Fantasy Focus: Week 13

As you gear up for this weekend’s upcoming games by realigning your fantasy rosters to optimize matchups, let’s take a quick look back at last week’s studs. (Note: Points listed are directly from the First and Goal Fantasy League and may not represent point totals in your individual leagues)

QB: Bruce Gradkowski, Oakland Raiders — WHO?!? In a league full of superstar quarterbacks, Gradkowski is certainly not in the limelight often. Hell, he wasn’t even the starter on his own team. But when your team is looking for an answer to deal with JaMarcus Russell’s complete lack of effectiveness and you have a performance like Gradkowski did on Sunday, people are going to start taking notice of you. Gradkowski completed 20 of 33 passes for 308 yards and 3 TDs to lead the Raiders over defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh. Tacking on 20 yards rushing, Gradkowski finished the day with 26 fantasy points. It may not have helped many fantasy owners as Gradkowski is owned in VERY few leagues, but he might prove valuable in coming weeks (remember that nobody named Austin Miles a few weeks back who is now a starting stud?).

RB: Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants — In one of the quietest games for a running back featured in the Fantasy Focus, Jacobs only delivered 39 rushing yards and 1 reception. Big deal, right? Except that 1 reception was a 74-yard touchdown and his 39 rushing yards were enough to find the endzone a second time. All in all, Jacobs accumulated 22 fantasy points, enough to top all other running backs in Week 13.

*Fantasy Stud of the Week*
WR: Devin Thomas, Washington Redskins — Thomas had the best game of his career in Week 13. Reeling in 7 receptions for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns, Thomas showed he could be developing into a solid receiver. He also racked up 159 return yards, giving him 29 total fantasy points. In a week of surprising performances, the young Thomas grabbed Fantasy Stud of the Week honors and could be a threat to do so again in the future, even if not this season.

TE: Jermichael Finley, Green Bay Packers — Yet another player with sub-superstar status to be honored this week is Finley, who led the Packers to victory on Monday night over the Ravens. His career high 7 receptions for 79 yards and 2 touchdowns were the difference in the 27-14 game. Compiling 19 fantasy points, Finley almost surely helped some fantasy teams to victory as well, although not many as Finley is not considered to be a premier tight end and is not owned in well over half of all fantasy leagues. Perhaps after Week 13, he will get some more attention moving forward.

K: Garrett Hartley, New Orleans Saints — In one of the best games of the week, Hartley was the hero for the still unbeaten Saints. Hartley connected on 4 of 5 field goals (only missing a 58-yarder at the end of regulation), including the game winner in overtime. He also added 3 PATs for a total of 15 fantasy points. Technically in a tie with Matt Prater (recognized in Week 12), Hartley gets our nod for hitting more field goals (Prater had 5 PATs) and for winning the game.

D/ST: Carolina Panthers — A team in the midst of an season that has seen their offense implode with turnovers more often than not, the Panthers reversed the role in Week 13. The defensive unit tallied 5 interceptions to go along with 2 sacks and only 6 allowed points. By accumulating 19 fantasy points, the Panthers were the league’s best defensive unit in Week 13.

ROOKIE: Louis Murphy, Oakland Raiders — It just wouldn’t seem right to have a top rookie name honored in a week that showcased quiet and possibly rising stars. Fortunately, Murphy also matches that criteria. While his rookie comrad Darius Heyward-Bey is receiving most of the attention in Oakland, Murphy had a very solid performance in Week 13. Murphy caught 4 passes for 128 yards (a ridiculous 32.0-yard average) and 2 touchdowns. What’s even more impressive? His entire stat line was populated during Oakland’s amazing fourth-quarter comeback. His 24 fantasy points were best in the league amongst rookies.

Check back next week for another edition of Fantasy Focus as we recognize the week’s best fantasy performers. Best of luck to you in your respective fantasy football leagues!

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

Blogosphere Kindess, Pt. 1

I need to start this post with a disclaimer that I realize this post is excessively delayed. For that, I apologize.

When I started this blog, I didn’t really know what to expect. Yet, given my complete lack of expectations, I have not ceased to be amazed by various aspects of blogging. I am amazed that I am still posting. I am amazed that people are actually reading this blog. I am amazed that people are reading this blog more than once (as evidenced by the readers who have left many comments over a long time span). But of all the amazing things, the one that has amazed me the most is the kindness found in the card collecting hobby, especially within the blogosphere.

I admit that I don’t engage in many trades. It’s not because I’m a smug and bitter old man, but rather because I just don’t put forth the effort to gather cards other bloggers would enjoy, ask for mailing addresses, and then ship out the packages. What can I say, I’m lazy. Perhaps that is why the few packages I have received have been such a great surprise. Why would other people bother to take the time to send me cards when I may not ever return the favor? Again, not out of selfishness or a lack of gratitude, just a plain abundance of laziness.

