2013 Topps – Packs 1 and 2

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 14, 2013

It’s been difficult of late to get in front of a computer and complete a post for the blog. The last few weeks have been overwhelming for me with late nights and weekends at work which is about to come to an end. My deadline is nearly complete at work and i should have a few moments at night for some new posts after the child has gone to sleep. My lunch breaks have been the only time i can do some blog writing, but eating and typing on a smart phone ain’t that easy, plus a little messy.

So, to get back posting i wanted to open a pack from the 2013 Topps jumbo box i ordered a while ago from Dave and Adams card world. In the past, i would get the box and just rip through it, sifting through each card so quickly and not taking the time to enjoy each card. I have decided to follow the self controlled approach of fellow Portland metro area blogger Basketball Card Blog and open one pack every day or two. My initial attempt failed, so i opened two packs. Hey, it’s been a while. I will exhibit some self control and open just the two jumbo packs for tonight. 100 cards.

I know the flagship card set from Topps has caused some heartache from the die hards, and i get it. This is a set that all of us have put together at some point. My first set was the 1986 Topps set which i still love to this day. Being the collector that i am, i feel the urge to continue collecting and building the sets each year and continue with the tradition. I can understand some of the negative energy about Topps, but i feel that if you are that opposed to it, don’t collect it. Collect something else. It will be alright. This hobby should be fun and enjoyable.

As most of you have already started to tear in to the ’13 Topps cards, i won’t bore you with scanning cards you have already seen but rather focus on a couple of cards that stood out to me in the packs. I may post a card you have seen a thousand times though…who knows…

The first one is the Jose Reyes card #331. I never understood the desire to photoshop a players new team on a card when he hasn’t even played a game for them, not even a spring training game! If the set came out in May and they wanted to show Reyes in a Blue Jay doctored jersey, i’d be cool with that. It may make sense then. We all know he played one season in Miami last year where he had a decent season on a crappy team, let’s see him in a Marlins jersey one last time! Maybe i’m being overly picky on this one, but just a minor pet peeve for me. I know companies have done this for a while and will continue to do it. The one thing i can add is the photoshop work is pretty solid. As someone who works with photoshop on occasion i know how difficult these things can be, luckily i have my wife to teach me new tricks…about photoshop that is… The real issue though is the back of the card and A-Rod’s claim that Jose Reyes is “the world’s greatest player playing shortstop…and the most exciting…” who knew? Also, love the Career Chase stats on these cards. Kind of snarky and fun. Reyes is 996 SB away from Rickey Henderson’s all time record of 1,406. Funny that this is the first card i chose as Rickey Henderson is my all time favorite player and childhood athlete idol. I wear 24 in softball because of Rickey!

Next up, Jose Altuve. The problem with this card is the freakin jersey. I HATE these mid ’80’s Astros jersey…that sounds really negative. I grew up in San Antonio and was forced to watch endless amounts of Astros and Rangers games on TV. I remember when these jersey weren’t trendy throw backs, just some ugly ass shirts the baseball club from Houston wore. When i heard they were going to an old school look for the 2013 season, i thought for sure this is what they meant…luckily that didn’t happen and they went with a more subdued and honorable retro look. Although, i’m sure they will whip these sherbert gems out every once in a while. Sunday home games? Back to the Astros and Rangers quickly. I never became a fan of either team and never really bought in to the fact that you had to root for the local team. I’ve always been a contrarian by nature so i picked my teams as i saw fit and avoided all affiliations with Texas teams, not hate, just not loving them. Apparently Jose Altuve is short and he plays second base. Seems about right i guess, most second basemen are vertically challenged. He overcame his shortcomings in height and is a pro ballplayer, more than i can say for myself.

The last two cars are the Adam Jones Cut to the Chase and Kenley Jansen parallel number to 62. Ok, here’s a thing. I have always had a color deficiency, not color blindness, but a deficiency. All of these parallel cards confuse the hell out of me. I never know what the color of the freakin card is. I wish companies would put the color on the back under the serial number stamp or maybe a G for Green and R for Red because honestly i can’t tell. If it wasn’t for the serial number i would have no idea what i have in my hand right now. Two anecdotes on Kenley Jansen. He has a ways to go to catch Mariano Rivera and he played baseball at Inland Empire…which i find to be a fascinating name for a town or city or whatever it is. That could make a great road trip. That Adam Jones card is quite nice and super easy to pick up with all the edges. It’s glossy and shiny. Has some visual texture to it as well. I’m kind of diggin’ these.

