Still Helping

 Here we have the last pack from the Gem box, which has been about what is expected - a chance to open some packs with little real oomph in the cards or big hits or anything, but cracking into packs is still worth the price sometimes.

Today, we get a single scan to show all of the 2018-19 Upper Deck Series 2 cards, and at least they are all keepers for my set build.

Also not complaining that I got Crosby right off the bat - about as nice as base cards go. Though the Young Gun isn't a home run, getting one is help no matter what.

Highmore had some games in 2017-18, some more for Chicago in 2019-20 before spending part of that year then over with Vancouver.

You know where I spent time recently? You do.....here are the baseball cards from www.baseballcardstore.ca that I picked up. As you will see, very Jays heavy.

1990 Panini Stickers are one of the first collectible "cards" I have fond memories of. The other two would be 1984 O Pee Chee and 1991 Donruss believe it or not. I remember packs upon packs of them and still not completing the set...had to love the poor collation...

Just a sprinkling of 80s Jays for the most part as well. I was looking more to just fill in holes with what Jays were available, so picked up a few.

As you can see, 1986 Donruss needed the most help.

Fred McGriff is the error "missing copyright info on the back" one which I was still missing.

90s Bowman...still need more...then we just to more recent cards. I think I was finding so much I needed, I just figured I'd go to the newer cards since I don't see as much of that.

Nothing too spectacular, but it doesn't have to be - base Jays from any set, especially the new ones I don't have, are great additions.

Oh, at least one team set I did finish off...

Yeah, I was still missing one or two from 1988 Score, and here made sure to also get dupes for the set build where those were needed.

All fantastic, but I think I am saving the best of the singles I picked up for last - the wrestling portion.

Highlighting a Career

 2018-19 Upper Deck hockey flagship has 2 packs in the Gem box I picked up, and these are the last two packs for exploring - one today and one tomorrow. Going with Series 1 today, we get an insert from a really net insert set.

When you play as many seasons as Jagr, you have to have earned some level of respect, even from those who never liked you. Happily, I was a Pens fan (right behind my Maple Leafs), back in the days of Jagr and Mario, and they were a great tandem.

The card I pulled, a little later on in his career - showing his trade (in exchange for Anson Carter and cash), from Washington to New York. Even with the interruption, he was still close to a point per game producer.

The rest of the keepers from the pack...

No Leafs, but all adds except...

Given how few cards I have from the set, was a little surprised to get a dupe, but there you have it.

From the post yesterday, do you prefer this design - more white space on the front - or the design from yesterday - 2017-18 Upper Deck hockey? Either way you are stuck with the foil team logos....

Something else I am "stuck" with today - more awesome cards from www.baseballcardstore.ca - today, a bunch of hockey.

One pack for the unopened pack collection and a couple Leaf cards  - nice Hostess cards still in their wrapping.

I actual got an extra Upper Deck pack, so I opened one, just to see what I ended up with and...

No specific keepers for me, but a fine enough 4 cards.

The rest of my hockey card pick ups were for slow set completion purposes, so we have 2005-06 Upper Deck Victory here, as well as...

2006-07 McDonalds and some 2012-13 Artifact cards - a set I haven't added to in a good while!

2017-18 Upper Deck Hockey

 I don't like a whole lot of modern sets really, but flagship sets are usually alright, and this one is probably my favourite from recent years.

Other than changing the logos to be anything but foil - like just regular on card logos, is about my only complaint. Most of the photos are solid, Domi and Ward are great, as is the angle on the Nash card.

The name is clear, and the stripe is team coloured, just a nice design overall.

I also like...

The UD Canvas cards because not every card needs to have every layer of slickness to them imaginable. A card the way it is supposed to feel - like cardboard. I don't harp on the shiny way cards are generally done as I get it - it's a process that helps the cards last, and I presume helps quality control (and is cheaper maybe?),

Can beat a good cardboard feeling card, and a solid action shot to boot, with a unique perspective, all kinds of awesome.

