2024 Topps Update Blaster

2024 Update:  Saw this hit the shelves last week and I had to grab a box.  We'll kick it off with the presumed National League Cy Young, Chris Sale, which should be announced on 20 November.  At the end of the post, I'll provide all the dates for MLB awards which will be announced throughout November.  Maybe my only gripe here.  This is a 2024 All-Star Game card.  But you would never know that looking at it.  In a perfect world we get the All-Star Game logo.  But at least put something, anything on the front.  Bad Topps, bad.

No surprises here as we get familiar faces in new unis.  Not lots of stars but it's about players changing teams and young players.  I'm already a fan of the design so no issues there.

I like the season highlights which include retired greats.

Lots of youngsters and Update includes Rookie Debut cards which are fun additions.

This is one of the three Holliday Parallels I pulled.  I read it was based on Halloween?  I don't get it but I'll roll with it but really it doesn't do anything for me.  There are Bats and Pumpkins variations which look much better.

The familiar Stars of MLB inserts including a Chrome Austin Wells.

Rookie Combos insert.

A couple of Veteran Combo inserts and a Marcus Semien All-Star Game card, though you wouldn't know it by the front.

Yep, we have Paw Patrol inserts.  I'm good with these actually.

Wow these two inserts clash. Not sure about Mystical inserts.  Might be too Mystical for me.  The 1989 Topps cards are okay but never was a favorite design of mine.

A Paul Skenes appearance which is always a good thing.  Another Season Highlight card with an appearance by Cutch.

BREAKDOWN:
84 – Total Cards
27 – RC
8 – Stars of MLB
8 – Rookie Debut
3 – Holiday Parallel
3 – Veteran Combos
2 – Retired Greats
2 – Rookie Combos
2 – Season Highlights
2 – 2024 All-Star Game
2 – 1989 Topps Baseball
1 – Chrome
1 - Mystical
1 – Paw Patrol
1 – Royal Blue Parallel

Award                                                                 Date

Roberto Clemente Award                                 Prior to Game 3 of World Series

Rawlings Gold Glove Awards                         November 3

Executive of the Year Award                                 November 5

Platinum Gloves                                                 November 8

Silver Slugger Awards                                         November 12

All-MLB Teams                                                 November 14

Hank Aaron Awards                                         November 14

Rivera/Hoffman Reliever of the Year Awards November 14

Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter November 14

Comeback Player of the Year Awards                 November 14

Rookie of the Year Awards                                 November 18

Manager of the Year Awards                                 November 19

Cy Young Awards                                                 November 20

MVP Awards                                                         November 21

Heart & Hustle Award                                         November 22

Random Wax: 2023 Contenders Football Blaster

2023 Contenders:  Dak and the Cowboys have not lived up to expectations this season.  That of course causes all kinds of commotion in Cowboy nation.  And makes for great memes.

As usual a good pull in this pack.  That Lamar Jackson is a bronze parallel.  I pulled a red parallel of him in his last pack.  I do like this design.  I know there isn't' much room for the photo but I like it.  I like getting to see the background of the photo as well which isn't always the case with Contenders.

These Draft Class Contenders cards are fun flash backs to retired greats.  The dual photos really work.

What are the odds of two Tanks on the same card?  I like it.

The 49ers are dealing with injuries to key offensive weapons and it shows.  They still have time to get into the playoff hunt and nobody is running away with the division.  They just have to weather this storm.

Lots of wide receiver love here.  Evans is injured but looked good before going out.  Diggs is fitting in well in Houston and Adams is hoping to turnaround the Jets' culture and offense.

I like the Stallions cards.  The Rookie Ticket Dual Swatch was a really good pull with Robinson and Gibbs both being excellent running backs in the league today.

But neither can stand up to King Henry.  Derrick Henry is having a monster year with Baltimore, and I love it.  Great seeing him do so well for a winning team.  Burrow is having maybe his best season, but it hasn't equated to wins for Cincy. McCaffrey has battled injuries again this year but man he's fun when he's on the field.  Great box of cards!

BREAKDOWN:
40 – Total Cards
2 – Bronze Parallel
2 – Round Numbers
2 – Draft Class Contenders
1 - Retired Great
1 – Rookie Stallions
1 – Historic Draft Class
1 – Rookie Ticket Dual Swatch

2020 Big League Baseball Blaster

 2020 Big League: Shohei needs no introduction now you can add World Series Champion behind his name.  What a year for this guy.  Nothing short of amazing. 

Freddie and Tatis are favorites of mine.  Loved seeing Freddie star in the World Series and win series MVP.  Nice pulling these.  My first time seeing these cards and I like the design.  Very, very simple but it works me.  This was an eBay purchase.  

Bichette has struggled as of late, Puk is a good pitcher in the league, now playing for the D-Backs and Gavin Lux is a starter for the Dodgers.

I like these Roll Card calls.  Wish they'd had a little more color in the background but overall, I'm good.  Yordan Alvarez has definitely lived up to the hype.

