Random Wax: 2018 Playoff Football

If I find these 2018 Playoff football cards in the discounted bin I'll normally jump on them.  Not a lot of frills here but I do like the cards.  We'll kick it off with Christian McCaffrey who is a stud and the only thing keeping my fantasy football team off life support. 

LeSean McCoy may not be the great player he once was but he seems a bit rejuvenated with the Kansas City Chiefs after the Buffalo Bills released him.  He seems like a great fit there as a back who can run and catch.  While I wasn't a big fan before he went to Buffalo I came to respect more what he brought to the team and I was sorry to see him go even if I understand why they did it.

Mike Williams and Kirk Cousins are off to slow starts while Desmond Trufant already has two picks in the first three games.

  The inserts are hit and miss with me.  I'm OK with them one day the other not so much.  The set could do with a bit more variety but the base design still works for me.

BREAKDOWN:

22– Total Cards

6 - RC
3 – Goal Line Parallel
1 – Rookie Wave
1 – Air Command

2019 WWE Women's Division Blaster Box with Relic

I look forward to the Women's Division cards each year.  The 2019 Tops Women's Division cards are fun but not quite up to the standards of the last two years.  Overall I'm happy.  The ladies of WWE are big starts nowadays so it is nice to see them shine in their own set.  This one has plenty of highlights and stars as well as rising stars and retired greats.  There aren't really any inserts in this set other than the Sarah Logan mat relic I pulled (bottom of post).  I think a few insert options would do this set some good but you could say that about each year though the '18 set had Power Couples inserts.

The roster cards seem as though they are just stock photos taken in front of a green screen for release in various formats.  The previous years had more personality from the photos being taken from actual photos from the ring or on stage.  These are just too bland for me.

The roster cards include wrestlers from across the different WWE formats to include NXT UK which I didn't even know was a thing.  Cool though.  Retired greats are also part of this set which are always fun.  That Dana Brooke is a purple parallel #/99.  The like that color on the roster cards as opposed to the one chosen for the base cards.

The Memorable Moments and Matches cards are always fun as you get to see them in the ring or at the arena.  That Sonya Deville card is a fun looking card.  I like her outfit and her personality that comes out in this photo.  Nice action shout of Ember Moon.  She really looks like she is flying while Tamina looks ready to kick some @ss!

Oh the look on Alexa Bliss' face.  I love it.

We go horizontal for more action from the ring.  Carmella with some attitude.

Evolution was the WWE's first all-women's event.  Looks like both these ladies are jumping into nowhere.

I like the group photo on this card.  I do like these cards as a whole even if I am disappointed by the roster cards.  The rest of the set gives me plenty to like.  

BREAKDOWN:

71 – Total Cards
23 – WWE
10 - RAW
10 – Royal Rumble 
9 - NXT
7 – Smack Live
6 – First Cards
5 - Evolution
5 – NXT
3 – Retired Greats
2 – RC
1 – NXT UK
1 – Mat Relic Bronze Parallel #/75
1 – Purple Parallel #/99

Random Wax: 2019 Topps Archives

Less than a week to go in the season and who isn't excited about the playoffs and 2019 Topps Archives?  This 2019 Topps Archives pack was fun with some great young players, current stars and retired greats.  This Fernando Tatis Jr. is one of the great young players coming up in the league now and has the Padres thinking of bigger and better things in the future.

Always fun pulling Ohtani cards.  He can definitely hit and we'll see if he can make a successful comeback on the mound.  A couple of retired greats join him.  I don't remember seeing many Early Wynn cards before so this was a nice find.

  1958 is not a favorite design of mine but still fun.

Yaz!  Always fun pulling an all-time favorite.  Rare to see him running and not hitting but I'll go with it.  McNeil is another hot rookie playing for the Mets this year who made a surprising second half run.

I love the design of these Topps Magazine cards.  It doesn't hurt that the two I've pulled were Ronald Acuna Jr. and Mike Trout.

BREAKDOWN:

18 – Total Cards
6 - 1958
5 – RC
5 – 1978
5 – 1993
5 – Retired Greats

Random Wax: 2017 Contenders Football

We have no more Gronk after his retirement so this 2017 Contenders football will help those going through withdrawals.  This pack was clearanced for $3.49 so I didn't hesitate to pick up a brand I really enjoy.

  Plenty of star power in this pack with many of the top quarterbacks making an appearance.

That quad only has two players on it?  Nope - the other two are on the back which I show at the end of this post.  Different I'll give 'em that.  I really like the Mike Vick Legendary card though I'm sure some will not take kindly to him being included in modern sets.  I understand if folks don't.  

A trio of great receivers.

J.J. Watt is always a good pull.  It doesn't show in the scan but this is an emerald parallel.  

This was a great pack.  Tons of star power and a couple of Gronk appearances make this a win.  I'll never hesitate to pick these cards up when given the chance.  

This is the back of the Patriots' quad card.  Kind of cool and different.

BREAKDOWN:

22– Total Cards
1 – Legendary
1 – Team Quads
1 – MVP Contenders
1 – Emerald Parallel
1 – Rookie of the Year Contenders

The Last Kingdom - Seasons 1-3

The Last Kingdom is a Netflix show I found randomly searching Netflix some time back.  I really enjoy this show.  I'm a fan of the Vikings visuals in movies and TV so I took a flyer.  I've finished the three seasons that are out and I hooked.  The fourth season is due to be out next year.  The season two trailer is here to give you a look into the show.  I look at the main character Uhtred as comparable to Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy.  A cool character easy to like.  This one is just set hundreds of years earlier and instead of motorcycles we have horses.

