Monday, February 29, 2016

Minor Details

A while back I posted some Minor League cards I won on Listia.  A couple weeks later the same seller had auctions for more.  As it turned out, I won all these auctions this time too.  He told me he even found the Ian Kinsler card I asked about last time, and so I got that card.  Here is what I got.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

25 Years of Topps

Topps has been around for a long time, a lot longer than 25 years, but this year will mark 25 years since I got my first baseball cards, 1991 Topps.  I don't really have a connection with that and this post to be honest, I needed a title for the blog, and it just popped in my head this would be 25 years of Topps for me.  So why not look at a blaster box of 2016 Topps Series One cards.


I'm not sure where to start really, these photos look like Stadium Club quality, which is really nice.  The Perspectives card of Gregory Polanco is interesting, I like the no border, but not a fan of the writing in the middle of the card and the action.  One thing I am not  a fan of on this years cards are the fact that the whole team logo isn't shown, I don't like it at all really, and one reason I thought about skipping the set (aside from Royals cards).  Though the photo quality does make up for it in a big way.  Beyond a couple rookies I don't know (my main focus the last couple years have been only Royals), not much to say about this batch.


I like the way Jayson Werth's hair is flowing on his card, it makes for a nice photo.  As with last year, not a fan of how they designate the "FUTURE STARS" cards.  It makes it hard to read.  I got a couple inserts in this batch, both pretty nice, but I think the Nolan Ryan one is slightly better.  The Goldschmidt looks like a base card but with more of a border, though it is a nice design though.


Not much to say for the base cards in this batch beyond the lack of action.  I mean guys running the basepaths aren't that exciting.  I know they are easier shots, but might as well go with posed shots (which goes against what my yearbook teacher told me, about the only thing that she taught me that made any sense).  The Back to Back insert is a bit blah, I'm just not feeling it.  The Baines card is part of Berger's Best cards.  I like the card okay, I'm just not sure how the selection process took place.  I think I might have the original Baines card though, if I do this would go good with it, if not I'm sure I have the 60 Years of Topps one from 2011 with the same front.


More base cards, the Abreu is the standout I guess.  I didn't hear much from him last year, maybe he's not the next big thing.  Much like Mark Trumbo who a lot of people thought would be huge.  Now I can't keep up with what team he's on.  I forgot Arizona traded him.


More base cards, at least these are showing some kind of action, though only 3 actually show the ball in frame.  It would be nice to see a batter card with a bat connecting with the ball and the pitcher with the ball just out of his hand, but oh well, I doubt I could take better shots.  The name Alec Asher popped out to me as I had a friend with the last name Asher.  Maybe I'll look more into this guy, maybe I'd know more about these rookies if I studied the cards like I did as a kid.  I still look at the backs of the cards, but not to the degree I did when I first got those cards in 1991.  I'm surprised I didn't spot most of the errors on those cards back then.


That Coco Crisp card is nice, that's what I'm talking about.  Otherwise more base cards.  I'm fine with getting the base cards, don't get me wrong, I don't expect to get a blaster full of inserts, in fact I thought this blaster had more inserts than needed.  Then again I'm more of a base collector so I think my kind of collecting isn't the target audience.  I still like pulling inserts, but I don't buy cards for them.  Speaking of inserts, the First Pitch card on the bottom is nice but way WAY too much like the base cards you could confuse them if you didn't know Victor Espinoza (which I'm not sure who he is).  I like the design though since no team logo is really needed, the bar works good for it, maybe the base cards could have extended the corner to included more logo then the First Pitch cards would stand out a bit more.

I wasn't sure First Pitch would be back this year, but since it is, I wish all the teams got someone to represent them.  I'm happy a card is representing the Royals again, but I feel bad for the teams with no designation.  Maybe series two can correct this.   Speaking of Royals, have you noticed I haven't pulled one Royals card yet?  It kind of upsets me since they are the World Champions I would think it would be a bit easier to pull cards of them.


Besides the Justin Turner card, what a blah bunch of base.  You think with fast shutter speeds the photographers could get some kind of action.  The worst being Nick Markakis whose back is shown more than his front, a big no no in my book.  I really don't know what else to say, besides how can I pull back to back Padres, but almost 70 cards in, not ONE Royal?  Last scan is next, maybe I can at least get one...


