Tag Archives: Donruss

Slingin’ Sammy Baugh

Posted by cardboard hogs on

Today is St. Paddy’s day, but really…it’s the birthdate of the greatest Quarterback of all-time. 

Samuel ‘Slingin Sammy’ Adrian Baugh. 

Well, the greatest quarterback if you ask a Washington Redskins fan.  Another notable note is that Sammy Baugh was born in Temple, Texas, just a mere 145 miles from my hometown of San Antonio…so, yeah.  Why not, let’s go.

Slingin’ Sammy was beyond impressive on the gridiron.  He led the way in transforming the game of football from a bruising sport led by fullbacks pounding the pig skin to downfield aerial attacks with wideouts.  The game went from three yards and a cloud of dust to the greatest show on turf, mainly due in part to Sammy.  His ability to re-imagine the forward pass as a means of attacking made the game exciting, action packed and brought greater scoring to the game, well…quicker scoring.  Other QB’s did it at this time, but no one did it quite like Sammy.  Sammy was the best.

Beyond being a tremendous quarterback, Sammy was also an accomplished defensive back and quite possibly, his most impressive feat (bad pun…sorry) of being a tremendous punter.  Leading the league in all three positions during the 1943 season.  That year he was the leader in pass completions, punting yard average (46) and interceptions (11).  Who the hell does THAT!!??!  Sammy was truly a three way player, offense, defense, special teams.  Whatever he did, he did it well, well…he achieved greatness in the game that has been unmatched.  Not too many guys in the history of the game have managed to excel on opposing sides of the ball, but Sammy did.  Sammy was the best.

Baugh came to the Boston Redskins via the ’37 draft from Texas Christian University where he excelled at football and baseball.  (Something, I never knew before was that he got the nickname ‘Slingin’ while playing baseball and not lighting  up the Giants and Eagles on Sunday afternoons.)  He was the 6th pick overall that draft, an epic slide for such a phenomenal talent.  He fell behind Sam Francis, Ed Goddard, Buzz Buivid, Ed Widseth and Mike Basrak.  Now, I have no idea where Mel Kiper had him going, but I gotta think his draft slide was kind of a shock for everyone.  He didn’t have that Aaron Rodgers kind of slide, but for five other teams to pass on a franchise quarterback must’ve caused a huge stir at the time.  To that, I say the Redskins franchise were incredibly lucky that day, because…Sammy was the best. 

During his 16 year career (1937-1952) he led the franchise to four football championships winning two of them in 1937 and 1942, both against George Halas’ Chicago Bears.  He was also a seven time all-pro and two-time player of the year, in back to back seasons of 1947 and 1948…essentially consecutive MVP’s.  Pretty impressive, again…Sammy was the best.

The greatness of Slingin Sammy can’t be stated in this blog, but hey, I’ve got some sweet cards to show off and it’s his birthday.  So hope you enjoyed the brief bio and remember…Sammy was the best.   

Thank you for reading and sticking with me, deadlines and life get in the way but man I love this blog.  Mostly for personal reasons, but l love to share as well.  Hope you all enjoy reading.

Let’s go, one more for the road…Slingin’ Sammy Baugh ya’ll!

-Cardboard Hogs

You know who is also the best?  Jay-Z.  Maybe not to the level of Sammy’s greatness, but excellent in his own right.  So, here’s a video of Jay-Z…wearing a Sammy Baugh jersey…because Sammy was the best.

Organizing at 2005

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After numerous years of threatening to get organized, this year it is truly happening.  It’s a slow go, but I’m getting there.  How do I get there you ask…well, let me give you an example!

The 2005 Washington Redskins…and google docs.  That’s right two things that have nothing to do with each other have come together for today’s post.  A post about a team that was anxiety inducing to watch and a blast to look back through the cards from that year. 

