2009 Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee Baseball

Using footage from both cameras I had rolling I have made a "director's cut" of the blaster of OPC I busted live Xmas Eve on Blog TV. You know, this multiple camera thing is kinda cool, I'm gonna have to do this more often.

Steelers Playoff Scenarios

Here is the long and short of what the Steelers need in week 17 to get either the #5 or #6 Wild Card seeds in the AFC. Regardless, the Steelers MUST beat the Miami Dolphins or all bets are off. Sad thing is, if the Texans would have lost today and the Colts hadn't pulled all their starters against the Jets, the Steelers would be in control of their own destiny. I also enjoyed NFL.com's comment: "Defending champs not going away without a fight. Hell currently being unleashed." Heh.

Let's recap:

FOR THE STEELERS TO GET THE 5TH SEED

1) Steelers must win versus Dolphins

2) Texans must lose or tie versus Patriots

3) Jets must lose to or tie Bengals

4) Ravens must lose to or tie Raiders

AFC Seeding Results:

5th seed: Steelers 9-7

FOR THE STEELERS TO GET THE 6TH SEED:

1) Steelers must win versus Dolphins

2) Texans must lose to or tie Patriots

3) Jets must lose to or tie Bengals

AFC Seeding Results:

6th seed: Steelers 9-7

OR

1) Steelers must win versus Dolphins

2) Texans must lose to or tie Patriots

3) Ravens must lose to or tie Raiders

AFC Seeding Results:

6th seed: Steelers 9-7

OR

1) Steelers must win versus Dolphins

2) Ravens must lose to or tie Raiders

3) Broncos must lose to or tie Chiefs

4) Jets must lose to or tie Bengals

AFC Seeding Results:

6th seed: Steelers 9-7

2009 Topps Heritage High Number Series

Here's another blaster of Heritage High Numbers.

2009 Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee Baseball

In case you missed it, here's the blaster of OPC I busted live on Blog TV Xmas Eve.

Mail Day: 12/17/09

Got a mailday from Marie @ A Cardboard Problem. I promise I have a package on the way to you Marie!Here's my want list for 2009 Upper Deck Goudey Baseball:
13,32,37,49,61,73,74,97,100,104,118,125,140,188,201,202,
203,205,206,207,208,210,211,214,218,219,220

email: jeffwolfe2001@yahoo.com

2009 Topps Heritage High Number Series

For those of you who missed it, here is the blaster of Heritage High Numbers I busted live on Blog TV yesterday. The show went fairly well, I think I had 7 viewers at one point. I will be doing some more of these in the future and work out some of the kinks. Hopefully I will see more of you guys at the next one.

2009 Topps Heritage High Number Series

Here's two more packs of Heritage High Numbers.

2009 Topps Heritage High Number Series

My Target finally got some Heritage high numbers in stock. Here's the first pack with more to come...

2009 Gummies

Don't forget to vote in Stale Gum's annual card poll!.

Heritage High Numbers Are Live

As you probably already knew, Heritage high number series hobby boxes are live in certain areas of the country. You can check out a break here and also the ever annoying to watch ye olde Beckett video break starring your boy Chris Olds down below. For your convenience I've posted much more informative and entertaining breaks by Tom the Ripper and Chris Harris as well. Hopefully blasters will begin popping up in the next few weeks.

2009 Topps Baseball Updates & Highlights

Hope everyone is having an awesome Turkey Day. Here's three more retail packs of U&H I busted a couple days ago.

2009 Topps Baseball Updates & Highlights

Here's three more retail packs of U&H.

2009 Topps Baseball Updates & Highlights

Here's a jumbo of U&H.

2009 Topps Baseball Updates & Highlights

Because I know you can't get enough, here's three more packs.

2009 Topps Baseball Updates & Highlights

So the local Wally World finally got Updates & Highlights and I grabbed three packs which you can watch here. I pulled a ridiculous hit for retail, I won't spoil it, you'll have to watch. Over the last couple days I picked up some more packs including a jumbo, all of which I'll post soon. Stay tuned...

