Contest Announcements

Mark over at The Chronicles of Fuji and Guy over at The Basketball Card Blog are hosting some pretty awesome and generous free contests and giveaways this week. First off, these are my two favorite blogs on the net today. I read and follow quite a few sports memorabilia themed blogs, but Mark and Guy's blogs are daily must reads. From Mark's Sports Card Busts and Sketch Card Collection posts to Guy's Murad Chase and Portland Trailblazers Love, these guys have the hobby covered.

Definitely go over and check their blogs out. If you still need more convincing, which you shouldn't, here are links to their contests that are going on right now: The Chronicles of Fuji Contest; The Basketball Card Blog Contest. Both contests feature some really great prizes and they should be a lot of fun. Good luck and remember to… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball"!

Another 90's Insert Set: '93 Fleer All-Stars

As many of you know, I collect a lot of different players, sports and types of cards, but my main passion is 90's basketball inserts. I simply can't get enough of them. I feel this time period produced some of the most creative and best designed cards in the hobby's history. It also didn't hurt that this was a golden age for the NBA as well. This was also the time when companies couldn't rely on the player auto or jersey relic. Although there were a few on-card autographs being produced during the 90's (click here), they were not as heavily produced as they are today. Whether it was a hologram, die cut, refractor, great photography or simply a well thought out design, 90's inserts had it going on.

One of the more popular basketball inserts of the early 90's was the '93 Fleer All-Stars set. This was a 24 card set that featured the Western and Eastern All-Stars from the '92 NBA All-Star Game. Hence, no Shaquille O'neal rookie all-star card unfortunately even though this is a set from his rookie year. However, the set is littered with tons of 90's stars and superstars like Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Scottie Pippen and many more.

The set featured a horizontal design with images of the players in their All-Star uniforms. There's a blue background that looks great, but is unfortunately susceptible to chipping. This is the biggest problem collectors need to worry about when attempting to put this set together and is very noticeable as you'll see the tail-tail white edges or chunks that indicate edge wear and chipping. Definitely look closely at any images if your are buying these cards on-line through the secondary markets or trading.

The set is not terribly difficult to put together. It only consists of 24 cards and the cards were inserted into series 1 pack at a modest rate of 1:9. It has a solid book value of $100, but you should be able to put the entire set together for well under that if you can save on shipping costs. Most of the cards sell as singles for around $2.00 to $5.00. The Jordan is the tough one, but can be had for right around $15.00. Here's a PSA Graded 9 Jordan for sale on eBay as a Buy Now: (click here) and a BGS 9 Live eBay auction: (click here). Also, here's a completed set in a Live eBay auction with a $59.00 reserve: (click here).

I took the easy way out and bought the entire set all at once from a seller on eBay. I haggled the price down to $30.00 plus $5.00 shipping for the entire set. No question, good deals are out there if you are willing to be a patient collector. Although this '93 Fleer All-Stars set is not my favorite insert set from the 90's, it's high on the list. Many of my favorite hoops stars are in this set and I love the overall design. Hope you enjoyed this installment of yet Another 90's Insert Set and of course… "Every Bounce of the Ball"!

Mail Time: '04 UD Scripts Lee Evans Auto

I bought this '04 UD Scripts Lee Evans Auto a few months back and just haven't gotten around to posting about it until today. Actually, I'm posting it today because camps have started around the NFL recently and I'm getting excited for the NFL season to start.

This Evans card cost me $.99 plus $2.50 for shipping. That's not too bad for an on-card auto of one of the best players on my favorite hometown team. I'll be looking to add a number of other Buffalo Bills cards as I too get ready for the upcoming NFL season.

Hoopography Top 25 Countdown: #16

Sometimes a card just comes together perfectly. This 1993 Upper Deck 15,000 Point Club Michael Jordan insert isn't the most valuable 90's insert. It also doesn't feature an auto or swatch of jersey fabric. It does however feature a great action photo and a simple, but solid design. That's why this Jordan insert makes it to number 16 on my favorite PC Top 25 Countdown.

