Seeya in Indy

What has two thumbs and is going to Indy in two weeks?

THIS guy (Brady, not me, of course).  It was by no means Brady's best playoff game, and the Pats won largely thanks to their kicker, RBs and a surprisingly good defense, but that doesn't matter because New England will be facing the winner of the Giants and 49ers in the Super Bowl, and either matchup promises to be very exciting.  Either the Giants head to Indy for a rematch in which the Pats try to avenge their lost 19-0 season, or the 49ers, another team that knows a little something about winning, complete their stunning turnaround under first-year coach Jim Harbaugh.  I'm excited either way, and I hope many of you are as well.

No, YOU check out MY cards: October purchase: football awards and excessive title colons edition

Yesterday I covered the baseball and hockey portions of the PC cards I picked up from COMC.  Today you'll see the rest of the package, all of which is headed to my Michigan football collection.  You've seen just about all of these players before, and as such there's not a lot more to say about them, so this time for fun I thought I'd make up an award for each of them.  Please to enjoy the 16 newest members of this PC on this, the day before the Battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe:  

Alan Branch 2007 Bowman Chrome auto RC:  Outstanding achievement in the field of making me go "DAMN, Bowman Chrome, you looked FINE in 2007"

Anthony Thomas 2002 Fleer School Colors jersey:  Bipolar Award for making me love the card while reminding me that the Tigers are one game away from losing a pennant

Braylon Edwards 2006 SPx Swatch Supremacy jersey:  Award for the jersey card most likely to make me yawn

Braylon Edwards 2008 Elite Prime Targets jersey:  Serial-numbered jersey most likely to make me yawn (#29/50)

Chris Perry 2004 Absolute Memorabilia RPM jersey ball RC:  Shiniest Chris Perry (relic category) (#589/750)

Chris Perry 2004 Playoff Contenders Rookie Ticket auto RC:  Shiniest Chris Perry (autograph category)

Chris Perry 2004 SP Authentic Rookie Authentics patch auto RC:  Shiniest Chris Perry (Firefly definition category) and Best in Show in "Holy hot damn little baby jeebus is that a sweet-ass patch" competition (#009/499)

David Terrell 2001 Absolute Memorabilia RPM jersey ball auto RC:  Déjà vu except this time it's autographed award (#012/950)

Jason Avant 2006 Ultimate Collection Ultimate Rookie Jersey jersey:  Most ultimate boring jersey card ever (#57/75)

John Navarre 2004 SAGE Red auto:  Gumpiest communist auto, class of 2004 (#386/440)

Leon Hall 2007 Finest auto RC:  Best in show, autographed RC division

Leon Hall-Alan Branch 2007 Topps Co-Signers dual auto:  Monopoly Guy Q. Wolverine award for excellence in depicting Michigan football players who got PAID in 2011, son award

Marquise Walker 2002 UD Graded Making the Grade auto RC:  Award for autograph sweet as Shirley Temple dipped in pudding (#51/75)

Marquise Walker-Brian Griese-Desmond Howard 2002 SP Authentic Authentic Threads triple jersey:  Three Michigan legends for under $5 award

Mike Hart 2008 UD Premier Signature Premier auto:  Best autograph of an Eastern Michigan assistant in this package (#84/99)

Prescott Burgess 2007 Topps Draft Senior Standouts jersey:  Welcome to the PC, you are tremendous award

So after all that, how about some stats:

• I'm up to 367 cards in my football PC
• Prescott Burgess became the 55th unique player/coach
• Braylon Edwards jumps up to 32 cards, leapfrogging Chad Henne (30) for second place, one card behind leader Jake Long
• David Terrell moves up to his 27th card but remains in 4th
• I now sit at 241 autographs (including autographed relics)

Well, the way things stand I'm not sure when I'll next acquire anything, be it via a purchase or a trade.  I can promise plenty of complete set content, plus of course I'll come up with other stuff.  Besides that, if there's anything specific you guys would like to see here, please let me know in the comments--I aim to please.

A great time to be a sports fan in Michigan?

Who else would I start with?:

Michigan pantsed Minnesota 58-0 (and that was being charitable thanks to some field goals, a couple punts and, of course, finally getting some backups in) and my Wolverines are 5-0.  While I'm sure an undefeated season is just about out of the question, this is still a very encouraging start.  As always, IT'S GREAT TO BE A MICH-I-GAN WOLV-ER-INE!

