Resume Fire!

 The postal strike is over, and things should be normal until at least until May. 

Please do not resume fire using Shotzi's TCB tank.

Stealth 2/14ness

 For the second time this year, I learned of a card I already had in hand that counts as a 2/14 card.

All the way back from 1991 Pro Set.

Since the game saluted here, the first NHL All-Star Game/Ace Bailey Benefit Game, took place on Valentine's Day back in 1934.

It qualifies as an event taking place that day. So, the card with the image commemorating it, like ones with Michael Jordan wearing #12, count towards it.

I've got the English version in my COMC inventory, so at least that completes the cardboard history, as I don't think this photo is on any cards.

Will cards saluting the 2016 NBA All-Star game, in Toronto on 2/14 count? Not yet, but I might call an audible and add them.

But there you have it!

2024 Adventures in Repacks - Part 36 - Blah Baseball

 They can't all be winners.

At least there's a somewhat interesting horizontal entry to start.

This grouping might be the most interesting of the lot. I like the close cropping on Smiley. Tomlin, with the red jersey and the empty seats, just screams that its either a spring training shot, or a photoshop special. Probably the former. And the Beaulac is easily my favourite card here. Even if he never made it above AA for the Mets, it is still a super interesting Mets card. Probably for that very reason.

Here's the auto. I have absolutely zero memory of Lambo aside from maybe seeing the name on a card I've pulled. At least it is an on-card auto.

Ah, Alex Sanchez. Not just a Future Star, but a two-time Rated Rookie. The latter is more accurate, as even someone who didn't live up to expectations still had to be rated, no matter how high or low. The oddly-colored Winfield is from a 1987 Donruss Opening Day box-set release.

A 2/14 dupe is most noteworthy here, alongside a "moment of impact" Guerrero.

And your finale, my third Mets card. Certainly a dupe, but still a Mets card.

Definitely not the most interesting repack I've busted. But there you have it!

2024 Adventures in Repacks - Part 35 - Shrinkflation

 The $1.25 hangers have been reduced in size again at the Dollarama. They've gone from 12...

To 4.

On the upside, at least this means I won't drown in 1990 Score/Bowman commons, and it will be easier to scan the entire repack. In fact, I can combine two repacks in their entirety in one scan!

The first 2:

I might not drown in Bowmans or Score, but there still might be some junk wax stuff lurking in there. But at least one is a Hall of Famer and one is of someone who didn't get any pro cards, so it is an interesting addition. At least compared to the alternative. Even then, there's a pretty cool Luongo that I'm sure I picked up by adding to a sportlots/COMC order.

The next 2:

The third pack is probably the dullest of the bunch. Raffi Torres was still a few seasons away from getting his first suspension, although the crumpled player behind him might mean that he was making an effort to speed up the arrival of his first. 

The second one might be the best of all 4. Some shininess with a couple base cards, and even a parallel. That's a strong grouping! Even the generic base card opener looks different with the happy zoom-in as opposed to a generic skating shot. 

And no early 90s Bowman or Score anywhere to be seen.

More Dollars, Less Sense

I'm sure everybody has a set that they'd love to complete, but realize that the cost and complications will prevent it. Seeing as the sets of my youth fall into the 80s, it wouldn't be too much of a challenge for me. So, I'll lean towards to a more modern set, and pick 2010 Pinnacle's City Lights insert set.

All the joy of 1993 Leaf, but with the city image on the front of the card. Usually.

And a factoid on the back that has nothing to do with the player, but the city.

At least if I do decide to go for it, at least I've got the biggest name in the set, if not the scarcest part of the print run.

And here's your Pittsburgh factoid.

If my TCDB checklist can be believed, I've got 15 of the 100 cards.

At least that can be considered progress. Somehow.

Brain Damage

 When you're wearing your helmet like that, you might have some.

I had a theory that the Czech company Stadion didn't use the best photos for Slovak players on their cards. But Jiri is Czech, so there goes that theory. As a bonus, he's not even pictured in Red Wings attire on the back.

But instead is shown as a Thrasher. 

Also, how has it been 6+ years since my last Stadion card here?

2024 Score Box Break - Packs 5, 6 and 7

 3 more packs!

Pack 5:

That's back-to-back recap posts where a Jets CB is the first card to show off. I guess I have to rely on legends appearances in these sets for infield dirt to show up again.

More defensive fun with a couple defenders with the ball. Baker's easily wins, as it is enhanced by George Kittle looking absolutely defeated in the background. 

Your parallel.

The inserts. This is turning into a pretty good Bo Nix hot box.

I guess it is appropriate for a defensive autograph to come out of a pack with such a defensive presence shown off already. I'll take their word for it that Karleftis signed the sticker, since it is an illegible scrawl. At least it's more than just a straight line.

