The first set of 2014-15 Hockey IS HERE! Upper Deck MVP is live

I just got back from my LCS (hi Matt and Zack) and purchased my first few packs of the new season.  Of course I'm still buying 13/14 products, but since I'm almost done with my Upper Deck sets, and I'm pretty much giving up on anything Panini related, it's going to be an easy transition.

MVP is a budget product, or at least it's supposed to be.  Hobby boxes are running $46 at DA Cardworld and they are $48-60 at brick and mortar.  Boxes are 24 packs with 8 cards each.  In each pack you get 1 silver script and 1 SP high number.  The set is 300 cards and there are multiple inserts.

Upper Deck is following Topps parallel program it seems, not only are there the silver scripts, but "super-scripts" each numbered to 25 and then the extremely confusing "colours and contours" set, which are die-cut and have multiple levels of rarity from 1:6 to never gonna find it.

Besides the nifty autos and relics, the inserts are actually rather decent this time, celebrating the season that just ended rather than just another insert-set with bad graphics and the same old tired checklists.  MVP includes Rookie of the Month, 3 Star Players of the Month and 3 Star Players of the Week.  I like this idea better than the old paradigms because it actually focuses on the games rather than careers or even single seasons.  Plus there's plenty of Kings to chase here.

There's a four part Rookie Redemption set that are separated by conference (one for each) and are case hits.  Obviously we don't know who are in the sets yet, but these should be pretty popular I would think.  There's also a single Young Guns card with long odds as well.

So what did I pull in my four packs?  Well I only got one King, but it's Marian Gaborik and it's a short print.  It's my first Gaborik in a Kings uniform, because I don't buy high-end Panini crap.  I got one nice 3 Stars of the Week insert, featuring Sidney Crosby and Patrick Marleau.  And I pulled two box hits.

Yes you read that right, out of the four packs I snagged two box hits with 1:36 or higher odds.  The first was a Contours/Colors Gold Die Cut of Valtteri Filppula (there's one on the bay of e for $7) and the second, well, the second was pretty darn cool.  Here you go:

That's #05/25 of HOFer Patrick Roy as a Canadien.  Not that I even *LIKE* Roy because I still hate his guts for beating the Kings in the '93 Finals, but hey, it's a good card and if I can flip it I can buy some Kings cards.  I put it up already.  There's one other (#10) and they want $33 on the BIN with 2 days left.  Mine is priced a bit higher, but it's a lower number and it's from the US.  Plus I offer free domestic shipping and I tried to reprice the international shipping to just it's actual cost to me.

I don't know if I care to put a set together, I'm not 100% sure yet.  I will be chasing the Kings though, that's for sure.

It's HOCKEY PLAYOFF TIME - Now with good pulls lately

I'll fully admit it, last week when the Kings lost to the Sharks in Overtime in Game 3 to go down 0-3 in the First round I wrote them off.  Oh I always expect the worst because well, when your expectations are so low you can only be surprised by a better outcome.  This was my father's world-view and I sort of adopted it as an adult.

Anyway, I still watched every other game in the series, except for Monday's when I was in a class, but I left early to catch the end of the third period.  These Kings, they might not be a team of destiny like the 2012 squad, but they certainly are exciting.  Bring on the Ducks!

Which, I might add, is a DREAM Playoff Matchup for this Kings fan.


I started collecting Hockey Cards again this season, mostly because of the dual Rookie Card class.  I've pulled some great RCs already this year, including these two beauts that I have gotten from my friendly LCS California Sports Cards - their Upper Deck Series 2 boxes have been very kind to me:

Nathan MacKinnon RED Parallel OPC Rookie

Mikael Granlund Young Guns Exclusives #41/100

I currently have 124 cards on eBay right now, ALL WITH FREE SHIPPING.

AND BEFORE YOU COMMENT CAPTAIN CANUCK - -I DO NOT SET THE PRICES FOR CANADIAN SHIPMENTS - It's supposed to be FREE SHIPPING, but International Shipments aren't covered.  If you're Canadian and you want some of my cards, let me know ahead of time and we'll work it out.

I've already received an offer on the MacKinnon of $50.  BOTH cards are great pulls, the MacKinnon is a case hit (1:336) and has sold twice in the last 90 days, once for $46 (including shipping) and one a best offer (the original price was $80).  So if you're interested, offer more than $50.

 Not sure on how hard the Young Guns Exclusive was to pull, but there's SIX standard exclusives in a case of 10, so it's gotta be pretty rare.  Other copies have sold between $30 and $60, so my $50 price seems reasonable to me.  I'm accepting offers on that one as well.