In other college football news...:

Not only did the Buckeyes lose again, once again in embarrassing fashion--the team that beat them, Michigan's little brother Michigan State, was embarrassingly bad as well.  Please to enjoy this gem from the always hilarious EDSBS.  Excerpt:

Matt: Dantonio can't coach, but he hates humanity with a burning passion and that's what makes him the moderately successful and extremely lonely person he is.

In other college sports news:

Defending second place-finisher (damn you, Minnesota St.!) Michigan hockey kicks off their regular season tomorrow night against Niagara.  I'm hoping for another Frozen Four appearance, but since it's too early to be thinking about that, here's an example of the best college sports intermission tradition IN THE WORLD: (suck it, Badgers with your "jumping around") 

The Lions don't have a word for "winning" yet, so for now we're calling it "unlosing":

Well, I guess I covered it yesterday, but what a great comeback by the Lions.  Bonus genius response to a post entitled "Things Rob Ryan can eat":  "He can't eat his foot...that's already on his brother's menu." (courtesy of hiflew)  Johnny, for that comment you get

RESPEK KNUCKLES, my friend.
Yay Tigers, yay Curtis/boo Curtis:

The Tigers split with the Yankees in a water-logged pair of games.  Good ol' Grandy sure made a statement in the Bronx, but Miguel Cabrera and Papa Grande had the last laugh.  Valverde then made a tongue-in-cheek guarantee that the Tigers had this thing in the bag, inspiring me to create this guy:

Because of the weather weirdness, game three will be tonight, sans off day, in Detroit, with the Hamburglar facing Jesus Verlander. (for reals this time, we promise)  Go Tigers, and for the love of God, Leyland, DON'T SCREW THIS UP FOR US!

Does this blog still talk about cards?  I wanna talk about cards:

Careful what you ask for--I have major shipments from COMC and SportLots, plus something from eBay and maybe even from Blowout on the way.  Expect to see a nice uptick in card-related content in the next week to 10 days!

More Sunday fun: things Rob Ryan can eat

In the annals of shit-talking gone wrong, few have been shittier and more embarrassed than Dallas Cowboys D-Coordinator Rob Ryan.  The portly, long-haired Cowboy coach's ill-advised, ignorant and ultimately incorrect assessment of of Lions star WR Calvin Johnson blew up in his face spectacularly today:

“We work against better receivers with Miles Austin and Dez Bryant,” Ryan said. “They are probably two of the premier receivers in football, but this guy is right there. He’s almost that good. He’s excellent.

“We’re going to get after him. I know he’s on some touchdown thing like that, whatever. [Detroit offensive coordinator] Scott Linehan has done this before with great receivers withRandy Moss. If the guy is as good as Randy Moss, I’m going to go in there and hide. Thank God he’s not, but he’s a pretty damn good player.” 

To be fair, Dallas' (inevitable) epic collapse is not entirely on the Cowboy DC who needs a haircut and some exercise.  Tony Romo (who I respect a ton for playing through a significant injury) made some bad throws, three of which were intercepted, two of which were returned for Lions TDs.  Additionally, in a key spot, Felix Jones dropped a pass in the two-minute drill that allowed the Lions to get fresh D-linemen in, which immediately caused a key sack.  Add to that the fact that on the final Dallas offensive play, the WR ran out-of-bounds well short of the first down...on fourth down. (which Joe Buck didn't seem to notice either, but really, who's surprised?)  Finally, it's unfair to act like the Lions aren't a very talented team with the potential to come back in a game like this.

Pictured:  Rob Ryan, relaxing at home

Still, the brunt of the blown 24-point lead and ultimately the loss falls on the considerably large shoulders of the Dallas DC.  How did the untalented, not-as-good-as-Randy-Moss Johnson fare today despite working with an inaccurate-for-some-reason Matthew Stafford?  How about eight catches for 96 yards and a record fourth straight game with two TD catches, one of which was the game-winner?  Besides the fact that blown coverages and overthrown passes could have meant more receptions for Megatron, CJ made the game-winning catch at a crucial moment when Dallas had TWELVE MEN ON THE FIELD.  Ryan's crew couldn't even defend Johnson (inexplicably in one-on-one coverage again!) when they were cheating!

Therefore, a brief list, in no particular order, of things Rob Ryan can eat:

• His words
• His foot
• Coupons for free haircuts and weight loss programs
• A bowl of dicks
• The knowledge that he is responsible for a historic Dallas collapse
• Everything at an all-you-can-eat buffet

Congrats, meanwhile, to the Lions on an excellent 4-0 start, proving the current regime is finally making the changes necessary to turn a floundering team around.

