the end of ebay bucks, and a CONTEST!

a little while ago, I received a friendly email from our pals, ebay. They were pleased and proud to inform me that the program called ebay bucks was being discontinued in order to serve me better.

 

For those of you not in the know, ebay bucks was a program where ebay gave you back a percentage of your spending every quarter in a form of a ebay gift certificate to be spent on whatever you please.

 

Not having this extra cash to spend will certainly serve me better. No more stressing out over what to buy, or having to deal with all of that free stuff. Thanks ebay! My life is certainly better served.

 

Anyways... they informed me that I had a certain time period in order to spend what bucks I already had in my account.

 

here's some of my loot..... oh, and if you're here because of the word CONTEST in the title, just skip to the end and follow the simple instructions. Free stuff awaits.

 

I was in a football mood, so I hit ebay.uk up first. My Edwin van der Sar collection hadn't been added to in awhile. I remedied that.

 

a 2011 Futera Unique. Futera make great cards... unfortunately, I'm more likely to come across a unicorn than these cards around here. So I must resort to the evil online empire once in awhile.

 

 2007 Futera

 and 2004 Futera. The seller offered me two free cards because of this purchase...

  

 

So I grabbed Manchester United star Ryan Giggs and former Netherlands great, Edgar Davids. I miss watching him play. He was a great Nike commercial many years ago... I must find that and post it.




 


 

two cool cards from the 2008 Euros... team mates van der Sar and van Persie.
These cards have a relief effect and it's done right.

 

 

Finally a couple of shinies from the popular games that are out there. Panini's Adrenalyn XL and Topps' Match Attax.

I've always wanted to play these, but have never found anyone else who wants to. Of course, me being a full grown adult wanting to play kid's games has nothing to do with that I'm sure.

I added a dozen more footy cards besides these... but I'll save those for another day.... maybe.... Thanks for nothing ebay.

EDIT: I guess I should have mentioned that the end of ebay bucks was for Canada only...

Oh yeah, the contest... I have a contest going for free subscriptions to your favourite magazines.
No cost, no catch, no credit card required, please don't bribe me with cash... just skim the previous post, you don't even have to read it, and comment at the bottom. Easy peasy.
Have fun.

Saving the planet.... one e-zine at a time....

The kind, patient folks at Zinio asked me awhile back if I would post about their product to all the wonderful people that hang out around here.

I'm finally getting around to it. It never rains, but it pours, right? It's been one of those months.



Anyways, What is Zinio you might be asking?

Zinio is the world's largest electronic newstand. Thousands of top magazines from all over the world. All on your computer or mobile device.
Pretty sweet.

Now I was always a guy who liked to hold the magazine while reading it. But over time, I switched. Especially with the new phones and tablets... there's no reason anymore to be lugging around a magazine or newspaper.
Not to mention the whole environmentally friendly issue. If we cut out just 10% of our newspaper or magazine production... imagine the trees we could save.

Some other goodies... with Zinio you can browse or buy single issues or subscriptions from wherever you are, whenever you like. Instantly. And using the Explore feature, you can read articles, even without a subscription, and share them with your friends.

Not something I would do, but a cool feature nonetheless.

Want to try a magazine before committing to a year long subscription? Try the new Z Pass. For $5 a month, you have a subcription to three magazines a month. Next month, keep the same three or swap them out for new titles. Now that I might use... I can never make up my mind.


EDIT: Here is a link to take you to Z-Pass.... http://bit.ly/z-pass-ah

Zinio also has specials all of the time. Every month something different is featured. So keep checking back on their site and you might find something you like on sale!


Now for those of you who have sat through my little spiel... I have a reward for you. Zinio has offered up some free subscriptions for my readers. (one less than originally planned as I'm going to keep one for myself)

So we're having a little contest. Well, two contests actually, but one is now over. After the results for the 2012-13 Premier League Contest are posted, I will have three subscriptions left to giveaway.

