Random Cardboard Of The Day: 2022 Upper Deck National Prominent Cuts Michael Jordan

Summer Of Wes Card #81

Summer Of Wes Card #86

Summer Of Wes Card #92

Bumping Into The Wrong Setting

 

I despise new technology.

One simple hit of the wrong button can make everything come crashing down or messed up.

Today's photos for example in this post. I hit something on my camera that made these pictures expand the bottom and top showcasing off the background I use to take them on and making them look really odd.

In order to get today's post up without further delay, I had to post these as is. But, I will tell you one thing, my OCD is eating me alive right now.

AT LEAST the trade I made to acquire these cards was much easier than taking the pictures of them.

@Hamscards saw my post about having an extra Buster Posey Topps rookie and asked what I needed for it. Not sure how we got to the cards we got to in exchange for it, but it worked for me.

I was able to add three more MJ's to my collection, bringing me up to roughly 125 different cards.

Shaq and 90's shiny, that's all it takes for me.

And even a bonus at the end in this Big Pippen.

Thanks to Ham's Cards for the trade!

(update: since typing this up I have figured out the camera button I hit by mistake after many tries of doing so. Pictures will be back to normal after this)

Have any of you made any trades recently and what did you get?

Blocked In

*sits down with a freshly brewed cup from the Keurig, was it because his coffee maker was broken? Nope. It's blocked in right now and since life can't go on without coffee, so goes to the second best route*

Why is my coffee maker blocked in? Well, that's because my wife and I have been on a canning spree.

(there's the ole coffee maker in the back)

Between the amount of pickles, dilly beans and salsa we have made so far and haven't had the chance to put away yet, there's no counter space for my beloved best friend Mr. Black+Decker. He's the one friend I can usually rely on throughout my day. Always has my back and my fills my soul.

But, it's creeping in on Fall and this is the kind of stuff we do when it is around the corner. Well except buy a bunch of Pumpkin spice stuff, more on that another time. For now, I will enjoy the smells that all of this brings.

I always miss summer with the sun and warm temperatures around this time of year as it starts to get a tad cooler, but there also comes that time where I am ready for it to cool down. It's been one of the hottest summers on record here so I don't mind moving into the next phase. That's what great about having four seasons unlike a lot of places where it's summer all of the time. I wouldn't survive and need the variety in my life.

*takes another sip of coffee, gets ready for the cards portion of this post*

In the hobby, I have also been blocked in by my want list for years. There is so much I want in the cardosphere that I want to keep expanding my list on but I don't. I have been blocked in by whats already on there and don't feel like I should keep adding to it until I knock more down. Occasionally I am able to knock down a card or two, but there are still so many big ones on there that I may never get to accomplish it or be able to add to it.

Or will I?

In my latest trade with Dions Autograph Collection, I really made some headway on a few of those wants. Especially when it comes to my baseball want list.

First up, we will take a look at some football cards I traded for that were not on my want list but were cards I wanted. Yes, there is a difference in that.

Cards On The Want List:Usually dream cards you hope to own

Cards You Want:Spur of the moment, fits your collection cards.

Here they are,

Three more Daniel Jones rookies for the PC. I really need to do a complete number update on my Jones collection.

Prizm Jones rookie. This was technically on my want list as I wanted a second one for my PC. Just in case he breaks out and I don't get another. So I will partially count this as a want knocked down despite already owning one. We will get to the real knockdowns soon.

I crossed off a much wanted Drew Lock Prizm rookie a few weeks ago, but, when you see another in a trade you grab it. This time though, its a Red White and Blue version. Prizm sure is pretty. Just like our canning jar of goods.

 

*another sip of coffee. Looks at his hand of remaining cards and smiles knowing what's remaining to show off*

 

And now onto the big part of the trade for my want lists. These were actually cards I thought I would never own of Hall Of Famers but finally do now.

I do own a rookie of Gwynn with the O-Pee-Chee version, but to me it's a knock off to the Topps one and really wanted the real brand. Now I have it. Yes, the centering on it isn't beautiful, but that's not what I am about. I just wanted the rookie card.

