SPRING BREAK IS HERE THANK GOD!!!!!!!

 

                   The title says it all I am on spring break from my school job as of this date so now I can maybe work on some of the 3200ct boxes in my basement before I am needed to go to my other job at Dollar General. I need to work on these boxes before the May 3rd when I am setting up at a show so I can be more organized instead of having bunches of early `90s to early 2000s of Basketball for people to rummage through & maybe have the missing cards they need as well help out any of my readers that might have a list of that they need filling out minus of course the Jordans,Kobe,Lebrons ya get the idea. As well have a bunch of the `90s football boxes as well minus be name stars again. So if you need anything just let me know hopefully ya can knock out at least 25 of my needs as well as a start for all the digging Ill have to go through. As for hockey & baseball I don't have many 3200ct boxes but I have stuff so don't fret that I don't have anything in those 2 sports.  

               The card you see on top of my post is 1 that is on my baseball list of needs. Just maybe someone will come forward to help me out.  I really like to get some of my lists smaller if possible before I leave for Chicago for the National Sports Card Convention. I already know I might bump into Dime-Box Nick in his own backyard of a show so I am hoping Nick is reading my blog so if ya see me Nick say hi cause Ill be hitting those dime & quarter boxes again alot this summer & the fewer items I have to find means more new stuff to build or get lol. 

          So in other news the 1st games of the baseball season are in the books with the reining champion Los Angeles Dodgers are already in 1st place of their division after taking 2 games from the Chicago Cubs in a small 2 game series in Japan. It came to no shocker that Shohei Ohtani went deep in 1 of the games to please the hometown crowd I know somewhere Mr Night Owl is strutting his birds of a feather dance that his Dodgers are in 1st just remember that theres still 160 more games left to play though Mr Owl sir.

 I checked my schedule at Dollar General looks like I am going to only have Thursday off & Friday I guess its better than nothing to do on those days until then I am reminded of what Rogers Hornsby said about signing autographs for kids " Any Ballplayer who doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, he's a Communist."

WEMBY......WEMBY...THEY FELL IN

                   

         Last week Thursday I went to Walmart to check to see if they had any 9 pocket sleeves that I could use for my `07/`08 & `08/`09 Upper Deck Basketball sets. Unfortunately they didn't have any sleeves & with a fellow collector named Craig Rush helping me with my 2025 Topps baseball set by making it for me this year I tried to steer myself away from this years Topps cause I didn't want to crack any opened other than the 2 fat retail packs & 1 Hanger that I picked up a couple of days before my little brothers passing. So I picked up 2 blasters of the `23/`24 Hoops Winter to crack open. I was happy to pull these 2 cards out of the blasters. I at anytime can pull a big name rookie or star that normally is out of my price range to get later on right from the start is a great thing. I recall back in 2006 when I bought an `05/`06 Upper Deck Series II Hockey blaster the first pack yielded me a Victory Update of Squidney Crybaby (Sidney Crosby) RC the 2nd pack yielded me a double Alexander Ovechkin the first was the Victory Update RC but the card right after that was his Young Gun RC stay tuned to more about Alexander the Gr8 on a future post. So back to the present day I pulled the Wemby times 2 so that one less big name I need to worry about as time moves on as I make this set plus I have future trade bait if anyone else is making the set as well.

I can only hope the next time I go to a different Walmart that they have some fat packs or more blasters for me to get so I can get more cards & get closer to completing this set. Until then I am reminded of Rogers Hornsby once said about signing Autographs for little kids "Any ballplayer who doesn't sign Autographs for little kids ain't an American, he's a Communist."

 

SO MANY THINGS TO WONDER....

       

               The title from this post is from an early 1990s film called Mixed Nuts that's why your looking at Adam Sandler in the picture on top it was one of his earliest roles it starred Steve Martin & Rita Wilson in this great comedy film from 1994. Adam sings with the accompanying him on his ukulele an original song "So Many Things to Wonder" I feel the same way however I say So Many Things to Wonder to Get to complete my needs. Just yesterday I went through my 13 3200ct basketball boxes again to make sure that I located all the singles I have from the `07/`08 Upper Deck set as well the `08/`09 Upper Deck set removed & placed within the pile of the starter lot of the set build I am doing. Currently I have for the `07/`08 set 104/242 cards which is a 43% completion which is a semi-great start. As for the `08/`09 set that is at 100/266 card which is a 38% completion rate which way lower than I would like it to be but, that is what happens usually with me when I start late on sets that have been released & I didn't start when they first were released.

                 I have many reasons why I start the sets so later than usual. One of the reasons is does it appeal to me to make. Example the `07/`08 design is like this.

