I received three cards in the mail last week that all will find their place into my PC. Here they are in no particular order...
The first one is this 2010-11 Certified Mirror Red Dual Sweater #'d/150 of former Dallas Star and current Pittsburgh Penguin James Neal. I have always liked James Neal. He's been on my fantasy team quite often and always seems like the guy that doesn't make a lot of noise and just lets his game speak for itself. I like that. I haven't gone crazy yet and started a PC of him or anything but it's an option. I just wish Crosby would get healthy. I think that line would do amazing things.
Panini did an interesting thing on these cards. The swatch cut outs are positioned into the card design so that depending on the sweater color, it may or may not blend into the card. When I first bid on this, I had no idea it had the GU pieces in it. Wasn't I surprised?
The second card that came was this 2011 Topps Game Day Autograph of Emmanuel Sanders. As you can see, it's a sticker auto and Mr. Sanders isn't going to win any penmanship awards anytime soon. But it's a great looking card in my opinion of an up and coming Steeler. He was a 3rd round pick in last years draft and hasn't quite broken into the full time roster for Bruce Arians offense, at least yet. He still plays a role as could be seen in last week abysmal showing by the "black & yellow". He hauled in two passes for 20 yards, one of which for six. Here's hoping for more to come.
Apparently there are four different versions of each of these autograph cards in the Topps set. Each one features a write up on the back talking about a different moment in a particular game from last season. These "Game Day Moments" are broken down by quarter. This card here is 2nd quarter. I'm not sure on scarcity or whatnot of each version.
Finally, we got this 2010-11 Limited Phenoms Autograph #'d/299 of my apparent "man-crush" Eric Tangradi. I believe this makes 10 Tangradi autos, or maybe 11, I lost count. Invariably, it means he will either be traded, retire, or suffer a career ending injury because that is my luck. I know I always say that but I have a bad track record. Hopefully he can recover from that concussion he got back in February, make a big impression in the Prospects Tournament coming up, and strap the skates back on for the Pens. His size and presence on the ice are key to him maximizing his potential. He just needs to get tougher along the boards, own the paint, and master the art of being a "pest" in front of the net. Lots to handle but I think he can do it.
I really like these cut out style cards. I think the concept is cool as it makes the card look more like a focal piece for display. They did a really good job with the Crown Royal Scratching The Surface ones with the rink inset and the material patch with the team logo on these is really well done too. I can't believe I'm saying this but, good job Panini.
