Final batch from Just Commons

I could have put these last two posts together, but felt it was better to spread it out.  At any rate, here is the final batch of cards I got from Just Commons.  After processing took a week, it shipped pretty fast I thought, faster than normal.  Also on the plus side is no mistakes, this is the second straight big package where they didn't send me the wrong card. Anyways, here they are.

Just Commons Day 2

Yesterday I showed off some cards I got recently from Just Commons.  Here is some more.

Time for another JustCommons package

If I have one complaint about Just Commons, its that it takes a while for them to process.  For me it usually takes a week before they finally ship.  I'm fine with it most of the time, but in this instance I was under a deadline.  As I mentioned yesterday, it was my friends birthday and one thing he was looking for was the complete set of the 2015 First Pitch cards.  He is like me, we don't like spending a lot for cards.  I found some complete sets for $10 and that was too much I thought.  Long story short, through some work I found all the cards for under half that.  The last 3 I needed were in this package.  As it turns out, I didn't scan them, but I did scan the rest of what I got.  Here are the first batch.

What it Was, Was Friendship (and still is)

I have recently heard a lot of people say after you turn 30 you don't have a best friend.  You just have friends.  I can tell you, that is a lie. I have a best friend, and today is his birthday.  This post is dedicated to him, but I still think everyone might enjoy it.

It all started in high school.  In a town of less then 1,000 people, you know everyone and chances are you will have a class or two with someone.  That was the case as we both had chorus class together.  It was basically a cut class for us, but the teacher was getting burnt out, and we spent a lot of time watching Disney movies in class.  We had interacted before, but can't remember in what.  We bonded over music and movies, and we still do to this day.

After we graduated we lived across from each other and would hang out, and then we started going to concerts together.  I'm trying to think of the first concert we attended together, but can't.  I think it might have been a group called The Anniversary, but I could be wrong.

Anyways to move the story along, in 2008, we were both into Ebay, and we came across some Mizzou tickets.  We went to a couple games.  This is highlights of the first game we went to.

We got to see Colin Kaepernick play for Nevada.  As for Mizzou, here is a list of some of the players we got to see:

Chase Daniel
Blaine Gabbert
Derrick Washington (I wish I didn't admit that, but he could have been an NFL star)
Jeremy Maclin
Danario Alexander
Jimmy Jackson (I wish more people got to see how good he was)
Tommy Saunders (another underrated player)
Chase Coffman
Sean Weatherspoon
William Moore
Ziggy Hood
Andrew Gachkar
Stryker Sulak (drafted by Oakland but never played in NFL)

What a list. Just one game!

Since that time, we have been to many more games, and I've had a blast every time.  Even the time we was at Homecoming and Texas killed us.

To be quite honest, in 2008, I was a little burnt out of sports.  It started a few years earlier, but I just wasn't into it.  This sparked a resurgence of my love for sports.  The funny thing is that I am more of a fan of the Mizzou basketball team and he likes football more.

We've gone to many more events since then including APFL and later CPIFL (indoor football leagues), Kansas City Chiefs games, and Kansas City Royals (including one next month).  I tried getting him into blogging which he has, with his Talkin' Truman blog, but he's been busy lately and haven't had time to update.  I can't wait until he blogs next as even though he tells me most of the stuff he gets, his has a massive Mizzou collection, and I love seeing what else he gets.

I gave him his gift earlier today (including a pack of Rocketeer cards), but also told him I made some custom cards he would enjoy.  Here they are as I explain why I made them.

This first one isn't really for him, but I wanted to show it off.  Atiyyah Ellison played for Mizzou before we started going to games, but he now lives around the Mid-Missouri area where he is an assistant coaches for one of the high school football teams.  I've seen him a few times, but need to get a few cards signed.  I'd like to make this card and have it signed one day too.

Jaron Baston was one of our favorite players the first years we went to games.  He was very outgoing and fun to watch, even on the sidelines.  I usually show my friends the cards I make before I post them but I just make this today so this is new to him, including the design.  I was hoping to find an action photo, but no luck this morning.

This one I like a lot.  Marcus James is another player who played before we went to games, but he played for the Mid-Missouri Outlaws, the aforementioned APFL and CPIFL football team.  We met him a few times, and he was very nice.  He is a teacher and a coach at one of the Columbia schools as well.  I was really surprised I found a photo of his Mizzou days, and a decade after he graduated, he still holds a record on the football team (I forgot which one, I think its a special teams record).

In addition to being a Mizzou fan, my friend is also a big fan of Nolan Ryan.  He has always been a fan.  So since i didn't give him any Nolan cards, I thought I'd make one.

Not the same design as the 2015 First Pitch cards, but he liked the First Pitch cards, so I got him that set.  I thought this would have fit in just as well, but I'm having a tough time using that design.  So this will have to do.

Most people may have thought I'd use a different photo.  GOTCHA!  Here is a story about that famous fight. 

GOTCHA AGAIN!  I made a card for that too.  How could I pass it up.

It's hard to believe that people are graduating college this year who weren't alive when this happened.

So I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to the Side-Splitton Jason Litton!  It's been a wild ride and I can't wait to have more fun!

Thanks everyone for reading and have a great night.

