Maverick Power!

This is bad ass! (At least it is to me.)The Mavs are off to a great start so far. Let's keep it going!

Ri-Dirk-Culous!

I haven't been buying tons of packs recently because frankly, I don't give a damn about half the players I pull. If they aren't Mavs or a handful of other favorites, then it kind of seems like a waste. So I've decided to focus more on singles instead. For my most recent Checkoutmycards purchase, I decided to focus only on my all time favorite basketball player, Dirk Nowitzki. Why, you might ask, is Dirk my favorite player? Here are some reasons.

As you well know, Dirk is German, so he adds some international flair. He's also 7 feet tall, but is not a big, white stiff. He's got game and is very versatile.

He can play high or low post...

he's a pretty good passer for a big guy...

he can drain shots from behind the arc...

or put it on the floor and head to the hoop. Where he will more than likely...

get fouled and nail the free throw...

or make it all the way to the rim for a layup...

or finish with a thunderous dunk. Anyway you look at him, he's pretty much the greatest Euro player ever and one of the best from anywhere to ever play in the NBA. If you are a MFFL then you know for sure that...

Dirk is Money! Later.

Gifts From Cardboard Heaven!

A couple weeks ago I was checking out Cameron's blog Cardboard Heaven and noticed he had pulled this beauty.

I sent him a note asking if it was available, which it was, so a few days later it arrived in the mail. It came so fast, in fact, it seemed like he must have already been sending it to me even before I asked. Maybe he has ESP. That wasn't all he sent though.

There were a couple of Cliff Lee's in the mix. Cliff had a great season for the Rangers and I'd like to see him resign here, but I doubt it will happen. If it does, I just hope the Rangers are smart about it and don't ruin other potential resignings in the near future.

Cameron also sent this nice gold Pudge. Too bad his in his damn pin stripped pajamas!

Here are some more current and recently former Rangers he also sent. Mitch Moreland was a very nice surprise, so I really appreciate the rookie chrome.

Besides Rangers we got some glory days Cowboys...

and some of the current guys, who definitely are not experiencing their glory days right now. Dez has been a great acquisition and they seem to have turned it around the last 2 weeks since Garrett has taken over, so hopefully the crapfest this season is behind them.

Thanks again for the cards, Cameron. I'll be sending you a batch of stuff soon. I'll see what kind of Ravens and whatnot I've got for you. I'll also send you this custom...

I think you'll like it. Later.

Cards From the Hall of Fame

A while back we got a package from Tim at The Great Sports Name Hall of Fame. We've traded with Tim several times so I can't remember if he owed me or now I owe him, but anyway, here's what he sent us this time.

A bunch of Cubs for Nobie. Can you spot the Fred McGriff? Tim always throws one in. I'm not sure if he's trying to convert us all to McGriff collectors or just has way to many on his hands.

Tim also sent a bunch of Cowboys including what has to be one of the worst photos for a player's card ever. I'm not even sure Darrin Smith's mom could figure out who is the featured player on this card, especially since the team name/logo is not present.

Here are the rest of the Cowboys we got, including a Daryl Johnston bipping!

Next up is a bunch of old school Rangers including what appears to be a school photo of Benji Gil.

Besides Rangers we got a sampling of some of our other baseball favorites. Eddie Murray appears to be questioning his magic mirror. Mirror, mirror on the wall...

Rounding out this package was a stack of basketball cards including some Mavs, Reggie, the Dream and the Mailman. Most of these come from the dark days of Maverick basketball, but that's okay, it really makes me appreciate the team we have now.

Thanks, for all the cards Tim. I'm not sure I have much to send in return, I don't think I have any more of what you collect, so I may have to repay you with a custom. How about this?

Later.

I Think I Can Do Better - Entry 3

Okay, so yesterday I said I could do better with Panini's Prestige design for this year so here we go! First, I want to show you some cards where I think the basic design works fine.

My one big complaint with this set this year is the logo upside the head of everyone. Here I don't mind it though because it's necessary to fit the player on the card. These 3 cards do show the player's head on top of the logo, but they also overlap the stripes on the right and make good use of all of the space. So these are good in my mind (though they could use some color!)

Here are some cards that I feel miss the mark. All the heads pretty much touch the logo again, but none of them overlap the stripes (or just barely). This leaves us with players that look crammed in the card or who are dribbling half a basketball like Vince. So what can I do that will make them look better? I'll show ya.

First, I moved the players to the right a little bit so that they overlap the stripes which also moved their heads away from the logo. I even allows Vince to dribble a whole ball! Second, I added a dash of color and presto! Much better, right? What do you think? Later.

2010-11 NBA Panini Prestige Value Pack

Well, a new basketball season is underway and that means a new crop of Panini NBA cards. They are now the exclusive license holder for real, so officially no more Topps or Upper Deck this year. The first set to be released this year is Prestige. I'm not sure, but I (and other fellow bloggers) think this may be Panini's "basic" set this year. I hope not, since the checklist is kinda small and there is not a sticker and/or insert per pack. They do seem to be cheaper, though. From what I remember last year, you got 5 cards per pack for $2.99 while this year it's 10 cards for the same price. Or maybe my memory is a little foggy. These came from a value pack which is 40 cards for $4.99 which is a great deal. Anyway, let's check out the cards shall we?

