2011 Panini National Treasures Chris Mullin Auto 10/25

2011 Panini National Treasures Chris Mullin Auto 10/25

I've got a few Chris Mullin cards in my collection that are worth a mention (click here), and this one is no different. I picked it up a few months ago and I'm pretty excited to show it off. The pic of Mullin is cool and the auto is as bright as it is big. For this collector, it doesn't get much better. Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball.

Video: Which NBA Slam Dunk Contest Performance Ranks #1 (Jordan '88, Webb '86, Carter '00, Richardson '03, Wilkins '88)?

There have been a number of physically and creatively amazing performances in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest over the years, but which is the best overall performance? I've picked four videos of the best performances that include each dunk form the selected contests. Sure, there have been some memorable single rounds or dunks by contestants, J.R. Rider's East Bay Funk Dunk, but what if we could compare all the dunks and all the rounds of the best overall performances from the most memorable contestants? Well now you can.

I know, I know. Everyone has their favorite Dunk Contest performances, but I really think these are the best five of all-time (not in any order): Jordan '88, Webb '86, Carter '00, Wilkins '88 and Richardson '03. So checkout the videos and get to ranking the best overall NBA Slam Dunk Contest performances. Make sure to take into consideration each dunk from all rounds. I hope everyone enjoys these dunktacular videos and of course "…Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Spud Webb '86 Contest	Vince Carter '00 Contest
Jordan/Wilkins '88 Contest	Richardson '03 Contest

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

What's Your White Whale?

1997 Upper Deck SPx ProMotion Michael Jordan

I should preface this post by saying that I really have like 10 white whales, but this 1997 Upper Deck SPx ProMotion Michael Jordan is a card that I've been after for about 4 years. Ever since I saw it I new I wanted to build the entire set. Luckily for me, the set is only five cards and I have four out of the five. The bad part, the Jordan sells for over $100.

This card and design got me so excited way back when that I'm also building the sets from the other sports too (click here). I love 90's inserts from all sports, but this '97 SPx ProMotion Jordan is easily one of the best looking inserts from the era. I hope one day to complete the set and make Captain Ahab happy. So that's my white whale, what's yours?

Upper Deck The Cup In The Hoopography House: '10 Myers/Ennis Dual RC Auto

2010 Upper Deck The Cup
Tyler Ennis/Tyler Meyers Dual Auto 32/35

We all love our hometown teams, and I'm no different. As a Buffalo Sabres fan, I love collecting Sabres inserts/auto's of some of my favorite players like Dominic Hasek, Tyler Myers and Tyler Ennis. Actually, Ennis is my favorite current Sabres player. He's having a down year this year, but he's an exciting young forward who I hope will be around Buffalo for a while.

The scan really doesn't do this card justice. The silver foiling doesn't show up in the scan as it does in hand. I also like that Upper Deck used a home and away jersey. Hopefully this card will be in my collection for a long time to come along with two of the Sabres youngest stars.

Athletes are often on a team one season and gone the next. Who are some of the younger players on some of your hometown teams that you would like to see stick around for a few seasons from any sport?

What Card Reminds You Of Why You Are In The Hobby?

Gary Sheffield/Dwight Gooden '92 Upper Deck Score Board Dual Auto

We all have cards that remind us of our youth or fund memories. There are also cards that are just plan cool too. I love auto'd cards and this Sheffield/Gooden Dual Auto is no exception. It's not the rarest of auto'd cards out there at 1,992, but it definitely is cool. So no fund memory here… just coolness. I bought the card a couple months ago and it came with the COA from Score Board. I paid around $10.00 for this one, and I am happy with that. However, the prices do vary (click here and here).

Now to the coolness. I'm sure Mr. T himself would be envious of the bling around these guys' necks, and that's part of the fun of this card. I also like how Sheffield is sporting a basketball shirt for a trading card shoot. Again, it's all in the fun of this card. Between the card itself, the auto's and reasonable price, this card reminds me of why I'm in the hobby.

Are there any cards that remind you of why your a collector?

Should The Cavalier Fans & Organization Want Lebron Back?

I hate Lebron James just as much as the next guy, but there is no denying his talent on the basketball court. Even if he is the prince. So amid the recent developments of the past 24 hours, should Cav's fans and organization want Lebron back?

