Another Hurricane Related Post

Irene came. Irene saw. Irene conquered.

Well, maybe the ol’ hurricane didn’t conquer as much as some folks thought she would, but she did manage to conquer a lot of trees in my area. And my electric supply. Awesome. My electric utility company expects power to be restored around 4:30am…on 9/1. Even better.

So as any self-respecting hobby enthusiast would do, I turn to pieces of cardboard for solace. I don’t really have enough light to sort through some by hand and while I’m at home I really should be doing stuff like cutting up branches and clearing the property of debris. But while I’m at work, I can at least look through my scanned Emmitt Smith cards to find some comfort. This one strikes a chord:

I could really use a Power Surge at home right now. Well, maybe not a “surge” per se, but you get the idea.

But have no fear, Blog-o-land. The 2011 Topps Finest group case break is still on.

Even if I have to bust and sort the case by candle light…

Pryor to be Paid for Autos

Topps has sent out the following bulletin:

Topps announces that Ohio State star and recent Oakland Raiders signee Terrelle Pryor has signed a deal to ink his signature on the company’s trading cards.

Pryor will appear as an autograph subject in Topps products starting with 2011 Bowman Sterling Football.

Didn’t I hear something about Mr. Pryor getting paid for his autographs before…?

GROUP BREAK UPDATE!

Due to some inquiries, it has been decided to switch the format of the 2011 Topps Finest case break from random team drawing to a you-pick-your-team(s) format. All currently paid entrants have given their blessing to the change and there was no overlap of favorite teams, so this will be a very smooth transition.

There are still lots of teams available. Since there will be no need for a team swapping window, we’ll run signups right up until the product is released/busted, which is still slated for late next week.

Let me know if there are any other questions or concerns.

Sign up before your favorite team is gone!

Heisman Highlight: Charles White

Name: Charles White
Position: Running Back
College: Southern California Trojans
Class: Senior
Winning Year: 1979 – 45th Award
Official Heisman Profile: Click Here
 
 
 

Interesting Notes: White was a workhorse and carried the ball 30-40 times each game his senior year…averaged 194.1 yards per game his senior year…rushed for a total of 6,245 yards in his career, including bowl games…holds a total of 22 NCAA, PAC-10, and USC records…was drafted by the Cleveland Browns and later played for Los Angeles Rams…was elected to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in 1996.

Featured Card: 1981 Topps #69. Despite an incredible college career, White’s NFL career never quite took off, having only one respectable season when he led the league in rushing yards in 1987. This fact obviously affects his rookie card value as there is only a very small sampling listed on the secondary market. An autographed copy will set you back less than $10 and a raw copy looks to cost about $1. White certainly wasn’t the first or the last Heisman winner to fizzle out after college and is still a valuable member of the fraternity and any Heisman card or memorabilia collection.

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

Fuel to the Fire

My buddy recently bought a jumbo case of 2011 Topps and recruited me to help sort and sell off all of his unwanted cards (which turned out to be most of the case since he is a team collector and didn’t get terribly lucky with the inserts). I got to keep two of the cards outright. It may not sound like much, but check out these beauties:

Okay, so it still doesn’t sound like much. A base insert and an online giveaway code card really aren’t all that special (especially since my buddy is planning to use all of the codes himself). But what they do represent is the first 2011 additions to my Emmitt Smith collection. That is something for which I can be excited.

I haven’t really added any new Emmitts since my small binge at the NSCC last year and subsequent buying spree on eBay in the week or two afterwards picking up cards I thought I’d find at the National (and note, despite words like “binge” and “spree,” I added a total of about $150 worth of cards to the Emmitt box). Well, I did pull an Emmitt from 2010 Topps Magic and then bought another two on eBay, but who’s counting?

And this brings me to my main point: I just do not have the time to dedicate to my Emmitt collection that it deserves. There is still a huge stack of cards that have yet to be scanned and after spilling my box once or twice (thankfully nothing was damaged as it just tipped over on the floor), the entire collection is in dire need of reorganizing. I also need to update my Excel spreadsheet and my collection list posted here. And let’s not get into the plan to completely overhaul the Collection website (all of which was about finished before my USB key crashed last autumn). But what with a job, house, baby on the way, and trying to run a side business, my poor Emmitts get neglected day after day, week after week, month after month…

How much longer until retirement?

Bill Simmons Covers the NSCC

A lot of you have probably already seen this, but for those of you who haven’t, here is Bill Simmons’ photo essay of the 2011 National Sports Collectors Convention. As with previous installments, I’m never quite sure how many of the wise ass cracks are actual stabs at sports collectors and how many are really poking fun at himself. As a fan of both, I am quite amused with a vast majority of his reflections.

If you were a hobby outsider, you would probably get the impression from his essay that all sports collectors are awkward, over-weight, middle-aged men with far too much disposable income. As an insider, you are able to discern that while that may be the overwhelming stereotype (just because it’s true doesn’t mean it’s not a “stereotype”), there are plenty of other types of collectors out there.

Well, at least we range in age…