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 Sportlots purchases: hosers, not posers

The NHL season may still be weeks away but as far as I'm concerned it's never a bad time to pick up PC cards from that sport.  Via Sportlots I hit three of my favorite collections and have a nice bunch of stuff to show off, but since I figure this won't be the most popular post in the series it's gonna be more "show" than "tell".

So let's chill with some icers:

Young WolverWing star and potential future captain Dylan Larkin, who just re-upped with Detroit for five seasons, is my smallest hockey PC for now since a lot of his stuff isn't affordable, but I did land this group of six Upper Deck-branded issues, two from 2016-17 and the rest from 2017-18.  My favorite from the bunch is card #2, a 2016-17 Upper Deck ice base, which you can easily tell from the scan is translucent.  These give me a new Larkin count of 19.

Next, I got five scans' worth of blog favorite C Brendan Morrison.  My main focus here was brands I knew I liked from Pacific, Topps, and Upper Deck.  This bunch from 1998-99 to 2000-01 includes some lookers, especially Black Diamond, Topps Gold Label, and SPx.

More of the same kind of fun here, ranging from 2002-03 to 2006-07.  The Stadium Club cards (including a Silver Decoy parallel) are cool as they include a cameo from fellow Wolverine Mike Comrie.  I'd love to find more cards with multiple Michigan Hockey alumni on them.  Pacific makes a few nice appearances, especially the always fun Invincible, and Ultra also makes the first of a bunch of appearances.

Here we finish up the verticals with a span of 2005-06 to 2010-11 that's 100% Ultra and UD.  Maybe they're nothing exciting but each has a solid basic design from a brand I respect.

The first of two horizontal scans begins with 1998-99 and ends with 2002-03.  The former is repped by a pair of Pacific brands plus SPx Finite, the 100% numbered set.  Pacific, UD, and a Topps Heritage offering with the "TV" design close out the group.

We'll end this group on a 100% UD run from 2002-03 to 2006-07.  That first Upper Deck card could just as easily be a Stadium Club design.  UD's Vintage and SPx bookend a couple more flagship sets for the brand.  In all I jumped Morrison's PC to 82 cards.

And last up is my other original hockey favorite, goalie Marty Turco.  While largely sticking with the same brands as those seen in Morrison's scans, I scared up another five images of new additions.  These open up with a new RC from 2000-01 Topps Stars and then zip all the way through 2004-05.  There's also some nice example of Pacific, Topps, and UD brands in there, including Stadium Club and Invincible!

Here's an all Ultra/UD scan for Turco ranging from 2005-06 to 2009-10.  My favorite is the Flair Showcase card from '06-'07, keeping the Fleer name that was then owned by Upper Deck.  By the way, with the Ultras grouped together like this it's fun to see how consistent they were with the scripting of the last names.

Here the last few verticals were mixed in with the first of the horizontals, the latter of which tend to do goalies more justice with some great photos.  The former include a 2009-10 UD product and two more from 2010-11, plus Certified from the same year.

And then the x-axis cards begin their show with a trio of Pacifics from 2001-02 and '02-'03, including a very cool die-cut Atomic base, then Topps Chrome and the TV set Heritage design from that latter year.  I totally need to get the Refractor version of that Chrome card.

Here a quartet of Upper Deck cards (three flagship and one Vintage) made from 2002-04 bookend a couple great crease photos from 2003-04 Be-a-Player Memorabilia and In the Game Action.  And a lot of great game action is exactly what we get, though what exactly is going on in that first image from UD?

From this point on it's all Upper Deck and cards made between 2005-06 and 2007-08.  The first one you see is from a product called Power Play while the third and fifth are from the ever shiny SPx.  Meanwhile, three flagship cards run along the right column, and they hail from consecutive years, which is pretty cool.

Even more so than for Morrison this purchase was productive when it came to my Turco collection which finally broke through the century mark milestone to a lofty total of 112.  Too many Turcos?  Nope!

Stay tuned for three more football posts done up by position groups, hopefully before the season starts!

2017 trade package #9: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

Well, that didn't go as well as I'd hoped, but Wisconsin earned their win and I hope they can continue their run to the playoff.

Win or lose, I mostly enjoyed watching the game, which Fox generously interspersed into three hours of commercials.  Since I can't honor a victory for my team, I'll instead celebrate the trademark outstanding effort of Doug from Sports Cards From the Dollar Store and his latest trade package (#47 on this here blog!), a 100% Wolverine special:

Starting things off with basketball, here's the captain of the '89 NCAA champs, Glen Rice, on a super thick numbered base card from 2011-12 UD Exquisite.  I love this image, which appears on other cards I own as well as a commemorative newspaper poster.