I think any basketball card collector has a number of Jordan cards that they consider must haves. This is one of those cards for me. Although not terribly expensive, it took me quite a bit of time to add this one to my collection. It typically sells for right around $10 - $12. You can occasionally find it for under $10 on secondary markets like eBay. Right now there're a couple Buy It Now auctions up for the individual card and the entire 15,000 Point Club Set. Although the book value is $30, the individual card for sale on eBay is a bit high. Lets face it, we all know what book value really means…nothing.

If you're a patient collector, you can add this card to your collection at a very reasonable price. I think it's one of the best overall looking cards in my collection, especially considering there's no auto, foiling, die cut, refractor or relic to rely on. Stay tuned for the next installment of my Top 25 Countdown and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball"

Top Hoopography Videos: Skee-Lo: "I Wish"

To say I sang along with this song once or twice is an understatement. This is such a fun summer and wanna be basketball player song. I used to bounce to this jam back in the days of summer basketball camps. I still think it's a good jam, and I'm still probably a 5 foot 9 inch wanna be baller. I love this song. It's a lot of fun and it reminds me of some of my favorite mini NBA ballers:

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Buck Showalter To The Orioles' Rescue

The Baltimore Orioles are 3 - 0 under new Manager Buck Showalter. Does this mean the shell of a once proud franchise will become the beasts of the AL East anytime soon? Well…. lets not get too crazy, but Showalter does have an impressive track record of turning struggling franchises around. Just ask NY Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers fans.

MailTime: '95 Topps Grant Hill Collegiate best RC Refractor

So I feel like i've been cheating on my favorite card technology of acetate translucent plastic cards with refractors lately. I've been bouncing from Gold and Atomic Refractors to Blue and xFractors. I just can't get enough of them, and rightfully so. Just take a look at this '95 Topps Finest Grant Hill Collegiate Best RC Refractor. It's one cool looking card, especially when the light hits it the right way.

I've been chasing this card down for quite a bit of time now. I'm actually looking for a bunch of the refractors from the base '95 Topps Finest and Collegiate Best sets. Because of the grey backgrounds and use of color in these cards, they look better than most refractors. Not that a refractor can actually look bad. It also doesn't hurt that many of the players I collect are in that set (B. Hurley, C. Webber, A. Hardaway, G. Robinson, J. Howard, C. Mullin and many more).

Just so it doesn't seem like i'm cheating on the acetate cards, I'll show a few off over the next few days in my next "Mail Time" and "Hoopography Top 25" posts.

Poster Review: Isaiah Rider "Slam Dunk King" StarLine Poster

You may remember "JR" Rider more for his long criminal rap sheet or just missing being the captain of the infamous Portland Jail Blazers (Rider was traded to Atlanta for the veteran Steve Smith just prior to the Jail Blazer Days), but I like to remember the former 5th overall draft choice in the '93 NBA Draft as the winner of the '94 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Rider was not one of the best dunkers of all-time, but he may have executed one of the best dunks of all-time. That particular dunk also has one of the coolest rim-rockin' names ever conceived. Say it with me Slam Dunk Aficionados, "The East Bay Funk Dunk". Dunk names don't get too much better than that!

Rider had an NBA career that was marred by criminal, personal and professional distractions, but he actually was a very talented scorer and athlete at one time. He averaged 20.4 points/game during his second season in the Association, and also won an ESPN ESPY Award for the Top NBA Play of the Year in '95 (YouTube video to your right). Rider also won an NBA Championship with the L.A. Lakers in 2001 (He received a Championship ring despite being left off the playoff roster). In all, Rider played in the NBA from '93 to '01 and also had a brief one game stint with the North Texas Fresh of the American Basketball Association.

The Slam Dunk King Starline poster is really a cool piece to add to any collector's collection or game room (click here for an eBay Buy Now auction). The action shot of Rider is from the '94 NBA Slam Dunk Contest that he won with "The East Bay Funk Dunk". Checkout Gary Payton with his bling shining, jaw dropped watching Rider winning the '94 Dunk Contest. I've seen many a dunk, jam and flush in my day, but this one is certainly right up there with some of the best.

