Trap Game

Does anyone remember the episode of Perfect Strangers where Balki picked every NFL winner based on his own unique perspective? I was about eight years old when that episode came out - and I can't find the specific clip because no one over 35 uploads TV shows I guess - but I distinctly remember Larry yelling at him to pick THE BRRROOOWWNNNSAH??? OR THE PACKERS? THE BROWNNNSSSSAAH? OR THE PACKERS???

I thought of that episode every time Cleveland and Green Bay played one another. Until now. 

Looks like we're going 3- and - ohhh shit...

Btw, Balki Bartokomous and Brandon Perna predicted this. THE BROOWWWWNNNSSS???? 

Tribute to Mrs. Collector coming this Friday.

Thanks for reading!



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Packin' 'em in

Welp, the Red Sox are definitely done now. Rafael Devers is a Giant, and Boston didn't even get Yastrzemski in the deal 😉 So many Sox fans renounced their fandom when the team traded Mookie Betts - but this one might be worse. Raffy was already signed long-term (unlike Mookie) and they depreciated their own asset by jerking him around about his role with the team until he didn't want to be in Boston anymore. Also, most fans forget that the Sox convinced the Dodgers to take on David Price's albatross contract in the Betts trade. 

The players coming back from the NL West team based in California this time are... slightly better. But they gave up many more years of a superstar under contract and sent the wrong message to the three blue chip prospects who just arrived. Ugh...I'm not just done with this team, I'm done with this sport. 

So let's look ahead to football. 

My Green Bay Packers collection is close to complete, thanks to an order from Sportlots and an order from the Beckett Marketplace. 

Filling in the 1980s requires doubling up on '86-88 cards (I've already completed these sets.) The Tim Hauck Pro Set fills the last spot in my early 1990s binder. You don't see '93 Pro Set singles nearly as often as their first three sets; Hauck and Brett Favre are the only two Packers I have from that set. 

I though I had most of the basic Sterling Sharpe cards but Playoff snuck this one by me - until now. These were 20c each on SportLots. Hold that thought. 

Really wish I could expand the selection of Packer players but Robert Brooks and Edgar Bennett were in just about every mid-'90s set. (Now you see why I picked the Tim Hauck card from '93 Pro Set.)

More Brooks cards, but at least there's some new faces here. I'm not seeking out Mark Chmura cards but I wanted the Action Packed single because I had that hat back in the day. Still do somewhere in my hat bag.

John Michels was the Packers' 1st round pick in 1996 and I'm just now adding him to my collection. Offensive linemen (who washed out of the league within two years) didn't get many cards back then. 

I picked out exactly enough cards to fill my 2000s Packers binder, but the seller couldn't find an Ahman Green card and issued a refund. 

Sportlots still has Beckett beat, especially on price. Regardless, I had to fill a cart with 50 cent commons for one specific single that no Sportlots seller had in stock...

More mid '90s here. If I'm going to pay half a buck for commons they'd better be HOFers like Sharpe and Butler.. but the 1994 Ultra and UD singles are now duplicates because I didn't check them off after buying them 30c cheaper at Sportlots. Oh well, wasted 90 cents there. 

But it came out in the wash when the Eddie Lacy Finest RC I purchased (for 62c) along with another Ahman Green single were out of stock and I was refunded $1.12. where are these Ahman Green collectors coming from?

Here's the 2010s Packers single that prompted my return to Becket marketplace after nearly three years. Can you guess which of these basic looking base cards has finally been crossed off my want list?

That's right, it's the Scott Tolzien Prizm base card. This is one of very few Tolzien singles that depict him as a Packer; he started two games in place of an injured Aaron Rodgers during the 2013 season and was ...not good. And yet - none other than the Dallas Cowboys hired him to be their quarterbacks coach for two seasons!

We'll wrap this up with the newest Pack singles, including a trio of Davante Adams cards.
 

So.. how much room do I have left for more Packer cards?

• 5 more cards from the mid-late 1990s
• 1 more card from the 2010s
• 6 more cards from the 2020s
• 1 miscellaneous card 

Overall, I'm about 60 cards away from filling all my team PC binders. I'll have one more inventory update by the end of June, and then -- assuming my wife's health holds up -- it's the Summer of Slabs.

Thanks for reading!

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Give 'em their Flowers

Quick, name some active NHL goaltenders who are definitely going to the Hall of Fame. Off the top of my head I had four: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Sergei Bobrovsky, Igor Shesterkin, and his backup in New York.. Jonathan Quick.

Now, name five all-time great goaltenders of the 21st century. Go. Martin Brodeur, of course. Dominik Hasek was still a beast in the early aughts. Henrik Lundqvist (more frickin Rangers?!?), Roberto Luongo, and um...  Pekka Rinne?

