Trade #2 with A2Wolverine

 HELLO

 MY NAME IS ALVARO MONTOYA

YOU KILLED MY FATHER

PREPARE TO DIE!

Ok, with that out of the way, here's what's up:  I met Dustin/A2Wolverine of No Relics Pulled for our second in-person trade after work today.  To my lack of utter disbelief, he expressed interest in the Felix Hernandez Topps manupatch I grabbed at the last show I went to and blogged about on my Trade Bait Post.  I wanted something comparable in return, and because he was grabbing some stuff on COMC, I asked him to grab this beauty for me:  Michigan hockey hit #9 for me and Al Montoya card #1:  a 2006-07 Fleer Ultra Fresh Ink autograph.  Somewhat timely considering Al's stellar NHL play (now that he's finally getting a chance with the OTHER New York hockey team that's not Buffalo, which I don't care about anyway) not to mention Michigan's latest Frozen Four appearance, this is a great addition to my Michigan PC.  Montoya's got a few other autographs that I'm now more motivated to go after, so hopefully that'll happen before long.

Dustin was also nice enough to throw in this Topps Ripken/Hanley:

which pretty much means I owe him one, but that's what next month's card show is for.  Thanks to Dustin again for another great trade (and obviating the need to pay shipping), and now it's your turn to trade with him if you haven't yet, so give it a shot.

Help wanted

Since my habit has always been to buy more, more, MORE when it comes to sets, I want to put a temporary stop to that and finish up some of these really, seriously almost complete sets (and some that aren't quite there yet, or at all).  So I'm enlisting you, my fellow card blogging/collecting brethren and sistren to help me finally put some of these sets to bed.  If you can help me finish any, I promise to make it worth your while in cards of your favorite player/team as best as I can.  If you can finish enough sets for me I might even get in a generous mood and throw in an autograph or relic or two (or something).  So please help a fellow collector out so I can get back to pursuing new stuff!

Baseball:

1996 Sportflix: 69 90

1996 Ultra: 523

1997 Bowman's Best: 134

1997 Fleer: 108 212 685

1997 Score Premium Stock: 1 22 24 122 123 130 156 187 215 310 349

1997 Topps Mantle: 12 20 28 32 34

1998 Pinnacle Mint Bronze Cards: 25

1998 Score Rookie Traded: 181

1998 Studio Portraits: 7 10 13 16

1998 Topps Ryan Reprints: 8 10 20

1998 Upper Deck: 18 260 603 610 629
1998 Upper Deck Griffey HR Chronicles: 10 26 30 34 42 43 44 46

1999 Skybox Thunder: 265 281 290

1999 Stadium Club: 141

1999 Topps: 374 461 (Any Sosa)

1999 Upper Deck PowerDeck CDs: 3 10 23 25

2000 Bowman: 180 192 399

2000 Fleer: 129
2000 Fleer Ripken Collection: 2 6 7 9

2000 Ultra: 11 89 200

2000 Upper Deck: 103 120 273 279 280 282 283 285 290 293 294 298 303 304 313 316 321 325 328 330 336 337 342 343 344 346 347 353 355 356 359 363 364 373 379 381 390 399 402 405 406 415 416 424 425 428 429 432 433 438 440 442 446 447 449 451 454 456 458 462 464 466 468 471 484 486 489 494 497 500 509 510 512 515 516 518 520 524 525 530 533 534 536

2000 Upper Deck MVP Set 2: 100

2001 Donruss Retro 2000: 15 23 24 58 63
2001 Donruss Rookie Reprints: 3 5 10 11 14 17 18 20 21 23 25 27 28 29 32 37 40

2001 Fleer Platinum Rookie Reprints: 2 6 8 17

2001 Fleer Triple Crown: 65 92 298

2001 Stadium Club: 160 161 167 170 187 189 191 196 198

2001 Upper Deck: 367 414

2002 Bowman: 1 16 18 20 28 50 70 85 97 100 125 135 147 150 161 166 168 173 175 180 183 184 186 189 191 193 194 197 199 203 204 205 206 212 215 216 218 291 306 392 394 400 408 413 420 431

2002 Donruss Rookies: 95 104

2002 Topps Archives: 10 113 125 136 139 157 174 189

2002 Topps Total: 2 4 23 25 26 39 40 52 61 81 105 119 136 137 139 143 154 160 173 174 179 190 196 200 213 218 227 238 241 245 280 282 288 301 313 317 322 336 338 343 357 359 360 364 377 381 385 388 391 395 399 432 439 440 459 462 472 475 481 483 486 489 497 500 503 506 518 522 528 540 541 560 577 582 595 601 606 607 613 618 619 629 634 642 644 659 671 683 708 713 732 735 738 748 752 759 760 762 770 773 777 778 784 804 808 841 842 847 854 857 859 860 862 863 873 877 880 881 888 890 894 905 913 917 926 928 931 941 944 954 966
2002 Topps Total Award Winners: 4 5 15 21
2002 Topps Total Total Topps: 5 6 18 26 27 34 44

