tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72420473195899112372024-02-16T06:18:58.458-06:00Hey, That's Mine!BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.comBlogger322125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-23748484489091820172012-05-15T22:53:00.001-05:002012-05-15T22:53:21.129-05:00From Lonestarr to the Lonestar State<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Man, time sure flies by when you're busy. I can't believe it's been a month since I've posted anything. Too many swimming, baseball and soccer practices to be able to do much else. I haven't even been able to get in any Playstation 3 time since Christmas and I've even got a sweet new pink controller to break in. Hopefully, things will slow down around our house here in a few weeks, but I won't hold my breath. Something is always popping up. Kinda like this package of cards from <a href="http://lonestarr.wordpress.com/">Lonestarr</a> that arrived out of nowhere a while back. He sent us a bunch of stuff of some of our favorites, here is just a sampling.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitee2zs1-XM8DgkoQQBWqcSHtf-AhYJYoLJe49nnLhxLgG7YjcsuBx0WRpTib1LLJo-XgFmliORW-lw155HXqqSrhWAm8E9T-FZYP6ZmsWYPuvn-ysDyDgmCxEGx0lZ-4JE0R3HLpRwZCG/s1600/berkman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitee2zs1-XM8DgkoQQBWqcSHtf-AhYJYoLJe49nnLhxLgG7YjcsuBx0WRpTib1LLJo-XgFmliORW-lw155HXqqSrhWAm8E9T-FZYP6ZmsWYPuvn-ysDyDgmCxEGx0lZ-4JE0R3HLpRwZCG/s320/berkman.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A bunch of Berkmans for Nobie.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ekGx8ieql7Rjf9pAqoSid9I4qDuG9I8bVQtEeYmkmlUowR1n7hxqxtjHF72cTM38Ou2uPVt1ibCjwLhzF_54Wjh7_lqhuE2rp1Sv1ofpBjAdiSQ-pozpy5F4yicwkOWrck8H2hzHuWpB/s1600/elway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ekGx8ieql7Rjf9pAqoSid9I4qDuG9I8bVQtEeYmkmlUowR1n7hxqxtjHF72cTM38Ou2uPVt1ibCjwLhzF_54Wjh7_lqhuE2rp1Sv1ofpBjAdiSQ-pozpy5F4yicwkOWrck8H2hzHuWpB/s320/elway.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Several Elways for my collection.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKnLybP-YoYO5IeLakQOqeUyjUG1jvyeEdptkwOUcqFo8BkUuCji1D4Ou5d34U2lYz5tTLc6tsXZPoiHWkeMvmR3s-AtnrZ5lVRrN-ceXCn9Am6WGvYVjXFXjES_Vi0XwciN8AXxP5PV4/s1600/mavs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKnLybP-YoYO5IeLakQOqeUyjUG1jvyeEdptkwOUcqFo8BkUuCji1D4Ou5d34U2lYz5tTLc6tsXZPoiHWkeMvmR3s-AtnrZ5lVRrN-ceXCn9Am6WGvYVjXFXjES_Vi0XwciN8AXxP5PV4/s320/mavs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Mavs! Both the star and spare variety. Scott Brooks, current coach of the OKC Thunder counts as a spare. I hate OKC almost as much as the Spurs now.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu4aceOah7TS_mlT8A_VxqjpVel5dbUIcSZH_7hCG0FtVXafz6uS60JQbMVIFGow1j4GslDgsZkmYcmsOdM8ap22r48XrKLXZn_trHdVB-qQrAP4SKNG1Por5IXLhnQyyBJRWwZVstbPUO/s1600/murphy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu4aceOah7TS_mlT8A_VxqjpVel5dbUIcSZH_7hCG0FtVXafz6uS60JQbMVIFGow1j4GslDgsZkmYcmsOdM8ap22r48XrKLXZn_trHdVB-qQrAP4SKNG1Por5IXLhnQyyBJRWwZVstbPUO/s320/murphy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A couple of Murphs for Baby Peas.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuylhAEomf5K9K24FhIpkg6OopDh2IB_U4gsw_ep5wIfHp03JvKXC-AbDCEqk5a10z8Vsl_pA7W2x6h4ov5pBV5lhCxhaBtpWlMLetsjW8b0M8peQoxBe8TpvWizLe3OTjyYndvjtASPa2/s1600/nash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuylhAEomf5K9K24FhIpkg6OopDh2IB_U4gsw_ep5wIfHp03JvKXC-AbDCEqk5a10z8Vsl_pA7W2x6h4ov5pBV5lhCxhaBtpWlMLetsjW8b0M8peQoxBe8TpvWizLe3OTjyYndvjtASPa2/s320/nash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Nashty! A few rumors he may come back to Big D. Can't say I'd mind that, though he won't be the point guard of the future. He's probably got 2 or 3 seasons left at most.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYyVNeXGIdOs9YGS2iNlQsmfZ2R-hSuaL-AIWJtGaNb3xsZptGSSR-txcHvhU-rCz8AQWLEN2pOanCIz_Mu1MiJkHDsHQ-FX2ReosgLa8furv_xC-krkUFLkgqYV0c9K5R0S_v6ut6t7w/s1600/peavy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYyVNeXGIdOs9YGS2iNlQsmfZ2R-hSuaL-AIWJtGaNb3xsZptGSSR-txcHvhU-rCz8AQWLEN2pOanCIz_Mu1MiJkHDsHQ-FX2ReosgLa8furv_xC-krkUFLkgqYV0c9K5R0S_v6ut6t7w/s320/peavy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A stack of Peavys for Nobie.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheVNqRz6bQjMP9lUg2l_U43sMegyMowW5tWtqECCONe3JZ4T1zwkLVloSihlTYkAsNfYjrghNhhGn99TUZojuceCIm-FhLTEzUlb1EJQcNbnpXR0rlyCDnhyphenhyphenfgpzoFALh27M5UguzYWyYu/s1600/soriano.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheVNqRz6bQjMP9lUg2l_U43sMegyMowW5tWtqECCONe3JZ4T1zwkLVloSihlTYkAsNfYjrghNhhGn99TUZojuceCIm-FhLTEzUlb1EJQcNbnpXR0rlyCDnhyphenhyphenfgpzoFALh27M5UguzYWyYu/s320/soriano.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Last, but not least, Nobie's favorite Cub and all-around player Alfonso Soriano. He's got quite a collection already but a few of them were new, specifically the jersey swatch card.<br />
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Thanks a bunch, for all the cards Lonestarr! We'll try to get something back to you soon.<br />
Later.BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-66530766679029294792012-04-17T22:13:00.010-05:002012-04-17T22:33:41.979-05:00Long Live The Queen! 2012 Gypsy Queen Value Pack<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMMGKdcajEpOe8fcI2NP-Y4v0Grrw2XdwF7N9X7k0e-1-O0KE096C5bLS3xXAew6Y0euOAbgTa3dRdDiInNe3WDZW-GDQs0doeaQ6yqaErj_4XuuinrC3x3wwyGXIWExqq_5d3GPvWrbFB/s1600/wrapper.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 193px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMMGKdcajEpOe8fcI2NP-Y4v0Grrw2XdwF7N9X7k0e-1-O0KE096C5bLS3xXAew6Y0euOAbgTa3dRdDiInNe3WDZW-GDQs0doeaQ6yqaErj_4XuuinrC3x3wwyGXIWExqq_5d3GPvWrbFB/s320/wrapper.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732574976821932386" border="0" /></a>Well, lookee what I stumbled upon at the local Wally World today. That's right 2012 Gypsy Queen is on the shelves, so I grabbed a value pack. The value packs have 3 six card packs plus a bonus of 3 exclusive framed cards.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5mJz-S-xH7pBizXV0jxkdb8z6WWTNB8IfFnSG5OvNdm9fdqv1xx-7bAU1Z7fci4CzxdcuEs3sEvjWV8cSFOCHc0w9tS3knBiwzJtGLjwXpg4IZmS7daraJDIwh5tiBTHum4tXpRNnGPr/s1600/row1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 111px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5mJz-S-xH7pBizXV0jxkdb8z6WWTNB8IfFnSG5OvNdm9fdqv1xx-7bAU1Z7fci4CzxdcuEs3sEvjWV8cSFOCHc0w9tS3knBiwzJtGLjwXpg4IZmS7daraJDIwh5tiBTHum4tXpRNnGPr/s320/row1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732574867089498834" border="0" /></a>Each pack contained 4 base cards, 1 mini and 1 other parallel/insert. The design is similar to last year's. Nobie says he likes these better though.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMNcxeHczAMskMaICzps0bIkqxv8eBPuy0od4sjP1i-7sEC_U-iPLV-Nh2KVIB25UO6zT-GBA1HgbSC7A6omN0Ln_j106mYXaHKqIfmqdYg9dE4u91319j5s6AU6nA3YhYKO0gIy5JC9nN/s1600/row2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 112px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMNcxeHczAMskMaICzps0bIkqxv8eBPuy0od4sjP1i-7sEC_U-iPLV-Nh2KVIB25UO6zT-GBA1HgbSC7A6omN0Ln_j106mYXaHKqIfmqdYg9dE4u91319j5s6AU6nA3YhYKO0gIy5JC9nN/s320/row2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732574678457610514" border="0" /></a>Just like last year, the photos seem to have been touched up with a filter of some sort giving them a slight "artsy" look.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHx9tBT9JWFS-nj5_B65DXDHk-RWz7Vi3GXE3RX5m69-YNoL3UZUnN1JubSjXRsPtoF_qHTXToWdT32PG2Ifk48lGQ1fl29AuCffq35HQm2GEvvjUwynX7Ih_TiAHgNCyUjErIynUjY8t/s1600/row3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 111px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHx9tBT9JWFS-nj5_B65DXDHk-RWz7Vi3GXE3RX5m69-YNoL3UZUnN1JubSjXRsPtoF_qHTXToWdT32PG2Ifk48lGQ1fl29AuCffq35HQm2GEvvjUwynX7Ih_TiAHgNCyUjErIynUjY8t/s320/row3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732574473071649634" border="0" /></a>Yay! an Ichiro for the PC.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiizMtsSnylu6zgMg7D6rQL5IrpJLWEivVlOxRCvzTPLCwClRF6TklEOdextqnuToo4Ayl3_beE0zQ8fUs1Mn_AAQhdiDlcxpUR8j2c-x1_adiMYbTMioBQxVQHd_qIKzY7BqZUlN5rJgW8/s1600/minis.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiizMtsSnylu6zgMg7D6rQL5IrpJLWEivVlOxRCvzTPLCwClRF6TklEOdextqnuToo4Ayl3_beE0zQ8fUs1Mn_AAQhdiDlcxpUR8j2c-x1_adiMYbTMioBQxVQHd_qIKzY7BqZUlN5rJgW8/s320/minis.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732574285430384738" border="0" /></a>Here are the 3 minis we got. The Stargell is extra special. Wanna know why?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjdqO2pxwxoE9VaRbOVOrqGbR8P0jwLIPIi4g_55FvIIg2ZLfRYFi7QfcxqghwsosTXGZ2SUITw3lAOZJXVbTQxamw68vMX2GrF_ST_ynRK9t9CP7HW4hLkip2UDrGyNcciALbS1CQr821/s1600/backs.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjdqO2pxwxoE9VaRbOVOrqGbR8P0jwLIPIi4g_55FvIIg2ZLfRYFi7QfcxqghwsosTXGZ2SUITw3lAOZJXVbTQxamw68vMX2GrF_ST_ynRK9t9CP7HW4hLkip2UDrGyNcciALbS1CQr821/s320/backs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732574183442288482" border="0" /></a>Check out the backs and you can see that we got a Straight Cut parallel Willie!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKRfbZnSDdVU-vaW9nPzfxEJL4ajo2szdcSMki2jhPGkSfi8yamQfK-YwU6UlZKQa-HmcxQf60npmaGZOhFSHBp8VWKgi4uVEmE1_wzrEZ9W3hNeWFkRJRgN5xi6Q9F04yJIsuULry-c0W/s1600/goldborders.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 151px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKRfbZnSDdVU-vaW9nPzfxEJL4ajo2szdcSMki2jhPGkSfi8yamQfK-YwU6UlZKQa-HmcxQf60npmaGZOhFSHBp8VWKgi4uVEmE1_wzrEZ9W3hNeWFkRJRgN5xi6Q9F04yJIsuULry-c0W/s320/goldborders.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732574060457902626" border="0" /></a>Our bonus pack contained these 3 gold framed parallels. Pretty nice, right?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS9G7_jh0nFOxqvvbOxGdIGKYQFhslpFOT7WP2mjfH7sdG8K1b23pnxJcqaJQdTQvf5esXD8ObW8t_-PbJd8lUedLfRJZq0F9hb7PfSm4XOiFjQpYU3KNv1_rCIkv-4gOosNiPfzjf-21p/s1600/blueinserts.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 148px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS9G7_jh0nFOxqvvbOxGdIGKYQFhslpFOT7WP2mjfH7sdG8K1b23pnxJcqaJQdTQvf5esXD8ObW8t_-PbJd8lUedLfRJZq0F9hb7PfSm4XOiFjQpYU3KNv1_rCIkv-4gOosNiPfzjf-21p/s320/blueinserts.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732573885300460738" border="0" /></a>Like I mentioned earlier, each pack contained a parallel/insert and these are the 3 we got. A blue framed Ian Kennedy and Hallmark Heroes of Cobb and Gibson. All in all not a bad value pack. I'm sure we'll be picking up a few more of these sometime soon. After all, we haven't even gotten any Rangers yet. By the way Sox fans, sorry about that butt whoopin' today, not! Later.BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-66164814629365450532012-04-13T18:21:00.004-05:002012-04-13T18:21:00.214-05:00I Got A Major Award!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIUX3F1Lk0t5Dcvc32dlToB-0FvQUtTlolKQxQVXSNNgULPnSJG_m7BXgm4S5p70EGYP7ty00Vpb5pMaNAsMFo2PWYdIhlYSO2cvYfwu4LeBojezJU5LlOQaYL6tlb88R3kiDNL9ewuV-/s1600/front.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIUX3F1Lk0t5Dcvc32dlToB-0FvQUtTlolKQxQVXSNNgULPnSJG_m7BXgm4S5p70EGYP7ty00Vpb5pMaNAsMFo2PWYdIhlYSO2cvYfwu4LeBojezJU5LlOQaYL6tlb88R3kiDNL9ewuV-/s320/front.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730736017135200866" border="0" /></a>No it's not a leg lamp, its a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Panini's</span> Choice Award. I picked up this card on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ebay</span> a few weeks ago. I wasn't really very interested in these cards when I first saw them, but when I saw Mark Aguirre on the checklist I became very interested. This is a Crown <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Royale</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Panini's</span> Choice Award Mark Aguirre auto from 2012 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Panini</span> Preferred. It comes in several different parallel colors such as red, gold, green and the base which is silver. I chose blue because I felt it went well with the road greens that mark is wearing. The auto is on card which is a big bonus.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9uqJlek_RDCVO_57o_H0qB_QEaI9WHG3IEdA49LBnqh8zL2NhQeKSEhTG_XLN6mtoyU90S3TUB7ODDVNuEdONFKtISUQZpfmkREbTA69SGKeh7LUForIu1Av51urDSr88FdvG6totE5r/s1600/back.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 244px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9uqJlek_RDCVO_57o_H0qB_QEaI9WHG3IEdA49LBnqh8zL2NhQeKSEhTG_XLN6mtoyU90S3TUB7ODDVNuEdONFKtISUQZpfmkREbTA69SGKeh7LUForIu1Av51urDSr88FdvG6totE5r/s320/back.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730735958084756738" border="0" /></a>The backs are pretty plain. You can see I got card number 5/50. I'm still not too sure on the looks of these things, but they are unique at least. I'm not the biggest <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Panini</span> fan in the world, but I have to give them big props for putting out so many cards of one of my most favorite players ever the last few years. I'm glad Mark still gets recognized for his skills all these years after he retired. Good job <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Panini</span>! Later.BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-47064099499125964642012-04-12T22:11:00.009-05:002012-04-12T22:47:01.026-05:002012 NBA Hoops Review<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirTm6t5bcDN9fD2SP_bGYB7-elyM9sX1sx_wAHQ7a2UCKwbzh6iF5r2FQbrH2DN6zOPYSC1rQQ2UZmWdk5z6FXiIaCdQYU8QWa0VYUy8iZH5fkSiEy34O-BVfGsbJnlAyJANc5AoTR9-67/s1600/wrapper.