Bills! Bills! Bills!

 Back to the TMV mailer, and all the Bills content within, or Buffalo in the case of this unlicensed issue.

The Bills content in the mailer was certainly a hit parade. These were the only ones, other than the Bruce Smith opener that didn't have a swatch or autograph to go alongside with it. Diggs is easily the most successful of the bunch, lapping the group both in terms of on-field performance and legal issues. 

Let's see the relics. While I probably should pick the Josh Allen entry as my favourite in this grouping, I'm going to have to pick the Mike Williams entry instead. That's because that was seemingly the draft jersey he's holding in the picture that was used for the card. I'll take that over the "not any specified game or event" nowadays. And I'm not left guessing as to what the third swatch is like on Allen's. I'm guessing glove, but if Panini won't say, how am I to say with certainty?

Here's the autos. My favourite in the bunch is the /99 Harrison Phillips. His draft announcement was an emotional moment, as it was announced by Bills mega-fan Pancho Billa, who was fighting cancer at the time and would pass away over a year later. Jeff Tuel almost became the first undrafted rookie to start a Week 1 game, but they opted for EJ Manuel in the days up to the game to start off yet another forgettable season. The Roscoe Parrish on the bottom is a dupe, but I'll be sure that it ends up in a good home.

And why not the best of both worlds? As I've said before, it is amazing that Edwards doesn't make the Top 3 list of QB regrets from post-Kelly, pre-Allen years.

There you have it!

2026 Adventures in Repacks - Part 4 - Valued Again

 And yet another Dollarama repack.

Here's the contents.

The 90s pack existed. It sure did. 

The Miscellaneous pack was a lot more interesting. There's a pair of foil-y additions to my mask binder, although I kinda hope that the Barrasso is a dupe, because it is one of more scratched cards I've ever pulled from a repack. LaFontaine makes it a pair of HOFers in this pack.

My Original Six pack did provide 3 Bruins cards. I'm certain that Dennis @ TMV must already have a copy of that Cam Stewart entry, so I'll hold on to this one of the local product.

And the Bruins content continues with the hit. Ahcan has been spending more time in the AHL as opposed to the NHL since this card's issue, but he's still playing on this side of the Atlantic bouncing between the Colorado Avalanche and the Colorado Eagles.

Let's do one of the two. As usual, this was the first one on the hanger pegs.

An insert and a Timmies card?  The Zegras photo is kinda different too! That's a nice little 4-card repack!

There you have it!

Annual 2/14 Post

Things are a little different this year. Because of a delay in shipping from COMC, I don't have all the cards in the countdown this year in hand. I was originally given a ship-date of early January off a late November request. Now it is back to 2/27. So, I'm relying on images from TCDB, UD's e-pack site, and ebay to fill in the gaps of cards that should have arrived by now. 

Ones supposed to arrive after 2/14 don't count, and like in previous years, I will limit it to cards that were released within the last calendar year.

#12:

Starting it off with a familiar face to the collection is Jadeveon Clowney's 2025 Mosaic entry. I like the rarity of this (and its parallels) probably being the only chance for an appearance by him into the collection with the Panthers, as he spent this past season in Dallas.

#11:

This gets the nod as the Score base entry over Tyler Bass because seeing Bledsoe as veteran content in modern sets isn't strange, but seeing him with the Bills is. It also means I'm leading this year's post off with a pair of #1 draft picks.

#10:

Both Logan VanWey and Brad Lord entered the collection this year off their entries in Update. VanWey gets the nod solely based on the socks.

#9:

Timmies card! I love 'Moments' cards. In this case the Monumental Moment is Nikolaj Ehlers becoming the top-point getter among Danish-born players with an assist against Tampa Bay to surpass Frans Neilsen's 473.

#8:

I'm not the biggest fan of such a busy design on what is essentially a minor-league entry, but I'm definitely going to salute the first G-League cards I added into my collection with this one, which was the only one that would be eligible for this list. At least it is a numbered parallel.

