2024 WEEK IN REVIEW - WEEK 2

 

HEY I'M DOING THIS AGAIN! AT LEAST I BETTER BE DOING IT, I'VE UPLOADED ALL THE IMAGES ALREADY. HONESTLY I WAS BORING THIS WEEK, I SPENT MORE TIME WORKING THAN PLAYING BUT I GOT SOME FUN IN HERE AND THERE. I GOT A LOT OF STARING OUT THE WINDOW AT BIRDS DONE AS WELL. THE CARDINALS HAVE BEEN HAVING A PARTY LATELY, AT LEAST BEFORE IT STARTED STORMING AND THE TEMPERATURE DROPPED. IT IS SUPER DIFFICULT TO GET PITCURES OF BIRDS BUT I MANAGED TO GET THIS BIGFOOT QUALITY SNAP OF THIS RED GUY HERE AND I'M PROUD OF IT

COLLECTING STUFF I DID THIS WEEK

THE BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT THIS WEEK WAS GETTING A BUNCH OF BLOG POSTS WRITTEN. ENOUGH THAT WE'VE GOT POSTS QUEUED UP THROUGH THE END OF JANUARY. I DID GET A LITTLE BIT OF CLEANING UP DONE THOUGH. THESE PILES OF 80S DONRUSS AND FLEER AND 1975 STARS GOT PUT AWAY IN THEIR BINDERS. MY 2024 GOALS LIST AIN'T READY YET BUT PUTTING ALL THESE DAMN CARDS AWAY IS ON THE LIST. I ALSO INCHED TOWARDS GETTING ORGANIZED BY FINDING MY GREG MADDUX BINDER AND BOX SO I CAN EVENTUALLY GET THEM ADDED TO TCDB. THIS IS LESS SO I CAN JUMP UP ON THE RANKINGS AS I'M PROBABLY NOT EVEN IN THE TOP 50 BUT SO I CAN BUY MORE MADDUX CARDS WITHOUT GETTING MORE DUPLICATES. I ALSO HAD A BONUS SURPRISE: I AM TRYING TO BUILD THE FLEER STICKER SETS AND I WAS MISSING THE 1991 FLEER ULTRA BRAVES STICKER EVEN THOUGH I WAS CERTAIN I HAD ONE. THE MADDUX BINDER USED TO BE A GENERIC BRAVES BINDER AND LO AND BEHOLD:

THERE IT IS! HOORAY FOR ORGANIZATION! AS LONG AS WE'RE HERE LET'S SHOW OFF THAT BIG CARD

HERE'S A GIGANTIC CARD THAT WAS AN INSERT IN NEWSPAPERS SOLD AT THE STADIUM BACK IN 1998. I MANAGED TO PICK A FEW UP INCLUDING MAD DOG. CHECK OUT THE BACK

LIMITED EDITION BAYBEE!! THERE'S EVEN A SERIAL NUMBER. WHO'S EVEN HEARD OF SERIAL NUMBERED NEWSPAPER INSERTS?? THIS IS VERY NICELY DESIGNED FOR WHAT IT IS AND WHILE I PROBABLY AM NOT HIGH ON THE TCDB LIST I'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW MANY OF THE TOP TENNERS GOT ONE OF THESE

SPEAKING OF HAVING WORK TO DO, THIS IS THE BOX OF THE REST OF THE MADDUX CARDS. I ONLY GOT UP TO 1996 INTO THE BINDER MAINLY BECAUSE I'VE HAD TO SCAVENGE PLASTIC SHEETS FROM OTHER BINDERS. AND THE LAZINESS. I AT LEAST KNOW WHERE THEY ALL ARE NOW

HERE'S SOME NON-CARD STUFF I'VE BEEN DOING

COMICS AND BOOKS

MY COMIC READING WAS MOSTLY RANDOM WEBCOMICS AND THE DAILY STUFF THAT POPS UP ON MY TWITTER AND BLUESKY FEED LAST WEEK SO THERE'S NOTHING SPECIFIC TO SHOW OFF. HOWEVER, MY DAUGHTER CLEANED OUT HER BOOKS IN PREPARATION FOR A BOOK SWAP NEXT WEEK AND FOUND THIS. THIS IS AN OLD BOOK THAT HAS BEEN BOUNCING AROUND MY STUFF SINCE I WAS A KID AND IT'S BEAT ALL TO HELL AND HELD TOGETHER WITH ANCIENT SCOTCH TAPE. THE SPINE IS HARD TO READ BUT IT SAYS BEST BOOKS - STORIES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

SHERLOCK IS EVEN EMBOSSED ON THE FRONT! HELL YEAH, SHERLOCK HOLMES STORIES! I DON'T REMEMBER READING THIS BOOK WHEN I WAS A KID THOUGH, I HAD A DIFFERENT HOLMES ANTHOLOGY. LET'S CHECK IT OUT

THE WHITE COMPANY? WHAT THE HECK IS THIS

AH. A THREE VOLUME SET OF ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE'S BEST BOOKS IN THREE VOLUMES. THE FIRST TWO VOLUMES ARE SHERLOCK HOLMES AND I GOT VOLUME THREE. THERE IS NO COPYRIGHT INFORMATION ANYWHERE IN HERE, THAT PAGE MUST HAVE FALLEN OUT DECADES AGO. I HAVE NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER IN THE NOVEL AS IT'S HISTORICAL FICTION ABOUT A 14TH CENTURY TEAM OF MERCENARY ARCHERS BUT THE BOOK IS COOL LOOKING IN A DECREPIT SORT OF WAY AND THIS PORTRAIT OF DOYLE LOOKS COOL