That's all for today, remember GO KINGS GO

Adventures in Economics and 2x Rack Pack of 2013-14 Upper Deck Series 2 Hockey

I knew it was out because every time I look for Martin Jones cards I keep seeing his Young Guns Series 2 card on eBay, so I wasn't that surprised that I found brand new packs and boxes at Target this afternoon.  What I was surprised about were the prices and the configuration.  Let's see if this makes any sense shall we?


Retail Packs = 8 cards for $2.99 or $0.374 per card.
Rack Packs = 32 cards for $4.99 or $.0156 per card.
Retail Box of 10 12 packs of 5 cards = 70 cards at $19.99 or $.0286 per card.

If you're buying on a per card basis CLEARLY Rack Packs are the way to go.  However, UD is not being as generous with their insert cards in Racks as they have been in the past, I bought TWO of them this afternoon and pulled one insert, a Young Guns, whereas in years past a Rack would usually hold at least two if not more inserts.  Heck Topps usually gives you about five.

Here's what I got:

2 x 2013-14 Upper Deck Series 2 Hockey 32 cards per pack

Base: 62 - 1 double
Young Guns 1:4 - 467 Philipp Graubauer

That's it.  Oh and two Kings - Justin Williams and Ben Scrivens.  Oops I meant one King and someone we traded away.

At least the Young Guns is a goalie who's got some value I suppose.

2013-14 Upper Deck SPx Hockey 4 Pack Break

A few weeks ago I won a contest on Upper Deck's Blog simply by submitting a funny caption for an old Upper Deck card of Sidney Crosby.  My prize was 4 packs of Upper Deck SPx Hockey from this year, and they just arrived about 30 minutes ago!

Considering that these have a price of about $100 for a box of 12 packs, I'm going to say these are running probably $10-15 apiece in stores, which pretty much prices me out of Hobby packs.  Maybe if they hit retail I'll buy a few more, you never know.  In any case, I was really happy to get between $40 and $60 worth of packs of cards.

I don't keep these pack by pack, sorry.

Base: 13 including Datsyuk, Getzlaf & Patrick Sharp

Rookies 1:2.5 #104 Jacob Trouba

Rookies SP 1:10 #150 Charlie Coyle

SPx Rookie SP 1:30 #46 Tomas Hertl

Rookie Jersey/Auto 1:12 #193 Hampus Lindholm

In terms of beating the odds, I'd say I did really well.  I got the major advertised box hit, even if it is a bit underwhelming.  I mean Lindholm was the #6 pick in the draft, but he's a defenseman who 61 games into this season has 5 goals, 17 assists and 28 PIM.  Oh and he's a Duck.  You know I can't stand the Ducks.  I also didn't pull ANY Kings, and that seems to be a recurring theme with my Hockey cards lately.  The last several times I've bought any quantity of cards I haven't gotten any Kings.  IN fact the last King I can recall pulling was a Gretzky from a very old Collector's Choice pack.

Strangely the longest odds were for the Hertl card, which when you handle it is rather flimsy.  Seems like the card is just a bit thinner than the rest.  Oh and one other thing you'll notice, I got 17 cards instead of 16!  The first pack which had the Lindholm jersey/auto had five cards, which is funny because usually they have less than the stated number of cards when there's a big jersey.

I have to say these cards are awfully nice looking and a great throwback to the premium sets of the 90's.  I love the retro die-cuts, and I'd really like to get the Kings versions.  In fact I may chase a Kings team set or at least as many Kings as I can get.  To that end, I'm putting all the hits and maybe a few of the base on eBay as fixed items with offers, like the rest of my cards.  I've gone to a no-auction format because it's easier and seems to be more effective.

IF you win one of my auctions (and remember I offer FREE SHIPPING to the United States) and you mention that you read my blog in the comments when you pay I'll throw in something extra.

Check out ALL my auctions here.

National Hockey Card Day!

It has taken me an entire season to stop buying Baseball Cards and transition back to Hockey Cards.  Why this has taken so long can be explained by a lack of funds and by a lack of interest in said Hockey Cards, even though my beloved Los Angeles Kings won the cup only in June 2012.  However, as you can tell by my most recent posts [Here, here, and here] I've been back with as much vengeance as I can muster.  That is to say I've bought a bunch of packs and some singles recently.

Something that I think the hobby shop industry needs to do is to get more bodies in the door, and card companies offering free products as incentive is certainly a way to do that.  The comic book industry has their own Free Comic Book Day and even though my days of collecting dozens of tabloids are gone, I still make it a point to stop into the comic stores on the first Saturday in May every year.  I know there was a Free Baseball Card Day in the past though I can't say if it's still going on.  I know there's some great promotions that the NFL licensees run also.  2014 marks only the third year that Upper Deck has been running National Hockey Card day in the US, but the sixth in Canada.

