Cards New Releases – Week of March 3rd, 2008

The new releases for this week per www.blowoutcards.com:

2008 Topps Moments & Milestones Baseball- For around $90 you get a box of 18 packs of 6 cards per pack.  This is kind of a weird set.  It’s a set based on “milestones”.  The veterans portion of the set consists of 113 players with 118 milestones.  Each of these milestones are numbered to 199.  The rookies consist of 25 players on 75 different cards.  There is 1 parallel card numbered to either 32, 10 or 1 in every pack and there are two autograph cards in each box.  The autograph checklist is okay.  I might try to get the Carmona, Cabrera and Garko autographs eventually.  If you are a player collector then this is the set for you.  If you are a set collector then I suggest Topps or Topps Heritage.  This isn’t a bad product but I can see it becoming lost in the shuffle when Bowman and the summer sets start to come out.

2007-08 In The Game Between the Pipes Hockey- This is an all goalie set.  A 24 pack box of 4 cards per pack will cost around $80-85.  There is a 100 card base set broken up into a number of subsets.  Most of the base set is comprised of a subset called “Future Stars” so I’m guessing Price, Bernier, etc. will be the focus of the set.  Jersey cards average 1 per 20 packs and are all numbered to less than 90 cards.  Autograph cards average 1 in every 16 packs.  The “Mask” insert set returns and are inserted 1 in every 18 packs.  This is a cool set.  If you like goalies then this is a great set to get.  I have a Trevor Cann autograph from last year’s set and it’s a nice design.  I really like the design from the sell sheet.  I will look for any Cann cards for this year and I will see if Vokoun is in the set as well.  The only problem with ITG sets is that they don’t have the NHL license.  I wish the NHL gave one to them.  It would be good for the industry to make Upper Deck improve their quality control.

A nice easy week to preview.  Two pretty good sets but I’m not going to collect either one.

Thanks for reading.

Card goals update!

I can’t think of too much to talk about tonight.  I’m glad spring training has started because even though the Panthers beat the Islanders I don’t think they are making the playoffs. 

One thing I would like to edit from my card product previews:  I have seen some scans of the new 2008 Topps Heritage baseball set and the cards are gorgeous.  I did like that 1950’s design and this might be the baseball set I collect because it is relatively low end and there are a lot of short prints and variations to chase.  Plus I won’t feel like collecting the autograph set so it shouldn’t get too expensive.  I hope to buy some boxes of this in the summer and go from there.

We are two months into 2008 so I thought I would check to see how my card goals are coming along so far this year.  Let’s see if some of my goals have changed and if I have added new ones:

Overall Goals:

1.  Organize all of my cards – My card closet is a little more organized and I have done some sorting by sport so far.  I still have a lot of cards to bring to my house from my parent’s.  I will be more focused on getting this goal accomplished in May I think.  If I have all of my cards where I live by the end of April I will be in good shape for now.

2.  Organize all of my set needs – My current year set needs are organized fine both in a notebook and an Excel spreadsheet.  I will want to go back and finish off some of my older partial sets so once I have my cards organized I can start organizing my set needs.

3.  Make 50 trades on the Bench web site – I had a good January but I won’t meet this goal I don’t think because I don’t have enough trade bait to make trades for set needs.  Maybe I can pull this off when I buy some more boxes later this year.

4.  Become a regular poster on the Bench – I haven’t become as regular a poster as I like but I’m not strictly a lurker anymore either.  I will be more active with the board in May.

5.  Regularly updating my blog with card news and my collection – You can decide how I’m doing here.  I could be doing a little better with keeping up to date with my product previews but otherwise I’m doing fine. 

Hockey Goals:

1.  Finish 2005-06 Upper Deck Series 1 Young Guns other than Crosby – I made a large purchase this past month and now I only need Lundqvist and Steen to complete this set.  I hope to pick up these cards at the May Toronto show even though I might try to trade for the Steen since he is a Leaf and I will be in Toronto.

2.  Finish 2006-07 Fleer Hot Prospects /1999 rookies – I currently have 29 of the 60 rookies.  I will be receiving 15 more in the mail in the next week or so.  The rest I’m going to try and trade for or buy lots of 5 or 10 at a time that I need.  I figure this goal will be completed in the summer sometime.

