2017 Adventures in Repacks - Part 39 - Ending the Year Right

The best way for me to end another year here is with some Dollarama repacks!

This is up first. Will I find something worthy of the mini snap holder?

The Score pack did contain a new Craig Wolanin for my Rangers alumni binder. But that's not snap holder worthy.

Ditto for this John Moore. Binder-worthy, but not holder worthy.

As expected, the HOF card was a junk wax one, but 1993 Leaf making an appearance always improves a repack.

More holders! More Score!

While the last one of these did contain the glossy variation of Hejduk, all this one had was the base card, which was a 2/14 binder dupe. Ribiero was the glossy parallel in this one.

Not just one, but a trio of cards that could conceivably be the superstar in question. Poor, poor Philippe Boucher is the odd man out.

The mask binder is 50 percent worthy of the mask binder. Fiset's ice brick mask is a simple classic.

That ends another year here on the blog. Tomorrow, I can start it off the exact same way with more repack fun.

One Card Only: Another Migraine Special

I was going to recap an envelope from Wes @ Willinghammer Rising, but instead I think I have more codeine in me than blood.

Instead, you get my first David Wright autograph. No better time to take advantage of COMC Black Friday deals and his injury woes to add an on-card auto to my collection of his cards. No team logo? No worries.

I Couldn't Wait a Year

Would it make more sense for me to fit a trade envelope from Waitin' Til Next Year in as this year draws to a close, so one wouldn't have to wait, or to stay true to its name and post it in January?

But, I've got three envelopes to recap, so some have to be fit into 2017. So, this will be one of 'em.

There was a good selection of junk wax era cards in there, but there is no problem with that, especially since there was a surprising dearth of these in my binders. And these were limited!

And just because it is from that era doesn't mean the photos can't be great.

There wasn't just 80s and 90s stuff, as here's a rather recent Stadium Club addition as well.

A few random hockey cards were also in the pack.

The best of these, or at least the most interesting to me, was this card of one-gamer Bill Armstrong. His only card was this O-Pee-Chee/Topps issue. But that's still one more game and one more card than I've had.

Pushpins!

This was just a sampling, as I added pages of goodies to my Mets binder that I really appreciated. Thanks for these!

Stacks of Wax December 2017 - Part 17 - Field Access Case Box 12

Finally, the case comes to an end.

When I busted my single box of this about a year back, the first auto I pulled was of Eli Manning. So it is somewhat appropriate that this case ends the same way the box started. I sold that one, so I'll hold onto this one for the synchronization factor. 

A rookie autograph was the second pack's hit. He was released at the start of this season, and is now on the Jets' practice squad.

The numbered parallel in the box was in the 3rd pack. That's my second insert in the box of this 2/14 baby, but this one is /99.

Matt @ Bob Walk the Plank was the big winner in this case, landing three autographs of West Virginia alum. Alford wraps up this trifecta of autos.

That box that started off with the Eli? It also ended with a Mike Davis autograph.  Perfection!

And that's a case of great photography mixes with sticker autographs. On the whole, probably an average case of the stuff with a few memorable hits (Manning, Mariota, Cousins, Charles, White) but I definitely could have done with out the three Careys and two Sankeys.

Stacks of Wax December 2017 - Part 16 - Field Access Case Box 11

The last box put the final touches on the 200 card base set, so the rest of the way forward, it will be only the autos and the numbered cards.

Terrance West leads the way as the first auto in this box. He only played 2 games with the Titans before being released, but has caught on with the Ravens.

Pack 2 contained the only numbered parallel. Given Brett's cell phone habits, I'm not sure I want All Access to him.

The second pack's auto was another rare member of the 2013 draft class that is not only still in the league, but with the team that drafted him, although the injury bug has limited him this season to a pair of games.

The last of my dupe autographs came from this box. At least they're attached to different photos.

And the final autograph is of someone who is out of the league now, but it is a green parallel out of 50.

