2018-2019 NBA Stickers (2 Packs)

 2018-2019 NBA Stickers: A couple of packs from some time ago.  Stickers can always be fun even if I don't always know what to do with them.  This Jimmy Butler is a slick looking foil sticker.  Butler really played well in his season and a half with the Timberwolves.  I also like the jersey they wore during that time.

Here we have a drawing sticker and a member of the current Western Conference Champion Phoenix Suns.  I wish the caricature of the player had a different background to set it apart from the base stickers a bit more.  Maybe even something as simple as adding a little color.

I like the design.  Simple but hits the mark.  A little accent behind the players name to break up that white background would have maybe helped a little. 

These are some fun stickers and two PC guys in Butler and Damian Lillard make them even better. Robin Lopez and his brother, and World Champion, Brook Lopez are huge Star Wars fans so they are fringe PC guys for me.

BREAKDOWN:
10 – Total Stickers
1 – Foil
1 - Drawing

Random Wax: 2020 Donruss Football Hanger Box

 2020 Donruss Football: I really like these Retro Series inserts and of course Earl Campbell.  Great way to start a post.  These have been hanging around since last September when I got lucky finding some football in the wild.

Here we have a few more beasts in the backfield.  Hoping they can both come back strong from their injuries.  Josh Allen is the guy Bills fans, like me, are hoping can keep Buffalo in the Championship conversation for years to come.  As a Bills fan I understand hope is not a good plan...

Love these retired greats.  Bledsoe had some great years with the Pats before Tom Terrific took over. 

Donruss gives plenty of love to rookies.  

Donruss delivers plenty of variety to give most collectors at least something to be happy with.

More retired greats and more inserts.

Love the "The Champ is Here" inserts.  Should be a staple every year.  This was a fun box.  Plenty of variety and star power.  I'm sure everyone is like me and curious to see what a post Drew Brees Saints team looks like this year.  Doubled up on Alvin Kamara here.

BREAKDOWN:  50 – Total Cards
5 – Retired Greats
4 - RC
4 – Red Press Proof
2 – Rated Rookie
1 - Highlights
1 – Dominators
1 – Retro Series
1 – Action All-Pros
1 – Power Formulas
1 – Legends Series
1 – The Rookie
1 – Elite Series Rookies
1 – Canvas Rated Rookie
1 – The Champ is Here

2021 Chronicles NASCAR Blaster

2021 Chronicles Racing:  Found these in the wild and was very excited.  The last of the regular season races is tonight at Daytona so this was found just in time. Chronicles is a brand I like and was very excited to hear Jeff Gordon would make his return to trading cards in this set.  And boom I pull this pretty cool looking Titan green parallel. 

Chronicles is nothing if not full of variety.  Plenty of brand names you'll be familiar with and probably one or two that you aren't familiar with.  Glad to pull one of my favorites in Bubba Wallace who is racing for a new team this year.  Denny Hamlin is having a great year.  Crazy though he's second in points but has zero wins on the season.

Plenty of youngsters in the set.  Austin Dillon isn't that new but is on that blue parallel which is #/199. 

There are shiny options to be had.  That Black is a green parallel.  I like that design even if the car is pointed straight up.  I like the Crusade cards as well.

More shiny fun.  Glad to pull a Brittney Zamora.  All the ladies of racing are fun to follow and hoping they continue to progress.  I wish the Contenders weren't Optics but I know it's popular that way.

That Select is pretty cool looking.  That Michael Waltrip is a Gold Standard card.  I'm not the first to mention this but I would say my only nit picking would be about the photos.  Lots of drivers standing straight up and down.  I get options might be limited but there has to be something else.  Leaning up against a car, inside a car with no helmet on, in the garage talking, anything really would help break up seeing the same thing card after card.

Smoke!  Legend.

Another Bubba card makes me happy.  Really thought they'd do something on the Absolute borders to make specific to racing like Panini has done with the Absolute offerings in other sports.  Tire treads maybe though i know NASCAR tires don't have treads.  

This really was a fun box.  Only getting 25 cards is a bit tough but I'm still happy with these. Hailee Deegan is a favorite and like seeing her on these cool Titan card.

BREAKDOWN:
25 – Total Cards
3 – Titan
3 – Retired Greats
3 – Green Parallel
2 – Score
2 – Zenith
2 – Limited
2 – Phoenix
2 – Absolute
2 – Contenders Optic
1 – Black
1 – Select
1 – Spectra
1 – Obsidian
1 – Pennacle
1 – Chronicles
1 – Gold Standard
1 – Blue Parallel #/199
1 – Pedal to the Medal
1 – Chronicles Swatches

Random Wax: 2020 Chrome WWE

2020 WWE Chrome:  These cards surprised me in how much I like them.  They really look good in person.  Doesn't get much better than The Rock to start off with.

Great card from the queen bee.  That purple really works well on the card and I really like that photo of her.

Not familiar with these guys but I think both photos do them justice.

More good photos and wrestlers.

Jake the Snake!  Great seeing retired greats in these.  

Props to Topps for some good looking cards and photos.  I wish I had more time to add wrestling to my sports viewing.  Until then I'll keep my fandom appeased through cards.  Really nice Roman Reigns photo and would have been another great way to start off the post.