#7:

Some love for the ladies' side of the miscellaneous side of the collection here. If Ian Jackson had nicer penmanship on his card, I'd probably pick him for this. 

#6:

 

Hey! It is recent Super Bowl winner Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He became the 9th member of this collection to earn that title. I'm giving this one the nod over the Celebration entry in 2025 Score exactly because of the content the insert set provided - a Throwback jersey. Even the design doesn't impede the uniform being displayed, as you have the most important things about a Seattle throwback - the helmet and sleeve logo.

Bonus for the shoes also matching.

#5:

Topps Now! Another Moment type card, but this one gets pushed up above Ehlers thanks to it being the closest thing Mitch Farris has had yet in terms of a mainstream release.

#4:

Heritage and a City connect jersey! It does seem like an odd pairing, but I'll give it a pass. I did have a blue parallel as part of a later COMC shipment, but since that wasn't originally scheduled to arrive before February, I won't count it.

#3:

The required Jim Kelly appearance in this list. Jim only topped this list one time, with his 1/1 from 2024 Score. Tyler Bass and Petr Mrazek were the only ones to top this list more than once and Jadeveon Clowney is the only one on the list this year to have topped it in a previous year.

#2:

I was going back-and-forth with this card and the eventual #1 card in this spot. I probably opted to have this in the lower spot simply because there were so many options for Lane Hutson entries to add to the collection, considering both cards that are arranged to be shipped, and in-hand. I opted for this one simply because it gives such a nice view of the classic Habs sweater.

#1:

And here's the #1 pick. While there were many options for Hutson, the lack of options for John Farinacci made the acquisition of a card of his more of a challenge. I can appreciate there being a chase for someone's debut in the collection, which happened several years back with Tyler Bass and his contenders auto, who also lacked many choices.

FWIW, here are all the top spot holders from previous years.

2025 - 2024 Panini Instant - Tyler Bass PR 117

2024 - 2023 Score Gem Masters - Jim Kelly 1/1

2023 - 2022 Heritage Minor League Green - Gabriel Moreno /75

2022 - 2021 Chronicles Classics - Yermin Mercedes

2021 - 2020 Contenders Tyler Bass Auto

2020 - 2019 Chronicles Absolute Autograph - Abiatal Avelino

2019 - 2018 UD CFL Autographs - Marc-Olivier Brouillette

2018 - 16-17 UD S1 - Petr Mrazek

2017 - 15-16 UD Portfolio - Petr Mrazek

2016 - 14-15 UD S1 - Eric Nystrom

2015 - 2014 Certified - Jadeveon Clowney RPA /199

2014 - 13-14 Score Milan Hejuk - 1000th game

And how they were acquired, with the secondary market being the source if not specified:

Pack-pulled: Moreno /75, Chronicles Mercedes, S1 Mrazek, S1 Nystrom, Score Hejduk

Group break: Jim Kelly 1/1, Tyler Bass auto, Clowney RPA

There you have it!

Repack Inspired

 

When I got the base version of this card in a repack, I was surprised by there actually being an interesting photo on a Bowman card, and also thought this would look really nice as a colour-match parallel.

I was right about the latter.

Pitchers and Catchers Report

 

Bring on spring!

2/14 Goodies via Michigan

 A week out from actual 2/14, here's some new entries into that collection.

Here's someone that might be joining my list of 2/14 folks with Superbowl rings. At least it gives me somewhat of a rooting interest in the game with the Bills long gone.

I'm not too sure why 2024-25 Optic felt the need to flash back to 2014 Donruss for an insert set, but seeing as this particular one was filled with rookies from the current year and 2014 ones. I guess with Clowney still in the league, it made sense to include him.

Naturally, there were some new Jim Kelly content in the mix. The unlicensed opener is a Teal parallel, numbered /250. The one in the middle looks pretty sketch as well, but it is a licensed Skybox entry from 1994. The finale is also has a little oddball quality to it - it is a promotional entry from the 1993 National.