ABOUT TIME!  Even though I like the World Series designation, no team logo in sight, which is a bummer, but hey at least I finally got a Royals card.  It goes well with the what 5 Mets cards I got?  Maybe I'm too bitter about this, but you would think they would do better with randomizing and sorting them.  I'd also think they would add more cards from teams from that general area (i.e. more Midwest teams in Midwest states).  I mean sure I got three Cubs cards, but 1 Royal?  Also did you notice not a single Cardinals card?  I mean I'm not complaining too hard, but still you would think a box of 72 cards would at least try to get one card per team in.  Imagine how mad I'd feel if I was a Cardinals fan, its bad enough I only got one Royals, but if I bought this box and not one card of my team, I doubt I would try to buy packs or boxes.

Besides the lack of Royals, I must say I do like the Mike Trout and Juan Lagares cards as it shows some sort of action,  Trout with some sick air.

Overall, I just can't get past the lack of Royals cards so I can't really say I'm happy with the box.  Maybe I'll try a rack pack next time, and then just check out Just Commons to get the Royals cards.  It seems like a waste trying to get packs and boxes with little chance of getting teams I like.

Maybe I shouldn't be such a grouch, but oh well.  That will wrap it up today, thanks for reading, and since I did some scanning (I need to change the DPI level, took forever to upload these) I plan to have a few blogs this week.  I also just updated my Greg Maddux collection, and also added a list of Albert Pujols cards I have too.  I am getting close to being completely catalogged with only a few NASCAR, some Missouri related cards, and then my Mizzou cards left, so I'm pretty excited.  Hope everyone has a great day.  If the weather is nice where you live, go outside and have some fun this week, Spring is almost here.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Ebay Findings

This is a post of things you can find on Ebay.  I will show pictures and links (if they are still active auctions) to a random mix of items I recently found (notice: I did not buy these).  I am not endorsing any of these sellers and only use the information I gathered from the auction.  You are free to purchase any items, but again, I am not endorsing them, I am just showing them.

I was going to write this last night but I got tired.  Then sidetracked (darn TV, but at least Rizzoli & Isles is back and Limitless is getting better) thankfully I have been catalogging more cards and almost down to just my Mizzou collection to add.  I also recently updated my Johnny Damon and Kirk Gibson HAVE lists and should do the same with Greg Maddux later this week.

Through all this though I was happy to post so much last week then I stalled.  In fact I hit a wall and with nothing scanned, I ran out of ideas.  So it was either Happy Place which I wasn't really down in the dumps, so I'll save that for a rainy day.  Card Hall of Fame kinda went out with a whimper, and the only way to revive it is to write four or five at once so I can get motivated to bring it back.  No scans of Greg Maddux (and none listed in my collection at the moment on TCDB) kind of left Maddux Mania as a no.  So besides maybe one or two regular features I forgot, that left me with my EBAY feature (which I still never properly named).

If you haven't seen one of these before, as I stated to begin with it is just random stuff I found on EBAY and I talk a bit about it.  Pretty simple, and most of the time it has some connection to me one way or another.  I've posted links to anything from buses to whatever in the past.  Some items may be cheap, some may be overpriced, but for this blog post, it is for pure entertainment.  You are free to buy any or all, but I'm not endorsing it, though I will say it looks like most of the sellers are legit and have feedback to prove it.  If you do buy any of these items its at your own risk.

Friday, February 19, 2016

Custom Cards Aplenty, and a Contest Reminder!

I mentioned in my last post about a contest on Baseball Card Breakdown.  If you missed it or have never checked out his blog, it is well worth it to check out.  Gavin makes amazing custom cards.

On the other hand is my custom cards.  I have nowhere near the talent, and I use Paint for my cards.  Maybe one day I will upgrade (I may also actually put the designs on cardboard).  Today I figured I would show off some more recent cards I came up with in a variety of different sports.  Let's take a look.


Think of this as a bonus card of sorts.  I didn't spend a lot of time on it because I didn't have an idea of how to make a good design.  This was to honor Bryan Danielson (aka Daniel Bryan) after he recently announced his retirement due to concussions (and risk of seizures).  I was a fan of his before he even came to WWE but he really stepped up his mic skills once he reached WWE.  He will be missed, but glad he retired instead of risking more harm.  Thank you Daniel Bryan.