The first thing I did upon remembering that I wanted to go to the card store was to CALL my local shop California Sports Cards but they weren't participating.  The only other major shop I know of in the area is The Bullpen 2.0, which was a shop I used to go to until they closed and changed ownership, but now they're back to the original owner so I'm pretty happy.  I've always had good luck down there, despite being about a 20 minute drive away (yes, it's Los Angeles, as the crow flies it's like less than 10 miles), so while I don't go there very often I'm always happy to shop when I can.  I used to buy Pirates by WizKids there back in the day.

So they had their obligatory posters in the window and the owner Mitch was more than happy to supply my wife and my daughter with packs as well as giving me one.  We each also got the extra #21 card.  When we didn't get a Jonathan Quick in our packs, he gave me the one he pulled along with the other 4 cards in the pack he opened.  Sadly there were more kids buying and playing Yugioh than sports cards buyers, but hey, whatever keeps the doors opened.

Mitch was also nice enough to gift me with a few leftover packs from LAST year's event and I'm only two cards away from having THAT set.

Since I'm back buying cards, I thought I might even dabble in Singles, since I'm not pulling enough good Kings cards from packs.  In the last month I've snagged several Martin Jones
pre-Rookie Cards, since he doesn't have any official NHL rookies.  I bought them after his second shut-out and I'd like to get more.  He's featured in the 2006-07 to 09-10 Calgary Hitmen team sets, and then the 10-11 to 12-13 Manchester Monarchs team sets.  I have a special affinity for the Hitmen since they were formerly owned by their namesake Bret "The Hitman" Hart, my all-time favorite wrestler.

I'll show off my recent purchases later in the week, you know, just for some content.

Until then, here's a link to my want list if you've got something I need, hit me up, I'd love to trade.

Upper Deck 2013-2014 Hockey Series 1 2 Tin Break

I happened to be in my local TRU because, well, I was.  I love looking for the cool sales right before Christmas, and today's card special was $16.99 for any collectible card tin, I grabbed a tin of the current and red-hot Upper Deck NHL series one and it rang up $39.99 on the price check, but I took it up to customer service and they price-matched it for me.  It was such a good deal I bought two.

Here's the breakdown: 12 packs of 8 cards each = 96 cards.

Tin 1
Topper - 5x7 MVP #35 Mario Lemieux

86 x Base.  No doubles (4 Kings Greene, Carter, Clifford and Kopitar)
3 x Young Guns (1:4) #209 Jean-Gabriel Pageau, #223 Alex Killorn, #238 Nathan MacKinnon

Inserts:
2x MVP (1:8) #2 Adam Henrique, #21 Jeff Skinner
1x MVP Rookies (1:24) #60 Vladimir Tarasenko
2x UD Canvas (1:6) #C4 Milan Lucic, C21 Brayden Schenn
1x Shining Stars Goalie (1:12) #G7 Martin Brodeur
1x Case Hit (1:600) Hockey Heroes Header


Tin 2
Topper - 5x7 MVP #42 Wayne Gretzky

84 x Base.  No doubles (1 King - Voynov)
3x Young Guns (1:4) #201 Carl Soderberg, #212 Tom Wilson, #250 Checklist

Inserts
2x MVP (1:8) #1 Tomas Fleischmann, #2 Adam Henrique
2x UD Canvas (1:6) #C7 Carey Price, #C44 Mark Letestu
1x Shining Stars Goalie (1:12) #G2 Henrik Lundqvist
1x Hockey Heroes (1:12) #HH42 Mark Messier
1x UD Game Jersey (1:24) #GJ-BS Borje Salming

All told: 190 Cards

170 Base (2 Doubles)
6x Young Guns (1:4)
4x MVP (1:8)
1x MVP Rookie (1:24)
4x UD Canvas (1:6)
2x Shining Stars Goalie (1:12)
1x Hockey Heroes (1:12)
1x UD Game Jersey (1:24)
1x Hockey Heroes Header (1:600)

When you're paying about $40 for the equivalent of a box of brand new Hockey cards that retails for around $80 you're already ahead of the game.  I'm actually pretty happy with my purchase, I'm really close to a full set when I include the few packs I picked up prior to today.  Nothing I pulled outside of the Hockey Heroes Header is all that exciting though, and really the header isn't all that much either.  Sure it's fun, and it reminds me of the early 90s trying to pull the Baseball Heroes sets, but since this is my first foray in Hockey cards in several years, I'm not even sure who most of these guys are, outside of the Los Angeles Kings.

