The Jordan Collection (Part 11): '92 SkyBox Salutes

'92 SkyBox Salutes Michael Jordan

All these years and tons of autographed or jersey cards later, and I'm blogging about a 1992 SkyBox Michael Jordan card. Some collectors might write this card off because it hold little monetary value, but this is one of the coolest looking cards I own. Actually, any early SkyBox card looks great. These were so simple and yet such fun. I hope you enjoyed this abbreviated Jordan Collection post and of course… "Every Bounce of the Ball".

Ray Allen Is The New 3-Point Shot King

Ray Allen knocked down his record setting 2,561st 3-point shot tonight. Breaking the previous mark held by Reggie Miller. It's quite the accomplishment. Not only has Allen made the most threes in NBA history, but he's also shot a very respectable 39.8% from beyond the arc for his career. From his time at the University of Connecticut and the Big East, to his Milwaukee Bucks, Sonics and current Celtics days, Allen has filled it up. Something that has been overlooked during Allen's career is his defense. He often is charged with taking a team's best offensive player on defense.

This '99 SkyBox Autographics card has been in my collection for a year or so and I'm glad I bought it when I did. I have a feeling his cards are going to go up this week, and if the Celtics make it to the NBA Finals this year, forget about it.

Aside from being an all-time great shooter, Allen was played Jesus Shuttlesworth in the film, He Got Game. That makes Allen one of my favorite hoopsters of the last decade.

Big Country In The Hoopography House: '98 SkyBox Ruby

Quick trivia question. Who was the first ever pick of the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies franchise? It was none other than the 6th overall selection in the 1995 NBA Draft, Bryant "Big Country" Reeves. The 7 footer was nearly 300 pounds and had a pretty cool flat top hair cut. Although Reeves had several solid seasons early on in his career he only played six seasons in the NBA. Unfortunately, weight issues and injuries took a toll on Reeves after he singed a six-year $61.8 million contract.

The card is a '98 SkyBox Premium Ruby #'d/50. These Ruby cards are absolutely gorgeous. Similar to a refractor, but I think a bit nicer. Plus, this was a cheapie. Which is always nice.

I've picked up a couple Ruby cards over the past few weeks from different years including a Thurman Thomas. These can get pretty expensive because of their scarcity. The foil surface is cool too, but is suseptable to chipping. The patient collector can find mint versions of these at decent prices. Just make sure to look closely at the edges and corners for wear. Thanks for reading and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Poll: Will Derek Jeter Have A Resurgence In 2011?

Sweet, sweet acetate!

Derek Jeter is coming off of his worst statistical season in his 16 season MLB career. With pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training in under a month (28 days), I'm starting to get excited about the upcoming MLB season. One of the biggest questions for my favorite team is whether Derek Jeter can bounce back from a season in which he batted .270, hit 10 hrs and stole 18 bases. Also, despite winning a Gold Glove, 2010 saw a diminish in Jeter's range at the shortstop position.

So the question is, what type of season is Jeter going to put together this year? The poll options consist of some of Jeter's best and worst season averages. What do you think?

- Make sure to checkout the card contests/giveaways I'm holding to try your luck at winning some free Panini cards (click here).

It's Rubyrific: 1999 SkyBox Rubies Thurman Thomas

'99 SkyBox Rubies Thurman Thomas #'d 20/30

I've been wanting to pickup a Rubies card from a late 90's SkyBox product for sometime now. They're some of the best looking cards as they incorporate a foiled background that is like a mix between a refractor and hologram. Unfortunately, these cards typically demand hefty price tags. So with a little patience, I was able to snag this #'d 20/30 Thurman Thomas from the '99 SkyBox Rubies set.

I paid just under $10 including shipping for this gem. I'm sure I'm a bit biased as a Bills fan, but this is a rare card of a HOF'er. I thought the price was pretty nice.

The card is numbered only to 30 and features one of my all-time favorites. There've been some very nice auto'd cards of Thomas in the hobby lately (click here), but the higher end cards from his playing days are few and far between. That's why I'm so excited to add this card to my collection.

Stay tuned for another SkyBox Ruby I was able to land from the "Big Country" and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Michael Jordan Sure is N-Tense

This Jordan SkyBox N-Tense Michael Jordan insert comes from the 1995 SkyBox Emotion release. The Emotion set deserves a mention of it's own in a future post, but it's one of the best base basketball sets of the 90's.

