And the celebration continues...

I know that this may be overkill.  But at the same time, it's a launching point for myself in my little sector of this enormous hobby.

It was, after all, Nic Batum who got me back into collecting basketball.  It was my growing collection of Nic Batum RC's that first inspired me to try to start a site - although it was Wax Heaven's initial closure that pushed me 'all in' as they say.  So here's a bit of overkill for our favorite player.

Last night was just a huge event in the house.  It was loud.  And there is always that mentality of 'look to the next game', 'get that next card' or what have you.  But for today there is no new Blazer game.  So I'll continue to be thrilled.  Bear with me.  Tomorrow is Monday, and there should be some new cards from the Bay - and there's this for a great Sunday after-glow.

It's just a good day to be a fan. 

Nicolas Batum's career game

Finally it happened.  Batum was left in the game long enough to build a stat line worthy of an All-Star.  And more importantly, he was given permission to score.

Batum played over 33 minutes.  That's a huge step up from the 20-23 minutes that he had been getting.  Pretty much he got to play an extra quarter.  And boy did he make that quarter count.  Just to let you know, he had 22 points in the 3rd quarter.

His complete line was 31 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 0 turnovers, 11-16 fromt the field and that includes 5 of 8 from the 3 point line.  5 three pointers.  Huge.

His 33 minutes led the team in minutes played.  I have to give coach some credit on this one.  When the starters built the lead, he left Batum in for an extended period with Roy and Miller to maintain the lead. 

There was serious celebration in my house.  I cracked open the scotch and toasted the performance.  His RC prices may never be the same.  But I'm too happy to care. 

Blazers look to bounce back against the T'Wolves - 2/27

It's always horrible to watch your team lose in overtime.  Once again, the Blazers were up against a quality opponent in a streaking Bulls team - up by 9 and rolling - and we end up losing in overtime.

Evidently Coach McMillan has got the rotation down pat.  Play starters, build lead, mix and match, show 'em you're the boss, lose the lead...repeat.  At least the Blazers are consistent.  But the one thing the Blazers do well is beat up on lower teams.  And tonight is Minnesota.  And I'm thinking it's just what the doctor ordered. 

I do love it when Portland travels east.  Easy competition and early games.

Now if the Blazers make me a liar, I could always just delete this post.

Oh, but I did get a Certified Import in today.  Mail from the bay is always so fun to open.  The Imports are coming together quite nicely.  Hopefully I'll have wrangled them all in by next week.  I'm still shopping the lowest prices and trying like mad to combine shipping as much as possible.

In any event, here's Nene:

Thabeet going to the D-League

Just reported on NBA.com, Hasheem Thabeet is being sent to the D-League.  Thabeet is now the highest drafted player in the history of the NBA to be sent to the D-League - he was drafted 2nd behind Griffin. 

First of all, let's push the 'pause' button and say what a dissapointment it's been for the top two picks of last year's draft.  Griffin and Thabeet were both drafted ahead of phenoms Evans and Jennings.  It just goes to show that you just don't know how it'll all shake out.

But anyway, I think that the D-League is getting to the point that it actually is a benefit to teams instead of a banishment for the players.  It's the DEVELOPMENT league.  How many times do struggling young hitters and pitchers get sent to AAA to get their game back - even if they weren't injured to begin with.  It's a lesser league.  It's a chance to slow the game down, take the pressure off - and develop.

Memphis is a great up and coming team.  Right now, they are blessed to have Haddadi and Gasol in the Center position.  And being 3.5 games back in the hunt for the 8th playoff spot, right now is the perfect time to send Thabeet down to get some confidence and some serious playing time.  It's a lock that Thabeet will walk into the D-League team as the starter too.  Thabeet is 7 foot 3 inches.  The upside on this guy is huge.  I hope that he uses this time to work, and doesn't use it to dwell on what a failure he must feel his season has been in a personal sense. 

Thabeet is avering 2.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks a game.  And for a guy well over 7 feet tall, that's a dissapointment.  But he needs to count his blessings.  He should be thankful that his only problem is finding his move to the rim and not rehabbing a broken knee.  Really, for a tall guy, the injury bug hasn't tagged him yet.

On a hobby note, I would still buy up some Thabeet RC's.  The price will probably be great right now.  And I really do think that he'll come back and be a force in the league.  He's still young.

Panini beginning to release Contenders Rookie SP numbers

Press Release:
Panini Announces Contenders Basketball Short Prints


After weeks of anticipation, officials at Panini America confirmed the existence of short prints in 2010 Playoff Contenders Basketball.


“Unlike football, where there were more than 100 rookies in the autographed Rookie Ticket insert, there are just 35 rookie players in Contenders Basketball,” said Panini Basketball Brand Manager David Porter. “But even with a considerably smaller rookie checklist, some of the Rookie Ticket cards were still produced in fewer quantities than others in the set.”


The following players are printed to 499 or fewer: Hasheem Thabeet, James Harden, Tyreke Evans, Jordan Hill, Brandon Jennings and Tyler Hansbrough.


These players were produced to 649 or fewer: Blake Griffin, Dante Cunningham, Earl Clark, Jonny Flynn, Stephen Curry and Terrence Williams.

 

 

My quick two cents:

Well, I can say that Panini got this one right in the fact that they didn't make a ton of RC's to chase like they did in football.  35 RC's is an attainable number for a collector of this set - and there are always those folks who love nothing more than to chase Contenders RC's in both football and basketball.

Personally, I like the Contenders model for releasing the SP numbers.  Unlike Bowman, where nearly everybody knows what a Red Refractor is numbered to, the Contenders feels like a double lottery.  Not only do you pull the card, but you don't really know if you're sitting on super-short print gold or not.  Obviously, the release above doesn't list the specific numberings yet, but it's looking like it's going to be a better lot than what the football chasers got this year.

If you're thinking about building an insert/auto set this year, this might be the one you would look into.  Jennings, Evans and Curry alone would all be great additions to any collection.  And with only 35 subjects, as long as you follow the league, you'll at least know who all the players are.

The wonder of perfect timing in an IPO

I use the term IPO (Initial Public Offering) for cards in the same way that the term is used for stocks.  When Panini Certified came out this year I watched the first boxes being broken on youtube.  I've told that story before - boy sees insert, boy loves insert, boy must make insert set his own.

So on the first day of the Panini Certified release, the very first cards started to trickle onto ebay.  Right now, if you type 'Certified Imports' into ebay search engine - you get 50-60 hits for cards.  On day one, when I first typed that into ebay, there was still three listings.  And one of the listings just happened to be from an inexperienced seller. 

