Random Wax: 2020-2021 Hoops Basketball Winter Blaster

 2020-2021 Hoops Basketball:  Donovan Mitchell is sooo good.  Problem is most folks don't think about him when they think of the top players in the league.  Part of that might be due to playing in Utah and the fact they haven't gotten by past the semis in their recent run of five straight appearances in the playoffs.  Wasn't this guys fault.  This year's he averaging 25 points per game and has averaged 23 points for his career.  And he is only 25.

This is the winter version of Hoops but it's way too subtle.  They don't need to go all Topps Christmas on the design but you can barely see the snow flakes on these.  And why not make it more pronounced?

If you are going to call this a vanity plate make it a little gaudy.  Hoops could can done so much more with these inserts.  A play on their name or nickname.  Special photo.  State outline/background.  Something.

Looking back at that Harden card, one it is a great shot and two who woulda thunk he'd be on his second team since being on the Rockets.  Dame!

The Rookie Sweater Relic is the hit for these blasters.  Xavier Tillman hasn't found his footing for Memphis though the Grizzlies have made a huge leap forward this year and are currently third in the Western Conference.

Frequent Flyers is good looking insert but the Slam magazine inserts are my favorite as they are for many collectors.  The Arriving Now inserts fall short though for me though.

I like these inserts.  You get some diverse players and it's fun seeing them have fun with something like a jersey swap.

I sure hope James Wiseman becomes something.  It feels like I pulled a ton of his cards.  Fun box of cards.  The pull may not be one of my best overall but still lots of cards I'm very happy about.

BREAKDOWN:
88 – Total Cards
23 – RC
2 – Vanity Plates
2 – Slam Magazine
2 – Purple Parallel
2 – Lights Camera Action
1 – Frequent Flyers
1 – Jersey Swap
1 – Arriving Now
1 – Frequent Flyers
1 – Rookie Sweaters

Random Wax: 2020 Absolute Football (5 Dollar Tree Packs)

2020 Absolute Football:  Hopefully this guy has figured out whatever issues he had with the Cardinals.  Seems very odd.  I know they were beaten pretty good by the Rams in the playoffs but the Cardinals still seem to be trending in a good way.  Arizona fans have to be nervous.

That Cooper Kupp pull looks a lot different from what it did in December, 2020 when I opened these packs.  Yes I'm just now sharing these packs.  Kupp of course was the all-world wide receiver for the Rams this last season and of course the MVP of the Super Bowl.

These rookies were all good pulls.  The RC cards are done differently as seen by the Henderson and Jefferson cards.  The Akers yellow parallel really works as it highlights the team colors.  As a reminder the yellow parallels were exclusive to Dollar Tree and came one to a pack.

This was a fun pack.  Good design and my pull was a winner.  Fun going back and seeing what these look like two years after initially opening the packs.  And I still have more of these to show off in the future. 

BREAKDOWN:
25 – Total cards
13 – RC
5 – Yellow Parallel

2021 Topps Stadium Club

 2021 Stadium Club: This pack was part of a Walgreens fine.  They had a blister pack that had two packs of cards in it.  I thought they were both Stadium Club but the second was a 2021 Series 2 pack.  A little bummed at that but this is my first look at Stadium Club so I'm still happy.  Kick it off with Adam Wainwright.  Although he is a Cardinal I've still grown to really like this dude.  Not only is he a good guy but just had a great year at age 39 (17-7, 3.09 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 206 Innings).

Of course there has to be a Yankee in this pack.  I will admit the photo is a good one which Stadium Club is of course known for.

That DeJong is a sepia parallel which doesn't do much for me.  I think black and white is a better way to go.  Until Stadium Club included these parallels I doubt anyone had a clue what sepia was...and some probably still don't.  For reference from Google:  Sepia is a black-brown colour with a reddish tone. It is named after the Sepia cuttlefish from which this pigment derives.  That Woodruff is a red parallel.

And another Yankee...  Not a bad pack.  Some good photos and a good pull overall.  

BREAKDOWN:
5 – Total Cards
1 – Red Parallel
1 – Retired Great
1 – Sepia Parallel

Random Wax: 2020-2021 Prizm Draft Picks Basketball

 2020-2021 Prizm Draft Picks: We'll kick off this pack with Onyeka Okongwu who has played well as the back up center for the Hawks.  Atlanta has done better of late as they got healthy but still sit at #10 in the Eastern Conference.  Not sure they can get out of the play in tourney but they really have looked good lately.

Anthony Edwards is a favorite of mine.  He's struggled a bit the last few weeks but he is still a big reason for hope for the Minnesota Timberwolves' future.

I really like the Red, White & Blue parallels.  Stewart and Maledon are both averaging eight points a game while Stewart is also grabbing seven boards a game.

