Rust (2024)

 

Rust: Pop and I watched this recently and we really enjoyed it.  It follows Alec Baldwin as Rust who gets his grandson, after his grandson is convicted of killing a local rancher.  Plenty of good characters and the story is good as well.  Lots to enjoy here for anyone who likes westerns.  Due to the tragedy that happened during the filming of this movie, I think maybe it's release didn't get much fanfare.

Random Wax: 1994 Ted Williams Baseball 4 Packs

1994 Ted Williams:  Who doesn't love Gary Carter?  He was an amazing defensive catcher, he hit well including 324 home runs.  Only negative is his winning a World Series with the Mets.

Yes, the names on these are almost impossible to read.  It is very frustrating.  Catfish Hunter is a 5X World Series champion winning three with Oakland and two with the Yanks.

A young looking Jason Giambi on the The Campaign insert which highlights a player's journey to the majors.

Floyd and Salmon are part of the Dawning Legacy inserts.  Both had good careers and had been in the league only a few seasons when this set came out.

Etched in Stone inserts look at specific accomplishments or milestones within a player's career.  We get ladies of the sport with this Women in Baseball insert.  Bob Horner graces the Swinging for the Fences.

Negro Leagues inserts give us cards for greats from the era we don't normally see on cardboard.

The backs are fine with plenty of information and they highlight top seasons from the players.

Rod Carew in those great old school Minnesota unis.  I really enjoy looking at his stats.  He was so good.  Rookie of the Year, 18X All-Star, 7X batting champ and a 1X MVP.  Amazing career.

BREAKDOWN:
48 – Total Cards
6 – Negro Leagues
5 – The Campaign
3 – Checklist
3 – Dawning of a Legacy
1 – Etched in Stone
1 – Women of Baseball
1 – Swinging for the Fences

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

90-91 SkyBox:  I think Reggie Miller could play in any era.  Yes his shooting would play today, but his drive and grit would work on any court during any time.

What a pull in these packs.  These three were all great in their own ways.  But all were dynamic.  All three are also all-time favorites of mine.

Mark Aguirre was a big part of the Pistons' championships in the late eighties/early nineties.  He was passed his prime when he was traded for Adrian Dantley, but he was a perfect fit with Detroit.

The backs are great.  Yep more stats would be better but I'll still not complain.

Some good guards of the era.  Tucker is the lesser known but an excellent shooter.  Probably been a Kyle Korver type in today's game.  Spot up shooter that didn't really find his own shot much.

Walter Davis was just smooth.  John Stockton needs no introduction.  He owns a good chunk of the assist section of the record book.  He was a quintessential point guard.  There'll never be another one like him.  It was great watching him run the Jazz offense.

BREAKDOWN:

Total Cards - 45

Random Wax: 1990 Pro Set Football (4 Packs)

1990 Pro Set:  Bernie Kosar only had one, maybe two good seasons but you can't think of Browns quarterbacks without thinking of him.  In his best season he was 12-4 as a starter 17 touchdowns and over 3,800 yards passing.

Some really good photos here.  Hard to say if the Banks or Haley is my favorite but each are really good.

Not a great start to his career but obviously Troy Aikman landed on his feet.  The backs of these cards are really good.

A League Leader card and Award Winners.  I like both of these.

I love these Super Bowl Collectibles inserts.  The art has always been a favorite of mine.

Some big names in the league back in the day.  Mark Kelso was a high motor guy on defense who dealt with concussions and started wearing a padded helmet which eventually ended up in the Hall of Fame.  He had 30 interceptions in 8 seasons.

Coach cards are great too.  Jerry Burns took Minnesota to the 1987 NFC Championship game before losing to the Washington Redskins.

Absolute all-time favorite of mine.  Pro Bowl cards with in game photos.  Doesn't get any better.

These are always fun cards and one of my all-time favorite sets.

BREAKDOWN:
60 – Total Cards
6 – Pro Bowl
5 – Award Winners
4 - Coach
4 – Super Bowl Collectibles

Random Wax: 2024 Topps Baseball

2024 Topps:  Pete Alonso recently passed Darryl Strawberry for first in Mets history in home runs.  He passed him when he hit number 253 of his career.  After a long off season before resigning with New York, Alonso is having another really good season.

