The Basketball Card Blog 2010 year in review

Readers,

It's that time of year when you have to juxtapose the feeling of nostalgia for the year you're leaving behind with the sense of newness and opportunity with the year ahead of you.  Really, there isn't another time of year that quite matches what we're all going through right now.

Now, I'm working on a list of resolutions and plans for the new year (but that will come on the New Year's Day itself), but I also wanted to take a minute to look back on the happenings of this year we're closing out.

I started this blog last year and had few expectations of finding a niche in the card hobby - but to my surprise the site really took off and led me to making new relationships and finding new ways to collect.  One of my resolutions at the beginning of last year was to average a post a day on this site - and I did that and then some.  The content changed, but the posts were there.  My goal of 365 posts has quickly ballooned to over 420 posts.  I don't know that I'll strive for that mark next year, but it is rewarding to have accomplished this feat.  If nothing else, I have an entire year of my life chronicled in some form. 

Also, my site has allowed me to really refine my focus in collecting.  Without this site my collecting may still be random and unmanageable.  But needing to write with a focus led me to collect like a pro.  I found what I liked, and honed in on completing the task.  In fact, going into 2011, I'll only have 2 more Murad relics to have to buy.  I doubt I'll ever finish the Murad silks, but that will always be there for me.  And my Batum Bowman collection is probably one of the best out there - and I will grow that collection more aggressively next year.

The relationships aspect of this site has been great.  Right now I know that I could have a conversation about just about anything with TJ (formerly from All Your Base Cards), Charles at Hoopography and Fuji at Chronicles of Fuji.  Friendship is really a reward all its own - and I'm fortunate to have known those guys this year.

Conversely, I've had a run-in or two with Beckett this year...but who hasn't.  I may not be a major blip on the Beckett empire radar, but being a pain in the ass is fun too.  I also went from growing this site to the point that I was gifted free boxes to review...to growing myself to the point that I was secure enough to turn them down. 

And it's hard to separate this site from my personal life now at this point.  When I set a goal to myself to write daily (on average) on this site, I didn't realize that writing here would then become so inter-twined with my personal life.  No matter what was going on in my life - good or bad - I had to take time to write here.  So this site really has been everything from a friend to a burden to a job and back again.  But I don't begrudge it, I had a good time.

And so, just quickly here, as it pertains to my personal life, this year was a success.  I had some major victories this year.  There isn't anything I can look back on with regret from this year.  And next year is looking pretty good too.  The economy might be poor all around, but my family and I were fortunate enough to never try to live outside of our means - and by that measure I can enter the new year without a ton of stress on myself.

And on the sports front - - -

I'm still an Everton fan....and this year will see the Portland Timbers come into the MLS.  I'm going to have soccer year round now. 

Event though the Blazers are struggling, Nicolas Batum continues to turn heads.  I feel pretty safe in saying, "told you so".

Though the NFL has lost some of it's luster for me - I continue to be a Steelers fan at heart.

I'm finally understanding....and loving, hockey.  Non-stop action that game.  Why didn't anybody tell me about this before?

Baseball.....well, baseball continues to be like an old-flame for me.  By the time the season is over, I'm ready for the break-up.  But by the time spring rolls around I fall in love all over again, even though I know I'll grow weary after the flirtation phase passes.  Just so many damn games every year.....

So there you go.  That's my year in review.  Pretty damn good if you ask me.  I'll be writing my next New Year's post after the NHL Winter Classic on Saturday.  I've got some things planned for the next year.  Plus this is the year coming up that I turn 30....yay?

If you've stayed tuned this far, I hope to see you all here next year as well,


Guy

Murad Quest continues...Kobe in the house!

I went out of my normal practice of denying myself the use of exclamation points - and put one in the title of the post.  Why?  Because I found this card for under $10, when they typically sell for closer to $20.  But then again, the auction ended the day before Christmas I think, so most folks had probably already used their paypal balances up by that point.

And to add more value (at least to me), the card has character because it has stitching down the middle, which is about as close to a patch as you'll find in the Murad set. 