The N-Tense insert set features 10 foil-covered inserts of the biggest superstars the NBA had to offer in 1995. The Jordan is the gem of the set for most collectors. Besides the obvious reasons, Jordan is wearing the number forty-five. He wore number forty-five when he came back from his first retirement. The card is beautiful. The gold foiling looks even better in person than on the scan. It has a book value of $40, but typically sells for right around $12 - $16 (click here).

Rookie Cards For $10 Bucks or Less: Shawn Kemp Fleer, SkyBox, Upper Deck

Basketball fans can’t talk 90’s NBA basketball without mentioning the “Reign Man”. Shawn Kemp was a devastating 6 foot 10 inch athlete who could catch an ally-oop from fellow running mate Gary “The Glove” Payton better than anyone in the Association. In addition to his athleticism, Kemp also had the skill-set to work down low in the post. He averaged 14.6 points/game and 10.9 rebounds/game with a .488 field goal percentage during his NBA career. Those numbers are a bit skewed because of a few seasons when his averages dipped for a number of reasons including weight issues. It was reported that Kemp showed up to Cavaliers’ training camp weighing a hefty 275 lbs. during the ’99 lockout shortened NBA season.

I like to remember the Shawn Kemp that many referred to as “Man Child”. This was the player that no team had an defensive answer for during the mid 90’s. For all of Kemp’s natural abilities though, it would have been fun to watch how much better he would have been if he had only put more time into the game and himself. As it is, I'm still a fan and enjoy watching old clips of Kemp Reignin’ down on Seattle.

I've done a couple of these “Rookie Cards for $10 Bucks or less” posts thus far, but this is the first time i'm featuring three rookie cards of one player. The best part about featuring Kemp’s three rookie cards is that you can add all three of these RC's to your collection "...for $10 Bucks or Less”.

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   -The ’91 Fleer RC features a great action shot of Kemp doing what he did best, dunking. This is my favorite Kemp RC out of the three. Just checkout that awesome blue and red trim around the photo of Kemp. Coupled with the yellow surrounding Kemp's name, this card is so bad it's actually cool. The card has a book value of only $1.50 due to the over abundance of the card. In fact, that is the case for all three of these cards. Trading card manufactures mass produced their sets and thus killed the value of their own products during the late 80’s and early 90’s. eBay auction: (click here for an eBay “buy now” auction featuring the ’91 Fleer Shawn Kemp RC).
   

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   -The ’91 NBAHOOPS RC has a fairly simple design. I can’t say it’s the best looking card ever made, but it’s a nice buy at around $1 on the secondary markets. Again, the card only has a book value of $1.50 like the ’91 Fleer RC. eBay auction: (click here for an eBay “buy now” auction featuring the ’91 NBAHOOPS Shawn Kemp RC).
   

   
   

   
   

1. -The final Kemp RC is a ’91 SkyBox card. The ’91 SkyBox set is one of my all-time favorite sets. I actually like both the ’91 and ’92 SkyBox sets. They have some really funky early 90’s graphics and designs. The Kemp RC from the ’91 set has some of those funky graphics and is a good looking card. Nothing like some randomly colored lines going through the background of a card. Kinda like the always cool laser background used in 90’s school photos (you know the ones I'm talking about). This Kemp RC has a book value of $2.50, but typically sells for right around $.50 to $2. eBay auction: (click here for an eBay “buy now” auction featuring the ’91 SkyBox Shawn Kemp RC)
   

   
   

(Just for good measure, Kemp's Top 10 Slam Dunks)

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What Three Active Pitchers Have Beaten Every MLB Team?

There are between 330-360 active pitchers in MLB today (Formula: 30 teams x 11 and/or 12 pitchers per team). Out of those 330-360 active pitchers, only three have managed to beat every team in MLB during their careers. Sure, you can take the easy way out and Google Search the answer, but it would be so much more fun to test your sports knowledge and take a guess. I'll give you one out of those three pitchers right now.

Javier Vazquez of the NY Yankees completed the feat a few weeks ago on July 21, 2010. The Yanks traded my favorite Yankee at the time Melky Cabrera. I was sadden to see Melky go as he was one of those role players that provided the glue during the World Series run last year, but Vazquez has been a pleasant surprise after a slow start. With a 9-8 record and 4.22 ERA, he's not making a run at the AL Cy Young Award, but he's been very solid as the Yankees 5th starter.

Here's a 1999 SkyBox Autographics card I recently purchased for $2.99 including shipping. Not too bad for an on-card auto of a current player on my favorite MLB team. I love those old school Expos logos too.

Oh, I almost forgot. I'll leave a comment in a day or two on who the other two active players are who have beaten all 30 MLB teams, so take your guesses.