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 190px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirTm6t5bcDN9fD2SP_bGYB7-elyM9sX1sx_wAHQ7a2UCKwbzh6iF5r2FQbrH2DN6zOPYSC1rQQ2UZmWdk5z6FXiIaCdQYU8QWa0VYUy8iZH5fkSiEy34O-BVfGsbJnlAyJANc5AoTR9-67/s320/wrapper.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730718587048077522" border="0" /></a>Well I'm a little late to the party here as I've already seen other people review these elsewhere on the net, but here's my take anyway. Panini has revived the Hoops brand and since these will serve as their entry level brand they are probably the only packs of Panini basketball cards I will buy this year. You get 8 cards per pack for about a buck, so they are decent value.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1yCH1RWAg4kHJHBMsK5DBUVJJ82Mzw5-ziG9ncNB1Uyl4LYbl0iBPoN2oW_IxAYKMjIdf-Nxv1olwGIX9otoIqUKbMC61h2-rxhMI2W665EjjgI1hjJMUcq0MuhvKettdGLXslgTpnSC0/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1yCH1RWAg4kHJHBMsK5DBUVJJ82Mzw5-ziG9ncNB1Uyl4LYbl0iBPoN2oW_IxAYKMjIdf-Nxv1olwGIX9otoIqUKbMC61h2-rxhMI2W665EjjgI1hjJMUcq0MuhvKettdGLXslgTpnSC0/s320/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730718520926263618" border="0" /></a>The design is similar to the original Hoops sets from the early nineties with a photo shape that resembles the lane area of a basketball court. The photography is decent but nothing special. They are game shots but mostly just guys dribbling or standing holding the ball, not a lot of action. The top banner is team colored and the background features a wood grain court motif which fades into a white gradient (Panini's go to design feature). A decent looking set overall.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6b_INcpT83hM1pQ61L9g-Od_3sYgOSGyyEJMgv4_e_zzCMQtgxOFZudZw6Cavek5deISUvT1aBL6NImzOiIMjYFjtE2w_U5JIxYEeETOJAUKdv9z6UGOBQCyp6vanuTxBTW3hnTxjzxs-/s1600/2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6b_INcpT83hM1pQ61L9g-Od_3sYgOSGyyEJMgv4_e_zzCMQtgxOFZudZw6Cavek5deISUvT1aBL6NImzOiIMjYFjtE2w_U5JIxYEeETOJAUKdv9z6UGOBQCyp6vanuTxBTW3hnTxjzxs-/s320/2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730718425574051282" border="0" /></a>2012 Hoops has a pretty substantial checklist of players, several of which I don't really think even deserve to have a card. There are several guys in the set that haven't even played a game in the NBA and one of the guys I got has only played 2. Anyway, you should be able to find a card of just about anyone you would follow. There are no rookies however, I guess the lockout was just too much for Panini to handle. Also, some of the backgrounds are totally faked, to make guys in new uniforms look like they've actually played for their new team already, when they haven't.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFwujHly7LS2gF4JsMMdy4o2Zut_mzKwXkrAWnQbU6PThinJ4gU3iCo7tCdHooV3K0QEfZ6LcRwn9O06RfxFOjlma4H6RodkJzLUn5jnp-uqswXXfkf95TxADGgS3pf0_ebwrU1jJVImZR/s1600/3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFwujHly7LS2gF4JsMMdy4o2Zut_mzKwXkrAWnQbU6PThinJ4gU3iCo7tCdHooV3K0QEfZ6LcRwn9O06RfxFOjlma4H6RodkJzLUn5jnp-uqswXXfkf95TxADGgS3pf0_ebwrU1jJVImZR/s320/3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730718330477350034" border="0" /></a>The packs I got were really kinda boring to look through as Panini isn't including inserts too frequently, which I think is a shame. I love inserts! I don't like getting packs with no variety and when the cards do not feature team logos on the front or very interesting photography it makes for a bland product in my mind. I'll show you the inserts I did get in a bit.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMntAV9TW4N1uuNoDMRE3fVsl6507wyI7gFTIbq8ipzP6nPHFOlWtwuJ8xDSS4tLQ391lwDCh5sK2yPtNiXGItH5ZH8zodnYl_PVrEbKPW_7ZxlZ0fVUyuBl7w6OVcOUClBLgP9jqbGlTo/s1600/backs.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 152px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMntAV9TW4N1uuNoDMRE3fVsl6507wyI7gFTIbq8ipzP6nPHFOlWtwuJ8xDSS4tLQ391lwDCh5sK2yPtNiXGItH5ZH8zodnYl_PVrEbKPW_7ZxlZ0fVUyuBl7w6OVcOUClBLgP9jqbGlTo/s320/backs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730718218554922626" border="0" /></a>The back are designed horizontally and include a few lines of stats along with a photo of the player. Problem here is it's the same as the one on the front. That's a big no no if you ask me, but they never do. What do I know about card design anyway, right? Well, I'll show you.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKjv-qPeFxsojz8pLZqLo48b6K4k94ws9m8On2fRY2R2F_QzmZ04pF6ZkMAtYmLEYnXb1uZRCQFepuOmBVwNvuY3UuxCFEu2F8DTWT1Z24MiTJTDMSU2v_fhCvecgwSzyI-NauaiEGsgR/s1600/redo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 228px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKjv-qPeFxsojz8pLZqLo48b6K4k94ws9m8On2fRY2R2F_QzmZ04pF6ZkMAtYmLEYnXb1uZRCQFepuOmBVwNvuY3UuxCFEu2F8DTWT1Z24MiTJTDMSU2v_fhCvecgwSzyI-NauaiEGsgR/s320/redo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730718131700786754" border="0" /></a>Here's my simple tweak for this set. I feel they have too much white space at the bottom of the card so I would simply rotate the wood grain/gradient 180 degrees and voila! Isn't that better without much thought at all?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_iDYRT4Vzzhj2rAsZLgBtLOzPsi0WDMER28gJ1KwqhfMMGpFf3BnfkFGdbTiwLjaiwKYSzju-oot25kbACuCOOdlIUzT5X5AhsPK3GxaklgURKt82F0q4XNd3NzZvMxMxX_K10pQSVxfz/s1600/artistsproofinsert.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_iDYRT4Vzzhj2rAsZLgBtLOzPsi0WDMER28gJ1KwqhfMMGpFf3BnfkFGdbTiwLjaiwKYSzju-oot25kbACuCOOdlIUzT5X5AhsPK3GxaklgURKt82F0q4XNd3NzZvMxMxX_K10pQSVxfz/s320/artistsproofinsert.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730718029192436850" border="0" /></a>Here is one of the inserts I got. These Artist's Proofs cards must be one of the worst variants ever. The only difference is that it has Artist's Proofs stamped above the players name. Who cares? The only dumber idea is to make a parrallel set of cards with a glossy finish. Oh wait, they have those too? Like I said, dumb.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx5j_C9oH7KYMWFheljhXlQ6YSRTWaQll_ki1GON-v2LMa4KT_XzNrb1a-SsjDuzzCiimD0BsPiJy7F8i9pC2ah0w7YBhInsD_lWarJVz64grjHAopCiHPvbaUKnPrqxzuDH7_w38RGoHN/s1600/actionshotsinsert.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 227px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx5j_C9oH7KYMWFheljhXlQ6YSRTWaQll_ki1GON-v2LMa4KT_XzNrb1a-SsjDuzzCiimD0BsPiJy7F8i9pC2ah0w7YBhInsD_lWarJVz64grjHAopCiHPvbaUKnPrqxzuDH7_w38RGoHN/s320/actionshotsinsert.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730717950499110290" border="0" /></a>The Action Shots insert set, however, I like a lot. Here Panini proves to us that they CAN find interesting photography of basketball players and manage to put it onto a card. This HOOPS set would be much better all around with a little more effort put into the photo choices. There is no excuse to me to put photos of guys standing still in a set of cards based on such a dynamic sport. If you can't put something besides a studio shot of a guy in the set, then don't put one in at all. Or just show him in his old uniform for crying out loud. It's been done that way for years. So there you have it. 2012 Panini HOOPS isn't anything groundbreaking, but it is a decent set and in this season of minimal basketball output, it may be all you're gonna get. Later.BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-54668431612848659772012-03-22T23:46:00.001-05:002012-03-23T00:22:19.544-05:00Sign Me Up For Some Good Stuff!If you've hung around my blog even a little bit, you know that I'm a Dallas Mavericks homer. An MFFL if you will. I've been a Mavs fan ever since I was a young tyke growing up in Illinois and they drafted my favorite college player Mark Aguirre out of DePaul. In 1988 I actually had all my wildest dreams come true when my dad was transferred to Dallas and I could finally see every Mavs game on tv and even attend some in person. Then they traded Aguirre away within a few months of my arrival, for Adrian Dantley no less, who I couldn't stand. Damn it! Oh well, I stuck with them though the Shawn Bradley years even and last year they rewarded my with an NBA championship! All of this leads up to the fact that, while I've been a fan forever and have a gazillion Mavs cards, I have very few autographs of my favorite team, so I decided to do something about that. Here's what I've picked up recently.<br />Warning: Lot's of short shorts ahead!<br /> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvcbb46GBCxkYVr8iKWPHhBLe3fP6W7SAgg7YTmrQJRGyoTd_qub4ZOHa1MDeYTuMchVk6k-ynEg0y39PCHdrl7QgM-VFFffmmBm3VJLw07BGjmuWss_h2whdQYjjACNd8U6-ew-UKBCl/s1600/blackmanauto.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvcbb46GBCxkYVr8iKWPHhBLe3fP6W7SAgg7YTmrQJRGyoTd_qub4ZOHa1MDeYTuMchVk6k-ynEg0y39PCHdrl7QgM-VFFffmmBm3VJLw07BGjmuWss_h2whdQYjjACNd8U6-ew-UKBCl/s320/blackmanauto.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719965672040196802" /></a><br />First up we've got a Rolando Blackman Panini Elite Black Box. Ro is one of only 2 retired numbers by the Mavericks, the other being Brad Davis.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEh3kQ48CvoQlth6AM-LV8GtJrwo1E_4Df97lOL9ZtAEqVBYcN5ieaoV4mFgXkFZ-UhTbkAXDU3jb4appEE7RmYHVfkyZo4hUAN6GbjBMcrDTgvAhK393_9i7KrY6i8yBuVBQCjfLNElJQ/s1600/perkins.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEh3kQ48CvoQlth6AM-LV8GtJrwo1E_4Df97lOL9ZtAEqVBYcN5ieaoV4mFgXkFZ-UhTbkAXDU3jb4appEE7RmYHVfkyZo4hUAN6GbjBMcrDTgvAhK393_9i7KrY6i8yBuVBQCjfLNElJQ/s320/perkins.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719965604374293906" /></a><br />Next up is Sam Perkins on a Panini Studio Heritage Auto from a couple years ago. "Big Smooth" was one of those laid back kinda players that gave you great results with what appeared to be little effort.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbNiKOhkNM_MqBweeqjxA_C5UCsXBPaTsjphAuzYVA8RPQprBWLtV3ouyFRnr5wsGsnEu3pTELnBaG4YXq6hQHF9zsNGjfSGpulqfK7Pa-MUYInj7gxxdGiZ9hj2zZXTsXS62XHseG2qC/s1600/finleyauto.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 233px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbNiKOhkNM_MqBweeqjxA_C5UCsXBPaTsjphAuzYVA8RPQprBWLtV3ouyFRnr5wsGsnEu3pTELnBaG4YXq6hQHF9zsNGjfSGpulqfK7Pa-MUYInj7gxxdGiZ9hj2zZXTsXS62XHseG2qC/s320/finleyauto.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719965450136633954" /></a><br />Breaking the trend of short shorts in Michael Finley on a Skybox Autographics card. I would put Finley as number 3 on my all time favorite Mavs list behind Dirk and Aguirre. I think his number 4 should be retired.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-Ak3PkEcGwTgI4Iw2RjzKKuuOtjQL3QGeMR4Ev30L-2R_sry5gA9sndLyGuaurN4aLl66G6LJRvjERJWopeOYr4ZVQ54EYIKm39j2Gg4xSVOwgBonR13K1e4H-18JpZWcTf8XDW0xRk5/s1600/aguirreauto.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-Ak3PkEcGwTgI4Iw2RjzKKuuOtjQL3QGeMR4Ev30L-2R_sry5gA9sndLyGuaurN4aLl66G6LJRvjERJWopeOYr4ZVQ54EYIKm39j2Gg4xSVOwgBonR13K1e4H-18JpZWcTf8XDW0xRk5/s320/aguirreauto.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719965379198666034" /></a><br />Finishing out this batch of autos is another Panini Black Box featuring Mark Aguirre. I really wish things had ended better between the Mavs and Mark. I feel he is under appreciated for what he did here, and I still can't believe there is no #24 banner hanging in the rafters yet. I still keep hoping Cuban will get one up there eventually.<br /><br />I'm really glad I finally managed to get some autos of great Mavs players from the past. Now I've got to figure out how to get one of Dirk, without costing me a fortune. Anyone got one for cheap? Later.BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-23030197973461392942012-03-21T22:10:00.004-05:002012-03-21T22:21:04.927-05:00Am I First? I Think I'm First! 2012 Topps MLB StickersWell, I'm not sure if I'm actually first or not, but while checking the card aisle during the Walmart grocery trip I spotted something new.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgll6FqtQhPgPRWKfXf4a5sqxAD5QizlLd3JoLrNGZrS_4DaQ4vvYKrE0Pq1XBavrP9rRru2PMgNxjXchKhwaw_hsPGrwYiV52wHPGu4dMrg2Jh_dgK2G8ikSlYVFp3OqPzJ2DUwXA_Dcbl/s1600/wrapper.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 207px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgll6FqtQhPgPRWKfXf4a5sqxAD5QizlLd3JoLrNGZrS_4DaQ4vvYKrE0Pq1XBavrP9rRru2PMgNxjXchKhwaw_hsPGrwYiV52wHPGu4dMrg2Jh_dgK2G8ikSlYVFp3OqPzJ2DUwXA_Dcbl/s320/wrapper.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722553954335063170" /></a><br /><br />That's right, 2012 Topps stickers are live. Not sure about the actual albums though as I couldn't find any at our local Wally World. I decided to go ahead and get 3 packs of stickers anyway.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMaTnLgpbjMYUlXtAx-j2EYFy1IePMXawFQdhGLt9_ehm0ldPsFoYE78Chb7_n_Wccr2Kq6PK8Rw51PnN_T4Ktzzz_hXNes0xwfoB3eM57N62Gd78HNgEeagOUCFtTcdIjo5f4YDyEbyR/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 119px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMaTnLgpbjMYUlXtAx-j2EYFy1IePMXawFQdhGLt9_ehm0ldPsFoYE78Chb7_n_Wccr2Kq6PK8Rw51PnN_T4Ktzzz_hXNes0xwfoB3eM57N62Gd78HNgEeagOUCFtTcdIjo5f4YDyEbyR/s320/1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722553884147703042" /></a><br /><br />As you can see, pretty basic stuff. A nice clean design which is what you usually get when it comes to stickers. They've got a little bit of a "surfboard" type patch of color at the bottom similar to Topps flagship card set this year.