2002 Upper Deck Honor Roll Update: 101 106 107 112 114 124 126 131 135 141 147 161 167 171 172 177 179 185

2002 Upper Deck Victory Update: 551 553 554 557 560 564 570 575 578 581 582 583 584 588 590 594 599 600 605 608 609 610 614 615 616 620 621 622 627 632 633 638 640 645 646 650 651 656 658

2003 Topps Total: 74 114 115 130 138 139 152 154 159 170 179 212 228 238 243 269 319 371 378 396 433 443 479 510 519 557 632 713 721 723 761 767 802 826 854 872 877 921 954 962 965
2003 Topps Total Checklists: 8 15 26 27 28

2004 Bowman: 198

2004 Bowman Draft: 31 33 34 35 36 38 40 42 43 53 54 55 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 79 81 82 84 87 90 91 92 96 97 100 106 108 109 111 112 116 120 142

2004 Fleer Hot Prospects Draft Edition: 14 48

2004 Leaf Second Edition: 4 32 33 42 50 66 82 111 136 182 195

2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites: 5 15 21 25 34 38 50 82 97 112

2004 Topps Traded set 1: 7 13 15 24 76 78 82 89 102 130 170 198
2004 Topps Traded set 2: 5 7 13 14 15 17 18 20 24 28 29 35 36 38 40 42 43 45 47 50 52 55 57 61 62 65 68 76 77 78 82 85 89 90 97 99 100 102 107 111 114 123 130 137 142 154 158 165 170 174 186 193 198 202

2005 Flair: 7 24 30 36

2005 Fleer Patchworks: 4 13 15 29 55 61 68 69

2005 Fleer Tradition: 37 39 43 45 62 70 92 107 133 138 140 143 178 226 230 233 240 245 256 272 273 281 285 291 296 298

2005 Skybox Autographics: 26 40 45 54 60
 
2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites: 12 13 17 18 19 25 26 27 31 34 41 45 46 50 52 55 58 59 60 62 63 64 67 69 72 73 74 84 85 87 90 96 104 107 112 113 118 120 121 124 125 127 131 134 135 136 138 142

2005 Topps Chrome: 2 7 8 9 10 11 18 21 28 30 39 41 44 50 52 56 58 67 68 70 78 81 85 90 94 97 99 102 103 106 110 111 114 125 127 128 130 137 143 151 161 174 177 180 181 182 185 188 190 192 193 195 202 204 208 210 213 217 220 264 269 270 271 275 279 288 289 294 295 297 299 323 326 330 331 335 343 347 354 358 380 395 405 421 425 426 428 433 441 445 453 455 470

2006 Topps: 76 231 274 297 319

2006 Ultra: 75 95

2007 Topps Series 2: 618

2008 Donruss Elite Extra Edition (Set 2): 11 15 58 59 67 74 79 96 97

2008 Topps Series 2: 332 335 337 350 354 370 416 451 452 456 487 500 508 533 536 538 575 602 605 644 651 654

2008 Topps Co-Signers: 24 28 50 70 74 78 96 99

2009 Bowman: 4 7 34 39 40 42 43 72 87 88 93 100 107 110 111 121 122 124 129 131 136 144 148 151 156 161 163 172 173 176 177 179 180 203 206 213 216 217 219
2009 Bowman Prospects: 1 8 14 16 18 19 21 23 35 27 30 33 36 38 53 57 58 61 62 64 73 82 84 85 86 88
2009 Bowman WBC Prospects: 3 5 7 9 10 13 17 18

2009 Topps Update: 18 24 30 39 46 100 145 147 224

2010 Bowman: 4 109
2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects: 3 8 10 18 26 27 29 32 42 45 48 52 58 67 82 89 91 92 95 97 101 105 107 109 110

2010 Bowman Draft: 4 9 10 13 18 21 26 27 30 32 34 39 59 61 66 72 73 76 81 89 90 95 97 102 108
2010 Bowman Draft Prospects: 12 23 37 42 47 61 63 65 66 67 72 75 77 78 81 82 86 88 90 92 95 99 100 108 109 

Football:


2000 Topps: 361 362 363 364 370 375 376 385 388 389 398 399

2001 Topps: 358 380

2001 UD MVP: 18 20 24 30 47 62 69 70 82 84 107 115 123 124 139 144 152 162 170 195 199 208 222 228 230 232 234 262 273 297 303 304 311 316 319

2005 Topps: 16 57 85 129 140 142 146 208 248 295 310 384 438

2005 Topps Draft Picks & Prospects: 2 3 6 14 33 35 42 48 58 64 66 78 90 96 105 116 117 120 122 128 129 134 135 136 140 142 150 151 154 158 163 165 166

