I Bought a Blaster -- Sort of Wish I Hadn't

I've really stayed away from buying new cards the last few years and I've had no regrets.  This year's Topps flagship looked good enough to me that I went out to Target and bought a blaster.  My biggest  disappointment was getting zero Cubs out of 81 cards.  I got 5 Reds and 5 Cardinals -- great!  I really only found two base cards that I'm happy with.  Target blasters have 20 red parallels and while that's fine I found that most of them were the same as the base cards in the box thus greatly reducing the overall number of individual players.  (Is that by design?)  As long as I'm complaining, I was also unimpressed by the photography.  Yes, there were some good ones, --Russell Martin, Josh Reddick, Adam Jones-- but there were way too many boring ones.  That being said here are the cards I did like:

 I've always been a Hunter Pence fan no matter what team he's on.

Rookie of the year.

I do like the inserts:

I put Chipper on Ebay.  Probably won't sell.

That's Right, Woodchuck Chuckers. It's Groundhog Day!

FYI (Today's birthdays are in the previous post)

Don't Drive Angry

Ned Ryerson!  

Ned: Phil? Hey, Phil? Phil! Phil Connors? Phil Connors, I thought that was you! 

Phil: Hi, how you doing? Thanks for watching. 

[Starts to walk away] 

Ned: Hey, hey! Now, don't you tell me you don't remember me because I sure as heckfire remember you. 

Phil: Not a chance. 

Ned: Ned... Ryerson. "Needlenose Ned"? "Ned the Head"? C'mon, buddy. Case Western High. Ned Ryerson: I did the whistling belly-button trick at the high school talent show? Bing! Ned Ryerson: got the shingles real bad senior year, almost didn't graduate? Bing, again. Ned Ryerson: I dated your sister Mary Pat a couple times until you told me not to anymore? Well? 

Phil: Ned Ryerson? Ned: Bing! Phil: Bing.

Hackenbush's dream breakfast

I'm a sucker for a happy ending!

Check Out My COMC Cards Part 1

If you're a regular reader you won't be surprised when I tell you that I opened a package on Christmas day from COMC dated June 7.  Judge me if you like.
Part one is a handful of tennis cards.  As the years go by I find that I'm less and less interested in tennis.  I grew up in a golden age of tennis in the 1960's and 70's.  Since the late 90's my interest has waned probably along with a good percentage of Americans.  Maybe it has something to do with a lack of great American players.  Anyway, here are some cards of players I do like.

Ladies first:

The Williams sisters have grown on me over the years.  Have there ever been  any more successful siblings male or female than Venus and Serena?  I'm also sympathetic with Venus having someone close to me who is living with the same chronic illness, Sjogren's Syndrome.

I love Kim as much for her sense of humor as her tennis, 

Caroline, or as I call her, "The Woz" has won 20 WTA tournaments and was ranked #1 for 67 weeks has yet to break through and win a Grand Slam event.  She's another woman, who's personality and sense of humor I like, Caroline does an impression of her friend Serena Williams.

At age 25, Joker is #1 in the world and is already considered by many to be one of the best of all-time.

I never considered myself an Agassi fan but I do now after having read his terrific book, Open.

Santo Saturday on Wednesday?

When I saw these two Panini Copperstown Collection variations with BIN's and free shipping on Ebay I snapped them up immediately.  I'm still in search of the /299 variation.  I've only seen 1 or 2 so far.  I love the red and blue.

196/399

022/499

Here Come the Hawks *update*

As they enter tonight's game against rival Detroit the Chicago Blackhawks are a perfect 5-0.  That ties the 1971-72 team for the franchise record for consecutive wins to begin a season. UPDATE:  The Blackhawks killed off six power plays including a 5-3 and won the game in overtime 2-1 to set a new franchise record, 6-0.  In honor of both teams here are nine of the old guys on their classic 1971-72 Topps cards.

Here Come the Hawks, the mighty Blackhawks 

Take the attack, Yeah, and we'll back you Blackhawks 
You're flyin' high now, so let's wrap it up 
Let's go you Hawks, move off 
Now all look out, Here Come the Hawks, 
Here Come the Hawks, Here Come the Hawks, Here Come the Hawks, Here come the Hawks 

Here they come movin', weavin', flyin' high and throwin' spray, 
Blades flashin' sticks crashin' tryin' for the play,
And the Blackhawks, take control,
There's a shot, AND A GOAL!

Here Come the Hawks, the mighty Blackhawks 
Take the attack, Yeah, and we'll back you Blackhawks 
You're flying high now, so let's wrap it up 
Let's go you Hawks, move off 
Now all look out, Here Come the Hawks 
Here Come the Hawks, Here Come the Hawks, Here Come the Hawks, Here come the Hawks 


Here Come the Hawks, the mighty Blackhawks 
Take the attack, Yeah, and we'll back you Blackhawks 
You're flying high now, so let's wrap it up 
Let's go you Hawks, move off
Now all look out, Here Come the Hawks, Here Come the Hawks, Here Come the Hawks, Here Come the Hawks, 
Here Come the Hawks, Here Come the Hawks, Here Come the Hawks, Here Come the Hawks, 
Here Come the Hawks, Here Come the Hawks, Here (trails off)

I Saw It On Ebay

Every now and then while searching for my favorite players on Ebay I'll run into a rare or interesting item.  Here's a current one with a Buy It Now price of $1,995.00 reduced from $2,660.00.

1962 Salada Junket Baseball Presentation Coin Set

Cheers, Stan!

Stan "the Man" Musial passed away yesterday at the age of 92.  I'm too young to have seen him play but he was one of the best both on the field and off.   Condolences to his family and all of his fans.

1948 Bowman #36

Career highlights and awards
24× All-Star (1943, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949,1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957,1958, 1959, 1959², 1960, 1960², 1961, 1961²,1962, 1962², 1963)
3× World Series champion (1942, 1944, 1946)
3× NL MVP (1943, 1946, 1948)
7× NL batting champion (1943, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1957)
1957 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
St. Louis Cardinals #6 retired
Major League Baseball All-Century Team

“What made me sign with the Cardinals? Because they used salesmanship, the personal touch. Where others wrote, they talked. Where others waited, they acted. That early bird that got the worm must have been a Redbird.”

"He could have hit .300 with a fountain pen." - Joe Garagiola

"I love to play this game of baseball - I love putting on this uniform."

September 5, 1949

When Art Cards Go Bad

Am I wrong or is this really bad?

2012 Sportkings