Seventh heaven

Today mark's one year since last New Year's Day, when I watched as Michigan Football ended a disappointing season with a bowl loss to South Carolina, then got over it and posted a bunch of new Mario Manninghams from Sportlots.  That means it's been seven whole years since I spun off this here blog from the original Too Many Grandersons!

I think the calendar rolling over deserves a quick recap of Michigan sports and my collection progress from 2018.

The football team went 10-3 with those 10 straight victories coming after a season-opening loss to CFP semi-finalist Notre Dame.  The Wolverines avenged 2017 losses against Wisconsin, MSU, and Penn State thanks to newfound offensive success that can largely be attributed to transfer QB Shea Patterson.  Unfortunately the team wilted in a beatdown in Columbus, then looked just as flat in the Peach Bowl loss to Florida.  Questions abound for the 2019 team, but lots of returning starters and an outstanding recruiting class could portend good things.

The hockey team, meanwhile, enjoyed a bit more success, losing the conference tourney to Ohio State before edging Northeastern and bombing BU in their NCAA tourney regional, heading to yet another Frozen Four.  Their season ended there with a 4-3 loss to Notre Dame, but it was a vast improvement over the previous year.  Super talented D Quinn Hughes was a big part of that, and I'm anxious to see what he can do this year before heading off to the NHL.

Finally, Michigan Basketball was the toast of Ann Arbor in 2017-18 thanks to a very good regular season that gave way to a conference tourney title that included double-digit wins over Michigan State and Purdue.  In fact, John Beilein's squad swept the Spartans, including another 10-point win in East Lansing.  After an early February loss to Northwestern his guys won 14 straight, only seeing the streak end in the March Madness final against Villanova.  That included the incredible scene immortalized above when a Jordan Poole prayer lifted Michigan to a crazy one-point, buzzer-beating victory over Houston, not to mention a win against the tournament's Cinderella, Loyola-Chicago.

Beilein continues to reward the patience of the athletic department and fans; to add to his already impressive resume of two finals appearances with Michigan, his team went undefeated in this season's 13 non-conference games, two of which were North Carolina and revenge against Villanova.  Who knows what great things April could bring this season?

As for my Michigan PCs, things were less roller coaster and more like a well-oiled machine.  I had 15 trade packages to show off, some of which were actually TMM-specific, so that was great.  The year was a productive one in getting more player collections put together and posted, with more good things on the way this year.  And I hit a big milestone with--what else?--a Mario Manningham card, my 2000th hit from my alma mater.  Besides those heavy hitters I added lots of other cardboard (and more) to those collections, and that also looks to be a trend I'll be able to continue in the new year.

Here's hoping things get even better for Michigan and that 2019 is a happy BLUE year!

Go Blue again!

What?  No occasion, just felt like saying LET'S GO BLUE!  Nothing important going on or anything.  Why?  What, uh, what have you heard?  ::looks around shiftily::

Let's Go Blue!

No reason or anything, just LET'S GO BLUE!

Jeff who?

Jeff here, I know, I've been a huge slacker over here but I finally got a few cards that you may have not seen yet. Which is rare for me because I'm a cheap skate.

First off, who's excited for football to start? We're less than a couple of weeks away from facing off with Florida, who's already started to talk smack. I am so ready for football to start.

That being said, I'm going to start off with a couple of basketball cards first.

2014-15 Panini Prizm

This Ebay 1/1 is nice and shiny. I say Ebay 1/1 because it is numbered, however, it's #'d 199/199 so it is the last card in the run. Not a bad pickup for only $1.75/shipped. It is my 11th card of Mitch McGary but it is my 3rd auto of his out of the 11 cards though.

Sticking with basketball, I also picked this up from the same seller as the card below it.

2007-08 Press Pass Authentics Legends

I love this card of the National Champion Glen Rice, it is my first auto of Rice and it very well may be first card of Rice other than that Panini Team set from a couple of years ago. Granted, this isn't from his playing days either but it's an auto, and in the Maize and Blue. Not a bad pickup for $3/shipped.