BREAKDOWN:
12 – Total Cards
4 – Smack Down
2 – WWE
2 – RAW
2 - NXT
1 – Shocking Wins
1 – Fantasy Matches

 

Affordable Breaks: 2005 Upper Deck ESPN and 2021 Diamond Kings

 Make sure you're tuned into Affordable Group Breaks on Facebook and his blog Cardboard Collections. Today I'll show off Red Sox baseball cards from 2005 Upper Deck and 2021 Diamond Kings.  Always been a fan of ESPN magazine cards so this is a great way to start.  As beloved as Nomar was, his trade helped bring a championship to Boston.

These are good looking cards though they lack a logo.  That All-Star uni Ortiz is wearing looks like it could be an Astros alternate uni.  Still bummed Manny's career path went the way it did.  He was maybe the greatest right handed hitter of our generation...until he got popped for PEDs.  Still fun cards and these guys helped end the Red Sox World Series drought.  These are also the only three cards in the team base set.  Why isn't Pedro part of the base set?  I don't get it.

So good.  So much fun.  And if you need anyone to take down aging baseball coaches...Pedro is your guy. 

Pretty good Bobby Dalbec representation in my 2021 Diamond Kings cards.  Good looking base cards.  This Sportscenter Swatch is technically a Dodgers card I think but I ended up with it and glad I did.  Lowe was a key member of that 2004 team, especially during the playoffs.  Fun cards and as always check out those links above.  You won't be disappointed with the prices and variety in his breaks.  

2021 Prestige Football

 2021 Prestige Football: Found these on the shelves recently so I grabbed a couple of packs.  Really hoping Christian McCaffrey can came back from injuries.  He's so good.  

The design itself is similar to what we've seen in the past from Prestige.  What is different is that white space.  The scans don't look bad but in hand it's very annoying.  The lettering on top of it is silver foil which doesn't help.  

Rookies get their time to shine. The Williams is an Xtra Points parallel. 

The Nick Chubb is an Xtra Points parallel while the Sweat card is a XTRA Points Red Parallel #/299.  The backs also have a lot of white to them.  Just distracting and makes the cards unappealing.  

The inserts aren't bad.  After all the white on the base cards it's nice not to be blinded. But really I do like these.  The Any Given Sunday are my favorite but the Heroes card has a good vibe to it.

I doubt I'll pick more of these up.  They are usually a good low end option for football cards though.  I could me making an impulse buy sometime...and probably regret it upon opening the pack.  Enjoy the first full day of games!

BREAKDOWN:

30 – Total Card
5 - RC
2 – XTRA Points Parallels
1 – XTRA Points Red Parallel #/299
1 – Heroes
1 – Power House
1 – Prestigious Pros
1 – Any Given Sunday

2021 Allen and Ginter Blaster

2021 Allen & Ginter:  These weren't flying off the shelf and after seeing them two weeks in a row I picked up a blaster.  I'm glad I did.  Plenty of good cards and I pulled the one I really wanted...Uncle Larry...AKA Andrew McCutcheon's awesome alter ego.  I really want the 2020 Topps Series 2 SP of this photo but the price makes that not an option so this is the next best thing.

The design is a bit boring to me.  Not much going on.  Still I that's about the only negative I got.

Love the inclusion of retired greats.  It's fun finding football here too.  Trevor Lawrence is probably who everyone is hoping for but I like pulling Randall Cunningham any day.

This is a T51 MURAD Reimagined.  Not sure what MURAD is for and doesn't matter to me.  It's a good looking card.  The backs talk about a highlight which for Bobby Dalbec here was his performance in a doubleheader.  

These three are all Base SP cards.  Stoked to pull Harold Baines.  Big fan and always liked the look of those blue and white unis.  I also liked seeing Sparky Anderson who looks like he's ready to rip in to someone.

Great looking card which is a Deep Sea Shiver.

The non-athletes I pulled.  I was not familiar with any of these three.  Still enjoy pulling them and learning about these guys.

On to the minis.  I know plenty of folks like these but I'm not a big fan.  The Chipper helps ease the pain a bit.  The LeMahieu is a black border parallel while the Dylan Carlson is a Rookie Design Variation.

More minis to include an A&G back parallel.  

My last mini.  Not my favorite.  Not much to see here.

The Arboreal Appreciation and Birds of a Feather inserts are nice.  The appeal of this brand is of course the variety and non-sport inclusions.

Animals are always fun and who doesn't like a manatee?  I do like A&G and this box did nothing to change my mind.  They are always interesting with all the different kinds of cards available in the checklist.  Below are my Topps Historical Hits pulls.  

BREAKDOWN:
48 – Total Cards
11 – Retired Greats
4 – SP
4 – Mini Base
2 - T51 MURAD Reimagined
2 – Topps Historical Hits
1 - Football
1 – Rallying Back
1 – Deep Sea Shiver
1 – Birds of a Feather
1 – Mini A&G Parallel
1 – Mini Far Far Away
1 – Mini World Leaders
1 - Arboreal Appreciation
1 – Mini Black Border Parallel
1 – Mini Rookie Design Variation