Buffalo Bills vs Miami Dolphins - Wild Card Weekend

 

The Bills play a depleted Miami Dolphins team today who is down to their third string quarterback.  But don't take anything for granted.  San Francisco is playing great with Mr. Irrelevant at QB and we saw what happened to the Chargers last night.  Yes I think Buffalo wins but I wouldn't say I'm confident. I'll be out of town with family and won't be able to see the game but I'm hoping for a win today.  Buffalo is too good to lose.

Georgia Bulldogs defeat TCU for the 2022 National Championship

A little late getting to this but Georgia defeated 65-7 Monday.  After seeing the points TCU put up on Michigan I was worried.  They had lots of speed.  Their defense wasn't great but still scored on turnovers.  Georgia just couldn't shoot themselves in the foot like the Wolverines did.  Against Ohio State the Bulldogs showed they could score as they did most of the year.  Against TCU their defense needed tocontain the TCU QB and wow they did.  That was huge because as good as he is, his game is predicated on being able to run as well.  You always want an entertaining game but as a fan not having to fret for a full game like they did against OSU isn't the worst thing either.  Great game on both sides of the ball.  Dominant win.  What else is there to say.  While last year's championship was great this one feels just as good.  Like yeah...they really are that good.  Now back to Fanatics for more swag!

Random Wax: 2020-2021 Contenders Basketball

Contenders 20-21:  Today we'll look at another of these packs that I bought in 2021.  Trae Young, and my Hawks, are struggling this year.  His shooting is down and I think he's still getting used to new backcourt teammate Dejounte Murray who is having a good year but is also not quite there yet.  Still early so there is hope Atlanta can turn it around.

These small sets always offer up great pulls.  Almost always.  This one is a great one.  Dame and LeBron could easily headline this pack and there is more star power to com.  Portland has shown signs of life this year but are still inconsistent and may still be a player or two away from truly being a playoff team.  LeBron is having an amazing season at age 38 but injuries to Anthony Davis mean we don't truly know who LA is.

Avdija is playing doing pretty good for the Wizards and TJ Warren is getting quality minutes with Brooklyn now while RJ Hampton is coming off the bench for Orlando.

John Wall is doing well coming off the bench for the Clippers.  CJ McCollum is starring for the Pelicans who are surprisingly third in the Western Conference.  Collins is really struggling for the Hawks who are having buyer's remorse from the big contract they gave him two years ago.  As long as Joel Embiid can stay healthy, he should be the league MVP this year.  But don't count out Jokic.  The Nuggets and him have been surging of late.

BREAKDOWN:

22 – Total Cards

1 – Red Parallel

1 – Game Night

1 – 2020 Draft Class

1 – International Ticket

1 – Bronze Game Ticket Parallel

Random Wax: 2020 Absolute Football

2020 Absolute: I picked up a lot of this brand in 2020 and I think, think, this is the last pack I have to show off.  J.J. Watt has announced his retirement after this season.  Dude had an amazing career and will be sorely missed. 

Crazy how these packs age so quickly.  When I originally scanned these two years ago who knew?  All the ups and downs Tannehill would go through?  Von Miller would win a Super Bowl with the Rams?  Derek Carr would likely be given up on by the Raiders?

Rookies!  I'm sure all these panned out...  Only McFarland is still in the NFL but hasn't really done anything.

Godwin is of course great in Tampa and Davis is a solid receiver for the Bills while KJ Hamler has struggled in the NFL.  I liked this set's design and this was another fun pack.  Doesn't look like it but that Edwards-Helaire is a green parallel.

BREAKDOWN:
20 – Total Cards
9 – RC
3 – Green Parallel
1 – Introductions
1 – Star Gazing

 

 

2022 Topps Stadium Club Blaster

2022 Topps Stadium Club:  I was really happy to find blasters at Wal-Mart last week.  Barely found these last year after I lucked into a small pack of 2021 Stadium Club at a Walgreens.  This is always a nice brand with really nice photography.  We'll kick this one off with a great looking Mark McGwire card.  I feel we've seen this photo before (maybe I'm wrong) but I really like it so I'm good.