2009 Topps American Heritage Heroes Edition

Video Box Break and Review

1 retail blaster of 2009 Topps American Heritage Heroes Edition
8 packs per box, 8 cards per pack (Paid $19.99 plus tax)

The Video



The Pulls

Base set: 46/125 (37%)

Short Prints: 2/25 (8%)

Parallels
1 Base Card Chrome (1:8 packs, 125 cards) Mother Jones (927/1776)

Inserts

4 Medal of Honor Winners (1:4 packs, 50 cards)
Thompson, Kelly, Madison, Day

2 Presidential Medal of Freedom Winners (1:4 packs, 25 cards)
Mother Teresa, Arnie

2 Heroes of Sport (1:4 packs, 25 cards)
Mathewson, Magic

2 Heroes of Spaceflight (1:6 packs, 28 cards)
Liberty Bell 7, Gemini V

1 A Hero's Journey (1:8 packs, 15 cards)
Rising Star Emerges in Debates

Hits
1 American Heroism Relic Group B (1:140 packs) World War II Captain's Uniform

The Review
First off, I gotta say that I think the folks at Topps struck gold with the American Heritage concept and it seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. The only problem I can see is if Topps starts using the same designs over and over (1961) or overexposing the same subjects (Abraham Lincoln). As many have already noted, these cards are perfect for young students or anyone who is a history buff. Now for a few quibbles. The one thing I find maddening about this set, and really any Heritage product, is that sorting these cards by number is excruciatingly painful. Not just because of the different backs but because many of the backs are upside down from the card fronts. Considering this is a set-builder's product, that's a big problem. However, as set-building sets go these days, this one is nearly a dream come true. The set is small and easy to complete (a blaster yields over a third of a set!) The inserts are relevant, well done, small in number and collectible. Thankfully we get only a chrome parallel for people who are into those. The relics are actually enticing and meaningful (I was quite pleased with the WWII uniform I pulled). The only complaints I have is the over redundancy of Lincoln cards. Do we really need or want a short print subset of 25 Lincoln/Obama cards that are virtually identical? Or, for that matter, 15 Hero's Journey Lincoln insert cards that are also all extremely similar? But those are small problems in a set that otherwise is fun and easy to collect. I have to give Topps an A for this effort and I look forward to the next American Heritage issue.

2009 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball

Video Box Break and Review

One retail blaster of 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter baseball
8 packs per box, six cards per pack (Paid $19.99 plus tax)

The Video


The Pulls

Base set: 24/300 (8%)

Short Prints: 4/50 (8%)

Parallels
3 Base Minis (one per pack, 300 cards) T.Glaus, S.Kazmir, I.Snell
1 A&G Ad Back Base Mini (1:5 packs, 300 cards) R.Halladay
1 A&G Ad Back Short Print Mini (1:65 packs, 50 cards) C.Gomez
1 Black Bordered Base Mini (1:10 packs, 300 cards) M.Phelps

Inserts
8 National Pride (one per pack, 75 cards)
1 Baseball Highlights Sketches (1:6 packs, 25 cards) M.Rivera
1 National Heroes (1:12 packs, 40 cards) W.Tell
1 World's Biggest Hoaxes, Hoodwinks & Bamboozles (1:12 packs, 20 cards) The Turk

Autogamers
1 Framed Relic Group C (1:108 packs) F.Lewis Bat

The Review
What more can you about A&G that hasn't already been said. It's a collector's favorite and for good reasons. The cards are beautiful as usual although I wonder at what point Topps will have to drastically alter the basic design as every A&G set is starting to look the same. While we're on the subject of design, why does Topps insist on typing out everyone's stats on the back in letters? For example Batting Average Three hundred twenty-one. Does anybody read these? It just makes the backs useless. If they are not going to print stats why not just a short write up? The base set is relatively easy and inexpensive to collect. Good luck if you are going after the short prints or a master set of all the inserts, minis, variations which, to me, have been overdone.