In short, I struck gold on day one.  First off, he had a one day auction.  For the card I bought, he should've been more patient and waited a week to put it at a 3 day listing ending on a Sunday.  Or if he couldn't wait to list it to the market, he should've made a 7 day listing.  My luck, he made a one day listing, and I was all over it.

First let me show you the back of the card.

Andrei Kirilenko, Mr. AK-47.  At first glance at the back of the card you would think that it's just a very short numbered parrallel of the Imports set.  But it's so much more than that.

I'm not a Jazz fan.  In fact, I can't stand the Jazz or AK.  But when I saw this card, I had to have it.  So without further ado, here's the front of this spectacular card....

Ok, I made you scroll a bit for dramatic effect.  So there was a bit of ado.  Still....here it is.

A 3 color, 4 break patch card.  And remember, this card was purchased on the first day the boxes were even being busted.  Any guesses on what I paid for this card?  A patch card, numbered to 25, being an international favorite sells for....well, more than what I paid.

$5.25

Seriously, I paid just over 5 bucks for this card.  I got a steal.  A genuine steal.  I've still not decided what to do with it.  Far be it from me to keep a Jazz card in my house - on purpose - for a long time.  I will either wait until playoffs are upon us and relist it - and I'll seriously sell this card for a bunch more than what I bought if for.  Or......OR.....I can hold onto it and keep it as a prize for a future contest.  I'm up to suggestions.  If you readers think that this card would be something you'd like to win (say around playoffs time) I'll hold onto it and I'll part with it in a contest.  Or, if people who read this aren't into having a Jazz patch, I'll sell it.  Or we could have a contest and you could win and and sell it yourselves.

We'll see.  What does bum me out though is that this is actually the very first patch I've ever owned.  And it's a Utah player.  Seems backwards.  So let me know what you guys think.

5 bucks.  Amazing.  Take that 5 buck box Barkley!

Murad and Certified, the newest members

For a minute there, I went all introspective and sports reporter.  I guess I should show some basketball cards already.  Really, I couldn't be happier with these Certified Imports that I'm getting.  Now the market is getting flooded with the cards, the price is regularly dropping to the 1-2 dollar mark.  So this is a very affordable piece of the pie.  And I was worried it wouldn't be, since all the cards are numbered.  But Certified must be offering much more to the singles buyers that would have them pass over this offering.  Or it could be that only I would be going after lesser known international players.

Gasol, Turk and Casspi.  Really all pretty good players at good prices.  The only thing that I could gripe about this set is the "color" that denotes the numbering.  On these scans you really can't tell - but the color is from the 'Certified' emblem on the lower right hand corner of the card.

So they're numbered much like a Bowman - without really being different cards.  That's why I said that I'm putting the set together without regard to color or numbering - because the difference is so minor.

And then, through the wonders of combining shipping, I got a Laimbeer Murad relic that I still needed.  It puts my relic total at 20.  Suddenly 30 to go doesn't sound so tough.

I think that's what I'm really getting into the most in this Murad set is the variety.  As a one-player collector, I know that if I wasn't putting the entire Murad set together, I never would've had a Laimbeer relic - or a Larry Bird, for that matter.  And I can look at it and I know that my collection is just much more rich now that I know I'll have all these different players that I wouldn't normally have had.

Rudy Fernandez to return to Spain?

Sometimes, I'm glad I speak Spanish.  Otherwise, I wouldn't have understood this bit of news.

Mallorcaconfidencial.com, is saying that they've spoken to Rudy Fernandez, and he's not ruling out returning to Spain next year.  For reals?  And do you know what he lists as the reason?  The coach, Nate McMillan.

The same coach who recognizes that Batum is the defensive specialist - and lets leads slip away with Batum on the bench.  In fact, at Toronto Batum played less than 20 minutes.  But that's here nor there.  But I will say that the Blazers had a sizeable lead that, once again, nearly dissapeared.

But Rudy, who speaks Spanish, is much more open with the Spanish media.  Here's a quote:

“McMillan es un entrenador que tiene las cosas muy claras, que va a muerte con su filosofía y muchas veces yo no entro en ella. Yo intento amoldarme a lo que él dice y jugar como él quiere, pero no noto esa confianza que en el primer año tenía”

Translation:

"McMillan is a coach that a clear view of things, that will go to the grave with his philosophy and many times I'm not a part of his philosophy.  I try to mold myself to what he says and play likes he wants me to play, but I don't see the confidence like there was in my first year".

Pretty heavy stuff.  And it's what people on the outside have said about McMillan the entire year.  He's a task master who has his ideas about things.  His word is final.  Right or wrong, they're going to do it Nate's way.

Is it any surprise that Rudy played nearly 32 minutes tonight versus the Raptors?  This month of February he's averaged 23 minutes a game.  Blazers' brass knew about the comments Rudy made.  And I have to think that they told Nate, "Play Rudy.  He's going to leave, you horses ass."

Rudy goes on to say in the interview:  “Ahora mismo, y en esta situación, no descarto nada. Lo único que quiero es jugar y me puede dar igual dónde sea”,

Traslation:

"Right now, in this situation, I don't rule anything out.  The only thing I want is to play and it's all the same to me wherever it is."

Those are fighting words.  He's sticking it to Nate in full view of everybody.  He's insinuating he'd rather leave the league than ride the pine under McMillan's rigid system for one more year.  Who can blame him?  I'm going to have to learn French.  Maybe Batum is saying something similar and I'd have no idea.

This is serious stuff.  Rudy is really the first player to lay the challenge down to Blazers HQ.  And he's saying, "it's coach or me."  Please, please, please let it be the coach.

- The 100th Post -

The 100th post.  It kind of snuck up on me.  Really, there was only two things it could've been about; I either go the Murad route or I go the Batum route.

I choose Batum.

Really, when a person becomes a player collector, the whole world kind of flips upside down.  That sounds silly, but if we weren't a bit 'touched' to begin with, we wouldn't spend our entertainment budgets on pictures of athletes.

It's the same mentality for people who collect vintage sets.  It's a complusion to complete - to have order.  As well, it's an avenue to have a tangible connection to the past.  I remember when I tracked down several of the '63 Dodgers (the year my dad was born) and how I felt an instant connection to the team my grandfather always rooted for.  Holding those cards as they rolled in from the mail, I felt in some way that I was holding a piece of my family history in front of me. 