Second card, George Brett rookie. I know many don't care for this design, but I do. I like the color schemes and to me it's one of the iconic Topps designs.

And lastly, a Rickey Henderson rookie! Holy Topps Rickey Henderson Batman! This one I never thought I would have in hand.

*takes another sip, realizes one more item was stuck behind the Henderson. I guess you can say that Henderson had it blocked in....*

 

This one wasn't on my want list for basketball, but it's such a cool piece I added it,

Also in this trade was a 1988 Fleer Michael Jordan sticker. Great centerpiece for my MJ collection.

*few more sips to finish up this post. Trying to decide what breakfast will be*

Three big milestones in this trade knocked down and now my want list needs an update. I will have to look at my baseball want list again to see if there is room to expand or will I still be blocked in by what remains.

I just hope my coffee maker won't be blocked in much longer by an ever expanding canning operation. Will be doing some spaghetti sauce today for the first time but also will be purchasing a shelf hopefully to store this stuff on. I can't go another day without my coffee maker in sight.

A Mystery

*sun is already shining, heat/mugginess is building, and here I am sitting down with my first cup of joe to type this*

 

I love a good mystery.

Well, except for my coffee. Don't mess with my coffee. I have one way of liking it so don't mess with it and add some flavored mumbo jumbo or replace it with tea. 

Don't you dare.

Otherwise a good mystery is fun. Whether it's a mystery book, mystery movie, mystery mail day or mystery packs that you can buy. A good mystery keeps us on the edge of our seats.

Just like recently, when I tried my very first mystery pack.

Why is it my first? Well that's not a mystery I will leave you hanging on.

I always worry about buying them not knowing what kind of junk could be within. I assume in order to get the money the sellers are seeking, that the "chase" cards are impossible to find and a lot of it is what we could find in nickel and dime boxes. Which I am running out of places to store that kind of stuff. Yes, I have gotten to the point of collecting where space is becoming an issue. Mainly because my boxes to store stuff in are running low.

Another point to make about these mystery packs is most of these packs cost $10 when I could have turned that into a card or even two for my PC instead of possible junk.

But, this mystery pack was different than the rest I found. It was focused on my favorite era of collecting, late 90's and early 2000's. What made this pack even better, it was cheap. It had my attention.

So for $2.25 plus shipping, you get 30 cards. There are "25 cards" plus 5 cards that are Inserts/Parallels/RC cards. Intriguing.

All of the cards are NBA cards from the late 1990's through early 2000's. The seller put the Inserts/RC's/Parallels/#'d cards in plastic sleeves and each pack was wrapped like the above example.

Here's an example of some of the sets that were to be included into these mystery packs,

• 1997-1998 Topps Chrome
• 1997-1998 Bowman's Best
• 1998-1999 Fleer Mystique
• 1998-1999 Fleer Brilliants
• 1998-1999 Topps Finest
• 1998-1999 Skybox Thunder
• 1998-1999 Fleer Ultra
• 1998-1999 Upper Deck Black Diamond
• 1998-1999 Upper Deck Ionix
• 1999-2000 Skybox EX
• 1999-2000 Topps Gold Label

And the list of players that are in it as well,

• Kevin Garnett
• Vince Carter
• Grant Hill
• Shaquille O'Neal
• Anfernee Hardaway
• Tim Duncan
• David Robinson
• Jason Kidd
• Steve Nash
• Paul Pierce
• Dirk Nowitzki
• Richard Hamilton
• Chris Webber
• Kobe Bryant
• Michael Jordan
• Scottie Pippen
• Reggie Miller
• Karl Malone

Combine all of that with the price, the BIG NOSTALGIA FACTOR, how could I say no? So I grabbed two of these packs and paid under $10 for them both. After getting the packs and seeing how I did, I wished I had gotten more as they sold out almost immediately.

*smiles during my next sip*

Time to show you why they sold out so fast after opening them,

PACK 1:

We kick off the pack with a Topps Finest Felipe Lopez rookie card in old school Grizz uni. I would love a pair of those shorts to wear.

