Guy Ritchie's the Covenant NO SPOILERS

Guy Ritchie's the Covenant is an excellent movie.   It follows a Sergeant and his team's interpreter in Afghanistan.  I won't spoil anything but it's an intense movie.  US troops pulling out Afghanistan shed a light on those nationals who aided the US Government and troops there and you'll get a glimpse of behind the scenes here.  The movie isn't based on a real-world situation but keys in on the relationship of the two main characters while delivering a good movie.  Pop and I really enjoyed this, and the story and acting help make this a good watch.  And props to both Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim who do a great job.

2024 Donruss Baseball with Auto

 2024 Donruss:  These have hit the stores so I grabbed a blaster.  This Eric Davis is a base Red and Blue Parallel.  On these Red and Blue parallels the background behind the photo is shiny as opposed to the other base cards.  Hence that look.  I really like the Red and Blue parallels.

Now that Panini doesn't have a MLBPA agreement you won't see current major leaguers or of course team logos.  That means you'll see retired greats or players who haven't made it to the majors yet.  Or does it?  Bobby Witt Jr. is in his third full season and is in the set.  Curious.  I enjoy the retired greats.  Lack of logos not so much.  At all.  

Plenty of prospects in the Rated Prospect cards.

Witt Jr. and Masataka Yoshida were nice pulls.  And Yoshido played last season as well.

Highlights of the box are this Base Rated Prospects Optic Signatures Gold Parallel #/10 and Diamond Marvels Orange Ice #/75.  Jackson Holliday is off to a slow start with the Orioles but there are still high expectations for the 2022 #1 overall pick.

You get one Optic card in each of the six blaster packs.  Those parallels are Gold Velocity Parallels.

It's all about the stares or where these guys are looking for these three hitting machines.  I like this design.  That triangle in the lower right of the card would be a great spot for a team logo.  Just saying.

We get managers which is a nice inclusion.  The backs are fairly boring but seeing a career stat line on the retired greats is still fun.

Fun box of cards overall even if the lack of logo is always so disappointing.  Johnny Bench looking like he just threw out someone trying to run on him on this Orange Laser Parallel #/299.

BREAKDOWN:
90 – Total Cards
38 – Retired Greats
10 – Red and Blue Parallel
16 – Rated Rookie
6 – Optic
2 - Managers
2 – Gold Velocity Parallels
1 – Orange Laser Parallel #/299
1 – Diamond Marvels Orange Ice #/75
1 - Base Rated Prospects Optic Signatures Gold Parallel #/10

Random Wax: 1990-1991 SkyBox Basketball (3 Packs)

90-91 SkyBox:  Due to his Navy service David Robinson didn't start play in the NBA until age 24 but man he didn't disappoint once he got on the court.  He was nothing less than an amazing player and could do it all.  Defense.  Score.  Pass the ball.  I almost got to see him play during the 96-97 season but he was injured that year.  That was also the season Pop took over as coach.  

These are some of my favorites from the era.  All three were great players with Walter Davis being elected to the Hall of Fame. 

Such a great set that thought outside the box.  Very colorful with such a unique design.

The backs were great too for the second photo which many times saw the players away from the court.

Three excellent scorers from the time.   They all did it differently but were all fun to watch.  Their best seasons scoring were 22, 29, and 26 points per game respectively.  

Some point guard excellence and of course the GOAT to end it.  Great photo and card of Michael Jordan.

BREAKDOWN:
45 – Total Cards
1 – Checklist

Random Wax: 2023 NASCAR Donruss

2023 Donruss:  NASCAR is back at it tonight in Richmond after taking a hiatus during the Olympics due to network coverage.  Kyle Busch is my favorite driver in the sport.  He's a two-time NASCAR Champion but is struggling this season and sits in 18th place going into tonight.  This Race Kings isn't my favorite design.  Optic parallels are common in this set.

Great photo of legend Jeff Gordon rocking the Dupont classic colors he's so well known for.  Love the retired greats in this set which is a big draw to the set.  Bowyer was a favorite of mine as is two-time Champion Terry Labonte.

1990 Donruss is a favorite design of mine, so this Retro 90 take is fun for me.  Really good photos here even if they are fairly standard.

Pretty good design on Under the Lights but this photo doesn't sell me on the race being at night.

Derek Kraus is in his first season of driving at the Cup level.  The Stenhouse Jr. and Kraus cards are Carolina Blue Parallels.