2006 Bowman: 1 66 67 70 71 73 75 99 114 125 141 151 157 161 179 185 187 191 194 200 225 245 249 255 266 269
2006 Bowman Chrome: 1 3 4 7 8 9 10 13 14 17 18 19 24 28 33 47

2006 Topps: 4 18 25 31 37 38 122 151 154 155 160 170 193 274 297 301 307 344 346 348 350 355 365 369 373

2007 Bowman: 111 137 173 222 226 248 258
2007 Bowman Chrome: 18 33

2008 Sage Hit: 71

2008 SP Rookie Edition (Set 2): 115 120 122 123 125 130 131 134 140 141

2008 Topps: 4 21 22 28 36 41 62 72 77 80 87 97 103 111 128 130 137 138 232 286 292 304 331 332 372 399 410 416 420 428 434 440

2009 Bowman Draft: 14 24 33 47 118 127 149 155 156 160 161 168 176 179 182 190 191 200 214 217 220

2009 Sage Hit:
Set 1: 60 62 64 65 79 81 93
Set 2: 51 60 62 63 64 65 68 73 79 81 84 91 92 93 94 97

2009 Topps: 5 34 85 87 143 174 187 205 215 261 277 293 381 411 425 431 439 CL1 CL4

2010 Absolute Memorabilia Retail:
Set 2: 16 30 58 73 100
Set 3: 3 4 16 17 30 31 45 46 58 59 61 62 73 74 77 87 88 100

2010 Sage Hit:
Set 1: 53 56 59 66 79 95 96
Set 2: 44 47 53 56 58 59 63 65 66 73 79 83 84 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98
Set 3: 44 47
Set 4: 37 41 44 45 47 49
Set 5: 37 39 41 42 44 45 47 49

2010 Score: 301 302 310 318 324 328 330 331 332 339 340 345 346 349 350 351 359 366 371 374 375 376 377 384 385 386 392 393 397 398 400

2010 Topps: 32 57 75 351 360 362

2011 SAGE Hit Football (Again)

I was excited enough about the 2011 Sage HIT blaster I got last week to grab another two at Meijer today, which was a good idea since cards were again 20% off (to my surprise).  I'm not doing another review since that's not how I do things around here, but I wanted to give everyone an idea of what I pulled from my total of three blasters (including, obviously, the one previously mentioned).

Base set and Pre-Rookies insert:

• 3 complete base sets (1-50)
• 48/50 of a 4th set
• 43/50 of a 5th set
• 2 complete Pre-Rookies insert set (1-5)
• 4/5 of a 3rd Pre-Rookies set

Autographs:

I didn't do as well on the autographs this time (I was happy pulling the Matthews and Stanzi the first time) but I still can't complain about getting three Reds and three Silvers.  For less than $60 I got almost five base sets (and enough dupes to trade for the rest), one shy of three of the Pre-Rookies insert set and six autographs.  Let's see a hobby box (which costs more than that) match that!

Everything is available for trade.  I'm keeping one base and Pre-Rookies set for myself, but I have the others available, and I'll have more once I get everything completed.  Also, the autographs are all up for grabs.  Todd has dibs on Stanziball so far, but feel free to make offers on anything else.  And again, go grab one or two of these blasters instead of some of the other crap that's out there!

As for my set needs, in case any of you can help (reminder:  I have a decent number of these to help you finish YOUR sets):

Set 4:  14 25
Set 5:  5 14 25 26 31 45 48
Pre-Rookies Set 3:  1

2011 SAGE Hit Football Low Series Retail Blaster

As usual, I was at Meijer getting some necessities, but it wasn't by accident that I stopped to have a look in the card section in case they had this very blaster.  I always pick up at least one or two of these every year because it's fun getting a couple guaranteed autos of some possibly nice draft picks.  I grabbed one hoping for a base set, not too many triples and beyond in terms of extras, and at least one autograph of a guy I'd heard of.  Here's how I did:


Purchased from/price:  Meijer, $19.99
Packs/cards:  20 packs of 5 cards plus 2 autographs
Set size:  50 base cards
Key features/cards:  The two guaranteed autographs are the big draw, but getting around 100 base cards from a 50 card set that includes some sure-to-be high draft picks is pretty nice

Base cards: 

Base front

Base back

Base "Art" subset front

Art back

• Set completion:  48/50 (96%)
• Extras:  48 
• Doubles:  34
• Triples:  11
• Quads:  2
• Quints:  1 (Ryan Mallett)

Well that's definitely a lot more of Ryan Mallett than I wanted.  I was really, really hoping to pull a full set, but I don't think I ever have from a SAGE blaster.  At least they didn't really super short-print the subset like they did a year or two ago with the "program" cards.  As usual I'm cool with the simplicity of the base set, even though it can't feature team logos.


Inserts:  4 

Pre-Rookies:  4, Blaine Gabbert, Kyle Rudolph, Julio Jones, Shane Vereen (odds unknown)

Kind of boring, but at least they're not the glossy parallels SAGE used to do.  Then again, they did used to put in some interesting hits at times, but I consider these a bonus the way the blaster is configured.



