FREE CARDS!

Hmmm…So my blog’s odometer claims that I have surpassed the 10,000 hit threshold. Cool! Especially considering I started this blog without any real aspirations, and particularly since I have practically stopped all posting activities since tax season started. Granted, I realize this is not nearly as cool as when Emmitt broke the 10,000 yard mark on 11/28/1996, or even as sweet as when Mario broke the 1,000,000 hit barrier (right around the time I started First and Goal by the way), but I’m pretty stoked about it anyway.

So to help celebrate, and to give me something easy to write about, I am going to hold a contest because let’s be honest, everyone likes free stuff. So here’s how it is going to go down. You will have three ways to enter:

   1) Leave a comment on this post telling me why you enjoy (or don’t enjoy) reading First and Goal and/or what you would like to see improved/continued.

   2) Plug my contest on your own card blog and then copy the link as a comment to this post. Does this favor other bloggers? Yes. And I am totally cool with that.

   3) Buy a card from me on eBay. What? Sales are down and this is free advertising. Each card counts as a separate entry. There aren’t many on right now, but I’m hoping to add more today and tomorrow.

UPDATE: Just to be a bit more clear, you can enter in any or all of the above manners (and option 3 can be used as many times as you wish). For example, if you leave a comment on this post, plug my contest on your blog (and tell me about it here), and buy 2 cards from me on eBay, that’s four entries. If you leave 8 comments and buy 1 card, that is only 2 entries as only option 3 can be used more than once. Hopefully that makes sense. All entries will be put into random.org’s list randomizer to select a winner, so each entry has an equal chance of winning.

So there you go. We’ll say all entries must be in by 11:59pm EST Saturday February 6, 2010. I’m not sure exactly what the prize will be just yet, but I can guarantee it will include some unopened packs, some jersey cards, and maybe a few base cards to boot. Good luck to all.

Oh, and to celebrate today’s Pro Bowl, here’s an 18 year old Emmitt Smith card. Enjoy.

Heisman Highlight: Glenn Davis

Name: Glenn Davis
Position: Halfback
College: Army Black Knights
Class: Senior
Winning Year: 1946 – 12th Award
Official Heisman Profile: Click Here
 
 
 

Interesting Notes: Davis finally won the award after finishing second the prior two years…still holds the record of most yards gained per play in one season with 11.7…finished his career scoring nearly one touchdown every nine plays from scrimmage…was part of two championship teams with the Los Angeles Rams after serving in Korea until 1950…was elected into the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in 1961.

Featured Card: 1950 Bowman #16. Despite his solid playing career before and after winning the Heisman Trophy, Davis’ rookie card is actually pretty affordable. Of the current listings on eBay, the going rate seems to be about $30. As is usually the case on eBay, however, there is one auction sitting at $0.01 and another Buy It Now with a price tag of $350. Per the standard with vintage rookie cards, you will definitely pay a premium for a highly graded copy, so make sure you know what you are looking for in your collection. If you want the highest possible grades for all your cards, that is fine, but if you are just looking for any old copy of your favorite players or sets, you can definitely save some money by buying a raw copy.

NOTE: You can find all of my Heisman Highlight Features by clicking the post banner above.

Fantasy Focus: Year in Review

As you gear up for this weekend’s conference championships, let’s take a quick look back at the regular season’s studs in each position. (Note: Points listed are directly from the First and Goal Fantasy League and may not represent point totals in your individual leagues)

QB: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers — In a year of QB headlines dominated by the Brett Favre saga, the (possible) farewell tour of Kurt Warner, and the leadership of Drew Brees and Peyton Manning, it was Rodgers who had the best fantasy season, quiet as it may have been. Through the end of the season, Rodgers threw for an impressive 4,434 yards, 30 touchdowns, and just 7 interceptions. Also quick on his feet, Rodgers picked up 316 rushing yards, 5 rushing touchdowns, 3 2 pt. conversions, and just 4 lost fumbles, ending the season with 297 total fantasy points. What may make this stat line more impressive is that Rodgers got the snot beat out of him almost every game early in the season, sustaining a near record number of sacks. There should no longer be any doubt: Aaron Rodgers is the future of the Green Bay Packers and should be for a while. Expect him to be an ever hotter commodity next season. Rodgers was the best fantasy QB in Week 15 and earned an honorable mention in Week 8 for tying with Brett Favre.

