on March 2nd, 2010 by Captain Canuck
awhile back, Paul from Carl Crawford Cards offered up some relic cards for trade. I saw one I wanted, and left a comment, offering up a 2008 Bowman Orange Carl Crawford #/250. Paul immediately sent me an email demanding the Crawford, as well as a case …
Continue reading about CCC Rider… »
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Crawford Cards,
Mail Day!,
Phil Niekro
Posted in Waxaholic
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on March 2nd, 2010 by chrisolds
Posted in Beckett Blog
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on March 2nd, 2010 by admin
The 2010 National Sports Collectors Convention will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland from 4-8 August, 2010.
Tentative Show Hours
Wednesday (4 Aug): 5 PM – 9 PM
Thursday – Saturday (5-7 Aug): 10 AM – 6 PM
Sunday (8 Aug): 10 AM – 5 PM
Ticket Cost
Single-day General Admission Tickets are $16.50 (if purchased [...]
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Posted in sports card forum
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on March 2nd, 2010 by Matthew Glidden
I think it’s time for another follower profile, a.k.a., “Type Site.”Jacobmrley is one of the Fabulous Followers of this #5 blog and also a member of the entertaining site A Pack To Be Named Later. It’s a great place to check if you want to know what th…
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Tags:
type site
Posted in Baseball Cards
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on March 2nd, 2010 by Chris Harris
Posted in Stale Gum
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on March 2nd, 2010 by admin
1. What year did Blow Out Cards start up? How many owners are there?
Blowoutcards Inc. has been in business since 1998. Blowoutcards is co-owned by Thomas Fish and Chris Park. We have product warehouses in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia-which also is our corporate headquarters.
2. Why did you start BlowOutCards?
Blowoutcards was started in 1998 [...]
Continue reading about Interview with Tom Fish of BlowOutCards.com »
Posted in sports card forum
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on March 2nd, 2010 by oldschoolbreaks
A little over a week ago, I promised a break of a box that was different from all the previous boxes seen here. I haven’t quite finished the very scan-heavy review yet but before I do, here are some details regarding the next break:
1. The box is nearly 10 years old.
2. The box sold for [...]
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Tags:
Announcements
Posted in Old School Breaks
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on March 2nd, 2010 by admin
With the high cost of sports cards today and the increase in value of vintage sports cards it is not uncommon for collectors to amass a sport card and memorabilia collection worth tens of thousands of dollars. Most collectors don’t even think about providing insurance for their collection until they are damaged or stolen.
I had [...]
Continue reading about Interview With Collectibles Insurance Services »
Posted in sports card forum
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on March 2nd, 2010 by 30-Year Old Cardboard
Tim Raines 1985 Fleer
“Hey Mr. Photographer, can you zoom in a little more so we can see less of him? Thanks.”
I like the 1985 Fleer issue. I always have… But the picture used for this baseball card may be one of the worst . I guess it is not really the picture itself that is [...]
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Posted in 30 Year Old Cardboard
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on March 2nd, 2010 by Howard Bagby
I approach work differently than most of my co-workers. I work frozen foods two nights a week, Sunday and Monday. The other person is always complaining about how much they have to do and swear there is no way they can get it done. Normally they are al…
Continue reading about Attitude. »
Tags:
my life,
Retail
Posted in Baseball Cards
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on March 2nd, 2010 by admin
Heisman Trophy winner and college legend, Tim Tebow has signed an exclusive agreement with Press Pass for trading cards. Under terms of the agreement, Press Pass Football and Press Pass Portrait Edition will be the only “draft pick” products to contain authentic autograph cards and trading cards of the former Florida Gator star.
2010 Press Pass [...]
Continue reading about Tim Tebow Signs Draft Pick Exclusive with Press Pass »
Posted in sports card forum
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on March 2nd, 2010 by unclemoe
Another great card from an up and coming Texas Rangers star. Chris Davis signed his card from the 08 Topps Updates & Highlights set for us before during a Spring Training practice last week.# UH 231 – Chris DavisProgress: 216/990
Continue reading about Spring Training 2010: Chris Davis »
Posted in Baseball Cards
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on March 2nd, 2010 by Newspaperman
After taking a year off, I’ve decided to send out a slew of TTM (Through The Mail) requests this spring training. I’ve got four batches out to a random mix of players, some guys who more than likely will not sign and a few others who probably will. As is the case with everything, you [...]
Continue reading about My 2010 Spring Training TTM request list »
Tags:
baseball,
Jason Heyward,
Newspaperman,
stephen strasburg,
Topps,
TTM,
ttm success
Posted in Baseball Cards, Cardboard Icons
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on March 2nd, 2010 by Tracy Hackler
Posted in Beckett Blog
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on March 2nd, 2010 by T.S.
As promised in yesterday’s blog, herewith is my own entry into the dizzy world of awarding medals in amateur athletic competitions, and as I hinted, this is not a flattering episode for yours truly.
I would guess it was nearly 30 years ago, probably in 1982, during the Winter
Empire State Games held in Lake Placid, N.Y., at the same venues as the Winter
Olympics from two years earlier.
As the public relations coordinator for the Games, I was charged with
directing media operations from our headquarters at the Lake Placid Club. While the
scale of the Winter Games was much smaller than the Summer program, which would typically
bring more than 6,000 athletes to Syracuse for the finals, it was still a brutal schedule
for us in the several weeks we spent in Lake Placid every winter. During the Games
themselves, 16-plus hour days were the norm. I’m not complaining, just establishing
what minimal grounds I have for a defense: I was really, really tired.