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Hoopography Top 25 Countdown: #17

I'm finally back from being out of town for the past week. I had several posts that I scheduled to be published while I was gone that I hope you enjoyed. It was nice to see a few manila envelops in the mailbox when I got home. I'll certainly try to get those new additions to the collection up here on Hoopography as soon as possible. Actually, one of those new additions might have even broken into my Top 25 if I hadn't ranked the countdown already.

I updated everyone on the Top 25 Countdown as I had recently made the switch from Apple's iWeb to Blogger.com (click here for 25 - 18) with a post last week. Today I'm continuing the countdown with number 17 in my Top 25 collection countdown.

My all-time favorite NY Yankee is Paul O'neil. There aren't a ton of great O'neal cards to collect, but there are a couple fun auto's, inserts and refractors. This '93 Topps Finest Refractor is undoubtedly one of those cards, and is easily one of his most sought after for O'neill and Yankee collectors alike.

I've been looking to add this card to my collection for a long time now. I actually thought I had won one of these refractors several months ago, but the card was not actually a refractor. The seller described the card incorrectly as a refractor when it really wasn't. Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed when I opened the manila envelope and pulled a non-refractor out, but the seller did refund my money in full.

So after a few months of searching for just the right one, and making sure the seller knew what a refractor was, I put in the winning bid for this card. I paid just under $10 with shipping which was a pretty good deal. I've certainly seen these O'neill cards go for much much more as many collectors are attempting to put this refractor set together. An extremely difficult and expensive undertaking.

The card looks beautiful and hits ever color in the spectrum. It's really hard for a refractor not to look great though. The '93 Topps Finest Refractor set truly is an iconic set in the card collecting hobby. It's loaded with stars and I think was the first set to feature the refractor technology from Topps in any sport. Here's a few of the other refractors I would like to add to my collection from that set: Bo Jackson (All-Star), Don Mattingly (All-Star), Doc Gooden (All-Star) and Darryl Strawberry (All-Star).

Buffalo Bills Prospecting: James Hardy

I went to a Buffalo Bills open practice a little over a month ago at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, NY. I try to get to a few practices and training camps of a few teams (Buffalo Bills, New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings) during the course of an offseason or preseason. I'm usually one of those fans sitting there with an updated roster sheet taking detailed notes on each player. You know, just in case any NFL GM wants my "expert" advice. While I was at the Bills practice, I couldn't help but notice one player towering over all the others.

James Hardy is a 6 foot 5 inch 220 pound physical specimen of a wide receiver. Granted, he may have looked so imposing because he was standing next to 5 foot 9 inch Bills receiver Roscoe Parrish, non the less he did look huge out there on the field.

Hardy was originally drafted in the second round by the Bills in the 2008 NFL Draft. The team had been looking for a nice compliment on the opposite side of the field of Lee Evans. The thought was that Hardy could fill that role and be a much needed large target in the red zone. After having some early issues with route running and the speed of the NFL game, Hardy also endured a torn ACL injury toward the end of his rookie season. After a full year of rehab, it looks like Hardy is finally ready to make a significant impact on the field for the Bills.

With the departure of free agent Terrell Owens, the Bills have a huge opening for an ultra physical number two wide receiver, and I think Hardy is poised to fill that role. Because of this hunch, and the modest prices his cards are selling for, I've picked up a few of the higher end Hardy RC's that you see in this post. All three are Upper Deck Exquisite cards serial numbered to 60 or less. There's one more Hardy RC I'm looking for (click here), but they've gone up in price during the past few weeks. It looks like other collectors have the same thoughts on Hardy as I do.

To say I'm excited for NFL training camps to open up is an understatement. Surely, this little James Hardy endeavor that I've taken up should make the upcoming season a little more interesting for this Bills die hard. Hopefully the former Indiana Hoosier will be able to put up some respectable numbers.

Who Has the Coolest Nickname in the NFL Today?