Hits:  2

Autographs:  2, Casey Matthews (Oregon), Ricky Stanzi (Iowa) (2:box) 


A quick note:  some people have asked about getting one low series and one high series autograph in their blasters, and that's indeed the case, at least at times (and maybe always).  They've done this in years past too.  In my case, Stanzi is a high-series autograph.


Best card:  Casey Matthews autograph  

Quality control and collation:  15/20 You all know I'm usually really harsh when it comes to collation like this, but I'm still actually reasonably happy with 48/50 and a decent start on a second set (no extras are available yet probably until I grab one more blaster or two and figure out where I'm at).  Still, this is a perfect 20 if I grab a full base set and subtract two of those Malletts. 
Base set: 15/20 As I said, it's simple but elegant, even without team logos.  I especially like the "Art" cards, which are a nice touch that compares somewhat well to Masterpieces or something like that;  The backs are pretty good too.  This is a good mix of sure-fire stars, future busts (paging Jake Locker) and who-dats. 
Inserts:  10/15  I'm not enamored with the look of the Pre-Rookies, but like I said, I consider them a bonus because I definitely wasn't expecting them.  I got four different players, and they were pretty good ones overall, hence the more-positive-than-normal grade.
Hits and extras:  15/15  Well that's the reason I got the blaster, no?  Not only did I get my two guaranteed autographs (the design of which I like as usual), I got two players I'd heard of, and I think Clay's brother Casey Matthews at least has a chance to make some noise in the NFL (Stanzi, not so much, since around these parts his last name has become synonymous with can-of-corn interceptions; but at least I've heard of him--woohoo Big 10 player!).
Value:  30/30  To recap, for $20 I got to open 20 packs, got almost a full base set, a good chunk of another, four different inserts and two pretty good autographs.  I'm very happy with this configuration and I'll probably go back for more.  Even better--after a while these often get hacked down to half price, making them a steal at that point.

Overall:  85/100
Recommendation:  Buy.  You may not do as well as I did with the autographs or you may do better.  You may top me and end up with six Malletts or you might get a full set and another 40 or so towards a second.  Either way, I think for the $20 you'll enjoy this blaster, so if you're into college football, grab one if you see it.  

Nothing's for trade just yet but I'll keep everyone posted on that once I see about maybe one more blaster.

SWEET MERCIFUL CRAP, TWO trade posts in a row?

Keeping up with the themes of trade posts and the Simpsons (including a rare useful clip, where are THOSE when you need them?),


Today's arrived from Greg of the annoying to spell Plaschke, Thy Sweater Is Argyle.  Greg was another blogger to bite on my trade bait post and humbly requested the David Wright bat card that I knew someone would want.  I checked out his own trade bait page and was happy to find an autograph of a Tiger I was interested in.  But first, of course, we each threw in some extras.  I made sure he got some Matt Kemp/Clayton Kershaw/Russell Martin/Dodgers-type stuff and in return I got more Tigers.  Highlights:

Paul Gibson (chosen because of the bubble; he sucked), Danny Bautista (love the matte Fleers from the 90s), strikeout/HR machine Rob Deer, Whitaker and Tram together, another Trammell (fan favorite Bubba), a new Granderson, Ryan Perry, and a hologram commemorating Charlie Gehringer.

And the real get, of course:

A 2010 UD World of Sports auto of Casper Wells.  This is my first Wells autograph and Tigers hit #34 in the PC.  It's a very simple, non-licensed 'graph, but I'd take this over a relic any day, especially a Tiger autograph.  I also appreciate the full-bleed photo action and a great shot of Casper (hopefully) connecting.  Here's hoping he sees some time in the Detroit OF sooner rather than later.

Thanks again to Greg for a great trade.  I realize many of you have traded with him--I've seen a ton of trade posts with his name on them--but if you haven't, get down to it, you'll be glad you did.

Sunday fun with Dr. Cheeks

Relevant pic to sum up this post:

Hello, I'm Dr. Cheeks. I'm doing my rounds, and, uh, I'm a little behind.

I've been a bit busy with family in town, plus the usual work stuff.  But I wanted to give credit where it was due (and show off a couple nice hauls) for a great trade package and a couple nice Blowout pickups.

Trade with Johnny/Hiflew of Cards From the Quarry:

Johnny was one of the responders to my trade bait post and totally shocked me by requesting the Rockies I had up for grabs.  For our second trade so far, those plus some insert needs for him and some other assorted Rockies got me the following (in addition to a few NFL Wolverines and Lions):

Some Detroit Tigers, including a new Granderson!

and the real highlights, 2008 TriStar Farm Hand autos of Tiger prospects Cody Satterwhite, Daniel Schlereth (traded from Arizona) and Ryan Perry.  Schlereth is a green parallel #d to 50.  This is a great group of Tigers pitching prospects and surprisingly each card is my first autograph of each player.  This is a great looking set made up of an excellent group of prospects, so I think Johnny made a smart choice busting the product.  I'm hoping all three guys make some noise for the Tigers soon, although Perry's already done fairly well for the bullpen and I don't think Schelereth is far behind.  Thanks again to Johnny for another nice deal and I hope you enjoy yours as well.  Those of you that haven't traded with him are missing out, so if you've been putting it off, get off your ass and get trading.

