The Return of Retro: 2012 Panini Hoops And Upper Deck Fleer Retro

It's no secret I'm a fan of 90's inserts and design, so I'm always excited when I hear a company is going to release retro cards. In the case of Panini and Upper Deck, both are releasing 2012 cards featuring actual designs from previously released products. I know some collectors aren't fans of the recycled design idea, but I'm liking what I'm seeing.

Panini is releasing buyback auto'd cards from the '89-'90 Hoops set in their 2012 Hoops release and Upper Deck is producing some inserts from those awesome late 90's Fleer insert sets for their 2012 Upper Deck Fleer Retro release. It's hard to argue with those great 90's insert designs, but I love buyback auto's too. I think the buybacks will be nice and certain players like David Robinson will be highly sought after, but the use of several designs in the Fleer Retro product is a nice plus. I'm definitely going to have to go after both.

Which one do you do you like best and think will get the hobby into a frenzy?

 2012 Upper Deck Fleer Retro

  2012 Upper Deck Fleer Retro

 2012 Panini Hoops

2010 Upper Deck The Cup Tyler Ennis Printing Plate (Black) 1/1

The push for the NHL Playoffs is here and that means I get to showoff this really cool Tyler Ennis printing plate from Upper Deck's 2010 The Cup release. I've been trying to add a printing plate to my collection for some time now as I think they are pretty cool. To own a piece of memorabilia that was made in the manufacturing of a trading card is definitely up my alley.

There are different versions of these plates, but I like the black as the images stand out a bit more. Hopefully Tyler Ennis will stand out a bit more for my Buffalo Sabres. He had a strong year last year, but has struggled this year with injuries. Since he's come back from those injuries, he has played better and has really been a spark for the Sabres. That's a good thing since the Sabres need to make up a lot of ground to even get into the playoff conversations.

This 1/1 printing plate of Tyler Ennis is really one of my nicer hockey cards. I've made an effort over the last few months to add a couple hockey cards to my PC, so there are a few more to come in future posts. Enjoy your day and… "Every Hat in the Hat Trick".

I'm Back Baby!

For a span of about eighteen months, I posted on Hoopography nearly everyday and sometimes twice. Between the original Hoopography Blog ran through Apple's iWeb and MobleMe services and this Blogger.com page, I've somehow managed to post more than four hundred unique posts. To say I enjoyed the hobby, meeting fellow collectors, sharing my memorabilia collection, reviewing product and posing polling questions is an understatement. As much as I enjoy the previously just mentioned, and just like for many readers, life is multifaceted.

Between work, working on purchasing a home and marathon training, this blog has had to take a back seat. More so than any of those other endeavors, I also experienced the single most amazing moment of my life when I proposed to my now fiance this past November. So a lot has been going on to prohibit me from getting on the computer and posting. However, things are quieting down a bit.

Things are settling down a little bit now, and I have been collecting periodically throughout my time away. So after a nearly seven month layoff from the blogospher, I'm back. I have a number of new items that I recently added to my collection and I'm going to a Sports Card and Memorabilia show tomorrow at Batavia Downs and Casino in Batavia, NY.

I enjoy the hobby and I look forward to posting at least a few times a week again. Thanks for reading and as always... "enjoy every bounce of the ball".

Have You Seen Me???

'98 Upper Deck SPx ProMotion Football & Basketball

As many of you know, I'm putting together the late 90's Upper Deck SPx ProMotion, Cornerstones and Duo View sets for all four of the major sports. The design of these sets are very similar featuring die cuts and holograms. I have been doing well with the sets from '97, but have not had much luck with the basketball and football cards from '98. So I'm putting an all points bulletin out for these cards. If anyone out there has ANY of the cards from the 1998 basketball or football Upper Deck SPx ProMotion sets and would like to work a trade out, let me know. You can view my trade/want list here. Thanks and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Thomas Vanek In The Hoopography House: '09 Upper Deck Black Lustrous Materials

'09 Upper Deck Black Lustrous Materials Thomas Vanek

UD Black is one of my favorite product lines in the hobby, and to find a UD Black card of one of my hometown Buffalo Sabres makes this recent purchase a hat-trick. I nabbed this Thomas Vanek Lustrous Materials card a few weeks back for $15.00. That's not the cheapest card for my collecting budget, but it's not too bad. Actually, for an auto'd/multi-color jersey card of a 35 goals/year NHL scorer, I thought it was a nice deal. One things for sure though, I can't wait for the upcoming release of 2011 Upper Deck The Cup. I hope to pick up a few more cards of my Buffalo Sabres.

What Size Case Fits The 2010 Upper Deck Exquisite Rare Materials Cards?

