That other prize box...

So, any hockey fans in my readership?
The second box in my prize package from Panini was from their 2013-2014 Totally Certified Hockey release. And was also very cool!

I have no idea how much this box would be nor the 4 packs of cards that were sequestered inside. But they were a lot of fun to open!
Pack 1:

Well as I don't follow hockey and rarely get to an Admirals game here in town, it should not come as a surprise that I've not heard of most of these teams! The base cards are very shiny and the photography is outstanding. Each pack of cards contains 4 base cards plus 1 memorabilia card or autograph card.

this pack contained a very nice autographed card of Michael Bournival, from the Canadiens. I have heard of this team as they share a common logo design with my favorite college team, the St. Cloud State Huskeys from Minnesota.

here is the Montreal logo, red, white and blue with an H.

and the St. Cloud logo, red, white and black with the ST. a lot of people ask about the Canadiens when I wear my Huskeys jersey around town!

I know who the Sharks are because of Fugi, and Washington is the closest NHL team to my home. I believe the Lightning is one of the Platinum Blue inserts #47/50.

Then we have a very slick relic. it doesn't show in the scan but the greyish area around Eller's head is clear and shows through the card!! Very cool design.

The first pack that I know all the teams from, especially the Wild, from my wife's home state! And I believe that is one of the Rookie Mirror Platinum Blue inserts #05/10.

Another relic, from the Oilers. hard to believe that jersey has that much white in it!

Three out of four, not bad. I wonder why some of the cards have the team name on them and some don't??

and we have a very interesting signature from the Red Wings' Petr Mrazek. As with the basketball cards, these are available if anyone is interested. And curiously, what would a Rookie card numbered out of 10 be worth in the hockey world?

thanks for reading,
Have a GReat weekend!
Dawgbones

What eBay hath Wrought, the Dawgbones edition...

Yeah, shamelessly stole this title today! Got it from The Raz Card Blog, it's a pretty cool little spot out here on the innerwebs. Go check it out.

Anywhoo, picked up the only current patch card I am interested in off of eBay the other week and it showed up in the mail earlier this week.

Got to say Utley is probably my favorite active player, and this card set me back a little over a fiver, shipped.

sure beats the hell outa buying several blasters, hunting for this one lone card!

Thanks for reading,
Have a GReat day!
Dawgbones

I've struck GOLD.

Panini Gold, that is. Yeah, won't be able to retire any sooner, but that's ok.
So, do I have any NBA fans on my reading list? If I do, this post is most definitely for you!

2 weeks ago I entered Panini's "Find the Hidden Knight" contest, held most every Friday. They are a lot of fun and I'd recommend you check them out. So, I found the required amount of hidden knights, AND was selected as a winner of 1 box of Panini Gold Standard NBA Trading Cards and 1 box of Panini Totally Certified Hockey. This post is of the NBA variety.

Quite the fancy package, in the shape of a gold bar. Yeah, I know, shocking, right?

inside you'll find exactly 1 pack containing 10 cards!

and inside that you'll find, amongst the cardboard :

3 base cards out of 310 I believe. I'd assume the allure of these is NOT putting a set together.

the backs are quite nicely laid out as well. (I've even managed to align the backs with the front above!)

I got one of these metal rookie cards, Michael Carter-Williams, from the Sixers though it's hard to see from the scan! and I must admit it's not much better in person!

then there are the relics. I got Kevin Garnett from the Nets. Numbered 164/199.

then there are the autos. Hard to tell the name from that signature, but this one's on-card!

at least that one looks a bit closer to Harris! This one's a sticker?

and I also got an autographed relic in this pack as well:

This one has a nice black swatch, combined with a very nice A-C on-card signature from Mr. Crabbe.

Then there's this little 14K Gold Strike relic card:

It's a bit hard to see in the scan, but that is one shiny piece of 14k gold in there. Very nice looking card.

The final bit of cardboard was plain white with a bit of scratch on the front:

Now I'm not too sure what to do with this card, it's going for around $15 on eBay, but I'm undecided.

Well, that was an interesting pack of cards. Something that I would not normally open, let alone buy for myself. At this point, these cards are available for trade if anyone is interested. If not, I may try selling them.

Thanks for reading,

Thanks for the contest Tracy,

Have a GReat night!

Dawgbones

Ghostbusters Goodbye

A bit sad this week:

I absolutely loved his work, both as a director and as an actor. I can still remember the first time I sat and watched Stripes. I can sit and watch that one again today and would laugh just as hard as back then.

I think Mr. Akroyd summed it up best.

Aykroyd added of his friend: "May he now get the answers he was always seeking."

Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day star Bill Murray also added: "He earned his keep on this planet."

