Update

There hasn’t been nearly as much Josh Hamilton news this off-season as there was last season, probably a result of the disappointing season he had on the field, and the fact that he isn’t the ‘hot new story’ now.  My card pickups have also slowed down a little bit in the leadup to Christmas, as they always do.  I also spent a significant portion of my ‘recreation’ budget on tickets to some World Junior Hockey games.

But, this too shall pass, and I will be back to picking up Hamilton cards in the new year.  I am finishing up my thesis, so I am also anticipating some free time in the new year.  Oh, 2010 you should be a wonderful year.

Also, if anyone has any suggestions of what I should do in Miami in the middle of February, hit me up.  I am heading to a conference there, and have a couple days on the tail end to kick around for a while.

Win a Josh Hamilton Autograph

Check it out, over at cardboardicons.

Basketball Interlude: Seriously, Lebron?

Just saw this quote in an article about James’s theory that any NBA player who currently wears #23 on their jersey should give it up in a tribute to Jordan, effectively retiring Jordan’s number league-wide.

Fine.  A noble goal.

OK, maybe James isn’t quite that noble after all.  The article had this quote: “I feel like no NBA player should wear 23. Nobody. If I’m not going to wear No. 23, then nobody else should be able to wear it.”

Lame.  If you want to do something about this – change your jersey number, and make your position known.  Don’t issue an ultimatum saying that you will change your jersey number – if everyone else does.  Or implying that if you are going to deign to give up your jersey number, every other NBA player should do it because they are somehow beneath you.

While you are at it, you could suck it up and shake hands even after a tough loss.

This is why I don’t watch basketball.  It angers me.

 

Lest we forget…

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John McCrae

Contest Winnings from Wax Heaven!

A while back, Mario over at Wax Heaven had a contest.  He was giving away the winner’s choice of cards from his break of 2009 Bowman Sterling football, in exchange for finding some of these:

I tracked down 8 or so, and got in touch with Mario.  He sent the Bowman Sterling cards I selected my way, and told me to send the Barnses his way when I received.  They have been patiently waiting on top of my scanner to be sent south.  Here’s the cards I got in return.

Thanks for the contest, Mario.  The Barnes card will be headed your way tomorrow. 

Fantasy Football Interlude

I need 8 fantasy points out of Zach Miller for a win this week.  A 20 yard TD or 80 yards would do it.  I’m not optimistic.

2009 Upper Deck X

Upper Deck X is one of those products I am glad I don’t have to break.  Hamilton had a fairly sizable list of cards, but they were easily obtainable (except for the fact that there were 4 plates for every card on the checklist).  I picked up most of them off eBay, and then Marie over at A Cardboard Problem hooked me up with one of the Exponentials (I think E^4).

I didn’t scan the base card, nor the die cut parallel of the base card, but the Exponential inserts are actually quite sharp, so I’ll show the whole range of them here.  I am assuming they go in numerical order with increasing odds, so that is how I am going to present them here.

The easiest one, and in my opinion the nicest design.  The blue foilboard really pops.  Its a busy design, but every once in a while a busy design is OK.

For whatever reason, UD switched the Exponential 2’s to a horizontal design.  Still a lot of blue, though.  Still a cool looking card.

Exponential 3’s were my least favorite.  So much effort was made blending the other four designs, and then they just cut this version of the card in half.  Blah.

A lot of black on the Exponential 4’s.  Nicer than the 3’s though.

Always nice to cross a set off my checklist (X is my second 2009 set, after SP Legendary Cuts), even though I don’t have any of the plates.  They aren’t a high priority for me anyways.

I’m still alive!

I just haven’t had much blogging time lately.  I still have a bunch of A&G to get organized, but I had a family reunion last weekend that had been consuming my life for a while.  It went great, though and now hopefully I will have less running around to do and more time to relax a bit.  I have some pickups to post, and some wantlists to update.

I busted a second box of A&G, but my rough scoring didn’t set off any high Gint-A-Cuffs bells, so I didn’t bother with a break down or anything like that.  It was arguably cooler than my first box, but you really need to luck out with the multipliers.

Gint-A-Cuffs: Pack Twenty-One

Running Total:  224

73:  Vernon Wells (+1)

4:  Jorge Posada (-1)
116:  Charles Darwin
176:  Ramiro Pena (-1)
220:  Suez Canal (-1)
145:  Todd Wellemeyer
57 Mini:  Frank Evans (+2)

NP37:  Johan Santana National Pride

Total for this pack: 0 (Ouch)
Running Total: 224

Gint-A-Cuffs: Pack Twenty

Running Total: 210

126:  Trevor Crowe
107:  Bryan Berg
38:  Troy Glaus
211:  Kevin Millwood
312:  A.J. Burnett (5 – 1 = 4)

AGHS5:  Josh Hamilton (+3)  Sad that there is no bonus for a favorite player in this subset.

LMT4:  Unicorn (+7)
NP44:  Yuniesky Betancourt

Total for this pack: 14
Running Total: 224 (Could have been great with the sketch card.  That Hamilton insert was worth the same as if I had pulled a base card )

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