NCAA week 2, NFL week 1: 2007 Wolverines get PAID

*Programming note:  Now that it's college football season, I'm thinking of restricting Michigan-related posts to weekends (other than PC pickups during the week) and trying to bring the focus back to baseball and general collecting during the week.  I hope this makes as many people happy as possible, but of course this is subject to change--we'll see how it goes.

A perfectly-timed ESPN article:  Wolverine$

Due to this being week two of NCAA football, plus the start of the NFL season, I'm pleased to have something to comment on that covers both in a way that applies to this here blog.


Adam Schefter's 10-Spot column this week includes an interesting stat in item #4:  "No draft class in college history has produced the type of contracts that Michigan's Class of 2007 has."  The combined contracts earned by these players total a staggering $165.5 million!  Because this is the mainstream media we're talking about, and more specifically ESPN, I'm skeptical that they did the research to confirm this, but the "most" superlative does't interest me as much as the impressive numbers anyway.  So let's have a look at the players the brief note discusses.


The 2006 Wolverines were a fairly impressive squad that flew out of the gate undefeated until the historic 1-2 matchup with Ohio State, a classic game that was won by the Buckeyes (shortly after the sad and untimely passing of Michigan coaching legend Bo Schembechler).  Michigan, maybe let down after being passed over for a chance at a rematch with OSU in the title game, or maybe just poorly-coached against this type of team (I'm looking at YOU, Lloyd) played an uninspiring Rose Bowl game against USC, losing by a 32-18 score that wasn't even really that close.  This was the last truly great season from a team coached by Lloyd Carr before he retired, and Michigan hasn't come close to that kind of record since, though hopefully new coach Brady Hoke turns things around.


Regardless of the standings, this was an extremely talented Michigan team, a group that included an impressive number of players who were ultimately drafted (including a bunch of my favorites the following year).  As the above linked ESPN column notes, a bunch of players acquired in the subsequent 2007 draft have since performed at a high level and/or contributed to what amounts to a dump truck of money in contracts this offseason.  Here they are:

Leon Hall, CB, Cincinnati Bengals, first round, #18 overall:  Although Hall was the only Wolverine chosen in the first round that year, an ESPN re-draft done this year (click on "2007") actually puts his value at five spots higher.  He earned his original draft spot with a nice Michigan career, including a Freshman All-American First-Team nod and the Michigan record for career pass break-ups. He's actually played better in the NFL, though, with 18 INTs and 70 PDs.  The Bengals, in a rare good decision, made him a big part of their future with a four-year extension worth $39 million.  He may not be Charles Woodson, but Hall is another fine example of a star Michigan CB in the NFL.  Bonus:  Terrell Owens calls him "Mr. Cause-A-Fumble."

Alan Branch, DT, Arizona Cardinals, second round, #33 overall:  Arizona traded with Oakland to grab Branch with the first pick in the second round.  He was an absolute beast on a defense full of stars, and no matter what happens in his life, he will forever be a legend for getting away with murder:

Yep, walk away, Penn State--your QB is dead

He hasn't been nearly the player in the NFL that he was in college, (he's the only player here not to be re-ranked into the first round) but all the same, Seattle gave him a two-year, $9 million contract.

LaMarr Woodley, DE/LB, Pittsburgh Steelers, second round, #46 overall:  LaMarr was a big-time recruit out of high school and he ultimately lived up to that honor at Michigan, where he won the Hendricks (top DE) and Lombardi (best DL/LB) awards.  After joining the Steelers, one of the 2000s' dominant teams, he became a sack machine when he was moved to OLB in Pittsburgh's excellent defensive scheme.  His play, along with Pittsburgh's success, allowed him to hoist another trophy with Lombardi's name on it as he was part of the Super Bowl XLIII-winning Steelers.  His 39.0 career sacks and overall defensive expertise earned him a six-year, $61.5 million extension to stay with the recent champs after originally being tagged as their Franchise Player.  ESPN also realized his relative worth, bumping him up 37 spots to #9 in their redraft.  On a personal note, it just makes me sick inside to know the Lions could have had Woodley, or even the next guy here, instead of Michigan State QB and likely career backup Drew Stanton.

