Panini's "Threads Rookies" Made Out of Wood Card Stock

(Evan Turner 2011 Panini Threads Rookies Auto)

NBA ballers play on wooden courts, so doesn't it make sense that card companies produce some trading cards out of wood? Upper Deck released a number of cards that utilized wood card stock several years ago as did Topps with its '09 Hardwood release. I'm a big fan of those previous releases. The natural beauty of wood grain really lends itself to the perfect background for basketball trading cards. I'm not totally sold on the Basketball Threads product just yet, I really need to see more images, but these on-card auto'd 2011 Threads Rookies wood cards are definitely one of the better designed cards I've seen from Panini since its foray into the basketball trading card market last year.

Hoopography Top 25 PC Countdown: #10

(1985 Star Co. Slam Dunk Supers Group Photo/Checklist)

The top 10 of the Hoopography Top 25 PC Countdown is finally here with a gem from the mid 80's! This 1985 Star Co. Slam Dunk Supers Group Photo/Checklist card is a Star Co. card from Michael Jordan's rookie year. It also includes some of the best high flyers of the 80's including Clyde Drexler, Julius Erving and Dominique Wilkins. Oh, and the card is also a giant 5 x 7 inch goliath. Total Awesomeness!

The Star Co. cards are some of my personal favorites, just not my wallet's favorites. They feature bold colors and some pretty decent photography. The Slam Dunk Supers set had a total of nine singles player cards of the participants from the '85 NBA Slam Dunk Contest plus this group photo for a total of ten cards. The set has a book value of $200. Much of that value is tied up in the Jordan, but the group photo card that occupies the #10 spot on the countdown has a respectable $40 book value. I've seen these group photo cards all over the price spectrum on the secondary markets like eBay, but here's a crazy Buy Now eBay auction (click here).

So what do you think, does this '85 Star Co. Slam Dunk Supers Group Photo/Checklist card deserve the #10 spot on the Hoopography Top 25 PC Countdown? Stay tuned to future posts for the rest of the top 10 in the countdown!

12th National Sports Collectors Convention Michael Jordan Promo Card

                        (Front)                                           (Back)

The 1991 Sports Collectors Convention was held in Anaheim, California and I'm sure featured some great memorabilia items. Fortunately, if you missed the 12th National Convention, you can still pickup some great memorabilia given out at the event on today's secondary e-markets.

This Michael Jordan card is part of a four card set that I believe was handed out at the entrance of the event as a promo. The three other cards in the set featured Wayne Gretzky, Joe Montana and Nolan Ryan (click here). The fronts are the same on all four cards with the hologram baseball and home plate, and the back has a sports ball to correspond with the player featured.

I have an extra Jordan from the set that can be found in my Trade Bait Album. Hope you enjoyed this piece of sports memorabilia and of course… "Every Bounce of the Ball".

"Bo Knows…" Memorable Materials

(Bo Jackson Topps Tribute Memorable Materials Jersey Card 46/89)

In a continuation of the "Bo Knows…" Series, this 2002 Topps Tribute Memorable Materials Bo Jackson jersey card signifies the first Bo Jackson jersey/relic card that I've been able to add to my collection. I've hunted this card down for quite a long time. There certainly are a lot of great Jackson cards out on the secondary markets today, but this offering from Topps is one of the best looking cards of the former two-sport superstar. I'm not sure if it's the refractor surface, the Kansas City Royals blue uniform or the horizontal layout of the card, but I've always liked the look of this card since I first saw it several years ago.

I know the card doesn't feature a huge jersey patch or auto, but I'm still pretty excited just to add a Bo Jackson jersey card to my collection. The card is fairly rare with a print run of only 89. The print run is significant because the Topps Memorable Materials set highlights a milestone moment in MLB history. In this case, the memorable moment was Jackson winning the 1989 All-Star Game MVP Award. Jackson lead the game off with a 448 ft. home run that turned many big leaguers into spectators and also had a potential games saving catch in the outfield.

The 1989 All-Star Game was the coming out party for Jackson as a professional baseball player. Unfortunately, it would be Bo's last MLB All-Star Game. As we all know, Jackson suffered a catastrophic hip injury in a '91 NFL playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Although Bo's hip injury was more than unfortunate, it's really great to remember the highlights of his career. That's why, "Bo Knows Memorable Materials".