3.  Collect 10 patches for my 2006-07 Fleer Hot Prospects autograph patch set – I have picked up four of these so far (Bell, Weber, Dawes and Immonen).  I’m going to look for a cheap one colour patch of some of the cheaper guys this month.  I should meet this goal but I will probably still need to collect the more expensive patches (Malkin, Staal, Kessel, Stastny and Kopitar) by the end of the year. 

4.  Start collecting 2007-08 Fleer Hot Prospects – I’m not sure if this is going to happen.  I’m going to wait for SP Authentic maybe or collect a couple of other, lower-end sets.  I might go with regular Upper Deck.  I don’t like the idea of collecting 56 patches with 8 of them numbered to only 199.  They are sharp looking cards.  I might go with a cheaper set (MVP or Ultra) and then pick up Panthers patches and autographs.  I’m undecided and I have time to make my decision because I want to complete my 2006-07 sets first.

5.  Work on my Panthers collection – I’ve picked up a couple of Panther autographs and jersey cards.  I’m hoping to pick up a David Booth Cup rookie this year and that will be a big addition.  This is a lower priority goal for me.  I’m not going to collect every autograph and patch that comes out because I don’t need 20 different Weiss jersey cards. 

Baseball Goals:

1.  Complete my base and chrome sets of 2006 Bowman Draft Baseball - I have 21 cards left to collect after counting my incoming cards from a trade I made in December.  I want to try and trade for the rest but I don’t have a lot left for trade.  I will probably try to buy the rest of the cards I need off of Sportslots or from other users on the Bench. 

2.  Finish my 2007 Bowman base set – I need 1 chrome prospect card and 14 regular base cards to complete this set.  This shouldn’t be too hard to do.

3.  Finish my 2007 Bowman Chrome set less the autographs – I don’t have nearly enough trade bait to do this considering I only have around 30-40 cards of the 225 card set and I need a lot of prospects too.  I think I might take the plunge on a box and try to trade extras and refractors for set needs.  This goal has probably moved down the list of my goals right now.  I would rather pick up some of the autographs I need before collecting this set.

4.  Start collecting 2007 Bowman Draft and Prospects – I think this goal isn’t going to get done.  I like the set and I might try to do it as my autograph set each year but I would rather collect a 2008 set first I think.

5.  Buy either a Clayton Kershaw or Evan Longoria 2006 Bowman Chrome Draft autograph -  I hope to pick this card up at the May Toronto show or by July at the latest.  These guys are the two expensive ones to collect for this set and I would like to get one out of the way.

6.  Collect 4 other 2006 Bowman Chrome draft autographs – I have picked up one so far in Michael Felix.  I will pick up some of the other cheaper ones later this year.

7.  Collect 5 2007 Bowman autographs – I have bought 3 so far this year for $4 each.  I will pick up at least two more later this year. 

8.  Pick a 2008 set and collect it – I think I’m going to go with Topps Heritage this year.  It’s a large base set and there are a lot of short prints and “black back” variations to collect.  I would probably buy 2 boxes and go from there.  It will be a fun set to collect.

9.  Work on my Indians collection – I’m going to try and get this organized and complete all of the partial team sets that I have.  For current years I think I will collect the Topps team sets for each year and then pick up some jersey and autograph cards of the current roster like a Sizemore autograph etc.

Basketball Goals:

1.  Collect 10 2006-07 Bowman Chrome rookie autographs – I have picked up the Bargnani autograph but I think I’m going to change this to collect 5 autographs this year unless I find a cheap lot to buy.

2.  Collect the 2007-08 Bowman/Bowman Chrome set – I still have to get a box or 2 of this.  I will later this year since I think the price is going to drop a bit.

3.  Collect 2006-07 and 2007-08 Fleer – This is probably not happening this year but I want to eventually collect these sets and their retro style parallels.

4.  Buy the 2007-08 SP Authentic Mark Price and Brad Daugherty “By the Number” autographs – These two guys were my favourite basketball players as a kid so I’m going to try and collect “25″ and “43″.  I don’t know why there are other numbers signed by these two since they didn’t wear “9″ or “6″. 

Football Goals:

1.  Pick a set and collect it – I think I’m going to pick Topps Chrome and just complete the base set.  It will be fun to collect a football set again.