Card Junkie celebrates its one year anniversary

To celebrate my blog's one year anniversary, here's a humorous complilation of some of my best hits and misses.

2009 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball

Picked up another jumbo pack of A&G.

Mail Day: 9/14/09

Gotta couple maildays from Joe and Greg.Here's my want list for 1988 Fleer baseball:
7,19,54,55,57,78,130,131,145,151,169,209,216,221,254,286,
310,360,397,415,499,539,577,625,628,631,633,651,636,656
All Star Team Inserts: 1,2,3,5,12
email: jeffwolfe2001@yahoo.com

Fear and Loathing on Blog TV with Stale Acid

This video is only vaguely card related. You've been warned and you'll probably want your two minutes back.

2009 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball

Picked up another jumbo of A&G.

2009 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball

I know. I know. I must be the last blogger in the universe who hasn't busted A&G yet. Oh well. I'm over it.

2009 Upper Deck Philadelphia Football

Found a jumbo of these at Wally World.

Mail Day: 8/25/09

Gotta mailday from Joe @ I Am the Average Joe.
Here's my want list for 2009 Topps Heritage Baseball:

Short Set: Complete

Short Prints:
436,440,442,443,447,451,452,453,454,455,458,464,466,467,
470,471,472,477,480,481,482,484,485,489,491,497,498,499,
500

BF1

NF6,NF7

NAP1,NAP3,NAP4,NAP5,NAP6,NAP11

TN1,TN5,TN7

Target Mayos:
TME-RH Ryan Howard

email: jeffwolfe2001@yahoo.com

2009 Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee Baseball

Here's another jumbo of OPC.

Random Packs

Here's a bunch of random non-sport related odd ball packs I found while unpacking.

Mail Day: 8/7/09

Now that I have internet again it's time to catch up.

Big News: It's 1980 all over again. Smaller News: I'm back!

So after being without internet for several weeks I'm back. There's a very good reason for my long absence which I will reveal tomorrow along with some random (and I mean random) old packs I found as well as some maildays that have been long neglected. And of course while I was away this happened. It was inevitable, especially the way Upper Deck was going the last couple years. Normally, I am in favor of more competition but I'd just as soon not have to buy any more Upper Deck cards. Atlas if only they could have been more like the company they were from '89-'93 they might still have a license. Please oh please Mr. Eisner, make a one-series, 792 card, grey cardboard, non-wrapped bubble gum, wax packed, cheaply priced, baseball card set next year?? I actually have good feelings about Topps having total control. For now. Also while I was away A&G went live like crazy and I hear blasters are already out. I may have to take a look-see...

Mail Day: 7/10/09

I have no idea who sent this.

Mail Day: 7/7/09

Got mail days from Ben, Chris and John.Here's my want list for 2009 Topps Baseball Series 2:
408,448,606
email:jeffwolfe2001@yahoo.com

2009 Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee Baseball

What says Fourth of July better than a pack of good old baseball cards? With a Canadian name. Don't answer that.

Mail Day: 7/3/09

Got a mail day from Scott in Mississippi.

Mail Day: 7/1/09

Playing catch up again with some mail days I've received over the last several days from Steve, Ben and Ben.