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTEwq9jZVULJ-w3SZewrlKY5uM78FKB5aleEW3a2Y-E6p-EHM3vvzptkNGLuLAoQLJLoQp6q602I4WQFtorLp5Hmn6Um2MVSwj7oVBzOmvdRQxtERAuG-hwB4F_HOhr0_I-QMUchb2V1RU/s1600/2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTEwq9jZVULJ-w3SZewrlKY5uM78FKB5aleEW3a2Y-E6p-EHM3vvzptkNGLuLAoQLJLoQp6q602I4WQFtorLp5Hmn6Um2MVSwj7oVBzOmvdRQxtERAuG-hwB4F_HOhr0_I-QMUchb2V1RU/s320/2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722553817248563282" /></a><br /><br />Each pack includes 8 stickers. Besides the obvious player stickers, there are also team logo stickers and mascots as well. Since I don't have an album yet, I'm not sure if there will be other sticker types or not. We never did fill in last year's album completely but, oh well. Time to move on to the new stuff I guess. Get stickin'! Later.BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-53465514781361940362012-03-14T21:30:00.002-05:002012-03-14T21:51:11.136-05:00Certified ChampionsWhile I'm awaiting new NBA product, I'm still picking up a few things from last year that managed to slip by. Panini's Certified set is the focus of this latest pickup and I only bothered to get the Mavs from the set. There are only 6 Mavs available unless you count the endless colored parallels, but I just got the base silver.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisWECWyK_FosrDdfqI6C5xuEDr-eJoOoWCswEzpZCpHK6_S7ZqZAMQ2XM6n3JnxFO0Bxvz-qy8UH8y27YSIk5VqZZDgHF8NMvK6ZCS3sW9QiGKxqxAeZvIQKtjRWg3CgzDaa46M5G6c1Zd/s1600/certifiedmavs1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 149px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisWECWyK_FosrDdfqI6C5xuEDr-eJoOoWCswEzpZCpHK6_S7ZqZAMQ2XM6n3JnxFO0Bxvz-qy8UH8y27YSIk5VqZZDgHF8NMvK6ZCS3sW9QiGKxqxAeZvIQKtjRWg3CgzDaa46M5G6c1Zd/s320/certifiedmavs1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719946019587888482" /></a><br />The Mavs attempt at a repeat hasn't been going so well lately as they've hit quite a bump in the road. They've had a few injuries and Lamar Odom has been nothing but a waste of space, but looking at these cards reminds me of what could have been. It would have been great to have kept Caron and Tyson (as well as J.J. & DeShawn) and see if they could have gone for two in a row, but I guess it wasn't meant to be for that group. Hopefully, this year's version can turn it around soon.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0m2v3lBwBm2cgFi4-tpqH2XgIRWMh8vD5hbrq9HFujB-_6TnfHWwefzEwr13MGghR2Ccrv9ISAyKAC4UAsSdBWkdEuvIwct__vHIAd9l2bJl2n97aX_r-wTay_IQHY3CeFh-Kmp4E7QEI/s1600/certifiedmavs2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 149px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0m2v3lBwBm2cgFi4-tpqH2XgIRWMh8vD5hbrq9HFujB-_6TnfHWwefzEwr13MGghR2Ccrv9ISAyKAC4UAsSdBWkdEuvIwct__vHIAd9l2bJl2n97aX_r-wTay_IQHY3CeFh-Kmp4E7QEI/s320/certifiedmavs2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719950490355301810" /></a><br /><br />Just judging these base cards I like them a lot, especially the silvery foil swirl in the background. I've seen a few of the colored parallels on ebay and may have to pick up a few of those as well if the price is right. I think I'm just about caught up on 2010-2011 product. Look for a post on some new stuff soon. Later.BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-40584407635971688342012-03-07T23:15:00.001-06:002012-03-07T23:20:13.837-06:00Ready For Some Baseball? Big D Customs Spring Training.A few days ago <a href="http://waxaholic.blogspot.com/">Captain Canuck</a> said he wanted to see some other sport besides basketball. Well, Captain, here you go (although, he probably meant hockey). I did a Spring Training set back in 2010, so I though I'd do another one. I still think Topps should do something similar and eliminate the Opening Day set since it's just a Flagship variation. This would give us new guys in new uniforms, without having to be photoshopped. Of course, the entire calendar of releases would need to be shifted much later if you want this set to come out first, but that's not my problem. I'm just the designer. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGjdh1R5vdM4HaSIxQssDgDibUrqFalHbAVpsrX_WTwUoCZ_9GGYI3S3T0gCOtuuWJs35kNTU5LCO-SChDY2dCqCiOp3ZXB1WMHIA-CLNuz9cZHZAP4WHmCuGV4GARqlugYYSNxqzrw46z/s1600/2012+MLB+Spring+Training+row1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGjdh1R5vdM4HaSIxQssDgDibUrqFalHbAVpsrX_WTwUoCZ_9GGYI3S3T0gCOtuuWJs35kNTU5LCO-SChDY2dCqCiOp3ZXB1WMHIA-CLNuz9cZHZAP4WHmCuGV4GARqlugYYSNxqzrw46z/s320/2012+MLB+Spring+Training+row1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717388717082074898" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3OAx0Y0JccQh9U70Ir-jhek8qkfNvCwUz2TroTWsJgxjA1VTLax9imRvhPGrp6aBlTIM738LNWqb5aJedMjA6MxtRer6f-E8KBk5KXk2XyRXD3Mj3CKoK_FUlZ-PnVVmq2ed3o2WLntP/s1600/2012+MLB+Spring+Training+row2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3OAx0Y0JccQh9U70Ir-jhek8qkfNvCwUz2TroTWsJgxjA1VTLax9imRvhPGrp6aBlTIM738LNWqb5aJedMjA6MxtRer6f-E8KBk5KXk2XyRXD3Mj3CKoK_FUlZ-PnVVmq2ed3o2WLntP/s320/2012+MLB+Spring+Training+row2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717388639604463138" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirPnHFIUor3vGsJ6XPCezK8QL9jCwTBpG-INfwPCUaUdUw4wmEDpa_-JiD0W3OGIs7P5DSmyCuR67pl1Y0sVMjESxGvL8c2DjXTLmMLv7ncjoV9rtMVQ1A0UYwplxly1d68FfXckJr61v8/s1600/2012+MLB+Spring+Training+row3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 85px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirPnHFIUor3vGsJ6XPCezK8QL9jCwTBpG-INfwPCUaUdUw4wmEDpa_-JiD0W3OGIs7P5DSmyCuR67pl1Y0sVMjESxGvL8c2DjXTLmMLv7ncjoV9rtMVQ1A0UYwplxly1d68FfXckJr61v8/s320/2012+MLB+Spring+Training+row3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717388554043586770" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuCiNitfZQPkBNdBOowfQun5SlWKyBkmFC_gIG4PARbpaAz_yO5DbUvBzplkVnLyEyJNinzz1vTy7lWrdVwPTRwKXo7G2yAcFWAqXGnM6fZAJGFn-d5ycCdG96-eTYMvLuskQsOmT5tvaG/s1600/2012+MLB+Spring+Training+row4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 85px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuCiNitfZQPkBNdBOowfQun5SlWKyBkmFC_gIG4PARbpaAz_yO5DbUvBzplkVnLyEyJNinzz1vTy7lWrdVwPTRwKXo7G2yAcFWAqXGnM6fZAJGFn-d5ycCdG96-eTYMvLuskQsOmT5tvaG/s320/2012+MLB+Spring+Training+row4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717388475496384098" /></a><br />In case you can't tell this is somewhat of an 82 Topps tribute. The thing I like about a possible Spring Training set is the chance for some interesting photography that you wouldn't get during the season. I tried to capture some of that here. I hope you like them. Later.BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-14126322309223725112012-03-02T07:23:00.002-06:002012-03-02T07:23:00.646-06:00Since There Aren't Any Cards To Buy, I Continue To Make Them.I think Panini may be releasing Hoops this week, but I haven't seen any so who knows. Either way, there has been a serious drought of basketball cards, so what choice do I have other than to make my own. Hopefully, you all aren't getting tired of them yet. If any real cards start to come out, I'll post some but until then you're stuck with looking at mine. Later.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWkQjYcSk3XFsxZgSNkxm5bbCeSQLYp6nbrR_SLl7RwQRaOI-Q2qHtXsBtlep3IHKD_RRvaPFpOVMDtrILaI7et1MVVcFXzxYX5rRtL9oi17eUlH6vFVkF-dfYePGGmm9K4UZZcNTKX6W/s1600/2012+paint+flow+Hill.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWkQjYcSk3XFsxZgSNkxm5bbCeSQLYp6nbrR_SLl7RwQRaOI-Q2qHtXsBtlep3IHKD_RRvaPFpOVMDtrILaI7et1MVVcFXzxYX5rRtL9oi17eUlH6vFVkF-dfYePGGmm9K4UZZcNTKX6W/s320/2012+paint+flow+Hill.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714795568455200418" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLT78BfVanCm3L1E6FU4tZx9EzaAwWzfYHCMzySyiFHA3ZZI2Sg8wLRYkKdf9oEArl2ijlNh9edp2VisJPIu3r2r9PSEj9UQCi5A4CRzFmpHuz4B_0j2OYGKlzCrNCz5eK8q6QqaqIdHWH/s1600/2012+paint+flow+Gasol.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLT78BfVanCm3L1E6FU4tZx9EzaAwWzfYHCMzySyiFHA3ZZI2Sg8wLRYkKdf9oEArl2ijlNh9edp2VisJPIu3r2r9PSEj9UQCi5A4CRzFmpHuz4B_0j2OYGKlzCrNCz5eK8q6QqaqIdHWH/s320/2012+paint+flow+Gasol.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714795455783918882" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYhyphenhyphenYCJH3Rj8taK-nu_gdTGj0166Hsz1xDpgI1Gm9Uomfj9GVLbloN9rAFpmr_uWAhbuLa6LNXG1_s2ZtIihqqgGt6w6M4RFSfAyeB2sPanM0FzqdfJ5kfWuXV383LOw8dTic2Sziz1cgz/s1600/2012+paint+flow+Batum.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYhyphenhyphenYCJH3Rj8taK-nu_gdTGj0166Hsz1xDpgI1Gm9Uomfj9GVLbloN9rAFpmr_uWAhbuLa6LNXG1_s2ZtIihqqgGt6w6M4RFSfAyeB2sPanM0FzqdfJ5kfWuXV383LOw8dTic2Sziz1cgz/s320/2012+paint+flow+Batum.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714795338633119314" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7eqE9ssP4y-OgPXH69lBqVYxDamalTSwbp6dgTK7Tak45qBA_y3F624Gf2uuJ9zhPAe-X0d0lCzpfvP0plb7mTOQxy0phVb2oDp0upYgdNv1gPpbzzZ3eEkiH9IZAgdt7b1MEB-H3MX7/s1600/2012+paint+flow+Andersen.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7eqE9ssP4y-OgPXH69lBqVYxDamalTSwbp6dgTK7Tak45qBA_y3F624Gf2uuJ9zhPAe-X0d0lCzpfvP0plb7mTOQxy0phVb2oDp0upYgdNv1gPpbzzZ3eEkiH9IZAgdt7b1MEB-H3MX7/s320/2012+paint+flow+Andersen.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714795223771460738" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3AqKnmh4gSjuvyJKeDV5Q6aW5WjKVjXjZ7akUv1jm4aeFUjiBtV_0cnXF-H7vQnkjluScuY6yEjsm0-0aVc5alFdkYeWtdHgsnQJThj8-wtGsLwbNSv4IJMRENiJ3G76UHADh_C3t4cH/s1600/2012+paint+flow+Allen.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3AqKnmh4gSjuvyJKeDV5Q6aW5WjKVjXjZ7akUv1jm4aeFUjiBtV_0cnXF-H7vQnkjluScuY6yEjsm0-0aVc5alFdkYeWtdHgsnQJThj8-wtGsLwbNSv4IJMRENiJ3G76UHADh_C3t4cH/s320/2012+paint+flow+Allen.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714795100148081490" /></a>BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-25310887751100682252012-02-29T23:09:00.002-06:002012-02-29T23:19:25.971-06:0030 For 30 Big D Customs Style!This post was supposed to be ready for the NBA All Star break, but I didn't get around to posting it in time. So sue me. Anyway, this is by far my biggest custom undertaking so far with one card for every team in the league. 30 cards for 30 teams. Hope you like them. Later.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdgOoEHGLomd11cnWR9gBFmsWZF_8X_Z_XHWOt7VlVgEvwLJzr8jLaebh8GLazYmuetqTAxp5tLb2rOvxGzGjl1bZ-Rgl8AnFbhbNYdz-iZIf7KhMpm-305bGYaS0XUGo8m9dvIBbr-mO/s1600/row1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 86px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdgOoEHGLomd11cnWR9gBFmsWZF_8X_Z_XHWOt7VlVgEvwLJzr8jLaebh8GLazYmuetqTAxp5tLb2rOvxGzGjl1bZ-Rgl8AnFbhbNYdz-iZIf7KhMpm-305bGYaS0XUGo8m9dvIBbr-mO/s320/row1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714793342332980338" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7w9eWniiJgyoXYC8wz4fLLjx5dmyvuafq1CIZlHbWlAM-MrDH5Hx_59qD14oMuFz_XPEZPkEBd2Ss3wLZHNhXZRkdFFAR5cdpOK908W3IMJFp7fRmar7OVjesUdKT08Izyz68j1TefmX/s1600/row2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 86px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7w9eWniiJgyoXYC8wz4fLLjx5dmyvuafq1CIZlHbWlAM-MrDH5Hx_59qD14oMuFz_XPEZPkEBd2Ss3wLZHNhXZRkdFFAR5cdpOK908W3IMJFp7fRmar7OVjesUdKT08Izyz68j1TefmX/s320/row2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714793230286171954" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5OjIpl-GkWIb4iL7UQDkLLFYh5UxRPQmHJ3FF_4sse-25NXEIaR5eCwdkyIzQ_lxkMOv2x6NyMZjU5ybPZZwODAnDQYdiv5YiKElmcuYprdB93vHI1EEP2veMdNaPWRb2OG3GmVDnrCQ/s1600/row3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 86px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5OjIpl-GkWIb4iL7UQDkLLFYh5UxRPQmHJ3FF_4sse-25NXEIaR5eCwdkyIzQ_lxkMOv2x6NyMZjU5ybPZZwODAnDQYdiv5YiKElmcuYprdB93vHI1EEP2veMdNaPWRb2OG3GmVDnrCQ/s320/row3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714791983745685602" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5YzCHu71awIs7ovVIFviDXQktYbjVTCcCudIoBzeJzrb34s-GhS_HBWDRGyawv-NTikHCJjKBAopTjvCqXnoEy-Tisr_c_VXZ6ZvyhVlXMn0Fc05LrySSOWxXgkC5FaFb4qCgttZbV2NS/s1600/row4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 86px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5YzCHu71awIs7ovVIFviDXQktYbjVTCcCudIoBzeJzrb34s-GhS_HBWDRGyawv-NTikHCJjKBAopTjvCqXnoEy-Tisr_c_VXZ6ZvyhVlXMn0Fc05LrySSOWxXgkC5FaFb4qCgttZbV2NS/s320/row4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714791871792305458" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggatEdk6_Mi4cEk9rtHIAYDmHxfIoeXK0LFH72DK_ILxVdj7S20pBvqqL2A10F6Y9rSH1ozLPCGgiwcVHX8mxjfaYuJWEVmTbroh_LpbMacbIvLe7R2usW1ITQU81V3u_c7gsvqSvhmNGF/s1600/row5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 86px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggatEdk6_Mi4cEk9rtHIAYDmHxfIoeXK0LFH72DK_ILxVdj7S20pBvqqL2A10F6Y9rSH1ozLPCGgiwcVHX8mxjfaYuJWEVmTbroh_LpbMacbIvLe7R2usW1ITQU81V3u_c7gsvqSvhmNGF/s320/row5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714791756595886034" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEc1QfTnEaG0c58mOC-96-TG47dCmbv37AZWO7Y5DkwWhlVfh4xR8LLyTtyi-6V5sKDXJJBHJEcXx6zUW0GKuVG0KpvblM_udkHShO8YW3fjw86s4fd13jZQgoxr3Zuj1k2-BomJJWAMT6/s1600/row6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 86px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEc1QfTnEaG0c58mOC-96-TG47dCmbv37AZWO7Y5DkwWhlVfh4xR8LLyTtyi-6V5sKDXJJBHJEcXx6zUW0GKuVG0KpvblM_udkHShO8YW3fjw86s4fd13jZQgoxr3Zuj1k2-BomJJWAMT6/s320/row6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714791629024710258" border="0" /></a>BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-72261512315683472122012-02-23T18:17:00.007-06:002012-02-23T23:10:27.279-06:00Big D Customs - Battle TestedThis set features guys who have battled their way through the NBA playoffs and emerged as champions. Most of these guys I can't stand though I respect their abilities. The reason I don't like them has more to do with the fact that they have been responsible for ousting the Mavs from the playoffs at one time or another. I don't really have any beef with Pierce though. Shawn Marion is my favorite here, of course. The Mavs don't win the title without him last season. I really feel he is under appreciated at times, people don't realize how important he has been the last couple of seasons. He may have the funkiest shot in the history of the NBA but he can still give you an important bucket when needed and he is, by far, still the best defender on the team. Anyway, I hope you like the set. Later.