Oh wait, one more card. This guy, Adeiny Hechavarria. Spell check hates his name and it took total concentration for me to spell it correctly, still not sure i got it right. Anyways. This kid is from Cuba. A couple of summers ago, my wife and I ventured down to the island for 14 days and had a fantastic time. Unfortunately we went during the baseball off season…summer…so i didn’t get to see any games. Everyone there though loves Baseball and talking about the game. I ended up meeting a guy there that was a big Phillies fan and ended up sending him some cards…no idea if he ever got them though. that’s another post.

Free Cards!

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 10, 2013

Hey kids, i just scored some free cards! Ain’t life GRAND!

One of the great things about Dave and Adam’s card world is the free stuff they send when you order from them, love it.

With my jumbo ’13 Topps box and presell Heritage stuff, i got four blaster boxes of 2011 Rookies and Stars. I bought a few of these cards last year and wasn’t too impressed with them, but hey, free is free. I was hoping to pull some Redskin inserts i don’t have yet…didn’t really happen, but managed to get a couple cards i didn’t have for my team sets. Also pulled a couple jersey rookie cards and some weird ass burnt orange or red or whatever color it is, I had no idea these were a thing.. Can’t be too rare as i got 4 of them in the 4 boxes. All in all, not a bad group of cards. Most of them will end up getting sorted and put away in boxes, never to be seen again until i can trade them or find some time to post them on the ebay.

Here is the notable haul for your viewing pleasure.

The Redskin collective. Funny thing about these cards is that they all came in the same box along with the Hankerson (below). Can you feel the heartache in the face of Aldrick Robinson and his photoshopped jersey, the kid looks befuddled! I needed this card, so i feel good about it, just not comfortable with his look on this one. The other card i didn’t have was the McNabb card. The reason i didn’t have it was because i refused to purchase it on a few occasions. I liked McNabb as an Eagles QB, played well but never great. So when he was traded to the Redskins a couple years ago, i about shit a brick…sideways. This old crapper is coming to play for my team? Seriously? Luckily he played poorly from the get go, so there were no long term plans to keep him around…AND it opened the phenomenal RGVIII phase, that’s Rex Grossman, number 8. That’s a whole ‘nother other post.

Here is the Hankerson card. I wish this guy would get rid of the alligator arms, could be a great receiver for years to come for the Redskins.

So, i was speaking to my wife and apparently these cards look gold to her. Burnt orange, Red, gold…don’t really care. They are just odd to me, especially the way Best and Breaston are slowly bursting out of the faded edges. Nothing much else to say. I may do more research to get an idea of print run on these or who they were meant for (target, wal mart…) or not. They are what they are.

The next group is the shiny and somewhat glossy Longevity cards. I think these are a much better parallel than the gold aura gems from above. Panini managed to do some killer super font type branding on these guys, but I think it works nicely here. They are numbered to 249, so that’s good. The two QB’s are marginal at best, so I don’t expect these guys to skyrocket in price. If there’s a Texans fan out there, I got a card for you!

Last up are the jersey cards. I have somewhat of an affinity for really thick cards. Their nice and hearty plus they always have a different sound to them. Almost a little hollow sounding…or tinny? Not sure. Both guys are WR’s and were rookies as the name of the set would suggest. I know Greg Little has shown some flashes of brilliance, but it’s been tempered by McCoy and Weeden’s ability to get him the ball. The back of the card mentions his fanatical attraction to Anquan Boldin and Andre Johnson, which is great because they are both fantastic WR’s…not sure if Little can get to their level, but he’s still young. He is also wearing double zero, which is not good for binary coding…gotta think he could have picked some number, any number and would have been ok, right?

The other guy is just that…the other guy. I think i heard of him on last season’s hard knocks, but don’t really remember. His cut jersey is a little nicer and he appears to have numerous tattoos. When are they going to come out with tattoo cards? They could call be rip cards called tear for tats or something more witty than that.

that’s all i have for now. I have a couple more box reviews i want to do and should get another few posts in soon, hope you are reading whomever you are.

enjoy. -HTTR!

A collector’s dilemma

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 10, 2013

Ok cyber sports card guys and ladies, i have a question. Do you feel guilty when you purchase boxes or packs of your favorite cards online verses your local card shop?

As of late, i’ve been making most of my purchases online at Checkoutmycards.com, Dave and Adam’s Card World and the online Panini store…neglecting the two VERY local card shops. The main reason for this shift in my purchases has been cost and lack of time due to our new human and my work deadlines. I get significantly more cards for the money by shopping online and can have them delivered to my house with free or minimal shipping costs…can’t really beat that huh? I do love my two card shops (The Sports Room and Hoopla Sports). They are within 5 miles of my house and are always a great place to spend an hour or two on Saturday mornings. Both shops know me and often have new Redskin cards waiting for me when i drop by…which is awesome, not to mention they give me a great price on cards. The personalized service with a shop you frequent just cannot be beaten…but the prices aren’t always the best for boxes or packs. For example, i pre ordered a jumbo box of 2013 Topps Baseball from Dave and Adams Card World for around $90 and stopped in to my LCS where they had it on sale for $120…that’s a $30 up charge…and a lot of money that could have gone to cards to fill my empty binder pages…or simply some binder pages!