A pretty good design this year.  I like the inclusion of the team logo a lot.  That George Springer is a red parallel.  Sean Murphy, who was traded for by the Braves, signed an extension with the team last week.

Can't like any Yankee but this is a cool photo from the Field of Dreams game.

Youngsters.

A few inserts in this set.  I like this one.  I'm curious if the others from this look as nice.

A chrome parallel, Team of the Future insert and a Triumvirates which is die cut and along the lines of Chrome.

Sepia parallel.

Some horizontal goodness.

Retired greats are one of the reasons I enjoy this set.  Fun seeing these guys in a set of this caliber.  Would have normally started off this post with Robin Yount, a favorite of mine, but the photo didn't click with me.

A couple of Atlanta Braves greats to end it all.  Love Chipper and the fact that he was a lifelong Brave.  Master Photos are oversized and come one per blaster. Doesn't do anything for me but it is Ronald Acuna so it has that going for it.  I'll share my other blaster later this year.

BREAKDOWN:

40 – Total Cards

9 – Retired Greats

7 – RC

3 – Red Parallel

1 - Triumvirates

1 – Power Zone

1 – Sepia Parallel

1 – Master Photo

1 – Chrome Parallel
1 – Team of the Future
1 – Black & White Parallel

McFarlane Bane Figure

Couldn't wait for the grandsons to open their Bane figures this year around Christmas.   He looked cool online and even better in the box.  And we weren't disappointed when they opened the boxes.  This guy looks great.

He's a McFarlane megafig which means he's taller than the normal 7" most McFarlane figures stand.  This guy is 8 1/2" of greatness.  Also means his price was $39.99 when it was released.  Doesn't look like he is still available at that price though.

I'm not an expert of even a huge fan of Bane but I obviously like this figure.  The detail, the size and look really do it for me.  The back has his tank of super-steroid Venom that helps give him his strength.  I like the green on the tubes.  I think this take on Bane is one from a comic version but it kind of reminds me of the old Batman movies where he appeared.

I was surprised how poseable he is.  He's no Spider-Man but for as big and bulky he is, he is easy to work with.  Plenty of articulation and his large feet make him easy to stand.

I stuck with some pretty standard poses but it was all about just showing Bane off.  As always if you like action figures, McFarlane is one of the best out there right now putting them out.  They aren't toys though.  My grandsons, 7 and 5, love them but they don't always stand up to the pounding they put them through.  For us adults, who are still basically seven year olds, we can appreciate these.  Wish I had grabbed one of these for myself.  Lesson learned.  

Selfie...

Panini Basketball Tin (Damian Lillard)

20-21 Prizm/20-21 Optic: Happy New Year!  I don't always gravitate towards tins but when I saw Dame I took the leap.  Just kind of cool and I love Dame.  These come with four packs of cards, two each of 20-21 Prizm and Optic for a total of 16 cards.  I didn't even know what was in it when I bought it.  I assumed it was Hoops actually.

The design on these is good.  They really look good aside of each other.  Brook Lopez is a favorite of mine so I'm happy to see him.

That Caleb Martin is a red parallel.  Not the greatest pull in these two packs overall.  Maybe Optic will be better.

My first look at these.  They are Optic versions of 20-21 Donruss which is fine but not a lot of wow factor for me.  Nice Draymond and my pull was definitely better in these packs. 

Fun tin and pretty good cards.  I wouldn't grab another one of these but I'm happy with my Dame tin.  I can't find a checklist for the tins but looking at eBay most of the major NBA stars are available.  I found mine at Wal-Mart and I think the price was $24.95 but don't hold me to that.

BREAKDOWN:
8 - 2020-2021 Prizm
  1 – RC
  2 – Red Parallel
8 – 2020-2021 Optic
  2 – Rated Rookie
  2 – Purple Parallel