Random Wax: 1990 Donruss Baseball (3 Packs)

1990 Donruss;  This Bo Jackson card is great.  I love the '90 Donruss design and this is a classic photo of his batting stance.  And Bo was so much fun.

Wow these guys.  To have them on your staff meant you had a legit #1 and great player in the league.  Dave Stewart is an all-time favorite of mine.  Fernando and Orel turned in some of the best seasons ever for pitchers.

I love the classic Diamond Kings designs and these are fun.  Not the biggest names on the list but no complaints here.

Another Orel sighting.  Bobby Bo is still getting paid by the Mets I think.  Steve Sax was such a solid second baseman.  That might undersell his value even.

Ellis Burks is another favorite of mine.  Such a good player and did well no matter where he played.  Another one of those guys who had injuries steal away some of his potential.  Still he finished with over 2100 hits in his 18 year career.

Steve Avery was apart of that '95 Wold Series Championship for the Atlanta Braves.  Will never forget what he did for the Bravos.  Ventura of course went on to an excellent career winning 6X gold gloves and was a 2X All-Star.  

You didn't get all the stats on the back of a Donruss card but they did have some nice highlights to read about. And George Brett.  Royals great and pine tar affienado.  'Nuff said.

BREAKDOWN:
45 – Total Cards (3 Packs)
3 – Puzzle
3 – MVP
3 – Diamond Kings
2 – Rated Rookie

Denver Nuggets Win the 2022-2023 NBA Championship

 Your 2022-2023 NBA Champion, Denver Nuggets!  Denver wins their first championship, winning the NBA Finals 4-1 and it was appropriate.  The Nuggets are a great team and have one of the best players on the planet in The Joker.  Loved seeing the celebration afterwards and I don't think anyone left the arena until way after the post-game presentations were over.  Looking over stats it's easy to say they were close and that Denver may not have "dominated" but in the end they were the better team and it showed on the court.  Miami played tough but in the end even Jimmy Butler couldn't will them to a series victory.  Denver played good defense overall and they had Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.  Jokic was amazing putting up stats in this playoff run and Finals that haven't been seen before.  30/14/7 in the NBA Finals as a center while shooting 58/42/83%.  Amazing.  Murray played great averaging 10 assists a game next to the 21 per game he poured in.  Congratulations to Denver and their fans.  Getting that first championship must be the best feeling a sports fan can have.  The Heat should be congratulated as well for a great run.  Too bad it's over.  It's been fun.

Random Wax: 2018-2019 Hoops Portland Trail Blazers Team Set

18-19 Hoops: Nuggets go for their first Championship in franchise history tonight.  This is a Portland Trail Blazers team set I picked up two years ago.  This was a set I like with a nice ice design.  Lillard would be the easy choice to go first here but CJ McCollum is a really good shooter and helped New Orleans be relevant this last season.  Always liked CJ but I understand why Portland decided to try something different.

Nurkic is one of those guys Portland has to figure out this offseason.  He is a good center but not great.  I like him but I am thinking it is time to move on.  I believe the Trail Blazers keep him.  Zach Collins plays for the Spurs now and had a nice contract year.

Anfernee Simons had a really good year.  Kind of the same stats as what you'd expect from CJ.  He's younger and should be a piece for some time.  I just hope this year wasn't a fluke.

Are these guys still on the team?  No.  All good.  This offseason is all about figuring how to get a team around Dame that can compete.  He has repeatedly said he wants to stay in Portland and also says he wants to win.  Can those two converge soon?  That's the big question.  I love Dame.  He's great and my favorite all-time Trail Blazer.  We'll finish it off with him and here's to hoping he is in Portland for the rest of his career.

Nuggets go up 3-1 on the Heat

 2023 Finals: Again Denver shows us who they are and got nice contributions from the supporting cast down the stretch.  Combined with Aaron Gordon's big game they take a 3-1 lead.  Denver played good defense as well.  Looks tough for Miami but again don't count them out.  That said how cool would it be for Denver to win the Championshiop on their home court?  Can't wait for Monday night.

Random Wax: 2021 Absolute Football

 2021 Absolute: This Red Zone photo of Davante Adams is pretty nice.  The catch, the snow, what I imagine is a pained look on the defender's face - a winner.

The RC cards in this set are done with a different silver foil design which appears dark when scanned.  

This is an eight card pack so not a lot to show off.  Pull didn't wow me but the Adams and Bosa make this okay with me considering how small the pack is.

BREAKDOWN:
8 – Total Cards
4 – RC
1 – Red Zone

2023 Topps Big League Baseball

2023 Big League Baseball:  I thought I'd grabbed some of this before but I had not so I was happy to come across some at Target.  Mike Trout is having a good year but not a Mike Trout year.  I hope he can pick it up over the course of the season.  He is on pace for almost 40 home runs but his numbers overall are down.

I've liked past designs more but I do like this one.  Some color in the border could help but overall I'm good here.

Nice photo on this horizontal offering of Juan Soto.

Not a lot of rookies in this pack. Masataka Yoshida has had a great rookie season so far hitting .314.  That Stanton is an Uncommon Foil parallel.

The backs are fine with plenty of stats which is always a win.

The 8-Bit Ballers is a big goofy looking nostalgic card but I like it.  The Hank Aaron is a Topps Big Leaguers insert.  I don't care for it.  Maybe the colors but the design isn't a winner overall.  Mascots are always fun.

This is a Roll Call insert.  I go back and forth on how much I like it but overall I'm fine with it.

Good photos overall.  I like dugout photos when you get one like Spencer Strider's where in your mind you can see him coming off the field after a hard fought game on the mound.

Another Uncommon Foil parallel.  Ozzie has bounced back after a slow start and the Braves need him as a key cog in their offense.

We end it with some pitchers and the biggest free agent to be in Shohei Ohtani.  Dude will deserve every penny he gets.  Amazing what he can do both on offense and on the mound.  Fun pack of cards.  I'll pick up more given the opportunity.

BREAKDOWN:
36 – Total Cards
3 – Uncommon Foil
2 – RC
2 – Retired Great
1 - Mascot
1 – Roll Call
1 – 8 Bit Batters
1 – Topps Big Leaguers

Random Wax: 2021-2022 Hoops

21-22 Hoops:  This is a pack I picked up early last year.  With game four tonight, basketball seemed like the obvious choice today.  Joel Embiid and Sixers will have a busy offseason.  They already have a new coach in Nick Nurse.  It'll be interesting to see how James Harden's impending free agency plays out.  I like Nurse as the coach but we'll see if it is enough.

All three of these guys struggled this year.  Middleton and Lowry with injuries and on the court play while Ja Morant has had a ton of off the court problems.  This set is one I enjoy the design of.

None of this group has proven himself in the league yet as a long term performer.

Always happy when I pull my favorite player in the sport in Kawhi Leonard.  That photo is a capsule of the pandemic games.  And the photo seems too bright.

Still shaking my head at the Pure Players inserts.  That Cedi Osman is a Teal Explosion parallel.

Decent pack of cards.  I'll end it with this nice photo of Jarrett Allen.  Between the picture itself and his hair it is a win.  Enjoy the game tonight.

 BREAKDOWN:
30 – Total Cards
6 – RC
1 – Pure Player
1 – Class of 2021
1 – Teal Explosion
1 – Lights Camera Action