Now, when I mention google docs…there are layers to this.  I like, well…I require and love organization.  I can’t stand it when things are not in the place I expect them to be.  I also love and require a ‘complete’ version of something.  If is buy #3 and #7 of something, it’s only a matter of time before I’m searching for numbers 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6.  I could go on too depending on when it all ends, but I think you get the idea.  I’m a completionist…not sure that’s a word, but neither was ‘blog’ 15 years ago.  I like to have a COMPLETE list of things.  That’s an incredible challenge when dealing with sports cards, especially modern sports cards… 

Parallels

Rainbows

Inserts

Variations

Serial Numbers

SP’s

SSP’s

1 of 1’s

The list goes on and on and on and I want my list to contain each and every single one of these cards.  Now, I know I won’t get everyone.  That’s insanity and I don’t have that kind of cash.  That’s not the point.  The point is the chase.  The pursuit of the low hanging Topps flagship vs. the extra hard to find Upper Deck something or another for a specific year with a specific color variation and the SN on the back…or front.  (Do we have opinions on where those should be?  Front or Back?  I’m a back of the card guy FWIW).  So, in order to get a complete list, or at least that I can feel is 97% complete I take the inventory of cards from the Beckett database and Trading Card Database and combine them into one google sheet…here’s the Washington Redskins version (name change will happen at some point soon…).  Insane I know.  The list covers every card, some objects and a few magazines from what I could find from 1935 – Today.  That’s upwards of 70,000 cards….seems like there would be more, but 70k is what I like to call – A SHIT TON – of cards.  The frightening part is that I’m sure I’m missing a few.  I’ve already found a few cards I have that are not in the google doc.  It’s only maddening if I know about the missing misses…a bit of Schrödinger’s plates going on…ok, maybe not.  So, yeah…the list…it’s insane.  I’ve tracked everything up to 2005 and have combined the lists up to 2012.  Some more work ahead of me, but that’s part of the hobby I enjoy.

Here’s the list…if you dare!

So, the cards from 2005.  The team from 2004.  The pain.

Here’s a sampling of what I’ve checked off the list, an image of a few of my favorite cards or players from the ’04 season and ’05 designs.

First off, the Quarterbacks.  When you have two QB’s that’s ok, because a great backup is hard to come by…but when you have three…that’s too many.  It’s like an exponential thing.  Two is ok, Three is what the hell are you even doing!

Next player is LaVar Arrington.  For a few years he was hands down my favorite player.  Never really reached superstardom at Linebacker, but he was a solid player.  Then a few injuries piled up and he was quickly overlooked and shuttled off for other players that didn’t really match his caliber.  Seeing him in New York as a Giant was a heartbreaker for me…

Chris Cooley was great.  He had a tremendous sense of humor and once even showed off his prick while (I’ll let you google that and have it in your search history) snapping a pick of the playbook…not sure what was more egregious…NFL playbooks are sacred.

Santana MOSS!  Absolutely loved this guy in Washington…so much so, that I’ve been collecting his Jets cards as well.  He was so incredible and passionate, how could you not want a guy like that on your team.  He was traded for Laveranues Coles…who, ironically was traded to Washington from the Jets originally.  The second trade worked out better for my team.

The next guy, Carlos Rogers was…well…I really thought he would be special.  A high draft pick in ’05 that just didn’t pan out as a big time player in DC.  He moved on to the 49ers and had a bit of a rebirth, then on to the Raiders where he ended his career.

Ok.  Here are a couple Miami guys…I could have grouped Moss in here as well, but these two were special.  I love Portis.  One of my top 5 Washington guys of all time…Love everything he brought to the team, including Sean Taylor.  Not saying that Portis was the reason Taylor came to the team, but he did push hard.  To be honest, I don’t think it would have been wise for Joe Gibbs to pass on such a talented player…still miss ST21.

***

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The last group of guys are Redskins greats, guys that had a huge impact on the organization.  All three are in the Redskins ring of Fame.  Bobby Mitchell and Charley Taylor are both in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

oh yeah, found this one too…Alex Smith Rookie Card…along with one of the numerous Browns QB draft picks Charlie Frye…and future Browns QB Jason Campbell. Let’s play six degrees of separation with these guys some day.

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Since 2020 is almost done. YAY. I thought i’d share the most 2020 video from one of my favorite groups in the world. RTJ – Run The Jewels. Love these guys!

Opening Day…a couple of days late

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The last few years i’ve taken the…sort of MLB opening day of Monday off.  I already get Sundays off, so it’s not really necessary to take that day off.  It’s Monday’s that i like to not be at work.  Plus, who likes working on Monday’s.  They tend to suck don’t they?  Take ’em off i say.  The only problem though was that i am drowning in a mess of a deadline at work…so that time could have been better spent working than watching baseball…but life goes on.

Normally, i take this time off to be with my kid, but he’s in school until 3pm and i saw that as a time in the day to open up some packs of cards from my local Target.  Why Target and not my LCS…well, Brian was apparently out that day…he must have taken opening day off too.