And in a sense, contemporary player collections are the same way.  We complete, and create order, because it's a conscious act to keep a connection to what will one day be our past.  Some day my girls will hold my Batum collection - or my grandkids if I don't make my daughters become nuns - and they'll know that holding that Blazers history in their hands is really akin to having a part of their family history.  They'll remember sitting with their papa eating popcorn and yelling when the three ball went up from the corner.  They'll remember what life was like when they were children.  And hopefully I'm giving them a great childhood worth recalling.

In so many ways, I mark my life by the sports I watch.  The father daughter dance I went to last week was the first event I've ever had like that with my daughters.  Ten years from now, I won't be able to say what the date was of that event.  But my daughters and I can look at that picture and I'll know that it was a Friday that the Blazers were playing at home against the Celtics.  And I'll remember that because it was the first game of the year that I wasn't able to watch the tip off.

Is it crazy?  Probably.  But we all do it.  How many times have you had a conversation with your grandfather and the only reason they can recall a specific year or date is because of what happened in sports that day?  It happens to us all the time.  We measure our lives as much by the sports we watch as we do anything else.

And in a way, being a player collector is just a much more involved form of that.  I remember my birthday last year was the last preseason game of the year.  And it was Batum's last game before the team shut him down for surgery.  I'll remember that.  Because when I got the news, my NBA season just looked bleak from then on out.  One of the worst birthday presents ever.  Ever.

My daughters know who Nicolas Batum is.  In the same way we watched Michael Jordan as children, my kids watch the Blazers and know the players as well as most.  So in that way, as it's always been with children and their fathers - when you don't want to talk about work or school or bills or the day's harder points, you can still sit down at about 7pm and root for your favorite player.  You agree when he was fouled and it wasn't called.  You groan with the missed free throw.  You bond and you interact - and all of a sudden, when you're not looking, a game that you have no part in - and a player you may never personally know - changes your dynamic in your home.  And for at least three hours you're in agreement with those around you.

So this is the 100th post.  I'm glad I've kept this up this long.  It's really been a gratifying experience.  I've found several new friends with incredibly similar interests.  And I've found a new buddy who likes good beer, the Blazers and Star Wars in TJ.  I've made trades with Madding and Offy, people I'd never have known about had it not been for this project.  I've received correspondence from Austrailia and Mexico and a whole host of other places.  And each day my inbox brings a new connection.

Here's to more posts!  And thanks to everybody for their readership.  I truly appreciate it.

Here's Batum's latest greatest highlight so that I might mark the occasion properly.  Our house erupted when this happened.  Even though we lost the game, it was classic Batum all the way.



Oh, and my piece of history for missing the tip off against Boston.  I think it was worth the sacrifice.

Yeah.  They're worth it.

Hey Stackhouse guy, tell the whole story...

First off, this will be my 99th post on this site.  I wouldn't waste post number 100 on an admonishment of an anonymous poster.  But being number 99, I guess it's ok.

For the casual readers of the site, let me fill you in (and become more than casual readers if you would).  A while back, I was at home, on a day off, looking for something newsworthy to post on this site.  And while browsing NBA.com, I came across an article that said that Jerry Stackhouse was being brought in by the Bucks to replace an injured star player.  It was newsworthy because a) when Stackhouse left the league, he wasn't very good anymore, and b) he hadn't actually played in the league for over a year.

I thought that it was kind of back-asswards for the Bucks to try to make a legitimate push for the postseason in that manner (they've since made other deals that I feel has recitified the situation - but this is about Stackhouse).  Let's face it, given what the Bucks were willing to do to deal right before the trade deadline, they had options.  They even had players they were willing to part with to take on pieces that gave them a better chance.  Between trading and the D-League call-ups, they had options.  But they went with Stackhouse.  Fine.  I'm content to point and laugh.  And I still attest that Brandon Jennings deserved more in his lineup than what he got.  At the time, the race was neck and neck between Jennings and Evans for ROY balloting.  And the Stackhouse move helped to quell that a bit.

Enter Stackhouse guy.  Stackhouse guy is an ANONYMOUS poster.  Never puts a picture, face, website or email to back up his ramblings.  He pretty much just likes to sit back and take jabs at me and my merry band of readers with his ignorant rants that Stackhouse is great - and so are other veterans.  SIDE NOTE:  I don't hate veterans.  But if my team decided to bring in a non-player for over a year to bridge the team to next season, I would be pissed.

I could handle the fact that he's Stackhouse guy.  If all he wanted to do was talk about how great Stackhouse is, I'd be fine with that.  But he crossed the line.  He's going after Batum now in his endless quest to prove that I'm wrong and he's right.  Batum, my wife and kids and my Star Wars are off-limits.  Maybe not in that order....but still.

Here's his latest jab on my post about Batum being inserted into the starting lineup.

Anonymous said...



2 points, 0 assists, 1 rebound what a nice line. I hope if I ever get shot it is with a gun like that.

February 24, 2010 10:12 AM

Now it's on like Donkey Kong.  First off, like the title says, tell the whole story. 

Batum only played 22 minutes against the Nets.  Why?  I have no idea.  I'm not the coach, I don't defend coaching like that.  It's wrong.  When you have a 21 point lead that gets cut to a 5 point lead (and your center goes out) you'd think that you'd want some defense in there.  Nate McMillan apparantly doesn't feel that way.  So what do I say to that?  He's a 21 year old kid with the freshest legs on the squad, and coach is content to let the lead slip (AGAIN) to prove a point about something he feels he's doing better than everyone else.  Can't help that.  Won't defend it.  I'm a Blazer honk, but coach is wrong.

Now, he did only have two points.  But he played the bulk of his minutes with the starting squad.  So when Brandon Roy is healthy and he and Aldridge both get 28 and 27 points respectively - and oh yeah, the starting PG Miller makes it a 20 point night - it's clear that Batum isn't even the third scoring option in that lineup.  And that's ok.

So here's some Paul Harvey for you Stackhouse guy.  Now, the rest of the story...

In those 22 minutes he also had 3 blocks (led the team) and a steal.  He's the defensive stopper.  I can't attest to why he doesn't play more than he should.  But he's starting, and that's what counts.

I've thrown the gauntlet down Stackhouse guy.  And I continue to leave anonymous commenting on my site?  Why, because I'm not ah-scared of you.  I can take it.  You?  I'm thinking not so much.

