2010- The Year in Review

As everyone is getting ready to close out their 2010, I find myself doing so on a strange note. 1/3 of my family (which in a 3 person family, is just my dad) is really sick while the other 2/3 are trying not to get sick themselves. I've suddenly become addicted to football cards while 9 cards short of the FB ToppsTown set. There is a possibility I might be going to Dallas at the end of January (For what, you'll soon find out), and of course, that the year 2011 looks so damn promising (Roadtrips are in the making that will send us to Pittsburgh, Cleveland and DC just for baseball). But first, we must look back at the last 12 crazy months.

This was the year that Topps was the only card company out there in terms of Baseball. And this was also the year that their base set rocked, the inserts were awesome and a few of the retro products were pretty damn good.

This was the year that my favorite show ended, and even though the creators promised to do so, they didn't answer a damn thing.

This was the year that Topps put out dozens of shortprints, one or two gimmicks...and cards of Mickey Mouse and Abe Lincoln.

This was the year that I answered a friend's request, and ventured to a Phillies-Twins game at home, in which the Phils won, and the fans treated a returning Jim Thome with applause.

This was the year that I became hooked on National Chicle. I'm still a few cards down, and I'll probably be posting a wantlist soon.

This was the year that, on television, Russell lost for no reason, Fabio won, the Event was a little less than that, Dexter's kid turned one, and Sheldon and Amy are still going out. But you people don't care about televison.

This was the year that I ventured to San Francisco for a Giants game, and to Los Angeles for a Dodgers game. Both were excellent expiriences, even though the home team won only once.

This was the year that I became addicted to football cards. I'd collected a few packs over the years, but this was the year the addiction became a apparent.

This was the year that Brett Favre retired, then came back, then got hurt, then kept playing, then missed a game, then got a concussion, then got fined for sending a woman ...you know. All in all, it wasn't a good year to be Brett Favre...even though he's probably gonna be playing for another 10 years.

This was the year that the top wobbled. You could see it, it was going to stop spinning. Everyone in the theater knew it was going to stop. But we never found out. Damn Christopher Nolan.

This was the year that after seeing the Giants get hot in July, I saw them rise and beat the Rangers in the world series. And that felt good.

This was the year that I became addicted to ToppsTown. After completing the baseball virtual set, I went back to complete the football one. You come for the redeeming, you stay for everything else.

And finally, this was the year that both my teams, even if they were favored to win in the playoffs, were bested by teams that shouldn't have won. No matter how awesome that pitching staff is...they still lost.

The good news is that next year looks to be even better. I just know it.

2010 Topps Football Rampage

I'm officially hooked on football cards. I had a small collection before this year, but thanks to the Hobby Box I got from the Topps people, I'm getting hooked on it. I got 3 packs and a 10 dollar "Cereal Box" thing.

Pack 1-
323- Early Doucet
237- Donte Stallworth, former Eagle.
337- David Hawthorne
304- Dominique Rodgers Cromartie
Draft Insert of DAN MARINO!
TT- I'll upload that later.
226- Manning and Romo
286- Kellen Winslow
180- Reggie Wayne
213- Joe Webb
221- JIMMY CLAUSEN RC
227- Mike Iupati.

Pack 2-
183- Matthew Stafford
305- Bradie James
217- Darren Sharper AS
330- Joe Flacco.
Draft Insert of Brian Cushing.
TT- I'll upload that later.
206- Brian Cushing ROY
226- CL
81- Jared Odrick
195- Walter McFadden, no relation to Darren.
197- Myron Rolle
213- Another Joe Webb

Pack 3-
37- DeMeco Ryans
94- TJ Houshmandzadeh
175- Steve Slaton
282- Aaron Curry
Phillip Rivers Retro
Peak- Arrellious Benn
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104- Brandon Jacobs
281- CL
297- Jonathan Crompton
326- Jerome Murphy
244- Nathaniel Allen

Cereal Box:

