2007 SP Rookie Edition Baseball box break

For the past two years, I’ve financed all of my larger sports card purchases by selling off my old Transformers from my childhood.  Back in late 2007, I sold off 5 or 6 of the better Transformers as well as my A-Rod 1995 Upper Deck autographed jumbo and raised a little over $400 for the big Shriner’s card show in Wilmington, Massachusetts.  I walked away from that show with 2007 Allen & Ginter, 2007 Turkey Red Baseball, 2006-07 Turkey Red Basketball, 2007-08 Topps Basketball HTA Jumbos, 2007 Bowman Baseball (yuck) and the 2004 Upper Deck Red Sox World Series set.  That’s not what this post is about though.

This post is about a recent Transformers funded shopping spree at Dave and Adam's Card World.  After spending a lot on just one box for my last purchase, I decided to go for quantity this time around.  I was hoping that I would get quality as well.  Whether I did or not will be revealed over the next few days.

The cheapest box that I got very well may have been my favorite.  That box is 2007 Upper Deck SP Rookie Edition Baseball.  I got a box of this for Christmas and enjoyed it so much that I decided to get another one.

I think that one of the main things that I dislike about the hobby at the moment is that so many sets are nigh impossible to put together.  I did the majority of my collecting when sets were pretty easy to put together.  I’ve got sets of 1992 Bowman, 1993 SP Baseball, 1993 SP Football, 1994 SP Baseball and a bunch of other sets released around that time.  Now that I’ve busted open two boxes of this stuff, I’m going to look into putting a set together, but with all of the short prints it might be more trouble than it’s worth.  Enough about the set, let’s get on to the box!


I really like the base cards in this set.  You’ve got nice, close up shots of the players in front of a colored background.  It’s a nice simple design.  The names are in foil, but since the foil is nice and large it isn’t tough to read.


The two autographs that I pulled were nothing to write home about.  I got a Kory Casto (Who I also got in my first box) and Joaquin Arias (whose autograph looks like a math equation).  Arias was once a top prospect and was the player to be named later in the A-Rod trade to the Yankees, but a shoulder injury changed all of that.  Casto hasn’t done much in the majors yet and I don’t think he’s got a position to start at this year.

 
I got a decent batch of rookies out of the box.  Being a Sox fan, I was happy to see a couple of Okajimas in the box.  What appeared to many at first as a signing to make Dice-K happy turned out to be a steal as Okajima had a dominant rookie season and a very solid sophomore season.  Boston has an exceptional bullpen heading into 2009 and the work load on Okajima should be reduced and that will hopefully lead to another dominant season for Oki.


Speaking of Dice-K, I got the two common rookies from the set.  I already had one of them so that will go with my other Dice-K rookies.  Dice-K had a good rookie season and a Cy Young caliber sophomore season.  If he didn’t miss a few games due to injury he would have brought the award back to Boston.  Dice-K, Beckett and Lester are a formidable trio are the front of the Red Sox rotation.  Once they get to the playoffs, it is going to be tough to beat them in a playoff series.


While these aren’t technically rookies, they’re still Josh Hamilton cards and worth posting.  Hamilton powered my fantasy team last year, but he and the rest of my team slowed down at the end of the season leading to my quick elimination in the playoffs.  Hamilton, Longoria (injury), Hanley Ramirez, Ellsbury, Markakis and Doumit all seemed to do nothing late in the year after blowing it up early in the season.

This was the best part of the box.  I pulled three Lincecum rookies including one of the short printed ones.  Lincecum was also on my fantasy team and I was glad to see that the Baseball Writers gave the NL Cy Young Award to the right person.  It’s rare when the writers overlook wins for other stats, but Lincecum was by far the best pitcher in the National League in 2008.

So, after busting two boxes of this stuff, I have 172 cards out of the 284 card set.  As you can see from the checklist on the left, most of the cards needed are SPs and will probably cost me an arm and a leg to acquire.  If you happen to have any singles from this set that I need, please let me know and we’ll work out a trade.  You can click on the image to the left to open a larger picture.

