Don't change that channel, I have another Maddux

So I'm not sure what is going on but the last few packages I've gotten from Listia has had postage due of 21 cents on them.  I guess the USPS have changed the ounces on packages or something.  Anyways, I have a couple more cards to show off today.

 Another 2015 Greg Maddux card.  This time from the insert set Free Agent 40.  I really don't get the concept of this set, but its a Maddux card and now I have it.  I really need to update my Maddux collection, but this was one I knew I needed.

Moving on, I also got this beauty of a card the same day.

 This Carl Edwards will be heading into my Mizzou collection.  I don't seek out all his cards, but this one was up right after the Daytona 500 and I bid on it.  I'm a bit surprised the Coors Light logo made it onto the card, but I recently noticed a Dale Earnhardt Jr. card with the Budweiser logo on his car.  What made it even more strange is that it was a Sports Illustrated for Kids card.

Just when you thought that's all I have.  WAIT!!!!! DON'T CHANGE THAT CHANNEL!

 I was digging around my junk drawer the other day and spotted this.  I forgot I bought this a few years back, but remember it was cheap.  I might try it out in a couple days.

I do have another card to show off to finish the night, it is the first GEM MINT 10 CARD I ever got.

 A year or two ago I bought a box of random packs at Wal-mart and it had this included as a bonus.  Not a bad card, and for a short time I collected Strasburg cards.  I'm not sure what I plan to do with it.  I bought another box later and pulled a Nolan Ryan Upper Deck card which I gave to my friend who likes him a lot.

Well, that's enough for one night, so as the snow falls in my neck of the woods and I prepare for a night of 90's music on the radio or computer, thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a safe and great night.

Maddux Mania and Who Let The Dogs Out?

Not much to this post, just showing off a Greg Maddux card I won on Listia and some cards of dogs (none of which are playing poker).

My first 2015 card is from the Archetypes insert set.  It was 499 credits I think, so it was worth it.

While I still think there are too many inserts, I like the design of this one.

Well, now let's see some dogs.

I'm not sure why SI For Kids did this, but eh, whatever.  I had to scan it to add it to the Trading Card Database, so here it is.  It even has stats for the dogs.

Oh yeah, and kids, BY THIS BOOK!  I guess that's why they promoted the cards.  Anyways, I also scanned some Goldfish, so might as well show them off too.

I think that's enough damage for one night, so thanks for reading and have a great night.

Random Rumblings from the Sports World

I could do a post showing something off, but I wanted to share my thoughts on a few things.  I don't have a radio show or anything, and this is my only real way to express my thoughts on a few things.  Long ago when I first ventured on the net I would share my thoughts on stuff (sometime I miss Xanga, its still around, but why would I want to go back to it), so it was the best avenue I have.

The big talk today is about Alex Rodriguez.  He showed up to spring training two days earlier then many expected.  I'm sure the Yankees were like the party goers in the early scene of Wreck-It Ralph (IT'S A-ROD, SOMEBODY GET RID OF HIM!), sorry I watched it a couple times this weekend, not a bad movie.  Anyways, he was bombarded by the media wanted to talk to him.

I don't feel sorry for athletes much.  This is no exception.  As an athlete I believe the media has a duty to get the latest (not when they are eating or stuff, but at the ballpark or media days).  I'm sure A-Rod expected this, and probably came early to avoid more media.  Anyways, I was watching video from ESPN and they asked him everything under the sun.  From the chopped video they showed, he said all the right things.

Now if you believe him or not is up to you, but the way I see it, he is another year older, and likely another year wiser.  He had a year to reflect on all his mistakes and prepare for his final shot at staying in MLB.  Now it is all up to him on how he responds.  He will be rusty and the Yankees could dump him, but I would like to see him play again somewhere (maybe not in Kansas City, but somewhere else unless he agreed to a small no-risk contract).

