Don't Call it a Comeback...

...I haven't been here in a year! So just let me (re)introduce myself! 

Sorry for shamelessly borrowing from two of my favorite, old school hip hop songs(and very loosely from my pal Matt) but those lines seemed quite appropriate for this occasion. It has been exactly one year since my last post on this blog. I never intended to take break or go on a hiatus of any length. I don't have a crazy 'life happens' story about why I haven't had time to write and I wasn't even burnt out or having writer's block. In fact, I have missed writing about the hobby I love. I've thought about coming back too many times to count. So, what has kept me away? Well, the truth is, my laptop died and once Google made the significant changes to many of their offerings last year, I couldn't find a reasonable way to mange the blog using only my iPad. Apps that I had previously used no longer allowed me to post pics. The alternate option of trying to use the Blogger website from the tablet was not feasible(unless I was writing a really short post) because I couldn't scroll down to see anything beyond the text/pics that filled the top of the editing screen. Anyway, I think I finally have a solution in place that will allow me to get back to a semi-regular posting schedule. I don't know about any one that may be out there, but I'm excited to get back to it!

In my absence from the blogosphere, I've still been very active in the hobby. There have been many completed trades, trips to multiple shows, and more purchases than I can count. I've found a few ways to supplement my normal hobby budget which has allowed me to end up owning some cards that I never thought would find a home in my collection(future post planned to share some of these tips). Finally, I have slowly and organically built a decent Twitter(@CardpocalypseNC) following which has allowed me to share some hobby moments in short form. So much has changed in my hobby world over the past year. Therefore, I guess it's best to take a brief look at my collecting habits(new and old) and then talk briefly about how some parts of my collection have evolved over the last year.

To start, I am still a huge Yankee fan. I'm still picking up almost any Yankees I can for the PC, but I have really turned up the focus on acquiring Bernie Williams cards that I don't have. A few months back, I took the plunge and signed up for a Trading Card Database account(CardpocalypseNC for anyone interested). I have really enjoyed using the site to catalog some of my player collections and to keep up with checklists/needs on some of the insert sets I'm trying to complete. After entering all of my unique Bernie cards into my database collection, I stand at 374 which is my top total for any player thus far and places me in 8th place among other Bernie collections on the site. I'd like to add to that number and work my way up that list. In the interest of keeping this post on the shorter side, I'll only share a single new(to the blog) Bernie acquisition.

It's not high-end or anything, but I cartainly remember how popular, hard-to-find, and expensive these International Refractors were while navigating the 1997 collecting landscape. With that in mind, I was pretty happy to grab this for just a few bucks several months back.

I'm also a big Negro Leagues fan. I have been passively hunting for singles from the 2001 Fleer Tradition insert Stitches in Time. I still have a handful of base inserts to find, but I have decided to go after the more difficult auto and relic portions of the checklist.

Updates on this hunt to come in a future post.

From here, the remainder of the collection is very similar to how it has always been. Denver Broncos, Durham Bulls, and NC guys are still some of my favorites. In the coming days, I'll be sure that my 'Who I Collect' page is up to date. I have scrapped several of the previous unfinished set chases and added a few insert sets so updating the set needs page will also be an upcoming project.

One of the biggest differences in my collecting comes in the form of chasing some more ambitious set goals. A few of these new set goals were in their infancy stages as my blogging was grinding to a halt. First up, I am searching for all of the 1998 Skybox One For the Ages Star Rubies parallels. This 15 card subset focuses on highlights from Super Bowl XXXII. To date, I have tracked down 7/15 of these. They don't pop up very frequently and when they do, they tend to be quite pricey, but I'd love to own all of these some day.

Similarly, I'm on the hunt for all of the 1999 Ultra Platinum Medallions from the Super Bowl XXXIII subset. This is a 10 card subset that focuses on the Broncos' back to back championships. Right now, I only have 1/10 of those, but it's a big one.

There is a second Elway-only card in the subset, but at least I've got a great start to this chase!

