Kevin Garnett to Retire

Kevin Garnett will retire after 22 seasons in the NBA.  Garnett was nothing short of a stud - a guy who in his prime would give you 20+ points per game and double digit rebounds every game while playing outstanding defense.  Much of his career was in Minnesota whom he helped elevate to a contender though the Timberwolves’ success was short lived.  Garnett was also a passionate player who was just fun to watch.    

Garnett won his only championship after being traded to Boston after the 2006-07 season.  His minutes and stats both dropped but much of that was due to the makeup of the team.  It was great he was able to get a championship under his belt.  He deserved one as much as anyone else and his emotions after the game will long be remembered.  I think Garnett was great for the league and I’ll miss that energy he brought to the game.      

 

 

 

2003-04 League MVP

9 X All-NBA

2007-08 Defensive Player of the Year

12 X All-Defensive Team

15 X All-Star (2002-03 MVP)

95-96 All-Rookie Team

 

2016 Topps Bunt Baseball Cards

Topps decided to move their digital app cards to cardboard giving us their 2016 Bunt trading cards.  Pricewise these are low end cards but still look pretty nice.  The fronts have the great photos Topps always delivers with a large team logo behind the player.  I really like how this was done.  It isn't over the top and doesn't take away too much from the background.  The Bunt logo is at the top of the card while the player name, position and team are at the bottom against a silver metallic background.  I'm liking it.  A simple yet nice looking different card.  The backs aren't that impressive with any stats they might provide in the write-up.  But I have seen worse.  Overall I do like the cards and will grab some more.  

  

2016 Topps Star Wars The Force Awakens Chrome

Was in a Target some time ago and saw the packs for the 2016 Topps Star Wars The Force Awakens Chrome Trading Cards and of course had to pick them up.  I'm not a fan of chrome cards but these I like more than any other chrome cards I've come across.  I think it helps that they don't have the all chrome/silver/shiny backgrounds that a majority of the sports cards have. 

These are just "shiny" versions of the standard The Force Awakens set.  I think they're done well enough that I like them.  I won't pick any more up but I do think they are nice looking cards.  If you like either the Star Wars cards or chrome as a whole I don't think you'll be disappointed in picking some of these up.  There were six cards in the pack and I didn't grab any of the subsets or inserts.  Not a big deal.  I still enjoyed my pull. 

 

2016 Donruss Football

Grabbed a retail blaster box of the 2016 Donruss Football.  I really liked the cards last year so I went whole hog right off the bat with this set.  There were a total of 88 cards in 11 packs.  I like the design and enjoyed my pull. 

The fronts have the Donruss logo, player's name, position, and team at the top on a team colored background.  The border around the photo is in the same color but is broken up in stripes on the sides in appropriate team colors.  The picture takes up the rest of the front with the exception of the team logo in the bottom right of the photo.  Small touch but I like it.

I really like the backs which are done in team colors.  A football surrounds the card number and the team logo is done in black and white.  There is a player write-up as well as the 2015 and career stats for the player as well as additional player information (birthday, height, weight, college).  I love the retro feel of the back of these cards.  The first time in a long while I've liked the back of a card this much. 

As for the pull I'm very happy.  I only grabbed three Falcons and two Bills players but there were plenty of stars in this box so I can't complain.  I love the retired players with the Steve Grogan and Archie Manning cards being the highlight for me.  The Gridiron Kings cards are one of my favorites.  I pulled DeMarco Murray which didn't thrill me any but it is still a nice card. I also grabbed a Megan Fox "Fans of the Game" card but was really hoping for a Daisy Ridley card but it wasn't to be. I like the "Production Line" card of Cam Newton as it harkens back to the old League Leaders cards.  The one relic card was a Jonathan Williams Rookie Phenom Jersey Relic card.  Not the greatest pull but he is a Bill so I'm good.  The other subsets and inserts were ok but didn't stand out.  There were still plenty of the inserts I didn't get but would love to.  They did a great job on this set - I would have enjoyed grabbing some of the others.  Check out the expansive checklist.  Bottom line is I like this set quite a bit and will definitely grab more. 