What will make it tougher for him this year if the Yankees keep him is the fact that Derek Jeter won't be around.  Jeter still being around would have caused the media to split a bit more between the two, allowing Alex a better chance to transition back.  I believe one of the reasons Jeter retired last year was to avoid the circus this year.  He didn't want any part of the firestorm Alex will bring.  Also having Jeter they would have helped A-Rod more with them being teammates so long.  Now it seems Alex will have a us against the World mentality because not too many will be in his corner.

Will Alex Rodriguez be able to return to past greatness or will he wilt like a dying flower?  Time will only tell.

Moving on, a lot of storylines were made heading into the Daytona 500 yesterday.  Would Jeff Gordon win from the pole in his final start at the biggest race of the year?  Could Tony Stewart or Carl Edwards finally win the Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing?  How would Regan Smith and Matt Crafton fare as replacements for the Busch brothers?  Who would breathe on Danica's car causing her to crash?

Okay that last one is a bit harsh, but some of the analysts I think are starting to realize the success or failure of Danica now falls on Danica herself.  They didn't spend the whole race talking about her, and it made it better.  The Gordon talk was a bit much, but it was justified.  In the end, I was happy with the finish.  I rooted for three drivers yesterday, one who I thought had a good chance of winning, and two who I just wanted to finish in the top 15.  The two I wanted to mention first are Michael Annett (pictured above), and Sam Hornish Jr.  Annett drives for Pilot/Flying J and I am loyal to the brand.  Hornish I have followed for a few years and was upset he didn't have a ride last year.  It was great to see him have a full ride this year and at the top level no less.

The other driver I rooted for was Carl Edwards.  With a new number, sponsor, team, and now with Toyota, King Carl had a real good shot of winning.  I root for him on occasion because he is a local guy and I like him better than most of the other contenders.  I'm still getting use to the new paint scheme and the number #19, but it shouldn't take long to accept it.

In the end my only complaint was the timing of the commercials and I'm still not a fan of red flags so often.  I understand its for safety, but I think it takes away from the race with stoppages as often as they do.  I know they only did one yesterday, but it was within the last 10 laps and it caused a reset that made the finish a little less exciting.  My thoughts on red flag stoppage's not involving weather can be summed up easily...

The final topic I will discuss today was one I was shocked at last week.  Kevin Garnett is back in Minnesota!  I have stated for the most part I never had a official team to root for in the NBA but in the late 90's Kevin Garnett was one of my favorite players.  So much so that I started to root for the Timberwolves.  It didn't hurt that I liked their jerseys too.  However they never contended, so when KG went to Boston, I followed him and rooted for the Celtics.  Since then, the T-wolves have become an afterthought.

After he went to Brooklyn, I lost interest in him for the most part, and this year I have been rooting for De'Marre Carroll and the Atlanta Hawks.  However things could be changing soon.  IN A BIG WAY!

The rumor mill is saying that Kevin Garnett wants to BUY Minnesota!  Well, not the state, but the team.  The story is him and Flip Saunders wants to buy the team.  If that happens, I may have a favorite team.  I think it will be a great spark for the team, and could be a turning point in the franchise.  I haven't followed the NBA a lot in the last few years because I'm not a LeBron fan, and the Heat winning all the time didn't interest me.  This year has been odd though.  Atlanta and Golden State are the hottest teams, the Heat are stumbling, Cleveland and LeBron started slow, Kobe is done. The NBA is going through a transition soon.  Kobe should retire soon.  LeBron's best years are behind him and the league needs a new star.  There are many options and things are looking brighter.  The Spurs are also about to change too.  Depending on the health of Chris Bosh, the Heat aren't what they use to be.

All that being said, there is no dominant team in the NBA, and that is causing a lot of excitement.  So how does that bring excitement to Minnesota?  It allows them a couple years of staying out of the spotlight and create a buzz in Minnesota and then exploding just like the Clippers and Warriors have done recently.  A league with parity will always be more exciting then a league with the same teams winning all the time (which is why MLB has been better lately as the Yankees aren't as dominant).

