Random Wax: 1988 Fleer Baseball (3 Packs)

1988 Fleer:  Ryne Sandberg wasn't flashy and it feels he gets lost in the conversations of great second basemen.  It took him three times to make the Hall of Fame.  His stats wouldn't stick out if you put them up against other random great players at the position.  Still he was so good.  Nine Gold Gloves.  Seven Silver Slugger Awards.  Ten-time All-Star.  1984 MVP.  And a home run derby champ.

Some fun players here.  Cecil Fielder before he won a World Series with New York.  Yeah, the freaking Yankees.  I forgot he played in Japan for a year after playing in Toronto.  Signed with Detroit and hit 51 homers after finding some amazing power in the Land of the Rising Sun. Huge storyline back in the day.

Love Fleer stickers.  We need more of these!  Just goofy team logo stickers.

The sticker backs are just as amazing.  Our best source for stadium info back in the day.  Who needs the internet.

Zane Smith is an all-time favorite of mine, so I'll always showcase him.  Always liked Dave Stieb . He played 15 of his 16 seasons with the Blue Jays and had a 3.44 career ERA and one ERA title to his name.

Tabler did bat .282 over 11 seasons but only had 47 career homers.  I thought he had more power.  I like fun cards like this.

Mark Davis only had two seasons with double-digit saves but parlayed one of those into a Cy Young when he had 44 saves and a 1.85 ERA.

Steve Bedrosian was another guy who won a Cy Young as a reliver with a 40 save season.  Bob Boone played 19 seasons as a catcher.  He played over 2200 games at the position, good for third all-time.  He's also the son of MLB player Ray Boone and father of Bret and Aaron Boone. 

BREAKDOWN:
45 – Total Cards (3 Packs)
3 – Stickers
1 – Checklist
1 – SuperStar Specials
1 – Major League Prospects

Random Wax: 2022 Prestige Football

2022 Prestige:  Tom Terrific knows a little bit about playoffs and conference championship games.  Just saying.

Myles Garrett is still one of the most dominant players on the defensive side of the ball.  Stefon Diggs is a great receiver but this season seemed to show a rift between him and the team or Josh Allen.

Aidan Hutchinson has lived up to the hype of being the 2nd overall pick.

Garrett on a Franchise Favorites insert.  Some offensive line love on that Prestigeous insert.  And a Power House card to round it out.  I'm good with the designs on all three of these.

Some retired greats and an Xtra Points Parallel.  Theismann and the Redskins are playing the Raiders there.  Super Bowl photo I assume which I like.

Overall not a design I care for but still a fun pull.  Nice Time Stamped Aaron Rogers card to end it.

BREAKDOWN:

30 – Total Cards

4 – RC

2 – Xtra Points

2 – Retired Greats

1 – Power House

1 – Time Stamped

1 – Prestigious Pros

1 – Franchise Favorites

2023 Michigan Wolverine Championship Swag

 Part of the fun of your team winning a championship is the swag!  You never know when, or even if, your team will get another championship.  I still have an original shirt from when the Boston Red Sox won their 2004 Championship.  I have my Atlanta Falcons NFC Champions sweatshirt from 1998 as well as one from 2016.  It's fun and we as fans never forget and the swag helps take us back.  To that end I picked up two shirts and a hoodie.  It can finally feel real.  LOL

Michigan Wolverines - College Football Champions!

 Mich 34 Wash 13: I know this post is late but I was curious what would happen with Jim Harbaugh.  First and foremost, I'm so excited.  My college football teams are Michigan and Georgia in that order.  While I was happy in 1997 this Wolverines championship feels so special and so long in coming.  Michigan has had good teams but could never get over the Ohio State hump...until lately.  Three straight trips to the playoffs resulting in their first championships in 26 years.  

Jim Harbaugh is moving on to be the Los Angeles Chargers coach but no hard feelings.  He is Michigan guy and the fit felt right.  He rewarded U of M with a championship.  The game was a roller coaster.  Big touchdown runs in the first quarter put Michigan up big but a late second quarter touchdown by Washington changed the feel of the game.  17-10 at the half.  You just thought the Huskies had momentum though I know momentum is fickle.  Start of the third quarter saw a Wolverine INT and each team could only manage a field goal in the third.  Really thought this game could still go either way.  Then the Wolverines' offense, which had been quiet since the first got some big pass plays from JJ McCarthy which were huge.  A Michigan touchdown put Washington in a tough spot and an interception left no doubt.  Michigan tacked on their fourth rushing touchdown of the game and the Wolverines are 2023 College Football Champions. 