Not the best box of the bunch, but they can't all be big winners. One more to go!

Boxing Day Tradition

The World Junior Hockey Championship starts today, so let's see what type of damage I can do to my wantlist with a couple more packs of the stuff.

Only 2 base cards in the first pack? I'm not optimistic about too much damage being done to the wantlist. Anyhow, Cody was the number one pick of the Golden Knights this past draft (6th overall) and Laura Fortino (like all the ladies from this pack break) will be off to the 2018 Olympics.

I did land a hit to go alongside the base cards, though. Probably not the best thing to say about a woman, but Shannon has great pads.

The other pack had 5 base cards to go along with the insert, so it did partially make up for the previous pack. Dante Fabbro is the only one of these folks who will be on the ice in Buffalo over the next week or so.

And the insert is a manufactured patch. I don't really mind these in a mid-range set like this and it does feature the cover boy from this year's release. He's busy with the Blue Jackets, and having a fine rookie season, so he won't be in Buffalo for the tourney. Still a really nice card, though.

And my wantlist drops to about 20 cards.

My Favourite Card of 2017

As per the contest over at Waiting 'til Next Year, here's my favourite card of the year.

With honourable mention to the Dirk Nowitzki autograph I pulled from Hoops, and the 2017 Topps Now of Chris Coghlan's dive, my pick for the second straight year comes from Series 1 of Upper Deck.

I can't imagine there are too many cards featuring a player tearing up, so this photo of P.K. Subban's return to Montreal is an emotional beauty, capturing a memorable non-game moment from the previous season.

There you have it!

Stacks of Wax December 2017 - Part 15 - Field Access Case Box 10

What comes out as I hit the double-digit mark for the boxes?

Pack 1:

Marcus Mariota stylin' and profilin' starts off this one.

A /99 parallel.

And the auto. Since he's a Crimson Tide alum, this one is set aside for my eventual mailer to JBF.

Pack 2:

A Greg Olson hot pack! A great photo of a catch through tight coverage is my fave of these two.

My first auto'ed plate pull! I've got a couple in the collection, but those have arrived through trades. This is also my second 1-of-1 over the past month or so. Unlike the Turco auto, I'll be hanging on to this one.

Pack 3:

While I didn't get any Panthers hits, this was a really good box for some nice base cards from the team.

2/14 content on the insert.

And there's the auto! A pretty nice one as well, taking advantage of the sticker dump to land a veteran auto.

Pack 4:

There's the image that the previously seen plate helped create. 'tis a Jason Verrett hotbox!

The parallel here shows up as the insert card, a purple parallel /25.

And the auto to close out this box. This might be my first nose tackle autograph.

2 more boxes to go!

Stacks of Wax December 2017 - Part 14 - Field Access Case Box 9

Back to the case for the 9th box!

Pack 1:

LaDainian Tomlinson has had a pair of really nice inserts in this case. The patriotic All Access card from earlier might be surpassed by this celebratory photo, complete with the classic powder blues.

The autograph. He's still in the league, so that's always a plus.

Pack 2:

The classic infield of Oakland during football season.

Bills content on the parallel.

My second Allen Robinson auto so far. I definitely could have picked up a worse player auto for dupes but penmanship-wise, I probably couldn't.

Pack 3:

Celebrating can definitely be an adrenaline rush. These parallels are /99.

The only auto in this box that is of someone that isn't still active in the league. Hip injuries forced him to retire earlier this season.

Pack 4:

More of the infield in Oakland.

A really sweet photo with Bryant focusing on both the catch, and making sure he stays in bounds.

Both blue parallels are Bills in this pack.

How to make that Silas Redd photo better? Make it a parallel /25!

The final auto is a sticker dump (he hadn't had any autos since 2011), but Lewis is still in the league with the Pats, and his auto is more legible than most.

There you go! 3 boxes left, and I'll move into double digits on Christmas Eve.