So, what's that put the count at?  47 cards down and 3 to go.  And I've actually got another one of the 3 coming this week - so more on that later.

And this will be the last time I'll be excited to see a Kobe Bryant...anything.

Thoughts on a Saturday - Christmas 2010 edition

Holy canoli, do I have a ton of basketball to watch today or what?  I'm actually thinking about taking a nap during the Thunder game just so I can stay fresh during the Blazers game at 7pm.  But it's going to be a long one fellas.  As a sports fan, today will be like 'putting in the work'. 

We woke up today at 3:50 am for presents and started opening presents.  And then I had a ton of tamales for breakfast.  To top all that off, I plan on dining on a fat ham and potatoes later on.  Oh, and I got a bottle of bourbon for Christmas to go along with my scotch.....

How in the world am I going to make it to 7pm tonight?

Answer....Jaeger Bomb.  I kid, I kid.  But seriously, I've got one ready if need be.

It's been a great Christmas though.  Got a great Star Wars book, two new Steelers shirts and some whisky.

Win.

Merry Christmas everyone.

It's a double dose of Pittsburgh sports tonight

So on NFL network I've got my Steelers winning an easy game over Carolina, but I tune in anyway.  What else am I going to do? 

But on NHL network was the Penguins/Capitals game - a bit of a preview to the Winter Classic....and I watched that whole game, start to finish.  I think the NHL has a convert on their hands.  I really do.  It may sound a bit punk to start to root for the Penguins when they're good - but I'm in a neutral market, and I've been a Steelers fan my whole life, so I'm pretty sure I can be grand-fathered into the Penguins fold.  Plus I really have enjoyed the HBO special 24/7 these last couple of weeks and have really gotten into the players.

But what I can't understand is how hockey isn't more popular.  It's literally non-stop action.  It's such an engaging game to watch.  And how cool was it for me to see Dupuis nail that final penalty?  He's definetely one of the guys I keyed in on watching that show.  Just great stuff.  I even bought a couple packs of hockey cards today (nothing worth posting though).

Either way, here's Sid Crosby stretching his streak out at least one more game.

THIS is why I'm a sports fan, suck it Manchester City!

To put it mildly, I'm a bit hoarse, my hands hurt and I need to catch my breath.  Just got done watching, clapping and cursing watching the Everton vs Man City game - and all I can say is that it's been a long time coming seeing a victory as stunning as this (Man City is pretty good this year).  If you're not into the EPL you're missing out.



So there's that plus the fact that Nicolas Batum is starting against Milwaukie tonight.  Goodness, goodness, somebody get me into sports addiction rehab!  But like any good junkie - I will ride this high all the way through!  I might have to buy a Nicolas Batum Bowman common tonight just to celebrate.

But seriously - I was screaming pretty good at that Man City game.  If nothing else, it is fun to watch sports with me.

Thoughts on a Sunday -- 12/19/2010 edition

1)  First, some may have heard that Nicolas Batum hurt his shoulder this last week - and you may also be wondering how severe the injury is.  Well, so am I.  The Blazers are notorious for either not reporting on injuries - or simply mis-reporting injuries.  It's kind of scary because he hurt his surgically repaired shoulder.  Fingers here are crossed.

2)  While we're on Nicolas Batum, Portland GM Rich Cho tried to trade him last week....to Philadelphia.  No kidding.  The package was supposed to bring Andre Iguodala to Portland for Nicolas Batum and Joel Pryzbylla.  I'm glad that failed.  Now, I don't think that Batum going to another team would be the end of the world for me, but I'd really hate to have to watch every 76'ers game this year.  Let's hope that trade talk is done. 

