Some Superb Panini Instant cards

It's Super Bowl Sunday and I actually have some fairly relevant cards to celebrate! While these aren't generally in my wheelhouse, I grabbed a six-pack of Panini Instant football cards to flip a couple to Doug (not like I don't owe him BIGTIME for all the great stuff he's sent my way) because it made more sense to buy the group than to pay crazy shipping for just one card. What made it an even easier decision was the UM connection that three of them offered:

I will say it's pretty sweet to get this Henne, my favorite of the trio, to celebrate his heroics as he stepped in for a potentially injured Mahomes to shepherd the Chiefs over the Browns. A terrible endzone interception by Henne made it necessary after the KC star built up his team's lead, true, but it was still a blast to see Chad come up with a huge barely short of the first down run on third and 14, then execute coach Andy Reid's ballsy fourth and 1 pass to ice the game instead of going the boring, conservative route. Henne joins such Wolverines as Mario Manningham, Desmond Howard, Brandon Graham, Marlin Jackson, and Ty Law in the annals of NFL Playoffs heroics, so this card will definitely have a special place in his PC. (It's also pretty cool that it's the card with the lowest print run of the bunch!)

Of course a Michigan guy who's no stranger to postseason lore is QB Tom Brady, who's leading his new team, the Bucs, into tonight's big game. Tom Terrific threw a pair of scores to teammates Leonard Fournette and Mike Evans and added a third TD with a goal line QB sneak to bring Tampa to the conference championship in a win over a retiring Drew Brees' Saints. While neither guy seen here is particularly likeable these days off the field, they're both legends of the sport, so this matchup of two legends was a good one for the NFL.

And then there's Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, who's become pretty unlikeable for his own reasons, but still ranks up there with the greats of the franchise at his position. Brady and the Discount Double Check guy did indeed meet up with a trip to the Big Game on the line, and though Tom tossed a trio of picks to keep things interesting, the Bucs never trailed, thanks in part to a last-second TD pass by the GOAT to end the first half. The Pack did have a shot at tying things up late but Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur displayed that he is menos macho than Andy Reid and kicked a field goal instead, while Tampa was able to run out the clock. Now Brady's team gets to be the first to attempt to win a Super Bowl on their home field.

I'll certainly be watching with some interest, probably while doing more card-related stuff, since I can watch the one or two good commercials (if any) later and don't care about the halftime stuff. And I'll pretty much be happy for either team to win, given that either way one or more Wolverines will be celebrating tonight. The Chiefs definitely have the edge in numbers with backups/injured/practice squad guys Henne, Mike Danna, Taco Charlton, and Patrick Omameh, plus starting DE Frank Clark (who, it should always be mentioned, left in disgrace), while Brady seeks to add to his GOATness (along with practice squad K Matt Wile).

Here's hoping for a great game helmed by two star QBs at opposite ends of their careers!

2017 trade package #1: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

Like many millions of people yesterday I watched the Super Bowl, and like some percentage of those millions, I was thrilled to see the team I was rooting for win.  Without Michigan alumni Tom Brady and Alan Branch I don't know that I'd have any particular affinity for the Pats, but the fact that their dynasty began with #12 (along with another Wolverine, Ty Law) has made me a New England fan at least until he retires.  

While I understand why lots of folks were rooting against Tom Terrific and his team--I got sick of Jordan's Bulls and Jeter's Yankees, so I know the feeling--I hope they realize they're witnessing the greatest QB the game has ever seen; if they don't, honestly, it's their loss.  If they'd rather buy into the "Spygate" and "Deflategate" BS instead of admitting that New England is the class of the league and has proven that it doesn't need to cheat to win (and that science demolishes any possibility of the most recent witch hunt), more power to them.  Me?  I'm just feeling privileged to be watching the GOAT.

Speaking of that title (/segued) and moving on to things a bit more relevant to more of you, I've received two trade packages already from Greatest of All Traders Doug from Sports Cards From the Dollar Store since the beginning of the year.  One arrived in January, and while I was too busy/lazy to get that posted, or even send a response package, another one showed up last week!  I'll get to that one when it's its turn as I was the beneficiary of some very generous traders last month and want to give those their due as well.  

In the meantime, I've got some great stuff to show off to you.  Don't forget to head over to TMM this evening for more goodies, including a pair of patch/autos that are so sick you'd think they ate at Taco Bell.

And now, here's SCFtDS's 22nd trade package seen on this here blog:

Rich Hill 2016 Topps Clear (#03/10)

This one's a bit of a hybrid purchase/trade.  A Canadian eBayer made it available last December but I wasn't in love with paying extra for shipping.  Luckily for me Doug was willing to bid by proxy and he won the card for an are-you-kidding-me $6.94.  Totes MaGOATs.  These Clear parallels are beautiful and therefore one of the few things Topps has done that don't draw my ire.  Sometimes I wish they weren't so ridiculously limited, but being numbered of 10 does increase their appeal a bit, as if they even needed the help.

Another entry in Rich's 2016 Topps rainbow gives me 270 cards overall and 253 of his current run of 373.