I can't wait to see things change in Minneapolis and give their fans a chance to see a quality team for the first time in years.

That will do it for today, thank you for reading and have a great night.

I've become a master at using Paint

It's been awhile, but don't worry, I'm not going to recite the rest of the lyrics to a Staind song.  I was going to do a parody of A-Rod's apology letter as to why I haven't been on for over a week (it would be a funny concept, a baseball card blogger suspended from the internet for a PED), but much like the finale of Two and A Half Men, it would be better just to move on and forget it ever happened.

I have a few posts to write including a few cards I received from Listia, and a cool birthday present from my best friend.  I'll talk about them later.  Today, I thought I would show off a few things I did in my time away from the internet.  I was still using my computer, just not getting online.

Last weekend my friend attended the Mizzou Sports Hall of Fame and got to see John Dettmer, Alisha Robinson, and I forgot the other woman inducted go in with Chase Coffman, Chase Daniel, and Jeremy Maclin.  I think it meant a lot to him, and I'm sure he had a lot of fun.  The first Mizzou football game I went to was one where Maclin, Coffman, and Daniel were playing.  In honor of that, I made some cards that I was going to see if he could get signed, but never completed.  No big deal since I already have Daniel's autograph, and might have Coffman's too.  Anyways here are the cards I created.

This was my first design.  I liked it okay, but I think that would be a better poster than a card, so I went back to the drawing board (which btw, I did show my friend this design, but he never saw these new ones).

Much  better in my opinion.  It represents Mizzou with the logo and the colors, yet shows his current team (at least as of current time).  The picture itself is from this past season.

Again, same thing, Mizzou colors, yet shows him as a Tennessee Titans player.  This was also taken from this past season.

I liked this photo the best of the three, however, this photo is from the preseason, but still the past year.  As a matter of fact, this photo is from the preseason game I went to.

So with the fronts done, now it was time to do the backs.  I couldn't remember if I had the GIMP software on my computer (turns out I do), so I messed around with Paint some more and came up with this back.

I liked the background of historic Jesse Hall and the columns, but other than that I was disappointed (even beyond how horrible the stats looked).  This is the only card with stats on the back, but I redesigned them a bit more, never really completing at concept.

A little better, but I still wasn't a fan.  I liked the font's and the background, but it just didn't seem right.  So I went back to the drawing board.

While I never completed it, I like this design much better.  The font is good and the background photo better relates to the football players (though the stadium didn't look like that when they played there).  I'm not sure what much else I would add to the back besides their complete college stats and their current team.  I might include something else, but I wouldn't want to make it too wordy.

After I worked on these, I decided to mess around a bit on some other things.  Here is a few more I did.

I wanted to make some Billy Butler cards since he went to Oakland so when I saw these photos I took a shot at them.  The color scheme isn't right, but I like the card on the left better.  Beyond being stretched, the one on the right pretty nice too.  If you couldn't tell, I like that card design a lot.

Here is two more cards I made.  These cards mean a bit more to me because these are actual photos I took.  I cropped the Charles card a lot better than the Gray card, but I will tweak them some one day.  The red and black design works really well, much better than white or yellow would have in my opinion.

The next card is one I've wanted to make for over a year for my friend.  The design my be changed before I finally print the card out for him, but here is the rough draft.

He is a big Nolan Ryan fan, so that is why I wanted to make it.  The blue and red work well with the team colors, but I couldn't find a better color for behind the font than black.  Like I said I will probably work on it some more one day.

The final card I whipped together pretty quick a couple days ago just out of boredom.  I was still on a card kick, and when I saw the photo, I decided to make a card.

A variation of an old Topps design (was it 1989 maybe?) I spent half a day earlier modifying it to something I would like better.  The next day I saw this photo in my many photos of pictures and knew it would be perfect to test it out on.  I think the gray and gold border compliments the design well, and I was very happy how the card turned out.  If I ever meet Max again (and know in advance), I will make this card and get it signed.  Max was one of my favorite players at Mizzou and I really wished he got a chance in the NFL.  With his personality I still think he should try out for WWE.

