2018 trade package #12: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

The theme of this trade package from Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store is "insane".  As it's insane that he's sent me 53 envelopes (and counting) that I've posted on this here blog, packages filled with a crazy number of cards that have filled sets and player collections.  What was so nuts about the latest one that arrived recently?

Let's start with the insane design on this 2017-18 Spectra Neon Green parallel (#19/49) of Chris Webber.  Not only is it the cardboard version of LSD, it also gave me a flashback to Upper Deck's HoloGrFx.  That's UD hallucinations in both posts tonight!

Former Michigan DE Frank Clark had freakish talent and put up some great numbers in college.  But Clark, pictured here on a 2018 Donruss base card, was insane to think he'd get away with doing and saying some terrible things towards women, behavior totally unfit for any human being, much less a Michigan Man.

The quantity and quality of the hockey content Doug's sent me over 50+ packages is insane, and at some point maybe I'll even go through each post and total it up to try to put a number on it.  But for now I'll happily enjoy more of the fruits of his bread-and-butter repacks.

This time that includes lots of this year's OPC (more in the next scan) such as stalwarts Mike Cammalleri and Carl Hagelin plus young gun JT Compher.  The latter is joined by fellow up-and-comers Zach Hyman and WolverWing Dylan Larkin from the last UD MVP offering.  As I said on TMV tonight that's my 20th Larkin card, a fun little milestone I'm celebrating.  New Penguins D-man Jack Johnson dominates this scan with a cool trio, and better-than-that-announcer-guy John Madden closes out the group.

Like I said, plenty of 2018-19 OPC, which was a nice boon to my collection this time.  Motte and Werenski have each only been around for a couple seasons while Trouba's a vet at this point and Patch is going into his 11th campaign, now as a member of the Knights.  It's crazy for me to realize that Pacioretty, seen here on another nice trio--has been in the NHL for more than a decade!

And at last we get to the craziest card of them all, a true 1/1 of WolverWing Luke Glendening from 2013-14 Panini Rookie Anthology's Prizm portion.  Doug continued his insane luck when it comes to breaking boxes (of this product and in general), and was also crazy generous in letting me have this Prizms Finite parallel as one of several super high-end cards he's sent my way.  Did I mention it's a true 1/1, as in not one in a set of four plates or something?  Simply amazing, and a great card to add to my small collection of Glendening (it joins an auto I bought and a relic Doug sent) and surprisingly large group of 1/1s (111).

I can't help but love the blurb on the back that highlights Luke getting to play hockey in-state at college, in the minors, and the NHL as well.

Doug, you are a crazy man with insane luck and I will do my damndest to pay you back with something (or -things) that equal or exceed the generosity you continue to send across the border.  Thank you, my Canadian buddy!

2018 trade package #7: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

As I mentioned on TMV this evening I was excited to receive an envelope from Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store that's become a yearly tradition: a pre-Expo trade package.  He's the type to load up on stuff for me before the show and send all that my way, then find even more cool stuff for people like me, which he also sends eventually.  Needless to say, I love Expo time, and I don't even go to that show!

That TMV post covered a couple cards that show up on both blogs so those two are repeats here but only add to the bounty I enjoyed.  Check it out:

As with baseball stuff in the other post, the basketball pickings were slim here but the quality sure wasn't lacking.  Quite the opposite, in fact, thanks to this super cool shoe relic of THJ from 2013-14 Panini National Tools of the Trade (at least I think I got that right--it was a bit difficult to catalog).  Hardaway returned to the Knicks this past season and put up career highs in most of the relevant stats, a trend I hope to see continue into next season.  Maybe I'll find more hits of him before then as this is just my second.

The hockey base stuff opens with this scan full of Hockey Mikes and Andrews.  The former includes enforcer-type Brown and former sniper Cammalleri while the latter pairs up Ducks F Cogliano and and young Jet Copp, who's made a bit of noise with three points thus fair in the playoffs.

And here's the rest of the non-hit hockey stuff, proving that Doug's repacks and Champ's case were very kind to my collection.  Hagelin's Pens are locked up with Washington at two games apiece as I'm writing this, and he's put up a pair of goals as his team shoots for three straight cups.  Hunwick is one of two player collections Doug hit in this package.  The Caps handled Johnson's Blue Jackets which is fine by me as he didn't play.  Patch had his worst statistical season, failing to score at least 30 goals for the first time in six years.  And Trouba's also potted a pair for the Michigan-heavy Jets.

Here's Copp again on a card that inducts him into my hockey hits collection, a 2015-16 Upper Deck Contours auto RC (#457/499).  This signature makes him the 53rd different player in that bunch, not to mention a nice start to a collection for another recent young Wolverine alum.  The die-cut design is very cool and I'm glad to see his signature is better than some of the effortless scribbles you see these days.

As I mentioned I featured this card and the next one on TMV because they're both Wings.  Glendening's card is a 2016-17 SP Game Used Stadium Series Fabrics jersey, and the larger red swatch looks great next to the autograph of his I bought from COMC a couple years ago.