A winner pack all around since I get to keep everything, sweet

Speaking of winners - I put in an order recently for a bit of a few different things at www.baseballcardstore.ca and received the package the other day. Will share the bits as I unpack and store things. Today - some Tim Horton's goodness.

2016-17 Timiies is the set I am furthest ahead on - about 3/4 done on the base set. Part of that is because it is only 100 cards as they upped the base set more recently.

Also picked up a couple 2017-18 and a bunch of 2018-19. All for a dime (USD, plus $5 shipping for the packages as a whole), which is a nice price given the three card packs were a buck when bought at the time.

I am sure you can get base sets at a fairly decent price....but I still like the build on these small sets.

The above is everything I was able to get that I was missing from the three years, so shows, the sit may not have every single card, but definitely has a wide amount so should be able to find some cards that suite you.

Plenty more to show later. I picked up a few Bruins cards for someone that I won't show here, but was part of the purchase as well, and like these, all came in excellent condition.

2016-17 Parkhurst

 Not an original title, but exactly what we are opening a pack of today. Not a set I collect, so just insert/parallel and Leaf hunting today.

I hadn't seen any of these NHL Centennial Salute inserts which do not scan well at all. In hand it looks pretty darn sweet with a very Black Diamind feel/look, and of course the moment being presented is kind of a big deal. 

I wasn't even alive when it happened, but feel like I have lived through the Bobby Orr goal with how many times I have seen pictures, video, and heard the story recounted.

Very cool moment on a very cool card.

The rest of the pack...

Though Price is probably the highlight - if I wasn't going to get a Leaf, at least I got a Bruin card I can pass along.

Tomorrow at least I can get to a pack that I am actually collecting the related set.

High and Draisaitl

 Today, a pack of 2018-19 Parkhurst hockey from the  Gem box - a quick and easy share. As always, we hope for any kind of Leaf or insert/parallel goodness.

Alright - good base cards, I mean, can't go wrong with Leon and Andrei given he had a pretty nice playoff to end last year.

We end the pack with more Edmonton and Tampa cards as well as a rookie card, which is nice, but leaves me with a whole lot of nothing for what I collect.

Can't win them all I guess.

At least I can say the design is simple and sleek. Definitely with the "slanted line" trend on designs for the front of cards....baseball Topps flagship sets - I am looking at you!

A Change of Pace

Going to change it up for a short break of a couple days and step away from the lot of card to instead open a few packs. I know - been a while since I opened packs, especially with the crazy of the hobby this year, it just hasn't been worth looking at newer pack products between the price increases and lower availability.

So I go to my stash and find a box I believe I got for my birthday....last year.

Been a while since I have seen something like this. Best they have these days is a blister pack including a couple packs, instead of the box with 10 or more idea.

First up, the graded card:

Yeah - my scanner doesn't do these cards well, but I usually don't keep them. Here I am torn but will keep it as 2009-10 is a set I am backburner collecting, and this is a card I am missing. One day I will probably free it though, if needed for the set.

I know - surprised it wasn't something like a Crosby graded rookie card or something.

As for the packs...

About what would be expected. I do get one unopened pack for the collection with one of the 2018-19 Parkhurst packs, so there is that. As for the rest, let's run through over a few days - but the Score, which I am slow building, we can run through all together today and see what we end up with.

This is a set I am hanging onto and slowly collecting - near half way done now - and nice to get a couple subset cards including the RNH card number 1.

I also came away with a couple Leaf cards in the packs...

Actually needed James here which, as you can see, shows his trade to Toronto. 3rd Ryan Hamilton rookie card though, and that's cool.

Inserts are keepers of course, even if I accidentally cut off the bottom part of Luongo's card - my bad. The Team Score cards remind me of 1991 Score baseball's similar black and white Team Score subset.

Dupes...

Simple colour coordinated backs which provide full stats and write ups where able, and one dupe insert...

As I completed the insert set before.

Not bad for the four packs, will see over the next few days if the other packs provide anything worthwhile.

Quick Drive Through The Park

So there was a good chunk of 1992-93 Parkhurst cards again, and I was hoping they would be series 1 since we completed series 2 earlier in this lot, but no such luck.

