Card Show Football Singles

I'm a big Elway fan so these were easy decisions.

I picked up some singles as always at the card show I attended last month and just wanted to show them off.  I could probably spend all day looking through the cheap card boxes but luckily I always attend with a friend which means I can't loiter quite as much as I'd like.  

A few players that are current favorites of mine.

 Freeman is another current player high on my list of favorites.  While I like Barry I don't really collect him but couldn't pass on these two cards which I really liked. 

1991 Fleer Stars 'n Stripes Football

This is the 1991 Fleer Stars 'n Stripes football set.  Another set I did not know existed until just lately and is the second and last of the Stars 'n Stripes brand.  I really like the design of this set.  Where as the 1990 set was a little tough on the eyes this one has a redesigned small Stars 'n Stripes logo  and smaller borders allowing the subtle designs to look great and not overwhelming.  Nice big photos are also a plus.  They are no cards highlighting the Pro Bowl which is a bit of a disappointment as the 1990 set was centered entirely around the Pro Bowl.  There are 140 cards in this set and it is definitely star heavy.  Rookie cards of players still in their college jerseys are a nice subset though helmet logos are airbrushed out.  The backs are similar to the Fleer football cards of the era and are ones which I enjoy.  It is a great blast from the past as well as a nice looking set.  Always fun to find sets that excite you and that you never knew anything about.  It takes some digging on eBay to find but the set is affordable considering the punch it packs.  This one definitely didn't disappoint.  Happy football day!   

1990 Fleer Stars 'n Stripes Football

I'm a big fan of all-star game cards so when I ran across these 1990 Fleer Stars 'n Stripes football cards I was excited.  I had never heard of this set before.  I actually thought the Pro Bowl cards were an insert set.  Picked up the set on eBay and I was surprised this set is dedicated to the Pro Bowl with the first 80 cards being Pro Bowlers and the last ten being rookies.  And they hit every player from the game with in game photos for probably 90% of the photos.  Very cool stuff. 

I'm not sure the design is something I'd normally go for but I still like the cards.  Actual photos from the game itself are the big draw for me while it is also packed with plenty of stars.  Not every photo is a homerun but considering they had just one game to get all the photos they did well.  

  I always like the helmets on the front of cards and combined with the name and position the fronts cover the important ino.  Not sure bout the barber shop borders or the Stars 'n Stripes logo but the are growing on me.

The backs are similar from what we've seen from Fleer football so no surprises.  The write-ups are topical and relevant while and additional head shot is added on the back.  I think the Barry Sanders, Jerry Rice, Howie Long, Lawrence Taylor, and Dave Krieg cards are my favorite.  Fun find and I'm excited to share these cool cards.

2017 Topps Gallery Baseball Cards

Just saw the 2017 Topps Gallery Baseball cards had come out and they looked pretty good.  Happened to see some at my local Wal-Mart so I picked up a fat pack containing 12 cards.  I'm not normally excited about fat packs that only have 12 cards but this was a good pack. The big hit was an Anthony Rizzo orange parallel numbered to 25.  I also snagged a Sandy Koufax blue parallel numbered to 99.  I also pulled a Johnny Bench Hall of Fame card and two canvas parallels which are standard for each fat pack.  I like these cards to include the backs.  The price point will probably keep me from grabbing more packs but I'll definitely chase some singles.  The fronts are fairly basic but I like art cards though I prefer full body poses more like the Bench card.  Again I'm happy and will probably trade the Rizzo and Koufax cards for something I'm looking for.   

BREAKDOWN:
12 - Total Cards
3 - RC
2 - Canvas Parallel
1 - Orange Parallel #/25
1 - Blue Parallel #/99

Blue Parallel, Canvas Parallel, Hall of Fame

Justice League Movie Review (No Spoilers)

I really enjoyed the heck out of this movie.  With DC's past films being underwhelming (sans WW) and some mixed reviews for Justice League I was a bit worried.  While I could see some of the negatives, to me they weren't at all so much that it detracted from the film.  The story, characters and acting was a plus for me.  The movie was fun, had plenty of action, and wasn't a mess.  I just enjoyed watching Justice League.  It flowed well and the movie didn't seem long at all.  My favorite part of the story was how they handled Superman but I won't go into detail. Justice League isn't perfect but it was a good watch.  I say go see it and I look forward to hearing what everyone else thinks.  

