An Epic Card Has Arrived.

I have noticed lately that both Upper Deck and Panini have been sending redemption cards of "higher" value with signature verifications.  I have no problem with that other than the fact that no one is ever home at my house to sign for them.  Regardless, the Post Office gladly holds my little yellow envelopes for me until I can get my happy butt over there to pick them up.

Well an epic card awaited me yesterday.  I bought a box of Panini Classics Signatures back in March at the Chicago Sun-Times Sports Show in Rosemont, IL.  In it was a redemption for a triple auto.  Honestly, I never expected to receive this card and assumed it would be one that would need replaced.  Then the email came last week.  My card had shipped.

And here it is in all it's glory...

One Card!!  

Three HOFers!!!  

Three Autographs!!!  

19 Total Stanley Cup Championships!!!  

EPIC!!!

Stuff...Both Random And PC Related

I've been hard pressed for time and hard pressed for ideas as of late.  With the NHL season winding down and the 2nd season getting ready to start, the NFL draft the last couple days, and both my kids playing baseball this year, I'm more interested in watching the sports rather than blogging about them.

But I'll throw a bone to my readers just to let them know I'm still alive. 

The following are some newer additions to the old collection.  There are a few PC cards in there, a couple intentional and one by accident.  Enjoy the digital cardboard for your eyes.

First, I am unofficially collecting the 2012-13 Panini Classics Signatures autos as I have already mentioned here and in my original box break post.  Here are a few more I have received from successful bidding.

Here we have Cliff Ronning, who played the better part of six seasons with Vancouver in his 18 year career and Rod Langway, one of the last "grandfathered" players to play without a helmet.  Langway definitely doesn't get the credit he deserves as he played on some pretty awful Capitals teams.  But he did get a Cup while with Montreal in 1979.   

I also picked up this nifty Jethro auto.  Both Gillies and Langway were enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.  Ronning isn't but with over 300 goals, over 800 points, he might very well get the nod someday.


I picked up this nice Bill Guerin.  I already had this OPC Retro Parallel but this one is the "Blank Back" version.  These are hard to find so I figured I better strike while the iron was hot.

Here is the front and the back of the card.  Although, I don't know why I'm showing the back.  That blank cardboard could be anything.  I could be lying to all of you.  I'm not, but I could be.  At any rate, I can cross off another elusive Guerin card from my list.

I'll be featuring this over on my autograph project blog too but I figured I would give it a shout out now.  This is a 2002-03 Upper Deck Trilogy Script Autograph of Brooks Orpik.  The long-time defensive mainstay for the Penguins was a scratch in tonight's romping of the Hurricanes but will be firing on all cylinders for the playoffs...I hope.  This was/is the first auto I have of Mr. Orpik.  He has kind of a lazy signature but it is still recognizable somewhat.

This card has no real bearing on anything for my collections.  I don't collect Fuhr.  I'm not a Blues fan.  I'm not even a goalie hoarder.  I found this card in a box of football cards that were in The Garage (which has subsequently become The Storage Locker).  I found it interesting because I have some of these and they only have a small "chip" down on the bottom where the Champion Salute ring is.  This one was different though.  The "chip" is much bigger, sticks up much higher, and basically makes this card not fit in a normal top loader.  Turns out...It's a PROMO.  I'm going to guess these were giveaways at various shows and events by Pinnacle back in the late 90s.  Either that or they were given to dealers as samples.  Regardless, I thought it was interesting so I figured I would share.

This scan isn't very good but you can at least see what it is.  This is another in a long line of 1/1 Tangradi Printing Plates I have been pursuing.  This is my 9th printing plate from The Cup set.  This happens to be the Black plate from the SPA set from that year.  I have the magenta already.  In fact, of all of my plates, I have 2 magenta, 2 cyan, and 5 black.  Not a single yellow to be found yet.  I'll keep looking.  If you want to check out all of them together, you can go to my main web site and my Wall of Tangradi.


So after winning an auction online, waiting a couple weeks for Canadian snail mail, and opening my package, I was pleased to find a bonus pack of 2011 National Hockey Card Day cards.  They were, of course, the Canadian version, of which I have none (except maybe the Crosby).  Lets see what was in there...