Finally some great news

Nicolas Batum has surpassed Martell Webster as the starting Forward in the Blazers lineup.  'Bout time coach figured this whole thing out.  Obviously talent won out over whatever Nate had envisioned.

Batum is playing well.  All Nic needs is a defined role, and a sense of direction and he's lethal.  He's a bit like a gun like that.  Just point and shoot and it's over.

Just an FYI to all the readers out there.  It's on.  We're making the playoffs.

My first Certified Imports are here

I posted earlier that I caught a glimpse of 09/10 Panini Certified on youtube and one of the insert sets caught my eye.  I'm a foreign player honk.  And when I saw the Certified Imports set, I knew that they would have to be mine.

So my rules for the set aren't as strict as they would be for a player collection.  There are many variations in the set as far as colors.  I'm just going to pick up a card of each player, regardless of color coding the thing.

Here are my first two:

I picked up a Yao and a Big Z card.  Both were had for about a buck before shipping.  But I got them before people really knew they were even being offered.  A couple of the next cards on the way took me into the 3-4 dollar range - still acceptable though.

The cards have a great passport look to them.  And I like the fact that the players action shots are in front of their flags.  A Chinese flag on a basketball card may not be a popular idea in theory, but here it looks pretty good. 

It's not overwhelming, nor does it have a 'propaganda' feel to it.  It just is what it is.  Yao's Chinese.  Simple.

I still wish Batum was in the set playing in front of a French flag, but that's another story.  Maybe next year.

The backs are also nice.  Sometimes backs of insert cards are pretty devoid of any personality.  These are pretty cool in fact.

Again, a Chinese flag.  But it works.  Not in the 'knock you over the head' WBC fashion.

Did anybody else know that Big Z was Lithuanian, by the way?  Completely didn't know that.

In any event.  The set is manageable (15 cards) and the prices so far on ebay aren't astronomical.  The trick is to find a seller that has a bunch for sale to combine shipping.

Either way, I'm happy with the purchase.  And I can't wait to put this set together.

Sunday Pack Battle - SO INCREDIBLY AWESOME

Well, at least it's an awesome Pack Battle if you're a fan of CCG's.  And especially if you're a fan of the greatest CCG ever invented:  Star Wars Customizable Card Game.

For this Pack Battle, I pitted two packs of 2010 Topps Basketball vs. two packs of the Reflections set from Star Wars.  Let me tell you right off the bat, I'm setting Topps up to fail here.

First off, Star Wars Reflections is a compilation set.  It combines the best from Star Wars Premiere, A New Hope, Hoth, Dagobah, Cloud City, Jabba's Palace and Special Edition expansions.  Each pack includes one foil card of one of 114 rare cards that were offered in the first six releases.  And you get 18 cards a pack.  I never bought this stuff when it first came out.  I now wish I would've.

So, I went through the packs and picked the best 4 cards to represent their brand.  First the basketball:

Now, this is the first pack pulled Nic Batum I've ever owned.  That's pretty cool in itself.  It's funny to think that he's been offered so sparingly in releases to this point, that I've just barely pulled a card of him myself.  So there's a major plus for Topps right off the bat. 

Also featured are LaMarcus and KG going to the rim.  KG playing in the purple painted area is just a really visually appealing card.

And finally, Rudy is getting taken to the hole.  But it looks like Rudy is farting on they guy.  So I laughed.  I'm juvenile sometimes.  All in all, no SP's, but a pretty good set of 4 cards.








NOW TO THE STAR WARS

What is that you see?  Is that a foil Boba Fett card?  Holy crap it is. 

First off, the Boba Fett is from the Cloud City set.  Pretty much the only reason to buy the Cloud City set (which was weak by any player's standard) was to get the Boba Fett card.  And here I pull the Fett IN FOIL.

The value in monetary value is easily enough to buy a few more packs of the stuff, but why bother.  The value of the card to a player/collector is greater than that.  Plus the other foil is an undercover Han Solo card.  Pretty cool as well.  It's a better Han card because it gives him armor - trust me, it's important when his ability doesn't allow him to dodge lightsabers all that often.

The rifle is another great character weapon, and the interrupt card is one of the better cards to come out of Cloud City as well.

A really enjoyable break.  It makes me want to play Star Wars...right now.  But that will have to wait.  Obviously the Star Wars wins out here.  To a sports card collector, it's hard to explain exactly how cool it is to pull a foil Boba - but you'll have to take my word for it.

Star Wars Rules.

Blazer lose by 20...and other things that chap my @ss

Well, it's sure a good thing that Brandon Roy came back last night to play at an injured pace.  Not only did the Blazers lose by 20 to the Celtics, but we were all on the edge of our seats just waiting for B Roy's hammy to pop again.

And Camby didn't get the matchups he should've got all the time.  Camby should've been in only when Garnett was in.  I think Boston had like 50 or 60 points in the paint.  Really?  Of course, we weren't scoring, but having a defensive stopper in when the team was in the lane might've helped slow the bleeding.

Batum is a great defensive guy too.  Maybe he should've played more than 12 minutes.

And Roy, like I said, came back and surprise surprise, nobody knows who's supposed to shoot the ball again.  Roy hasn't been playing for a month, and now balls are being forced to him when he's not in playing shape yet.

It was a mess.  I turned it off before it ended.  That doesn't happen often.

So, I'm going to go watch the Everton vs. Manchester United game I DVR'd this morning.  Ordinarily I'd be nervous, but the Blues just beat Chelsea last weekend, so anything is possible.

I'm really glad there's not Blazer game on tonight.  I need a cooling off period. 

NBA Trade Breakdown...are the Knicks the scariest team of 2011?

Well, the trade deadline has come and gone, and now a day later, the dust has settled and we can see where everybody stands.

First off, the Knicks.  Holy Camole the Knicks really pulled it off.  All season, the discussion has been focused on whether or not the Knicks would be able to pare their roster down far enough to be able to make a push next season to offer two max contracts.  And they did it.

To put it in perspective, they're only on the hook for 18 millon dollars for the beginning of next season in roster salary.  That's absolutely ridiculous.  So, in theory, they are in a position to offer Lebron and D Wade max contracts.  Lebron and Bosh max contracts.  Lebron and Amare' max contracts.

It absolutely astronomical how good the Knicks could be next year.  In short, they got rid of Nate Robinson to the Celtics - which was huge for Dantoni I'm sure.  Robinson had worn out his welcome with the coach.  And they take on Tracy McGrady's expiring contract from Houston.  Whether T Mac plays or not...eh, it's a coin toss.  T Mac isn't really a character guy.