Overall, I like this set a lot.  I’m a sucker for the retro designs and I like the base design as well.  There are some good rookies in the set including two BoSox rookies.  The collation is pretty good on this stuff.  I didn’t get any doubles in my first box and after opening the second box I had just 47 duplicates.  You can’t pull anything out of this stuff that’s going to make you rich, but it is loaded with great rookies and is fun to break open for what it sells for these days.  I give the set in its current context an A.  The grade would have been a lot lower if I purchased this stuff when it was brand new though.

Technorati Tags: 2007 SP Rookie Edition

Autographs

It is kind of ironic that I’m writing this post right now considering that I just busted  open a few boxes where the only “hits” were autographed cards, but they were cheap boxes and fun busts.  Truth be told, I’ve never been all that excited by chasing autographs out of packs.  For what I spend, anything that I pull is going to be extremely common and probably not anything that I’m interested in.

I’m not 100% sure exactly why this is the case, but I think it comes from the environment that I was in when I originally started collecting.  If you paid attention, athletes were pretty available at special appearances and you didn’t have card shows where you’d have to pay $150 for a player’s autograph.  I remember my grandfather taking me to Jordan Marsh in Boston to meet Roger Clemens and get his autograph.  I was a big Rocket fan at the time and this made my day.  I had him sign a 1997 Topps All-Star Glossy from the sets that you got from sending away through the mail and the card still is a treasured part of my collection in spite of Clemens running his mouth and injecting who knows what into his body.  The kid in me who watched him dominate hitters and who read “Rocket Man” in 7th Grade will always be a fan.

The first time that I ever paid for an autograph, it was for my all-time favorite player and it was something that I was excited about for a month.  Dwight Evans was going to be at the monthly Florian Hall baseball card show and I was going to be there.  The cost for Dewey’s autograph was a whopping $10 which was something that even a young kid could afford.

I remember arriving to the card show about halfway though the time that Dewey was schedule to be signing and there was no line at all.  I got to walk right in and shake his hand and be completely speechless in front of a player whose 24 was on the back of all of my little league jerseys.  I wish I had thought of bringing a camera with me because I would have had plenty of time to get a picture with Evans and that’s something I would h

ave loved to have.  I made up for that a little bit years later when seeing Evans again at a big Red Sox autograph show.

I spent the majority of my free time in high school first working weekend baseball card show and then later in a baseball card shop.  One of the monthly card shows that we did at Lantana’s was run by a guy who knew what he was doing.  He had contacts with the local minor league teams and had players come in to sign at his shows while they were in town.  The show obviously wasn’t as good during the off-season, but it was the best show to go to when a young prospect was there signing.

One of my favorite autographs acquired at Lantana’s was that of Aaron Sele.  Sele made a big splash when first being called up to the Major Leagues and had a solid career, but was never the front of the rotation pitcher that the Red Sox thought that he could be.  I was a big fan and he was one of many Sox players whose cards I sought out and collected.

Jason Bere was another prospect who was brought in to sign at the show.  He was another young pitcher who made a big splash when first called up to the majors.  I remember his 1993 Score Select Rookie/Traded card being the hot card in a very popular set that also included Aaron Sele, Kevin Stocker and Kirk Rueter.

Did somebody mention Kirk Rueter?  He was a guest at a Lantana’s show as well.  The rookie cards of these guys may not sell for much these days, but they were three of the top prospects out there at the time and it was cool being able to add one of them to your collection every month.

I went to the right high school for being a sports card collector.  Boston College High School had an annual sports card show while I was a student there and I loved it.  One of the big draws were the autograph guests and at the time I remember thinking that $25 was a lot to spend for an autograph and I didn’t get many at the show.  The only ones that I did get were the free ones with admission and that’s how I got the majority of my hockey autographs such as Joe Juneau, Ray Bourque and Gordie Howe.

One of the few autographs that I did pay for was that of “The Chief” Robert Parish.  I grew up watching the Big Three dominating the parquet in The Gahden and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to add a Robert Parish autograph to my collection.

The one thing that I always remember about meeting basketball players is the handshake.  My hand gets completely enveloped by these guys.  Even little guys like Dee Brown had hands which made mine look like a child’s.

