2016 trade package #16: Canadian Thanksgiving Wolverines from SCFtDS

In this case, the Thanksgiving actually refers to the act of giving thanks to a Canadian, Doug from Sports Cards From the Dollar Store.  We here south of America's Hat may have celebrated turkey and football day a couple weeks ago, but our Canuckian neighbors enjoyed--what, poutine and hockey?  That can't be right, unless every day is Thanksgiving in Canada--back in October.

Anyway, I'm always thankful for the effort folks like Doug put into their trade packages.  This one was completely lacking in turkeys, but if it helps, I do feel like taking a nap after scanning and posting everything.  And there's football.

And now, here's the goods:

Cazzie Russell 2013-14 Totally Certified Materials Blue jersey (#23/25)

Well hey there, brand new Cazzie hit!  This low-numbered jersey swatch hails from his days as a Laker, which would have been 1974-77, the latter being his penultimate NBA season.  It's actually my first relic of the legendary Wolverine cager (to go with an autograph, plate, and eight-card manu-letter auto nameplate), plus it gives Russell sole possession of first place in my basketball collection, breaking a tie with Darius Morris.

Here's the football content, which goes heavy on the QBs (five cards if you count Denard, which I do) and 2016 Donruss, which I think is a fantastic looking set.  Brady, who's about to overtake Peyton Manning in career wins, is represented twice, including that Donruss set.  Criminally-ignored (by Cam Newton) WR Devin Funchess is another example from that product.  We go back a few years--1998--for a thick Elvis Grbac insert from Collector's Edge.  Tackling machine David Harris joins the 2016 Donruss club.  And then the last three cards are Michigan Football rookies:  new PC album guy and blog namesake Manningham from 2008 UD Masterpieces, Denard from 2013 Topps Prime, and a totally brand new guy:  "Jim Harbaugh: QB whisperer" product Jake Rudock, who went from being stuck in Iowa--Iowa--to an NFL draft pick.  That's my first of his seven current RCs for that collection.

And now, let's honor our Canadian friends, as is tradition

It's a great day for the NHL, and therefore the world

with hockey content:

Pretty standard fare here with hockey Mikes Cammalleri and Knuble to go with stalwarts Andrew Cogliano and Jack Johnson.  But do you see that trio card at the bottom?  Hurricane Phil Di Giuseppe (hey, a paisan'!) is my focus here.  The three-year Wolverine was a solid forward in Ann Arbor and managed to pot seven goals last year for Carolina (though he's yet to score in 14 games this season).  Another good catch by Doug.

These guys are fairly familiar as well:  former Devil John Madden, who won't try to sell you Tinactin or anything from Ace Hardware;  goalie Alvarooooooo Montoya;  older-school D-man Myles O'Connor ("O'Connor RULES!"); Max "Patch" Pacioretty out of the shiny funtime of OPC Platinum, and Jacob Trooooooouba, who we'll see again in just a moment.  This is a standard excellent assortment of icers from Mr. Corti.

And now, some hits:

Andrew Ebbett 2009-10 Artifacts Autofacts auto

Matt Hunwick 2010-11 Zenith Yours Truly Autographs auto

Aaron Palushaj 2011-12 Crown Royale Heirs To The Throne Materials jersey

Jacob Trouba 2013-14 Select Prizms jersey auto (#99/99)

Ebbett's autograph--my sixth hit of the center currently playing in a Swiss league--hails from an Upper Deck product from a few years ago, and I think UD did a nice job of making it not so obvious that the signature's on a sticker.  Maple Leaf Hunwick--Matt this time, not Shawn--appears on a Zenith issue that brings to mind a letter or greeting card for his second hit and first autograph.  AHLer (and fellow Livonia, Michigan native) A-A-Ron Palushaj (you didn't mess up, Doug!) gets in the game with a very cool die-cut Crown Royale jersey relic (my first, and ninth hit overall) from his first NHL squad.  And then there's probably my favorite card in the whole package, a gorgeous Prizm (call it a Refractor if you want, doesn't matter to me) version of a jersey/auto of young star D-man Jacob Trouba--I'm sorry, Trooooooouba!  That's my sixth hit of a guy who's probably hoping it's not true that when you're a Jet, you're a Jet for life.

This is another outstanding bunch of Wolverines to add to my PCs, so once again I offer thanks to one of my top trade partners in Doug.  Rest assured I'll be stuffing an envelope full of stuff I know he'll gobble right up.

2013 COMC pickups #14: C-U-P. I want a C-U... Oh, my God!

Well, hockey fans, it's the first game of the 2012-13 Stanley Cup Finals, and as far as I'm concerned, this year's matchup looks like this:

Chicago is the giant douche, obviously

Basically, not the pair of teams I was hoping for, since Boston fans are no prize either.  No Red Wings and no Michigan alumni left means I pretty much won't be watching, not that the NHL will miss me.

Still, all the same I decided to commemorate today's Game 1 by showing off my remaining hockey pickups from COMC:

Andrew Cogliano 2007-08 SPx dual jersey auto RC (#336/999)

Andrew Cogliano 2009-10 Upper Deck Champ's Signatures auto

Wow, that's the way to kick things off!  You've seen Cogliano here before, but as a quick recap, he was a two-year starter in Ann Arbor who scored 36 goals and 46 points in 77 collegiate games.  Edmonton made him the 25th overall pick in 2005, and he then went straight to the NHL after his sophomore season, putting up an 18-27-45 line in his rookie season.  He was traded to Anaheim before the 2011-12 season and has been with them since, continuing to put up double-digit goal totals.  