There is so much more that I want to write about, but if I don't reign it in soon, I'll never actually publish his post. So, I'll focus on one more area that is a bit newer. I don't think I've posted about this previously. Somewhere around 15-20 years ago, one of my day job interactions led to me having the chance to meet Serge Zwikker. For the many out there who have no idea who that is, he was the center on the UNC Tar Heels teams of the mid-90's. From that first meeting up to the present day, I've had a chance to spend a good bit of time working with him in the context of my professional setting. I'm not saying that he and I are best friends, but we are certainly more than acquaintances. It didn't occur to me until about a year ago that he may have some NBA cards out there(he was drafted by Houston in 1997). I quickly found a few base RCs from that year's sets and then picked up all the parallels I could find as well.

          

These are a few of the base RCs I found. He was also in the Hoops and Fleer Tradition sets. I have multiple parallels from Fleer Tradition(not shown) and A copy of the Ultra Gold Medallion. However, I have been looking for the Skybox Star Rubies and Ultra Platinum Medallion for several months and haven't even seen any come up for sale or trade. Ultimately, those are the focus of my Serge-hunt, but I'd happily add any college cards I don't have if they're floating around out there.

I'll stay true to my word and cut this post short right here. For anyone interested, I'm planning expanded posts with more pics from these varied focal points of my collection along with several other areas that I didn't have space to write about here. I hope you've enjoyed what I'm looking at as a 'soft re-launch' of this blog. As soon as I can finish updating pages and maybe giving the design an update, I'll plan something for a Grand re-launch. Stay tuned for additional details about that coming soon. Thanks for reading.

Huge Trade with Sport Card Collectors

My quest to catch up on some (not so)recent trade packages and establish a semi-regular posting schedule begins anew today. Hopefully this time I'll be able to make it last. Though this is not chronologically the first package I need to catch up on, it did contain a huge PC addition and the scans were ready to go so this is where I start.

Several months back I was tweeting back and forth with Matt from Sport Card Collectors. He informed me that he had recently pulled a card of a guy I collected. From the moment the picture came through the message, I knew I needed to find a way to make a deal. Fortunately enough, Matt was super laid back about the deal and I was able to come up with a mixed bag of cards that hit some of his collecting interests. In fact, he sent me the centerpiece of our trade before I finished putting together his return package.

This awesome patch/auto of 'The Outlaw' was that centerpiece. This blue parallel #'d 1/3 came from his box review of Topps Triple Threads, so as is customary - thank you Topps for providing that box to him for his review! Additionally, I received two other Durham Bulls guys to round out my end of this huge deal.

I hadn't opened any Heritage Minors and was thrilled to receive these two in the package. Bauers had a really good first season in Durham last year and Schultz has been a fan favorite for the better part of the past 2 seasons. He led the league in K's the year before last. As much as I'd like to see him in Durham, I hope he sticks in Tampa this year. A short while after these arrived and I sent the return portion of this trade, I received a somewhat unexpected PWE from Matt as well.

Pure awesomeness all throughout! Three new Kiermaiers highlighted the envelope, but all were needs and very much appreciated. Hats my second different version of that Golden Grabs insert from Fire and I am slowly but surely(though inadvertently) building the rainbow on the Optic Diamond Kings(and the Optic base - more on that in another post). This one happens to be an unnumbered purple prizm parallel. Thanks for a really great swap, Matt! I've already started another stack to be sent your way in the near future. Thanks for reading.

White Whales Exist, Don't They?

Let me start off tonight by saying Happy Veteran's Day to you all and thank you to any vets or anyone currently serving our country. Your service is definitely appreciated. Sorry my post content today isn't related in some way.