VIDEO GAMES

I REALIZED I HADN'T PLAYED A MINUTE OF VIDEO GAMES THIS YEAR  AND DECIDED TO RECIFY THAT THIS WEEK. I PLAY EXACTLY TWO GAMES: THE BINDING OF ISAAC, WHICH I HATE, AND STARDEW VALLEY, WHICH IS COMING OUT WITH A GIGANTIC NEW UPDATE SOON SO I'M WAITING ON THAT BEFORE PLAYING ANY MORE. I PLAYED A COUPLE GAMES OF ISAAC BEFORE GETTING KILLED BY SOME NONSENSE AND RAGE QUITTING AND UNINSTALLING. TO FIND SOMETHING NEW I DOWNLOADED SOME DEMOS TO TRY. I PLAYED FIVE OR SIX THAT EITHER DIDN'T CLICK OR DIDN'T WORK ON MY POTATO LAPTOP. THEN I TRIED OUT DUNGEONS & DEGENERATE GAMBLERS, A GAME SCHEDULED TO COME OUT SOMETIME THIS YEAR. ROGUELIKE AND DECKBUILDER ARE TWO PRETTY POPULAR CATEGORIES ON STEAM AND THIS ONE COMBINES THEM BOTH WITH BLACKJACK. IT AIN'T NORMAL BLACKJACK THOUGH, DIFFERENT SUITS CAN GIVE YOU HEALTH, EXTRA DAMAGE, SHIELDS OR COINS AND WINNING A HAND INFLICTS DAMAGE ON THE LOSING PLAYER. YOU CAN ALSO PLAY WITH OTHER KINDS OF CARDS INCLUDING BIRTHDAY CARDS, BUSINESS CARDS, MONOPOLY CARDS, TAROT CARDS AND AS YOU CAN SEE ABOVE A SLABBED 1971 BASEBALL CARD. THE FIRST GAME I PLAYED I REACHED THE END OF THE DEMO AND IN THE DOZEN GAMES I'VE PLAYED SINCE I HAVE NOT GOTTEN PAST THE SECOND LEVEL. IT'S FUN AS HELL IF YOU'RE INTO BLACKJACK AND BUILDING CARD DECKS FULL OF POWERUPS 

MOVIES

THREE MOVIES THIS WEEK, EACH ONE WORSE THAN THE LAST

#4 THE CHEAP DETECTIVE

A KINDA SORTA FOLLOWUP TO MURDER BY DEATH WHICH IS A FAVORITE OF MINE DESPITE THE STUFF THAT'S AGED VERY POORLY. THIS IS SORT OF A PARODY OF HUMPHREY BOGART FILMS IF THE ONLY FILMS HE EVER MADE WERE CASABLANCA AND THE MALTESE FALCON. THE STORY AND JOKES ARE PRETTY BASIC AND IT'S EASY TO SEE WHY THIS NEVER BECAME A CLASSIC, BUT PETER FALK IS AN INCREDIBLE BIZZARO WORLD SAM SPADE AND THE CAST IS COMPLETELY PACKED WITH A PILE OF THE BEST COMEDIC ACTORS OF THE 70S. YOU'LL BE POINTING AT THE SCREEN LIKE LEO FROM THE FIRST SCENE WHEN VIC TAYBACK AND ABE VIGODA STROLL IN AS COPS INSTECTING A CRIME SCENE AND A NEW CHARACTER ACTOR OR THREE WILL POP UP EVERY FIVE MINUTES AFTERWARDS. I KNOW MOST OF YOU OLD GEEZERS OUT THERE WILL LOVE IT

#5 THE THREE STOOGES IN ORBIT

I HAVE NEVER WILLINGLY SAT DOWN AND WATCHED A THREE STOOGES MOVIE BUT SINCE I FAILED AT MY MISSION TO WATCH EVERY STOOGES SHORT LAST YEAR (TWO MORE DOWN THIS WEEK BUT I STILL HAVE OVER 60 LEFT TO GO) I DECIDED TO PUNISH MYSELF BY HAVING TO ADD THE FILMS AS WELL. I HAVE NEVER LIKED CURLY JOE DERITA IN ANY OF THE STOOGES CLIPS I'VE SEEN AND WHEN I SAW HIM STAR IN HIS OWN COLUMBIA SHORT AND BE THE ABSOLUTELY WORST PART OF THE FILM THIS REINFORCED MY DISTASTE. THIS FILM POPPED UP IN MY RECOMMENDATIONS SO I WATCHED IT. IT WAS PRETTY DAMN GOOD ACTUALLY! I MEAN, YES, IT WAS BAD, DERITA WAS STILL A STIFF AND THE STORY WAS LUDICROUS AND AN HOUR AND A HALF IS OBJECTIVELY TOO MUCH STOOGES. HOWEVER, EMIL SITKA HAD A MAJOR ROLE AND WAS AWESOME ENOUGH TO MAKE UP FOR CURLY JOE, THE SPACE ALIENS WERE WONDERFULLY GOOFY AND I THOUGHT THE SUBPLOT OF THE STOOGES TRYING TO SAVE THEIR CARTOON SHOW WAS A NEAT TOUCH. I'D DEFINITELY WATCH IT AGAIN, BUT THEN AGAIN I LOVE BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA

#6 ORGY OF THE DEAD

SPEAKING OF BAD MOVIES, THIS ONE IS REALLY BAD. I LOVE ED WOOD MOVIES AND HAVE WATCHED PLAN 9, BRIDE OF THE MONSTER AND NIGHT OF THE GHOULS MANY, MANY TIMES. I HAD SEEN ALL OF ED'S PRE 70S WORK BUT NEVER WATCHED THIS ONE, HIS FIRST OF MANY BOOBIE MOVIES. THIS IS A NUDIE EXPLOITATION FLICK, BUT IT IS ALSO DEFINITELY A PURE ED WOOD MOVIE WITH NO STORY, HORRIFIC ACTING, EXCEEDINGLY QUESTIONABLE EDITING CHOICES AND ALSO MAYBE THE FUNNIEST BIT OF STOCK FOOTAGE IN HIS ENTIRE FILMOGRAPHY. IT'S EXTREMELY STUPID AND EMBARRASSING AND ALSO KINDA BORING AS YOU WATCH A NEVER ENDING PROCESSION OF TOPLESS GIRLS DOING YET ANOTHER BURLESQUE DANCE BUT IF YOU'RE A TRUE ED WOOD FANATIC YOU'LL GET A FEW LAUGHS OUT OF IT

ALBUMS 

LAST WEEK WAS A LITTLE OUT THERE SO I'M DIALING IT BACK FOR YOU ALL WITH THIS ONE. MINT JAMS BY CASIOPEA IS ALMOST A MEME FOR HOW IT MANAGES TO GET INTO EVERYONE'S RECOMMENDATIONS ON YOUTUBE. IF YOU SEE IT POP UP THOUGH, IT'S AN EXCELLENT LISTEN. CASIOPEA IS A JAPANESE JAZZ FUSION BAND THAT'S BEEN RELEASING MUSIC SINCE 1976 WITH VARIOUS LINEUPS OVER THE YEARS. MINT JAMS IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THEIR BEST ALBUMS AND IF YOU ARE INTO FUSION OR JUST JAZZ IN GENERAL YOU MIGHT DIG IT

YES I KNOW YOU ALL CAME HERE FOR THE CARDS AND NOT ALL THE WEIRD BULLSHIT I LIKE SO HERE'S YOUR REWARD FOR SCROLLING DOWN QUICKLY INSTEAD OF CLOSING THE TAB

BEST THING I BOUGHT THIS WEEK

I'VE BEEN GOING FULL SPEED AHEAD ON BUILDING SETS LATELY SO EVERY TIME I SEE A CARD FROM A SET I KNOW I HAVEN'T COMPLETED I HAVE TO OPEN UP THE WANTLIST AND MAKE SURE I HAVE IT. THIS IS A PAIN FOR THE HANDFUL OF SETS I ONLY NEED A FEW CARDS FROM BECAUSE MY FEEBLE BRAIN CAN'T MEMORIZE THE CARDS I NEED AND I INEVITABLY OPEN UP THE WANTLIST FOR NO REASON 99.9% OF THE TIME. THE TWO CARDS I NEEDED FOR 1999 TOPPS WERE DENNY NEAGLE AND THIS GRIFFEY JR LEAGUE LEADERS CARD. THE LEAGUE LEADER CARD WAS EXTRA FRUSTRATING BECAUSE I KNEW I NEEDED ONE OF THESE FOILBOARD LEADERS CARD BUT IT NEVER STUCK IN MY BRAIN THAT IT WAS GRIFFEY. LEAGUE LEADER CARDS IN 2000 WERE ALSO FOILBOARD SO  NOW EVERY ONE OF THOSE I SEE I'M CHECKING THE  WANTLIST AGAIN. I GOT FED UP WHEN I SAW A 2000 LARRY WALKER LEADERS CARD AND OPENED UP THE WANTLIST AGAIN. SURELY I HAD THE NEAGLE IN A TEAM BINDER. YEP, THERE IT WAS. I YOIKED IT FROM THE BINDER, WENT TO COMC AND PICKED THIS UP FOR FIFTY FIVE CENTS. 1999 TOPPS COMPLETE - FIRST COMPLETE SET OF 2024. OR IT WILL BE WHEN I SHIP THESE THINGS

THIS WEEK'S BASEBALLCARDSTORE DOT CA PICKUPS TOTALED 55 CARDS. MY FORTY CARD PACK A WEEK ISN'T CUTTING IT. IT'S NOT MY FAULT, THERE'S A LOT OF COOL STUFF BEING POSTED ON THERE. HERE'S THIS WEEK'S TOTALS