If you would like a FREE subscription to one of the thousands Zinio offers, all you have to do is go to www.zinio.com and browse through the titles.

Then, leave me a comment here on this post saying you would like one and mention two of the possible titles you may choose. You do NOT have to mention the one you would actually want... that's to decide later IF you win!

You must also leave me your email addy in your comment. This will be the addy I use to contact you should you win. Leave it in the form of myemailaddy AT theinternet DOT com so the spam bots don't get you.

Start shopping and good luck!

Premier League Contest - Match 38

Welcome to the last (probably) weekend of matches. Match 38. To me, that was one quick season.
Many highlights, some lowlights, but a great season all round.

Today's guest...

Thank you Amanda, you may go now....

Not a lot to play for this weekend. Only one lone spot battle for Champion's League play.

Let's look at the table.

Club	Pld	Pts
Man Utd	37	88
Man City	37	78
Chelsea	37	72
Arsenal	37	70
Tottenham	37	69
Everton	37	63
Liverpool	37	58
West Brom	37	48
Swansea	37	46
West Ham	37	43
Stoke	37	41
Norwich	37	41
Newcastle	37	41
Southampton	37	40
Fulham	37	40
Aston Villa	37	40
Sunderland	37	39
Wigan	37	35
Reading	37	28
QPR	37	25

The battle is between Arsenal and Tottenham. There can be only one. heh... Mathematically, Chelsea could be the one to miss out, but they would have to lose to Everton, while Arsenal wins AND Tottenham beats Sunderland by 17 goals.

I wonder what Vegas is giving on those odds. Even IF you won that bet, you'd never collect. Vincent Savino would have you buried under a cactus somewhere near Area 51.

So the eyes will be on Arsenal/Newcastle and Tottenham/Sunderland.  My bet is that both clubs win and the Spurs just miss out yet again.

In other matches, Sir Alex watches over his last game as Manchester United vist The Hawthorns to play West Bromwich Albion.
Elsewhere we say goodbye to Wigan, Reading, and Queen's Park Rangers.
Next season will see new participants Cardiff City, Hull City, and the winner of the Crystal Palace vs Watford match on the 25th.

All matches are on Sunday, so please post your final results on/by Monday evening.

GO United!

OH! I almost forgot. There could be a tie for the final Champion's League position. Should Chelsea draw with Everton, AND Arsenal win by exactly 2 goals, Chelsea and Arsenal will have to play a playoff game to decide the position sometime this coming week at neutral ground. (Villa Park has been chosen)

Example, if Chelsea and Everton draw 1-1, and Arsenal beats Sunderland 3-1, then we will have a tie because the only tie breaker used is goal differential.
Not likely, but still possible.

by popular request.....

at the April trade night, the owner of the shop called me over and handed me this.

 

As most of us know, these box toppers from 2013 Heritage are a wee see-through. For the box he opened for pack sales, he saved this for me for being "the resident Braves guy".

 

Oooohhh..... who could it be? I flipped over to the back, and could see a partial number. 50?

I could only see the first two digits. Could it be #500?? Topps puts stars on those even numbers! Could it be Hank Aaron?!?! Was Hank #500?!??!

 

Open it!!!

 

No.

 

It was not #500.

 

It was not Hank Aaron.

 

It was.....

 

 

A very beat up Bobby Bragan. Card #506
This baby is warped, has a few creases, and has no idea what the word 'corner' means. It's almost oval.

HOWEVER.

I happen to need this card for my Braves team set. So it will fit nicely in my binder until a replacement without that gold shield comes along.

And I think..... card #506 was card #1 of the sixth series of seven in 1964. So it's kind of a high number. Someone may no better... let me know.

Either way, it's ALWAYS a good day to add a '64 Brave to the old collection.
Thanks Darren!

Premier League Contest - Match 37

We be awarding the trophy this weekend. Well, not on this contest, that seems to be going down to the wire.
But in the Premier League, Machester United is playing their last home game of the season, so the trophy, medals, etc, will be awarded on the pitch after their game with Swansea. There will also be a tribute to retiring manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.