2009 Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee Baseball

Video Box Break and Review

One retail blaster of 2009 Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee baseball
15 packs per box, six cards per pack (Paid $19.97 plus tax)



The Pulls

Base set: 55/500 (11%)

Last 100: 15/100 (15%)

Parallels
15 Black-bordered (one per pack)

Inserts
1 2008 OPC All-Rookie Team (10 cards): M. Aviles
1 The Award Show (20 cards): A. Pujols MVP
1 Face of the Franchise (30 cards): D. Wright
1 Walk-Off Winners (10 cards): C. Ruiz
1 UD 20th Anniversary: K. Dae-jung

The Review
When this product was first announced I was pretty excited because it was everything I was hoping Topps or Upper Deck would try. A real, honest to goodness, old style new set with a low price point. I like the retro design on real grey thin cardboard that is not directly ripping off any previous design (yes I know they look like '76 Topps but at least it's not an exact duplication). I also like that it is a large one series base product. Unfortunately, Upper Deck could not resist the temptation to be greedy. UD countered the low price by putting a mere six cards in a pack which means per card, these cost about the same as base Topps or UD. This is especially frustrating given that for a large retro set building product, you would be wanting more, not less, cards per pack. As a further ass-slap, UD insists on putting a multitude of large insert sets in the product that no one will have the money or patience to complete. And since this is a retro set builders product, why not waste everybody's time with one per pack black parallels!? To further put salt in the wound, those worthless 20th Anniversary inserts which are plaguing UD product this year are taking up spots in many of the packs. Thanks, Upper Deck. So let me get this straight, not only are we getting only six cards a pack for a 600 card set, but once you take out the black bordered parallel, "short print" (more on that mess later), and maybe an insert, you are really only getting 3-4 base cards a pack. Great. I should finish this set no later than 2056. Then there's the whole "short print" debacle which I am from now on referring to simply as the "last 100" cards because that's all they are. They are certainly not short printed. You can tell just by looking at my blaster. I have 11% of the short set completed but already 15% of the "short prints." That's because at one "short print" per pack and only 3-4 base cards per pack, I will complete the "short prints" long before I ever track down the 500-card short set. This is what happens when you make six card packs for a 600 card set. You magnificent bastards, Upper Deck. After reading this, you probably think I hate this product but I don't. Quite the contrary, despite the ridiculous six card packs, I love almost everything else about this set, and yes, I will probably drive myself mad and broke trying to complete it. It's as close to a retro, thin grey cardboard large set with a new design and players as you will find in 2009. And that includes Heritage. In other words, 2009 OPC is as close to 1991 Topps as we are going to get, for now.

Mail Day: 6/21/09

So I just got back into town after a fun weekend getaway and it's time to catch up. First off, here's a bunch of maildays I've received over the past several days from Ben @ 1988 Fleer, Ryan @ I Heart Halos, Mike @ JD's Wild Cardz and Mike in New Hampshire.

Weekend Update

Just a quick note to mention I have four maildays piled up (from Steve, Ben, Mike and Mike) which I will have videos of when I get back into town after this weekend. Thanks to everyone who sent me cards and I hope to have a nice mail day post up by Sunday or Monday. Thanks!

2009 Topps Baseball Series 2

Mail Day: 6/12/09

Made my first trade with Greg @ Lake Effect Baseball Cards. If anyone reading this has any cards on my want list, feel free to leave a comment or email. I have a bunch of doubles and we might be able to help each other out.

Mail Day: 6/11/09

Some '09 Topps series 2 I needed from Greg @ Night Owl Cards.

2009 Upper Deck Goudey Baseball

Here's a blaster of Goudey I picked up last week.

Mail Day: 6/7/09

Been a busy week at work and I had a bunch of maildays pile up on me. Time to catch up!

2009 Topps Baseball Series 2

2009 Topps Baseball Series 2

Mail Day: 6/1/09

Made a trade with Greg @ Night Owl Cards.