Last but not least, I got this football card with the one above.

2008 Press Pass Authentics Bowl Busters Sapphire

I also grabbed this #'d auto of Anthony Carter. I believe it is my 2nd auto of his because I remember Dennis getting me one as well. What is it #'d to? How about 23/75. I'll take that, especially for only $3/shipped. That's right I picked up this 2 card lot of Michigan legends for only $6/shipped.

That's all I got to show but it was a pretty good couple of days in the mailbox. I will see you all at the end of November up at the Big House. If you know our schedule, I'll just tell you I got tickets for the last game of the season. If you're reading this blog, you should know which game that is. It will be the biggest game I've ever attended before and I can't wait.

Who's that guy?

I know what you're thinking, who's the new guy? I haven't been on this blog in a long time (It's Jeff, BTW). That's mainly because my specialty is picking up the cheap cards of our Wolverines and Dennis shows off some really great cards where as my cheap cards tend to get shown by him first, but not today. I went through his card gallery and I didn't see these cards there so I might have beaten him to them. It doesn't happen often so I have to brag when I can,

I don't know who knows and who doesn't but I usually only collect players in the Maize and Blue but I have started some player collections of players that I watched and grew to like while they were with the Wolverines. The following player would be one of them.

I picked up this rookie 2013-14 Panini Titanium relic card on Ebay for $1.84/shipped. You can see, sorta that it's also numbered 304/325. Of course, it says player warn material so I'm sure it's not game used but I only paid less that $2 so I guess I can't complain.

I also picked up this 2015-16 Panini Prizm Autograph of Trey Burke. I paid a little more than the first one at $3.04/shipped but still it's great autograph of a pretty good player that's making a name for himself. These 2 cards only make 7 for the Trey Burke Collection and they are my first relic and auto of him.

The only reason I happen to come across these 2 cards is because they were free shipping and the starting bid was under a quarter. I don't usually come across these types of cards because of that but I lucked into these two, which is another reason you don't see me here often.

Recent PC Additions

Jeff here, I'm back again with my second post this month, that might be a record, but I did warn you. I got some more COMC pick-ups to share so let's get to it.

2012 Press Pass Fanfare Gold ($1.45)

2012 Press Pass Signings ($1.23)

I now have 5 cards of Kevin Koger and 4 of those are autographs and all are of the Maize and Blue variety.

2014-15 Upper Deck SPx ($.50)

This is only my 3rd card of Mitch McGary but my 2nd in a Michigan uniform.

2014 Upper Deck SP Authentic Canvas Collection ($.75)

2014 Leaf Draft ($.45)

These 2 cards put my Taylor Lewan Collection into the double digits with 10 cards. He has had the easiest cards to pick up on Ebay, I think I've picked up his 2014 Topps Finest Refractor 3 or 4 times now, I really need to keep better records. I can't go by the picture because Topps used that picture in a bunch of their cards.

2008 Upper Deck Draft Editions ($.43)

2008 Playoff Prestige Picks Blue ($.55)

2008 Topps Rookie Progression ($.36)

2008 Sage HIT Autograph ($1.25)

These 4 cards put my Mike Hart Collection at 34 cards and half of those are autographs. I guess because of that you can tell he's one of my Tier 1 collections as I've picked up a bunch of his and Dennis has always been good for some.

1999 Press Pass Authentics Autographs ($1.44)

2011-12 Fleer Retro 1998-99 Autographics Design Auto ($2.69)

I also picked up these 2 cards for the Michigan collection, I had a little money left after adding the cards to my cart. I grabbed the first one because it was cheap, then I decided to look and see what I could get for the total amount I had left instead of cheap and saw the Cazzie Russell and I had to pick that one up.