A Day Late and a Post Short

So yesterday I screwed up.  For whatever reason I thought it was Wednesday and so I made a title called "Random Wednesday..." .  It wasn't until two hours later I realized the mistake.  No need to fix it, so let's just move on.

I've been stewing for the last week about the Royals.  I love my team very much, and I will defend them to almost the point of no return.  However, after I prayed that things cooled down with the Oakland and KC series, tempers flared again last night.  I haven't watched a game live all year, but let me just blow off some steam.  For allowing me to do this, I will debut some new cards I made recently, all Royals.

Random Wednesdays: Books and odd cards

I have a few pictures/scans to show off, none warranting their own post, but worthy enough to be mentioned.

I subscribe to Bloomberg Businessweek (not much longer, but still), and sometimes they mention sports.  I really like the magazine, and I might renew it, its free, but trying to cut back on magazines for a while.  At my peak I was getting 21 or more magazines, 95% were free ones.  Once I cut them all down I'll decide which ones I'd like to get again.  Anyways, here was a recent cover of their magazine.

Going Back To My Happy Place

I had a fun weekend, I'm not going to deny it.  It was the most fun I've had in a while.  However, I'm not in a happy place.  It really all began on Opening Day.  Since Opening Day, I have not seen one live Royals game on TV, and I'm not real mad about it.  As long as I have it on the radio, I'm cool.  However, the problem is my Royals radio affiliate has been lackluster. First and foremost, they haven't played any day games on their FM station (all of them have been AM, and I can't get them).  That means all the Sunday games, Opening Day, and a couple weekday games.  Not to mention ones I've missed because of not being home.  I have compensated by deciding to listen to more Minor League games this year.  I'm trying to catch two a week, no matter what team, any affiliate.  Last week I listened to 5 games in one day (2 full, 3 part), and two more earlier in the week.

This weekend I missed Saturday's and Sunday's Royals games.  Now I'm already mad, but to pile it on, if you missed it, Oakland and Kansas City decided to get into a pissing match.  It doesn't matter what side you are on, it's time to move on.  It already happened, they meet again in June, we'll see what happens then.  However, fans and players, and even the media can't get over it.  I am just tired of hearing about it.  So its time to go to my happy place to make me feel better.  I will combine it with some stuff I got on Saturday.

I won this card on Listia, I got it a few days ago with another card I'll show later.  Not a bad card, a Miss USA!  That makes me a bit more happy.

Mizzou Spring Game recap

Yesterday was a busy day for me as I hung out with some friends and went to the annual Mizzou Black & Gold Spring Game.  For the price of a can of food donated to the Mid-Missouri Food Bank, you got to see the Missouri Tigers play.  To be honest, the game itself was a bit lackluster, with not too much excitement, but the atmosphere is really what keeps me going back each year.  I think I've only maybe missed one game since 2009, and each year never disappoints in terms of fun factor.  I posted almost all my pictures on Facebook, but I'm sure not all of you follow me, so I thought I would post a select few here to show how the day went.

Mizzou went all out this year.  Almost to a point where it could be excessive.  However it was a good atmosphere in an attempt to draw out the fans.  That might have working if it wasn't an overcast day with a strong chance of rain around kickoff.  In any event, they had carnival rides, bounce houses, and of course, carnival food like funnel cakes, cotton candy, and popcorn.  There were also some food trucks lined up as well.

UPDATE! Cue the Unsolved Mysteries theme music

In an earlier broadcast.... wait I mean post, well, not sure if I mentioned it or not, but... let's try this again.

UPDATE!  Aww screw it, here it goes, its not Earth shattering news.  Earlier this week I managed to sort my want lists a bit to make it a bit easier to navigate.  I have it sorted by years now.  You can check out the tab at the top for more info and the links to the lists.

I plan on a new blog later tonight, as I've had a fairly busy weekend and just now settling down to get around to stuff.  In the meantime, the NBA Playoffs are in gear and a couple weeks ago CaptKirk42s Trading Cards Blog made a post about a basketball card break.  Not a lot have signed up yet, and there are still some good teams left to pick.  This isn't just one box, its a few boxes from a few years.  I was going to pick some teams but not sure I have the cash.  So if you like basketball or want some good names, be sure to check it out.  Teams like the Cavs, Heat (yes both of LeBron's teams are available), Clippers, Pistons, Rockets, and the Sixers remain.  Okay, maybe the Sixers aren't good now, but one of the boxes is from Past and Present so who knows, maybe you can get someone good.  My plan was to get the Heat, Cavs, and Hawks and hope to pull some good LeBron to resale.  Also hoped to get some DeMarre Carroll cards too (GO HAWKS! at least until he goes to a new team).  So beat me to it, so I don't feel as bad.

Now I have to scan some stuff so I can write a blog tonight.  Have a great night, thanks for reading, and stay tuned.

Custom Card Review

CCR!  YEAH!  Oh, not Creedence Clearwater Revival?  I hope I didn't get your hopes up.  For the younger readers (shoot even I am a tad young for them), CCR was a very good band before you were born.  You may know them from the scene in Live Free Or Die Hard where Justin Long quips "It's old rock, doesn't mean its classic".  While a funny line, he was dissing CCR, so screw him.  You might also know lead singer John Fogerty from that baseball song you hear every year- Centerfield.

