Worthless Cardboard

New TTMs

2010-08-17T12:14:00.001-04:00

Received two great autos today. The first is a prospect with the Rays organization playing for the Charlotte Stone Crabs A ball team. The Stone Crabs play down in Port Charlotte which is the next town over from where I grew up.

Jake Jefferies, Catcher. Jefferies was kind enough to personalize the card to me and was a quick return. I wish him the best and hope to see him at the Trop one day.

The next one I got was pretty exciting since it was a Falcon from back in the day.

Mick Luckhurst kicked for the Falcons from 1981 - 1987. Luckhurst was born in England and I am assuming one of the first foreign born players in the NFL. Most memorable was Luckhurst performing Mark Gastineau's sack dance to taunt him after kicking a game winning field goal against the Giants.

Luckhurst was kind enough to answer a few questions for me:

I asked Luckhurst what Gastineau's response was after he did the sack dance....

Not Amused! I think it ended his career..... Just Joking!

I asked Luckhurst if he remembered his first kick in the NFL....

Hall of Fame Game 20 some yards, felt like 120!! Longest kick of my life!

I asked Luckhurst if he had any advice for young football fans...

Respect and love the game, be good sports and enjoy it!

Great advice from a great player.

Special thanks to both Luckhurst and Jefferies.

College Football Predictions

2010-08-16T14:15:00.000-04:00

My predictions for the upcoming football season:

ACC: Florida State
Big 12: Oklahoma
Big East: West Virginia (but seriously does anyone watch big east football anymore?)
Big Ten: Ohio State
C USA: UCF
MAC: Central Michigan
Mountain West: Utah
PAC 10: Oregon
SEC: Alabama
Sun Belt: FAU
WAC: Boise State (like there is any other competition)

National Championship
Alabama over Oklahoma

And the Heisman goes to......

Mark Ingram

as much as I would like to see Christian Ponder win the heisman this year. Ingram had a monster year last year and is only a junior this year. He should be faster and stronger. Noone could stop him last year and I don't see much else changing.

Oh and you can bet Ponder will have a much better NFL career than Tim Teblow

New TTMs

2010-08-08T14:44:00.000-04:00

It has been awhile since I updated on here. My non internet life has been ridiculously busy. Here are some TTMs that managed to snake their way through the mail system.

College football is 51 days away

2010-07-15T01:29:00.000-04:00

CP7 for Heisman

He's got my vote and the season hasn't even started.

This is why I don't break Ginter

2010-07-06T18:19:00.000-04:00

While I do own a few A&G cards and like the set, its the non sports stuff that drives me crazy. I have never bought a pack or box of this in my life and don't plan on doing so in the near future.

http://cgi.ebay.com/2010-TOPPS-ALLEN-GINTER-CLMJR4-JACK-AND-BEANSTALK-RELIC-/270601219188?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_Baseball&hash=item3f0116ec74#ht_662wt_911

so....the odds are great but I just don't see much demand. Scarcity does not create value.

Football Season Approaches

2010-07-06T12:38:00.001-04:00

So I got a lot of great comments/ideas from my team collecting dilemma and realize for the most part I have an iron fist when it comes to team collecting. I may have to reconsider my position on some of the rookie cards though, it's not their fault they don't have NFL uniforms yet.

So the real reason for this post is that Football season is approaching which means of course that Fantasy Football season is approaching. If any of you fellow reader/blogger/collectors out there are interested in joining a Fantasy Football league with like minded individuals leave a comment here with an email address or link. I'm thinking 10 or so teams would work well. Also if you have a preference for NFL.com or Yahoo as those seem to be the most popular host sites.

Prizes for the top 3 could come from donations for everyone (say a pack of cards from each). I will throw in a blaster box of football cards for the victor at the end of the season.

Team Collecting Dilemma

2010-07-02T12:47:00.000-04:00

Okay so a question for the collectors out there who collect teams. Currently I have two team collections going. A pretty sizable Falcons collection and a growing Rays collection. In these I have them currently stored in 3000 count boxes in order by player name. All of the numbered, game used, and auto cards are in top loaders. All other base/parallel/inserts are in soft sleeves. It looks something like this

About a year ago I went through and pulled out all my duplicates. I had over 1,000 duplicates which I proceeded to sell for enough money to buy me half a pack of gum, or so it seemed. I went though recently and pulled all my duplicates that I didn't get the first time around or had acquired over the past few months, which only came out to about 100 or so.

In doing so I came across a dilemma. What do I consider a "team card"? Is it a player in a Falcons jersey? A player with a Falcons logo? For example....

I think one of the big problems that football collectors run into is SAGE cards. They are great for my Seminoles collection but not so great for my Falcons collection. Take this Roddy White

Roddy is in his college UAB uniform. No mention of the Falcons anywhere since this card was produced after he was drafted. But Roddy was drafted first round by the Falcons and has never played anywhere else. Sadly, for SAGE and Rowdy Roddy White he didn't make the cut and I ruled this not a Falcons card. pretty easy call but they get harder.

Here we have Curtis Lofton, in his college uniform, on an Upper Deck (then licensed) NFL product. It says Atlanta Falcons on the card and the back shows the Falcons logo. This one I was on the fence on. On one hand it says Falcons and no other NFL team is there. On the other hand there is no uniform. I went ahead and put down the iron fist and said that this card did not make the cut. Adding to that it was from the Rookie Exclusives where no card has an NFL uniform. There must be standards.

This Doug Johnson card shows him in Falcons uniform with a Falcons logo. It also has a Jags logo and says Transactions. Johnson was probably the worst qb in Falcons history when he stepped in for the injured Mike Vick. Adding to that he was a Gaytor grad and generally lacked any qb skill. Interesting thing about this card is that Johnson never signed with or played a down of football for Jacksonville. He was actually signed by Tennessee that year. Doug for obvious reasons did not make the cut.

Next we have Joe Horn. I hate Joe Horn. I hate that he played for the Saints, that he got so much praise and recognition for having one 1,000 yard receiving season. Somehow talking about yourself in the third person and having 1 season with 1,000 yards makes you one of the elite WRs in the game???? Anyways the Falcons signed him for some unknown reason since he did absolutely nothing for us during his season in Atlanta. But due to the powers that be if he has a Falcons card I will collect it. In this card Joe has a Saints uniform but Falcon logo. On the side it even states "signed by the Falcons on 3/8/07". I went with not a Falcons card for this one.

On this one Joe tried to step it up a notch and throw in a GU swatch. I don't understand why card companies take a gu swatch from a player when he played for another team and throw his current teams logo on it. This falls under the same rule as the previous and will not be going in the Falcons collection. I kind of feel bad about it though because I got it as a thoughtful extra in a team trade. I will probably be giving it away in a contest when I get back.

Here is Alge Crumpler, one of my favorite Falcons. The card has him in a Falcons uniform, but the team on the front says Tennessee Titans since he was signed by the Titans that year. The back of the card has a Titans logo. This one was kind of tough because you can barely see the Titans team name on the front. I had to rule against Alge in this one.