So here's my list of base needs.  All the inserts I pulled above, plus an Ovechkin MVP and a Bossy Hockey Heroes are up for trade.  Not trading  Young Guns at the moment.   I also want ALL Los Angeles Kings cards.  From any year.  I've got a large collection in storage of the pre-Kopitar/Brown era, so I'm really looking for more recent Kings.  My current and up-to-date Needs list is located HERE and I promise to update this as needed.

ReBlog - Inside the Making of an Upper Deck NHL Set

I love these types of behind the scenes videos, the process of making a card is really interesting to me, especially the design aspect.  I'd love to work at a Trading Card company.  I should look into that.



http://upperdeckblog.com/2013/12/the-nhl-network-goes-behind-the-scenes-at-upper-deck-to-see-how-hockey-cards-are-made/

RIP Richard McWilliam - UD Founder

Just got this in the email from UD:

As you probably have learned by now, Richard McWilliam passed away unexpectedly over the weekend at his home in the San Diego area. We are heartbroken today, and everyone at Upper Deck has joined together to remember Richard, honor his work, and support his wife and their three children.

I want to assure you that while his departure is a hard emotional blow, it will not affect Upper Deck’s ability to fulfill the commitments and obligations we have made with our business partners.

For the last year, Jason Masherah has been carrying the title of Vice President Marketing and Business Development, while also overseeing day to day operations. With Richard’s passing, the company has formalized Jason’s role and named him President. The company will carry forward Richard’s vision, and we intend to continue to introduce innovating and exciting products that will reinforce Upper Deck’s position as the leader of our industry.

We appreciate your expressions of support and condolence, and look forward to working with you. We're available to you for any questions or thoughts you may have.

Sincerely,

Chris Carlin

Sports Marketing & Social Media Manager

Whatever you might think of Upper Deck's current configuration as a company, you cannot deny their impact on our hobby. The first >$1.00 pack of cards, the first major insertion of certified autographs, the first jersey cards, the list of firsts from UD goes on and on, and while they're no longer a major player in the sports game, lacking licenses for everything except the NHL, they're still producing great cards.

It's sad when anyone passes away, more so when that person is an industry leader and visionary. My condolences to his family and all the folks at UD.

Upper Deck History of the United States Set BARGAIN

I was perusing my local Target looking at the cards section when I spied something I had never seen, the 2004 Upper Deck History of the United States card set on sale for a relatively low $9.99, so I bought it. Now, I was out of the card collecting game in 2004, working on my undergrad degree at UCLA, so I had no idea this set even existed, and I'm kind of glad I didn't find it until now. When they designed that set they thought it might be nicer to not number it #1-300, rather each individual sub-set is separately numbered. To make matters worse there are several insert sets, including the extremely hard to find "coin" cards. None of these chase cards are included in the factory set.

Once you unwrap the plastic you find that the set isn't collated, so you have a bit of fun ahead of you. I found a checklist here and I went to work.

The photos and card design are really well done, and a cursory glance at the backs make them appear to be well written. I'll be going through the set in detail later.

For $10 sure seems like a good deal to me.

Upper Deck to launch $200 pack of Marvel Comic Trading Cards

Just got this missive via the Upper Deck folks, all I can say is...$50 per card? Ridonkulous. Definitely NOT a budget collector item. Upper Deck Announces the Most Premium Marvel Trading Card Product Ever Produced! Trading card giant announced “Marvel Premier” is coming at Comic-Con with a suggested retail price of $200 per pack! Carlsbad, CA (July 13, 2012) – For years the Upper Deck Entertainment team has produced some of the most compelling and collectible Marvel trading cards in the industry. And now Upper Deck has decided to raise the bar in terms of what collectors can expect in a pack of Marvel trading cards announcing today at Comic-Con the company will release Marvel Premier on October 2, 2012. It will be the most premium comic trading card release of all-time with packs carrying a $200 suggested retail price tag. So what comes in a $200 pack of Marvel trading cards? There are just four cards in each pack, but they all pack a punch! First fans will receive a premium base card on thick card stock from the 50-card base set numbered to just 99 copies. Next they will receive a one-of-one sketch card from top Marvel artists. The third card is an industry first where collectors will find a dual, triple or quadruple hinged sketch card. These are really remarkable trading cards and we will be releasing images of them soon. The fourth card will be either a “Classic Corners” card, a Shadowbox card or an “Emotion” booklet card by Jason Adams and NAR! “For years we’ve seen die-hard Marvel fans pay big bucks for some of the premium inserts in our Marvel trading card lines,” said Jason Brenner, Upper Deck’s Marvel brand manager. “This is our first opportunity to provide them with a set of Marvel cards that are all high-end insert quality. This is certainly not a product for everyone which is why we are not making very much of it, but the fans it is targeted for are going to love it!” Upper Deck’s 2012 Marvel Premier really is about the artists and the company has employed some of the best for this project including Cruddie Torrain, Jason Adams and Nar! Additionally there are new innovations besides the hinged sketch cards with Upper Deck’s Shadowbox cards making their debut in the entertainment realm. The “Classic Corners” subset is another one that comic fans will be sure to love that pays homage to some of the greatest Marvel comic corners of all-time in a premium patch card. So get ready Marvel fans. Upper Deck is about to change Marvel trading cards as you know them for the better! About Upper Deck Upper Deck is the leading sports and entertainment trading card and collectibles company. For more information on Upper Deck and its products please visit www.upperdeck.com. About Marvel Entertainment, LLC Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit www.marvel.com. ### Chris Carlin Sports Marketing & Social Media Manager The Upper Deck Company 2251 Rutherford Road | Carlsbad, CA 92008 T: 760.929.3159 (NEW) | F: 760.929.3150 Follow Upper Deck on: Web | Facebook | Twitter | Blog | YouTube