I’m not typically a pack buyer or box buyer unless i plan on putting the set together, but i do like to pick up a pack or two of new releases.  A couple reasons, it helps me replenish my team card lots as well as adds star cards to my personal collection…which unfortunately ends up living in a white box in my basement.  Let’s take a look at what i picked up.

Just a couple of battery mates from the city by the bay.  MadBum and Posey.  Both of these cards are fantastic examples of how Panini should make cards with none…or at least very minimal photoshopping in order to get a proper non logo’d image.  Plus some cool action photos

Next up is a couple of Longo cards that just so happened to be back to back in the fat pack of Donruss.  Longoria was one of those guys that I had added to my PC a few years ago…but never really followed up on him.  I kinda feel bad for the guy.  He’s a great player on a mediocre team…they’re not bad, but playing in the AL East is tough…plus, not too much fan support in Tampa for their baseball team.

17 DO Andrew McCutchen

Cutch is a player that i’ve waffled on adding as a “guy i collect” but never seem to actually getting it done.  Instead, i think i’ll just add this card to my non official collection of him…again, in the white basement box.

17 DO Gary Sanchez

Ok, this guy.  Mr. Sanchez will most likely be a “guy i collect”.  I’m already building up a little stack of his cards so far…would like to get an autograph of his at some point this year.  I’ve never been overly fond of catchers though…cept for Posada of course!

17 DES Madison Bumgarner 96:249

Last card from the Donruss pack was this shimmery bit of sexiness.  A Madison Bumgarner ‘The Elite Series’ serial numbered card of 96/249.  It was the only hit of the day for me…very nice though.

Next up was a few packs of Gypsy Queen.  GQ is something that i get excited about each year, but never really seem to get that much in to the set.  I saw a few samples on the other blogs and was quite impressed with the cards this year though.  My trip to Target yielded single packs only.  I had high hopes of getting a blaster, but that wasn’t in the cards for me…so i had marginal expectations for the packs i picked up and was definitely not let down…or lifted up?  Pretty cool to get a couple Bronx Baby Bombers though.

Rizzo, because he’s a champion of the world with the Cubbies.  Also, JaCoby Jones…not the receiver from Super Bowl fame, but JaCoby Jones that appears to be doing something that should not be done on a baseball card, but maybe i’m just a perv…

17 GQ Trea Turner

Trea Turner.  I watched the Nets game Monday morning and couldn’t get over how smooth Trea seemed out at short.  He’s quite the talent at such a young age and he rocks the 7 like he owns it.  Can’t wait to see what kind of player he becomes.

17-tod-evan-longoria.jpeg

When i first saw this card, i thought it was some kind of error card.  NO WORDS!  I’m rich!!  Well actually it’s an introduction card from last season of a clean shaven Evan.  Maybe he’s working to get back in my PC box.

17 TOD Adrian Beltre

Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus are buddies and should totally make a buddy cop movie.

17 TOD Elvis Andrus

A former Nat in a Sox Jersey.  Not sure Adam Eaton was worth giving up on Giolito…but Rizzo is a better baseball GM than i am and so maybe i should just trust the process and see what Eaton can do this season.

17-tod-lucas-giolito.jpeg

Now, Topps Opening Day is not something i buy much of if at all.  Just not really in to the cards.  I wish they would do something different with the cards rather than just copy the base design…but, it’s a cool and inexpensive little set each year that i like to get a few packs from.

17 TOD Trea Turner

Last card of note is Turner again.  A nice kitchen mitten action photo.  That’s how i look chasing my kid when he takes the spatula from the kitchen when i’m making fried eggs on sundays.

So that wraps it up for me tonight.  Deadline wraps up next week…not sure i’ma make it but there’s always another deadline…Oh yeah.  One odd story.  At the end of last year, i received an email which i initially though was just some spam email.  Turns out it was legit.  Someone from a book publisher had reached out to me as they came across an image from my blog a few years ago (2013 no less!).  They wanted a copy of an image i did not produce, but scanned and wrote about…as we all do.  The image they wanted was the one shown below.  Adam Dunn’s 2013 Topps Series 2 card #647.

