1997 Pinnacle Inside Can

I've had two of these "cards in cans" for WAY too long...I'm talking years here and they have been packed up in a couple different moves across the country. For whatever reason, I've decided that ends today and it is time to get a can opener and crack this tin! 

(Pro Tip!: If you plan on opening a tin for yourself some day and care about keeping the tin afterword, open the BOTTOM of the cap and leave the top alone. I guess people who collect these always want the top intact.)

This is a tin of 1997 Pinnacle Inside which was the first cards-in-a-can product. Each can has 10 cards and were originally sold for $2.99 and I got mine for $1.00. The can itself give some odds of pulling inserts and here are the stats:

Club Edition (150 cards) 1:7
Dueling Dugouts (20 cards) 1:23
Fortysomething (16 cards) 1:47
Diamond Edition (150 cards) 1:63

The cards come in a clear cellophane pack with White Sox second baseman Ray Durham. The cards have been banging around in can for nearly two decades so the corners are dinged up on each card which is something you should consider when buying unopened packs of this product.

Along with the cards, Pinnacle threw in an informational card with an offer for a display case to show off your cans!


The informational card also serves as a game piece. My can was not a winner but card does remind me of the amazing slogan for Pinnacle which was "Guaranteed Scarce...Pinnacle." It's a shame that scarcity doesn't equal value!

Of the 10 cards, I got two interesting ones including a Matt Williams for my Williams PC and a Hall of Famer in Barry Larkin.

Of the 150 cards in the Pinnacle Inside set there are 20 rookies and I got two good ones in Andruw Jones and Billy Wagner. Wagner was a seven-time All-Star who currently sits at 5th all-time for saves. Jones statistics fell off a cliff after the 2007 season but he still ended his career with more home runs than Cal Ripken Jr., Mike Piazza, Duke Snider, and Al Kaline.

And here are the rest of the cards from the pack. It was a fun pack to rip and if you happen to come upon a sealed can at a card show I would say go for it!

2013-14 Upper Deck SP Game Used

So as it stands right now in the NHL playoffs, we have game 7s set for the Western Conference series, while the Lightning wait and see if the Pen/Caps series ends tonight or goes to a game 7. Random decided to have a pack of hockey posted today - SP Game Used.

This is a hit per pack product, if you can't read it on the wrapper. Ovie on the cover. Five cards per pack, and you can find some decent items within.

All the higher end UD hockey releases have the same basic design - shopped player on a white background with some flashy design behind it. Foil UD logo, player name, position and team name. But you aren't buying this for the base.

Old time hockey!!!! That is what a Sabres sweater looks like, Buffalo.

I am not sure if this card design looks good with any team's colors.

I also don't know why the Jets got the city name on the front, but other teams seem to get their team name.

Ok - maybe the Kings sweaters work with the design.

If you counted, that's 5 and no hit. Just like the last time I ripped this, I got a bonus card in the Gretzky. Here's my hit.

Not too shabby. Decent rookie autograph pull. I can't recall if I traded or sold this. I just know that it was something that didn't fit my collection.

2014 Panini Player of the Day football

Very small pack today. This pack fits the mantra of "We are ripping at least one pack of every card product ever made". It was a giveaway I got from my LCS from a pack wars night, because free is the only way I'll do football, and even then it had to be forced into my hands.

Nothing flashy on the pack as it's just silver with their POTD logo in black. Two cards per pack.

Very simple design. I'm not sure if the design is unique to the "set", or if it is similar to another product from 2014. I did a quick ebay scan of images, but I didn't notice anything. If someone knows for sure, please put it in the comments. But you can see the Panini logo upper right. The standard too large set logo in the center (seems to be a Panini trademark look now). Player and team name below. No foil to be found.

Rookie card POTD. The horizontal look better than the vertical. And the back.

The backs are the same for the regular and the rookie. Just the numbering is different. Not sure what helmet that is on the bottom - way too much yellow showing. Then again, the Jag helmets are ugly. Or beautiful, if you think of Jacksonville as an NCAA team outfitted by Under Armor.

Firefly: The 'Verse

I'm on a roll, and I have to be considering the stack of packs I have. So hitting Ramdom yet again, we get the last pack of the scan folder. The moment I head about this set, I wanted it. Picked up one box, and I hope to get a 2nd soon enough to finish the set. But as a pseudo Browncoat, I am as hooked on Firefly as anyone who has watched the short lived series. And if you haven't, it's on Netflix - what are waiting for?

If you are familiar with Star Wars Galaxy or many of the other sets with scenes hand drawn for the cards, then you will get the idea of The 'Verse. As I mentioned, I ripped an entire box. From that you are guaranteed two autograph cards and a manu patch. Plus you have the standard printing plates, 1/1 sketch cards and the like. Let's see the best pack.

You have multiple artists working the set, which means you will see different styles of art work. UD foil logo and 'Verse foil. Otherwise, the image is the star. Here, Mal is trying to work on a deal with a shady character named Badger on some supplies they scavenged.