2009 Baseball Cards are out!

As many, many other sports card bloggers have probably already made you aware, both Topps and Upper Deck have released their first 2009 Baseball Cards, and thankfully both releases are their "base" brands. I have managed to snag a few packs of bother series, and I have comments below.

I also found Topps American Heritage at retail and a couple packs managed their way home as well. This set it right up my alley, as it combines American History and trading cards with a decidedly 21st Century sports-related twist. I'd have to say that Topps has been utilizing the most post-modern designs lately, except that I can't really say that since the only thing making them PoMo is the fact that 90% of what makes their design concepts solid is that they use them over and over making them ubiquitous. TAH follows pretty much all of the "Heritage" design hallmarks, old-style cardboard, classic card designs that follow the quintessential Topps sets of the 60s and 70s, and kitschy cartoons on the backs that compliment the actual blurbs nicely.

Here's three of my favorites out of the two packs I got:





Could John Calhoun look any more menacing? He belongs in the streching room of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion!

This is just a kick-arse card of Malcolm X. I could be a tool and say that this is my homage to Black History Month, but then I'd be a tool. Suffice to say that I really appreciate the fact that this American Heritage set isn't made up of nothing but white males.

I think more people ought to remember who Crispus Attucks was, after all without him the Revolutionary War might not have happened. He was truly the first American Martyr.

I did manage to pull one of the 25 short-prints, but it's a John McCain card, so I don't really feel like scanning it and posting it. I would love to piece this set together, but in the end I'll probably end up purchasing a full set on eBay, since they're running pretty cheap right now. I would love to pull a relic though out of this set, there's so many cool ones, including cards with wood that came from the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned ship in the United States Navy. You know "Old Ironsides."

2009 Upper Deck Baseball Series 1 First Impressions

As I said earlier, I bought my first two hobby packs of UD today, while I deplore the $6 to $7 price point for the hobby packs, I'm pleased with my first two. Then again, I got the box relic hit, so why woulnd't I be pleased?

I'm REALLY not fond of all of the gold that's plastered all over these cards, and the front design harkens back to several years ago which is never a good sign. The backs are just as pedestrain, but at least UD is going with full stats these days. Again there's way too much gold ink on these cards, and I wonder what the First Edition cards are going to be looking like. I also wonder if I'm going to like them better.




Frankie's last card as an Angel. That's the way I'll remember him, fired up. I would have loved the Halos to have kept Krod, but I know why they let him go and I can't say I disagree with them. I don't hate him though, as other Angel fans seem to. He's a ballplayer like all the rest, he goes where the money is, and right now it's in New York. I'd be surprised though if he succeeds there.


Each hobby pack has 20 cards, seems like at least one of them is a Team USA Card, I pulled 2 of the Under 18 players. I have no idea who they are to be honest, but hey who knows, someday one of them might become an Angel.





I got two other inserts, one in each pack: one was a Yankee Stadium Legacy Continuation, and the other was a Documentary Continuation. While I think the latter is fine, the former is just now excessive, not that it wasn't before. At least I know that the damn things can actually sell on eBay.