In an effort to avoid the lack of posts due to the paralysis induced by overthinking what I should write about, I'm going to explore a topic that was floating around the cardsphere several weeks(maybe it was months) back. Sure, there is a lot of stuff I have to share that has piled up during the time I was absent from posting. There will definitely be trade posts, more ripping product posts, and a few really big additions to my collection all forthcoming. However, today's topic will be the ever elusive white whale. I really enjoyed reading some of the lists I saw a while back and thought that I should work on a list of my own. I decided to keep it to 5 pieces of cardboard that haven't found their way to my collection(or maybe anyone's collection) as yet.

1982 Oneonta Yankees Team Set - John Elway

First up, a card I wrote about way back in my first week writing this blog. It is truly my current Holy Grail. In my opinion, it may be the piece of cardboard that most perfectly sums up my sports fandom. My favorite MLB team drafts a prospect that turns out to be a HOF caliber, Super Bowl winning quarterback for my favorite NFL team. This gem has eluded me for two reasons, price and authenticity. While there are not an unlimited number of these available, I can easily find it on eBay right now. It's definitely not within my hobby budget right now. I'd ultimately like to find a low grade copy in my price range just so I can be sure it's the real deal and not a counterfeit. Since I'm not one for graded cards, I'd probably have an internal struggle over freeing it from its plastic prison once I had it in hand. Oh well, let's not put the cart before the horse.

2001 Topps Chrome What Could Have Been - Josh Gibson refractor

Yes, I realize this borrowed picture is not a refractor. Though I searched high and low, I could not find an image of the parallel version of this one. I've had a few chances to spear this 'whale' over the years. However, for one reason or another, my aim was never true enough to successfully reel it in. I lost a few auctions here and there. I thought I had a deal to acquire it in trade finalized, but it fell through at the last minute. I even found an auction for the entire 10 card refractor set with a really reasonable starting bid and while waiting for the ending date to draw nearer so I could pounce on it, the seller had a change of heart and decided to keep the set(I know because I messaged him/her about my interest and that's what I was told). At this point, I haven't seen a copy in the wild for just shy of a year. It's the centerpiece of the refractor set that I am halfheartedly building. Perhaps if I can ever snag a copy of this elusive gem, I'd be more inclined to actively chase the rest of my set needs down.

2014 Topps Update - Kevin Kiermaier clear(acetate) parallel /10

I have only seen this card on e auction block one time. It was earlier this year, I believe. I was ecstatic! It had a slightly larger than I wanted to pay price tag on it, but I figured I would sell a few cards to raise the PayPal needed to pull the trigger on a really limited RC parallel of one of my favorite Former Durham Bulls. I was regularly checking in on the listing to make sure that it was still available while I waited for a few items to sell. It was there. Still available. Then I get a notification that one of my items sold(one that would get me to a point where I could click the Buy It Now button). Unfortunately, while I was waiting for the buyer's payment, someone else beat me to the punch on the Kiermaier. It was as close to heartbroken over a card as I've ever been. Oh well, maybe one day I'll have a shot at one of the nine that remain.

2007 Allen & Ginter Bruce Lee Framed Relic

This piece of awesomeness was released during a period when I was not active in our hobby. Once finding my way back to the familiarity of collecting, it took me a while to warm up to A&G. I'm still not its biggest fan, but I do love it for cards like this. I really dig some of the non-baseball items they have included on the checklist over the years. When I was a kid in Upstate NY(Orange County for anyone who cares), one of the first activities I got the chance to participate in was Tae Kwon Do classes. I was about 6 or 7 and met a pair of brothers that were 2 or three years older than me. We worked our way up the ranks, earning our more advanced belts and at some point, we began choreographing our own demonstrations that we would perform when the facility we held class in would have an open house. We bonded over Bruce Lee(and campy, Bruce Lee look-a-like) films and like many young martial artists, wanted to emulate his every move. While visiting my family in California, I even begged my cousin and brother to take me to find his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame(they did - I still have the picture). I've seen this incredible relic once or twice, but it is far outside my hobby budget. Hey, a guy has to have dreams, right?

Alright, that's four of my five white whales and the reasons are all really similar as to why I haven't added them to my collection yet. The fifth and final card on the list is an entirely different story, a 'whale' of a different color if you will(though I won't call it that ever again).