Those would have been my lists until recently. One goaltender has been flying under my radar for about 20 years. Only when I cross-checked my hockey card wantlist and saw who was missing did I ask myself: Is Marc-Andre Fleury a Hall of Famer?

Within 24 hours of realizing I was missing this card for the 'uncommon' tier of my 2003-04 Topps Pristine set build, Fleury -- nicknamed "Flower" -- tied Patrick Roy for second on the NHL's all-time wins list.

551 wins, a Vezina trophy, three Stanley Cup rings, five trips to the Final (including one memorable run with the Golden Knights in their inaugural season), 73 shutouts in over 1,000 NHL games, and an Olympic gold medal with team Canada isn't just a Hall of Fame resume. It's most likely a first ballot entry for the first overall pick in 2003.

How could I possibly have forgotten Fleury? Well, I'm getting old. I'm not paying as much attention to every team in the league because I have less access to the games than I used to (thanks, ESPN+), and I simply forgot he was still playing, sharing netminding duties with (I had to look this up) Filip Gustavsson in Minnesota. Neither of them are playing particularly well. But, to be fair...

Flower is the oldest goalie in the league. Heck, he's the third oldest player in the league, trailing only Mark Giordano and Joe Pavelski(who probably deserves his own appreciation post). Like Adrian Beltre and Frank Gore in other sports, his place among the all-time greats at his position simply caught me by surprise.

I only truly appreciated Fleury when he left Pittsburgh and became the de facto captain in Vegas - and even then I couldn't root for him in the Final because the Knights were standing in the way of Washington's first Cup. Even if he has an Adam Wainwright-like struggle to get one more win he will still be second all-time with 552 NHL victories. And he'll get there with far less fanfare than this guy.

For the generation of hockey fans before mine, there's only one Flower -- Guy Lafleur:

 

 

While I never saw Lafleur play I certainly understood what a legendary player he was in the 1970s and '80s: five Stanley Cups as a key member of the Montreal dynasty, six consecutive 50-goal seasons, three consecutive scoring titles, and two Hart trophies as NHL MVP. An all-time great to be sure. But the two most fascinating things about "The Flower" in my mind happened before his NHL career began, and after it appeared to be over.

For those of you who aren't hockey fans, imagine a godawful franchise like the Athletics(sorry Fuji) or Pistons. They're totally bereft of talent and in desperate need of a young superstar to lift the franchise out of the doldrums. Now imagine that team is so short-sighted and incompetent that they trade their first round pick to the league's most powerful franchise. 

 

That happened in 1970 when Charlie Finley's California Golden Seals swapped first round picks with the defending Stanley Cup champion Canadiens. Montreal GM Sam Pollock knew another French-Canadian star was about to arrive, and he fleeced the Seals for the likely 1st overall pick. Then when it looked like Los Angeles might 'drop' to #1, Pollock traded two solid NHL players to the Kings to help them finish higher than the Seals, just so he could secure Lafleur.

What might have been..

Lafleur retired in 1984 as the Montreal dynasty was seemingly in the rear view. (The Habs won another Cup in 1986) In 1988, Guy was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame - his first year of eligibility. That summer, he decided he wasn't done and returned to the NHL as a New York Ranger.

An active player who was already in the Hall of Fame?!? It was unfathomable to me when I pulled his Nordiques cards in 1990-91, though it would happen again with Mario Lemieux a decade later.

Guy was the one player missing from my 1970s Canadiens collection until I added this 1976-77 Topps card in a fleury of year-end TCDB trades:

I might fill out the roster a bit but the collection is complete for now.

Since this is an NFL playoff weekend I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge another Lafleur:

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has his team in the playoffs for the fourth time in five years. He racked up an astounding 39 wins in his first three seasons, becoming the first head coach with three 12+ win seasons to start his career. If you read that Instagram post you may have noticed how many haters wanted to give the credit for that achievement to Aaron Rodgers - the same Rodgers who couldn't get it done against the Lions in the season finale last year, costing the Packers a playoff spot.

LaFleur did his best to manage Rodgers' insatiable ego, and when the Packers finally parted ways with their iconic quarterback, many predicted a long rebuild for the youngest squad in the NFL.

 

Instead LaFleur has his team back in the playoffs, facing the Dallas Cowboys in a matchup of passers with the top two touchdown totals in the NFL. Meanwhile Rodgers is making vague threats against comedians on Pat McAfee's show. But sure, Matt LaFleur owes all of his success to that guy. Okayyy. 

Regardless of tonight's outcome, the Packers have a bright future with young stars on both sides of the ball. It won't be long before Jordan Love, Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Luke Musgrave, Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness, and Quay Walker reach their potential and lead the Packers back to prominence. And it will be under the tutelage of the most underrated head coach in the game. 

Thanks for reading, and Go Pack Go!