So, there's that.  And another trade that kinda floted under the radar is Theo Ratliff to the Bobcats from the Spurs for a draft pick.  The Bobcats really could be good, and Ratliff isn't a horrible player by any means.  And they traded for Tyrus Thomas.  So it's good to see another East Coast team making the moves to be competitive.

And if Memphis wasn't stellar enough as an up and coming team, they trade a future first round pick to get Ronnie Brewer from the Jazz.  Memphis is the next Portland.  If they can stay healthy, they'll be scary good in a year or two.

There were other trades as well.  I'd talk about the Cavs getting Jamison, but I'm kinda pissed off that they just got that much better.  They may now really be the favorite to beat the Lakers.

And there were trades that didn't get done.  Stoudemire is stuck in the desert.  Sucks to be him.  He really thought he was on the way out.  He'll have his agent to thank for not keeping his mouth shut about the 100% chance of getting traded.  But Phoenix remains strong with him. 

And the biggest non-move?  Batum and Fernandez stay in Portland.  There were a lot of teams gunning for the international flair.  Good Kevin Pritchard.  Well done on keeping them here.

Just starting the 3rd page of the Murad relics

Card number 19 - it's an odd feeling starting the 3rd page of relics.  It's now substantial.  It feels like a true collection forming up.  And it's great motivation to keep going to see all 50 relics and all autos in the set. 

And luckily, I'm seeing that the insert set for Certified isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg if I get on it right off the bat.  And I also bought a patch card version of an Import card for dirt cheap.  So that'll be coming.  Maybe I'll use that for a contest in the future.  We'll see.

But I digress, here's the latest addition.

OMG! OMG! An 09/10 Insert set that I will most definetely want.

So, Panini Certified just went live, and I watched a box break on youtube.  For the most part, I though it was kind of the same ho-hum interchangeable, shiny, cut-off at the junk, metallic, foil release that Panini has given us this year.  In fact, the only set that wasn't more chromed out than a cholo's El Camino from Panini was their flagship set.  I wonder why that is?  But that's beside the point.

Either way, I'm watching a box break on youtube and the Elite/Certified/Presitge interchangeable base cards are rolling by when an Omri Caspi card comes up that looks like a passport.  And they're called Certified Imports.  What the hell?  I must investigate.  To the Google machine!  And well, here's what I found.

The list of the subjects in the insert set is a bit lacking, but it's a start.  Here's who's on the list:

Andrea Bargnani
Andrew Bogut
Boris Diaw
Dirk Nowitzki
Hasheem Thabeet
Hedo Turkoglu
Kelenna Azubuike
Manu Ginobili
Nene
Omri Casspi
Pau Gasol 
Steve Nash
Yao Ming
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Andrei Kirilenko

Now, not all of these are in the GU list and auto list.  At least according to Panini's website.  And I admit, I'm a bit abashed that two of the more popular international stars in Portland got snubbed from the list (Azubuike?  Really?)

The truth is that this list could've been 30 or 40 members deep and it would've been popular all the same.  I'm definetely going to be looking for the base of the list.  I'm not going to plunk down a ton for the auto list (I've got enough autos to buy with the Murad set coming up).

But I really feel that this is an affirmation of what a group of collector's has been waiting for.  And leave it to Panini who's been covering international soccer to deliver it.  Well done Panini.  It's not enough to get me to shell out 70 bucks for a box, but it's enough to get me to scour the secondary market.  So that's a start.

Could this Blazer season be any more frustrating?

So we get Camby, and we have our fingers crossed that it all works out.

But now we have Brandon Roy saying last night that he was questioning playing in the remainder of the season.  And now it's reported that he plans to try to play Friday against the Celtics.  Really? 

Can't we find a happy medium?  Maybe shut it down for two weeks and then see how he feels.  Really, when he played against the Sixers and hurt it again, we knew that he wasn't ready.  And last night, he never looked strong, and tweaked it again.

So playing a physical team like the Celtics is an ok move?  I don't get it.

But I won't get to watch the first half.  Turns out, I have a Father / Daughter dance on Friday night.  And my girl is pretty excited about it.  What am I going to do?  Tell her 'no'?  I don't think so.

I'm sure I can find a fellow father who has a phone with the scores on it.

Massive Murad Haul

Movin' on up....

Today I got five more Murad relics in the mail, along with several SP's that I needed.  It's been a fun day.  I put new tires on the rig, took my wife to Joann's Fabrics (which makes me happy because she'll be happy for at least two weeks with all the stuff she got) and I got a great mailday.  PLUS, I got my Wii classic controllers in the mail today so that I can finally play my NBA 2K10.  Oh, did I mention there's a Blazer game tonight? 

Really, could a day off be any cooler than this?  Not even if Jerry Stackhouse came by to start up a pick-up game.

Here's the swag:

Let me introduce you to Amar'e Stoudemire, Michael Cooper, Joe Johnson, Andre Iguodala, and Vince Carter.  And the Carter card is numbered out of /51.  That tidbit wasn't even mentioned on the ebay listing.  How cool is that to get one of the SP relics completely by surprise.  I don't know how well you can see it on the scan, but it's there.  That makes 18 relics.  And that means I have two full sheets of Murad relics.  It's a beautiful thing.

I also cut my base down, I now only need 20 cards - and only two of those are SP's.  So that's not bad.

Like I said, all in all, a really great day.

Trade Shake-up in Blazer Land

I don't know how I should feel about this trade.  In case you haven't heard, it's just about a done deal that the Blazers will send Blake and Outlaw to the Clippers for Marcus Camby.  And so the debate begins.

First off the positives:
1)  All contracts of players involved are expiring contracts after this season.  It was in doubt if Blake and Outlaw would come back next year anyway.  And Camby also is in the final year of his contract, so we're not locked in for a long term deal with him.

2)  It addresses the big-man issue on the Blazers' roster.  Now Camby and Aldridge are the same height, but Aldridge is a bit of a non-contact style player.  You don't see Aldridge pounding the paint a whole lot.  He doesn't like to be touched.  But that's why he's never injured.  He doesn't put himself in that position very often - if ever.

3)  The move clears up the point guard issue in Portland.  Now Miller will be the man, and there won't be a debate with Bayless and Miller like there was with Blake.  I like Blake, and he's clutch, but that role has been a thorn in the Blazers side all year.  Now we have some definition.