Recent PC Additions

Jeff here, I don't post on here too often because for one, I generally buy cheap cards and I don't come across too many Michigan cards at that price, and two, most of my Maize and Blue cards come from Dennis so since he sends me dupes, I assume you've seen them all before. This past month though, I've picked up some on my own at various locations. I may actually have a few posts here this month. I've splurged the last couple of months, which I'm sure won't last long but it at least boosts my collections.

Let's start with some football.

2013 Fleer Retro ($.49) COMC

2013 Bowman ($.35) COMC

2013 Bowman Black ($.48) COMC

These 3 Denard cards put that collection at 24 cards. By far the biggest player collection since I went and added a bunch of Michigan alumni to my player collections. I'm pretty sure he's the only one in double digits of cards.

2015 Panini Contenders Draft Picks Game Day Tickets ($.52) (COMC)

2015 Panini Prizm Collegiate Draft Picks ($.75) (COMC)

With his super bowl appearance and a couple of really good games in his rookie season this past year, his collection is gradually moving on up recently. These 2 cards put his collection at 7 cards. I picked up my first card of his at a card show in October and all the rest have come since the new year.

2014-15 Upper Deck Letterman ($.81)  (COMC)

2014-15 Upper Deck SPx ($.75) (COMC)

These 2 cards only put this collection at 4 cards and they are all in the Maize and Blue so there's that at least.

2013-14 Upper Deck SP Authentic ($.75) (COMC)

2013-14 Fleer Retro ($.49) (COMC)

2013-14 Fleer Retro 1992-93 Rookie Sensations Auto ($5.99) (COMC)

These 3 cards put his collection at 6 cards. I actually have a couple of pro cards of Hardaway jr since he had a decent rookie season. I haven't heard much from him this year but I don't really follow NBA much other than watching an occasional Bulls game. That is my first autograph card of his as well, even at $6 when I saw it, I wanted it since he was in the Maize and Blue.

2014-15 Upper Deck SPx Finite Rookies ($1.25) (COMC)

I really don't run into any of his cards very much. This is only my 2nd card of his, both of the Maize and Blue variety.

2013-2014 NBA Hoops ($.50) (EBAY)

2015-16 Panini Contenders Draft Picks Old School Colors ($.75) (COMC)

Really love the look of this card. I'm going to have to look and see if they have any more Michigan players in the Old School Colors set. These cards put my Burke collection at 5 cards and a few of those are pro cards as well.

I'm sure you've seen some of those from Dennis collections but they were all new to me and hopefully some of them are new to you as well.

Ebay Cheap additions

If you follow my blog My Sports Obsession, then you’ve already seen this first card, but since he was a Wolverine, I’m going to show it over here as well.

2013 Topps Allen & Ginter’s

I picked up this Jim Abbott for $.50 when I picked up a handful of last years Allen & Ginter’s.  It’s an Angels uniform which isn’t even in my top 2 for him, I’d prefer to see him in the maize and blue of the Michigan Wolverines or the Black and White of the Chicago White Sox.  This is my 26th card of the relatively new collection.

2013 Panini Prizm

I also grabbed this Denard Robinson for the Jacksonville Jaguars, whom I actually got to watch a bit last weekend since they played the Colts.  It doesn’t hurt that I only paid a quarter for it as well.  This is already my 11th card of the really new collection.

                                                  

2013-14 Panini Prizm                                                            2013-14 Panini Prestige

I grabbed my 1st and 2nd card of the Trey Burke collection.  I figured this collection might be a little harder to get cards on the cheap since he had a pretty successful rookie campaign.  I grabbed them both from the same seller as the Tim Hardaway jr card below and paid $.31 for the Prizm and  $.28 for the Prestige.

2013-14 Panini Prestige

This is only my 2nd card of Tim jr but as with the Denard Robinson collection and Trey Burke collection above, it’s a really new collection.  I grabbed this Panini for $.32 which is great because I don’t even collect NBA cards so I hate paying a lot for the few player collections that I have from that league.