We have a "Rookies" card of Jordan Eberle, which wasn't such a bad thing.  I don't know if it can really be considered a real "rookie" per se since this wasn't a major release.  I don't mind though.  We also pulled a "Heroes" subset card of Wayne Gretzky.  Not a bad looking shot of Wayne here.  I don't know why he is staring over there at the side panel of the blog.  Maybe he wants you to go click on some other blogs to read?

There were also these two "Pride" cards of Roberto Luongo and Jason Spezza.  I don't know how these slipped my radar because I really like the design pattern Upper Deck used.

And finally, the accidental PC card that I mentioned...

I don't know about any of you, but Mario looks tired on this picture.  Must be a combination of the cancer and the back issues.  Right now, he's looking at the giant Diet Mt. Dew can on my desk.  I know you want a drink of this Mario.  But you can't.  This is mine. 

Again With The Classics

Since I opened that awesome box of Panini Classics Signatures at the last show I went to, I've been drooling over the autograph checklist.  I can't say that I'm going to chase the entire thing but I am not ruling that out.  I may want to eventually put it all together or at least attempt it.

That's why I've been watching them on auction to see what is out there and how much it will cost me in the end.  Some "lesser" stars are going for a few bucks.  The "big" name guys are into double digits, some reaching into the $40-50 range.  The "huge" guys are pushing the hundred dollar mark.

With my new budget..."lesser" stars it is.

Here are a few new ones...

Long time Penguin GM, mastermind behind two Stanley Cups and former Golden Seal Craig Patrick as well as Dennis Hextall.  Hextall was also a former Golden Seal as well as a host of other teams.  He spent larger amounts of time as a North Star and Red Wing.  Ex-Flyer great Ron Hextall calls him Uncle Dennis (I don't know if he really calls him that).

Here we have two guys that accompany their signatures with jersey numbers, in case you can't read their writing.  Dave Babych was drafted in 1980, a draft class with the likes of Larry Murphy, Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri, and Denis Savard (the Pens took Mike Bullard).  He was one of the most consistently solid D-men ever but will most likely never go into the Hall like those other guys because, well, he never won a Cup and never could match the offensive prowess of his junior career.

Our other auto is of Guy Carbonneau who, unlike his partner there, won three Cups and another three Selke trophies.  Carbonneau isn't in the Hall either because "shut-down" guys don't get any respect and Guy was one of the best ever.  No one in the HOF voting community cares about the guys that stop the opposing scorers, block shots, kill penalties, and make the locker room a better place.  

Finally, we have Marty McSorley.  Ahhh, the love/hate relationship much of the NHL players and fans share for Mr. McSorley.  I guess Marty's popularity depends a lot on whether you are also a Gretzky fan.  After Semenko was done in Edmonton, McSorley became Wayne's bodyguard, following him to LA as well.  The guy has his name on two Cups, almost had a third, but is more known as #4 all-time on the NHL's PIM list.  It's that reputation that follows any conversation about McSorley.  That, and the fact he tried to decapitate Donald Brashear (don't worry, DB doesn't remember).  If Dino Ciccarelli can be convicted of assaulting a player on the ice and still make it into the HOF, why can't Marty?

Box Break - - 2012-13 Panini Classics Signatures

One of my goals when I go to a big show like the one a couple weekends ago at the Convention Center in Chicago is to bust some wax.  98% of the time I am successful at that goal but the quality of the products sometimes leave something to the imagination.

This time, after many months of debating whether it was a good deal or not, I decided to take a stab at Panini Classics Signatures.  This product is the first time Panini put that name to their hockey line of cards and I'm sure, won't be the last.

The reason for my early trepidation on purchasing the product was the price point.  It was running upwards of $180 per box for basically 30 cards.  That was way out of my price range for a product considered mid-high end.  But the more I saw of the boxes being opened, and the more product ended up on the secondary market, the more I started to swing my vote to the "yay" side of the argument.  Finally, at the show, boxes were down under $115.  It was time to get off the fence. 