Anyway, I was being interviewed on the phone by a reporter from a Syracuse
newspaper about a young girl who had competed that day in figure skating. “The good
news,” I started off breezily, “was that she won a bronze medal. The bad news is that
there were only two skaters in that particular division.”
Haw, haw. It was one of the nuances of the arcane world of figure skating that
somebody could win a bronze medal when no silver had been awarded, but as odd as that
sounds to a lay person, my answer was way past ill advised. I could add, though it
again is irrelevant, that the choice of wording about “Good news, bad news” wasn’t
nearly as hackneyed in 1982 as it is today.
I had been on a friendly basis with the reporter, half thinking that
my flip remark was sort of off the record, but that too was the product of being way
too tired. Just dumb.
Next morning, there it was in black-and-white on the pages of the Post-Standard for
all the world to see. To this day I hope that the little gal who won the medal and
her family didn’t see it, though that’s probably a long shot.
My boss, Mike Abernethy, arguably one of the most influential
names in amateur sports in the country at the time as the executive director of the
prototype state games program, was a good sport about it. He didn’t even bother to
scold me much, since he could tell how bad I felt about saying something so dumb.
It probably didn’t hurt that he had a pretty good feel for just how tired
I was, since he was working longer than 16 hours a day at the same time.
I would tell the story over the years in instances were public relations
and dealing with the media was the topic du jour. Good reminder, I would solemnly
intone, that even when you are talking with media types that you consider friends,
it’s best to consider that everything is fair game for reporting purposes.
Continue reading about Gold, silver and bronze Part Deux … »
Posted in Infield Dirt
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on March 2nd, 2010 by Tuff Stuff
During the course of the last two weeks I became a hockey fan. Never
really watched the game other than the last few minutes of some
meaningful playoff games, but upon further review, hockey’s not so bad
after all.
Unfortunately I’m not sure how long this new infatuation will last. You have to remember
the game that tugged at my heart in Vancouver is not the same product as an NHL game.
In fact, it’s far from it, and that’s the 
problem.
While I realize it was the flag-waving type of patriotism that always accompanies
the Olympic Games that pulled me in in the first place, but once I was there, I still
had to be entertained and Olympic-style hockey did just that. The wide-open, back-and-forth,
no-clinching play is different from the start-stop, low-flow style that is the NHL.
And while I didn’t see any players drop the gloves and go at it like I might on any
given night watching NHL play, I’ll gladly trade an exciting fluid, up-tempo game
for one filled with one-on-one rock’em, sock’em robot battle after another at center
ice.
Now, for the million-dollar question: how does the NHL find a way to keep me, the
borderline, casual fan in the fold for good? NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman would likely
pay closer to a billion dollars if someone could provide him with that winning formula
because the excitement generated by the USA-Canada Gold Medal game is something NHL
executives simply can’t relate to. Never has a Stanley Cup Final game created the
stir and captivated a continent like Sunday afternoon’s matchup did. More than 80
percent of all Canadiens witnessed the game and while the numbers weren’t that high
here in the U.S., they were higher than the final game of last year’s World Series
and blew away the yearly totals of the NBA Finals.
But where does the NHL go from here and how do they capitalize? If I had the answer
to that one I would have been on the phone with Bettman before the last line of Oh
Canada was sung. But one thing I do know that would improve NHL popularity is
creating a brand of hockey similar to that played in the Olympics. Easier said than
done I realize, but much like when an NFL team enjoys success running out of the Wildcat
formation and the following week every team has copied it, why not copy the format
and style of play used in the Olympics and implement it on a nightly basis in NHL
play?
Here’s some suggestions: Create rule changes that encourage more offense and less
stoppages in play. Retract several of the teams struggling in the attendance department
and improve the depth and overall play of each of the remaining teams. Increase the
rink size to encourage more of an up-tempo, fast-paced game. They should also consider
a reduction in the pad size of the goalie equipment to increase scoring.
But equally important in any NHL renovation would start and end in the marketing department.
Let’s face it, there’s something seriously wrong with your sport when more people
in the U.S. know who got the ring on “The Bachelor” than what team Sid The Kid plays
for. And the reason behind the NHL’s invisibility factor among most of us in America
is poor marketing. When was the last time you saw a Gatorade commercial featuring
either one of the game’s top two players, Alex Ovechkin or Sidney Crosby? The answer
is the day before never. How many times have you seen an NHL star strolling down the
red carpet at some fancy Hollywood event? Sitting next to Letterman? Guest starring
on a sitcom?
I realize that to effectively market a person or sport you must create a buzz and
a demand. For the NHL to capitize on the new-found popularity created by an exciting
Olympic run, NHL stars need to be marketed properly and marketed immediately while
the iron is still hot. If they don’t react quickly enough they’ll be forced to hope
for another epic battle that gets the flags waving again. And with the next Winter
Olympics being played in Russia, the odds of that type of stir being recreated are
as low as the temperatures there. C’mon NHL, strike while the iron is hot and go out
and spend some money making the changes necessary to keep a fringe fan like me in
the fold.
Continue reading about NHL Needs To Strike While The Iron Is Hot »
Posted in 7th Inning Stretch
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on March 2nd, 2010 by Tom
Drafted in 2000 by the Phillies for their minor league system, Buchholz was traded to Houston on November 3, 2003 along with Ezequiel Astacio and Brandon Duckworth for Billy Wagner. His first season with the Astros organization was spent in New Orleans…
Continue reading about Taylor Buchholz »
Posted in Baseball Cards
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on March 2nd, 2010 by stusigpi
I can’t recall whether I posted these before, but a few months back I got an email regarding some “press plates” for Topps card. The emailer asked me what they were worth. The person said that they belonged to a relative. Some of these are print tes…
Continue reading about An interesting find »
Posted in I am Joe Collector
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