Pack 6:

Back-to-back with packs containing a defensive player with the ball, and seeing how this looks like an end zone photo, this was probably a pick 6 aftermath.

But a couple kicker cards are new.

We're also back-to-back with Scorecard parallels of historic QBs. 

Bo Nix again? At least I'll have some more extras for whenever I can send a mailer to Portland. Jayden Daniels makes his first appearance among the inserts for some variety among rookie QBs.

Pack 7:

Rakestraw is the best name in this grouping of packs. Who needs a big name with a name like Rakestraw showing up?

For the interesting collation in this pack, how about a pair of legendary Cowboys QBs in the same pack?

Here's one of the two big cards in the box, and one I won't be keeping. There may be some inserts earlier, but I feel Kerry will be happiest to see a /50 of Bo Nix showing up sometime in the future. 

And the final inserts of this post. Yet another great entry into the Men of Canton insert set.

There you have it!

CFL Miscellany

Just some stuff that I either picked up cheaply because of e-pack, alongside an auto I pulled from an e-pack and an auto I traded for there. I'm showing them off in chronological order.

This was the pulled autograph, and a certain keeper. He doesn't hit my PCs (other than being an unsigned rookie with the Bills), but Solomon Elimimian was a defensive beast. Enough so that in 2014, he wasn't just named the league's top defensive player, but the most outstanding player overall. He retired in 2021, and was deservedly inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Taking the hockey design for the CFL release made the bad even worse, since they didn't even bother to get a second photo for the smaller one on the front. With it being used again on the reverse, that's three f the same image per card.

That doesn't mean I don't want Ti-Cats cards from it.

Here are 4/5 Ti-Cats cards that were easy to miss, since they're sporting different uniforms in the photo. But they did get the equivalent of the O-Pee-Chee "now with" treatment, so of course they count on these gold parallel. And a punter card. 

Starting and ending with an autograph. After Brandon Banks left, Hamilton needed someone to reliably snag passes, and he's done quite well in the role. He did have autographs from his time with the Ravens at a reasonable price, but I opted to wait, and received this in a trade on the e-pack site. I can't recall what I gave up for it, but was just happy to add this. 

And if you end up with a card you want, the given cardboard doesn't matter.

There you have it!

2024 Adventures in Repacks - Part 34 - Switch!

 And back to football!

And it starts with a former Buffalo Bill.

We're off with a pair of rookie cards. Bonus: Both of the players I recognize, although I'm sure Tripplett only rings a bell because of a couple seasons in Buffalo. The next two guys I had no memory of. While that's definitely an interesting Stadium Club-worthy photo on Hanks, there's something about the design I didn't realize until I turned it over.

They didn't just include the alma mater on the back, but also the team's nickname. While I'll assume most collectors knew that Merton represented the Iowa Hawkeyes, it can be a lot of fun for lesser known universities. You'd know Andre Reed may have come from Kutztown State to the Bills, but did you know that they were the Golden Bears?

Ah, Brett Smith. He's probably the best dressed person on any of my autographed cards in any genre of release. Or at least the most hilariously dressed. As for the rest, that Willie Roaf is a pretty nice cards on its own. A draft-themed card of a HOFer? Even for an OL guy, that's not expected. 2014 Prestige is one of my favourite wiped background designs ever. Team colours and a logo? That's a good choice!

And the auto! It's a pretty good one as well! Hayward managed an eleven year career, so that's pretty good for something out of a rookie-driven auto set like Contenders. 

With that Jason Verrett appearance it means that I'd previously pulled autographs of both 2014 Score rookies in this. While this lacks Brett Smith's style, it was far rarer. That Jake Reed isn't exactly common either.

It's an error version. That should be card #164. There has to be some Jake Reed super collector out there that needs this, right?

The finale. Pretty blah.

Interesting base cards and a rookie autograph of a player who had a very solid career. So, a pretty good repack on the whole. 

There you have it!

Some Sens

 Just some random Senators card, all because of the "cheap because e-pack" variety.

Much like the Gagner card I posted not that long ago, these are one of those warm-up only special jerseys, although these extend through the entire team. These St. Patrick's Day jerseys are auctioned off afterwards. 

Not enough green for you on the first card? Here's some more!

Why have three players on a card to salute alternate uniforms, only for the three uniforms sported to all be the same? Just one player would suffice.

A rookie and a rookie-ish card of a couple guys I have zero memory of. And they're both from recent releases too. But, one undrafted guy and a seventh round pick actually making the big team for however brief a moment and qualifying for a card is one of the fun things about "everybody gets a card".

I'll repeat my complaint from when I added a Nikolaj Ehlers card to my 2/14 collection from this subset. They should be pictured from their time playing for their national team as opposed to their NHL team. I like Sens cards, but I think I'd like at least one of Stutzle rocking the German colours even more.

But there you have it!