Before I show off what was in here, I'd like to point out that there were a few things I like about the product and a few that I don't.  First, my issues. 

1.  The price point.  I already mentioned it above.  $180 was just too steep of a price for what I was initially seeing coming out of the box breaks.

2.  The checklist is just too large for a mid-high end set.  I love the fact that Panini went all out to try and get 200 of the best legends that have ever played the game into their product.  But precisely for that reason, this shouldn't have been a $180 box out of the gate.  100 cards is probably the max that any product like this should have been.  Save the rest for short prints, inserts, and other goodies (a la Parkhurst Champions). 

3.  The card design is just too plain and under the radar for a higher end set.  I could even live with that if they would have used more of the card for the photos.  But you can't win them all.

But despite those facts, there is still a lot to love about this set.

1.  The Autographs.  There are a ton of autos jammed in this product.  At one auto-per-pack, every break is bound to turn a hall of famer or two.  Plus with the Line Combo cards, there is the potential for dual and triple autos of some great linemates.

2.  The player selection.  The guys featured in this set are the best ever (except Gretzky).  If there is a legend to be had, they have at least one card in this set (except Gretzky). 

3.  The photography.  While the card design leaves something on the table, especially for a higher end product, the photos used on the cards themselves are terrific.  Nostalgic is the only word that comes to mind when looking at player cards with old jerseys, teams that no longer exist, and logos that have been changed once or twice since these guys laced up their skates.

I won't leave anyone in suspense any longer and I will get right to showing off what was in here.  The box configuration is 5 cards/pack, 6 packs/box for a total of 30 cards.  There is also one autograph card per pack for a total of 6 autos.  I don't believe this set has any memorabilia cards.

First, the base cards...

As I said, the base card design kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth, especially if you paid the MSRP initially at $180.  These kind of look more like a design for the basic Score, Donruss, or Pinnacle sets (minus the Nufex).  However, as I said before, the player selection and photos used are great.  Here we have Stan Mikita, now announcer Bill Clement in the old Atlanta Flames uniform (there are B&W photos mixed with color), Kevin Dineen in the classic green Whalers jersey, and Ron Francis sporting the Captain C for Pittsburgh.  You can tell the time frame of the Francis by looking at that old Diet Pepsi ad behind him.

There were also Retired Number Banner cards too.  These fall at a rate of one per pack.  Here are the six that I pulled... 

But I'm sure what everyone came looking for was to see the autographs that were pulled.  Here they are in no particular order...

If you were a Flyers fan, this would have been a great box.  Not one, not two, but three Flyers autos.

I even pulled two Kings autographs.  One of a player I already had an auto of, one with an epic goalie mask.

And the one auto that I was kind of excited about was this...

The first Ranger to have his number retired and a member of the famed "goal-a-game" line, Rod Gilbert.  Look at how neat that signature is.  He even put his player number.  I also like how he didn't want to cover up his image with the auto so he put it over on the side below his stick.  Very nicely done.


But wait...There's more...

For some reason, six autos weren't enough.  This box had 7.  And what an auto to have as a bonus.  When I saw this card of the Roadrunner in here, I first thought it was Guy Lafleur because anytime I see a Hab without a helmet I seem to think it is Guy.  But Lafleur's linemate, 10 time Stanley Cup winner and HOFer is just as good in my book. 


But wait...There's more...

I don't know if this can be considered a "hot box" or not with the bonus autograph but this might give it that extra push...

If you can't see it because of my crappy scan, this is a redemption card for a Classic Combos - Trios auto of Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, and Yvon Cournoyer.  That's right!!  A triple auto card of three of Montreal's greatest legends.  As far as I can tell, this one will be numbered either out of #/50 or #/25.  Either way it was quite a surprise. 

So if you consider the autos by themselves, this box yielded 10 autographs.  Not bad at all for the price point, although at the normal rate of 6, it would still probably be a good deal assuming I would have pulled the same types of cards (including the redemption). 

Overall, I like this product but just wish Panini wouldn't have gone so crazy with the checklist.  There is some potential for big cards and from what I can tell so far, a great secondary market for the ones that don't fit your collection.