Then there's the relic that I hit:




I have to say that this is by far one of the coolest relics that I've pulled. Sure, I haven't pulls hundreds of relics like some of you, I've only pulled MAYBE a couple dozen over the years (remember, I pulled my first dual auto just a couple weeks ago). Apparently this bad-boy isn't part of any specific sub-set, it's a card all by it's lonesome. At least the back states pretty clearly that "You have received a trading card with Ken Griffey Jr. Game-Used baseball memorabilia. The memorabilia has been certified to us as having been used in an official Major League Baseball game." So it probably wasn't the bat that he USED to hit his 600th HR, but at least it was HIS bat that WAS used in a game. Better than the normal boiler-plate nonsense that lawyers demand go on the backs of these things. I just checked eBay, and there are only three copies listed, currently one's selling for about $5, one's selling for about $15 and one has a opening bid of $150. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep this one, proabably not. If someone out there wants it make me an offer - you know what I like...Angels and Bruins (the UCLA Basketball Variety).

Based on only a couple packs, I can pretty much confide that I'm not really impressed with UD's opening salvo of the 2009 Baseball Card Campaign. There's nothing really overtly different to make me want to buy dozens and dozens of packs, though we'll have to see what the retail packs have in them to distinguish them from Hobby. I can say though that even with the good luck I had today, I probably won't be buying a whole lot of UD's base issue this season...

2009 Topps Series One First Impressions

That's because I'll be obsessed with Topps initial set of the season. Yes, once again I'm overly enamored of a Topps base product design. I don't know what it is to be honest, maybe it's all the colorways that the cards come in (coded by team if I'm not mistaken). Maybe it's the arch design on the back, complete with the goofy "factoids" above them. I think though, the end result is more than the sum of it's parts. Sure Topps goes overly nutso with the parallels, but I can ignore those, and hey, Gold Parallels that are numbered don't really suck.





Out of the three packs I bought at Target on Monday I managed only one decent insert, this Legends of the Game Babe Ruth. To be honest I'm not sure if this is the Target Variation Version or the Regular Version, but either way, it's pretty nice.







I must be one of those really odd collectors in that I actually enjoy the interactive elements of Card Collecting these days, in that I mean I enjoy ToppsTown and am looking forward to UpperDeckU. ToppsTown Codes this year are individual player cards, which is nice. Unfortunately the codes do not work quite yet. At least they didn't yesterday. I don't particularly care that they're now considered an insert card, because at least they have players on them, and the design doesn't suck that badly. As an aside, there are codes on the inside wrappers of Upper Deck packs for UpperDeckU.Com. They don't work yet either. That's just bad planning on both companies' part. If you launch a product, you should make DAMN SURE that the interactive element is WORKING BEFORE the product hits the street.

Yankee Stadium Legacy Set Complete - UD Press Release

Here's the Presser that I just got via Email:



Tommy Baxter of Little Rock , Arkansas , Completes

Upper Deck’s Yankee Stadium Legacy Collection!



Baseball card collector puts together entire set of more than 6,600 cards; wins the opportunity to meet Yankees Team Captain Derek Jeter!



North Las Vegas, NV (November 21, 2008) – Tommy Baxter, a 36-year-old precast concrete specialist from Little Rock, Arkansas, has just accomplished something no one else in the world has been able to do: put together Upper Deck’s gigantic 6,600-plus card Yankee Stadium Legacy (YSL) Collection! Baxter, an avid Cubs fan, seized the opportunity to become the first collector to piece together Upper Deck’s enormous insert set, which pays tribute to every single Yankees home game ever played at the historic venue since its doors opened on April 18, 1923.



“I’ve put together plenty of Upper Deck sets in the past, so I figured this was just one more to complete,” said Baxter, whose 11-year-old daughter, Madeleine, helped him sort and collate the thousands of cards. “I really didn’t take it seriously at first, but once I got through that first series of inserts, I knew I had to finish it.”



That first series of insert cards appeared in Upper Deck’s 2008 Series One Baseball set, which released on February 5. That’s when Baxter got started. The cards fell at a ratio, on average, of one in every four packs. Within two weeks he had collected 200 of the YSL cards; he only had 6,461 to go! Nine more Upper Deck baseball trading card products were released over the course of 2008 that have each contained various YSL cards from the overall set. Baxter’s feat, therefore, is a study in patience, persistence and stick-to-itiveness. It also proved to an expensive pursuit.



“I would estimate I spent a little more than $15,000 putting this set together,” said Baxter, who mentioned he finished the set the night before Halloween. “I remember it was a Thursday, since those were the days we’d collate the cards. Madeleine would go through and sort the cards every week. That night we knew we had this thing licked.”

It would have been sooner, but despite his best efforts with buying and trading the cards with collectors from as far away as Taiwan , there was one single card that eluded him: No. 4,272. “It had Ron Guidry on the front. I couldn’t find that card anywhere. Nobody had it,” said Baxter.



