Random Wax: 2024-2025 Hoops Basketball

24-25 Hoops:   There are so many questions around Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers but there's no denying this man's talent.

Some big man love.  Bam Adebayo and the Heat just don't seem to have it all clicking lately and they'll start the season without All-Star Tyler Hero.  This design is okay and it does feel like Hoops.

Stephon Castle averaged 14 points per game his rookie season and brought home Rookie of the Year honors.

Just a bit blah.

That Hardaway Jr. is my Purple Parallel pull.  Zach Edey had a solid rookie season.  Bogdan Bogdanovic is on a Teal Explosion Parallel.

I'm a fan of Al Horford who is looking good on this Hoops Premium Stock card.  I like Brook Lopez as well.  My Hoops Tribute insert has retired great Yao Ming gracing it.  NBA comes back next month and I can't wait.

BREAKDOWN:

30 – Total Cards

6 – RC

2 – Hoops Tribute

1 – Skyview

1 – Arriving Now

1 – Premium Stock

1 – Purple Parallel

1 – Rookie Greetings

1 – Teal Explosion Parallel

Random Wax: 2024 Score Football

2024 Score:  Not much else you can say about John Elway who is an all-time favorite of mine and my all-time favorite QB.  In a great twist of irony, he's one of two of my all-time favorite players to beat my Falcons in the Super Bowl.  Tom Brady being the other.  SMH

Really good-looking design on the 2024 set.  Pretty good pull in this pack as well including Super Bowl winning QB Jalen Hurts.

I really like what we've seen from Bo Nix.  I can see him developing into one of the top quarterbacks in the league.

Celebration inserts are one I enjoy.

Another Bo Nix appearance as well as Drake Maye who is also showing improvement at quarterback for New England.  Rome Odunze has had a solid start to his career with the Bears.

Joey Bosa has 1 sack through three games for his new team, Buffalo.  The future Hall of Famer has been one of the best at getting to the quarterback as showcased on these Sack Attack inserts.

I always like League Leader cards.  Wouldn't mind a design where maybe we see the #2 and #3 guys on there as well, but these work for me.

The Vikings offense is still figuring it out and will be without JJ McCarthy for a few weeks while he's injured.

I love retired greats on cardboard including these nice Hall of Fame inserts.  That Willis is a Red Parallel.  And we get the nice looking back.  Not enough stats but still looking good.

BREAKDOWN:

30 – Total Cards

9 – RC

5 – Retired Greats

2 – Protential

2 – Celebration

2 – 35th Anniversary Rookie

1 – Sack Attack

1 – League Leader

Random Wax: 2019 Contenders Football

 2019 Contenders:  Patrick Mahomes needs no introduction.  The best quarterback in the NFL today, his accolades will go down in history when he's compared to the best ever to play the position.  He's a Texas Tech alum and I've always been a fan.

I'm a big fan of Luke Kuechly.  He was just such a good smart linebacker in the league.  Mike Evans is still a top receiver in the league and 2025 will be his 12th season in the NFL.  I really like this set and this base design in particular.

Rookie of the Year Contenders have a nice look to them as do the Legendary Contenders that give us retired greats.  The Legendary Contenders is an insert I really like.

The backs are really nice sans having no stats of course.  And wow it seems so long since Goff was a Ram.

Fun pack of cards that I purchased in 2023.  I rarely complain about Contenders.  We'll end it with a Winning Ticket A-A-Ron.

BREAKDOWN:
22 – Total Cards
2 – Rookie of the Year Contenders
1 – Retired Great
1 – Winning Ticket
1 – Legendary Contenders

Random Wax: 2024 Allen & Ginter

 2024 A&G: I was not happy when Max Fried signed with the Yankees in the offseason.  He's had another great season with them making the All-Star team.

I'm good with this base design.  It has the A&G design that works.  Gunnar Henderson is having another good season in Baltimore but hasn't had the pop he had last year when he hit 37 home runs.

This is a flat tailed gecko on this X-Ray’d insert.  Pretty cool cards actually.  They are plastic on the front and overall, a fun card from the Oregon Zoo.