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

Mail Time, Some Good Stuff This Week!!!

In truth, this is really a few of the cards I've gotten in over the past two weeks. I did get a visit from the Manila Mail Gods today as well, but I'll save those gems for future posts including a continuation of the "Bo Knows..." Series. Maybe I'll post the Jackson card tomorrow. As far as what I have for today, it's a bit of football and basketball. I got great deals on most of these. Actually, I don't think I paid more than $5.00 for any of these.

I actual bought a lot of eleven of these 1995 Upper Deck SP Foil Grant Hill RC's. Four are of the die-cut variety. I've been picking up Hill cards over the past few months as he was one of my favorite players growing up. These foil RC's are not terribly expensive on the secondary markets, but I do love the look of them. The die-cut versions are even cooler. I have extras of the base and die cut for trade (click here).

There aren't too many Buffalo Bills too collect these days, so I grabbed this 2007 Upper Deck Exquisite Gold Patch /50. The talent is there. He has great speed and hands.

I'm a huge acetate card fan. This Grant Hill 1995 Classic Superior Pix card is really cool. The card features Hill in a Duke University uniform and is an excellent example of the acetate technology that I so love. I'll put this inexpensive set together in time, but I'm currently in the process of putting a number of other sets together.

This is a 1998 Joe Smith Topps Finest Test Gold Atomic Refractor. I love how the card not only has the Atomic Refractor effect on the front, but also the back of the card. It's a nice card, but I'm still not sure if this card is going to make it into my PC or Trade Album.

I'm an Antonio McDyess fan, and nothing screams McDyess fan like an Upper Deck Sign of the Times Auto. This auto is really cool since it highlights McDyess in a Nuggets uniform. The Nuggets are the original team that drafted him.

These are some rookie cards of some young Buffalo Bills on the defensive side of the ball. I'm a die-hard fan, so I'm a sucker for any eBay auction with a promising Buffalo Bills player. The Paul Posluszny RC Auto '07 and the Leodis Mckelvin RC Auto '08 are both National Treasures products.

This is the first Topps Murad card I've added to my collection, but I'm happy with that. This is not a set I'm collecting even though it's pretty cool. The truth is, G Moses is doing a great job at that. I'm only interested in this Gallinari Knicks auto. I'm a Knicks fan and there haven't been too many players to collect over the past few years. I'm looking for a few more high-end Gallinari cards, but his signifies the best of my Gallinari collection thus far.

Hope you enjoyed my mail day and… "Every Bounce of the Ball".

Kicks: Nike Air DT Max (Deion Sanders)

image courtesy of Sneakerfiles.com

I normally chronicle a basketball sneaker in the Kicks Series posts, but one of the craziest looking footwear creations was actually born on the gridiron with the Deion Sanders inspired Nike Air Diamond Turf (DT) Max kicks. These came out in 1996 when "Neon Deion" was the best shutdown corner in the NFL. Opposing teams didn't even throw toward the side of the field that Sanders was lurking. Was it the shoes that helped make Sanders so great. Not likely. Although the DT Max kicks are pretty sweet looking, Deion was a bona fide superstar before that '96 season. However, Sanders and the Dallas Cowboys did win Super Bowl XXX that year. I'm just saying… they're pretty good looking sneakers and it takes more than just sweat and hard work. It takes some fly looking kicks to get things done sometimes.

image courtesy of Sneakerfiles.com

No question, the most interesting design element of these Diamond Turf kicks is the tiger stripes or waves depending on your perspective. They're wild and abrasive just like Deion was. The visible Air Max mid sole is always cool too on Nike's creations. These sneakers were originally released in '96, but have been re- released as retro's. They came out just a couple of weeks ago for $125 with a few slight changes to the original design. The upper (Upper: Sneakerhead lingo for top part of the shoe/sneaker that holds the foot to the mid sole) has some always popular patten leather on the versions with a white background in the color schemes (In the case of the images from this post, the white and red Diamond Turfs). Another change is the lack of Deion Sanders image on the visible Air Max pocket on the bottom heel of the outer sole. I'm assuming this is because Nike no longer has an agreement with "Prime Time".

