And a lot of lineman seem to like to have fun while playing--from practical jokes, to contests to see who can go the furthest into the season without wearing long sleeves, to fining other linemen in Kangaroo Court just for talking to the media (both of the latter of which Hall of Fame Tackle and former Viking Gary Zimmerman was famous for).  Seems offensive linemen are often some of the smartest players on the field as well--which if you really knew the complexity of some of the blocking schemes, you'd understand why they need to be.

I think it's that reason that this comment, left by a regular on a local sports blog that I follow, drew my attention--granted, it was from two months ago, but it's getting to be the football time of year, and I just came across it again.

Tim Irwin wasn't the greatest offensive lineman in NFL history--in fact, he was probably the 3rd or 4th best lineman on most of the Viking teams he played for (granted, those were some high quality lines with Zimmerman, Hall of Famer Randall McDaniel, center Kirk Lowdermilk and the like), but Irwin was a solid right tackle who brought his lunch pail, did his job, and played for a long time.  In fact, although it probably won't stay this way much longer, he's currently in the Top 100 for career games started in the NFL, with 187.

Irwin was no dummy, either--he ended up getting his law degree, and started his own firm after his career was over.  I think he served as player agent for a couple of guys at one point, but more recently has served as a Judge of a Juvenile Court in Knox County, Tennessee.

So the fact that Irwin likely spent an entire preseason answering requests for autographs by requesting that the seeker write to Topps asking that they include him in the next years football card set is awesome--and exactly the kind of story that I get a kick out of.   The fact that Irwin was included the next year makes it even better.

Offensive lineman rarely get much love in today's sets, given that they lack the big name--but back when sets were a bit bigger, you'd regularly see a couple offensive linemen, a couple of defensive linemen, and even maybe the kicker and punter from each team get cards.

Irwin had a few cards over the years, several of which are available on Ebay today..

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Great Football Card Mini-Story

So where have I been, that has prevented me from posting on my football card blog during the football season?

Well, nowhere, unfortunately.

Back around the start of the football season, there was a convergence of things that made me back away from the hobby some--a combination of me putting more time in on another football blog that I help run, to a vacation that put me a week behind in catching up with the rest of the sports card blogs, to frankly just getting kind of worn out with the whole scene.

Oh, and a combination of being disgusted with Beckett, turned off with the general direction the card companies were going, and not being real impressed with the rookie class this year (good call on my part--although, in my defense, I still don't think that anyone in this rookie class has long term superstar potential), and I decided I wasn't going to buy any more 2008 product.

So, in terms of the hobby, since I posted last September about opening a box of Donruss Threads, you've missed...nothing.

But, in the last few weeks, things have started to percelate again.  I've started reading a few of the blogs again.  I'm getting ready to set up at my first show--during which I hope to REDUCE my collection some, and pick up some cash.  And I even broke down and picked up a box of cards--to no one who regularly reads the site's surprise I'm sure, it was a box of Bowman Chrome.

So I finally decided I would pick things up here again.  No promises on regular posting, no Cards of the Week (for a little bit), and likely still not much in terms of box breaks.  But we'll see.

As for the box of Bowman Chrome--not real exciting--Ryan Torain Autograph, Joe Flacco Refractor being the main highlights--but it was fun to open again.

As for the show that's coming up--it's not really a "real" show--rather a friend set up last year at a bar in a small town about a half-hour south of the Twin Cities, and had a decent draw considering the town is less than 5,000 people.  So he decided to do it again this year, and I've offered to set up too.  Unfortunately, it will be after Christmas this year--but we'll see how it goes.

So, if anyone is interested in trading me Vikings cards (or Twins, for that matter--maybe Wild, if there are actually any hockey collectors out there--as for basketball, well, when Minnesota gets an NBA team, maybe I'll be interested)--vintage, new, whatever--let me know, and we'll see if we can work a deal.

Also, I still am interested in completing that 2007 Refractor set, and am still toying with the idea of completing the 1982 Topps as well.

So drop me a line if you get a chance--hopefully there are still a few readers left around here!

Oh, and a special PS note, to commentor Shawn--I apologize for not responding to your message, but you hit me right in the middle of my funk.  I hope you figured out a way to get your cards back from Iraq--and I think it's awesome that you were able to collect while you were there.  Here's a special shout out to your card store site--hopefully I can drive you a sale or two.