4)  The move avoids a log jam at the forward position between Outlaw, Webster and Batum.  Now coach will only have to realize that Batum should start and Webster will come off the bench (fingers crossed).  But there won't be a headache trying to find Outlaw minutes in the lineup.

Now the negative:

1)  CAMBY IS FREAKING OLD.  Hey Stackhouse guy, when my team brings in a guy who's old, I call them on it.  Granted, Camby was defensive player of the year just a couple of years ago.  He's aggressive and he defends.  But he's a bit long in the tooth.  It's very possible he goes the whole year without injury or incident - like Juwan Howard.  Howard is old too, but he was brought in as an insurance policy.  We're bringing Camby in to complete the playoff push.  So basically, we're telling him that we're counting on him not to get hurt and not to wear out.  The guy's been in the league for like 14 years.  It's a coin toss whether he goes the distance or not.

2)  Blake and Outlaw we're fan favorites.  It's going to be hard to see them go.  Outlaw was our 4th quarter guy.  Now we have to find that second option behind Roy to fill that role.

3)  Did I mention that Camby is 35 years old?

4)  When you get rid of two expiring contracts, you try to bring in a piece of the puzzle that's going to be around for a while.  Trading two expiring contracts has huge worth.  So many teams in the league would've looked twice at what the Blazers were offering.  I wish we could've gotten back a bit more in return for what we sent.

We'll have to see how this works out since the Blazers play the Clips today if I'm not mistaken.  That could be...awkward.

The power of bloggers and beer

So tonight, two powerhouse bloggers united and shared ideas over some American brew.  I met with TJ of All Your Base Cards, and shared some hobby ideas over some brews.

I had a Sierra Nevada (or several Sierra Nevada) and TJ had a wheat beer if I'm not mistaken.

Mmm.  Beer.....

And not only did we share a few brews, we also made some trades.  Trading basketball cards, over beer, in a pub....excellent.

So I traded all of my Panini inserts for a certain Murad relic.....of Mr. Bill Walton.

And it's numbered to 51 copies.  Not bad.  Not bad. 

I got home with a buzz and a Walton relic.  All in all, a pretty good day.

Contest winner is...

The winner of the contest is Matt.

He had the East by 3, and the East won by 2. 

And he also picked D. Wade as MVP, not that he needed it.

And the total was 280, he had 274.

So yeah, Matt is an All-Star guru.

I'll be writing you Matt for your mailing info.

Observations on the All-Star game at the half

First of all, Dallas Stadium is just crazy.  Jerry Jones is a lot of things, and now we can call him a genius as well.  Building that thing spoke to the American motto, "Bigger is better."  And it is in this case.  He can use that building for everything - and he probably will.

The NFL needs to take notes on how to put on a halftime show.  For reals.  I can't believe we had to sit through The Who this year.  Remember Paul McCartney?  Really, Janet Jackson is long gone.  It's ok to put on contemporary music again.

I don't care what anybody else says, Shakira is the MVP of the game.  Great googly moogly.  If you saw it, you know.  If you didn't see it, give it an hour or two and youtube that show.

The All-Star game really isn't about defense at all.  I keep waiting for a team to come out with some D just to throw a curveball, but it never happens.  Oh well.

The cutoff time for the contest entries.

Hey all.  The cut off for the contest is 5:30 Pacific time.  Make sure to get an entry in if you haven't yet.

Enter here.

And in an interesting twist of fate, we decided not to go out on V - Day.  So I get to watch the game.  Right after I play some Wii.  It's all good.

It's not quite MLB, but the NBA All-Star weekend is still pretty good

I love the NBA All-Star break.  I love the events, the skill and most of all, the pace.  The All-Star weekend is broken into great little manageable chunks, that it doesn't even really feel like it's any kind of a chore to catch it all.

I watched Durant win the HORSE contest.  That contest could be so much better if they made it more official and less comical with the hosts getting involved.  I'd love to watch a real competetive game of pro-level HORSE without Charles Barkley taking up air-time.

The ShootOut and the Point Guard challenges were ok, but not special.  But they were brief, so it was doable.  And the 3-Point shooting and Dunk Contests are always fun to watch.  This year's dunk contest was ruined by not having any props though.  It wasn't nearly to the level it was at in years past.

And tomorrow is the All-Star game.  Now, baseball still has the best All-Star weekend.  The Home Run Derby and the game itself are great to watch.  And, yes, it does mean something to win the game.  The NBA All-Star game is still fun though.  Although, I'm not sure I like them doing it on Valentines Day.  C'mon NBA.  How does a husband do the dinner and a movie and catch the game?

Either way, I think it should be a good game.  I may have to DVR it.  Though that's not bad, I can just fast forward through commercials and commentary.

Don't forget to enter the contest.

If I had to choose, I'd pick the West by 8, Durant the MVP and a total score of 230.  But that's just me.  Enter the contest below and fill out your pick there.

Good day...got a new Wii and some Murad

So I got the "kids" a new video game system.  Never mind that the system's first game purchase was NBA 2K10.  Hey, the girls can play wii sports too.

So that should be fun.  Freaking wiis are hard to come by nowdays.  I had to put a down payment on that sucker and wait for it.  I'll let you all know how much the Blazers and Batum are killing it in my new little Wii world I'm creating.

And I got some Murad in.  It's really been fun having this much mail coming in.  I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.  Because soon enough it will be back to getting mail every other week or so (if that).  So I got some more base in.  I'm only 38 cards to go on the base set.  And I've got more base coming in the mail - so that number will be less by the beginning of next week.

And I got these two relics in today.

I don't know which cut of the jersey the Gay came from, but it's really a super smooth material.  It's all of a sudden become my new favorite jersey card.  Gay, of course, but not like that.

All-Star game is coming up.  Make sure to enter the contest - and you must SIGN IN to enter.

My first ever contest

Well, it's All-Star Break time.  And I've been racking my brain how to maximize my little corner of the hobby in that great time between the end of the NFL season and the beginning of the MLB season.  Let's face it, this is the best time of the NBA season.  It really is.  After the break, the games pick up, there's huge playoff implications all around and there's no competition outside of hockey.  Not that I'm bagging on hockey, Captain Canuck.  But I've got soccer right now too, and hockey just doesn't fit at the moment.  I promise I'll watch the hockey playoffs again this year.

But I'm off track.  Again.

So this isn't a Murad post.  It isn't a Batum post.  And it isn't a Stackhouse post, Mr. Anonymous.  What the hell?  Are you related to Stackhouse or something?