WANTLIST CARDS FOR SETS: 15
BRAVES/HAWKS/DAWGS: 6
STAR CARDS: 18
INSERT CARDS: 4
CHRONICLES: 3
SHIIIIIINY CARDS: 8

THE BEST THING I PICKED UP THIS WEEK WAS THIS TRIO OF GALARRAGO TEK CARDS. I HAVE HAD SOME TROUBLE SLEEPING THIS WEEK AND ONE NIGHT I WOKE UP AT 3:30. I CHECKED MY PHONE AND REFRESHED THE SITE AND SAW NOTHING NEW. I TRIED TO GO BACK TO SLEEP, HAD NO SUCCESS AND WAS STARTLED BY A LOUD NOICE OUTSIDE AT ABOUT 4AM. FRUSTRATED I STARTED MESSING AROUND ON THE PHONE AGAIN AND THIS TRIO APPEARED. TEK CARDS USUALLY LAST ABOUT 12 SECONDS ON THE SITE AND THAT'S ABOTU HOW LONG IT TOOK ME TO PUT THEM IN MY CART. THESE ARE LISTED UNDER SHIIIIIINY CARDS ABOVE BUT TWO CAN BE ADDED TO THE WANTLIST PICKUPS AS I NEEDED THE AWAY VARIATION OF ANDRES AS WELL AS ONE OF THE BACKGROUND PATTERNS

UNTIL NEXT TIME, Y'ALL GO PLAY WITH YOUR CARDS AND DO SOMETHING FUN THIS WEEK

WASTING SOME MONEY AT THE CARD SHOP

THE PANDEMIC HAS BEEN ROUGH ON MY FAVORITE MONEY WASTING PLACES. A BOOKS-A-MILLION DOWN THE STREET CLOSED. MY FAVORITE ANTIQUE STORE GOT TURNED INTO CONDOS. MY FAVORITE BOOK STORE IS FINALLY GIVING IT UP AND WILL BE CLOSING BY THE END OF THE YEAR. EVEN SECOND AND CHARLES HAS STOPPED SELLING CHEAP COMICS, THE ENDCAP THAT USED TO ALL BE FIFTY CENTS A POP IS NOW FILLED WITH TWO DOLLAR BOOKS. BUT WHEN DOORS CLOSE, WINDOWS GET SMASHED IN. A NEW BOOKSTORE ABOUT A MILE AWAY IS THRIVING AND JUST EXPANDED. I FOUND A BETTER ANTIQUE STORE. AND I'VE RE-DISCOVERED A LOCAL CARD SHOP THAT HAS BEEN AROUND DECADES, BUT HAS BEEN BOUNCING AROUND FROM LOCATION TO LOCATION. I WENT TO WHERE I THOUGHT IT WAS, FOUND A KARATE PLACE AND GOOGLED THE STORE NAME AND FOUND THEY STILL EXISTED AND MOVED A COUPLE MILES DOWN THE STREET

THIS STORE, JT SPORTS COLLECTIBLES, IS A MUCH DIFFERENT STORE THAN MY MAIN LCS, CHAMPION SPORTS CARDS. THEY BOTH HAVE WAX, SINGLES AND MEMORABILIA, BUT CHAMPION HAS MORE SPACE AND A LARGE AMOUNT OF SHELVES FILLED WITH HIGHLY ORGANIZED BOXES OF SINGLES. JT'S PLACE IS MORE CRAMPED AND HAS LESS CARDS BUT YOU'RE WAY MORE LIKELY TO FIND SOME UNLIKELY HIDDEN TREASURES. CHEAP SETS, RARE ODDBALLS, UNEXPECTED AUTOGRAPHS. I'VE FOUND A LOT OF GOOD STUFF THERE THROUGH THE YEARS AND AM HAPPY TO HAVE FOUND IT AGAIN. ESPECIALLY SINCE UNLIKE CHAMPION, THEY ARE OPEN ON SUNDAYS. HERE'S A SAMPLE OF NEAT STUFF I FOUND ON MY LAST TRIP THERE

ANOTHER NOTE ON THE IMAGES HERE, I TRIED A PHONE APP THAT 'SCANS' CARDS BY TAKING 4 DIFFERENT IMAGES AND MERGING THEM ALL TOGETHER TO REMOVE GLARE. IT KINDA WORKS? IT'S MUCH FASTER THAN SCANNING BUT IS A LITTLE DARK AND CAN HAVE SOME DISTORTION (CHECK THE FOIL ON THE DREXLER CARD FOR SOME WEIRDNESS). I MIGHT TRY IT AGAIN SOMETIME BUT WILL PROBABLY DEFAULT TO PHONE PICS WHEN I'M BEING LAZY 

1995 DENNY'S GREG MADDUX

IT'S STRANGE, IN 1996 AND 97 MY ROOMATE AND I WENT TO DENNY'S SO MANY TIMES TO EAT CRUMMY FOOD AND BUY TONS OF PINNACLE DENNY'S CARD PACKS, BUT IN 1995 WE DIDN'T GO EVEN ONCE TO BUY SOME OF THESE. WHY DID WE IGNORE THE UPPER DECK YEARS? I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THESE EXISTED UNTIL MUCH LATER. WE PROBABLY HAD DECENT JOBS BY THEN AND COULD AFFORD TO PAY MORE TO GET BAD FOOD WITH BASEBALL CARDS INSTEAD OF JUST GOING TO WAFFLE HOUSE. DENNY'S HOLGRAM CARDS ARE GREAT THOUGH AND ARE RARE ENOUGH TO SEEM SPECIAL BUT COMMON ENOUGH TO FREQUENTLY BE FOUND IN BARGAIN BOXES. I DROPPED TWO BUCKS ON THIS ONE BECAUSE MADDUX IN ATLANTA BUT HAD TO HAVE IT BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE VERY FEW NON- KELLOGG'S CARDS I'VE EVER SEEN THAT HAS A CRACK IN IT, YEAH I KNOW IT'S NO LONGER GEM MEEENT ANYMORE BUT THAT IS FASCINATING TO ME. HOW DID THAT CRACK EVEN GET THERE? I DON'T SEE ANY CREASE ON THE CARD. WHAT HAPPENED? PRETTY SURE I ALREADY HAVE THIS CARD AS WELL BUT I SURE DON'T HAVE ONE WITH A BIG CRACK SNAKING OVER THE HOLOGRAM

