Dennis week–Friday

Dennis week – Monday (Jim Abbotts), Tuesday (Barry Larkins), Wednesday – Vintage collection, Thursday – White Sox collection, Friday – (Grand Finale of Michigan cards)

If you’ve been following on my blog, then you’ve seen the awesome cards that Dennis has sent for my player collections, vintage collection and my White Sox collections.  Today, obviously since we are here, you are going to see what he sent for the Michigan collection.

David Molk and Mike Martin - 2012 Upper Deck SP Authentic

For those that don’t know, my Michigan Wolverines collection consists of Wolverine players but I only collect them in the maize and blue.  Both of these 2012’s go right into that.

Jerame Tuman – 1999 Skybox Premium Autographics

I actually have a personal link to Jerame, albeit a little far fetched but it’s a link.  Jerame Tuman was roommates with Scott Dreisbach while at Michigan who was a quarterback on the team.  My brother played football with Scott in high school.  But wait, there’s more.  Jerame ended up marrying Scott’s older sister, with whom I went to school with and while we weren’t besties, I was somewhat friends with her.  I told you it was far fetched but I’m still looking to grab a Scott Dreisbach autograph for my collection, maybe even a duplicate for my brother.

Jerame started the year the Wolverines went undefeated and won the championship in 1997 and was best known for his decisive touchdown in the 1998 Rose Bowl win over Washington State to secure the undefeated season.  He was drafted and played for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 9 years, mainly as a second string Tight End but won a Super Bowl with them in 2008.  He was released a month later and picked up by the Arizona Cardinals where he only played in 3 games before being released again.

This is my 1st autograph card of Jerame Tuman.

Kevin Koger – 2012 Leaf Young Stars Draft Autographs

I love these 2012’s because they are actually players I remember playing.  Kevin was a pretty decent tight end from what I remember but he wasn’t really used as much as I thought they should.  He was injured during a workout for the NFL draft and was therefore not drafted.

He is currently coaching at Saline High School under his previous high school coach while he works out and tries for another shot at the NFL.

This is my 1st autograph card of Kevin Koger.

Terrance Taylor – 2009 Upper Deck Draft Edition silver autograph

A defensive tackle who was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts but didn’t stay long as he ended up with the Carolina Panthers and Detroit Lions all in 2009 before being released again.  He ended up playing for a couple of Arena football teams up until last year.

This is my 1st autograph card of Terrance Taylor.

                                                

Adrian Arrington – 2009 Topps Magic Autographs, 2008 Press Pass Gridiron Graphs autograph & 2008 Press Pass autographs

This is another player I remember watching.  He was pretty much the #2 receiver behind Mario Manningham (you may have heard of him here).  He didn’t do much until his senior season but was a solid #2 and had one of his best games against a heavily favored Florida team in the 2008 Capital One Bowl where he had 9 catches for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns to secure a win for the Wolverines.

He was drafted in 2008 by the New Orleans Saints and didn’t play much but stay signed for a few years, mainly for the practice squad.  He did play some in the pros but not much.  He did earn a Super Bowl ring by being on the active roster in 2010.

This is my 5th, 6th and 7th autograph of Adrian Arrington.

Tim Jamison – 2009 Upper Deck draft edition silver autograph

A defensive end who recorded his first sack against Brady Quinn (just had to throw that in there).  He had a pretty decent college career but was left undrafted.  He ended up getting signed as an undrafted free agent by the Houston Texans and has been there since.

This is my 2nd autograph of Tim Jamison.

Jake Long & Adrian Arrington – 2008 Sage Squared dual autographs

This was my favorite card because it was my first of the top draft pick in 2008.  He was a monster as a Wolverine before starting his career with the Miami Dolphins.  He played with them for 5 years before signing with the St. Louis Rams.  He made the pro bowl his first 4 seasons.  You can read up on Adrian Arrington up above.

This is my 1st autograph of Jake Long.

Tony Pape – 2004 Press Pass autographs

In case you hadn’t notice Jake Long’s number up above, it is the same as Tony Pape.  He was the starting offensive tackle in Jake Long’s freshman year.  He was also drafted by the Miami Dolphins and played with the San Diego Chargers as well as a couple of European teams.  He is now an offensive line coach at Oak Lawn Richards High School.

This is my 1st autograph of Tony Pape.

Jason Avant – 2006 Sage HIT blue autograph

Jason was the #2 wide receiver to Braylon Edwards until his senior year where he led the team in receptions, yards and touchdowns.  In his final 2 seasons as a Wolverine, he was a candidate for the Fred Biletnikoff award which goes to the nations best wide receiver.

He was drafted in 2006 by the Philadelphia Eagles and has been there ever since.  He has had some productive pro years to go along with his outstanding college careers.

This is my 1st autograph of Jason Avant.

Shawn Crable – 2008 Upper Deck Draft Edition Autographs

Shawn was a defensive back for the Wolverines who enjoyed a couple pretty good seasons.  He was named 2nd team All Big Ten Conference his junior and senior year.  As a senior he led the Big Ten in Tackles for a loss and was 2nd in the nation.

He was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2008 but because of injuries didn’t make it to the active roster until 2010 when he played 6 games before being released.  He signed with a couple of UFL teams until 2012 when he was released and has been a free agent ever since.

This is my 2nd autograph of Shawn Crable.

Gabe Watson – 2006 Press Pass Autographs

Gabe played 8 games as a freshman and then every game the following 3 years.  He was named All Big Ten Conference first team in his final 2 seasons.  He finished his college career with 92 tackles and 5 sacks.

He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in 2006.  Watson had a productive career until 2008 when he fractured his knee cap and missed the season.  He came back to record 28 tackles in 2009 before signing with the New York Giants in 2011 but didn’t make the team.