Drew Bledsoe gets him a scanner bed worth of new entries. It may not be the most fondly remembered set in the Upper Deeck brand, but I have to vote the Ionix one in the top corner as my favourite design in the bunch. Maybe its just a 90s interpretation of mid 80s Topps designs.

Just based on the volume of rookie cards issued of him, I can see Mercedes eventually taking over the top spot in the top spot in the baseball portion of the collection. Mind you, Jim Kelly is really close to the 300 plateau in the collection, and no baseball player his approached the triple-digit mark yet - the only one of the big 4 North American team sports not to have anyone in that volume.

Finally the hit parade! The big winner here is the middle McNair, which manages to combine an interesting photo with a jersey swatch. And I will be forever thankful for Christian Hackenberg's lack of success, since it allows me to get some really nice looking cards of his for pennies compared to what the box must have cost some unfortunate breaker.

And there you have it!

Basketball Miscellany

Today, the basketball content that was in my to-be-posted box that really didn't hit any other of my PCs. 

I'm going through these in alphabetical order of the file name. So, it is Big Red that leads things off. If it comes from a basketball set, I'm counting it as a basketball card. And look at this wonderful being! I'd probably find a way to lead off with it anyhow!

2020-21 Contenders Draft, for those that must have it.

Manute Bol played 8 games for the Heat in a series of short-term stops as his career wound down. Still, he did get several cards out of his time there, and I couldn't resist adding one to the ol' collection. 

Corey Brewer had a 51 point game? Evidently Hoops was so impressed by it that they gave him a card in a Moments of Greatness insert set. They did the same for a Terrence Ross 51-point game for the Raptors, so this acts as a nice card to match up with it.

Throwback uni!

Starquest may have been yet another fairly generic insert set during its time, but at least it did provide a star-spangled entry of Dr. J.

And a wonderful bonus of there being a NY Nets logo on the back!

If your insert set is "Winner Stays", saluting playoff success, there is no better choice for a member of that set than Bill Russell. The back of the card not only mentions his 11 Championship rings, but also his perfect 10-0 record in literal 'Winner Stays' Game 7s. You don't really need to justify his presence in any modern set that includes a salute to past players, but it is nice to show your work, for lack of a better term.

And there you have it!

Let the Stadium Star!

Here, looking at the  shape of the stadium, the orange spots in the crowd and the empty seats, it seems that this is the Big Sombrero in Tampa that is in the background of this card.

It's a Walter Iooss Jr photo, so of course it is going to make a great card. 

I'm disappointed there's no Bills card in this set, although I do have the Drew Bledsoe in my 2/14 collection. It's also an Iooss photo, 

But there you have it!

Saturday Shininess

 Just a couple shiny cards from my to-be-posted box today. I'm not too certain why I got any of these aside from the reverse retro uniforms being featured.

There's no PC content among any of the 6 players here. The closest is the mask binder with Markstrom attempting a colour match with his to go with the uniforms. Georgiev's looks too close to the standard Avs colours to count.

Is the story of the uniforms on the back enough to count? 

I guess it will have to.

And there you have it!

2026 Adventures in Repacks - Part 3 - The Dollarama Usual

 The usual being one of their value repacks.

Not a lot of cardboard, but I can always use toploaders for outgoing mail.

Nothing too interesting among the 2020s pack, but at least I avoided 21-22 content here. And there's a Werenski that can be part of a future outgoing mail.

But I don't avoid it here, but at least Quick is one of the better photos in a very dull set. I'm sure it is a mask binder dupe, though.

The great repack Gods do provide something interesting here with a pair of Miros, one to open, one to close. That's Rick Zombo on the Pinnacle entry that also celebrates his love for drawing. On several cards in this subset, they recycled the portrait picture from the base card for this one. But here, it is a more somber, reflective look vs the smiley base card photo.

And there yiou have it!