That’s my progress so far.  I think I’m doing okay as I’m one to set unreachable goals.  My focus right now is going to be on single cards and then in the summer start buying some boxes to build new sets and to have some cards as trade bait.

Thanks for reading.

Back to cards…

It’s time to really focus this blog on cards.  I love the card collecting blog community and the only way I can truly become a member and get more blogs to link to me like Wax Heaven is to become more of a “card” blog. 

Here’s what has come in the mail in the last month or so:

Andrea Bargnani 2006-07 Bowman Chrome rookie autograph.  This is one of the more expensive cards in the set and I think I got it for a bargain late in January.  I wanted to buy 5-10 of the autographs from this set this year so this isn’t a bad start.  The other 4 or 5 I buy the rest of the year will probably be guys who aren’t even in the league anymore.

2007-08 SPGU Jay Bouwmeester Inked Sweaters jersey autograph numbered 11 out of 50.  I love the new white Panthers jersey and they look great on a card.  I found this a couple of weeks ago for around $7 delivered so it was a good deal.  I have liked what people are pulling from SPGU.  Not enough to pay $150 a box or anything but it’s still pretty nice.  I want to try and get more of the Panthers in this set.

2006-07 Hot Prospects Brendan Bell autographed patch numbered to 599.  This is my tenth patch.  I wanted to get 5 to 10 this year and I already have 4 by the end of February.  10 down, 31 to go!  I still need to find a new set for this year.  I think it might be SP Authentic Future Watch autographs and then I will collect a lower end set.  Or I might wait for Ultimate to get a mix of veterans as well.  I don’t know.  I will think of something eventually. 

I also received 14 2005-06 Series 1 Young Guns including Richards, Perry and Parise.  I just need Steen, Lundqvist and Crosby to complete the Young Guns set.  That’s pretty cool.  I want to pick up the Steen and Lundqvist at the Toronto National Card Show in May.  I just have to save some money. 

I have hardly traded with anybody in the last month or so because I don’t have much left to trade.  I need to buy a couple of boxes to have some trade bait or I have to start looking for cheap cards on EBay.  Personally I would rather just buy cards I need.  I will buy boxes of sets I’m going to collect and use the extras for trading.  I think right now I’m concentrating on reaching my singles goals for the year and then I will start to buy more boxes later in the year.

Thanks for reading.

New releases – Weeks of Feb. 13, 20 and 27!

A little bit to get caught up on eh?  Naturally I was not around my computer tonight until now so this is going to be short.  And that’s probably not a bad thing.  The Panthers just lost 5-0 so I’m waiting for the trade of Olli Jokinen for 3 fourth round picks any second now.  All release dates are per www.blowoutcards.com and www.beckett.com:

Week of Feb. 13th:

Basketball:

2007-08 SP Authentic- For about $95 you get 24 packs of 5 cards per pack.  The highlights are an autographed rookie patch or an autographed number or letter patch card per box.  There are two autograph cards in each box.  The other autograph sets other than the rookie and number/letter patches are Chirography and Sign of the Times.  There are a number of parallels from unumbered to 1 of 1.  There are also dual, triple, quadruple and sextuple (is that what you call it?  I mean six autos on one card) autograph cards that fall one per case.  There are “Logoman” inserts which are 1 of 1 patch cards that have the NBA logo on them.  These are very rare and usually sell for high $.  The base set is 100 cards and there are four “levels” of rookies.  The non-autographed “Level 1″ rookies are numbered to 299.  The autographed “Level 2″ rookies are numbered to 999.  Then the autographed patch levels are numbered to 599 (Level 3) and 299 (Level 4).  This looks like a good break.  I looked through the checklist (http://sports.upperdeck.com/collectorszone/cardsethome.aspx?q=6&sid=47688) and it looks pretty good.  There is the usual Upper Deck selection of names.  You could pull a Kevin Durant autograph or it could be a James Augustine number patch auto.  Mark Price and Brad Daugherty have number patches!  I loved those Cavs teams in the early 90’s so I am definitely picking those two cards up.  I will probably need to get two of each so I can get “43″ and “25″.  This would be a good box break.  Too bad I am going to go after Bowman and Fleer this year. 