While the `08/`09 design is like this.

           Upper Deck pretty designs are much like the other sports I have sets of however I didn't do the 2008 Upper Deck Football set nor at this moment do I feel like doing that set. The reasoning is cause I have way too much to work on at the moment & with my job schedules its hard to find the time to do it.

               Another reason I look at is can I find a starter lot of the set that I am thinking of putting together I prefer to have at least 70% a completion rate or higher before I work on it plus can my LCS or trading partners/readers help me out in finding singles I need usually when I get someone to help me that usually about 3-10 cards now don't get me wrong its find every little bit helps but considering I usually send good portion of cards to trade to other set builders if the set has more that 200 cards.
             
               I am sure the only set builder that does research on the sets as well thanks to the TCDB.com site to help with my decisions. There I can see how many cards are within the set I am considering in making & looking at the images of the cards if available helps as well. Another feature I like is if I decide to do a master set with variations in it I know what to look for a specific example when I made my 1982 Donruss Sets (Yes I made 2 Master sets of them). As you can see in the pictures below are of Alan Trammell Diamond King card the one on the left is the error cause there's only 1 "L" in his last name while the right one is the correct spelling with 2 "L's" & sometimes I recheck the TCDB if there's anything new to locate like the Christy Matthewson's 1987 Hygrade All-Time Greats set pictured below I thought I had the set complete when this popped up in the Errors/Varations list lucky for me I was able to find the Outfielder card at my LCS for $.10 cause I already had the correct position of pitcher already. 

   

Being in Michigan the correction card is usually most sought after card.

Like Dime-Box Nick I always like a good deal on things.

                Another thing as when I consider doing when I am on the fence on doing a set is reach out to fellow collectors to see what their take is on the set. Like can they help me in completing the set. Can they point me in the right direction should I need assistance & they aren't able to help me complete it.  Do they want to hear my ramblings about why I am making that specific set. Are they willing to take any of my extras if they are building it as well. 

                 Since I dabble in all 4 sports on my set building I also wonder how many more sets for that certain sport am I willing to make. Yes I am clearly hearing my friend Greg from The Collective Mind Blog saying "I thought once ya started this football set you weren't going to make anymore football sets that as you know turned out to be false information." Currently I have 240 listings on my baseball wants that's prior to adding when it does get released the 2024 Topps Heritage High Numbers Inserts well as the minis. Only 61 listings for basketball. Only 63 listings in football & finally only 130 for hockey.

                So usually I have people constantly asking me to make them their sets for them since they are either too lazy to do it or they think I have enough cards in my 3200ct boxes to help them complete their sets. Don't get me wrong I enjoy making them its those that ask me to make the set only to back out of it just after I have done some digging or pulled the cards that they need from my boxes or go to my LCS or check with my connections for assistance. Case in point 2 months ago I had someone slam a 3200ct box asking me to make them a `93/`94 Fleer basketball set. A 400 card complete set with the only insert to them since they had a non-redeemed 1993 NBA Draft Lottery card that well...past expiration date so couldn't get it redeemed if they tried. I told him I would do it for $30 Non-refundable cause I had singles plus I have access to about 8/11 of the Lottery cards you got back in exchanged the only missing ones were Chris Webber #1 Penny Hardaway #3 & finally even though he was a Detroit Pistons pick #11 Allan Houston. I went to work on it 2 days later I get call from the guy he changed his mind after I pulled 376/400 cards from the set with 12 boxes to search through good thing I got my $$$$$$ up front. 

I consider this set the `93/`94 Fleer Glow Worms set cause how they look. You tell me am I right or not.

                 Yet as I try to convert all my 3200ct boxes of basketball & football by sets so its easier for me to find the stuff with my busy schedule from my 2 jobs & when I have the rare day off from any of my jobs I just want to go to a shop & see what I can find for myself or others & I slack in doing my own inventory when I should do it or hire someone to sort through them as a project with someone with OCD only if that was possible to locate someone like that. Well I like to hear what you think do I have so many things to wonder or not. As I am reminded by Rogers Hornsby saying about signing autographs for kids "Any Ballplayer who doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, He's a Communist." 

WHAT IF PART V

         

              On Monday when I was on my break at my Dollar General job. I read the latest developments in another installment of "What If" Series from my round table of discussions of friends who discuss matters that might changed baseball history from what happened then I proposed to include my readers of my blog to reach out to them & get their thoughts on the subject as well discuss what the group came up & as always there's no right or wrong answers just a bunch of baseball junkies who love the game but have great insights of the game. 