*Fantasy Stud of the Year*
RB: Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans — Honestly, who is surprised by this? Johnson dominated fantasy football this year and most of the defenses he faced throughout the season. By the time the dust had settled after Week 17, Johnson had accumulated 2,006 rushing yards, becoming just the sixth player in NFL history to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark in one season. He also had 14 rushing touchdowns, 503 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns, 1 2 pt. conversion, and just 3 lost fumbles, ending the season with a league-high 329 fantasy points. At just 24 years old, Johnson could have several more standout seasons left in the tank and will give Adrian Peterson a run for his money at being the top fantasy prospect in 2010. Johnson was previously honored in Week 2, Week 8, Week 10, and Week 14, earning Fantasy Stud of the Week honors in each of those four weeks. It is no doubt Johnson helped many fantasy teams to championships this year, including the NC Nittany Lions in the First and Goal Fantasy League (congrats, Dave!). Johnson also won the AP’s Offensive Player of the Year award.

WR: DeSeason Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles — In what may prove to be a breakout season, Jackson was the best fantasy wide receiver in just his second career campaign. On a team that appears to be loading up on young offensive talent, Jackson shined like a beacon for the Eagles, who struggled down the stretch. Jackson racked up 1,167 receiving yards, 9 receiving touchdowns, 137 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 441 return yards, 2 return touchdowns, and just 1 lost fumble for a total of 206 fantasy points on the season. Just like fellow 2008 rookie Chris Johnson, Jackson appears posed to have a solid career, both on the field and in fantasy leagues, and may be the top receiver on many fantasy draft boards come next August. Jackson was the league’s best fantasy receiver in Week 14.

TE: Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers — In what seems to be the theme of the 2009 season, the top fantasy tight end was also a young rising star. Davis had a breakout year with the Niners, leading the team in receptions, yards, and receiving touchdowns. When all was said and done, Davis ended the season with 78 receptions for 965 yards and 13 touchdowns for a total of 168 fantasy points. While he was not one of the three tight ends to eclipse the 1,000 mark, his 13 touchdowns tied an NFL record, which Antonio Gates set in 2004. While many tight ends are valuable blockers and often have an unsung role in the offense, Davis is proving the position can be just as dangerous as any other for opposing defenses and will look to continue that trend in 2010. Davis was the league’s best fantasy tight end in Week 3 and Week 7.

K: Nate Kaeding, San Diego Chargers — Post season aside, Kaeding had a very solid season in 2009. Connecting for 32 field goals, including 9 40+ yarders, 3 of which were from 50+ yards out, and 50 PATs, Kaeding finished the season with 158 fantasy points. Kickers may never receive a lot of fantasy love from team owners, but some kickers, including Kaeding deserve some recognition for the support they provided their real-life and fantasy teams. In a true example of the tortoise beating the hare, Kaeding was the league’s top fantasy kicker by season’s end, despite not being the best kicker in any one particular regular season week.

D/ST: New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers — While I never did it during the season, I feel obligated to honor both of these squads, which finished the season in a tie for the top defensive squad with 181 fantasy points. The Jets allowed just 206 points on the season while accumulating 32 sacks, 17 interceptions, 14 fumble recoveries, 3 touchdowns, 2 blocked kicks, and 1 return touchdown. The 49ers’ squad allowed a higher 275 points throughout the season, but racked up 44 sacks, 18 interceptions, 15 fumble recoveries, 4 touchdowns, and 2 blocked kicks. It has ofen been said that defense wins championships. Most people may not think that applies to fantasy sports as raw stats drive success, not necessarily a full team effort. Well, to all the nay-sayers, the First and Goal Fantasy League championship game between the NC Nittany Lions and Team Ham featured a face-off of the Jets and 49ers defenses. How’s that for defenses winning championships? The Jets were the league’s best squad in Week 12 while the 49ers earned the top spot in Week 4 and Week 14.