1996-97 FLEER ULTRA CLYDE DREXLER 1986 ULTRA DECADE

FOR FLEER'S 10TH ANNIVERSARY THEY CREATED AN INSERT SET OF TWENTY OF THE BEST PLAYERS FROM THEIR 1986-87 SET. AND PUT THEM IN FLEER ULTRA FOR SOME REASON. I WISH I HAD BOUGHT MORE ULTRA THAT YEAR TO PULL MORE OF THESE CARDS (AND FOR OTHER REASONS) BUT I'VE GOT A SMALL COLLECTION OF THEM. I WAS VERY EXCITED TO FIND CLYDE IN THE BASKETBALL BOX FOR A NICE PRICE. THIS IS ACTUALLY A SOMEWHAT REASONABLE SET TO COMPLETE, EVEN THE CARD OF YOU KNOW WHO ISN'T CRAZY EXPENSIVE

1971-72 TOPPS WALT WESLEY

I HAVE A RULE: IF I SEE CHEAP VINTAGE BASKETBALL CARDS WHILE SCROUNGING THRU A BOX, I GOTTA PICK ONE OF THEM UP. I FOUND SOME AND I PICKED THIS ONE. 1971-72 TOPPS IS A GREAT LOOKING SET. LOOKS LIKE A SET OF 1969 TOPPS FOOTBALL GOT THROWN IN A BLENDER WITH A FEW 1986 AND 1972 TOPPS BASEBALL CARDS FOR FLAVOR. I SLIGHTLY PREFER THE 72-73 DESIGN BUT IT'S LIKE PREFERRING PIZZA OVER BUFFALO WINGS. GIMME BOTH AND A BOTTLE OF TUMS. WALT WAS A SUCCESSFUL BACKUP CENTER WHO PLAYED IN THE LEAGUE FOR TEN YEARS. THIS CARD SHOWS OFF THE STATS FOR HIS BEST SEASON AS A MEMBER OF THE EXPANSION CLEVELAND CAVALIERS. IT'S ALSO VERY CHRISTMASSY WITH ALL THE GREEN AND RED

2003 FLEER SWEET STITCHES TODD HELTON RELIC CARD #888/899

RELIC CARDS ARE WORTHLESS NOW LOL. YOU CAN FIND SO MANY GOOD RELIC CARDS FOR DIRT CHEAP NOWADAYS, EVEN OF PLAYERS WHO MAY OR MAY NOT BE ELECTED TO THE HALL OF FAME BY THE TIME THIS GETS POSTED. TODD'S A GREAT HITTER, WAS A QUARTERBACK FOR TENNESSEE AND THERE'S A SERIAL NUMBER THAT LOOKS LIKE A SNOWMAN CONVENTION ON THIS CARD AND I STILL GET IT FOR LIKE A BUCK. I ALREADY HAVE SEVERAL TODD HELTON RELICS BUT HAD TO PICK THIS ONE UP BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY THE JERSEY SWATCH IS ALL MESSED UP. THERE'S A GAP IN BETWEEN THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE FABRIC AND HALF THE WINDOW FOR THE WORD SWATCHES IS MISSING THREADS. JERSEY RELICS MAY BE PLENTIFUL BUT GOOFS ARE RARE AND FUN

2001-02 UPPER DECK JOE JOHNSON RC

IN THE EARLY 2000S, DOMINIQUE WILKINS WAS OUT OF THE LEAGUE AND THE HAWKS WERE JUST DISMAL SO MY BASKETBALL CARD COLLECTING TOOK A DIP UNTIL AL HORFORD WAS DRAFTED IN 2007. AS A RESULT I MISSED A FEW ROOKIES HERE AND THERE. JOE JOHNSON WAS A BIG PART OF SOME OF THOSE DISMAL HAWKS TEAMS AND PLAYED FOR-EVER. HE CAME EXTREMELY CLOSE TO WINNING A TITLE WITH BOSTON LAST YEAR AS HE GOT BROUGHT BACK FOR ONE GAME WHEN HALF THE LEAGUE WAS SICK. ISO JOE IS A BASKETBALL LEGEND AND I COULDN'T PASS UP HIS ROOKIE FOR FIFTY CENTS

