1995 Topps Stadium Club Series 2

14 Super Premium Baseball Cards. 50 cents. Series 2. Let's go back 14 years and see what living was like.

430 - Kevin Mitchell (Mitchell was pretty huge in the late '80s, but then he floated around a few ballclubs in the '90s. He's probably best known for that 1-handed catch.)
389 - Juan Castillo

274 - Todd Zeile (I wish this photo didn't have most of the baseball cropped out of it.)

288 - Paul Shuey (This is both Shuey's "MLB Debut" card and his "League Leader" card. The card fails to mention exactly what he led the league in, however.)
432 - Brian Anderson
293 - David Hulse
335 - Devon White (Devo was a pretty solid player.)

413 - Josias Manzanillo (Not only am I not convinced that Josias was a real player, I'm fairly sure that's not even a real Mets uniform.)

318 - Frank Thomas Best Seat in the House (Wow.)

309 - Cecil Fielder (Cecil is feeling contemplative, wondering what his relationship with his son will be like in the future perhaps.)
365 - Bill Swift
- Club Membership form

188 - Pedro Astacio Virtual Reality (Last time I posted a pack from this era someone explained to me that "virtual reality" meant that a player's stats were extrapolated for a full season as if the strike of 1994 never happened. Maybe that was "cyberstats", though. I'm confused. In any case, I don't understand these parallels.)
379 - Jesus Tavarez

403 - Carlos Baerga Cover Story (The cover is better than the story, I think. I wonder if Baerga has ever been to wherever he's supposed to be perched in front of.)

2008-09 Topps Basketball

Ah, the NBA Playoffs. Killer of dreams, crusher of... holy crap, that's embarrassing. I suddenly feel a lot better about the Blazers series.

Here's some basketball cards.

113 - Nate Robinson (Shamefully participated in obviously scripted 2009 Slam Dunk festivities.)
1 - Chris Paul (Couldn't they have found a better picture for the Topps coverboy? I wonder if Chris Paul is in hiding after last night.)

9 - Tony Parker (The lights are almost out on the Spurs era. Tony Parker is now basically their best player.)
82 - Corey Maggette (I'm absolutely shocked that this guy has spent 9 consecutive seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers.)

47 - Andrei Kirilenko (The Jazz were eliminated last night. I was hoping they'd at least make the Lakers sweat a little bit.)
154 - Eddy Curry

IGIO - Taurean Green / Sidney Green In The Genes (Taurean Green was drafted by the Blazers and then sent to Denver late in the season for Von Wafer when the Blazers were short on shooting guards. Wafer apparently had a lousy work ethic and didn't stick with the Blazers, but found a way to get back at them by playing for lousy rotten Houston in the playoffs this season. Meanwhile, Taurean spent the entire season playing in Spain and his father Sidney was just a solid pro.)
- Checklist 2 of 2
96 - Kirk Hinrich (Hinrich has been relegated to backup PG duty, but has been heavily involved in the Bulls bid to knock off the defending chumps Boston.)

192 - Alex English (I got to witness English score his 25,000th point in person. He was playing in his final season, with Dallas, and it happened to be my first NBA game. The Blazers won, of course!)
105 - Cuttino Mobley (I think he retired.)

195 - Hakeen Olajuwon


184 - Jo Jo White (Solid!)
- Students: Work Hard, Get Cards. Greg Oden: Work Hard, Get Fouls.

2008 Upper Deck Spectrum

These cards came 4 in a pack in a repack box. I forgot to check the wrapper to see if they really were four to a pack or if that is just what *I* got when I opened the repack. I did say at one point that I was swearing these off, right? Ah, but that is where true addiction comes into play, isn't it?


We've got J.J. Hardy (Brewers) and Don Mattingly (Yankees - Stadium Legacy). According to the back of his card, Hardy was being compared to Robin Yount. I don't follow the Brewers (or much of things in general) so I have no idea if that still rings true or not. Mattingly's card recounts his 100th home run in old Yankee Stadium on 5/15/90.


