Jeff who?

Jeff here, I know, I've been a huge slacker over here but I finally got a few cards that you may have not seen yet. Which is rare for me because I'm a cheap skate.

First off, who's excited for football to start? We're less than a couple of weeks away from facing off with Florida, who's already started to talk smack. I am so ready for football to start.

That being said, I'm going to start off with a couple of basketball cards first.

2014-15 Panini Prizm

This Ebay 1/1 is nice and shiny. I say Ebay 1/1 because it is numbered, however, it's #'d 199/199 so it is the last card in the run. Not a bad pickup for only $1.75/shipped. It is my 11th card of Mitch McGary but it is my 3rd auto of his out of the 11 cards though.

Sticking with basketball, I also picked this up from the same seller as the card below it.

2007-08 Press Pass Authentics Legends

I love this card of the National Champion Glen Rice, it is my first auto of Rice and it very well may be first card of Rice other than that Panini Team set from a couple of years ago. Granted, this isn't from his playing days either but it's an auto, and in the Maize and Blue. Not a bad pickup for $3/shipped.

Last but not least, I got this football card with the one above.

2008 Press Pass Authentics Bowl Busters Sapphire

I also grabbed this #'d auto of Anthony Carter. I believe it is my 2nd auto of his because I remember Dennis getting me one as well. What is it #'d to? How about 23/75. I'll take that, especially for only $3/shipped. That's right I picked up this 2 card lot of Michigan legends for only $6/shipped.

That's all I got to show but it was a pretty good couple of days in the mailbox. I will see you all at the end of November up at the Big House. If you know our schedule, I'll just tell you I got tickets for the last game of the season. If you're reading this blog, you should know which game that is. It will be the biggest game I've ever attended before and I can't wait.

2017 trade package #7: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

Welcome to those of you excited to check out the rest of the goods from my 45th (I think that number's right this time) trade package from cool Canadian Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store!  Oddly enough (or not at all, statistically speaking), the last time I posted cards from a trade, it was from that same happy hoser.  Well I'm glad to report that he was back at it in June, hitting the three major sports--all my baseball stuff goes on TMV--that I like to show off here.  Let's have a look, shall we?

Basketball base:  I kind of hoped Crawford would jump at a chance to join the superteam Warriors, but we'll see how things go for him in Minnesota.  Meanwhile, GRIII and Sauce Castillo appear on a very Pacific-like design from 2014-15 Panini Court Kings.

The trippy design of this 2014-15 Hoops Rise and Shine Memorabilia jersey is very apropos of former big man Mitch McGary, a guy who was more Mary Jane than Michael Jordan.  The solid blue swatch is my fifth hit of a guy I hope (but doubt) will make it back into the league.

I definitely enjoyed Doug's posts covering busting a box of 1989 Panini stickers (start here), and I even got to benefit personally by getting this pair.  AC is quite well known, but Harden is surely more obscure to younger readers as a DB for the Broncos and Raiders in the 80s.

I could be wrong but I think this may be my first full-on Michigan uni card for a player in the 2017 class.  SAGE killed it here with a great photo of Darboh on a pretty good design that looks nothing like what they've put out lately.

I do have to ding them quite a bit here, though.  Although I'm thrilled to get my first autograph of the inspiring and talented WR from Sierra Leone, I'm quite displeased that they really butchered his name here.  "Dobrah"?  Well, there'll be other signature cards, and I'm happy to already have a collection started.

Speaking of autographs and Michigan unis, I was also excited to land this shiny Leaf Metal signature of Devin Gardner (hit #8, autograph #5).  I'm pretty sure I had it on my COMC watch list for a while, and I was actually under the impression I already had it when I pulled it out of the mailer, so it was doubly a pleasant surprise!  I'll take any and all cards you've got of the big dude that's currently living large in Japan.

The hockey content--the largest contingent as is often the case--starts with a trio of hockey Mike Mike Cammalleri, including one with a cameo of former Red Wing D Kyle Quincey.  The present meets the not-so-present with Cogliano on a fun looking OPC offering and former Hobey should-have-won Hensick on a fantastically designed UD base.  The scan finishes with a guy the talent to be the best of the bunch, Wolverwing Dylan Larkin on a UD insert that really brings to mind Fleer Ultra chase cards (anyone else?).

Here's a very talented duo to close out the base/inserts.  Max appears on a UD Canvas card just in time for Ann Arbor's annual Art Fair, a huge event for the city that I enjoy every summer.  His other appearance comes courtesy of the super high-end Ultimate Collection, in this case the 2014-15 version (#d 057/299).  Joining him is Jets D Jacob Trouba, who we'll see again shortly...

