One Of My Favorite Pens D-Men, Out Six Weeks With...A STROKE!!??

Two posts in one day!  I know. Crazy for me....

But you heard that right in the title...or maybe you heard on hockey news somewhere already.  Kris Letang, a finalist for last years Norris Trophy, suffered what doctors say was a stroke. They don't think it will threaten his career but one can't help but wonder if it could effect his game going forward.  I guess a better question is, should there be a game going forward?

Letang suffers from a small hole in the wall of his heart, a birth defect that occurs in all babies but usually repairs itself.  Doctor's think it may have led to the stroke.  The Pens GM Ray Shero, said he had only one episode of dizziness last week.  As a result, he sat for a few games while they did further tests.  Not until he returned to Pittsburgh did they find the issue.  Right now, he is on the shelf for at least six weeks before they evaluate him again.

He was quoted in the press conference as saying...

"I hope that by making my condition public at this time I can help other people by encouraging them to seek medical help if they experience some of the symptoms associated with a stroke, regardless of their age or general health. It obviously was a shock to get the news but I'm optimistic that I can overcome this and get back on the ice."

Kris is only 26 years old.  26!

Baseball Lost A True Great - - RIP Ralph Kiner

This is probably old news for many of you but it was new to me when I heard about it this morning while watching Olympic coverage.

Kiner doesn't get mentioned all too often in the circle of great power hitters.  Sure you hear about the Babe, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, and others but Kiner did what none of them could.  From 1946-1952, he hit 100 more home runs than any other player in baseball.  He averaged 44 homers and 115 RBIs in each of those seasons.  In 10 MLB seasons, he led the league in home runs his first seven (six of those leading all of baseball).  If it wasn't for some difficult back problems and a lingering injury, who knows what kind of career Ralph would have had.  His 369 career home runs could have been double that or more.

After his playing career, he took a job with the upstart New York Mets organization in their announcing booth and stayed there till the end.

His personality, wit, and charm will be missed by Mets and Pirates fans alike.  But just like with the passing of other legends, his legacy and impact on baseball should be shared with future generations to come.

I thought I would share a few of my favorite Kiner cards in my collection.  RIP, HOFer Ralph Kiner.  

New Tangradi PC Cards

Yes, that's right.  I'm still collecting Eric Tangradi cards.  The Winnipeg Jets winger that has spent more time off the ice than on this year is still part of my personal collection.  I remember posting a loooonnnnggg time ago about Tangradi's first goal as a Jet.  That was so long ago now and he only has one other to match.  He has played in 36 games so far this year, has 4 points and when healthy, has been relegated to 7-10 min of TOI as a 4th liner.

Despite all that, I still think he's got potential.  It's in there somewhere.  It has to be.  It's just buried under the dark memories of that vicious elbow he took at the hands of Trevor Gillies way back in 2011.  Eric just needs to get healthy, forget the demons, get more aggressive, and start putting pucks on the net.  Yeah, just like that.  Easy.

Ok, enough of me trying to convince myself this is still a good idea.  Here are some recent additions to my Tangradi collection (six months ago still counts as recent).

 2010-11 Certified Freshman Signatures Mirror Emerald #/5

I figured I'd start with the big one.  I even scanned the back so you can see.  It's the Mirror Emerald version of the Certified Freshman Signatures card.  I have been hunting for this for years.  I only have ever seen one and it was being sold by a dealer for a ridiculous amount of money.  Patience paid off and I was able to successfully bid this one into my collection a few months back.  It's hard to see since I didn't scan this but instead opted for a phone photo.  I'll show my "rainbow" at the bottom of this post just for fun.

 2013-14 O-Pee-Chee Red Border Redemption Parallel

This is the Red Border parallel, for those not in Canada, and was part of Upper Decks' wrapper redemption program.  This year was the second year they offered Canadian collectors the opportunity to obtain a pack of six cards in exchange for 50 hobby wrappers at any Upper Deck Diamond Certified Dealer.  Because they were only available in Canada, obviously these are harder to come by in the states...unless you do Ebay.  Which I do.  And that's why I have it.  So there.

2010-11 SP Game Used Authentic Rookies Gold #/50

Here is the SP Game Used rookie of Eric.  I know I have shown this card before but I don't think I have ever shown a Gold version.  I picked this up for way less than I was prepared to spend so it was definitely a win for me.  I have the base version #/699, the Spectrum #/10 and now this.  The only one missing in the proverbial "rainbow" is the Gold Spectrum #/1.  I've never seen it and am not sure if it has been unearthed yet.