Ex-triber Brandon Phillips (Reds) and Hanley Ramirez (Marlins) are depicted here. Phillips was on a fast track of self-improvement at this time, giving the Reds a hand in hits, homers and batting average. Ramirez was doing something similar in Florida, focusing on hits, steals, doubles and batting average. In 2007, he was one of two players to get 200 hits for the team in a season. Not too shabby.

As for the cards themselves, I like the colors and design of the Spectrum, I guess. The player pics should have been bigger though. I mean, that *IS* why we buy these little bits of cardboard in the first place, right?

1994 Score Select Series 2

I've had a fairly fond appreciation for 1993 Score Select over the years. To me, it was a much better attempt at a "premium" type set for Score than the Pinnacle brand and it played off of the fairly recent trend of throwing in horizontal card designs along with the traditional vertical cards. 1993 was the cutoff period in my card collecting days, however, and after purchasing this pack I'm wishing it was from the previous year. The design gives me a headache.

311 - Alex Fernandez

373 - Sean Berry (I'm not sure who Sean Berry is, but he played for the Expos and that's all that matters.)
334 - Eddie Taubensee (Eddie is wearing a white Reds hat. When is the last time the Reds had those?)

389 - Steve Trachsel 1994 Rookie Prospect (Whenever I hear the phrase "worst pitcher in baseball" for some reason Steve Trachsel's name always comes up. Maybe it was the McGwire home run, or maybe it's the fact that he hung around so long without ever doing anything well. Er, yeah, let's go with the latter.)

321 - Omar Vizquel
412 - Rob Butler 1994 Rookie Prospect

401 - Rikkert Faneyte (This is photographic evidence that someone actually named Rikkert Faneyte played a baseball game at some point. The. Next. Barry. Bonds.)

299 - Jim Thome
219 - Dave Hansen

261 - Kent Hrbek (It's sad to say that I actually think I like the backs of these a lot better than the fronts.)
247 - Greg McMichael (McMichael was the Braves closer for at least a portion of the 1993 season.)

234 - Jeff Bagwell (Bagwell must have a pack of Bubble Tape in his rear pocket.)

1991 O-Pee-Chee Premier

This is the final pack of 1991 O-Pee-Chee cards that I got from Motherscratcher at the beginning of April. Now, THIS pack features some greats!


Jeff Conine (Royals), Eddie Murray (Dodgers), and Luis Sojo (Angels) come out of the pack first. Eddie Murray!? Sweet. Jeff Conine!? Cool. I have him (and Murray of course) in my non-Indians collection. I really have no rhyme or reason for a lot of the players I have in there.


Pat Tabler (Blue Jays), Barry Bonds (Pirates), and Vince Coleman (Mets) are up next. Anyone remember Bonds when he was thin and one of the most hated, er disliked, players in Pittsburgh? It's a shame, really.*


And, the last card in the pack is ..... Dale (expletive) Murphy (Phillies)! Holy friggin cow! That is awesome. I do have to say, though, he does not look right when he is shown in anything other than a Braves uniform...

*No reason for the asterisk, other than there seems to always be one whenever his name is mentioned... Wonder why that would be? (Yes, Sheldon, that's sarcasm)

2007 Topps Opening Day

Can you go wrong with two-year old gum? It's even still in the wrapper. Surely gum has a longer shelf life than a couple years, right? The gum lost some of its flexibility, as it bent one direction, but when I tried to straighten it back out, I broke it. It certainly has that powdery sugar coating on it. The small piece I broke off and popped in my mouth crumbled as I tried to chew it. It's a lot like eating a Razzle - with about the same flavor. What didn't disintegrate in my mouth actually formed a small bit of chewable gum with very little flavor. I spit it out. Well, I suppose I could get some cards for my good grades. If only I had a participating location near me. Better yet, if I had ANY location near me...


Adam Lind (Blue Jays), Adrian Beltre (Mariners), Bernie Brewer (umm, I'll let you guess which team)


Drew Anderson (Brewers), Chad Billingsley (Dodgers), and Checklist card. Wow, the whole set, including inserts, fits on one card. That is some seriously small font sizing we got there, Tex.