.

So basically for me I decided to go with the rules of....must be in Falcons Uniform with a Falcons team name/logo. This seriously helped pair down my collection even further. All was good until I ran across this...

Pro Bowl Uniform...OK

Falcons Jacket....OK, I guess..What is with the mask and books? I've seen your commentary on NFL Network...Lincoln you are not fooling anyone.

Falcons shiny jacket....yeah we are going to rule OK on this one too. I can't say no to those eyes...

Falcons golf shirt. Well seeing as coaches have no official uniform we will allow this one in as well.

So now my modified rules are

Falcons logo/name and one of the following Falcons Uniform, Jacket, Track Suit, T-Shirt. Golf Shirt, or other team issued apparel.

Now I have to figure out what to do with Minor League cards for baseball.

So I'm curious as to what you team collectors out there do with these situations. Also if there are any fellow Falcons collectors out there looking for some Falcons to add to their collection let me know.

Scanners, More Autos, and a real 1/1

2010-07-02T11:56:00.000-04:00

Well part of the reason that I have been light on the scans lately is that the scanner has been on the fritz. I have one of those printer/copier/scanners that has been going strong since college and all of a sudden my computer won't recognize the printer. I think its a problem with the computer and not the printer since I just realized it works fine on the wife's netbook.

So alot has been happening that I have been too ~~busy~~ lazy to post. Then when I did have the time the scanner and computer got into a dispute and it seems as if the computer is no longer speaking to the printer/scanner. I tried reinstalling drivers and everything but it just doesn't seem like they want to work it out.

First off this really deserved more than just a photo but I haven't even begun to rip into the box to really appreciate the vast diversity of cards in here. Here is a photo of the gift from Troll.

An 800 ct box packed with nothing but Rays, currently the most frustrating team in baseball.

Also during this time I received 2 TTM Autos. I have been going through a real dry spell on returns but then again I haven't been sending out as many as I was earlier this year. Still I got these back pretty quickly..

Joel Williams, former Falcons RB. The first undrafted RB in the NFL to rush for 1,000 yards. He would have had a great career if the Falcons didn't switch to the run and shoot the next year and abandon the running game for about 3 seasons. Williams is now the running back coach for Wisconsin.

Jeremy Williams was signed by the Chargers. I have always had great success with new Chargers WRs. Vincent Jackson sent back a few cards signed when he first started and Tim Dwight was a fantastic signer when he was with them. Williams sent back this 2010 Sage card and personalized it as well.

And last but not least, I went to the Rays game and got an awesome Jason Bartlett bobblehead. While walking around the Trop I spotted a Topps make your own baseball card booth. Thats is where I scored this awesome 1/1. I don't think I'll be parting with it anytime soon, in about 16 years it may be worth something.

That would be my oldest son. When they asked what position he played, naturally I told them he was a "short" stop. apparently he likes to take pictures left handed. We had a great time even though the Rays lost.

Goin back to Cali

2010-06-28T10:37:00.000-04:00

So I'll be going on my annual "vacation" back to California for the month. Is it a vacation if your visiting family? I think not but we will call it that to make me feel better. Anyways it looks like my Rays could sure lose a vacation.

They are at a critical junction in the season. They will either implode as a team and continue to provide a shitty offense to decent pitching or vice versa....or they will turn it around and start playing baseball they way they were the first two months of the season.

I will be following the other blogs but probably not posting as much over the next month. Anyone know of any good card shops in San Jose??

I still believe

2010-06-25T04:05:00.001-04:00

Well a few things to get in order that I have been putting on the back burner.

1. I got an awesomely generous lot from Troll over at Collective Troll. Troll included an 800 count box of nothing but Tampa Bay Rays for me. As I stated before starting my Rays collection from scratch and vowing not to purchase any lots from ebay has meant growing my collection through trades, pack breaks, and some donations. Well Troll went above an beyond and quite literally increased my collection by a factor of 8. Octupled??? is that even a word? Anyways thanks Troll for the generosity I am still sorting and cataloging, although I ran out of sleeves to put the cards in so that has grinded to a halt until I make it to the local card shop.

2. I won a contest over at Cam's blog Collectable Cards. Cam also included a couple of Rays to help out the cause. I now own 1 basketball card, a Robert Swift Press Pass Auto....anyone interested in trading for it??

3. Football season is beginning and with that a new round of millionaires complaining about not having enough money. The most ridiculous being Albert Haynesworth who wishes to stomp on the face (pun intended) of his contract because he doesn't want to play nose tackle. Albert who already took his signing bonus and according to all official reports has not even been told he will be the nose tackle in the new defense.

4. The most depressing of all is the Rays are out of first. Sonnanstine seems to have been worked into the rotation and the pitching has been pretty decent but all of a sudden the bats went quiet and the Rays are leaving a ton of men on base. It's pretty frustrating seeing the Rays stumble and the Yankees and Red Sox catch up so quickly. I forsee the best 3 teams in baseball at the end of the year being in the AL East and while I still believe the Rays can do it. Don't be surprised if they are on the outside looking in when its all said and done. Realignment anyone.......

5. And for an update on everything else going on, Stephen Strasburgs mania has begun, Beckett Grading is getting bashed by everyone, Tim Tebow and the Yankees still suck.

I will be going on vacation in the next week for about 3 weeks so don't expect to see much of me around here.

Go Rays.

Ebay Hilarity

2010-06-18T23:02:00.000-04:00

Stumbled across this ebay auction. Gotta love some peoples creativity.

Wanna go Halfsies??

Going to the Trop

2010-06-13T09:25:00.002-04:00

Going to see my Rays try to stay afloat on top of the AL East. The Yankees just don't seem to be losing anymore and the Rays have been stumbling forward the last month. Also its Jason Bartlett Bobblehead Day.

Pack Bust

2010-06-12T21:31:00.002-04:00

New post over at A Pack to be Named Later and yes it is for trade.

New Rays Additions

2010-06-04T23:59:00.000-04:00

With baseball season in full swing and the Rays on top of the AL East I notice this blog is becoming very much a Rays blog. I'm sure this will change when football season is upon us but for now we should bask in all the glory that is Tampa Bay.

I got an awesome Rays lot from Ed over at SCF. About 50 card total of which about 40 of them I needed for the budding Rays collection. Here is a small sample

Ben Zobrist has been one of my favorites since he made the All Star team last year. Any guy that can play any position on the field and do so at an All Star level is pretty impressive in my book. Also my first black border 2010 Topps. Anyone know what the insertion rates are on these? They aren't serial numbered so I'm assuming they aren't uncommon but I have opened about a dozen or so packs of Topps and haven't gotten one yet.

Any Aki card is a good card. I know he's going through some tough times right now with the injury, benching, high expectations, and of course playing for the Pirates doesn't help. I'm sure he will pull through and return to his form.

A couple Bowman minis to boot. They are pretty cool in concept but they kind of beg the question....what do you do with them? they don't really fit too securely in binder pages or sleeves. I assume that toploaders would be the same situation and if you put them into a box with regular size cards they get lost in the shuffle.

