Random Wax: 2019-2020 Contenders Basketball

2019-2020 Contenders Basketball: Contenders is a brand I like so here we go again.  No better place to start than with Hall of Fame legend Dennis Johnson.  Three-time NBA Champion, Finals MVP two-time All-NBA and nine-time All-Defensive Team selection but that 70's Supersonics jersey is what does it for me.  I kid.  DJ really was great...but those jerseys are too cool.  

Can't wait to see Klay and Steph back on the court with their new teammate Andrew Wiggins.  I want to see how good those guys can be.  Kyle Lowry and the Raptors are having a surprising good year considering the loss of Kawhi Leonard to the Clippers.

Contenders traditionally has a small set size so you'll get plenty of star power in these packs even in the form of Sacramento Kings.

More good young talent in the league.  Donovan Mitchell, as good as he is, was front and center this year as the league shut down due to the virus hitting the Utah Jazz last month.  The NBA stopped play with all major sports following suite shortly thereafter.

A really nice pull here as Ja Morant has lived up to the hype for another surprising team, the Memphis Grizzlies.  This was definitely a fun pack and I have more Contenders yet to be seen at a later time. 

BREAKDOWN:

22 – Total Cards
1 – Winning Ticket
1 – 2019 Draft Class
1 – Front Row Seat
1 – Game Ticket Parallel

Random Wax: 2019 Illusions Football

2019 Illusions Football: Derrick Henry wasn't on the radar of many casual fans before 2019 but man did he make a splash.  In his 4th season he led the league with over 1500 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns.  He averaged 100 yards per game in 15 games on the ground.  Then he literally ran over the New England Patriots and Baltimore Raves to a tune of 182 and 195 yards, respectively, in the playoffs.  He was the key to the Titans making it to the AFC Championship game.

This is a brand I don't remember but it made a comeback last year.  Seems like there was an Upper Deck set with a similar design  years ago but I can't pinpoint it. 

These are some good looking cards.  I was happy with my pull even if I didn't get one of the top quarterbacks.  That looks like and orange parallel and that is exactly what it is.  Thank you Panini for making that easy.

Rookies have a good presence here numbering 7of the 20 cards in the pack. 

Not sure if I'll grab more of these.  I like them but the price point is a big steep.  Still if they are on the shelf these are a fun option.

BREAKDOWN:

20 – Total Cards

7 – RC

2 – Orange Parallel

Random Wax: 2020 Topps Baseball

2020 Topps Baseball:  This is one of the smaller packs of 16 cards. For some reason my Wal-Mart had these out before the fat packs so I picked it up early on.  Judge, albeit a Yankee, isn't a bad start for a pack.  This layoff may help him heal from the injury he was dealing with.

A bit more star power among the base cards.  Braun's career has been pretty wild with the steroids test craziness and an MVP season part of the narrative.  He is 35 now and had a good year last year but you have to wonder how much longer he'll be around.

That's a fun photo on the Cardinals team card.  

Still not big fans of these inserts but there are those who are.  Small but fun pack.  There are more Topps flagship coming as we haven't even gotten to the season yet.

BREAKDOWN:

16 – Cards
1 – Team Card
1 – Turkey Red
1 – Checklist Card
1 – Hoskins Highlight

Random Wax: 2019-2020 Absolute Memorabilia Basketball (5 Dollar Tree Packs)

2019-2020 Absolute Memorabilia Basketball:  Back to this brand which I like.  A Dollar Tree exclusive the big draw for many is the chance at a Zion yellow exclusive to these packs.  No Zion like my first pull but I still did well.  LeBron and a pretty cool photo kicks this post off.  For some reason I found myself drawn to the faces of the crowd in the background.  

This pack delivered pretty well.  The Greek Freak could have just as easily led off this post.  He and LeBron are neck and neck for MVP this season though Giannis probably has the lead at this point.

These are the yellow exclusives available in these packs.  Nassir Little hasn't shown much with the Trail Blazers yet but Coby White and Tyler Herro are both doing well for their respective teams.  They are averaging 13.2 and 12.9 points this season.

Plenty of rookies in each pack between the yellow and these RC cards(16 of 25 total cards).  These three are having various degrees of success with Jarrett Culver standing out averaging 9.2 a game for the Timberwolves.  These are nice cards and it's fun chasing Zion.  I have more to show off down throughout the year so stay tuned.

BREAKDOWN:

25 - Total Cards (5 Packs)

11 – RC
5 - Absolute Memorabilia Rookie Yellow Parallel

Random Wax: 2019 Score Football

2019 Score Football:  I really like this set so it is no wonder we are back here again.  We'll kick it off with this nice Drew Brees Epix with a photo from when he broke the record for most passing yards.  I like photos that have a meaning behind them as opposed to random plays.  Good job on this one.

Some really good photos for all three of these defensive ends.  

It is still to be determined where Cam Newton will be doing his signal calling this year.  Assuming he's healthy I think he'll be a good pickup for someone.

The Saints thought enough of Taysom Hill to put a first round tender on him.  I'm not sure if he's signed it yet but he is due to make $4.7M this year if he resigns with New Orleans.  I'm not really sure what he can be but New Orleans really likes him.