So I'm sure there are plenty of current NFL players out there with great nicknames, but Calvin "Megatron" Johnson takes the cake for me. At 6 - 5 and 236 pounds, "Megatron" is one beast of a wide receiver. The second overall pick of the Detroit Lions in the 2007 NFL Draft has put up solid numbers for the Lions with a myriad of Quarterbacks. With second year quarterback Mathew Stafford in the fold now, it looks like the city of Detroit will have a dynamic passing attack for years to come. Johnson should also reach the lofty status of a must have in the hobby by football collectors with the anticipated improvements of his stats and his team.

Most of the football cards I collect are of either current and past Buffalo Bills ballers or Bo Jackson, but I just can't resist collecting cards of a player with the cool nickname of "Megatron". I have a few of his base rookie cards like this '07 Topps RC, but I also picked up this '09 Upper Deck Exquisite triple color patch that you see below as part of my UD Exquisite Football Collection Experiment.

So what do you think? Is "Megatron" the best nickname in the entire NFL or is there another nickname that you like better?

Another 90's Insert Set: '94 UD Triple Double

The card industry in the 90's was filled with creativity and innovation. As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of the 90's insert sets. Don't get me wrong, I collect cards from many sports and many eras, but 90's basketball inserts are my passion. Unfortunately, many of those great sets come with a hefty price tag. I'm currently piecing together a few sets, but one that I've been able to complete is the 1994 Upper Deck Triple Double insert set.

This is not one of the most acclaimed sets of the 90's, but it features some really cool design elements and some of the biggest stars from the mid 90's NBA. The set was fairly easy to complete as I had a few of the cards already. Also, the set has a very manageable $20 book value. The Jordan is the only card that really sells for more than $1 (click here). It has a book value of $15, but never even comes close to that number. Aside from the Jordan, the Scottie Pippen is the other "big" value card in the set at a whopping $4. I'm sure you could pick it up for $.99, if so inclined.

There are ten card in the entire set and they were inserted in to Series 1 packs at the rate of 1:20. They were also inserted one in every Series 1 Green Jumbo pack. The checklist of players that were included in this set include, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kenny Anderson, Larry Johnson, Dikembe Mutombo, Charles Barkley, Detlef Schrempf, Rumeal Robinson and Michael Williams. Any insert set with Detlef Schrempf in it is good in my book.

Upper Deck really utilized the fairly new hologram technology extensively during the early and mid 90's. This card features both the tradition cardboard and hologram technologies. There is a thin sheet of traditional paper that covers the hologram in the areas that the hologram is not visible. This may look archaic today, but way back in 1995 this was cutting edge stuff. No doubt though, the best part of these cards is the vibrant colors UD used in the backgrounds to match the players uniforms. The use of color in the design of these cards really makes them standout.

It's tough to really appreciate how cool the hologram part of these cards looks, but hopefully you can get a good look at this Charles Barkley UD Triple Double insert.

Holy Gold Refractor: '97 Juwan Howard Topps Finest Gold Refractor

I picked this 1997 Topps Finest Gold Refractor Juwan Howard a few weeks ago for a cool $1.25 plus $3.00 for shipping. I thought that was a pretty good deal. I know Howard isn't exactly LeBron James or Michael Jordan, but there are some really great parallels and inserts out there of the former Fab Fiver. I like collecting some of those great cards because they don't hurt the card budget too much and they're great additions to my collection.

It seems Howard has played for just about ever team in the Association. In fact, he's played for eight teams (Dallas and Denver twice) during his sixteen season career. Howard joined the Miami Heat a couple of weeks ago as a free agent. Although Howard has never played a game for Pat Riley and the Heat in previous seasons, this is the second time Howard has signed a free agent contract to play down in South Beach. Many forget that this year's mega free agent frenzy was not the first such of its kind, and arguably, not the greatest.

