Check out my blowout: day 16: IT'S OVERRRRR

Previously:  day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6, day 7, day 8, day 9, day 10, day 11, day 12, day 13, day 14, day 15

Well, this is it:  after today, the last day of April, we (or at least I) will bid farewell to one of my longest-running features on this here blog in its short life.  It saw me hit some major milestones and add some really great stuff, but all good things must end.  Also, it involved a ton of scanning, so there's that.  After showing off today's cards, I'll give a quick summary of a few interesting facts about the CoMB acquisitions, then new posts will finally move on to other things...like my extremely exciting large purchase from another Michigan fan full of big hits!

Chad Henne 2008 Upper Deck Heroes Bronze auto (#15/50):

Henne made a typically heroic Henne effort but in the end he succumbed to the mountain of a man that is Jake Long and had to settle with Braylon Edwards for second place at 39 cards.  This one is another excellent 2008 UD Heroes specimen and features a poised Henne about to throw--either during a practice or in a game in the form of a screen-type play based on the position of his favorite LT in the background.  He's got a great signature here, though I love that it looks more like "All H?" than anything else.  A much-welcomed pickup indeed.

Chad Henne/Jake Long/Mario Manningham 2008 SPx Winning Trios triple jersey (#81/99):

This really IS a winning trio, and a group of Wolverines from what's obviously my favorite draft class ever.  All three guys seem to have their game faces on, though Jake Long's is definitely the funniest.  In-person, though, it would absolutely be the scariest.  Dude is HUGE!  This allowed Long to hit 46, allowing him to remain the undisputed football leader while still trailing all-sport champ Rich Hill and his 47; Super Mario takes a step up to the 33 mark.

 Chris Perry 2004 Leaf Rookies and Stars Freshman Orientation Class Officers prime jersey (#035/100)

 Chris Perry 2004 Playoff Hogg Heaven Rookie Hoggs auto (#132/150)

 Chris Perry 2004 SAGE Red auto (#116/750):

Here's a trio of sweet Chris Perrys.  Oddly enough, though I usually heavily favor autographs, I really enjoy the R&S jersey card.  I'm not comfortable calling it a patch just because it has some nice stitching, so I'm content to go the Panini route and label it a "prime" jersey.  It really goes well with the Bengal orange theme of the card, though.  The Hoggs card is one I'd had my eye on for a bit, and as contrived as it is, and not as well done as other manuthing-signature cards, it's still pretty cool, signed with a bold silver pen.  The SAGE, meanwhile, was a nice pickup to go along with my Bronze parallel of the same card.  Chris' total at the end of CoMB is 23, which is his jersey number in the SAGE card, as you can see.  eBay ONE-OF--wait, that doesn't make any damn sense....

 Drew Henson 2004 SP Authentic auto RC (#276/990):

Here's a guy we haven't seen in a while, which makes sense because I really don't have much of him--just three cards when it comes to football.  It's a pretty solid rookie auto, though, and the price was definitely right for me at just under $2.50.  He may have bolted from Ann Arbor too soon and he may have washed out of the NFL, but he'll always have a place in my collection.

Jake Long 2008 Topps Letterman Patches Jersey Number auto (#07/75):

We'll close things out with the aforementioned 46th Long, which is admittedly a pretty goofy one.  I'd say that Topps didn't do a very good job of capturing the lighting in a bottle that that year's Razor Letterman baseball set or Upper Deck's SP Rookie Threads Lettermen did, but it's still a fun card.  It just happens to fail in the execution of what could have otherwise been a very cool design.  In fact, as far as I'm concerned, there's really only one thing wrong with it:  why the HELL is the sticker running vertically?  Although, I guess the more important question is, why couldn't Topps get these signed on the manuthings themselves?  They really left themselves no room to place the sticker without covering a part of the card they shouldn't have been.  Topps is lucky I have no room for my "Topps is dumb" tag here, because they definitely deserve it.  Still, it's a Long I didn't have and I'm a totally ridiculous Wolverines collector so here it is in my PC!

Before I go into some other semi-interesting stats and notes, it's time to celebrate what's easily my biggest milestone yet, in two-minute MSPaint form:

Come to think of it, I think Topps was inspired by this movie:  "Give them nothing and take from them everything!"

