2019 trade package #16: Cardboard Collections

Braves/Panthers/Hornets fan Colbey of Cardboard Collections was nice enough to hit my mailbox with a little envelope earlier this month, a surprise that mailing that happened before the package I sent his way more recently.  He's always been an easy guy to trade with and I never have problems finding stuff for a team collector like him.

I'm excited to emphasize the "little" aspect of the envelope not as a slight toward Colbey--the quality was excellent--but because I love it when traders cause me a small amount of work, like what you see here:

The marquee piece this time is a Verlander 2019 Donruss jersey relic done up to look like the 1985 design.  I'm getting nostalgic in my old age so I often like these throwbacks to 80s sets, some of which came out before or not long after I was born.  And I also trend toward liking relic cards where the swatch area is simply added to a base design, though I know that's not for everyone.  Anyway, all that's to say that I'm a fan of this fun design even before taking into account that it's a new JV for my collection, not to mention a relic--#15 out of 25 hits now!--and Colbey did a great job of finding something I'd enjoy that's also 100% on-brand.

And to keep things balanced he even sent me this Wolverines hockey pair for my Michigan collections.  D-men Jack Johnson and Zach Werenski can be seen here on their base cards from 2018-19 UD, and one other thing they have in common is opposing fans in the shot behind them--Canadiens against Johnson's Pens, and Blackhawks as opponents for Werenski's Blue Jackets.  The design is a typically strong Upper Deck offering and I'm glad they're at least still around to produce great looking hockey cards, if not the baseball and football stuff I enjoyed for so long.

Thanks again for the surprise envelope, Colbey!  I hope you liked the stuff I sent your way and I'll work on filling out another package for you before you know it.

2017 trade package #6: the (Pedestrian) Collector

A quick note before I get to another great trade package:  Jon from A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts is running a very cool contest celebrating reaching the 200 168-post mark.  (Dude, I haven't even made it to 800 posts here and I've been going for six-plus years!  No worries, you'll get there.)  Leave a comment for your chance to win $15 in COMC cards he'll purchase for you, just a fantastic prize in my opinion.  I'm happy to enter and pimp this contest, plus I'm now following his blog, a fun consolation prize if nothing else as I'm always glad to find new ones to check out.  Head on over and enter!

Ok, on to another trade package as I work to show off the hard work of some great traders and finally get to showing off my unposted Griffey/Gwynn/Maddux/Ripken stuff!

Today's envelope marks my second package from Chris, the (Pedestrian) Collector, who was the first to step up and join my tradeapalooza/giveaway late last year, then was nice enough to send some Tigers my way in December.  That package was 100% Motown Kitties, but this one was more well-rounded; besides the two cards you see below, you can also view a bunch more over on TMM this evening!

The spoils:

Card #235 in my Justin Verlander collection is this old-school league leaders piece from 2013 Heritage.  Card #6 in the set, it's the second such base appearance for Verlander, who also shares #2 with former teammate David Price and current jackass Jered Weaver on the AL ERA leaders card.  Coming off winning the 2011 AL Cy Young and MVP awards, Verlander posted a 17-8 record with a league-leading 239 strikeouts and a sparkling 2.64 ERA for the American League champs.  Another former teammate, Scherzer, appears for taking second with 231 K's a year before his dominant 2013 AL Cy Young campaign.

While I don't currently own the previously-mentioned card #2 in that set, I do have JV's third and final appearance, card #500, which is an SP.  Thanks for a new Verlander, Chris!

The other card I have for you here is a '96-'97 Fleer base of former Russian Red Wing great Vladimir Konstantinov.  Vladdie was a very good D-man after being chosen by Detroit in their outstanding 1989 draft that also landed them future legends Nick Lidstrom and Sergei Fedorov, not to mention future NHLers Mike Sillinger, Bob Boughner, and Dallas Drake.  What a haul!