Baseball Meat Market

I was slightly confused because…it’s not an original image of mine, just a scanned one.  I was concerned about sharing the image, but figured it wasn’t in my court…it was their book.  Nevertheless, the book is out and i read through a couple pages and it’s quite a fascinating take on some of the biggest, recent trades and how each team benefited or not from the deals.  Kind of excited to read a little more soon…plus an “image of mine” has been published…not really, but you know what i mean…

Today’s music video is brought to you by Evidence from Dilated Peoples.  It’s a great one!!!

young’ns

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Although the past Redskins season didn’t unfold as i had expected, there were a couple of bright spots…or at least areas that may appear to be bright if things unfold how i hope they will.  The rookie class from last years draft had minimal impact this season, starting of course with the much written about here, Josh Doctson.  Most of the kids drafted in April of 2016 didn’t see much playing time due to injuries or roster depth.

Take a quick peek:

  1. WR – Josh Doctson from TCU
  2. LB – Su’A Cravens from USC
  3. DB – Kendall Fuller from Virginia Tech
  4. DT – Matthew Ioannidis from Temple
  5. QB – Nate Sudfeld from Indiana
  6. LB – Steve Daniels from Boston College
  7. RB – Keith Marshall from Georgia

If you look closer at the draft though, the team managed to keep everyone in the organization and didn’t cut them.  What that means of course is that the organization felt they did a good job of drafting.  Now, who really knows who drafted these guys.  Could have been Scott McCloughan or Bruce Allen…or maybe it was Chris Cooley…who knows…!  I’m going to keep my hopes up and hope these guys have great futures with the team.

Besides Doctson, i’m really hoping for something great from Su’A Cravens.  He’s making the shift from LB to Safety next season.  Something that should have been done last year…but who has time to look backwards these days.

16 PS Su'a Cravens auto 39:49

Cravens likens himself to a Sean Taylor kind of player…most of the defensive backs that play for the Redskins or wear 21 do, so it’s cool that he gets to fulfill that wish i guess.  Taylor was a freak of nature and a complete beast on the field.  He also loved football and always went all out when he played…not saying Cravens can’t do that…but…i’m just sayin it’s a lot to live up to.

Not to mention, Cravens likes his social media which i really couldn’t imagine Sean Taylor posting photos of him posing near a waterfall during his vacation…but maybe…who knows.  I have hope that Su’A will become a dominant player, only time will tell.

16 IN Su'a Cravens auto 91:488

The only other player that really saw much time on the field last year was Kendall Fuller, although it was somewhat short lived.  He was coming off an ACL surgery from the prior season, so no telling how healthy he was last season.  His impact last year didn’t amount to much, but he seems like the kind of player that will be solid and have some great games.  Maybe not an All-Pro, but his blood line is that of an NFL’er…plus the new secondary coach for the Redskins was his DB coach at VTech.  So there’s that.

Nate Sudfeld is a bit of a curiosity for me.  Is the Cousin’s replacement next season?  Is he just a guy that will be a 2nd and 3rd string quarterback?  Who is he and what can he do!  Only time will tell for him.

16 LTC Nate Sudfeld auto

Since he’s a QB, i’ve been working to stock up on his autographs like i did with Cousins during RGIII’s rookie year.  That was some seriously major foresight on my part.  If things don’t work out for Cousins and the Redskins in the future, i’ll have my Sudfelds ready to go and fully invested in!

16 SC Nate Sudfeld

The other players i don’t have cards for yet are Steven Daniels and Matthew Ioannidis.  Daniels was injured during training camp and was placed on IR but had a decent start to his camp last year.  Seems like one of those small cannon ball kind of line backers that is everywhere and becomes a field leader…like London Fletcher was for so many seasons.  Keith Marshall was another player that was injured and didn’t have an impact on last season.

Looking back on t the draft, you really have to hope that these kids can get and stay healthy or this draft could turn out to be a huge bust.  But if they can get and stay healthy, who knows what their future holds for them.  Lots of potential and talent for them young’ns.

The music today is brought to you by a couple of enigmatic dual personality MC’s from New York.  Kool Keith and MF Doom.  A couple old guys that the young’ns love…especially Doom.  He has quite a cult following for those true hip hop fans.

Keepin’ it 1 hunid

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Today on Twitter, Josh Doctson posted this vague tweet that was left up for interpretation…or maybe it was quite clear.

Yup, 100%.

There’s a lot of things that can be 100%…one of them is not this laptop i’m typing on, that’s at 42%…apparently in honor of Jackie Robinson.

100% could be how he’s “keeping’ it!” that’s what the kids say.

100% could be how much effort he gives each time out, although some like to give 110% or 120%.

