Happy Holidays

To all of my Friends, may you have a wonderful Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year. May God send Angels to protect you in your travels and may he send tums for all of the food comas you're endure from the multiple family meals you might have to attend. Good nite y'all!

Chicken Scratch

Markus Naslund. This Swedish born hockey player was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and played for 3 seasons in Pittsburgh. Markus then played for the Vancouver Canucks for 12 years and then spent a season with the New York Rangers and retired in May 2009 after 16 seasons in the NHL. He is the Vancouver Canucks Franchise leader in goals and points scored. He was also a member of the "West Coast Express" (fellow NHLers and Canadians will know who that was).

While his talents on the ice proved to be excellent, his skills with a pen seem to be a slap shot boinking off of the goal post. I don't know if he received to many concussions or if he was "checked" into the boards too many times but that signature does not look like a goal buzzer beater to me.

Ravishing Relics: Markus Naslund

This former Pittsburgh Penguin draftee has had quite the career as the Captain for the Vancouver Canucks. The 3 time all star officially retired from the NHL on May 4, 2009.

Tis the Season....Merry Christmas MLB Players!

My goodness how this off-season of Major League Baseball has been very "moving" to say the least. Some players have gladly welcomed their trades while other players are left saying, "what the heck" or "why" or some very flavorful choice of words like #**&*(&$#)#(@)##*. Here's an update of some notable players and where there new home is going to be in 2010:

John Lackey to BOSTON
Mike Cameron to BOSTON
Hideki Matsui to the ANGELS
Cliff Lee to SEATTLE and was rather quite upset about it to say the least after settling in Philly...or so his agent said.
Roy Halladay to PHILADELPHIA
Juan Pierre to CHICAGO White Sox
Randy Wolf to MILWAUKEE
Ivan Rodriguez to WASHINGTON
Bobby Crosby to PITTSBURGH
Chris Ray to TEXAS
Kevin Millwood to BALTIMORE
Curtis Granderson to NY YANKEES
Chone Figgins to SEATTLE
Gregg Zaun to MILWAUKEE

You can say all you want that Baseball is a business and it's bound to happen sooner or later with some trades. Sadly it seems though that the type of ball player that plays for only one team is fading away like a sunset. Welcome to the era of the "money ball". Looks like ticket prices are gonna go up again with some of these trades.....uggghhhh... ENOUGH ALREADY! I can see the prices now at the vendors:

Hot Dogs: 6.00/ with bun 8.00
Beer: 9.00 a bottle/ actually cold 12.00
Hamburgers (that weren't recalled): 10.00/ with bun 12.00
Popcorn: 6.50 (kernels only)/ actually popped popcorn 8.50
Programs: 8.00 (text only)/ with color pics 10.00

If we ever actually see these prices at a ball park then we just need to quit going to the games.

Chicken Scratch

Robert Meachem has been rather "hot" as of lately. This helps when you have a QB that can lay the ball in your hands almost perfectly. The Saints are still undefeated at 13-0 and have clinched their respective division. As for Robert's signature...far from hot!

Goodies, Changes, and Giveaways!

"Happy Holidays and may the New Year be filled with bountiful blessings for you".

What 2010 will bring:

Giveaways from box breaks/reviews.

Interviews from athletes. A side of them that isn't seen or talked about often...their viewpoints. More to come!

Chuck Norris.....(I had to...I don't want a roundhouse kick)

Giveaways and contests!

Ravishing Relics, Chicken Scratch, Slap Shots, Cool Old ones, Forgotten Rookies, and more!


It's been fun on here the last six months playing in the waters of blogging in the sportscard hobby world and it's great to be able to share with others my love for this hobby. Time to keep things interesting!

Thanks!

Ebay's "HeRo Of ThE sTuPiD"

WOW! This guy has fallen off of his rocker a little. $19,685,250.00 is a little bit steep of a price to pay for Pat White cards.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pat-White-Sage-MAKE-READY-ULTIMATE-COMPLETE-MASTER-SET_W0QQitemZ260507501056QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Football?hash=item3ca7750200

Here's another example of a butchered up Joe Flacco SPA rookie card. Can you say, "FAKE"?

http://cgi.ebay.com/2008-SP-AUTHENTIC-JOE-FLACCO-LOGO-AUTO-PATCH-RC-999_W0QQitemZ270495024878QQcategoryZ215QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m8QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DMW%26its%3DC%26itu%3DUCC%26otn%3D5%26ps%3D63

and here's another card with the same patch:

http://cgi.ebay.com/2008-SP-AUTHENTIC-5COL-LOGO-PATCH-AUTO-JOE-FLACCO-RC_W0QQitemZ400088259467QQcategoryZ0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m506QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DNGRI%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUA%26otn%3D5%26ps%3D63
Seem questionable?

