Sunday, November 27, 2022

COMC Patrick Mahomes Pickups

Time to show off the Patrick Mahomes cards I picked up as part of that COMC purchase.  Only a few of them but I'm a big fan so I'm very happy with these.  This 2018 Contenders Draft Picks is a cool looking card with the Red Raider colors, uni and logo.

I like Contenders and this 2019 base design is my favorite.  Really like how they did the circle and logo.  I know that sounds simple, and maybe even dumb, but I dig it.  This MVP insert is also from the 2019 Contenders set and looks good.  I like full representations of helmets on cards.

Some wins here as I'm a big Mahomes fan and a fan of Texas Tech.  We'll finish it off with his 2017 Contenders Draft Picks Passing Grades insert.  Enjoy all the football today.  Chiefs take on the struggling Rams at home in a later afternoon game.

 

Friday, November 25, 2022

Deadpool Sport Ball! Set (2019 Upper Deck)

2019 UD Deadpool:  I've always liked these cards and picked them up as part of my COMC purchase this year.  These are great Deadpool takes on "famous" cards across different sports.  '89 UD Nolan Ryan starts us off.
This is an insert set in the 2019 Deadpool set.  Here you have the '89 UD Dale Murphy, '92 Upper Deck Shaq and '89 Fleer Billy Ripken.
The backs are simple but the stats and writeup are fun.
'87 Fleer Barry Bonds, 90-91 UD Jaromir Jagr, and 91-92 UD Hockey Pavel Bure.
More fun backs.
'89 UD Mark McGwire, '94 Collector's Choice Jose Canseco and '86 Fleer Mickey Hatcher.
'88 Fleer Tim Flannery and '84 Fleer Jay Johnstone.  Just some fun cards.  Really glad I picked these up.  Luckily, I'd selected these on COMC before pandemic prices made them more expensive.

BREAKDOWN:
SB1 1989 Upper Deck Baseball (Nolan Ryan)
SB2 1989 Upper Deck Baseball (Dale Murphy)
SB3 1992 Upper Deck Basketball (Shaquille O'Neal)
SB4 1989 Fleer Baseball (Billy Ripken)
SB5 1987 Fleer Baseball (Barry Bonds)
SB6 1990-1991 Upper Deck Hockey (Jaromir Jagr)
SB7 1991-1992 Upper Deck Hockey (Pavel Bure)
SB8 1989 Upper Deck Baseball (Mark McGwire)
SB9 1994 Collector's Choice Baseball (Jose Canseco)
SB10 1986 Fleer Baseball (Mickey Hatcher)
SB11 1988 Fleer Baseball (Tim Flannery)
SB12 1984 Fleer Baseball (Jay Johnstone)

Thursday, November 24, 2022

Tales of the Jedi (Disney+)

Tales of the Jedi:  Happy Thanksgiving!  I'm a fan of the Star Wars animated offerings and this is another really good add.  You can watch the trailer here.  There are six short episodes (~15-20 min) that are focused on Ahsoka or Count Dooku as a Jedi.  All are good and provide insight into both characters which is great.  Star Wars has so many great stories to be told.  Not just of these two but all the Jedi.  We've seen so many in the prequels, books and other outlets and they have great stories ready to be told as well.  Highly recommend Tales of the Jedi.  I will say it isn't made for small children but for the rest of us they are a fun a watch.  Hope we see more like this in the soon.

Tuesday, November 22, 2022

COMC Damian Lillard Pickups

Damian Lillard:  I had a COMC purchase shipped earlier this year that included cards from across the card realm.  I had been saving the cards up for over a year before hitting the purchase button.  Today I'll show off my Dame cards.  Lots of good ones here.  He's having another good year but needs to get his shooting percentages up to get back to elite.  This NBA City card comes from the 18-19 Hoops set.  The dark colors work well with the Rip City uni he's wearing.  Sharp looking card.
I love me some Contenders and didn't hesitate grabbing these.  I really like the look of all three of these.
From the 17-18 Prestige set these Stars of the NBA cards are the base and Rain parallel designs.  The rain parallels really look good.
Going horizontal allows for some nice photos we don't always see on cards otherwise.  This Courtside from 18-19 Hoops is a nice photo of Dame turning the corner.
I like the "Kings" cards that Donruss does and this design is a good looking one.  Their All-Star set was plenty colorful but works for the most part. Looks like a photo from the actual game so I'd prefer seeing all of the in-game photo but I'm good with it overall.
This Court Kings doesn't have the classic feel to me but they can't all be winners.  Panini seemed to like the alternative unis which is fine with me.  All of the Portland jerseys have a good look to them.  We'll end it with another Contenders card.  I like that big logo.



Sunday, November 20, 2022

Random Wax: 2020 Playoff Football Blaster

2020 Playoff Football:  Josh Allen and the Bills have had a good start to the year but losses from opponents within the division has given fans pause.  Allen has been dealt with some injuries as well but is still one of the top quarterbacks in the league.
Love the retired greats in this set.  Eric Dickerson and LT are favorites of mine while I always liked Andre Tippett as well.  All three also show off the unis of their teams that I like.
No issues with these guys either.  I actually purchased this right before Tom Terrific and the Bucs won the Super Bowl last year.  Yes, I've had this blaster that long and am just now getting around to posting it.
More retired greats so I'm in and I like the theme here.
More inserts.  Gardner Minshew had a hot moment where he and his hair were a thing.  And wow that Henry Ruggs card has an entirely new vibe to it after his DUI arrest in which someone died.  John Elway is an all-time favorite of mine.  Loved watching him sling it when I was younger.
My relic from the blaster.  Kmet had a really good year two last season with 60 receptions but has fallen off some this year.  The Bears offense seems to be a bit better of late so maybe his stats will see an uptick.
Overall this is a really good box.  No complaints here.  We'll end it with a nice-looking Chase Young card.  He's still recovering from injury but I'm hoping he can return to form when he gets back on the field. 