With that out of the way, how about some hockey, eh?  You'd better believe that was included in the form of "Red Wings:  From 'A' (or is that 'eh'?) to 'Z'":

Looks like Doug was a Hockeytown magnet in his recent case break and Dollar Store pack purchases.  Though Detroit is having a down year (and, really, decade), it's nice to see some familiar faces in Athanasiou, Datsyuk, Howard, Kronwall, and Zetterberg, plus past Wings Barr, Racine, Robiltaille, and Samuelsson.  Lucky Luc's card fits nicely with Hill's thanks to the design and is easily the second best card in this post.

Thanks again for my first and (I believe) sixth packages already this year, Doug!  While I don't have a ton set aside for you right now I did have a bit of luck at the show on Saturday and will try to get a package out soon, especially since I know someone who has a birthday coming up!

Super Bowlin'

In case anyone cares, my rooting interest for tonight is Colby's Carolina Panthers.  Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly have made them a fun team to watch, plus I just don't care for Peyton Manning.

(Not that I think he actually juiced, but that forehead, tho!)

And then main reason I'm pulling for Carolina is a certain rookie WR straight out of Michigan, Devin Funchess

In the end I can't really complain though, since thanks to the presence of Broncos starter Michael Schofield, a Wolverine will win the big game either way.

So here's rooting for a classic game, ignoring another stupid halftime show, and maybe chuckling at a few commercials.  Go Panthers!

The goat and the GOAT

It was all but over.  New England had allowed 17 unanswered points only to take a 28-24 lead with just 2:02 to go, but Seahawks WR Jermaine Kearse had visions of David Tyree dancing in Pats' fans' heads thanks to a miracle catch at the NE 5.  When Marshawn Lynch cracked 100 rushing yards by getting to the 1, it looked like the same old heartbreak from the last two Patriots Super Bowl losses--"Beast Mode" punching the dagger in with three tries to do it was a mere formality, right?

Then against all reason Seattle dialed up a pick play that was snatched out of the air by Malcolm Butler, and by the way, WHO THE HELL IS MALCOLM BUTLER?!  After a penalty, a scrum, and one last snap, the New England Patriots were winners of Super Bowl XLIX!

In the NFL playoff and Super Bowl record book, there used to be a sheaf of pages devoted to marks set by QBs; that's no longer necessary when a single page will do it, and that page will say "Tom Brady."  Tom Terrific may have had his doubters, especially after he threw two uncharacteristic interceptions to go with a few other bad passes.  Still, a third--third--Super Bowl MVP says he did just fine, going 37/50 for 328 yards and four TDs in a game against Seattle's top-notch offense that allowed just 57 yards on 21 carries for New England's RBs.

Brady had to come up big, he knew it, and he went out and got it, thanks also to an excellent defensive performance and a career-defining game for QB-turned-WR Julian Edelman.

Real football fans will remember these Patriots not for fabricated and overblown "scandals" like "Spygate" and "Deflategate," but for returning to the top of the heap by doing everything just a bit better than 31 other NFL teams.  What a game, what a season, what a dynasty!

Super Bowl XXXVI, February 3, 2002:  New England 20, St. Louis 17

MVP:  Tom Brady

Super Bowl XXXVIII, February 1, 2004:  New England 32, Carolina 29

MVP:  Tom Brady

Super Bowl XXXIX, February 6, 2005:  New England 24, Philadelphia 21

MVP:  Deion Branch

Super Bowl XLIX, February 1, 2015:  New England 28, Seattle 24

MVP:  Tom Brady

2015 trade package #5: a superb trade with the Angels in Order

(Apologies for today's brief post--it's Super Bowl Sunday, after all!  And I have a lot going on anyway)

Today's trade package is the last one I received for the month of January, and while I'd intended to post it sooner, today is a perfect day as it comes from a fellow Pats fan, Tom of the Angels in Order!  I don't want to get too confusing here as what he sent me is 100% baseball--all Tigers, in fact--but I thought that was something else we had in common that was cool.  Before the big game, here's a bunch of Motown Kitties:

Miggy Mania!  Cabrera outpaced everyone else in the package and I couldn't be happier that Tom picked the Triple Crown-winner to highlight what he sent.  My favorite from the bunch is the super cool Topps Opening Day Stars hologram insert.  Why is it that some of Topps' most interesting inserts are from their lowest-end set?  Plenty to like here regardless.

Here's some more to highlight in terms of past and present Tigers.  Castellanos starts the group alphabetically but I'd put his card at the top of this list anyway since it's the coolest of the bunch, and again, out of Opening Day!  The Fryman takes me back to the 90s, both in terms of his presence on the roster and the release of the Emotion set.  A trio of Topps parallels, including 40% of this year's rotation, caps things off.

Here's a few more inserts of guys I don't find as much in my PC.  Tom sent a double dose of Benoit, and I sure do wish he'd been in Detroit's bullpen last year.  The trio of Minis, including a pair of Cobbs, was cool as well.

Going oddball I got a quartet of cards of players playing on playing cards.  The first three are from a deck that highlighted rookies in '92 while Fielder's came out of a '91 All-Stars set.