Slap Shot of the Week

This week's "Slap Shot of the Week" comes from 2003-04 SPX and it is the "Gold" version of Marcel Dionne Lasting Impressions which is serially numbered 14/50. Marcel played 18 seasons in the NHL as a centre for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, and the New York Rangers. Marcel Dionne was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992.

Peyton probably did this to Eli

Time to take a dive into .....

It's time to take a dive into the random thoughts "ENOUGH ALREADY" rant:

Tiger = Cheeta.... think about it as you putt for a hole in one.

"The New York Mets Agreed to terms with C-1B Chris Coste and C Henry Blanco on one-year contracts". What the hell are METS management thinking? WHO ARE THESE GUYS?

Seems Tim Tebow has gone from the "prodigal son" to Disciple Peter.

Scott Boras aka BORASS: Shut the hell up and go crawl in a hole and choke on a drumstick you scum of a agent. How dare you insult Whitey Herzog.

Cowboys tackle Flozell Adams: You play with no integrity or sportsmanship.

Greg Oden....please retire. 3 yrs of injuries is enough!

For the love of humanity can we please have a college football playoff schedule. Dump this BCS crap and do the brackets.

Topps does it again with it's finest baseball redemptions. I received 4 notices that my redemption's have surpassed the allotted time on TOPPS end. I guess this means I will probably see those cards in May of 2010.

Ingram deserves the Heisman...not McCoy. If they even consider giving it to Tebow I will take back my redline stapler and burn the place down per Milton.

"Ravishing Relics"

Louis Murphy is making a name for himself with the Oakland Raiders the last three weeks. Not bad for a rookie on a bad team.

Chicken Scratch of the Day

This journeyman has been playing 3rd base for the Phillies, the Cardinals, the Blue Jays, and the Reds. His signature over the years has remain consistent with only the "S" and the "R" really taking on any kind of variations. He does have a legible signature for the most part and for this he receives 3 sharpies.

2000 posts and counting.....

I would just like to take a moment and say, "thank you" for taking time out of your schedule to view my thoughts and humorous pokes at life. I always say, "Learn to laugh a little every now and then. Life is hard enough ...especially without laughing."

To my followers (old and new).... thank you for riding along.

Thanks everyone!

Tim

Random Thoughts of the NFL week 13

The NFL season week 13 has come to past and here are some random thoughts of my interest:

Eagles over the Falcons:
Michael Vick had a nice return to the endzone TWICE!
Chris Redman still plays? I remember the hype of him being the Ravens pick in the year 2000 (que Conan O' Brien yr 2000 song).
Seems like Roddy White was a contractual over hype so far.
Eagles rookie Jeremy Maclin is coming along rather well.

Bears over the "Do we have any fans left" Rams:
Does anybody from Chicago know how to hold onto the football?
Steven Jackson is the only bright spot on this team lately. Kind of reflects the Detriot/Sanders years in a way.

Bengals over the Lions:
Cedric Benson has had a nice turnaround. Another good game from the workhorse. BTW, Larry " I didn't beat her" Johnson had a whopping 4 yds.
Calvin Johnson had a nice game (leg seems to work).
Looks like Chad Whatevermylastnameisthisweek had put his money where his mouth is. Now if he could only do that all season.

Colts over the Titans:
I am so glad to see Vince Young be the player we all knew he can be.
Good to see Mike Hart back on the filed after his injury last year.
Pierre Garcon coming of age!
colts 12-0.... let's see who can topple this giant!

Broncos way over the Chiefs:
Is it me or will the Chiefs ever have a "Good" quarterback?

Dolphins squeak by the Patriots:
Chad Henne looks promising...time will tell.
Wes Welker was all over the field but no TD's (10 rec 167 yds).
Anybody notice since Moss went to the Patriots he's been staying out of trouble?
Ricky Williams had another good game.

Raiders over the Squealers (Steelers):
The Raider Nation is probably thinking, "Jamarcus who?"
Louis Murphy has been hot the last two games. Louis has recorded the game winning touchdown in two of the last three games.

