Random Wax: 2022 Topps Opening Day Blaster

2022 Opening Day:   Vlad Jr. and the Blue Jays have their work cut out for them after making it to the World Series last year.  He's started out well though home runs and runs batted in weren't there for him.  I'd love to see this team do well consistently for years to come but it's not easy to do in the AL East.

I miss Opening Day, but I do get why Topps no longer does it.  2022 was a good design for Topps and Opening Day was a good compliment.  Three good photos here.  Juan Soto had a quick start to his season with the Mets.

Really good-looking card.

Plenty of youngsters.  All three of these have had good starts to their career.

Topps Celebration kind of fills the space of Opening Day to some extent now.  You'll at least see mascots there as well as other fun features.  Don't think it is a cheaper option though, but I haven't really researched it or seen them at retail.

Great photo and card.

I know he's struggling but I miss Xander Bogaerts as a Red Sox.  It was fun seeing him get 2 World Championships with Boston though.

Triple Play insert.  Kind of cool and not really perforated.

Another nice horizontal card.

Mascots!

Topps was killing it with the photos on the horizontal cards in this box.

Cutch is now a Texas Ranger and had a good start to his season.

Nice card and cards are always better with Ohtani and Trout appearances.

Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer are pitching this year but with Detroit and Toronto respectively.

Another Triple Play card and all three are no longer with the Red Sox.  It happens.  I picked up this blaster in 2022 and finally showing it off.

Bomb Squad inserts are nice.  Gives us another shot at seeing and pulling stars of the sport.

We'll end it with a few of my favorite current players.

BREAKDOWN:
154 – Total Cards
21 – RC
11 – Future Stars
8 – Bomb Squad
7 – Mascot
5 – Rookie Cup
4 – Opening Day
3 – Triple Play
2 – Retired Greats
2 – Opening Day Blue Foil

Skillet Concert (2025)

 

For whatever reason I've never gotten around to posting about this Skillet concert in 2025.  I'm a big fan and I hadn't seen them since 2018.  They were just as good now.  I love rock-n-roll and as someone who cut my teeth on 80s rock Skillet's hard rock sound with melodic tones really works for me.  Skillet sounded great.  There was no opening group which I enjoyed.  We got 18 songs and it was a blast.  The audience was really a mix.  Skewed a bit younger than me, though I wasn't the oldest by far, but the crowd seemed to come from all walks of life.  Skillet is a Christian group who doesn't hide their faith.  My favorite albums are Awake, Unleashed and Victorious.  Glad I got to see them, and it was a great experience.

I saw Skillet in Effingham, IL at a small venue which was great.  I don't see many concerts nowadays and one of the reasons is I like to avoid big cities and the hassle.  This worked out well.  The venue was easy to get in and out of and provided an excellent viewing experience.  My seats were good so no complaints here.

Not a huge production but it isn't needed.  I'm fine with just letting the band belt out favorites.  They do have a cellist play during the intro and on a few songs, they have risers and their drummer, Jen Ledger will come out front to sing on a few songs.  And she sings on many of their songs while drumming.

Band members: John Cooper and wife Korey Cooper, Jen Ledger and Seth Morrison. 

Site: Skillet.com  YouTube

Setlist: Surviving the Game, Feel Invincible, Rise, Awake and Alive, Sick of It, Legendary, Ash in the Wind, Never Surrender, Whispers in the Dark, Lions, Those Nights, Hero, Not Gonna Die, Unpopular, Psycho in My Head, Comatose, Monster, The Resistance

Random Wax: 1990 Pro Set Football (4 Packs)

1990 Pro Set:   Jim Kelly is one of my favorite all-time Buffalo Bills.  Hall of Fame, 1X All-Pro and 5X Pro Bowl.  But more than that, he quarterbacked the Bills to 4 straight Super Bowls.  It's a run that will likely never be accomplished again.  He also played two successful seasons with the Houston Gamblers in the USFL prior to joining Buffalo.

Eric Metcalf was a 2X All-Pro, 3X Pro Bowl selectee.  Listed as a RB, he was an excellent pass catcher and great punt and kick returner.  He totaled 12 touchdowns as a return man.  I really like both the Jeffcoat and Sharper photos.

Great backs on these cards.

Just amazing cards with in-game photos from the Pro Bowl.

Fun coach cards with some of the best of the era.  Art Shell's time as a coach was mixed but he is a Hall of Fame tackle who played his 15 year career with the Raiders.  2X All-Pro, 8X Pro Bowl, 2X Super Champion, All-1970s Team.