I know it's the World Cup.... I'm on a deadline here and couldn't find a good one of the league trophy.

I'm sure you'll forgive me. Most of you probably wouldn't have noticed. Trophy? What trophy?Where?

Anyways.

Let's check the table and see how the qualifications for Champions League is going, as well as Wigan trying to avoid the drop.

Club	Pld	Pts
Man Utd	36	85
Man City	36	75
Chelsea	36	69
Arsenal	36	67
Tottenham	36	66
Everton	36	60
Liverpool	36	55
West Brom	36	48
Swansea	36	46
West Ham	36	43
Stoke	36	41
Fulham	36	40
Aston Villa	36	40
Southampton	36	39
Sunderland	36	38
Norwich	36	38
Newcastle	36	38
Wigan	36	35
Reading	36	28
QPR	36	25

City in purple is confirmed for Champions League.
Light blue is the fight. Three clubs for two spots. However all these clubs are locked in for Europa League.
Dark blue, well, there's always next season.
Yellow, don't relax, one slip and it's the drop for you.
Red, forget it, you're dead.

Games are Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday. So please post your comment by Wednesday lunch at the latest.

Go United!

Premier League Contest - Match 36

Welcome to Match 36!

We've got some great matchups this weekend. So let's take a peek.

 Many different colours on our table today....

Green - we know for sure United has won the Championship.
Light blue - teams battling for Champions League play next season. Only the top four clubs qualify.
Blue - clubs with nothing left to play for but pride
Yellow - Danger zone of getting dropped. But any type of result should see them through.
Orange - Chances are, one of these clubs will be relegated.
Red - it's too late. Turn out the lights. The party's over. Oprah is singing.

Club	Pld	Pts
Man Utd	35	85
Man City	34	71
Chelsea	34	65
Arsenal	35	64
Tottenham	34	62
Everton	35	59
Liverpool	35	54
West Brom	34	48
Swansea	34	42
West Ham	35	42
Fulham	35	40
Stoke	35	40
Southampton	35	39
Norwich	35	38
Sunderland	35	37
Aston Villa	35	37
Newcastle	35	37
Wigan	34	32
QPR	35	25
Reading	35	25

we have some cool matchups this weekend, including Norwich and Aston Villa in a battle to avoid the drop. I think Villa will upset the Canaries.

Matches are throughout the weekend, so please post by Tuesday afternoon.

Go United! 2012-13 Champions!

The colour of the day..... is purple.

Today's post is brought to you by.... the colour purple. And the number 9.
For there are 9 different purple cards I want to show you. Everything made sense when you were a kid. I'm not sure what happens to change all that or why.

Here, we like it simple. Some might call me simple. I've been called worse. But I digress.

I came across an online seller who had a card I wanted. Before buying it, I looked to see what else he had. This is why this post has 9 cards, and not 1.

I, like a lot of you, have a weakness for Topps Chrome coloured parallels. Orange may be my favourite. But if you've been paying attention, you'll know that today, we're talking purple.

Craig Kimbrel. I also have the black version of this card. Still need blue, red, orange, etc... etc..

Brian McCann. This one scans really well.

Tommy Hanson. I miss Tommy. I wonder how's he doing on the left coast? A quick check shows he's leading the Angels in wins and ERA (for starters). Good for you Tommy!

 

Brian Snitker. No. Wait. Dan Uggla.

The entire Braves team. It should be Michael Bourn. Find Jason Heyward.... then look down.

Brandon Beachy. I hope he's back soon.... think how good the first place Braves would be with him back pitching. Woot!

Andrelton Simmons. He threw some guy out at first from the outfield grass while sitting on his butt last night. Awesome.

Tyler PastorIwontplayaslongasAndreltonishealthynicky

and the card that started all of this, my old pal and fave, Adam LaRoche.

Not too shabby for $7.50 shipped.

Now I just have to find the rest of the Braves team set in purple. And Orange. And red... blue... black...