1992 Fleer

More 1992 Fleer from Motherscratcher!


Break out the blue and orange and book your stay, leading off is Howard Johnson (Mets). Glenn Sutko (Reds), John Ramos (Yankees), and Kevin Appier (Royals) are up next. I always did like Appier, but have no real reason for it. Weird. Jeff Russell (Rangers), Jim Thome (WAHOO! Indians), Ivan Calderon (Expos), Mark Davidson (Astros), and Pat Clements (Padres) finish up this first group. Thome sure looked young then...


Edwin Nunez (Brewers), Don Slaught (Pirates), and Carlton Fisk (White Sox) lead off. I have to say, the black text on these cards is sharp. Too bad Fleer didn't just use black text for all the cards. How cool to pull a Fisk!! Gary Carter (Dodgers), Cal Ripken/Joe Carter (Orioles/Blue Jays - The Indispensibles II), Willie Banks (Twins Prospects), Jack Morris (Twins), and Gerald Perry (Cardinals) finish things up.

Dang, Fisk followed by Carter and Ripken plus Joe Carter... This is 90's collecting heaven here... Well, close anyway, right?

2008-09 Upper Deck Lineage

The NBA Playoffs are underway. In honor of this, I picked up an Upper Deck Lineage basketball pack at Target today. I have no idea what this set is all about, but I assume from the wrapper that it's some sort of NBA equivalent of Upper Deck Timeline. You can also apparently collect some Michael Jordan legacy cards. I think if you have a "legacy", it should include your washed-up Wizards years, Mike. The Blazers/Rockets series starts tonight - let's see if I get a Blazers or Rockets card. It could be a sign!

22 - Alonzo Mourning (Nice card using the design of the first set from 1991-92.)

13 - Dominique Wilkins (I love 'Nique. I wish they could have showed him dunking or something, though. The Hawks are pretty much my go-to Eastern Conference team now that Patrick Ewing is long gone.)

65 - Michael Redd (I guess all of these cards have the same design. That's kind of boring. Redd suffered a season-ending injury.)

116 - Andres Nocioni (Here's the back design. No text other than stats, really. The Bulls beat the Celtics in Boston this afternoon, which is great. Kevin Garnett is out for the playoffs, though, so they didn't have much of a chance anyway.)

190 - Al Horford (Another Hawk, Al Horford. I get Hawks like crazy, at least in the few packs that I've purchased this season. I always get Al Horford and Al Thornton mixed up.)

179 - Acie Law IV (I'm not sure how Acie Law made it into this set. Maybe it's a huge set. Maybe it's just very Atlantacentric.)

Now, back to your regularly scheduled baseball card postings, already in progress. (Go Blazers!)

2004 Upper Deck 1st Pitch

Brent Mayne in Royals white and blue makes a play at the plate, or so it seems. Doesn't matter, as the card says he was signed by Arizona. If I had to guess, it looks like maybe Delgado is the player on the ground. Jay Payton moved from the Rockies to the Padres, but not before breaking a bat for all posterity.


Derek Jeter (Yankees), Danny Bautista (Diamondbacks), and Delmon Young (Devil Rays Star Rookie) are the last three players in the pack. I never saw the problem with calling them 'Devil Rays.' To me, it sounds more impressive than just 'Rays.' To me, that makes it sound like a bunch of guys with the same name all play for the same team. In fact, I think they should aim for that - only hire players named Ray.


Oh, and if this was any date prior to September 30, 2004, we could add this "D" to our collection to 'Spell and Win.' We could have won an auto'd baseball from an unnamed person. Maybe I'm missing the incentive to play here...

2007 Topps Series Two

A lot of the packs I've been breaking this month and showing on here came from a 16-pack re-pack box that was put together by "Beckett Associates." I have to say, this is one of the worst re-packs I've had. Several packs did not even have the number of cards PER PACK in them. I don't subscribe to the whole 'mojo' thing, so if I get game-used or not has no bearing on my pack-opening experience. Having said that, at least one serial/auto/game-used would have been a nice touch.