Favorite active hockey guy Dylan Larkin is next with his triumphant return on another Champ's card, this time a Rookie Jerseys relic from the 2015-16 UD product.  I'm very grateful to Doug for being a generous source for Larkin's stuff since it isn't easy to find at reasonable prices online, much less around the Detroit area.  And as I said, this will look great paired up with the super tough autograph he pulled from his case!

Lastly, Doug paired up the Holmstrom jersey you saw in the other post with another hit from 2010-11 Zenith:  this Team Logo Die-Cut Jerseys relic of the aforementioned Pacioretty.  Like the Glendening above it stars a bold red jersey swatch, this time cut into the shape of Montreal's logo.  That's a cool hit to add to my collection as the fifth of the former Michigan sniper.

Thanks again for a great pre-Expo package, Doug, and I look forward to seeing what you tracked down this time, both for yourself and for people you trade with (hey, that includes me!).  In the meantime, I'm celebrating my 50th package from you posted on this here blog!  (For real this time, I think.)  Thanks for being the first to reach that crazy number!

2015-16 COMC purchases: hockey n00bs

Tonight might be the final game of the NHL playoffs (again), so what better day to show off the hockey stuff I picked up from COMC over my last few purchases?  As I sit here writing this post and preparing to root for Carl Hagelin and his Pens, here's five new additions to my hockey PC, including four completely new players:

Mike Brown 2014-15 Artifacts Autofacts auto

Brown and his hipster mustache are natives of Chicago who attended UM from 2003-2005, which means I got to see them during my junior and senior years in Ann Arbor.  Another Michigan Hockey Mike, Brown was good enough to get drafted by the Canucks in the 5th round in 2004, and since 2007 he's seen NHL action with them as well as Anaheim, Toronto, Edmonton, San Jose, and most recently, Montreal.  Though he's a forward, Mike's not really a goal-scorer as much as a PIM-earning grinder type.  I'm glad to have finally added a hit of him all these years after seeing him play at Yost.

Mike Cammalleri-Jack Johnson-Marty Turco 2010-11 Artifacts Tundra Trios Bronze triple jersey (#11/75)

I'm of the opinion that card manufacturers should do more multiplayer cards of players with college connections like this one.  These three never played together but all were active at the time the card was made.  As a nice bonus the jersey swatches are three different colors!  I really don't throw much money at relics at all these days but I just couldn't pass this one up.  It's my 13th hit of Cammalleri, 11th of Johnson, and 33rd of the collection-leading Turco.

Luke Glendening 2015-16 Upper Deck Signature Sensations auto

Luuuuuke!  Glendening is yet another WolverWing, though he actually came to Detroit as a UDFA.  He had quite a nice, if not statistically explosive, four-year college career that included a trip to the NCAA title game his junior year.  This season was his third with the Wings and he continued to provide some reliable production as a center.  I hope he and fellow WolverWing Dylan Larkin are teammates for years to come!  In the meantime it's nice to see him appear on some cardboard, such as this excellent UD-branded signature.

Matt Hunwick 2007-08 The Cup Printing Plates Ultimate Collection Yellow (1/1)

Hunwick is another guy I got to watch during my college days and still somehow neglected to add to my PC until recently.  After four years as an able college defenseman, Matt (no relation to PC goalie Shawn) went in the 7th round in the same 2004 draft as Brown above, in his case to the Bruins.  After a few seasons in Boston he moved on to Colorado, the Rangers, and then the Leafs this season.  Needless to say I was thrilled to make my first hit of him a plate--my 56th overall 1/1 and 7th out of hockey--and this just goes to show you COMC can be a good source of such cards.  Next up I'll try to add an autograph of the journeyman D.

Steven Kampfer 2010-11 Zenith auto RC (#506/999)

Today's final player is another newbie:  D-man Steve Kampfer.  Another four-year Wolverine, Kampfer started his college career a couple years after I graduated, but I saw him plenty in-person and on TV anyway.  Unfortunately one of the most notable aspects of his Michigan tenure was a cowardly on-ice attack by a couple Michigan State goons back in 2009.  At least he was able to bounce back from those cheap shots and get some NHL minutes with Boston, Minnesota, and Florida (including the past two seasons); he never appeared with the Ducks, who took him in 2007's 4th round.  It's no surprise that he's not a big hobby name so I'm happy to see Panini threw him a bone on this autograph from five years ago.

Not only have I wanted to show this off for a while because I'm lazy, I've also been looking forward to announcing that they put me past another major milestone:  200 hits!  Thanks to today's additions the collection stands at 204 cards strong and counting, including 44 unique subjects.  Thanks as always to those of you who've contributed, especially Doug from SCFtDS--I'm gonna have to count up and see how many you're responsible for, buddy!

So go Carl Hagelin, go Pens, and go Blue!