 2013-14 Panini Titanium Game Worn Gear (white swatch)

This is the newest, as in release date, card for my PC.  This comes from the just released 2013-14 Panini Titanium release and is a Game-Worn Gear card.  The swatch is white, boring I know, but it just adds to the ever-growing pile of Tangradi jersey's in my collection.  I have seen this also in black and I am in the process of obtaining at least one of those as well.

Eric's cards cooled off after his rookie season with Pittsburgh, mostly because he was relegated to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and didn't get a lot of big team ice time.  The Pens were deep and I don't fault them for unloading Eric when they did.  He has played more in Winnipeg so his cards have began to pop back up in the deeper releases.  He's up to 199 cards now that I know of.  In 2013-14 alone, he has added another 11 cards.  One of these days I'll get around to updating my wantlist/checklist for Mr. Tangradi.  I'm also looking to add some items, other than cards, to my ET collection.  Stay tuned for that.

Oh, I almost forgot.  I was going to show my "rainbow" of Freshman Signature cards.  The only one I am missing is the Black version #/1.  Again, like the Gold Spectrum Game Used, I have never seen one of these so I don't know if anyone has ever released one into the wild.  Here you go.

 In order from left to right...base (silver), red, blue, gold, emerald

Here's a better shot at the colors...

And finally the backs where you can see the serial numbering.  Like I said, the only one missing is the Black.

If you can read the back of this card, you can see he was a beast back when he played for Belleville in the OHL.  Hopefully someday he can get back to a semblance of himself.  Maybe then I can retire off this collection.  Stop laughing.

Super Mario Brothers

No, not those mustachio'd fellows created by Nintendo.

These that I'm about to show.

I gave myself a Christmas present during the Black Friday card sales last year.  Most of the boxes I picked up were opened.  But there were three or four that I left in the shipping box.  Why?  I don't really know.  I think I was going to save them for some reason or another.  But after opening the one box of 2011-12 Parkhurst Champions and pulling this guy...the itch to open the other box I picked up has been strong.  Surely I wouldn't be lucky enough to get two Tier A autographs in back-to-back boxes, would I?

Well the urge finally overwhelmed me the other night and I had no choice but to tear the cellophane and dive in.  I will preface the rest by saying that I did not, in fact, find any other Tier A autos.  Let's get that out of the way first.  But I did get something special.

Let me start by showing the family of Mario cards that came out of this box.  I was intrigued when I realized all of these were in the same box.

2011-12 Parkhurst Champions Mario Lemieux base card (w/ horrible scan job)

2011-12 Parkhurst Champions Mario Lemieux B&W Renditions SP (w/ nice scan job)

2011-12 Parkhurst Champions Mario Lemieux Wire Photo (w/ eh, scan job)

 2011-12 Parkhurst Champions Mario Lemieux Mini SP (w/ beautiful scan job)

Oh, and I can't forget...the whole reason I made this post in the first place was to show off the other Mario that was in this box.  

Any guesses?

No?

Well if you said it was a card that has the odds of falling about 1:2,560 packs, you guessed correctly.

Nestled away in one of the last packs was this beauty...

 2011-12 Parkhurst Champions Mario Lemieux Mini SP Parkhurst Back Variation 

(w/ crappy scan job on the back)

Now, I'm not one to brag but...who am I kidding?  Yes I am.

Things I've learned:

A) Never count out any box because of the perceived impossibility (improbability) of odds.

B) My scanner generally sucks and I hate it but I'm not keen on replacing it at the moment.

C) I now want more boxes of these.  I'm sick.

I don't really know what to do with all the duplicate base cards but I'm sure I can figure something out.  NO, you can't have this card.  But, does anyone need cards for this set?  Would anyone like an most of, if not an entire base set?  Let me know.

How Do You Eat The Elephant??

I'm sure everyone has heard that old saying.  The answer is, of course, "One bite at a time."

In my case, the elephant is my effort to get some semblance of organization back to my collection.  I had the privilege of moving twice in 2013, thus putting an already maligned collection into more disarray.  Over the past two years prior to that, I picked up the remnants of a few, now defunct card shops.  In all, I have accumulated approximately 1.5 million cards since late 2011 (give or take a couple hundred thousand but at that point, what difference does it make?).  After the first move, 4/5 of everything went into a storage locker which, of course, cost monthly money to store my own collection (kind of like COMC but without organization, an audience, or customers.  Although if anyone is in Northwest Indiana and would like to drop by, I'd be glad to show you around.  It's only 6x10 and almost fully packed so it shouldn't take long since you can barely move in it.).  In the early fall of last year, I was able to unload about 1/3 of that mess, including all the unwanted football and basketball cards I could find at the time (meaning, I've since found more).  That left baseball in the locker and all the hockey, unclassified boxes, and miscellaneous stuff in my possession.  So between the two locations of my collection, I'm probably sitting on close to 800,000-900,000+ cards.