Yep, as the sidebar notes, I've passed the 500 football hit mark!  More than a year ago I was at something like 220 and I've more than doubled that (with a bunch more to scan)!  As I've done when I hit such milestones in the past, I again want to sincerely thank everyone involved that sent some of these cards my way.  More than anything, building up this collection from just a couple cards is what really got me back into collecting, and blogging about it has continued my interest in the pursuit.  Thanks to each of you for trading or selling me cards and/or reading about them here.

As promised, here's some relevant CoMB stats:

• 72 total cards
• 15 baseball (including one Topps Silk that doesn't fall under the "hits" category)
• 3 basketball
• 47 football
• 7 hockey
• Cheapest card:  a bunch were $0.94
• Most expensive card:  the Topps Letterman Jake Long at $7.07

I had a ton of fun finding, buying, scanning (maybe not scanning) and posting the cards for this series, so I hope you all enjoyed it as well.  I'll be back to the same grind again soon with some new stuff, but in the meantime I'll try to come up with some other good stuff for you too.  And maybe Jeff will pop up at some point with some more of his insights since he tends to be a good change of pace.  Me, I'm gonna throw all my Michigan cards in a pool and dive into it Scrooge McDuck-style.  A-woo-hoo!

Check out my blowout: day 15: draft day defense

Previously:  day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6, day 7, day 8, day 9, day 10, day 11, day 12, day 13, day 14

Today's penultimate CoMB post brings us six defensive players to celebrate the final day of the 2012 NFL draft, a day on which C David Molk was taken by the San Diego Chargers and WR Junior Hemingway was grabbed late by the KC Chiefs (plus, yesterday DT Mike Martin was picked up by the Tennessee Titans).  DB Troy Woolfolk (NOT WoolfoRk) signed with Dallas as a free agent, and DL Ryan Van Bergen did the same with the Panthers.  Michigan has a rich draft history, and this post features four former defensive standouts:

Alan Branch 2007 SP Rookie Threads Draft Day Ink auto: 

Appropriately enough we begin with a Draft Day auto of former Wolverines big man Alan Branch.  This is my 12th autograph (out of 12 cards!) of the defensive beast, and as always, I love posting cards of him because that means I get to post this picture:

Guns don't kill QBs, Alan Branch kills QBs.

In keeping with the draft day theme, I'll mention that he was a second-round pick by Arizona in 2007.

Brandon Graham 2010 Crown Royale Autographs Blue auto (#23/50):

If this Graham looks familiar, that's because it's the Blue parallel of this one that I picked up a while ago.  My collection of the insanely talented army-of-one-type star (seriously, he WAS our defense under RichRod) grows to 10 autographs, plus a plate.  He's had a rough go of it in the NFL due to injuries, but hopefully we'll see Graham, a first-round pick of the Eagles in 2010, blowing up plays for Philly's defense soon.

David Harris 2007 Absolute Memorabilia auto RC (#186/349)

 David Harris 2010 Topps Magic auto:

Harris, somehow a second-round pick for the Jets in 2007 (three of our four guys today were drafted that year), has taken his already impressive game to a whole other level in the NFL by becoming what can only be described as a tackling machine.  This is an excellent pair of autos of the guy--I love those Absolute auto RCs a ton, but the Magic signatures are tough to beat as well.  I now have 17 cards that include his autograph, and again, no relics, a ratio I'd love to maintain.

 Leon Hall 2007 SAGE HIT Autographs Silver auto

Leon Hall 2007 Upper Deck Rookie Ink auto:

Hall was a first-rounder to the Bengals the same year as Branch and Harris, and he's often played like he has that kind of talent.  He just signed a lucrative contract last year, but later had to be placed in IR, so we'll see what the future holds for him.  In the meantime, I now have 21 cards of Hall, and every one of THEM includes an autograph as well!  In fact, today, Graham is the only player for whom I had a non-autographed hit in the form of a printing plate, so that's pretty close to 100% today, not bad!
Of the two, my favorite is definitely the SAGE, not because I already have so many SAGE autographs of him, but, besides being in a Michigan uni, he's shown returning an interception, a fun shot of any DB.  If you didn't know he played corner, you might think he was a RB or WR streaking down the field like that.

I hope you enjoyed this second-to-last CoMB post, with the final one coming up in a day or two.  I hope your own favorite NFL or college team fared well in the draft--I can at least say I'm proud of the Wolverines that ended up on pro teams.  GO BLUE!