Uhtred was the Saxon son of the ruler of Bebbanburg, one of seven English kingdoms.  Uhtred's father is killed during battle when he is a young boy and taken by the Viking Danes.  From there he is raised as a Dane until as a young man he finds himself forced to return to the Saxons.  As a born Saxon raised a Dane he is cautiously trusted but his knowledge of the Danes becomes key in his ability to help the Saxons during battle.  Uhtred's overall goal is to get back to Bebbanburg and reclaim his kingdom which has taken over by the "evil Uncle" who doesn't want to give up his seat in power.  Uhtred becomes a great warrior whose road back to Bebbanburg takes many many twists and turns.  He also has family amongst the Danes which lead to some of the complications that follow his life. 

  The Danes who have invaded England while barbaric are also shown as peoples who have the same political infighting and issues any other nation would have.    

King Alfred is at the center of much of what happens throughout the series.  His wish is to have England's kingdoms united under one king for the good of his country.  He is dedicated to this principle as well as his faith in God which is tested by Uhtred at every turn.  Their relationship is complicated to say the least.

  There are plenty of characters on both sides to love and hate but they are really good.  And it is easy to even like the "bad guys" with how they are portrayed.  Some are just cool or shown as just people who are also complicated no matter which side they fight on.  There are all the common plot drivers to include love, betrayal, behind the scenes dealings and other intrigue.  Everyone has their own motives which help drive the show.  I highly recommend this show.  There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you wanting to know what happens next and the characters are done well.  If gore isn't your thing you may want to pass.  Battles and death are not glossed over here.

Random Wax: 2019 Topps Stadium Club

This 2019 Topps Stadium Club baseball pack is a retail variety with five cards.  I'm a big fan of the Stadium Club brand with their great photography and cards.  Freddie Freeman looks jacked right here and why shouldn't he after the year he and the Bravos had this year.

  Nice Juan Marichal card and Trey Mancini looks really happy in his photo.

Action shots are always great and this one is one of those you have to like.  This red foil parallel (1:3 packs) shows Trea Turner laser focused on the target of his throw.

I really like this Christy Mathewson card.  It goes against my normal preferences but I think it is a cool photo for some reason.  Good pack for only five cards.

BREAKDOWN:

5 – Total Cards
2 – Retired Greats
1 – Red Parallel

Random Wax: 2016-2017 Hoops Basketball

We'll kick off this clearance pack of 2016-2017 Hoops with Mike Conley who was traded this offseason to the Utah Jazz.  This was a great trade for Utah who get a very dynamic point guard to pair with Donovan Mitchell.  I can't say no to these clearance packs just because they are fun and with the normal price of packs at Wal-Mart going up to $5.49 the reduced prices have an even greater appeal.

  These are the blue parallel and Orange Explosion parallel (#/75) paired with Jaylen Brown of the Celtics.  That's Paul Pierce in one of his last two seasons playing then for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Al Horford (76ers) and J.J. Redick (Pelicans) changed teams this offseason while Steven Adams will have Chris Paul as a teammate after Paul was traded by the Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder.  This was one crazy offseason with so many moves by so many stars of the league.

Myles Turner is a very good young center for the Pacers while Julius Randle left the Pelicans for the New York Knicks this offseason.  Gordon Hayward looks to bounce back after a down season after returning from a serious injury in 2017. 

These End2End is nice.  This was a fun pack even if I didn't find some of the biggest stars in the game and will hunt for more of these as I get the chance.

BREAKDOWN:

30– Total Cards
4 – RC
1 – End 2 End
1 – Blue Parallel
1 – Orange Explosion Parallel #/75

2019 Donruss Football

This 2019 Donruss football pack was a retail pack which had eight cards but was still plenty of fun.  I don't tend towards the small packs but I hadn't found the larger value packs yet.  I love retired greats and this had a couple to satisfy the itch.  I really liked this Warren Moon card so he leads us off though it was a tough pick between him and the All-Time Gridiron Kings Jerry Rice.

The design is one I like.  Reading the press releases when it was first showing up on the internet I thought it looked good and wasn't disappointed with the cards in hand.

I like the rookie cards with players in their college unis while still having the NFL team logo of the franchise that drafted them.  Nothing against Score but Score comes out so early you don't know who the players were drafted by and have to look them all up if you sort players by team.  

The All-Time Gridiron Kings is a nice design though the border color is boring.  Gray works sometimes, sometimes it doesn't.  This is a time it doesn't for me.  Still I'll probably look to complete the Gridiron Kings set. Good first pack and look forward to more Donruss football this year.

BREAKDOWN:

8 – Total Cards

2 – Retired Greats

1 – Rated Rookie

1991 Pro Line Portraits Hobby Box Photos Just Because

I just wanted to show off some more photos from my 1991 Pro Line Portraits box I opened.  I picked up this box from Centerfield Sports in Springfield, MO.  Great card shop if you are in the area.  This Ronnie Lott card is a nice shot allowing him to give us a "gun show". 

 More beautiful ladies.  These are more wives of players - Toni Lipps, Stacey O'Brien, and Janet Elway.

Greats of the game in Troy Aikman, Jerry Rice, and Michael Irvin.  I didn't recognize Rice when I first saw this card.

More retired greats with John Riggins, Franco Harris, and Ahmad Rashad.  

Jerry Glanville!  Maybe not that great of a coaching career but man he was fun.  He's joined by Don Shula and Chuck Knox.

Vinny Testaverde representing the great creamsicle uni of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Warren Moon in a pretty cool photo while Jeff George just being cool.  I think...

The backs have a small photo that is different from the fronts and a quote from the player.  Nothing too special but kept with the theme of being different from other sets of the time.   That's it for today.  I really enjoyed this box and at the right price I would take another shot at busting one and maybe pulling one of the big autos that can be found here.