Here is the base card design. I like the fact that we get a background and the player is not cut out. The right side has some trademark Panini gray striping (they do shy away from those team colors, don't they!) The player and team name appear in a strip at the bottom while a Prestige logo creeps in from the upper left corner. One strange thing I noticed is no team logo. While the card design is fine without it, the strange part comes from the side of the boxes that the packs come out of. They clearly show a Kobe card with the Lakers logo on the gray stripe in the upper right hand corner. That's okay though, we don't need a team logo, because there is not room! The poor players are already having to duck out of the way of the Prestige logo as it is! In fact, that's my main complaint of this set, almost all of the players are being knocked upside the head by the logo for no reason.

This is what the backs look like. Notice the nice use of team colors here! Why not on the front? Same as all of Panini's releases last year, we only get 1 line of stats.

Besides current players, we get "Legends?" this year. I like the inclusion of retired players, though I'm not sure if Kurt Rambis and Jamal Mashburn (which I pulled from another pack) count as legends exactly. At least Mash is in a Mavericks uni on his card!

In addition to retired guys we get some young guns as well. I really like the design of the Evans Super Sophs card, there's a cool swirl pattern in the background if you look carefully. I got two of the top rookies, the Turner being on of the many parallels you can get.

This is what a rookie back looks like, same as the veterans except for one small difference. There is an extra line of text above the Panini logo and when I first read it, I was a little mad. I was going to send an email to Panini and find out what was up. Take a closer look at it...

That's right, I pulled an auto card which as you can see from the front scan is clearly missing the auto. What the heck? Well, I picked up another couple packs over the next couple of days and guess what? That's right, all the rookies seem to have this line on the back whether there is an auto on the front or not. Gee, thanks a lot Panini. I guess they decided to design the rookie cards just like all their other "hit" cards. Start with a insert/relic/auto and gradually remove items until you are stuck with poorly designed base insert cards. Figures. I wonder what they would do I if sent them all in asking where my autographs are?

All in all, I like the Prestige cards alright. I'm still holding out for a true Panini base set. I liked the chance to get more than 3 or 4 players for each team and, like I mentioned before, the inclusion of a sticker and insert in every pack. Plus, you got like 12 cards for $1.99. Stay tuned tomorrow and I'll show you how I can make a decent set design even better. Later.

Hey, B-ball bloggin' homies...

anyone know if Panini is planning on putting out a plain 'ol Panini Basketball release this year? I haven't personally seen anything about one and it was probably my favorite set of theirs last year. Just wonderin' if any of you have heard anything. Later.

Hefty Bags Make Bad Uniforms!

All 30 teams in the NBA this year have brand spanking new unis featuring new fabrics courtesy of Adidas. None of them, however, are made of trash bags as the Mavericks failed gray uniforms were from a few years ago. Don't believe me? I have proof, see?

Okay, so they aren't actually made of Hefty bags, but they sure were ugly. When I saw this card on Checkoutmycards.com, I had to have it. I had never seen this unis depicted on a card before (I have since found another.) Mark Cuban scrapped this uniform after just one game because everyone hated it. I don't think he should have given up on it completely though. I've always been intrigued by the Lakers home yellows and wondered why someone else doesn't come up with a light colored home jersey instead of white. When the Mavs changed their colors to their newest scheme, I thought silver jerseys would be cool and maybe that's what Mark had in mind. The end result missed the mark, but that's okay. I can fix it with the help of Photoshop.

See, isn't that better! While they look a little more aluminum foily than I would like to see in real life, I think a silver home uniform would be pretty sweet. At least it would be unique and keep the Lakers from being the only ones who are too cool to wear white (though I guess that's been toned down with their Sunday/Holiday whites they now use on occasion.) Anyway, if you're reading this Mark, why not give it another shot? Think about how awesome the pregame light show could be reflecting off these babies! Later.

When Did Upper Deck Become Panini?

I ran across these packs of 2010 Upper Deck Greats of the Game and decided to check them out. I'm not sure when they were released exactly, but I hadn't seen them so I grabbed 2 packs.

Here's the wrapper. It's got Michael Jordan pre-Hitler 'stache on it. I didn't know what to expect of the cards inside. Upper Deck stuff in the past has pretty much always been well designed and I miss them not putting out any professionally licensed stuff any more. I was hoping for something pretty cool, but was rather surprised when this is what I found inside...

a Panini product! Check them out, all the classic signs! Dull, monochromatic, non-team colored border, check! Closeup of single player, no teammates or opposition in site, check! Annoying, white gradient just waiting for an auto sticker, check! Cut Off At The Junk, check! What the heck! All that's missing is the actual Panini logo in the corner.

The backs of the cards and the 1 insert I got were equally bland. (And I got Adrian Dantley. I hate Adrian Dantley. The Mavs traded Mark Aguirre away for him right when I moved to Dallas. That pissed me off.) I think someone from Panini has flown the coop and ended up at UD. What do you think? Later.

Custom Trade

A few weeks ago, I got a request from reader Eric for a couple custom cards. He had some photos he'd taken of Luke Hochevar who if I remember correctly was a high school buddy of his. Eric wanted to know if I could make a custom or two for him and I said sure.

The first card, as you can see, is of his days as an Omaha Royal.

The second card shows Luke in the big leagues along with Eric (I think and maybe his wife?). After I sent the cards off to Eric he sent us a thank you package full of goodies.

We got a stack of catchers...

some Cubs for Nobie...

American League Champion Rangers...

some Cowboys from when they were actually good...

and some NBA greats. Thanks for the cards Eric, glad you liked the customs. Later.