Ahhh - Jayne with Vera. This is from an episode with Jayne trying to trade his favorite gun for a woman Mal has named Saffron, played by a young Christina Hendricks.

So for those that don't know, the Firefly series is only 14 episodes long. The checklist for the 'Verse puts the set at 171 cards. The 14 shows take up the first 126 cards. If you want to do the math, that means each episode has 9 cards. Yup - Upper Deck nailed this set for storing in a binder with each episode filling one page. Why can't everyone be this forward thinking?

Mal with Inara. Inara is a Companion - basically, a professional "woman", but they are highly respected in the 'Verse. It's through Mal's complicated relationship with Inara that the Serenity gets a lot of passage to ports. BTW, Inara was played by the super talented  Morena Baccarin who has starred in many recent movies including being Deadpool's girlfriend.

Wash. Best pilot in the galaxy and a fantastic wise ass. Married to Zoe, Mal's 2nd in command. No one pilots a Serenity class ship better. Or understands the mantra "only the strongest survive". Alan Tudyk is soon to join the Star Wars universe in the upcoming Rogue One. Oh yeah - this is a foil parallel, as you see in the green foil and the extra foil image in the upper corner. Foils fall one per pack and the image will change. It's not always a cutesy Oriental type doll.

I think the joy of Firefly, along with the fantastic writing of Josh Whedon, is the fact that the place seems normal. Much like the joy of Star Wars in that this isn't the future but another place. And there is dirt and grime and living in it. Everything is not perfect.

Quick look at the back. They are different colors for each episode. You can see the small B&W image of the front of the card in the upper right.

So - best hit in the box?

Triple auto, all on card! Sean is Dr Simon Tam, brother to River Tam, who is a very special girl, that the other two autographs on this card are attempting to recapture after Simon spent serious money to bust her free. Two by two/Hands of blue. The auto cards have a nice matte paper finish to them. Just beautiful.

I would LOVE to build a master set. Maybe, in a year, I'll start working on the other autographs in the set and see what I can put together. But all in all, I love this set and will get another box. Maybe two, if it makes it to a Black Friday sale in November.

2014-15 Upper Deck Trilo3y

Random really should have selected this pack back on March 3rd. But here we are May 5th - oh well. I am posting this at 3:33, so we have that going for us.

2014-15 Upper Deck Trilo3y is another release from UD hockey line. I was trying to determine when this set first came out, but I am not sure. This could be the first year of its release. If someone knows for sure, you know how to use the comment box. Anyway, let's go for it.

So know you know that "Trilo3y" is not some frigging typo. It's the actual name of the release. Five cards in a pack which is far better than 3. You can call this is amid range release. I think the pack cost me a Hamilton. I can't remember.

It's like if SPx and Panini had a baby. You lose the background and get some GoT iron throne as the back drop. Only foil is the UD logo, set name and those 3 curved lines. At least the name is easy to read.

They really don't get that much better. As a set, this is ugly. It's the only word for it. I think the rookie autos are the draw, but it's not the design.

Ugly design + ugly alternate = total shite

Kari should get the start in game 4.

Even my beloved Hawks can't improve these things. Though Sebs looks better than the previous 4 cards. How about the backs?

Four years of stats and a total, with a really big head shot in a sepia tone. If you are paying attention, you'll notice this is the back of Blake Wheeler's card, yet I never showed the front. Needless to say, in a 5 card pack I got bonus cards. Yeah - cards. Plural.

There is the front of Blake. And my last bonus was an insert.

SUPER thick clear card. These Crystal cards fall one per box, so a decent pull of an OK rookie. He hasn't lived up to his 1st round draft selection in my opinion (Jeff may think differently), but he is young and improving. The card though....that font. (shakes head)

This set seems like a retread of Artifacts and unnecessary. But 7 cards from a 5 card pack. 7+5=12. 1+2=3.

BOOM - TRILO3Y!

Decision 2016 retail

 You may not have noticed but we have a presidential election coming up in November. Kidding of course.

 Topps had an election insert on it's Series 1 sell sheet, but ended up pulling it before release.  I personally abhor politics, especially this year,  but I love history and politics are a huge part of history so what's a boy to do?

Anyways with Topps deciding to delay or all together cancel any political inserts this year Brian Wallos decided to fill the void.  Who's that? You can read all about him and the set on the set's website here.  There are some really cool cards to be had in the set and if you love political history then this is right up your alley.  Unfortunately all the really cool cards are only found in hobby packs and I picked up a couple retail packs.  I have to say the set is done really well.  There are 135 base cards in the set, with cards 111-135 being short printed. Mixed into the main checklist are some subsets: The candidates, spouses, influencers, etc. The pack also proudly proclaims that the card are 100% American made, I wonder if that applies to the manurelics as well.  Let's see who I pulled.

 First up Ivanka Trump very lovely, just ask Donald.

My only insert is this Candidates Portrait of the Donald.

Overall the set looks great.  I like the concept and the over all quality of production is top notch.  I'm not a huge fan of dropping a lot of money on sets like this and I'll wait to see if this set hits the bargain bin come November.