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A Completely Arbitrary Repack

This past Saturday I received a surprise package from Brian, author of Highly Subjective and Completely Arbitrary.  Apparently I'd won a contest at the end of 2019 by correctly guessing Brian would choose 1974 Topps as his next setbuild. My prize for winning this completely arbitrary contest was a repack box with a 1974 Topps Cecil Cooper showing: 

If I ever went anywhere interesting this would make a great wallet card.

This custom-made repack was loaded with Red Sox - and there was more than one hit included:

The Bernie Carbo autograph (in the '74 Topps design) is my favorite here.
 

More shiny. The Aurora insert is really nice. I'm interested to see where JBJ will sign - and when.

Lots of guys who aren't Red Sox anymore. I think Benintendi will break out in Kansas City.
 

Some Packers oddballls and a Ted Williams stamp. It's not every day that I add a new Packer to my collection but this is definitely my first card of Emmitt's brother Emory Smith (he's not even listed on Pro Football Reference) The Ken Ellis is a Wonder Bread issue, and the David Whitehurst comes with a COA. As promised, the repack came with a sealed pack - BBM Diamond Heroes. I haven't opened it yet. 

Brian, thanks again for the surprise repack!

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About ten days ago I placed an order on the Beckett Marketplace. I was on the hunt for some missing All-Time Teams players and found a seller who offered free shipping with just a $12 purchase. I filled my cart with 17 cards totaling $22.60 - a third of that ($7.50) was for a 1969 Topps Reggie Smith single listed as "Near Mint-Mint" - and placed my order. Usually I get an email within a day or two if any cards were out of stock - which was apparently an issue with other collectors who bought from Mac's Collectibles. 

I didn't get an email that anything was out of stock, and I didn't get an email that my order had shipped. A week after placing the order I emailed Mac's and asked them for an update. I got no response. Today the entire $22.60 was refunded without an explanation. Just an FYI for those of you who shop on the Marketplace - unless you're buying from Burbank or 7th Inning Stretch, proceed with caution. 

Guess I'll have to fill those All-Time Teams needs through TCDB trades...

Thanks for reading!



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Anyone got these Ginters?

I traded 15 stickers from my 1988 Panini Baseball duplicate pile to TCDB user NetScans for eight baseball cards and two football cards.

Two more for the 2011 Topps Lineage set build. I'm down to 15 needs for this set. My last TCDB trade had set fillers from both Chicago teams, too. How about that.

Two more relievers for my All-Time Teams project. My last TCDB trade had two All-Time needs, too. I'm down to 50 needs for this set - though I need to update the wantlist with Red Sox and Barnstormers. More All-Time Team cards are on the way from COMC, and I just ordered something on Friday that will add some pre-war players to the project. We'll see which box arrives first.

Two New Haven Ravens for my Connecticut Collection. This is from the one year when the St. Louis Cardinals were the parent club. I have a Layfield Cardinals card even though he never pitched above triple-A. Correa's time in AA New Haven was his highest level.

These cards are pairs, too. At first glance the top pair appears obvious - McCarthy and Favre are Packers cards. Reese and Tomlinson are Hall of Famers on teams that moved to L.A. That's it, right?

Sure, that works. But actually the left side duo are baseball cards while the guys on the right are football cards.

That's right - the McCarthy is a baseball card.

He's one of several non-baseball subjects in the 2013 Allen & Ginter set, including Chrissy Teigen, Mike Richter, Lindsey Vonn, Barry Melrose, and McKayla Maroney. 

2013 A & G also includes cards of the Bundys - Dylan and Al. This one is going on my wantlist:

This year's A & G checklist has a lot of names I don't recognize. Maybe that's a sign I'm getting old. I'm familiar with R. L. Stine and Ken Jeong and Ryan Nyquist. And this gentleman, of course:

Send me all your Doc Emrick cards plz. kthx.

There seem to be more comedian/entertainer/reality show personalities in this year's set. Anyone familiar with this lovely lady?

This is Kelsey Cook, who is listed on the back as a comedian and - I kid you not - professional foosball player. Well guys, it looks like I gotta add foosball to my sports card collection. Can anybody help me out?

Thanks for reading!




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Championship Sunday

The Packers are going to win tonight. I'm not just saying this because they're my team. I've done the research. I've cracked the code. Allow me to demonstrate...

I re-watched each of the Packers' last four trips to the NFC title game, going back to 2008:

After the 2007 season the Packers (#2 seed) hosted Eli Manning and the Giants (#5 seed). The winner would face the undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl. It was cold.

That should have been an advantage for the Packers, but Big Blue was no warm-weather team. It was a back-and-forth game that came down to special teams. Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes missed two field goals in regulation, giving Green Bay another chance in OT.

The Packers won the toss. Brett Favre went to work, in what would be his last game for Green Bay.

He threw an interception. 

Now it was up to the Packers' D to keep young Eli Manning and the Giants out of the end zone. Plaxico Burress (whom I share a birthday with) had a monster night, but he was no hero.