Some catcher love.  While all three of these photos are pretty similar, they are still fun.  I like the 2024 Topps design.  Plenty of color and they look good.

O'Hoppe and Schanuel are both solid for the Angels while Hunter Brown is a really good starter with the Astros.

Carroll is leading the league in triples, and he's already tied his career high in homers but still hasn't found the average he was able to hit for early in his career.

Duran was recently traded to the Phillies.  Logan Allen has been really good this season in Cleveland.

Jose Ramirez is killing it again this season in Cleveland.

Nice looking League Leaders cards which include the stats on the front.

Love this photo and I'm a big fan of Witt.

The back of the Philly Team Card.  These are nice but with no stats with the team leaders it really leaves you wanting more.

Great checklist card with Ohtani and Betts to end it.  Fun pack of cards.

BREAKDOWN:
36 – Total Cards
3 – RC
2 – Team Cards
2 – Future Stars
2 – Stars of MLB
1 – Checklist
1 – League Leaders
1 – All-Star Rookie
1 – 1989 Topps Baseball

Random Wax: 2023-2024 Contenders Basketball (2 Packs) with Auto

23-24 Contenders:  Giannis and the Bucks haven't seen the results on the court in recent years but that doesn't take away from this man's greatness.  He's averaged 26+ points per game for eigtht of his 12 NBA seasons including 30+ the last three seasons.  In a league that values the three he still dominates other teams in different ways they can't defend and we don't see with any other players.  Don't forget about him when we talk about greats in today's game.

Contenders is a small set, so you'll always see plenty of stars in your pulls unless you just get really unlucky.  These three are greats in the game. What a difference a year makes.  Doncic traded to the Lakers, Durant to the Rockets and Tatum out for the upcoming season with an injury.

All three of these youngsters are really good players in the league.  I like Draft Class inserts and the look of Rookie Stallions.

Historic Draft Class cards give us a look back at past greats which is a highlight for me.  And Shaq is always a fun pull.

Unfortunately, Leaky Black didn't get a second season in the NBA.  That Chet Holmgren, of the champion Thunder, is on a Green Parallel and we get a Game Night Ticket Kyrie Irving.  That is actually a solid design.

Celtics legend.

Porzingis is now an Atlanta Hawk who've gone all in for the upcoming season with the East up for grabs.  Siakam is now a Pacer and things have changed so much in Indy since they made the Finals.  Haliburton out with an injury and Myles Turner took his game to Milwaukee.

Butler is in Golden State now while Anthony Davis ended up in Dallas in the crazy Luka trade.  I'm not the biggest AD homer but I hope he and the Mavs actually do well together.  Anthony Edwards, Georgia Bulldog alum, is the new hotness in the league.

BREAKDOWN:

44 – Total Cards

7 – RC

2 – Retired Greats

2 – Rookie Stallions

2 – Historic Draft Class

2 – Green Game Ticket Parallels

1 – Draft Class

1 – Game Night Ticket

1 – Rookie Ticket Autograph

Random Wax: 2021 Chronicles Draft Picks Football

2021 Draft Picks:  I really thought Trevor Lawrence was going to be more of a thing in the NFL.  It hasn't worked out so far.  I hope they can get him figured out.  He's only 25.

This set has tons of variety while concentrating on young players.  And a couple more quarterbacks who haven't panned out in the NFL.  Lance is now with the Chargers and Wilson is in Miami.  I really like the look of the Score design.

Bateman has been solid has a Ravens wideout.  Finally getting around to posting this pack.  Fun to let them "age" and see how it went.

At least Justin Fields...wow this wasn't the most exciting pack of rookies.  I purchased it in August of 2021, but it has not aged well.  It looked a lot more exciting back then.  I do like the Illusions look.

BREAKDOWN:
15 – Total Cards
5 – Playbook
2 – Donruss
2 – Prestige
1 – Score
1 – Recon
1 – Illusions
1 – Chronicles
1 – Bronze Prestige Parallel