ROOKIE: Percy Harvin, Minnesota Vikings — While many people expected good things in the future, not many counted on Harvin making such an immediate impact for the Vikings. Starting the season as a dangerous kick returner, Harvin soon found his feet in a more traditional offensive role as well by mid-season. Despite missing some playing time due to injury, Harvin racked up 790 receiving yards, 6 receiving touchdowns, 135 rushing yards, 1,156 return yards, 2 return touchdowns and no lost fumbles for a total of 183 fantasy points. As Harvin continues to learn the professional schemes and settles into his role with the Vikings, we should only expect to see his fantasy production increase over the next several years. The kid has some obvious talent and should be able to put it to good use in 2010 and beyond. Harvin was named the top fantasy rookie in Week 1, Week 3, and Week 12.

Note: To quickly view all of my Fantasy Focus posts, simply click the Fantasy Focus banner at the top of any such post!

Upper Deck Offers New NFL Rookie Set

In another shining example of my tax season laziness (as in I do not have the time or energy to devote to First and Goal that I would like to), here is another copy and paste newswire. This one coming from Upper Deck:

Anyone who was watching football last weekend couldn’t dispute the impact this year’s rookie class made on the gridiron. Chris “Beanie” Wells, Jeremy Maclin, Shonn Greene and Mark Sanchez all turned in memorable performances in their respective playoff games. The 2009 NFL season has been an exciting one with standout performances virtually every week from up-and-coming rookies. From Sanchez securing a victory in his first game to Maclin’s breakout game in Week 5, it’s clear this rookie class is for real!

Throughout the season Upper Deck has been selecting a rookie of the week on the company’s NFL website. Now Upper Deck is bringing the first 10 rookies selected to collectors through a wrapper-redemption program beginning in early February. The cards will be available at “Diamond Dealer” hobby shops throughout the United States. Collectors can visit these locations to receive one of the limited rookie cards for free with the purchase of $10 or more of 2009 Upper Deck NFL packs.

Cards will ship out in two weeks to Upper Deck’s network of “Diamond Dealers” throughout the U.S. The content for Upper Deck’s “Own the Rookies” set is unique as the set spotlights the top rookie performance from the first 10 weeks of the NFL season. From Matthew Stafford recording his first win with the Lions to Minnesota’s Percy Harvin redirecting the spotlight away from the Brett Favre-Aaron Rodgers saga, this unique set is a great way to chronicle what makes these players the next generation of superstars.

“As rookies drive the NFL trading card business, we felt this would be a program football fans could appreciate,” explained Chris Carlin, sports marketing manager for Upper Deck. “This is a great way to help drive passionate football fans to hobby shops when there is a full slate of Upper Deck NFL product on shelves that fans can choose from. Collectors are always after the best rookies and Upper Deck can deliver that like nobody else can.”

The 2009 Upper Deck NFL “Own the Rookies” cards are limited
and only available while supplies last. For more information on Upper Deck’s NFL “Own the Rookies” program, please visit
http://sports.upperdeck.com/football. For a list of Certified Diamond Dealers in your area, please visit
http://sports.upperdeck.com/collectorszone/storelocator.aspx.

Click image for full-sized mock up

Not a bad concept, really. I really like the wrapper redemption portion of it. That is a nicer alternative than making collectors spend $15 for a very minor set. While the card design isn’t awful, I would like to see something a bit more snazzy. But hey, it’s a 10-card season retrospective set that’s free. There’s really no room to complain here. According to the website, I am about smack-dab between two Diamond Dealers, each about 16-18 miles away. I’ve never heard of either, but I may just have to pay them a visit next month…

A Quick Update

Some time ago, I wrote a post about my fear that one day my collecting tendancies will lead me to follow in my mother’s footsteps and become what can only be known as excessive hoarding. I wrote about my box full of empty card boxes and packs and my struggle between wanting to hold on to them for some sentimental value (a fairly clear early warning sign of hoarding) and my logical wish to just throw it all away. Someone commented that I should tell myself that I can do it, set a future date when it is going to happen, and then tell someone else my plan that can keep me accountable.