Random Wax: 2022-2023 Hoops Blaster

22-23 Hoops:  I'm a big DeMar DeRozan fan.  He doesn't hit three's like most want to see in today's game but that guy can score.  He has a great mid-range jumper and is really efficient.  He was traded to the Spurs the year prior to Toronto winning the championship.  They probably don't win it all with him still on the team but I'd like to see him get a ring.

What a pull!  These three are also amongst my favorites in the league today.  Kawhi is my favorite but Sabonis and Edwards aren't far behind in my top ten.

Pablo Banchero is having a great second season and has found his touch from long range shooting 36% from three.

Need more in the background of these Rookie Greetings inserts.  You see that in the design from other years which helps jazz them up.

Chet Holmgren was hurt his rookie year but is having a good first season this year.

Great Donovan Mitchell photo.  Lavine's is as well but the lack of players behind him make it look stages, which it isn't.

Hoops Tribute inserts which most folks are a big fan of.  Really nice-looking Trae Young card.

More nice photos for Klay and Cade.  Aaron Gordon didn't know it at the time, but he and the Nuggets would soon be a World Champion.

James Harden in Philly. Those Skyview inserts look weird with the small window behind the players.  Feels so random what you might see in them.  I like the Frequent Flyers more.

Really good box of cards.  Close to great with all the favorites I pulled.  Bottom line is I'm happy.

BREAKDOWN:

90 – Total Cards

13 – RC

4 – Hoops Tribute

3 – Blue Parallel

2 - Skyview

2 – Purple Parallel

1 –Skyview

1 – RiseNShine Relic

1 – Rookie Greetings

 

Random Wax: 1990 Donruss (3 Packs)

1990 Donruss:  I, like almost everyone else, loved it when Eric Davis came on to the baseball scene.  His speed, power, and defense made us think he was the next best thing.  And while he was fun to watch and great to collect, the hall of fame career never quiet happened as injuries took too much from him.  Still he'll always be a favorite of mine.  He's looking good on this Donruss design that matches the Reds colors.

So many memories in these packs.  I forget how really, really good a hitter Dave Parker was.  He hit .290 over 19 years finishing with 2712 hits and 339 home runs.  And dude had an arm.

Love these old Diamond Kings but those MVP cards are not favorites of mine.

DeShields and Vaughn both had good careers.  Vaughn made the all-star team four times.  Deion was fun to watch but couldn't match the accolades he earned during his football career.

I enjoy remembering those peak Eric Davis years.

As a Braves fan I can only shake my head when see Lonnie Smith.  Still the man won three World Series in his career.  Fun cards and I always enjoy looking at maybe my favorite set of all-time.

BREAKDOWN:
45 – Total Cards (3 Packs)
3 – Puzzle

Random Wax: 2021 Playoff Football

2021 Playoff:  Playoffs are in full swing and I'll show off this pack I purchased a few years ago and never posted.  Joe Burrow isn't in the playoffs but he's been in the playoffs a lot having already started a Super Bowl in his four-year career.  

TJ Watt is the only one of these three still on the same team as Russell Wilson and Davante Adams have moved on to Denver and La Vegas, respectively.  Can't wait to see where Russell Wilson ends up.  He had a really good year.  Maybe he stays in Denver but that has been a weird ride for him.

DeVonta Smith and Chubba Hubbard are both key stars on their teams.

Culpepper is a guy it's easy to forget about but he had some great seasons with the Vikings.

Love the retired greats in this set.

Julio's time in Tennessee is largely forgettable and he is currently a Philadelphia Eagle.

Really good pack of cards.  I like this design and my pull, veteran and rookie, was a good one.  

BREAKDOWN:

40 – Total Cards

6 – RC

3 – Green Parallel

3 – Retired Greats

2 – Behind the Numbers

1 – Blue Parallel

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

90-91 SkyBox:  Been itching to picking up a box of this set for some time and so I glad I finally did.  I love these cards and the memories are just as great.  We'll start off with one of the authors of the Laker's "Showtime" team, and five-time NBA Champion Magic Johnson.

Some great small forwards of the era.  All three are in the hall of fame.  Mullin was a fantastic shooter, while Worthy was smooth and great defensively.  Benard King could just flat-out score.

Eddie Johnson is a favorite of mine.  He could shoot and score.  Just a guy who I was a fan of from the word go.

The backs have great different photos but the stats are pretty weak.  Even if they tried to be a little different.

I actually purchased a box of 90-91 SkyBox Series II in 2015 for $5 at a card show.  Five freaking dollars!!!  If only I'd known.  Some solid point guards from the era.  Smith's and Barros' shooting would so play in today's game.

I'm so happy with these.  I love the design and every card takes me down memory lane.  Even guys like Kenny Smith and Moses Malone playing for the Hawks which most folks won't remember.  I'll keep showing these off three packs at a time over time.

  

BREAKDOWN:
45 – Total Cards
1 – Checklist