The free agent class of 1996 included Michael Jordan, a young Shaquille O'neal, Alonzo Morning, Allan Houston, Kenny Anderson, Reggie Miller, Gary Payton, Juwan Howard and more. Howard was signed to a huge deal with the Heat to team up with 'Zo and Tim "Killer Crossover" Hardaway. Fortunately or unfortunately for the Heat, David Stern and the NBA voided the contract because of some salary bonus and cap issues. That may have tuned out to be a blessing as the eventual $105 million contract that Howard singed with the then Washington Bullets has been seen as a cautionary tale for NBA GM's across the league. Although Howard has had a very nice career, he did not end up putting up $105 million stats.

The Howard '97 Topps Finest Gold Refractor is a really great looking card. Like many collectors, I'm a huge fan of refractors and the Gold Refractors look even cooler. This is the second '97 Finest Gold Refractor I've added to my collection. I also recently bought a Kevin Garnett Gold Refractor (click here).

I've always rooted for Howard since the Fab Five days. I would like to see him finally win an NBA Championship. He's had a solid career, and is a consummate professional, but I just can't get behind the Miami Heat.

NY Yankee Prospecting

Ok, so it's a little bit of a stretch to call this post "Yankee Prospecting". It seems like every MLB fan and Yankees collector knows who Jesus Montero is. Sure, he's no Steven Strasburg or Jayson Heyward, but Montero is one of the most highly tauted prospects in the minors today. I've seen Montero as high as 5th on some of the top 100 MLB prospect charts, and as low as 11th. He was signed as a catcher, but most scouts see Montero as a DH or first baseman. It should be interesting to see what the Yankees do with Montero as they are pretty well set at first base with Mark Teixeira, and Fransico Cervelli backing up starting catcher Jorge Posada. I hope Montero remains in the Yankees organization long enough to don the pinstripes, but his name comes up on every potential trade the Yankees are involved in.

The card is a 2008 Topps Bowman Chrome RC Blue Refractor #'d 87/99. I really like the look of that light blue around the border of the card. The Bowman cards are some of the best RC's in the hobby today. I'd love to bust a box of Bowman Chrome wax open from any year as I'm sure many collectors would. I think they feature a pretty simple and card clean design that just seems to work. I have a few cards of top Yankee prospects, but this Montero is certainly my favorite.

And The Winner Is….

Congratulations to Mark over at sanjosefuji.com for winning the 2010 Court Kings LeBron James Masterpieces jersey card (Mark, make sure to email me a mailing address so I can get you the card. I'll be out of town all this week, so I'll try to get it out to you ASAP). There were eight total entries and the contest actually came down to the errors and home runs.

No one guessed the correct final score of hits so I moved on to the errors. Both Joe Smo and Fuji had the Cardinals with one error and the Cubs with zero errors, but Fuji also guessed the home run totals correct as well with the Cardinals at two and the Cubs with zero. You can see Mark's winning entry in the image below. Click here to see all entires.

Thank you to all who participated. I hope this contest was fun. This was the first contest/giveaway I've done on Hoopography, and I'd like to do more. If companies like Panini continue to send me products for review, I'll continue to give cards away. Happy collecting and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

(ESPN Box Score for contest game)

Poll: What 12 Players Should USA Basketball Bring To The FIBA World Championships?

USA Basketball held an intra-squad showcase last night in Las Vegas. The play was a bit sloppy to say the least, but it was a good way for Team USA coaches Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Mike D'Antoni, Nate McMillan and Managing Director Jerry Colangelo to make roster evaluations. There's currently 19 players on the roster that needs to be chopped down to 12 for the FIBA World Championships in late August. Which 12 players do you think should represent the USA at the World Championships (multiple answered allowed)?

What 12 players should USA Basketball bring to the FIBA World Championships?
	Jeff Green
	O.J. Mayo
	Lamar Odom
	Brook Lopez
	Danny Granger
	JaVale McGee
	Derrick Rose
	Rajon Rondo
	Rudy Gay
	Russell Westbrook
	Andre Iguodala
	Eric Gordon
	Tyreke Evans
	Kevin Durant
	Chauncey Billups
	Tyson Chandler
	Stephen Curry
	Kevin Love
	Gerald Wallace
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LeBron James Jersey Card Giveaway/Contest

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