I liked the design until I just uploaded it now.  Something seems off, but I do still like it.  Brock went to Mizzou where he had a unforgettable commercial during his Senior year running up the Stadium stairs, music playing then the words "BROCKY IV".  He is now a coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, after he had a short run in the NFL for the Detroit Lions, and was also a coach in the short lived UFL for the Omaha Nighthawks.  He gained some fame for this screenshot during a Chiefs game on a botched special teams play as he is a special teams coach.


I was a big fan of Martina Hingis when she first began her pro career.  While I had watched tennis off and on before, it was really because of her that I became a big fan of the sport.  I was aiming for a Super Star Flashback insert type set, but now I'm not much of how I designed it, so I'll retool it before trying it again.

Since I had a flashback card, I had to make a more current card for the "Swiss Miss".


I believe this is from last year while playing for the Washington Kastles of the World Team Tennis league.  Kansas City and St. Louis used to have teams in WTT but now the only team left in Missouri is Springfield.  If I had enough of a heads up I would consider going down there if I knew she would be there to try and get an autograph.  I think this would be a good card to get signed.


Recently I heard the great news that Stephon Marbury was bringing back the Starbury shoe line.  I bought a pair of the original Starbury's and while I don't wear them anymore, I do still own them.  I hope he makes the same styles as before as well as some new ones.  I also hope his shoes will be more readily available then last time (I luckily happened to find a Steve & Barry's in Springfield- odd how much goes back to Springfield when I've only been there less than 10 times).

This card is of his time with his current team, the Beijing Ducks.  I won't lie and say I keep up with him much these days, but this was a good picture to use as a card, and I'm happy with how it turned out.  I also like the logo of the Ducks.  I hear he does pretty decent overseas, but it would be nice to see him get one more run in the NBA.


Yes another wrestler card, but Dalton Castle has been one of my favorite wrestlers to watch in the last year.  This time last year I never hear of him, but his gimmick in Ring of Honor is a great mixture of athleticism and showmanship.  I wish he was in a better feud but he gets over really well, and that's all that really matters.  I tried a few odd designs for this one as well as testing out a new font, and I like the results.  I will be testing various fonts for the next few cards, so maybe I'll find a perfect one for a regular set.

Okay, these final two are a couple I love.  One I would say is possibly the best custom I've made yet.  The other isn't too bad either, despite the small picture.


I believe I admitted I had no desire to watch the Super Bowl, and I also admitted I didn't watch it.  However there were two players I was curious how they would do.  One of those players was Shane Ray.  I hear he was a monster in the game, as evidenced by this photo.  By the way, this is from the game.  My only knock besides the small photo size, is that maybe Cam Newton is featured more than Shane Ray is.  Though I think this shows a good pursuit, so it works good.


This card is one I am really proud of.  I've said the praises of Kony Ealy for a long time, so I was happy he performed so well.  I hope he can get a ring sometime.  I might have scrunched the Panthers a bit much, but overall I like how I included the Super Bowl logo into it.  Sure its a bit square, but I think the simple design works really well.  I also managed to put my logo back on the card.  I've forgotten to do that for a while, but this one I thought was too good and felt a watermark was worth it.

So that is all for today, but I do hope to do some more soon.  With baseball around the corner, Daytona 500 this weekend, and March Madness almost upon us, I think I have a lot to work with.  I might even try using different software on the designs.  I've dabbled with GIMP before and hear Paint.net is a lot better than Paint, so I might give it a try.  I never got the hang of Photoshop (plus I don't have it), so we'll see what happens.

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

A 20 Pack from long ago

A few months ago (like last August) I bought a box of cards that had 20 packs in it.  I never posted until now even though I've had the scans since September.  I might as well show them off now.





A little bit old, a little bit new, a nice combination.  The Lance Berkman was the Bonus Item, which was a bit underwhelming.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Hail to the Chief (not the football team)

Yesterday I had a fun distraction of showing some Valentines.  Today I will focus on another holiday, but with actual cards... well kinda.  Happy President's Day folks!


THESE ARE REAL CARDS!!!!  right?  These were on packages of Little Debbie snack cakes.  This isn't my collection, I found this image, but I have some cards.