The great thing about the LCS is the instant satisfaction with a purchase, but i think i’m over that at this point in my life. I kind of enjoy ordering something and waiting a few days for it to arrive on my doorstep while continuing on with my life and spending time with my family on the weekends.

I have also been frequenting the card shows here in town. Recently there have been two a month, one at the Cedar Hills Mall down the street from me and the other one about 20 minutes away. I tend to spend a fair amount of money at these shows, so that helps cure my cardboard cheating tendencies.

Do you find yourself purchasing more cards online or in person?

Box Break: 2012 Panini Limited Football

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 6, 2013

The final piece to the Panini America order that i received last week is two boxes of Limited Football. If you read the previous post you noticed there was an asterisk next to the order…well for some reason or another i ordered one box of Limited and was sent two. Not really sure why, i assumed it was due mainly in part to Panini’s love for their customers and a way to buy a great review…i kid! Either way, i am greatly appreciative of the extra box and will now take the time to review what i received! Limited opened

Limited is another one of those one pack, great hit or not so great hit products. With each box, you receive 7 shiny cards in one pack that looks like it should have some pop tarts in it. I’m really hungry and it’s way past my bed time…Looking at the back of this box i see a significant amount of inserts and parallels…significantly more than the Crown Royale box. The base set contains 235 cards with 100 commons, 50 legends, 50 phenoms and 35 material phenoms. I’m going to guess that a phenom is a rookie…possibly a second year player? i don’t really know, just spit ballin here. Either way, it’s going to be a difficult set to collect with the amount of boxes i plan on buying…unless Panini wants to keep sending me some free product. BIG SMILEY FACE!

Card Design – 4.5 of 5

Gotta say i really like the design of these cards. Love the grid action in the background, very architectural…which is great since that’s what i do for a day job, makes me feel comfortable. Plus the grid pattern fades to silver at the bottom of the card which is can or cannot be sexy…this one is sexy. There is a constant theme on the cards, whether they be parallels or base cards. One thing i’ve noticed about a lot of cards from Panini is that they like to have the edited photo on the front of the card and the unedited game action photo version on the back. Kind of like this, makes for some nice consistency…plus a great way to show off the staffs great photoshop and photo editing work…oh crap, i’m seeping in to the other portion of the review…

Photography – 4 of 5

As i was saying…the unedited photos on the back are great! The photos are once again crisp and focused on the player which i truly do enjoy. One interesting shot is the Jack Lambert card and how sharp it is. The Mean Joe Green card from the Leaf Signatures wasn’t nearly as crisp as this one…wonder why? The photos were probably taken from around the same time…thoughts? Love the photos. Panini managed to get to the knees for most of the players…but still no feet…wonder how Rex Ryan would feel about that?

Hits – 4.5 of 5

Oh the hits. As i mentioned in my last post, you have to look at the hits you got, not the hits you wanted…or else you will be a miserable person. As my mom would say, ‘suck it up buttercup’. That said, I pulled a redemption Jumbo Jersey Signature of Joe Adams. First off, i have absolutely no idea who Joe Adams is…haven’t googled him yet, maybe i missed something this year, but this guy is way off my radar. Second, i really HATE redemptions. HATE-HATE-HATE! It’s like waking up on Christmas morning as a kid at 8am and being told you have to wait to open your presents after your grandparents arrive…and they aren’t coming until 3pm…your just standing there looking at your wrapped gifts wondering what in the hell it could be! Just waiting…It is what it is though…at least i didn’t pull another Dontari Poe auto! On the flip side of the redemption…i pulled an Andrew Luck jersey card numbered to 25, pretty dope. Not a big Luck fan only because he doesn’t play for the Redskins, but a great card and a great guy/player. I pulled a couple other autos that are OK, nothing too exciting. BUT i also pulled a Len Dawson game used card. My first look at the card was, great…a jersey from an old guy…but then i looked closer, you have to do that kids, look closer! It’s a game used helmet! A GAME USED HELMET! I didn’t even know that was a thing with cards? Had no idea they were doing this and I think it’s wonderful. The card is pretty cool. I keep tapping it with my nail, probably not a great idea, but it’s just so cool.