This card is great because it has the original Rays uniform. I'm not sure what the length of time must pass before something like a uniform/logo is considered a "throwback" or even "nostalgic" but if your a Rays fan this is about as good as its going to get. I moved to Florida the year the Rays started playing and I had that hat and I wore it with pride in all its rainbow colored glory.

I know its hard to read but that is Josh Hamilton on the left, presumably before the drug binge and subsequent recovery. I had forgotten that he was even a Devil Ray. I'll probably never forget his home run derby performance though, what a show he put it on.

And to think all I had to send in return was some Yankees cards. Thanks Ed for a great trade.

New Player Collection

2010-06-04T17:44:00.000-04:00

So I had been looking for a player collectiong to start in baseball since starting to collect again. As a kid I collected Roger Clemens but he turned out to be kind of a douchebag in the grand scheme of things.I don't know if it was the steroids, joining the Yankees, or just being a general jerk to fans that turned me off as an adult. It was probably a combination of all three. In my parameters for a player collection in baseball I considered a few things, mainly do I like the player and the person? Does he play or played for the Rays? and is there a connection and reason to continue to collect and support him if/when he leaves the Rays. Such is the dilemma, I love Carl Crawford and Carl Pena but with the Rays budget conscious front office I don't expect either of them to remain a Ray after this season. In fact it was made pretty clear if the Rays weren't in the hunt at the All Star Break they would be dealt for prospects.

So...fueled by an awesome TTM autograph return I have decided I will be collecting Kyeong Kang.

A few reasons why I chose Kang. Kang currently plays for the Port Charlotte Stone Crabs in the Rays organization which is right near where I lived and went to high school meaning I will be making a few trips down there. Kang is Korean born and the first player from South Korea to be drafted out of high school. He moved to the US and attended high school in Georgia. My other favorite player (and one that I never collected as it was during the break in collecting) was Chan Ho Park (the first Korean born player to play).

Kang is one of the Rays top hitting prospects currently but with his young age it may be a few years before he makes it to the Trop.

Here is an article on Kang posted on the Stone Crabs website

There aren't many cards out of Kang but if you have any send a message my way.

Back to the Garnet and Gold

2010-06-01T22:32:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I posted about the Seminoles caving to the whims of Nike and wearing some pansy looking white helmets for the Oklahoma game. I guess minds have since changed. This was posted by Andrew Carter in the Orlando Sentinel

"Oh, the college football offseason: Filled with endless anticipation of fall Saturdays, discussions about why this season will be better than last and, in the case of the Florida State faithful, talk about … helmets?

Indeed. Thanks to some pictures that found their way onto the Internet after a potential recruit's visit to Tallahassee, speculation roared on message boards and blogs that Florida State would be wearing white — and not gold — helmets at some point this season. In some forms, the rumor even came with a date on which the helmets would be worn: Sept. 11 when Florida State travels to Oklahoma.

But, alas. The purists can calm down. Talk of Florida State wearing a white helmet was just that. Football team spokesman Bob Thomas said earlier this week that the Seminoles will not, in fact, be wearing a white helmet. Nor was there ever any plan in place to do so.

The speculation began when a potential recruit photographed a white FSU helmet — with a garnet spear — that was on a mannequin in the Seminoles' locker room. Then the picture hit the Web, which created the buzz."

The last thing I wanted was for FSU to become the Oregon of the south.

1991 Collegiate Collection Florida State University

2010-05-27T22:56:00.001-04:00

Posted at A Pack to be Named Later

Get your tomahawk chop started....today I got a box..yes an entire box of 1991 Collegiate Collection FSU Seminoles 1st Edition (was there a 2nd edition?). 8 cards per pack 36 packs per box. I'm hoping to complete the set for my Noles collection.

Here is the first dadgum' pack for your enjoyment.

The obligatory wrapper shot

#191 Gene McDowell

#125 Bill Cappleman

#190 Duane Carrell

Its not a Seminole set if it ain't got Bobby!

#70 Bobby Bowden

#171 James Harris

#51 Ronald Lewis (Interesting his was the only card in the pack that listed stats on the back, everything else was a short bio)

#116 Gary Schull (My first basketball card since 1994)

#71 David Palmer

I wish I could tell you how close I am going to get with this box but unfortunately there is nothing of a check list or anything indicating how many dadgum cards are in this set.

Thanks for reading.

Go Noles!

Unscrupulous Ebayers Make Rocco Angry

2010-05-27T22:32:00.000-04:00

I have been on ebay since about 1999 and have never had an issue with a buyer. Ive had one issue with a seller who plain white enveloped me and a card got severely bent but he issued me a quick refund and that was the end of it. Until now.....

So in a nutshell I sold this exact card about 2 weeks ago

The buyer received the card, then after I left positive feedback for a quick payment sends me a threatening message telling me that the card was damaged there were markings and lines on it and that it now has no value. I'm told they will be leaving negative feedback and that it will affect my rating as a seller. In addition to all this the buyer accuses me of posting a photo of a different card and sending them a damaged card...At no time do they say they want to work things out or come to some sort of a resolution.

So....me being the nice guy that I am I politely message them back telling them that the card was listed as Nr Mt- Mt condition and was the same card scanned and sent in the condition seen. I shipped securely and was unaware of any damage and asked if they wanted to work something out. I also stated that I did not appreciate the threats or accusatory tone of the message although in a very nice and professional manner. I also ask them to described the damage (to determine if it was a manufacturer defect)

The buyer responds telling me there are markings all over and a line going straight through the "s" in the autograph. Now I look at the scan real closely and see a faint line going vertically through the "s" in the sticker. Now I know they are exaggerating the "damage" to the card. So anyways I go and work a 15 hour shift, go to sleep, work another 15 hour shift and log on to reply to the message when I see that the buyer has opened a case on me stating that I am refusing to answer their messages. At this point we are looking at about 30 hours later.

Anyways to make a long story short, I told the buyer that I thought they were either exaggerating the damage in order to get a refund for a card they may have paid too much for. I let ebay handle the dispute and within about an hour they side with the buyer! Even though I have scans, delivery confirmation, and the buyers negative messages. Let alone the only reason that we were even trying to resolve it is because I messaged the buyer.

Luckily ebay decided that $16 wasn't worth the hassle so they tell me even though they side with the buyer they find no fault on my part so I will not be charged. So basically buyer gets a near mint card and their money back. Did I mention the buyer would not even provide a scan of the "damaged" card?

Ebay needs to grow a backbone and some common sense. More of a reason I will be giving more of my business to COMC

By the way I will be in the wilderness camping for the next few days celebrating Memorial Day and my birthday. See you when I get back.

Big D is having a contest

2010-05-19T16:26:00.001-04:00

Note: I am only advertising this because it increases my chance of winning one of Big D's custom cards. Because in all honesty me advertising this may cause a flood of people to enter thereby reducing my chances to win. Its a catch 22 but I really want one of these custom cards in hand. So.....here is the link but don't comment because I want to win. =)

BIG D's Contest

WTF?!? Someone at Topps Quality Control needs to be fired!