Dee Brown was a favorite of mine from the moment the Celtics drafted him.  I enjoyed his style of play as it was something you didn’t see on the Celtics at that point.  He became an overnight sensation when his no-look dunk won him the Slam Dunk Championship.

I forget where I first got Dee Brown’s autograph.  It may have been the B.C. High show.  I do remember the second time though.  Brown was doing an appearance for a new NBA Jam strategy guide at a Barnes & Noble book store.  I had jury duty earlier that day, but luckily I got out in time to make it to the signing.  There was no one there when I arrived which was great because I got to chat with Dee a little bit.  I got the strategy guide signed as well as an Upper Deck McDonald’s card.

My current favorite Celtics player is Paul Pierce.  While players aren’t as accessible these days, I was able to get Pierce’s autograph in person.  Pierce has a charity named The Truth Fund and I went to the kick-off event at the Hard Rock Cafe.  While I was prepared for Pierce and had him sign an NBA Showdown card as well as a Beckett cover, I wasn’t prepared for the other athletes that were there such as Tom Brady and Adam Vinatieri.  Oh well.

I do have some autographed cards in my collection that I didn’t get in person.  A lot of them are rookies that panned out to be nothing that I pulled out of packs.  One of my best pulls came back when autographed cards in packs weren’t all that common.

The Reggie is a beautiful on-card signature from 1995 Upper Deck.  I’m pretty sure that it was a redemption card because I don’t think the certificate of authenticity would have been in the pack with the card.  I did well with 1995 Upper Deck.  While I didn’t take advantage of the Series 1 offer (Clemens), I did send away for the Series 2 offer which was a jumbo autographed A-Rod card.  That card is no longer in my collection being sold just over a year ago to finance a big card show shopping spree.

I’ve also purchased an autographed card or two when the price is right.  One of those is this Curtis Martin from Signature Rookies.  I was a big fan of Martin and hated seeing the Patriots let him go.  He would have solved many years of running problems for the Pats.  This card came out when star autographs were still not that common, but rookie autographs were becoming very common.  There were on oddball items such as phone cards even.  Companies such as Classic and Signature Rookies ran wild with autographs in packs.

I’ve always preferred the in-person autographs though.  They have a memory attached and are special parts of a collection.  One such memory involves another former Patriot, Willie McGinest.  I was out shopping in a mall when I stumbled across a Wizards of the Coast booth set up in the food court.  If you sat through a demo of how the game was played (which was fun except for the overpowered, rare strategy cards) then you got a promo pack of cards along with a Willie McGinest promo card that you could bring right over to Mr. McGinest himself to get it signed.  How can you beat that?  It’s so much better than ripping open up packs of cards to pull an autograph of Dick Squat Jones.  Most of the time when I do pull an autograph out of packs, it ends up being something like this:

Gilbert Arenis has been injured more than he has played, Josh Howard was a rare red ink signature pulled from a rare, numbered to 99 rip card and would probably sell for a dollar and Brad Miller was the one per pack auto in the first and last pack of that type of product that I’ll ever buy (since the best part of it was the Larry Bird tin that the cards came in).

Cards such as these have absolutely no appeal to me.  It would be one thing if I could turn these “hits” around and help finance my collection, but that’s not the case.  Meanwhile, it is cards such as these that are driving up the price point of cards today.  Sure, it’s in the cheaper stuff, but it is guys like Steve Pearce and Greg Smith.  The big stars are in the more expensive stuff, but you still get a lot more of the bums than the stars.  I just don’t get it.

Technorati Tags: autograph

Mike Piazza - 2002 Donruss Originals

Ever since they first appeared on the scene in 2000, I've been a sucker for retro sets.  I like the classic designs from the 70s and earlier because I don't have many of those cards in my collection.  The designs from the 80s trigger nostalgia from when I first got into the hobby.

 

In 2002, Donruss decided to release a set that paid homage to 4 of their previous sets.  Each player appeared on a card in the design of the 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1988 sets.  One of those four variations would be short printed (something that would later be repeated almost exactly by Upper Deck in their rookie SP sets) meaning that that this wasn't just a tough set to built, but it was a pain in the ass for player collectors as well.

