Random Wax: 2022 Topps Hanger Box

 

2022 Topps: One of the greatest right-handed hitters of the modern era, Kirby Puckett was also just an easy guy to like.  Him and the powder blue Twins jersey help make this 1987 Topps Baseball 35th Anniversary inserts a winner.

Good pull in this hanger box and some PC guys like Adam Wainwright and Mookie Betts.  No complaints with a Harper pull either.

Arizona Diamondbacks team card.  Nothing special but I like that photo.

Young players get their day.  Max Kranick is having a good year, unfortunately as a New York Met.  Jake Cousins is a cousin of the NFL's Kirk Cousins.

We love League Leaders cards, but they are much better when we get the numbers on the front.  They could have made that happen.

Stars of the MLB and 2021's Greatest Hits inserts.  I like the Greatest Hits inserts.  Stars isn't bad but it has gone stale for me over the years.

This is a great photo from the home run derby on this Checklist card.

Chapman is with the Giants, Turner is a Chicago Cub and Joey Votto has retired.  The 2022 design is one I like.  It's simple and does have some similarities to an 80's Donruss design.

Logan Gilbert has had a good career with Seattle posting a 42-31 record.

2021 was Buster Posey's last year prior to retiring.  He batted .304 with 18 home runs in his final season.  Clayton Kershaw is injured and hasn't made his debut this year in what will be his age 37 season.

Fun box of cards.  Good design, good pull and plenty of players I like, like Fernando Tatis Jr.

BREAKDOWN:

65 – Total Cards

9 – Team Cards

4 – RC

4 – Future Stars

4 – Stars of the Game

3 – League Leaders

2 – Checklist

1 – 2021’s Greatest Hits

1 - 1987 Topps Baseball 35th Anniversary

NBA Playoffs Round 2

 The NBA playoffs gave us a good first round though no major surprises.  You weren't surprised by LA losing, right?  Clipper-Nuggets was the most fun though not all games were close.  The Aaron Gordon slam at the buzzer off a Nokic miss is a play that will be replayed for a long time.  I think all four of the Round 2 series should be fun for their own reasons.  OKC vs Denver should be good, but I think the Thunder are just too good while the Nuggets must be tired.  The T-Wolves and Warriors should be a fun series.  I don't know who to take but I think Golden State wins this one.  Knicks and Celtics could be a slugfest, but Boston falls into the too good to lose category at this point.  Cavs-Pacers should be another good series, but it may have been undone due to Darius Garland's injury.  Hopefully Cleveland can rebound from their game 1 loss and make this a good series.  No reason they can't.  An OKC-Boston Finals still feels like how this plays out and I wouldn't mind that.  I think they are the two best teams and a seven-game series would be great.  That said, I think we get OKC-Golden State and Cleveland-Boston in the Conference Finals matchups.

Star Wars: Thrawn Book Trilogies - The Ascendancy Trilogy and The Imperial Trilogy

Thrawn Ascendancy:  More Star Wars on May the 4th.  I recently finished this trilogy which is actually a prequel to the one below which was released first.  Timothy Zahn is a legendary Star Wars writer including these trilogies and the legends trilogy (non-canon) The Thrawn Trilogy. Thrawn Ascendancy is basically an origin story that shows us Thrawn's rise within the Chiss Ascendancy.  It's a good read and for the most part stays away from the Star Wars universe proper.  There's a lot going on, but it gives you a proper background on Thrawn as well as the events which propel him into the Star Wars world that we know and love.  Those events are a war with outsiders as well as the politics of the Ascendancy.  Bottom line is I liked these books.

Thrawn Imperial Trilogy:  I've seen this trilogy listed as "Imperial Trilogy" as well as Thrawn Trilogy.  In these books we see Thrawn join the Empire and what he becomes to it.  His relationship with Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine was complicated of course but his abilities made him indispensable.  This is my favorite of the Thrawn trilogies.  It really shows his immersion into the Empire and gives us more clarity of his role before we see him in Rebels and Ahsoka.  I recommend both of these.  

Random Wax: 2023 Topps Star Wars Blaster

 2023 Star Wars: May the 4th be with you!  Have a great day and I hope Star Wars is part of it.  Darth Maul is one of my favorite characters from the Star Wars universe.  It was announced at Star Wars Celebration that a new Darth Maul animated series will be released and maybe we'll see Darth Talon on screen finally?  