BREAKDOWN:
56 – Total Cards
8 – RC
7 – Retired Greats
2 – Rookie Wave
2 – Green Parallel
1 – Call to Arms
1 – Kickoff Parallel
1 – Behind the Numbers
1 – Thunder & Lightning
1 – Rookie Stallions Relic


 

Friday, November 18, 2022

Justice League MetaX Booster Pack

Justice League MetaX:  I enjoy the art on the MetaX DC game cards so I grab these from time to time.  I purchased five of these off eBay and some will go to the grandsons.  We'll kick it off with some nice art from Alex Ross and the Kingdom Come books which are favorites of mine.
Again the draw to these is the art.  I may take the time to learn the game but they haven't necessarily been my thing.  Could be fun with the grandsons now that they are getting older.  This booster had cards from S19-JL through J36-JL.  Had no idea until I opened the box.  Seems pretty small.  I did pull cards 19-36 with plenty of duplicates.
Some of the lovely ladies of D.C.  I like all of these characters.  The link in my first paragraph does a great job showing the set visually but information on the set is maddening to come by.  Specifically, how is the set broke up and how it was released.  Didn't know these boosters only covered 36 cards.  Would have been good to know ahead of time.  But lack of information, not checklists, is really my only beef with these.
These are three of the 10 foils that came with my cards.  The foils don't necessarily excite me but I do like the look.  Overall this booster pack seemed to be Superman heavy.  Isn't a bad thing.  Just my perception.
There are four of what I call "character cards" like this Krypto, Green Arrow and the Supergirl I showed off earlier which are actually labeled with the character's name.  Fun box.  I'll probably just pick up the entire set at some point to include the different series.  I do like the art and the characters.

BREAKDOWN:
50 – Total Cards
10 - Foil
Multiple Duplicates


Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Random Wax: 2021-2022 Chronicles Basketball Blaster

21-22 Chronicles Basketball:  We'll kick this one off with a green parallel of Trae Young.  He's having another good year but his shooting is not what we are used to seeing from him.  Still the Hawks are doing well and the addition of Dejounte Murray has been a very good thing so far for the Hawks.
No complaints with my pull in this pack.  That Harden is a green parallel.  Dallas and Philly are struggling but the Grizzlies are doing really well again this season with Ja Morant a huge reason why.
Lots of youngsters in these packs.  
This is a good set.  Plenty of variety.  You won't get bored here.  
I like both of these designs with Playbook my favorite of these two.
I really like Essentials.  XR is a pretty good card as well. We'll end it with one of the league's best and a nice-looking Hometown Heroes card.

BREAKDOWN:
30 – Total Cards
21 – RC
5 – Chronicles
4 – Score
3 - Prestige
3 - Playbook
3 – Absolute
3 – Luminance
3 – Green Parallel
2 – XR
2 - Threads
2 – Essentials
1 – Optic Chrome
1 – Hometown Heroes
1 – Donruss Rated Rookie



Sunday, November 13, 2022

2022 Topps Update

2022 Topps Update:  We might be past the baseball season but we still have some new baseball for some of us in the form of Topps Update.  This one of course is centered around young players and those who have changed teams.  One of the big ones to move in the offseason was Matt Olson.  Olson's batting average wasn't anything to write home about but he did hit 34 dingers and drove in 103 runs.
Always fun seeing players in their new unis.  Corey Seager's average was down this season.  Bryant had a good year but it was very limited due to injuries.  Correa had a good year in his first season with the Twins.
Youngsters play a big part of this set and Julio Rodriguez is the new hotness.  That Brujan is a royal blue parallel which I like.
Cutch hot box?  I'm okay with that as I'm a fan.
I like these manufactured relics.  It's a good look in hand but they are so thick it makes them tough.  you have to find holders and sleeves specifically for this size.
Stars of  MLB to include a Topps Chrome version for Yu Darvish.  That Royce Lewis is a Topps Black Gold.  Not sure what I think of that one yet while I do like the design of the Stars of MLB.
Nice Wander Franco pull.  I also enjoy retired greats and you know I'm a huge fan of All-Star cards.  Though I might not be a big fan of those jerseys.
Generation Now.  Meh.
Here we have a Checklist, 1987 Topps Baseball and Combo card.
These are fun though they don't have quite the star power of the series one cards.  Still it's fun with inserts helping break up the monotony.  We'll end it with a nice pull in Shoei Ohtani.  Now for the MLB offseason.  Let's hope it's not as slow in years past.  By far the worst of all the major sports.

BREAKDOWN:
99 – Total Cards
36 – RC
9 – Rookie Debut
8 – Stars of MLB
2 – All-Star
2 – 1987 Topps Baseball
1 - Checklist
1 – Black Gold
1 – Combo Card
1 – Retired Great
1 – Topps Chrome
1 – All-Star Rookie
1 –Generation Now
1 – Royal Blue Parallel
1 – Diamond Greats Die-Cuts
1 - Commemorative Batting Relic Manufactured Relic