Saints over the Redskins:
Robert Meachem has now scored in five straight games. He's finally showing the potential he has.
Drew Brees is passing like a madman! So much for New Orleans running the ball.
Saints 12-0..... scary till the first round of the playoffs then you choke.

Panthers intercept the Buccaneers:
Josh Freeman with 5 interceptions....OUCH! Rookies just get so excited on the field when they play somewhere new.
Jonathan Stewart had the lone TD score of the offense.
Matt Moore had an okay start. Nothing fancy but it was a better start to a game while another QB named Jake was playing Madden 2010 on the PSP on the bench.

Jacksonville over the Texans...who are from TEXAS:
Nothing stands out. Overall good game.

Chargers over the Browns:
Brady Quinn had a decent game for the most part.
Chargers just dominated the defensive backs of Cleveland.

DA GIANTS over Dem Cowboys:
Will the GMEN do this more the rest of the season? Win that is.
Jason Witten: BALL WHORE! what a beastly game for him! 14 rec for 156yds.
Tony Romo had a good stat game.

"Starbucks" Seahawks over the 49ers:
Nice to see Alex Smith having a good season since he was given another opportunity.
Michael "more moneybags than the 10th pick" Crabtree had another good outing. He could be worth it perhaps once he has a full season under his belt.
Is it me or is Frank Gore just hype?
T.J. Houshmandzadeh... I bet he's thinking, "wow...I was so much better in Cincinnati".

"Old Man Warner's" Cardinals over the "Old Man Favre's" Vikings:
Warner throws to Fitzgerald, Warner throws to Fitzgerald, Warner throws to Bouldin, Warner throws to Fitzgerald. See the pattern?

Jets over the Canadian Bills:
Ehh? Ehh? Okay.

Need some help! Looking for this.

Attention all drummers: I need a little favor. I'm looking for some TAMA Superstar Custom toms in these sizes: 8x10, 10x13, 16x18 all in the color CUSTOM OCEAN FADE BLUE. I'm looking for new or hardly used/good condition and I am more than willing to work out prices and shipping. These are hard to come by in these colors and I want to complete my set. Any information would be greatly helpful and you can leave contact info either down below in the comments or email me at: hertzog27@msn.com

Thanks!

Tim

Ravishing Relic of the Week

In honor of this years "2009 MLB NL Rookie of the Year" I present to you....Chris Coghlan.

Chicken Scratch of the Day

Tashard Choice is the 3rd option for running back with the Dallas Cowboys. He has seen some sporadic playing time this year and has been a reliable running back when called upon.
While his signature seems a bit classy at first glance, Tashard does not sign his full name. It seems like he just initials it as T.CO. One upstroke is that Tashard has no fumbles on the field this year. Unfortunately, he does have a fumble for his lovely signature effort. For this he receives "one sharpie".

Stats Overview	Rushing					Receiving					Fumbles
SPLIT	ATT	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	REC	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	FUM	LST
2009	58	330	5.7	66	3	15	132	8.8	28	0	0	0

Thanks Giants.... Another LOSS

The way the GIANTS are playing I expect them to finish out the year at 8-8.

Brandon Jacobs needs to learn to block.

Danny Ware started for an injured Ahmed Bradshaw. Probably will be the last time too thanks to the coughed up fumble.

Eli Manning looked like a "deer in the headlights" when it came to the pressure from the Broncos defense. Piss poor judgment throws. Receivers can't catch the ball when it's always at their feet. Perhaps Manning should be benched and let Carr make a few starts to see if that helps any.

Lack of communication on the defense led to a WIDE OPEN Brandon Stokley Touchdown.

Dallas, Philadelphia at home next. Then it's at Washington, Carolina at home, and then close out at Minnesota.

Perhaps we might see a 7-9 record but who knows. Right now this is not a playoff caliber team and they need to get reorganized and bounce back quickly.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tim Lincecum Cy Young Award Winner

So I take this simple formula: Tim Lincecum + Marijuana = Cy Young Award

Good times.... Good times

Ravishing Relic of the Week

Mr. Guzman was 3 for 5 in hitting with two singles and one double and one strikeout on the night of may 28, 2008. Wow... topps got this card right...for once. He actually played on the date that's listed on the ticket.