2010-05-18T13:07:00.000-04:00

Finally decided to have my massive inventory at COMC shipped to me this week. The cards are even better in person. I picked up about 60 FSU cards and a few Warrick Dunn Game Used cards for around $60 total. Within the FSU cards were plenty of Game Used and Autos I needed.

Unfortunately someone over at Topps Debut was either trying to play a cruel joke on me or needs to be fired...Here is what I am talking about...

What an insult when I turned this card over. Anyother schools would not be bad but don't associate this card with the Gaytors. Huge Topps FAIL.

More Proset Success

2010-05-14T14:55:00.000-04:00

As I stated earlier I bought an entire box of pristine vintage 1990 Pro Set. I have been sending out requests as I acquire the necessary postage. Today my mailbox was filled with joy.

Jack Pardee was an outstanding coach that helped create and master the Run and Shoot offense. I remember when Andre Ware was at Houston tearing up the record books. He was drafted by the Lions and I jumped all over the Lion bandwagon. Unfortunately the offense didn't work too well in the NFL and neither did its qbs. Just ask Jerry Glanville and his "Red Gun Offense". Anyways Coach Pardee answered a few questions for me in his letter back.

I asked if there was one or two players that he considered "the best" he ever coached. Coach Pardee provided a player for each stop on his coaching tour

"Deacon Jones - Rams"
"Joe Theismann - Redskins"
"Andre Ware - Houston"
"Jim Kelly - Gamblers"
"Warren Moon and Walter Payton"

Wow a pretty exclusive list of players he coached there. Thanks coach!

Dennis Claridge was a member of the Falcons very first roster. Claridge played quarterback behind some guy named Bart Starr. Claridge was a member of the 1965 World Champion Packers and then came to Atlanta and backed up Randy Johnson as quarterback for 1 season. Claridge also wrote me back but kept his answers pretty short. I get the feeling he is a bit bitter about his time in Atlanta and the NFL.

I asked Claridge what was his most memorable moment being a member of the Atlanta Falcons inaugural season.

He replied, "Not to many memorable moments"
...ouch nothing? really?!?

I asked, What were your thoughts on leaving such a successful team (Packers) for an expansion team?
"I was hoping to play more"

Claridge in fact did not get the playing time he was looking for. In 1965 as a Packer he had 1 pass attempt with 1 completion for 13 yards. In Atlanta Claridge finished the 1966 season going 41 for 71 with 471 yards passing and threw 2 tds and 2 interceptions. Claridge did not play another season after that.

Rob Moore did not write back but was kind enough to sign my card. Moore is now a receivers coach for Syracuse.

Rich Camarillo also did not write back but did sign both cards I included and personalized them to me.

More TTM Success!

2010-05-13T16:29:00.000-04:00

Today brought me a nice Falcons lot from a SCF trader that included some nice Matt Ryan and "Burner" Turner cards I needed. And it also brought me a 2' fer 2'fer Thursday.

Two TTM Autos with Two cards each.

Game Used Innovations

2010-05-13T01:17:00.000-04:00

Remember when Game Used cards first started coming out?? I don't I wasn't collecting at the time but from what I have gathered Press Pass inserted race used tires in 1996 which in turn gave the other companies ideas to put jerseys into cards. The first GU cards were ridiculously hard to pull and still carry pretty high book values.

Nowadays game used cards seem to take a backseat just like another insert set to most collectors. An abundance of ridiculous manufactured patches like this.....

have essentially caused apathy and indifference to the game used card. Maybe worse than the manu patch cards may be the "event worn" relics. I have read reports of rookies at the rookie premiere tossing 30 footballs to an intern so that they can be certified as "event worn" then going to another station and puttin on and taking off 10 jerseys so that they can be certified as "event worn". That doesn't bring me any closer to the game like game used cards should be.

Anyways I guess at some point the manufacturers started to try to innovate the game used genre. I have game used football, shoes, and even face masks cards. My favorite "innovation" is probably this card though.

Sorry the scanner doesn't like the shiny foilboardness of this card. But that folks, is a game used piece of turn. it feels exactly like the cheap brady bunch astro turf stuff you can buy at your local Lowes too. I have an encased piece of turf from the Georgia Dome before they installed the sport turf field and i can tell you it looks and feels nothing like this. I'm not sure what stadium they pulled this from either because the Bucs have always played on natural grass. My guess would be from the Georgia Dome since the Bucs play the Falcons twice a year or maybe the Vikings field since the Bucs played them frequently before realignment. Either way it is an interesting "innovation" in the game used genre.

Comment and let me know if you have any other strange/interesting game used cards.

Greatest NFL Pipeline?

2010-05-11T11:07:00.000-04:00

So ESPN is trying to stir something up by making a bracket to determine the greatest NFL pipeline from 1979-2009. As with most ESPN run polls/contests the team with the largest ESPN watching fan base will more than likely win. Either way Florida State plays the Gaytors in the first match up and its not even a fair fight. Outside of Emmitt "your beard is weird" Smith here is who ESPN determines are the greatest Gaytor NFL players

1. Emmit "Your Beard is Weird" Smith

2. Lomas Brown
3. Chris Collinsworth
4. Wilber Marshall
5. Neal Anderson

So outside of Emmitt they have an offensive lineman, a wide receiver selected to 3 pro bowls, a linebacker who happened to play for a a good team, and a running back who only went over 1,000 yards 3 times in his career.

I wonder why they didn't pick from that long line of Gaytor quarterbacks that went on to have success in the NFL......oh wait there are none. You could start a biggest NFL bust school and the Gaytors would be number 1.

By the way here are FSU's top 5 (I don't necessarily agree with them)

1. Derrick Brooks
2. Deion Sanders
3. Walter Jones
4. Rohn Stark
5. LeRoy Butler

Pretty impressive list, quite possibly the greatest modern day linebacker, corner back, punter, and offensive lineman of all time in that list there. I think Warrick Dunn deserves some mention on this list but its hard to fault Leroy Butler in #5.

Anyways vote for FSU here.

TTM Success

2010-05-10T13:22:00.000-04:00

Received this today.

I sent him two cards and he kept one. This was a very quick return..4 days maybe? Kittner, who had an outstanding college career at Illinois was drafted by the Falcons in the 5th round in 2002. He was drafted to provide a backup to Mike "Purina One" Vick at the time. With former Gaytor qb Doug Johnson as the backup the Falcons were no doubt concerned that Vick would get injured (which he did) running the ball so often. Kittner stayed only 3 years and was released. He bounced around with 5 more teams and ended up being the World Bowl MVP in the now defunct NFL Europe. Personally I thought this guy deserved a shot with another team but ultimately he never got it. He is now a succesful businessman with a large real estate company in Chicago.

I wanted to send a Falcons uni card but I didn't have any duplicates and I couldn't bear to part with one of my high dollar Kurt Kittner base cards in the off chance that they might not return and then he made a triumphant return to the NFL thus skyrocketing the value of my collection. So I sent a shitty Press Pass card. Enjoy.