I'm a fan of the Unleashed inserts.  That Brittney Zamora Race Queen gives you a better look at the design which is based off NASCAR's 75th anniversary.  Elite Series doesn't do a lot for me.

I really like the Revved Up insert with the color and good look at the car.

Here we have The King, Richard Petty representing his famous look.  Fun pack and I'm looking forward to racing tonight.  

BREAKDOWN:

30 – Total Cards

10 – Retro 1990

5 – Retired Greats

3 – Optic

3 – Race Queen/King

3 – Carolina Blue Parallels

2 – Unleashed

1 – Elite Series

1 – Revved Up

1 – Silver Parallel

1 – Under the Lights

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights Animated Movie

Emerald Knights: One of my Christmas presents, this movie was a fun watch.  It does a good job going through origins and the history of the Green Lanterns while they fight off a threat to their home world of Oa.  Most of the key Green Lanterns are seen in this movie which is fun for any fan, new or old.  It includes Hal Jordan, Sinestro, Kilowog, Abin Sur, Tomar-Re, and Arisia who's the rookie whom others are sharing the Green Lantern history with.  The mission to save Oa is really secondary to all the stories we get to hear.  And that's not a bad thing.  It's a fun watch and as always DC does a good job with their animated movies.

Random Wax: 2022 Topps Stadium Club Blaster

2022 Stadium Club: I'm an Eric Davis fan so these are always fun to pull.  My second Davis pull from 2022 Stadium Club. 

Bogaerts is no longer a Red Sox but I still appreciate him for the great seasons he gave Boston. Fun photo and the photography is what we come to enjoy with Stadium Club.

Really good Bo Bichette photo.  He's struggling this season and there were even some rumors he could be traded.  Sean Murphy is with the Braves now while JD Martinez is now a Met.

Bobby Witt Jr. is killing it this season and will be in contention for MVP.  He also came close to winning the home run derby this year.

Team of the Future inserts seem out of place with that design.  Stadium Club is a basic design and those are not.  The Triumvirates Die-Cut is the same.

Nice photo allowing us to see Clayton Kershaw all stretched out during his delivery.

Love the retired greats in this set.  That Joe Carter is a Red Parallel.

I don't really appreciate these but Mookie is always a good pull.

Feels like Stadium Club could do inserts more in line with the product design.  Again, this one goes away from that though I do like the look.

Great timing on the photo.

Another guy having a great year.

The Ivan Castillo is a Sepia Parallel.  Sepia parallels don't do much for me.  I do love Dave Stewart and this photo.  Fun box of cards.

BREAKDOWN:

40 – Total Cards

6 – RC

3 – Red Parallel

2 – Power Zone

1 – Master Photo

1 – Sepia Parallel

1 – Team of the Future

1 - Triumverates Die-Cut

1 – Black & White Parallel

 

 

Random Wax: 1991-1992 SkyBox Basketball - 3 Packs

91-92 Skybox:  I've been in the mood for a box of these for some time and finally pulled the trigger.  I wasn't disappointed.  I'll share these over time similar to how I've been doing the 90-91 SkyBox cards. We'll kick it off with Michael Jordan.  Enough said about this legend.  I pulled this card in the first pack but didn't get the base MJ card until my next to last pack in the box. 

Tons of great memories with these cards.  I grew up on the NBA the beginning of the 80s and this set and players were right in my wheelhouse as we rolled into the 90s.  I will say the design isn't something I'd normally go for, but this works for me.  I'm not sure I was as high on it when it came out, but I really like this set now.

Kendall Gill and Derrick Coleman went on to have solid careers in the NBA.  I like the All-Rookie Team card designs and as an inclusion in the set.  There were Stay in School! inserts as well.

These Stats (League Leaders) cards are great.  We don't see them anymore in NBA sets for some reason.   On these we even get a write-up accompanying the stats.

The backs are classics with the photos mirroring what they did with the previous design.  Jim Peterson looks like he's a singer not a basketball player.

The photos overall are good, and I love they included defenders in some of the photos.

Run TMC were fun.  That 82-83 Nuggets team that is mentioned also had David Thompson playing for them in what would be his last season in Denver.

More Stats cards.  Not always stats we think of but fun nonetheless anyway.

We'll end it with favorites of mine.  Eddie Johnson and Buck Williams are top 10 all-time for me while Jack Sikma is right outside that group.  So many great memories and a great set.  I'll enjoy the heck out of sharing these.

 BREAKDOWN:
45 – Total Cards
3 – Stats
2 – Checklist
2 – All-Rookie Team
1 – Stay in School!