145- Brandon Pettigrw
48- Nick Collins
7- Heath Miller
86- Yeremiah Bell
161- Mike Thomas
302- Clinton Portis
359- John Carlson
1- Peyton Manning
82- Dustin Keller
436- Oshiomogho Atogwe
63- Richard Seymour
113- Clay Matthews
181- Adrian Wilson
252- Lamarr Woodley
233- Darnell Dockett
319- Jahri Evans
402- Stephen Tulloch
407- Tashard Choice
304- Dominique Rodgers Cromartie GOLD #'D to 2010.
Jim Brown Draft Insert
Rookie Reprint of Frank Gore
Bowmna Rookie of Tim Tebow!!!!!
CODE CARD- LET'S SEE WHO I GET!
1988 Sammy Winder. I don't know who that is.
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196- Brian Robiskie
206- Brian Cushing
226- CL
286- Kellen Winslow
291- Leon Hall
293- Earl Bennett
261- Justin Tuck
15- Cardinals
29- Michael Turner
56- Bucs
344- Nathaniel Allen
44- Mike Williams
46- Major Wright
52- Akwasi Owusu Ansah
32- Amari Spivey
351- Chad Jones
57- Ed Dickson
360- Ndamukong Suh
75- Javier Arenas
253- Malcolm Floyd
368- Roy Williams
427- Mohamed Massaquoi
6- Marques Colston
408- Steve Hutchinson
366- Justin Forsett
309- Pierre Thomas
394- DeAngelo Williams
238- Todd Heap
301- Chad Henne
187- Torry Hlot
84- Willie Parker
339- Bernard Scott
Beanie Wells Retro
Ray Rice Retro
Rolando McClain Lineage
Jimmy Clausen Lineage
Steven Jackson Peak
Mike Williams Peak
177- Brian Urlacher
144- Peyton Manning MVP
34- Louis Murphy
428- Rolando McClain
228- Jerry Hughes
2- Kareem Jackson
28- Sergio Kindle
285- Kevin Thomas
348- James Starks
297- Jonathan Crompton
326- Jerome Murphy

Good rip, I guess. That Tebow is probably worth something.

The ToppsTown Experiment: Part Two

Months ago I explained my quest to complete ToppsTown's 230 card Baseball Virtual Set. And it worked, and the ToppsTown Experiment post was my most ever viewed post. But last month, I recieved in a box from Topps, a Hobby Box of Topps Football. In every pack, 1 TT card. That means 36 TT cards per hobby box. For a month, I didn't do anything with them. Last night, however, I figured...let's give this ago.

Instead of a 230 card virtual set for Football, there's a 172 card set. And I happily entered my codes one by one until all 36 were entered. By the end of the night I had 139 cards successfully uploaded, not including countless amounts of doubles (I got 5 copies of Kevin Kolb. What did I ever do to deserve this?). Today, I began trading, helplessly.

Of course, like the baseball project, most traders on the site wanted to rid me of the only copy of Matt Hasselbeck or Brett Favre, for players that I already had. Screw the cards that I needed- who cares about that. All those stupid people want is Brady, Manning, Peterson, Favre.

This morning, and as of right now, I have 146 out of 172. I have a little bit more to go, but if those stupid teens keep pushing to rid me of Troy Aikman, this Topps Town Experiment will go down as a failure.

Merry Rip-mas- Retail Box and 2 Rack Packs of Update

Great minds thought alike. Not only did I get a box of Update this morning in the wrapping paper from the big fat guy, my Aunt also chipped in some rack packs. Nevertheless, I have the sum here to rip. I'll start with the box-

Guaranteed Patch- Phil Rizzuto. NICE!

pACK 1-
304- Kris (Kringle?) Melden
330- Carlos Santana
309- Andruw Jones
169- Ryan Ludwick
122- Daniel McDonald
200- Pujols AS
Tales...random crap
tt

Pack 2-
285- Jaime Garcia
4- Alex Cora
266- Billy Wagner
17- Marlon Byrd AS
121- JA Happ
9- Danny Worth
Honus Wagner Stuck in 2000
tt

Pack 3-
150- Han-Ram AS
35- Ryan Braun AS
218- Kevin Gregg
134- Rick Ankiel
20- Jason Bay
252- Jim Thome, the man I can tell my children I saw play for my team.
Jason Bay Yo Mamma 2002.
tt

Pack 4-
260- Andre Ethier AS
241- Joey Votto AS
111- Willie Bloomquist. Jesus, he's still playing?
183- Luis Atilano
223- Henry Blanco
163- Marco Scutaro
Christy Matthewson Turkey
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Pack 5-
70- Jonathan Broxton AS
219- Bobby Crosby
123- Alberto Callaspo
72- Milton Bradley.
177- Chris Heisey
J-Hey Peak
98 Topps Yo Mamma that I already have

Pack 6-
33- Matt Capps AS
58- WIIIIIIIILLSSSSSSOOOOOOON AS
329- Checklist
120- Brennan Boesch
113- Brad Ziegler
Lineage- Walter Johnson and Stephen Strasburg. I wouldn't compare him to the Big Train. A more apt comparison would be to Todd Van Poppel. Oh yes, I went there.
REGGIE! REGGIE! REGGIE! Stuck in 1961. For a second, I thought it was a heritage card.
tt