Check out my blowout: day 14: a wide assortment of receivers

Previously:  day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6, day 7, day 8, day 9, day 10, day 11, day 12, day 13

Today, presented with limited editorial interruption, I give you seven cards of five different former Michigan WRs, which is a lot better theme than yesterday's:

Amani Toomer 2003 Upper Deck Game Jersey 

Braylon Edwards 2005 Topps Heritage Gridiron Collections Relics jersey

Braylon Edwards 2009 Donruss Threads Century Stars Materials Prime jersey (#35/50)

Greg Mathews 2010 SAGE HIT auto

Steve Breaston 2007 SAGE HIT auto

Steve Breaston 2007 Topps Draft Class Marks auto

Tai Streets 2001 Private Stock Game Worn Gear jersey

A few quick notes:

• New football total:  491
• That's my seventh relic of Toomer out of eight cards
• Braylon takes sole possession of second place with 39 cards, but it's not over yet...
• The Mathews is the "base" version of the Silver parallel I already have
• The Breastons make 10 autos out of 11 cards in his PC.  Those two are among the three of the ten that feature his full name instead of some variation of "SB"
• The Streets is just my third hit of the former Michigan WR, and my other relic is also a Pacific 49ers jersey, oddly enough

Check out my blowout: day 13: brought to you by the letter "W"

Previously:  day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6, day 7, day 8, day 9, day 10, day 11, day 12

We're just about winding down the CoMB stuff here as I anticipate something like three more posts after this one.  Today's theme--because I wanted to have one--is the letter "W."  And really, that's about all that ties these five cards together:

Donovan Warren 2010 Press Pass PE Sideline Signatures Gold auto

Donovan Warren 2010 Press Pass PE Sideline Signatures Gold Red Ink auto:

Warren was a highly-touted CB who often played well but made an ill-advised pre-senior year departure, and ever since it's been pretty clear that the door DID hit him in the ass on his way out.  Wikipedia says he's now on the Bears' practice squad, and considering how much he's bounced around, I doubt he'll ever become much more than a reserve player.  But here at TMM we tend to reminisce about great college players instead of focusing on their NFL careers.  That being said, I'm happy to have my second and third (here's the first) autos of the erstwhile Wolverine.  Would you believe, out of all of these packs of that set I opened, I didn't pull a single Warren?
Anyway, he has a pretty cool, if somewhat incomplete signature.  At least he doesn't totally go the lazy route with his first name; I respect him more for making it clear you're getting his first initial and that's it.  It's pretty obvious between the two cards that there's a variance in how he signs his last name.  What's interesting is that there's actually fewer copies (supposedly 50 total) of the Red Ink version, yet that's the one that looks lazier, but maybe he signed all of them on the same day and hit those last.  Regardless, a pair of cool cards, and I think Jeff would agree with me.

Marquise Walker 2002 Bowman's Best Blue jersey:

If this one looks familiar to you, thanks for being so familiar with my collection, I love you.  Second, that's because this is the "Blue" parallel version of a card I already have. 

Marquise Walker 2002 SAGE Autographs Bronze auto (#244/500):

Here's this post's requisite Michigan uniform card.  This is from one of those previous SAGE sets where the stickers absolutely suck to scan because of the obnoxiousness of the holograms in the background.  So you'll have to trust me when I say that it definitely looks better in-person.  By the way, this is my first Walker in a Wolverines uniform, which is a big plus.

Marquise Walker 2002 SPx jersey auto RC (#491/999):

Possibly my favorite from the Walkers in the package because it's an autograph/jersey RC, but also because I got it for so ridiculously cheap.  Well, all that, and it features a nice touch that I've come to love on some Upper Deck cards:  that beautiful, pristine white autograph "window" which really makes signatures pop on this kind of card because of the color contrast and because they give the player such a nice surface on which to sign; more examples are here and here, to name a few.

These five run the football total up to 484, making the new four-sport total 624.  I've already spoiled it a few times, so I'll remind you that 500 will happen by the end of CoMC, and you'll be treated to a few other milestones soon as well!

Check out my blowout: day 12: offensive "A"s

Previously:  day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6, day 7, day 8, day 9, day 10, day 11

Pressing on with the large pile of football pickups I have to scan and post, today we'll be looking at six offensive players whose names begin with "A".