Anyways, CCR has nothing to do with this post, unless CCR is Custom Card Review.  In which case it is and its time to show some cards I made recently.  Some better than others because of level of tiredness or some being made earlier than others.  I am getting better (at least in my own mind) at making cards using Microsoft Paint, maybe one day I'll use software that is better and I have to pay for.

I've stopped using this border lately, but not before I made a card of Logan Pearson.  He plays for the Missouri Tigers baseball team.  I like the border, but it doesn't seem like a good card border, maybe if I tweaked it some.  It would make a good poster.  I put his name in an odd place, but I like the location since it uses the brick wall as the background.  I might revisit the design in the future, but for now, I'm done with it.

Maddux Mania: Happy Birthday Professor!

Today is Greg Maddux's birthday.  To me, he is the best pitcher of all time.  I may have never seen Walter Johnson, Satchal Page, anybody from the 70's or older, or even Nolan Ryan at his best, but even if I did, I would make a strong argument for Maddux.  Some may say he wasn't as good as his contemporaries such as Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, or the ilk, but I would say you're wrong.  He was a dominating pitcher that didn't have dominating pitches.  Speed kills, but he didn't need speed to do you in, for him it was about control.

As I was preparing this blog today I read something I never knew.  In 1992, he almost signed with the New York Yankees.  In fact, he took $6 MILLION less to go to Atlanta!  The Yankees were aggressively trying to build a strong front of starting pitchers.  Other names they targeted but failed to get were David Cone (who signed with Kansas City), Doug Drabek (who signed with Houston), and Jose Guzman who signed with the Cubs).  They also offered contracts to Greg Swindell and Chris Bosio, but both turned them down.  Just imagine how dominant the Yankees would have been with Cone and Maddux.  Would they have won more World Series?  Would they have been in the right spot to draft Derek Jeter? Would the Braves have made less playoff runs?  We may never know, and I'm happy we won't.  I didn't like the Yankees, and while I didn't care much for the Braves, I got to see them everyday thanks to Superstation TBS!  Maybe I wouldn't have big of a fan if I didn't get to see him pitch as much.  Maybe that's why I'm not as big on Clayton Kershaw or Madison Bumgarner as most other people are (I know they are great pitchers, I just never see them unless I catch them playing the Cardinals).

So in honor of The Professor's birthday I thought I would share some cards I recently added to my collection.  I still need to put them in my updated list, but should do that soon.

I Got This!

While my main focus these days is collecting cards, I also collect other various and random items.  Today I thought I would show a few of these off.  There is no rhyme or reason on why I picked these, but I just remembered stuff I had, and searched for the items through Google.  If I couldn't find a good picture, I went onto another item.  In the future I will scan my own items, but for now this was easiest.

Here we go, this first one is a big boy.

It is literally a Big Boy.  This is a coin bank.  The one I have is missing the plug, but luckily it is on his back I think (its not in front of me at the moment) so it can still be used.  I have never used it though, but have had it on display a time or two when I had room.  Oddly enough I have never been to a Big Boy, though I have been to a place called Hi-Boy before.  I'm not sure how I ended up with this piece.

Moving from one big boy to another, this guy would chew people up and spit them out.

Well, he would chew up turnbuckles and spit them out.  This is an action figure of wrestler George "The Animal" Steele.  He was a hairy, massive man that I heard was a high school teacher when he didn't wrestle.  I'm glad he wasn't one of my teachers, but on the flip side it would be pretty cool.

Here's another action figure I have.  I didn't have too many growing up, and this one and the Steele one I actually got as an adult when my sister and mom spotted them at a garage sale once.

WHOOOO!  It's the Nature Boy.  While searching for a picture I found out it is from 1990 and made by Galoob.  That means (as I expected but never looked for) it was from his WCW years.  I have a love/hate admiration for Ric Flair.  He is a very gifted wrestler and entertainer that can talk like no other.  However, outside of the ring he isn't the best person to be around.  His lifestyle really is a jet-flying womanizer.  He's challenging Larry King for the title of most marriages (which isn't uncommon for wrestlers really), and combine that with he lavish lifestyle, he is bankrupt.  He also tends to be a violent drunk, which again isn't too uncommon for wrestlers but if his head was screwed on straight, he'd be a multi-millionaire enjoying retirement.  Instead he still tries to relive his glory days, though these days he has seemed to passed the actual wrestling genes over to his daughter who wrestles in NXT (WWE's minor league fed) as Charlotte.  WHOOOO!

If you thought that was nuts, check this out.

When I worked at Wendy's for my nine years, we got crappy kids meal toys (I'm trying to find a good image of the worst we ever had, and I'll show it one day, I don't have it).  McDonald's had great toys, so did Burger King, and we had... 90% of the time a toy made out of paper.  Sometimes we got so DVD games (I do have one of Maya & Miguel), but our "toys" sucked.  Rarely we would get a movie tie in and when we did, they kinda sucked too.  I've noticed recently they have made strides to improve the toys, but still they don't compare.

This was one of my favorite toys we ever sold in my time there.  To promote the movie Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, we had 3-5 different toys... well we was supposed to, we never got much variety so I think we only got two.  This was one of them.  On the surface, this is pretty cool.  It's a squirrel holding a nut.  It is nice to display on a shelf.