It's apparent the Cav's just don't know what they are doing when it comes to building a professional basketball team. I mean if it wasn't for winning the Lebron James lottery sweepstakes back in '03, the Cav's organization would not have played a meaningful game since the Mark Price days. They couldn't even put a decent team around LeBron when he was there (i.e. Mo Williams & Wally Szczerbiak). Let's be honest, the NBA wasn't Wally's world like the MAC may have been. So it's a pretty safe bet that whatever the Cav's end up doing in two years when Lebron can opt out of his contract will end up being the wrong decision. Just like The Decision was.

I would not want Lebron back if I was a fan or running the Cavaliers. Lebron will be 29 or 30 by the time he can opt out of his contract with the Miami Heat. This is by no means old in the NBA, but it's not the youngest either. Plus, the Cav's would have to basically throw the towel in on the next two and a half seasons. The NBA is a business and basically losing money for two and a half seasons it's really smart business, but they would probably lose money over the next two seasons regardless. So that argument is really mute. Basically, it comes down to the prince himself.

The fact that he hasn't shown up in big games and can't make decisions that he can live with is enough for me. The guy just doesn't know what he wants, and he should know what he wants. He should want to win. That's what he should be talking about. Not a Blake Griffin dunk or where he wants to play next. As the ever eccentric and late Al Davis said, "Just win baby". The prince is just not a winner. Not even in a watered down, fundamentally unsound and passionless NBA. Maybe D-Wade can help LeBron get on his stylish coattails.

I would just once like to see the fire and determination that the likes of Jordan, Zek, Bird and more showed for entire careers. That type of passion and intensity coupled with the most talented and gifted player in the Association one of the best of all time.

That's my take. However, I'm looking at the whole situation from a basketball sense. Money wise, he would bring in a few bucks for a number of years. Despite the Cavalier's inability to put a decent team around LeBron, Cleveland was rocking downtown on game nights. The upcoming NBA Draft should be a decent one and it might be best to end all the talk if the right player is there to couple with Kyrie Irving.

Those are my thoughts. What are yours? Should the Cleveland fans and Cavaliers organization want LeBron back?

How Dumb Does This eBayer Think We Are?

Empty Upper Deck Authenticated Box

I'm all for buying the most obscure and meaningless pieces of sports memorabilia, but an empty Upper Deck Authenticated (UDA) box is a bit ridiculous. At least, that's what I think. However, this opportunistic eBay seller doesn't agree (click here), or he/she thinks most collectors are really dumb.

I guess I can't really blame the seller here. I have seen auctions featuring obvious counterfeits, fakes and frivolous items sell for big money. The empty UDA box has a starting bid of $19.00 with a $7.95 shipping charge. I guess it cost a lot to ship lightweight small cardboard boxes. Anyways, I'm going to watch this item and see if anyone actually bids on it over the next four days. Oh, and the seller's location is about 25 mins from where I live. So please do not generalize this seller's greed on the good people of WNY.

Thanks and as always… "Enjoy Every Thrill of the Auction".

The Jordan Collection (Part 8): '91 Sports Illustrated Michael Jordan Sportsman Of The Year Hologram Proof

In this 8th installment of The Jordan Collection post series, I'm featuring this commemorative printer's proof of the Michael Jordan hologram featured on the 1991 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year cover. The proof is exact in every way to the hologram on the cover of the magazines, with the one exception of the proof being double sided. You can read an earlier post I did on the actual Sportsman of the Year Sports Illustrated magazine by clicking here to get a background on the item.

The printers proof hologram featured in this post is rare. How rare you might ask? I've only seen three of these on eBay in the three years I've been searching for one of these. So although I don't have an exact number to provide you, I'm assuming there aren't too many of these out there. That makes this approximately 5' x 3'' Jordan hologram a very unique item. I was lucky to grab this item several months ago.

The slide show above includes 18 images of the hologram in which I tried to capture as many of the images in the hologram as possible. Hopefully you can see the clarity, detail and vivid colors this awesome Jordan hologram possesses.

For those of you who read my blog regularly, you probably recognize this post from a few months ago. I am reposting some of my favorite posts from The Jordan Collection series prior to a new video post of a Jordan item that I am pretty excited about. I just got a new item in and I hope to have it posted this weekend.
Happy collecting and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

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".