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!

"I'm Having Trouble Believing This"

 Gordon Pinsent might have been a mainstay of Canadian TV and movies, but I will always remember him for his recurring role as tale-teller extraordinaire Hap Shaughnessy on The Red Green Show. 

Please enjoy him talking about genetics and Russian royalty.

And here's his auto of Canadiana, a set which has provided me with autographs from Chantal Kreviazuk to Trish Stratus.

Links provided, just in case some might find my claims untrustworthy.

A Story in 2 Parts

 I've often seen the same photo used on different cards, even by different companies.

But I've rarely seen photos from the same sequence, taken milliseconds apart, show up on different cards from different companies. And these look so good side-by-side in my miscellaneous football binders. 

2021 Playoff Fat Pack Break

Nothing super high end, but I am getting 40 cards out of  this pack.

Stephon Gilmore - It might not be a Bills card to open, but it is a former Bills card. As for the design, well, that's a lot of border. At least it is in the team colours.

Chris Johnson - Two cards in, and it is showing that there will also be a mix of retired players as part of the base set.

Joe Burrow
David Carr

Chase Claypool - The pride of Abbotsford, British Columbia!

Tre'Davious White - Thankfully, it did not take too long to get to an actual Bills card for the PC. 
Peyton Manning
Jamison Crowder
Courtland Sutton
Dak Prescott
T.Y. Hilton
James White

Jeffery Thompson - This looks to be his first base bard since his rookie year. Good for him. I also note he spells his first name like 2/14 binder member Alshon spells his last name.
Ray Lewis
Tony Gonzalez
Kirk Cousins
Amari Cooper
Robby Anderson

Robert Woods - Another Bills alum.
Jaire Alexander
Chris Carson

Jessie Tuggle - Jessie is one of the odder members of the 2/14 club. Very few online sources list him as such, but all his cards that list a birthdate do list him as such. This one doesn't include a birthdate on the card, so I won't count it. My binders. My rules.
Jalen Reagor
Chris Godwin
David Montgomery
Cam Akers

Brett Favre - PACKERS! WOO! PACKERS WON THE SUPER BOWL!
Ezekiel Elliott
Evan Engram
Drew Brees

Nico Collins
Greg Newsome II
Mac Jones
Nick Bolton
Dyami Brown - The shading of the background in the team colours for rookies make the dull photo choices at least somewhat more tolerable. Not that bad of a grouping here, as I've got a Collins for a future Ann Arbor mailer, and one of the better rookies in Jones.

Marquez Stevenson - Kickoff
Eric Stokes - Kickoff
Antonio Gibson - Kickoff - These parallels look to be retail exclusives. There's a second Bills card, so I'm happily punching above the weight here.

Rookie Wave - Elijah Moore - Half the card looks like a standard Mosaic base card, the other half looks like a goofy 1990s insert. The best of both worlds!

Call to Arms Blue - Ryan Tannehill - A nice final card. Not only an insert, but a parallel one as well. You even get the bonus of the shiny blue prizm meshing perfectly with the team colours. 

A couple Bills cards, a solid rookie, some trade bait and an aesthetically pleasing finale. Great pack!