I picked up a box of this stuff when it was brand new and I got the three non-SP Piazza cards out of the box.  The '84 Piazza version is the only one not currently in my collection.  It's a shame that this set didn't perform better because I would have much rather seen the odd numbered years with 1981, 1983 and 1985 especially being favorites of mine.

 

"Hits" usually aren't a huge deal to me, but I remember disliking the ones that I pulled from Originals thinking that the player selection was terrible and the cards poorly designed.  That's probably why the boxes didn't sell better.

Overall, I do like this set and you can find the boxes for around $35.  I doubt that I'd ever get around to completing the whole set given that I'm pretty sure that one-fourth of it is short prints, but I wouldn't mind having a set excluding the SPs.

Technorati Tags: 2002 Donruss Originals,Mike Piazza

2009 Topps Baseball HTA Box Break

I'm a big fan of the hobby store exclusive HTA jumbos that Topps releases every year.  The main attraction to these boxes for me is that you usually get a complete set out of the box.  In a day and age where most sets require the opening of multiple boxes and some sets are completely impossible to complete, it's a nice reminder of the old days when you can bust open just one box and have a complete set.

 

The extra benefit of the HTA jumbos are all of the extra insert cards that you pull out of the boxes.  For example, each jumbo of 2009 Topps has a ToppsTown insert, Turkey Red insert, Ring of Honor insert, a Legend of the Game and a gold parallel card.  On top of that, every other pack contains a "hit" of an autograph, memorabilia, manufactured patch or silk card just to name a few.  2009 Topps has some extremely nice "hits" for a base set.  It's nice when you are buying a product to build a set and get some nice cards along the way.  Usually you have to pay a lot more a pack to have a shot at some of the cards that are out there in 2009 Topps Series 1.

Here are the insert cards that I pulled out of my box:

LG3  - Christy Mathewson

 

 

LG4  - Ty Cobb
LG5  - Walter Johnson
LG11 - Lou Gehrig
LG13 - Jackie Robinson
LG17 - Ted Williams
LG19 - Bob Gibson
LG23 - Carl Yastrzemski
LG24 - Nolan Ryan

LG25 - Cal Ripken Jr.

I was happy that I pulled both Teddy Ballgame and Yaz since I'll hold on to those.  I don't think that I'll be putting this insert set together so the rest of the cards will be up for trade.

RH9  - Dwight Gooden

RH13 - Derek Jeter

RH15 - Don Zimmer
RH17 - Gary Sheffield
RH19 - Pedro Martinez
RH21 - Johnny Podres
RH23 - Mariano Rivera
RH27 - Kevin Mitchell

RH29 - Francisco Rodriguez

Too many current or former Yankees and not enough Red Sox.  Seeing cards from the '86 Mets hurts.  I don't think that I'll be putting this set together either so these cards will be up for trade as well.

TTT13 - Albert Pujols
TTT14 - CC Sabathia
TTT15 - Alfonso Soriano
TTT16 - Ichiro
TTT18 - Miguel Cabrera
Gold TTT19 - Carlos Quentin
Gold TTT20 - Lance Berkman
Gold TTT21 - Chipper Jones
Gold TTT22 - Tim Lincecum
Gold TTT23 - Josh Hamilton

This is a set that I will probably end up putting together.  The ToppsTown cards are one per pack no matter what pack you buy so it should cost too much to finish the set.  I don't have a webcam so I'm not interested in that functionality of the Topps Town website, but I have played some of the games and done some trading on the site when I can't sleep.

TR7  - Andre Ethier

TR8  - Ryan Ludwick
TR14 - Chase Utley
TR18 - Jose Lopez
TR23 - Garrett Atkins
TR25 - Alex Rodriguez
TR31 - Justin Upton
TR42 - Geovany Soto
TR43 - Torii Hunter
TR45 - Miguel Cabrera

I think that I'll put this set together as well.  It is kind of large, but the Turkey Red cards are pretty easy to come by and shouldn't cost too much.  It's a shame that there isn't going to be a Turkey Red set this year since these cards look better than any of the previous sets.