Speaking of Nike agreements, Deion was a spokesman for Nike all through the 90's. As a two-sport star and general load mouth, Sanders was a prime candidate to be a pitchman for Nike. It also didn't hurt that when the stadium lights were turned on, Deion's neon never shined brighter. Here's a YouTube clip of Sanders promoting the Nike Air DT Max:

(RSS and third party site readers, click here to view video)

2000 Bruce Smith Upper Deck Legends Jersey

(2000 Bruce Smith Upper Deck Legends 3 clr Jersey)

The former #1 overall pick of the Buffalo Bills in the 1985 NFL Draft played 19 seasons and finished his career as the NFL's all-time sack leader with an even 200. Smith played the bulk of his career as a DE in the 3-4 defensive scheme which makes his 200 sacks even more remarkable. No doubt my Buffalo Bills could utilize Mr. Smith today.

This 2000 Upper Deck Legends Jersey card is a recent addition to my collection. It was a bit more than I wanted to spend at $12, but I was really excited when it came in the mail earlier this week. It's not terribly thick for a jersey card. This was toward the beginning of when jersey cards came out, and other than a couple creative releases from the past few years, the older jersey cards are just so much cooler. It also doesn't hurt when you add a card of an NFL legend to your collection from your favorite team.

This is a really great card and actually got me pondering a question. There's been a lot of great #1 overall NFL draft choices. Some Hall of Fame players and many busts, but is Bruce Smith the best #1 overall draft choice in the history of the NFL?

Poll: What Do You Think of the New Adidas NBA Jerseys?

(New L.A. Lakers & Miami Heat Adidas Jerseys)

Adidas and the NBA unveiled their new NBA Revolution 30 uniforms yesterday in the NYC. Why Revolution 30? The answer is two fold. All 30 NBA teams will be wearing the newly designed uniforms for the upcoming 2010-11 season and the uniforms are 30% lighter than the previous jerseys. Adidas also claims the new formfitting uniforms will dry twice as fast, allowing players to stay cooler and optimize movement. Is Adidas saying we'll be seeing Mark "Mad Dog" Madsen and Brian Scalabrine soaring down the lane next year because of the technology used in these uniforms? If so, I'll drop the $80 for a Swingman Revolution 30 jersey right now. Who knows, maybe I can breakout some uncoordinated dance moves at a championship parade celebration like "Mad Dog" did with the Lakers a few years back (click here).

Yet Another 90's Insert Set: 1993 TSC Beam Team

There certainly were insert sets before 1993, but it really wasn't until that year that inserts really exploded. Many companies only had one or maybe two insert sets per product in the late 80's and early 90's like Fleer with its Stickers sets ('87 - '90) and Upper Deck with its Award Winner Holograms ('92). However, as the trading card industry took off in the early 90's, so did the size and scope of its products. Companies started producing smaller sets to insert into base product packs to entice the influx of new consumers that were flooding the hobby and market. Also known as the "Golden Age" of trading cards, the 90's helped spur-on creativity and design in the hobby. As far as the basketball trading card hobby was concerned, a perfect storm was created to coincide with the insert revolution.

Not only were trading cards being designed at a higher level to bring in the "Golden Age", but the NBA was in the midst of an upswing of its own. Collectors wanted cards of players like Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'neal. The sports card industry and NBA could not have been hotter, and one early 90's insert set captured the essence of all that excitement, new creativity in design and insert magic.

The '93 Topps Stadium Club product was a premium product that showcased superb photography and a high gloss surface. Sure laugh now, but take a look at a '91 Hoops card and you'll appreciate what Topps did with its '93 TSC release. To go along with its awesome 400 card base set, TSC also inserted a 21 card set into its series 2 boxes at a rate of 1:36. The TSC Beam Team insert set was truly a masterpiece of its time. The Beam Team set features the great photography found in the base set and combines it with the best stars from a hugely popular NBA and cool design. Some of the action shots Topps came up with for this set are really tremendous. Just look at the Dominique Wilkins card. Simply Awesome!

The list of players found in this set is really mind boggling. From Ewing, Robinson and Olajuwon to Barkley, Stockton and Rodman, this set has just about everyone in it. Unfortunately, two glaring omissions are that of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. I know neither played during the '93 NBA season, but they are in the TSC base set. Otherwise, a checklist for an early 90's set doesn't get much better than this.