2019-20 PANINI CERTIFIED CAM REDDISH 2019

WHAT KINDA IDIOT NAMES AN INSERT SET THE YEAR THE SET WAS PRODUCED. THIS WAS A VERY CONFUSING CARD TO LOOK UP. I WAS SOOOOO EXCITED WHEN CAM DROPPED TO THE HAWKS IN THE 2019 DRAFT. MAN, THAT WAS A FUN DRAFT EVEN THOUGH DE'ANDRE HASN'T QUITE YET LIVED UP TO POTENTIAL AND CAM CRASHED AND BURNED IN ATLANTA. BUT SINCE HE WAS DRAFTED RIGHT BEFORE THE WORLD ENDED, I HAVE BEEN ALMOST COMPLETELY UNABLE TO RIP ANY NBA PACKS AND HAVE VERY FEW ROOKIES OR EVEN CARDS OF CAM. I WAS HAPPY TO SNAG A CHEAP EXTREMELY SHINY ROOKIE YEAR INSERT SO I COULD BE REMINDED OF THE GOOD TIMES AND BE HOPEFUL HE GETS IT TOGETHER IN NEW YORK OR WHEREVER HE GETS TRADED TO NEXT

2015 PANINI ROOKIES AND STARS MATT RYAN LONGEVITY PARALLEL

NOW THAT MATTY ICE IS OUT OF ATLANTA I CAN FINALLY STEP BACK AND LET GO MY ANGER TOWARDS THIS CHUMP TRYING TO REPLACE MICHAEL VICK AND ADMIT THAT MATT RYAN WAS A DAMNED GOOD QUARTERBACK. I AIN'T GOING TO COLLECT HIS CARDS, BUT I'LL PICK UP A SUPER SHINY ONE HERE AND THERE FOR OLD TIME'S SAKE. THIS ONE IS VERY SHINY AND COLORFUL AND THE SCAN DOES NOT DO IT JUSTICE. THE SHEER NUMBER OF PANINI PARALLELS IS TEDIOUS AND I HAVE NO IDEA IF THIS ONE IS SCARCE OR NOT BUT IT'S PRETTY SO WHO CARES

2020-21 PRIZM JEFF TEAGUE WHATEVER THE RED PARALLEL IS

JEFF TEAGUE IS WEIRDLY UNDERRATED IN ATLANTA. HE WAS A SOLID STARTING POINT GUARD FOR FIVE YEARS AND WAS ON THE 60 WIN TEAM THAT WENT TO THE EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS. THE ONLY POINT GUARD IN ATLANTA HISTORY TO GO FURTHER IN THE PLAYOFFS IS TRAE. HE EVEN SNUCK HIS WAY BACK ON THE TEAM AS THE BACK OF THE CARD SAYS AND IS STILL IN THE ORGINIZATION AS A SCOUT. PLUS HE MANAGED TO GET A RING WITH THE BUCKS TO CAP A NICE LITTLE CAREER. THE BEST PART ABOUT THIS CARD IS THE SHINKY* RED BORDER THAT MATCHES PERFECTLY WITH THE WEIRD TRIANGLE UNIFORMS THE HAWKS WORE FOR A WHILE. I'VE BEEN PICKING UP MORE COLOR-APPROPRIATE PARALLEL CARDS LATELY, IT'S A FUN DIVERSION

THIS IS THE KIND OF STUFF YOU CAN FIND AT JT'S. MAYBE NOT CARDS FROM THAT SET YOU'RE LAZER FOCUSED ON COMPLETING BUT IT'S A GOOD WAY TO KILL AN HOUR AND A FEW BUCKS ON A A SUNDAY AFTERNOON

*THIS SHOULD SAY 'SHINY' BUT I THINK SHINKY WORKS

Presented without comment

(for the 5000th time in the past day, probably, but who cares)

Hall of Fame - Greg Maddux

I scheduled this post for 2:00 pm to coincide with the Hall of Fame induction announcment. Right now I'm probably weeping with joy at my desk at work because Maddux is a Hall of Famer. If Tommy got in too I'm probably howling. If Maddux beat Seaver's vote percentage record I'm probably pumping my fist. And maybe dancing on my laptop if Frank got in too. Naked, probably. I'm probably getting escorted from the building right now actually. Who cares, Greg's a legend.

I'm posting three cards from each player who gets inducted today. One Iconic card (to me at least), one cool looking card and one for the Mojo lovers. I'm spreading the posts out a bit so I can quickly delete posts and/or scan cards when I get home tonight. I'm posting Greg first because if he doesn't get in I'm setting Cooperstown on fire.

My favorite Maddux card by far. Yeah, it's just a SI cover in card form but it's a helluva SI cover. And absolutely correct. I do kind of wonder who the next Jerry Rice is now.

This isn't the actual insert but a promo card I got in 1996 at the best card shop I will ever go to.The story is quite odd, some guy wandered in the shop (a distributor I guess?) gave a few of these cards to the shop owner and he immediately gave one to me. It's a very lovely looking fake painty canvassy looking thing in person.

A relic card from back when relic cards actually meant something. This isn't the first relic card I ever owned but it's the first relic card I hunted down like a dog and spent too much money on. I don't know how much it's worth today but it's priceless as far as I'm concerned.

2000 Donruss Greg Maddux

Scanned just for Night Owl, who says he doesn't want it.