As far as my "hits" go, they were hit and miss.  The Josh Bard black (24/58), Cameron Maybin bat, Steve Pearce auto and Greg Smith auto are probably worth less than a handful of the cards in the base set.  My manufactured letter patch was the E of Ty Cobb's "GA Peach" which sold on eBay for $10.  I'm just glad that I didn't get the double printed "A."  ;)  The best pull of the box was the Mike Mussina silk card numbered 30/50.  That card also sold for $10 on eBay.  I used some of that money to purchase a David Ortiz bat card from 2009 Topps since eBay seems to be flooded with them.  You can't get them that cheaply in any card store here in Boston.

I'm a big fan of this year's Topps set.  The design is much better than it had been the previous two years and the variations weren't cards that made you want to set all of your Topps cards on fire.  The photography is great and on many cards it is complimented by the great card design.  You can tell that Topps spent some time on getting these cards to look good.  They didn't just come up with a design and then slap in any old picture.

 

I give 2009 Topps a B+ and my jumbo box a B- since I was 6 cards short of the set and my best "hit" was a Yankee.

 

Technorati Tags: 2009 Topps Baseball

Mike Piazza - 2005 Topps Finest

There was a point and time where I wasn't buying a lot of cards by the pack or box.  I was tired of overpaying for packs that promised "hits" and getting nothing.  I added to my collection almost exclusively through eBay.  I'd purchase lots and singles of the players that I collected.  I had no chance of getting a big "hit," but I also had zero possibility of getting a stack of crap that I wanted to toss right into the trash.

One of the things that caught my eye was 2005 Topps Finest.  I liked the design and the different colored variations were sharp.  I picked up 4 different refractors in separate auctions.  The one on the top left is the regular refractor and is numbered to 399.  The blue is the next rarest and is numbered to 299.  Green comes next and is numbered to 199 while the black is the rarest of this bunch at 99.

While I do have a rainbow of Piazza refractors, I never added the base card to my collection which seems a little strange.  That's the risk you run when picking up cards in large lots.  None of the lots that I obtained had the 2005 Finest base card in it.  The next time that I had off to a card show that has a bargain box with Piazzas in it, I'll have to make sure that I grab this card.

Technorati Tags: baseball cards,Mike Piazza,2005,Finest,Refractor

Refocusing

I don't bust nearly enough boxes to make this an interesting blog about box breaks.  I probably won't be purchasing enough new product to focus on that either.  What I do have are a few very cool player collections and from this point on I'm going to focus on sharing those with everyone.

What can you expect to see?  Lots of Mike Piazza and Paul Pierce.  Almost everything Reggie Lewis.  Not nearly enough Dwight Evans.  A ton of dunk champ Dee Brown.  There will be Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots galore.

I'll also post box breaks when I do purchase something and will share my thoughts on the hobby.  Once I get some more content up here and if I continue to post regularly, I'll start sending out links to other blogs and maybe get some readers here.

Enjoy!

2008 Upper Deck First Edition Update (Target Blaster)

Pack 1

318 - Jason Varitek
393 - Ryan Braun
364 - Andrew Miller
373 - Mark Teahen
479 - Cliff Floyd
425 - Bobby Abreu
434 - Ryan Howard
443 - Matt Morris
404 - Justin Morneau
SQ-49 - Joe Mauer

This pack is a great example of what Upper Deck excels in.  You've got a great picture of Jason Varitek with the World Series trophy.  Even without the gloss and foil, these are great cards because of the exceptional photography.

Pack 2

356 - Ivan Rodriguez
365 - Jorge Cantu
319 - David Ortiz
374 - Alex Gordon
336 - Paul Konerko
470 - Chris Carpenter
497 - Wily Mo Peña
407 - Delmon Young
452 - Khalil Greene
SQ-58 - Troy Tulowitzki

Here's another great Red Sox action shot.  Big Papi swung so hard that he shattered his puny bat.  It's sad that this is one of the last Pudge cards that I'll get before his joining the Evil Empire.

Pack 3

337 - Nick Swisher
328 - Geovany Soto
383 - Jon Garland
323 - Kevin Youkilis
417 - Brian Schneider
471 - Mark Mulder
488 - B.J. Ryan
416 - Mike Pelfrey
461 - Ray Durham
SQ-42 - Derek Jeter

As a Red Sox fan, I'm really enjoying this box so far.  This is the first season that Youk hasn't tired out after the All-Star Break and it has been a break through season.  No Sox fan would have predicted that this team would be led by Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Jon Lester in 2008.