2016-17 Panini Excalibur Basketball Blaster Box

This blaster box of the 2016-2017 Excalibur Basketball cards contained 88 cards (11 packs X 8 cards each).  I like these cards.  They have nice full bleed photos that take up the majority of the front of the cards which aren't cluttered.  I didn't feel like the base cards were star heavy but there were plenty of inserts and parallels that added to the star power.  I don't usually care for die cut cards but the Coat of Arms and Storm the Castle cards were pretty cool.  The set also has retired greats which is always a big plus for me as well.  Overall I'm very happy with the variety this box had to offer and I'll definitely grab more of these cards if I get the chance.  

BREAKDOWN:

88 Total Cards – 11 Packs X 8 Cards

7 Retired Greats

10 Crusade (4 Camo)

6 Lord (Base Parallel)

2 Viscount (Base Parallel)

1 Marquis (Base Parallel #/199)

5 Jousting

2 Battlements

3 Run the Gauntlet

1 Squire

2 Coat of Arms (Diecut)

1 Storm the Gauntlet (Diecut)

1977 Atlanta Falcons Team Set

Picked up some Atlanta Falcons teams sets from eBay.  The 1977 team set showcases a bad 4-10 Falcons team.  Steve Bartkowski wasn't yet the star he would be come.  Still this set has many Atlanta Falcons greats to include Bartkowski, Claude Humphrey, and Jeff Van Note,  Other very good players here are John James (for having to punt so much and doing it well), CB Roland Lawrence, and TE Jim Mitchell (Falcons all-time pass receiver at the time of this set).  This was still before Topps had the rights to display team logos nor were action shots the norm.  Overall I like this set.  The Falcon greats alone makeup for anything I could try to say negative about the design.  NOTE:  It is odd that none of the top three leading rushers nor leading receiver and, my personal favorite, Alfred Jenkins weren't included.   Not sure what went into picking the players. 

Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok is an excellent movie.  I really enjoyed it.  It is action packed and has a ton of humor in it.  It would not be accurate to call it a comedy but it really does have quite a bit of humor.  It all works.  The action is driven my Thor as he fights to save Asgard.  The movie has all the major characters you could want with Thor, Loki, Hulk and Valkyrie taking center stage.  The big baddy is Hela, played by Cate Blanchett.  The movie does a good job giving all the players plenty of screen time while not making it overly complicated.  I suggest everyone give this one a shot.  It is lots of fun and don't forget the two post-credit scenes. 

2017-18 Panini Contenders Draft Picks Basketball Blaster Box

I've seen some breaks of the 2017-18 Panini Contenders Draft Picks Basketball and the cards appealed to me.  I grabbed a blaster box this week and wow was I glad I did.  There were seven packs of six cards each for a total of 42 cards.  Each blaster box ($19.99) is guaranteed an autograph and this is where I really scored grabbing a Jayson Tatum blue foil parallel auto.  Wow.  I'd love to say I'm keeping it but I put it on eBay last night and it sold five minutes after I posted it - no lie.  Exciting stuff though as that is  a rarity. 

The fronts have the standard ticket feel with a nice photo of the player and the seat (jersey#), row (height), and section (weight) of the player.  I like the look though it was not something I cared for when I first saw this brand a few years back.  The backs have a smaller duplicate of the front photo and a write-up that also works for me.  Overall I'm very happy with the cards. 

There are A, B, and C variations of some cards.  I need to do more research to figure out which is which because they aren't obvious or marked differently.  I did well grabbing two of the LeBron cards.  Both are numbered 36.  

I enjoyed my pull grabbing many stars and legends whom I really like.  While this talks about draft picks it really is not heavy on rookies. I'm OK with that.  I like seeing the star players on this cardboard.  The legacy inserts are pretty cool showing photos of each player in their college and NBA unis.  I also liked the School Colors and Game Day inserts.  Really there were no fails in this box.  Even without the big hit on the autograph I would have been very happy with all these cards. 