In any event, here's my contest.  It's not got a huge prize since I've spent nearly all of my card funds on Murad, but it's still a prize nonetheless.

Here's what you got to do.  It's pretty easy.  First, tell me which side will win the NBA All Star game, East or West.

Second, tell me by how many points they will win by.

Third, tell me who will be the MVP from the winning squad (tie breaker number 1)
Fourth, tell me the total number of points scored in the game (tie breaker number 2)

I put the tie breakers in there because if, for example, you see that somebody put the West will win by 10 and that sounds good to you, you can put the West by 10 as well and then we'll move onto tiebreakers.

OK.  Just leave a comment on this post.  You must log in to blogger or your google account to enter.  If you don't have a google account, it's pretty easy to set up.  Just so that I can get in contact with the winner at the end.

So, winner, points won by, MVP, total game points.  Simple.

The prize? 

This Tyreke Evans RC auto out of the Panini flagship.  I know it's a sticker auto, but it's a Tyreke auto.  So that's pretty damn cool.  And if you win, tell me what team you root for, and I'll throw in a little something extra.

And it goes on and on

The Murad Quest goes on and on that is. 

Pretty good mailday today.  It's nice to see the set filling out.  I got a great help package from Cards on Cards that included some base and a couple of minis that I needed - including card 230 (Chris Paul) which is one of the higher end SP's on the bay.

And I got this relic card from an ebay seller.  Better player than coach for sure.  And it's not a white swatch!

Here's Mr. Thomas.

Murad Quest - I'm getting there.

Well, I'm a bit frustrated by ebay sellers right now.  Not that they don't have the typical one week grace-period to ship things, but I bought from sellers with typically fast shipping stats so that I could post as much new stuff as I could before I went back to work tomorrow.  No bother though.  I'll just have a ton of mail in the next day or so.

In any event, here's my newest two additions, Greg Oden and a certain Mr. Manu.  I'm happy they're not white swatches.  But irregardless, each new addition brings me closer to completing this set.  And that's a very good thing.

Oden's once again.....is bigger than the rest.

The line from Batum's first start

Well, what a crapper of a game.  Batum started, played the whole first quarter - and had a decent game.  But the Blazers are in trouble if that's all we can muster.  And in the second half - Nate thought that Webster should start and Nic should come off the bench.  Well....whatever.

Here's how my boy did:  Shot 40% fromt the field for 12 points, 1 block, 1 steal, 1 assist and 4 rebounds in 36 minutes.  He had a tough assingment in Durant most of the night.  He altered a few shots - but Durant is a machine.  Who are we kidding?  The guy just hit 25 straight games with 25 points or something.  He's approaching Jordan numbers.  It's pretty ridiculous.

Batum had some power though.  He had a couple of great dunks.  But it wasn't enough.  Still in 8th place in the West though.  Barely.

It's official! Batum back in starting lineup

Well, it's as official as you make it at least.  But the Oregonian reported that Batum is moving back into the starting lineup at the 2 or 3.  Finally, the Blazers are putting their best defender against the other teams best scorers.  Shouldn't have taken so long to make that call - but what's done is done.

Tonight will be a special night.  I don't even know what to do.  I must celebrate.  But how?  And with what?

Maybe I'll buy myself a Batum RC on ebay, buy quality beer, and eat good food.  I'm stoked if you didn't notice.

But there is a downside to all ot this.  The freaking Nic Batum card market is exploding and reaching new heights in prices.  Myself and a few other collectors had a field day with Batum cards for the first part of this season.  But people are catching on and looking to augment their collections with some Nic Batum cards.

Interestingly, Nic Batum still doesn't have an actual jersey/patch card on the market yet.  All the UD ones made for this year are still redemptions.  So the swatch market for Batum is going to be INSANE in it's IPO if you know what I mean.

Either way, I bought a crap ton of stuff on ebay to start rounding out my Murad set - and not one thing came in the mail today.  So tomorrow should be huge.  The Nic Batum move makes me feel better though.

The Basketball World is almost right again...

Just doing some of my daily reading and found this.

Just a little something something about Nicolas Batum returning to the starting lineup.  It's going to have to happen. 

We need more of this

Easily one of my favorite videos.  If you're not a Batum fan yet, this video will help you along - catch you up to speed if you will.

The Murad Quest - 3 new additions to my roster

This is going to be a busy week in the Murad Quest.  In fact, I've decided to put any "extra" funds I would've had to buy a hobby box into buying up lots of Murad relics and autos on the internet marketplace.  It is a lot of fun.

I've finally finished off the checklists.  I've got 1-30 done now.  At least I don't have to think about those anymore.  I'd post them, but who really wants to see a scan of 30 checklists? 

So here's what I got this round:

So I got the Josh Smith relic - very nice red swatch.  And the Brandon Roy relic.  Not in love with the white swatch, but the price was right.  If I happen to come across a red or black swatch, I'll snap it up and replace this one. 

And a Mike Miller auto.  I'm not really sure how Mike Miller got included in the 50 slated autos for this set, but his auto was dirt cheap and I still needed it, so there it is.  I don't even know what he's trying to convey with his sig.  It sure doesn't spell Mike Miller.

I got tons more stuff coming this week.  More relics, more SP's, game cards...the whole deal.

I'm finally feeling better.  I was pretty down and out with a bug all week.  Sorry for the weak posts.  I'm at full strength again.

What a losing day...

So I came home from work all excited to see Everton play Liverpool - it's a darby match, and my DVR was primed and ready to show me the win.  Or so I thought.  The match was great in the first half, but the Blues were flat in the second half.  They lost 0-1.

But I was ok with that.  At least I had the Blazers coming up in the evening.  And not only that, but Kobe Bryant was out injured.  That's huge.  He's played in 235 straight games.  So for him to be out was really something.

But B. Roy was out too.  And it looks like he'll be out until after the All-Star Break.  But that's neither here nor there.  It is what it is.

But this night was historic.  It's the 40th Anniversary of the founding of the Blazers.  And it's against the Kobe-less Lakers.  It was meant to be a win, right?

We all thought so when the Blazers were up by 9 early.  And then the wheels came off and the Lakers took control and never looked back.  And to top it all off, I'm on cold meds so I couldn't even have a beer. 

Even Batum's 8 points and 2 rebounds with a blocked shot off the bench didn't help my mood.  Batum missed two free-throws and a wide-open dunk in the span of a minute.  It was a heartbreaker.

SIDE NOTE:  Posts about actual cards will be back on Monday.  I've been an ebay fiend as of late and have a massive haul of Murad singles coming my way.  This set is the highlight of my day as of late.