Pack 4

347 - C.C. Sabathia
394 - Rickie Weeks
403 - Adam Everett
301 - Dan Haren
310 - Jeremy Guthrie
426 - Shelley Duncan
480 - Matt Garza
453 - Trevor Hoffman
462 - Brian Wilson
SQ-31 - Adam Dunn

Pack 5

357 - Miguel Cabrera
311 - Nick Markakis
384 - Chone Figgins
395 - Bill Hall
444 - Tom Gorzelanny
489 - David Eckstein
498 - Elijah Dukes
408 - Oliver Perez
435 - Jimmy Rollins
SQ-46 - Ichiro

Pack 6

302 - Randy Johnson
329 - Kosuke Fukudome
338 - Carlos Quentin
366 - Kazuo Matsui
348 - Troy Tulowitzki
481 - Edwin Jackson
490 - Alex Rios
445 - Jason Bay
499 - Ronnie Belliard
SQ-55 - Pedro Martinez

Here's my very first Kosuke Fukudome rookie card.  He has started to struggle in the second half, but had proven that he can hit Major League pitching.  He should continue to improve next season as he adjusts even more to American Baseball.

Pack 7

303 - Justin Upton
320 - Jacoby Ellsbury
375 - Tony Peña
427 - Hideki Matsui
436 - Pedro Feliz
463 - Adrian Beltre
454 - Mark Prior
409 - Jose Reyes
YSL2239 - Joe DiMaggio
SQ-39 - Curtis Granderson

Pack 8

396 - Tony Gwynn Jr.
385 - Andruw Jones
312 - Brian Roberts
340 - Johnny Cueto
376 - Jose Guillen
473 - Troy Glaus
339 - Alexei Ramirez
418 - Ramon Castro
472 - Skip Schumaker
SQ-37 - Carlos Peña

Pack 9

321 - Julio Lugo
330 - Gavin Floyd
358 - Carlos Guillen
367 - Lance Berkman
464 - Jarrod Washburn
491 - Lyle Overbay
482 - Vicente Padilla
410 - Moises Alou
437 - Adam Eaton
SQ-35 - C.C. Sabathia

I'm not a big fan of Julio Lugo, but this is a great picture even though this looks like yet another ground ball that Lugo won't get to.

Pack 10

370 - Michael Bourn
379 - Francisco Rodriguez
333 - A.J. Pierzynski
388 - Rafael Furcal
349 - Matt Holliday
500 - Nick Johnson
419 - Kei Igawa
428 - Joe Blanton
455 - Randy Wolf
SQ-54 - Paul Konerko

I really like this photo of Matt Holliday in his NL All-Star Jersey.  I'm guessing that this shot is from the Home Run Derby.

Target Bonus Starquest Pack

SQ-58 - Troy Tulowitzki
SQ-49 - Joe Mauer
SQ-40 - Daisuke Matsuzaka
SQ-44 - Eric Byrnes

I've got to say that I had a lot of fun opening this box.  Getting a few of my favorite Red Sox helped of course, but this box also helped remind me why I love Upper Deck.  Last year, I got caught up a little in the retro sets put out by Topps.  I think in the future I'd be better off buying a set of the base cards and leaving the boxes alone since the inserts end up driving the prices up.  The majority of the inserts end up being nothing to get excited about.  I'd rather just have the great looking base cards and be done with it and put the extra money towards adding cards that I want to my collection.

The only negative aspect of this box was the bonus pack.  It's just bad collation, but I got two Starquest cards in the bonus pack that I had already gotten in my regular packs.  I'd rather get something different like you get in most other blaster boxes.

Great box to break open for $10 and now I've got my first Fukudome RC.  I'll give it an A.

Technorati Tags: 2008 Upper Deck First Edition Update Baseball,box break

2008 Topps Football

Topps has really been catering to Boston sports fans with the Target inserts in their base product over the past couple of years.  I bought 2007 Topps and got Ted Williams inserts.  Bill Russell inserts were included in 2007-08 Topps Basketball and the chance at Tom Brady inserts in 2008 football were enough to get me to try a couple of packs.

