1988 Pacific Baseball Legends

Before heading to Ukraine I recorded myself opening a bunch of packs I had on hand and saved them to post over the year that I would be away from easy access to trading cards.  I found that I had made two videos for packs of 1988 Pacific Baseball Legends about five months apart and in those videos I said mainly the same thing for each pack.  So I've spliced the two videos together and I hope you enjoy me getting a little meta with some packs from 1988.

2009-10 Upper Deck Draft Edition Basketball

I've got a contest going on for the upcoming college basketball tournament that everyone gets so excited about. In honor of that, I thought I'd show off a pack of (mostly) college basketball players about to turn pro that I picked up for $1 at a card show a little over a week ago.

55 - Jrue Holiday - Right off the bat, I get an All-Star player. There probably aren't a ton of All-Stars in this set.

13 - Chase Budinger - Budinger was a 2nd round pick and is now on his second NBA team (Timberwolves.)

47 - Jeremy Pargo - Jennero Pargo's brother went undrafted, which makes me question the overall premise of this set. After two seasons in Israel, Jeremy found his way to the NBA where he plays for the 76ers.

38 - Henk Norel - Minnesota drafted Norel in the 2nd round, but he has spent his entire pro career in Europe.

62 - Tyrese Rice Auto (239/999) - Yeah, Rice wasn't even drafted. Of course. I'm not sure why the piece of tape that this player signed had to be affixed diagonally. Any BC Eagles fans out there? Yeah, I didn't think so.

64 - Marcus Thornton - Thornton has been a productive NBA player after being drafted in the second round and traded a couple of times.

33 - Gerald Henderson - Henderson Jr. was a late lottery selection by the Charlotte Bobcats, and he's still there. I'm not sure what that says about the Bobcats, because he hasn't exactly been amazing.

46 - Jerel McNeal - McNeal went undrafted but became a D-League All-Star this year, for what it's worth.

32 - Dante Cunningham - Cunningham was a 2nd round pick who I liked when he played in Portland, but is already on his 4th NBA team.

25 - DeMarre Carroll - Carroll was a first round pick who has struggled to find consistent playing time. He's on his 4th NBA team (Utah) as well.

Opening A Block Of Cards From Vintage Stock

Today I'm breaking open a block of random cards [mainly 2010 Topps Series 1] from Vintage Stock in Topeka, Kansas.

 

2012-2013 Panini Champions League Stickers

Here is the first pack 2012-2013 Panini Champions League Stickers a.k.a. the only cards/stickers I've found in Ukraine.  These were a little less than a dollar a pack and you get five stickers per pack.  Here's what I pulled:

My first sticker is of Toni Kroos, a midfielder for FC Bayern Munchen [Location: Munich, Germany]. 

#382 Toni Kroos

And here's the reverse side of the sticker before you peel off the front side.  

Next we have Alex Sandro, a defender from FC Porto [Location: Porto, Portugal]. 

#18 Alex Sandro

My next sticker is of a player who only needs one name apparently...that is Jonas who plays forward for of Valencia CF [Location: Valencia, Spain].  Not exactly Pele in the name recognition department.  His full name is Jonas Goncalves Oliveira for those keeping score at home.  

#405 Jonas

My next sticker is a super shiny team sticker for Juventus F.C. out of Turin, Italy but you can call them Juve for short.  Founded in 1897 they are the most successful team in Italy.  

#336 Juventus Team Sticker

My last sticker is of Ezequiel Lavezzi who is a forward for Paris Saint-Germain FC [Location: Paris, France].  Originally from Argentina, Ezequiel was on the 2008 Gold Medal winning team.  

#63 Ezequiel Lavezzi

1992 Donruss MVP 4-Card Pack

In today's video I'm opening a small pack of 1992 Donruss MVP cards which were only available at Canadian McDonald's restaurants.

2006 Topps Series 1 and 2 Rack Pack

Greetings!

