08.31
Panini America Football Brand Manager Carlos Torrez confirmed today that all seven subjects in the 2010 Classics Football Hall of Fame Autographs set (Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice, Floyd Little, John Randle, Dick LeBeau, Rickey Jackson and Russ Grimm) have returned their on-card autographs to Panini headquarters.
Torrez said the outstanding redemption cards — released as part of 2010 Classics Football in early August — will begin being fulfilled “in the very near future.”
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08.31
To collectors of USA Baseball cards this is nothing new, but Topps touted its crop of top 2011 draft picks that can already be found in its upcoming 2010 Bowman sets because of its deal as the exclusive manufacturer of USA cards.
Oh, and it also offered on Friday a sneak peek at the first USA Baseball cards for this year’s teams, which will be all over upcoming sets.
Here’s the info, straight from Topps:
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08.30
Leaf President Brian Gray on Monday afternoon released several images of autographed cards slated for the upcoming 2010 Leaf MMA product due out next month. Among them was the first certified autograph card of feared Russian heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko and a handful of cards bearing signatures from UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.
See all the images after the jump and stay tuned to Beckett.com for additional information on 2010 Leaf MMA.
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08.30
Beckett Baseball‘s Chris Olds rips into a blaster box (and an extra jumbo pack) of 2010 Topps 206 baseball cards in this latest Rippin’ Retail video.
We’ll have a full Box Busters video here soon, but until then check this one out.
What will he find inside? Just watch …
08.30
You can count on one hand the number of sports card products that are instantly recognizable from five feet away with just a glimpse of the base card. The rather regal Crown Royale is one of those products — and Panini America is giving the elaborate testament to mid-’90s technological decadence a full-blown football set for the first time since 2002.
Due out in late October, 2010 Crown Royale Football looks to be a true-to-its-roots updating of the trailblazing original, the creative, die-cut brainchild of former Pacific Trading Cards owner Michael Cramer. Panini has tinkered with the Crown Royale concept sporadically since acquiring the rights to it and other Pacific names and brands in 2004.
Until earlier this summer, that tinkering was confined to the occasional insert or promotional card. But in July the company released 2009-10 Crown Royale Basketball, setting the stage for its more deeply rooted football counterpart later this fall.
It’s a high-end product ($25 per five-card pack with an autograph or memorabilia card perk) with a familiarly non-traditional design sure to send longtime collectors immediately back in time to 1995, when the first Crown Royale arrived.
There’s something distinctly, refreshingly Chaucerian about the insert designs that makes me want to set out on a pilgrimage to the hobby shop. In a category often criticized for the perceived sameness from product to product and season to season, Crown Royale definitively bucks that trend despite being a 15-year-old idea.
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08.29
In The Game President Dr. Brian Price had an interesting post on his PrezSez blog Sunday regarding alleged language in Panini America‘s NHL player agreement letters that he finds rather objectionable.
Price cited specifically the following paragraph, which he says a player agent brought to his attention:
“Player shall be restricted from providing autographs on Cards for other comapanies unless such Cards are licensed by the National Hockey League Players’ Association (the “NHLPA”) at the time such autograph is provided.”
Price’s response?
“These agreements are being sent out to players who might be playing in the AHL and the CHL next year [and are] clearly trying to effect our contractual relationships with the AHL/PHPA and CHL. Since the NHLPA no longer permits exclusives, this clause is an attack against ITG.
“Is it legal? We certainly will find out very soon.
“Panini should worry about competing with Upper Deck but it seems they are more concerned with us, should I be flattered?”
For the full post, visit Dr. Price’s blog.
08.28
John Elway‘s first Topps card — a gem of a Rookie Card that’s No. 1 in my heart and No. 63 on your checklist — arrived in 1984. Elway’s 30th Topps card wouldn’t follow until nine years later, in 1993 Topps, after the Hall of Famer had already played in three Super Bowls and earned an NFL MVP Award.
Tim Tebow‘s first Topps card arrived earlier this week with the release of 2010 Topps Football. So did his 30th.
According to preliminary checklist data confirmed by Beckett Media, Tebow appears on 30 different trading cards in 2010 Topps. That brief but brazenly bulging checklist says as much about how dramatically the industry has changed in the last 25 years as it does about the headline-harvesting wunderkind looking to become the Denver Broncos‘ next great franchise quarterback.
For perspective, consider that Tebow appears on just 10 cards in 2010 Classics, 16 in 2010 Score, 17 in 2010 Prestige and 22 in 2010 Donruss Elite. The only 2010 NFL product released so far this season to include more Tebow cards than Topps’ 30 is Rookies and Stars, which boasts a staggering 38.
Tebow’s Topps total includes 13 cards limited to 25 copies or less and five 1/1s. He has 10 autographed cards in the set (the most plentiful is numbered to 90), four memorabilia cards and one autographed memorabilia card.
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08.27
Beckett Media’s Chris Olds busts open a 15-year-old box of 1995 Signature Rookies International Edition football cards in this edition of Bustin’ Wax.
What will he find inside this gem, which includes an autograph in every pack and 18 sigs in every box?
Watch and find out …
Part 1 is above and Part 2 is after the jump.
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08.27
Pamela Anderson throws a first pitch along with her son, Brandon, before a Los Angeles Dodgers game in 2008. AP image
Panini America officials revealed to Beckett Media on Friday a few of the surprises it has in store for the upcoming 2010 Donruss Elite Extra Edition baseball card set that arrives in late-September.
Perhaps the biggest surprise? A Pamela Anderson autographed baseball card.
You see, the 43-year-old former Playboy model and Baywatch star is a big fan of the Pepperdine University baseball team, so much so she’ll appear on card No. 100 in the set wearing a Pepperdine Wave jersey.
Oh, and she’ll be signing 35 cards — on-card, not stickers — for inclusion in packs.
Among the retired players and Hall of Famers signing for the set in their high school or college uniforms are Cal Ripken Jr., Randy Johnson, Reggie Jackson, Paul Molitor, Alan Trammell, Tom Seaver and Bob Gibson among others.
Among the 33 prospects who have signed on-card for DEEE are:
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08.27
By CHRIS OLDS | COMMENTARY
Anyone who doubts Stephen Strasburg‘s place in the hobby in 2010 hasn’t been paying attention to the stat sheets.
You know, his numbers on the field — and the sales of his baseball cards.
However, the biggest story in baseball in years got a little bit bigger on Friday morning as a Washington Nationals official said the highly touted hard-throwing right-handed rookie likely needs Tommy John surgery — ligament replacement in his right elbow. That means we may not see him on an MLB mound until 2012.
Cynics saw Strasburg’s high level of success on the field and predicted a downfall eventually — though one has to wonder where that particularly came from as he has been absolutely dominant in college and the minor leagues before becoming the spectacle of all spectacles in the big leagues this season. You can’t argue with his numbers — they were there and had been enough to justify his being the No. 1 pick, which came with a hefty $15-million record-setting contract.
However, one can never predict injuries — and the cynics got what they wanted; a quick downfall this season, an end to the biggest story MLB has had — especially when reflected on cardboard — in years. Some say Strasburg’s arrival challenges the impact of the arrivals of Ichiro Suzuki and Albert Pujols in 2001, but I’d say it might surpass them both and go even further back.
Now what, though? Let’s assess Strasburg’s performance as we look forward …
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