BUT WAIT!!!!!  IT MOVES!  This part might prevent me from being a family friendly blog.  You see, the nut on the front is tied to a string.  Essentially, you pull the squirrel's nut and he begins to vibrate.  I feel dirty just typing that.  I never watched the Johnny Depp movie this was tied to, but I hope that wasn't a scene.

WHY COULDN'T WE JUST SELL HOT WHEELS AND BARBIES LIKE MCDONALD'S?

Let's move on to something fun... like pulling femurs and other body parts from people.

This is a Simpsons version of Operation.  I got this really cheap at a garage sale once, but not all the pieces were there.  I still have it because sometimes I like to touch the tweezers to metal just to hear Homer scream.  I know its a little sadistic, but it is still funny to hear.

How about another Simpsons game.  Anyone want to play Knifey-Spooney?

Too bad, no knives are included.  This is a game called Spoons.  However this version has substituted the spoons for something Homer would rather have- Donuts!  If you have never played the game, its quite fun.  The spoons are placed in the middle of the table (or on the floor as it gets kinda rowdy), and you pass cards to your left.  Grab one, discard one, or really pass it on to the next person (though some players are slow and the cards pile up).  Once somebody has a 4 of a kind, its a free for all to grab a spoon.  The odd man out is eliminated and gameplay begins again (minus one spoon).

I haven't had the chance to play this version, but I hope to play it one day when I have enough friends around.  Though I might substitute the cards for a regular deck since the cards do tend to bend easily.

Well, look at the time, its time to go... wait, what time is it?

Let me check my watch (the one circled).  These were Burger King toys (see how awesome these are compared to vibrating squirrels) given out one Christmas I think.  We don't have a local Burger King anymore, so I only got one of the four.  One day I would like to get the rest, but no real need for them.

Well it is time to go, I hope you enjoyed this variant of my blog today and let me know what you think and I might do this on occasion.  Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Royals and Folder Cleaning

It has been a crazy opening week of baseball, too bad I haven't got to watch much of it, or even listen much for that matter.  I was able to listen a bit to the Royals AA (Northwest Arkansas Naturals), and AAA (Omaha Storm Chasers) first games last night.  My plan this year is to listen to at least one or two minor league games a week since Tune In has a lot of them available and I can find others throughout the internet.  One game I was excited to listen to last night turned to sadness a bit before the game started.  As I've wrote before, Chuckie Jones is a local guy.  I had planned to listen to him and the San Jose Giants play last night.  Before the game started I was on milb.com and an article caught my eye.  "Giants OF Jones suspended 50 games".  OH NO!  Turns out is was a drug violation according to reports (I can't come to terms actually admitting its true, if it is), but not a PED, more like hard drugs.  So I won't be catching them for a couple months.  I hope for the best for him and hope he can bounce back.

So tonight I hope to listen to the Royals game, and would like to catch a west coast minor league game.  I'll figure it out later.  Soon I'll also be listening to the Joplin Blasters, a new Frontier (independent) League team.  I'd like to make a summer trip catching a game, going to Springfield and see the Cardinals (STL's AA team), going to Springdale, AR, and catch a Naturals game, and maybe swing up to KCK and see a Kansas City T-Bones game.  I doubt I go to any, but it would be nice.  It does look like I'll be catching a Royals game next month, so at the least I can go to that.

Okay enough rambling, lets look at some cards.

I scanned these cards in February and I can't remember if I showed them.  I believe I got these on Listia, but I could be wrong.  My favorite card in the bunch is the Moustakas card, followed closely by the Nate Adcock card (just because I don't have many of him).  Also of note is an Alex Gordon card as a third basemen.  It just seems crazy to think of him of anything other than a left fielder these days.

So far in 2015, they have been doing a great job.  They have even been showing some power, which is something unheard of at Kauffman Stadium.  Though its possible this week's storms and strong winds have played a factor.

I just found out their game tonight is a late start so I guess no west coast minor league games tonight, I'll watch Shark Tank before the game starts.

I don't have any other Royals scanned, but I thought I'd clear my folders out some, so here is a few other random cards, and sorry if I already shown them, I usually try to clear them out after uploading them.

Here is a 1987 Topps card of Tim Laudner.  I have no real reason why I scanned it other than the fact that he went to Mizzou.  I never saw him play there, but thanks to Just Commons, I now have a good majority of his MLB cards.

I'll start with the Turtles card.  I loved that cartoon, and I loved these cards.  I bought a box of series two cards last year, and soon I hope to do a post on what I got.  This card/sticker is from series one though.

The card on the left is from Smallville.  I have never watched the show, and I don't know if this card is highly sought after, but it is a nice one to have.  I'm not sure how I got it, unless it was in a random repack I bought a few years ago.  You might see this posted on Listia or ebay one day just to see if I can get anything for it.

KULKAMANIA IS RUNNING WILD BROTHER!!!!  Wait, I might have a letter off somewhere.  Either way, this was a cheap Listia win (50 or less credits), so I got it.  It is my first CFL card, but I'd like to get more.  This 1991 set is cheap, but I'm going to search for the newer ones recently released.

