The good ole’ days.
Monthly Archives: December 2013
Disrupted Reception
With all the turmoil going on with the burgundy and gold the past couple of days, I thought i’d post about something positive from the cards I already have scanned. Well, nothing positive to see here.
Coming in to the season, I, along with a lot of football analysts had Leonard Hankerson on the list of football guys to have a breakout season. He got off to a very nice start, but stumbled through the season until he was injured a few weeks ago. I still love the kid and think he can have some type of impact with Redskins, but I don’t see him as being any type of breakout star. Just a guy that has a couple of big games each year mixed in with marginal performances.
One thing about Hank that I love is his simple signature. Normally, I frown on the laziness of these kids signatures but this one has a certain flair to it and seems to have been thought out. I like it.
I’m also thinking this could be Fletcher’s last season with the NFL. Actually, I kind of hope this is his last season. He’s not been as productive as in recent years and appears to be losing a few steps…quickly. Still, he brought a ton of passion to the defense, not to mention an abundant amount of leadership. They should build a statue for this undrafted free agent.
As always HTTR and hope you guys are having a good holiday season!
I can make a M’s hat more famous than a Mariner can
I took some artistic licensing with the well know Jay-Z verse on this post.
Robinson Cano is no longer a Yankee and I am kind of sad about that.
Next to Jeter, he was my favorite baseball player…a very close second mind you. I loved his hitting and his quiet confidence on the field, some may say it was apathy or laziness. I’m going with subtle greatness. The kind of numbers he put up, you had to love him as a baseball player. Even if you are a Yankee hater. I have complete respect for Dustin Pedroia and you should have respect for Cano.
My admiration for him will continue to keep him in my personal collection for the duration of his career, albeit less of a priority now to Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg. I can take some joy in the fact that he is now a Mariner and I don’t hate them. I actually like the M’s and have the opportunity to watch him more frequently on TV and possibly in person…if I can convince the wife to take a trip or two up to Seattle. Which is never too difficult! The great thing about Panini cards is that they only need to change New York to Seattle. DONE! No additional photoshop skills needed!
As for the Mariners locking him up for 10 years at $240M, i can’t believe that’s a great contract for them in their market. Now, i’m no market analyst, but i’m just thinking that when I pick through the great baseball franchises the Mariners rarely come up, if ever. That’s not to say I don’t like them. I am actually a fan of theirs and tried my hardest to make them my second team when i moved to Portland…but I just couldn’t do it. Other than Ichiro, they didn’t have any player that I could latch on to. Griffey, A-Rod and Randy Johnson were gone and they were a franchise sinking away. They have King Felix, whom I love to watch pitch, but doesn’t really do it for me.
I really hope this signing helps catapult them into relevance as Seattle is a phenomenal baseball town with a gorgeous ballpark. I just don’t know if his contract is going to allow them to get the various pieces they need to compete year in and year out against the thrifty A’s and powerful Angels and Rangers…and Astros.
Robbie is going to continue to put up great numbers and play well for the M’s, but i’m thinking in 3-5 years he will end up getting dealt for prospects to a larger market team. Maybe the Yankees?
Panini Redemption, a story.
Just like you, I hate redemption cards. Why? Well, let me tell you a story…
On June 17th of 2012 i purchased a box of Panini Rookie Signatures from my local card shop, The Sports Room. When i opened the box in front of Rick he quickly noticed my disappointment in the cards i pulled, and of course the freakin 80pt white card with a scratch off code. I pulled a redemption card, which meant I didn’t get my full hit on the small box of cards i purchased. Not to mention it was of Dre Kirkpatrick, the Bengals (then) rookie cornerback. Nothing against Dre, i’m sure he’s a wonderful kid with a great family and loving parents but i’m not super excited about a Bengals CB. Now, if it was Dr. Dre, that would be a different story, sign me up for that auto. No big deal though, i’ll post it to ebay when i get the card back…if, i get the card back.
As time slowly dragged on I began to wonder if i would ever get my Dre card in the mail.
Dre Day never came. But there will always be this.