2009 Topps Baseball Series 2

So I was in Target and noticed they have Topps series 2 blasters. The code by the UPC symbol had a "10" in the middle which I think, if memory serves me correctly, means these are the regular white borders and NOT grey retro throwbacks. But not willing to risk it and also realizing that 12 cards for $1.99 is a much better deal than 81 cards for $19.99, I opted for some more loose retail packs instead. Had I known about the whole blaster variation thingy in the first place I would have gladly collected the grey throwbacks this year but since Topps didn't tell anybody until after the cat was out of the bag and didn't properly mark their blasters as such, I am forgoing the whole black-bordered/grey-throwback phenomenon and simply completing my regular old white bordered set. If they actually tell everyone what they are doing next year and mark the product accordingly, I might go for the grey-throwbacks as my Topps set next year. Also, Mario @ Wax Heaven has the scoop on Upper Deck's latest attempt to duplicate Topps' success with Heritage: O-Pee-Chee as a stand alone 500 card grey cardboard retro set with a low price point. I really like the look of these and will be on the look out. This could be the set I've been waiting for.

2009 Topps Baseball Series 2

2009 Topps Baseball Series 2

2009 Topps Bowman Baseball

So here's that blaster of Bowman I bought a few days ago.

Mail Day: 5/26/09

Got a surprise mailday from Ed @ Roll Out the Barrel.

Coming Soon: 2009 Bowman Baseball

Don't ask me how much time I wasted making this.

2009 Topps Baseball Series 2

2009 Upper Deck Baseball Series 2

My local Target just got UD series 2.

2009 Topps Baseball Series 2

Here's three more packs for ya.

Mail Day: 5/22/09

Got some more Heritage short prints in the mail today.

2009 Topps Baseball Series 2

Sorry I would have posted this sooner but I was out with friends watching the Pens kick Carolina's ass! Enjoy.

Epic Success: Topps Series 2

2009 Upper Deck Goudey Baseball

So I stopped in Wally World and Target looking for Topps or Upper Deck series 2. No dice. But thankfully Tar-Jay finally restocked their Goudey as there were several more blasters and a fresh retail box. Thank goodness I'll have something to keep me occupied until series 2 products finally make their way out here.

Mail Day: 5/20/09

Got a couple maildays today. One is a card I sent away for on eBay and the other is from Marie @ A Cardboard Problem.

Mail Day: 5/18/09

So for those of you wondering if I have fallen off the face of the earth, I haven't, just really slow around here card wise. No series 2 Topps or Upper Deck to be found anywhere around here so not much going on. That's why I was so happy to get a mailday from Chris @ Stale Gum a couple days ago. At last, something to open! Anyways I tried to do this video in true Stale Gum style as a tribute to Chris, who was nice enough to include some Heritage short prints I needed. Only 32 more to go!

Weekend Update

So Bowman is live and Topps and Upper Deck series 2 are live in certain areas. But none of the above are to be found where I live. I'll be doing some more looking tomorrow. I'd be happy just to find some more Goudey let alone anything else.
UPDATE: On Friday, nadda at Target. No Topps or Upper Deck.
UPDATE: On Saturday, nothing at Target.
UPDATE: On Monday, zippo at Target AND Wally World.
UPDATE: On Wednesday, 0 at WalMart, Target restocked Goudey.

Right Now, This Is All That Matters

2009 Upper Deck Goudey Baseball

I went back to Target and they were sold out of Goudey blasters but there was a retail box so I picked up three packs.

Mail Day: 5/9/09

During the last couple days I have received two awesome card packages. The first is from Ryan @ I Heart Halos and it's the best Heritage mail day I've received this year and that's saying something as I've gotten some good ones. Ryan sent me the elusive #82 Scott Baker which completes my short set and he also sent six inserts and TWELVE short prints I needed. Ryan, I promise I will hook you up with an awesome Angels package. The second bubble mailer was from Dave @ Cardboard Junkie. It included the '87 Donruss rack pack I won in his random drawing of bloggers that helped complete his '87 D-Russ set and he also threw in some kick ass Pirates cards. Thanks Dave, I owe you an awesome package as well, I promise I'll come up with something.Here's my want list for 2008 Topps Baseball Updates and Highlights:
57
email: jeffwolfe2001@yahoo.com

2009 Upper Deck Goudey Baseball

Here's the blaster of Goudey.