 

BREAKDOWN:

88 - Total Cards

84 - Base Cards (1 - Press Proof, 7 - Rated Rookie <1 Press Proof>, 5 - RC, 5 - Retired players)

1 - Rookie Phenom Jersey Relic

1 - Gridiron King

1 - Production Line

1 - Fans of the Game

 

 





He Crashed Me So I Crashed Him Back by Mark Bechtel Book Review

I wanted to pick up some NASCAR books for my pop's birthday a few years back and this book kept coming up as I researched the NASCAR books out there.  He really enjoyed it and gave it to me to read. My reading schedule hasn't been great but once I got started it was a book I didn't want to put down.  Mark Bechtel does a great job of describing the events of the 1979 Daytona race and how it catapulted the sport into the public's consciousness. But this book is so much more than that one day.  It provides so much insight into the beginnings of NASCAR as well as the great drivers early on and through the seventies. It also details the 1979 season itself which saw a great race for the championship.  Bechtel lays it all out in an easy-to-read way that provides an abundance of information with humor and insight.  If you at all like NASCAR you must read this book.  You won't be disappointed.   

2016 Georgia Bulldogs Preview

Tailback Nick Chubb

After a 10-3 season and a win over Penn State in the Taxslayer bowl, coach Mark Richt was let go even though he won 74% of his games as the Georgia Bulldogs coach (15 seasons).  He was very good but it wasn't good enough.  He missed being ranked in the top 25 three out of the last six seasons though he did take them to a bowl game each year he coached the team.  That is the pressure on an Georgia Bulldogs coach.  Enter Kirby Smart who is tasked with getting the passing offense back on track and getting them past very good.  Smart hasn't named a starting QB yet so it is hard to guess where that aspect of the offense goes.  The running game will have star back Nick Chubb returning after being injured last season and will also have Sony Michel who led the team in rushing last year with over 1,100 yards.  I think if they can get the quarterback going, combined with their good running attack, the offense will be in good shape.

New head coach Kirby Smart

The defense returns only four starters but they are all from the defensive backfield.  That is a good thing in college ball where there are pass happy teams left and right.  Georgia's passing offense was #1 in the country last year.  Still they'll see plenty of rushing offenses in the SEC and that could be an issue.  Supposedly the front seven has plenty of talent that could show itself this year.  That seems like a tall order but if they do play well watch out. 

With a decent quarterback there is no reason the Bulldogs can't win 11 games.  That is still to be seen and with new coaches combined with a new signal caller it is hard to tell what you are going to get.  Their September 3 opener at home versus North Carolina should be a decent test or at least show us where they are at to begin the season.  I think their rush game could be excellent with Chubb and Michel so I've got hopes for another 10, maybe even 11 win season   

Michigan Wolverines 2016 Preview

All-American Jabrill Peppers

The Michigan Wolverines are coming off a very good 10-3 season which saw them win the Citrus Bowl 41-7 over Florida.  With quarterback Jake Rudock gone that seems to leave Wilton Speight and John O'Koren, who have been battling for the job during camp, as the favorites.  Jim Harbaugh says he knows who his starter is but not when he'll tell everyone.  Even with that up in the air the offense returns eight starters which should help whoever wins the job. The running game could use a pep finishing 84th in the country.  Again with all the starters back I'm hoping for the offense to improve but that is never a given when you have an unknown at quarterback.  Jake Butt returns at tight end and he will give the QB winner a steady option along with the rest of the talented receiving corps. 

All-American Tight End Jake Butt

The defense isn't quite as lucky but does have five returning starters to include all-around stud Jabrill Peppers.  Michigan also hired top defensive coordinator Don Brown away from Boston College.  He'll have his work cut out for him but I don't think it is stretch to say the defense could be almost as good as last year's.  I'm not sure this team can win more than the ten they got last year but they should be able to match it.  If it wasn't for the questions at quarterback and the turnover on defense it'd be a different story.  They've helped themselves by scheduling the first five games, and eight of 12 overall, at home.  With some luck they can pick up 11 wins and maybe, just maybe beat Ohio State.  That may be wishful thinking but beating the Buckeyes is what all Michigan fans wish for.