The other thing I noticed is that in several "series One" packs, there were actually cards labeled "Series Two." This, to me, can only mean some sort of re-pack shenanigans going on. I don't care if the boxes these cards came from were 'searched' but I have a real problem with PACKS that have obviously been opened, searched and repacked then resealed to appear factory-new. That's flat fraud in my book. Of course, until I get "Bipped" there is no way to 'prove' it's happening to the District Attorney. So, instead, I'll just post what I found.


Jeff Cirillo (Twins - not to be confused with Chris Pirillo), Kei Igawa (Yankees - one for Dinged Corners!), Kenny Lofton (Rangers - before his brief appearance with the Tribe later)


Jay Payton (A's-to-Orioles Trading Places) and an Opening Day White Sox vs Indians at US Cellular. Hey, It's technically a Tribe card, right?


Work Hard, get cards. Anyone have kids that have actually cashed in on this little program? I should have. And, finally, Sean Casey (Tigers). He had a brief stint with the Indians, but even I have to admit he seems most out of place when not donning a Reds uniform.

2008 Topps Series 1

It's funny now to think how "old" the 2008 series cards seem already. I don't know if that's a by-product of card blogging or what. In any case, here is some 'old skool' '08 Topps Series One:


Roger Clemens (Yankees), Jeff Kent (Dodgers), and Byung-Hyun Kim (Marlins) are the first three cards out of the pack. For what its worth, Kent is featured on some pretty cool Indians cards...


Brad Penny (Dodgers), Kevin Kouzmanoff (Padres), and Mark Grudzielanek (Royals) complete a trio of blue and gold dots. Kouzmanoff walked on the field for the Tribe, hit a grand slam on the first pitch, and was promptly sent to the Padres. Go figure.


Hanley Ramirez (Marlins - 50th Anniv card), Felix Hernandez (Mariners - YIR card), and a checklist... The 50th Anniversary cards are kinda cool for the whole retro thing that card companies seem to be stuck in. The 'Year-in-Reivew' is one of those cards the girls at Dinged Corners like 'cause it's kinda 'newspapery!' (I'm pretty sure I just made that word up unless they used it before me)


Jamey Carroll (Rockies) and Wladimir Balentien (Mariners) close up the pack. I have to admit, I had to check the back of the card to make sure Balentien's name actually started with a "W..."

2005 Donruss Team Heroes

I have no idea what these cost when they were new, but with only four cards per pack, the price was too high. I suppose this was a 'premium' set, but after looking at the photos and cards themselves, there is no way I'd be calling this 'premium.'


Mark Teixeira (Rangers), Mike Schmidt (Phillies), Jose Contreras (White Sox), and Armando Benitez (Giants) are the cards that came out of their shell for today's APAD. I have to say the Schmidt looks good considering the actual photo is who knows how many years old. That is some serious photoshopping!

1991 O-Pee-Chee Premier

This pack of 1991 O-Pee-Chee Premier features a few very recognizable names:


Will Clark (Giants), Mel Rojas (Expos), and Barry Jones (Expos) lead things off. Will Clark is the stand-out in this trio for sure.


Next up, we find Junior himself (Mariners), Pedro Guerrero (Cardinals), and Hensley Meulens (Yankees). That's actually not a bad trio, though I would venture to say most folks would put Griffey at the top of the list here.


And, since there is an odd number of cards in the pack, Todd Hundley (Mets) gets his card on a line to himself.

1992 Fleer

These 1992 Fleer are part of the variety packs of cards that Motherscratcher sent to me at the beginning of April. I post them for your enjoyment:


Dave Anderson (Giants), Mike Devereaux (Orioles), Chuck McElroy (Cubs), Tracy Jones (Mariners), Bill Sampen (Expos), Paul Assenmacher (Cubs), Tom Browning (Reds), Tim Leary (Yankees), and Tom Lampkin (Padres) are shown above. You will see in a later post of another pack of 1992 Fleer that they had serious collation problems, as many of these same players are in another pack in the same order no less! Awful!