The reason I got this specific card is semi-related to Kulka-mania.  After Glen Kulka played in the CFL, he had a change in career paths.  He became a wrestler in the WWF.  While I don't remember him wrestling, I still thought it was cool and cheap enough to get.

I have been a NASCAR fan since the early 90's.  It might have been because my dad, uncles, and I would watch every week on TV, but it just seemed fun to watch.  Everyone had their favorites, and when I first started watching I became a fan of Alan Kulwicki.  On April 1st, 1993, Alan died in a plane crash.  After that, I started rooting for Davey Allison.  I had always liked him, but now he became my favorite. Three months later, on July 13th, 1993, Davey died in a helicopter crash.  After that I rooted for whoever drove the #28 car.  A year later, Ernie Irvan who was driving the #28 car, crashed in a practice at Michigan Speedway.  After that, I kinda stopped rooting for a specific driver.  Even today, while I root for Michael Annett, I change week to week who I want to win (I've accepted Annett won't be in contention 95% of the time).

I got this card off Listia pretty cheap recently, and have been working on a small collection. Sometimes I wonder how different NASCAR would be if drivers like Kulwicki, Davey, and Tim Richmond were racing into the late 90's.  It could have been more interesting and possibly stalled the progress and rise of Jeff Gordon (for better or worse).

Um, I forgot where I got these.  To be quite honest, its possible these came inside an issue of Bloomberg Businessweek.  Since I forgot, I need to look it up.  I planned on adding them to the Trading Card Database.  These aren't ones I would actively seek, but they do have sort of a cool feel to them.  I might do a blog on it once I get more information on them.

Well, that should clear up some of my folder, I still have plenty to show.  I didn't want this to be a massively long post or to completely clear out the folder in case I have a sort of Writer's Block and nothing to talk about.

Thank you for reading and have a great night.

Donruss, and Topps, and Repacks, Oh My!

I went to Dollar Tree on Monday, and besides getting a book I'll probably never read, I got some cards.  In total I got 5 packs, 3 repacks and 2 Donruss.  There were four cards per Donruss pack, which isn't bad for a buck.  I wanted to see what they were like anyways (in hand, I've seen plenty on other blogs).

Let's begin with the 2015 Donruss.

Nice to see Tony Gwynn on the front.  To be honest going in, I didn't expect to get 2015 Donruss cards, I was going to get some repacks.  Anyways, here is the loot.

I'm not disappointed in the design.  I still wish Panini got MLB license, I hate the team names and logos not shown.  None of these are ones I collect, though the Trumbo I might keep for a bit, I do have a few of his I have set aside.

Pack two is a little better.  Again, not ones I collect, but better names.  I will keep the Puig as again, I have a few set aside, but the rest are not staying in my collection.  I do like the Yadi card.  I don't see anything airbrushed, and its a nice pose.  Normally I would keep it, but I really don't like Yadi (or Holliday either), so I try not to keep too many.

Let's look at the back.

Design wise, I like it.  However I don't like the red color.  It looks faded and it isn't that appealing.  Otherwise, I like the stats and how it looks like the old Donruss sets.

Alright before I get to the repacks, I wanted to show a Topps pack I got the other day.  I figured I'd lump the 2015 cards together.

Nothing stands out to me.  It seems like every pack I get anymore has either a Victorino or Bastardo card. Someday I will ship them to someone and bombard them in an attempt to break the hex.

AHH, much better.  Two Royals and a former Mizzou player.  Can't top that.  I gave J-Gutz a lot of grief most of last season, and I'm glad he showed me.  I'm glad he's back this year.  Escobar I have always liked,  and am glad I got this card.

As I work on my Royals collection, I don't plan on being too aggressive on finding Mizzou guys, so pulling this Kinsler helped me.  It's tough rooting for him in Detroit, but I'm glad he's doing well.  I heard he had a monster game today.

On the bottom is a Felix card, which is nice.  Also a Babe Ruth card, which despite not being his biggest fan, will look nice in my collection.  The last card is a Call Your Shot gamecard.  I already scratched it off, and entered the code, and didn't win.  Better luck next time.

Alright time for some repacks.  The selection this time wasn't that great.  So much so that I debated getting another Donruss pack or maybe even a sticker pack.  Looking back I might have been better doing that, but I'm glad I didn't do that.

I bought this pack because I saw the name Picciolo.  I didn't know who he was, but the selection wasn't the best, and I didn't want to spend much time searching.  30 cards in the pack, and it wasn't a bad pack.  I got a Diamond King at least.  Who cares if it was only Scott Fletcher.

Okay, not complaining at all on this pack.  4 more DK cards and some good names as well.  I am a Molitor and Dawson collector at random times (not so much today), and these are nice cards, so I'll keep them.  I forget or never knew Doug Drabek was a Yankee.  I did know Jimmy Key was though.  I liked that Score set too.  Not a Alomar fan, but still a nice pull.

The card I was happiest with is the D'Angelo Jimenez Clippers card.  If they sold repacks of strictly minor league cards, I would absolutely buy some.  I never seen this design and I like it.  I believe it is also my first Columbus Clippers card.

Not a bad pack for $1. Just a note, I decided not to show all 30 cards in these repacks.

On to pack two.

