Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld

Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld:  This series was released May 4th in its entirety.  There are six total episodes, with three each dedicated to an Asajj Ventress arc and a Cad Bane arc.  I really enjoyed the Ventress arc.  We quickly see how she's still in the Star Wars universe after dying in the Star Wars: Dark Disciple book (good read).  Her tale here is fun and will be easy to follow with additional stories as she takes a different path in her life.  I won't spoil too much but a jedi does play a big part in this arc.  

Cad Bane's story is much different as we see his origin play out.  It is a good story.  I don't think it's groundbreaking but there are some parts that could still play out at a later time.   I highly recommend this series.  It only runs 1 hour 30 minutes in total time, and it'll feel shorter as it's a fun watch.

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

90-91 SkyBox:  Charles Barkley was the Round Mound of Rebound long before he was the analyst we've grown to love and hate.  I do really enjoy Chuck as an analyst.  He's honest, goofy, fun and sometimes talks out of place and I enjoy it all.

I like all three of these photos.  Nate McMillen was scaring players with this dunk.  Maybe that is A.C. Green of the Lakers below him?  Great battle under the boards from two of the best big men of the era in Charles Oakley and Buck Williams.

Man these backs are great.  And it's all about the photos.  Did Chuck and Tom Chambers go to their local Glamour Shots studio for these photos?

Tom Chambers really was a good big man.  Very athletic, good hands and a nice mid-range shot.  Maybe defense wasn't his thing, but he was fun to watch.

Hall of Famer Alex English was an amazing scorer.  He could do it inside as well as with that sweet jump shot shown off below.  I'm a big fan.  He averaged 21.5 points per game for his career even though he wasn't starting games until his third year in the league.  His scoring run from 1981 to 1989 was amazing.

BREAKDOWN:
45 - Total Cards

Random Wax: 2020 Big League Baseball Blaster

2020 BLB:  In 2020, Juan Soto would have a massive year batting .351 in the shortened MLB season.  He's had stops with the Padres, Yankees and now the Mets since his time with the Nationals.

Big League Baseball was a set that was cheaper and geared toward a younger crowd.  This design is very simplistic but it's a good one.

I always enjoy League Leaders and it's great seeing them here, especially when Mike Trout makes an appearance.  The Slugging Percentage numbers would have been a nice addition to the fronts.

I like the Flipping Out design. Highlights are fun but I'd like a quick "what is the highlight" on the fronts.  The Caricature cards are fine for what they are but probably don't fall in the "great" category.

I like this Roll Call card.  It's very simple but the photo works well with this design and colors.

Patrick Corbin is the only one of these three still in the sport and is having a good season for Texas.

Great Eddie Rosario photo.  That Woodruff is an Orange Parallel.  As always, a fun box of cards.

BREAKDOWN:
30 - Total Cards
3 – Big League Best
2 – RC
1 – Roll Call
1 – Highlights
1 – Flipping Out
1 – Orange Parallel
1 – Defensive Wizards
1 – Star Caricature Reproduction

Surviving Black Hawk Down

 

Surviving Black Hawk Down: Surviving Black Hawk Down is a documentary from Netflix.  There are three episodes with each being just under an hour long.  We get interviews from both sides of the conflict including the gentlemen who shot much of the actual footage, civilians, Somalian fighters, and US soldiers who were in the operation.  It does a good job providing details you wouldn't otherwise know.  It really makes it real, no matter who's point of view you are listening to.  If anything, I wish there had been more.  It felt like there was much more that could have been explored.  But what was provided in the series was good.  I'm a big fan of the book as well as the movie.  This series is a good complement to both.

Random Wax: 2009 Press Pass Eclipse Blaster

2009 Eclipse:  Former NASCAR Champion and all-time great in the sport, Kevin Harvick is now an announcer in the sport.  Tonight is Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte which is a grueling 400 laps totalling 600 miles.

This set has a space based them. The design isn't bad but its full of stars (no pun intended) and it is fun to look back 16 years to see so many greats in the sport.  Jimmie Johnson was the NASCAR champion for five years straight, from 2006 through 2010.  He would be the sport's top driver seven times in his career.  Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch are also past champions.

I like that these Pathfinders inserts give us a glimpse of drivers in their youth.

Denny Hamlin was still young in the sport but 2009 would mark his second top five finish in the standings.  I like the Take Off design.  The colors and the driver tree in the background work for me.

The Checklist card gives us a great photo of Jimmie Johnson away from the track, probably part of the press tour after winning the championship.

Ground Control cards seem to show drivers after victories, and I like these cards.  That Tony Stewart card is a Solar System card which is plastic.

I like this Ecliptic Path card.  The colors and photos of the driver look good.  This card is plastic.

Nice looking Brightest Stars cards and two drivers I really like in Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Clint Bowyer.  Stars Over NYC cards show us drivers in a different setting.