Blogs I Follow

2010-05-09T11:36:00.000-04:00

Another blog spotlight this week...

Indians Cards...Always, Or maybe Tribe Cards, Or Maybe Indians Baseball Cards and Random Wax..

Well whatever you want to call it Dave runs a Cleveland Indian focused (mainly) blog over at Tribecards.net. And if you hurry up he is giving away Strat-O-Matic games in a contest. I have never seen one of these and not sure how they actually work but I entered the contest with the Dodgers as my time because someone had taken my other choices. We'll see if Manny can be Manny and win me one of these.

Every so often I go looking for oddball singles in trades/shops for different people and a few weeks ago I sent off a package to Dave who was more than happy to get them.

Dave loves Indians cards so much he likes to sing about them

Now if only I could get on that blog roll.....hint hint

Heres to you Cleveland Fans!

Contest Results

2010-05-08T14:56:00.000-04:00

A few things I learned after hosting my first contest...

People visiting from the forums are quick to post early and seem to enjoy the end numbers 1,150

Fellow bloggers are fashionably late waiting until the final hours to cast their entries (strategy? or maybe just indifferent)

Most people went low. The winner was off by 40.

Many people like to read and few people like to comment. I recognized this with myself since I probably read about 20 - 30 blogs at a time so I have begun to comment more when I have something to add and also to let the other bloggers know that people are reading, hence more posts.

Well anyways here is what you are really here for:

140/150

Winner is OrlandoSCards

Ken I will have a package of Marlin Cards and a few Dontrelles your way on Monday.

Also make sure you check out my awesome pack break on A Pack To Be Named Later.

Last day for Contest

2010-05-07T12:26:00.002-04:00

Reminder Guess the Serial # contest ends tonight at midnight EST. Only 4 contestants thus far. I know there are more of you out there.

Contest is here

Bold Predictions

2010-05-05T22:40:00.000-04:00

Call me a "homer" but here are my early season predictions, which surprisingly are the same as my pre season predictions

World Series

Rays vs. Giants

Rays in 6

People laughed at me in 2008 when I said the Rays would be there. Although this year they are not sneaking up on anyone. The Giants pitching will carry them to the top of a weak NL West but ultimately they will not be able to hold off the Rays in the World Series.

More free Autos

2010-05-05T10:57:00.000-04:00

Well technically this cost me two stamps but you get the idea.

So in my continuing quest to amass as many Falcons autographs TTM as possible I decided to send out to some of the 80's players. Kickers for me have always been awesome signers and Tim Mazzetti certainly did not disappoint. Mr. Mazzetti returned my card in about 9 days and also provided some thoughtful insight to a few questions I asked him in my letter.

Its signed in pen but more visible in person than the scan shows.

I asked Mazzetti if he remembered his first field goal attempt in 1978.

"Absolutely!!! It was blocked (bad snap), but I thought that was the end of my job with Atlanta - was against the 49ers In San Fan, and I came back and win the game on a 30 yarder as time expired!"

I guess his job was a bit safer than he thought.

I asked Mazzetti if there was one kick that stands out amongst all others in his mind.

"Probably the kick against the Redskins in 1978 - last game of the season @ Fulton County Stadium, last play of the game adn it put us in the playoffs for the first time in Falcons History! Pretty amazing - crowd emptied into the field!"

I always love when athletes take the time to personally answer questions. In fact, I would prefer the answers over the autographs if I had to choose. The Falcons auto collection is steadily growing.

Guess the Number Contest, Free Cards!!!

2010-05-02T22:56:00.000-04:00

I'm running a short contest. I pulled this card out of a recent pack and thought it might be fun to post up a contest for not only the card but also a small lot of other cards to go with it. So first off here is the card

2006 Flair Suite Level Legacy Brett Myers (/150)

So here are the rules/guidelines.

-Leave a comment in the post with your guess for the number and your favorite team/players.
-Closest to the actual number without going over (Price is Right Rules) wins this card as well as a small lot of their favorite team/players. Contest will end promptly on Friday May 7th at midnight.
-Limit 1 vote per person.

Hopefully we will get some good turnout as I would like to do more as my trade away collection grows bigger.

Another Rays Success

2010-05-01T18:12:00.000-04:00

Opened my mailbox today to find another awesome request waiting. As a big supporter of Korean athletes I was very happy to get 2 signed cards back from Kyeong Kang. Kang is a young prospect playing for the Stone Crabs in the Rays organization. I'm hoping to see him at the Trop one day. If I ever start a player collection in baseball he would be a good candidate being both Korean and a Ray. We'll see if he is able to work his way up before being traded off. As a side note Kang is the first Korean born player drafted out of high school. Kang moved to the USA and graduated from the same high school as Jeff Francoeur.

Here they are and 1 is for trade if your interested. Your choice.

Mailday

2010-04-30T11:40:00.000-04:00

Two autos in the mail today.

I'm very excited about this one. I just started to send off my Rays duplicates to players for TTM purposes and here is my first success.

Andy Sonnanstine

Very solid pitcher for the Rays.

And I received this through a trade with Cardsfan4ever on Sports Card Forum. I traded a 1992 Topps Matt Williams Auto

Jeff Reardon sporting the full beard and all. He reminds me of someone...hmm.......

Yep there it is. What a "Wolverine" like beard and hairstyle. Just throw a Twins cap on Wolverine and you got Jeff Reardon.

By the way I have more TTM duplicates I'm willing to part with for ones I don't have. Contact me.

Blogs I Follow: White Sox Cards

2010-04-30T10:06:00.000-04:00

I wanted to restart a few thing I had fun with previously.

1. Due to the historically epic ineptitude of my teams it wouldn't be very fitting for me to do something cool and interesting like White Sox Cards Greatest Jersey Numbers because the list would be filled with alot of mediocrity. So instead in the next few weeks I'll be introducing the All ~~Pro~~ D'oh Team. Featuring some of the best blunder, busts, and generally insane players to play over the years.

With that said I also wanted to spotlight a different blog I follow every week. This week I'll showcase White Sox Cards which is an awesome blog. I'm always amazed by the knowledge and singular focus of the blog. Not to mention the incredible dedication to Harold Baines. Some of my favorite features are the Cards That Never Were, Player Profiles, and of course Mailbox Joys because I like seeing what others are adding to their collections and the generosity of the blogging community with one another.

White Sox Cards is regularly updated as well so there is always new content to check out. This was one of the original blogs that I started following over 2 years ago.

A proper Intro

2010-04-29T22:02:00.000-04:00

So I was noticing that my little blog here is starting to get a few hits thanks to some of the other great sites that have linked to me. I figured I would give a little intro and let you know what/who I am collecting and why.

First off Rocco is my online moniker my real name is Robert. Rocco is actually my dog and was named after Rocco Baldelli who at the time was the hottest Rays rookie in history. His career has since freefalled due to a rare medical condition but thats a story for another post.