I often thought back on that advice in the months since that original post. Due to my fairly busy schedule, especially between Turkey Day and New Years Day (and the inevitable tax season that follows), I didn’t feel comfortable setting a date in stone because somehow I believed that if that date came and went without me throwing the stuff out, it might never happen. So I kept myself open to the “next time I have a few free hours and feel inclined to go through everything”.

Well, after some hesitation, that day came last week. It was a normal week night and my wife was at work. I had just sold a patch card on eBay and needed to find my really thick toploaders to mail it out. When I couldn’t find them right away, I once again had that thought of “man, I really need to organize all of this stuff and throw away my unnecessary junk someday. Someday. Someday… Wait, what am I doing tonight?”

And with that, I ripped into the large box that had recently become a mixing pot of all of the non valuables (read: all non-card materials). Without wasting time to allow myself to become sentimental, I started breaking down boxes and throwing out stacks of empty packs. I was going great, although I had to force myself to break down the cool boxes from stuff like Topps Luxury Box basketball and Playoff Absolute SSD football, until I came to my retail box of 1997-98 Skybox Z-Force basketball. It was full of individual and well opened packs from my childhood. As soon as I saw it, the quest to remain unsentimental was destroyed. I quickly decided that I would allow myself the guilty pleasure of keeping just one well opened (you know, when you are able to just barely split the top of the pack?) pack per product (or two plus a flattened box if it was a set that I hand collated so that I can put them into the set binder). But that’s it.

When I was all done, I had an extra large trash bag bulging at the sides with flattened boxes and styrofoam and a waste can full of empty packs and filler/decoy cards. I waited to throw them into our large trash can until the next night when I could show my wife that I was finally taking the step I told her I would take several months ago.

She was proud of me.

And I am proud of myself. It is a GREAT feeling to be able to get my entire collection into the bottom of the closet in my man cave. Before, I could get most of it in there but still had a massive CRT monitor box full of junk, most of which is now the property of my garbage collector.

If preventing a hoarding tendancy is another 12-step program, I have got to be on step 7 by now. And that is really encouraging.

If any of you feel like you have a similiar problem, really question yourself why you are holding onto the things you have accumulated. Ask yourself honestly if you miss them if there were gone. Talk to someone you trust (a spouse, sibling, close friend) who can appreciate your struggle but who does not share the same struggle (that is huge! My wife has seen the results of my mom’s hoarding so she can appreciate it, but it is not a struggle for her at all so she is able to be my voice of reason when it comes to questioning if I should keep or toss certain items). Develop a plan that is productive yet attainable. STICK TO THE PLAN. Do not be the stubborn person who refuses to part with your garbage. Take a stand. Scream if you must. And do something you can be proud of.

eTopps 1956 Football Tribute

I was sitting around this weekend organizing my Emmitt Smith collection and watching some NFL playoffs when I thought to myself, “You know what this hobby really needs? ANOTHER vintage football card throwback…but with today’s technology!”

Well my friends, Topps has delivered just that. This came across the newswire just this morning from Topps:

As the NFL Playoffs begin, eTopps is proud to celebrate our storied football history with a special series of cards which celebrates the company’s first NFL release in 1956. These cards will feature NFL icons from the past, as well as superior gridiron performers of the present, on our classic 1956 Topps Football design.

We will begin offering cards from this collection today, Monday, January 11th, at 1PM EST and continue offering additional cards in the weeks that follow. The collection will include all-time NFL greats including Barry Sanders, Roger Staubach, Tom Landry (image attached) and Tom Brady.

The collection will be beautifully presented and delivered via the classic 1956 Topps Football design, but brought to life on stunning eTopps technology. Cards will be offered individually, encased and be sequentially numbered.

Click image for full sized mock-up

Sarcasm aside, this may not be such a bad ploy. Topps is losing their NFL license after this year, so why not bust out a throwback to their first NFL set? This may have been in the works for a future hard release anyway. I am not sure I get the whole eTopps thing, though (how does it work, anyway? Is it just a digital card or do you buy and trade the cards online and then request the actual card be mailed to you?). Perhaps it cuts down on production costs or gets the set to collectors faster? I dunno. All I can say with certainty is that I will be on the lookout to see if Emmitt is added to the checklist.

So what do you guys think? Awesome retro set? Modern junk? Only worth going after your favorite player/team?