Many collectors jumped on this set because of the "Shaq' Attack" craze of the mid 90's and Jordan found in the set. The Jordan Beam Team is considered to be one of his "must have" cards for Jordan collectors. I've seen varying prices for this set, so be cautious if you're looking to build this one. There currently are a number of Buy Now sets up on eBay with exorbitant prices from $199 to $250. That is way too much for this set that has a book value of $120. Yes, in 1993 the set did sell for upwards of $300, but the calendar reads 2010 today. I did find this Buy Now auction for $75 (click here). That's actually a pretty good price as the Jordan and O'neal typically sell for around $30 (click here) and $35 (click here) respectively.

I myself built the set the easy way and bought it completed about two years ago. I know that's like cheating, but I saved a lot on shipping charges by not having to pay $2-$3 each to have all 21 cards shipped from different sellers. The Jordan, Clyde Drexler and Dominique Wilkins are certainly favorites of mine, but the Shaq' is where it's at for me. Let's just say, if you've been following my blog, you'll see it soon in the Hoopography Top 25 PC Countdown.

Market Watch: 2010 Panini Basketball Hall of Fame

Panini's Basketball Hall of Fame product was released early last week. I stayed up late last Tuesday night to checkout the first HOF cards posted to eBay and was a bit sticker shocked. It seemed a few sellers wanted to capitalize on the collectors who need to be the first to add a new product to their collections. I've been watching the HOF prices over the past week and feel that many of the cards will be relatively affordable. In fact, many of the cards should come down in price over the next few weeks. That's definitely a good thing for collectors, and there's a couple of reasons why.

The first is that the NFL and MLB seasons are in full swing. Many collectors tend to focus on a particular sport when that sport is in season. The NBA is still several weeks away from even getting started. I know the Dr. James Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony was last month, but mid September is really a weird time to release a basketball product.

Other than a questionable product release date, the biggest reason why many of the prices (of singles) should go down or at least stay reasonable for the HOF product is print runs. Many collectors prize rare 1 of 1's or 5 of 5's, but this product features relatively high print runs of 399 and 499 for auto's and jersey swatches of Hall of Fame players. There are Panini Prime swatches that are more limited. For example, the Dream Team Game Prime Threads have a print run of 99. Although considerably more limited than the non-Prime Dream Team Threads (print runs just above or below 1,000 depending on player), a print run of 99 for a multi-color piece of one of the Dream Team jerseys is actually pretty generous. There are a number of other insert and parallel sets, and many of them also have jersey swatches or auto's of Hall of Famers with fairly high print runs.

There certainly are a few cards with extremely short print runs like the cut signatures that feature a few 1 of 1's and 5 of 5's, but this is a product that offers many auto's and relics of great players. I've been waiting for Hall of Fame to come out for a long time. I like the look of many of the cards. The biggest plus, beside the large print runs, all on-card auto's. I almost think Hall of Fame should have just been included in Panini's National Treasure basketball product that came out last month. On-card auto's and jersey swatches of hall of fame and Dream Team players would have really strengthened the disappointing National Treasure product.

So what do you think, is Panini's latest basketball offering something that has caught your interest? Do you think the large quantity of jersey and auto'd cards will help to make the singles on the secondary market become even more affordable? Finally, do you like the large print runs or is this flood of Hall of Famers going to ultimately hurt the overall basketball trading card market?

Hoopography Top 25 Countdown: #11

The top 10 in my Hoopography Top 25 PC countdown is in sight, but for now, number 11 sure is a good one. My favorite New York Yankee is Mr. Paul O'neill. He was a glue guy on those World Championship teams of the mid and late 90's. He could do everything from driving in runs and playing a great right field to scaring Gatorade coolers around the Majors. O'neill's intensity is legendary. Yankees' YES Network announcer, Michael Kay, razzes O'neill from time to time in the both about his outbursts and cooler incidents. I loved that fiery attitude O'neill brought to the diamond every day. That's why he's my favorite all-time Yankee.