One recent (and I use the term “recent” VERY loosely) such package came from Tim over at Enough Already!. A while ago, he mysteriously asked for my address because he “had something” for me. Hmmm. Kinda creepy. Kinda intriquing. Kinda awesome. A week or so later, I got a box in the mail from Tim. After I ripped off the 8 layers of bubble wrap (that man will never get bad packaging comments if he sells stuff on eBay), I pulled this out:

That’s right. He sent me an autographed picture of Troy Aikman, framed and all! Not only did he send this, he also sent me a stack of Emmitt Smith cards, many of which I did not previously have. When I thanked him for his kindness and said I had some Rodney Hampton and other various Giants cards I could send his way, he simply said, “Nothing to it Dave. I’m glad you liked it.” He explained he had sent off a TTM card and got this picture in return, so it wasn’t like he spent $150 for the autograph and then gave it away. But even with the free autograph and stack of Emmitts, he still didn’t want anything in return.

That is amazing.

Thanks again so much, Tim! I don’t know when I’ll ever get around to it, but I’ve still got some Giants cards to send your way!

Who Wants FREE Baseball Cards?!?

Before I get flooded with requests for bat barrel autographs, two-color patches, and tri-fold relic cards, let me clarify the title of this post:

Some of you may know that my wife and I bought our first house and moved this past summer. While it was overall a decent experience (I will not bore you with details of the negotiations from hell), the most dreaded portion of the entire process (other than acquiring a splendid 30-year mortgage) was packing and moving all of our stuff. Granted, we were only a few months over a year removed from college, so we did not have mountains of things and were still in the mindset of packing as efficiently as possible. However, it was still a pain.

One of the biggest surprises for me in the moving process was just how much my card collection had exploded in the year we were in our apartment. I went from having a single computer monitor box somewhat full of cards, boxes, binders, etc. to having the same monitor box completely stuffed, along with 3 other medium sized boxes stuffed with cards. Realizing that I only planned to continue collecting cards, I knew I needed a solution. Part one involved my fear of becoming a hoarder and the consequential decision to throw away all of my empty boxes and wrappers (except maybe one from each set I have hand collated). I have not done this yet as I am still trying to reorganize and catalog my entire collection, but I have made the definitive decision to some day soon throw it all out.

Step two involves my old baseball cards. As any other American boy, I collected baseball cards when I was a kid. As a result, I have a slew of cards from the “junk wax” era simply occupying space in my home office. I have tried to come up with alternative uses for my cards, but quite frankly, there are just too many. As I now know my interest in baseball cards is dead, it is time to rid myself of my entire baseball card collection. But how should I do this? I figure I have a few options:

1) Break the entire collection into teams, regardless the count of each team. Hold a giveaway on this blog that simply asks readers to tell me which is their favorite baseball team to collect. The first person to respond for each team would get every card I own for that team. Obviously this would be geared towards helping out team builders and would be the simplest method of handing out the entire stash. It does, however, fall directly into a first-come first-served basis, so perhaps a die-hard Yankees fan is snuffed simply because he responded after a casual Yankees fan hoping for some priceless Don Mattingly or Babe Ruth reprint cards.

2) Create sample “grab bags” containing 50-100 random cards. Hold some sort of contest allowing all readers an equal chance to win. The winners would be awarded a hierachy of prizes where the 1st person might get 10 “packs,” the 2nd person gets 7 “packs,” the 3rd 5, and so on and so forth. I could also hold several contests to help add an interaction element to the blog, get several groupings of readers involved, and I wouldn’t have as many large packages to ship. This would be geared more towards “priceless” cardboard fans.

3) Break entire collection into team sets, but this time further break teams into groups of 50. Either hold contests that are a mix of options 1 and 2 above, or try to sell them on eBay for a few dollars. I could also try selling the random “grab bags” from option 2. This would open up to the much wider audience of eBay, as well as help me to cover shipping and supply expenses.

4) Throw the whole darn thing away at the same time the empty boxes and packs go. They aren’t worth anything more than simple kindling and I sorta doubt any one wants me to mail them my garbage (sorry, Joe, I did say “garbage”).

The only problem with all of this is that when I take a few fleeting glimpses inside the boxes, I am reminded of the hours upon hours I spent on the living room floor or my bed organizing, sorting, reorganizing, and studying each of those cards. I can remember the sheer excitement I had they day I thought I had a pristine T206 Honus Wagner card (which I quickly learned was actually a very cheap reproduction of the legendary card). I vividly remember giggling every time I flipped over a Mookie Wilson card, because his name was so close to Cookie and started with a “Moo”, like a cow, which produces milk, which is great with Cookies. I recall being so proud of my late 80s Donruss cards of Darren Daulton and Lenny Dykstra, my two favorite players of my youth. But in the end, they do not mean anything to me at this point in my life and really are a waste of space.

Wow. Writing that, I just a great idea. As I sort through the whole mess of cardboard into team or random groups, I should scan all the cards that remind me of specific things. It will make for great rainy day posts and will serve as a reminder of those simpler times, even AFTER I give them all away (or burn them to make Rob happy).

