Back To Back Baseball

So after a couple months of basketball only content, I've actually got 2 baseball posts in a row! Here are a few more single pickups of some of our favorites.


I really enjoy Topps' Opening Day set. It's got a lot going for it though it isn't perfect. It really needs to have an altogether different design than the Flagship set, then it would be perfect. The main things I like about it are the price and the inserts. They're just more fun, like these 3D Opening Day Stars cards.



This, I believe, is a black diamond Josh Hamilton that is from the Topps wrapper redemption program. I didn't redeem any wrappers, but someone did, then they sold it to me. These cards are pretty nice.


Here are a few more just like it that I picked up on ebay. I don't know how many wrappers it takes to get a set, but I'm pretty sure we don't buy enough packs to pull it off anyway, so ebay is a nice option for us. Plus, I can just pick and choose who I want and don't have to bother with storing a bunch of stuff I don't really want anyway. It's a win win situation. Though it does leave me short of trading material. Oh well. This officially ends our two post baseball interlude. We will now be returning you to some irregularly scheduled basketball posts. Later.

Back to Baseball - First Kurts of the Season

Wow, it's been quite a while since I've posted about anything besides basketball. Besides customs, I haven't posted about much period, so here's a little baseball for you. If you're looking for variety though, it ain't here. This post is Kurt specific.


First up is a nice green refractor from Topps Heritage. The green border goes quite nicely with the A's uni colors. This was an ebay pickup as I have bought maybe 2 total packs of Heritage this year. I've pretty much only grabbed singles of the dudes we collect from Sportlots.


Also, from ebay I nabbed this sparkly diamond edition of Kurt's Topps card for this year. I actually don't even have the regular old version yet, though I'm sure it'll show up eventually. Later.

Base Set Take 2 - Big D Customs

Before I get back to insert posts, here's another base set concept. I believe I have now officially made a custom of at least 1 guy from every team in the league. Stay tuned for more customs soon. Later.

Big D Gets NBA LIcense!

Don't I wish. Anyway, if I did, here's an idea for a flagship base set. Later.

Here's To The Little Guys - Big D Customs

Basketball is usually known as a sport for big guys. When you're tall everyone assumes you play basketball. I'm 6'6" and I can't tell you how many times I've been asked if I play basketball in my life. In the general public I'm usually the tallest guy around, but in the NBA, I'd be pretty average sized, probably a 2 guard. So here's a tribute to some of the smaller guys in the league. The guys who somehow pull of some incredible moves that make you elbow your buddy and say, Dude, did you see that?


Stephen Curry runs the show for the Warriors and along with his running mate Monta Ellis provides some pretty exciting offense.


I like Aaron Brooks and think he could start for a lot of teams. Right now though, he has to settle for being Steve Nash's backup.


J.J. I think shocked just about everyone around the country with his postseason play. Those of us in Dallas that have seen him all season, though, knew he had something to contribute and boy did he! He was a big factor in the Mavs run to the championship. Way to go, J.J! Here's to you and all the little guys in the NBA. Later.

MAVS WIN! MAVS WIN! MAVS WIN!

I can hardly believe it! This is the greatest day in my sports fan life! I don't know what else to say. Later.

Ready for Game 5! Let's Go Mavs!

The Mavs last chance to win at home is tonight in game 5 and if they pull it off, they'll be up 3 games to 2. So far, the series has been pretty thrilling and I'm sure tonight will be more of the same. Here are a few recent Dirk pickups to get you in the mood.


This is a clear plexiglass card from the UD Glass set. It's much thicker than a normal card and the little squares are actully holes in the card. Pretty sweet.


This next card is from Panini's most recent basketball release Classics. I really like the color combo of the blue jersey swatch with the bright yellow. It looks especially nice since the Mavs blue matches the blue text on the card, whereas teams with say purple or green or somesuch tend to clash a little.


Up next is a somewhat shiny Hoopla Dirk from Absolute. Of course, Panini left plenty of blank space for the jersey and sticker auto variations.


This card is my first foray into eTopps. I picked it up on ebay for cheap and was pretty impressed when it came in the mail. It's nice and shiny and sealed up in a special case. It can't go in my Dirk binder like this, so I'll probably let it out at some point.


Finally, we have a Stargazing insert, also from Absolute. There are also jersey versions of this, but I prefer the base since the team logo fills more area than the small circle hole does.

That's all I got for now. Be sure to tune in for game 5 tonight and cheer the Mavs to victory! Later.

Not Playing With A Full Deck!

Well Dirk was clearly not himself tonight, but he managed to struggle through a 101 degree fever and put up a pretty good game. Fortunately, his supporting cast showed up tonight and the Mavs managed to tie the series at 2 games each with the Heat. Hopefully, Dirk will be back to 100% by game 5.

Speaking of not 100%, I picked up a few Dirk playing cards, one from each of 4 different decks. That leaves me with about 98% to go for each set to get a complete deck.


This is what the backs look like. One of the sets commemorates the All Star game the year it was held in Phoenix. The other 3 are just regular sets. As far as I can tell, they are all Chinese decks.


Here you can see the fronts. While these aren't sports cards in the traditional sense, I like them because they are something different to add to the collection. It would be nice to eventually get full decks, but pretty expensive unless I can find whole decks for sale somewhere. At $2 per card, the cost would add up pretty quickly. Anyway, the Finals so far have been awesome, though I wish the Mavs would get up early and stay up for once. This come from behind business needs to stop. Go Mavs! Later.

Anything Boys Can Do... - Big D Customs

So the WNBA turns 15 tomorrow. Who woulda thunk it? While I am by no means a follower of the league, I have been known to watch a few minutes here and there for a little basketball fix during the summer. It's nowhere near as entertaining as the NBA but I do think it has it's place in the sports world. Little girls need sports heroes to look up to as much as the guys do and the WNBA is by far the most stable of women's leagues in this country. So to honor the anniversary, here are a few cards of some lovely bball playin' ladies.


I don't know a whole lot about Penny other than she's not an American, but she is an All-Star, wears the number 13 and plays in Phoenix. I guess she's the female, Australian Steve Nash.


I remember first seeing Jayne when she played for Stanford. I thought she was basketball hot. So there you go.


Abi here is the daughter of one of my all time faves. The Dream himself Hakeem Olajuwon. I guess she was traded to Indiana from Chicago. She's pretty cute too when she's all dolled up, though I feel a little weird being attracted to her, since she looks just like her dad!

Anyway, once the NBA Playoffs are done, check out the lady ballers! It's really not THAT bad! Later.

Twinkle Twinkle - Big D Customs

Well game 1 didn't go as I'd hoped, but there's still plenty of time. Here's my newest set featuring 2 dudes who are still playing and one who is not.


I can't stand Kobe, but he is star & a stud.


Same for Wade, though I liked him a lot more before this whole decision thing. And before 2006.


No hate for Dirk. Just pure love. Isn't he dreamy? C'mon Dirk, ya gotta win a title for ME! Please! Later.