Random Wax: 2019-2020 Chronicles Box Break (Suns and Jazz)

2019-2020 Chronicles Basketball:  More cards from Ben's breaks.  Again he has great variety in what he breaks at good prices so give him a look.  This post will show off Suns and Jazz cards I got from a Chronicles break as part of a random draw.  These teams could meet in the Western Conference Finals as Phoenix is already in the Finals though Utah still needs to take down the Clips.  The Suns' success owes a lot to this guy who has played great for them this year.

This set focuses on younger players and I like the variety you get.  Plenty of good designs from across the Panini brands.

A lot of Cameron Johnson who is a solid player for the Suns averaging nine points and three boards at the power forward for Phoenix this season.

This Rudy Gobert below is the only Utah Jazz card I pulled.  A Donovan Mitchell would have been nice as well but hey I'll survive.  Some fun cards and I like Chronicles though a bigger veteran's presence would be that much better.  

BREAKDOWN:
14 – Total Cards
13 – Phoenix Suns
3 – Panini
3 – Marquee
2 - Prestige
2 – Chronicles
1 – Score
1 – Utah Jazz
1 – Threads
1 – Luminance
1 – Hometown Heroes

2021 Chronicles Football Hanger Box

 2021 Chronicles Football: Found these in the wild so I picked up a hanger and some packs.  Overall I like the base design seen here.  Pulling a Jim Kelly was exciting and a great add to my PC.  

Good pull from this box.  Couldn't find the checklist but I'm assuming the base cards where you'll find veterans isn't too big.

The rest of the set is made up of young players across different Panini designs.  Gridiron Kings is always a favorite of mine and these are nice looking cards. 

Luminance, Legacy Rookies and Panini inserts.  The Legacy Rookie is a a shiny card and looks good in hand.

That backs aren't that great and have no stat lines.  

Classics come in these hanger packs.  They are okay but not overly exciting.  

Trying to remember the right word for these types of cards but they are see through.  I think folks into those will enjoy these cards.  Overall a fun box and I enjoy the variety the different designs give you.  I would like to see the veterans across the different designs but this isn't what this set is about.  

BREAKDOWN:

30 – Total Cards

17 – RC

6 – Gridiron Kings

4 - Panini

4 – Classics

2 – Luminance

2 – Retired Greats

1 – Legacy Rookie

1 – Rated Rookie

1 – Clearly Donruss

1 – Playoff Momentum

2021 Score Football

 2021 Score Football: Found these in the wild last week so I grabbed six packs leaving more for the next guys.  I'll show the packs off over the year.  I really didn't think I'd find these on the shelves so I almost raised my hand in victory when I saw them.  We'll kick this pack off with Tom Terrific, starting quarterback of the World Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

I'm not sure about the design.  Seems like we've already seen the lines on the sides of the cards in the last year from Topps and Panini.  But overall I can't ding it too much but would like to see some more color.

Two Deion Sanders in this pack so I was stoked. Love seeing him in the GOAT Red Falcon unis.  The other card is a Dots Gold Parallel #/225.

I like the 3D insert due to Score's use of current players and retired greats. That said the overuse of gray on these make them boring to look at.

I really like the Throwback Rookie inserts.  There are only 10 players in the set so you're gonna get some top names when you pull them.  Speaking of top rookies I did get the top pick from the draft which you'll see later.

The Score Team inserts are simple but I really like them.  Next Level aren't bad but maybe not a favorite of mine.  Three of the packs I picked up had almost identical inserts.  Definitely a letdown.

The backs are simple but okay.  More stats would make it stand out but we know we'll never see that.

Another fun insert are these Collgeiate Champion cards.  They have current and former players in both their NFL and college unis which I like here.  This was a really good pack and lots of fun.  Topping off my really good pull is this Trevor Lawrence.