There aren't a ton of O'neill inserts or auto's out there, but there are a couple nice ones that I'm currently chasing. This 2000 Upper Deck SP Buy Back auto is one of the best O'neill cards out there and is numbered 70 of 142. This is also the second O'neill card on the Top 25 countdown. I'm a huge fan of buy back auto's. I love getting the separate UD matching Holo COA that comes with these. It's almost like two cards in one.

I apologize for the scan being a little fuzzy, but I didn't want to take the cards out of the case. The foiling on the left side is notorious for easily chipping. I know O'neill is not the most sought after Yankee to collect, but I thought the $15.25 including shipping I paid was a steal. In truth, I would have paid a lot more for this card. I think every collector has a player or two they're willing to over pay for and O'neill is mine (along with like 5 others).

I had a tough time not ranking this card in the top 10 of the countdown, but there was some tough competition. Stay tuned for my favorite top 10 cards in my collection and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Product Preview: 2010 Upper Deck NHL The Cup

It would seem since Upper Deck has lost a number of their major partners and licensing rights over the past year, they're going all out with regards to the NHL license they still have. Upper Deck's 2010 NHL The Cup release may not only be the best hockey product of there year, but it just might be the best product of the year regardless of sport. Every single card looks amazing. UD recently updated its Facebook page with 85 pictures from the upcoming October 1st release. I don't collect a ton of hockey items other than the few Buffalo Sabres cards I pick up, but this release may just convert me.

As great as these cards look, there's a reason people say, "You pay for what you get". This product is not cheap. You're looking at approx. $360 for 4 cards. There's no question reagrading the quality and design of this product, but $360 for 4 cards might be a tough sell in this economy. That being said, this is the closest to a "perfect" product you can get, and collectors will pay for the "perfect" card. I myself would love to just pick up a box (like spending $360 on pieces of cardboard is no big deal), but I'll hope to grab one of the Tyler Myers RC auto's or Ryan Miller Auto's on the secondary markets.

Product Info:

Release Date: 10/01/10

Configuration: 6 boxes per case. 1 pack per box/tin. 4 cards per pack.

Content Highlights: 2 signed Patch Cards per Tin (1 Auto RC + 1 Auto Patch Card):

- Sidney Crosby & Alexander Ovechkin RC Tribute Cards

- Autographed Draft Boards

- Property of… Stick Nameplates

- NHL Shields

- Dual and triple patch/auto's

- 1 of 1 cut signatures

- and more

Poster Review: Converse "Hit Man" Don Mattingly Poster

"Donnie Baseball" is one of the most beloved Yankee and MLB players of the past 30 years. He could do it all at first place and in the batters box, and did it right. The 1985 AL MVP played for the New York Yankees from 1982 - 1995, but never played in a World Series. Despite that dubious distinction, Mattingly had an exceptional career with a .307 batting average, 6 all-star selections, 9 Gold Gloves and 3 Silver Slugger Awards.

So with all that hardware, which ballot did Mattingly get selected to the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame on? His first ballot? Maybe his second? Actually, Mattingly has not been enshrined into the Hall and it doesn't look like he'll get in any time soon. The man known as the "Hit Man" and "Donnie Baseball" has receive an average of 13.43% of the votes needed in each of the years from 2007 - 2010. A player needs 75% of the votes to get enshrined. Many detractors feel Matting was only great for a short period of time as injuries took their toll. They also site his lack of team success referring to the Yankees going to the post season in only one of Mattingly's MLB campaigns (1995). Others feel Mattingly's numbers speak for themselves as to his greatness and reference his .417 batting average in the '95 ALDS.

I'm a bit partial to any Yankee great and hope to see Mattingly enshrined down the road.

As for the Converse "Hit Man" Poster, it's a classic. This is one of the gold standards or "white whales" for poster and Yankee collectors alike. At the time, Converse was one of the largest sneaker and sporting goods companies in the world. It wasn't Nike and Reebok or Nike and Adidas, it was Nike and Converse. Converse had the likes of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Bernard King and Don Mattingly under contract during the mid-80's. They were truly a juggernaut, and created one of the best posters the industry has ever seen.

The "Hit Man" poster is iconic and collectors know that. Many of the posters were used and it's difficult today to find one in mint condition. They do pop up on eBay (click here), but typically command a hefty price tag. If you do find an original mint condition poster, good luck as you'll no doubt have fierce competition on e-marketplaces like eBay.