...as in now!  One of my pair of hockey hits was this UD Artifacts jersey, featuring a nice swatch of Jets blue.  Man, seeing this much Upper Deck stuff makes me resent the Topps baseball monopoly even more!  What I do appreciate though, is that this is my seventh Trouba hit, and I believe Doug is responsible for ::searches blog for "Jacob Trouba":: yep, all of them!

He's also the one who sent me my only other hit of this guy, so I give Doug 100% credit for my two-card Travis Turnbull hit collection.  When did he send me the last one?  Try four years ago, way back in package #14!  The one he originally sent was quite nice, a dual jersey/auto, but this 2012-13 Dominion RC ups the ante big time with a huge Buffalo Sabres patch to go with his signature.  That's quite a pair!

Hey, wait, the hockey content is done, but there's still something left to show off?  Huh, that's weird, we covered the three major sports so what could it b--

BAH GAWD, KING, THAT'S THE DOG FACED GREMLIN'S MUSIC!

Also way back in 2013, Doug sent me an autograph of former Michigan wrestler (as in "real" wrestling, not "sports entertainment" wrestling) Scott Steiner.  Don't ask me why I never thought to add a signature of his brother Rick, like this one from 2012 Leaf Originals Wrestling, to my Michigan Other Sports, Etc. collection, I just never did.  Here's the image I used in that old post for more Wolverine wrestling goodness:

What a cool way to end another outstanding SCFtDS package!

Thanks again, Doug, and now that I've finally posted this loot maybe I'll get around to reloading for our next trade!

2017 trade package #2: Bump and Run Football Card Blog

When brand new trade partner Trevor from the Bump and Run Football Card Blog sent me a package last month, he put in a nice amount of Tigers and other baseball PC guys for me (as seen on today's TMV post), but where the package really shines and shows the amazing effort he put in is the huge number of Wolverines he included.  He noted, "I think I pulled every Wolverine in my collection" and added "I hope this suffices."  Uh, yeah, this'll do just fine, Trevor.

Take a look at the goods to find out if you're just as blown away as I was:

This basketball bounty includes Juwan Howard, Glen Rice, Jalen Rose, Nik Stauskas, and Chris Webber.  Howard's 2000-01 Topps Chrome Refractor is my easy pick for favorite of the bunch, but those 2004-05 Showcase cards of Rose and Webber look fantastic as well.

And the football frenzy begins with this page, which just gets us through A-F with a total of six players.  There's a lot to like, starting with three college uni issues of Avant, Carter, and Funchess.  That Biakabutuka Zenith insert looks amazing in-person and is my favorite in the scan.  I was thrilled to add three cards of former #1 AC, not to mention two more of another former #1 in Funchess.  Prestige continues to be a product that features a design I love along with college unis.  And the Topps Platinum insert is a fantastic looking Sapphire (a.k.a. blue, I mean, let's call it what it is) Refractor.

This scan features another nice mix of 90s and 2000s/2010s players in Hall, Henne, Henson, Huard, Lewan, Robinson, and Streets.  Former QBs Henne and Henson duke it out for favorite card status as the former is a 2011 Prestige Prestigious Pros Black insert numbered to a crazy low 04/25 and the latter is the best looking insert from one of Topps' greatest products ever, a Gold Chrome parallel from 2004 Draft Picks and Prospects.  A trio of Denards and a great shot of Streets making a catch in a college game are a great way to close out the group.

Even more football!  (I did say "bonanza", didn't I?)  Streets' 1995 WR teammate Toomer gets in on the action with another college photo, while Gabe Watson represents the only other defensive player in the package (Leon Hall, above) except for a card you'll see in a second.  Last up is the most well-represented player in the envelope this time, RB legend Tyrone Wheatley, who recently left Michigan's staff to coach Jacksonville's RBs (hey, help get Denard some reasonable playing time, Ty!).  The first two cards, both from '95 Collector's Choice, look similar, but the second is a Player's Club parallel that features a stamp in the upper-right corner.  Another rookie year card from '95's Ultra Extra joins those, and then we step up in quality even more with cards from '96 Finest (love that design!) and 2000 Collector's Edge EG.

All in all this is an amazing first trade package and--

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?  There's more?!

Wow, three football hits too!  First we have a 2009 Upper Deck Game Day Gear jersey of Chad Henne.  This is one of those cards I always think I already have because I see it for sale quite often, but I actually didn't until Trevor included it here.  It's quite an exciting pickup, not just because I love collecting Henne, but also because it's my 99th hit of the former QB!