And a pair of hits of much more recent Wolverines.  On the left is THC enthusiast Mitch McGary on a 2014-15 Select Rookie Signatures auto (#172/275), a card which has a design that reminds me a lot of Prizm.  That's my fifth hit of the big man and second with an auto.

The other is an enormous jersey swatch from the same year's Court Kings product out of a relic set called Art Nouveau Jerseys.  The subject of this one is none other than Canadian SG Nik Stauskas, a.k.a. Sauce Castillo!  A current 76er, he's seen here with the team that drafted him--the Kings--on a card numbered 077/299.  My first non-plate hit of the Canuck came straight from the source.

Now we'll look at a quick four-spot of football.  The top pair of NFLers, Tom Brady and Devin Funchess, come from a typically solid Donruss set from this year.  Speaking of Funch, check out this great story of how he fulfilled a promise to score a TD (he actually picked up a pair) for the mother of a young solider killed in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the two Michigan uni cards are two very useful additions to my football RC project.  As you can see, both hail from this year's Panini Prestige product, one you can usually count on for great college photos, and they include Broncos TE Jake Butt and Seahawks WR Amara Darboh, two of Michigan's best receiving weapons last year.  That's my second RC of Butt (the other is from Score, also thanks to Doug) and first of Darboh.

And now for the main event:  hockey, naturally!  This group begins with a trio representing one of several hockey Mikes, in this case Cammalleri, who we'll see again in a bit.  Next is the Ducks' Andrew Cogliano with his original team, Edmonton.  He's followed by what I believe is my first card of Kyle Connor, an absolute sniper in his one year in Ann Arbor, who's one of several former Wolverines working for the Jets.  One of those teammates is Andrew Copp, seen on a pair of UD issues.  Wolverwing Luke Glendening and multi-Cup-winner with the Pens Carl Hagelin round out the scan on cards from the same OPC set as the Connor.

This group begins with a four-card Jack "MF" Johnson party, picturing him with his current team--Columbus--as well as L.A., with whom he made his NHL debut after Carolina drafted him.  Next is a very shiny UD issue of a former Wolverwing (and hockey Mike), Mike Knuble.  Next is a guy who didn't become a future star but has turned in a decent journeyman career:  goalie Al Montoya.  Blog favorite Brendan Morrison makes the cut once again in a SCFtDS package, which is always appreciated.  Ending this scan are David Moss--a guy I saw lots of during my school years in Ann Arbor--and another guy who enjoyed a pretty nice long pro career, defenseman Jeff Norton.

Not only did Doug send me a CanCon guy in Stauskas above, he also included a 2/14 collection player in Eric Nystrom to start of this scan.  He's joined by a pair of Paciorettys, including a die-cut UD card.  Young D-man Jacob Trouba rounds out the Wolverpeg Jets (eh, it's a work in progress) trio with a pair.  And finally, Doug went extra generous here by including a pair of cards of another uber-talented young star, Zach Werenski.  Another Wolverine exiled to Columbus, he put up a nice pair of seasons in Ann Arbor and has been pretty good for the Blue Jackets in one-plus years of pro play.

And if that wasn't generous enough, how about five new cards of Wolverwing star forward Dylan Larkin?  Without actually checking I'm going to bet that this almost doubles my count of Larkin base and inserts, again most of which likely came from across the border.  Awesome!  I may just have to give Dylan his own PC album if I can keep getting cards of him like this.

My pair of hockey hits today begins with this exceptionally cool die-cut dual jersey/auto of Chris Brown, the pride of Flower Mound, Texas.  It's a bit hard to show in the scan, but the die-cutting is done above the top of the jersey image to give it the feel of a hockey sweater.  My ninth hit of brown comes from a word salad of a set called 2013-14 Panini Titanium Home Sweaters Memorabilia Autographs Prime and is numbered 13/25 (almost a Christmas card!).

And the other hit Doug sent carries the name of one of Upper Deck's most iconic autographed offerings.  From 2006-07 SP Authentic, this is a Chirography auto of Cammalleri, a two-time King who was actually with that team for his second stint this season before being sent to Edmonton just a few days ago!  I now own 14 hits of the sniping FW, half of which carry signatures like this one.

Well that was definitely a fun package to sort through and post, especially after being a bit down about the football team's play yesterday.  Thanks again for the usual above-and-beyond effort, Doug (and for being responsible for the last four packages I've shown off here!).  I'm continuing to work on my response so you can have a merry cardmas!

9/2/17 card show report: Bo knows

You're here for the Wolverines content from the September show I attended, and that's exactly what I have for you:

I don't get to show off Bo Schembechler cards here too often so this was a fun pickup.  It actually comes from a baseball product, Panini's 2013 Golden Age, and while I'm not a huge fan of non-baseball stuff in baseball products (cough cough A&G and Gypsy Queen cough cough) I'm happy to see Bo land somewhere that might get his name out there to younger generations.  This was an easy quarter pickup for me.