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEind3nyF522Ak5ClOzYqon3V3Dx6jVhW86fwZc9c9txoCs2Kqmzh02IA8zZEYXOYHTqwfTWLZujeFSjFr2oM2C4jXFo0pzwZXjQ2vg2BQj_ck9J4uHrbZsU-ZESN87RWSVkxotMbHXeOzOg/s1600/2012+BattleTested+Marion.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEind3nyF522Ak5ClOzYqon3V3Dx6jVhW86fwZc9c9txoCs2Kqmzh02IA8zZEYXOYHTqwfTWLZujeFSjFr2oM2C4jXFo0pzwZXjQ2vg2BQj_ck9J4uHrbZsU-ZESN87RWSVkxotMbHXeOzOg/s320/2012+BattleTested+Marion.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712491086186351426" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0euqJdTIewinSM1Q3kNoTSZ1H5w8duInKNaAuTHRA9srmkgY9iJU-9fpkED0PIPwC19qa6gp4WMzhyulMfdzxYbmuvdgiQxPGSnT92yloYSphLQ32wr44GYRW-AfJy6_GBFAqOZocTLAG/s1600/2012+BattleTested+Pierce.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0euqJdTIewinSM1Q3kNoTSZ1H5w8duInKNaAuTHRA9srmkgY9iJU-9fpkED0PIPwC19qa6gp4WMzhyulMfdzxYbmuvdgiQxPGSnT92yloYSphLQ32wr44GYRW-AfJy6_GBFAqOZocTLAG/s320/2012+BattleTested+Pierce.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712490853450727058" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYNVXmpftb2R5qlMYW9d9ZO_RcrSfuk8UQNHf6388NX4dLJ3LGi3t19-bQZfTIghAh80Vh1EoqtVNz0EigQAeFXnWIs7xK4erDp73HHD3HOdnmySA_aY4ScO-1Z1FXIuarS1D9SNbgPmBn/s1600/2012+BattleTested+Wade.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYNVXmpftb2R5qlMYW9d9ZO_RcrSfuk8UQNHf6388NX4dLJ3LGi3t19-bQZfTIghAh80Vh1EoqtVNz0EigQAeFXnWIs7xK4erDp73HHD3HOdnmySA_aY4ScO-1Z1FXIuarS1D9SNbgPmBn/s320/2012+BattleTested+Wade.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712490579873553026" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhssL01KCX47D3VcbDp1m6jiaSSPmuzXSJhlMy3_8rpjqvjOC59qb17NoK5ees9-MMwUHJdzxcRBsjk_NTGYbiHKqtZhU0zWDun25q8anANFyIscuIxG3DXRF5PyHRDiDxE-ovm15u4whgp/s1600/2012+BattleTested+Duncan.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhssL01KCX47D3VcbDp1m6jiaSSPmuzXSJhlMy3_8rpjqvjOC59qb17NoK5ees9-MMwUHJdzxcRBsjk_NTGYbiHKqtZhU0zWDun25q8anANFyIscuIxG3DXRF5PyHRDiDxE-ovm15u4whgp/s320/2012+BattleTested+Duncan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712490338711538226" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQOhwYz0SzgWo0x6ExCSPu1oJTb03wWdrxT2q8mb7EF7sKFliVt6Onp6F_4DGH7wdlbc3a1K-qin4-xYpFICGRjVcdSjfNccLaxKZ362gBGmZn2RYCbJjDl__dtNES9LEXMyZKVATxfD2N/s1600/2012+BattleTested+Bryant.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQOhwYz0SzgWo0x6ExCSPu1oJTb03wWdrxT2q8mb7EF7sKFliVt6Onp6F_4DGH7wdlbc3a1K-qin4-xYpFICGRjVcdSjfNccLaxKZ362gBGmZn2RYCbJjDl__dtNES9LEXMyZKVATxfD2N/s320/2012+BattleTested+Bryant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712490106544723666" border="0" /></a>BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-45462560178515614142012-02-19T22:47:00.005-06:002012-02-19T22:59:36.645-06:00Linsanity Comes To bigD Customs!Since this is mainly a basketball blog these days, I wouldn't be doing my duty of keeping it current if I didn't give at least a little mention of the phenomenon known as Linsanity. For those of you who've been living under a rock the past few weeks, I'm referring to the New York Knicks' Jeremy Lin. The Mavericks had there first up-close look at Mr. Lin and I'll have to say, he lived up to the hype. The Knicks beat the Mavs and Jeremy put up 28 points and set a career high of 14 assists. I'm not sure how long he'll keep up his current pace, it remains to be seen if he's just a flash in the pan or not, but he is fun to watch. So with that said, here is the first bigD custom Linsanity card, and a few others for your enjoyment. Later.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-8b_14oElFShtQ3g7caNcAj-uSbkW4uJnaq0hQmx33zS1w3kkEYWp2XxeEzzplRkNDn26ZVKISFkXXEyljtiY-XNatyUqlOMic5DkEbB95SdWVidJfGNLfyB9eId4AiHhjHw04qTKUVy/s1600/2012+net+Lin.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-8b_14oElFShtQ3g7caNcAj-uSbkW4uJnaq0hQmx33zS1w3kkEYWp2XxeEzzplRkNDn26ZVKISFkXXEyljtiY-XNatyUqlOMic5DkEbB95SdWVidJfGNLfyB9eId4AiHhjHw04qTKUVy/s320/2012+net+Lin.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711075576372152210" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ex4CY2YYi1DOlnwQWJz46Hb1zFaufEBiyeOa-j1-uzcXj7AoU0TSagf4BDm6ePo03O3_d8YnLmQxrZetRo1RAOJ17Z5PVvUMUBrBYO6qTvlqsH5aIpSlVlrvGASATWOfGP59sJcfsMgu/s1600/2012+net+Nene.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ex4CY2YYi1DOlnwQWJz46Hb1zFaufEBiyeOa-j1-uzcXj7AoU0TSagf4BDm6ePo03O3_d8YnLmQxrZetRo1RAOJ17Z5PVvUMUBrBYO6qTvlqsH5aIpSlVlrvGASATWOfGP59sJcfsMgu/s320/2012+net+Nene.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711075495031432306" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYciBkwEhQs8GwVMuDu2T3rm3CpDuDsK1nN-EnZ0-l6WNzvxWhgyx7bGUpwJjh3GwZZy45pVGEH6-ZFtE3S8GVAJSVlNsM24I2GU0VBlXCzmiH0820mSeH80KNynyA5txGKVKPJEVWNEJ/s1600/2012+net+Jennings.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYciBkwEhQs8GwVMuDu2T3rm3CpDuDsK1nN-EnZ0-l6WNzvxWhgyx7bGUpwJjh3GwZZy45pVGEH6-ZFtE3S8GVAJSVlNsM24I2GU0VBlXCzmiH0820mSeH80KNynyA5txGKVKPJEVWNEJ/s320/2012+net+Jennings.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711075401771255154" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwtlreFwlTmN6vKLMmNIaFjfGclo4ryCB-E9jaGy9UpwkiQGJbet9bhfaLJ7OwvWmr4R3sdwhPMhCd_nLGlncbxsoBn-DukvDKYHMdnXPVZd8n_F1Au4uRDSTuDcgoyoLFcBHA75tZgS_8/s1600/2012+net+Durant.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwtlreFwlTmN6vKLMmNIaFjfGclo4ryCB-E9jaGy9UpwkiQGJbet9bhfaLJ7OwvWmr4R3sdwhPMhCd_nLGlncbxsoBn-DukvDKYHMdnXPVZd8n_F1Au4uRDSTuDcgoyoLFcBHA75tZgS_8/s320/2012+net+Durant.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711075210808851426" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHsfhL-XLdkC1vsEgmvy8wkPfHT-CX1G6ou-4qGaUChQP1Uc-gQtNiCUXiw86Dl1aH7NI1E3JJ0BObw7d73741l4bCQmoKkdgF2ZKRn3Tmq7E95C0VCsxzNtsYBlFH8j8C1823lTFcNXLh/s1600/2012+net+Aldridge.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHsfhL-XLdkC1vsEgmvy8wkPfHT-CX1G6ou-4qGaUChQP1Uc-gQtNiCUXiw86Dl1aH7NI1E3JJ0BObw7d73741l4bCQmoKkdgF2ZKRn3Tmq7E95C0VCsxzNtsYBlFH8j8C1823lTFcNXLh/s320/2012+net+Aldridge.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711075111190652914" /></a>BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-3303543301854263832012-02-16T06:16:00.000-06:002012-02-16T06:16:00.503-06:00More Customs. Kickin' It Old School.Several NBA teams are celebrating their ABA heritage this season by wearing throwbacks. I figured I would honor those NBA teams who are honoring ABA teams by creating a few custom cards. Honorable, no? Here you go.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyONT62eEwCD784rIn8waqAbZLbrCbA5qONeHi89ioQo-eCgLeD54qRietULe-pU4P0yUH3m-EuCjq5xCxylqoQayjEowcEi372eHhd8vDBS2K1DcfjpuxQY6KbURE3WQKZ-UZYMH2BRcA/s1600/2012+ABA+Retro+Williams.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyONT62eEwCD784rIn8waqAbZLbrCbA5qONeHi89ioQo-eCgLeD54qRietULe-pU4P0yUH3m-EuCjq5xCxylqoQayjEowcEi372eHhd8vDBS2K1DcfjpuxQY6KbURE3WQKZ-UZYMH2BRcA/s320/2012+ABA+Retro+Williams.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709243041725220850" /></a><br />The New Jersey Nets are paying tribute to the New York Nets before they soon become the Brooklyn Nets. Follow? Anyway, this is pretty much the only iconic look the Nets have ever had in my opinion. Deron should have grown a big ol' fro to honor the Doctor as well.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1EVIb9qhf6UR6ZhBhVdMjaB2n9z-6aYpr3ynvmkjJPrJ_uoIri0drD8n38C8lX835yn5Q5R5GYTm1fmkfQrCf1oBiT_7n3BjXPTKmJE0raiudrAi3Ma_R_ojvzeAy1JajA6ftaCsull1x/s1600/2012+ABA+Retro+Rubio.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1EVIb9qhf6UR6ZhBhVdMjaB2n9z-6aYpr3ynvmkjJPrJ_uoIri0drD8n38C8lX835yn5Q5R5GYTm1fmkfQrCf1oBiT_7n3BjXPTKmJE0raiudrAi3Ma_R_ojvzeAy1JajA6ftaCsull1x/s320/2012+ABA+Retro+Rubio.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709242962643411074" /></a><br />Ricky and the rest of the Wolves will play as the Muskies. For those of you who don't know, a Muskie is a big, mean looking fish with some sharp teeth. Kinda like a Timberwolf of the water.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1U02TKTpWF5Ob_O6S5E_sFaPqOxEc9hKIvwYLABgnIcNhDKZ3CiAIbPF5hIqwywHpVEyQF7P6LhcdRuHyvZO6o565Q8UtGAI6KrQ3LEqfEVxi83Ghw68F175FVsSf7G-OsJ-h00_6GEZr/s1600/2012+ABA+Retro+Paul.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1U02TKTpWF5Ob_O6S5E_sFaPqOxEc9hKIvwYLABgnIcNhDKZ3CiAIbPF5hIqwywHpVEyQF7P6LhcdRuHyvZO6o565Q8UtGAI6KrQ3LEqfEVxi83Ghw68F175FVsSf7G-OsJ-h00_6GEZr/s320/2012+ABA+Retro+Paul.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709242884957975602" /></a><br />The Clippers return to their wonderful baby blues, but in the form of the Los Angeles Stars not the San Diego Clippers. In my humble opinion, they need to make this color switch back permanent.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnku_aJH5TsAlmmgJYV2jcAt32gCQRuuYt_wMT7WohDSslLICqcmQpgDhbPev2Nrt2y_2XaxbWZRfZIkfBogeXbSoQPp7TvNx95ed2pz8i5N6f7Vi15FcrN0wAKniJ_uZA6b8A4qgYGvl/s1600/2012+ABA+Retro+James.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnku_aJH5TsAlmmgJYV2jcAt32gCQRuuYt_wMT7WohDSslLICqcmQpgDhbPev2Nrt2y_2XaxbWZRfZIkfBogeXbSoQPp7TvNx95ed2pz8i5N6f7Vi15FcrN0wAKniJ_uZA6b8A4qgYGvl/s320/2012+ABA+Retro+James.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709242802227041906" /></a><br />LeBron shows that real men can wear pink and just like the Clips, I'd like to see Miami make this color scheme change stick for awhile as well. Might as well, change the name too! I've never liked the name Heat.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6M6gNDg6_kyCSzUFwbVcC8agU6rFz1cbDBTYUfgTfq93bvdnRpw8wrtcinn0dr4EceJcsmpsuxYP7pwNl0LNW3_xusmqdGHQ_583MHdzo0ESM5OaZjIry_rHkw-afjR3YRkbsM7lO5ni/s1600/2012+ABA+Retro+Granger.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6M6gNDg6_kyCSzUFwbVcC8agU6rFz1cbDBTYUfgTfq93bvdnRpw8wrtcinn0dr4EceJcsmpsuxYP7pwNl0LNW3_xusmqdGHQ_583MHdzo0ESM5OaZjIry_rHkw-afjR3YRkbsM7lO5ni/s320/2012+ABA+Retro+Granger.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709242713248483042" /></a><br />The Pacers are sporting their racing stripe look, which I personally don't really care for. I like the multiple stripes up the side, but the single yellow stripe across the front and over the shoulder is weird! It's just a little to 1970 ABA for my tastes.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pKMLHx8XqCMS1NwTENm77bAIdmGW_xExJSd8KZ2261kkZIAnZkOIZjFiIQ9y-5acgK9naP4xkDtOmh_Fwp2xrOjsDBTaYERq5fZhupSWMvdC3-_Vz1AG3iVNLnsiS24cjymrI0r9RxI7/s1600/2012+ABA+Retro+Conley.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pKMLHx8XqCMS1NwTENm77bAIdmGW_xExJSd8KZ2261kkZIAnZkOIZjFiIQ9y-5acgK9naP4xkDtOmh_Fwp2xrOjsDBTaYERq5fZhupSWMvdC3-_Vz1AG3iVNLnsiS24cjymrI0r9RxI7/s320/2012+ABA+Retro+Conley.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709242626050318770" /></a><br />Speaking of weird, the Grizzlies are masquerading as the Memphis Tams complete with the mismatched jersey and shorts. While we don't see this often anymore, I don't mind it. It reminds me of my junior high days when we wore blue tops/white bottoms and my freshman season which was red tops/black bottoms. I actually think I'm one of the very few who even liked the gold over black that the Wizards sported a few years ago. Call me crazy! I hope you enjoyed this little blast from the past. At least we don't have to see any short shorts this time around! Later.BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-42868530365575741092012-02-15T00:00:00.003-06:002012-02-15T00:13:00.889-06:00White Men Can't Jump! Big D CustomsAbout halfway through creating this set of cards, I realized they were all white dudes, so I decided to stay with the theme. I have actually seen most of these guys dunk before so I suppose they CAN all jump at least a little bit. Unfortunately for me, I could pretty much serve as the definition of white men can't jump in the dictionary. Oh well, someone's got to play below the rim, right? Later.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuh03VE91e1jHS44P_FDfxW4e3q6I-zYVhTLkU7Su_x4ilJYEKsJdlHTElSVm7neVXrrpiDtoIVIrgo03LNAb5KmJKTSQVZO6F6B8wUTQuPS2UkAwJAz47owkbmlw1R9m03Mm6NxbKXp5U/s1600/2012+big+logo+Nash.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuh03VE91e1jHS44P_FDfxW4e3q6I-zYVhTLkU7Su_x4ilJYEKsJdlHTElSVm7neVXrrpiDtoIVIrgo03LNAb5KmJKTSQVZO6F6B8wUTQuPS2UkAwJAz47owkbmlw1R9m03Mm6NxbKXp5U/s320/2012+big+logo+Nash.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709239213684121746" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAoctV79r84YQKcUSUH7_eY4toeIGF20YwOWXZmJBoydsfsMMQu1yy8CVQI-XVZPYTXMeHaO325d6A73ZBBZrNgpoZHHkPrvLmBEsYOzzwHvigzLmG6K8CCNE-50aQWqGqIsiEiJBGKkm/s1600/2012+big+logo+Lee.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAoctV79r84YQKcUSUH7_eY4toeIGF20YwOWXZmJBoydsfsMMQu1yy8CVQI-XVZPYTXMeHaO325d6A73ZBBZrNgpoZHHkPrvLmBEsYOzzwHvigzLmG6K8CCNE-50aQWqGqIsiEiJBGKkm/s320/2012+big+logo+Lee.