Wings fans remember him as part of the '96-'97 squad that finally brought the cup back to Motown at the start of a very good decade for the club, then was unfortunately severely injured in a limo accident that ended his career.  The team dedicated their repeat Cup win the next year to "Vladdie", and I'll always remember this photo, which is on one of many posters that adorn my walls:

Thanks again for the new cards, Chris!  I know you said I shouldn't feel like I have to send anything in return, but I will anyway because that's how I roll.  But I'll at least try to make sure what I do send fits your collection since I think you mentioned you were trying to clear out unwanted stuff.

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!

2016 trade package #17: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store gives you Wiiiiings

Lots of red but no bull in this post!  Well, just a bit--despite being as useful as the USPS, Canada's mail system decided to work for a bit, so I was fortunate enough to be one of the recipients of another trade package from Doug over at SCFtDS!  Hopefully the American version will be functioning whenever Canada's gets back to some semblance of normalcy.

Anyway, Doug provided plenty of goodies--in fact, enough for a two-part trade post, which means there's even more to see over at TMM this evening.

But that's for after this post.  Here's the TMV content you're here to see:

Cleary was the first Newfie to win a Cup thanks to Detroit's last win in 2008.  Datsyuk was a team stalwart for 14 seasons before understandably heading back home after this year.  Draper was an often underappreciated key cog of four Cup teams.  Ellis played parts of two seasons with the Wings before heading to the Kings, then seven more seasons with Buffalo.  Filppula put up eight solid seasons with the Wings, good enough to earn a free agent contract with Steve Yzerman's Lightning.  Lidstrom needs no introduction as he's one of the greatest players in franchise history.  And Osgood was also underappreciated by many fans, but was part of three Cup-winners, starting most of the games for two of those squads.

And Hank gets his own scan thanks to this five-card bounty.  Zetterberg has put up more than 300 goals in his 13-year career and was also part of the 2008 Cup-winning squad.  The Ultra insert celebrates his feat of scoring 13 goals in the playoffs that year as the Wings defeated the Penguins.  He put up double-digit playoff goals--11--the following year as well as Detroit fell to the Pens in a rematch.

This bunch of Wings brings back some nice memories of some of Detroit's best recent teams and players, so thanks for sending them my way, Doug!  I'll respond in kind whenever you give me the go-ahead.

Please make sure to head over to TMM this evening for the rest of the loot!

2016 trade package #3: Condition Sensitive sends a red Larkin that isn't Barry

It feels like it's been quite a while since I made a first deal with a new trade partner (looks like ATBATT last May?) so I was happy to square up a deal with a new buddy (unless you're not my buddy, guy?), Rosenort over at Condition Sensitive.  The hockey fan (obviously) showed off a card that interested me in this post, and before long we'd swung a fun blind trade.  I managed to dig up some Rox and Skins to send up north--and especially west--and in return I got a few cards I'm showing off over on TMM tonight, plus a bunch of Red Wings:

This first scan is just Sergei Fedorov cards.  When I was looking him up over on hockey-reference the other day, I found out something I hadn't been aware of:  he scored exactly 400 goals over his 13 years in Motown.  The 1989 fourth-rounder--I guess Europeans back then got about as little consideration as American college players these days since Pavel Bure went in the sixth round--won three Cups with the Wings and proved to be an offensive force, so I was happy to learn of his induction into the NHL Hall of Fame.

And here's some more familiar faces from the 90s, when I grew up on EA's NHL video games.  HOFer Dino Ciccarelli played four very good seasons for Detroit in the early 90s.  Legendary D-man (another HOFer!) Paul Coffey was around for pretty much the same years, and contributed even more as part of the trade that brought Brendan Shanahan to Hockeytown.  Canadian North Dakota alum Greg Johnson had a nice career that included his first three and a half seasons with the Wings.  Kozlov was one of the famed "Russian Five" and was part of Detroit's '97 and '98 Cup-winning squads.  A few of you may have heard vague references to Steve Yzerman, who had a decent career before heading up the Lightning.  And Zombo, who appeared in Detroit for eight seasons, had an awesome name (and also played for North Dakota, incidentally).