Blowout pickups:

What, do you think a week could go by without me buying something on Blowout?  I had two arrive in my mailbox this weekend:  a small Wolverines lot and a two-card Braylon Edwards lot.  The damage:

Alan Branch 2007 UD Premier Notheworthy Autographs auto

Braylon Edwards 2005 Leaf Certified Materials Freshman Fabric jersey

Braylon Edwards 2008 UD Masterpieces Captured on Canvas jersey

Braylon Edwards 2010 Topps Magic auto

Chris Perry 2004 SAGE Bronze auto

Leon Hall 2007 Playoff National Treasures auto RC

The Edwards auto (my second!) and Captured on Canvas jersey came together in a lot (something stupidly cheap like $12) and the others I think set me back $20 or less.  Picasa tells me I now have 248 different Wolverines hits in the PC, so another milestone is coming soon.  I'm also now up to 15 Braylon Edwards cards, well short of current leaders David Terrell (25) and Jake Long (23), plus I only have the two Braylon sigs.  Well, I'm getting there.  The other big hit for me was the gorgeous Hall auto/RC.  I know nobody really cares about collecting defensive players, but I'm happy to go after one of the better performing Wolverine DBs in the pros in recent memory.  He's no Woodson (nobody is) but has shown a ton of promise, and this is a great numbered autograph RC of the guy.

I should have a few other things coming in soon and as usual you'll all be privy to that.  When time allows I'll try to get back to posting more regularly.  In the meantime, go keep up with BA Benny's ongoing group break or something.

3-13 card show report: personal collection edition

Blog design note:  
Before I get down to today's post, I just wanted to mention a couple improvements (at least I think so) that I made to the blog the last couple days.

The first is an upgrade of my "Collecting Links" section, which mainly includes my personal collection scans.  I moved my existing scans to Picasa Web Albums and got everything up-to-date there, including captions and tags.  That section now has the Michigan PC broken up by sport and also includes new groups, such as my baseball autographs and rookies.

I also added a new section a bit further down highlighting my completed trades with other bloggers.  I've seen other writers do the same and decided it was high time I did.  They go reverse-chronologically and the links take you to the posts where I discuss and scan what I received.  If I left you out please let me know, but as far as I can tell, so far I've linked to every trade with a blogger that I've posted about so far.  I hope this is a feature some of you enjoy, and even more so, I hope that leads some of you to work out deals with these great traders, all of whom I most definitely endorse.

Ok, card show report time:
As promised yesterday, here's my PC haul from Sunday's card show.  Like I mentioned, I ended up with 16 trade bait cards and another 16 for myself (totally not on purpose) for $90.  This group includes a few slightly higher-dollar cards because, obviously, they're for my collection and I wasn't going nuts throwing money at trade bait.

Baseball:
This doesn't happen terrible often, especially at card shows, but I managed to nab a couple Michigan baseball hits:

Drew Henson 2002 Fleer This Day in History auto:  Yep, another autograph of the Michigan football traitor himself, but this is actually my first baseball auto of Henson (I have two of him for football).  This design doesn't do a whole lot for me, but at this point I'm just trying to pile up as many hits of my players as I can, and this fell under the group of stuff I was getting 4 for $10, so I'm reasonably happy with it.

J.J. Putz 2005 Donruss Signature auto:  I'm slightly surprised this is my first Putz hit, but I guess when you're looking at a bullpen guy you never know.  Here's hoping he can make some noise for the DBacks this year.  I grabbed this for cheap from the last seller I visited, and as I was going through his relatively small group of baseball autographs (one row of a box, compared to several boxes of football, for example) I saw no fewer than five of these, which was great for me because I was able to pick one with a sig that I liked compared to the others.

Football:
I'm sure you'll be surprised that this'll be the majority of my pickups yesterday.  I hadn't been to this show in a while so I wasn't sure what to expect about availability and pricing (considering the Wolverines are a relatively local team there) for my guys, but I did pretty well, plus I managed not to pick up any doubles by accident.

Adrian Arrington 2008 Bowman Sterling Refractor auto RC:  Well I THOUGHT I had all the cards featuring this image, but of course I didn't take parallels into account.  A shinier, lower-numbered version of one I already had, but at a very nice price, and the card looks great anyway.  Not a bad start out of the 4 for $10 group.

