Eli Manning’s Place Among History’s Greatest is Still Not Clear

And so begins the barren wasteland of professional sports until baseball begins in April. I hate this time of year, even with the combine and NFL draft heating up. I dont follow NCAA basketball outside of March Madness, a time where I have to buy in to feel a part of the herd, despite my [...]

Continue reading about Eli Manning’s Place Among History’s Greatest is Still Not Clear »

Today’s game has historical implications for a number of reasons, many of which are surrounding Tom Brady’s chance at becoming one of the winningest playoff QBs of all time. Only three people have won four Super Bowls, and Brady has a chance today to become the fourth with a win against the Giants. His coach, [...]

Continue reading about Bill Belichick’s Legacy in the Hobby and the Game »

Back before the beginning of the season, Topps released Inception to the delight of people like myself. Its combination of hard signed cards and an awesome design was a perfect vehicle for a pre-season product. In fact, it was so well designed that people still believe it is one of the contenders for product of [...]

Continue reading about 2011 Topps Inception vs 2011 Topps Precision – Battle of the Silver »

I love me some variations in sets like this. Not only does it add potential value to the packs with adding very little cost to the box, but they give a chase element to cards that have become relatively worthless as individuals outside of a set. In fact, the sets themselves have become relatively worthless, [...]

Continue reading about 2012 Topps Baseball SSP Variations: Most Expensive Ever? »

When Panini put out the first edition of Plates and Patches last year, there were parts of the set that were absolutely awesome, and many parts of the set that were so bad, I cannot assign an adjective to them. This year, Panini is bringing it back for a second go around, this time with [...]

Continue reading about 2011 Plates and Patches is Live and Completely Forgettable »

Topps Precision, the second to last product from Topps this year, hit stores today to much anticipation. After busting a few boxes myself, and seeing what the product has to offer, I think it definitely succeeds in a lot of ways I don’t think a product like this has ever succeeded. Don’t get me wrong, [...]

Continue reading about 2011 Topps Precision is Live – Nicely Done »

National media attention does weird things to the hobby, which is exactly why I cant fault Topps for going to this level of extreme on their 2012 product. Although there is zero chance these prices continue to be replicated, the new Skip Schumaker Rally Squirrel SSP variation cards has already reached ridiculous heights on eBay. [...]

Continue reading about Topps’ Latest Card In the National Media Spotlight »

By the time this part of the season rolled around last year, we were already well past products like Topps Magic. Although 2010 Magic was pretty much a way for Topps to rid their stores of all the extra stickers they had lying around, I thought it was a great looking product. I couldnt bring [...]

Continue reading about 2011 Topps Magic Doesnt Pull the Rabbit Out of the Hat »

The next few weeks have a battle that many products have approached and few have succeeded with winning. The fight between Panini’s Contenders and the latest crop of rookie products is a very hard one to win, if not only because of collector loyalty. We know that visual appeal, design and look has nothing to [...]

Continue reading about Can 2011 Topps Precision Unseat Playoff Contenders? »

Without many exceptions, I have hated those gaudy inserts that were popular back in the late 1990s. Although many people love them above all else, spending the price of a car to buy some of the rarer ones, I cannot stand the busy designs and the awful foilboard. Again, they are some of the most [...]

Continue reading about Why Are These Cards Worth So Much?!? »

For a very long time, I have considered what it would take for a high end product to be ultimately successful in the baseball arena, where many of the players who have the most value are dead or not signing. One idea that was championed by Upper Deck, was to go the route of on [...]

Continue reading about 2012 Topps Tribute Looks To Capitalize on Unique Autographs »

Panini just doesnt get it when it comes to football cards. Ones that most of us shake our heads over, are ENORMOUS RIDICULOUS SUCCESSES to them, and I can tell you its past the point of parody with the people whose opinions I value. I mean, when cards that DONT NEED a big white box [...]

Continue reading about Panini’s Plates and Patches is Destined for the Bargain Bin »

Last week, Leaf tried to be the first to market with Andrew Luck cards that catered to the instant gratification of the hobby. Unfortunately for them, there was a major error in the production of the cards themselves, with a spelling error being a determining factor in cancelling their eBay onslaught planned for the product. [...]

Continue reading about Andrew Luck Error Cards Heating Up »

In baseball, there is not many times where a player of Albert Pujols switches to a new team and a new league. It happened twice with Alex Rodriguez, and should happen shortly with guys like Prince Fielder and a few others next year. Players just dont stay with the same team for their whole career [...]

Continue reading about Topps Wins Big With New Players in New Homes »

To start 2011, many of the people around the league thought that the NFL was the Packers’ world, and that everyone else was just living in it. Now that they have been dismantled by, another team has taken hold in the NFC, and collectors are catching on quickly. The 49ers are made up of a [...]

Continue reading about 2011 NFL Playoffs – Alex Smith and His Band of Misfits Make a Run »

Andrew Luck is going to be the first pick of the draft, and as it stands right now, he could unseat one of the greatest ever as the starter for the Colts if everything goes as expected. Collectors obviously have a good understanding of the potential Luck displays, as his autographs and other memorabilia has [...]

Continue reading about Andrew Luck Makes His Long Awaited Card Debut »

I have said on a frequent basis that Basketball cards function so much on high end that it is almost stupid to go any other direction. It is something that Upper Deck did better than any other company, and something that Panini has generally not succeeded at. The one product that has garnered some collectability [...]

Continue reading about Panini and Blake Griffin – What Could Have Been »

Limited is live as we speak, and personally I find it awfully intriguing that it is going up against the recent release of Topps Supreme. The format and prices of the products are relatively similar, though Limited does have a few advantages in both collector loyalty and on card autographs for a small portion of [...]