You learn something new everyday...

Something I never knew before: the meaning of the Blazers logo.  Anyone?  Anyone?

Apparantly it symbolizes five players from one team playing against five players of another team around a circle.  I didn't know that.

Funny how you can root for a team and still find out new stuff like that.

Sorry for the short post though (I did find this interesting though).  I've got a head cold like no other and I must now make the journey to find Afrin.  Wish me luck.

The Murad Quest - my first $.01 card!

Another notch in the belt as I continue to build this set.  I'm finding that I'm actually more excited hunting cards down and getting deals than I am when I pack pull something. 

This is my first ever card I've bought for a penny.  Well, it was a penny plus S&H for a total of $3.01.  But it was still enormously satisfying buying a card for a penny - especially a relic.

So here's Tony Parker.  It's a white jersey - but it's the Spurs - so not a lot of color in their scheme anyways.  Plus it was a penny!  So I'll make do.

Need advice on set presentation

Ok.  I don't want to sound like a dork - well I didn't want to sound like a dork, that's why I've never asked anybody this question.  But I need to know the rules on putting cards into pages in binders.

When I stopped collecting as a kid, the cardinal rule back then was that cards didn't go into binders.  It just wasn't allowed; not in the card shop, not by my dad or by anybody I knew who collected.  The reasons given were simple.  Putting cards into binders has a greater chance of dinging the corners and edges while putting them in and pulling them out.  And more importantly, the plastic sheets themselves would "meld" into the face of the card if the card was left in the binder for too long.

Many of you probably have seen what I'm talking about.  The card sticks there for a few years and then once you take it out, the card is stuck and then once free, the front of the card is faded and the graphic is imposed on the inside of the binder page.

So for as long as I can remember, I've put all of my cards in boxes.  And there they sit.  Now the huge downfall to this is that you really can't show the collection off.

My question is this: how safe is it to put cards in binders?  Do you have to put the card in a penny sleeve first?  And I guess, is the plastic used to make the binder pages better now so that it doesn't have the same effect on cards as before?

Any help is appreciated.  I'd really like to start showing off this Murad set, but some weird childhood phobia of binders is stopping me.

Well, Panini, it's not retro - but you're getting closer

I periodically check blowoutcards pre-sale items for basketball and I'm constantly a bit crushed by how few releases we're going to see.

But today I checked, and there was a new listing!  And they called it Panini Classics!  I thought it was retro!

That's probably enough exclamation points.

So I looked at the sell sheet.  And I wasn't seeing what I had hoped.  I thought by the name that it would be a retro theme.  But it's retro players and photos on modern day themes. 

The subjects in the sell sheet look good.  I'll have to wait until it comes out to make a definite decision on it, but at least it's a step in the right direction.

What Panini needs to do is - and I hate to say this - copy Topps Heritage.  Well not exactly.  But take a release from the past, say 70 or 71 Basketball and put modern day players in that format.  We retro junkies are nerds for stuff like that.  Get your feet wet Panini. 

The release is scheduled for Mar 31.  They needed to have a retro release this year with ON-CARD autos.  Unfortunately, Kobe Bryant is the only auto on card (or so it appears).

I think the timing is right.  Right before the NBA playoffs people will be looking for a fresh release, I just hope that Panini has really invested themselves into one of their final releases of the season.

Caribbean Series baseball is missing something....

It's missing Major League players - that's what it's missing.  Does anybody else think that the WBC killed international baseball competition for the forseeable future?

I rooted for Mexico in last year's Caribbean Series.  Well actually I rooted for the Gonzalez brothers.  Edgar Gonzalez - EGon, for those in the know - was the batting avg leader for the Series with a .423 average.  Oh, and a scrub named Adrian Gonzalez led the way with 3 dingers and 8 RBI's.

Who does Mexico have this year from the big clubs?  Walter Silva.  Actually Silva made it to the Bigs by the recommendation of the Gonzalez brothers, but the Padres had such a dismal offense that the guy never got much run support.

Oh well.  At least it's live baseball.  And it's daytime baseball, so it doesn't cut into my Blazer Mania in the evenings.

I leave you with this, my Edgar Gonzalez Bowman Chrome Gold collection.  Still my favorite of the Gonzalez brothers. 

Lessons learned from ebay...shipping cabinet cards

I bought my Yao Ming cabinet card in part because the seller was offering $3.00 shipping.  I've seen other cabinet cards for sale and have seen the shipping go as high as $6-7 dollars.  I assume that the higher priced shippers would use a method I might have used.  If somebody put me in front of a cabinet card and told me to ship it, I probably would put it in a hard plastic top-loader made for 8X10 photos.  But those are expensive - and add weight.

But this person selling the Yao found a way to ship it for $3.00.  I was sold.  And I was really impressed by the condition that my card arrived in.

Here's the rundown:

1)  Take the cabinet card.  Pretty obvious step I know.  I just like the way the card looks in my hands.  Big hands are meant to collect big cards.

2)  Take a Priority Mail hard cardboard envelope.  It's the Legal Size.

3)  Cut the envelope exactly in half.

4)  Take the Cabinet card and slide it into one of the halves.  It won't fill it completely, but it won't be a problem.

5)  Take the half with the card and fit it all the way into the other half.  The second half will bend out enough to all for the first half to fit all the way in.  Now you've got double strength cardboard protecting the card.

6)  I think this part is optional.  But the shipper found some extra bubble wrap and put some on each side of the envelope.  I think it would've shipped fine with the double-sided cardboard.  But I guess you can't be too safe.  If you have some extra bubble wrap, throw it in.

7)  Stick that sucker in the envelope and you're done.  No giant plastic top-loaders and you've got shipping for about $3.00.  If anyone has cabinet cards they want to sell but didn't want to put them out there because of worries about shipping - like me - this is a great way to get it done.  Now I may have to go dig out some advertising panels that I could stand to part with.

I nearly forgot about the Cabinet Cards

I must admit, putting this Murad set together is so much more fun than I thought it would be.  This set doesn't feel like a 'chore' to put together.

And in scouring the internet for the best deals on relic cards, I nearly forgot about the Cabinet Cards.  I just bought my first one and it came today.  I was curious to see how the guy would ship it, and I'm most impressed.  If I ever need to ship a cabinet card, I'll copy his idea (and I'll probably show how his idea worked on a slower news day...)

Anyhoo, here's Yao.  2 down, 14 to go.