Adrian Arrington 2008 Bowman Sterling Gold auto RC (#0846/1050):

Arrington cards from this set are getting pretty common around these parts:  I also have base, Gold Refractor and Refractor versions.  Besides the fact that I'm casually shooting for the rainbow, it happens to be a design I like quite a bit.

Adrian Arrington 2008 SAGE HIT auto:

Yeah, you all know I love this set a ton, including my Gold Henne, base and Silver Jake Longs, and Gold Hart.  Despite the fact that the Silver and Gold (numbered) cards are rarer, I much prefer the base versions, with their striking blue (even if it isn't Michigan blue) swath of color.  I also like the fact that this photo obviously comes from the 2008 Capital One Bowl.  In that memorable game, Lloyd Carr's final as the head coach, Michigan held on for an amazing victory over heavily-favored Floria, led at the time by overrated football Jesus Tim Tebow and pathological liar and piece of shit Urban Meyer.  Adrian exploded for nine catches/153 yards and two TDs, including the game-winner late in the fourth.  He was so amazing that game and made so many insane plays that I have to embed this team highlight video to include them all:

Adrian Arrington 2008 SP Rookie Edition '94 auto:

The final Arrington of the day is this cool '94 SP-esque auto from 2008 SP Rookie Edition.  I very much enjoyed that set and have a nice number of autographs from it now, including Arrington's '95 version (still one of the funniest card photos I've ever seen).  The trio brings me up to 27 AAs, all autographed.

B.J. Askew 2009 Topps Magic auto:

Despite some real nice stuff that I scanned up today, this is easily my favorite.  I absolutely LOVE the 2009 Topps Magic Michigan autos.  The design is simply amazing and I'm a sucker for any card of a player in a Michigan uniform.  I also love that it's a guy--Askew--who definitely didn't get many cards produced during his career.  Right now the only other one I have is this Breaston, but I'll be after the others before long.  I now have four cards of Askew and they're all autographs.

Derrick Alexander 2002 Pacific Heads Update jersey (#205/225):

Alexander is a WR whose career didn't coincide with the hit parade that the hobby has become today, so I don't have much of him, but this "patch" (I'm calling it a jersey--if that's a patch then my name's Sy Berger) is my third of the guy, and that's not bad.  I now have him represented as a Wolverine, Chief and Viking, which is a nice little trifecta.

Jason Avant 2006 Bowman Sterling jersey RC:

It used to be that I'd pick up Avants by the truckful, but today I only nabbed one.  It's a pretty nice jersey RC, though, and is my 24th of the stalwart possession receiver.  Sterling can be a nice looking set when it wants to be one, and that's a pretty football-shaped swatch of green Eagles jersey.  I just feel sorry for the poor Topps employee that probably got fired for not using up all the crappy white swatches first.

For those interested, today's football PC count hit 477 and the overall four-sport PC made it up to 617.  More to come soon!

Check out my blowout: day 11: more Hart attacks than Bo

Previously:  day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6, day 7, day 8, day 9, day 10

Mike Hart is a guy that pops up a lot on this here blog.  If you don't believe me for some reason, check out all of these posts, one or more of which also abuse the lame "Hart attack" thing.  I don't need to go into why he's one of my all-time favorites for the 50th time, so on with the cards!:

2008 Bowman Sterling auto RC: 

Definitely a cool looking card of Hart doing what he did best--HOLD ONTO THE DAMN BALL.  Dude really didn't fumble much, 2008 Capital One bowl aside.  He looks like he's about to go beast mode like he did for four years in Ann Arbor.  I also have this Gold Refractor version.

2008 Leaf Limited auto RC (#043/299):

I have a bunch of stuff from 2008 Leaf Limited, but this is somehow my first normal base RC auto.  Totally fine by me, and it features another nice shot of Hart hard at work at his favorite job (as opposed to his other favorite job--blowing up defensemen as a blocker despite the fact that he's 1/3 of their size).

2008 SAGE2 auto (with Chad Henne):

I did think this one was a little goofy when I picked it up.  The theme of the SAGE Squared set, of course, is combos of players.  Because of that, I'm not quite sure why it isn't the case that they'd make ALL of the cards dual autographs, but that's ok.  This is one pair of teammates I'll always remember, and anyway, Hart has an excellent autograph, so I'll let it slide.