That will wrap it up for today, thank you for reading, and have a great night.

Put Your Name on it- Listia Edition

A week or two ago I won an auction on Listia.  I really didn't expect to win it, but I was pretty excited over it.  I thought I would showcase them today in a special edition of Put Your Name On It.  In case you missed it last time, this is a feature where I show autographs and talk a bit about them.

We begin with a card signed by Roberto.

"Roberto?  Who's Roberto?"

(yes I set it up just for that joke)

A Roberto Hernandez autograph wasn't ever anything I had on my wishlist, but it is a nice addition. Let me say at this point, I can't verify these are authentic, but they said they were TTM autographs, and who am I to argue?  I also never plan on selling these so if they aren't real eh, but I believe they are.  This is a nice card despite it being from Spring Training.  As for the autograph, it's not the best, but who am I to judge penmanship?  Can anybody anymore, not a lot of people have a need to right besides their names.

Anyways moving on, this next card is one of the reasons I bid on these.

I'm trying to get some of the 80's players autographs, and this was a big one for me.  Realistically I realize it won't be cheap to get George Brett or Bo Jackson's signature, but knocking out a lot of the others would be great.  A 1985 card is ideally one's I would like to get signed so when I saw this I knew I planned to bid.  The autograph itself is fairly nice too.  Such better penmanship before the age of computers.

The final card is another one that I liked, but the seller had another auction with a different card which I liked more, but I didn't want to spend more points for another autograph.

This is a big one to knock off my list.  It's not that Gubicza is hard to get signed, but he is one that I remember watching while I was growing up.  Not too many sets in 1991 impressed me, and this Donruss set is no exception.  Having said that, having a blue border for a team like the Royals is nice. Looking at his autograph, it seems odd to me.  Again, I'm not questioning the authenticity, but it doesn't look right.  I never have seen a M written that way (assuming he started with an M).  Though I couple of my letters in signatures aren't normal either, so to each their own.

I got all three of these cards for 999 credits, and like I said, the Dane Iorg is the card I wanted most.  It will be fun catalogging all the autographs once I've completed my sorting, which I still need to do.  Getting more autographs will be something I'll try to work on more as I complete more sets.

Before I go, I wanted to show another card I got on Listia recently.  I am tired so forgive me if I already posted it, but I wanted to show it off again since I scanned it.

There aren't a lot of Harley Race cards, so adding another to my collection always makes me happy.  Especially when it only cost 91 credits.  Here's the back of the card.

If I ever see him again, I might ask if he can sign this card, it would be a nice one to have a signature on.

That will wrap it up for today, thank you for reading and have a great night.

Five For (not a lot of) Fighting

I've spent the last few days doing a lot of different things not really related to this blog.  That is the main reason I have posted too much this month.  I need to stay in the habit and I'm in no way burnt out from blogging yet, I just haven't posted much.

One thing I've been doing is going through scans of cards I made about a year ago to add to the Trading Card Database but never did.  They reached a milestone a few days ago when they can now say they have 1 Million scans!  I wasn't able to add too much as of late, but still have plenty of cards to scan to add to the database to help them reach 2 million.

It was because of the database that I first started reading card related blogs and from there started my own.  Which leads to another reason I haven't posted as much lately: I've been reading a lot of other blogs.  I admit I haven't commented as much lately as I have, but most posts are great and I've gotten a bit tired of my more or less generic "those are cool cards" comments I make. I feel if that is all I have to say, then there is no need to post it because others have already or you are aware of the fact they are cool or you wouldn't post them.

Now I 'm not going to list all the blogs and posts I've read lately, but a couple I wanted to mention  because I enjoyed them a lot.

The Card Chop has a got post in case you missed it talking about the statistic of winning.  If you have some time take time to check it out.