Week of Feb. 20th:

Hockey:

2007-08 Upper Deck Hockey Series 2 - This is a great set to collect because it’s not too expensive to collect and there are a lot of rookies to collect.  For around $65 you receive 24 packs of 8 cards per pack.  There are the regular 6 Young Guns per box which are the real draws with the Jonathan Toews rookie in this series.  The rookies to collect are Toews, Tuukka Rask, Andrew Cogliano, Steve Downie and Jiri Tlusty.  It’s not nearly as strong as the Series 1 Young Guns.  This has been a problem for the past couple of years.   You do get two jersey cards per box with one of them being a “Rookie Materials” jersey which has been around for over 3 years now.  The base set is 200 cards and there are parallels numbered to 100 and to 10 for both the base set and the Young Guns.  The case hits are patch variations of the jersey cards and die cut cards numbered to 100.  There are also UD Signatures cards but the good players are all short prints so you are more likely to get Mike Brown from the Bruins than Malkin or Kovalchuk.  There are Quad Patches numbered to 100 that are either team or country specific which look pretty cool.  Other than that there are the usual insert sets including continuing the Hometown Heroes insert set.  The Victory update set with traded/signed players and rookies are 1 per pack as always with Series 2.  This is usually a good box to get.  You don’t have the potential to get a good Young Gun considering it’s really Toews and everybody else but if you are looking for a mid-range set to collect this is a good one. 

Week of Feb. 27th:

Baseball: 

2008 Topps Heritage- I had no idea how popular this set is but it seems hardcore collectors and card bloggers love this set.  This year the set is using the 1959 Topps design.  I’m usually a sucker for old card designs with current players but it’s not the same for me when it’s cards that I didn’t collect as a kid.  So this set isn’t as appealing to me as I’m not a huge fan of the 50’s cards designs.  For around $65 you receive 24 packs of 8 cards per pack.  This is a set builders set from the sound of it.  The set is a 500 card set.  75 of these cards are short printed and are inserted 1 in every 3 packs so there are a lot of short prints to collect.  There are 2 chrome parallel cards per box, black borders numbered to 59, refractors numbered to 559 and chrome numbered to 1959.  There is one relic or autograph card per box.  The relics are mixed between retired and current players.  There are also dual relic cards numbered to 59 and 10.  The “Real One” autographs have two variations, one unumbered and a red ink variation numbered to 59.  There are also cut signatures of Mantle, Clemente, Nellie Fox etc. numbered to 1 of 1.  This sounds like a cool set to collect.  I am going to try something else this year but this would be fun to try sometime.  75 short prints is too much for me especially when you get 8 in a box.  If you are a set collector and like putting a set together then 2-3 boxes of this would be a great purchase.

Basketball:

2007-08 Topps Triple Threads – For around $160 you receive 2 packs of 6 cards per pack.  Each pack includes 3 base cards, 2 parallel cards and 1 triple relic card.  Each box has one autographed variation of the triple relic.  The veterans/retired set is 100 cards and are numbered to 1,199, 499, 199, 99, 25 and 1.  There are 50 rookies numbered to 99, 27, 18, 9, 3 and 1.  There are also printing plates available.  There are around 73 different triple relic variations that I’m not going to list.  This is a player collector’s type of set especially with all of the parallels.  As with all of these products unless you want to gamble, wait for the singles and trade or buy them as they become available.

Hockey:

2007-08 Hot Prospects- I am still collecting the 2006-07 version of this set.  For around $85 you receive 15 packs of 5 cards per pack.  The big selling point of this product is the autographed rookie patch card you get in each box.  There are two jersey cards in each box with parallel versions numbered to 100 and 10.  They have dropped the print run of the normal rookie patches to 399 for 48 patches and 199 for 8 patches.  Last year there were only 42 patches and 38 were numbered to 599 and 4 were numbered to 199.  This turns me off a bit to this set.  There are only 40 non-patch rookies this year compared to 60 last year but they are numbered to 999 instead of 1,999 this year.  The short printed patch cards are who you expect:  Toews, Price, Mueller, Kane, Staal, Backstrom, Erik Johnson and Jack Johnson.  I don’t think I can afford this many short printed patch cards so I’m thinking I won’t be collecting this set.  This is a good box to buy.  You have a pretty good chance of getting a short printed patch and they are sure to sell well.  There is a Hot Commodities subset numbered to 999 and a jersey parallel of the base set numbered to 100.  This has been a very good product the last two years and the

I have to keep posting!