100% could be the score on his driving test, that’s a good grade.

100% could also be how his health is rated in relation to his aching achilles, which is most likely the reason for the very general tweet.  If that’s the case, this is great news for the Redskins and the guy that drafted him…the guy that was fired a couple weeks ago.  This, of course is assuming he continues to stay healthy and is at 100%.

I find it hard to believe that a football player every really gets to 100% healthy.  With all the hitting and overzealous physical contact from large, fast moving objects from opposing directions…how can you ever be at a full 100%.  100 percent is technically perfect, can’t really do better.  Even the foolish coaches that tell you to give 110% or 120%.  If you give your all, isn’t that a full 100?  Maybe i’m just a slacker or too cynical for wordplay with number…but…nevermind.

So, today marks the 17th anniversary of one of my all time favorite albums.  Hands down favorite album by one of my favorite artists, Common (Sense as he was named when i first heard him).  Like Water for Chocolate was a phenomenal album that came out at a time when hip-hop was getting back to more positive rhymes and storytelling…not to mention the music produced by the late great J-Dilla.  Here’s my favorite track from that album…if you like this one, the rest of the album will be a great listen for you if you haven’t yet heard.  Common definitely gave it a 120% effort on this one.

Well…damn…!!??!?!!?

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We have a champion in the very first ever Cardboard Hogs contest…and it was a non-contested contest.  The Winner…wait for it…GAVIN!! from my current hometown of Portland, Oregon and writer/blogger of the very entertaining Baseball Card Breakdown blog.  I don’t believe i have your address, so it you wouldn’t mind passing me an email i’ll get something over to you that i hope you enjoy!  Not sure i’m going to make it to the show the weekend…

In case you were wondering, here are the results…along with some other stuff.

DOOR #1 – $20

Rypien Monk Mann

Ok, brief story on this lot.  This is the old guy, the new…old guy that had the vintage football.  Seemed nice, very chatty…but there was something odd about him.  He was a little more pushy than the other guys and was really doing a sell job on me.  Normally i don’t like that and tend to wander off when i get that kind of vibe.  I should have listened to my gut!  When i pulled this lot of cards, i handed him the stack and said my usual “what’s my damage…?”  his response was “…make me an offer!”  I offered $10 thinking that was more than enough.  $2 per card.  In fact, i thought it was a little too high…Bill probably has all of these cards in his 7 for $5 boxes.  Anyways, he LOL’d out loud and said “…the 24K gold card is $20 by itself!”.  That’s the Charles Mann card.  He could quite possibly be right, but card shows aren’t about getting top dollar for your cards. It’s about selling cards to collectors at negotiable prices that work for both parties.  I was taken back by his counter and shockingly stared at the cards for what seemed like 2 minutes before sheepishly taking out a $20 and handing it to him.  Retelling this story and reliving the moment, i’m quite upset with myself.  I tend to be a fairly generous person and don’t mind getting the lesser end of the deal if i can make someone happy…but this was just a case of me getting taken advantage of…and it pissed me off…i’m still upset that i let myself accept that offer.  I should have given him the cards back and walked off.  I will certainly skip his table next time…if he’s there again.  I can’t imagine he did much business in finding too many suckers last time.

DOOR #2 – $15

This is just some good ole’ Tom hooking me up.  His table was my third stop and more than made up for the previous door…Now, Tom has a habit of overpricing his cards and then giving you a great deal on them.  I think he does that so he an engage in conversation with the guys at the show.  When he handed me that Jamison Crowder card with a $40 sticker, i was like nah SON!  But, he smiled and said, “you know i’ll make a good deal for you.”

DOOR #3 – $25

These are a few gems from Kim.  All relics or autos, most with serial numbers…and $5 more than door #1.  This is why i enjoy hitting up Kim’s table.  He has stuff set aside for me and i get great deals on them.

DOOR #4 – $10

Reed Seastrunk Jeffcoat

So, the last door was from the military vet.  This is another guy that over prices his cards with the label, but is more than happy to negotiate a deal quickly and easily.  He’s the autograph guy that is more interested in moving things than keeping them.  I had offered him $15 for the lot and was scrambling around for a $5 to go with my $10 and he said “…$10 is fine…”  That’s how you treat a customer at a mall show i say!!

So there you have it kids.  Don’t let people take advantage of you and do not hesitate to negotiate…don’t be a sucker like me!