The two minis I pulled including a Black Border Parallel Charlie Blackmon.

Here we get one of the non-baseball players in the set.  Tim Robinson is an actor and a comedian.

Sister, Sister inserts focus on sister cities in the United States and abroad.

I really enjoy retired greats and there were two in this pack.  I'm a big Paul Molitor fan so it was fun to pull him.  Nice pack of cards.  A&G isn't something I chase a lot but they are enjoyable when I do pick them up.

BREAKDOWN:
14 – Total Cards
2 - Mini
2 – Retired Greats
1 – X-Ray’d
1 - Sister, Sister
1 – Black Border Mini

Random Wax: 2022-2023 Hoops

22-23 Hoops:  With so many players out or gone from Boston, I'm curious to see what Jaylen Brown brings to the court this year.  He's really the Celtics star for the 2025-2026 season.  Tatum is out with injury and Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday were traded while Boston picked up Anfernee Simons.

What a pull in this pack.  That Donovan Mitchell is one of my favotie cards in the set.  The Giannis is also a really good photo.

Nice Paolo Banchero rookie.  He's become a star in Orlando.  He average 25, 7 and 4 last season.

Kind of boring Rookie Greetings inserts this season.

Mark Williams is a solid big in the league now and was traded to Phoenix this offseason.  Zion on a Hoops Tribute card.  We still don't know who he really is as a player.  That Harris card is a Teal Explosion Parallel.  This pack was one of a few I picked up at a reduced price in March of last year.

There is still a lot of drama around what happens with Jonathan Kuminga.  Myles Turner took his talents to Milwaukee while Harden is now a Clipper.  That's a nice Donovan Mitchell Frequent Flyers insert.  Really fun pack and great star power.

BREAKDOWN:

30 – Total Cards

5 – RC

2 – Hoops Tribute

1 – Purple Parallel

1 – Frequent Flyers

1 – Rookie Greetings

1 – Teal Explosion Parallel

  

2023 Absolute Football

2023 Absolute:   First full slate of Sunday games today.  Can't wait!  Joe Burrow was amazing last year but the Bengals' 9-8 record overshadowed the crazy season he had.

I really like David Montgomery.  This design feels like an Absolute design.  I like it with the large team logo in the background being my favorite element.

Puka Nacua had a great rookie season and is a favorite target of Matthew Stafford.  I miss the team logo on the rookie cards but I kind of still like this look.

Keenan Allen returns to the Chargers after one season in Chicago.  I like the Draft Diamonds concept, but I do think the design could be tweaked.  I like the look of the Star Gazing inserts though JuJu is an odd choice for this insert set.

The backs are good.  Yes, we want more stats but otherwise it has plenty of goodness to it.

Opening weekend is always fun.  We all have hopes and dreams of our teams doing well...for at least one week.

BREAKDOWN:

20 – Total Cards

6 – Rookie (RC)

3 – Blue Parallel

1 – Star Gazing

1 – Draft Diamonds

Random Wax: 1991 Fleer Baseball (4 Packs)

 '91 Fleer: These guys back in the day were amazing and to get them on one card is a win.  This is a SuperStar Special card for the set.

Am I a big fan of this set.  Why?  No idea but I dig it.  Wally Joyner, home run champion...who knew?

Love the stickers.  I get a nice big BoSox sticker pull here.  And the backs were amazing all-time stats leaders for the teams.  Perfect.

Some closer love.

And more...on another SuperStar Special.  Bobby Thigpen had 57 of his career 201 saves in one season.

Loved the speed of Vince Coleman.

The backs are good even if the color has been "dulled".  Never quite figured that out.  But still, tons of stats to enjoy.

Steve Avery made his debut in 1990 and would help get Atlanta to the World Series versus the Twins in 1991.

We end it with a cool Pro Visions Black insert.  Good looking card and art.

BREAKDOWN:
60 – Total Cards
4 – Stickers
4 – Superstar Specials
2 – Checklist
1 – Pro Visions Black