A few months later, and by a few months later, i mean 10 of them, I stopped back in to Ricks’ shop. He asked me if I ever received my redemption card and I told him, ‘nope!’ He then informed me that i should give them a call and ask for my card, or better yet, ask for a Redskin. I thought he was crazy, you mean I can actually ask for my own redemption card! WONDERFUL!! Not wanting to talk to someone over the phone (if you knew me, this would make sense…) i sent them an email. A wonderfully worded email of course that very politely asked for a replacement card of Washington Redskin…an RGIII would be great. That was on April 8th of this year. This is when i got the ‘players schedule crap and being busy…’ blah blah blah. I get it. These guys are professional athletes and can’t be bothered half the time. The thing is, if you don’t have an autograph session with them locked up, don’t put them in your packs and boxes!
Anyways, more time flies by and so i decide to give them a call. Scary. I very politely ask for a Redskin card and they oblige. I get an email that my Phillip Thomas Spectrum Autograph is on its way!
AWESOME! HAIL TO THE REDSKINS! #HTTR
I start tracking the card, excited to write a post about the card and whattayaknow? The card is sent to freakin Ohio. Ohio! Who the hell lives in Ohio…Westernville, Ohio? Who lives there? Seriously, who? Not me. This kid lives in Portland F****N Oregon. There is a shirt that says that. Ok, time for some more phone calls and emails over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Then today, after 512 days from the initial purchase. I am the proud owner of a shiny, non serial numbered sticker autographed rainbow-y Phillip Thomas Rookie Card. Nice. I am happy. All good things come to those who can wait…and wait…and wait…
Most of you may not know this, but Phillip Thomas caught a lisfranc injury this preseason and was placed on injured reserve before the season started. The whole lisfranc injury is interesting to me. It sounds so harmless, like it was named after some sweet old lady that fell down the stairs to her root cellar and got a small fracture on foot. “OH NO, I LISFRANCED MYSELF!
This got me wondering’ as i tend to do, my mind floats off into multiple tangents. So i wiki’d the Lisfranc injury and it sounds painful as hell. But wait, it gets better. Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin was a pioneering gynecologist. I guess if you get a foot injury named after you and your daily task is to study vaginas, that’s pretty pioneering…or possibly just weird? He also removed rectums and amputated cervixes, so there’s that…jack of all trades i guess.
good night.
Don’t go Cano!
There are rumors that Robbie Cano may be joining the Seattle Mariners. I’m torn. I would love to see him stay with the pinstripes as he is currently my favorite player on my currently favorite team. He’s demanding a boat load of money and with the amount of dollars the Yankees spent today and last week, i’m not sure they can afford Cano…i’m also not sure he wants to return to the team…or maybe Jay-Z doesn’t want him to re-join the Yanks. Did you know that Hova can make a Yankee hat for famous than a Yankee can? Maybe he’s trying to outshine Cano, i don’t know.
Here is a shiny colorful gold parallel card of Cano sidearming the ball to what i would assume is first base.
Ellsbury is not worth $20+ million a year.
Holy crap, that’s a lot of cash.
Portis Paraphernalia
Yet another poor showing for the burgundy and gold tonight. I DVR’d the game and had no real desire to watch it…but i broke down and sat through the entire game, skipping the punts and timeouts of course. Everything went pretty poorly after the second score, the Redskins just can’t play a complete game. Not to mention, they were really screwed on the last drive with the 1st down/3rd down confusion. Thanks part time NFL refs, you are wonderful
The terrible season has me looking back rather than forward. One of my favorite Redskins was Clinton Portis. I picked up a couple of his rookie cards at the last card show in Mall 205. I always stop by Tom’s table to see what he has to offer first, but one of my new favorite stops has become Kim’s table. He is super friendly and always has a bundle of Redskins for me…at a great discount too. It helps to be regular! Most of the time he will mark down the cards 40%-60%. He does this for a lot of his regulars as well as the kids that stop by the table…which is pretty cool since the hobby seems to be ignoring this demographic with each new insert and subset. When i was sifting through the pile of cards he had set aside for me, he was upselling a Portis Jersey card. Ok. I pulled this one and didn’t even notice the orange swatch…not really a jersey though. It’s a Hot Shirt. No idea what the hell a hot shirt is, but i has one of Portis.
One thing that always makes me laugh when i stop by Kim’s table is his salesmanship. He’s always pushing other players from other teams on me, clearly not knowing my single minded focus on this hobby. Redskins players only…unless they came from other teams of course, like Portis and Moss. Still a great stop if you like the mid tier cards and crave great deals. The card below has football dimples on it. Pretty cool, plus it’s certified, Leaf Certified.