Ramis's family released a statement paying tribute to the actor, which said: "His creativity, compassion, intelligence, humour and spirit will be missed by all who knew and loved him."
I agree, Rest in Peace Mr. Ramis, you will be missed.
Thanks for reading,
Have a GReat night!
Dawgbones

Tis a Mystery??

Not really, but it made for a neat title...

I got a package in the mail earlier this week. Probably should have been here last week, but we are having issues with our postal idjits!!

So I open my post box to see a 400 or 500 count box addressed to yours truly, from Jeff, over at 2x3 Heroes. First thought that goes through my feeble little brain, Oh crap, I've made a trade and forgot about it... but no, I reason that I've kept track of those fairly well. Then I think, "What have a done to deserve this little slice of cardboard nirvanna?"

Opening the box reveals the simplest of answers... I signed up for it!! That's how! Jeff offered up a year-end/new-year beginning sign-up for cards from your favorite team(s). I signed myself up for it and promptly forgot about it!

Needless to say, I am overwhelmed and grateful for the cards Jeff, Thanks.

Now, there were quite a few doubles and duplicates of cards I already have, which is very OK with me, cause there were also a crap-ton of cards that I did not have, including a few from my needs lists!

I scanned in several of my favorites from the selection:

there were quite a few parallel cards in the mix, including on of those dreaded Wally World blue bordered disasters!!

Now let me back up a step, everybody knows that I dis-like this particular colored border as I just don't think the blue is the right shade. But his card I like! I mean really like!! The darker blue highlights really pop against the lighter blue border, combined with the blue of the uniform, this just works really well for this card.
And if you are wondering, YES, I still dis-like these cards as a whole, but as they say, "Even a blind squirrel..."!!

there were also shinies in the box too, but those were not my favorites from this selection...

I love these Fleer cards, the dual-black side panels are slick-looking, combined with the background and action foreground shot makes this card pretty darned cool in my book! Kinda makes me feel like he's playing catch in some neighborhood park in Philly!

and I actually needed this card for my 2010 Upper Deck set! There were 1 or 2 others from this set in that box that I also needed!! Thanks for that Jeff
thanks for reading,
Have a GReat weekend!
Dawgbones

Teeny again

Rode by Target last night on our way home from the tattoo parlor. Picked up another pack of Teenymates:

yep, the Marlins and Cardinals... not bad...

and two more shots at the puzzle...

got these so far...
thanks for reading,
Have a GReat day!
Dawgbones

TeenyMates, the MLB Edition...

Finally got round to the Target last night and picked up a couple packs of the new baseball edition TeenyMates. I've liked the little figures since they first released the NFL/NHL versions a while ago.

But as I mainly collect baseball, I've only picked up a few packs here and there, and at $4 per pack for two figures, they aren't exactly cheap.

I will at least try a few more of the baseball packs this season, and hope to catch the card vendor or store manager at some point if I don't get my main team because the gravity feeder is displaying a Phillies figure in it.

Anyhow, each blind package had two figures in it, plus a checklist and two puzzle pieces. There is a chance at rarer figures but as they are teams I don't collect, I'm good to not chase after them.

My first package yielded one of my favorites teams, at least as far as logos go:

I love the Indians logo (and think the Redskins should stand their ground)
My second package yielded a team I collect and the closest team to my hometown down here in the southeast:

and interestingly enough, one of the puzzle pieces fits with the two from the first package!

I may not chase after the entire 30 figure main set, but would like to get the main teams that I collect, and I'm really interested in chasing the puzzle pieces so if you get any of these, and don't want or need the puzzle pieces, keep me in mind (only 31 more to go!).

thanks for reading,
Have a GReat day!
Dawgbones

Thursday, February 17th, 1994...

20 years ago last month, I made the best decision of my life.

Even better, she said YES!! So, 20 years ago, Thursday, February 17th, 1994, with family and friends to witness, I was joined in holy matrimony with my wife.

The last 20 years together has been an absolute blast and only leaves me to wonder what the next 20 glorious years will bring?

Happy Anniversary to the woman that makes me complete! I love you more now than I ever have.

thanks for reading.

Have a GReat day!

Dawgbones

R.I.P. Papa "Jack Gibbs" - Ralph Waite

Many loved and knew Mr. Waite from his days on the Waltons, I grew up watching that show. My wife knew him from his role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs' father on N.C.I.S. Either way, we will both mourn the passing of a very talented, well know, and well loved actor.

Before becoming an actor, Waite, served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1946 to 1948, I am grateful for his service to our country

It seems as though heaven has gained quite a few new angles here lately. Rest well Mr. Waite. You will be missed.

Thanks for reading,
Have a blessed evening!
Dawgbones