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709239036383084898" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0g7zAuPRqVqNhv3A-4b_h7Qmoi_6M_hMgOh9Yc74uA2OHKsPIu7xaFNC6RT-9wOpvhwco34O5Ws-s6Y4L5oMCUcTDcsFrd_-AFrHOey2mlrl43X-A0s5U1b9GpK1uWh6vfIHWW6gck6Lw/s1600/2012+big+logo+Hayward.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0g7zAuPRqVqNhv3A-4b_h7Qmoi_6M_hMgOh9Yc74uA2OHKsPIu7xaFNC6RT-9wOpvhwco34O5Ws-s6Y4L5oMCUcTDcsFrd_-AFrHOey2mlrl43X-A0s5U1b9GpK1uWh6vfIHWW6gck6Lw/s320/2012+big+logo+Hayward.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709239029320692258" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFfr_u0mnKbverlMZEWlv8j9pIa1ltvWaNH6TtCwzi3wUyi5QEXxaZ3lp0oKAACHwhKvEFOKr4yc3REhSsaeTspy1Uk786hzAZgA62-29FCy4bjjMIUTsJotqQRAu95NkINTRV8PmejkdK/s1600/2012+big+logo+Dirk.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFfr_u0mnKbverlMZEWlv8j9pIa1ltvWaNH6TtCwzi3wUyi5QEXxaZ3lp0oKAACHwhKvEFOKr4yc3REhSsaeTspy1Uk786hzAZgA62-29FCy4bjjMIUTsJotqQRAu95NkINTRV8PmejkdK/s320/2012+big+logo+Dirk.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709239014697031074" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjotx00PdwxReI4KnjoIzVokZIvE0FjihSrAQ_sxp3o4Ww4zC2QfhBQpTAXEOc5W45IAajkDR3mVqIvaOJReZhKL4_-mQ_Dk2dd85Sjoq0U58NG2O07n4GvHchyIqwd8mA33JsS-JtCrxYa/s1600/2012+big+logo+Budinger.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjotx00PdwxReI4KnjoIzVokZIvE0FjihSrAQ_sxp3o4Ww4zC2QfhBQpTAXEOc5W45IAajkDR3mVqIvaOJReZhKL4_-mQ_Dk2dd85Sjoq0U58NG2O07n4GvHchyIqwd8mA33JsS-JtCrxYa/s320/2012+big+logo+Budinger.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709239008004556674" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Kq8fmCnkt_kSeNK54Q0ZM0aNOBtNnJeZSTKel-oOufpFaIl80YQ2PFnjqVxfDUcUzrKU6pYebd0yjFVtBxIoaaCdNesbOfFuPg4Z4kz_-NpNcw-M6DRU7_IIG0SMssEkhVNr89GHi0jE/s1600/2012+big+logo+Love.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Kq8fmCnkt_kSeNK54Q0ZM0aNOBtNnJeZSTKel-oOufpFaIl80YQ2PFnjqVxfDUcUzrKU6pYebd0yjFVtBxIoaaCdNesbOfFuPg4Z4kz_-NpNcw-M6DRU7_IIG0SMssEkhVNr89GHi0jE/s320/2012+big+logo+Love.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709239046411294530" /></a>BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-6930563631026445382012-01-11T07:21:00.000-06:002012-01-11T07:21:01.473-06:00An All New Collection For The Whole Family!I'm not totally sure why we've just NOW gotten into our newest household collection, but we're all into them nonetheless. At least my daughter and middle son and I are. What am I talking about you ask? Why Lego Minifigures, of course! Now don't get me wrong, we didn't just discover Legos. I've been playing with them since I was a kid and my own kids have tubs and tubs full and have had for years. For some reason though, we've never collected the series of minifigures until now which is Series 5. We've got some catching up to do. Anyway, once the kids got a few in their stockings, the quest to collect them all was on!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnpzRQTikTamKRQrxFmjp7ZI9UmvvokSv18fKtPaWsLp6AR1qqGwyhWcJWdtAu7YV1TmcQqWn92oXsodCeC9vUgqFwms5NSRWx5B-o8rEre0WW-Tz_5lkiqKdz0RIfu8lmS3DlufKYDJk/s1600/packs.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnpzRQTikTamKRQrxFmjp7ZI9UmvvokSv18fKtPaWsLp6AR1qqGwyhWcJWdtAu7YV1TmcQqWn92oXsodCeC9vUgqFwms5NSRWx5B-o8rEre0WW-Tz_5lkiqKdz0RIfu8lmS3DlufKYDJk/s320/packs.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695854262589039698" /></a><br /><br />There are 16 different figures in each series and they come 1 figure per bag for about $3. We got all of ours at Walmart, and yes, we pack searched to avoid doubles. Sorry, had to to it. Besides, it's kind of fun to feel the pieces in each package and try to figure out what is inside. The first purchase we made we grabbed 4 random packs and didn't try to feel what was inside at all. We ended up with doubles of the graduate. Since then I've managed to go double free, correctly guessing a perfect 10 for 10 with no doubles. That means we have just 3 figures left to reach sixteen. Guess what I have to show you now! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieGW4diF5b-olNDpOqoof6KZgJ3RFZRxdeGNWZR59PbXn9RQZL9M6u8dyoku_hZPByWpqhT-xOLD8L3eUDU8r5xyiYyHCHosb4hnyu023YGID7ZzQ3Jgcv-M2pCW62Kl6wugfakKN9p1PV/s1600/clown.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieGW4diF5b-olNDpOqoof6KZgJ3RFZRxdeGNWZR59PbXn9RQZL9M6u8dyoku_hZPByWpqhT-xOLD8L3eUDU8r5xyiYyHCHosb4hnyu023YGID7ZzQ3Jgcv-M2pCW62Kl6wugfakKN9p1PV/s320/clown.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695854217340253506" /></a><br /><br />You guessed it! The final 3 figures and again, I managed to avoid doubles. It really isn't that hard once you know what pieces are unique to each figure. And, unlike packsearching for that one hit per retail box of cards, all of the figures seem to be evenly split per box, so you're not really stealing anyone's chance of pulling something awesome or anything. So I don't feel guilty packsearching in this case. So as you can see, one of the last 3 figures was the clown.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaQtwPIagCLTyOkx68I0aRA-XzaKS7Du3CHkbtD5Oi2qU0KajOyTdVtx1Mudpzw0YEQIyVozX1IXfCBKz0z1I_vfxqymCpGZSScwh6hTt52fbJEtK0rLMAOt2-zyzd4rdWMEOq3Z8yMb_Q/s1600/evildwarf.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaQtwPIagCLTyOkx68I0aRA-XzaKS7Du3CHkbtD5Oi2qU0KajOyTdVtx1Mudpzw0YEQIyVozX1IXfCBKz0z1I_vfxqymCpGZSScwh6hTt52fbJEtK0rLMAOt2-zyzd4rdWMEOq3Z8yMb_Q/s320/evildwarf.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695854175008824594" /></a><br /><br />We also found the evil dwarf...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvmn8qw00si0lnp-N5vL86NoGxnk0Nhz-yw5N51x9ojRaH00TFqROYtCxvMJUG1D6L_Fs-oIBrPe4PnvxTHebAVkrjDOs_0RWL9bIVzoYgSU95i44M4C_KKZ4SvqCKgblCDf9K60_ZHSMO/s1600/royalguard.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvmn8qw00si0lnp-N5vL86NoGxnk0Nhz-yw5N51x9ojRaH00TFqROYtCxvMJUG1D6L_Fs-oIBrPe4PnvxTHebAVkrjDOs_0RWL9bIVzoYgSU95i44M4C_KKZ4SvqCKgblCDf9K60_ZHSMO/s320/royalguard.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695854133269321890" /></a><br /><br />and the royal guard, both of which are fairly easy to distinguish because of their unique headwear.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvOhDIGYHcM8yz3bxEvCySEXaoh1JFHX03V2BxD1c6CcEUkCQdCvIN7AaoRbHY0-S18kv_BI6Hek6K0VpF0-znDJ794NUVNCYzjnlW9daTDsW-L7JKc0ij6gnUiTdmJF9lrbtQEd-pHQHK/s1600/minifigchecklist.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 218px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvOhDIGYHcM8yz3bxEvCySEXaoh1JFHX03V2BxD1c6CcEUkCQdCvIN7AaoRbHY0-S18kv_BI6Hek6K0VpF0-znDJ794NUVNCYzjnlW9daTDsW-L7JKc0ij6gnUiTdmJF9lrbtQEd-pHQHK/s320/minifigchecklist.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695854082926794498" /></a><br /><br />Here you can see the completed Series 5 checklist that Baby Peas has filled out. As you can see there is a double checkmark next to the graduate and also the lizard man. {I actually found another lizard man on purpose because I wanted one for my desk at work.) Now that we are done with series 5 we are looking towards series 6 which should hit stores soon, though all of our local Walmarts have so much series 5 in stock, it may be awhile before 6 shows up.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKPCu2nFCURiX0W3OLxZ9YPtxaa4NpJFguSWfrWgjhLM6UR4-T0NG58PDYBODbmsQOJN8pUKhh96_1CgsThwUyQQF8mJhQnQ6wJ7erSGYV59xjBwCc_5eTZBkA2VCTVYFEK8NbzY_TJcE/s1600/wholeseries5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKPCu2nFCURiX0W3OLxZ9YPtxaa4NpJFguSWfrWgjhLM6UR4-T0NG58PDYBODbmsQOJN8pUKhh96_1CgsThwUyQQF8mJhQnQ6wJ7erSGYV59xjBwCc_5eTZBkA2VCTVYFEK8NbzY_TJcE/s320/wholeseries5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695853952619543394" /></a><br /><br />Here is the completed set of series 5 figures. We'd really like to try and find some of the older series to complete, but seeing as they've been out awhile, they won't all be cheap. I really want to find a tribal chief somewhere, he's got a sweet headdress! So if you are into Legos at all and haven't given these little dudes a look, I suggest you do. They're a lot of fun! Later.BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-60515606688635464692012-01-09T21:36:00.003-06:002012-01-09T21:49:51.177-06:00I Beat Panini To The Punch! 2012 NBA Big D Customs Are Here!Since Panini isn't going to bother giving us any new NBA cards until Feb or March, I figured I might as well get mine out there. Here are some brand spanking new, 2012 NBA cards for you to enjoy. This is basically my "flagship" BigD set for the year. This batch features a bunch of new faces in new places both veterans and rookies. By the way, Davis West isn't a rookie, just a typo I was too lazy to fix combined with a blogger snafu that put him at the bottom with the other rookies, oh well. Hope you like them. Later.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8LelF7adMcrY2Y3eYYBZQEFDZjsGIDL0InWKUITl3gI2lSQulQHvIDAy0MMDeApg0pyBw8ePDUTQZ6PuGKqZm1Ed2ySvAH7bUUl-3atHaZdYlq0TJWIfy9K64vT7Gp66qxys67sJYWDv/s1600/2012+base+NBA+Paul.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8LelF7adMcrY2Y3eYYBZQEFDZjsGIDL0InWKUITl3gI2lSQulQHvIDAy0MMDeApg0pyBw8ePDUTQZ6PuGKqZm1Ed2ySvAH7bUUl-3atHaZdYlq0TJWIfy9K64vT7Gp66qxys67sJYWDv/s320/2012+base+NBA+Paul.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695843739022880562" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6VgeSPwaToFsvGtFdo7ZrOAMQzYhTSe4XiYfsFlYBqRCA6g8YDcsH43eFYc981ZcfaGRuXNiUK46B6Q-ZZFvCM3WZTHlDppSF1U5GH7IELX2hDSml3QvzyvRWkWky-7fAPaC8L6v2mma/s1600/2012+base+NBA+Davis.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6VgeSPwaToFsvGtFdo7ZrOAMQzYhTSe4XiYfsFlYBqRCA6g8YDcsH43eFYc981ZcfaGRuXNiUK46B6Q-ZZFvCM3WZTHlDppSF1U5GH7IELX2hDSml3QvzyvRWkWky-7fAPaC8L6v2mma/s320/2012+base+NBA+Davis.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695843733039878098" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNteYbatNHQyT52QzJbTXMJ4J1aiupVa1PM3bPicBVUd_CNZC5cowbSvX3vgV5XrgRC7rLTqSJ8j8H9AI5LSyH8gWWOqh2SXjIjaPkjj-bcq_H7L5UakKUHWU4B51sRY62WEe9TfIdwMN3/s1600/2012+base+NBA+Odom.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNteYbatNHQyT52QzJbTXMJ4J1aiupVa1PM3bPicBVUd_CNZC5cowbSvX3vgV5XrgRC7rLTqSJ8j8H9AI5LSyH8gWWOqh2SXjIjaPkjj-bcq_H7L5UakKUHWU4B51sRY62WEe9TfIdwMN3/s320/2012+base+NBA+Odom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695843740558363762" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo89Bd3bvRbj226-E_f3reS5eTwO1DZqn89cTDWG9b5P7iO8kBAoq66CsJLuKelUDouWJxDXERJ8f0j4IqE5yLTJHrG-Mlpyblwt3ZoGpNuGFVmLBwxsCYttPs5z01iADIWpoZ7Tty7MJX/s1600/2012+base+NBA+Chandler.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo89Bd3bvRbj226-E_f3reS5eTwO1DZqn89cTDWG9b5P7iO8kBAoq66CsJLuKelUDouWJxDXERJ8f0j4IqE5yLTJHrG-Mlpyblwt3ZoGpNuGFVmLBwxsCYttPs5z01iADIWpoZ7Tty7MJX/s320/2012+base+NBA+Chandler.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695843381510020194" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jagtxekxMCWJqRkTxDXIrt7XJdQgvK92A5CKtgTC4W-YCFmZDMQnFEPxv8ef5uMqGTqCMIycDJgsL0JvwRZ5Z4FiW6N8LD7QFasTPp4147b9Ru8-eAfWxCPT6TPYyu7eaajVdExclTMT/s1600/2012+base+NBA+Rubio.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jagtxekxMCWJqRkTxDXIrt7XJdQgvK92A5CKtgTC4W-YCFmZDMQnFEPxv8ef5uMqGTqCMIycDJgsL0JvwRZ5Z4FiW6N8LD7QFasTPp4147b9Ru8-eAfWxCPT6TPYyu7eaajVdExclTMT/s320/2012+base+NBA+Rubio.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695843372256994178" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hh1p6DGKQNNflXQcfQYoCpZCNgpLwXMb64K32RQ1K0hBbVBQ0UCfAN7critOPcT5y-rqOCzKLBM4nIPAVn-0Vgo5t7aVq-zsc_DGYh4suFaNvq8B0BzyNObGYhX_32cYPL68jhXoTUD7/s1600/2012+base+NBA+Fredette.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hh1p6DGKQNNflXQcfQYoCpZCNgpLwXMb64K32RQ1K0hBbVBQ0UCfAN7critOPcT5y-rqOCzKLBM4nIPAVn-0Vgo5t7aVq-zsc_DGYh4suFaNvq8B0BzyNObGYhX_32cYPL68jhXoTUD7/s320/2012+base+NBA+Fredette.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695843371018689314" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvT7ZZuzwtQwBo6SCV-vltQ5svKa3S5bus0O6frJNNsd7fpM0Z5uR9e_NE2S-vZJDwByu7SDLMLRAcZstXtclFj09Ip6Pgyw2da7W3VeLDQSZF9UnWkqL1DCMRPUw9R8R_OP3z5omrgJJ2/s1600/2012+base+NBA+Walker.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvT7ZZuzwtQwBo6SCV-vltQ5svKa3S5bus0O6frJNNsd7fpM0Z5uR9e_NE2S-vZJDwByu7SDLMLRAcZstXtclFj09Ip6Pgyw2da7W3VeLDQSZF9UnWkqL1DCMRPUw9R8R_OP3z5omrgJJ2/s320/2012+base+NBA+Walker.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695843366237802386" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMicNw7u_08pmdeyg-qS552_SLJaXZqEONNI7PFqakGmPo7TMvzHB3GkrDOMTVbjP_rvsPEmDGVEyzoQ0QA94kaLG-rH9p96tLPiunoJMt69ZnxTHFHJYIK4N8ETxxogs_LLBplygAlKBK/s1600/2012+base+NBA+West.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMicNw7u_08pmdeyg-qS552_SLJaXZqEONNI7PFqakGmPo7TMvzHB3GkrDOMTVbjP_rvsPEmDGVEyzoQ0QA94kaLG-rH9p96tLPiunoJMt69ZnxTHFHJYIK4N8ETxxogs_LLBplygAlKBK/s320/2012+base+NBA+West.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695843399149952594" border="0" /></a>BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-59495574240152145882012-01-05T18:50:00.011-06:002012-01-08T23:10:33.654-06:00Score From The Junkie!We are still quite a few stickers short of filling our 2011 MLB sticker book, but thanks to dayf, also known as the <a href="http://cardjunk.blogspot.com/">Cardboard Junkie</a>, we are quite a bit closer.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFNVe1DbDkpJlksK5p-9BjbjdXMfgWwgrb5sjMpPBy_1p9DjrTTaI197LJ70yT1tUWRdGZJAer-lzsMs01V5UWw45_jYZPucyAlNea8_-_Phfzu0PBSIci3vMBJ5BDCETlUMrW1KlMmqI/s1600/packs.