WELL YOU GOT IT ANYWAY TAKE THAT DODJAH BOY

And since this blog has devolved into a knee-jerk reaction to a certain Dodger blog, here's this:

1984 Donruss is the most overrated set since '52 Topps. The photography is terrible even for Donruss standards and the little swooshy things did not age well. 1985 Donruss beats it up, takes its lunch and then goes on a picnic with its sister. Plus you can get the Mattingly for 10-15 bucks now anyway.

And I am unanimous in this. 

Sketch Card #9 - Maddux Pie

This one went to Jon over at Community Gum. Jon had a couple of stickers I needed and I had a few to send over his way. Jon is the first person I asked if they wanted a specific subject on their sketch card. This was the response:

Would you be able to do Greg Maddux riding on a pony of your choice?

Riding ponies? In My Little Pony? Whaaaaaaaa???? Filthy humans riding Equestrian ponies?!?! Blasphemy! Jon could get sent to the Moon for a thousand years for such insolence! I quickly devised a way to get him off the hook though:

WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!

(everypone out there should already know the joke that's coming so let's just get it over with)

So here's Pinkie Pie getting a piggyback ride from Greg Maddux (Cubs edition). Greg looks a little surprised and maybe dismayed at his situation. Honestly I don't get it, Pinkie Pie is the best pony, and giving her a piggyback ride should be a great honor. Maybe Greg is just a little worn out because Pinkie ate too much fudge and got a pudge and couldn't budge. It would explain why she's riding instead of prancing around like she usually does. She sure is having fun at any rate!

This one was a bit of a challenge as I rely heavily on reference photos when drawing and there isn't really a single photo of Greg Maddux giving a piggyback ride to anyone out there on the web, let alone giving one to a horse. So I found one of some random dude on a beach giving a piggyback to some chick and went from there. I made Greg a little more knock-kneed and the girl switched species, but it's about the same pose as in the picture. Greg's face I based on that grimace he makes when he pitches that can be seen on about 50% of his cards. I experimented with a multi-colored crosshatch background and ended up liking how it turned out enough to use it again. The only reason I did it in the first place was to cover up a mistake. Can you tell what it was?

Ok, I have at least three or four more cards I still need to draw so I better get a-drawin'. Ride 'em cowgirl! (oh wait, that's Applejack, not Pinkie Pie)

I'M CALMER NOW

Ok, so maybe Goodwin is not for you. Unlicensed set, lots of weird stuff in there, you could open 10 packs and not get a single baseball player easy.

However....

If you like the 2009 set, you're gonna like this set.

Plus: Professor Maddux.

Class is in session.

Card Show Top 20 - #19 Blue MadDog

At the show there was one seller that was either completely insane or was a Wizard from another dimension. While 90% of the tables were pretty straightforward, some vintage here, some Mojo there, maybe some wax boxes, this guy had a treasure trove of completely random ephemera. Postcards, magazines, photo slides, toys, tchotchkes, even a few actual cards. He had his stuff set up by tables. One table was ten bucks a pop, another 5 bucks, yet another was 3 and the table piled the highest was a buck each for everything on the table. Right square in the middle was the Dollar Box From Dimension X.

EVERYTHING was in this box. You could not get a more random selection of cards if you were given a million dollars to travel the world and pick out the strangest collection of stuff imaginable. 10% of the box I didn't even know what the hell it was. Strange leather cards, playing cards, stuff that looks like it was cut off a box, complete weirdness. Some of the stuff I did recognize included tobacco era cards, oddball inserts from the '60s and '70s, a bunch of old non-sports issues from the '50s to the '70s, British tobacco cards and Topps Heritage buyback Vintage cards with the foil stamp. Mixed in with that were some random packs including an Empire Strikes back pack that I passed up because I would go crazy trying to decide if I should rip it or not and a piece of MLB gum which apparently has a baseball player comic inside. Them mixed in with all the awesome is a bunch of dreadfully boring star cards from the junk wax era. Then there was absolute insanity like an old Fleer Ultra basketball card that a) looked like it had been run over by a truck and b) had a weird holographic foil on it that makes me think it might have been a 1/1 platinum card. I looked around and could find any indication of what it was, but it sure wasn't a normal Ultra card. Eventually I picked out about 13 bucks worth of stuff. Eventually I had to walk away because by brain was too boggled. Turns out, 7 of those cards are in the Top 20. Including number 19...

2004 Cracker Jack #124 Greg Maddux Blue Parallel

When I think about the insanely oddball stuff I passed up to grab a parallel card from 2004, I feel kind of foolish. HOWEVER... It's Maddux. Greatest pitcher of his generation. From a set I really really like. On a parallel I really really like. The blue parallels are numbered out of 50 in the 2005 set, but I don't think these are nearly as short printed as that. Man, I wish the entire Cracker Jack set could have had blue backgrounds instead. I know the originals were red, but that red hurts my eyes. I don't even mind that Maddux is a Cub on this card. I JUST FRIGGIN LIKE THE CARD OK.  I got a nice card I liked and I left the rest of the oddball for the next guy at the card show. And if no one picks it up, the next guy can be me! I wonder if I can get to the card show and back on my lunch break?!?