Wayne Rosenthal (Rangers), Greg Hibbard (White Sox), Mark Langston (Angels), Mike Jeffcoat (Rangers), Kevin Tapani (Twins), Tom Pagnozzi (Cardinals), Sean Perry (Royas Prospects), and Manny Lee (Blue Jays) round out the pack. I never notice before, but the backs of these cards look a lot like the fronts of 1992 Donruss... Hmmm...

Well, as I said, many of these same faces will appear in another post, and likely in the same order. Had I been collecting this set, I'd be pretty ticked off at the number of duplicates I'd have. As it is, these go for giveaways. :-)

2007 Fleer Ultra

Lance Berkman (Astros), Miguel Tejada (Orioles), and Jason Bay (Pirates) lead off this pack. That's a pretty good mix in a five-pack of cards!


Bobby Abreu (Yankees) and Faces of the Game Adrian Beltre (Mariners) finish out this pack.

Well, I have to say that this was not a bad pack at all. I don't think I've seen the "Faces" cards before. The back features the player in three additional poses and gives some info as to why he is a face in the crowd.

1991 O-Pee-Chee Premier (Pack #2)

For your enjoyment and perusal, here is another pack of 1991 O-Pee-Chee Premier that I received from Motherscratcher.


This one features Don Mattingly (Yankees), Scott Sanderson (Yankees), and Brett Butler (Dodgers). Two Yankees in a row? Wow, maybe I should start a "Yanks or no Yanks" game... By far, Mattingly is the star in this trio! Butler spent four seasons with the Tribe back in the day.


Rounding out this pack, we have... wait a minute... The pack says "7 cards" per pack. This one only has SIX cards! I got ripped off. Wait, these were a gift. Nevermind... Well, maybe they should have added "on average" to their packs....

Here we have Devon White (Blue Jays), Bernie Williams (Yankees), and Jack Morris (Twins). Man, another Yankee. Half the pack was Yankees. You won't hear me complain though, I got some nice giveaway cards out of it.

Though, I still think they ripped SOMEONE off...

2007 Bowman Chrome

Just think about this before you read on. Someone out there could very well have paid $2.99 for this pack. A dollar per card automatically prices me out of any pack you could throw in front of me, unless there was some sort of guarantee that it would be chock full of shiny Cardinals that I lacked. Since that's not happening, how did I end up with this pack? It was on the front of a repack box, of course. I can honestly never keep any of the Bowman designs straight because I just barely have any of the stuff, so I couldn't really picture this set in my mind when I bought the box. I just went for it. So you could easily make fun of me for spending $11 or however much it was for a repack box comprised mostly of junk, but at least I didn't pay $1 a card, right?

Right?

211 - Jerry Owens (RC) (Owens is a light-hitting outfielder who had a grand total of 16 ABs with the White Sox last season after playing in 93 games his rookie year.)

BC124 - Brandon Hynick Prospects (Hynick is a right-handed starting pitcher who was the #8 prospect in the Rockies system according to Baseball America in 2008. He pitched in AA last year.)

65 - Manny Ramirez (And then there's this guy.)

Well, at least they're shiny.

2008 Upper Deck First Edition Update

This was a dollar pack from the last Reading Show. I don't open these packs enough. There are about six more in the pipeline, but all that is 1986 to 1992 junk wax except for a pack of '99 Ultra. Anyway..

I have never opened 2008 Upper Deck First Edition. I kind of like the full bleed, non glossy photos.

Here's who we got...

John Lester
Andrew Miller
Mark Teahen
Pat Neshek
Matt Morris
Justin Morneau
Noah Lowry
Ryan Church
Wilson Betemit
Derek Jeter -- Starquest

The Neshek is a bonus. I've been wanting to send him a card to sign per his blog. Two Twins but no Phillies. Startling fact, 6 of the players are younger than I am (and Neshek is 12 days older). I never realize I got so old!

1992 Topps Stadium Club Series 2

The 1992 Topps Stadium Club pack is glossy black with a red design in the center and an orange and blue circular design at the top. It makes it look like the letter "i" has been placed onto a black background. There are 15 cards per pack, and they are "Super Premium." Like gas. But unlike gas, these are printed with Kodak Imagine Technology. Really? It only took Topps 40 years to say, "Hey! Maybe we should use the world's best-known photo developer for our cards!"