The only $1 I picked up for myself is this 2002 SAGE HIT Autographs Emerald auto of former Michigan WR Marquise Walker.  It's not exactly my favorite design, with a grainy-looking photo that may have been printed on an old HP DeskJet, and a way-too zoomed-in one at that, but I still like that it's a Michigan uni card, and I love any autographs of Wolverines.  As is often the case with SAGE the sticker doesn't scan very well, but I still got my money's worth for my 22nd Walker hit.

And now, the big purchase of the day:

I saw this in the seller's showcase and--

Sorry, just a sec...

::grabs hammer and chisel, uses both::

Aaaahhhhhh, MUCH better!  Sometimes (read:  most of the time) grading is just stupid.  Who gives two rips about an 8.5?

Anyway, I saw this in the seller's showcase and he wanted $30 for it, but better yet when I tacked it on he took $5 off my total purchase to make it an even $50.  So what do we have here?  It's only my first hit (finally) of young Wolverwing star Dylan Larkin!  The ultra-talented forward spent the 2014-15 season with Michigan, then jumped to the Wings when they took him in the first round that year, apparently making the right decision since he's been with the big club both seasons since.

Because of that, I've wanted a nice hit of his for a long time, but had some difficulty since young stars can command high prices.  $30 isn't exactly chump change but the timing was right for this super cool manu-letter patch auto, which is even better since it's the first letter of his nameplate.  Will I try to complete that project?  Maybe.  But I'm very proud to have this one if nothing else.

What's even cooler is that Larkin here is the 50th member of my hockey PC, a milestone I didn't even realize until I went to add him to the spreadsheet.  Great card, nice bonus!

I may hit next month's show, but until then you should get to see some fun COMC pickups before much longer.

5-6-2017 show report: in circulation

My monthly card show discount box diving proved to be reasonably fruitful for my Michigan PCs once again in May, this time with a heavy emphasis on football along with one hockey entry:

Most of this bunch is heading to my Michigan Football inserts collection.  Bray-Bray starts us off with an Upper Deck Rookie Prospects insert from his rookie season of 2005, plus a 2008 Donruss Elite Prime Targets Gold (#171/800) parallel.  I actually have the jersey version of that card as well!

Continuing the insert trend is a pair of rookie card parallels of longtime QB Brian Griese.  The first is the "50-Point" version of his '98 Collector's Edge Masters first-year (#0103/3000), a numbered, thicker version of the base set.  The other is a bit more recognizable, I think, a Bronze parallel of his Topps Stars RC from the same year.  Confusingly, these have the same print run, 8799 (this one's #4489), as the base cards, with the latter featuring red foil instead.

I landed an insert of each of my blogs' namesakes this time, and a 2008 Upper Deck insert called Potential Unlimited was my representative for "Super" Mario Manningham.  A number of UD base and insert designs from that year kind of run together so I was thinking I already had it but was proven incorrect when I got home, to my delight.

Between the bunch of Griffeys found in tonight's TMV post and the pair of football Giants here you might think you were reading Sport Card Collectors instead;  You'd be wrong, but I'd be in good company!  My other Giants entry is this foily insert of WR Amani Toomer called "Strike Force" out of 2000 Upper Deck.

That's three receivers and a QB, so how about we switch things up to the defensive side of the ball?  I was glad to find two more cards of another PC guy, Charles Woodson.  The first hails from his rookie year of 1998 and Upper Deck's UD3 product.  Chuck appears in this set three different times, and this card, #4, is not the one considered his RC, though I do own the one that is, #184.  Speaking of RCs, the other card I found of him is 2012 Score insert called RC Flashbacks.  I instantly recognized the design of his '98 Score rookie but did notice the different photo and was eventually able to put things together.

My last football entry needed to be scanned separately because I think we all know that uncirculated cards, as fun as they can be, are sometimes annoying to get just right.  This one, a 2008 Topps Chrome Gold Refractor of Brian Griese, came out reasonably well, though.  I had no problem throwing down something like a quarter for what I think is the sixth uncirculated-type card in my insert collection.

Lastly, I was thrilled to find a beautiful Upper Deck base card of former Wolverine Dylan Larkin from the 2016-17 set.  The 2014 first-rounder wasn't as effective this past season, putting up 17 goals and 15 assists, down from 23 and 22 the year before, but he won't even be 21 until the end of July, so there's plenty of time for his huge potential to pay off.  I don't have many cards of his right now--other than what Doug's sent my way--and would love to land more (including a hit if possible), so turning up a gem like this is a big coup for me right now.