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 145px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFNVe1DbDkpJlksK5p-9BjbjdXMfgWwgrb5sjMpPBy_1p9DjrTTaI197LJ70yT1tUWRdGZJAer-lzsMs01V5UWw45_jYZPucyAlNea8_-_Phfzu0PBSIci3vMBJ5BDCETlUMrW1KlMmqI/s320/packs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694316792281613410" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Dayf sent us 4 custom built packs including only stickers we needed. One of the packs was custom wrapped in this note:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQNOADhhYCxsiwPY0mD-4yh1l40HVH61pTmjCjOwaiTjR_0eVJPWUsvrjEU6Ex3XGdjcZAriM_L5yCq3n-4upcTHaS6n1eV_L1lsQM6yP-w6s4nbCYneM1WEhdpuB-Spud-xA4SvLfmij/s1600/note.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQNOADhhYCxsiwPY0mD-4yh1l40HVH61pTmjCjOwaiTjR_0eVJPWUsvrjEU6Ex3XGdjcZAriM_L5yCq3n-4upcTHaS6n1eV_L1lsQM6yP-w6s4nbCYneM1WEhdpuB-Spud-xA4SvLfmij/s320/note.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694315506672603826" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Let that be a lesson out there to all you collectors. Keep your tea away from your cards & stickers! Lucky for us, the stickers turned out to be just fine. No vintage teas stains at all and they don't even smell funny! Since dayf has already filled his sticker book, he said he didn't need anything from us, but then he had to go and not play fair. There was more that just stickers in in the envelope he sent.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkkzdWUneaxWMOHO1kLfbLucqNXapNKriQEyGVT7v1N_aSxsf5bLjLU2TFYRcdllKCkFU1nuv_H-YzvbB0jtYU09x82d0pcsfmV_MwKl1UjoKvfm_1BCyhjsQk2Z3X0B2ULwTCeWY4Qb8/s1600/mavs1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 118px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkkzdWUneaxWMOHO1kLfbLucqNXapNKriQEyGVT7v1N_aSxsf5bLjLU2TFYRcdllKCkFU1nuv_H-YzvbB0jtYU09x82d0pcsfmV_MwKl1UjoKvfm_1BCyhjsQk2Z3X0B2ULwTCeWY4Qb8/s320/mavs1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694315418722757426" border="0" /></a><br /><br />There were Mavs cards too, including an ant's eye view of Samaki Walker and a pretty sweet metal card of the Mantis himself, Shawn Bradley. The Bradley card is actual metal. It's much noisier than a regular card if you should drop it and could even scrape ice off your car windows in a pinch!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSnjYMVNZkCoHMnjCLOMolZEFcjmfvXtqwWBPbtSQVZzSCRZDzEW5UKpy-d-ZlKk_q57pm3pYrjBWv120vFys04lv7J0M0r_zuh3Wk0gFH3xqs0VkwBhR_dXQUQkKP02Pvhzw6lS9slMu/s1600/mavs2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 110px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSnjYMVNZkCoHMnjCLOMolZEFcjmfvXtqwWBPbtSQVZzSCRZDzEW5UKpy-d-ZlKk_q57pm3pYrjBWv120vFys04lv7J0M0r_zuh3Wk0gFH3xqs0VkwBhR_dXQUQkKP02Pvhzw6lS9slMu/s320/mavs2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694315330096984466" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The previous 4 guys are relative Maverick spares (though I love them all equally!), but this next group are a few notches above. JJ, Harper, Fin and Kidd all contributed in a big way while they were here in Big D. Finley ranks number 2 in my Mavs player collection for number of cards and this sticker was one I didn't have, so that's a big plus. That's not all dayf sent, though. It gets better!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRf7mWs3tkpQVpK6AEOu1Ftg-TDHjtXY2WvLuw9QFLhnxBTytsTbBaYXgu6BUjPoMEQ5QGrDIXvhs246OU9XdTPtCigkBdR3Jt4t8vzIPkh_QFqxYy95ETL-oFdvKRFVYFto3gu_xnAA1m/s1600/dirk.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRf7mWs3tkpQVpK6AEOu1Ftg-TDHjtXY2WvLuw9QFLhnxBTytsTbBaYXgu6BUjPoMEQ5QGrDIXvhs246OU9XdTPtCigkBdR3Jt4t8vzIPkh_QFqxYy95ETL-oFdvKRFVYFto3gu_xnAA1m/s320/dirk.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694315248104584210" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The last 2 cards are the best in the package and they both feature Dirk. One is a rookie card that I didn't have yet and the other is a sweet hand drawn custom sketch card. Is that awesome or what? Now I feel happy sad. Happy that I received such great cards, but sad that my blogger friend would double cross me so! Now I'm gonna have to dig up some Braves or My Little Pony stuff to send back so I won't feel so guilty. Though, after reading his New Year's Resolution post about getting rid of some of his junk, it will probably just get thrown out anyway, so maybe I should just save myself the postage. That'll teach him, right? Later.BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-71733563179986197222011-12-30T00:18:00.004-06:002011-12-30T00:33:53.668-06:00My Mavs Are Disappointing, But Holy Crap, Panini Actually Made Me Happy!Well, the Mavs are of to an 0-3 start after Kevin Durant stuck a dagger in us at the buzzer tonight. I'm not worried, though. I have faith that Dirk and the rest of the Mavs will right the ship before the end of the season. What I don't usually count on is Panini producing a product that I actually want. They have an exclusive though, so if it's NBA cards you want, it's Panini you're stuck with. So it was a bit of a surprise while killing time on ebay that I ran across this gem.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4EnA6NmifS77X7YSj8paWnDKb-XSV60JCGM_X8_0xBp6ZFM2SgL-9vt6q969tfwpz-oTbkIhQHG-4QRkRW3zGKl85czgz0LvjNk090JSaR2XbPuv3dDMF_mMOuXnx-mr6CFYDDeHTcfe/s1600/aguirrefront.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 235px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4EnA6NmifS77X7YSj8paWnDKb-XSV60JCGM_X8_0xBp6ZFM2SgL-9vt6q969tfwpz-oTbkIhQHG-4QRkRW3zGKl85czgz0LvjNk090JSaR2XbPuv3dDMF_mMOuXnx-mr6CFYDDeHTcfe/s320/aguirrefront.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691802370422388562" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Nice, right? This comes from their Black Box product which is quite simply, another in a long list of sets made by Panini that I will never buy a box of because it is too expensive and frankly not worth it. Thank goodness, for secondhand singles though. I must give Panini props, however, for at least producing several cards of my second all time favorite Maverick Mark Aguirre this past year. It's good to see that he's retired but not forgotten.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQxOuNQmWOtmgiPwDT0c3cdHiEAQ5a8DYKXit8UT6a9QK9dW1HyJXnrafi91bZaLGjcu0XTJ8MTlnVZ3srOI1ULmtYSPK5AJUXSQNkr5JscuClalglWP4AYjuekWuiKNBsuC4mOKUAMHqq/s1600/aguirreback.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 232px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQxOuNQmWOtmgiPwDT0c3cdHiEAQ5a8DYKXit8UT6a9QK9dW1HyJXnrafi91bZaLGjcu0XTJ8MTlnVZ3srOI1ULmtYSPK5AJUXSQNkr5JscuClalglWP4AYjuekWuiKNBsuC4mOKUAMHqq/s320/aguirreback.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691802313771557474" border="0" /></a><br /><br />They even used a different photo on the back, something they've gotten much better at doing lately. So while I'm still not totally on board with Panini and their products, it's nice to at least know they are capable of surprising me every once in a while. Hopefully, when what appears to be their only affordable set this year (HOOPS) arrives in March, it will be full of surprises. If nothing else, the Mavs ought to be back in the thick of things by then, and that will be no surprise to me. MFFL! Later.BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-56587303113658309812011-12-24T21:53:00.003-06:002011-12-24T21:54:19.187-06:00I'm Back With A Rant! NBA Action Is Almost Here And Panini Blows! (But You Already Knew That, Didn't You?)Well, I've been gone for a while, but today I read something that I had to post about and even though it's Christmas Eve, I'm afraid it's kinda negative. Tomorrow the World Champion Dallas Mavericks will tip off what I hope to be another successful season. I couldn't be more excited for the NBA to be back. I'm also ready for some new basketball cards to collect, but unfortunately for me, it doesn't look like I'll get to do much of that this season. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Panini</span> recently released their plans for NBA cards this year and guess what? They are gonna put out a whopping FIVE sets! WOW! Now I get that the NBA season is shortened and they are getting a late start with all the roster changes and what not, but still isn't 5 sets kinda low? The number of sets, however, isn't what's got my blood boiling. The problem is the makeup of those 5 sets. Here is what <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Panini</span> says they are putting out.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Preferred</span> - 4 cards per pack @ $200 per pack. Supposed to be all autos and the previews show plenty of empty white space and gradients! Whoopee!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hoops</span> - $1 packs retail and $2 hobby. Not sure how many cards per pack, but I'm gonna guess around 7 based on their other low end stuff like Score. The Hoops previews that came out last year looked pretty good to me.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Limited</span> - Not sure what's in store for this season but I'm sure it will follow season's past. Something around 7 cards per pack for around $100.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Past & Present</span> - Totally new concept. Who the hell knows.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gold Standard</span> - Again, no info for this year, but if we go by last year we can expect 12 hideously <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">blinged</span> out gold cards for around $150. I think Donald Trump may like these, but probably not very many other people.<br /><br />So what is the problem you ask? The problem is, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Panini</span> doesn't put out anything for the regular <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">joe</span> to collect, and I'm a regular <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">joe</span>. I can barely stomach most of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Panini's</span> designs as it is, but when the prices are as high as they are it makes it even worse. The only set I'll be able to buy packs of for sure is HOOPS and MAYBE Past & Present. Won't know on that set until more details come out, but the other 3? No way! I'll try to grab singles here and there, but that's about it. I just don't get high end, I guess. Are there really that many people that blindly throw that kind of money around for hopes of pulling something good? Whatever <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">happened</span> to COLLECTING cards, not buying cards and then hoping to SELL them for a profit? I really feel like that is the only purpose of high end stuff. I want to collect my favorite players and teams but I'd like to have a chance to get more than one card of each guy. This high end stuff, especially something like Preferred where every card is an auto, means most likely, I won't get even ONE card of any player from that set. So that puts me realistically at only being able to get cards from 4 sets this season, and that isn't much variety to keep me interested. I guess we'll see.<br /><br />Anyway, sorry to ramble on, but I have to wonder if anyone else is equally frustrated with the state of NBA cards since <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Panini</span> took over. All I see on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Panini's</span> blog when they show new stuff is people gushing over their product so I feel I'm in the minority for sure. I can't wait for their license to end. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Pleeeaase</span> NBA bring <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Topps</span> and Upper Deck back! Well, that's all I got for now. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Go <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Mavs</span>! Later.BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-76358590054656596342011-10-12T22:50:00.003-05:002012-01-05T18:37:12.452-06:00Anyone Wanna Trade Stickers?Nobie is getting somewhat close to filling his 2011 MLB sticker album so I told him I'd post a want list. Let me know if you've got anything we need or if you'd like to get a hold of some or our doubles. Later.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size:130%;color:#0000ff;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">This is what we need: </span></span></b><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#000000;"><span><span style="background-color:#ffffff">5, 7, 11, 20, 39, 49, 70, 80, 89, 98, 107, 109, 111, 119, 121, 123, 128, 130, 133, 137, 145, 147, 151, 154, 158, 183, 185, 208, 211, 214, 216, 222, 227, 230, 232, 233, 238, 244, 248, 254, 255, 264, 284, 288, 291, 303, 305, 307, 308</span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><span style="color:#009900;">This is what we have to trade: </span></span></b><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#000000;">2, 3, 9, 16, 18, 21, 31, 37, 38, 41, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 51, 52, 53, 55, 66, 69, 74, 75, 77, 81, 84, 85, 91, 96, 100, 101, 105, 106, 108, 110, 112, 115, 117, 126, 127, 129, 134, 140, 141, 142, 146, 146, 148, 152, 153, 155, 156, 157, 161, 163, 164, 168, 170, 171, 179, 181, 192, 194, 198, 200, 202, 210, 212, 218, 219, 220, 234, 235, 236, 240, 241, 251, 252, 258, 268, 272, 273, 280, 285, 287, 293, 294, 296, 298, 300, 304, 309</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"></span>BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-173815887452571142011-09-19T22:33:00.012-05:002011-09-19T23:28:07.594-05:00Wanna See Where I Work? A Cubicle Tour.