Chicken Scratch of the Day

Ricky Romero: Left Handed Pitcher (2nd rotation)

Wins: 13
Losses: 9
ERA: 4.30
SO: 141

Ricky has a very nice clean signature where you can actually make out his name. His signature does seem to be consistent with other signings he has done. Ricky is also a candidate for the 2009 MLB Rookie of the Year award.

For the effort he puts into his autograph he receives four sharpies.

Topps = Barack Obama An Open Letter to Topps Inc.

Dear Topps,
It has come to my attention that Mr. Barack Obama has been included in over 12 different types of Topps sets over the past year. He has been included in the Topps Baseball set to the Topps football set to the Topps Mayo set and into the American Heritage set as well. Heck, you guys even made an ETOPPS card of him so that would be actually over 13 products at least. My questions for you is as follows: Is it really necessary to have him in every freaking card set? Is it necessary to ride on the guys' coattails just because you see $$$$ attached to his name? Is all of the Topps Board members Democrats? How come you have not acted this way for the other more prominent historical figures? Sure you may have tapped into the Lincoln files a little or cut up an autograph or two of a few presidents. However what exactly is it that Mr. Obama has done to gain such popularity that he has to be included in almost every card set? Did he cure cancer? Did he find a cure for Aids? Did he solve the homeless problems? The one thing he has done is he has brought the US to the verge of complete bankruptcy. IS this the direction Topps is going to go?

Topps Football .... R.I.P.

2009 Topps Mayo in hand Review (retail)

I swore up and down a blue streak that I was done buying TOPPS products and yet I gave into my addiction (we're all addicted- ADMIT IT) at the local Wal Mart when I purchased 3 retail boxes of 2009 Topps Mayo. I have to say that this year's edition seems a bit better and dare I say that some thought went into the process of the design of the card. So let us gaze upon the wonders of 2009 Mayo and see what dastardly deed TOPPS have spawned:



The 2008 edition had a basic black and white design to it. The 2009 edition of Mayo has a white and gold design implicated. Each pack contains 6 Topps Mayo Football cards Plus 1 Parallel card and 1 Insert card. And once again Barack Obama appears in another card set. Please TOPPS....ENOUGH ALREADY! And once again there is famous personalities and events from around the world included in the set.

Here is the potential pull info:
BASE CARDS - 330 total cards -
180 Veterans, 10 Legends, 60 Rookies, 25 Public Figures, 55 Short Prints













The Mini's return again this year and I was rather impressed at the mini's that I did pull from the 3 boxes. I did not pull one duplicate of any regular mini's and I actually enjoyed pulling the gold version Jerry Rice mini Parallel. Out of the three boxes only two mini gold Parallels were pulled. Apparently you can pull a Harvard edition and or a Mayo gold/cloth/mayo back edition in the mini cards. Also you can pull the mini 1/1 plates as well.

Here is the rest of the potential pull info:
MINI PARALLEL CARDS - 2970 TOTAL CARDS - 1 PER PACK!
Mayo Cloth (330) - #'d to 5
Harvard (330) - #'d to 25
Mayo Gold (330)
Mayo Back (330)
Mayo (330)
Mini Printing Plates (330 subjects,1320 plates) 1/1 JOY!

MINI INSERT CARDS - 115 subjects
World's Fair Attractions (15)
United States Governors (50)
Celebrated Citizens (15)
Mayo Masterworks (30)

BOX LOADER CARDS - 1 PER BOX
Mayo Cabinets (20)
Mayo Cabinet Relics (20) - #'d to 10
Mayo Cabinet Autograph Relics (40 subjects/10 cards) - #'d to 3

FRAMED AUTOGRAPHED CARDS - ONE AUTOGRAPH CARD PER BOX
Mayo Autographs (50 subjects)

FRAMED RELIC CARDS (68) - ONE RELIC CARD PER BOX
Mayo Relics (50 subjects)
Mayo Americana Relics (18 subjects)

CUT SIGNATURE CARDS - 1 OF 1
Historical Figures - 18 subjects

FRAMED PRINTING PLATES - 330 total cards - 1 OF 1
Base cards (330)

NEW RIP CARDS - 1 PER CASE
Collectible Rip Card Exteriors (30)
Rip Card Interiors
- Mayo Red Autographs (TBD) - #'d to 10
- Mayo Mini Exclusives (30)


The backs of the card this year have a gold painted feel to them. The silver parallel card backs are silver in color which helps to avoid confusion for perhaps say the younger folks or the new folks to the hobby who don't know what parallels are or how they are different from the rest of the set. I did not pull any jersey/relic/autograph/rip/plates from the boxes that I obtained. The hobby editions do offer one autograph, relic, and box loader card per Hobby Box (Insertion rates are based on estimated production levels, which may vary from the actual insertion rates to be published on product packaging).