Speaking of hits of my PC guys, how about another 2009 UD-branded relic, in this case a 2009 Upper Deck Heroes Retail Blue jersey of Super Mario Manningham?  The former Super Bowl hero is looking mighty fine on this jersey relic, my 64th hit of this here blog's namesake.  Heroes was an outstanding product and this has me wanting to search for more of my Wolverines from it.

Last but not least is our last example of a player from the defensive side of the ball; those guys just don't get the love they deserve, do they?  In this case it's former DT Will Johnson, who played in Ann Arbor in the late 2000s.  He ultimately didn't appear in an NFL game, so I appreciate his appearance in a product like 2009 SAGE HIT, otherwise I wouldn't get to enjoy an appropriately blue gem like this in my collection.  They don't make SAGE the way they used to!

Trevor, thanks again for a generous helping of Wolverines!  As a fellow college collector I look forward to returning the favor with some BYU alumni as soon as I can accumulate some for you.

2016 COMC purchases: the quest for 15

We're halfway through the regular season and Michigan has roared out to a 6-0 record thanks to a historically dominant defense and pretty good offense--just ask Rutgers!  Things are starting to shake out like a repeat of 2006, when a team full of future NFL draft picks went 11-0 leading up to a huge #1 vs. #2 matchup with an undefeated Ohio State squad.  If that's the case this year, hopefully things go better for the Wolverines, who lost a close one to those Buckeyes, then a not-so-close-one in their bowl game.

With all that in mind, the goal this year is 15 wins:  12 in the regular season, one for the Big Ten Championship, and two in the playoff.  To that end, here's 15 Michigan Football hits--the last of my COMC pickups that need to be posted, which will get me all caught up (temporarily!)--which will hopefully give the team some good juju in the second half of 2016:

Jason Avant 2006 Playoff NFL Playoffs Signature Proofs Silver auto (#015/150)

Jason Avant 2006 Topps Triple Threads triple jersey auto RC (#67/99)

Avant has generally been a top 10 player in my collection--these give me 47 to tie him for seventh with Adrian Arrington--thanks to a nice number of hits to track down, like these two.  The Playoff card features one of my favorite types of stickers for that type of autograph, even if the signature got a bit cut off.  And the Triple Threads is my second from that set, with this being his "true RC" from the product and the other being a Red version with a "#81" relic pattern.

Anthony Carter 2013 Ultimate Collection Ultimate Jerseys dual jersey (#05/50)

AC joins the ranks of players with double-digit hits in my collection with this very cool double jersey out of Ultimate Collection, one of UD's nicer products.  Because Carter was considered such a big college star, many of his hits fall in collegiate-focused products, and that explains why nine of my ten hits of his are in a Michigan uniform.

Braylon Edwards 2005 Topps Rookie Throwback Jerseys jersey

Braylon Edwards 2006 Ultimate Collection Jerseys Silver jersey (#62/75)

Braylon Edwards 2008 Upper Deck Heroes Jerseys Blue jersey (#12) (#007/125)

Braylon Edwards 2010 Limited Monikers Autographs Gold auto (#08/25)

I can't say I was focused on him this time but just happened to find some nice prices on four new cards of Bray-Bray.  I liked the design of the Topps Rookie Throwback relic and its card-within-a-card.  Ultimate Collection makes another appearance today in the form of a tiny, numbered relic from 2006.  Upper Deck Heroes is one of my favorite products and I managed to score a numbered relic parallel of one of Braylon's issues from 2008.  And finally, I was happy to add another autograph of Edwards, and a low-numbered one at that, from 2010 Limited.  Edwards sits in third place in my collection with 68 hits.

Devin Gardner 2015 Panini Father's Day Rookie Class Jerseys Cracked Ice jersey

Here's a card I believe I acquired from Tim of GSNHoF fame in one of our many COMC deals.  From one of Panini's many Father's Day issues comes this very cool jersey swatch, even if it's from an "event-worn" jersey.  Most of these that I've seen elsewhere have pretty interesting swatches like this one, which includes a good chunk of the New Era logo.  The scan doesn't quite show it well, but this is the more limited Cracked Ice version, where the background has a shiny, fractured red look in the background.  It's a fun addition as my sixth Gardner.

Brian Griese 2003 Playoff Prestige Game Day Jerseys jersey

This Brian Griese--my 15th--is a nice example of a jersey relic that could practically be called a patch.  It's got all three colors from the jersey, with a nice big chunk of blue and an orange stripe, plus a bit of stitching on the white section.  As nice as it looks it's no wonder why I was willing to pay a bit more than $2.50 for it, which is higher than I usually go for relic-type cards.  It's definitely one of my better looking relics of the journeyman QB.