This Collector's Choice card features two guys we've already seen so far along with hard hitting D-man Vladimir Konstantinov, one of my favorite hard-hitting Wings of the 90s.  Vladdie sadly saw his career cut short due to a car accident not long after the Wings won the Cup in '97, but he provided inspiration for his comrades to go out and repeat the following year.

And now we come to the card that started the deal.  When I saw this Dylan Larkin insert in the post mentioned above I knew I had to go get it.  Before this I had exactly zero Larkin cards due to his prices being through the roof.  Why?  Dude's one of the most exciting players in the league thanks to his amazing rookie campaign to-date.  Connor McWHOvid?  The league's fastest skater had an outstanding year at Michigan before jumping to the bigs as Detroit's first pick in 2014, and he hasn't looked back since, leading the team in goals, points, and +/- as of this post.  If you couldn't tell, I'm really excited to get a card of this guy, one of several WolverWings in my collection!

Thanks again for all these great Wings (and the other stuff you sent), Mr. Seidle, and I hope you liked what I sent back your way!  I hope this is the first trade of many.

2016 trade package #1: New Year's Cards From the Dollar Store

It's fitting that my very first trade package of the year (which arrived last Saturday) comes from Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store since he remains my most prolific trade partner--this is my 18th trade post from him on this blog alone in the three-plus years we've been swapping cards.

Everyone's favorite Canadian always finds great stuff to send me, and here's what made it across the border in a bubble envelope this time:

Anibal is back for his fifth season in Motown as a stalwart of a rotation that's seen a pretty good amount of turnover the last few seasons.  I hadn't realized until I looked over on B-R that he's only 36-29 in 87 starts over those four seasons, but his ERA has been solid and he's been let down by the bullpen at times, so maybe we'll see some improvement in his numbers (and health!) this season.

He comes to us today in the form of this Purple Refractor from 2015 Bowman Chrome (#d 165/250).  Purple is just about the worst color Topps has used, but there's still no such thing as a bad Refractor in my opinion!

That's it for the baseball content, but here's some obligatory hockey cards:

As I'm writing this post Detroit has completed its pre-All-Star break schedule and sits in second place of the Atlantic Division in the East, which makes me feel pretty good about keeping the postseason streak alive.  Of the guys represented above, Datsyuk, Kronwall, and Zetterberg are currently with the team and are among the Wings' leaders in points (with Hank at the top of the heap).  Interestingly enough, Detroit enjoys the talents of a pair of Wolverines in Luke Glendening and star rookie (and team goal-scoring leader) Dylan Larkin.  Datsyuk and Zetterberg continue to hum along reliably, though, so this is a nice bunch of Red Wings cardboard!

Please make sure to head over to TMM this evening for the rest of this two-part trade package as that post includes football and--surprise!--more hockey!

Thanks for a fun first trade package of the year, Doug, and hopefully I'll have some stuff heading your way within a few weeks!

2015 trade package #26: in da club with 2x3 Heroes

It's been about a month since I've had a trade package to show off, so I was excited to be the recipient of a Club PWE envelope from plain, white blogger Jeff of 2x3 Heroes.  The king of the PWE sent me a nice mix of Tigers and Wings:

First, the Tigers.  AJax may not be with Detroit anymore, but I have no problem continuing to root for a guy who seems like a good person on and off the diamond, so I was glad to see him join the Cubs.

On an unrelated note, how does Jeff Robinson get a freakin' DK card in '89 Donruss?  I see he went 13-6 in 1988, his second season in Motown, but Matt Nokes, Jack Morris, and Doyle Alexander weren't higher on the list?  Woof.

And the Red Wings, who as of this writing are on pace to run the table and sweep the playoffs.  Abdelkader is actually leading the team in goals thanks to a season-opening hat trick.  He's joined by the injured Datsyuk as the active Wings in this scan, though Filppula (Tampa Bay) and Hossa (Blackhawks) are still in the league.