So let's review what I've learned from the cards:

1.Topps is obviously running out of people to put into card sets and are using fillers. I say this because look at how we see the same people in the Topps American Heritage set now creeping into the Topps Mayo set. No offense but I am tired of reading about Robert Jarvik. It's great that he made the artificial heart but I don't see him playing football at any point or running for 20,000 yards. It seems like Topps Mayo is turning into the poor man's version of Allen & Ginter.

2. Sticker autographs... Oh where do we begin? Last year the cards were hard signed. Even if it seemed kind of small or going up the side of the card it was still signed "on card". This year we are stuck with sticker autographs which leads me to....

3. Autograph selections: Majority of them are from this year's draft class so you can pull a 1st rounder or you can pull a 7th rounder who was already cut from the team, then the practice team, then from the CFL, and is now working for some lawn service and has a part time job on some UFL team. On a brighter side there is some of today's stars such as Peyton Manning, Adrian "All Day" Peterson, and Mark "Dirty" Sanchez just to name a few.

4. Relics- Once again we are delighted to have 1st round draft picks to 7th round draft picks and stars such as Eddie Royal, Donovan McNabb, and Ben "sacked" Roethlisberger. You can also pull presidential relics, coin and stamp cards, and even presidential wood! There is also relics from soldiers included in this year's set (why?).

5. Coalition- I pulled 3 Eli Manning Silver parallels out of 3 boxes. I pulled 2 Michael Crabtree silver parallels out of 2 boxes. Those were the only doubles I received out of the parallel set. I had pulled no doubles for the regular set out of 3 boxes.

6. The ponytail is making a comeback (See Cushing and Matthews rookie cards).

7. Annie Oakley was a babe who was good with a rifle!

PERFORMANCE REVIEW:

TOPPS Sell Sheet before and after product was released and did it match product: A
Card Design: B+
Base Card Overall: B+
Mini Cards: B
Auto's: C : sticker autos
Value: B-
Collectability: B-

FINAL SCORE: B

Tim Lincecum and marijuana ....say it isn't so.

San Francisco Giants star pitcher Tim Lincecum is facing misdemeanor marijuana charges following a traffic stop in his home state.

Here's the Link via ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4627319

Tell me that you could not figure that one out. Tim Lincecum and "mary jane". Mr. Mackey says that marijuana's bad mmmkay. Drugs are bad mmmkay.

EbAy "Hero of the StuPid"

Well we have another winner in the "I'm selling a printing plate with an auto I created" on it. The card in no way states that it is autographed. This guy is our "EbAy Hero Of tHE StuPId" for this day.

Seller info:
henneman5042

http://cgi.ebay.com/2008-Leaf-Certified-Eli-Manning-Auto-Printing-Plate-1_W0QQitemZ110451130170QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Football?hash=item19b7667f3a

Chicken Scratch of the Day

Stephen McGee was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2009 NFL Draft in the fourth round. He played college football for Texas A&M. McGee was named the winner of the 2008 National Bobby Bowden Award.
In 2009 he was awarded one sharpie for making his signature look like "Chicken Scratch".

Ravishing Relic of the Week

The New York Yankees new stadium (the house that the taxpayers built) could have a curse on it if the Phillies end up winning the world series. Tragic Irony or Poetic Justice?

Topps ....THE BBB REPORT F = FAIL

Here is the link to the Topps Company Better Business Bureau Report:
http://nepa.app.bbb.org/report/10014615

BBB Rating

Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of F on a scale from A+ to F.
Reasons for this rating include:

* 14 complaints filed against business
* Failure to respond to 5 complaints filed against business.
* 2 complaints filed against business that were not resolved.

Business Contact and Profile
Name: Topps Co.
Phone: (570) 457-6761
Fax: (570) 451-2400
Address: 401 York Ave.
Duryea, PA 18642
File Open Date: April 1995
Type of Business: Mail Order & Catalog Shopping
BBB Accreditation: This company is not a BBB Accredited business.

The BBB has requested basic information from this company. The BBB has not received a response. Without this information, the BBB may not have current information concerning such things as the company's management or its nature of business.

Customer Complaint History

When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.