Marlin Jackson 2005 Bowman's Best Blue auto (#046/299)

Here's another case where I threw down a bit more money than usual for a card:  $2.75 for this Marlin Jackson parallel autograph.  If I was a bit antsy to get it, that's because I'm working on the autographed and non-autographed rainbow of Jackson from this set, and I now need just the two Silver versions #d /25 to complete the project.  For whatever reason this was the best price I'd seen for the Blue auto, so I just decided to go ahead and make it my 21st card of the former DB.

Mario Manningham 2008 SPx Winning Materials NFL Dual 50 dual jersey (#20/50)

Mario Manningham 2013 Totally Certified Red Materials jersey (#240/299)

It may not be many, but here's two Manninghams, one for each of the teams for whom he played over his six NFL seasons.  The SPx card is my sixth of him from that product, five of which are from the Winning Materials and Rookie Materials groups.  Meanwhile, I'm not sure how many folks remember Super Mario playing his final two seasons, 2012-13, with the Niners, and scoring a single TD in 2012 over 18 games before being derailed by injuries.  Mario continues to be a huge part of my collection as the fifth player to reach the 60-hit mark!

Denard Robinson 2013 Prestige NFL Passport Autographs auto

Denard Robinson 2015 Donruss Threads jersey

I don't know what Denard's NFL future is considering he's barely seen the field this year, but that won't stop me from collecting him; I don't base those decisions on NFL performance anyway.  So I'll keep adding everything I can of one of the most electric players I've ever witnessed in Ann Arbor, like these two Panini-branded hits.  The Prestige card is nice as it's my 16th of #16 that features an autograph, plus it notes Shoelace's school front and center.  Meanwhile, the jersey relic is a nice, simple attempt out of last year's Donruss product, which is generally one of my favorites.  Robinson is closing in on 30 hits in my collection as this pair gives him 28.

David Terrell 2001 Topps Reserve Autographs auto

Finally, I have a very nice David Terrell (but not Anthony Thomas!) autograph to show off from 15 years ago, which is crazy to me as that's the year I graduated high school and headed to UM for college.  I remember the former #1 putting up some huge numbers in 2000, so this card brings back some nice memories for me, and it doesn't hurt that it's a good looker too.  Reserve was only around in 2001 and '02, but it resulted in some solid designs like this on-card autograph of Terrell, representing my 43rd hit (three behind A-Train, if you're curious) of the star receiver.

With this post I'm finally caught up on all my COMC pickups from this year, plus everything else I had in-hand in terms of purchases, actually.  That won't last too long, however, as I have some baseball PC additions via eBay that should be arriving this week, so watch for those this week as Michigan prepares for its homecoming game against Illinois.

1-2-16 card show report: new year blues

As I said over on TMV this evening, I hit up the monthly show last Saturday, and while I didn't spend as much as I usually do I did find a few fun things for myself and others.  Here's the Wolverines stuff I nabbed:

Bernard Robinson 2004 SAGE Autographs Silver auto (#122/330)

This is a rare basketball card pickup that's not coming from a trade package since I don't usually buy them myself.  I couldn't say no to a buck for a Michigan uni autograph, though!  This is my fifth hit (all autos) of Robinson and second college uniform card in my basketball PC.

Next, this sextet of football guys came from the cheapie boxes:

Biakabutuka is a Sprint phone card.  Remember phone cards, fellow 90s kids?  Remember Pogs?!  Definitely a fun pickup of a great 90s player.  Griese's card is the hobby version of Pacific's crazy 2001 Invincible set.  The other four are additions to my football inserts collection.  From 2011 UD College Legends comes a card showing off AC helping Michigan beat UW to win the '81 Rose Bowl. Chad Henne looks sharp in his original pro uniform, though of course I like the college versions better!  Shoelace's card is an Extra Points Blue parallel of his 2013 Prestige RC (so called because "Extra Points" is done in hard-to-notice blue foil).  And LaMarr Woodley was a big-time playmaker indeed both in the pros and as shown with the Wolverines.

Last up on the day is my lone football hit:

Amani Toomer 2002 Score Franchise Fabrics jersey

I hadn't actually ever seen a card from this relic set before so I was surprised to find this Toomer for just a buck.  As is typical of Score products I like the design here, which focuses heavily on the red and blue of New York's uniforms.  Better yet, the back includes a photo of the jersey the swatch was taken from--worn "in an official NFL game"!  Imagine that, a game-worn jersey.  Boy the early 00s were a crazy time.  Anyway, this is my 17th Toomer hit, and maybe I'll be able to get him up to 20 and beyond this year.