I bought this pack based on the Jeff King card.  REALLY!  Yes, that was the selection, I hope they get more next time, or I might just get those stickers.  I will put the King in my once Royals collection.  Not a big collection, just a few randoms.  Next is Mike Deveraux.  I liked the 1994 Fleer set.  Next was Mike Deveraux 1994 Fleer. Next was Mike Deveraux 1994 Fleer.  Next was Mike Deveraux 1994 Fleer.  Not a repeating line, it was 4 straight cards of the same.  Back on track with the Chrome Fred McGriff card.  Oddly enough it was placed in a penny sleeve.  I've never seen a card in a penny sleeve in a repack.  Nice Gary Carter card too.  I like that card.  Next is Jack Armstrong.  I included it because of the logo.  I liked the Marlins colors when they debuted as well.  I remember Tim Crews because I just read again about the boating accident he was in before the 1993(?) season.  It was one of the first times I remember a sports guy dying. 

Also in the pack was a Steve Avery rookie.  I'll take it.  Nice Tettleton card too.  Overall some nice cards.  Nice Fan Club cards, the David Cone will also go in my once Royals collection.  I might even start a PC of Cone.  I have the puzzle of Stan Musial, so getting this card is good.  I have a few Musial cards, so I'm glad to get another one.

A Pat Watkins card closes out this pack.  I guess not really a minor league card, but close enough.  I remember the name, but can't remember how well he panned out.

Okay, time for the final repack.

The Alomar was the reason I picked the pack.  I didn't see the name on it or otherwise I would have passed on it.  This card also was in a penny sleeve.  I like the design of the card so that's a plus.

Again not bad names.  Got a 2014 Bowman card in the pack, that's a plus.  The Rusty Greer I might hold on to for a bit.  I saw him play once and I think he hit a home run.  I'll discuss that at some point in the future.

Mike Macfarlane is a card I might need, so that will help.  I'm just happy to get a Royals card in a pack, thats a rarity for me.

How about that, another Royal?  This one I did have already, but I won't complain.  The Jim Wiley card I really like.  I had a few of these Classic Best cards growing up and always loved the look of them.  I don't remember him, but still a good card to have.

I also got a couple Authentix cards, that are not bad.  Not my cup of tea, but still not bad cards.  Finally is a Jason Giambi.  These days whenever I hear his name I associate it to Moneyball.

Oh, here are a few more from the pack.

Some 2011 Topps.  I loved the design of the set. Carlos Pena is another player I think of Moneyball when I hear his name.  Before I go on, if you noticed my twitter this weekend I was tweeting the movie.  I didn't get through the movie, but hope to do it later this week.  I might do a feature on twitter called #SportsMovieBonanza.  I called it #BaseballMovieBonanza this weekend, but could expand it to include other sports movies.  If I decide to do it, I'll give a heads up.

Okay, finally is a Joe Klink card.  I just can't get over how much I loved their jerseys, especially the pinstripe ones.  I really wish they still had the same color scheme.  I would possible root for the team.

Overall the Dollar Tree packs weren't too bad, I mean you shouldn't expect much to begin with.  I just hope they have a better selection next time.

That's it for today, thank you for reading, and have a great night.

Opening Day, part 2

Yesterday I showed off my box of 2015 Opening Day cards.  I bought it a few weeks back.  Yesterday I bought another box, and I thought I'd show them off today.

Some Nationals, Pujols, Coco Crisp, and another Holland.  There were quite a few doubles in this box, which was a bit upsetting, but still it turned out ok.

Some Cardinals, former Cardinals, a rookie, a couple NL East rivals, and a Grienke I will put into a PC if I decide to build one for him.  I did wear my Walmart knockoff Greinke Royals jersey yesterday.  I really need to get a better jersey or at the least one of a current player on the team.

After two boxes, I have 49% of the set compete, and I'm sure if I really tried I could finish it rather quickly.  IF I TRIED.

Did I mention I got a lot of doubles?

The top four are doubles.  I wouldn't include them but I wanted to show all the inserts.  The Cain is also a double, but I like it, so its okay.  I will say this box had a good amount of inserts.  Over 1 per pack average is nothing to complain about.

Some more blue parallels.  I was happy to get the Hosmer, and the Bucholz and Tanaka ones aren't bad either.  This box is starting to come around.

I can't get over how much I love these Franchise Flashback cards.  NOW WITH 100% LESS BREWERS!  Seems like I got a lot of National League cards.  I like the throwback jersey of the Braves.  They seems to get new stadiums more than they do new jerseys.

A second helping of the Phillie Phanatic.  Other Team Spirit cards featured players, but I guess when your team is not doing as well, the Phanatic is the only one with spirit.  I went from 0 Phillie Phanatic cards to 2 within a month, not bad.

So overall, I think this was a pretty decent box.  It had an abundance of inser..... wait a minute, I forgot to show the first pack I opened.

Three nice base cards, another Nationals card.  Another Superstar Celebration card helps make that set more complete.

Then there is an Opening Day Stars relic card of Andrew McCutchen.  It was actually the second card I pulled behind the Zimmerman card.  For the most part it didn't matter what I pulled after this card, this box was worth it.  The relic is one of the nicer fabric pieces I've pulled, and is right up there with the Carlos Beltran bat relic I pulled a few years back.  Overall the design is really nice, aside from Opening Day logo, this could be a nice card in the regular set.