Crozier is an interesting inclusion here mainly since everyone else was recently on the team.  After being traded from Chicago to Detroit, he played in parts of seven seasons with the Wings, winning a Calder and Conn Smythe trophy as one of the earliest goalies to use the butterfly style.  Hooray for a cool Red Wings history lesson!

Thanks for some great Detroit stuff, Jeff, and I promise I'll return the favor when I acquire enough stuff to put together a PWE for you!

2015 trade package #17: 3x3x3 Heroes, Red Wings-style

I don't think it gets said often enough, but Jeff from 2x3 Heroes is a classy guy.  Hey, stop laughing and get back here!  Or at least get back here.

For reals, though, he's a good person known for being very generous, especially when it comes to sending out PWEs.  He's even willing to send me his unwanted Red Wings even though his team is our hated rival, the Blackhawks.  To be fair, though, the 2014-15 champs are a very well-run organization (just like the Wings!) and have won multiple cups in a short span of time (just like the Wings!) and I have to give them their due for knowing how to put together a team...

...just like Jeff knows how to put together a PWE!  I like the Wings, I like cards in multiples of nine that scan easily, and I loved this stuff that he sent my way:

Page 1 includes:

• Justin Abdelkaer -- BOOOOO, a Spartan, though a good contributor for the Wings
• Jimmy Carson -- the guy traded in the deal that brought Paul Coffey to Detroit
• Chris "Chev" Chelios
• Dino Ciccarelli x2
• Paul Coffey x 3 -- the HOF defenseman who was traded to Hartford in the deal that brought Brendan Shanahan (and multiple cups!) to Detroit
• Matthieu Dandenault -- another multiple Cup-winner with the Wings

Page 2 includes:

• Sergei Fedorov -- if you don't know who he is, you weren't watching hockey in the 90s
• Glen Hanlon -- a former goalie who went on to coach the Caps
• Gordie Howe -- I dunno, some old guy
• Greg Johnson -- a former standout at North Dakota
• Slava Kozlov -- one of the members of the Russian Five!
• Martin Lapointe -- had an excellent career with the Wings, Bruins, and...HAWKS!
• Nick Lidstrom x 2 -- the best defenseman of my era and one of the greatest at the position of all time
• Chris Osgood -- well-known Wings goalie won three Cups and was a great return story in 2008

Page 3 includes:

• Xavier Ouellet -- a recent D prospect drafted in 2011
• Keith Primeau -- 3rd overall pick in '90, he never won a Cup with the Wings but was a force for his entire Detroit tenure (and was part of the deal for Shanahan)
• Yves Racine -- Wings first-rounder in '87, he went on to have a long pro career
• Brendan Shanahan -- huge part of Wings resurgence in the 90s is now Toronto's president and hired Mike Babcock away from his old team!
• Brendan Smith -- former Hobey Baker finalist at Wisconsin is now a regular on Detroit's blue line
• Steve Yzerman -- I'm pretty sure that "C" on his sweater stands for "Champion"
• Steve Chiasson -- (whoops, he should have been in the first scan!) former D-man sadly died after driving drunk in 1999.  His son was a senior at Michigan last year
• Henrik Zetterberg x2 -- late-round Swedish gem hasn't been as much of a force since the late aughts but was a key component on Detroit's last Cup-winning team in '08

Thanks again, Jeff!  I actually have a few things set aside for you and I'll shoot them your way sometime soon.  In the meantime, enjoy your revels in the afterglow of another Chicago Cup!

2015 trade package #13: Saturday Night SCFtDS Fever

Canadian blogging superstar and all-around great guy Doug from Sports Cards From the Dollar Store sent me yet another in a long line of fantastic trade packages this month.  It may be after 10 (EST) on a Saturday night--a weird time for blogging, at least for me, but I don't foresee having much time in the next couple days what with Memorial Day festivities and the like.  So instead of taking the whole weekend off I'm showing off the contents of this package here and over on TMM with the added benefit that it'll get plenty of run at the top of the blog since I won't be replacing it for a few days!