BBB processed a total of 14 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 14 complaints closed in 36 months, 7 were closed in the last year.
Advertising Issues
Resolved
1 - Company resolved the complaint issues, but not within BBB's timeframe. The Complainant acknowledged acceptance to BBB.

Sales Practice Issues
No Response
1 - Company failed to respond to BBB to resolve or address the complaint issues.

Delivery Issues
Unresolved
1 - Company failed to resolve the complaint issues through BBB voluntary and self-regulatory process.

Customer Service Issues
No Response
1 - Company failed to respond to BBB to resolve or address the complaint issues.

Product Issues
Resolved
2 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to BBB.
Unresolved
1 - Company failed to resolve the complaint issues through BBB voluntary and self-regulatory process.
Administratively Closed
1 - BBB determined the company made a reasonable offer to resolve the issues, but the consumer did not accept the offer.
No Response
3 - Company failed to respond to BBB to resolve or address the complaint issues.

Refund or Exchange Issues
Resolved
2 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to BBB.
1 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to BBB.

NY GIANTS.... ENOUGH ALREADY!

Ratings for this weeks GIANTS vs Eagles game 11/1/09

QB- D
C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT RATING
E. Manning 20/39 222 5.7 1 2 55.7

Giants quarterback Eli Manning was intercepted twice in this game AGAIN. Both of these turnovers led to Eagles' touchdowns. Eli Manning was intercepted twice in the first five games and now he's been intercepted six times in the last three games. ENOUGH ALREADY!


RB- C-
The duo of Bradshaw and Jacobs had a combo of 29 carries for 107 yds. Jacobs had 20 carries for 86 yds. Bradshaw had 9 carries for 21 yds and a TD. Brandon Jacobs was held under 100 yards for the 12th consecutive game.

WR- C+
Hakeem Nicks had four receptions for 53 yards and another "Awesome Grabs" game. Manningham was out for this game as a precaution with a shoulder injury. Steve Smith had eight catches for 68 yards. Moss should just be let go as he has contributed squat. Hixon coughed up a fumble on a kick off return.

TE- B+
Kevin Boss had 3 receptions for 70 yds and a TD.


OL- C
Only allowed 2 sacks but was not opening the gaps for the running backs. Manning was pressured and Blitzed heavily forcing arrhythmia with the offensive timing.


DL- C-
Who the heck lets a fullback scamper 41 yds for a TD? Osi Umenyiora had a sack after not having any in the last three games. Fred Robbins had a good play and was playing it smart to lateral it to Osi however it was overturned. Allowed 24 carries for 180 yds by the Eagles offense.


LB- C


CB/DB/Secondary- F
The secondary for the Giants was exposed in more ways than Candice Michelle in Playboy. WAY TOO MUCH separation.

Not converting third downs.

Heros of the Stupid

In the spirit of Halloween... Our dumbest "Trick or Treaters" story for you via CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/29/iowa.marker.disguise/index.html

Ravishing Relic of the Week 2

NY Yankees 0
Phillies 1

Phillies won today 6-1.

Thank You Followers!

I just wanted to take a minute and say, "thanks" to my followers. Good to see hobby enthusiasts on the web and how we can share some laughter in the hobby and yet still cry when we're getting jipped by them!

I see some of you are from Canada and that is just awesome in my opinion. I love Alberta and Ontario to which I have been there a few times (Edmonton, Tofield, and Toronto to name a few places).

The Things I miss about Canada:
1. West Ed Mall
2. Tim Horton Donuts
3. Manners- People are more polite up there as compared to down here.
4. Seeing daylight in the summer at 11pm.
5. Decent paved roads!
6. Moose!

Ravishing Relic of the Week

In honor of the World Series this week, I present to you some relic cards of players who may or may not be a star in the 2009 MLB WORLD SERIES.

Chicken Scratch of the Day

Gordan Beckham was promoted to the Chicago White Sox less than a year after being drafted from the University of Georgia. He hit .270 with 28 doubles, 14 Home runs and 63 RBIs in 103 games. On October 20, 2009, Beckham was named the Sporting News' 2009 American League rookie of the year, as selected by a panel of 338 major league players, 22 managers and 31 general managers and assistant general managers. On October 26, 2009 Beckham was voted the American League Rookie of the Year by the MLBPA, which is voted on in September by every player on a major league roster.