With another show just a couple days away, stay tuned for more pickups soon--maybe even within a few days of when I get them instead of a month this time!

2016 trade package #10: Sports Cards From the MacGyver Store

It's that time again:  time for another Sports Cards From the Dollar Store trade package!  Doug's actually responsible for the most recent package I showed off here back in April.  This time he "MacGyvered up something" that would allow a couple cards he'd promised me (and more) to arrive safely, and in that (and the content) he did NOT disappoint!

Today's appetizer is this pair of 2015-16 Panini-branded cards of former Michigan star Trey Burke, and they couldn't be more different if they tried.  On the left is Complete, a throwback-type set with a more vintagey (as in non-glossy) card stock.  Just a white border, nice photo, the player's name, and some logos.  Meanwhile, Trey's Select Prizm (I believe this is the Tri-Color version) is shiny, in-your-face colorful, and has something more like a Chrome feel to it.  People can rag on Panini all they like but I'm still in their corner.

For the main course here are five hockey Wolverines cards.  Cogliano starts off with a base card from this year's UD release and a numbered parallel from 2013-14 (hard to see, but it's 048/100).  Wolverwing Dylan Larkin makes a much-appreciated appearance with this Red parallel from this year's O-Pee-Chee Update set, and I don't think they could have picked a better color for his team.  John Madden doesn't get a ton of airtime around here so I make sure to show off stuff when folks like Doug include him.  And finally, Max Pacioretty makes the first of two appearances today with a Blue parallel (#d 086/499) from this year's UD Countours product.  Again, a very nice choice of color that goes well with Montreal's unis (not to mention Michigan's!).

Max Pacioretty 2015-16 Upper Deck Game Jerseys jersey

For dessert, also from this year's UD flagship product (seeing a theme?) is a nicely-done jersey relic of Patch.  It's my third hit of the sniper in my hockey PC and a nice way to highlight his third straight and fourth overall 30-goal season.

And for an after-dinner snack, here's the card that required MacGyvering:  

1997-98 Beehive was a Pinnacle product that honored a series of photos produced between 1934 and 1967 (click here to learn more about them).  The whole set measures in at 5x7 making these pieces larger than average and that much cooler because of it.

Naturally I'm thrilled to get Morrison's card, not only because it's obviously an amazing piece, but also because it counts as a rookie.  Oh yeah, and the back mentions his career at Michigan, including one of my favorite moments:

As you can see, the front takes advantage of the extra space with a great photo while the back goes with a second, black-and-white image, typical bio info, a short write-up, and a trivia question, with most of the text available in English and French.  Nice!

Doug, thanks once again for some fun additions--and careful packaging!  Whenever my latest COMC package arrives I'll have some interesting things to send over to your side of the border.

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!

2016 trade package #3: another blue & red Larkin from Condition Sensitive

My third trade package of the year continues the streak of two-parters, and if you're reading this that probably means you already saw all the great stuff I posted over on TMV courtesy of Rosenort of Condition Sensitive in the first trade I've made with the Saskatchewanian.  That includes this card, which I'll highlight a bit more here:

Dylan Larkin is a Michigan native that came to Ann Arbor in 2014 and blew the doors off the league, potting 15 goals and 32 assists in 35 games.  After Detroit made him their first-round pick that year, he opted to jump to the NHL against the advice of coach Red Berenson.  Red has since admitted that he was wrong about Larkin's readiness, and with good reason:  Dylan leads Detroit with 18 goals, 38 points, and a third-in-the-league +/- of 24 as of this evening.  He's been an offensive force and one of the most exciting rookies this season, with exhibit A being his performance in the All-Star Game's Faster Skater competition:

He breaks the record despite stumbling!

Thanks to all that, Larkin's cards don't come cheap, so I'm very glad to add my first card of him from my new Canadian buddy.  Dylan joins the ranks of WolverWings (guys that played for Michigan and Detroit, obviously) that includes the aforementioned Berenson, teammate Luke Glendening, and former defenseman Aaron Ward, and I'm happy to have him.

"C" included one other hockey card, a Michigan-uniformed Cam Stewart, who proves that the school's hockey unis are as amazing as those of the football team.  A Kitchener, Ontario, native (like Doug!), Stewart primarily played for Boston over parts of six seasons.  I did a quick check of my Michigan Hockey box and confirmed that this is just my second card of Stewart and first of him in a college uni, so it was a nice addition to the package for me.

He then stuck the landing with another Classic college photo card, this time of the legendary #21, Desmond Howard.  This '92 card is definitely of a much higher quality than many of that manufacturer's offerings, and you just can't go wrong with colorful photos of guys in their Wolverine duds.

Thanks once again, Rosenort, and I look forward to trading again soon!