I was given a bit of a break when it comes to my tax course so I’m here blogging!  I still have scans to do but it’s a bit late and I go to work a little earlier at this time of year being an accountant and all. 

With the Panthers losing with 20 seconds left for the 73rd time since the lockout the last thing I want to talk about is hockey.  So… 

MAILDAY!

I received 14 2005-06 Young Guns that I purchased from a user of www.sportscardforum.com.  He was very reasonable and I paid around $4 a card for Richards, Parise, Perry, Wolski and a number of other Young Guns that I needed for my set.  I now only need Crosby, Lundqvist and Steen to complete my Young Gun set.  Good stuff!  I will scan some of the better rookies later this week. 

What am I waiting for?  I have 15 2006-07 Hot Prospects rookies in the mail which I had purchased from the same user of www.sportscardforum.com.  I am also waiting for a 2007-08 SPGU autographed patch card of Jay Bouwmeester numbered to 50.  I bought the Bouwmeester for $7 delivered which is a great deal.  My card budget is tapped out for the month so unless I make some trades or sell some cards on EBay in the next week I won’t have any incoming cards.  I have to start saving for the big Toronto show in early May.  I want to make at least one significant singles purchase and one box purchase at the show.  I’m hoping the single will be either the Clayton Kershaw or Evan Longoria 2006 Bowman Draft autograph.  I don’t know what box I want to buy but it will probably be a baseball or a basketball box.  We will see.

I have added a new link to my blogroll.  It is a blog that is called Wax Heaven and is much more popular than this humble blog.  He was looking for links and has added my blog.  I really appreciate Mario Alejandro at completist.wordpress.com linking to me.  Check his blog out for hobby news and product previews.

I will get caught up on scans and product previews soon.  Thanks for reading.

Update on status of the blog

I have been very busy lately with work and the tax course I am taking.  I will be active with the blog again on the weekend with a trade deadline preview and card product previews. 

I’m very disappointed with the Panthers blowing a two goal lead in the third in Carolina the other night.  Carolina is one of the few teams with as many injuries as the Panthers and it was a ”4 point” game.  With Weiss hurting his hand and getting an MRI I can’t see the Panthers making the playoffs this year.  At least they still seem to be playing hard.  They just don’t have enough talent right now.  They need to add one or two major pieces over the offseason I think.  They can’t rely on the Zedniks and Stumpels of the world to be top 6 forwards.  Right now I guess their top 6 for next year would include Jokinen, Horton, Weiss, Booth and 2 other forwards.  I would love it to be Olesz and Matthias if they can produce enough to earn the playing time.  Otherwise if it is Brett McLean or Stumpel again I think it will be a long season.  I think they should stay the course and try to trade Stumpel and Dvorak by the deadline for draft picks or prospects. 

As for cards I haven’t been too active lately because I have been so busy.  I have picked up a few packs of 2008 Topps baseball and I like the cards.  The History of Trading Cards inserts are a cool set.  I’m not sure if I’m going after this set or not.  I might wait for 2008 Bowman and see what it looks like.  The three cards I’ve received in the mail in the last little while have been a 2006-07 Bowman Chrome Andrea Bargnani autograph for my set, a Brendan Bell Hot Prospects autograph for that set (I have 10 now!) and a 2007 Bowman’s Best Adam Miller prospect autograph.  I really wanted a Miller autograph since he’s the Indians top prospect.

Thanks to people who are still checking on the blog.  I will be back and updating more come this weekend.  Thanks for reading.

Card Releases – Week of February 6th!