3)  Just got done watching the first installment of 24/7 Road to the Winter Classic - and I'm impressed.  Already I'm kind of becoming a bit of a hockey convert.  And even though I really enjoyed watching the Sharks, I may be getting a little partial to the Penguins here....  I know, I know.  Kind of like rooting for the Yankees.  But they had the better storylines.  Plus I really kind of latched onto Pascal Dupuis.  It's funny, but they had a segment of him speaking in both very fluent French and very fluent English to his kids.  And I really relate to that.  I speak to my kids in both Spanish and English everyday, and we mix and match the languages all the time.  Plus, even non-hockey fans know that Sidney Crosby is the man.  Now I had the chance to see why.  That guy is pretty damn talented. 

4)  How bout the Orlando Magic?  They just blew that whole thing up.  But Washington really gets the better half of the deal, they got rid of Gilbert Arenas.  Maybe now John Wall can start to call the team his own.

5) I'm subscribed to a whole slew of youtube channels.  One of my favorites is a combination of some of my favorite things.  To set this up, there has been a new hottest pepper created out of England.  The previous hottest pepper was the "Ghost Pepper" from India that was at about a million units of 'heat'.  This new pepper is called the Naga Viper, and is 1.3 million units.

The guy in this video brings together a bunch of my favorite things...
Star Wars reference?  Check.
Chile peppers and people eating them?  Check.
English accent?  Check.

Just watch this video, it's a bit of a detour on a Sunday that is worth the watch.

Murad Quest continues - Magic Johnson relic

A great little card if I do say so myself.  Magic Johnson Murad relic - one of the harder ones to come by, as Magic Johnson collectors don't often sell their cards it seems.  And I got this one for a real decent price - $8.99 plus standard shipping, so that wasn't too bad.

I love that this piece isn't a white jersey swatch, I actually might have passed this one up if it was.  As it stands, this is number 46 of the 50.  I'm missing Shaq's (which I've got an eye on right now on ebay), Kobe, Kevin Garnett and Maravich (still the most expensive I've seen every time it's listed).  I've yet to see a KG card listed on ebay, but the others pop up every now and again, though they are spendier. 

So chalk another card up for the home team.  I'll get this done yet.

Just because I can - another Batum highlight from last night

What can I say?  It was a long road trip for Batum and the Blazers.  It probably felt longer for Batum because he didn't get to play much and got stuck taking bad shots the entire time.  So last night against the Mavs was great. 

Just know that as you watch these clips, you're looking at future greatness.  As soon as Nate McMillan really lets these young kids play (or loses his job and we get a replacement coach to let 'em run), Batum is going to really be turning heads.

It turns out that all Batum needs is a national audience

Tonight was a good night for basketball.  Even losing basketball. 

First I got to watch the Knicks take on the Celtics - and boy was I rooting for the Knicks there, but it was still a great game.

And then came Portland against Dallas - which was a much better game than most anticipated, even though the Blazers lost 98-103.

Batum had a good game, lots of highlight material.  He finished with 11 points, 6 boards (4 offensive), 2 assists and a block.  And he was one of three Blazers players to have a + rating in the +/- category - all Portland starters were -'s.

So it was another affirmation game that Portland has pieces that can work well together....if they're allowed to.  Side note - first sub of the game was Brandon Roy coming out for Nicolas Batum.  So at least there was that...

Highlight time:

Blazers = FAIL

I'm a patient sort.  Really I am.  But I'm pretty cose to throwing a brick through my TV screen every time I watch the Blazers play.  And that's not good - for me or the TV.

Today brings new developments though.  Brandon Roy threw the entire team under the bus in his postgame comments.  The once humble Roy is not so humble anymore.  He actually says that it's HIM being forced to play next to a slow player in Miller that's the real problem.  Yeah....

To be clear, the team lost to Memphis last night - and the Blazers (mostly starters) - scored only 9 points in the 4th quarter.  9 points. 

Batum played 4 minutes the entire game.  He was getting punished for going 2-18 shooting on the road trip.  And to be fair, this road trip was not great for his shot.  But punishing Batum didn't do any favors for the team now did it?  If your starting unit can only muster 9 points in the 4th quarter, you've got bigger problems than a single player's shooting slump. 