This is my 1st autograph card of Gabe Watson.

    

Brandon Graham – 2010 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Signatures & 2010 Upper Deck SP Authentic Rookie autographs #’d 372/599

After a rough start to his college career off the field, he came back strong once he started getting some playing time.  He ended up being on the all Big Ten Conference second team in his junior year and the first team his senior season.  He also led the conference in tackles for a loss during both years.

Graham was drafted in 2010 by the Philadelphia Eagles where he is still on the active roster.  He has since moved from defensive end to linebacker but is still playing every game.

This is my 1st and 2nd autograph of Brandon Graham.

                                               

Marlin Jackson – 2005 Topps Draft Picks & Prospects Class Marks Autograph & 2005 Upper Deck Rookie Debut Ink Autograph

Marlin is one of those guys that was big when I really started to watch Michigan football again.  Plus he played for the Indianapolis Colts who are my favorite NFL team.  Marlin was a great safety and ended his college career with the 2nd most pass breakups.  He was such a good safety that the Big Ten teams took notice and only threw his way less than 14% of the time in his senior season.

He was drafted by the Colts in 2005 where he played until 2009 and then signed with the Philadelphia Eagles but was injured and cut.

This is my 3rd autograph of Marlin Jackson.

Mike Martin – 2012 Leaf Draft red autograph

Martin had an exceptional career as a Wolverine after almost leaving when Lloyd Carr left but he decided to stick around and was a very bright spot on a very poor defense.  Martin started as a freshman and never looked back earning freshman All-American honors.  He went on to earn second team All-Conference nominations in his junior and senior year.  He accumulated over 170 tackles in 49 games as a Wolverine.

He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in 2012 where he is currently still active.

This is my 1st autograph of Mike Martin.

Gil Chapman – 2004 TK Legacy autographs

Chapman was recruited as a Running Back and a return specialist.  He was a pretty good running back and his senior year, was a pretty good receiver but he was a great return specialist.  By the time he graduated, he set all time school records in career kickoff return yardage and single-game return yardage and held them until Anthony Carter and Desmond Howard took them,  He ended up with a total over 1000 yards just on returns for his Michigan career.

Gil was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 1975  where he continued to be a return specialist.  After a pretty good rookie season began he injured his knee late in the season and it ended up finishing his career.

This is my 1st autograph of Gil Chapman.

Alan Branch – 2007 Press Pass autographs

You all should know who Alan Branch is on this blog.  He was one of the anchors of the defense from 2004 to 2007 and specifically in 2006 when Michigan had one of the best defenses in the country.

He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in 2007 where he played for 4 season before moving on to the Seattle Seahawks and eventually the Buffalo Bills where he still is.

If you still can’t place him but you’re a regular reader of this blog, maybe this will help

Alan Branch kills QBs

This is my 1st Alan Branch autograph.

Maurice Williams – 2001 Press Pass SE autograph

Maurice came to Michigan as a high school all-american, where he played all 4 years but only started his senior year.  After starting every game his senior season, he earned honorable mention of all-big ten team honors.

He was drafted in 2007 and started 10 games but was supposed to take over as the starter at right guard in 2008 but lost it to injury in the first game and missed the entire season.  He ended up getting released and picked up by the Denver Broncos but only for a month before being released there as well.

This is my 1st autograph of Maurice Williams

Greg Mathews – 2010 Sage Hit silver autograph

Mathews recorded over 1000 receiving yards while at Michigan and also returned punts throughout his college career.  His heroics in the 2009 game against our (apparently not) rivals Notre Dame by scoring our game winning touchdown with 11 seconds left.

He ended up being undrafted and has played for 3 teams on practice squads but has yet to see the field in an NFL game.

This is my 3rd autograph of Greg Mathews.

 

As you can tell, Dennis sent me an awesome package and I can’t thank him enough for it. 

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

Cheap Ebay Pick-ups, U of M Style

Hello all, Jeff here with a couple more Ebay Pick-ups.  If your following my other blog (My Sports Obsession) then you’ll be getting to see a bunch of these.  But because EVERYBODY loves Michigan, they are a lot harder to come by cheap.  But I did get a few.  We’ll start off with a Fab Five member just because Michigan won the Big Ten Conference this year.  And our celebration for making the NCAA tourney as well.

• Jalen Rose - 1995 Ted Williams What’s Up rookie ($.54)

This isn’t a bad scan, that’s really what the card looks like it.  It has a really funky texture to it.  I’m not sure how to describe it.  But it’s of Jalen Rose.  The Fab Five were one of the reasons I came to love Michigan.

• Greg Mathews – 2010 Sage HIT Autograph ($2.50/shipped)

I do pay up to $3 for autos of players I remember watching so I went ahead and paid $2.50 for this card.  Greg Mathews, Michigan uniform, autographed, and my lucky #13, really, how could I go wrong?

But the main reason for this post is to show off my son’s pinewood derby car.  He went over to grandpa’s house to make this because I don’t know Jack about tools so I had nothing with the design.  My mother suggested the hood but everything else was all him.  What do you think it is?  Batman!  Spiderman!  Legos!  Nope, this is what he came up with.

Not sure why the left picture turned all blue, but the right picture shows its colors.  He races on Saturday so I’ll let you all know how he does.

To go along with all the great pick-ups that Dennis is posting, I’ll have some that he sent me, I have to scan them so it may not happen till this weekend.  Plus I’ll be watching Michigan playing in the tourney Friday night so I’ll get to it when I can but they are some awesome cards that make my collection all the more cooler.  The wait will definitely be worth it, you’ll see.

BE TRUE TO THE MAIZE AND BLUE!!!