Allen and Anna - A Crossover Comparison

With all the new sports cards I've received this month and a three day weekend on the calendar I was planning to complete a sorting project or update my card count these past few days. My in-laws had their usual Memorial Day cookout and I stayed home - not because I'm afraid I'll get the Corona (though I'm taking it more seriously than they are) but because I simply needed a day off. It's been four months since I've had the house to myself, and I'm sure my family was happy to have a break from me.

But as Saturday approached I felt fatigued. Whenever I have any free time I default to something sports card related: sort cards, shop for cards, catalog my collection, read blogs.. this hobby of ours is a lot of work. And last weekend I was just tired of it all. I needed a day off from cards. 

I didn't want to spend my three-day weekend falling into an OCD sorting spiral, and so I caught up on non-card things I've wanted to do for quite a while. That included watching a movie my wife had no interest in, and reading some of the online articles that were overflowing my bookmarked folder. 

A couple of the articles were sports related but many of them were current and not-so-current news about books, movies, and actresses that have caught my interest. I read commentary from multiple sources about Anna Kendrick, my current fave, and the consensus seems to be that she isn't selective enough about the projects she chooses.

I won't bore you with the details of that take, except to say that it all led me to The Ringer, and the sequel to an article entitled "What's Your Plan, Anna Kendrick?" Here's one sentence regarding her new series Love Life that jumped right off the page:

Watching Kendrick in it is like watching Allen Iverson on the turn-of-the-century Sixers: a small, dynamic, eminently lovable performer trying like hell to carry an enterprise built on obsolete ideas.

I've never thoroughly compared an entertainer to a sports star, but I was intrigued by the idea. And so I tried to come up with some other comparisons. See if you can think of who I'm thinking of:

Comparison #1

• Once-in-a generation talent
• Has earned several individual accolades
• Carried a franchise in their early twenties
• Has yet to celebrate their 30th birthday

Comparison #2

• Tall, versatile import
• Entered the scene at the end of the 1990s
• Won a major individual award
• Model of consistency for over two decades
• Internationally known and still underrated

Comparison #3

• Long, lanky superstar in their prime
• Ascended to stardom around 2007
• Initially image-conscious and sensitive to haters
• Occasionally eclipsed by an even bigger star

I'll give you a couple of clues: all three entertainers are women, and none of the athletes are NFL stars. 

Answers - and some sports card content - in my next post :)

Thanks for reading!


 

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Free Stuff Friday - NBA picks

I've been in a basketball mood lately. With no sports happening I need something on in the background while I sort cards or do COMC challenges. I've been listening to Bill Simmons podcasts partly because they're long and uninterrupted (there's one sponsor promo at the beginning and maybe one more halfway though. That's two brief ads in a two-hour show.) His NBA redraft discussions are filling in the 15-20 years of basketball I wasn't watching. 

Kerry offered to send out a few cards to anyone who asked. I can get Red Sox singles just about anywhere - and Kerry has tons of great basketball cards - so I requested some Milwaukee Bucks. This seven-card PWE arrived in the mail Tuesday. Since I'm hooked on redrafts, let's take a look at how these six Bucks compared to the rest of their draft class:

Michael Redd - Drafted 43rd overall in 2000. 4th-highest win shares in his class. Great pick. 

T.J. Ford - Drafted 8th overall in 2003. Ranks 23rd in his class in win shares - lower than their 2nd-round pick Keith Bogans(who they "traded" for cash on Draft Day anyhow.)

Brook Lopez - Drafted 10th overall by the Nets in 2008. Ranks 6th in his draft class in win shares. Great pick by New Jersey. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo - Drafted 15th overall in 2013. Has the highest WS total of any player in his draft class. Milwaukee knocked this pick out of the park. 

Eric Bledsoe - Drafted 18th overall by the Thunder in 2010. OKC traded him to the Clippers, but he didn't develop until a few years later in Phoenix. He's now 8th among 2010 draftees in win shares. 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Drafted 1st overall in 1969. NBA's All-Time Leading scorer and, not surprisingly, has the highest career win shares total of any player ever. I'm no NBA expert but I think the Bucks got this one right.

You probably know this already, but the Bucks picked an all-time great player 9th overall in 1998. He's a certain first-ballot Hall of Famer and has the most win shares of any '98 draftee...

 ..and they traded him for "Tractor" Traylor on draft night. This is why I love revisiting past drafts, in any sport. 

Anyway...you're here for free stuff, am I right? I don't have a lot of basketball cards to offer (and there aren't a lot of NBA fans on the blogs) but there are some stars in here, including Dirk. Please pick up to six cards. I'll have another batch available next week.

Let me know if you have any requests for certain sports, teams, or players and I'll do my best to offer them up in the next three weeks. 

Thanks for reading!


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