I collected anything and everything as a kid growing up at the peak of the "hobby". My favorite sets then and still hold a special place for me were 92 Donruss baseball and 1991 Pro Set Why those...well in 92 I was just a young'n and my dad used to buy me tons of 92 Donruss it holds sentimental value for me. When I was living with my Aunt for a short period while my Dad was deployed in Gulf War I, my aunt bought me and my brother a box of 91 Pro Set. I still remember opening all those packs on Christmas morning and thinking I probably was close to having the largest card collection in the world. I don't think I could have picked two more worthless sets to love but then again I wouldn't be able to call this Worthless Cardboard.

As a kid I followed the Beckett Bible and chased the cards of whoever Beckett told me. If they had an up arrow I was after them. If they had a down arrow I was getting rid of them. This eventually led me to lose any actual interest in the cards and players and eventually the cards were packed up and put away for good, (so i thought).

In 2004 my dad died suddenly and I came home to stay with my mother for my last semester of college completing an internship in my hometown. I had alot of time to sit around and think/reflect on my life at that time and was generally in a pretty dark place. Whenever I thought of my dad it brought back memories of going to the card shop or getting a pack of those awesome 92 Donruss after a trip to the grocery store. I searched through my closet and lo and behold there were my cards. Some research on the internet and it was clearly evident that all of my cards were not worth anything. My most prized rookies, safely stored in sleeves and toploaders were Todd Van Poppel, Aaron Sele, Joe Smith (basketball). Again damn you Beckett for corrupting me.

Flipping through the cards brought me alot of peace and relaxation and brought me to a much happier place at that time. I started reading the Baseball Card Blog then I found Indians Cards and Random Wax which at that time was called Indians Cards.Always I believe. From there I stumbled upon other great bloggers such as Thorzul, Stale Gum, and White Sox Cards. I also found trading partners and people to chat with on forum sites such as Sports Card Sheriff (no longer around) and Sportscardforum (find me as K9Rocco). All this led to my decision to collect again but with a purpose. No longer would I collect with the intent of making money or investing. I would collect for the pure enjoyment of it.

So I started collecting Atlanta Falcons (my favorite team) and FSU Seminoles in college uniform (my favorite college) and Warrick Dunn (favorite player). I even started my own blog (Atlanta Cards) which I ran for about 6 months. I amassed a nice collection of Falcons and Noles through trading with other bloggers and through the forums but due to back to back unexpected pregnancies I retired from collecting and blogging and sold off everything but my Warick Dunns, Falcons and Noles.

Fast forward to 2 months ago. For some reason the collecting bug hit me again. I brushed off all my old cards and the fun had returned. The kids were not as much work and I found myself with the time to devote to both my cards and blogging. This time I decided to add baseball to my collection as a close friend of mine decided to dive in with me and he was a baseball fan.

So here I am today coming out of my second retirement. My goals are to collect/hoard as many Tampa Bay Rays cards without purchasing any singles. I would like to amass my collection completely from pack pulls and trading, and maybe some generous donations. So if you have any of the following

Atlanta Falcons
Tampa Bay Rays
FSU Seminoles in uniform (football only)
Warrick Dunn

please shoot me an email. If you like/dislike what I write please leave me a comment. If you want to be added to the blogroll contact me. My information is on the right. Thanks for reading.

Upper Deck gets a timeout

2010-04-29T10:25:00.000-04:00

I know I'm a little late with the news since its been widely reported that Topps is taking Upper Decks place in the football world. Personally I'm glad to see this and am generally a Topps fan. I like Upper Deck's card designs and there on card autos were always great but the sentimental value I hold for Topps always brought me back. I really enjoyed Topps Total and Heritage. Something about the way Upper Deck conducted its business always seemed a bit shady. I know that all these companies are only in it for the money but it seemed that every year Upper Deck would take it to a whole new level.

The tipping point for me was the entire Konami scandal. But there were signs before that dating all the way back to the Griffey Rookie Card printings. I even began to wonder if all the game used cuts were actually authentic, we are basically going off of their word and we only know about the transgressions they had been caught doing. I think Upper Deck is being humbled by all this and I hope that they regroup, get new leadership, and eventually reenter the fold. Until then I won't miss them. I pretty much just buy low end packs/boxes and the high end stuff I pick up as singles anyways so Upper Deck isn't missing my money either.

On a side note does anyone know if there is a bring back Topps Total petition? Maybe I should start one.

Is this really necessary?

2010-04-28T12:32:00.000-04:00

I don't know why Nike continues to try to "innovate and improve" upon the best uniforms in the history of college football. The black "Unconquered" uniforms I can give a pass to. But all white? Just for the sake of change I'm assuming. I just pray they don't turn the Noles uniforms into something resembling Miami's yearly tweaks or even worse...Oregon.

See for yourself

Article is here

http://www.tomahawknation.com/2010/4/21/1435222/florida-state-to-unveil-new-all

Tim Tebow Sucks

2010-04-27T18:35:00.000-04:00

There is only 1 team in football that I genuinely hate. The Denver Broncos. Mostly because they beat my beloved Falcons in 1998. But not just that they beat them but that they did it by cheating...(circumventing the salary cap in order to resign Terell Davis, John Elway, Shannon Sharpe and company). They got to keep their Superbowl Wins but forfeited a few draft picks when they were caught years later. That and I can't stand John Elway. It was fitting that Tim "I walk on water" Tebow got drafted by them....in the first round of all places. Now I know your probably thinking I'm a bit biased against Tebow since he played for the Gaytors and I'll admit that I am. But everyone of my friends, gaytor fans or not has to tell me how great of a person he is and all the great things that he does. I see right through his PR machine. Did you know Sam Bradford is the head of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and donates his time to performing volunteer work and raising awareness for Native American tribes rights? Did you know Myron Rolle turned down his senior year of eligibility (a projected 1st round pick unlike Tebow) to accept a Rhodes Scholarship and has plans to become a neurosurgeon and open up a non profit hospital in the Bahamas? Did you know that there are many other deserving athletes in college football that don't bring camera crews and reporters every time they do a good deed? Yeah I see right through him. Luckily he has a pedigree of Gaytor quarterbacks for career advice.....Chris Leak, Rex Grossman, Jessee Palmer, Danny Wuerfful, etc...So two draft busts, the bachelor, and a guy who can't win in the CFL. All of whom will have better NFL careers then Tebow. I also enjoyed that his PR machine wasn't around when word spread he was charging $150 for his autograph.

Falcons Collection

2010-04-26T13:56:00.000-04:00

So I have been working with an excel file to attempt to document and catalog the entirety of my collection. I have started with the largest of my collections (Atlanta Falcons) and am about 75% done. So far I'm up to about 2000 entries. Which has taken a few nights logging cards in front of the tv. The file is easily sortable, searchable, and pleasing on the eyes if I do say so myself. In fact I'm quite proud of it so far, especially with my limited knowledge in the world of excel. I have come to a few conclusions thus far

1. There is something strangely calming about sorting through and cataloging my collection.

2. The falcons are historically god awful at drafting....(aundray bruce, bruce pickens, bert emanuel, kahlil hill, kurt kittner, laterance dunbar, dusty bonner, charlie brown, etc...)

