Happy Victoria Day!

 

Another year, another reference! 

Bills! Bills! Bills!

I showed off some Raptors in a previous post - here's some Bills content from another group break that I bought into while I was overseas. Here are the results - some foily entries out of Phoenix.

And there's a complete base set of Bills. 3 rookies, 2 veterans and 1 legend. Sounds about what I'd expect out of a new NFL release with a smaller base set. As always this year, my favourite Carlos Basham cards are ones that enhance his already great last name with his nickname. I just need a 'Boogie' auto. Not a Basham auto - but one where he has signed 'Boogie'. I already have the former.

A foil set means that there will be colourful parallels within. Here's a /125 purple parallel of last year's 2021 #1 draft pick. The Bills were rather sparse in rookie content last year, but considering they drafted a few players from marquee offensive positions (RB James Cook and WR Khalil Shakir) should increase availability next year. 

Let's go lower than /125, and here's a /50 Fire and Ice parallel.  The blue and red on the corners make it so perfect for a Bills card, to go alongside the cracked ice element.

Shiny inserts! And they feature exactly the players you'd expect.

A solid hit is a great way to end a post. And this brings a lot to the table. It is the lowest numbered card in the break for the Bills, with there only being 24 more copies of this green parallel out there. That's a really solid swatch as well, with 4 colours on display. If it  wasn't evident from the slight bit of filth on the white portion of the patch, this one is also game used. That's always more interesting than a generic 'player worn' swatch. 

Tre'Davious might need to work on his signature, but I'm more concerned that he's healthy for 2022.

And there you have it!

Kicker Mojo!

 

Not only three kicker cards, but 3 other little oddities to go along with them.

You have infield dirt on the Mike-Mayer card (to go along with the unexpected location of the hyphen).

You have a weather card.

And you have a barefoot kicker (although the 'In Action' is pretty questionable).

The middle one is now the only thing you'll see again on cards featuring active players.

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!