Goudey Blaster

So Manny's on juice and Favre is retired, again. Who cares! Target has Goudey blasters. Hooray! I'll have a vid up soon.

Mail Day: 5/6/09

Got a couple maildays from Steve @ The Easy Life and Chris @ Nachos Grande.

It's Just You and Me, Baker

One card. One lousy card left to complete my 2009 Topps Heritage Baseball short set. And it's Scott "bleeping" Baker.

Can you believe it? The strangest cards end up being the last ones needed to put a bow on a set. Not A-Roid, not Pujols, not Pedroia. Baker.

I don't know where Baker is hiding, but I do know this: not one retail pack, not one blaster has gone unturned at my local Target, nor has any blogger I know not already been pestered to death for card #82 by yours truly. I also know this: Someone, out there, somewhere, is protecting old Baker because they simply just can't let go of this card. Well, let me tell ya something, Twins card fanatic. Or closet Scott Baker super collector. Really? Seriously? Are you this close to completing this year's 425-card Heritage short set? No. Of course you're not. Or perhaps you already have a couple Bakers, secretly, yes, in which case (in full Keith Olbermann voice) you, dear sir or madam are just plain C-R-U-E-L!

So, now that that is out of the way, I'm asking ... no, I'm begging: please, PLEASE trade me this card, won't you? Each time I burrow through my box with puppy dog eyes, whimpering, hoping beyond hope that perhaps #82 is stuck to another card, mixed in with the doubles, in there SOMEWHERE, I am painfully reminded of reality, the reality that, it is in fact, NOT there. And I slam the box down. A solitary reminder. Sadder than "Brian's Song." Sadder than watching Hulk Hogan sadly and slowly become a parody of himself. Sadly and slowly. Sadder than watching someone buy this. I mean really, this is sad. You don't want me to CRY every time I look at my Heritage cards, DO you??

Please help. Please help me track down this lone, standoffish, doesn't-like-to-play-with-others card. (feeling guilty, Baker? Good!)

Listen and listen well, I have my eye on you #82. You can't hide forever. Mark my words. Justice shall be served!

Mail Day: 4/29/09

Today was a historic day in the history of Card Junkie. Not since I got my first mailday from Chris @ Stale Gum have I had a bubble mailer of this import. This envelope chock full of Heritage I needed is from Tom of Tom the Ripper YouTube fame, creator in my humble opinion of the most creative card videos on the net. Along with Chris, Tom is probably my biggest inspiration and the style of my videos owes a great debt to his work. He probably is the most influencial YouTuber in the hobby and I am honored to have completed a trade with him. Anyway, to those of you unfamilar with his videos you may want to watch this one to get an idea where I got my inspiration for this tribute otherwise you may not understand my video at all. But I will also say this, it might be more fun just to watch mine without any warning because it's pretty wacky. Either way, have fun...

Mail Day: 4/24/09

I'm still catching up on some maildays. Here's a couple I got last week from Mike in New Hampshire and Chris @ Nachos Grande. Thanks guys for helping me with my Heritage set. If anyone else out there wants to make a trade my want list is below.

Mail Day: 4/23/09

Okay so I've haven't posted in a while. It was a crazy blue/white weekend up here in State College. To sum it up: long hours @ work, lots of bar hopping and partying w/friends, lots of golf, no sleep, and while all this was happening the Pens advanced to the second round of the playoffs, the Bucs are first in the NL wild card standings(!!?) and I watched most of the NFL draft. Anyway I fell behind on some maildays so I apologize. But here you go, here's a couple bubble mailers I got earlier in the week and did a quick video but just now had the time to edit and upload it so enjoy. They are from Jason @ Bozeman Breaker and Ed @ Roll Out the Barrel. Sorry it took me so long to get this vid up guys but thanks for the trades they were great! I also have another mailday vid coming shortly. And if anyone else wants to make a Heritage trade let me know. My want list is below.