After this box I want to finish the set, but I don't want to get aggressive buying boxes to complete the set.  If I find a pack here or there, or find some cheap ones on Just Commons, I might get them, but otherwise I think I'll hold off for a while.

One more shot of the great pull.  How about the back?

Thanks for reading, I have a couple more 2015 products to show later this week and a couple random random packs as well. Plus I just got a few Listia auctions just received, so this could be a busy week.  Have a great night.

Site News

You may have noticed I've changed some stuff around on my blog recently.  I am the type of guy that likes to make changes often.  For the most part a lot of it has stayed the same, but I did add some stuff.

One of the additions is my twitter feed and links to find me on social media.  My facebook isn't likely to be used too much for my blog aside from posting links to it.  Most of my friends and family are on Facebook and I use it more as a personal account.  So feel free to follow me on there, but don't be too upset if I don't friend you.  If you want to follow me, twitter is the better way to go.  I'll talk about that in a moment.

Another site I linked to is my Pinterest board.  I have made fun of people for using it, but truth be told, it is a very cool site.  I like looking at DIY projects I would likely never do but looks fun.  I also like looking at nostalgia.  The other day I posted some American Gladiators cards on this blog.  After I did I thought "that is exactly what I look for on Pinterest".  As a result, I started a board specifically of pictures from my blog.  I figured someone might search for stuff and come across my blog, and enjoy it.  By the way, since starting that board and pinning a few pictures, I already had someone repin one of the photos- the American Gladiators cards!

Alright you may notice two twitter links on here.  One is for @HomeRunPhil and the other for @RoyalCardReview.  HomeRunPhil is my personal twitter account.  I have had it for many years (I believe since 2009) and have made over 11,000 posts.  It is a random hodgepodge of thoughts that pop in my head, news retweets, rants, raves, and whatever else.  If you want to follow me, that is the best way to go.  I interact with people on there a lot more.  I also sometimes RT stuff from my other account.

RoyalCardReview is a new one I just started on Sunday.... kinda.  I actually started it in 2011 and it was known as 1Mizzou.  It was all things Mizzou.  It had been setting dormant for the better part of 2 or so years only occasionally having tweets.  I offered it up to anyone willing to take it over and run it, but there were no takers.  Just shy of 1,000 tweets, I decided to close it up.  Then I thought about it some. I had close to 150 followers on there, why not use it for my blog.  So I did.  I wiped all the old tweets out and unfollowed 99% of the people on there.  I gave a heads up about changing direction, and finally started posting.  It's still in its infant stages, but the idea is to post about my blog, The Royals, card collecting, and such.  I hope to attract people who are fellow collectors and/or Royals fans, or anyone who wants to follow.  I have trying to add fellow bloggers when I remember them, and if I'm not following you, send me a heads up.

you might have seen this on my twitter.  A couple designs I've decided against using.

In the last month or so I have noticed a nice increase of readers on my page.  I can't pinpoint it directly, but I hope the trend continues.  I think its important to reach as wide of an audience as you can because it tends to bring out the best in you.  It also doesn't allow you to slack off as much, at least for me it doesn't.

In the next few months you might see more design changes on here, because that's what I do, but I don't plan on changing the direction of this blog which still remains, The Story of a Second Generation Card Collector.

Thanks for reading, and sorry I haven't been reading and commenting on as many blogs lately, soon I hope to be back to doing that.  I also hope to have another actual post later today, which will show off some cards.  Have a great day!

It's OPENING DAY!

As I sit here on a busy overcast potentially rainy Opening Day, it is a very odd feeling.  It is my oldest sisters birthday, my best friends wedding anniversary, and also the date my other sister passed away.

In addition to all that I had go on a quick trip today to pick up a prize, it was from a radio station, but I'll talk about that later.  I also made a trip to Walmart and Dollar Tree.

It's been an odd day because its Opening Day in Major League Baseball.  A day that gets me pumped up for the year.  I was tired last night and fell asleep listening to the Cardinals game.  This is the first year in a while I don't have a big cable package and as a result I won't be able to catch many Royals games (its fine for the most part but I love watching Opening Day).  What made it worse is the fact that my local radio station (oddly, the same one I won the contest from) is the Royals affiliate.  If the Royals have a day game, they regulate it to the AM station and I can't hear it.  So not only did I miss seeing the game, I missed hearing it.  Thankfully people on twitter were kind enough to keep me posted.  Hopefully I can see some highlights.  Hopefully I can catch some games soon.  I did get to see Max Scherzer fall in his Nationals debut, and whatever else ESPN shows (too bad I don't get ESPN2).

Anyway's having said all that, I have some cards to show off.  I have put them off for a while, but since today is Opening Day, I might as well show off some Opening Day cards from Topps.  I bought a box a while back (11 packs in a box for 10 bucks is a good deal).  My initial complaint is I think Opening Day cards shouldn't be released until AFTER Opening Day... or at the least ON Opening Day.  Anyways, I took the chance purely based on how much I like the Topps design this year, and these are the results.

Normally I wouldn't buy a box, but for $10 I thought it was a good deal.

Thought I would show the odds in case I pulled something.

