2025 Adventures in Repacks - Part 14 - Back to Hockey

 The ol' reliable from Dollarama, a pair of repacks.

Top loaders for a future mailer, and a new themed repack are in the opener.

It is disappointing for my hockey knowledge to realize that Alexander Korolyuk has almost 300 games over 6 seasons worth of NHL experience, all with the Sharks, and I have absolutely zero memories of him. Staying with the Sharks, Bonino actually has a great example of how to make a generic skating photo interesting and intense.

No super-dull 2021 UD entries in the 2020 pack is enough to make me give a thumbs up. And there's a nice casual photo too for Cernak's card. Alternate jersey too!

The Captains/Assistants pack provided no Captains. Still, the contents were entirely assistants/alternates. So there were no lies involved. 

Fine repack with the Cernak and Bonino being highlights.

Here's what's in #2. Will there be a card worthy of the snap holder? Likely not, but I'm sure I'll find something to go inside it.

The rookie card was a definite surprise, with it being that Triple Diamond of Eric Gelinas. While he didn't have too lengthy of a career in the NHL, but I still appreciate a fairly SPd rookie card appearing in the product. Despite the Rookie label on the Amonte, that's a second year card. Artemi's got a nice photo for his.

Defunct team alert! Not just the Whalers, but also the short-lived OHL Detroit Compuware Ambassadors. The OHL's early journey into American teams lasted two seasons. 

Just some flagship stuff in the 2020s pack, but at least there's one big name with Malkin.

With Gelinas, a Whalers card and Malkin, the winner this time around was the second one.

There you have it!

Getting Dark

 I guess if I'm going to include 'events' as part of the 2/14 collection, sometimes, they're going to get dark.

So yes, a card (from something called the Panarizon Story of America set) featuring dead bodies counts for the collection. I mean, it is named after Valentine's Day after all. And it is classier and was less expensive than another card saluting it available at COMC. I just can't see myself adding a card with the word 'WHACKED' splashed across it.

Even I have standards, low as they are.

Here's the rather verbose back of the card.

I really don't want to add "died on that date" cards to the collection. Johnny Longden, a jockey, is the exception, since he died on his birthdate. And if someone gets a card saluting their death, that counts as well. James Cook got himself a card commemorating his Feb 14 1779 death, so that counts as well. Unless I get an upgrade, I'll leave this James Cook's content in the collection with this 1950 one.

Cards featuring James Cook of the Bills are still very welcome, though.

The back isn't much better, but you can make out the death date on it. 

But there you have it!

New MST3K Auto!

 I've got a new autograph in my MST3K-related auto collection. It's not from one of the stars of the featured films, but from a guest star in one of the episodes.

While Leonard Maltin definitely took some lumps from Mike and the Bots in an extended segment during Episode 706 - Laserblast for giving that film 2 and half stars in his movie guide, it didn't seem to effect him that much as he showed up during episode 909.

That's where he helped Pearl select Gorgo as the movie he'd send to the Satellite of Love. 

The bots also consulted his movie guide in episode 206 for Ring of Terror, where his rating of BOMB for a "low-budget loser" was very accurate.

There you have it!

Another TMV Mailer: The 2/14 content

 Another massive trade mailer showed up last week from Dennis @ Too Many Verlanders. And again, I'll make a themed journey through it.

The 2/14 content here was primarily football, but there always has to be a "One of these things just doesn't belong" in the mix. In this mailer, it was this plate of Richard Hamilton that was the odd one out. But it is a nice choice for the different card. 

There was only one other member of the collection that matched Hamilton for having only one entry into the collection - that's Jadeveon Clowney with this /199 parallel.

In contrast I did get 5 new Jim Kelly cards. I'm certain the Score and Pro Set are dupes, but I'll have to wait to actually check to know for sure. 

I know that snowbound CC card is a dupe, but since it is such a great photo, I'll still hang onto it and make sure it has a great home.

That playoff has some red felt-like fabric applied to it. On some days, I'll take it over the obnoxiously bright parallels.

The only true hit among the 2/14 stuff was this JS-N relic. It's my first pure Seattle hit of his, as my previous auto and relic had Ohio State content. He's already at 27 total.

Start with a plate, end with a plate. A perfect sandwich!

There's still lots more to show off, but for the time being, there you have it!

2025 Adventures in Repacks - Part 13 - Dollarama Duals

'tis the perfect Sunday for a couple baseball repacks from Dollarama.

This one is up first.

That 1996 Donruss design with the foil square just seems like it was a bad idea at the start. Depending on the photo chosen, such as with Carrasco, it looks more like a censor box than where the information is. But the Cliff Floyd out of an SI set is a prettynice one, though.