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while.  I read somewhere that the Panthers won both their games this weekend by coming back in the third in both games and that the Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl.  I guess I blacked out for a couple of days.  Full marks to the Giants for playing a perfect game and winning the Super Bowl.  Bad marks to the Patriots for giving us a C+ effort.  It’s the first intermission and the Panthers are up 1-0 over Toronto.  They are playing pretty well.  I’m happy that they have a good forecheck and that they are being physical.  On to the card releases for this week (per www.blowoutcards.com):

Baseball:

2008 Upper Deck Series 1 - For $70 you get a box of 16 packs of 20 cards per pack.  The main hook for this set is that this is the first set to include the new Yankee Stadium Legacy set.   This set is supposed to be a 7,500 card set with the theme of the Yankees last season at Yankee Stadium.  There are two memorabilia and one autograph card per box.  There is also one rookie exchange card per box so you will get one 2008 rookie who hasn’t appeared in a major set in a MLB uniform yet.  There are also OPC buyback cards and 1969 OPC reprints.  This is funny because OPC cards have always been the little brother to Topps.  The reprints better have french on them!  That’s pretty cool.  I will probably get the Indians from this set.  There is a 400 card base set.  There is a parallel set numbered to 99.  There are 50 OPC reprints but no Indians.  I guess getting to the 7th game of the ALCS is not enough.  There are a number of autograph subsets.  Here are they and the highlights:

Signature Sensations – Ken Griffey, Ivan Rodriguez and a bunch of young guys who will not have much book value. 

Inkredible – There are 20 of these cards.  Ian Kennedy will be a big hit here considering he hasn’t had any cards yet.  Otherwise it’s veterans and young guys with not a lot of book value.  The problem is that Upper Deck will still throw Josh Barfield autographs in their 4 pack boxes costing $300.

Upper Deck Autographs – 20 more cards.  The best one is Miguel Tejada.  Other than that it’s a bunch of nobodies.  I know I will pick up a Kelly Shoppach auto card though.

2008 Season Highlight Signatures – 20 cards.  This is a little better with Curtis Granderson, Curt Schilling, Frank Thomas and Pedro Martinez.  If you buy a box I think this is the subset where you want to get your autograph from.

2008 All Rookie Team Signatures – 20 cards.  I spoke too soon.  If you are a fan of the young guys you can pick up autos from Andrew Miller, Dice-K, Ryan Braun, Tim Lincecum, Troy Tulowitzki etc.  I bet these are the highest book value autographs.  It might be a way to get a cheaper autograph from these players compared to their rookie autographs.

There a number of jersey sets.  There are 3 sets done in the 1997, 1998 and 1999 Game Jersey design.  There is also the 500 club bat set which is a two card set of Frank Thomas and Jim Thome.  I guess this has been a long standing set but I haven’t collected Upper Deck baseball since around 1995. 

I’m going to get the Indians from this set and maybe try to collect the 1969 OPC reprint set.  If you collected this set in the past you will probably like this year’s set.

2008 Topps Series 1- This seems to be a very popular set with collectors on The Bench.  Pretty much everybody collects this set.  It will probably be my set of choice this year as well.  The hobby box is around $45-50 and have 36 packs of 10 cards per pack.  The jumbo boxes are around $85 and have 10 packs of 46 cards per pack.  The hobby box has a jersey or an autograph card in every box while the jumbo box has a jersey and an autograph card in every box.  One of the “highlights” of this set are cards of the 2008 presidential candidates and sigantures of the candidates.  I really don’t care because I want baseball cards.  There is a 330 base set with parallels numbered to 2,008, 57 and 1.  There are also gold foil parallels falling 1 in every 2 packs.  Topps probably will also have unannounced parallels like the “red backs” in the 2007 set. 

There are a number of insert cards like Year in Review, a Barry Bonds set and a set chronicling the history of baseball cards.  The autograph set is based on 2007 highlights with 48 different autographs.  There are also 10 different World Series autographed relic cards numbered to 50.  The relic cards are replica mini jerseys numbered to 499, Barry Bonds triple relic cards, In the Name cards numbered 1 of 1, world champions and 2007 highlights.  There is also the required 4 different Mickey Mantle sets.  At least there isn’t an ARod Road to 500 set this year. 

I will definitely get the Indians team set and if there are any Indians jerseys or autographs then I will pick them up as well.  I am debating over whether this will be my set to collect or 2008 Bowman.  I probably won’t buy a baseball box until the big May show in Toronto so I have time to make my choice.

Hockey:

2007-08 SP Game Used – I think this might be pushed back another week.  I have already written about this set and you can find it in my previous card preview post.  I am going to go after the Panthers cards, especially the David Booth autograph.

I went into too much depth I think.  Oh well.  You guys aren’t paying me by the word.