If I remember right, Reagan or Poppa Bush (no disrespect, I just needed to distinguish between the Bush Presidents) was the last ones to get cards.  I wish they would bring these back to be honest, it is a nice touch of history, and something worthwhile on a package, a double win.


They are only one sided, but even just one side had plenty of information and had nice portraits, something some cards today don't seem to have.

In total, I have 12 of these cards total, starting with John Quincy Adams up to Gerald Ford.   As far as a checklist, I have the following Presidents (they are numbered the same as their Presidency):  6, 12, 13, 19, 22 (& 24 on the same card since Grover Cleveland was both they only made one card), 26, 27, 31, 34, 36, 37, 38. Realistically I doubt I could ever get a complete set, and even if I could I wouldn't want to spend anything on it so, 12 is good enough for me.  Here's hoping they make more someday.


Again I know this isn't cards, but I had a similar ruler growing up, I thing the last 3 Presidents weren't on it, maybe even Poppa Bush either.  I didn't know they still made these to be honest.  I can't remember what was on the reverse side, but it wasn't signatures.  I'm glad they still make these though, I know its easier then ever to access information on the Presidents but this was cool to have handy when I was a kid.

Okay, how about some real cards?  I have some of those too.


You have to love the Desert Storm trading cards for no other reason than for historical value.  I'm not a big history buff, but I think history trading cards could really catch on and think the History Channel (when they showed history) could have really had a big seller if they tried selling trading cards, of course let a company like Upper Deck or Topps produce them, but History could sell them.  This set had some nice cards of some big names, like George H.W. Bush shown above, but also future Vice President Dick Cheney, and Norman Schwarzkoff (I think I misspelled it).  I think I have most of the set, but this card in general is the focus tonight.


This is the only card from this set I have, but it is a nice set to maybe collect one day.  It is also the only James K. Polk card I have so there's also that.


I'm not sure how many of these cards I have of this set, but this is the only Presidential card from the set I have.  I think the picture is good of Dwight D. Eisenhower, but the card itself I'm not really a fan of.


This is a great card and set featuring Harry S. Truman.  I need him for my people from Missouri set, but I think even if I didn't I would chase this card.  In fact I might go after all the Presidents in this set (not the whole set, just the first 44 that feature Presidents).

In addition to the Truman card, I also have one of John Adams, Grover Cleveland (card 24, he actually has two cards one for each time he was the leader), Calvin Coolidge, Gerald Ford, and this one:


I really like this card too.  So almost 1/7ths of the set is complete, that is a nice start.  Again, these are nice cards of historical value.

In addition to this card of our current President, I have other cards of his as well.


A nice card as well,  this was a First Pitch card before Topps made it a insert set.  This was from 2009 I think and it was a photo from when he was campaigning for President.

I also have a few more cards of President Obama.  I won't lie and say I'm a big fan (but I'm also not wanting to discuss politics on my blog), but I like trading cards, so here is the last card I'll show:


This is from a 2009 set dedicated to how Barack Obama became President.  From the beginning of his campaign until the day he was sworn in.  I found a couple packs cheap shortly after they came out, and to be honest I wouldn't mind finishing the set.  Only 12/90 cards so far, but I might look for some one day.  I also got 3 stickers from the set too.

So here is my salute to the President's on their day,  I thought it was a nice way to show some stuff off.  None of these are my scans, as I didn't have the scanner plugged in, but the James K. Polk card I found on Ebay, the Little Debbie cards were through Google searches, and the rest were scans from the Trading Card Database,  for more Presidential cards, I would go there.

Thanks for reading everyone and I hope you have a great night.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Valentine's Mailbox

Some days I just like looking back at the good old days.  Before you ask what specifically qualifies as the good old days, its simple.  Any day that has already happened.  So not much guessing, just looking back at stuff I remember.  Today will focus on some old Valentines Day cards I had or wanted to have, or just never seen before.  It makes for a quick post, and lost of pictures.  Let's begin.


WAIT!!! They actually made this?  Man, I would have loved Dinosaurs Valentines.  I saw one of Baby Sinclair and Mama.  Those would have been a hoot.  Instead I chose the Robbie one because... well, I saw it a bunch of times on Google Search and finally picked it.