The TMV portion of the package was smaller, as is tradition,

but there was still some useful stuff in it:

My first Tigers card of Yo-Yo Cespedes from this year's Donruss set (which makes me pine for the Donruss products of yore); a Bowman Chrome also from this year of Tigers #8 prospect (according to BA) Austin Kubitza--Detroit's 2013 fourth-rounder; and an '06-'07 base card of Wings defenseman legend Nick Lidstrom.

Oh yeah, and this bad boy:

Justin Verlander 2015 Topps Heritage Clubhouse Collection Relics jersey

My first 2015 Verlander card is a nice relic from 2015 Heritage thanks to Doug!  It's my 9th JV relic and 16th hit overall.  I hope this is a sign that Justin will be back from injury and giving the team a boost very soon!

Please don't forget to check out the highlight reel cards Doug sent my way over on TMM as well this evening.

Doug, thanks as always for keeping things interesting and fun!  I'll have a pretty solid response heading your way in the next couple weeks including a couple cards I know you'll enjoy very much (as is tradition, as is tradition).

2014 trade package #35: Sports Cards From the Detroit Store

First, just a real quick note that all 25 (I didn't do that on purpose, I promise!) packages are in the mail as of this morning, and I think more are due to arrive in the neighborhood of Monday/Tuesday, so enjoy, and Merry Christmas to all!

Meanwhile, Doug over at Sports Cards From the Dollar Store sent me the usual M-Bomb of Michigan PC guys in late November, and I'm showing off that haul over on TMM tonight, but I did also want to highlight the Detroit stuff he sent my way:

First up is a trio of Wings cards representing one of Doug's favorites in Daniel Alfredsson, who appears to have finished his career in Detroit, and puck-handler extraordinaire Pavel Datsyuk.  The second Datsyuk is a cool sticker from this year's OPC set.

Of course the highlight for me is a pair of cards of this here blog's namesake.  The insert on the left is a Cut Above card from 2012 Topps, and better yet Doug flipped me JV's base card from the excellent looking 2014 Stadium Club set.  It's about damn time Topps brought back TSC, and I'm happy to see that Justin's card came out great thanks to the solid photo and typically excellent design.

Thanks for not forgetting my other collections, Doug!  Readers, we all know the NHL is full swing, so check out the hockey action over at Sports Cards From the Dollar Store now!

2014 trade package #33: $30 a Wings Habit

(Yes I still exist, I've just been busy with lots of stuff, which is normal this time of year, but one project in particular will benefit many of you, so stay tuned for that!)

Robert of $30 a Week Habit recently told me he was sending me an "envelope" that would hopefully boost my small Red Wings collection a bit.  Robert understated things a bit:

First up is a pair of inserts from 2008-09 OPC, and it just so happens both of these guys are among the greatest to play defense for the Wings.  '07-'08 was Cheli's penultimate season in Detroit, and his last "full" campaign (28 games the following year, then just seven with Atlanta the next to close out his career), which he completed at the ripe old age of 46!  He celebrated by joining the Wings in winning their most recent Cup.  Lidstrom, meanwhile, was indeed an All-Star yet again that year, and won his fourth and final Cup.

Hey, how about some hits?

Kyle Calder 2007-08 Upper Deck Game Jersey jersey

I do remember Calder, who last played in 2010, though I had to look him up to remember when he was actually with Detroit.  As it turns out he was flipped to the Wings in February of 2007 and was reasonably effective for them in 17 games, then he signed with the Kings over the offseason, hence the pair of teams represented on the card!

Chris Chelios 2006-07 Flair Showcase Showcase Stitches jersey

Hey, it's that Chelios guy again!  This is my first hit of the HOF D-man, and appropriately enough it comes in the form of a beautiful red jersey.