2017 Topps Pro Debut Fragments of the Farm - Durham Bulls Snorting Bull sign relic

This is the second time I've written about this card here on the blog. Earlier this year, this image was released as part of the promo materials for the Pro Debut set. I was jacked! I knew I needed a copy of this card and figured it would be pretty easy to track down once the ripping of the packs, boxes, and cases of product began. However, my searching over the week's immediately following the product release turned up no sign of this card. Right about then, some of the factors that contribute to my unplanned blog hiatus began to kick in and when I had time for cards, it was more readily attainable items and this hunt went on the back burner. I always had a saved eBay search though. A few weeks back while I was trying to compile this list, I tweeted to see if I could find a confirmed sighting of this beast or if its existence was a myth. I received several replies saying they would keep their eyes open and let me know. I also got a reply from a fellow blogger that is also in search of one of these. Yes, the card in question's namesake blog(The Snorting Bull) author replied confirming that he had seen no evidence of its existence despite actively hunting for it. All of the evidence pointed me in the direction of giving up the search for a copy. That is until Topps replied to my inquiry stating that the image used in the marketing(and copied above) was taken of the actual card prior to pack out. However, when I inquired about its potential rarity, I got no further reply. So, if I am to trust Topps, I should apparently keep hope alive that I will one day see a copy of this in real life. I suppose only time will tell. Thanks for reading.

Looks Like a Super Day for a Big Game

Well, I'm back after another unexpected posting drought. My wife and daughters returned from visiting my in-laws a week ago and they brought a nasty virus back with them so everyone in the family has been spending the majority of this past week in recovery mode. Today is the final game of the NFL season though and I couldn't miss out on an opportunity to celebrate the occasion. I'd like to think that I don't care who wins today, but I'd be lying if I said I'd be OK if the Patriots won. In fact, the only possible positive I could see coming out of a NE victory today is the chance that Brady will decide to retire afterwards. So, I can say with no reservations that I'm going to be an Atlanta Falcons fan for a day.

Since I don't collect either team, I guess I'll just have to show off some recently acquired Super Bowl themed, Broncos cardboard.

Up first is this pair of shiny Super a Bowl Heroes depicting two of the defensive anchors of last year's Championship team. The scan doesn't do these justice. In hand, they are reminiscent of some of the mid to late '90's issues from Playoff: shiny, semi dufex-y, goodness. Man, I miss some of the cards from those days! I snagged these from Listia for a combined total of 15,000 credits which roughly translates to a whopping $0.55.

Okay, this one is not technically cardboard, but I love it nonetheless. I 'pulled' this Topps Then insert from a digital pack in Huddle yesterday. It's part of their massive blitzkrieg of Super Bowl products. With 21 'cards' in the set the odds of pulling this one were long, especially for someone who doesn't spend money on the app. I can appreciate that this one highlights Mr. MVP's second strip sack of the game. It goes really well with the card that ended up being my favorite of 2016.

Speaking of my favorite card of 2016... I know I've showcased various versions of this card over the past year, but this will be the last. I found this listed on eBay shortly after Christmas and I knew that I must have it. It's the perfect choice for the first Miller auto to be added to my collection. 

Happy Super Bowl Sunday to you all. Here's hoping for some great commercials and a victory for Matty Ice! Thanks for reading.

The 8th Day of Trade Posts - For the (Zak)Win!

Though it is now last the holiday season, I've still got to spread the trade package cheer across another four posts after this. Today, I'm sharing the contents of a great envelope that found its way to my door from Greg of Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle. Let's check it out, shall we?

This scan shows off the high points of the football portion of the trade. I loved watching Julius Peppers play football(and basketball) while he was at Carolina. This was in my pre-NC State undergrad days so I have an excuse... I dig the Collegiate Russell Wilson too, even if it is a reminder that he decided to leave the Wolfpack. Probably my favorite card of this bunch is the SI Kids Karl Mecklenburg though. 'The Albino Rhino' played primarily during the time when you could count on one hand the number of cards a particular player would appear on in any given year. So, seeing this oddball tucked in the middle of one of the stacks Greg sent was quite a welcome sight.