And finally we flash back to the Tigers of old with Hal Newhouser and Johnny Pesky from Topps' '91 Archives set.  Pesky is more well-known for his time in Boston and his namesake foul pole, but he did appear in parts of three seasons in Detroit after a trade that sent George Kell to the Red Sox.

Tom, thanks again for a ton of Tigers that have me getting ready for Spring Training.  I'm happy to say that I've already started a new package to send your way at some point.  Readers, whether you like the Angels, Patriots, or none of the above, go head over to the Angels in Order before the Super Bowl!  Oh yeah, and consider this post my endorsement for Tom Brady, Alan Branch, and the New England Patriots in tonight's matchup with the Seahawks.

2013 purchases #1: 2008 Score football value packs (x2)

I was at Meijer yesterday for the usual reasons, and as always I stopped by the card aisle, though I rarely purchase anything there anymore due to the relative futility of pulling anything good from retail packs, and mainly because I was resolved not to repeat my mistake of excessive retail spending from last year.

These two discounted fat packs of 2008 Score football caught my eye, though, and I figured for less than six bucks I could have fun ripping a couple value packs of a set that included my favorite ever NFL draft class.  It also didn't hurt that each pack comes with 52 cards, making those a nice value even at their original $3.99 cost.

Score has traditionally been and continues to be a low-end set targeted towards younger collectors--a not-so-crappy version of Topps Opening Day, if you will.  That explains the low price despite the huge number of cards per pack, plus the simple base set and inserts.


Speaking of the base set, here's what they look like, front and back:

It's a nice enough looking set that I think anyone can enjoy, and the card backs are better than some of Score's other versions, including a reasonable amount of stats and a quick blurb.

I pulled a few doubles, but I didn't really care because I wasn't picking these up for set-building--there's 440 cards in the set, including 110 rookies, which aren't so abundant in packs.  In fact, even in these value packs, you only get four at a time, meaning I ended up with eight:

These would be a pain in the ass to compile via wax, especially considering the ridiculous number of doubles you'd incur.  The design of these, though, with the simple addition of a "rookie" indicator along with pretty good photography, is reasonable enough.

While I'm still discussing the base set, I'll take a page out of Spankee's book and attempt to predict the Super Bowl tomorrow based on the number of Ravens and Niners in these two packs:

Yep, that was it, except for a pair of inserts you'll see in a minute, one of each team.  I sure hope this pack proves to be wrong!

Speaking if inserts, I pulled a total of 12, what essentially amounted to six one-per-pack inserts in each:

Bruschi is numbered 391/400 and Wayne is 273/400.  The Anderson is a Scorecard version #d 753/999.  You only see one of the stickers, called "Donruss Decals," because you'll see the other in a minute.  Those tattoos represent the other Super Bowl entrants in my packs, and I literally laughed out loud when I pulled one of each.

Speaking of the Derek Anderson, I also laughed my ass off when I read the back of the card:  "The Browns have a unique situation with two potentially elite starting quarterbacks in Brady Quinn and Anderson."  That could only have been written by a Notre Dame homer since anyone with a brain knew Quinn hasn't been "elite" for a single day of his life.  Also, try to say "Derek Anderson" and "elite" in the same sentence while maintaining a straight face, I dare you!

The last of the inserts.  The Carlson and Stokley are the Glossy parallel, one of the kinds I consider to be extremely useless and wasteful, but whatever.

Finally, I managed to pull six Wolverines from these packs, which was pretty exciting for me:

Yep, my other sticker was a Henne, which I thought was pretty cool, though the only place I'm gonna stick him is with the rest of his cards in my Michigan PC.  Not a bad group at all!

So I had fun busting a couple packs for less than $6 and got a few keepers in the process.  The rest of the stuff will go towards trades, but for now, not likely by request as I'll probably be including it in current and future trade packages (plus I don't feel like listing out everything I pulled).  If you do have a set wantlist for these, though, please feel free to send it my way.

And now we wait and see how long I go without giving in to the temptation of retail packs again!

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.

Most deserved Super Bowl Ring EVAR

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Congrats to the Packers and their fans on an outstanding season and Super Bowl victory, and also to Pittsburgh for a great game.  Thanks to both of them for making it a memorable one.

Come to think of it,

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(Woodson and Desmond Howard, for those not in the know)

UPDATE:  this post doesn't have enough images.  Did somebody say CHARLES WOODSON VICTORY COLLAGE?

 

Happy Super Bowl Day!

A quick post with two items:

1.  I finally got around to listing my 2008 Razor Letterman FS/FT on Blowout and on eBay.  Please check them out if you're interested, as I'm open to trading any that aren't on eBay. 

2.  Go Packers!  I don't particularly have anything against the Steelers (other than Big Ben being a jackass), but I really, really want to see Charles Woodson finally get his ring, plus I respect the way the Packers got here (and especially the fact that they're Favreless).  Tune in to Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius since Matt will likely have an increasingly excited or dejected LiveBlog going on.

Good luck to everyone's favorite team and even more so to everyone who put any money on the game!