David Harris, LB, New York Jets, second round, #47 overall:  The second round was kind to the Wolverines in 2007 (even if they deserved to go much higher!) as Harris followed his teammate Woodley when the Jets traded with the Packers to grab the former star Wolverine LB.  In college he was a tackling machine, leading the Wolverines in both of his full seasons, 2005 and 2006.  That habit certainly hasn't been broken in the NFL, which is why his teammates call him "Hitman," and why the Jets Franchised him before signing him to a four-year, $36 million extension.  ESPN's redraft moves him up the exact same number of spots as Woodley, meaning he falls one spot behind him again at #10 overall.

Steve Breaston, WR, Arizona Cardinals, fifth round, #142 overall:  Breaston came into Michigan as somewhat of a Devin Hester-type, playing WR and returner.  While he was sometimes inconsistent, he was undeniably electric, and you did whatever you could to get him the ball.  I was definitely surprised he was chosen so low, especially after some of his college performances, highlighted by a record-setting 315 all-purpose yards in the 2005 Rose Bowl.  His NFL career has also been a bit inconsistent, mainly due to injuries, (plus Arizona declining to put a decent QB on the field) but on the basis of his speed and skill, the Chiefs gave him a five-year, $20 million deal this year.  Though I don't exactly expect his career to flourish there, Breaston is still fairly young and may eventually find a team that will appreciate his talents, assuming he can ever get and stay healthy.  ESPN at least thought enough of him to move him up 114 spots to #28 overall (back to the first round) in their redraft.


These five players, three of whom are unarguably stars at their positions, earned some major bank this offseason, and hopefully this will be a trend for Wolverines in the NFL for years to come!


More NFL stuff:
The Lions open up their season this Sunday at Tampa Bay.  As are many Lions fans, (I'm more of a casual fan, to be fair--my loyalties tend to lie with teams that often draft Wolverines) I'm cautiously optimistic about this season.  As usual, the biggest threat to Detroit's success is the health of Matthew Stafford, but this is a potentially explosive offense with a much-improved defense, so big things could happen for the Lions this season.


Ok, enough NFL, back to college FOOTBAW!:

I've gotta kill a lot of time today due to Michigan's unprecedented home night game, hence the longer post today.  That and I'm watching lots of other games, including Toledo at Ohio State, just for a laugh.  At the time I'm writing this, the Rockets are actually in it, down 27-22 late in the third (thanks to a Toledo two-point conversion!).  While I doubt the Rockets can pull off the upset, it's been a fun game, though if that miracle does occur, I'll make sure to update this post.


More importantly:  Notre Dame visits the Big House tonight for Michigan's first ever home game under the lights.  It's something that I hope becomes a tradition, and with a new, forward-thinking AD, it certainly could happen.


Notre Dame is somewhat surprisingly favored by three, despite last week's faceplant at home against USF.  This is often a close game, though, so really, anything could happen.  The last two years, Michigan QBs have pulled off nail-biters to upset the Irish, and I don't know that my nerves could take that again, so I'm rooting for a Michigan romp.  For what it's worth, ESPN's GameDay guys all favor the Wolverines.


Speaking of GameDay, I caught a bit of the show towards the end this morning and was fairly impressed with the fans that showed up in droves on the Ingalls Mall with hilarious signs, (my favorite was a Brian Kelly "U MAD BRO?") cowbells and lots of noise.  The highlight was definitely Desmond Howard asking one of his sons, who couldn't have been more than three or four, who would win tonight.  Naturally, the younger Howard responded with "Michigan."  I hope so, kid, I hope so.


Come back tomorrow as I take a look at this week's Big 10 games, other interesting matchups, and hopefully some upsets.  Until then, LET'S GO BLUE!

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.

Sunday fun: Saturday pickups and more

WOLVERINES!

I grabbed this pair of Michigan players (as usual) from a BlowoutCards forum for sale post.  I had dealt with the seller before so I knew the guy was legit; unfortunately shipping took a LOT longer this time (this was a few weeks ago) for some reason--the crazy weather the last few weeks, the general incompetence of the USPS, or all of the above.  Fortunately, they safely arrived in my mailbox yesterday.  For $15 delivered I picked up this great duo:

Jake Long 2008 Topps Triple Threads triple jersey/auto/RC:  TTT RCs often look great, and this one is no exception.  I'd been wanting one of several of my Wolverines for a while, and this was a great chance to pick one up.  Bonus points for green jersey pieces instead of white (which should be outlawed at this point).