2013-14 Panini Court Kings RC Jumbo Jersey Art Nouveau /325

Even though with jerseys and autographs I put a higher bid than the others, I still only put $3.04 as a max bid.  So I was shocked to win this and even more shocked that I won it for $2/shipped.  Obviously with this new collection, it is my first relic of Tim Hardaway jr.

That’s all I have for today, look for my daughter and I in the stands this coming Saturday as we start our march for a Big Ten Championship.  It will be my daughter’s first game but not first time at the stadium.  She’s excited.

I did find it ironic that the tickets for the game show these 2 considering 1 of them will be named the quarterback come Saturday.

This Week on MSO-Wolverines

It’s Sunday, 6 days away our season opener in football.  Is everybody pumped?  It’s also time for another post of This Week on MSO – Wolverines.

Devin Gardner getting photobombed by Jeremy Gallon

Rick Leach

Brady Hoke

Devin Gardner

Kameron Chatman

New and Old Collections

Jeff here, if you follow me at My Sports Obsession, then you know I announced some more player collections for myself.  If you follow, you also know that I only purchase cards for $.50 and cheaper so on the occasions I do post new cards here, they won’t be the really nice cards that Dennis shows you, but much cheaper cards.  Also, I got tired of all the scanning so I post pictures from COMC mostly, some ebay or other sources I can find so they aren’t as nice as well.  Most of them will probably be base cards, but, they are all Michigan Wolverines, and that’s all that matters.  First I’ll show you a card that I grabbed for my Michigan collection.

 

1994 Classic Classic Picks

Juwan Howard

A fab fiver.  I’ve probably mentioned it before but watching the fab five is what started my love for the Michigan Wolverines so I’m always ecstatic to grab one of their cards from their college days.

Picked up for $.44

 

 

Now, for my latest collections.  I followed all of their collegiate careers as I try to watch every Michigan football and basketball game and they all should have pro cards now so why not?  I get them cheap anyways, they won’t cost me much at all.  Here’s all the new collections I’ve added.

1. Tim Hardaway jr collection
2. Trey Burke collection
3. Glen Robinson III collection
4. Mitch McGary collection
5. Nik Stauskas collection
6. Denard Robinson collection
7. Taylor Lewan collection

So which player collection do I get started first?  Well, technically, I do have a couple of cards from a couple of the collections.  I think Dennis sent me a Taylor Lewan card before.  The Lewan is in a Michigan uniform so it’s in the Michigan collection but when Dennis sent it to me, I actually had already purchased one so I can use the other one for that collection.

 

2014 Upper Deck

Taylor Lewan

My kids actually have his autograph, that we picked up at Fan Appreciation day, on posters.  While we were in line, he walked right next to me to hug somebody he recognized and for those that don’t know, I’m 6’3”, 280 lbs and when he walked by me, I felt like a dwarf.  He’s freaking huge.

 

 

2013 Panini Prestige Football Prestigious Picks Black Rookie #d 18/25

Denard Robinson

The photo is a different version as the one I have is numbered to /25.  I think either Dennis or my cousin sent me this card.  I wasn’t collecting him at the time but I think I stuck it in one of the sleeves in my books so I must have thought that I would collect him eventually.  Hopefully he’ll get some more playing time this year, probably not, but I know he’s had some decent stats in preseason.

 

 

So, if those 2 player collections are already started, have you figured out which one I got on ebay that I decided to start all these player collections? 

 

2013-14 Panini Prizm HRX Rookies

Tim Hardaway jr

Tim was up and down at Michigan but he’s had a pretty productive rookie season for the Knicks.  I ran across this card while searching for Michigan cards and thought, why shouldn’t I, I like him, I’ve followed him for awhile, why the hell not?  Then I started thinking about the guys that went pro in the last couple of years and figured I’m going for it.

 

 

So there you go, new player collections and hopefully it will give me a reason to post here more often then just on Sundays.  Although I haven’t really come across too many of their cards cheap enough, but eventually I will.

I chose my game for this year so it looks like I will be heading to A2 on September 27th for the Minnesota game.  Maybe I’ll see you there.