Here's one that I guess would have been okay, but I don't see Clarissa Explains It All as a big seller for Valentines.  I didn't see what other ones they offered, but I figure one was likely of Sam climbing in the window saying something like "Let me SNEAK in a Valentine's Day card" or something equally cheesy.


I think this is a little before my time, but McDonald's Valentines sound a bit cool.  This was my favorite among the ones I actually saw online.  I guess most people would want one of Ronald though...


"IT AIN'T EASY, BEING CHEESY!"- Cheeseburger Eddie "The Longest Yard (2005)"

I hope the Valentine's included like a free cookie or something, or else these might be a bit lame.

Let's move on to better ones.


I guess these are cool, I must admit I was never into Darkwing Duck like most everyone else.  I seriously can't think of every watching more than 2 episodes, but if it was on now, I'd likely watch it instead of whatever garbage that is thrown on TV now days.


NOW YOU'RE TALKING!  I remember having Ninja Turtles Valentines, but not sure if these were the specific ones.  These look really basic now, but back then these would be probably the coolest ones to get.

I wonder what the pay is like to come up with Valentine cards.  That would be a fun job... Maybe not, but it could be.


I can't say I remember getting one of The Jetsons, but this would have been cool to get.  I always felt the Jetsons got no love compared to other cartoons, but I really liked it.  The funny thing is though unlike The Flintstones, I can't remember a plot to any Jetsons episodes.  Most were all the same though, George would get in trouble or fired by Mr. Spacely (then somehow redeem himself), Elroy and Astro would do something not much but enough to garner screentime, same with Jane, but she would sometimes mess something up, only for Rosie to fix before George got home.  Then Judy would fall in love with a crush of the week.  So every episode was the same, but slightly different.  I would totally watch it though if I got a channel it was on.   Instead the best I can do is hope for a 3 AM rerun of Phineus & Ferb (which I can't complain about too much, though I don't see it on often anymore since the series ended).


It looks like 1989 was a good year for Valentine's makers.  It might be the last year they actually made new designs until like 1998.  This is a little plain, but a Mario card would get you cool points I'd imagine.


While I don't have these exact ones, I do currently have some Ren & Stimpy Valentine's card from this era.  In fact I just gave one to my friend a couple days ago.  I like these though.  I also saw one of Powdered Toast Man!  I think these are my favorites so far.


I'm sure I had these, but I don't remember them.  I will say I wish I had them now though.  A blond haired Shawn Michaels! Macho Man!  Hulk Hogan... well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad (hey I even liked Hulk at this time).  I remember buying some WCW ones years later, but past my elementary days, I'm not sure what happened to them.


I don't care what you say, these are awesome!  It's possible I bought some of these, because I loved Britney when she first hit the scene.


These without a doubt I did buy.  I might even have some stashed somewhere.  Man, how lucky was her first husband? I mean sure their marriage only lasted what 55 hours, but he was married to BRITNEY!  Plus it was before she went nuts, and before she hooked up with K-Fed.  So it was the best thing that could have happened to him.

I'll always have a special place for Britney.

Before I get too creepy, maybe I should wrap this up.


Sure I showed this already, but this is for all you readers out there, thanks for viewing my blogs, it really means a lot.  I'll even give you a bonus card too.


I had to include a sports related one somewhere.  I remember these, and it meant a lot to get one.  I hope it means a lot to you.

Of course, there is only one Valentine that has any real value these days.  You aren't hip if you don't get it.  So for that I will include it as an extra bonus today.


Thank you Ralph Wiggum for putting so much stock into Valentine's Day.  Thank you all for reading as well.  I hope you have a great day, night, weekend, and if you are off tomorrow, a great President's Day.  I think I have something special for that too, you'll have to wait and see.

This has been fun.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Random Rants On Sports Topics

Today I thought I would talk about a few random sports topics.  Some may be short, some may be long, but just wanted to give my thoughts on some stuff.