His autograph seems to be very consistent when compared to other signatures he's done. His signature has a right slant to it indicating a response to communication or pays attention. His first letters in his first and last name indicate that the "G" and "B" are tall upper strokes which can show that he's reaching towards goals and ambitions. The rest of his letters are signified by just a loop. Overall at least it's presentable and not leaving you to think, "who signed this card?"

GOD....TOPPS SUCKS

This is freaking RIDICULOUS! I'll have Grandchildren before this stuff ever gets sent out. No more Topps for me after this fiasco.


FBBS2SZSKY Baseball 2009 Topps Finest Dexter Fowler AU Rookie Letter Patch 05/07/2009 Pending

FBBQ1MCEVB Baseball 2009 Topps Finest Dexter Fowler AU Rookie Letter Patch 05/07/2009 Pending

FBBA3XJZ6X Baseball 2009 Topps Finest MLB Rookie #10 Red Refractor 05/07/2009 Pending

FBB7H5GNR2 Baseball 2009 Topps Finest MLB Rookie #10 05/07/2009 Pending

FBBMY2ZNC6 Baseball 2009 Topps Finest MLB Rookie #2 05/07/2009 Pending

FBBV1LW7TH Baseball 2009 Topps Finest MLB Rookie #2 05/07/2009 Pending

TBB3JLB99U Baseball 2009 Topps Series 2 Red Hot Rookie #8 06/19/2009 Pending

Topps for Sale ?

There could be an advertisement of a business for sale here in pa in the near future:

Topps for sale
Duryea, PA. Offices
Cheap building, cheap and used supplies, cheap customer service equipment and phones (some work some don't- as is), lots of overstock from 2010-2014, Mass quantity of stickers available, Tons of potential redemption cards available for use, must L@@K to appreciate book value of items available, Jersey swatches- enough to make patch blankets with or even patch snuggies, over 5 million 1/1 printing plates available just from 2010 Milestones and Moments alone- MOJO!!! Over 5,000 Brad Hand signatures exclusive-one on card and the rest are stickered onto the card. ATTN STAR WARS FANS- Princess Leia fans- pieces of her Tatooine bikini are available as it was to be cut up for a upcoming Star Wars Babes and Sabers set.

Auction listing is exclusive and items are available only to BECKETT.com

Panini Customer service PART Deux aka PT 2

This is the result of the excellent Customer Service from Panini. Thanks so much!

Eli Manning.... ENOUGH ALREADY!!!

Manning 2009 1st 5 gms
Comp pct 64.4
Yards/gm 242.4
TD-Int 10-2
Passer rtg 111.7

Manning 2009 Last 2 gms
Comp pct 48.5
Yards/gm 210.5
TD-Int 2-4
Passer rtg 53.6

ELI.... INT's will not help us any.

Jeff Feagles did not do his best punting in this game at all.

The Cardinals used a hybrid 3-4 defense that kept disrupting the Offense and forcing Manning to throw quicker than he had to and not getting a good setup. The Cardinals defense just kept alternating blitzes of 5 man rushes and sending multiple extra defenders into the coverage areas. The Cardinals are team you cannot take lightly anymore.

Hakeem Nicks and Steve Smith...Amazing grabs but do a little better getting the separation from the cornerbacks.

Brandon Jacobs found the endzone today. Glad to see he remembered what it looked like. Now if he could just find it a little bit more often that would be a big plus.

Bradshaw did not have a good game at all and fumbled.

The Giants are not playing with urgency.

The Eagles are next week.

Over a 1,000 views

Hey Folks! I just want to take a minute and thank you all for checking out my page. I hit over a 1,000 views and I didn't even expect to make 100 views. Thank you for your time and allowing me to entertain you.

God Bless y'all!

Tim

Forgotten Rookie of the Week

Jermichael Finley is a tight end for the Green Bay Packers of the NFL. He was drafted by the Packers in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He had played college football at the University of Texas.

2009 STATS current as of 10/20/09
REC
16
YDS
244
TD
1

Panini Customer service comes through once again.

