Three Time Champion!

At Homestead Florida today, race car driver Jimmie Johnson won his third straight Nascar Sprint Cup Championship. Jimmie is the only driver besides Nascar legend Cale Yarborough to accomplish that feat.
While he's not one of my favourite drivers, you can't argue with Jimmie's talent, or likability.

Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports for their 3rd championship!

I just wish I could find my card of Cale Yarborough to post..... I'm so unorganized.....

Wantlist, well, a start anyway

I've got some trades in the works, so for now I need to throw this on so it can be kept track of. It's certainly not gospel, and definitely a work in progress...

1976 Topps Baseball

#589, 592, 597, 631

1987 Topps Baseball

#99

1990 Donruss Baseball

#14, 109, 135, 147, 151, 155, 201, 325, 421, 424, 462, 496,

511, 515, 533, 535, 541, 558, 569, 581, 584

2008 Allen & Ginter

#105, 170, 175, 221, 226, 262,

301, 304, 312, 313, 320, 325, 346, 347, 348, 349

State Flag Inserts

#2, 9, 27, 30, 39,


*** numbers in RED are in a potential trade.

WTF?!

What the motherloving hell is going on here???
First off, a big congratulations to Braves catcher Brian McCann for winning a Silver Slugger Award. Very deserved.
But how in the hell can a guy like David Wright win one over Chipper Jones?
Chipper only, I dunno, won a batting title this season. If he hadn't got hurt, would've had a case for MVP...

Seriously? David Freakin' Wright?
Unbelievable....

Happy Birthday Gene Garber!

Gene Garber is 61 today. Wow. Gene doesn't look too impressed about it either....
Gene was a sometimes closer for the Braves during "the wasted years"... piching very well. his unusal submarine delivery often fooled opposing batters. To show their appreciation of Gene, Atlanta traded him to Kansas City in '87. For Terry Bell. Who? You ask?
Terry Bell. You know. The guy who had one at bat for Atlanta in his career. Yeah. Him. Oh, and he struck out too....

Happy Birthday Jody!

Jody Davis was born 52 years ago. Jody was best known for his days as a Cub, recently ranked at #53 in All Time Cubbiedom. Jody could never quite put it all together. In the beginning, he could hit. But had cement blocks for hands. Later, he could catch, winning a Gold Glove in '86... but he forgot how to hit.
A trade brought him to the Braves in '88. He played in 92 games over three seasons before being released. A fairly marginal player you say? Hardly any time with the Braves? Why are you posting him, Brian?
Well, let me tell you. I actually got to meet Jody a few years ago when he was in Calgary as manager of the Calgary Outlaws in the Canadian Baseball League. It was a chance meeting, so I didn't have anything for him to sign... but it was still great as I got to hear a couple of stories from when he played.

2008 Upper Deck Football Box Break

Card Show Loot - Post 3

As I mentioned earlier, my wife came with me to the card show on the weekend. She likes this kind of stuff too... although only non-sports and Football. Only 2 out of the 20 dealers there had any wax boxes, and only one had anything but hockey. My wife picked out this box of 2008 UD Football. I paid $75 for it. Yes. You read that correctly. She's always had good luck picking out wax... let's see how she did this time. (That's called foreshadowing kids...)

16 jumbo packs per box, 20 cards per pack. and this, straight from the Upper Deck sell sheet;

CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS:
Find three Memorabilia Cards in EVERY Box, on average!
Get one Rookie or Veteran Autograph per box, on average!
Look for HOT BOXES containing seven Numbered Memorabilia Cards and one Autograph per box, on average!

Search for rare Iconic Cuts mystery redemption cards featuring cut signatures of sports, entertainment, and history’s most recognizable names.
Collect all of football’s future superstars with four STAR ROOKIE cards in EVERY pack!
Uncover Masterpieces preview cards, falling two per box, on average!

The wrapper is shiny. Another plus according to my wife.

Base cards 1-200

Star Rookies 201-300

Star Rookie SP 301-325

Ouch. That's gonna be tough to complete. Let's see how we did in one box.

Base cards - all 200, plus 48 doubles

Star Rookies - 64 / 100 no doubles

Star Rookie SP's - 4/25

Nice... the SP's are going to kill me trying to get... now how about "the hits"? Two Masterpiece Promos, as promised, On Average!

Wait... oh oh. The Franco Harris is roller damaged on the left border.... crap.

One Starquest insert, On Average! This one is Randy Moss, and is not the regular silver one. I'm not sure whick of the parallels it is though.