Ok, maybe that wasn't so quick, but anyway, this stunning pair of cards comes to my collection for the crazy low price of about $5.50 combined!  SPx has turned out some pretty sweet RC hits in multiple sports, and this one's certainly a shining example of that.  I was very happy to get a pair of different colors of jersey swatches which, as a bonus, weren't white.  The signature, featuring his jersey number, is a huge plus.  That's no knock against the UD mini, which looks fantastic, especially in-person where you can get a better sense of scale.  These cards represent my 6th and 7th of Cogs, and given how talented of a scorer he can be, I'm going to get to work on reaching double digits as soon as I can!

Andrew Ebbett 2008-09 SPx dual jersey RC (#0631/1299)

Today's other Andrew, Ebbett is also no stranger to this here blog.  He stuck around for his four-year Michigan tenure before signing with the Sens as a UDFA.  He then signed with the Ducks the following year, and bounced up and down before being claimed by the Hawks and Wild over the course of a few seasons, then signed with the Coyotes before ending up with Vancouver, his current team.

This is a beautiful three-color dual jersey RC of a guy I hope sees more playing time next year.  And of course, it's another great example of a spiffy SPx rookie!  Chalk up card #4 of Ebbett.

Brendan Morrison-Marty Turco 2001-02 Titanium Double-Sided Jerseys dual jersey

I've kind of moved on from relic cards for the most part, not so much because of their questionable authenticity as much as a lack of interest compared to autographs.  That went completely out the window when this dual-sided jersey card showed up during my usual COMC searching.  For $1.89 I grabbed a dual relic of my two favorite all-time UM icers!  Better yet, while Morrison's swatch is a single color, it's not a boring-ass white piece, and Turco's features two colors.  This is definitely a big win for my collection, and I applaud Pacific for recognizing the link between a couple college hockey alumni.  Speaking of those two guys, their new hit totals are 13 for B-Mo and 14 for Turco.

Steve Shields 1997-98 Be A Player auto

And speaking of cards with interesting backs, this Shields auto is the only one today that features a blurb about the player instead of a second relic or a "congratulations" message.  The reason that interests me:  "A standout for four seasons at the University of Michigan where he became the NCAA all-time wins leader" is the sentence that begins the back blurb.  Because Turco is often celebrated as one of the all-time great NCAA goalies, I hadn't realized that Shields was the first collegiate goalie to 100 career wins.  Turco later surpassed that mark, but it's still crazy impressive.

Steve played for six NHL teams in his 12-season career and is one of a proud line of Michigan-graduated NHL goaltenders.  And he's got a pretty sweet signature too!  This is my fourth Shields PC card, all of which are still autos, a streak I hope to continue.

Well, today's five added in to the old hockey PC make for a new sport total of 76, meaning I surpassed yet another resolution goal before the year was even half up.  While this may again be too conservative, I'm going to amend that to 100, and I won't be surprised at all if I get help from north of the border!

To those watching the finals tonight, good luck to your favorite team (even yours, Jeff).  Me, I'm just looking forward to the end of the NBA finals (and hopefully a Miami embarrassment) so we can get back to having the spotlight on baseball once again.

Check out my blowout: Day 6: Season's Over

Previously:  day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5

Well, Michigan Hockey's season came to an abrupt end Friday night thanks to a Cornell OT goal that finished off an undisciplined Wolverine squad.  It was a disappointing finish, especially given last year's unlikely run to the final game, but as is ever true, there's always next year, and Red Berenson's group is the model of consistency--a team with a football-like streak of post-season appearances.

As such, I thought I'd take the opportunity to show off the remaining hockey haul from my COMC package on this last temperate day before we get back to ordinary March weather up here:

Andrew Ebbett 2009-10 Upper Deck Ice Glacial Graphs auto:

This is my second Ebbett auto, and definitely my favorite of the two because of the sweet translucent effect of the design of the card.  It's also my first Blackhawks hit, and I like how he also signed his number on this one, a different jersey/number than appears on the other card I have. 

 Jeff Jillson 2002 In the Game Signature Series auto:

Double J is the first of two new hockey PC members today.  Jillson was an outstanding D-man in college, went #14 to the Sharks in 1999 and bounced around the league for a bit, though he's now playing over in Europe.  This is my first Sharks hit and a great looking autograph of an excellent Michigan defenseman.

Mike Cammalleri 2007-08 Fleer Hot Prospects Hot Materials jersey:

I may have to rename this blog "Too Many Mikes."  Cammy is my fourth different "Mike," hopefully with more to come.  He also represents my first LA Kings hit, though that number may go up if I can nab some of Jack Johnson's earlier cards.  Another new member to the PC, I'm thrilled to have something of one of the league's better snipers. 

Mike Knuble 2006-07 Be a Player Signatures auto:

My third Knuble features Mike (another one!) on his third different team, and since we're talking about hockey today, I'll call that a hit trick:  three hits of a player on three unique teams.  I have a feeling a certain blogger who's come up with his own unique spin on the trifecta will enjoy that!

Those four hits round out my hockey PC at 30 cards, which isn't bad because until recently I had very, very few hockey hits at all.  The overall four-sport PC sits at 581, but I'll easily hit 600, and then some, when these posts are finished!