Today is the first day of spring and my mid year birthday…tomorrow is my son’s…kinda cool that we basically share birthdays.  So, in honor of none of that…here’s a video from a TEDx conference in Wisconsin by Michael Ford…very cool connection of Hip Hop and Architecture.  Check it out.

Let’s Make a Deal! or not?

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When i was in elementary school, my grandma would pick me up after class.  Sometimes we’d head straight to the house and other times we would make a pit stop for a snack or late lunch.  Her favorite spot was the Sonic in Schertz.  It was one of those older drive ins, and like they still do today, they would bring the food out to your car…sometimes in roller skates!  These were great times, simpler times…easier times.

My grandma was a TV freak and had to watch all of her shows.  This was before she had a VCR, so we’d have to get through those burgers, fries and shakes quickly so we could get home to watch Monty Hall and Let’s make a Deal on the tele.  Grandma was from England. I loved the show, not so much because of the premise of choosing some random “prize” behind doors 1, 2 or 3, but because of the wacky ass outfits the people wore.  Granny enjoyed the show because she liked to go on ‘winning streaks’ of picking the right door…again, simpler times back then.  If you are unaware of the show, you should definitely check it out.  It’s like a three card molly scam where nobody really walks away a winner…why are they dressed like that!

So, that brings me to some cards…the last show i went to, unplanned, i stopped by a new guys table and chatted him up a bit.  He seemed like a nice older guy and kinda reminded me of my grandpops.  Had a similar look from what i could cobble together from my cloudy memory…it’s been 25 years since he passed.  There was something about the guy that made me want to hang out.  I began to sift through his cards and was pleased to see that he had some odd ball cards and a ton of vintage football stuff…mostly 49ers though.  Since most of his collection was 49ers, i didn’t get too many cards but was able to pick out a few i needed for my master collection.

DOOR #1

Rypien Monk Mann

Next stop was Tom’s table.  Tom was my original go-to guy at the show…it’s been close to 8 years since i first met him.  He works at Check out my Cards during the week and does the shows on the weekends.  He’s really helped me through the years with filling out some Heritage set needs, plus he’s a great guy to talk to.  Here’s what i picked up from his table at the last show.

DOOR #2

Next table for some Redskins cards.  My new go-to guy, Kim.  Kim is great.  He’s always incredibly nice and friendly as well.  Plus he always has way too many cards for me to sort through with incredible deals.  He tends to deal more with the big hits and pricier cards but always comes through with a great deal.  Here’s what i got from Kim.

DOOR #3

Last stop.  Last door.  The veteran Marine autograph guy.  Not too sure about this dude.  Seems friendly…maybe not.  Has a ton of autographs from people of all walks of life.  Chasing famous people for autographs isn’t really my thing, but it’s always cool to see what he has.  Sometimes he has a nice new lot of cards that i can sort through…most of the time i end up passing his table without picking anything up, but today i got a few autograph cards.  (i know, i know…it’s supposed to be three doors, but just roll with me on this.)

DOOR #4

Reed Seastrunk Jeffcoat

Okay kids.  It’s time to play LET’S MAKE A DEAL!!!

Here’s the deal, i’m going to do a bit of a game…or a contest as the kids say.  The first person to correctly guess the cost of each lot will win a nice little gift pack of their favorite team from my collection.  Closest to the correct answers win, along with some kind of tie breaker i guess.

Here’s a list of possible prices for each lot: $5  |  $10  |  $15  |  $20  |  $25  |  $30  |  $35

I’ll post the winner next Monday, March 20th…the first day of Spring…and my mid year birthday!!

 

Faces in new places

Posted by cardboard hogs on

Change is inevitable, it happens.  People move, make new friends, change jobs, etc.  It’s a big part of life and in my opinion, it’s a great part of life.  I love to experience new things.  Try new restaurants and take a trip to a place i know nothing about…or simply listen to new music.  I live new.  New is good to me, it excites me and awakens me.  The flip side to that is i tend to jump in head first for the new thing and get caught up in the moment.  I’m a bit impulsive at times and this can be a bad combination…compulsivity and attraction to the novel.  That said, if i really am honest with myself and look back on what i’ve gone through, i can’t say that i have any regrets (or at least very few…) for things that i’ve done.  It’s always the things i didn’t do that get me…which i think most people go through in their life.  The fear of taking a risk and just going for it cripples most of us.  I know it’s paralyzed me in the past…completely shut me down at times.  I’m a totally afraid of fear.  Last year though, i started to take a different approach and go head first in to new things…now, these were safe gambles.  I wasn’t jumping out of planes or wrestling tigers (GO CLEMSON!!  YAY!), i was leaving something that was know for something that was unknown and striking up a conversation with people i wouldn’t normally talk to.  Attempting to become fearless.  Well, my levels of fear are creeping back up.  Self doubt is creeping back in to my mind and slowing me down once again.  It’s been tough adjusting to the new…but i think it’s worth it and i could really use a little bit of a reboot and a chance to challenge  myself again.