It’s 5-0 Panthers!!!  We’re going to the Super Bowl!!  Hey if Eli Manning can win the Super Bowl the Panthers can make the playoffs.

Thanks for reading.

Auto Patch and Panthers Cards!

I didn’t have a post about the third period of last night’s Panthers game because there wasn’t anything to talk about.  The Panthers did not play well and lost 1-0.  Plus Carolina, Atlanta and Tampa have won recently and now the Panthers are only 2 points out of last place in the division.  I think it’s time to think for next year.  Oh well.

Here are the Hot Prospects autograph patches I have received in the mail the last week or so:

Nigel Dawes:

Shea Weber:

They are nice multi-coloured patches and I now have 9 of the 41 cards in the set.  My goal was to collect 10 of these this year and I already have 3!  Good stuff.

This is the Bouwmeester/Horton dual jersey card I picked up at the card show last weekend:

It’s numbered 41 out of 100 so that’s cool.  I’m trying to find more Panthers and Indians cards.  My goal as a kid was to collect every Indians team set since the year I was born (1977).  I might change that to one set from every year since there would be too many team sets to collect for each year after 1995 or so. 

Other than this I have picked up a few Hot Prospects rookies numbered to 1,999 and a couple of 2007 Bowman baseball cards for my set.  I also have received 3 more 2005-06 Upper Deck Young Guns (Brent Seabrook, Yann Danis and Cam Ward).  I only need 16 more to complete the set minus the Crosby.  I think my next purchase will be a box or two since I haven’t bought one since October.  My wife Crystal will like that because she likes to open packs.  It might be 2007 Bowman Chrome, 2007 Bowman Draft or 2008 Topps baseball or I might try a basketball box.

Thanks for reading.

Recent Pickups and Product Previews for the Weeks of Jan. 23th and 30th

The All Star break in hockey has given me a nice break from the Panthers.  I haven’t been obsessive about them this weekend and that’s a good thing.  Yesterday I was at a card show in Cobourg, Ontario with my Dad.  He did well selling some older hockey cards.  I did not sell one card.  This is because I usually trade what I have for set needs and I guess I’m not cut out to be a dealer. 

I have posted about receiving some baseball autographs I purchased from a member on The Bench a couple of weeks ago.  Here are the cards I purchased:

2007 Bowman Jarrod Saltalamacchia auto!

2007 Bowman Kasey Kiker Blue parallel 223/500!

2007 Bowman Miguel Montero Blue parallel 292/500!

2006 Topps ‘52 Rookies Franklin Gutierrez!

That doubles the number of 2007 Bowman autographs I have from 3 to 6.  In my 2008 collecting goals post I had wanted to get five of these autographs so I’m on my way to completing that goal.

Product Previews!

As per www.blowoutcards.com:

Week of January 23rd:

Basketball:

2007-08 Topps Chrome:  If I wasn’t planning on collecting Bowman then this is the set I would collect.  I really like the chrome cards that Topps makes.  For about $65 you receive a box of 24 packs of 4 cards per pack.  This is the 50th anniversary of Topps basketball so the company has made a 1957-58 Topps parallel where the original design is used for today’s players.  I like ideas like this.  I wish I had some of the 2006-07 Fleer parallels in the 1986-87 Fleer style.  There is an autographed refractor of a rookie in every box.  There are 40 different autographs so you are more likely to get a scrub over someone like Greg Oden.  Kevin Durant is an Upper Deck exclusive player so his autograph is not in the set.  There are the usual number of refractor parallels in the set.  The case hit is a 1957-58 variation veteran or rookie autograph refractor.  This is a good set for both a set or player collector and I think it will do well even though last year’s product’s prices fell a couple of months after it was released.

Week of January 30th:

Basketball:

2007-08 Fleer:  Okay, I might collect this instead.  For around $70 you receive a box of 16 packs of 15 cards per pack.  There are 4 memorabilia or autograph cards in a box.  There is 1 rookie card per pack.  There is a 200 card base set and rookie variations based on the 1986-87 and 1987-88 Fleer design.  The entire 200 card base set has a 1987-88 design parallel.  I really need to go back and get this set from last year to collect that parallel set.  There are 3 Michael Jordan “missing link” memorabilia cards in each case.  I can’t find an autograph list but Durant and most of the other main rookies would be in this set.  So do I collect 2 basketball sets for this year?  Maybe.  I love the retro parallels idea.