3. The falcons suck at trading....(peerless price, brett favre, tim dwight, matt schaub...etc)

4. I thought i had purged myself of all dups....i thought wrong, horribly wrong

5. I should have waited a year or so before trading for Mike Vick cards....like say after the arrest/prison time when his cards were going for pennies on the dollar

6. I know Pro Set produced like 5 billion cards and they aren't even worth the paper they printed them on but they have a classic non busy design and feature some of the best photography of any set produced today. Probably due to the fact that they had access to the NFL photo database. For example

Its like someone shrunk an 8x10.

7. I need more Falcons....please trade with me

If anyone is interested in the file I can modify it for whatever you collect. The best part is it will track multiple collections, next up I will be cataloging my Rays and Seminoles collection.

Here is my screenshot

Don Wakamatsu, John Robinson

2010-04-26T13:39:00.000-04:00

Today was another great mailday. Got two autos back fairly quickly.

First was Don Wakamatsu c/o Mariners. I have always been a fan of Wakamatsu. He is half Japanese and the first MLB Manager of Asian descent. We share many things in common. I remember having this card in my not for trade section as a kid, somewhere along the way it got lost. Imagine my joy when I bought a pack of 92 Score from the $1 bin and this was waiting for me. I immediately sent it out for an auto and Coach Wakamatsu kindly obliged.

Also received back from legendary coach John Robinson. Hopefully retirement has treated him well.

Arthur Blank, Mark Richt

2010-04-23T23:19:00.000-04:00

Received this in the mail today, was very excited that owner of the Atlanta Falcons Arthur Blank took the time to return my card signed, and quickly at that. Unfortunately he signed the back of the card and on top of that the signature smudged in the mail. I may try sending another logo card out later this season to see if I can get a non smudged version.

Here is the back and the front together for your viewing pleasure.

Also got back Mark Richt in the same day. While I'm not necessarily a Georgia Bulldog fan, Richt was pivotal in the Seminoles dynasty of the 90s and anyone that is an enemy of the Gaytors is a friend of mine

Tommy Nobis

2010-04-16T17:42:00.000-04:00

Awesome Falcons mail week.

First I received this from one of the all time greats

Mr. Nobis kindly answered my questionnaire as well. I asked Mr. Nobis what it was like playing for "The Dutchmen" one of the most strict NFL coaches to ever coach the game.

"The Dutchman was a super NFL player and coach---Hall of Famer--. He was strict and hard to play for. But, he was fair!

Mr. Nobis was drafted in the first round of both the AFL and the NFL. Astronaut Frank Borman even called earth to tell Nobis to "sign with Houston". Being a former Longhorn I asked Mr. Nobis why he chose the NFL and the lowly expansion Falcons.

The Falcons were a brand new NFL team--- I wanted to play fo an NFL team. The Oilers were in the old AFL.

Mr. Nobis really emphasized "NFL"

Last I asked Mr. Nobis to impart some of his wisdom and experience onto my two sons.

Listen and learn from the advice given to you by your parents and your teacher/coaches.

The questionnaire was signed
"Hook em Horns"
Tommy Nobis #60

Wow. What a class act. I had some more come in but I will post those later this week.

Rays Win!

2010-04-06T22:42:00.000-04:00

What a way to start the season. Winning the game in the bottom of the 9th. Go Rays!

Mailday, $1 bin finds

2010-04-01T15:33:00.000-04:00

I was out and about town today and managed to stop at the local card shop. After chatting with the owner for a bit I found my way over to the $1 pack pile. I ended up getting a handful of $1 packs and I splurged on a single pack of 2010 Topps Series 1 in the amount of $2.

First though I had a little white envelope waiting for me in my mailbox postmarked from Arizona.

Ryan Feierabend personalized TTM c/o Spring Training

Onto the $1 packs

91 Pro Line
First I saw a pack of 91 Pro Line cards. I remember when these came out noone was wearing a uniform and the poses looked more like a Sunday Sears Ad for athletic clothing. And I'm not sure but Zubaz pants had to be supporting this set because every other card had someone wearing those things.

Of all the cards only McCants and Verdin went with awkward no shirt poses as picture here...

I wonder how that conversation went between the photographer and the player

4 Packs of 2007 Topps Baseball

Most notably in the packs

3- Joe Dimaggios, 2 "the streak" cards and a distinguished service showing him in his army air force uniform
Daisuke Matsuzaka Topps Stars
Alex Rodriguez Toad to 500
Barry Bonds Hit Parade

Sadly no TB Rays..

1 pack of 92 Score.....

Score!

I love the old "Dream Team" inserts
Roger Clemens Cy Young (At one time he was my favorite player until I found out he was a jerk)
Don Wakamatsu - excited about this because I wanted to send off for a TTM
Cal Ripken Jr....Man of the Year!

Among the other "rookie prospects"
Jeff Carter
Dave Hansen
Tyler Green
Bryan Hickerson

I see the term "Rookie Prospect" is a loose term at Score. It certainly doesn't have the weight of say a....

RATED ROOKIE!....wait maybe it is the same....Manwaring panned out right?

Anyways onto more football..

91 Pacific

I have a soft sport for Pacific. My first TTM auto was a Dan McGwire 91 Pacific....My first team set was a Falcons 91 Pacific, and they come wrapped in aluminum foil like a candy bar. And 91 was generally an awesome year for a card collector, essentially the peak of the hobby. This particular pack there was nothing to brag about. In fact this was the closest thing I could find to a "star" in this pack...

14 Cards and the best I could come up with was Chris Warren. I mean he had a few good years. He was a stud on Tecmo but I have never met a Chris Warren fan or collector...and I lived in Washington State when he was playing for the Seahawks. Don't believe me here is the rest of my pack

Reuben Davis

Nesby Glasgow

Chip Lohmiller

Heath Sherman

Terance Mathis

Kent Hull

Steve McMichael

Jeff Campbell

Winston Moss

Wilber Marshall

Rob Moore

Rob Burnett

....The closest thing to a decent football player in this group would be between Mathis and Moore and even those guys only really had 1 or 2 good seasons on lousy teams. Had they been on any other team during that time they probably wouldn't have cracked the starting lineup.

So the best for last....My $2 splurge....

2010 Topps Baseball Series 1

This was sitting in a bin full of other $2 packs (mostly 09 -10 stuff). I figured what the heck.....

An awesome pick indeed....

Jorge Posada GU! From the $2 bin! I mean its a Yankee but still....

Also pulled a Tony Gwynn reprint and a code for a Topps Million Card Giveaway (my first)

I redeemed my code and now I am the proud owner of...

Mickey Rivers Card. I will trade this card for anything you offer me on the Million Card Giveaway. Screename K9Rocco...

Well I got my cheap thrills for a bit. I hope to make the $1 bin somewhat of a regular occurrence from now on.

More Team Lots

2010-03-31T17:25:00.000-04:00

More Team Trades underway...