Leaving and arriving are antonyms, but really you can’t have one without the other.  If you are leaving a place, then you must be arriving to another place.  Whether the circumstances were of your own volition or through the making of someone else, it’s a chance to start fresh and push yourself to do things you maybe haven’t had to do in a while.

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Less than a year ago, the Carolina Panthers offered the Franchise tag to arguably the best cornerback in the NFL, Josh Norman.  There was quite a bit of back and forth with him and the Panthers and to be honest, i wasn’t paying attention…didn’t need to.  He played for a team that i appreciate, but don’t think too much about, he wasn’t a Redskin.  Well, time went on and the contract wasn’t signed for whatever reasons.  Just before it needed to be signed, the Panthers pulled the offer and Norman became a free agent.  Less than a week after, he was a Redskin.

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This was quite a coup for my team.  They needed major secondary help…MAJOR secondary help (and still do), he wasn’t going to be the savior but he was a night and day improvement over what the Redskins had last season.  Being the shutdown corner that he is labeled, he doesn’t get too many passes thrown his way.  A little ironic that the best player on your defense rarely sees the ball or gets close to the ball…seems counterintuitive doesn’t it?  He’s basically a little leaguer in right field…put him where he won’t see any action!!!

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Norman had a good season.  Not an epic season, but nice.  Held some of the best receivers in the NFL to their worst games of the year.  His battle with Odell Beckham Jr. earlier this year led to OBJr. getting sacked by a kicking net on the Giants sidelines.  Classic material if you ask me.  Josh Norman is one of those guys that you love if he’s on your team and hate if he isn’t and i’m cool with that.  He seems like a cool guy, energetic and knowledgable about the NFL game.  I guess he’s a great example of making the best of a new situation.  A situation he didn’t have total control over, but it worked out…kinda helped he got crazy paid though.

Being a rookie has to be tough on the college kids.  Incredible levels of competition and a whole new routine and way of life.  There is always someone nipping at your heels pushing you to be better and reach higher levels of excellence.  Some succeed and some crumble.  This guy, Matt Jones did neither last year.  He was somewhere in between and ended up losing his job due to costly fumbles…but hey, competition, right!  That hair in the photo is pretty epic.

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Another difficult part of being a rookie is injuries…damn injuries.  This kid, Keith Marshall was hit with some elbow issues in preseason and ended up on the IR for the year.  Not a great start for a guy at a deep position.

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He showed some signs of potential in the few touches he had in preseason, so it made sense for the Redskins to IR him in hopes of keeping him on the roster and not cutting him.

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Not sure what next year will bring for him, i hope he gets healthy, gets reps and has a chance to make the team next year.  Georgia has had some pretty fantastic running backs in the past, and maybe he can be a hidden gem?

So yeah, i picked up a couple autographs of him over the weekend.  They are cheap and colorful with wicked wands of hair…can’t go wrong really.  One of the cards i picked up though really caught my eye.  It was a personalized card, and a card that Kim had set aside for me.  My first personalized authentic card ever.  But it was cool and timely for me.  Take a look.

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I already miss Athens, GA.

Now, this could simply be rhetoric and i’m making it in to something deeper, but my point is that we should always feel great about moving forward and challenging ourselves with new experiences and be allowed to miss the people/places/things we’ve left behind.

I’ve always thought i was someone that never wanted to look back, only move forward…KIM (keep it movin’).  But, i’m understanding the importance of being able to look back happily and remember the experiences, good and bad that i went through…and more importantly the people that helped get me where i am today.  Thank you for reading tonight.

The song for the night is fitting for the post i believe…

 

A buncha PC randos…

Posted by cardboard hogs on

I’m a bit of a scatter brain at times.

I love things.  I hate dislike things.

I Get excited.  I Get intimidated.

I’m motivated.  I’m uninspired.

