game-worn as the back of the card claims. But I love obscurity in my collection, so I like this hit.

Just not as much as I like that Sean Hill card. That card was one I didn't already have in my 2/14 collection. That's an easy way to become my favourite card in the break. 

Ending on your typical boring 21-22 UD base card.

A bonus on the visible card on the 12-pack is that it is a 'traded' card. He'd get a proper Raiders card the following year.

Aside from the Kane card - pretty meh after the opener.

At least there's a Rangers alum in this bunch, but like with the Logan Stanley, that Barber has to be a dupe.

But at least the final card is from a mid-range set.

Not the most exciting finale, but if I land a new 2/14 card, that's a nice break for me.