Anywho, now that this post is absurdly long, please answer the following poll and leave any comments you feel necessary.

Live Today: SP Threads (For Real This Time)

What do you get when you mix scheduled posts due to a three-day professional conference with delayed product releases? I know you have always wondered that and now I have found the answer.

INCORRECT POSTS!!!

I originally posted product details two weeks ago for the newest SP Threads set. Turns out, the product is only hitting shelves TODAY. Sorry about that. And if you are too lazy to follow that link, I have just copied all the information below.

You know…since it is technically being released TODAY.

Delivering high-end inserts for mid-shelf prices, Upper Deck’s 2009 SP Threads hits hobby shop shelves today. Rookie player collectors and prospectors can get ready to chase some nice relic and autograph cards from this set. The product is being released in cases of 14 boxes of 16 packs of 5 cards each.

The base set for 2009 SP Threads consists of 100 veterans, 100 Rookie Future Watch, and 60 Rookie Auto Letterman. Beyond the base set, there are numerous autograph insert sets including, Rookie Auto Lettermen – College Parallel (Varied #), Rookie Auto Lettermen – College Nickname Parallel (Varied #), Rookie Auto Lettermen – Last Name Parallel (Varied #), SP Rookie Threads Auto Patch (# to 50), Multi Marks Duals (Varied #), Multi Marks Triples (Varied #), Multi Marks Quads (Varied #), SP Superstar Die-Cuts Auto (Varied #), and Stitch in Time. Memorabilia cards include SP Rookie Threads (# to 299), SP Rookie Threads – Dual Swatch Parallel (# to 199), SP Rookie Threads – Triple Swatch Parallel (# to 99), SP Rookie Threads – Patch Parallel (# to 50), SP Threads (# to 99), SP Threads – Parallel (# to 50), SP Threads – Patch Parallel (# to 25), SP Dual Threads (Varied #), SP Tri Threads (Varied #), and SP Foursome Fabrics (Varied #). SP Superstar Die-Cuts is also inserted into 2009 SP Threads

Each tiny thumbnail leads to a full sized image

Disclaimer: The above images were released by Upper Deck along with preliminary product details in June. The actual cards released today may differ from those shown above.

Per Box Breakdown: 16 packs of 5 cards each (80 total) including 2 autographs (with at least 1 Rookie Auto Letterman), 3 memorabilia cards, and at least 5 rookie cards. There are also 1 multi-signed card and 1 autographed memorabilia card in each 14-box case. Boxes are currently selling in the $80 ballpark.

While this is a good looking set, I am becoming mildly comatose with all of the similar “high-end inserts for low-to-mid shelf prices” products these days. It seems that every company is releasing a plethora of products that have similar design elements and promise certain “hits” per box. Do we really need all of these sets? How about focusing on one or two set builders’ products, one or two mid level products with really fancy base cards and guaranteed “hits” and then one top shelf, super high end release that only gives you ridiculously sweet relic and autographed cards without wasting card stock for a base set no one cares about? Just my two cents. That being said, this product does look like it is put together well. There are no egregious design flaws I see in the above images other than the dreaded manufactured letter patches. And obviously that Emmitt Smith patch card caught my attention immediately. I won’t (can’t) go out and buy boxes of this stuff hoping for that Emmitt card, and I probably won’t scour eBay all month looking for one, but if one just happened to fall into my lap, I wouldn’t complain.

What do you guys think? Is this a great set offering value to the collector, or is it just another “hit” product that you couldn’t care less about?

Opinions Wanted

As I venture into the world of eBay sales, I thought it might be cool to have a business card I can send along with purchases. I bought a pack of Avery business card sheets and threw something together quick last night so that I could get the first order sent out.

Click image for a full sized scan

What do you guys think? It looks a little cleaner in person. My scanner either needs to be really cleaned or replaced, because I admit this scan looks a tad crappy. “The Football Card Specialists” may have been a bit of a stretch, especially since I’m hoping to sell off most of my extensive basketball collection as well, but I definitely do plan to focus on football.

Any suggestions? New tag line? More/less contact info? More graphic elements? Anything you can suggest would be appreciated.

Contest Winner

Congratulations to fellow football card collector “fuji” for winning the 100 Reasons to Celebrate contest! Mark commented (the only real requirement) that his favorite First and Goal post was The Topps Collection, which showcased all 15 base Topps cards produced during Emmitt’s career. Mark noted it inspired him to collect all of the base Topps, Donruss, and Fleer cards of his favorite player, Tony Gwynn. What did Mark win? This bad boy:

Click image for full sized scan

That’s right. A 2008 Donruss Classics Sunday’s Best Gold parallel of Adrian Peterson #016/100. It may not be the best looking card, but it is AP and it is #/100. Mark, it isn’t a Seahawks autograph, but hopefully you enjoy your card. I will be in touch with you via email to set up shipping.

For any conspiracy theorists out there, you can see the official contest results screenshot here, in all it’s full resolution glory.

CONGRATS, MARK!