Does that count as two rookies instead of the promised single one? And they're both still around, too. That counts for something, right? 1986 Donruss in all its parallelogram windowed glory seems pretty random.

And the 2000s pack provides what is probably my first 2001 UD Legends card, although Lawton does really stretch the definition a bit. I guess double rookie cards is the theme of this repack, with another pair of guys who had perfectly respectable careers in the bigs. LeCroy is back to working his way through the minors, this time as a manager in the Washington system.

All cardboard in the second one.

The 300 HR pack is the starter here, with Juan Gonzalez being the HR hitter in question. MacFarlane's entry is from the update release. As I've said before, I always find box set cards showing up in these repacks to be a nice surprise.

My Premium insert/parallel was that Turkey Red of Corbin. Combining with the Heritage it makes for an old school feel. 

Bonus pitcher card! I'll pretend that since Nolan Ryan wasn't in uniform for this card, that it didn't count against the four.

Party like it is 1981 with the Fleer Tradition entry. That's always a solid choice to inspire (or rip off) when it comes to a newer release. 

Both fairly typical repacks, but I'll have to pick the second one based on having more cards, and also for...

Cartoons on the back!

There you have it!

Still Valued

 At least the cost of value/hanger/rack packs hasn't ballooned yet. Perfect chance to sample a couple.

Playoff time means hockey leads.

OPC gives me exactly what I expect. Basic, but clear photos. Having the players slightly break through the borders gives the illusion that there's a little less border than there is.

Only 5 years of stats on the back, though. Boo.

The SPs aren't too SPd, at least when compared to other releases like Heritage. 3 per value pack seems reasonable if you're going to do the SP thing.

The Retros are wonderfully gaudy. The team name on the bottom sorta gives a 71-72 vibe. 

These blues are 1:3 packs. They're not numbered, but I'll still be sure to include it in my next TMV mailer.

And the rest of the pack. Nothing too major in the second part, but two huge names in the first part with Crosby and McDavid really elevate things.

With the draft going on, here's some football as well. 

First card out is a legend.

The backs? Exactly what you'd expect from a modern Donruss back.

Kicker card to start the rest of the pack! You also get an alternate uniform right after that. Speaking of uniforms, you get to see who is and who isn't worthy of the photoshopped new team treatment. Marquise Brown just warrants the logo change, but Barkley gets everything. Given how the season went, the decision was the right one.

2/14 content! WOO-HOO! That great Jaxon Smith-Njigba photo certainly would have made my annual Top 10 list if I'd had it in hand before 2/14/25.

The blue parallels. They're fine, except that Marino. That might be the grainiest photo I've seen a modern card of a modern player. It looks like a screen grab from a 144P youtube video. The Butkus wasn't like this, so it isn't something they did with legends. Why?

The only insert. At least it was shiny!

Only 3 base rookies per pack, continuing the OPC trend of SPs being scarcer, but still within reachable distance. Best of all, two of them were Bills. Davis and Coleman were also the only two rookies the Bills had in the set - a nice little bonus. And a Guardian Cap for a photographic bonus too. Who needs big names for rookies to be interesting?

Here's the rest of the pack. Mike Rozier also didn't get the Marino treatment for his photo, so I still don't know what happened for his photo. Defender with the ball makes a for a rare finale. 

3 PC cards? Even with the star power in OPC, the nod has to go to the Donruss pack.

There you have it! 

Another Night Owl PWE onslaught: Everything Baseball

 Part 2 of 2.

There was only one Expos card in the envelopes, and I didn't need the small text at the bottom to know that it was an Al Oliver entry. 

There were Heritage minis in the previous mailers, it is only fitting there was more here. Hagen Danner still didn't get the dignity of his actual photo on the mini either, but at least they finally got it right with his Chrome autographs late in the year. 

Compare and contrast the classic cardboard look and feel of Heritage with the shiny foil of Prism. I'm happy with either adding to my collection.

A sticker seems like the perfect choice to start the Mets portion.

But if you'd rather have an actual card, here's a tasty Hostess entry.

Hey Jeff, your rear's done! I love that riff from the MST3K episode Hellcats. I can't show one of Jeff's cards without thinking of it. Sorry, Jeff. And Rusty Staub appearances always make me think of this quote about his learning French while in Montreal.

I don't think 'knocked me on my ass' will come up in Duolingo.

It might not feature his wonderful wind-up, but casual Hideo still makes for a great card. With Ordonez and Alfonso, this really seems casual poses is the theme of this grouping. 

Thanks for the goodies Night Owl!