The football highlights were good on their own, but the baseball portion stood head and shoulders above. Along the top row, were new-to-me cards featuring 3/4 of the Core Four. I particularly dig the Jeter insert from Opening Day. A second year Godzilla from the National Baseball Card Day promotion in 2004 and a shiny Opening Day A-Rod added to an already awesome bunch of cardboard. However, that final card from the Ted Williams Company, was the icing on the cake! I just mentioned in my Josh Gibson card post how happy it makes me to add a new card to the Negro League part of my collection. That holds true whether it's one of the more well known players or otherwise. Newton Allen may not be remembered as well as Gibson, Paige, or Cool Papa Bell but I am just as thrilled to own this card. The goodies didn't stop there either. One more great card remains.

For a pretty lengthy bit of time, Michael Taylor was a name that appeared on my list of non-Yankees that I collect. As last season progressed, I began to second guess why he was on that list. I don't really have any particular tie to him. That being said, this may be the last Taylor that I add to the collection. I really like the die-cut aspect of this card though, I'm not a huge fan of the random, curvy design they used. I appreciate all the great cardboard, Greg. Thanks for reading.

My Favorite Piece of 2016 Cardboard

I've got to admit that until I saw the post by P-Town Tom that announced the 'Favorite Card of 2016' contest, I hadn't really taken much time to think on that topic. As I commented on his post, two cards immediately popped into my mind. I have since thought quite a bit about it and actually slowed down to look over a bunch of the cards I have in my collection at have been released this year. I shouldn't have needed an excuse to do that, but I'm glad that the contest reminded me that I should be looking at and flipping through the cards in my collection more often.

I searched through Flagship(1&2), Opening Day, Donruss, Archives, some GQ, a little A&G, Heritage(regular and High Numbers), Bunt(physical), Bowman, Stadium Club, Bowman Platinum, Topps Chrome, Optic, and Topps Holiday. I've considered completed sets like Spring Fever and Marketside Pizza. I've even looked at handfuls of NFL, NHL, WWE, UFC, and even some Star Wars. Through all of that, I've was reminded of some really great cardboard that has been released this year. However, when the searching was over, my thoughts kept returning to those two that originally came to mind. It was a truly difficult decision as both cards clearly captured the emotions that make watching sports so great. After the dust settled, I decided to go with a card that was issued as a part of Panini's Father's Day promotional set.

For me, this card perfectly captures a pivotal moment early in the 'Big Game'. It's got it all: the Super Bowl 50 patch, a view of the fumble that Miller just forced, and the fire in his eyes. It helps that this card depicts a player from my favorite football team who just so happened to become Super Bowl MVP, but I would even find this to be a great card if I weren't a Broncos fan. I'm looking forward to reading about other folks' choices. Good luck to all in the contest and thanks for reading.

It's the Third Day of Trade Posts!

Today's post highlights two separate packages that arrived from North of the border. Douglas from Sportscards From the Dollar Store was very kind to send two Supertraders packages over the past few months. Anytime I see an envelope with his name on it, I know I'm in for a hearty helping of NJ Devils and these packages didn't disappoint in that respect. Let's check the highlights from the first package.

New to me cards featuring Martin Brodeur will always be welcome in my collection. I especially like the UD that shows him taking the ice. The Bee Hives Gionta was the first card of that type that I had seen in person...very cool. I appreciate the Wil Myers Hometown Heroes RC as it reminds me of a time when I thought he was going to be the next great Rays player. Then injuries struck and he was sent to San Diego. I'm really glad that he put it all together this season and posted solid numbers. Lately I've been thinking of re-adding him to my PC player list. I did enjoy watching him play in Durham... The gold parallel Ronnie Hillman RC is a great Broncos addition, even if he's not with the team anymore.