Bennie Joppru 2003 Donruss Classics Significant Signatures auto RC:  If you're surprised that I added another Joppru auto/RC to my collection thanks to this show (like I was), you won't believe that I also grabbed ANOTHER Joppru, which you'll see next.  As for this guy, I think it's a great looking autographed rookie of an excellent Wolverine in his college uni.  Classics tends to have solid looking autographs, and this one fits that bill for sure.

Bennie Joppru 2003 Press Pass Authentics jersey:  Yep, Joppru #2, pretty cool.  I think I even found both of these at different sellers, but I can't remember.  A decent piece of an actual game-used (ie, not "event-used") jersey.

Brandon Graham 2010 Panini Threads auto RC:  When I saw this I assumed I had it since I already have a couple of the Panini-branded Graham auto/RCs from this year, but I took a gamble anyway and it paid off.  I guess a non-practice action shot would be too much to ask, but I like the card otherwise overall, and I'm really building up a nice Graham collection, so I hope he steps up next year (assuming there IS a next season).

Braylon Edwards 2005 Upper Deck Portraits Scrapbook Materials jersey:  I know I complain about single-color, boring jersey swatches, but I got this one for $1, and it's from his rookie year, so it's cool at least in that regard.  Of course, nowhere near as nice as

Braylon Edwards 2005 Upper Deck Reflections Rookie Exclusives Red auto:  This is a pretty sweet Braylon autograph, and a shiny one at that.  It may not be an actual RC, but it does have one thing going for it:  this is finally my first Edwards autograph.  It was a long time coming, but I'm glad to have added it to the PC.  The guy who got $50 out of me wanted $10 for this $50 card and I was happy to pay that much for it, really.

Brian Griese 2001 SP Authentic jersey:  Again, this is a fairly boring jersey, but with some of those older players, beggars can't be choosers.  At least it's serial numbered, and it goes along with my Amani Toomer from the same set.

Chad Henne 2008 Leaf Rookies & Stars Cross Training jersey:  My only Henne on the day was a solid Dolphins jersey swatch, which at least comes from his rookie year.  Plus there's all kinds of shiny, foil, serial-numberedness going on, which makes this a fun card for a couple bucks.

Derrick Alexander 1994 Superior Rookies Autographs auto:  One of my firsts from this group was this Alexander auto.  I have a couple base cards of him but didn't have any hits until I saw this one and grabbed it for cheap (it would have to be because I'm not a big fan of those lower-quality sets like Classic and Superior).  Derrick's bio reads a lot like Braylon Edwards:  Michigan WR wearing #1, 1st round pick by the Browns.  He finished his career with 40 TDs, having played for four different teams, which is a decent career in my opinion.

Jason Avant 2006 Donruss Threads Rookie Class auto patch RC:  This was my favorite of the haul and got another $10 out of me from the guy I spent $50 on.  I immediately liked it, especially because I didn't realize it existed--as with the Sweet Spot helmet autos I wasn't necessarily aware these were being done this far back, so I was thrilled to get one that's a RC for one of my favorite Michigan WRs.  The book value is up there a bit so I'm not sure I'd shoot for a name plate just yet, but it's certainly not out of the question.  Of course I just checked eBay and the only one that comes up is the exact same letter....

John Navarre 2004 Bowman Signs of the Future auto:  I think I've had one or two other transactions where I ended up with a few Navarres at once, but it's been a while so this was quite a day.  This is a sharp autograph of the former Michigan QB, and in my opinion one of SOTF's better designs.

John Navarre 2004 Playoff Contenders Rookie Ticket auto RC:  This set often looks pretty good--the ticket motif is kind of a fun idea.  The overall gold look to the card is a plus as well, but as usual, the fact that it's an autographed RC I didn't have was the biggest factor.  Fortunately for me, Navarre stuff is as cheap as it gets since he's out of the league.

John Navarre 2004 Sweet Spot Rookie Signatures Tier 2 auto helmet RC:  As with the Marlin Jackson I picked up last week, I didn't realize these were being made back then, but I'm making up for lost time whenever I find them.  I know not all of you are as happy about these, but they just make much more sense to me than this year's baseball leather slabs--this is a card-sized version of an autographed mini-helmet and I think that works well.  By the way, this is Navarre #7 for me, and all of them are autographs--not bad at all.

Marcus Knight 2000 Fleer Autographics auto:  The last card (alphabetically by first name) in the bunch was another first for me:  a Marcus Knight autograph.  Knight was a WR for our '97 championship team before a brief NFL career that saw him make his way to arena football before becoming a WR coach at Valparaiso, where he's apparently still employed.  So here's another player that didn't exactly star in the NFL but is more than welcome in my collection!

So there you have it--one card show, 32 cards to show for it (stupid lack of worthwhile boxes...).  Please feel free to leave comments letting me know what you think--whether you consider me part of the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked or your new sports card overlord.  And as a reminder, please check out the available trade bait from yesterday--about half of it is still available.

