[tracy hackler]

Quality time with a six-pack, $300 box of http://www.beckett.com/Navigation/Contro...gt;2007-08 SP Game-Used Basketball

Pack #1
Josh Smith
Glen Davis Authentic Rookies RC (#865/999)
Craig Smith Autograph Significance

http://www.beckett.com/Navigation/Contro...0>Allen Iverson Authentic Fabrics
Tracy McGrady
Thoughts: The $50-per-pack thrill ride begins nicely with a superstar jersey card (even if it is the dreaded, one-color white), a decent autograph and an RC of a Barkley-esque rookie. If nothing else, this will be a hugely entertaining break . . .

Pack #2
http://www.beckett.com/Navigation/Contro...gt;Raymond Felton/Shaun Livingston Authentic Fabrics Dual Patch (#41/50)
Caron Butler Cut from the Cloth
Thoughts: Two cards sporting the thickness of five; the three-color Felton swatch is virtually begging to be touched. Please note that the Butler Cut from the Cloth was, in fact, cut from a white cloth.

Pack #3
Dwight Howard
Jamaal Tinsley
Paul Millsap Autograph Significance

http://www.beckett.com/Navigation/Contro...=0>Tony Parker Cut from the Cloth
Larry Hughes
Thoughts: Half way through this $300 box and the hits keep coming. The Parker white swatch is offset by these two facts: He’s married to Eva Longoria (and there’s a greater-than-zero chance that she touched this jersey) and he’s won multiple NBA titles. Kudos to Millsap (a potential sleeper, by the way) on a nice signature.

Pack #4
http://www.beckett.com/Navigation/Contro...0>Deron Williams
Marco Belinelli Authentic Rookies RC (#76/999)
Andray Blatche/Andrew Bynum/LaMarucs Aldridge Authentic Fabrics (#42/50)
J.J. Redick Cut from the Cloth
Zach Randolph
Thoughts: A first-round rookie and a colorful three-swatch beauty that would be right at home in a bag of Skittles. All that color is countered by the glaring whiteness of Redick’s memorabilia square.

Pack #5
Al Jefferson
Sammy Mejia Authentic Rookies (#538/999)
http://www.beckett.com/Navigation/Contro...gt;Brandon Roy Autograph Significance
Richard Jefferson Jersey Parallel
Nenad Kristic
Thoughts: Another triple-threat pack boasting a white Jefferson swatch, a numbered RC and the card of the box, a sweet signature from 2006-07 Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy.

Pack #6
http://www.beckett.com/Navigation/Contro...gt;Carmelo Anthony
Andre Igudola
Dorell Wright Hardcourt Classics (#16/199)
Manu Ginobili Authentic Fabrics
David Lee
Thoughts: The Wright jersey card sports one of the best designs I’ve seen in basketball in quite some time. For what it’s worth, I’d rather pull a card of Beckett Basketball editor David Lee in a pack than one of the Knicks’ big man.

Overall thoughts: The final tally: Six packs, three numbered RCs, nine memorabilia cards, three autographs and more breathless thrills than an amusement-park roller coaster. If nothing else, this early season offering is this year’s front runner for Most Entertaining Box to Bust. It’s the kind of box that left us wanting way more than six packs, which is probably what Upper Deck had in mind when they designed this product. One criticism is the seeming abundant use of ambiguous one-color jersey pieces.

Uncovering something from LeBron or exclusive rookie Kevin Durant would have been nice, but it’s hard to argue with the sheer entertainment value of our loot. As for the design, it is, in a word, sweet. From the box to the overwrap to the base-card design, UD did a wonderful job of carrying over the SP Game-Used theme with subtle elements (like stitching effects) that go a long way.

-- Tracy Hackler