           You can see this is Topps glimpse of the 2091 card from the 2021 Topps Archives set. The What If topic was do you think baseball will continue with the pattern that started in 1904 that was repeated in 1994. Now you are asking what is the pattern well simple back in 1904 John McGraw was managing the New York Giants & lead them to the National League Pennant however he wasn't keen in playing against the American League Pennant winner that being the Philadelphia Athletics led by Connie Mack in what would have been the 2nd ever World Series so the World Series was canceled that year then resumed in 1905 & it ran every year up until 1994 when baseball fans were upset that the season as well post season year was canceled due to a players strike. So the question was to say should the MLB cancel the World Series in 2084 then again in 2174 etc.....basically every 90 years so I ask you my readers should they do it or not.  

             Some of the group members said that MLB sure if they don't change the amount of teams however if they expanded to more than 30 teams they should. So with that said I'm reminded of great Rogers Hornsby who once said "Any ballplayer who doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, he's a Communist." 

A BROTHERS TRIBUTE II

                

                   Yesterday was my little brother Ethan's 46 Birthday. It will be 2 weeks since he passed away tomorrow. Last week Monday we had a small viewing of him that included my folks and my nephew before he was cremated. It was the first time I saw him since the day he passed on. It was rough but I made it through by being there for my nephew & ex-sister in law as well my folks. It was extremely rough for my father it was his first look at him since he missed out on viewing him from the hospital. The photo on top of this post is a picture of him taken during one of his weekly pinball tourneys he would play in he has that famous trademark smirk on his face that I swear that our genes has from the likes of possibly cousins Burt,Ryan,& of course Harold. 

What can we say its the smile or smirk that our family make famous.

Either way we are charmers with the ladies in my case it came late in my life.

Don't hate my family genes cause of this trait.

Yesterday I went to brunch with my mother so she would go stir-crazy cause of the events in the last couple of weeks thinking I forgot about my little brothers birthday yesterday. I didn't forget instead I showed her the tribute I made on my blog on about him she was shocked on what all I had to say about him then understood why I had brought with me during the viewing the 1988 Topps Card of Bob Gibson Turn Back the Clock if your aren't familiar with the story I suggest you read my post dated on February 19th.

          Alrighty!!! Now I'll try to bring this blog post to an up lifting moment. During my time that I was off work from mourning I went through some of my many 3200ct to 5000ct Basketball boxes of stuff trying to find what can I possibly do with in making a sets with when I found a batch of the `23/`24 Donruss I have 126 out of 250 remaining left to find to complete the set so I am going to embark in trying to see how many I can locate on Tuesday before I put the list up on my wantlists. I am planning to go to the LCS where I usually get the 3200ct & 5000ct boxes of singles to see if I can bring the number down from 126 to a more easier number to find & yes before you even wonder I do need Wembanyama but I am not in a rush to complete the set or to trade for him I just hope that when I do go that I can cut the number down to maybe find 40 or less so stay tuned to my blog I plain on talking about this set later this week after I go to the LCS after my school job on Tuesday. I also haven't decided to figure if I want to go to a shop near Flint or go to a shop outside of the Detroit area after my school job on Wednesday. So stay tuned to see what I end up doing. With that said I am reminded of the great Rajah Hornsby who talks about signing autographs for little kids once said "Any ballplayer who doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, He's a Communist."

BACK TO THE GRIND ON MONDAY

            

               Just recently when I attended this months show at the Livonia VFW Hall (Feb. 9th) I had to do fast shopping cause I had to be back in time for work at my Dollar General job & not be able to watch the Super Bowl the first time in over 15 years cause my boss had scheduled me to work & then make matters worse I was starting to feel a little under the weather. I meant to do this post before the passing of my little brother whom I talked about in my last post. I want to thank you again from my family during this time. Anyways I am back to the grind today.  I have been updating my pages to help out on any missing names I needed to add to my long lists of items to find still. On Saturday I received my PWE from my Super Bowl winning contest from 3rd Floor where I guessed in saying Philadelphia would win with Jalen Hurts as my MVP so thanks again 3rd Floor I liked the Billy Sims heck I know my little brother is smiling from his view point cause that is one name he recalls as well Barry Sanders when watching the Lions on Thanksgiving Day.

          On Saturday I had the day off & needed to get out of town so I headed to a shop in Ypsilani which is where the campus of Eastern Michigan is located & a few minutes away from Fanny Farbor the home of the Wolvewhiners who unfortunately have a 4 year winning streak against THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY. I hadn't been to the Stadium Comics & Cards since last year. Mark the owner is a nice guy back in 2010 he helped me complete my 1975 Topps Mini set. As I was perusing through the singles for my needs I came across this fine of a set that seems very scarce to locate in the wild for $20 I couldn't pass it up. 