Check out my other football related blog, atZoneBlitz.com

Guess Who’s Back, Back Again…

OK, not THAT football season.  But if the slow part of the NFL offseason (unless you're a lawyer) is killing you, the Canadian Football League kicked off their season.  In particular, my new favorite CFL team (and first favorite CFL team), the Saskatchewan Roughriders, opened the season with a 34-13 win over the Edmonton Eskimos.

And the best part about it?

Thanks to Topps and their lovely Progressions set, I already have an autograph of the heralded rookie that led them to victory.

Adarius Bowman, who appeared to be on NFL radars until being charged with marijuana posession, had six catches for 112 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown.

I'm a little surprised that NFL teams let a little thing like marijuana charges stand in the way of at least giving the kid a shot as an undrafted free agent--I mean, Chris Henry got busted giving booze to underage girls (amongst other things) before losing his job, and Adam 'Don't Call Me Pac-Man' Jones has just a few minor incidents on his record.

Maybe Bowman wasn't that great in the first place--although Topps really has to be disappointed to see him playing north of the border--think of all the crappy gimmick cards they could produce with a guy named Bowman.

Then again, I may just be giving them ideas...

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Are You Ready For Some Football?

And it isn't just because he lists my little old site as one where collectors may end up turning for "real" opinions (although, I do appreciate the mention).

I just want to link to it because I think he hit it right on the head--blogs may not be the total solution to what many view as a somewhat (or more than somewhat) screwed up indistry, but I believe they can be a huge part of it. 

As I mentioned in my comment on Adam's site, companies bigger than Beckett (and even Topps and Upper Deck) have suffered some serious ramifications when bloggers have called "Shenanigans" on them.  They may not be put out of business, but they certainly can get knocked down a few pegs--and with smaller companies, that can be fatal.

So, when the big names in the card world do things that  don't make sense, or do things that might be considered a slap in the face of some of those people who are raising legitimate questions about the business model, they should expect to be called on it.  And as the card blogging world grows, and more collectors find that there is a huge community of people talking cards on the interweb, they can only expect more and more scrutiny and criticism.

So go check out Adam's post if you haven't already.  And if you've been thinking about it, start a blog about your collection.  If you need help, or some pointers, just ask--there are a ton of great resources in the community.  And then you too can be a part of the solution.  Whatever that solution may be.

Check out my other football related blog, atZoneBlitz.com

Blogs Will Save the [Card Collecting] World?

I actually don't mind the price guides, although, their proliferation into side businesses--grading, selling, marketplace, etc--is annoying, and an in my opinion a blatent conflict of interest, even though they deny deny deny. Not the first company to profit off of a conflict of interest, not the last. 

I know that the price guides don't  provide a "true value," of a card, but at least it gives me some comparative indication into what I can start to expect if I wanted to list a card on eBay, or what to ask if I am at selling it at my local card shop, or what to offer if I was at a show.  Of course, I can do all that research on eBay too, but the price guide can save me some initial legwork, and is more portable than a computer (for now).

I don't think price guides are killing the industry, though--at least not directly.  Price guides have existed for well over 20 years--it's just the last 25-30 that they've turned into monthly publications rather than yearly books.

I think the single most destructive thing in the industry is the card manufacturers themselves, and their inability to do anything in moderation.

They hear a handful of people say "That's kind of cool" when they see a game used jersey card from a superstar, and next thing you know, I'm pulling a game used Nick Punto patch as a "hit" from a box.  Then, in order to make more memorabilia cards, we start having 'event worn' cards, and 'was in the same room as this jersey card' cards, and 'personal assistant opened and tossed the unsolicited invitation to event where the jersey was' memorabilia cards.

And then no one wants to buy big bucks for them, and the industry suffers.

Of course, one could argue that the price guides listing those cards as 'valuable' is what made the manufacturers overproduce them in the first place--but if people hadn't started buying cards on the secondary market in the 50's/60's/70's, proving that cards had value beyond use in bicycle spokes or card flipping games, we never would have had the price guides in the first place.

Regardless, whether you love the price guides or hate them (or, like me, not really care that much, other than when your issue is a week late), they certainly aren't going away any time soon.  At least until eBay starts putting out their price guide... (talk about conflicts of interest)...

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My Thoughts on Price Guides…

But now, I have to start considering adding Topps to my list too.  What crime did they commit?