I'm still not feeling these Lunar mission cards, but I get where they are going with them.

More base cards.  Martin Truex Jr. would go on to win a championship in his illustrious career.  Hard to remember him ever looking like this photo though.  Again, fun to look back so many years.

These are fun cards.  So many stars at a different time in their career.  Enjoy the race tonight!

BREAKDOWN:
40 – Total Cards
5 – Brightest Stars
4 - Pathfinders
4 – Blue Parallel
4 – Lunar Mission
3 – Orbital
3 – Take Off
2 – Eclyptic Path (Plastic)
2 – Stars over NYC
2 – Ground Control
1 – Checklist
1 – Solar System (Plastic)

Random Wax: Panini Harry Potter Welcome to Hogwarts Trading Cards (4 Packs)

Welcome to Hogwarts:  Hermione was the perfect match for Ron and Harry in the movies.  Emma Watson did a great job playing her throughout the movies.

Draco Malfoy is a character you hated, then felt sorry for.  I know actor Tom Felton has a big fanbase thanks to his take on the antagonist.

I do enjoy this set.  Lots of variety and we get cards like these which are cool.  This is one of those sets that it's hard to find details on.  Like what are these specific cards called?  If anything.  Still cool.

I like the screen grabs from the movie like this one.  A big moment and you can feel the emotion behind it.

I'm a fan of the movie poster cards.

These are always fun.  I do like the movies thanks to my oldest daughter who's always been a huge fan.  We'll end it with Robert Pattinson (Cedric Diggory) before he became a shiny vampire.  The Goblet of Fire may be my favorite of the movies.

BREAKDOWN:
24 – Total Cards
5 – Holgraphic
1 – XXL

Random Wax: 1991-1992 SkyBox Basketball - 3 Packs

91-92 SkyBox:  SkyBox was something like nothing we'd seen in basketball cards and they kept it going with this set.  We got these cool GQ inserts highlighting sharp dressed men like Laker great, Magic Johnson.  His 11.2 assists per game average for his career is an NBA record.

Michael Adams was one of the excellent "small" guys in the NBA at 5'10".  He averaged over 6 assists per game for his career and averaged a career high 10 assists a game in 1990-1991.

This is back of Gill's All-Rookie Team card.  He would twice average 20+ points per game in a season.

I've always liked Michael Cage and Kelly Tripucka.  Two completely different players.  And everyone liked Manute Bol.

That back of the John Stockton Stats card highlights the league's leaders in assists per 48 minutes.  The stats are fun to look at and I like the write-up they add.

Mugsy Bogues was a whopping 5'3" but a fan favorite and had a really good career averaging 7.6 assists per game.

Otis Thorpe was a hard worker on the boards and known for his durability.  He won a championship with Houston in 1994 before being traded to Portland for Clyde Drexler helping the Rockets win a second consecutive title.

We love the backs of these cards as much of the fronts.  If not more.  The stats are not exciting but many of these photos bring a smile to my face.

These are just so much fun.  So many memories and a great set.  That Duckworth photo is too much fun at the expense of the Phoenix Sun defender.

BREAKDOWN:
45 – Total Cards
3 – Stats
2 – All-Rookie Team
1 - GQ

2025 Topps Heritage Hanger Box

2025 Heritage:  Salvador Perez has struggled this season but he's a five-time Gold Glove winner, 9X All-Star, 5X Silver Slugger, Clemente Award winner, and World Series MVP.  He also led the league in home runs and runs batted in in 2021.  His work behind the plate and as a hitting catcher may well put him in the Hall of Fame someday.

We revisit the '76 Topps design in this year's set.  I like it here.  I'm not necessarily a big fan of the designs from the 70s and prior but this one isn't too bad on new wax.

We get our young players including Darren Baker on a hanger box exclusive Light Purple Parallel.

I pulled two record breakers.  I like them.  They and other subsets within the 500-card base set are nods to some of the same subsets seen in the '76 set.

I like these cards.  Fun, and as a longtime fan of the sport I see more and more sons of players I watched 20+ years ago every year.

Three Chrome inserts including a Burgundy Sparkle Parallel.  I like the look of that parallel.  Sonny Gray is a Holo Foil Parallel.

Fernando Tatis Jr. is having a great start to the 2025 season.  The backs of the cards are fun but without proper lighting they are hard to read.

Three League Leader cards which are great.  I like the photos, layout and stats.  The backs give us the leaders in the stat for each year.  I love that.

Fun box of cards.  Not sure if I grab more of these from retail but I can see myself picking off singles.

BREAKDOWN:

35 – Total Cards

3 – Chrome

3 – League Leaders

2 – Record Breakers

1 – Father and Son

1 – Holo Foil Parallel

1 – Light Purple Parallel

1 – Burgundy Sparkle Chrome Parallel