2021 Topps Star Wars Bounty Hunters Blaster with Relic

Topps Bounty Hungers: Found this on the shelf and couldn't pass it up.  This set focuses on Bounty Hunters and all things around them.  We'll kick it off with my Gold Commemorative Bounty Patch #/25 of Asajj Ventress.  A fun character in the Star Wars universe she's mainly been seen in The Clone Wars animated series but also starred with fan favorite Jedi Quinlan Vos in the book Dark Disciple.  It's a good read.  From Wookiepedia:  Asajj Ventress was a Dathomirian female who was, at various points throughout her life, a slave, a Jedi Padawan, an assassin of the Sith, a Nightsister and a bounty hunter. 

The base cards have a clean front with two photos.  No issues here.  Good design that has a Star Wars vibe.

Here you can see a blue parallel on the right.  They aren't numbered.  There are three tiers of base cards with the higher tiers harder to pull (Bounty 1, Bounty 2, Bounty 3).

Feared Mercenaries cards are inserts that show off scenes from the various movies and TV shows.  Nice cards that provide variety past what the base (roster) cards give us.  That left card has green in it but I can't see anything that states these inserts have parallels so I don't know why it is green.

It's not just Bounty Hunters found in this set but just about anyone that's dealt with them.  Helps round out the cards.

The write-ups on the base cards are simple but give you a quick rundown at who you are looking at.

That red parallel is #/75 while the green is #/99.

The odds for these inserts fall as follows: 

Aurra Sing - 1:6 packs; Boba Fett - 1:4 packs; Cad Bane - 1:12 packs; Jango Fett - 1:4 packs

This is the back of a Feared Mercenaries insert.  A nice synopsis of what you are seeing on the front of the card.

Another fan favorite from The Clone Wars who made his live action debut in The Book of Boba Fett.

Nice chance to see some of the different Star Wars characters that we don't see that often.

These are fun cards.  Not sure I'll chase them but I love all things Star Wars so I couldn't not pick them up.  And you didn't think the little guy wouldn't make an appearance, did you?

BREAKDOWN:

61 – Total Cards

40 – Base Cards

20 – Feared Mercenaries

7 – Blue Parallel

1 – Red Parallel #/75

1 – Green Parallel #/99

1 – Gold Commemorative Bounty Patch #/25

Random Wax: 1988 Fleer (3 Packs)

1988 Fleer:  Happy 4th of July!  We're going all Red, White and Blue with greatness that is 1988 Fleer - an all-time favorite of mine.  This is my second post of packs from this box I picked up in the fall.  This could have been Brett's look during the infamous pine tar incident.

Three great slugging lefties here.  Watching a 30 for 30 on the Mets from that era I actually came to not hate some of the Mets players as much as I do.  I shiver saying that but like many players after their career and maybe a bit more mature it is fun to see them talk about the behind the scenes stuff.  They're more honest, not completely honest I'm sure, but you get more out of them than you would back in the day.

The stickers are a big part of the fun here.  These are great.

The back of the Red Sox sticker which is even more cool.  Fleer nailed it.  They didn't just give us a blank backside but gave us something we can enjoy.

I have always loved that Fleer grouped players in the set by team.  And they ordered them in the order of how teams did so the Twins were the first cards since they won the World Series in 1987.

Speaking of Minnesota, though Carlton didn't get a ring.  He was picked up mid season and appeared in only nine games.  Could have just as easily kicked off this post with Rickey as he is a favorite of mine but maybe I wasn't in the mood to go with a Yankee.  Some great cards and great fun.  Have a safe and fun day!

BREAKDOWN:
45 – Total Cards (3 Packs)
3 - Stickers
1 – Checklist

Atlanta Hawks Trade for Dejounte Murray

 The Atlanta Hawks traded for Dejounte Murray this week.  Great trade for the Hawks.  They did give up a ton of picks but if all goes well those won't be early round picks.  Murray is a great defender which is something Atlanta needs desperately (Trae Young is a horrible defender).  A lot of his scoring happens going to the rim and he is also and outstanding rebounder (8 RPG) and dished out 9 assists per game.  Atlanta now has two ball dominant guards so there is work to do but my hope is this move will be a great building block moving forward.

Does this put them over the top?  No but it goes a long way.  They still need to figure out what to do with John Collins, whom they never should have signed to the big contract, and what the rest of their roster is going to look like. They traded sharpshooter Kevin Huerter to the Kings.  I don't get it.  They picked up a draft pick and role players.  Probably a cost saving move but to what end?  We'll see what's nex.

Trade: Traded by the San Antonio Spurs with Jock Landale to the Atlanta Hawks for Danilo Gallinari, a 2023 1st round draft pick ( was later selected), a 2025 1st round draft pick ( was later selected), a 2026 1st round draft pick ( was later selected) and a 2027 1st round draft pick ( was later selected). Conditional 2023 1st-rd pick is CHO own 2025 1st-rd pick is ATL own 2026 1st-rd pick is a right to swap 2027 1st-rd pick is ATL own

1990 Donruss Baseball (3 Packs)

1990 Donruss Baseball: Let's keep the baseball weekend going with a favorite of mine - 1990 Donruss.  That red border has always done it for me.  Even without a logo on it.  No better way to start than with Dale Murphy.  He is a Braves legend and great all-time player.  Easy first ballot hall of famer until his hitting fell off so sharply starting in 1988 that it's kept him on the outside looking in.  Still I love Dale Murphy and was of course able to get his autograph, and selfie, some years back.  <inner fanboy giggles>

These packs came from a cheap box I picked up last fall at a St. Louis card shop after not finding much at the card show.  I'll show these in three pack groupings.  Tons of stars in these packs.  Love it.  Feels like Ryne Sandberg is still under the radar as an all-time great.  I know I slept on him a bit at the time but he was so good.  I know his stats don't really add up to some other Hall of Famers but still.  I never see him in the news or social media so maybe that has something to do with it as well.