2010 Upper Deck Exquisite Rare Materials

I recently bought this 2010 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Rare Materials card of former Buffalo Bills QB Jim Kelly. It's a cool card with the four pieces of game used materials. I also really like how Upper Deck utilized the gold foiling, but I have one sort of major issue. I like to keep many of my cards in snap magnet cases. I keep a good number around of different sizes so I have a case for when I get a new card in the mail. However, I have not been able to find a case that this ultra thick card will fit into. Not even a 180pt will do. So I thought I would check before I go out and buy any more cases. Does anyone know what size cases will fit these Rare Materials cards perfectly? Thanks for the help and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

KICKS: The Nike Air Penny I's In The Hoopography House!!!

As you all know by now, I'm a huge Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway fan. I collect Hardaway cards, posters and now kicks. Actually, these Nike Air Penny I's are the second pair of Hardaway kicks that I've laced up. About 16 years ago I had an original pair with this Orlando Magic colorway. They looked great back then and these retro's look even better today.

The retro's were released this past February or March, but sold out in my area pretty quickly. Every now and then I would go into the many sporting good stores I frequent and see a pair on the shelves. However, a random size 8 or 18 isn't really going to help me. A couple weeks ago I again saw a pair on the shelf and asked the young punk working in the store if they had any pairs in size 10 or 10.5. He proceeded to just laugh at me. I left the store like a wounded puppy with my tail between my legs. Fortunately, I'm persistent and went into a discount/surplus Foot Locker about a mile from my house this weekend and again saw a pair on the shelf. They had one pair of size 10's left. Did I feel like a kid in a candy store? Nope, I felt like a sneakerhead in a sneaker store.

Happy collecting and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Here's a stock photo of the Nike Air Penny I's along with the actual size 10's!!!

Trade Bait: Bobby Richardson, LeBron James, UD The Cup, And More...

Due to a number of recent player personnel moves in the NBA and NHL, as well as a few recent eBay purchases, I've got a few new cards to trade. You can checkout all the cards I have up for trade and what I'm looking for on my Trade/Want List page. Below are some of the cards I have up for trade. Please feel free to leave a comment, send me a message on Facebook or at Hoopography@yahoo.com. Happy collecting and… "Enjoy the Thrill of the Trade".

Pudge Rodriguez and Mike Piazza In The Hoopography House: '97 Upper Deck SPx Cornerstones

'97 Upper Deck SPx Cornerstones Rodriguez/Piazza

I know it's been about a week or so since my last post. I've been extremely busy with work and family. I actually became an uncle this past weekend which I'm very excited about. With as busy as I've been though, don't think I'm not collecting or staying up to date with the hobby happenings. I just got in a few new items in recently and I'm posting today about what I think is a pretty sweet addition to my late 90's Upper Deck SPx Pro Motion and SPx Force sets. As many of you probably know, I'm currently putting together all of the SPx Pro Motion, Cornerstone, Duo View and Force sets from '97 and '98 for football, baseball, hockey and basketball. It's a tall order, but I'm a huge fan of the die-cut and hologram designs from these sets.

Jeter/Rodriguez

This Ivan Rodriguez and Mike Piazza card is the second card from the '97 baseball Cornerstones set I've been able to add to the collection. The first one I got was the Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez you see to the right. These cards are beautiful. The set name is Cornerstones, but they are basically the same design as the basketball and football Pro Motion sets. I'm not quiet sure why Upper Deck decided to call the baseball and hockey (Duo View) sets by different names. No matter what the name, one thing is for sure. The gold foiling in the backgrounds, die-cut designs and crystal clear holograms make these inserts standout. I paid $5.00 including shipping for the Rodriguez and Piazza. It's not that the baseball Cornerstones cards sell for exorbitant prices, but that was a Rickey Henderson type steal.

I apologize for the lack of posts last week, but I needed some time to focus on a view other things. No worries though. I have a number of new items that I just added to my collection that I'm excited to post about over the next few days. Happy collecting and… "Enjoy Every Crack Of The Bat".

Which Is More Impressive: Handlebar Mustache or Mullet?

The mullet maybe a little tough to make out on this 1993 Upper Deck SP cards, but Rod Beck definitely had one back in the day. However, I'm going with the handlebar mustache as more impressive. I just think it's pretty cool. Those Reebok cleats aren't too bad either. Gotta like old school. What do you think?