Last November of 2008 I had purchased a hobby box of 2008 Donruss Threads. When I was down to the 2nd last pack of the box I hit the mother of payloads (for myself that is) and pulled a Mario Manningham Rookie Class autographed card. With me being a die hard NY Giants fan I was extremely pleased at what I just pulled and I immediately put it into a hard plastic cover and was tickled to be adding it to my personal collection. Now don't get me wrong as there is nothing wrong with pulling an autographed jersey card, but when it's your own favorite team/player that you pull... it is truly just that much sweeter. The card was stored in a 1000 count box in the closet with my other cards and had not seen daylight unless I took it out of the box to show someone the card. On Sept 29th I took the card out of the box as I was reorganizing the box and was surprised to see how much the autograph was fading off of the manufactured letter. The picture up above is how it looks now as compared to when I first pulled the card which had a very dark solid autograph color. The autograph on the patch was fading much like that of the 2007 Upper Deck sweet spots autographs (http://fielderschoice.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/more-on-my-sweet-spot-breaks/). I decided to contact Panini Customer Service regarding this issue. I had sent them an email explaining what had happened and I included a scan of the card. After Panini Customer Service received and reviewed it they agreed to exchange it. Unfortunately they were not able to replace my exact card with the same one as they were out of them. However, they did offer me a Brian Brohm rookie class in exchange for the Mario Manningham. I politely explained to them that I would prefer to have another Mario Manningham if possible or someone else from the Giants or Ray Rice or perhaps even Rashard Mendenhall and if that was not going to work then they could send me the Brian Brohm autograph. They did not have any other Mario's on hand but what they did offer me was going above and beyond the call of duty:

Updated By: Panini America Admin Created Response No. 12 Monday, October 19 2009 03:23:53 PM
Description Details:
Hi Timothy,
I found a 2008 Playoff National Treasures signatures patches NFL # 28 Lawrence Taylor 15/25 value at 30 dollars more than yours will you consider this card Please let me know so I can mail this out to you. Thank you

My heart about hit the floor because I was not expecting that to happen. I have been wanting to add a Lawrence Taylor autograph to my collection for quite some time and this was going to be the first one let alone a patch autograph card. I would've been happy with just another Giant rookie auto or the Brian Brohm but this was going above and beyond in my opinion. I have been purchasing Donruss/playoff products since 1991 and in all of that time I have only ever had 4 problems. Two of them were manufacturing issues and one being not given the right amount of cards per box. The Mario Manningham issue was number four. However Donruss/Panini/Playoff have always took care of my issues in a timely professional manner. They always sent something a little extra for the problems I've had and had a very good turn around time with returning products to me. I've always had my emails answered and always had my calls answered with kindness. I know some people will disagree with me and say, "well I was screwed out of such and such" or "Customer service doesn't know jack's squat about cards". I know this because I see the negative comments on the Beckett Boards and I see it in other web sites where people are saying about how most of the cards manufacturer's customer service sucks and don't care about the consumer. In all the years of doing business with the card manufacturers such as Donruss/Playoff/Panini and Upper Deck, they've all been faithful and good to me whenever a problem had arisen. As for TOPPS customer service....well... it just plain sucks. There's no toe stepping around it and there is no other way to put it other then the TOPPS customer service department sucks. They're a pain in the ass with replacements and damaged product issues. TOPPS needs to take some lessons on Customer Service from Panini and Upper Deck. If I had a choice of getting a Tri-Star Camel turd relic card or a gold chrome rookie autograph from TOPPS, I'd take the relic card any day over the TOPPS redemption.
My point in a nutshell... Panini came through for me on an issue I had with one of their products and they went above and beyond to get the issue resolved. Thanks Guys!

Forgotten Rookie of the Week

Limas Sweed was taken 53rd overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2008 NFL Draft. Going into the 2009 Training Camp, Sweed faced competition for the 3rd wide receiver position between veteran Shaun McDonald and rookie Mike Wallace. Sweed entered the season as the 4th receiver, rarely playing in the first 3 games. However, he dropped a pass in Week 3 which, had he held on to, would have been a touchdown.[11] The following week, Sweed was demoted to 5th on the depth chart, and deactivated. Shaun McDonald took his place. For Week 5, Sweed was re-installed to his 4th receiver spot.
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limas_Sweed

Sweed has yet to produce nor live up to the expectations of the Pittsburgh faithful. I am so glad that I sold this card when I did because it just keeps dropping in value like his attempts at catching passes.

Chicken Scratch of the Day

Joshua Smoker was selected by the Washington Nationals in 1st Round (31st overall) of 2007 amateur entry draft. Josh compiled a 4-2 record with a 3.38 ERA this year for the Nationals Gulf Coast Minor League Baseball team. His signature has an enlarged first letter in his signature which can mean a strong desire to appear in public, assertiveness and a need to rule or dominate. As for the rest of the letters...use your imagination.