That's it for this month but I'm sure I'll be back there in a few more weeks looking for more good stuff.  Until then, hopefully I'll finally get to posting most of my COMC loot from late last year!

2015 Michigan gameday #10: at Indiana

#14 Michigan, owner of a 7-2 record and some conference title (and maybe College Football Playoff?) hopes, heads southwest to Bloomington on this beautiful college football Saturday to battle Indiana, a team whose 4-5 (0-5 conference) record belies its truly chaotic ability to put any game into question.  This is a squad that lost to #1 OSU and #9 Iowa by a combined 15 points while going toe-to-toe with former #7 MSU until allowing 24 fourth-quarter points; they also lost to a bad Rutgers team 55-52, so there's that.  Michigan is favored by 13, but with a team like the Hoosiers there's no such thing as a sure bet!

Considering how one-sided this series has been--Michigan holds a 54-9 edge, hasn't lost since 1987, and hadn't lost before then since 1967--there's been some interesting games between the two, but perhaps no moreso than 1979's homecoming tilt in Ann Arbor, featuring these two guys,

QB John Wangler and WR Anthony Carter.  Take it away, legendary Wolverines broadcaster Bob Ufer:

Bo Schembechler is looking up at--he's looking up at Fielding H. Yost in football Valhalla, and Bo Schembechler says 'Thank you, Fielding Yost, thank you, Fielding Yost, for that one!'

Johnny Wangler to Anthony Carter will be heard until another 100 years of Meechigan football is played!

I hope you can hear me, because I've never been so happy in all my cotton-pickin' 59 years!  I have seen--I have broadcast 347 ballgames.  I've never had one like this!

LET'S GO BLUE!

 

2015 eBay purchases: a completed collection and more Michigan mishmash

I'm back today with a few more eBay purchases from last month, though I expect to put up a couple more trade posts shortly along with (hopefully) a card show recap.

Bobby Korecky 2008 Sweet Spot Rookie Signatures 50 auto (#50/50)

Up first is the latest addition to my Bobby Korecky collection and it's autograph #5 of the former Twins pitching prospect.  I believe the "regular" version of this card (#d to 399) was one of the earlier Korecky issues I picked up toward his collection, and this variant replaces the gold foil with a holographic version, plus the set's limited to 50 copies.  Regardless, it's still a fun on-card auto featuring raised "stitching" along the sides.  More importantly this is my sixth Korecky out of his tiny seven-card PC; I just need one more autograph--his 2008 SP Authentic Rookie Exclusives signature.

Michael O'Neill 2013 Panini Prizm Perennial Draft Picks Prospect Signatures Red Prizms auto (#060/100)

Moving on to a PC that's much larger and not nearly as close to completion, here's Michael O'Neill autograph #11, a Red Prizm version of this signature from 2013 Perennial Draft Picks.  The Prizms parallels seem to feature interesting colors and the holographic area for the on-card autographs looks great, plus O'Neill has a very nice John Hancock.  Bought as part of a lot that includes the Anthony Carter seen below and a few things I grabbed for trade bait, this is my 23rd of O'Neill's 83 cards to-date, and I'll just keep plugging away one card at a time!

Leon Roberts 1975 O-Pee-Chee RC (with Carter, Hill, Meyer)

Here's today's heavy hitter, a card I also posted this evening on TMV because it's primarily associated with its best player, HOF catcher Gary Carter.  However, despite the fact that gave me plenty of reason to pick it up, the real reason I'm excited is that it's the 28th and final card I needed to complete my Leon Roberts PC!  This beauty, which completes the '75 triumvirate of OPC/Topps/Topps Mini eluded me for quite a while due to the premium Carter adds.  A Canadian eBay seller let it go to me for a very reasonable $12, preserving his country's reputation for friendliness.  I'll happily keep this with the other two in my significant rookie collection, but I can now happily knock the 14th PC guy off my list!

Anthony Carter 2014 Exquisite Collection Signatures auto (#94/99)

As I briefly mentioned earlier, I grabbed this Carter in a three-auction purchase that included the O'Neill above along with a four-card lot featuring a Rich Hill you'll see in an upcoming post plus three cards destined for trade packages, all for about $14!  Having won the two other auctions I threw a relatively low bid on this beautiful UD signature of AC and was thrilled to add it to my purchase.  As usual the Exquisite brand lives up to its name with a pleasing design and gorgeous college photo enhanced by a fantastic signature (jeez, maybe they should call it "UD Superlatives" instead).  I now have nine different Carter hits (all autos) in my football collection.

Stay tuned for more posts soon, a.k.a. whenever I feel like it now that the beautiful spring/summer weather has finally returned!