One Signature Shot Brandon Marshall, On Average! (does anybody else hate that as much as I do??? No more mentioning "On Average")

The box and sell sheets also promise 3 jersey cards per box. the first is Big Ben Roethlisomethingorother...

the next is Team Colors Jay Cutler. This is everything that is right with jersey cards. The card is coloured according to the players team, great photo, proper placement of the swatch... awesome.

The third is Matt Ryan UD Star Rookie Jersey. Again, a great card. the photo fits the card design. The colouring matches beautifully. And hey, it's Matt Freakin' Ryan!

But wait.... what's this??? Remember the foreshadowing kids? Remember this line???
"Look for HOT BOXES containing seven Numbered Memorabilia Cards and one Autograph per box, on average!"

Yep. My wife did it again.... I wish she could pick out lotto tickets like this....

UD Game Used Jersey Ray Lewis 138/200

UD Game Used Jersey Tony Romo 037/200

TONY MOROMOJO!!!! sorry. couldn't resist.

UD Star Rookie Jersey Joe Flacco 241/350

and another extremely beautiful card....

Team Colors Adrian Peterson 140/299

All Day. Awesome.

Needless to say we were thrilled at the outcome of this box. A complete base set, and a good start on the rookies... the colation in this box was superb.

The photography was incredible... not only the photos used, but they really captured the character and personalities of most of the players.

Finding a "hot box", well that was just bonus. Even with only the promised hits, I still would give this a healthy 9/10

What holds it back? Quality control. the damaged insert, and a lot of the cards have extra silver foil bits on it. Enough with the foil!!!!

If you like football, this is a must have.

Remember

Today is a day that we take the time to remember those brave souls that have served their countries. In Canada, that is symbolized by the Poppy.
A poem, written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) a Canadian field Doctor;

In Flanders Fields

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.


McCrae's "In Flanders Fields" remains to this day one of the most memorable war poems ever written. It is a lasting legacy of the terrible battle in the Ypres salient in the spring of 1915. Here is the story of the making of that poem:

Although he had been a doctor for years and had served in the South African War, it was impossible to get used to the suffering, the screams, and the blood here, and Major John McCrae had seen and heard enough in his dressing station to last him a lifetime.

As a surgeon attached to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade, Major McCrae, who had joined the McGill faculty in 1900 after graduating from the University of Toronto, had spent seventeen days treating injured men -- Canadians, British, Indians, French, and Germans -- in the Ypres salient.

It had been an ordeal that he had hardly thought possible. McCrae later wrote of it:

"I wish I could embody on paper some of the varied sensations of that seventeen days... Seventeen days of Hades! At the end of the first day if anyone had told us we had to spend seventeen days there, we would have folded our hands and said it could not have been done."

One death particularly affected McCrae. A young friend and former student, Lieut. Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, had been killed by a shell burst on 2 May 1915. Lieutenant Helmer was buried later that day in the little cemetery outside McCrae's dressing station, and McCrae had performed the funeral ceremony in the absence of the chaplain.

The next day, sitting on the back of an ambulance parked near the dressing station beside the Canal de l'Yser, just a few hundred yards north of Ypres, McCrae vented his anguish by composing a poem. The major was no stranger to writing, having authored several medical texts besides dabbling in poetry.

In the nearby cemetery, McCrae could see the wild poppies that sprang up in the ditches in that part of Europe, and he spent twenty minutes of precious rest time scribbling fifteen lines of verse in a notebook.

A young soldier watched him write it. Cyril Allinson, a twenty-two year old sergeant-major, was delivering mail that day when he spotted McCrae. The major looked up as Allinson approached, then went on writing while the sergeant-major stood there quietly. "His face was very tired but calm as we wrote," Allinson recalled. "He looked around from time to time, his eyes straying to Helmer's grave."

When McCrae finished five minutes later, he took his mail from Allinson and, without saying a word, handed his pad to the young NCO. Allinson was so moved by what he read.

Thank you so much to all veterans out there, as well as those currently serving.

I, will never forget.

Vintage Monday

The continuing story of my recent Card Show Loot.... I present to you a 1953 Topps Ebba St. Claire.
I picked up Ebba for $2.
Ebba didn't have a glorious long career... after 3 seasons with the Braves (2 with Boston, 1 with Milwaukee) he was traded away. He retired soon after.
That's 1 more card closer to my set...

Mail Day!!!