Mail Day: 4/20/09

Got a bunch of maildays from Mike in New Hampshire, Marie @ A Cardboard Problem and Dan @ Saints of the Cheap Seats.

Mail Day: 4/18/09

Got a package from Greg @ Night Owl Cards.

Mail Day: 4/17/09

Got some '08 Topps I need from Trevor in California. Subscribe to his YouTube channel.

2009 Topps Heritage Baseball

eBay seller ID: jkgillcards

2009 Upper Deck Baseball

Picked up another jumbo pack of UD.

1993 Leaf Baseball

Here's my want list for 1993 Leaf Baseball Series 1:
11,16,30,34,45,46,54,62,63,71,72,74,81,83,118,136,140,180,
187,203
email: jeffwolfe2001@yahoo.com

1990 Topps Baseball

Since I accidentally deleted the vid of me opening the six packs of '90 Topps I got off eBay last week, here are the quick highlights in case someone out there was curious (all one of you.) Let's see, there was a Vizquel rookie, a second year Smoltz and nice veteran cards of Yount, Nuschler, Murray, Rice, Gwynn and Winfield. So there you go. I'll have the '93 Leaf recap vid up soon.

Mail Day: 4/13/09

Got a couple maildays from Mike in New Hampshire and Ben @ Cardboard Icons.

Okay so I got some good news and some bad news. The bad news is I accidentally deleted the footage of me opening the '90 Topps and the '93 Leaf. The good news is I'm gonna do a recap video of the '93 Leaf box because I love that set so much and I want to talk about it. Also, it's probably better to watch a 5 minute recap video than two hours of me opening 36 packs of mostly duplicates. It got pretty boring and I can't imagine you guys watching a dozen ten minute videos of me opening packs of duplicates. So maybe it's for the best. =) Anyway I'll work on posting it sometime tomorrow.

I'm Back

And as you can see I have quite a few cards piled up. A few maildays, six packs of '90 Topps and a box of '93 Leaf. I also stopped at the Comic Swap in State College to grab a few more monster storage boxes which I desperately needed. Hopefully I'll have some vids up for you guys later on tonight. I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and enjoyed watching the Masters. I know I sure did.

Weekend Update

Just wanted to let you guys know I'm getting ready for a big Easter weekend road trip starting tomorrow afternoon right after work. Going home to visit friends and family, do the holiday thing then hang out with some of my old college buddies. There's a very good chance I may stop at a card shop or two along the way so I will have plenty to talk about when I get back late Monday. I can also tell you I will have at least one mailday (probably many more) and the six packs of '90 Topps I got on eBay have already arrived and I bet I will have the '93 Leaf box by the time I get back as well. Anyways, just wanted to let you guys know I haven't fallen off the edge of the earth and to check back at Card Junkie by Tuesday for lots of fun. Until then I hope everyone has a great weekend.

PNC Park Pics

I was doing some spring cleaning and came across a shoebox filled with old photos. Some of them included pics I took when PNC Park first opened back in 2001. I thought you guys might enjoy these so here you go...

Here's the park from across the river.
As I recall, the first game was an exhibition game with the Mets, I want to say late March. And it was like winter outside. Cold, windy, overcast and even some flurries. Heck they even had the lights on for a 1 o'clock game! We were worried they wouldn't play and I have a feeling that if it wasn't the first game at a new ballpark they wouldn't have.

These were our seats and you can get a good look at the skyline. I remember Mike Piazza hit the first home run and the Pirates lost.

We went back the next week for Opening Day and you can already tell the weather was much better.
Outside the ballpark.
The Willie Stargell statue, which tragically was unveiled just days after his passing. You can't tell in this pic but lots of people left flowers and wreaths underneath.
What you first see when you come out of the concourse. It was breathtaking after years at Three Rivers where all you saw was bright green astroturf and lots of concrete. Here you see green grass and the beautiful Pittsburgh skyline and bridges.
The scoreboard.
Taking our seats.