Another blog I've been reading a lot lately is Cardboard History.  Billy has a really detailed collection and is also a major contributor to the Trading Card Database.  His posts are well written and if you haven't had a chance to check it out or follow his blog, you really should take the time to do so.

Another blog I have been obsessed with lately is  Foul Bunt.   This is one of the first card blogs I remember reading over a year ago.  What got me hooked was the series of posts where he talked about the Baltimore Orioles fanfest.  He went back again this year, and I was waiting for his new posts each day for each autograph table he went to.  It has now become a highlight for me to check them out, and I hope if I ever go to the Royals Fanfest one year, my posts about them will be as good.

The last couple days I could have wrote a new blog, but I watched the GRAMMYs and as a result spent a lot of time discussing Kanye West on Facebook and Twitter.  Hopefully I am done with all of that.  I am a big music fan and so I get caught up in all these debates.  I have toyed with the idea with starting a music blog, but I waffle too much to consider it more than talking about it.  Maybe in the future.

So with all of that out of the way, I can say that I have won some items on Listia lately.  I have some more on the way, but a couple wins came in the mail yesterday I figured I'd display.

I'll start with this Mike Sweeney.  Since I still haven't finished sorting all the cards I got for Christmas (I really need to), I have cautioned myself on bidding on Royals cards unless I knew I didn't have them.  This is one I knew was missing so I bid on it.  For 499 credits, I can't say I'm disappointed.  I would have liked to bid less, but since I still have over 16,000 credits, I think I can spare a few here and there.

Another card I got recently was this beauty.

The second Sam Hornish Jr. card in less than a month, and with that I think I am fine with what I have for a while.  I used to collect NASCAR more regularly but I'm just not into the cards anymore which I guess might not be a problem if they don't get a new license from a card company.  Having said that, I can't wait for the Daytona 500 which is just around the corner.

Okay, the final Listia win to show you is a George Brett card I've thought about getting for a while but never did.  Nobody else bid on it so I got it for 499 credits.

I keep seeing it pop up on Listia but this auction seemed different.  That's because it wasn't just for one card.

So you can see the front and back in the same photo.  Not bad for 499 credits...

Just imagine I could photoshop it and make it look like I got 5 of them.

WAIT A MINUTE! I DID GET 5 OF THEM!  Less than 100 credits a card, that is a steal.  I know I plan on keeping at least 2, and give one to my friend.  Beyond that I'm not sure what to do with the others.  I didn't need 5, but like I said, nobody else bid, so I bid low enough that I wouldn't be too mad if I lost, and in this case, nobody else bid.  I'm not sure how easy it is for him to sign, but this would be a great card to get autographed.  I'm hoping I can do just that.

So I guess I'll stop there for today.  I have a couple more posts I plan on doing this week, one of them is one I'm piecing together because it was fun to do and I'm trying to make the post perfect.  Thank you for reading and have a great day.

My first Jeter of 2015 and whatnot

The blogosphere has been abuzz about 2015 Topps and the new design.  I've wanted to get some since they came out.  Actually since I first saw the design last fall.  So after I read a blog about someone selling a Derek Jeter card on ebay for $100, I did what a smart collector might do.  I went to Just Commons and added all the cards I wanted from the base set to my cart.  By the way, a Jeter on their site was listed at .75  and there were 18 left.

My goal is to just get the Royals for now, and search for others throughout the year.  I might get a pack if I see an opportunity, but I don't need a fix.

I went on a trip today and hit a couple stores.  I actually went to two different Walmart stores and both times passed on 2015 Topps.  The reason is because I just wanted a regular pack, and didn't want to spend $6 on a jumbo pack.  The second Walmart almost got me as I had them in hand until I reached the checkout, but I put them back.