3-13 card show report: trade bait edition

Well, as I'd hoped I ended up making it to the last day of this weekend's show after all.  Overall I did pretty well--no boxes because there was literally nothing that was worth the money that I didn't already have.  Fortunately, that meant that I spent my money wisely and even made it home with some in my pocket.

Besides snagging 125 toploaders for $6 (5 packs of 25--which is why I always try to buy these at shows where they're cheaper), I spent exactly $90 on 32 cards:  16 for the PC and 16 trade bait cards (I didn't do that on purpose, it just worked out that way).  One purchase was a few cards for $20 (heavily discounted), another $20 buy included two groups of 4 for $10 items and a couple other $1 singles (still all hits, surprisingly) and the last was a group that set me back $50 but included some much nicer stuff, some of which will be up for grabs.

I'll show off the PC stuff tomorrow, but judging by the response I got to the trade request solicitation last night I figure y'all wanna see what I got for you.  I did my best based on how people responded and using my own judgment based on what was available.  Everything here is available first come, first served for the right offer.  Just so nobody's surprised, I want to be clear that I'm going to be looking for similar stuff in return (ie relics and autographs, autographs being much preferred, of Michigan players and recent Detroit Tigers) that will meet my PC needs.  The link to your right that goes to my SCF page has a good list of players I like.  With that said, here's what you have to pick from:

This first group includes:

• 2005 Bowman SOTF Justin Jones (Twins)
• 2007 Bowman auto Mitch Maier (Royals)
• 2007 Bowman auto Mitch Maier (Royals) #d/250
• 2005 BowBest auto Shane Costa (Royals) #d/99
• 2006 Topps Chrome auto Anthony Lerew (Braves)
• 2005 Bowman SOTF auto Jay Rainville (Twins)
• 2011 Topps 60 bat David Wright (Mets)  (Traded:  Greg, Plaschke Thy Sweater is Argyle)
• 2007 BowChro auto Greg Reynolds (Rockies)  (Traded:  Hiflew, Cards from the Quarry)

The second group includes:

• 2007 SPx auto RC Juan Morillo (Rockies)  (Traded:  Hiflew, Cards from the Quarry)
• 2010 Topps Manupatch Dennis Eckersley '89 WS (A's)
• 2004 Topps something Take Me Out to the Ballgame jersey Larry Walker (Rockies)  (Traded:  Hiflew, Cards from the Quarry)
• 2011 Topps Manupatch Torii Hunter (Angels)
• 2011 Topps Manupatch Felix Hernandez (Mariners)  (PENDING:  A2Wolverine, No Relics Pulled)
• 2006 Topps Triple Threads 3x jsy/auto/RC Demetrius Williams (Ravens) #d 17/18
• 2010 Topps Prime 4x jsy/auto/RC Andre Roberts (Cardinals) #d /499
• 2007 Absolute Memorabilia RPM jsy/ball/jsy RC Antonio Pittman (Saints) #d/849

Considering I spent less than $3/card (and you haven't even seen the better stuff I got for myself) I'm fairly happy with how I did.  Not everything I picked up for trade bait was gold, but I definitely have a few of you in mind that'll want some of what I picked up.  Mike, you'd better want that Pittman because it's usually a cold day in hell when I pick up a Buckeye!  So get those offers coming in and let's do some trading!  Anything that doesn't get snapped up now will likely end up in a draft in the future, so don't worry if you don't have anything handy for trading in the meantime.

Taking trade bait requests

I forgot to do this earlier in the week, but since I may go to a decently large show on Sunday, I'm taking requests from you guys as I look to load up on trade bait instead of throwing my money away on crappy boxes.  While I'm hoping to pick up plenty of good stuff for myself, I want to throw some cash at some cheap but useful hits I can use to trade with you (and possibly for a future draft as well).

If I go, it'll probably be early-ish Sunday afternoon, so between now and then, just shoot me a comment with what you'd like me to try to pick up assuming you want to get it from me in a future trade.  Ideally I'd like some specifics as much as possible; I pretty much want player names because I don't want to end up with a bunch of guys from a team I don't like and that I can't really unload.  Even better would be more specifics, such as "Tigers (in Detroit uniform) such as Justin Verlander and Austin Jackson, mainly autographs".  I'm talking autographs and jerseys because I don't really pick up inserts or base at shows at this point.  I'll look at baseball or football for you, though, so if there's something you'd like me to try to find, keeping in mind I'll generally be looking through the bargain bin hits, let me know and I'll see what I can do.  I'm hoping this leads to some more great trades, and I promise when I have more time I'll make every effort to get a trade bait section here.

If I get anything interesting, assuming I go, I'll throw up a post about it tomorrow or Monday.  For now, since this post is pictureless, I'll change gears and congratulate the bi-winning hockey Wolverines for continuing their great run with a 2nd round playoff sweep as they anticipate their semi-final opponent next week.  It's almost NCAA playoff time and I can't wait!