2007-08 Bowman Elevation:  For around $135 you receive a box of 12 packs of 5 cards per pack.  There are 2 autographs, 6 “relics” (or jerseys), 4 rookies and 2 parallel cards per box.  The case hit is an Elevation autograph patch numbered to 29.  The set is broken up between 50 veterans and 50 rookies with 5 different parallels numbered from 99 to 1.  The regular rookies are numbered to 999.  All of the autographs have 4 or 5 different parallels.  This is a set for player collectors or collectors that are looking for a hit.  Is it the best product?  Probably not.  Wait for the singles you want to hit Ebay and buy them there.

Hockey:

2007-08 Upper Deck SP Game Used:  For around $150 per box you receive 6 packs of 3 cards per pack.  There is 1 autograph or jersey/patch card in every pack.  At least 1 auto and 1 jersey/patch card will be numbered to 100 or less in each box.  There are 2 rookies numbered to 999 in every box.  There is a 100 card base set with 2 parallel sets numbered to 100 and 25.  There are more subsets of jersey, patch and autograph cards to list.  The basic jersey card is found in every second pack.  The highlights of the set are letter marks numbered to 50, number marks numbered to 25 and “by the letter” which are one of one for each letter in the player’s last name.  There are also multiple player jersey cards including 8 patches on one card numbered to 5.  This has been a hit or miss product in the past.  I don’t buy packs of this product but I have a couple of Panthers patches from last year’s set and I like their design.  I will probably pick up some Panthers patches and autographs off EBay or through trades this year.  I think David Booth has an autographed card in the set so I will definitely pick that card up.

I have left football off the list so far because I don’t know enough about the football side of the hobby to comment on it.  I have some more cards coming in the mail so hopefully we have a couple of more mailday posts later this week.  I have the Nigel Dawes auto patch to scan in and I have a Shea Weber multi-coloured patch coming in the mail so it’s good times here. 

Thanks for reading.

Another Short Post + Sick of the Roller Coaster…

Finished my tax questions and had my group meeting last night so I can breathe a little easier for the next few days.  Now work is getting really busy so if the next post is dated May 5th you will know why. 

I get back from Toronto last night and I was visiting with my in-laws and keeping an eye on the ticker.  When I left the score of the Panthers game was 3-1 with 4 minutes left.  Sweet!  I’m thinking about two wins in a row at home and being only two points out of the division lead at the All Star break.  I get home and my phone message is my brother Jim apologizing for watching the Panthers give up two goals in the last 1:30 of the third.  It’s Jim’s fault.  He knows this happens whenever he watches the Panthers.  Edmonton won in the shootout.  Darn it!  I know it’s not all bad right now.  They are 5 points out of the 8th spot and only 3 points behind Carolina for the division lead.  But the Panthers can’t afford to give away points.  They need to finish 21-9-1 in their last 31 games to get to 90 points.  9 losses!  That’s it! 

(Deep breath).  I have to calm down.  I’m glad I didn’t blog last night because there aren’t enough #’s and *’s and &’s to cover the swear words I was thinking.  Carolina is on pace for 82 points so the Panthers could theoretically finish only 2-3 games over .500 and win the division.  That’s possible but they have to have a strong two weeks after the break.  Ugh.  I hate talking like this.  I wonder what it’s like for Detroit or Ottawa fans who are wondering what pieces they want to add for a Cup run.  Why aren’t the Panthers buyers right now?  Jacques should be looking to add guys to try and win the division.  Take on some salary for this year and get some rentals for affordable prices!  Nashville has their 1st round pick so tanking doesn’t help them.

Card talk!  I still have to scan a bunch of cards in (hopefully on Sunday or Monday) and show them off here.  I received the Dawes Hot Prospects Auto Patch for my set and it’s a beauty.  I bought a Bargnani 06-07 Bowman Chrome autograph so that’s one of the big hits in that set taken care of.  I have made a couple of small baseball trades for Bowman baseball cards I need for my set. 

I have a card show to go to with my Dad in Cobourg, Ontario tomorrow.  I have calculated my chances of making money at 3%.  If I do then it goes to the Paypal account so I can save it for more cards.  So keep your fingers crossed. 

Thanks for reading.