I like this design.  It's fairly simple but works.  The Mandalorian is one of the Rainbow Foil Parallels.  I like the Mace Windu screen shot used on his card.

One of my seven Into the Galaxy cards.  I like these as while we hear of different planets but we don't always have a good look at them.

We get a good cross section of the Star Wars universe from the first movies to current movies, series and animated shows.

I like these and grabbing both the Kylo and Rey vs the Praetorian guards cards is cool.

Felucia is where Jedi Aayla Secura was killed during the execution of Oder 66.  

I like Comic Covers Cover Art inserts.  I don't read many of the comics, but it gives us another look at our favorites.

Jedi Minas Velti is shown fighting off clone troopers while protecting younglings at the Jedi Temple after Order 66.  That Sebulba is one of my three Gold Foil Parallels.  The others are Rainbow Foil Parallels.  

Also known as Mon Calamari, Mon Cala is an oceanic planet home to the species Mon Calamari and Quarren.

The look of the Tusken Warriors in The Book of Boba Fett series is very cool.  I'm really hoping we'll see Quinlan Vos in something soon.  He's confirmed as being alive and part of the Star Wars universe in the Kenobi series.

Who doesn't love the iconic planet Hoth?

Rey is one of my favorite characters and will be getting a new Jedi Order film sometime in the future.

These are Lightsaber Stylings Die-Cut inserts.  Nice looking cards and plenty of Jedi and Sith to choose from.  These are always fun and this is a great day to share.

BREAKDOWN:
70 – Total Cards
7 – Into the Galaxy
6 - Comic Covers Cover Art
5 – Rainbow Foil Parallel
5 - Lightsaber Stylings Die-Cut
3 – Epic Clashes
3 – Gold Foil Parallel

Random Wax: 1993 Topps Star Wars Galaxy

1993 Galaxy:  This set features Star Wars art from various artists.  This one is a take on A New Hope.  I like the unique takes on these and most aren't too crazy and look good.

Plenty of variety in the set.  The art is easy to enjoy even when the art doesn't ring a bell from the movies.  Some of the art is original and some already exists.

Concept art of the cantina from A New Hope.

I believe these are the Personality cards.  Simple but nice art of the franchise's characters.

This is the back of the Luke Skywalker card above.  I like the screen grab and write-up.  Again, simple but it works.  I like the small Darth Vader where the card number goes.  There were a total of 8 cards in this pack.

The below is the back to the very first card in this post.  They reshow the art from the front and add "Star Wars" into it in the background.  These are fun cards.  You may have to be a fan to enjoy them but I definitely fit into that category.

2024-2025 Prizm Basketball Hanger Box

24-25 Prizm:  Shai and the Oklahoma City Thunder have done nothing in the playoffs to change the thought that they are the top team in the league.

These hit the shelves some time ago and I finally bit.  Pretty good-looking cards.  I'm not a shiny card guy but I like these.  

Neither of these two have made an impression on the league just yet.

Global Reach isn't a bad looking insert.  Instant Impact gives us color which isn't necessarily a Prizm staple so we get something different.  Emergent is meh.

Here are two of my parallels - Orange Ice and Green Ice parallels.

There are 30 retired greats in this set and I probably pulled the two players I'd want from the subset.

The backs are nice.  Big photo, color, logo, minimal stats and write-up.  I'm good with them outside of the void of stats.  Here we have a retired great, veteran and rookie.

I'll end it with big Star Wars fan and PC guy Brook Lopez.  Good pull in and nice-looking cards.  This box was a win.

BREAKDOWN:
20 – Total Cards
5 – RC
3 – Orange Ice Parallels
2 – Emergent
2 – Retired Greats
2 – Green Ice Parallels
1 – Global Reach
1 – Instant Impact

Thunderbolts* (NO SPOILERS)

 

Thunderbolts*:  I really enjoyed this movie.  So did my son and grandsons.  Lots of action and fun.  The characters are likable.  It felt like a Marvel movie to me.  The characters have ties to past movies and aren't going away.  I liked many of these characters going in and like them even more now.  I definitely think it's worth watching and worth watching in theaters.