My hockey relic collection continues to grow almost exclusively by Douglas' contributions. I'm happy that at least for my hockey team(s), the plain single color swatches can at least be red instead of the standard white, gray, or black.

Let's move on to highlights from the second package.

Hmmm, betcha already figured that there would be at least one Brodeur in the scan. I love the die-cut Crown Royale cards and how could I not show off a Devils card of one of the greatest players to lace up the skates?

The trend of adding to my NJ relics was taken up a notch in the second package. I'm digging the auto/relic RC. I'm always thrilled to add to my hockey collection, so thanks Douglas! I know it's been some time since I shipped something back Nort, but I do have a stack or two put together and you're on my list to ship to before the year is out. I can only hope you enjoy what I send your way as much as I appreciate what you've sent mine. Thanks for reading.

On the Second Day of Trade Posts...

On day two, I'm going for another quick trade post. A while back I received another package from the newest Supertrader, Andy of Ain't Nobody Got Time for Cardboard. Welcome to the group, Andy! The package kind of fit his blog's name. It was comprised of primarily Bunt physical product 'loot pack' code cards that I could redeem for cards with the app. There were a few traditional cards as well, so let's start with those.

Highlights were these two Sevy cards that I need for set building purposes. I was also digging the Broncos RC from Prestige when I scanned these.

Digital Bernie! I was fortunate to pull this from one of the packs. I'm sure if you've read this blog before, you are aware of my fondness of any Bernie Williams cards.

Ditto for Kiermaier. In fact, he may well be my favorite player in MLB right now.

Though, I've gotta say that Trea gives Kiermaier a run for his money thanks to his time playing at NC State.

I also love Robbie Cano and it's a double bonus that this one shows him in a really cool Negro League throwback jersey.

This is probably the best pull of the digital lot. I like the novel design. It kinda reminds me of the late '90's or early '00's when Topps was inserting the Mystry a Finest inserts into products. However, the real reason this was at the top of the heap was because of this:

 If you look close, you'll see that there are only 42 copies of this one right now.

Overall, I know he digital cards aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I really enjoyed redeeming the dozen or so codes and opening these digital packs thanks to Andy's generosity. Thanks for the great trade package. I'll be sure to send something back your way soon. Thanks for reading.

Now Starting at QB for the Denver Broncos...

Paxton Lynch!

My Broncos seem to be playing it safe with Trevor Siemian's shoulder injury. So, after stepping in just before half time last week and playing a solid second half, Kubiak is starting the rookie Lynch this week against the Falcons. I've been slowly acquiring Lynch RCs since the draft and figured this would be a perfect time to show off two that haven't been featured here yet.

I grabbed this Panini National Convention exclusive RC relic off of eBay shortly after the end of the National. Even though it's a plain orange swatch, not a sick patch, this is one that I'm thrilled to add to the PC. The other acquisition comes courtesy of a first time cardsphere trading partner.

Sports Card Collectors posted this as one of the inserts pulled from the box of Donruss a Football that was reviewed. I immediately tried to work a deal for this. I offered up a Rueben Randle relic card and before I knew it, this card was in hand. thanks for the deal SCC! I love the design(and shine) of this one. The scan doesn't even begin to do it justice. Hopefully his performance today is as brilliant as this card. Go Broncos! Thanks for reading.

Rounding Out My Father's Day Collection

A little over a month ago, I posted an awesome card that I had picked up from this year's Panini Father's Day promo. Well, I wasn't satisfied with just the one and I went on a mini eBay shopping spree with the goal of acquiring more of the singles and parallels that caught my eye. Here are the results of said shopping spree.

Let's start off strong out of the gate. This Schwarber relic was included in a lot of 6 cards that I really wanted to add to my collection. As much as I like him, it wasn't on my list of cards to pick-up. However, as I watched this auction come to a close, there were no bids, so I placed a really low bid and ended up being the only bidder in the auction. I was thrilled to add this in addition to a few of the others that will follow all in one auction, for the starting bid plus shipping. 