This design was so simple and even without a team logo it just works.  That NFL logo with the Pro Set logo is a good look for me.

These Super Bowl Collectibles cards with art from the Super Bowl posters are great.

The backs are even better with fun information.

Reggie Roby was a great punter and known for that high kick as he punted.  He's a 2X All-Pro and member of the All-1980s team.

I like the League Leader and Award Winner cards.  Dalton Hilliard had 1200+ rushing yards (13 TDs) and 500+ receiving yards that season.

BREAKDOWN:
60 – Total Cards
9 – Pro Bowl
6 – Coach
4 – Super Bowl Collectibles
2 – Leaders
2 – Award Winners

 

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

 Super Mario Galaxy:  I took the grandsons to this one last night and we enjoyed.  Plenty of action, fun and a good story.  I think this is better than the original that came out in 2023.  We also enjoyed that one.  This one did almost $60M over the first two days so it seems like this will be another big movie.  Again, it's fun and that's all we could ask for.

Random Wax: 2024-2025 Hoops Basketball

24-25 Hoops:  LaMelo Ball's stats are down this year, but I think that's more of a product of Charlotte's game right now and not an indictment of his play.  Since January, the Hornets are playing great ball behind Ball, Brandon Miller, and rookie Kon Knueppel.  Happy to see them playing well.

Really nice photo on that KD card.  Durant is 37 and is having a crazy good year...again!  Man, he is good.  I like this design the more I look back on it.  It definitely has a Hoops vibe.

Dalton Knight came on strong, but things just fell off or him.  A shame.  Seemed like he was going to be a thing.  Hopefully it'll turnaround for him.  Bub Carrington has been solid averaging 10/3/4 with the Wizards.  Sold Washington uni properly looking like the old Bullets.

Reed Sheppard has provided a real spark for the Rockets this year with his scoring, shooting and playmaking off the bench.  Wish the Greetings inserts had more of a greeting card vibe to it.

Kelly Oubre Jr. and Dereck Lively II bringing strong hair game to the sport.

Los Angeles Laker Luka Doncic will probably be 2nd to SGA in the MVP voting, but he'll right there in the conversation.  He's averaging 33/7/8 a game this year as he continues to rub it in the Mavericks' nose.  I did not know he had this many nicknames:  The Matador, El Matador, Cool Hand, The Don, Wonder Boy, El Niño Maravilla, Swaggy L, Luka Legend, Too Easy, Luka Magic

Fun pack.  Plenty of star power including Steph Curry who has struggled with injuries in what feels like a lost season for the Warriors.

BREAKDOWN:
30 – Total Cards
5 – RC
2 – Arriving Now
2 – Hoops Tribute
1 – Greetings
1 – Premium Stock
1 – Teal Explosion Parallel

Random Wax: 2026 Topps Baseball Hanger Box

2026 Topps:   Mookie Betts and the Dodgers are the defending champions. Mookie is easy to root for even if he does play for LA.  He's a former MVP, 4X World Series Champion, 6X Gold Glove and 7X Silver Slugger.

I'm a fan of this design and I like that CJ Abrams photo.

Plenty of youngsters in the set as always.

Lots of Future Stars cards in this box.

I really like the Diamante Parallels shown here on the Blake Snell and Wilson Contreras cards.  That middle card is a Combo Card.

My other Combo pull.

Acuna hot box!  MLB Stars, Greatest Hits, and Titans of the Game.  I like this year's MLB Stars more than those in the past and Greatest Hits is another insert I like.

Team Card showcasing the Blue Jays.  I was really rooting for them in the World Series.

Some more good photos.

Good looking League Leader card.

Plenty to like on the backs of the League Leader cards.

One of the big "what ifs" of this era.  Can Stanton stay healthy?

The back of my 1991 Topps Baseball pull.  Fingers crossed for a full season from Mike Trout...and a better batting average.

More inserts including that 1991 Topps Baseball Mike Trout.  And a very cool card of Clayton Kershaw.

BREAKDOWN:

59 – Total Cards

9 – RC

3 – Future Stars

2 – Team Cards

2 – Combo Card

2 – Stars of MLB

2 – Diamante Foil

2 – Titans of the Game

1 – Rainbow Foil

1 – Greatest Hits

1 – League Leaders

1 - 1991 Topps Baseball