Thursday, March 22, 2012

And so Topps gets another notch

Upper Deck is being sued by the MLB. That's not news anymore.

What is news these days in the trading card industry?

The NFL joins other companies in suing Upper Deck for failure to pay contractual obligations. Yeap, Upper Deck, the big boys that took over some of the most beloved names in sports trading cards is now up the creek.  And, they broke their own paddles.

This effectively launches Topps to the forefront of sportscards.  While that was great back before there WERE other trading card companies, this is an absolute disaster for the hobby.  Topps has exclusive rights to the MLB, and we have seen what junk has come of it.  Granted, there are a couple intriguing designs, most of it is stuck in the "retro" world.  Seriously. Retro went out at least three years ago, if not back when it was actually new and NOT retro.

Anyway, I hate "exclusive rights" models that are really nothing than legal monopolies.  Yeap, Upper Deck has, er had anyway, them too.  I guess my beef should be with the various sports leagues for being so stupid to allow such a mess in the first place.

Here's the story on the NFL and Upper Deck, thanks to Cardboard Connection for posting it.


**On a side note: Had I known Ted on "How I Met Your Mother" was an Indians fan, I would have watched the show a long time ago... Er, no. I wouldn't have. I would have thought about watching it though...

Monday, March 19, 2012

Repacked Repack Bustin My Wax Ovahere

The other day, I mentioned that I had bought a $2.99 blister pack of wax packs.  Turns out, it was a repack of someone else's repack. Top that off with two "Hidden Treasures" repacks from Tristar, and one might think I hit some sort of cosmic trifecta of repack-ed-ness.  One would be wrong. Mostly.

I do have one correction: There were two packs of 2005 Topps, two packs of Tristar Hidden Treasures, and two packs of 2006 Opening Day (I had previously said those were 2005. Bust out the noodles, folks. David's getting a whippin' tonight).

First up, 2005 Topps packs. The first one features George Kottaras (Padres), Ricky Barrett (Twins), Jody Gerut (Pirates), Chris Volstad (Marlins, Draft Pick), David Ortiz (Red Sox, Gold HR Derby 0238/2005), and Chris Carpenter (Cardinals, Sporting News).  Oh yeah, there was a checklist, too. Bonus.


The next pack of 2005 Topps includes Jared Weaver (Angels, Draft Pick), Jose Guillen (Nationals), Heath Totten (Dodgers), Jason Kendall (A's), Willy Taveras (Astros, Sporting News), and Ryan Garko (Indians, Futures Game).  WAHOO! Pulled a Triber! Sweet!


The next two packs are the 2006 Opening Day with bonus SI Kids card in each pack.  We have Lance Berkman (Astros), John Smoltz (Braves), Jimmy Rollins (Phillies), Brian Roberts (Orioles), Bartolo Colon (Angels), and Brandon Watson (Nationals).  The SI Kids card is Shannon Stewart.  There is also the "Work Hard, Get Cards" insert and some 6-year old gum, should anyone want some gum that has been wrapped since  2006.


The second pack of 2006 Opening Day includes Tom Glavine (Mets), Freddy Garcia (White Sox), Hong-Chin Kuo (Dodgers), Derrek Lee (Cubs), Rocco Baldelli (Devil Rays), and Richie Sexson (Mariners).  The Si Kids shows Marcus Giles (Braves) coming in on a slide. And, of course, "Work Hard, Get Cards" and some broken gum...


The Tristar Hidden Treasures packs (there are the ones where you could win the Honus Wagner) are supposed to have 5 cards per pack. I guess I got lucky. Yeah, that's it. I have a Todd Jones (Astros, Fleer Ultra Gold Medallion), Tim Pynz.. Pnyz... Narcolepsy... Pyznarski (Padres, Future Stars), Eric Plunk (A's), Wally Joyner (Angels), Greg Gange (Twins), and Ivan Rodriguez (Rangers). I pulled SIX cards out of a 5-card pack. Dude, that takes major talent. Or poor collation. Whichever.