And I'm getting a bit tired of the media and coaching staff popping off about Batum needing to get his production back up now that he's a bench player.  Excuse me?  Wesley Mathews wasn't scoring 20 a night off the bench either.  But they let him have the starting job because he was more productive there.  I claim French discrimination on this one.

Actually I'm glad McMillan benched Batum last night.  It just goes to show he's picking on the wrong guy.  I'm sorry, I'm just tired of having to defend the players when Roy is not the same player he was and Nate can't coach 5 starters to more than 9 points against Memphis. 

But I'm a homer.  Had to get that off my chest.  Sorry 'bout that.

I'll be back to loving the Blazers again by tomorrow when they go play Dallas.....that should be a great watch.

Can it be that the Blazers have won 4 in a row?

Aaahhh.  How sad it is to think that a 4 game win streak would surprise me.  At the onset of this year, a 4 game win streak for the Blazers was expected - multiple times.  But now, it's a shocker.

Tomorrow the Blazers play San Antonio.  And let's talk about what San Antonio is doing right now - you know, that the Spurs are sporting the best record in basketball at 19-3.  Casual NBA fans would probably think that Miami or LA would hold that honor, but no, San Antonio has the best record in all of basketball.  And they get to host the Blazers tomorrow.  Hooray!

So tomorrow will be the Blazers' biggest test of the season.  Everybody still thinks that the Blazers, as is, are good enough for the 8th playoff spot.  But the real test will be when they play the Spurs.  After all, if you can't hold your own - even keep it close - against the best team in the league, than the 8th spot in the playoffs is pretty much null and void to begin with.

I do plan on watching this game, but as well, I'll be watching the ponies from Portland Meadows.  I hope to have better luck than the Blazers, if you know what I mean.  So for any Basketball Card Blog fans out there, you can come see me at Portland Meadows tomorrow.  What can I say?  The best I can offer you is a cold beer and a tip on a race - but it'll still be worth the trip.

I'll be the big Chicano guy in the paddock with a beard and a frown...

Don't worry, I'm not really depressed, but this photo was taken after Johnie Walker kicked my ass with a Wild Turkey.

Also, as a side note, I haven't shared this here on my site yet, but I've decided to grow a beard for the remainder of my 29th year of life.  I told my wife that I would shave my beard when I turned 30....in October of 2011. 

She's threatened multiple times to shave me in my sleep.  Or punch me in my face in my waking hours.  My choice.

But since I don't grow a stupendous Tom Selleck Moustache, I've decided to go for the Uncle Iroh look and go sans moustache for the rest of the year.  I think you'll all agree that I'm out of my mind.  Mid-life crisis come on earlier now than before.  What can I say?  Turning 30 is freaking me out.  I don't know how good the resolution is on your computer, but the gray in my beard is astounding.

Don't know who Uncle Iroh is?  Only one of the greatest animated personalities of all time...

My beard-hero...I can only hope for a beard this cool in 2011.


If you haven't seen the animated version of the Avatar: the Last Airbender, you haven't seen anything yet.  Seriously, it's the best cartoon you'll ever see.  If it isn't, I'll pay your rental costs.  Seriously.

Uncle Iroh is one of my heroes.  I hope to have beard as epic as his.



What would you do with $3.3 million dollars? - Blazers ponder

So today the Blazers got the exemption for Greg Oden's injury - resulting in an allowance that would allow the Blazers to spend $3.3 million to add a player to the roster.  That's pretty good news.  I only hope that we do something positive with it.

Of course, the way things are going, we may just end up giving the money to Brandon Roy.  I jest, but to be fair, he's the best basketball player that runs a 10-minute mile.

I don't know.  I guess I can't complain too much.  The Blazers are on a 3 game win streak, but they start a 4 game road trip tonight.  It's not looking good at the moment.

But I am jam packed for the weekend in sports.  Hopefully, I'll have some good fortune this weekend.  I start things off tonight with a bottle of Johnnie Walker and a Blazers game.  Tomorrow will be Everton right off the bat before the sun comes up - and a little scotch makes that a tougher sell, but I'll pull through.  Sunday is a special horse racing day at our local track, and I plan on being there the whole day.  They're also giving away Blazers tickets at the races this weekend - so I'll see if I can't win me some free seats.