Instead, we have another good gathering of series 2 cards. SO rather than go through these again in full detail, I'll just say there were a good 160+ dupes from series 2 I won't bother scanning and sharing again here, but will share the keeps at least.

We did end up with some Toronto cards still, which is always awesome, including a couple Emerald Ice parallels which were new for me, so that's cool. 

With the Emerald Ice parallels coming one per pack, I gather they were left in as the way these were put together were like opened packs just shoved together. I couldn't even tell if anything was skimmed out from these ones, not that there were any real big money cards in the set of course.

Does mean I get a few more of the cards for the insert/parallel collection:

Puts me at 57 Emerald Ice cards from the set which is pretty good for not really trying!

Sprinkles

 Seems today we get a nice sprinkling of sports and sets - always a fun time.

More tinged 1993 Bowman cards. At over 700 cards, not sure I'll see enough to make it worth collecting here, but time will tell. The photography is fine and the Bowman logo may be a bit bigger than needed, but the placement nicely keeps it out of the way. Some decent players too with Will Clark and Bernie Williams.

Like the idea of throwing "Canadian" in the title by Donruss - not sure if it is overly suiting or just another set and way to separate it.

Then some classic 1991-92 Upper Deck basketball.

Charles Barkley's card here raises an interesting thought to me. I always think of him as a Sun, not a Sixer, but he did spend more time with Philly. It must be just the timing and fact that his Suns time is when I was more glued in with the NBA growing up.

Usually you remember a player being synonymous with a team they spent the most time with, but what are some examples of a player better remembered for a team they spent less time with? I could see David Wells being remembered more for his 4 years with the Yankees than his 8 years in Toronto for example.

We do get one keeper for today at least...

Sergei definitely is known for his time in Toronto as he only dabbled around for a couple years after leaving Toronto, having partial seasons in 4 different places before being done in the NHL.

Last up before leaving...they came....

With these packs, I am now "done" with my unopened pack collection for Magic: The Gathering. I mean sure, I will continue to pick up the packs for new products as they come out, but I am not going to go after one of each artwork, or anything more historically, and I am not going for Alpha, Beta, Unlimited, Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends or Portal Three Kingdoms.

The last thing I do need to do is, my mystery booster pack is actually part of a box I bought of that product, so at some point need to crack the box to take a pack out, and probably go through the rest of the box...but fun for a different day. I am debating whether I should instead open and sell packs to recoup my cost on the box, but going to just leave it for now.

Anyway, one goal reached I am pretty darn happy about...now if I win that lottery, maybe I'll take a run at those other packs.....

Head Into the Comics

 An interesting bunch today, though we start with standard fare - a few card keepers in my 1992 Stadium Blub baseball set build...slow going, but still a set build.

As a kid, Kevin Gross was a name that always made me smile.

Many more cards today I won't be keeping.

1993 Bowman is a big set, and as you can faintly see - these cards appear to have a bit of yellowing. As the yellowing is on one side, I suspect these were packed tight in a box and the "up" side took the damage. I have done the work to get rid of the smell, so the cards are good in that regard, but these aren't cards I would just trade away - will either keep if the set shows up enough here, or give away.

We get an interesting one off Topps football gold parallel of which, the desigign is the same as their other sports that year, and then into some interesting comic cards.

Spider-Man is card number one in this 1992 Marvel set.

I don't know how prevalent or scraping for detail the cards are - the dates for first appearances from the back date through the late 60s, 70s, 80s and early 90s, but not being a "comic guy", I can just tell you, many of the names I hadn't heard of before. Heard of death - just not what I picture him to be...and Strong Guy sounds like a nice generic name.

Still, interesting cards, but not for me. The Spider Man was a tease though, because from the same year, we also get a bunch of Spider-Man specific cards...

Okay, so not a big fan of some, but others like the Venom cards do look really nice and well done. The backs essentially provide facts about the moments in the comic books and where possible, like the wedding, relate them to actual events.

Quirky, unique, and cards I would never have picked up in usual card buying dazes, so exactly the fun stuff I look for in these random lots.