Len Dawson Stadium Stars Game Used Helmet 13/55

This Thing…

Case Keenum Phenom Auto 191/249

Vincent Jackson Autograph 2/25

Vernon Davis Limited Threads Jersey 14/25

Andrew Luck Blue Chip Jersey 5/99

Review

That’s it, both boxes have been looked at. I really like this product…a lot. The cards are fantastic and the hits i pulled were not bad at all…except for the redemption…but i’m dealing with it. As with Crown Royale, not sure if I will purchase any more of this product due mostly to the cost but I can definitely see myself buying one next year. If i could offer up only one suggestion, it would be that they wrap the cards in something a little nicer than the silver package…but that’s really it…well that and try to minimize the redemption cards. -HTTR!

Box Break: 2012 Panini Crown Royale

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 6, 2013

Time goes so fast sometimes. Work deadlines and doing my best job to be a good husband and father, sometimes my hobbies get pushed aside. It’s all worth it, but sometimes i do like a little me time to open some overpriced packs and look at all the shiny new cards money can buy.

As part of my recent shopping binge of football cards, i ordered a few boxes from Panini and am finally getting around to the last three on the four* box order. The asterisk will be explained in the next posting…betcha can’t wait, huh?!

I know i’m probably a little late on some of these, but my thing of late has not been timeliness but rather tardiness. So i’m going to review a box that has been out for a few weeks now…and they call it Crown Royale, pardon me while i pour some Royal Crowne in my glass…The 4 pack box contains 5 cards each and should apparently only be opened by anybody that is over the age 9. The base set consists of 285 cards that contain 150 commons, 100 rookies and 35 rookie silhouettes. I guess that’s great news if you are in to that sort of thing…collecting this set isn’t for me though. I’m only looking for a good set of hits (wordplay!) As i type, i’m looking at the underside of the box and seeing some crazy amounts of insert series. Blue. Silver. Red. Rookies. Legends…and for some reason, Purple. I’m not one to judge, only observe. With that off my chest, here is my review of the 2012 Crown Royale cards from Panini.

Card Design – 3.5 of 5

I’ve always been enamored with die cut cards and the Crown Royale brand has been out for quite a few years now, but this is my first ever box of these guys. The first thing i notice is how freakin awkward it is sorting through them out of the pack! They were slipping through my fingers and sliding down my hand…crazy. As most collectors do, i attempt to be extremely cautious with the cards from the get go, but when they are sliding all over the place, makes it a little difficult…especially when you toss in a random ‘normal’ card. No cards were dropped though, so no harm no foul. Although the cards are initially attractive to me, upon further review i find them a little odd. I think the crown is just too much of a visual distraction that player gets lost in the card. Not to mention, die cuts always present their own issues with dinged corners and such. Nice cards, but not my cup of bourbon.

Photography – 3.5 of 5

Panini always seems to have great photos for their cards and do a fantastic job of focusing on the player that the card is for. My biggest complaint though is that all of these phenomenal athletes have been disembowled from their waist down, even Ray Lewis could get Jesus to bail him out on this one…but seriously…i understand that most of the cards are landscape oriented and it demands these types of photos to make the concept work, but even the portrait cards have chopped waists. All i’m saying is that i really love legs and feet, but that’s something i need to deal with at another time…on my own. Is anyone else disturbed by the veins in Andre Johnson’s arms?

Hits – 4.5 of 5

This is tough for me, and I realize that this is the case with all sets but if you don’t like the hits you get you probably won’t like the hits. I didn’t pull anyone I really care about, so i need to be objective about this one. The hits with the product are really nice. They are nice and clean. All of the guys i pulled were rookies, so not much to complain about there. The Ronnie Hillman card is pretty spectacular with the multi color patch and autograph. As with the majority of product out there, the autos are not on card, at least the ones i pulled. Normally i don’t have an issue with this as i understand these guys are busy and it’s significantly easier to have the players sign sheets of stickers rather than single cards. BUT when you get guys signing off the sticker like the Janoris Jenkins card it’s a little disheartening and a sad sight for such a beautiful card. I also take issue with the placement of the auto sticker on the Ronnie Hillman card…it’s a little sloppy for an mid tier product. All together though, the hits are nice…just would have been nice if one was a Redskin…just saying. Alfred Morris or Kirk Cousins would have been nice…or an RGIII!

David Wilson Rookie Royalty 93 of 149

Janoris Jenkins 6 of 25

Quinton Coples 14 of 25

Ronnie Hillman 345 of 349

Review

As a complete product i don’t have too much to complain about. Most of my input is based on personal preference rather than flaws in the product. I do like the cards and getting 4 packs to open with nice hits was a lot of fun to open. I enjoy the single pack boxes, but it’s always nice to have a couple chances for a real BIG hit…always hold out hope as we do with this hobby. The next pack could be the big one! I can’t see buying another box of Crown Royale this year unless i get a great deal on a box, but I wold definitely look to pick one up next year assuming the budget can handle this product. Another nice job by Panini. -HTTR!