2008 SAGE Gold auto (#43/200): 

The last autograph of the day is this sweet SAGE gold version of a card I already had.  This is another example of a SAGE auto I like despite the oft-maligned sticker auto--specifically the sticker this manufacturer uses.  I now have 33 total Hart autographs, which is an awesome number to be at already. 

2008 Upper Deck Premier Stitchings College Logo Variation Silver manupatch (#11/30):

We'll end things with this very cool manupatch.  It's a little strange in that the player himself isn't depicted at all, and really this card could represent any Wolverine from the set (which is why I won't go hard after the other ones).  Still, it's a beautiful UM logo, it's Hart and it's a low serial number, plus I got a steal of a price on it, so now it's mine.

These five Harts bring me up to a sold 35, vaulting him past Mario Manningham into 4th place, one behind Braylon Edwards and two behind the second place Chad Henne.  Football's total runs up to 471 and the four sports now stand at 611.

Stay tuned for lots more--I sure hope you all love football!

Check out my blowout: day 10: forever alum

Previously:  day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6, day 7, day 8, day 9

Today's post brings with it the last of the baseball stuff I picked up from COMC this time.  These are definitely among my favorites because all four feature players in Michigan unis, and one of them was among my most-wanted, knocking another high-priority card off the list.

Matt Miller 2010 Donruss EEE auto (#430/585):

This is only my second auto of the Milwaukee prospect with a great signature.  The first was this sweet Green Status version from the same set that I pulled from my multi-box break way back.  As with the next pair of cards, I may eventually working on getting all of Matt's versions--we shall see.

Ryan LaMarre 2010 Donruss EEE auto (#351/564)

Ryan LaMarre 2010 Donruss EEE Red Signature Status auto (#26/50):

I had been waiting to get either or both of these for quite a while...and waiting...and waiting....  But the price was never right for some reason.  As with other more obscure players I tend to collect (i.e. Rich Hill) for some reason LaMarre's prices were, in my opinion, higher than they should have been.  Fate smiled on me this time, though, as I was able to pick up this pair fairly cheaply.  LaMarre has a pretty cool signature, too, including his jersey number, which is always a plus.  A great baserunner, I hope Ryan gets called up to the Reds this season.

Ryan LaMarre-Matt Miller 2010 Donruss EEE College Ties dual auto (#30/50):

This is the one that was among my most-wanted, and if you've read my blog at all, you probably can see why--it's a pair of Michigan alumni in their Wolverines uniforms on a card that both of them signed.  This is another one that for the most part was out of my price range for far too long, but this time I made a reasonable offer that was accepted, and now this outstanding card is mine!

After reading this post, one thing you might have noticed is that my baseball PC total now sits at 99.  That's certainly not intentional--I'd rather have 100, or more.  Still, there's plenty of time for that, and I don't see it taking too much longer for me to hit that next major milestone.

Until then, stay tuned for lots more football stuff as I finish off the CoMB stuff and get around to scanning my other major purchase from the end of March, one that includes some big, big names.

Check out my Blowout: day 9: Terrell + Thomas = 600!

Previously:  day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6, day 7, day 8

Today's post sees me hit the 600 total hit mark for the four major sports in my Michigan PC--and with LOTS yet to come, no less.  These six cards include two players who'll be forever linked in NFL draft history, if not only in my mind:  RB Anthony Thomas and WR David Terrell.  Each was chosen by Chicago in the 2001 Draft--Terrell 8th overall and Thomas in the next round at #38.  A pair of offensive linemen in fellow Wolverine stars Steve Hutchinson and Jeff Backus went 17 and 18 overall to the Seahawks and Lions, respectively, while another tackle, Maurice Williams joined A-Train in being chosen in the second round, landing with the Jags at #43 in a draft loaded with Wolverines.

Of course, now it's more than 10 years later and you all know that both guys were pretty big busts in the NFL.  Still, they were definitely studs at Michigan.  Thomas finished his four-year career at or near the top of most of the lists of relevant school career rushing stats, some of which have since been broken by Mike Hart.  Terrell, a member of an elite club of WRs to have worn the Michigan #1 jersey, parlayed a solid sophomore season and excellent junior campaign into a first-round selection.

So you can see how they're linked in many ways throughout their college and pro careers.  They also happen to have a lot in common when it comes to my collection, as you'll see:

 Anthony Thomas 2001 Bowman's Best auto RC:

I've said it many times, but A-Train has a gorgeous signature!  This pairs up beautifully with my jersey version of the same card, plus another one below.  Absolutely love these outstanding looking Bowman's Best auto RCs.