Today I packaged 3 team lots

A Patriots/Red Sox lot

total of 16 cards. Pictured in the sample is a Martin Scutaro 2010 Heritage. I guess the best picture Topps could get in time for release was the always awkward throw a hat and jersey on top of your dress clothes and look happy photo.

A Cardinals/Cowboys Lot

I love the team cards, you don't really see the team photos used too often anymore. Although I am about as anti-Cowboy as you can get this Romo card has some great photography. 21 cards total. 2 nice #d cards in the lot.

Although the entire 2009 Topps is entirely too reminiscent of another set

but maybe thats just me.

Last a Ravens lot. I didn't have much to go in here but I think this is more of a quality over quantity lot.

McGahee Jersey #d/55. I pulled this out of a pack I bought at the local card shop and try as I did I just couldn't find any takers for it. Luckily I had someone that collected Ravens and thus Mr. McGahee you will be appreciated.

As soon as I get confirmation on the addresses, these suckers are in the mailbox.

Got some Rays or Falcons gathering dust? You know who to contact....

Team Trade

2010-03-31T15:04:00.000-04:00

I've been anticipating starting up with the team trader groups on Sports Card Forum for the past week or so. Its a perfect way to reboot my collection since I am starting from scratch with my Rays collection. Sending out packages of Brewers and White Sox to two lucky recipients. I won't disclose all the contents but I will say that I didn't have any game used to package up but I did score some older singles at the card shop.

The Lots

White Sox

Here is a sample....
08 Allen & Ginter Orlando Cabrera (apparently he can fly)
77 Topps Terry Forster (Quite possibly the only player in 1977 without a mustache or aviator glasses)
75 Topps Tony Muser (complete with stereotypical 70's stache and sideburns)
94 Signature Rookies A.J. Pierzynski (1 of 45,000!!! remember when that used to be limited edition)
92 Score Wilson Alvarez (Yes at one time W.Alvarez was relevant he even pitched a no hitter)
76 Topps Carlos May (Digging the one black glove look, I sense a comeback)
77 Topps Eric Soderholm (According to the cartoon Cub Coach Harry Lowrey's nickname is "Peanuts")
76 Topps Bob Coluccio (Nothing says 70s baseball like Bob Coluccio....the glasses, the side burns, the mustache, the hair sticking out from under the helmet. I bet he wore stirrups too)

All in all 36 White Sox cards are finding them a new home including one #d Mark Buehrle.

Now for the Brewers sneak peak

85 Donruss Rollie Fingers (Rollie moonlighted as a swashbuckling pirate in the off season)
84 Fleer Rollie Fingers (More handlebar goodness)
10 Attax Ryan Braun (Apparently Topps is making a killing off this game, I have never understood any of them)
09 Topps Gabe Kapler (Current Rays Player)
94 Pick N Save Dave Nilsson (At one time he was as hot a rookie as Todd Van Poppel! fortunately for him he had a better career)
10 Heritage Felipe Lopez (I have to admit I enjoy the Heritage sets and the gum for the 3 seconds the flavor lasts)
90 Fleer Jerry Reuss (According to the card he is 40 years old but judging from his photo I wouldn't put him a day past 80)
08 Topps Moments & Milestones Prince Fielder (#d/150 the only #d card I could find)

Total of 29 Brewers off to a new home.

The Nilsson card was particularly interesting as it was produced by Pick N Save, Snickers, and something called the Milton Optimist Club. Certainly one of those oddball sets that proliferated during the early - mid 90's.

If your interested in swapping some teams please shoot me an email and send me your Rays, Falcons, or FSU in uniform.

TTM Mailday

2010-03-30T14:19:00.000-04:00

Been reading alot of blogs lately trying to catch up on what I have missed since January 2008 (when I stopped collecting). Mostly I read alot about the greediness and fraud that I believe will one day, if it hasn't already, ruin this hobby. This is why I stick to collecting for the pure enjoyment of it. One of my favorite parts of collecting is the TTM (Through The Mail) auto. Nothing speaks to my childhood collecting like Rick Reuschel. For some reason I pulled a Reuschel or Tim Raines in every other pack. I got this card signed and sent back in about a week. Thanks Mr. Reuschel.

TTM and FSU Mailday

2010-03-29T14:28:00.000-04:00

Received a couple interesting items in the mail today. First I sent a baseball off to Kevin Ohme former pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan. Ohme has used his time as a MLB Pitcher to reach youth and testify to his faith. Along with sending back my baseball, Mr. Ohme was kind enough to send along 3 custom baseball cards all autographed. The only thing that could have made it better was if Mr. Ohne personalized the autograph to me. Oh well. Here is the custom card.

Also included was a recent ebay win. I have a self imposed rule that I will only be purchasing single cards of FSU players or Warrick Dunn to keep me from nickel and diming myself with paypal. I believe this is the only non SAGE Autograph of Chris Rix out there. Even though I still believe he ruined my 4 years of college football he did still wear the Garnet and Gold and thus will have a place in my collection.

05 Topps Draft Picks and Prospects Class Marks

Chris Rix.

By the way I once met Rix while he was a freshman and after a brief introduction he presented me with a business card that said "Chris Rix #16 Seminoles QB" to make matters worse I then saw him drive off in a garnet colored Tahoe with a decal on the back window that read "Rix QB16". I wish I was making this up.

I have two extra cards from Mr. Ohme. If you want to swap another TTM auto for it hit me up.

Atlanta Cards Resurrected...sort of

2010-03-24T22:03:00.000-04:00

Some of you may have been familiar with the old Atlanta Cards Blog that I once ran. For those that didn't it was a fun blog that I kept up with for about 19 months, had a small group of followers and alot of casual readers. It was fun while it lasted but unfortunately having 2 kids in the span of 14 months along with working my full time job placed alot of constraints on my time and rather than watch it become another non updated blog sitting dead on the internet I decided to retire it. This also coincided with my 2 year retirement from the hobby of collecting. I sold off all of my collection keeping only my personal collection (Atlanta Falcons, Warrick Dunn, FSU Seminoles, and a few other key cards) and went the majority of the 2 years away from the hobby. While I can thank my son (now 2) for pulling me away from my hobby, ironically I can also thank him for getting me back in. A trip to target near the card aisle led my son to grab a pack of 2010 Opening Day. As he opened the pack and the "oooohhs" started, It brought me back to my own childhood and visiting the store with my own dad. A few weeks later here I am. Luckily I had the sense to keep the part of my collection that was most important.

I have been buying some packs here and there and trying to catch up on the developments over the past 2 years in the hobby. Meanwhile I have rediscovered some of my favorite blogs and reading those blogs is what made me want to restart my own. As you can obviously see this is no longer "Atlanta Cards". For the second reboot of my collecting I have decided to broaden my interests and post about things other than the Falcons. For those that pop in I am always in the mood to trade (especially team trading). I will be posting my progress in building a Tampa Bay Rays collectiong from scratch, building on my Falcons and Seminoles collection, and general stuff I find interesting.