Jenrry Mejia is out of baseball.  While most of the people call him stupid for it, I do feel a bit sorry for him.  Sure he wasn't smart failing 3 drug tests (I thought I heard in one year), but maybe he needs stronger people around him to make sure he doesn't make these mistakes.  I've not against steroids like most people, but I still believe this is the right call.  I do question two things about the reports I read.  If he was suspended for 162 games, beginning in July of last year, why did he just sign a contract with the Mets?  Logically I think if I was a team, he would be untouchable until a month or two before he could come back, but also if I was a player who was on thin ice I would make sure I wasn't on anything before signing a contract.  That brings me to question two:  if he was already suspended, why was he tested in the first place?  I mean I guess he would need to submit to testings, but it seems odd if he was out of contract and also suspended, they wouldn't need to test him.  Ultimately he should have been smarter about his decisions, but at the same time, maybe this is an addiction and someone needs to help him.

I've watched bits and pieces of a handful of NBA games this year, which is more than I have in a long time.  I miss the days of only seeing the Hawks and Bulls on.  I think because I enjoy regional broadcasts over national ones.  National ones only focus on certain guys and if a game gets out of hand, they praise the big names and stop calling action on the floor.  I watched the Trailblazers and Rockets game the other night and I only remember them talking about Dwight Howard all game for the Rockets.  At a point Houston trailed by almost 20 and the announcers were talking about Howard.  They started to come back and make it a game, and suddenly another player maybe was mentioned.  If it were a regional game, I think I'd hear more about the other players.  The game itself was better than ones I usually see I think mainly because besides Howard and one or two others, there wasn't huge names playing.  The focus was on the game itself and not the stars.  NBA has become too flashy for me in recent years and I miss more of the basics and fundamentals, but this game was nice.  I almost saw a brawl break out, and deep down I was hoping for it.  I might have to see if their next matchup is televised.  Another recent game I watched involved the Lakers, and Kobe wasn't playing a lot and Lakers were getting killed, but it was nice seeing some younger guys I never heard of getting some time.  I watched mainly because of Kobe and Jordan Clarkson, but a few other players did really good.  Since Missouri has no team, I tend to root for different teams each year, mainly underdogs.  Its a bit fun because I get to enjoy more of the game itself instead of specific teams.  Maybe I'll tune in more as the playoffs inch closer.  I doubt I watch any of the all-star weekend events.  I didn't watch the NHL one, or the Pro Bowl, so why start now.

Speaking of football, I did something I can't remember doing ever.  I voluntarily skipped the Super Bowl.  I saw some highlights, and even listened to about 5 minutes on the radio, but since I really don't care for either team, I had no desire to watch it.  Deep down it doesn't sound like I missed much.  I think the last Super Bowl I missed was in 2002 or 2003 when I was coming back from a church event.  Even then I remember that we heard bits and pieces on the radio (but I wasn't too concerned since it was freezing and the heater was out in the car I was in).

NASCAR is returning soon and I'm conflicted on it. They made changes to the field and I'm on the fence on it.  They cut the starting grid from 43 to 40, but more importantly put a new charter program in place, guaranteeing 36 cars get automatic entries each week.  That leaves only 4 drivers who have to actually race their way in each week.  I understand it will make the entries more stable and help with costs, but it sucks because I liked the idea of racing your way in.  My driver again this year is Michael Annett, and part of the thrill last year was not only seeing if he could make a top 20 finish, but seeing if he could qualify.  Now, he won't have to even try to qualify good because he's guarenteed a spot each week (though HScott Motorsports did have to buy an extra charter for him this week).  It takes the fun out of qualifying, but also of the races themselves.  Maybe I am wrong and it will help the sport, but it seems like a wrong decision to me.

On the topics of wrong decisions and NASCAR... Something that has started to drive me away from the sport is accessing the races.  To me NASCAR was built on network television.  It has been that way for a long time.  I understand that in the 90's TNN and ESPN would show the races sometimes, but for the most part, it gained fans from being on free TV.  The last few years that has changed, and last year it got even worse.  It's one thing being on TNN and ESPN, cable networks on virtually every carrier (well, TNN used to be before they became Spike), but now NASCAR is regulated to Fox Sports 1 and NBC Sports Network.  I understand Fox and NBC is using it as leverage to get those stations on more basic packages, but its neglecting a lot of fans doing so.  The biggest issue I have with it though is Fox and NBC doesn't show anything on Sundays anyways during most of NASCAR season.  Sure college football in the Fall and Olympics every four years, but otherwise, they show movies, infomercials, and a crapload of figure skating, track and field or some other lower notch sport that can't possibly draw higher ratings than NASCAR.  Face it, most Sundays in the spring and summer network TV is worthless.  ABC uses Sundays to show various ESPN shows, CBS shows golf usually, Fox shows... a random assortment of junk, and NBC shows figure skating, x-games crap, or sometime off road racing.  PUT NASCAR BACK ON NETWORK TELEVISION!  NBCSN and Fox Sports 1 can show the replay and pre and post game if they are desperate for programming.  If a race is pushed back I'm fine with it moving to cable (unless its Daytona, or one of the big ones).