I’m focused.  I’m distracted.

Lots of pendulum swings with my moods.  In fact…just the time it took me to write the words above, i got up to mute the TV, select a song on my iTunes…didn’t see anything i wanted to listen to so i downloaded the new free copy of the OC album.  Poured some water, sat down, got up to pour some whiskey, got some coke to add to the whiskey…and now i’m back ready to write something about my collecting hauls.  The baseball and basketball PC that guys i collect…or do I…?

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I’ve been a Bryce Harper collector for a while.  He’s a fantastic player, intense and quite emotional.  He also has some great hair, see!  Theres something perversely magical about the combination of everything on this card.  The wavy brushed back hair, close cropped beard, unbuttoned shirt, open mouthed gaze to right field…and the animal print border.  This card has it all for the creepy collector…so i picked it up.  Plus it’s numbered to 199, not 200.

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Harper is a good player for me to collect, why you ask?  Well, he’s a National at the moment and will be for another year at least.  He heads in to arbitration after next season and has been fixated on a GIGANTIC contract…a YUUUGE ONE!  Not too many teams can front the cash for a player like Harper, except maybe his favorite team as a child…the Yankees.

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This would be awesome for me.  Many times a player i like moves on to a team i can’t really get down with collecting…i’m looking at you Hanley Ramirez and Carl Crawford.  So, it’s a win win.  Assuming everything goes according to plan…which rarely happens if ever these days.  So, keeping things in the proper perspective, i can see collecting this guy for a long time, no matter if he plays in DC or NYC.

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Just hope if he ends up in the pinstripes, he can take the ups and downs of playing on a tremendously large stage…it can roughen the edges of the smoothest player.

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Normally i love it when a guy stays on the same team his entire career, like Jeter and Ripken to name a few.  One guy that i could see staying with his team for the duration of his career is this kid, Trea Turner.  He’s a future superstar…with a ton of potential.  I can’t help but thing of Jeter when i see him, slightly different type of player but I think he has that magical ability to be where the play is and can bring a ton of victories the next few years.  I’m slowly working on his collection and this Gold Label is a nice base card pick up from the show.

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Ok, enough about the Nats and baseball.  How about some basketball…and a couple Spurs i picked up.  I’m a streaky Spurs collector.  I’ll go months between a Spurs purchase and then pick up a few cards to add to the collection.  At the moment though, they are just dropped in a box marked “Spurs to be organized”.  The odds are not favorable that that box gets organized in the current year, but at least they are together.  Go Spurs Go!

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The obvious guy for me to collect at the moment is Kawhi.  If this guy wasn’t born to be a Spur, i don’t know what a Spur is.  Tough, physical, durable, smart and doesn’t need to let you know everything about his personal life…i like that.  The quiet modesty vs. the humble brag.

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The problem with me and Spurs cards is that i tend to skip the basketball tables at the show…just walk right past those dudes.  One of the guys works for COMC and is super cool, but his table is filled with basketball cards…and i don’t have that kind of time to sift through a ton of basketball cards.  Not to mention i don’t know most of the guys.  If they don’t play on the Blazer or Spurs…i don’t know them.  Apparently Vince Carter is still dunking over dudes…who knew!

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Every time i get one of these Red White Blue Prizm cards, i’m just gonna go ahead and post this image as well…because…well…it’s the exact same thing.

Rocket Pops

 

I couldn’t get some Leonard cards and not get one of this guys.  The Saint, Timmy Duncan!

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This card in person is crazy sparkly.  It’s like a flat disco ball.  It shimmers quite a bit.  Plus you can really see the gray beard of a man young Duncan became.  He does have skills.

I also picked up this card on a whim…was about to start buying up a bunch of Clemson Tigers at the show and slammed on the brakes, but not before i slipped this Hopkins card on my stack.

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So, as i’ve been typing, i’ve been listening to the new OC album.  I believe it came out today, maybe yesterday…doesn’t really matter.  It’s a free download and it sounds pretty nice.  I’ve been a fan of OC since i first heard Times Up!  A great moment of lyrical supremacy and a very cool sample from Les DeMerle’s Jazz version of A Day in the Life which has been sampled many times in hiphop, but for my money, Times Up is the best use of the first portion of the cover…If you like the OC video below, maybe give the free download a chance…it’s not bad…and it’s free!!!  Or listen to the Beatles A Day in the Life…it’s pretty fantastic as well.