First up, we have the 1992 Club Membership enrollment/registration card. Membership was $29.95, but your could save five bucks if you sent five proofs of purchase. Membership got you fre cards, special edition 'members only' event cards, Topps Magazine, and a specialized card and ID number. The back says that "Topps has the right to limit the number of memberships." Wonder if they had to play that hand.

Well, on to the reason we're here today. First card up is Rob Maurer (Rangers). I have always been a fan of Stadium Club - the photos take up the whole card, the logo is small and out of the way, and the photos do look good on Kodak Technology.


Wow! A "Member's Choice" Jose Canseco (A's)! The "Members Choice" cards had special foil on them with those words on the card. Next, Steve Chitren (A's). Hmm, maybe I should play "A's or No A's." No, that reminds me too much of my report card in school. I usualy came out on the short end of that stick. Third is Bryn Smith (Cardinals). I think the people in the back saw the cameraman and stood to be in the shot. Wonder if they ever got a copy of the card to show their friends. I know at least blogger that is in a baseball card, which I think is pretty cool.


Keith Mitchell (Braves), Darryl Strawberry (Dodgers), and Robin Yount (Brewers) round out this third. Wow, that's actually not a bad group there. Strawberry and Yount back-to-back in the pack. Cool!


Danny Cox (Phillies), Pedro Munoz (Twins), Paul McClellan (Giants). For some reason, I thought Cox played for the Indians at one time. I was wrong.


Cal Eldred (Brewers), Tim Teufel (Padres), and Howard Johnson (Mets). Do you find it ironic that Johnson played for a team whose colors are the same (close enough) as the hotel chain of the same name as the player? Maybe that's just my weird mind at work.


The last three cards in the pack are Frank Thomas (White Sox), Doc Gooden (Mets), and Carlos Martinez (Indians - Wahoo!). The photo of Gooden running aound the bases has got to be a rare shot for his cards. I always saw him on the mound in the cards I have. He is one of my "other players I collect" group, as is Thomas.

Not the worst pack I've opened, plus some real stand-outs to keep things going! Yount, Gooden, Strawberry - great cards, but sounds like a bad "Redneck Words" joke to me....

1991 O-Pee-Chee Premier

I received a box of cards and wax packs from Motherscratcher the other day, and I thought the best thing to do with a gift like that is to share it with everyone else! The first pack I am opening is a 1991 O-Pee-Chee Premier. The pack itself (above) is shiny and gold - a combination sure to bring collectors running, right? There are 7 cards in each pack.


The first two cards out of the gate are Roberto Alomar (Blue Jays) and Ozzie Smith (Cardinals)! Holy crap! Now, THAT'S the way to start a pack. The cards themselves feature (in my opinion) photography that is a step above the 80's Donruss cards, but not too much higher. The top of each card features a gold banner with the company logo on the left and a multi-colored 'Premier" on the right. Photos are surrounded by a colored border. Below the photo is the player's name, team, and position. The position is written in English followed by a French translation. O-Pee-Chee is a Canadian company, after all.


I don't know much about the history of the company, but I am guessing these are called "Premier" because it's the first time the company did not use photos and designs from Topps. It sounds good anyway.

Next in the pack, is Roger Clemens (Red Sox), Tim Wallach (Expos), and Dave Winfield (Angels). Seriously? This pack is turning out to be an early 90's collector's dream (edited due to younger readers that I know frequent the site). Holy crap (again!).


The last two cards are Chris Nabholz (Expos) and Gary Scott (Cubs). I decided to show the backs of the cards this time. The backs feature a large closeup of the player on the left. The upper right features the card number (BTW, Alomar is card #1) and the scripted "Premier" again. They really wanted you to know this was THE PREMIER set. The player's name in all-caps is next with the position below that in English and French. The previous year's stats are shown in a bright yellow box along with "carriere" info (that's French for career). Beneath the photo, we find biographical information, all in English.

Really, so the only part in French is the player's position!? I don't even know what to say to that.