<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ok</span>, so I said I was gonna mix it up a little so here we go with something a little different. Like a bunch of people in this country, I spend 8 hrs a day in a cubicle. Thankfully, my employer let's us pretty much decorate them however we want. Some of my co-workers have plain Jane cubes, but I wouldn't be able to stand that, so <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">mine's</span> pretty well covered with stuff to break up the monotony. Let's take a look, shall we?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJukNsphZldX1Gw5WNuGZcpmU6cxxyuO0sjWPwSTLx08ssVlky7NRcHi4X098722n8yJSq00EtZIyn6tG5R86HCKbBO9kNs9RlvTXW33RITAn3z4pijigkrYS9b5py_WF2-fssLwWN9E38/s1600/outerwall.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJukNsphZldX1Gw5WNuGZcpmU6cxxyuO0sjWPwSTLx08ssVlky7NRcHi4X098722n8yJSq00EtZIyn6tG5R86HCKbBO9kNs9RlvTXW33RITAn3z4pijigkrYS9b5py_WF2-fssLwWN9E38/s320/outerwall.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654281275930836578" border="0" /></a>This is the outer wall as you approach my cube. It's sufficiently <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Mavs</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">championshiped</span> up thanks to the pages of the Dallas Morning News. I'll give you a tour of the interior beginning with the view from in front of my computer and continuing to the left as I spin in my office chair.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitND9W54TALHa-HfF9HZv588yJ3imP7s33TXgNvYYZcL2k7TsC1_Zt8DHH0X29TrGTQgifpQWHlVPQwPKek_iqZhLi647KJFkRP8JmlOHGfrYLEhyphenhyphenz4RUh-o7nz9ZcB5AvSwvtfLtordB2/s1600/behindcpu.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitND9W54TALHa-HfF9HZv588yJ3imP7s33TXgNvYYZcL2k7TsC1_Zt8DHH0X29TrGTQgifpQWHlVPQwPKek_iqZhLi647KJFkRP8JmlOHGfrYLEhyphenhyphenz4RUh-o7nz9ZcB5AvSwvtfLtordB2/s320/behindcpu.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654281162065440482" border="0" /></a>The wall behind my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">cpu</span> has a poster of Devil's Tower in Wyoming which is one of my absolute most favorite places ever. I spent a lot of summers in Wyoming as a kid with relatives and I never go there without visiting the tower. Next to that I've got a Michael Finley Sprite poster. Fin would rank third all-time on my favorite <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Mavs</span> list. On top of the computer we've got <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Spidey</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Deadpool</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Hambone</span>. What a cool superhero team they would make!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5OqfvANrLVs2daecFDfGIydAxYOrX7wmjhJ04SPOgW0g6vs8qUic1DkPCC3G7GiU76MepxRmnES_6PqPaXzf4ith6LfYiP8WFNWVhY_bbcnyyT4_HiJn-fOpe4zE1AlZ6B3UIh6YvIJQ/s1600/behindmonitors.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5OqfvANrLVs2daecFDfGIydAxYOrX7wmjhJ04SPOgW0g6vs8qUic1DkPCC3G7GiU76MepxRmnES_6PqPaXzf4ith6LfYiP8WFNWVhY_bbcnyyT4_HiJn-fOpe4zE1AlZ6B3UIh6YvIJQ/s320/behindmonitors.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654281097636494738" border="0" /></a>Behind my twin monitors (us artists need lots of work space) there is a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Mavs</span> team poster from 2008 I believe.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3kl5IRiz3js8tjKrEUwKwM1kuLpakbcdJWmxQgzgyb-wGep4gDrUlHOounzDR-KDxT4dLgF04sHXQu9HWYM86PUH_FNoRtgNb9s9e52m2f_m8VyjxqsDhK2mr7rT3fs1zyaBV5nPyJ9B/s1600/desktopleft.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3kl5IRiz3js8tjKrEUwKwM1kuLpakbcdJWmxQgzgyb-wGep4gDrUlHOounzDR-KDxT4dLgF04sHXQu9HWYM86PUH_FNoRtgNb9s9e52m2f_m8VyjxqsDhK2mr7rT3fs1zyaBV5nPyJ9B/s320/desktopleft.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654280784364831842" border="0" /></a>On the left side of my desk sits my scanner which doesn't get used a whole lot anymore, but it does a pretty good job of holding a Rangers schedule, an SI NFL preview issue and an Amazing Spider-man CD of comics that I'm borrowing from a co-worker. On the desk itself is a recent issue of Spider-man and the jug I bring my milk to work in for my morning oatmeal. Yummy, right?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWy6Vkb87KrsPPcjtwpvTvwa_A7BqWT4jMSBRvOB8AuCvapvLGfxP6Ari8l0Rm76GCZGl6DrKLOHl3inwknb4x9jo4mE_Ng6yl7V0X7yE9wUaw8zcjCaziGISgwBW5jlZbSh0u4FRqrm0k/s1600/leftshelf.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWy6Vkb87KrsPPcjtwpvTvwa_A7BqWT4jMSBRvOB8AuCvapvLGfxP6Ari8l0Rm76GCZGl6DrKLOHl3inwknb4x9jo4mE_Ng6yl7V0X7yE9wUaw8zcjCaziGISgwBW5jlZbSh0u4FRqrm0k/s320/leftshelf.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654280707239047522" border="0" /></a>The shelf above the scanner holds photos of the wife and kids along with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">bobbleheads</span> of Cuban and Dirk. There is also a Smurf for some reason, which was given to me by the same co-worker that loaned me the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Spidey</span> CD. Two more <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Mavs</span> team posters cover the wall behind the shelf.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xD8gVAvbIf0LrBEF-kcdBIZ0nRUKkAuOBsGv3JcuWrSxxgY035xFlGyCQMsacWGI1Ijp_2Rk05d6YzfQMqPKb1OuJ-WwsJtiAdAWEc-96BBOP4DAQjZf7PyeCR3uEV2T_B7jGI_PF_ij/s1600/left+wall.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xD8gVAvbIf0LrBEF-kcdBIZ0nRUKkAuOBsGv3JcuWrSxxgY035xFlGyCQMsacWGI1Ijp_2Rk05d6YzfQMqPKb1OuJ-WwsJtiAdAWEc-96BBOP4DAQjZf7PyeCR3uEV2T_B7jGI_PF_ij/s320/left+wall.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654280646231122738" border="0" /></a>Here is the only large interior wall of my cube which gives me some room for a couple of full-sized posters of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Mavs</span> and a Humberto Ramos rendition of Spider-man.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35hlZaYHaJkMLbRyd4A2DYZvP0pWIfD4DYYgbsIMoaRnmUc6uwNS8E_r4zu8t3xs19a3K-ilOvROuray48CdKMDkGP5nOs_dOx0iug-KrWQSDLrR_RVxCFmMmFKkpVYk1hGxZpwcDL4Hk/s1600/pillar.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35hlZaYHaJkMLbRyd4A2DYZvP0pWIfD4DYYgbsIMoaRnmUc6uwNS8E_r4zu8t3xs19a3K-ilOvROuray48CdKMDkGP5nOs_dOx0iug-KrWQSDLrR_RVxCFmMmFKkpVYk1hGxZpwcDL4Hk/s320/pillar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654280561997808786" border="0" /></a>As, you walk into my cube there is a pillar on the right with a little room for some full sized movie <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Spidey</span> and 2 Dirk game giveaway posters.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivuVYtfprlRB9HBCLsmr01TdGFJofMDGSTR6NYMVSYGFMYhjVtoXHEoOpakV3bxxamxfv8S2LDBfh5DGCmjJfIBxUZE1TIUG0CGrMtO3QTHZsmg11Gfc9JD5zR0uDaCr_pR2ikiRBo3n1U/s1600/window.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivuVYtfprlRB9HBCLsmr01TdGFJofMDGSTR6NYMVSYGFMYhjVtoXHEoOpakV3bxxamxfv8S2LDBfh5DGCmjJfIBxUZE1TIUG0CGrMtO3QTHZsmg11Gfc9JD5zR0uDaCr_pR2ikiRBo3n1U/s320/window.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654280447801455346" border="0" /></a>This is my window to the outside world that I'm lucky to have. Most people in the office don't have one. Another <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Spidey</span> stands watch on the ledge. On the desktop is a stack of Sports Illustrated, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Playstation</span> and SLAM magazines, a plush Snoopy and Spider-man, my fan and an old monitor that doesn't really work anymore. I've also got 2 more of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Mavs</span> giveaway posters featuring the Jet and the Matrix. The orange you see between the desk and wall is the bottom half of a talking Ricky Rudd <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Nascar</span> Tide <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">standup</span>. His top half is behind the bottom half and out of view. I had to take the batteries out and dismantle him to keep my co-workers from constantly making him talk. I haven't had it together for at least 5 years, but I still remember what he says, "Hi, I'm Nascar driver Ricky Rudd. On the track or off, Tide takes the checkered flag. So remember, if it's got to be clean, it's got to be Tide!" That's how many times that danged button was pushed!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEGF_XGp4WhZ5Y3a1FZkKfXSWqOWGBzC0jgw0GAxf6qYvIVCozyiQzDaIs64WeJedXT7W_01kIzr_ZH8jlUf3mrF6Ldp61FYXA4FG7J9jxV5i8PcyD_sOjd_jr-h7uih73m5K9QNAYWq1P/s1600/desktopright.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEGF_XGp4WhZ5Y3a1FZkKfXSWqOWGBzC0jgw0GAxf6qYvIVCozyiQzDaIs64WeJedXT7W_01kIzr_ZH8jlUf3mrF6Ldp61FYXA4FG7J9jxV5i8PcyD_sOjd_jr-h7uih73m5K9QNAYWq1P/s320/desktopright.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654280353673085042" border="0" /></a>The right side of my desk hold my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Mavs</span> water cup, my radio that is constantly tuned to Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket and a sweet poster of Mark Aguirre dunking in his short shorts. This is also where I tack my calendars to keep track of those precious days off.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaC8EbGHjqBzOXHBgNGtstvDYyLVDMsYfPcnCmYhoGflRfTm_R6RVZSxInvRuqAK-DFtAbTsmdvkpXvL3IRKHQay2QafcZ-4m85OQQxJVC-iRFFMXPtbTfjtQgspogkagnx9MHVF0abUKh/s1600/rightshelf.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaC8EbGHjqBzOXHBgNGtstvDYyLVDMsYfPcnCmYhoGflRfTm_R6RVZSxInvRuqAK-DFtAbTsmdvkpXvL3IRKHQay2QafcZ-4m85OQQxJVC-iRFFMXPtbTfjtQgspogkagnx9MHVF0abUKh/s320/rightshelf.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654280264556129826" border="0" /></a>Finally, the last part of the cube tour is the shelf above my desk on the right. I used to have about 2 paper boxes full of various toys filling my shelves, but with my last cube move I cut it down quite a bit. Now I've just got these few Mighty <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Muggs</span> figures of Snake-Eyes, Storm Shadow, Wolverine, Black Suit Spider-man and original <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Spidey</span>. Oh yeah, and a sweet <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Chewbacca</span> figure that appears to be threatening to blow Spider-man's brains out with his <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">bowcaster</span>.<br /><br />So there you have it, your own personal tour of my home away from home. I hope it meets your approval. Later.BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-17983818346982827762011-09-16T19:00:00.000-05:002011-09-16T19:00:03.240-05:00Why Invincible Really Is "The Best Superhero Comic Book In The Universe"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvR3GIXeJTczlnJM03mB48up8cW9lPDLh7inJTx4XGXW8PG6aBs0uy148fjSgpuOSrAwX5qdnXEb50se_fYze8U0xWYqT1MzAljK1lAYIgiUylr3t5RSAyxfyy4iPCA9vWt75Riha_tA-J/s1600/invinciblemarna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">With all the comic book pub lately being heaped upon DC for their New 52 #1's and Marvel for their black Spider-man and X-men Schizm, it's easy to forget there are other publishers out there. One of those "others" is Image comics which just happens to be home to my favorite book, Invincible. </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwM1h7noqMPCi29K71iPbyx_BJVzitQ3kM_ndZWIK1PRs5mTyaUA-TcA3xhfOH4zjQbF-yH1zo8mYZOhf1JfV_A5qEzsV2d9uG8nxa1QNi6c49YKg3GPFCMWsx7ra0n7DkeB1uQRblxNIK/s1600/invincible.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwM1h7noqMPCi29K71iPbyx_BJVzitQ3kM_ndZWIK1PRs5mTyaUA-TcA3xhfOH4zjQbF-yH1zo8mYZOhf1JfV_A5qEzsV2d9uG8nxa1QNi6c49YKg3GPFCMWsx7ra0n7DkeB1uQRblxNIK/s320/invincible.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Invincible is written by Robert Kirkman and drawn by Ryan Ottley and it is "The Best Superhero Book In The Universe!" It says so right on the cover of each issue and I'm here to tell you why.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKWalk7XMB4REx9gIJffQW1NhHbN_vRLAY0fqbSXecRy49_au5_akU0vV0IT9O6jc82UW54u1R16ny_sNpMuFtsyz0cmI83-TUEQ2vEx6ZZ0BT4UcxW6JkNfbJucKq-lG8vjl8QX3X0tO/s1600/inv+action.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKWalk7XMB4REx9gIJffQW1NhHbN_vRLAY0fqbSXecRy49_au5_akU0vV0IT9O6jc82UW54u1R16ny_sNpMuFtsyz0cmI83-TUEQ2vEx6ZZ0BT4UcxW6JkNfbJucKq-lG8vjl8QX3X0tO/s320/inv+action.jpg" width="272" /></a></div>It's not the action.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiAiA7i_KdRVG6MyZRAewPRWBZfTFZE9WHnRfgV2FLiERguMpWSyYgWFvywOowOAOaR1SYLUKJi1LBBQjX-hCRo0dw6kU3kVet8WYzuNIkL-LpAHzC1aktZ-epXT4Ha59kNfPf4PLd7nRQ/s1600/inv+romanc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiAiA7i_KdRVG6MyZRAewPRWBZfTFZE9WHnRfgV2FLiERguMpWSyYgWFvywOowOAOaR1SYLUKJi1LBBQjX-hCRo0dw6kU3kVet8WYzuNIkL-LpAHzC1aktZ-epXT4Ha59kNfPf4PLd7nRQ/s320/inv+romanc.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>It's not the romance.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQXQ5AO-sNGFl-PD1cKRU2lVKl3vGvgnFFvuiT1x3hgtx6rYyncQ-yBsDkrl_iYPqDQLWPrglVMP9wDYr2_7WOIcSYwpAcjc3J5APWHlYHfNnTB2UUUdF45AIWluRbmujQoEnZ8t7JLcVy/s1600/inv+villian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQXQ5AO-sNGFl-PD1cKRU2lVKl3vGvgnFFvuiT1x3hgtx6rYyncQ-yBsDkrl_iYPqDQLWPrglVMP9wDYr2_7WOIcSYwpAcjc3J5APWHlYHfNnTB2UUUdF45AIWluRbmujQoEnZ8t7JLcVy/s320/inv+villian.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><br />It's not the crazy super villains.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSkKvGRLS_E6MHpvCuewNoMmn7QBnm44y4mMMoiARWQDCi4XE8wTmb_R1-hT2oKZdde4bSn0K1XElyy2plNyu4EhDfnUGzqAu10DT1xOuHlMVrWknsk2wduRolCqsmqIJDFjWDSjQsfNVi/s1600/inv+universa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSkKvGRLS_E6MHpvCuewNoMmn7QBnm44y4mMMoiARWQDCi4XE8wTmb_R1-hT2oKZdde4bSn0K1XElyy2plNyu4EhDfnUGzqAu10DT1xOuHlMVrWknsk2wduRolCqsmqIJDFjWDSjQsfNVi/s320/inv+universa.