COMC haul #17: Avant Cardes have me hoping for 800 more

(Note:  all COMC haul posts can be accessed here)

HI!  The subject of today's post is Jason Avant.  You may remember him from such posts as "Merry Avantmas!" and "All Avant For Christmas is a Good QB."

I was inspired to post Avant stuff today after his ridiculawesome catch in yesterday's win over the Bucs.  What catch am I talking about?  Peep THIS:

From MGoBlog

Of course, Wolverine fans like myself weren't as surprised as the rest of you that he was able to pull off such a difficult grab, considering he did THIS against Northwestern while still in college:

From MGoBlog

The bigger surprise is that the Eagles actually got the ball to him--a LOT.  While he hasn't been racking up TDs this season, he's starting to accumulate some nice yardage now that his QB isn't Injury McCan'tThrow.  What a revelation for Philly that their possession receiver who showed excellent hands in college is able to catch passes when a semi-competent QB is throwing his way!

Anyway, here's a TD's worth of cards of Avant I picked up from COMC the last few months:

Jason Avant 2006 Absolute Memorabilia RPM jersey-ball-jersey auto RC (#033/100)

I already had the non-auto version, so why not grab this one too, since it's 100 times better when signed?

Jason Avant 2006 Bowman Chrome Gold Refractor auto (#35/50)

Here's another instance where I already had a lesser version of a card, then found one that was waaaaay, way better.  The scan doesn't do it justice?  The scan doesn't do it justice.

Jason Avant 2006 Donruss Gridiron Gear Rookie Jerseys Trios jersey-ball-jersey (#36/50)

Nope--I didn't already have a version of this one, but it was a nice frugal pickup in either my Black Friday or Cyber Monday package, I can't remember which.  For under $2 I got a sweet triple relic of a great WR.

Jason Avant 2006 Leaf Certified Materials Mirror Blue Materials jersey-ball-helmet auto (#24/50)

Ok, ok, this is the last triple relic of the day, and quite possibly the highest-end card, with stiff competition from the BowChro Goldy.  What sets this one apart from some of my other hits is the presence of a piece of helmet, which you don't get all that often these days relative to jerseys and pieces of football.  This is easily in my Avant top-10 thanks to the great triple relic variety, a sweet signature, and the Blue parallel.

Jason Avant 2006 Press Pass Legends auto

Avant will never go down as a legend at the school, but he'll definitely be remember as one of our better WRs to go on to the pros.  What we have here is a typically nice Press Pass design:  solid photo, nice area for an on-card auto, and as always, players in college unis.  Hey Jeff, ::CollegeUniHighFive::!

Jason Avant 2006 SAGE Autographs Red auto (#636/999)

More college uni goodness on a pretty good SAGE card, though I wasn't as high on the years where they used the holographic stickers that really obscure the autographs.  Still, it's a parallel of the Bronze version I already have.  Will I try to grab the rest eventually?  You never know!

Jason Avant 2006 Topps Draft Picks and Prospects Class Marks auto

Last one, and it ALSO includes a nice college uniform shot.  Thanks to this one, I now have Topps DPP Class Marks autos from 2005 (Marlin Jackson), 2006, and 2007 (Steve Breaston).

And now, what I know you've all been waiting for:  milestone time:

• Avant jets up the football PC leaderboard past 30 with his new total of 34
• More than 20 of those now feature autographs, which I thought was worth mentioning
• His 34 cards put him in a three-way tie with Adrian Arrington and Mario Manningham for 5th in football
• Football stands at 599 cards.  Who'll be #600?  I dunno, we'll see when I post next!
• And today's biggest news:  the Michigan all-sport count has cracked the 800 mark with a new total of 804.  With all the other marks being attained around here, including 150 baseball hits and (soon-to-be) 600+ in football, this is also a very exciting number to hit.  At some point I'll have to put together a post that charts the progress of when I hit certain totals

So have a Merry Avantmas, everyone, and come back for football hit #600 soon!  And the next time life throws something difficult your way, just ask yourself, What Would Jason Do? and haul that sucker in with a one-handed catch.

Michigan gameday 2012 #1: vs. #2 Alabama

Find this wallpaper and other versions of it thanks to Six Zero of MGoBlog.com

This is it:  after months and months of waiting and celebrating in the afterglow of Michigan's first great football season in seemingly forever (not to mention a bowl win!), we're back for more:  Team 133, the 2012 version of my favorite team in my favorite sport.

And this year the Maize and Blue start things off with a bang thanks to scheduling a tilt with #2 Alabama--the defending champs (of oversigning; they also did win the MNC last year, though)--in the "neutral" JerryDome in Texas.  Few are expecting the Wolverines to come out on top, but almost all of us see it as a step in the right direction that was a long time coming in terms of scheduling non-"snacky cake"-type non-conference opponents.  There's not a lot to lose here:  a win means a huge leap forward in the race to a national title; a loss resets expectations a bit toward the other major goal:  a Big Ten title.  Either way, this promises to be a crazy contest, and no matter what, I can't wait until tonight.  GO BLUE!

Game time:  8 p.m. EST
Location:  Cowboys Stadium, Dallas, TX

The Molk's on Blue

It's hard to say enough good things about former Wolverine OL David Molk, who graduated this past year and was ultimately drafted by the Chargers.  The kid (man?) who was the lynch pin of the 2011 Michigan football team as its center showed over the course of his career characteristics such as loyalty--staying through the hard times of a program in disarray after the death of its patriarch, even when nobody would have blamed him for leaving the mess far behind; leadership--Three and Out did a great job crediting Molk with holding the team together through multiple coaching and scheme changes, unheard of W/L records and booing fans; guts--to call the kid a "warrior" for playing through gruesome injuries because there was no other option would be an understatement; and heart--going out every day and giving his all for his team and his teammates.  David Molk was and is a Michigan Man.

For all those reasons, I was thrilled when Upper Deck (pfft, who was gonna do it, TOPPS?!) produced autographs--make that college-uni autographs!--of four Wolverines that have been otherwise shut out of the major manufacturer card world this season (aside from a couple of SPx issues--also an Upper Deck brand). The fact that Molk, WR Junior Hemingway, TE Kevin Koger and DT Mike Martin (a second-round defensive stud who STILL wasn't deemed worthy) all got into this set partly subdues my anger towards Topps, which continues to ignore quality rookies in favor of undrafted former college stars like Kellen Moore who are unlikely to do much in the pros.  I don't think this needs to be an either/or, though--Topps should think about making a college-themed set of just the year's draft picks (and major UDFA signings, sure)--I would be ALL OVER THAT.

Anyway, whether or not you read all that, here's one of my recent eBay pickups that makes the ode to Molk make some sense:

David Molk 2012 Upper Deck Rookie Autographs auto

Other than the extremely ugly green foil that mars the design, this is a wonderful tribute to Molk, whose helmet looked like that pretty much nonstop.  I'm excited to have him as the 87th different subject in the PC, and I'm also excited to announce that I have all three of his teammates headed my way from COMC in the near future.

For more on how much Molk meant to the 2011 Wolverines team that made Maize and Blue-wearing people feel all warm and fuzzy again, please check out this article and this one, among others.  And of course, if you haven't yet, please make sure to check out Three and Out, which is a phenomenal read by one of Michigan sports' best authors.

Good luck to Molk as he pursues his NFL career, and GO BLUE!