Weekend post #2: catching up on stuff

I haven't had time to post much recently thanks to work, holiday stuff and other distractions, but now that I've finally had a chance to catch up a bit:

Contest time:  All About Cards:
The good folks over at All About Cards are officially running their 2010 Card Awards, so you should voice your opinion and enter for a chance to win some sweet swag!

Yo dawg, I herd you like cards so I put cards in yo cards so you can open cards when you open your cards:

Pictured:  Larry of ECDG

Seattle Mariners and more blogger extraordinaire Emerald City Diamond Gems managed to surprise me this week when a Christmas card from him graced my mailbox (like, an actual greeting card, from a stranger I met on the internet--sweet!).  Even more impressive:  it included a nice handful of cards he knew I'd like featuring Wolverines and Tigers.  I didn't bother to scan them all but here's my favorite of the group: 



That's a really cool patch representing some guy you might have heard of from the early days of the Tigers.  I love that it's the "D" from Detroit (as well as the first letter of my name, of course).  This is a sweet addition to my Tigers pile o' stuff, and is much appreciated, Mr. Gems.  Please keep an eye on your mailbox for my official response.  In the meantime, a big thumbs up to a great blogger who continues to help remind me why I got into this blogging thing with the rest of you.

RIP Bob Feller:
I know this was covered a hundred times over in the last week, but a couple quick thoughts about the loss of a great player and person:  I had the pleasure of meeting Bob twice over the course of a couple years, first at a somewhat large card show in my area, and again at a local mall, if you can believe it.  Both times, the price was ridiculously cheap, and both times he affirmed his status as the nicest guy from whom I snagged a signature.
The first time, he signed my Hall of Fame program I grabbed on one of my several trips to the museum; not only was he friendly and talkative, but he was able to remember and pinpoint the exact day the photo was taken!
The second time, at the small local mall show is the one I'll always remember him by, though:  he was sitting at a small table (with a relatively small crowd, considering the guy's a freakin' Hall of Famer and one of the best pitchers ever) flanked by some coffee and a plate of cookies from the Big Boy in the mall.  Again, he was very talkative as he signed, even speaking a bit to my Italian grandmother who was along for the ride with us!
So as far as I'm concerned, not only did the world lose one of the best pitchers baseball has ever seen, but also one of its greatest people, a truly amazing guy.
Here's a quick look at an autograph from the second signing session I mentioned above:

I hate you, Topps, I hate you with the passion of 1000 fiery suns:
I own the Freehan on the right.  No comment necessary:

My posting will probably about as light as the rest of you the next couple weeks, but I'll be back in full force in January with some new stuff, including a big contest/giveaway.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to y'all!