Although Converse came up with a great campaign for Mattingly with the "Hit Man" poster, their business relationship did not last. By the late 80's Mattingly was a passenger on the Nike express. Here's a Footlocker commercial with Mattingly donning some Nike gear:

(RSS and third party site readers, click here to view video/media)

So, did you have a Don "Hit Man" Mattingly poster on your wall as a kid or even today, and do you think Mattingly should be enshrined in the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame?

- Can't get enough poster reviews, click here to read previous Poster Review posts and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

I have Refractoritis!!!

As you all know, I have a great appreciation for various trading card technologies and designs. Lately though, it seems I've caught a nasty case of Refractoritis. Think it's not a true illness? Checkout the symptoms below. These are some of the various refractors I've managed to add to my collection recently.

So I certainly have a nasty case of Refractoritis, but is there a particular set, player or trading card technology that has infected you?

Bo Knows Social Networking

(RSS and third party site readers, click here to view video/media)

This is the fourth post in the "Bo Knows" Series, and you're probably asking, "How could Bo Jackson know anything about social networking?". The truth is that I have no idea whether Mr. Jackson is an avid blogger, Tweeter or Facebook user, but I do know that these "Bo Knows" posts have spurred on some activity in the comments section of these posts. More specifically, Dodgerbobble mentioned that he believes Bo Jackson is the greatest all around athlete he has ever seen. First of all, checkout Dodgerbobble. It's a really great L.A. Dodgers sports memorabilia blog that features some very unique items. Secondly, I totally agree. Although I have never seen Bo Jackson compete in person, I have viewed just about every documentary and/or internet video out there featuring the exploits of Mr. Jackson. Whether it was running, jumping, throwing or hitting Brian "The Boz" back past the goal line, Bo could do it all.

So how does Bo Know social networking? It's actually pretty simple. Dodgerbobble commented on the last "Bo Knows The #1" post. Because of his comments, I scoured the internet for the best Bo Jackson video I could find that showcases all of Jackson's talents and athleticism. Finally, you're watching that video and reading this post. Hopefully you'll also leave a comment or two, and that's how "Bo Knows" Social Networking.

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

Should Panini Use Sticker Designs of Old?

I'm sure many of you remember the Panini sticker albums of old. Actually, Panini still produces these sticker albums, but they're not as popular as they once were here in the U.S. during the early 90's. I was one of those collectors who completed both the '91 and '92 NBA Panini albums. It was a lot of fun ripping open the little packages looking for the last few stickers to complete an entire album. Undoubtedly, I always needed one of the "insert" stickers. These were usually groups of ten or twelve stickers that featured NBA All-Stars or All-NBA performers. It was a savvy marketing scheme by the Panini brass. I bought a lot of little packs just to find those last one or two "insert" stickers, but it sure was fun.

Besides the fun of opening those sticker packs and the thrill of completing an album, the stickers themselves were actually pretty cool looking. One could say they were even a bit ahead of their time. The "inserts" actually featured either a prism design in '93 or a foil design in '92. The designs are admittedly simple, but effective. The focus is on the player entirely with a full body silhouette action shot and cool backgrounds. I like the designs of the '93 Prism Mullin and '92 Foil Jordan so much that I think Panini should bring these them back.

('93 Prism C. Mullin) ('92 Foil M. Jordan)

It seems that the trading card industry is consumed with auto's and relic pieces these days and not as much on design. If Panini wants to make a short print auto'd parallel of these, that's fine. I just think it would be so cool for Panini to reuse these designs that I remember so fondly from my youth.

My proposal and subsequent question are simple:

- Proposal:

Bring the '92 foil and '93 prism designs back as trading card insert sets in upcoming Panini trading card products. The sets could feature a "Legends" set and "Rising Stars" set. There's no need to alter the designs other than to enlarge them to fit the standard trading card size (2.5 inches x 3.5 inches). On-card auto's would be cool too for a short print run. If I'm going to have cake, I mine as well eat it too.

- Question:

Ok collectors, is this a good idea/proposal? Would you buy/collect these cards? I think my opinion is obvious, but what's yours?