2008-2009 Topps Co-Signers Basketball

What the heck is Co-Signers doing at Target? Yes, these are retail packs. I didn't know Topps did such things, but since upper Deck is putting SP in retail outlets, I guess they are just going where the money is. The Hawks are kicking ass and chewing bubblegum right now so I shelled out for a couple of packs of the stuff. Both packs had craziness in them so I'm going to post 'em both in flagrant violation of this blog's credo. No one who reads this blog likes basketball anyway so I figure two hoops packs equals about two-thirds of a baseball pack. I'll owe you guys the third pack.

Pack 1:

100 Magic Johnson

LA LAKERS - FAST BREAK MAKERS - KINGS OF THE COURT SHAKE N BAKE ALL TAKERS - BACK TO BACK IS A BAD ASS FACT - A CLAIM THAT REMAINS - INTACT

Yes, I do have to sing that song every time I pull a Magic card out of a pack. I'm like Cartman and "Come Sail Away", I just can't help myself.

47 Andrei Kirilenko - A big goofy white guy in Utah, how shocking.

17 Josh Smith crazy ass Studio 54 shiny-refractor-except-not-on-chrome thingy #02/50

HOLY BLEEPING BLEEP. Are these things even allowed in retail packs?? I guess this is a hyper gold parallel? The thing looks like a time warp in hyperspace. It's a Hawk too, I guess the Topps spies are following me again and placing Hawks hits in my path. Seriously, this is like the third crazy Hawk hit I've gotten from that same Target. I also got a Joe Johnson jersey out of a '07-08 Topps pack, and a Dominique Wilkins numbered insert from a pack of Some other Topps product that I can't remember the name of now. All in the past year. Keep 'em coming, Topps spies!

Changing Faces Mix-and-Match Instructional Card - This is important later. FORESHADOWING...

79 Jeff Green - Seattle Uniform, Oklahoma City on the bottom of the card. Sad.

67 Shawn Marion- Nice, would be good for a Heat fan since he's in the new jersey after last year's Shaq trade.

Second Pack:

54 Joe Johnson

Two Hawks in two packs? I can't possibly do any better than that... CAN I???? (more foreshadowing)

58 Rashad McCants - Well at least the Wolves' new(ish) logo is more fierce than the old one that looked like a puppy dog.

CF-24 Shaquille O'Neal #321/399
CF-29 Amare Stoudemire

Ok this is that Changing Faces card that insert was warning us about. I wonder what is so special abo- OH NO!

A tragedy! It done broked! Oh wait, it's supposed to do that...

I should have read the info card. This is a 21st century Card-Supial gimmick card where you can mix and match the two players. WARNING - If you get one, don't pull it apart too many times. It's a real pain getting it back together. Here's the back:

The Shaq card is numbered to 399 but the Amare card isn't numbered which means it's not rare and there are MIIIIILLLIIIOOOONNS of them out there. I like Shaq-Fu better anyway. These drop at 1:12 packs according to the wrapper so you too can get one of these if you try hard enough.

56 Ricky Davis - Cheesy posed "just signed with a new team" stock photo.

Both packs had a Greg Oden "Stay In School" Irony card in them, both with security devices slapped on top of Greg. Dang, now I want more of this stuff, but I know if I rip 10,000 more packs of it, I'll never get anything as shiny and cool as the Josh Smith Hypno-Fractor. ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNO-FRACTOR.

2008 Topps Co-Signers

What the hey? What's the el-cheapo pack ripper, despiser of overpriced gimmick sets doing opening a pack of Co-Signers?? Well, good readers of A Pack A Day, I have a weakness. My weakness is stuff on sale. You see, when Co-Signers first came out, it retailed at $10, so it hit the shelves at $11 a pack. I saw it priced at $12 and higher for a while, then it dipped back down to $10, and finally settled in at $9. Then last weekend I saw a dusty neglected box with a price tag of $7. That's like, almost half of $12! What a BARGAIN! Never mind that I hate the product on moral grounds and would choke at paying $7 for any other pack, it was on sale and I had to get one. So here it is, the product of my weakness. Enjoy my shame.

033 Curtis Granderson
069 Brian McCann
022 Hunter Pence/Carlos Lee blue foil #156/250
111 Felipe Paulino bronze autograph #175/400
092 Jermaine Dye
062 Alfonso Soriano

Well, I got an autograph... of a rookie... who is on the DL... and has a 7.11 career ERA... But he could "impact the Astros rotation before the end of the year" according to CBS Sportsline. Then again an impact completely wiped out the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago so take that as you will. I also got a thick blue foil numbered parallel of Hunter Pence and Carlos Lee. I thought there was supposed to be only one thick card in each pack? I got a mutant pack. I probably bought this pack out from under some poor kid who is an Astros fan and collects Co-Signers, didn't I? Great, now I feel shame AND guilt. Not too guilty though because I pulled a Brian McCann card. Oh, how I love B-Mac. And what happened? Shane Victorino creams him on a play at the plate and scrambles his brains. Now I get to watch Corky Miller catch for the Bravos. DEATH MILD DISCOMFORT FOR A PROLONGED PERIOD OF TIME TO SHANE VICTORINO!!! Helmet to helmet contact is a fifteen yard penalty in the NFL, dammit.