Pack 7-
75- J-Hey AS
23- Andy Pettite AS
279- Hanley HRD
88- Fat Elvis
135- Starlin Castro Debut
CODE CARD- LET'S SEE WHO I GET:
1979... Joe Niekro. I was hoping for his brother. Good news is it's somebody I've heard of.
Tales- Roy Halladay.
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Pack 8-
221- Heath Bell AS
210- Ubaldo Jiminez AS
65- Checklist
137- Austin Kearns
22- Ty Wiggington AS
YO Mamma, Barry Zito and Ben Sheets 2000...ORIGINAL BACK! WOOOOOOO!
Chris Carpenter Turkey Red

Pack 9-
160- John Johnson AS
280- A-rod AS
291- Corey Hart AS
250- MigCab AS
208- Jeff Keppinger
236- Matt Daley GOLD NUMBERED to 2010.
Yo Mamma 1984 Darryl Strawberry. I don't have it either
tt

Pack 10-
316- Rod Barajas
323- Ryan Kalish
109- Luke Hughes
213- Alex Gonzalez
126- Elvis Andrus AS
71- Jason Giambi
Jon Lackey Turkey Red
tt

Rack Packs-
1-

90- Rafael Furcal AS
148- JJ Purz
18- Omar Beltre
185- Brian Matusz
330- Another Carlos Santana
285- Another Jaime Garica
4- Alex Cora
150- Han Ram
35- Ryan Braun
Honus Wagner VL. Hurray for great collation.
CODE CARD- LET'S SEE WHO I GET:
1980 Bruce Boisclair, a Met I've never heard of.
Turkey Red Rod Carew
67- Kyle Farnsworth, the man in the Horn Rimmed Glasses
174- Matt Lindstrom, who's going to Colorado
106- Orlando Cabrera
308- Matt Thornton
98- Yunel Escobar
312- Coco Crisp (Part of this complete breakfast)
315- Edwin Jackson
2- Dayan Vicedio
108- John Buck
136- Jarrod Saltalomdfnhdjihfiuhfjjsdjccia
216- John Baker
316- Rod Barajas
323- Ryan Kalish
304- Kris Melden
OH MY GOD! IT'S AN ANDRE DAWSON SHORT PRINT! EEEEEEEEEEEE!
Warren Spahn Tales
tt
David Price Yo Mamma from Last Year
257- Joel Hanharan
191- Danny Valencia
295- Andrew Cashner
63- Big Poopi HRD
231- Gabe Kaplan
226- Scott Posednik

Pack 2-

92- Pedro Feliciano
155- Pudge
167- Ramon Santiago
232- Jason Kendall
221- Heath Bell
210- Ubaldo Jiminez
160- Josh Johnson
280- A-Rod
118- Jose Bautista
266- BILLY WAGNER GOLD #'D TO 2010.
CODE CARD- LET'S SEE WHO I GET!
1966 Orioles Rookies Ed Barnoski/ Eddie Watt rookie. Not that baaad.
Matt Cain Turkey Red

I'm getting tired, so I'll post the highlights
Joey Votto 2008 Yo Mamma

That's it. I hope everyone had a great Christmas, and I'm happy I got such great cards.

Year By Year Customs Finale: Expantionists on Parade

Well, folks, here they are. The last customs of 2010. These were teams that couldn't be put on vintage card designs, so I had to photoshop them into the 1993 and 2001 designs, both designs I can easily customize. Hope you enjoy, and Customs will return once the Spring Training shots come in.

Tomorrow- I'm probably gonna get some Stocking Stuffers that may or may not be cards. If I get cards, you know where they're going. Right here on the blog.

Year by Year Customs- 1989

The last of the real vintage sets I'll be customizing, here are some guys I never customized that are still pretty awesome.

Coming Tomorrow- Expantionists on Parade. The four post-vintage expantion teams will get their due in the next two days

Year by Year Customs: 1987

I made a few of these guys before, but wasn't really fond of their turnout, so I'm making 2 of them again, while sliding in 2 guys I hadn't made.

Tomorrow- Skipping the 88 and going straight to 1989.

Year by Year Customs: 1986

A nice batch of 1986 cards, featuring younger players, and a hot rookie. Not much else to say.

Tomorrow- The first set I ever completed, 1987.

Year by Year Customs: 1984

I've always been fond of the 84 design, and it's always been cool to customize. No real other news here.

Tomorrow- Skipping 1985 and going straight into 1986.

Year by Year Customs: 1982

This Greinke right here is easily one of the coolest cards I've ever made. Hopefully, he'll end up signing somewhere just as cool. Enjoy today's batch.

Coming Tomorrow- Skipping the hard-to-customize 83, we go straight into 1984.