Product Preview: 2011 Panini National Treasures Basketball

Other than the feverishly hot Blake Griffin RC Auto, last year's 2010 Panini National Treasures was a bit of a disappointment. It looked less like the hobby's high end basketball product and more like one of Panini's sticker books. I know 2010 NT sold well both in the retail and secondary markets, but that had more to do with the Griffin chase and less with the overall product. That's never a good thing for the perception of a product or a company, but it looks like Panini might have vastly improved upon 2010 NT with the upcoming August 3rd release of 2011 National Treasures Basketball.

Below are a few of the images Panini released on their official blog called The Knight's Lance. These images really look amazing and have got this collector's juices flowing. Each eight card box will include six autographed or memorabilia hits per box. It looks like most of those auto's will be on-card (at least from what the released images reveal). That's a big step in the right direction for the hobby. There is no reason a high end product such as National Treasures shouldn't feature a trading card/memorabilia company's best. And by "best", just checkout some of the cards below. If 2011 NT Basketball is anything like the early preview images, us collectors are in for a treat!!! What do you think?

Who Is The Most Important Young Athlete IN The Sports Memorabilia Hobby Today?

Alonzo Mourning In The Hoopography House: '94 Fleer Illustration

'94 Fleer Illustration Alonzo Mourning

This 1994 Fleer Illustration card of Alonzo Mourning isn't worth really much at all, but it sure is fun!!! I'm a big fan of those old school Charlotte Hornets jerseys, and Mourning is one of the all-time warriors of the NBA. As much as I liked Zo and how he approached the game, I'm up in the air on the Hall of Fame. At 17.1 points/game, 2.8 blocks/game and 8.5 rebounds/game he does have respectable career stats, but I'm not quiet sure those numbers are enough. Certainly time will tell, but what do you think? Is Alonzo Morning an NBA Hall of Famer?

Did Shaquille O'neal Maximize His Talent?

To say Shaquille O'neal didn't have a Hall of Fame career is ridiculous. However, did he maximize his talent throughout his 19 year career? Did he really get everything he could have out of that 7'1'' 300 plus frame? I've argued for many years that he did not. Sure, I was a big fan of the Shaqdaddy throughout his illustrious career, but there were certainly times that I questioned if he was fully invested in the happenings on the court.

Reebok Shaq Pump

For someone with the size, strength and athleticism of O'neal, there shouldn't have been anything that stopped him. For the most part, there wasn't a player in the league that could stop him except maybe himself. Shaq has never successfully completed an 82 game NBA regular season in 19 tries. In fact, he averaged only 64.5 games per season. I understand that a man that size wasn't exactly treated like a little baby out there. The term "hack-a-chaq" was created for a reason. The real issue here is conditioning.

We all have our different body types, but it didn't look like O'neal spent the necessary time a professional athlete should have on his body as other great centers did like a David Robinson. I wonder how much more dominant Shaq could have been had he worked to keep his body in peak conditioning. How many more injuries could have been prevented at at what level he could have performed at had he worked to keep his body in better physical condition. Let's face it, that "Shaq Versus" show was entertaining, but it really was the cross-training workout he was touting.

No doubt, O'neal is a top 10 all-time great, but could he have been in the top 5 or even 3? Maybe, but I guess we'll never know. One thing is for certain. I like collecting the early O'neal inserts and auto's. A couple of my favorites from my collection are posted above. Enjoy the NBA Finals and… "Every Bounce of the Ball".

What Summer Releases Are You Most Excited For?

Although I'm most excited for the 2011 Upper Deck The Cup hockey release, I haven't actually seen any pictures yet. So I'll exclude The Cup from this conversation. However, it's safe to say that UD will do a great job with that product. I'm also pretty interested to see how Panini's Dominion Hockey product will fair against The Cup. As for a few other products I'm looking forward to this summer, Topps' Lineage baseball release should be fun along Panini's Gold Standard basketball.

I know there are a number of nice products coming out over the summer and I for one am very excited as usual. The above mentioned products are just a few of the many trading card releases that are sure to get my collecting juices flowing. What upcoming summer releases are you most excited about this year?

Poll: Is Phil Jackson The Greatest Coach In Professional Sports History?

Is Phil Jackson the greatest coach in professional sports history? Although I was a huge Chicago Bulls fan during the 90's like many young wannabe ballers during that time, I don't believe the Zen Master deserves the title. I think there are essentially two schools of thought on Mr. Jackson. You either believe he's the greatest coach in professional sports because of the 11 Championship rings or you think he was in the right place at the right time with the right players. I believe the later is true.

Sure, there had to be some level of coaching involved to win those 11 rings, but he also had the best players of their respective time periods in their primes with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O'neal and Kobe Bryant. I think he should have won as many title as he did. What do you think? Is Phil Jackson the greatest coach in professional sports history?