And the last of the repacked repack packs of repacked cards gives us Kurt Stillwell (Royals - How is he? Oh, He's Still Well. Sorry, couldn't resist.), Dave Henderson (A's, my namesake player. You would think I'd collect all his cards, wouldn't you? You'd think wrongly.), Tony Scott (Expos, in all the washed glory that was Topps '85), Gerald Young (Astros), and Todd Stottlemyre (Blue Jays, keeping himself busy playing one-handed catch in his rain slicker). Oh, I see. The last two are reversed. Figures.


Oh, I would love to sit here and tell you that I will never, ever, never, ever buy another repacked repack... But, we all know I'd be lying. I'm a cardboard addict. And, at $2.99 for six packs... That's a whole cheaper than other addictions. Plus, I did get a Triber out of it... And a couple gold cards... And some gum.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Repacked Repack for $2.99

I had to stop by the local discount store to pick up some antifreeze for my mother's car. While in tere, I stopped by the end of the aisle with cards.  I saw a 6-pack repack for 6 bucks and almost bought it.  Then, I noticed a different section of repacks for $2.99.  Six packs for three bucks!? Can't pass that up.  So, I didn't.  I also grabbed a Clark Bar.  If you have never experienced the awesomeness that is a Clark bar, you need to at least once.  Of course, they used to be made in Pittsburgh, so I grew up eating them.

In any case, this repack ended up being a repack of a "Legends" repack. The stock card header was cut and the UPC was covered with another UPC.  It smells of dirty card shenanigans. Guess I'll find out when I bust open the packs.  Here's the kicker:

The pack were arranged so that you couldn't tell it was basically two of each kind of pack. There are two packs of 2005 Topps Opening Day, two packs of 2005 Topps Updates & Highlights, and two packs of Tristar Hidden Treasures - what are repacks in and of themselves!

Holy smokes, I hit the trinity of repackdom - a repacked pack in a repack blister of a repack blister. My head can't take it anymore.

I ran out of time to open and post them, so consider this a teaser... Coming next post: Busting the repacked repack...

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Tribecards from Jeremy - And a random pack

Jeremy contacted me about sending some Indians my way, and I am always happy to relieve anyone of extra Indians cards they may have!  Included in the package was a "random pack" as well (more on that in a moment).

The Indians cards represent DECADES of Tribers!  It's always fun to check out the latest players while waxing nostalgia looking at cards with players from days gone by.

These are all scanned in as full scanner bed scans.  Sorry, I just didn't have time to cut 'em up. I wanted to get this post up, since it is already way late in THANKING Jeremy for the package!

First up, we have Manny Ramirez, Fausto Carmona, Grady Sizemore, Trevor Crowe, Luis Valbuena, Grady Sizemore, Josh Tomlin, Fausto Carmona, and Grady Sizemore.  Since the Indians decided to keep Grady around, I sure with that boy would get better and STAY that way...


Next up, we've got Grady Sizemore, Al Rosen, Coco Crisp, Jason Donald, Fausto Carmona, Franklin Gutierrez, Kenny Lofton, Cliff Lee, and Cliff Lee (on a card I don't think I've seen, but could be wrong):


The next group includes: , Kelly Shoppach, Trevor Crowe, Anthony Reyes, Jake Westbrook, Justin Masterson, Kerry Wood, Andy Marte, Dick Bosman, and Frank Duffy.  Lovin the vintage!


The last three Tribers are Rick Manning, Jim Kern, and Tony Perezchica:

THANK YOU to Jeremy for some GREAT Indians cards!! Wahoo!!

The "Random Pack" comes in the form of a 2012 Topps Series One pack.  If I were a Pirates collector, I would have hit the jackpot.  Alas, despite my growing up in da 'Burgh, I really never caught on to collecting them.  Which is a might strange considering I grew up there during the heyday of "We Are Family" winning seasons.


Thanks again to Jeremy for these very cool cards!  I'm looking forward to checking them against my Tribecards collection! Wahoo!