So...apparently Russell Martin is now our catcher

Today the New York Yankees signed Russell Martin to a deal. We don't know the real details, all we know is that Russ Martin is headed to the Bronx. And I know this is very frightening for most people (Okay, maybe just Night Owl), but Brian Cashman thought we needed him. This marks the 3,492nd instance that Brian Cashman has been wrong. I have nothing against Mr. Martin (He was a pretty awesome player before his terrible 2010), but...did we really need him?

Look...we already have Francisco Cervelli, Jesus Montero, Dustin Romine and (this is a frightening propect indeed) Jorge Posada- why would we need Russell Martin? I know he's a great defensive and offensive player- but for God's sake, there's a friggin overflow. Besides Posada, we already have 3 young catchers- and 2 of 'em are probably gonna be traded for pitching (hopefully Romine and Cervelli)

And another thing: why would you sign a guy who played terribly for half of last season and didn't play for the other half? If you're gonna find a catcher for your team, make sure he's trusted to have a better season, or he'll be crap for the rest of his career. Just ask Jason Kendall.

In conclusion, we already have 3 good catchers, one of which was gonna get traded anyway. Why dramatize the situation by adding in another catcher?

Of course, the Yankees also made a questionable move in signing ANOTHER player that hasn't played in a while and the Superstar talks have declined on- Mark Prior. Yes, the Mark Prior who had unbelievable first few seasons...and then was injured for the rest of his friggin career. So Cashman said "You know what...let's sign him to a Minor League deal...see what happens" NOTHING WILL HAPPEN, BRIAN! This guy was injured for half his career, and you think he's gonna be a superstar in the minors? He WAS a superstar in the minors- IN 2001! Geez, Brian, get a grip. Waddaya gonna do next, sign Rick Ankiel as a pitcher?

(I think he just got an idea!)

On an unrelated but still awesome note, Hideki Matsui signed with Athletics today. Good for him. Sure, they'll end up in last, but it's a fun team. Plus, part of me has always wanted to see Matsui in green.

The one Free Agent signing they got right

While the 2010 World Series was all about the Cinderella Giants, what everybody cared about was a pitcher on the opposing team. Cliff Lee, who pitched fire against my Yankees in 2 games of the ALCS, would be a free agent in 2011. Meaning that once San Francisco raised the coveted trophy...all hell would break loose. And break loose it did, in maximum proportions.

The main war was between the Yankees, where the pitching staff almost caved in due to injuries, and the Rangers, whose pitching staff really couldn't survive without him. It was either gonna be one of them...or somebody else would come in by surprise. And the diehard fans of both teams didn't really want that.

Meanwhile, in my school filled with Philly fans, no hope was lost. Many people were pissed about Werth (One person said they shoulda just traded Ibanez), and the outfield situation had them in a bind. But hope still rose. I think it was a few weeks ago that I, under the mindset that this probably wouldn't happen, said "Wouldn't it be nice if Lee signed with us again?" And that rose our spirits. If that did indeed happen, we'd have the best pitching staff in the MLB, let alone the NL. As unlikely as it was, the prospect was indeed enlightening.

And this morning, like a miracle occured, Cliff Lee returned to the team he made October with. And all of my Philly based friends can be happy every night when they see Halladay, Hamels, Oswalt, Blanton and now Lee, pitch fire down to home plate.

Thanks Cliff, and welcome back.

Year by Year Customs: 1981

I couldn't believe that I had yet to make a Flyin' Hawaiian when I started on these. So, naturally, I whipped up a nice one. Along with some other heroes of this year.

Tomorrow: Another guy I couldn't believe I hadn't customized...and it's a Yankee! Also, 1982 customs.

Year by Year Customs- 1980

Enjoy today's batch of customs. I know I already did a Heyward this year, but that was back before I really developed the right formula for making them look cool. So, J-Hey Mach-2.

Tomorrow- as a kid, I loved this set. As a teen, I still do. 1981 is tomorrow.

Year by Year Customs: 1979's

A bunch of sweet 1979 customs today. Still a little pissed about the Crawford deal, but that's life I guess.

Coming Tomorrow- 1980.

Why, Carl?

Mama always said if you don't got anything nice to say, don't say it at all.

I have no comment whatsoever on any Carl Crawford, or the Boston Red Sox at this time.

Just This- They better stay the hell away from Cliff Lee.

Year by Year Customs 1978's

A bunch of spectacular 1978 customs. Not much else to say.

Tomorrow- 1979's.

Year by Year Customs: 1977's

Not much to say about today's bunch. Not a lot has been going on with Baseball. Jeter re-signed, but we already knew that was going to happen.

Tomorrow- 1978's and a new Ryan Howard.

Year by Year Customs: 1976's

A bit of a star-studded group today. Every player pictured, at least one blogger likes (or likes that team). Also, all four of these are really nice.