Anthony Thomas 2001 Fleer Authority auto:

Here's another gorgeous signature with the bonus of depicting A-Train in a Michigan uni, though of course it would have to be airbrushed.  If the design looks vaguely familiar to you, it's probably because I have the Terrell version already.

 Anthony Thomas 2001 Fleer Tradition Rookie Retro Threads jersey:

One of two relic cards today is this boring jersey swatch on a not-so-boring card--at least in my opinion.  Oh yeah--and guess what I already have?

Anthony Thomas 2002 SPx Supreme Signatures auto:

Ok, I don't have an analogous Terrell card for this (YET, though I do have some that are close), but it's another beaut.  This is kinda sorta a bizarro sticker auto in that it's not on a sticker, but signed in a sort of cut out portion of the card.  The result is another amazing Thomas auto.  

David Terrell 2001 Bowman's Best auto RC:

"Two by two, hands of Blue."  Bonus geek points if you know what that is without looking it up.  If you didn't cheat, shiny!  If you did, CURSE YOUR SUDDEN BUT INEVITABLE BETRAYAL!  Anyway, Terrell's signature is not nearly as neat or practiced as Thomas', but his card looks great nonetheless. 

David Terrell-Anthony Thomas 2001 Playoff Honors Rookie Tandems dual ball:

And here we come to the #1 reason I always associate these two guys:  this is now my third dual relic that includes both of them, a group that includes a dual jersey and another dual ball.  It might be a while before we see another pair like these guys and former Miami teammates Jake Long and Chad Henne, but you never know!

Now that I've hit the 600 mark for all sports, my next milestone, which I should pass pretty soon (i.e. whenever I get around to finishing scanning everything) will be 500 in the football PC.  As it is, I'm up to an even 20 of Thomas and 29 of Terrell (with the aforementioned trio shared between them).  Stay tuned for more CoMB posts intermingled with more cool stuff soon!

The ungodly hot women of Firefly congratulate you on your nerdtastic knowledge.  Or maybe you cheated. But whatever, here's Jewel Staite, Summer Glau, Morena Baccarin and Gina Torres for your viewing pleasure!

Check out my blowout: day 8: I obviously didn't give up Rich Hill for Lent

Previously:  day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6, day 7

Apologies for the lateness of this post--Picasa and Web Albums weren't playing nice together until this morning, and before that I had an especially busy week.

Happy Easter, everybody!  After a very busy week of non-collecting activities and baseball's triumphant return, I'm back with an Easter basket full of new Rich Hills for my PC!

This is a beautiful Finest auto I've been after for a while.  The scan brings out the fact that the autograph isn't completely solid, but it's actually less noticeable in-person.

2007 Topps Finest Finest Moments auto

This beautiful Refractor of an already great looking card pairs well with my jersey from the same set.

2007 Topps Turkey Red Refractor auto

2007 Upper Deck Artifacts Autofacts auto

Here we have a pretty nicely designed horizontal signature card from Upper Deck.

2008 Topps Triple Threads triple jersey auto (#91/99)

If I can get a Triple Threads card as cheap as I got this one, I jump all over it.  This makes three that I have from this set, including an Emerald and White Whale version.

2009 Topps Career Best auto

I do like the design of these, and it's definitely fun having a few cards from Rich's very brief tenure with Baltimore.

Those five give me a collection-leading total of 47 cards in my Hill PC.  They also leave me just five cards from the century mark of my baseball PC, with a few left to scan from COMC.  I do have one more card to show off, though--a fun pickup from eBay that I was powerless to resist:

2009 Topps Update Silk Collection (#01/50)

You might recall that I picked up Clayton Richard's Silk card recently, so there was no way I was going to let this one slip through my fingers for the few bucks it cost me, especially since it's #1!

I promise to get back to regular posting this week, especially if I have my Picasa issues all sorted out.  I still have lots of COMC cards to scan, one or two more eBay pickups on the way, and some amazing stuff from my recent in-person purchase from a fellow Michigan collector.  I'm also hopeful that I'll be able to attend this Saturday's football Spring Game (maybe with Jeff and Dustin!) and bring back some exciting stuff to post, including lots of pictures.  Until then, GO BLUE!