Hope everyone is doing well.  To those wondering where the posts have been:  The assembled writers of APTBNL were in a conclave of their own in Rome...Georgia.  After days of card sorting, lounging, sleeping, and drinking, thick, black smoke can be seen rising from room 383 of the Days Inn on Turner McCall Blvd.  Turns out there was a small fire there and the local fire department quickly took care of that.  However, at the other end of the hotel, the door to room 216 opened to reveal madding (Get it?  He's a Cardinals fan!) holding an IPad containing the image of Matt F., who was on Face Time from the Ukraine.  There, sometime before 6:30PM EST, in front of the assembled woodland creatures and the pizza delivery man, Matt F. proudly proclaimed...

...habemus cursore!

It's a quick one tonight...it's a 2006 Topps Series 1 and 2 Rack Pack!

Topps released a 22 card pack of Series 1 and 2 at some point during that year.  Since this specific type of pack has yet to be posted, I figured it counts.  I didn't even scan all of the cards, probably because you all know what they look like.  Here's what I got:

#48 – Dan Johnson

#203 – Zack Greinke

#199 – Adam Kennedy

#195 – Mike Sweeney

#128 – Mike Cameron

#145 – Troy Glaus

#103 – Junior Spivey

#71 – Tom Glavine

#264 – Huston Street

#72 – Craig Biggio

#191 – Freddy Garcia

#380 – Marcus Giles

#509 – Freddy Sanchez

#457 – Shea Hillenbrand

#402 – David Dellucci

#386 – Luke Hudson

#592 – Mike Hargrove

#400 – Vladimir Guerrero

#534 – Tim Stauffer

#632 – Ian Kinsler (RC)

#626 – Mark Woodyard (RC)

#556 – Rob Mackowiak

I did scan some of the better-known players.  Here's some pictures for you:

 

Anyway, that's it.  More later...thanks for reading!

1992 Pinnacle Series 1 Jumbo

Once upon a time, Pinnacle was Score's answer to the growing "premium" baseball card market. 1992 was a year that everyone was trying new things, and this would be another entry (along side Score Select) into the market, one I managed to almost completely avoid the first time around. I don't remember where I got this particular pack, but I do know that I didn't pay anywhere close to the $2.99 list price or $1.79 price that is written in marker on the front.

245 - Manuel Lee
260 - John Wehner
275 - Dave Fleming - Fleming had a stellar rookie season but kinda disappeared after that.

290 - Kenny Lofton Sidelines - Lofton played basketball for more than just a hobby. He was a pretty serious player in his day.
305 - Jay Buhner Shades - Reminds me of this excellent post over at The Junior Junkie.
231 - Steve Avery

246 - Mike Pagliarulo
13 of 80 - Gregg Olson Team 2000 - There are 3 Team 2000 inserts in each jumbo pack. Olson was a top notch reliever for a spell.
21 of 80 - Larry Walker Team 2000 - Always nice to get a Larry card.

38 of 80 - Gary DiSarcina Team 2000
141 - Pete Schourek
159 - Felix Jose - Hey, a Cardinal!

161 - Tim Wallach
179 - Randy Milligan
181 - Kirt Manwaring

199 - Terry Mulholland
201 - Dave Magadan
219 - Bob Tewksbury - Another Cardinal! A very underrated one at that.

59 - Harold Reynolds
61 - Gregg Olson - Second Olson card of the pack.
79 - Ozzie Guillen

81 - Gary Gaetti
99 - Juan Samuel
101 - Tom Browning

9 - Andy Van Slyke
11 - Kevin Seitzer
29 - Lou Whitaker

2009-10 Panini Absolute Memorabilia Basketball

Here's a pack with Kobe Bryant on the cover. Kobe Bryant is an insufferable jerk, but we love him anyway because's he's really good at his sport. Wait, did I say "we"? I meant "you". As with all of my basketball posts here, these cards will find their way to my Guilt-Free Basketball Card Club members at some point. Or they'll sit in my apartment, collecting dust.

56 - Russell Westbrook - Speaking of insufferable jerks, Russell Westbrook has quite the reputation (and UCLA pedigree) of being a selfish jerk. His team is very good, however, so he must be doing the Kobe thing right.

14 - Tony Parker - Currently injured, but leading the Spurs in scoring (and assists, as one would expect from your starting PG.)

71 - Pau Gasol - Currently whining to someone about something, probably.

94 - Hedo Turkoglu - Hey, look, I don't have something to say about everyone in the pack, okay?!

52 - Nene - Underrated center and cancer survivor.