In the lower right corner, the team logo and the bottom of the card features logos from the various MLB property entities. I admit, after shuffling through these a couple more times, the photos aren't quite as bad as I had thought originally.

2009 Upper Deck First Edition

Ten cards for a buck. That's a price I can afford right now. Topps' dollar product is the new Attax game, while Upper Deck goes back to their First Edition standby. Unlike last year, the cards have a matte finish much like the 2007 set. No foil, no holograms, no frill, just cards. I like.

10 Max Scherzer
147 Manny Ramirez
234 Nate McLouth
24 James Parr
249 Matt Cain
118 Josh Johnson
SQ-11 Hanley Ramirez StarQuest
299 Ryan Zimmerman
207 Jorge Posada
194 John Maine

Scans of Hanley and Manny can be seen here, I'm too lazy to copy the pics right now. Manny, Hanley and Invader Zim make for a pretty good first pack. I haven't seen a checklist, but I think the set is 300 cards. At 99 base cards in a blaster (plus 10 SQ's) it is theoretically possible to get almost a complete set in three blasters. The odds of that happening is equivalent to that Tupperware container of old tuna fish salad in your refrigerator spontaneously evolving into a beluga whale, but it could happen. I would not recommend trying this though as you will most likely end up with 125 cards you need and enough doubles to choke that whale in your fridge. If you have a buck or ten burning a hole in your pocket, it could be a fun, cheap rip. Just don't expect any hits or inserts or gimmicks or anything, this is about as old school a set as you're likely to encounter this year.

2008-09 Topps T51 Murad Basketball

Topps Murad is basically the Allen & Ginter idea for basketball cards. I saw a fair amount of reviews of this stuff when it first came out, and although I try to avoid spending money on basketball cards so I don't get hooked, I knew I needed to try a pack of this stuff. This set has one of the craziest designs I've ever seen on trading cards. And they really have to be seen in person to get the full experience. Basketball cards seem to have a miniscule presence on blogs, so I like to throw one up here once in awhile.

31 - Gerald Wallace (Yes, the Charlotte Bobcats are an actual NBA team. Gerald Wallace was once the understudy to Chris Webber at Sacramento, but he's become a fairly well-rounded and unsung quality player. Unfortunately, Wallace had his season come to a grisly end around the time I purchased this pack, when a flagrant foul by Laker Andrew Bynum caused him to suffer a partially collapsed lung as well as a broken rib. Karma came back to get Bynum, as he's been out for quite sometime and his availability is a question mark for the playoffs. Incidentally, Bynum was taken out by his own teammate, some chump named Kobe Bryant. By the way, I hate the Lakers.)

16 - Josh Smith (Oddly enough, there is an entire chapter of this book dedicated to both Gerald Wallace and Josh Smith and their combined oddities and intrigue. Atlanta is a dangerous team this season and they could certainly make some noise in the playoffs this year.)

177 - Eric Gordon (Gordon is a rookie, as indicated in the upper right hand corner of the card, so he is required to carry two basketballs wherever he goes. Baron Davis will do something unmentionable to him if he doesn't.)

174 - Russell Westbrook Mini (Speaking of unmentionable, he's another rookie, Russell Westbrook, playing for a team that shall not be mentioned. They used to be the Sonics. Now they're a walking, balling disgrace in uniforms that look like some kid messed around with PhotoShop using Bobcats and New Orleans Hornets unis. The minis, I'm assuming, are one per pack like A&G.)

73 - Rasheed Wallace (Part of me really missed the days when Sheed would spot up around the perimeter at the Rose Garden to a chorus of "Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!" prior to nailing another 3-pointer. The other part of me laughs when hearing that he just got suspended for earning his 16th technical foul of the season, in his first game back from a two-week injury layoff. He's still in my Top 5 Blazers of all-time, but he could get pushed out soon as the entire current Blazers team is so likeable.)
1 - Elton Brand (Brand played 8 games last season and somehow signed a high dollar 5 year contract with a new team, the Sixers. He played in 29 games this year before being shut down with another season-ending injury. It has to be rough being a Sixers fan these days.)