Busy busy busy.  But it's of course all sports, all the time.  I'm true to myself if nothing else.

A favor to Fuji - tonight I root for the Sharks

In addition to my many fantasy games I play (fantasy sports, guys - let's get our heads out of the gutter), I also play ESPN's Streak for the Cash game.  It's fun - though insanely frustrating to be wrong so very often.  So today I saw that one of the games I could choose from was an NHL game - Sharks vs. Fliers.  And it also said it was on the Versus channel.  I have the Versus channel.  In fact there isn't a sports channel available that I don't have.  That is not a joke.

My wife doesn't look at the cable bill.  I pretend not to notice that her and my daughters have more shoes than they could all wear in a month.  It's a marriage.  We're quite good at it at this point.

Back to my story. 

I posted earlier this week that I'm going to watch the New Years Day game between Pittsburgh and Washington to try to really 'see' the NHL.  But Fuji rightly pointed out that the Sharks could always use more fans.  And I have no team to root for at the moment.  So at least for tonight, I'm going to be a Sharks fan and watch the entire game.  I don't understand all of the rules yet.  But I watch rugby quite a bit.  And I don't understand hardly ANY of that.  So I can handle this.

So, just to give myself a little extra incentive, you can see which box I marked on ESPN.com.

My last chance to get into hockey...

I've been watching a lot of HBO lately - mainly Boardwalk Empire.  But their sports documentary show, "24/7", has been previewed quite a bit lately with a new focus on hockey - and I'm intrigued.  I've tried to watch hockey before, I really have.  But maybe my problem is that I have no 'point of reference' to get into hockey.  So here comes HBO...

What HBO is doing is essentially following the Penguins and the Capitals around leading up to their New Years Day showdown.  They've made a 4 part mini-series out of it, and most of the stuff coming out of HBO Sports is really well produced, so I'll watch.  I guess ALMOST everything coming out of HBO Sports is quality - have you watched Larry Merchant and Jim Lampley do a boxing match recently?  Watch any future HBO boxing match muted - unless you like being talked down to the entire time.

But anyway, back to hockey.  Most people would say that I probably don't need any more sports in my life.  And that true.  But I'm looking at the NBA here this year, and it would take a miracle to not have a lockout next year.  I may need a replacement sport.  Man, if there would be any winner in an NBA lockout, it would be the NHL.

So I've got a mini-series coming up.  That will give me a back story, maybe a rooting interest in a player or team.  And I've got New Years Day marked down - and I will watch an entire game/match/competition of hockey.  And if at that point I can't get behind it.  If after all of that I can't find it in my to try to watch again, then at least I can say I gave it a fair shake.

Here's the preview of HBO's show:

Thoughts on a Sunday - 12/05/2010 edition

1)  Well only 20 more days until Christmas....so there's that. 

2)  Everton tied Chelsea yesterday 1-1.  For those of you who aren't soccer fans, it's huge.  Just take my word for it.

3)  I got to sit and watch Oregon punch their ticket to the National Championship yesterday.  All told, I'm still not a native Oregonian, but it was fun to watch good offense for a change this week.

4)  Just an update, the Blazers still have poor offense.  So thanks to Oregon for putting up some points.

5)  In a stunner, I may have found my best deal of the ENTIRE year on sportlots this week.  I thought getting the Scottie Pippen card on the cheap for the Murad was big - but this might eclipse it.  On sportlots, a 'blue refractor' Nicolas Batum Bowman was listed for 5 bucks.  It didn't give numbering, just the price.  So without asking any questions I picked it up at a cheap price.  I figured at worst I'd get a regular blue variation /499 that was simply mislabled by the seller - and those usually sell for the $5 mark anyway.  But on the off-chance that there was a /99 blue chrome refractor for sale.....