 It was that Tynes guy again. Third Tynes the charm, blah blah blah... Giants win.


You know the rest. They went on to defeat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, something I'm not sure the ol' Gunslinger could have done. Could you imagine if Brady and Belichick had seven rings? ::shudder::

Back to the Pack...their first trip to the NFC Championship game with Aaron Rodgers under center was in 2011, after the 2010 season. Green Bay (#6 seed) traveled to Soldier Field to face the #2 seeded Bears. The winner would face the Steelers in the Super Bowl.

This was another cold game against a cold-weather opponent.

Rodgers scored the game's first touchdown on a bootleg. He did not throw a touchdown pass in this game. Neither did Bears starter Jay Cutler, who left the game in the third quarter.

Did Cutler quit on his team? Possibly. But his team didn't quit. Third-stringer Caleb Hanie led the Bears to two scores, but he threw a costly pick-six to B.J. Raji that proved to be the difference.

Chicago's D was no joke. But could you imagine Jay Cutler in a Super Bowl? No. Just...no.


After the 2014 season, Green Bay had another NFC title trip to make, this time to Seattle. The Packers and Seahawks were both 12-4 but the defending champion Seahawks won the tiebreaker and the #1 seed. The winner would face the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

This game was not cold. It was 51F with a light, misting rain at kickoff. 

Seattle's defense was legendary. The Legion Of Boom wasted no time frustrating Rodgers. Richard Sherman beat Davante Adams (in his rookie year) and snatched an interception on the Packers' first possession. [They're sure to see plenty of each other tonight.]

Green Bay returned the favor, as Ha Ha Clinton-Dix picked off Seahawks' quarterback Russell Wilson. 

The Packers advanced the ball to about the half-yard line. Head coach Mike McCarthy settled for a field goal. The Seahawks turned the ball over again. Again Green Bay had the ball at the Seattle one-yard line. And again McCarthy settled for a field goal.

This is the face of a man who left eight potential points on the board. Hold that thought.

Wilson and the Seahawks' offense couldn't get anything going. The young QB threw three picks in the first half, and the Packers led 16-0.

Seattle scored on a fake punt, and Marshawn Lynch activated Beast Mode, but Wilson was still shaky [unlike last week when a more polished Russ exploded in the second half.] His fourth interception with five minutes to go in the game put the Seahawks' win probablility at less than 1%. 

Sherman and Seattle stormed back, scoring 15 points in 44 seconds. Green Bay managed a field goal to send it to overtime. Wilson threw the game-winning TD to Jermaine Kearse, who was the targeted receiver on all four of his interceptions.

Yeah, that's pretty much how I felt. Thanks for leaving those eight points on the board, Mike. Hope you share that wisdom with your new team.

The Seahawks returned to the Super Bowl. The one where Wilson threw an interception at the goal line instead of feeding Lynch for the winning score. Yeah, that one. Ugh.

Two years later Rodgers and the Packers returned to the NFC title game, as the #4 seed. They traveled to the Georgia Dome to face the Falcons (#2 seed.) The winner would face the Patriots in the Super Bowl. No weather.

This game was ass. I couldn't even bring myself to hate-watch it this weekend. I asked my wife to buy bratwurst for the game, and I was going to eat one for every Packers touchdown. The Pack didn't score in the first half. I ate three brats and they were the best part of the night.

Matt Ryan embarrassed the Packers for 392 years and four TDs. Atlanta would go on to the Super Bowl, where they would be responsible for the greatest choke job in history. Ha! Now you know how it feels! ...is what I would have said if they didn't lose to the damn Patriots.

So..have you figured out why I'm certain the Pack will prevail tonight? Is it the weather in Santa Clara? The playoff seeding? The number four? Nah, it's because the winner will not play the Patriots in the Super Bowl. 

See you in Miami, Patrick.

Then again...last week I watched the Houston Texans come out swinging against Kansas City. When Houston went up 21-0 in the first quarter I went up to my computer.

DeShaun Watson is putting on a show, I thought to myself. They've got a clear path to the Super Bowl. Tennessee isn't going to stop them. Watson's rookie cards will soar. I'd better get one now.  Like, right now.

I snatched this up with a Buy It Now, paid for it, and went for a walk with my daughter. It was an unseasonably warm weekend and I didn't need to watch this game. I knew what was going to happen. The Chiefs would straighten out and score a couple TDs but Houston would hang on and win. 

Whoops. 

This is why I don't gamble. If I'd placed a bet with a sports book I'd have lost my money. Instead I walk away with something of value - a nice DeShaun Watson card that still has some investment potential. I would have loved to pick up a Patrick Mahomes RC but his Prizms are way out of my budget.


Who are you cheering for on this Championship Sunday?


Thanks for reading, and GO PACK GO!!



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