Yesterday I received a small, padded envelope in the mail. The return address was in Georgia. Yes! My Braves buddy dayf has sent me another goodie bag.
Earlier, I had sent him some random stuff, including some '08 A&G that he needed. He responded by sending 87 '08 A&G cards... 83 of which I needed, including my man Adam LaRoche!
Some more Adam cards....

and of course some Chippers.... for no package sent either way between us is complete without Chipper.

The one on the bottom left is a new one to me.... it has a hole in it. Probably some weird Pinnacle gimmick I would guess....

Plus one other goody that I will save for another post....

Thanks buddy....

Happy Birthday Chuck!

Wow. Quite a run on birthdays in the month of Novemeber. Today's is Braves pitcher, Chuck James. Happy 27th!
To celebrate, may I present you my rainbowchuck. 2006 Topps Finest. I think I got them all... but I'm sure there's a 1 of 1 SuperEbonyXXXfractor game used jock patch somewhere.

Chuck is one of the toughest men in baseball. Not only did he break both wrists before the entry draft, and pitch later that season.... he was bitten by a venomous Copperhead snake and did not seek medical treatment.

If you look carefully, you can see Chuck's belt is made out of that snake.

Underneath his hat, is not a full head of hair, but another fist.....

Happy Birthday Jeff!

A big Happy Birthday to Jeff Blauser!
Jeff had some great years with the Braves, winning a World Series, going to two All Star games and winning a Silver Slugger award. Combining with Mark Lemke, the Braves infield was solid during the 90's.
After a career best year in '97, Jeff signed as a free agent with the Cubs for the '98 season. He would retire after the '99 season.

Card Show Loot!

So Calgary is having their annual card show this weekend. I couldn't attend on Saturday or Sunday, but a little trip there after work on Friday isn't out of the question, now is it?


My wife and I went there with $125 cash to spend. Let's see what we got....


But in the spirit of procrastination... I'll post it a little at a time over the weekend. But first, a little info on the show.


It was actually better than I had anticipated. Around 25 dealers with multiple tables each. Unfortunately, it was about 90% hockey. And still.... NO WAX PACKS!!!! Boxes only. *sigh*


One guy from Manitoba had a lot of vintage baseball.... from 1951 and up... but condition wasn't high while prices were. He even had a complete set of 1950 Bowman. Unheard of around these parts.



Anyways... on to the loot. One guy dug out a dusty binder from under the table when I wasn't impressed with the multitude of hockey jersey cards he had... in it were his baseball "collection"

He admitted he really didn't know much about the cards or the sport. Evidenced by the 100 or so '91 Donruss in pages. He told me to look at the back where some autos were.

I found three interesting ones... he said "2 bucks". I handed him my money happily, while he shook his head at the crazy guy not interested in hockey.



Auto #1

Ed Giovanola IF Braves


Ed never really had a chance with the Braves... moved on to San Diego, then quietly retired. Ed has good timing however... making his debut with the Braves in '95, becoming a member of the World Champions.

I like Ed's signature.... all of us guys with long surnames abbreviate. Deal with it.



Auto #2

Greg McMichael RP Braves


Greg began and ended his career with the Braves. He was a very dependable reliever over his career, ending with a 3.25 ERA.

Greg pitched very well in the playoffs, as he also was part of the 1995 World Champions.

Greg's auto looks very much like mine. Again with the long name thing.

Auto #3 (you knew I saved the best for last)



Eddie Perez C Braves



How cool is that? Eddie freakin' Perez. Ed was many things. The clubhouse joker. Greg Maddux' personal catcher. And a participant in the sausage race in Milwaukee. In a game he played in. He didn't win. Smoltzie will never let him live it down.


Eddie is now a valued member of Bobby's coaching staff. Looking after the bullpen.





So there you have the first part of my haul.... 3 autos for $2. More to come soon...

Happy Birthday Adam!

Well you knew it was coming. If you thought I wasn't going to post about this day, you don't know me at all. It's Adam LaRoche's 29th birthday today.
Adam was drafted in 1998 and then again in 1999 by the Florida Marlins. He refused to sign. (Wouldn't you?) Atlanta took him in 2000 and he signed. (Good call)

Adam was traded to the Pirates in '07. But he got his revenge. (you must read that, go ahead, I'll wait)

His younger brother Andy, also plays for the Pirates, after escaping the Dodgers.

They follow in their father's footsteps. Former major league pitcher Dave LaRoche.

One of the sweetest swings in baseball....

As you can see.... I have quite a few of his cards.... and a LOT of autos....