I like the Crusade inserts.  None of these guys have found their footing in the league yet but as is always the case with Draft Picks it'll take some years for these guys to really define who they are in the league.  

Draft pick brands are not a favorite of mine.  I always prefer having a veteran presence in anything I buy but that doesn't stop me from picking these up.  Devin Vassell is averaging eight points a game but might play a bigger role for the Spurs as they look to rebuild.

BREAKDOWN:
15 – Total Cards
3 – Red, White & Blue Parallel
2 – Crusade
2 – Green Parallel

2021 Mosaic Football

2021 Mosaic Football:  Found some new football on the shelves which was a nice surprise. I didn't find any last year which was the first year Mosaic football was offered.  The Price point is higher than other brands and these are no longer on my shelves so this is probably my last pack.  We'll kick it off with Zeke.  He's now sharing the rushing load with Tony Pollard but he still hit 1000 yards while averaging just over four yards per carry.

The design isn't too bad for a shiny card.  It pretty much mirrors the 2020-2021 basketball offering.  The cards labeled NFC, AFC, NFL Debut, and Super Bowl MVPs are subsets within the base set.  The NFC and AFC subsets are labeled as variations.  The rookies are also a subset making up the last 100 cards.

You'll see a few rookies in the packs and I pulled some who had good first seasons.  Bateman had a good year with 46 receptions and over 500 yards for the Ravens while Smith had 64 receptions and over 900 yards for Philadelphia.

The backs are okay.  You get a portion of the front photo in full color.  It is a colorful back which is good.  Love seeing retired greats in this brand.

Not 100% sure what parallel this green actually is as there is no plain green parallel and the only green I found was numbered which this is not.  Mosaic always gives me issues trying to figure out at least one parallel.  Nice Barry Sanders appearance.

Camo Pink parallels.  Not sure why pink is so popular as a parallel but it actually works here.  Not a bad pack and I'm glad I picked it up.

BREAKDOWN:

15 – Total Cards

3 - RC

3 – Retired Greats

3 – Mosaic Camo Pink Parallel

1 – Holo Fame

1 – Green Parallel

1 – Touchdown Masters

McFarlane Dr. Fate Action Figure

 McFarlane Dr. Fate: I enjoy action figures and Dr. Fate has always been a guy whose look I've liked.  When the figure came out I grabbed one for the grandsons.  Got some quick picks before he became too used to photograph.  Looking back these might not have been some of the greatest photos I've taken.

I'm not an expert on his character's background but I always like him in the JSA comics which I read when Geoff Johns was the writer.  Really good read.  Just recently we got a look at his character in the DC teaser trailer which surprised me in a good way.  He'll be played by Pierce Bronan.  Black Adam was a part of that JSA comic run so I'm glad JSA will have some part in the movie.

The figure really does look good in hand.  McFarlane's line of seven inch figures is really good.  DC was smart to go with them.   That blue and gold works well.  Like the helmet and armor too.  I know this was pretty quick but just wanted to show this guy off.

Random Wax: 2018 Donruss NASCAR Blaster

 2018 Donruss NASCAR: The 2022 NASCAR season starts today so this blaster seems like a great way to celebrate.  Not sure where I picked this up last March but I'm glad I did.  This is always a fun product and my 2022 hobby box is on order.  This blaster yielded a nice Cracked Ice Kevin Harvick #/999.  The Daytona 500 starts today at 2:30 Eastern.

I like this design pretty well.  I wouldn't mind the driver's car number in a corner of the card though.

These '85 Retro cards show off the base Kevin Harvick and his nickname variation.  Not a fan of the design but I do like the nickname variations.

I like car photos.  This is how we see these guys most of the time and it's also part of why we root for some of these guys.  The sponsor or make of the car go a long ways for some when it comes to jumping on a driver's bandwagon.  Or you may just buy the diecast because of one of those reasons.

To veterans, to legends to young drivers the set does a good job getting all the drivers we love in the set.  Jeff Gordon is back in sets and one reason I'm looking forward to this year's set.

Does that Derrike Cope scream 80s or what?  That Newman was the relic in my blaster.  Newman was in a horrible crash at Daytona last year but somehow was out of hospital within a few days.  It really was a scary watch especially when it was obvious there was a problem.  I always like the Race Kings/Queens set and this design was a good offering. 

Hamlin won that Daytona race that featured the Newman crash.  Fun box of cards.  Let's go racing boys!

BREAKDOWN:
60 – Total Cards
13 – Retro 1985
8 – Race Kings/Queens
7 – Cars
7 - Legends
4 – Nickname
2 – Studio
1 - Classics
1 – Racing Relic
1 – Rated Rookie
1 – Cracked Ice #/999