BREAKDOWN:

40 – Total Cards

7 – RC

4 – Next Level

3 – Red Parallel

2 – 3D

2 – Retired Greats

2 – Score Team

2 – Throwback Rookie

1 – Game Face

1 – Collegiate Champion

1 – Dots Gold Parallel #/225

1991-1992 Fleer Basketball Pack

1991-1992 Fleer Basketball:  I love picking up older packs of basketball cards but these have tripled in price over the last year.  I finally pulled the trigger on a lot of packs from the era that included this one.  This pack was actual wax and my immediate thought was it might have been tampered with when I saw it wasn't sealed.  The MJ allayed any fears I might have.  This card doesn't pay for the pack but it's a great pull. 

A couple more hall of famers to show off.  This design is always one I want to like but I really don't.  Too much of the card is wasted on the left.  If they'd made that smaller it might be a winner in my book.

This was a coach hot pack with seven of the 14 cards coming from the coaching ranks.  I won't complain considering my pull of players.  

Magic Johnson making an appearance as an extra on a few cards. It was fun to open this pack.  Busting wax really is a joy of mine and being a huge basketball fan these older packs are just too much fun.  We'll end it here with Hakeem and his greatness. 

BREAKDOWN:
14 – Total Cards
7 – Coach
1 – All-Star

Random Wax: 2020 Topps Update

2020 Topps Update: I really liked last year's update set.  While there wasn't an All-Star game during the 2020 season Topps did well by doing cards with players in past games.  A great way to see more retired greats and All-Star Game moments.  We'll kick it off with Big Pappy.

I really do like All-Star games so these are right up my alley. 

Bart was a nice #1 Prospects pull.  Larry Walker are Frank Robinson give us more retired greats to enjoy.

Fun card. 

The Rangers have Inaugural Season logos on them for their first season in their new stadium.

A nice Albert Pujols royal blue parallel and a League Leader.

Another fun pack.  All the All-Star Game and retired great goodness is a win for me.

BREAKDOWN:
34 – Total Cards
8 – All-Star Game
4 – Retired Greats
2 – RC
2 – Active Leader
2 – Turkey Red 2020
1 – 1985 Topps
1 - #1 Prospects
1 – Combo Card
1 – Royal Blue Parallel

 

2020-2021 Topps NHL Stickers (2 Packs)

2020-2021 NHL Stickers:  This was on the shelves this week so I thought why not?  The Stanley Cup Playoffs are into the second round and Boston is doing well.  This Connor McDavid is one of the Topps of the Decade stickers which are part of the massive 666 sticker checklist.  No inserts but there are a few sticker variations.

  
The base design has the flag of the player's home country which is cool.  I like the design on these.  These stickers aren't as flimsy as those done by Panini but I'm not sure it really needed but it is very noticeable. 

This Kyle Palmieri is one of the Topps Hockey Classics you'll find.  The other should look familiar as part of the Stanley Cup puzzle.  It is also a Pillar Foil sticker found one per pack.  

This Pillar Foil mascot of local guy Louie is a nice looking card.  The foil works really well.  These stickers were a fun diversion.  

BREAKDOWN:

10 - Total Cards

2 - Pillar Foil 

2 - Topps of the Decade

1 - Mascot

1 - Stanley Cup Puzzle

1 - Topps Hockey Classics

The Forgotten 500 (Book)

The Forgotten 500: This book is one I'd given my pop and finally got a chance to read myself.  He really enjoyed the book and so did I.  The story centers around airmen who partook in bombing missions in Europe and on the way back some bombers were hit by anti-aircraft or damaged by German fighters and the flyers would have to bail out.  Many ended up in Yugoslavia.  You'll learn about the amazing plan to rescue these those airmen while also getting the back story on many involved.  The country itself was divided internally by two different factions while trying to resist German occupation.  The Chetniks had fallen out of favor of the Allies but still did everything they could to protect the downed airmen even at the expense of their own.  The Chetniks were led by General Draza Mihailovich. After the war the Allies regretted which side they took as Yugoslavia became a Russian puppet state thanks to the Partisans they had backed.

 The Allied and Yugoslavia politics play a big part of this book but the individual efforts are really what stand out.  Whether it be the villagers and Chetnik fighters who risked everything to harbor and support the men they took in, the men who had to evade capture not knowing how they would get home and the efforts of individuals within the US agencies who ensured these men got home.  This is a good read and definitely a part of World War II history that many probably don't know a lot about.