He was recording each of the YSL cards online at a special website Upper Deck debuted earlier this year entitled www.ownthelegacy.com. He was watching his numbers climb almost every day, but No. 4,272 was nowhere to be found. But where there’s a will, there’s a way. Inside of October’s final week, Baxter received the card from collectors in New Jersey and Florida . “I couldn’t find that card for seven months and then I got four of them within a week,” he said.



Once he had the complete set in hand, he quickly packaged up his work and shipped it off to Upper Deck headquarters in Carlsbad , California , for verification. Yesterday Upper Deck staffers Chris Carlin, Terry Melia and Carrie Peterson certified the contents of Baxter’s shipment.



“All the cards are in,” said Carlin, Upper Deck’s hobby marketing manager. “Tommy’s accomplishment is incredible. He’s the first person to complete the set, so we’re ecstatic and very happy for Tommy and Madeleine.”



Baxter’s prize for completing the entire set of insert cards is multi-tiered. He and his daughter will receive an all-expense-paid trip to New York City in the spring at which time they will take in a Yankees game at the new venue and meet Yankees Team Captain Derek Jeter. In addition, since 2008 marked the final MLB season in the old stadium, Baxter will receive 81 additional YSL cards chronicling the Yankees’ last campaign which brings the grand total of games played (and cards produced) to 6,742. And, of course, he will get all of his cards back to display proudly at home.



“You know, I was never really a big Yankees fan, but I did always admire Don Mattingly,” said Baxter. “I liked his work ethic and I guess I always had a penchant for guys who could hit over .300 every year.”



Upper Deck still has four prize openings left for any other collectors who are able to piece together the entire Yankee Stadium Legacy Collection. The word is there are a few people who are just single digits away.

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Hmm...I don't think I have much to say via commentary - he's not much of a Yankee fan, why doesn't that surprise me.

Presidential Victor Card

Oh boy, Upper Deck has chosen to end it's Presidential Predictor program with a single card of our newly elected President Barack Obama, and they're GIVING it away. Yes, that's right, it's free, but you have to go to one of a handful of card stores in your area and buy something. I suppose that's OK, you have to support a brick and mortar store to get the card. In my area there's two stores that will have it, so I'll try one then the other, because I wouldn't mind having more than one copy of this bad-boy.

Read the back of the card though, there's a phrase in there that to me seems like a back-handed compliment, or at least an inappropriate one. See if you can guess which phrase I'm talking about.

Oh and here's the press release from UD.



Change Has Come! Upper Deck Releases
‘Presidential Victor’ Card of Barack Obama

Limited-edition trading card shows the nation’s new Commander-in-Chief being doused with Gatorade. Available in select hobby shops nationwide



North Las Vegas, NV (November 5, 2008) – Maybe it wasn’t quite as lopsided as Ronald Reagan’s 49-state thumping of Walter Mondale in 1984, but it was almost as convincing. On Tuesday, Democratic nominee Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States after defeating Republican John McCain in their hard-fought race to the White House. And once again, Upper Deck is recording history by producing a single “Presidential Victor” card of Obama, bringing the trading card company’s year-long crusade of chronicling the 2008 Presidential race to a dramatic close.

Unlike the previously released caricature cards of many of this year’s candidates, the final card from Upper Deck will not be included in any of the trading card company’s releases. Instead, it will be shared through select hobby shops across the country. Each of the participating stores will receive no more than 100 cards, keeping demand for the sought-after trading card high.

“The best way for us to bring our ‘Presidential Predictor’ series come to a logical end was to release a ‘Presidential Victor’ card showing the winner,” said Chris Carlin, Upper Deck’s hobby marketing manager. “We are happy to work with our most supportive hobby shops to provide them with these unique cards, which they can share with their customers. No matter which party you supported, this was a historic election, and this card represents a great way for Upper Deck to commemorate the 2008 Presidential race.”

The latest card (PV-1) is appropriately entitled “President Barack Obama.” Its cardfront illustration is based on the postgame Gatorade dousing of Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy after his team defeated the Chicago Bears, 29-17, in Super Bowl 41. Upper Deck changed the participants in the celebratory scene to represent Vice President-Elect Joe Biden, President-Elect Obama and future First Lady Michelle Obama. Timely with a sports theme, the cardback text reads:

With his resounding victory in this year’s U.S. presidential election, Barack Obama made history in more ways than one. Not only was he the first African-American to be nominated by either party as a candidate, but he is now the first of his race to be sworn in as Commander-in-Chief. Just like Tony Dungy’s accomplishment in 2007 when he became the first African-American head coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl, Obama did the same for White House politics in 2008. “Change We Can Believe In” was his campaign slogan throughout the year. Now it’s time to start believing.