Not a bad pick up for $20 eh!!!!

            The cards look like the Michael Jordan featured on the top of this post I already had the `89/`90 Hoops Superstars set so I figured if I passed on it someone else would stumble on it & pick it up so after much debating in my head I went for it I am glad I did. Cause usually when I pass up on something I later kick myself in not going for it. After spending most of the time there I headed back to work on my post that your currently reading now about. With that said I am reminded of Rogers Hornsby who was managing the St Louis Browns when he reminded his players about signing autographs for kids "Any Ballplayer who doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, He's a Communist." 

A BROTHERS TRIBUTE

                 

               Normally this is one topic that I didn't expect to write about until next month when my baby brother turned 46 on of all days same day as Dr. Theodore Geisel,Mikhail Gorbachev,Moe Berg,Reggie Bush,Howard "Hopalong" Cassidy,Big Ben Roethlisberger,King Henrik Lundqvist,Desi Arnaz,Jon Bon Jovi celebrating his special day & make a huge post about it cause of all those names I mentioned were born on March 2nd his day. Unfortunately I was given some news I didn't want to hear. Sorry if I am seem misty eyed when I type this blog piece in a tribute to my brother Ethan. He passed away leaving behind a son named Caleb. I was glad Ethan was around to have Caleb in his custody during the holidays & was able to raise Caleb to fine young man he is. As well see his son Graduate from High School with honors 3 years ago despite Caleb having Aspergers syndrome. My little brother wasn't a pest like some in fact the only times I didn't like him cause he got to attend more proms then me as well have more girlfriends then me as well. Plus he was the only member of the 3 boys that's counting me in the mix to get married as well divorced later on. I talked about my older brothers passing last month.

                   It's hard for me to realize that I am lone brother left out of the 3 boys my parents raised being the middle child I got the bad genes handed down to me. Both of my brothers were smarter than me I was the only one interested in sports as well that's where I was a genius at compared to them. The joke was if they were on a trivia game show & a sports question would pop up & they needed assistance that's where I would shine on them tease in front of millions of viewers on television & they would have done the same thing to me if the topic of Comic Books came up for me.  I'll never forget one time in the summer of 1989 Ethan,his friend Josh & I were downtown taking in a festival where they had John Harvey that announced for the show Double Dare not Marc Summers cause Marc was back in Florida on his vacation. They had a Q&A session for John where we fans could ask anything about the show then they had raffle tickets & if you were 1 of 4 kids they did a mini double dare game well Ethans won the ticket to go on it. Ethans partner would later became one of his girlfriends they won the game & got to go on the Physical Challenge Course & they completed it winning a home version of the game to take home. We would played Double Dare alot that summer. 

                  The story about the 1988 Topps Card on top of my post of Turn Back the Clock with Bob Gibson #664  will now be a great memory for me when I look through that binder again. You see back in 1988 Ethan & I would spend our allowance every Friday at a comic/card store called Daggetts Comic & Cards he would get comics from his pull usually some MCU as for me the latest baseball cards which was some type of Topps pack either a wax,Rack Pack, The Jumbos which was I believe the 2nd year they came out with a Jumbo Pack. No matter what type of pack I bought I swear I had the magic touch in pulling that card out of the pack someway usually it was near the end of the pack I would say & oh look its again for the xxxx amount of cards I pulled Turn Back the Clock with Bob Giiiiiiiiiiibson. Ethan would then say I should try to find Bob Gibson & have him sign all them well I never did afterall I didn't want to have Bob Gibson not like me for sending him over 500+ of the same card for him to sign so I never did. This last year around September I was telling him about my blog site he mentioned I should talk about that card I said maybe I will on your 46th B-Day as my present to you little brother he said he looked forward to when it came to remember it well.....again Ethan sorry to disappoint you again little brother I have to do it earlier then expected.  I know he & my older brother David are perhaps talking about comics now as well discussing what David has observing from his place the last 4 years as well wondering what they might would have done this June when I reach my milestone year at my party & what they would have done to me to make me feel that milestone year. Ethan I am going to miss ya little brother Ill try to carry on in you & in David's memories with me until I join you again. It's not easy out living my brothers in age neither of them reach the milestone I am on the cusps of reaching in June later this year. I am sorry my readers I normally would leave with my famous parting words. Instead I want to say thank you for taking the time to read this post cause it wasn't easy for me to find the words to say about Ethan I am going to miss that little brother of mine & from my family to yours I want to thank you if you comment below know that I will continue to thrive to make both of my brothers proud of what I will accomplish in my remaining years ahead. Take care Ethan Ill see ya. 

Ethan in the tye-dye & Caleb