Christmas Eve Pickups

Posted by cardboard hogs on December 24, 2013

I had an extra hour today because I decided that work was so slow that I shouldn’t be there. I left to run some errands and was able to get over to see the fine folks at Hoopla sports cards. I had been in there many times, but never really had the time to look around. They have a ton of stuff and are super friendly guys, so they helped me find a couple of things I was looking for…and of course some other things I didn’t know I needed.

As my building of the Tim Duncan collection begins, my main focus is on base cards and cards that I just like the look of. Getting in to basketball cards is completely different…they don’t wear protective head wear so you get a great look at each players face. Here are two pictures of Timmy’s emotionless face. So stoic.

I also picked up my first jersey card of Duncan. That is one BIG STAR.

I love the overhead view in this card. There was a guy in the shop opening some high end version of Hockey cards…man, Hockey cards are REALLY AWESOME. As an amateur photographer, I love the contract of the white ice and the colorful jerseys. I’ve noticed some of these nice contrasts in the basketball cards…but not this one per se.

Here are a couple of cards i didn’t know existed of Ryan Kerrigan and Jarvis Jenkins. I also picked up Paul, Helu and Royster…but I like these guys more so I scanned them instead.

The next one is a beauty. A Stephen Davis Turkey Red jersey card. This card is all kinds of wonderful and cost me $2. Not bad at all for a jersey card.

This is where it gets fun. Heath Shuler. He was a highly touted QB coming out of Tennessee and was to be the face of the franchise for years to come. His QB guru head coach was going to groom him in to the next Troy Aikman, or at least some other great Hall of Fame QB.

A lack of pocket presence and multiple injuries helped derail his career along with inability to really learn the offense that was tailored to fit his specific athletic abilities.

Luckily for the Redskins, they drafted another QB…you know, just in case The Man didn’t work out. Why does this sound so familiar…?

Ballin D’Hall

Posted by cardboard hogs on November 26, 2013

OK. I’m over the debacle from last night and want to focus on some positivity here at Cardboard Hogs. One player that has been having a very solid if not great season is DeAngelo Hall. Hall is one of those guys that Redskin fans love to hate and hate to love. In his short career with the Redskins he has made some terrible bonehead decisions, like picking fights with receivers and getting penalized or bailing on coverage to go for a pick only to get burned when he misses out.

This year though, amidst all the terrible-ness of a 3-8 season, Hall has stepped up in a major way. He’s having the kind of season that would get much more pub is he wasn’t on a terrible team…albeit, the main reason for the bad record is due to the defense (and special teams if you keeping score at home). Hall has managed to slow down if not stop some of the leagues best receivers all year long. From Megatron to Dez and Brandon Marshall, he has slowed them down from their standard levels of production.

I’ve picked up a few nice jersey or swatch cards as i have decided to coin them from my new favorite local card shop, Hoopla Sports. I am loving the customer service at Hoopla and the friendliness of their staff. One reason for switching shops is their online stores with Beckett and ebay. They are constantly updating their store with new items that i can bid on or add to my cart and pick up in store with no shipping charges. Cuts down on my in store time (which isn’t necessarily great) which is great considering my demanding 14 month old baby monster…(I love the kid!)

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?