Edit: thanks to everyone who's responded so far--this list will be useful for me today and in the future as well (plus I'm hoping you're all looking at what everyone else is looking for so you can trade amongst yourselves as well).  Hopefully I'll have some stuff to show off later.

More Blowout stuff from my favorite seller

In the mail today I got a great package of stuff from my favorite seller (which arrived before stuff I bought from eBay almost two weeks ago now!) in a return to my big rolling ways on Blowout.  I heartily endorse buying from him and suggest that you check out his latest selling thread on Blowout in which, as usual, he sells from his massive Picasa web albums at various prices, plus also liquidates some pretty nice relics and autographs (currently $1.25 per).  The prices are phenomenal and the more you buy the more likely he is to cut you a deal, as he's done for me several times.

I got the following 11 cards for $50:
 

Adrian Arrington 2008 Topps Performance Highlights auto:  I actually already had this one so I'll likely be giving it away to a friend.  He threw it in as a bonus, though, probably since this is the FIFTH time I've bought stuff from him, and it's generally been for a decent amount of money.  It was a very nice touch and another reason why it's great to do business with him (besides great prices and quick, reliable shipping).

Chad Henne 2008 Topps Mayo Cut Plug jersey:  The jersey piece isn't outstanding (but at least not a boring white) but the card design is great--I really like these mini card-within-a-card hits that Topps has been doing.  Hooray for yet another Henne (21 by my count, including multi-player cards).

Charles Woodson 2001 Pacific Invincible jersey:  I paid a bit more than I wanted for a fairly boring jersey of Mr. Heisman, but you've gotta start somewhere and I really, really wanted something of Michigan's most recent Super Bowl champion.  This is my only PC Raiders hit so far, and I don't anticipate seeing many more in the future, but you never know.

Jake Long 2008 Absolute Memorabilia RPM Spectrum prime jersey-ball-prime jersey:  I've said about 20 times now that I'll probably keep collecting these variations of the RPM cards as long as I keep finding them.  This is actually only my second of Long, but I'm sure I'll find more.  It's not autographed like the other one but the jersey pieces are fantastic and much deserving of the "prime" label, unlike most of the single-color crap you see nowadays. 

Jake Long 2008 Leaf Certified Materials Freshman Fabric Mirror Red jersey ball auto:  What's one of these posts without multiple Jake Longs?  Hell, I've got four different versions of this card so far, but this is only the second autographed version.  Two relics plus an autograph that's serial numbered from Long's rookie year make this an outstanding addition for just a few bucks.

Jake Long 2008 SPx triple jersey auto RC:  Another day, another numbered Long autographed relic RC.  Jake looks as determined in this shot as I do when I'm hard at work pursuing more of his endless collection of RCs.

Jake Long 2009 Topps Mayo Cut Plug auto:  Only my second non-2008 Long, I've had several opportunities to grab this card but for some reason hadn't purchased it until this occasion.  It's one of those that really does look better in person, but it's a very sharp design overall, other than my minor quibble about the picture getting short shrift due to a lot of empty space otherwise.  Also, this becomes Jake Long PC hit #23, for those counting.

Mario Manningham 2008 Absolute Memorabilia RPM ball-prime jersey:  Another Super Mario, and my second RPM of him at that.  I've had my eye on this card in that guy's album for a while and finally jumped on it this time.  That's a great-looking jersey swatch, even if it's from the Giants.  I guess I just can't resist the RPM set in all its incarnations.

Mario Manningham 2008 Absolute Memorabilia Stargazing prime jersey:  Also from '08 AM, some of you might remember I also snagged a Jake Long like this somewhat recently.  The scan doesn't do a good job of portraying the Refractor-iness of the card, but at least you get a good look at a solid prime jersey swatch.

Marlin Jackson 2005 Sweet Spot Rookie Signatures auto RC:  This doesn't happen very often, but I didn't realize that these autographed manu-helmets had been around this long until recently; I thought the 2010 set was the debut of that set.  I'm certainly glad to have been proven wrong as I get to add a great-looking novelty card to my Jackson collection.  I prefer the 2010s because they depict the college helmets, but these are still very sharp cards.

Tai Streets 2001 Pacific Invincible jersey:  We'll end on a somewhat boring jersey card from the same set as the Woodson, but for $1.25, picking up a Streets jersey to go with the autograph I have of him was a good deal.  I'm glad he won a title here at Michigan since his NFL career never panned out.  At least he got to come back to Michigan to play for the Lions briefly (well, I guess that's sort of a positive anyway).  Since I'm sure I have a RC or two of Tai lying around, he's one of many Wolverines for whom I could claim a trifecta, if I was into that sort of thing.

As usual I was very happy with the whole purchase process and the result--a great bunch of cards that you see above.  Others like Tim from GSNHOF have benefited from buying from him, so do yourself a favor and give serious consideration to doing so yourself, whether you're looking for some mid-end stuff of your favorite player/team or a pile of cheap autographs and relics for trade bait at great prices.