Henrik Zetterberg 2005-06 Upper Deck Ice Fresh Ice jersey

Hank is another member of the 2007-08 Cup-winning squad (his only one so far), keeping that connection going for today's post, and better yet he actually scored the winner that year.  He currently appears on two other cards in my Wings PC: this six-way relic and a dual with Johan Franzen.  His first solo entry is this great UD jersey from their Ice product, which was actually still in existence as of last year.

Oh yeah, and to add to the fun, he threw this in as well:

Ivan Rodriguez 2006 Ultra Ultra Fine Fabrics jersey

Keeping up the current-or-future-HOF-Detroit-athletes theme, it's a Tigers jersey relic of Ivan Rodriguez!  It's my third Pudge relic--a base and another jersey--in my Tigers PC, and it was certainly a fun addition to an otherwise hockey-centric package.

Thanks, Robert, for another fantastic package, which, by the way, wasn't an "envelope" but a bubble mailer filled with Detroit goodness!  Readers, head on over to $30 a Week Habit for some excellent blogging (and trading) tonight!

2014 trade package #32: 2x3 Heroes in: 'PWE Are the Champions'

A surprise PWE showed up in my mailbox last week, but now that you know it was a PWE you probably won't be surprised by the sender--Jeff of 2x3 Heroes.  I had notified him of my interest in one of his recent pulls so I guess I should have known better that he'd shoot it my way!  Jeff's Blechhawks Blackhawks have won two Cups since the Red Wings last won a championship in 2008, though Detroit does hold an 11-to-5 edge in overall titles.  We probably both at least agree that the Original Six teams are the best, so there's that.  Anyway, here's what was in this PWE:

Here's a Hockeytown quartet, starting with a pair of Wings from 2008-09 OPC:  star forward Pavel Datsyuk and fearless net presence Tomas Holmstrom (who retired after the 2011-12 season).  Those are followed up by Pavel's fellow star Henrik Zetterberg plus a Brett Hull Immortals subset card (#d to 999) out of 2012-13 Certified.  The superlative Hull won a Cup with the 2001-02 Wings.

And now for the card I originally asked for:

Niklas Kronwall 2008-09 Upper Deck Champ's Mini Signatures auto

Mini auto!  Kronwall, a standout defenseman, was Detroit's first-rounder back in 2000, and has been good enough to merit a seven-year contract inked a couple years ago.  Needless to say this is my first hit of him in my tiny Wings collection, so I humbly thank Jeff for it (and for possibly not spitting on it when he pulled it).

Oh yeah, there was one other card in the envelope:

This is a Chris Getz 2010 Topps Peak Performance auto that I've had for a while, and apparently he wasn't able to offload this copy to anyone else who collects White Sox (though why anybody would want to do that is beyond me).  I'm fine keeping a second copy with Getz's PC if nobody else can use it since there's no such thing as too many Wolverines!

Thanks as always for the fun surprise, Jeff.  With some COMC specials to be taken advantage of later this month I promise I'll come up with an interesting return package in just a few weeks.  Readers, please make sure you're following the professor of PWEs at 2x3 Heroes.

2014 trade package #13: Stanley Cup Cards From the Dollar Store

While I don't have cards to show off from Doug at Sports Cards From the Dollar Store here as often as I do on the other blog, the fact that we each collect some hockey means I do get a chance to showcase things over here as well.  As a matter of fact, our seventh trade on this blog was all about hockey, which coincides nicely with the exciting Stanley Cup Final (while I studiously ignore the uninteresting NBA version).  I even have a non-Wings team to root for in the Rangers thanks to former Wolverine sniper Carl Hagelin!