The Barack Obama Presidential Victor card will be available in mid-November as a gift with purchase of any Upper Deck products at hundreds of hobby shops nationwide. Please visit www.presidentialpredictor.com for a list of shops that will be sporting these special cards.

Busting and Busting - Part One

So, I splurged on a couple of new packs at Target the other night while I was purchasing some swim diapers for my daughter. Broke down and bought an Upper Deck Series 2 pack as well as a Topps Series 2 Jumbo. Did I get anything good? Let’s see:

2008 Upper Deck Series 2 Baseball Retail Pack

• 449 Scott Hatteberg – Reds
  
• 439 J.D. Drew – Red Sox
  
• 605 Jimmy Rollins – Phillies
  
• 474 Paul Byrd - Indians
  
• 558 Derrick Turnbow – Brewers
  
• 509 Matt Treanor – Marlins
  
• 575 Endy Chavez – Mets
  
• 658 Adam Kennedy – Cards
  
• 606 Pedro Felix – Phillies
  
• 669 Edwin Jackson – Rays
  
• 630 Mark Prior – Padres
  
• 515 Miguel Tejada – Astros
  
• 775 Troy Tulowitzki – Rockies team
  
• 716 Kyle McClellan – Cards RC
  
• 738 Greg Maddux – Padres Season Highlights
  
• 761 Andruw Jones – Dodgers team
  
• HB-8 Hanley Ramirez - Marlins Hit Brigade
  
• SQ-56 Randy Johnson – D-Backs StarQuest Common
  

Yeah, I’ll call this pack a big fat ZERO. Oh sure, Miguel Tejada is always nice, and I kind of dig the design on the Target Exclusive Hit Brigade insert (and I think I know who I can trade him to) , but no Angels and only a cruddy RC makes this a ONE-STAR pack at best. Perhaps I’ll have better luck with the Topps pack. Oh and I’m no longer listing the positions for UD cards, because I can’t read the damn foil plate on front and they don’t list the position on the back.

2008 Topps Series 2 Retail Jumbo Pack

• 520 Vernon Wells OF Blue Jays
  
• 406 Takashi Saito P Dodgers
  
• 422 Erick Aybar 2B ANGELS!
  
• 659 Vicente Padilla P Rangers
  
• 513 Rick Vandernhurk P Marlins
  
• 480 Matt Cain P Giants
  
• 629 Eric Chavez 3B A’s
  
• 453 Josh Fogg P Reds
  
• 388 Jorge Cantu 2B Marlins
  
• 455 Derek Jeter SS Yankees
  
• 501 Elliot Johnson 2b Rays RC
  
• 346 Adam Everett SS Twins
  
• YR92 Dan Haren gets 10 consecutive wins
  
• 493 Steve Holm C Giants RC GOLD #0031/2008
  
• 626 Mike Redmond C Twins
  
• 409 Jason Giambi DH Yankees
  
• 570 Homer Bailey P Reds
  
• 495 James Shields P Rays
  
• 397 Brian Wilson P Giants
  
• 550 Curt Schilling P Red Sox
  
• 396 Randy Johnson P D-Backs
  
• 548 Garrett Olson P Orioles
  
• 390 Troy Glaus 3B Cards
  
• 430 Ryan Braun Brewers
  
• 439 Josh Hamilton OF Rangers
  
• 551 Erick Threets P Giants RC
  
• 502 Alex Cora SS Red Sox
  
• 583 Nick Punto 3B Twins
  
• 554 Joe Borowski P Indians
  
• 442 Luis Gonzalez OF Marlins
  
• Checklist 3 of 4
  
• 579 Jesse Litsch P Blue Jays
  
• 497 Cla Meredith P Padres
  
• 637 Jose Castillo 2b Marlins
  
• 341 Daniel Cabrera P Orioles
  
• 622 Jorge de la Rosa P Royals
  
• 609 Ted Lilly P Cubs
  
• Get Grades Junk
  

Geeze, it’s really too bad I’m not a Marlins collector, because I count FOUR of them above, and only ONE Angel? Call me crazy too, but for the equivalent of three packs of cards, I would expect at least three inserts, but here I got two. Heck I’ve gotten regular packs with two inserts, and these weren’t that special either. So while this pack is good, it’s not great, and I’m left saying to myself “Well, that splurge was a bust”. Realize for the 8 dollars I paid for 54 cards, I could have spent two more and gotten a mini-blaster with 3 special cards of Topps Series 2, OR I could have ventured to my hobby store and bought 4 packs of Topps and gotten MUCH better inserts. These packs, quite frankly, blew.