Opening day festivities included paratroopers.


The Pirates officially take the field at PNC Park for the first time.

Sellout crowd for the first pitch. For the record they lost to the Reds, and future Pirate Sean Casey hit the first official home run.
Here was the first night game we went to a few weeks later.
Added Bonus: Here's a random old pic of a Penguin game I went to back in the late 90's. Me and my roommate went on one of those $20 campus bus trip deals and were in the nose bleed seats for a Pens/Panthers tilt. Memorable moments: Lemieux and Jagr both scored goals, Lemieux's tally moved him up on the all time list and he got a two minute standing ovation, the Pens won, there were more fights than usual (yes!) including this one, and me and my buddy successfully snuck cans of beer in our winter coats. What can I say we were stupid college kids. I can tell you that #31 is Pens goalie Ken Wregget at the bottom. I have no idea who else is in the picture, they look like ants. We were so far away we could literally touch the roof of the Mellon Arena. =)

More Good News

So tonight has been great. The Pens made the playoffs. I won a free rack pack of '87 Donruss out of the blue from Dayf the original Cardboard Junkie. I guess when you help people complete their sets good things happen. I managed to nab a blaster of Heritage on eBay for $18.48 delivered. I was totally shocked because all the Heritage blasters I've been seeing on the bay have been going for well over twenty bucks so I guess I just got lucky. Hopefully I will have it in hand by next week. Oh and the Pirates totally stunk up Busch Stadium tonight as Ian Snell got shelled and our new "third baseman" Andy LaRoche completely dropped a easy pop up that nearly was called an infield fly, which opened up the flood gates. Oh well, 3 out of 4 ain't bad.

2009 Upper Deck Baseball

As promised, to celebrate the Pens clinching a playoff spot, here's a jumbo pack of UD.

Random Thoughts

Today was a sad day for card collecting in State College. I stopped by Target after work and the faithful Heritage retail box which I have enjoyed buying packs from was gone. Knowing that the Walmart nearby has already been sold out for several weeks, I ventured the whole way across town to the "other" Wally World, the nice, new one actually, (the one I live by is a dumpy old one) to get my Heritage fix. Nadda. Realizing the regularity my local big boxes restock their cards (i.e. never) it could be a long, LONG time till I see any Heritage again. Here's hoping Dan @ Saints of the Cheap Seats pulls off a Heritage group break cause I will be there front and center although so far the takers look slim. C'mon folks, you know you want to! Facing this grim reality, I still have reason for optimism. First off, I bought another jumbo pack of Upper Deck while at the nice, new Walmart, which you will find a vid of here shortly. I have a couple of real nice goodies coming in the mail from eBay. Six packs of '90 Topps I got for 59 cents a pack delivered and the piece de l'resistance: a box of '93 Leaf (my favorite product EVAR) that I got for $11.24 delivered! I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to busting that beauty. And to top it off the Pens (who were in 10th place as late as a month ago) are about to clinch a playoff spot tonight and the forever bumbling Pirates look to remain undefeated on the season against the Red Birds. So maybe I can live without Heritage. For a little while. =)

2009 Upper Deck Baseball

To celebrate the Pirates winning their opener in dramatic fashion, here's a jumbo of UD. Enjoy.

Bucs Open Season

The Pirates haven't had a winning season since I was 16. They haven't been in a pennant race since '97. As a cynical Succos fan I'm not holding my breath but I will say they have a good young team and might hover close to 80 wins. But I say that every spring. I'll be watching the Bucs/Cards game and chatting live in the comments if anyone wants to join me...

2009 Topps Heritage Baseball

Picked up three more retail packs of Heritage at Target.

2009 Topps Heritage Baseball

So I stopped in Target on the way home from work today and picked up three more retail packs of Heritage.