These Caricature inserts are pretty good.  Not great but good.

The likely 2024 National League Cy Young winner stats.  He's had some really dominant years including this past season.

I like the Award Winners cards.  Not the cookie cutter design.  Flipping out is kind of cool though I want to see a horizontal take on the card and an actual bat flip.

Although injured this season, Ronald Acuna Jr. is looking good on one of the 10 orange parallels in the box.

A little over the top but I'll roll with it on these Defensive Wizard inserts.

Another World Series starter in Gerrit Cole.  The former Pirate started two games, and overall pitched well, in the World Series but might forever be remembered for not covering first base in the 5th inning of game 5.

Great looking card!

I love Khris Davis and his batting .247 for FOUR consecutive years as an Oakland A.  No way that is even possible right?  But it happened.

I like these but wouldn't have minded the player names on the front.  Minor thought though.

This was a fun box.  Great pull and fun cards including two more World Series participants; one of which is this Shohei Highlights Blue Parallel.

BREAKDOWN:

105 - Total Cards

12 – RC

10 – Orange Parallel

7 – Award Winners

5 - Highlights

5 – Blue Parallel

4 – Big League Best

3 – Defensive Wizards

3 – Star Caricature Reproduction

2 – Roll Call

2 – Flipping Out

1 – Rainbow Foil #/100

Halloween-Horror-Spooky Movies Watched This October

 October/Halloween is always a favorite time of the year for me.  I try to get in as many scary movies as possible.  With college and NFL football, baseball playoffs and the NBA starting up it isn't easy.  But I can't not seek these out as they are so much fun.  I actually got to see The Nightmare Before Christmas in the movie theater with my oldest grandson.  That was fun.  Movies marked with an "*" are movies I watched for the first time.  Scream VI and Tragedy girls were the two movies I like most amongst those I saw for the first time.  This is my second year listing these out and I enjoy sharing.  I hope you had a fun spooky season.

The Conjuring

The Conjuring 2

Halloween (2018)

Play Hooky*

Tragedy Girls*

Haunted Trail*

Scream (2022)

Scream VI*

Smile*

Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor*

The Nightmare Before Christmas (in theater)

Dodgers win World Series 4-1

 

2024 World Series:  Freddie Freeman and the Los Angeles Dodgers dominated the Yankees for the most part and gave us drama and great moments in the process.  The walk off four-run home run by Freddie Freeman in game one.  Freeman homers in the first four games to extend his World Series streak to six straight setting the record. Yankees take game four, powered by an Anthony Volpe grand slam, and jump out to a lead in game five.  The crazy meltdown by the Yankees defense in the fifth inning to allow LA to tie the game. Walker Buehler coming in on one day's rest to close out the World Series in the ninth inning.  Not the greatest series ever but it felt fun.  Maybe because I didn't want to the Yanks to win.  I was also happy to see Freddie do so well and winning MVP.  Happy for Mookie and Shohei as well.  Feels like LA could be in the World Series for years to come which doesn't bode well for the rest of the National League.

Scream VI (2023)

Scream VI:   Happy Halloween!  I'm a Scream guy and somehow, I never watched this after it came out last year.  I remember wanting to watch it in the theater which I obviously never did nor did I watch it via streaming.  It somehow fell off my radar after that - FAIL.  I really enjoyed Scream VI.  I liked the 2022 Scream "requel" and I really liked this one as well.  Not a ton of setup and the movie jumped straight into the action.  The "Core Four" from the 2022 movie are back and going to college in New York.  Ghostface comes after them once again.  While the possible murder suspects is normally fairly small, it's still not a slam dunk on who is behind the mask.  And it's almost impossible to know the "why".  This movie has tons of direct nods to the past movies which is fun.  There are some things I wish they had done differently but I can say that every movie.  I really enjoy the characters/actors in the last two movies.  A thumbs up from me and say watch it.

Sounds like the next Scream installment will drop in early 2026.  Unfortunately, the main characters from the last two movies, Sam and Tara Carpenter, will not be returning due to various reasons.  We'll see Sydney back as the Final Girl.  Mixed feelings on that as I really enjoy where the franchise is today.  I'll continue to shame myself for not watching this last year when it came out.  My grandsons, not of age to watch the movie, were the ones who actually got me to watch it by asking me all kinds of question about Scream VI.  If they hadn't been so nosy I wouldn't have looked back at the movie.  

Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor (2023)

 

The Carmichael Manor:  I'm a fan of the original Hell House LLC and found this one by accident last night, when I thought I'd rewatch the original.  I was pleasantly surprised.  The sequels were not very good but this one is a good October watch.  Plenty of suspense, it does a good job of tying it to the original, a good story and some really creepy moments make worth searching out.  Three young adults staying in a house where murders occurred, they find out it is truly haunted, and things go scarily bad from there.  I won't say which one, but one scene in particular I really found creepy/scary.  I recommend this one.