The reason I put them back besides the price was because in between trips, I went to a Dollar Tree.  I was hoping to score a good deal like others on older cards, but still in the end paid $1 a pack.  Anyways, I will show off what I got.  I will start with some Topps.  Also sorry about the photos, My scanner isn't hooked up and wanted to get this done quick.

A trio of Angels are first.  Can't complain about getting a Hamilton or a Wilson card, though 2 years ago it would have been more of a big deal.  Callaspo, eh, yeah I got him too.

Next is some solid AL Central rivals.  I will admit I never gave Adam Dunn much credit.  Same goes for Justin Morneau.  Drew Smyly I just never cared for.  Nice pickups though.

Clay Buchholz would have been a nice addition to my Red Sox collection, but I already have it and with me thinning out some cards, its not needed.   I think I also had the Victorino, but I never liked him either.  I always hated hearing his name when the Phillies were in the playoffs.

I know Houston isn't in the NL Central anymore, but it fit in better here.  Marmol and Keuchel are cards I don't think I had, but I never planned on finishing the set.  Khristopher Davis I think I had before, and the Joe Kelly will go into my Cardinals Collection until at least the next time I decide to purge a few.

We finish out the Topps cards with these 3.  Nothing I got excited to see, but not bad cards overall.

Next we move to Panini Triple Play.  Still not a fan of these cards, but I was hoping they were cheaper than $1, but I'm okay with what I got for $2 (I bought two packs).

A nice way to start the packs.  Not upset with any of these cards, and for now, Allen Craig can go into my Cardinals Collection.

Dexter Fowler is the last real card of this pack.  Next is a Dustin Pedroia sticker, who doesn't need one of those?  AND A BUSTER POSEY TATTOO!  Sadly in the 5 or so packs I've gotten ever of this set, this is my second Posey tattoo.

The next pack starts with a bang!  Both the Yu Darvish and Prince Fielder cards will stay in my collection as long as I don't have doubles.  Think this could be my best pack of the day.

The Soriano is one I didn't care about getting, but the Stanton is a nice pickup.

I think I already have this card.  The reason is because I've stated before this looks like a bad caricature of President Obama.  While that may seem like a nice comparison to Manny Machado, it isn't a great card.

A Gio Gonzalez sticker wasn't on my wishlist, but I can't complain.  The last card of the pack is one that maybe the best of the day.

I collect Derek Jeter cards, and eventually I would like his 2015 Topps card, but I'm not in a rush to get it.  I am just as happy to get this card.

In addition to these 5 packs, I also got a 30 card repack.  Again, sorry about the picture, but I didn't want to spend all night on the scanner.

Javy Lopez, Lance Berkman, Willie McGee, David Wells, Dale Murphy, and Kirk Gibson.  Not bad, at least I've heard of them.  Gibby will stay in my collection, the rest aren't ones I'm clinging to, though the Murphy card might be one I hold on to.

A couple Mike Mussina's, Jay Bell, Robby Thompson, Paul O'Neill, Mitch Williams, and George Bell are all players that will be a dream come true to pull in years past.  The Bell card is a Sportflics card, which could be the highlight of all the cards in the pack.  Also pictured is Kenny Loftin (I thought I had a better picture, but didn't).

Lastly is this Scott Rolen Ovation card that was on the top of the pack.  I picked this pack because of this card, and I'm not disappointed.  One of the best repacks I've gotten, so I will be on the lookout for more the next time I go.

Before I go today, I wanted to mention something.  I went to a couple towns today and my mom was driving and I was the one that knew the directions (as usual).  She was in the wrong lane so we missed a turnoff, but I knew a shortcut.  In the end, the shortcut sent us 10 miles outside of the town we was in.  The funny part of this story is one of the roads we was on was Quisenberry Road.  I have heard of the road many times, but never been on it (and never needed to be).  Today would have been Dan Quisenberry's 62nd birthday, so in a way I guess I paid tribute to him.

That will wrap it up today, thank you for reading and have a great night.  I might not be on here for a couple days, I have plans of telling war stories with Brian Williams :)