OMG.  I actually pulled off a monster steal.  These blue refractors are typically sold for $30-$40.  Only one of my blue refractors was purchased for $20 on a Buy It Now - and I thought that was a steal. 

This card is numbered 92/99, and the blue refractors are still my favorite variation of the card.  Just stunning to look at in person.  I've now got 5 of the 99.  So take that world!  Maybe the Blazers can't bring any offense, but I'm shooting free throws with my eyes closed at this point.  Seems like I can't miss this week.

The start of my Dexter memorabilia collection

A couple of posts back I wrote about the release of the new Dexter Season 3 cards.  And I was searching for some singles on ebay, I did indeed find one that I had to have.  Season 3 is still one of my favorites, and the card I bought really does a great job of featuring Dexter and Miguel Prado.

Huh?  Huh?  What did I tell you?  Freaking awesome.  I wish that sports card companies would make a relic card this good.  Now, the card isn't perfect, but's it's still pretty great.  What the maker, Breygent, got wrong was the placement of their logo.  Really their emblem needs to be in the corner - and it needs to also have a nuetral colored alternative for their insignia. 

Aside from that, what you have here is a picture of Dexter, in his kill shirt, and the piece of fabric from that kill shirt.  Same for Miguel Prado.  In fact, all of the Dexter memorabilia pieces you can purchase are like that.  The relic provided matches the picture on the card...what a novel concept.  I wish sports cards could take an extra minute and do the same.

The back even further reinforces the idea.

Holy crap.  They actually put pictures of the shirts used rather than fill it up with a ghost image of the same pictures that were on the front.  I'm sold.  Seeing the quality of card makes me want to complete this relic set as well.  And to anybody who has watched the show, the Dexter kill shirt is iconic.  To own a piece of it is pretty cool. 

Their are a whole slew of relic cards listed on ebay right now.  You may some day be seeing more here on this site.

The scene below shows were these two costumes were probably used at some point.  The scene is a bit graphic, so if you haven't seen it and have no desire to, don't.  But for fans of the show, it's a turning point in the psyche of Dexter.  He truly felt alone and his contempt for his fate shows through here.  Well, he felt alone until season 5 and Lumen came to town.....but that's another story.

Take a look:

Glutton for punishment - I will still watch sports

So the Blazers lost...again.  Can we officially put Nate McMillan on the hot-seat list?  How many games in a row does a coach have to lose before we fire his ass and bring in a guy who likes offense?  For the record, the Blazers only managed to score 10 points in the 3rd quarter.  That's significant because we can't blame the bench this time.  That was all starters.  And Brandon Roy running really really slow and forcing shots and possessions. 

I like Brandon Roy.  I like Brandon Roy.

But c'mon.  He's making it really hard to repeat that Blazer-honk chant over and over in my head.  He's not healthy - nor is he effective.  And the Washington Wizards looked like defensive masterminds playing against the Blazer starters.

Batum had a better game.  At least there was a silver lining.  My boy had 11 points off the bench with 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.  Given the opportunity, he can still produce.  But I can't even be mad at Wesley Matthews right now for taking the starting role.  To anybody who actually watches these Blazers play start to finish, it's clear that the problem is coming from above Mathews' and Batum's pay grade.

But if that wasn't enough - watching the Blazers lose six in a row - I get to wake up tomorrow (early, very early) to watch Everton take on Chelsea live.  Everton lost the last match 1-4.  And now they go play Chelsea on the road.  Tough break.

Such is the life of a sports fan though.  Win some and lose some.  The next time my teams start to win some, however, I'm going to take an extra moment to enjoy it.  Losing like this sucks.

The best 'non' commerical you'll ever see

Sometimes I wish I was more tech-savvy.  I wish I could manipulate this computer to do really cool things.  I wish I could do what the mind behind this video did.  Well, put simply, what the creator of this video did is something that should earn him a spot at an ad firm.  This video is so well done that Michael Jordan actually had to come out to the press to say that he had no part in the creation of the video - and neither did Nike.

If you haven't seen this yet, it's a must see.