The Turner RC was a part of a 3 card lot alongside the Russell and one of the RCs that will appear a little further down the post. Once again, I was able to snag the lot for the starting bid.

While I don't normally stray too far from baseball and football, couldn't help but add the auction that included this Steph Curry to my list. Once again it was a lot(this time 6 cards) and I was able to win it for the starting bid price.

This was a separate 6 card lot from the same seller as the one that included the Curry and Harper above, so I made out twice as good winning for the starting bid and getting combined shipping to boot.

These three were included in the above six card lots. I love adding cards of former NC State guy, Russell Wilson. The Miller was a great addition as well, though not as great as the other card he has in the set. As happy as I was that the Broncos beat the Panthers, I do like my 'hometown' Panthers and Cam is the heart of the team. It's a pretty cool card of him if you ask me.

One of these was the third RC in the lot with Trea Turner. The other was one that I picked up singularly prior to winning the RC lot. I will likely find another home for the one that is #'d 300/599 simply because some of the foil on the serial number is flaking. If I don't find any takers, it'll just have to live in my collection. They are the first RCs I got that actually have the Broncos logo.

These two focus on the playoff exploits of two of my favorite Broncos. DT helping to defeat the Pats and of course, the base variety of my favorite Von Miller card ever produced(from SB50).

Last one for now, is the cracked ice parallel of the DT playoff card. It goes extremely well with the cracked ice Von Miller I posted about prior. Sadly, this DT isn't a Christmas card. I am keeping my eyes open for that one though. I've seen 11/25 and 13/25 listed...so close. Since almost all of the purchases in the shopping spree were lots, there are a bunch more that I have that will either find their way into trade packages or back onto eBay, but all told, I think I came away with some great deals. I walked away with 14 keepers(not including the Russell RC), some trade bait, and perhaps some singles to resell for right around $20(shipping fees included). There are a few other singles I want to track down, but shortly my attention will turn to Panini's National exclusive set. Thank goodness for the internet! Thanks for reading.

JBF Strikes Again

It has been a while since I've written up a trade package. For that I apologize to all of the great folks out there that have sent trades my way in the recent past. Granted, at this point, incoming packages are pretty much non-existent(a side effect of me not getting to the post office lately) but I do still have several packages that have posts in various stages of completeness. Tonight, I want to focus on another great Supertraders package from the Father of All Supertraders, JBF. As always, the bubble mailer was jam packed with great cardboard.

I was late to the Brock party, beginning to acquire RCs only a few weeks before he was signed away by the Texans. I was bummed, but can certainly understand why he left. He did a great job holding down the fort while Manning was on the shelf and then he was tossed to the side. This fan certainly recognizes that the Broncos would not have made it to the Big Game without his contributions. I particularly love the Platinum X-fractor(or whatever they call that pattern).

Here's a group of more former Broncos that are probably a bit under appreciated.

This is an incredible card! It is super thick and made of acetate.

This one is a blast from the past! Back in the mid to late '90's, Playoff had several inserts that were similar to this. You know he type, multiple players from the same team, Dufex-like backgrounds, and really long odds of pulling them from packs. Back then, I never thought I'd actually own one of these. It only took 21 years after this one was released, but I finally can add one to my collection. This one is particularly great for me because it features Shannon Sharpe and Glyn Milburn. Back in my younger collecting days, Milburn was one of my favorite non-star Broncos to collect.

Moving on to baseball, we've got minis! That's not all, though...

This awesome Longo relic was the icing on the latest cardboard bomb from JBF. Thanks for another great bunch of cards.

I realize I've been saying that I'd be shipping out packages for quite some time, but I really do have multiples packed in team bags, notes composed, with address labels written just awaiting their envelopes to be sealed and a trip to the post office. Fortunately, there is still a lot of time left before the end of the year, so I can always increase my volume of mail sent out. Thanks for reading.