Pack 1

298 - Adrian Peterson - Pro Bowl
181 - Jeremy Shockey
174 - Antonio Gates
309 - Ben Roethlisberger - Pro Bowl
82 - Laurence Maroney
190 - Randy McMichael
49 - Todd Collins
253 - Antrel Rolle
138 - Reggie Wayne
28 - Kyle Boller
80 - Selvin Young
AFF-PL - Sgt. Philip LaBonte

At the risk of sounding unpatriotic, I'm not a fan of the Armed Forces Fan of the Game cards.  It seems like card companies want to put everyone but athletes on cards these days in an attempt to bloat the size of sets  Lots of stars in this pack including a Patriot.

Pack 2

313 - Devin Hester - Pro Bowl
292 - Reggie Wayne - Rec Yds Leader
37 - Kurt Warner
100 - Najeh Davenport
20 - Ben Roethlisberger
199 - Tommie Harris
231 - Mike Vrabel
280 - Jonathan Ogden
219 - Michael Strahan
68 - Thomas Jones
1 - Drew Brees
259 - Al Harris - Gold parallel 0311/2008

Another pack, another Patriot.  Mike Vrabel had a monster season with 12½ sacks last season for the Patriots.  Football is a sport where it is really tough to determine contributions from statistics.  If you watched the Patriots play last season then you saw Vrabel single-handedly disrupt offenses.  It was almost as beautiful as Tom Brady throwing all of those touchdown passes to Randy Moss.

Technorati Tags: 2008 Topps Football

Tim Lincecum

I did a good amount of research this year for fantasy baseball.  My friend asked me to rejoin a league that I had previously participated in with his uncles and their friends.  It was a prize money league and so I wanted to make a good showing and possibly walk away with some cash.

With one week to go in the fantasy regular season, I'm in second place in the league.  While I had a very good draft overall, the two main reasons that my team performed as well as it did were the selections of Josh Hamilton and Tim Lincecum.

It is amazing what Lincecum has done on a bad team.  The Giants are 15 games under .500.  The pathetic offense that has killed Matt Cain last season and this hasn't been a big problem for Lincecum who so far is 14 - 3 with a 2.48 ERA.  He's struck out an impressive 200 batters in 177.2 IP.  All this in just his second season in the big leagues.

Pictured here is a Tim Lincecum rookie card from 2007 Topps Baseball.  It won't be worth a ton of money even after Lincecum wins the NL Cy Young Award, but it's now an important part of my collection because of what he's done for my fantasy team this season.

 

Technorati Tags: Tim Lincecum,2007 Topps Baseball

A Big Baby who can write (and play basketball)

One of the best things about watching the Celtics win the 2007-08 NBA Championship was the emergence of Glen "Big Baby" Davis as an important contributor to the team.

When the season started, weight and conditioning issues had many concerned about whether or not Davis would be able to compete in the NBA during his rookie season.

Big Baby didn't get too much playing time early in the season because the team already had Brian Scalabrine and had also brought in Scott Pollard for some veteran leadership.  While Pollard was entertaining all season, he was injured more than he was healthy.  That led to the emergence of Leon Powe who was now another player in front of Davis on the depth chart.

Injuries throughout the course of the season to Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Scott Pollard and Brian Scalabrine led to more playing time for Davis and he made the most of his opportunity.  He brought a high level of energy into the game off of the bench.  He fought hard for rebounds and had a natural scoring touch.

Once Davis started making a name for himself out on the parquet, he started getting interviewed and people got to see his playful, goofy side.  He had the kind of personality that paired with his tough playing style quickly made him a fan favorite.  His rookie season culminated with an NBA Championship that he was a key factor in winning and then a shirtless ride through Boston on the back of a Duckboat.

Big Baby quickly became a favorite of mine and I picked up this autographed rookie card on eBay for my collection.  The part that is signed has the look and feel of an NBA Basketball and the card is a nice looking one.  The future looks bright for Big Baby and here's hoping that he'll be as entertaining to watch next season.

 

Technorati Tags: Boston Celtics,Glen "Big Baby" Davis,My Collection,Autograph,2007-08 Upper Deck Sweet Shot