I've noticed USA Network is showing European Soccer on Saturday mornings recently.  I'm okay with that though I'm not big on European Soccer.  However, it is the USA NETWORK, why don't they show USA Soccer?  MLS would be a nice fit on weekends I would think.  As much of a fan of NCIS and Law & Order I am, I am tired of seeing it on non-stop.  I think a 6 hour block of live sports on the weekends would be nice for a change.  I mean they did just bring WWE Smackdown in the fold, so maybe they could get a bit more programming for the weekends.  I'm not saying stop showing those shows, but maybe a less is more approach would help them out a bit.  Also speaking of Smackdown, I don't get why if USA love wrestling so much why they don't repeat the shows in the morning hours.  I know it wouldn't draw huge ratings but again, less hours of L&O and NCIS is good.  I also don't get why WWE would try to work with USA to cross promote some of the stuff from the WWE Network to draw in viewers.  I mean if they produce new content for the network, they could put it on USA Network 5 or 6 months later and just repackage it telling fans to get the rest on the Network.  Maybe its not smart business, but I think both parties would benefit from it.  I mean USA Network shows stuff like Chrisley Knows Best, so how crazy would it be for them to partially finance a new season of Legends House? 

Well, I guess that's enough ranting for one day.  Sorry for lack of pictures, but I didn't have much to relate to these topics.  I do have some posts planned for this next week, so stay tuned.  I've been slowly adding cards to my TCDB collection and almost done with all my baseball section that I'm keeping.  Next task might be the Mizzou stuff, then I can cross something off my goals list.  Thanks for reading and have a great night.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Random Pictures from the past

Haven't posted in a while but wanted everyone to know I didn't fall off the face of the earth.  So I decided to post some old pictures of various things.  I hope you enjoy.


I'll start with this picture I took of AJ Styles when I saw him wrestle in 2010.  It's the last wrestling show I went to, but I'm happy he's in WWE now.


I got to see the Super Bowl IV trophy when I went to a preseason Chiefs game a couple years ago.  Hopefully I'll see another Chiefs Super Bowl trophy soon.


OUCH!  My sister took this photo of me at the Springfield (MO) Zoo back in 2009 I think.  I was just having a little fun.  A cameo of my nephews in the background.  They got a kick out of it.  I posted this upon hearing the news of the guy in Florida throwing a 3 foot alligator through a Wendy's drive thru window recently.


I think I posted this before, but hey, its another chance to show off meeting Terry Funk (the same day I met Mick Foley and Harley Race).  It was a fun day.


Apologetix is a "Christian Parody Band" that I was (and still am) a big fan of.  This is almost a decade old photo now, but I took this the first time I met them.  Karl Messner was my favorite of the band, and this was my best shot.  Afterwards I met them and talked to them.  I was supposed to interview the band for a Christian Music website I was working for at the time, but I never actually interviewed them.  It was a blast and if I stuck around the site and did this interview, who knows, maybe I would still be doing interviews today.


It's Kony Ealy.  He had a huge game at the Super Bowl, but his Panthers fell short of the crown.  Maybe next year though.  I said the first time I met him that he would be a big star, and I think he showed what he's capable of.


I made this a long time ago, but who knows, maybe one day I will run for President.  I can't be worse than who else is running right?


Finally I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day.  It is also my birthday, so while I have always been single on the day, I still enjoy the holiday.  I hope you all have a great day as well.

Thanks for reading, I know this was different than normal postings, but I'm working on a few things, and just haven't been on blogger much.  I hope to be back soon.  Once I sort these last batch or two of cards I should be on here more.  Have a great night.