BREAKDOWN:
42 - Total Cards
6 - Retired Greats
5 - Gameday
4 - School Colors
4 - Legacy
1 - Autograph

Random Wax: 2015 Panini Americana

Not only did I get suckered into buying another Dollar Tree pack but I grabbed one of a set that I already know is so-so.  Maybe I keep thinking something will change and be better.  This set isn't a bad concept but is just boring.  Nothing but head shots, or a lot more in the case of Shannon Elizabeth's photo, and a dull gray background with little to no pizzazz. I enjoy cards of pop culture types but this is just boring.  Seems like they could do more with the fronts.  I do like the logo but not sure that counts for much.  I'm OK with the backs.  Not much there but at least there is some color.  My pull wasn't great but you can't go wrong with Al Pacino and well, who would complain about the Elizabeth photo? 

Random Wax: Topps Star Wars 40th Anniversary

Huge fan of this set.  It has so much in it, it is hard to get tired of it.  This was another Dollar Tree impulse buy.  Only four cards in the box.  I like the poster concept cards with the one on the left being one of those. I also enjoy the foreign versions of movie posters.  The poster on the right was used in Italy.  The base cards of Kylo Ren and  Gui-Gonn Jin/Obi-Wan aren't bad pulls.  I like the photo of Ren and while the film itself isn't that great I always like Gui-Gonn and Obi-Wan from the prequels.  

Houston Astros - World Champions!

The Astros are the 2017 World Series winners after taking down the Los Angeles Dodgers in a fun seven game series.  I enjoyed the series that had plenty of young stars on both sides.  I was rooting for the Houston Astros since they had never before taken home the trophy.  For all the offense everyone spoke of neither team batted particularly well (Houston - .230/Los Angeles - .205).  There were plenty of dingers with the 'Stros launching 15 and the Dodgers hit 10 to keep us excited.  George Springer was definitely the star in this series for Houston.  How can you not enjoy seeing young stars doing great on the sport's biggest stage?  If my teams are not in the series all I can ask for is to be entertained and boy was I.  Game 7 was a bit of a snoozer but knowing someone would raise the trophy over their head at the end of the night still gave me plenty of anticipation. I love Jose Altuve as a player so it is nice seeing him reach the top so early in his career.  You never when or if  a team will win it again no matter how stacked they are (read:  90's Atlanta Braves).

It's also fun to see those who win their first championship after years in the league.  Justin Verlander is the most prominent of course and was nothing short of a beast after being traded to Houston.  Then there is Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, Francisco Liriano as well as the familiar names on the Houston coaching staff and in the front office.  I'm happy for Nolan Ryan as well who while a front office guy he still gets to enjoy this.  Then there are the stories of Evan Gattis and city of Houston itself.  Houston and the Astros can enjoy this for a whole other year while the rest of the league tries to unseat them.  Though as currently constructed this may not be the last time we see the Houston Astros in the Fall Classic.   

 

And Verlander keeps on winnnig...

Random Wax: 2016-2017 Panini Threads Basketball

Random pack that I grabbed at a Dollar Tree.  Always too expensive for the five cards I pull but I'm a sucker for these once I get in the door.  This 2016-2017 Panini Threads Basketball pack wasn't great but not bad.  I pulled James Harden, whom I seem to get a lot of, as well as a couple of Trail Blazers.  These aren't bad looking cards but definitely a set I would look for singles more than packs and blasters.

Random Wax: 1989 Upper Deck Baseball

Game 7 is tonight!  Last random wax in honor of the World Series.  This 1989 Upper Deck pack did not contain the Griffey Jr. rookie which of course is the big score.  I was happy with Robin Yount but from there it was so-so.  There were a total of 15 cards and 2 holographic team logo circle stickers.  These are definitely one of the great Upper Deck baseball sets that was a game changer for the card world.  Not only were the fronts nice the backs had different photos as well that were sometimes better than the front.  It was fun.  You just never know if you'll get that big card.  I won't complain any.  Good stuff.