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><br />It's not the hot, alien chicks.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGsGN3kkklI-Om0ApFU75dt7du6A9SG-erDfrzA8djbK9GxwXKgfjrFkJHE5RHHmx7uKEo85VWDMkVvSdbvcCc79VUUwPCn4f5umkhIZeFEEU4y5Xs3_OK0RqxOjWscvP-N2ERSe9au9cg/s1600/inv+blood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGsGN3kkklI-Om0ApFU75dt7du6A9SG-erDfrzA8djbK9GxwXKgfjrFkJHE5RHHmx7uKEo85VWDMkVvSdbvcCc79VUUwPCn4f5umkhIZeFEEU4y5Xs3_OK0RqxOjWscvP-N2ERSe9au9cg/s320/inv+blood.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br />It's not even the brutal beatdowns. No, what makes Invincible "The Best Superhero Comic Book In The Universe" is this...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvR3GIXeJTczlnJM03mB48up8cW9lPDLh7inJTx4XGXW8PG6aBs0uy148fjSgpuOSrAwX5qdnXEb50se_fYze8U0xWYqT1MzAljK1lAYIgiUylr3t5RSAyxfyy4iPCA9vWt75Riha_tA-J/s1600/invinciblemarna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvR3GIXeJTczlnJM03mB48up8cW9lPDLh7inJTx4XGXW8PG6aBs0uy148fjSgpuOSrAwX5qdnXEb50se_fYze8U0xWYqT1MzAljK1lAYIgiUylr3t5RSAyxfyy4iPCA9vWt75Riha_tA-J/s320/invinciblemarna.jpg" width="277" /></a></div><br />it got my wife to read it. After all the years I've tried to get her to read a comic, Invincible finally pulled her in. She'll probably kill me for posting this photo, but I love it. Nobie and I came home the other night and she had already fallen asleep reading in bed and what do you know? There she is all snuggled up with an Invincible trade. Awesome! That is simply the clinching reason why Invincible really is "The Best Superhero Comic Book In The Universe". I dare you to prove me wrong. Later.BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-67731417210904942492011-09-16T08:09:00.000-05:002011-09-16T08:23:13.890-05:00So, Where Was I?So, you're wondering where I was for the last month right? Well, the answer is nowhere. I've been here all along. I just haven't been posting for lack of subject matter/want. See when I started this blog it was to keep up with other collectors and to make trades and such and it's been great for that. The problem is, we just aren't buying all that many cards anymore, especially packs, which means we don't have much to trade. Besides MLB stickers, we haven't bought much of anything. I was posting my singles purchases, but I figured I was pretty much boring everyone with just my Mavs, Rangers and Cowboys stuff. Sorry, that's about all I'm bothering with lately. My last several posts where not even about card collecting sports at all, just soccer though I tried to tie it in with some EPL customs. So I think it's time to retool a little bit. I'm gonna follow my buds TJ and Guy from <a href="http://obsessive-recreation.com/">Obsessive-Recreation</a> and blog on whatever the heck I want to. Maybe cards, maybe comics or music or soccer or whatever. I'm hoping that by broadening my subject matter, I'll be more likely to keep up with it. We'll see. Later.BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-32197028864667220752011-09-14T22:45:00.000-05:002011-09-14T22:57:22.422-05:00Don't Worry, I'm Still Alive!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Some of you were probably beginning to wonder what happened to me. Or maybe not. Anyway, it's been a whole month since I last posted and I didn't want anyone to get worried, so here's proof that I'm okay.</div>
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<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwqx9_9tGPfSwQsI1ou0ukjaISoqvrdVHtRaFwzr-ooNnHq3t4m2n5YNW49kopmqq0fdFiJbuC5W4-hcDzJydOpcKRfA0TJ9KDSzlq6yUZlyQgmPCMEtxPc_0bUQFgOJxeVR9lMxAz2BQ/s320/spidey1.jpg" width="240" /></div>
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That's me holding the first issue of the all new Ultimate Spider-man featuring Miles Morales in the Spidey suit. It just came out today, so there's your proof. In case you've been out of the loop of comics, this issue is somewhat controversial as Miles is not your typical Spider-man. A while back when it was announced that Peter was gonna die and he'd be replaced by a new Spider-man, all the buzz was about Miles' skin color. That's right folks, he's not white! OMG! First the White House and now our beloved superheroes, what could be next?</div>
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Well, guess what? It's no big deal to me what color our new Spidey is. Sure I'd love for Peter to still be around, but not because he's a white guy, he's just familiar. I think the change is pretty cool though. See I don't think superheroes should live forever. I think they should die off, retire, grow disinterested or just altogether quit every once in a while. We don't need 80 year old Bruce Wayne running around trying to still be Batman. He's had plenty of apprentices that can take up the mantel and run with it, or how about this? Create an all new character every once in awhile to replace the departed ones. I kinda wish that's what they would have done here instead of giving Miles the Spider-man name, but I also realize that he wouldn't be getting near the publicity if he was named Arachno-boy or Wonderwebs or something.</div>
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Speaking of names and people being too hung up on Miles' skin color, I read a post on a forum somewhere today where someone was complaining about Miles' last name being Morales. They said, "If his dad is black and his mom is Puerto Rican, why does he use his mother's last name when they are married?" They seemed very concerned that a black guy wouldn't have a latino last name. I guess they must not watch very much baseball. Ever hear of David Ortiz for one? Just because his dad is black doesn't mean he can't be Puerto Rican or Dominican or something. Who cares what color his skin is or what his name is, as long as the stories are well written and enjoyable, and so far, it is. In fact, the biggest difference so far between the two Spider-men is not their names or races, it's their powers. **Spoiler Alert** Miles can turn INVISIBLE! Now that's got me interested. Later.</div>
BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7242047319589911237.post-77985855397364248562011-08-13T07:33:00.000-05:002011-08-13T07:33:01.252-05:00EPL Kickoff! Big D Custom SoccerI thought I'd kickoff the soccer season with some fresh customs. Since my man <a href="http://www.basketballcardblog.com/">Guy</a> has no team playing to root for today, I'll start with his Everton squad.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5sC1KNdTYrY/TkYBCMrT_2I/AAAAAAAAC0M/Nhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifrNawSfrE7Q/s1600/timhoward.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyeoOxavOYBCb9gP5M8zxtOGdSNM0KwDMnLu4lijwmjpl4OsM9Q6X8ZqYISpN4fbY9Ivl5PlzeDLNAzsBBb-jtuL3jfTJ_XbjZ2eAbZIyledr_vLdTmpRiAEazVLkhpXo82Chw0ohblwb9/s320/timhoward.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640196720602382178" /></a>
<br />First up is USA goalkeeper extraordinaire, Tim Howard.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pSDbzrjbDBWxamnWr7HzxTnyZRdQez40rLUL4_V3b2nOvuOQh8OghSG7VZTJINMg0IWbp8BVAYHnI5RgGfOOJpksvtxMgAqs3FV8QWLwSA4KyOtQMkCOUlV3ushJVwPsphOnigL7WSvX/s1600/mikelarteta.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pSDbzrjbDBWxamnWr7HzxTnyZRdQez40rLUL4_V3b2nOvuOQh8OghSG7VZTJINMg0IWbp8BVAYHnI5RgGfOOJpksvtxMgAqs3FV8QWLwSA4KyOtQMkCOUlV3ushJVwPsphOnigL7WSvX/s320/mikelarteta.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640196650418410930" /></a>
<br />Next, is pretty boy Mikel Arteta. I think Guy is gonna name his son after this fella if he gets the chance.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZmA_gSOZsW7Ocz7SjephJu2eAxETTjyrZMSBsmjWmWMtbbKkpjWakU-i0uM_3SNKoLmE7cF5aj2N1FonG50gFNcJKL_dIpS5ywc6gmibVrFacUBI9gYLr2x-70ups5arv9dOLkXVXzdZ/s1600/wife.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZmA_gSOZsW7Ocz7SjephJu2eAxETTjyrZMSBsmjWmWMtbbKkpjWakU-i0uM_3SNKoLmE7cF5aj2N1FonG50gFNcJKL_dIpS5ywc6gmibVrFacUBI9gYLr2x-70ups5arv9dOLkXVXzdZ/s320/wife.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640198025216067970" /></a>
<br />For those of you who don't like pretty boys, here is his hot wife instead.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXboIS0hamZ8FAfNpd5HI_9RnQRCqOW04672StXJ2k5PhRnuGb2Kgu6LGsmrAqs_tQzAycZXpSQld1223hBD4Xhav5v3eGA2Cy6ghd6lZY9T5MZXLp3e91Rkss7iNv3FZWm1-zFCqdLUox/s1600/screech.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXboIS0hamZ8FAfNpd5HI_9RnQRCqOW04672StXJ2k5PhRnuGb2Kgu6LGsmrAqs_tQzAycZXpSQld1223hBD4Xhav5v3eGA2Cy6ghd6lZY9T5MZXLp3e91Rkss7iNv3FZWm1-zFCqdLUox/s320/screech.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640195413133209602" /></a>
<br />One of Guy's other favorite players is Marouane Fellaini. Whoops, I got my photos mixed up...
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXGKb39tyL0A31GjUw5OaGBC_Vtt-AJurbouWN_p1gat8vs5ZbgM8qnPge96_Stf0XJQVhdXNGzj9Tp3TPBXFvCbVVZ4N7C3FXU1MelBqYteLSqrrytiM_ziPa00JnMzhIgMQM0xqVH6Y/s1600/fellaini.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXGKb39tyL0A31GjUw5OaGBC_Vtt-AJurbouWN_p1gat8vs5ZbgM8qnPge96_Stf0XJQVhdXNGzj9Tp3TPBXFvCbVVZ4N7C3FXU1MelBqYteLSqrrytiM_ziPa00JnMzhIgMQM0xqVH6Y/s320/fellaini.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640195340594636002" /></a>
<br />here we go, this is the right one.
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<br /><a href="http://waxaholic.blogspot.com/">Captain Canuck</a> is also an avid EPL fan. His favorite team is ManUre. Oops, sorry just a little typo there. ManUtd is his favorite. My bad.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZz4f6luoZrJSz9eT-GViLdnIhWtuEy9MwVIXH0u5XlNyYgnFj2JLaQmsAphYvqPczxRkawH06UrhP_Yb6p9H4BpBrTwqSqSRUQ6XWJf-Vtl_ipiRCqTpld4ORQP2Tnxn_JKTdbEhSixGC/s1600/rio.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZz4f6luoZrJSz9eT-GViLdnIhWtuEy9MwVIXH0u5XlNyYgnFj2JLaQmsAphYvqPczxRkawH06UrhP_Yb6p9H4BpBrTwqSqSRUQ6XWJf-Vtl_ipiRCqTpld4ORQP2Tnxn_JKTdbEhSixGC/s320/rio.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640195101473201938" /></a>
<br />Rio seems like he's been around forever. I miss his braids.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4iIeCk-GuzHsCriuvt4UXvKMvERxCJnNLLUmdW7c9BVaquDbe7i5D_7lXIznKPLeX6SlvU_adACiPciUrn5I_u8Co4aIr2u52xhnb6sXJVtbEaBQPxsAuV7VpUkzdCzqkyhec3S5eRI2/s1600/rooney.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4iIeCk-GuzHsCriuvt4UXvKMvERxCJnNLLUmdW7c9BVaquDbe7i5D_7lXIznKPLeX6SlvU_adACiPciUrn5I_u8Co4aIr2u52xhnb6sXJVtbEaBQPxsAuV7VpUkzdCzqkyhec3S5eRI2/s320/rooney.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640194564819167010" /></a>
<br />Maybe once Rooney's hair transplant is all grown in, he'll get braids instead.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifs9Fjd3s55PJNev8QNdv5Y1-UkRg8VnVU8VN9mgeORcZrf1iX8ZTtHykOAPpxIiQnaKjs62QqrzfoEIORxGJzrH_7kaEAwq0HAIKwLDtS1e6qeQqPXqqwHHHlJH2_Ev_O3JbOrQ1LCbwK/s1600/Nani.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifs9Fjd3s55PJNev8QNdv5Y1-UkRg8VnVU8VN9mgeORcZrf1iX8ZTtHykOAPpxIiQnaKjs62QqrzfoEIORxGJzrH_7kaEAwq0HAIKwLDtS1e6qeQqPXqqwHHHlJH2_Ev_O3JbOrQ1LCbwK/s320/Nani.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640195028848163314" /></a>
<br />Nani likes to go by one name and pretend he's from Brazil. He's really from Portugal.
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<br />Last buy certainly not least are my Magpies of Newcastle!
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9eEZgq6mJojTteQL02Ra0xuvj7NBxQpW7H28mlxQ3Nr0SN7yUyj-EHM5JSGkVVqGghh1sm9XnjPR0umn7zKbphLtMJYSGF59IhUw_hZZLp_8vzkiQBTLfwP_5Fhkw4GdaR-Ri-MvF2rMx/s1600/benarfa.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9eEZgq6mJojTteQL02Ra0xuvj7NBxQpW7H28mlxQ3Nr0SN7yUyj-EHM5JSGkVVqGghh1sm9XnjPR0umn7zKbphLtMJYSGF59IhUw_hZZLp_8vzkiQBTLfwP_5Fhkw4GdaR-Ri-MvF2rMx/s320/benarfa.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640194286708253042" /></a>
<br />Ben Arfa missed almost all of last season due to a double fracture in his leg. I expect great things from him this season.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizu7dtcNdYsBAjewPTrf6XaB04FhYHlTRhJ7XTBMCl1k536Y8dLfc9TxKe95-DVJZ1_IGDciC_OUcMck3ub6I42wtwj5gkAD2vzXvgkqagcY7rVep3yhRj5xGFOMd6uFkH8Is33jaLWIky/s1600/jonas.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizu7dtcNdYsBAjewPTrf6XaB04FhYHlTRhJ7XTBMCl1k536Y8dLfc9TxKe95-DVJZ1_IGDciC_OUcMck3ub6I42wtwj5gkAD2vzXvgkqagcY7rVep3yhRj5xGFOMd6uFkH8Is33jaLWIky/s320/jonas.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640194278625566306" /></a>
<br />Even though the back of his jersey says Jonas, he is not the fourth Jonas brother. Jonas is actually his first name as in Jonas Gutierrez.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWUXAxky7mHeLJUznUVfOc9Ghtv5I1pbVcfYlMeHe4u2FmwsrUyJGW6izEKDZM7UVeZbMPsJAvJL5pqSibGzwPYpxe0ABhXd6Hi7FrqvmW1xwWRS-3sKKZsjs1nYUloHAFFSq2cwZDf9-3/s1600/barton.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWUXAxky7mHeLJUznUVfOc9Ghtv5I1pbVcfYlMeHe4u2FmwsrUyJGW6izEKDZM7UVeZbMPsJAvJL5pqSibGzwPYpxe0ABhXd6Hi7FrqvmW1xwWRS-3sKKZsjs1nYUloHAFFSq2cwZDf9-3/s320/barton.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640194293653687794" /></a>
<br />The final Toon player here is Joey Barton who has done his darndest to get himself shipped out of Newcastle lately, but for now he'll remain on Tyneside.
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<br />So, there you go. Are you in the mood for a little association football now? Later.BigDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00730889755481834414noreply@blogger.com7