(no that's not an extra Lopez, that's the same one) I found John Stockton and a Karl Malone. Man I wished that Jazz team could had won a title. But, those darn Bulls...

Tim Hardaway, Payton, Garrity Finest rookie

Marbury (I wonder if my buddy still collects anymore who was a big time fan), another Payton and a Barkley

Shaq, Garnett, Penny Hardaway (forgot he played for the Suns)

And now onto what's supposed to be the good stuff. I thought I had already seen all of that up to this point.

Grant Hill Wing Men

Charles Barkley NBA All Stars

Elton Brand Topps Gold Label rookie. Imagine how hot this card must have been back then? For me it's about the Gold Label

Kobe! Great photo to. I never busted any of this Fleer Genuine

Cummings Topps Chrome rookie

And a Larry Hughes Black Diamond rookie. If I remember right, the rookies in this product were Sp's.

That was just pack number one folks. I was feeling like I had drank the best cup of coffee I had ever had after opening that one. Well, the cup I have right now isn't too shabby either nor is Pack 2.

*takes another sip*

PACK 2

I remember Mcleod and how hot his cards were supposed to be.....

Here we go some more. Fleer Mystique was another great looking product, PC guy Allan Houston Topps Chrome, Shawn Kemp, Spreeeeeeeeeeewelllll or as MSG called it out

Jamal Mashburn, Ewing, my first dupe with the Stockton, Kittles

A few Gary Paytons, Barkley another Hakeem Olajuwon

Marbury peeled Finest parallel, The Admiral, Hakeem again, Ray Allen

The sleeved cards including Webber, Tom Gugliotta nice die cut insert

Tim Duncan insert. I think it's either rookie year or year after. I can't remember now. I opened this awhile back.

And I believe I can fllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyy wooooooooooooo. An MJ spotting. Very cool especially being a side PC card and the way his cards have been moving. Fleer Ultra was also the bomb back then

 

It was the back of the card that caught my attention. I am not sure if you can read it, but the Did You Know? was "four hours before every game, Michael eats a 23-ounce New York Steak, either a baked potato or mashed potatoes, a salad and ginger ale."

That's crazy. Can you imagine running around for three hours with that in your system? That's just another reason why he is the GOAT.

*cup one down, next one coming up*

I contacted the seller afterwards and thanked them for a trip back in time and told them how much I enjoyed their mystery pack. They mentioned to me that they may make a second series seeing how this one went, if they could find the rest of their cards.

A week later, guess what they found and made and even contacted me about.

And guess what I did

And guess how I did...

A mystery isn't it....

Too bad that's for another cup of coffee, or two, another day.

Nuts And Bolts and The Big Finish

Every so often I catch someone selling cards that become a big interest of mine and I try to do my best to pull off a trade for them.

@mydadscardcoll1 was running a sale of mid to late 90's basketball cards and I was watching carefully to see if something would catch my eye. Then it did and I pulled the trigger on inquiring whether he wanted to trade or not.

He wanted to see if they would sell first and since they didn't, there was a trade.

Anytime I see a 90's Jordan card, I find interest. Can't explain it, but I do.

So I grabbed these two complete subsets with MJ in both in this trade. Nothing huge or overly spectacular, but it's still MJ who is by far my biggest side NBA PC.

Let's check these out. ***note I didn't take picture of each card I got, I only chose a handful to show off in these subsets***

 These are from 1995-1996 Fleer Metal, Nuts and Bolts. Cool design. Much of the 90's was.

 LJ!

 Grant Hill in old school Pistons jersey

 David slamming one down

 Shaq doing Shaq

The next one is called The Big Finish from 1996-1997 NBA Hoops

 Seems like a great subset name for MJ, always finished big in games.

 David Robinson

 Shaq

 My boy Patrick Ewing. The good Knicks days

Allan Hoooooouuuuuuuuuuuusssssssssssttttttttooooooooon

Karl Malone

Pretty cool adds for my 90's PC.

Thanks @mydadscardcoll1 for the trade! Hope we can do more down the road.