I think I've mentioned a few times in recent days that one of my favorite sets each year has been Topps Draft Picks & Prospects.  Before last year's brownish/orange bordered mistake, they always had what I thought were sharp looking designs, some ok inserts, and perhaps most importantly, reasonable prices.

In fact, the only thing I can remember being a screw up with Topps Draft Picks & Prospects was the year that they decided to follow Ultra's lead, and make the top rookie cards Insert Only--so the only way you could get them was to pull (or buy) a very tough to find autograph card of Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, Vince Young and so forth--which they tried to rectify last year, by offering the same cards (sans autographs) as inserts.

Well, in 2008, in what can pretty much only be interpreted as a response to Upper Deck's Draft Edition, Topps has changed direction, by offering 2008 Rookie Progression, apparently killing the Topps Draft Pick & Prospects line.  I just realized they made the change last week--I knew Progression was coming, but I wasn't aware that DP&P wasn't (funny how they don't publicize that).

The stranger thing is, other than upping the number of hits per box (now 2 autographs and 2 relic cards per box, plus an autographed relic card #'d to 50 or less in each case), the breakdown isn't really any different than DP&P was, from what I can tell.  There's still one rookie per pack, 10 inserts per box, which have numbered parallels at a platinum, gold, silver and bronze level.

So, by all appearances, all they've really done is kill a brand that had some equity built up over the years--which if I remember back to marketing 101, isn't the wisest move in the books.  And in doing so, they now look like even more of a follower than they did before, especially with their set hitting the shelves a full month after Upper Deck Draft Edition.

Smooth moves, Michael Eisner.

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Topps Has Gone and Done It

The first question someone may ask would be on the timing--Press Pass isn't shipping until next week, but they get the box to open early.  Doesn't particularly bother me, as they're in the press, and it's a good move by the Press Pass folks to build some buzz early.  But given the kerfuffle, I am a bit surprised that they went for a break of product that won't hit the public for a bit yet.

The second question is that of star player cards--a question that will likely be asked of every single future Beckett Box Break, given the Adrian Peterson 1/1 pull.  In the box of 2008 Press Pass, they pulled two Matt Ryan parallels (one #'d to 500), a Matt Ryan jersey (#'d to 150), and a Darren McFadden insert, along with a handful of other likely first round picks.

Given Matt Ryan's status as likely being the first QB taken in the draft, some might raise eyebrows at this.  Of course, in a product like Press Pass, it's tough to say that's not somewhat normal.

In the end, I'd say this break shouldn't raise too much of an uproar.  But there will likely be some collector's who disagree...

Of course, the much bigger news out of all of this in my eyes is that the 2008 Football Card Season is just around the corner!

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First Post-Exquisite Box Break From Beckett

I'm sure I'm not the first to have the thought--in fact, I've discussed it before at my local card shop.  But I've not seen a lot of press about it online (very possible I've just missed it--I just really started getting into the hobby blogosphere recently--if you have an article on your blog about it, please send me the link, and I'll link to it).

Just think about it:

• Beckett sets the value for cards across the hobby (with a great deal of research, I'm sure, although I tend to think some of that is hogwash, just based on some common values, and the consistency of some cards, but that's a whole 'nother topic that may deserve its own post). 
• Beckett also grades cards.  In and of itself, that should be fine, even with the fear that I know some of my fellow collectors have about Beckett possibly not returning the same cards that were sent in.
• However, Beckett also has an online marketplace, which I'm assuming they make money on, whether it's a percentage of sale like eBay, or just a listing payment from sellers (I wasn't easily able to figure that out on their site--a whole 'nother topic, and likely a whole 'nother post).
• Finally, from the T206 article, Beckett is also now (or has been for awhile?) putting on their own auctions, through the Beckett Select Auctions division of Beckett Media.

So, how is this a conflict of interest?

Well, might there be any pressure to grade some of those T206 cards as 3's rather than as 2.5's, so that the auction price goes up a little more, thereby raising their commissions?  Similarly, might there be some encouragement to to make sure that other cards are graded a little higher, or that non-graded prices are kept higher, so that their marketplace (and even the overall market) keeps going strong?

Of course, if that's the case, we're all sitting on a time bomb of a hobby.  Although personally, I'm assuming that Beckett has some safety systems in place to ensure that one hand isn't influencing the other--although it would be nice to hear more about them.  And anyway, I'm guessing that one little old blogger, writing his 6th post for his site, isn't likely to change the world.  At least not overnight.

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Beckett: Case Study for Conflict of Interest?