Mario Manningham 2008 SP Authentic patch/auto/RC:  This was the prize of the pickup for me.  I'd really wanted this card and actually saw it several times in Blowout threads but was never quick enough to grab it (or the seller was asking an absurd price).  It's a Super Mario autographed RC and it has a nice two color "patch" on it, what's not to like?

Retail moratorium over:
I didn't actually impose a literal moratorium on buying retail stuff, but it had been quite a while since I bought blasters/packs at a store.  While I was at Meijer yesterday, among other things I grabbed a blaster of 2009 Upper Deck Rookie Premiere football cards.  It's basically a 30 card boxed set that also gives you a chance at an autograph.  The set comes shrink-wrapped inside a way-too-big blaster box.  I didn't pull an autograph, but I was happy with how the set looks and decided to present it here:

Aaron Curry, Brandon Pettigrew, Brian Robiskie, Chris Wells, Darius Heyward-Bey, Deon Butler, Derrick Williams, Donald Brown, Hackeem Nicks

Jason Smith, Javon Ringer, Jeremy Maclin, Josh Freeman, Juaquin Iglesias, Kenny Britt, Knowshon Moreno, LeSean McCoy, Mark Sanchez

Matthew Stafford, Michael Crabtree, Mohamed Massaquoi, Nate Davis, Pat White, Patrick Turner, Percy Harvin, Ramses Barden, Rhett Bomar

Shonn Greene, Tyson Jackson, Checklist

Not bad for $5.  No Wolverines, but a good trio of Lions and overall a nice group of rookies with some cool photography.

Reminder:  GSNHOF trade bait draft tonight:
I'll be there, of course, because I'm participating, but I still recommend non-participants check it out too because it could lead to lots of great deals with those that are.  Check it out tonight at 7:30 EST.

A Masterpiece of a deal

Last week Kevin, a.k.a. the Football Card Fool, mentioned that he was trying to dump some 2008 UD Masterpieces football cards.  I shot him a message right away checking on the remainder of my own wantlist which was still lingering after my own break.  I was thrilled to find out that he indeed had the remaining 11 to close the book on this set, and he gave me a nice deal on them.  Since this is obviously such a beautiful set, I now present to you those 11 cards:

Dick Butkus, Jamaal Charles RC, Chokey McChokesalot, James Hardy RC, Ray Rice RC, Steve Slaton RC, HOW-ard Co-SELL, Terrell Owens

Joe Namath, Billy Sims, Vince Lombardi

See, if I put my mind to it I can finish sets.  Thanks again to Kevin for finishing this set for me and giving me a nice deal--make sure to check out his blog and trade with the guy.

FOOTBAW playoffs

Well it's definitely been a crazy couple of weeks, but nothing's been crazier than the Jets taking down the Colts and Pats in consecutive weeks, something that hasn't been done since 2001! I'm obviously sorry to see the Pats out already, but the game was a great one which highlighted the skills of David Harris and Braylon Edwards, among others.

At this point I don't have a favorite team left, so I'm officially rooting for Anyone But the Bears.  Not only do they not feature a former Wolverine, their QB is Jay Cutler (enough said).  So good luck to the Jets/Steelers and especially good luck to the Pack next weekend.  If I had to pick one team to root for, it would actually be Green Bay since Charles Woodson is long, long overdue for a ring.  If nothing else, I'm primed for some exciting games.  GO FOOTBAW!

Grand Cards hits a grand slam

Ok, that was a corny title for a post, but I wanted to take a minute to highlight my favorite post of the young year:  Grand Cards' "M in the MLB:  2010 Cardboard Roundup".  Add him to the growing list of Michigan (and Detroit Tigers) supporters in the baseball card blog business (I'm looking at you, Emerald City Diamond Gems).  He's even got one of the best "About Me" sections I've seen:

That screams awesome and deserves a major thumbs up.  Congratulations, sir, you win one Internet.

While I'm giving out Internets (which is easy to do since they're a series of tubes), I'm gonna go all recursive--

--and post a post about BA Benny's Post about my group break:

Please sign up and say he sent ya, the guy deserves free loot for that.  Then refer someone yourself and get your own free loot!

Finally, a shout out to all those bloggers whose teams won today.  Congratulations if you root for the Ravens and the Pack.  By my count that includes at least Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius, Thorzul Will Rule and and The Mojo Beard.  I'm still pulling for New England, natch, but short of them, go Green Bay and Charles Woodson!