The Top 20 List:

#20 Reds' Heavy Artillery

#19 Blue MadDog

#18 Lil' Jimmy

#17 Real Fake '52

#16 First Topps

#15 Bogus Boog

#14 V103 Tree

#13 Sertoma Rico

#12 '55 Finishers

#11 Hey Shiny

#10 What the Dickens

#9 '60 Spahnnie

#8 Lonely '53

#7 Super Chief

#6 Original Frank

#5 Hoops Inspiration

#4 Rocket Robin

#3 Wizard Off Kilter

#2 Shenanigans Were Called

#1 The Holy Grail of Commons

Four more packages inna mail

Kids been barfing ALL WEEK. .

So I've, um, gotten a little behind in my posting. Here's four packages getting the one card treatment. Each one has a special theme involved, so they will be getting their own post eventually. Once the projectile vomiting stops.

Greg Maddux Double Header Mini Jersey

This came from Jim right here in the ATL. Jim sent a whole lot of cards from a a set I'm building and incuded a couple of 'mini' jersey cards. Both were actually from sets that just happened to be mini sized. This here is Fleer's valiant but awkward attempt to rip off the 1955 Topps Double Header set. All the photos were computerizedto look like they were painted (by a robot, but painted) and the cards were the same size as the originals. Unfortunately they didn't make the entire set double folders and the resulting base cards look a bit odd. I like the Maddog, even if that jersey piece has him squished over to the left.

2009 Brian McCann A&G mini

Matt G. (who has a blog, I just can't remember what it is) dumped a bunch of "evil Braves" among other things in this package. He was 99% sure I had this card, but I DIDN'T SO NYAAAAAH. This one went right into the A&G mini binder, deposing a 2008 Gary Sheffield in the process.

1996 Pinnacle Christie Brinkley Collection Chipper Jones

What's better than a Chipper card? A Chipper and Chrstie Brinkley card. CHEWING GUM. This one is from Madding at Cards on Cards in a recent A&G SP swap.

2009 Bowman Blue Chipper Jones

This one came from Steve at The Easy Life. Steve did a Bad Bad Thing. that is all I have to say about that. While I hate Bowman now thanks to Topps screwing up the brand beyond repair, a Chipper parallel numbered to 500 overcomes all hate.

Thanks guys, I'll be posting and sending once I clean up all the yuck on the walls...

Trick or Treat II - Electric Boogaloo

After getting my pants scared off by SlangKo's Halloween Contest cards, I figured there was nothing in Tribe Cards' Trick or Treat package that could phase me anymore. It couldn't possibly be any worse than last year, could it? I mean, Sandy frickin' ATE Bruce Hurst! Let's open 'er up and see what we got.

Oh Lord, the first card is an Indian. Here we go again...

Ah, Kenny Lofton. Well, nothing wrong with that, Kenny's pretty cool. Wait... Oh No!

Kenny's got that crazy look in his eyes again! Kenny noooooooooooooooo

Oh wait, I forgot. Kenny's the devil. Well, at least in Atlanta he is. If you are the guy that came over in the trade that sent David Justice away you better expect some backlash. Let's see what other horrifying things are in this package.

Aaaaah! A POG! Quick, someone throw a heavy metal disc at this thing. What the hell is a Daemonite anyway? Is that what happens when a daemon enters the Earth's atmoshpere, burns up and crashes to the ground? Huh. I'm not too far off. Looks like a bootleg Xenomorph to me. Anybody heard of this critter before?

Wildstorm comics. That's one of those independent companies that popped up in the early '90s comic boom which quickly turned to bust. I think they got gobbled up by DC and put out some good stuff from Warren Ellis later on. It's a nice POG, I'll say that, there's some chrome stuff over on the side that probably would be utterly destroyed the first time this was used in an actual game of POGs. That's enough of that, let's see some cards!

Oh noes! Greg Maddux is stuck on a tiny island in the middle of a raging flood and it's hailing baseballs and two mutant Gojira-sized Cy Young awards are about to attack! And Greg looks BORED. Because Greg Maddux is the most cold blooded badass on the planet. I wish he'd come back and pitch for a couple more decades.

Frightening things about this card:
1) The amount of money the Braves could have ended up paying Andruw.
2) The amount of money the Dodgers did pay Andruw.
3) That he will likely be a free agent again this offseason.
4) That the Braves need a cheap power-hitting righty outfielder so badly that be might end up being a good fit.

Aaaaah! I skeered myself! I mustn't think about such things. Next card.

Hm. Glavine. So what's scary about this card? I guess you could pretend those lavender splotches on either side of Glavine are The Blob closing in to munch on poor Tom. The embossed stitches could be seen as teeth about to gnaw on his bones. Tom could actually try to make another comeback next season... *shudder* Scared myself again.

Nothin' scary 'bout Dave Justice! The scary thing is how many 1991 Score cards I have. I bought packs right and left back then and when I almost had the entire set I went and bought the factory set for some reason. I have enough of these cards for about four sets now. Why? I have no idea.

Of course that means I have lots 'o Chippah rookies. I think this one is univerally regarded as his worst rookie card, which of course means I have enough of them to wallpaper my garage.

There were four other cards in the package, but they weren't scary at all and are in fact awesome enough to deserve their own post.

Yay! I got treated and not tricked! Thanks David! The scariest card in the pack was just Kenny. Nothing wrong with Kenny. Of course the Braves have never won a World Series since they traded off Marquis Grissom. Maybe it's the Curse of Kenny?

Naaaah, nothing scary about Kenny Lofton.