Christmas Eve trade envelopes!

Did I have to post this evening on Christmas Eve? Maybe not. But last night after I noticed my total post count for this blog I realized it would be fun to get #1224 up on 12/24. Also, the stuff below became early Christmas presents for me, so why not?

I don't do this very often but you're getting a combined trade package post from me because I thought it made sense given the contents. Here are the last three trade envelopes I received in 2022 (pending any that sneak under the wire next week):

First up is a "real" Christmas card from a person whose generosity earns him the right to be called a cardboard Santa. Wes often went beyond the limits of reason and economy to give joy to collectors all over, and I'm glad he's still around the hobby world in whatever form he chooses. So I was grateful to receive this greeting card from him, which I unfortunately ripped a bit after having difficulty with the envelope. The real treasure was inside, though:

Thank you to Wes and Amy for this very cool custom! I hope both of you have a fantastic holiday as well, and I'll happily be keeping this with the other cool customs I've received over the years, which I really will show off in an album or something at some point.

Speaking of customs, I was thrilled to be included on someone's nice list:

Gavin of Baseball Card Breakdown is probably the best producer of customs I know, and he really puts those skills to good use at this time of year (which happens to be his birthday, by the way!). I've been the recipient of some very cool Christmas-themed productions of his and this year was no different. You've probably seen a bunch of these around the blogs and Twitter so far, and I'm happy to present my Ripken card. How cool is this? I included Gavin's note explaining a bit of the process where he took the classic but offensive-to-the-eyes yellow of '91 Fleer cards and solar bleached them to something easier to look at, then added a separate clear overlay with holiday themes and messages:

Thanks again for including me when sharing the fruits of your creative labor, Gavin! I hope you have an amazing birthday/Christmas, and I promise you'll be getting a few little gifts from me as well whenever I can get my Sportlots box shipped!

Finally, a day or two ago I received a surprise PWE from Colbey at Cardboard Collections. The busy breaker was nice enough to send me a pair of cards to celebrate the upcoming holiday:

And they're both Michigan uni autographs! On the left is DL Mike Martin, a guy who didn't care how much you double-teamed him because he was getting to your QB or RB on matter what. That's from 2012 SP Authentic, back when you could enjoy Upper Deck's efforts, which were often good when it came to college-related cards.

That's very apparent on the other card from Colbey, an autograph of WR Roy Roundtree out of 2013 Upper Deck. Martin's teammate of three years was exciting to watch at the position, especially while Denard Robinson was at QB, such as his game-winning catch in the legendary 2011 night game against Notre Dame. I love the horizontal action shot of Roy about to record another reception, possibly against Air Force in 2012, a game Jeff and I actually attended (a too-close 31-25 win).

Thank you for thinking of me just before Christmas, Colbey, I appreciate it!

May all of you reading this have wonderful holidays no matter what you celebrate and with whom. Thank you to all who've been generous with their time, money, and cards for another year. Merry Christmas!

Two 2013 Upper Deck football rack packs

While I was in Milwaukee over the weekend for Sunday's Brewers game, I hit up the Wal-Mart near Miller Park along with my bro and sis-in-law.  That's an extremely rare event for me, but this was literally the only Wal-Mart I'd ever possibly set foot in again:  it was reasonably clean, and the usual "people of Wal-Mart" didn't appear to be around.

Anyway, I had been dying to try some 2013 Upper Deck football packs since they feature players with their college teams.  I had some house money to play with thanks to participating in an experiment at work (it was a distracted-driving-type simulation, so no, I didn't end up hallucinating about Adam Sandler dressed as Satan) and was fortunate enough to find a few racks up-front.  I grabbed two, and my brother and I each opened one.  Here's what I got, by category:

The hero:

A gorgeous shot of 'Tree on a beautifully done horizontal card.  As usual, UD > Topps.

The enemy: 

A couple of Sparties and a Domer.  Apparently, in Bell's case, being run into the ground ineffectively a thousand times a season makes you a "work horse" and "bell cow" RB.  Also, Riddick was drafted by the Lions, so his future is about as bright as his namesake series' first movie, Pitch Black.

The "they beat us down but at least Thomas Gordon ended up on this card":

I guess we'll find out if other teams letting Lacy fall to the Pack at #61 overall was shrewd or stupid!

The "your name is WHAT?!":

Let's just call him "Lutz."  Lutz holds Auburn's single-season and career record for TDs by a TE, and he signed with the Rams after the draft.  His transition to the NFL from Auburn and the SEC means a sharp decline in pay, but it's still probably a good move for him.

The "UD photography and design plus college football are the greatest combo ever":

Here's just three great examples.  #1 is A&M WR and somehow NCAA 2013 cover runner-up-to-Denard Ryan Swope in a shot I like to call "Swoperman."  #2 is Auburn WR Emory Blake in "LOL invisible bunk bed."  Finally, #3 is Wisconsin tackle Ricky Wagner in "Badger, badger, badger, BADGER, badger."

The "You 'bout ta get PAID, son!":

Here's the five 2013 first-rounders I pulled:  Jordan (3, Dolphins); Milliner (9, Jets); Fluker (11, Chargers); Werner (24, Colts); Jones (26, Packers).

The inserts:

Each rack pack comes with a pair of Robert Griffin UD Heroes inserts (which apparently differ from the hobby versions slightly).  I pulled #s 3, 4, 6, and 8.  I also ended up with one short print insert:  a '95 SP version of WSU WR Marquess Wilson.

My overall haul, then, was 59 different base cards (of the 100 non-SPed Star Rookies) and five inserts.  Cards #1-50 are veterans (including Anthony Carter!), and while they're not short-printed I don't know if they're just not included in retail or what.  #s 151-300 include multiple SPs of other players, including a pair of Denard Robinsons I'd love to grab.

None of the base cards here are for trade as I'll be going for the set, but I'll probably grab a couple more racks if I see them so I can complete the 100-card prospects subset, and at that point I'll surely have lots of doubles to trade.  The inserts can be had right now, though, if anyone's interested.