77 cards isn't too bad.  Let's hope I get some Royals.  Enough with the packaging, let's see some cards.  First some base cards.

I'm not sure why I decided to showcase these (I'm not showing all the base cards, just a few).  Nice dive by Simmons.  The Blanco card is good too, but the Opening Day logo takes a bit away from the card, I think it should have gone in the top left corner.

I think this is the first Pat Neshak card I pulled.  Maybe I should send it to him to get it autographed.  Has anyone done that?  It's worth a shot.  I'm not a Matt Holliday fan, but its a good card so I included it.  The Trout card isn't that great of a card, but I had to show it off.

Pablo in Red Sox gear?  Not a bad airbrush.  It is a noticeable difference when compared to Ortiz's jersey.  If they hit well, Boston could be destructive.  Next is Curtis Granderson.  I'm not the biggest fan of the camo jersey, but this one looks really nice.  It actually works.

Chase Hedy is next... THAT'S HEADLEY!  Sorry after seeing Blazing Saddles so much, whenever I see his name I have to say it.  A Ryan Howard card means I won't have to search for one on Listia to add to my Missouri State collection, not that I've been doing much with it lately.  Next is Young Joc.  Joc Pederson to be more precise.  I would like to see more Dodgers games to see how good he is.

Dustion Pedroia is next, figured he was a big name so I included him.  Following him is a pair of Cardinals.  Fans around here love Wainwright, and its easy to see why.  I think Bourjos is starting to grow on them, but it still might take a while.

Finally a ROYAL!  To be honest, this was my #1 card on my wishlist for this set.  Glad I got it.  I can't wait to see how he develops.  Finally is the man who beat the Royals- Madison Bumgarner.  Against any other team last year, I'd have love to seen him excel.  I hope we can exact revenge this year.

Here's a few more you might have heard of.  Adding a Holland makes me happy as it gave me justification for buying this box.  Not $10 for 2 cards, but I think other cards thrown in make up for it.  One of those being Albert Pujols, which I should probably make a PC list soon for him.  Corey Kluber is pitching the game I'm watching now.  I saw the Indians play in KC last year, and its possible I might this year too.  I hope its not against him as he is pretty good.

Lackey as a Cardinal could at the least temporarily go in my Cardinals collection.

I also got some non-base cards.  I got two Matt Barnes cards, can you spot the difference?  Honestly, I'm not big on the color variation cards, but these did turn out nice.

So what other inserts did I get?

Superstar Celebrations!  I like the concept, but the Pujols card doesn't do much for me.  Sure it will stay in my collection, but I'm glad I don't have to chase it.

HIT THE DIRT!  Again, nice concept, but the Cain card (which I love the picture), doesn't show him hitting dirt.  It's kind of pointless.  Though it is another Royal so I'll take it.

FRANCHISE FLASHBACKS!  These cards look amazing!  I am in love with these cards.  I may try to work on a set at some point.  Not something I need, but I'm amazed I love an insert set so much.

OPENING DAY STARS!  On the flip side are these cards.  I haven't been a fan of these the last couple years and while I like them a bit more, they still do nothing for me.

More color variations, CarGo and Wright are nice ones to have, but not ones I really need.

I saved these last two insert sets for last.

STADIUM SCENES!  The concept is pictures sent in by fans posted on cards.  Concept wise this is a great idea!  Execution wise these are horrible!  Not just horrible, ABYSMAL!  One is a picture of a baseball!  WHAT STADIUM IS THAT?  ANSWER: IT COULD BE ANY STADIUM!  If memory serves me, this one is of Camden Yards.  It is a nice picture of a card, but it does nothing to show off the greatness of the Stadium it is supposed to represent.

The other is of Busch Stadium (which I think is Busch Stadium 5 for those keeping track).  The ideal shot is showing the Gateway Arch and finding a way to show the outfield grass which replicates the Arch (which I'm not a fan of, but still).   Instead we get less than half an arch, and an advertisement and a building in the background.  AGAIN, it does nothing to show off the Stadium.  Either the fans sent crappy pics, or Topps really dropped the ball on this set.  If they bring it back I hope they take the shots, or get people who pick better pictures.  Sorry for the rant, but these are... ABYSMAL!

Redeeming the box somewhat is the Mascots.  I like this subset, but one thing has bugged me for a while.  They never name the Royals mascot (its SLUGERRRR!) instead they put Kansas City Royals.  HE HAS A NAME!  Instead I get Slider who I don't remember ever hearing of, but looks kinda cool, and the World Famous Phillie Phanatic.  I am happy to get that one.  If Topps made minor league sets, I'd love to see some based on the wacky Minor League Mascots.  One they must include would be the Royals minor league team, the Wilmington Blue Rocks.  One of their mascots is Rocky Bluewinkle. Clever.

So after opening the box, I had mixed feelings.  Almost 70 base cards of a 200 card set puts me in good range of maybe completing the set.  Some inserts are nice, while others are very lacking.  I guess I'm happy I got these cards, so much so that today I bought another box.  I already opening them, and some good cards to show you next time.  I need to scan them and also need to see how close I am to completing the set.  Gives me something to do while watching the rest of wrestling or the rest of the Astros vs. Indians game.

Thanks for reading and have a great night.