Speaking of the Wings, probably the best card in the whole package was a recent addition to the Hockeytown roster:

Danny DeKeyser 2013-14 Totally Certified Rookie Roll Call Jerseys Prime Blue patch (#13/50)

DeKeyser, an excellent defenseman, grew up in Michigan and attended Western Michigan University, where he starred for the Broncos while meeting the Wolverines pretty often in the former CCHA.  After he went undrafted, he chose to sign with his hometown Red Wings after his junior season, which ended up being a great choice since he got to play with the big club almost immediately, tallying an assist in his first 11 pro contests.  This year he was an even bigger presence, scoring his first NHL goal, and four overall in 65 games, while also appearing in five playoff contests.

This Totally Certified patch is totally rad and easily justifies the "Prime" tag Panini gave it.  One of you will probably have a better guess where on the jersey the patch came from, but I'm happy admiring it regardless.  Thanks for a great piece to add to my fledgling Wings collection, Doug!

As I mentioned over on the other blog, I wanted to note that he threw in another hit in the form of an autograph I already have,

...this 2005-06 Be a Player auto of former Mr. Hilary Duff (and Wolverine, and Coyote) Mike Comrie.  I'm not looking to give it away, but if it interests any of you, please make me a trade offer!

Thanks again for proving that hockey is always automatically better than the NBA...and, you know, the great cards, Mr. C!  I promise to round some things up to send your way very soon!  Readers, please head on over to Sports Cards From the Dollar Store to go to hockey (and repack) heaven.

2014 trade package #6: a 2x3 surprise PWE!

What's more fun than checking your mailbox in anticipation of cards you traded for or bought?  A surprise package, of course!  And that's exactly what I received from unsolicited-but-appreciated envelopes of the plain white variety, Jeff of 2x3 Heroes, earlier this week.  It doesn't matter that he's already sent me a few of these--it's still a blast every time.  Here's what I got this week:

A couple Tigers.  My brother and I referred to the player on the left as "Walt Terrible" for a long time, but he was actually decently ok over his seven seasons in Detroit, especially 1987.  Wilson, meanwhile, was known more for his six seasons with the Mets, but did play for the Tigers in 2005-06, the final years of his career, mostly as a backup.

And here's the best part of the package:  a quartet of the (hopefully) playoff-bound Red Wings.  Neither of today's teams are among Jeff's favorites, for obvious reasons, so I do appreciate him sending them over.  The Blue Prizm of Franzen is the clear highlight of the package, because blue parallels are always the best!

Thanks for doing what you do best and surprising me with a fun PWE, Jeff!  Readers, head on over to 2x3 Heroes if you aren't already following that fantastic blog, and maybe give the guy some help with his various projects, such as his newer one, a chase of Nellie Fox.

Happy birthd-EH, Doug C.!

I'd like to wish a very happy birthday to one of my favorite bloggers/traders, Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store!  His happens to be very easy to remember since he so publicly collects cards of guys that share his February 14 birthday.  His posts from yesterday and today provide a few glimpses into that collection, if you're interested.  Athletes that fall into that category include (click the sport for all players):

Baseball:
Derek Norris
Takashi Saito
Dave Dravecky

Basketball:
Rip Hamilton
Gheorghe Muresan
Byron Mullens

Football:
Drew Bledsoe
Steve McNair
Jim Kelly
Harry Colon
Patrick Ramsey
David Garrard

Hockey:
Calle Johansson
Petr Svoboda
Viktor Kozlov
Marian Gaborik
Petr Mrazek

So in honor of this hoser's birthday, send him a bunch of 2/14 stuff!  I'm currently in the process of doing just that, and hopefully you'll see the results on his blog in just a few weeks.  Also, so this post isn't card-less, here's one of a player we both collect, another guy celebrating today:

And just for fun, who are the best athletes or other celebrities that share YOUR birthday?  Leave me some fun comments!  Mine include Bartolo Colon (ugh), Jason Babin, Joe Dumars and future MLB star Tracy McGrady, and Pat Verbeek and Kris Draper, plus actors John C. Reilly, Alfred Molina, Jim Broadbent, and music legend Bob Dylan.