2008 Topps Co-Signers

This is the second of two packs of this stuff I bought at a show a couple of weeks ago.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
031 Orlando Hudson

057 Jeff Kent (Remember when Kent was with the Giants and he claimed he broke his wrist while washing his truck when in reality he was popping wheelies on a motorcycle?)
005 Grady Sizemore

035 Jorge Posada/Derek Jeter Red Parallel (297/400) (The previous cards in this pack established the precedent for the set's design, i.e., player name on card bottom, team name running vertically on card left. Following this logical sequence, Jorge Posada plays for Team Jeter. Perhaps Derek can get him a red cap and a Speedo. Unless, of course, Jorge's just a "bond company stooge.")

076 Hideki Matsui
066 Ivan Rodriguez (Anybody else see him get struck out by shortstop Tony Pena, Jr. in the Tigers' 19-4 victory over the Royals? Good for any Royals fans who stuck around for that entire mess. At least they got something to cheer for.)

Not quite the show-stopper the last one was, but solid enough. Too bad I didn't get any Brewers, but perhaps I can score some more from my trading contest over at Thorzul Will Rule.

Jorge "Kingsley" Posada.

2008 Topps Co-Signers Baseball

This is the pack readers at Thorzul Will Rule voted against last week. It's the Gore/Kerry ticket of packs. Let's call it An Inconvenient Pack.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
093 Pedro Martinez

041 Andre Ethier

059 Justin Upton Orange Parallel (190/300)

Redemption Card Carlos Marmol/Geovany Soto Co-Signers Autograph

082 Carlos Zambrano
016 Joe Mauer

I'm not sure what I did to deserve such punishment. Perhaps it stems from the winter when I hit my little brother in the face with an ice ball. Maybe it's retribution for all of the cheating that took place on middle school social studies tests. In any case, I consider this pack my penance. First you've got Joe "Citizen Douchebag" Mauer, a guy who couldn't take my heckling the last time he came to town and actually broke down and started crying in the batters box. (Well...) Then there's top-rated A-hole Zambrano, a guy who lacks personal self-control to the point where he will fistfight his own teammates in the middle of a game. And finally, there's the redemption card. Only in my world would this be considered punishment. While it might be on morally shaky ground to hope for players on an opposing team to get hurt, perhaps I could find a loophole around this by praying that some of the players who currently ride the bench for the Cubs get the chance at big league action they so richly deserve.

And by the way, what is up with the numbering system on these? Do we really need the zero as the hundreds place holder?

2008 Topps Co-Signers

I buy a box of Co-Signers every year, but I never finish a set because they are a bit overpriced. Last year the edges were prone to chipping, which I am hoping they don't this year. There are single, double, triple and quadruple autographs possible. They are featuring 30 boxer autographs this year. Every box has guaranteed 3 autographs which is great. There are 12 packs to a box with 6 cards per pack. There are 115 base cards which includes 75 veterans, 25 rookies, and 15 autographed rookies. There are several different color parallel cards. On to the pack:
Scott Rolen, was drafted by the Phillies in 1993. He currently plays for the Blue Jays. Being in the majors has been fruitful for Scott making him over $71 million. He played in All Star games from 2002 - 2006. He was also the 1997 NL Rookie of the Year.

Jonathan Meloan, was drafted by the Dodgers in 2005, whom he still plays for. He got to play in 5 games for the Dodgers in 2007, but now he is back playing AAA ball.
Justin Verlander, was drafted by the Tigers in 2004 whom he still plays for. He was the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year and played in the 2007 All Star game. He has been clocked several times with a 100 mph fastball.

Don Lyle, Indians scout. Ryan Garko, drafted in 2003 by the Indians, whom he still plays for.
Mark Buehrle, was drafted in 1998 by the White Sox, whom he still plays for. He has played in All Star games in 2002, 2005 and 2006. A personal note, is he was raised in St. Charles, Missouri where I lived a few of my early years.

Ross Ohlendorf, was drafted by the Diamondbacks in 2004. He currently plays for Yankees.

Overall, I like these cards, they are made of better material than last year, but not quite the visual pizazz. It's cool to get 3 autos per box, but I the Scout's auto is a little odd. The Meloan card is serial numbered 20/100 and is super shiny. This is one brand I think could go away and it would not be a huge loss to the hobby.