Only a slight mancrush..... I miss the days of him and Chipper in the lineup together....

Happy Birthday Javy!!

One of my favourite former Braves turns 38 today. I'm trying not to think about this retired player being 6 months younger than me....
Javy was one of the more dominant hitters from behind the plate, breaking the single season record for home runs in 2003 with 43. I alwasy enjoyed watching him play. For some reason, Greg Maddux would not pitch to him. I've alwayas wanted to find out why.
Little known fact: Javy was quite the ladies man, as evidenced by his wiki page.

Little known fact #2: Javy hit a home run in his first ever All Star at bat. 1997.

Javy ended his career with brief stops in Baltimore and Boston, before signing with Atlanta so he could retire a Brave.

Happy Birthday Craig!

Question: Who finished 7th for Cy Young and 2nd in Rookie Of The Year voting in 1983?

That's right dayf... it was Craig McMurtry.


Craig is celebrating his 58th birthday today.
Craig was traded away to the Blue Jays in 1987, although he never played for them. He did go on to pitch for Texas until his retirement in 1990.

Little know fact #1: Craig came back to pitch in the big leagues in 1995 as a replacement player with Houston.
Little known fact #2: Craig served up Barry Bonds first home run. June 4th, '86.

Non Sport Tuesday

Apparently there is some sort of election going on, and neither Chipper, nor Adama is winning. Go figure.
But that will not stop us from proceeding with normal activities. Life will go on. And so will busting of wax. Today's gem: 2008 Marvel Masterpieces. I'll save the box breakdown for later...(when I actually finish busting it) Tonight, one of the hits....

This has been certified as actually having been worn by the Invisible Woman during filming of The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. I absolutely loved that comic growing up. But lately, the Invisible Woman means this....

Alright. Reality 1, Comics 0

I'll give you this one reality.... but we will meet again.........

2008 U.S. Presidential Election

Apparently the U.S. is electing a new leader on Tuesday. I encourage all Americans to go out and vote. If you are still undecided... I propose a new option.
If you want to get something done.... Bill is the man.

The best campaign slogan ever: "Sometimes you gotta roll the hard six."

I'm just sayin'...

More Vintage Monday...

1953 Topps Vern Bickford. This was another ebay find, like the previous one last week. Good ole Vern set me back 25 cents. And $4 S+H. That, my friends, will be a subject for an upcoming rant. Stay tuned.
Back to Vern. He pitched a no-no in 1950 against the Dodgers. This card has no creases, and three sharp corners... with the only problems in the bottom left. Yes. The black. It's always the black.
But it's still beautiful to me. One more closer to my team set....


P.S. What is it about his eyes???? Stare at his eyes for a moment. The one just bores right through you.... I can't stop looking..... must..... stop....

Happy Birthday Yunel!

We have a 2 for 1 day! It's also Yunel Escobar's 26th birthday today! Happy Birthday Yunel.
I hope Frank is smart enough to hang on to you and build for the future.
Also, it will give me enough time to come up with a nickname for you..............

Happy Birthday Wilson!

No. Not this Wilson....
No. Not this one either....

It's Wilson Betemit. Happy 27th buddy! I still can't believe we traded you for a bag of balls and a half dozen bats.

Good luck in the Evil Empire....

Sunday Night Football

So we won't even discuss the Cowboys game today. It didn't even happen. I have no idea what you're talking about.

Let's jump in and look at my wife's favourite, the Colts. They beat the Patriots. Again. Thanks in no small part to this guy. Reggie Wayne.
What's that you say? Brian, why the Reggie cards when Anthony Gonzalez caught two touchdowns? Because Reggie caught 6 passes for 65 yards and a key two point conversion. That, and I can't find my &%$#** Anthony Gonzalez cards.
That's why.

Idiot of the Year Award

You've all probably seen it. Heard it. Read about it. I, like a couple of other blogs, will not link to it. Google it if you must.
Chase Utley, hero to kids everywhere, is officially an complete idiot. A moron. A waste of space.
There is absolutely no excuse for purposely dropping the F bomb in front of all of those kids. What was he thinking? Oh, that's right, he wasn't. What really drives me is the complete lack of media reaction. If Terrell Owens or Barry Bonds had said that, there would be congressional hearings. All parades would be on tape delay. Marshall Law would be imposed.
Whatever. Maybe I'm over-reacting because I'm the father of two very impressionable 10 year olds.
Or maybe everyone else is under-reacting.