Continue reading about 2011 Panini Limited is Live – Falls Well Short of Previous Year’s Success »

Thanks to all who participated!
Scans will be uploaded shortly.

Hope there is a Jamie Harper fan who ended up with the Titans!
Random for the 8 piece jersey book winner was Aaron L.
Cards will be shipped tomorrow to the big winners!

Continue reading about SCU Breaks – 2 Box Group Break of 2011 Topps Supreme! »

I love perusing the completed eBay auctions by highest price to see some of the ridiculous sales that do and do not take place. Over the last few months, Michael Jordan has become a frequent repeat offender of the highest completed sales, mainly in regards to rare jerseys, autographs, and inserts from the late 1990s. [...]

Continue reading about Rare Air: The Michael Jordan High End Debate »

Sorry for the lateness here, something came up with my family and I just made it home. Break is filmed, and will be posted tomorrow morning. We hit a nice card – booklet style, and the results were definitely pretty cool. I hate to keep you waiting, but I promise it will all be up [...]

Continue reading about Topps Supreme Break Posted Tomorrow – Video is Uploading »

The Packers had a pretty nice run during this past season, only to see it come abruptly to an end versus New York yesterday. Even though they only lost one game during the regular season, their overall performance will never be etched in history the way it probably should be, and the question becomes more [...]

Continue reading about 2011 NFL Playoffs – Packers Loss Detrimental to Rodgers’ Long Term Value? »

Tight ends are never worth anything in this hobby. I have said it over and over again, but it wont change anything about the situation that collectors subscribe to with each new player that comes through the league. This week’s playoff games have obviously made the best case to take the scenario and turn it [...]

Continue reading about 2011 NFL Playoffs – Tight Ends Make a Push for Greatness Among Collectors »

Its been a very long time since we have done a group break on the site, but Topps Supreme has proven to be the perfect product to utilize for this particular venture. Here is the way it will work. I will offer sixteen slots for all of you to buy, and each slot will consist [...]

Continue reading about SCU Breaks: Topps Supreme Group Break (2 Boxes) »

I remember back in 2007 when Topps Triple Threads was released with the first regularly produced booklet cards in Football. Although the booklet had been around in basketball previously, Topps made it famous. I have to say, I hated every minute of it, mainly because there was always more of a focus on the swatches [...]

Continue reading about Topps’ Past Disasters Solved Nicely With Supreme’s Chase Hits »

After seeing the initial auctions and some of the awesome looking cards for 2011 Supreme, I KNEW I needed to buy a box or two just to see what I could get. I stopped by Sports Cards Plus in San Antonio, and was delighted to find they had 2 boxes left from their case today. [...]

Continue reading about 2011 Topps Supreme – 2 Box SCU Break »

Last year I hated Topps Supreme. Not only did I hate it, but Im surprised the rest of the collectors out there loved it as much as they did. It was such a hit and miss product, pack wise, that I was completely against buying any boxes. On top of that, the singles looked like [...]

Continue reading about 2011 Topps Supreme is LIVE and Impressive »

For twenty plus years, Ken Griffey Jr was the face of Upper Deck, and for that matter, the face of the game. Griffey’s dynamic play, moon shot home runs and overall success was one of the main reasons that Upper Deck was what it was. Even after injuries brought his career potential from one of [...]

Continue reading about Topps Brings New Addtions to 2012 Allen and Ginter »

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about how much more I would love to see Sports Art as a focus of products in the future. I feel that quality paintings, with hard signed signatures could be a very successful part of a product, especially due to how awesome they usually turn out. Art is [...]

Continue reading about Further Testimony On Sports Art In The Hobby »

For the playoffs every year, there are always storylines that have major hobby impact for seasons to come. It is the time where national attention shines on the good and the bad, especially as the rounds move closer to the Super Bowl. There are always a few players who gain the spotlight they would normally [...]

Continue reading about 2011 NFL Playoffs – Late Round Picks Living the Dream »

Tonight, the Lions are going to face off against the hottest team in the league, on the road. With both starting QBs eclipsing 5000 passing yards on the season, its easy to say that there is some major firepower that is going to be on display. Brees, the current record holder doesnt have much to [...]

Continue reading about 2011 NFL Playoffs – Matthew Stafford Comes Roaring Back to the Hobby »

Did Panini fire all of their card designers and use people who have no idea what they are doing? Card design at Panini this year has gone from poor to, “AVERT YOUR EYES!!!” Since that we have seen design failure after design failure for collector favorite football products, there should be no question that the [...]

Continue reading about 2011 Panini Limited – The Death of the Last Shard of Quality »

In the last 3 years, companies have made a welcome and conceded effort to get some fan favorite defensive players into products. Because of the fact that defensive guys are rarely ever worth any money due to the lack of glamor surrounding the positions, they have (rightfully) been left out of just about every autograph [...]

Continue reading about Defensive Diamonds In the Rough – Exceptions to the Rule »

I previewed some images that Topps released a few weeks ago to show a little bit of what Five Star is looking like before it hits shelves in late February. It is shaping up to be on the same level as it was last year, and I think Topps continues to impress with their chops [...]

Continue reading about 2011 Topps Five Star – More Previews Continue the Amazing Display »

Soon, the NFL season will be over and the draft will be upon us. Much like last year, there is a metric ton of talented skill players that will translate to huge value in the hobby. Similarly, with previous year products coming out well into the window between the postseason and the draft, we now [...]

Continue reading about 2012 NFL Draft – A Good Opportunity For Great Rookie Cards »