But here's the overall problem....I still just have too much.

(Prepare for another of my incoherent rants...)

I have intentions for everything, as most collectors do.  I have many plans for the collections I have started and tons of ideas for the collections I haven't.  I have stuff that doesn't fit into my PC goals that just sits in boxes, on shelves, on my desk, or in random piles collecting dust.  I have stuff I want to try and unload but just haven't found the time to do so.  I have sets I've started, with missing cards I've received, with checklists unchecked, and a big round-tuit on top.  I even have PC cards not in their respective homes (blasphemous!)

Hobby's are enjoyable.  They aren't supposed to be stressful.  My goal for 2014 was to have fun.  But my collection sometimes stresses me out.  I don't like looking at the disorganization because in all other aspects of my life, I'm hardly unorganized.  But for some reason, the cardboard gods did not grace me with the meticulousness I feel I should have as a collector.  I have a space just for my collection now and I need to utilize it to it's potential, not create another doomed room full of chaos.

So I say...NO MORE!  This insanity has to stop.  I want to enjoy my collection and have fun with it and to do that, I need to make some changes.  So I'm starting now.

First, I'm vowing to post at least 5 cards or more to my Collector's Revolution account at least every other day until I fill a Shoebox full of sale items.  There is no other way to get rid of unwanted stuff (besides giving it away).  I already have about 200 or so items on there for sale and have sold a handful of items over the past few months.  I may not sell it all.  I may not sell any of it.  But, at least I will try.  You never know until you try.  And with any of that money I may make...I will use for future card purchases.  No, really.  I will. I swear.

Not to get off subject but for anyone not aware, Collector's Revolution is a "newer" sports card collector's marketplace that is designed to be better than Ebay...I'm not sure how they have done so far but I'm fairly happy (and no, I am not a commercial for them or compensated by them in any way).  There are no listing fees, no final sales fees for items under $5, no re-listing fees, and you never pay more than 5% on a final sale.  They also sponsor affordable group breaks, offer seller incentives, a referral program, and you can choose to have your items featured.  While they don't have the traffic that Ebay has, I like my odds at selling things on my own terms without having to open my own e-commerce site.

Second, I'm going to stop buying retail products for the entire year.  There I said it.  NO RETAIL.  ONE YEAR.  I tried this once before and it didn't work out too well.  This time, I mean it.  Hobby only or online purchases for me on new products from here on out.  This is not only going to save me money in the long run, but also limit the over saturation in my collection of common cards that just take up monster box space on my shelves.  Now if someone buys retail for me, I'm not going to shun them.  But out of my own pocket, no way.

Third, I need to trade.  This is a trading based hobby.  They are called TRADING cards.  I need to trade, plain and simple.  I have one trade so far this year and need to start making more.  It will happen.  I just need to find a way to connect with the masses.  Hopefully I can move forward with my plan to post a regular "trade bait" post on the blog.  I would also like to update my trading lists with other bloggers and what they collect.  I know what some of you target but not everyone.  If you're reading this, don't think I know what you collect, and you want to trade, tell me about it in a comment or something.

Piggybacking off the trading thing, I really need to get updated as to what I have and don't have in my PC and non-PC cards.  I had originally started using Zistle back in 2009 when I went full steam ahead back into the hobby.  It is a great site for creating an online inventory of your collection (and no I'm not paid to say that about them either).  It is pretty flexible, allows some customization, and the support there is second to none.  Unfortunately, my use declined over the last couple years and that needs to change.  Again, it's the best site, in my opinion, for creating an inventory online without doing it yourself from scratch.  If I can start making a dent in finding out what I have, it will surely make it easier to pull off trades.

No, I haven't just reneged on my promise of no New Year's collecting resolutions.  These are a matter of life and death if I want to stay active in this great hobby.  I still stick with my original and only NYCR, and that was to have fun.  I'm going to make this as fun as possible for myself and slowly reintroduce The Real DFG to his collection.

Picking On Potash

I think I have said before that I'm not a big fan of Pens reporter Dan Potash.  I don't know what it is.  There is just something about the guy that rubs me the wrong way.  I'm sure he's a nice guy and everything but he (like many announcers and reporters) just makes me mad when he comes on TV to do an intermission report with one of the Penguin players.

At any rate, I found this video that I thought was funny and figured I would share.  It's a little long (8:26) but entertaining.  I'm sure there are many teams where this type of behavior goes on but in this case, I don't think it could happen to a better guy.