2018 Favorite Cards

I saw others looking at their favorite cards from the year and I'll do the same here.  Mine are not all from 2018 sets but were cards I pulled or purchased in 2018.  This Paul Hornung autograph from a 2015 Gridiron Kings hobby box that I picked up at a local show.  I'm not a Packers fan so I found a good home for it in the form of a fellow blogger.  Still it is just a cool looking card to me and the coupled with being an autograph of an all-time great this is my favorite card of the year.  Paul Hornung is still alive and did you know his nicknames were Golden Boy or Goat Shoulders?

This Dale Murphy card is a great looking card I picked up for that same card show to have autographed by Murph himself. You can see those posts here.  A lifelong Braves fan I watched Dale Murphy and the Braves starting when he was a rookie catcher.  I still remember him throwing balls into centerfield while throwing to second base on attempted steals.  Atlanta was smart to put his arm to good use in the outfield.  This is a card from Edward Vela who does sketch art of sports and pop culture figures.   I happened across this card while looking for the right card to be autographed and couldn't be happier. 

This is just a great looking card.  All that blue from the classic Toronto Maple Leaf jersey and the background made this an instant favorite of mine.  I pulled this from my only pack of the 2018-2019 Upper Deck Hockey.  It isn't often that non action shots wow me but this one managed to do just that.

This Dan Fouts card seems a bit out of place but I pulled it in a January pack of 2017 Playoff Football and combined with being a big fan of Fouts, I love this uniform.  I know everyone else loves the powder blue uniforms but these unis, which were worn from '74 to '84, are what I grew up with and love.

Last but not least this Dustin Pedroia MLB Independence Day US Flag Patch from a 2018 Topps Series 2 blaster.  This is a great looking card and is by far my favorite relic.  Great player, great look.  Love it.

Everyone have a safe and enjoyable New Years Eve!  I can't wait to see what cards 2019 has in store for all of us. 

Merry Christmas! ...and Cards, Star Wars, Comic Books and more!

Merry Christmas to all and I hope Santa Clause was good to you.  He was to me...  First off were matching "I Want My MTV" for me and the wife from the kids.  I love this shirt and when MTV started it was right in my wheelhouse as I was soon to be a teenager.  Great fun.  Overall I'm extremely happy.  I received quite a few gifts I've wanted for a while now and my gifts were quite varied to keep me happy on many different fronts.

A 2015 Score football box which you'll see the results of sometime soon.  These are cheap options for football cards and a great fit for me. There is one auto or relic in each box.  I look forward to sharing my pull.

From our youngest daughter some Star Wars coffee mugs.  This won't be my last Stars Wars related gifts and you can't go wrong with Star Wars and me.  

The Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith steelbook.  I like the steelbook editions of some movies and I've been trying to complete the Star Wars series so this is a great present.  I've also needed some CD's to catch me up on bands I listen to so this of Beauty and Rage album from the band Red was a perfect gift.  I really enjoy their music and I'm hoping I can catch them in concert sometime soon.

Another daughter picked me up these:  Volume 1 of the Darth Vader canon comics.  This series has gotten very good reviews and I'm looking forward to some fun reading.  That crazy looking guy is an Atlanta Falcon pillow.  There is Velcro on the bottom that, when undone, helps it turn into a 13" pillow.  Pretty cool pickup from K-Mart before it closed.

Last but not least are the trade paperbacks of Green Lantern: Rebirth and Green Lantern: Fear.  I'm a big comic guy and Green Lantern is my favorite hero, but my comic reading has been at a standstill for a long time for me.  I'm hoping to catch up some on the great stories I've missed.  Geoff Johns did a great job in his reboot of Green Lantern and I can't wait to catch up on his books.

Again Merry Christmas to everyone.  I hope you had a great day.  

Secret Santa Was Good to Me

My Secret Santa cards came in on Friday and I wanted to share.  I received not one, but two autos which was a great surprise. They are both Max Fried who is a young left who has done well in limited time for the Braves.  He is a former 1st round pick from 2012.  The first auto is a 2018 Chronicles Cornerstones Rookie Reserve Signatures Quartz parallel #/49.  This is a sweet looking card.

The next auto is from the 2018 Donruss Optic set - Rated Rookie Signature.  Another nice card which I think is a bronze parallel.  Two autos was more than I could ever expect from my Secret Santa...and there is more...

My first ever Topps Now card.  This is of Lane Adams and one of the three walk off wins by the Braves in their series with the Marlins at the time.  I've always loved this concept but hadn't waded into the waters yet.  Topps Now provides fans a way to buy instant memories.

These are some of the 2012 Topps Opening Day cards I recevied.  My Secret Santa must know I'm a big Opening Day guy and I had zero of these cards before they arrived.  Love 'em.  Not sure if Freddie Freeman is just intense or just struck out but he looks like someone you don't want to mess with at the moment.  Nice action shot of Chipper fielding a ball and another one from Brian McCann, who returns to the club this year.

My Santa also knows my love for the Michigan Wolverines hence the Jake Rudock card.  He didn't pan out in the NFL but had a solid year with the Wolverines after transferring from Iowa.  Blue really needed someone at QB and he was that guy for a year before he graduated.  Devonta Freeman is a personal collection guy for me.  These are some really nice optic cards. 

Last but not least is one of the new Atlanta Hawks.  I definitely had reservations about Jeremy Lin coming to the Hawks this year as we had just drafted a young point guard.  He's actually done a good job melding into what Atlanta is doing.  He comes off the bench as a combo guard and has averaged a solid 10 points per game but more importantly is shooting great this year at a 50/38/82% clip.  I really thought they'd flip him for another player but instead has been a solid player for the Hawks.

Thank you so much to my Secret Santa, whose identity I still don't know.  Secret Santa is great fun.  I know how tough it can be getting cards for someone else but that is half the fun.  Merry Christmas all! 

Plug for Penny Sleeve's Secret Santa

A Penny for your Thoughts is doing a Secret Santa (click here) this year for bloggers/collectors.  I want to give him a quick plug as there are just a few days left to sign up.  Limit is $10 and as he said should be fun and allow collectors to get to know one another.  This will be my first time but I'm looking forward to it.