Back when Diamond Kings were still awesome.  Another great offering here.  And Barry Bonds who would turn in his first MVP season in 1990.

The backs were fun with plenty of information and enough stats to keep you somewhat satisfied.  And getting to read this two-time Cy Young's stats is always a joy too.

Some fun packs.  Tons of memories when I open these.  From the cards themselves to all the players.  I really immersed myself into baseball back then to a point I don't do today.

BREAKDOWN:
45 – Total Cards (3 Packs)
3 – Puzzle
2 – Diamond Kings
1 – Checklist

1986 Topps Baseball

1986 Topps:  This pack I picked up last year.  These older packs can really be fun.  That said when I'm leading off with Ted Power it probably didn't go as I hoped.  And nothing against Power, who played 13 seasons, but you're probably hoping for a bit more.

I remember all these guys.  I was around 17 during this time and picked up all the cards I could.  I didn't like this design, but it didn't stop me back then.

Not much to say about these guys.  I don't have any antidotes or real memories.  Sorry.

We do have a team checklist on the back of Frey's card which gives us a good snapshot of the team.  Some Hall of Famers and personal favorites of mine.  I'm a big fan of Eck and Gary Matthews.  Plenty of other stars though including Ryno, Ron Cey, Davey Lopes, Lee Smith, Shawon Dunston and other really solid players.  

You may be saying Ray Knight should be the highlight of this pack.  I just couldn't do it.  He and the Mets took down the Red Sox in the classic '86 World Series which just killed us Red Sox fans at the time.  So he'll get shown but at the tail end of this pack.

BREAKDOWN:
15 – Total Cards
1 – Manager

 

2022 Bowman

2022 Bowman:  The 4th of July weekend just feels like a baseball weekend so that's what we'll do all weekend.  We'll kick it off with my first look at 2022 Bowman and future Hall of Famer Alert Pujols is back with the Cardinals this year for what is supposed to be his final year.  Dude was a beast in his career which was tainted by a not-so-great tenure with the Angels.  Just have to overlook that.

Feels like Bowman went safe with their design this year.  I think it is fine but do like last year's better.

Of course this set is all about prospects and there are plenty in these packs.  I don't even look them up anymore but still fun to look at years later to see who were hits and who weren't.

Always some Chrome in these.  I'm not digging the Virtuosic Vibrations inserts.  I'm sure some like all the colors but just isn't my thing.

Probably won't pick up more of these unless I'm really bored.  The price point is a bit high and I like seeing more veterans.  But some folks love Bowman and I'm happy for them.  Prospecting can be fun.

This guy is having another great year and is currently leading the league in RBIs with 63.  That goes along with his 16 homers and .296 average.  Overall a good pack.  We'll see how my pull looks in three to five years.

BREAKDOWN:
12 – Total Cards
3 – Chrome
3 – 1^st Bowman
1 – RC
1 – Virtuosic Vibrations

0

Random Wax: 2020-2021 Chronicles Basketball Hanger Box

2020-2021 Chronicles Basketball:  The NBA draft is tonight and you have to expect some wheeling and dealing as well as teams hoping they grab the next big player.  Kawhi was drafted with the 15th pick of the 2011 NBA Draft.  By the Pacers no less before being traded by Indiana with Dāvis Bertāns and Erazem Lorbek to the San Antonio Spurs for George Hill.

I really enjoy looking back at past drafts to see who was selected where and what players were selected ahead of them.  II also enjoyed looking at my pull in this box.  Great player after great player.

Hopefully the Blazers can build a contender around Dame.  They've already traded for PF Jerami Grant which is a nice pickup.  A lot of work to still do though.  The Hawks are also expected to make changes to be more competitive after struggling this season, one year after making it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Plenty of different designs in Chronicles to like and not to like but the variety is a big part of the appeal. 

Some nice rookie pulls with Ball and Pritchard.  There are rumors Charlotte is interested in Russell Westbrook but that makes zero sense.  But it makes zero sense for anyone to be interested in Westbrook at this point in his career with that contract.

Didn't even notice I featured two "Tyrese" in this photo.

Definitely a fun box.  We'll end it with one of my favorites, Anthony Edwards, who had a good sophomore year at just age 20.  Minnesota has to feel like they can be really good with the right roster moves.

BREAKDOWN:

30 – Total Cards

18 – RC

6 - Chronicles

4 – Panini

4 – Classic

3 - Playbook

3 – Luminance

3 – Green Parallel

2 – XR

2 – Threads

2 - Prestige

1 – Donruss

1 - Crusade

1 - Marquee

1 – Essentials