Score has plenty of inserts in case you get bored with the base design.  I like the Throwbacks inserts and the All-Hands which have some pretty sweet photos.  Another fun pack.  These are hard to find nowadays but I'm always looking for more.  And why not some more Tom Brady...  

BREAKDOWN:

40 – Total Cards
7 – RC
3 – Red Parallel
3 – 2019 NFL Draft
2 - Epix
2 – Captains
2 – Signal Callers
1 - Throwbacks
1 - Celebration
1 – All-Hands Team

1976 Topps King Kong

1976 King Kong:  I'm not hitting the store much nowadays so I went back to Bob Rewak's eBay store for some non-sport packs.  King Kong packs were a little more pricey than the cheap packs I normally go for but the movie is so iconic and I love it.  I was eight when it came out and I was instantly a fan.  This close up is a great photo of Kong's face.     

I like the designs on these overall.  There isn't a ton going on but it works.  Odd putting the copyright on the front of the card.  I'm OK with having the card number on the front.  Different and doesn't take away from the card.

  The backs for most parts are part of a larger puzzle.  A few do have a brief description.  On the right is a sticker.  On the cards I pulled I liked the screen grabs.  In some sets they can be hit or miss but I'm happy with these.

The pack did come with a piece of gum.  It was on the back of one the cards and the stain wasn't too bad for being so old.  I'm really glad I picked up this pack.  Fun cards and an all-time favorite movie of mine.  

BREAKDOWN:

6 – Total Cards
1 – Sticker
1 – Piece of Gum

Random Wax: 2019-2020 Prizm Draft Picks Basketball

2019-2020 Prizm Draft Picks Basketball:  I'm not a big fan of Prizm but after hitting two Zion's on my first try why would I not go back to the well?  This was another good pack though there wasn't a Zion.  This Ja Morant headlines my pull.  Dude is having a great year with Memphis and he's fun to watch.

RJ Barrett is having a good year and I think he can develop into an even better player moving forward.  And the Knicks need all the help they can get.

Rui Hachimura is having a really good rookie year for the Wizards while Cam Reddish was finally getting consistent for my Hawks before the season stopped.

Doubled up on Jarrett Culver in my pull.  He's had a really uneven year for the Timberwolves but is still racking up 9 points per game.  Pretty good players but good luck finding any basketball product right now.  I purchased this one some time back but no more of these.

Tyler Herro has been a great pickup for Miami.  He can shoot the three and gives them 12 points per game.

BREAKDOWN:

15 – Total Cards
11 – RC
3 – Crusade
3 – Pink Pulsar Parallels
1 – All-American
1 – Duplicate

Random Wax: 2019 Playoff Football

2019 Playoff Football: This was a great pack with plenty of star power and retired greats.  This was too much fun.  This guy had an amazing MVP season.  I know he flashed some skills in 2018 but I didn't see this coming.  I was a bit  pessimistic when it came to Jackson.  Boy was I wrong. 

Pretty nice quarterback trio including a starter in the Super Bowl.

Speaking of the Super Bowl there is the man himself who led the Kansas City Chiefs to their first ever Super Bowl win.  Gotta love his arm and he seems like a pretty laid back cool guy as well.

Another Super Bowl Champion and stud running back in Saquon Barkley. I'm sure Giants' fans can't wait to see what a full season with Daniel Jones at QB looks like.  And of course hope Jones can improve on last year.

So many retired greats help make this a great pack.  Even fun seeing recent retirees like Peyton Manning on new cardboard.  This really was a fun pack and I know I'll pick up more of these.  I'm chasing all the retired greats from this set and I'm getting close.  That Jim Kelly below is definitely one of my favorites.  Enjoy. 

BREAKDOWN:

40 – Total Cards
11 – Retired Greats
6 – RC
3 – Green Parallel
1 – Air Command
1 – Thunder & Lightning

2013 Cryptozoic DC Comics: The Women of Legend Trading Cards (2 Packs)

2013 Cryptozoic DC Comics: The Women of Legend Trading Cards:  I've purchased non-sport packs from Bob Rewak's eBay store before and went back for more since getting to a local store for cards isn't a thing right now.  This is a set I wasn't familiar with.  It is made up of sketches of the women of DC Comics.  They range from the cartoony to more true renderings.  I'll kick this off with Batgirl and Black Canary.

  Star Sapphire, Amanda Walker, Huntress.  I actually knew Star Sapphire from the Green Lantern comics and Huntress primarily from when she teamed up with Batgirl and Black Canary in the Birds of Prey comics which were great.

  I recognized Batwoman whose come on in the last few years.  I didn't recognize Talia al Ghul from the Batman comics and movie The Dark Knight Rises.  That is Bleez as a Red Lantern.  I got the Red Lantern thing but Bleez doesn't ring a bell.  I don't actively read comics right now but do like to keep up with them as I can.

The backs are nice in my opinion.  There is a subdued part of the front photo in the bottom left and the write-up while simple does well.  That is Madam Xanadu and Enchantress on that first card.  I did not know that.  That is Godiva and Vixen on that last card.  Godiva is new to me.  These were fun.  I don't think I'll go looking for more packs but I wouldn't mind seeing some singles of the gals I follow in comics.  

This is a Katie Cook sticker insert (2:24) of Poison Ivy.

BREAKDOWN:

2 - Packs

10 - Total Cards

1 - Katie Cook Sticker