WENT TO A CARD SHOW

Hey gang. This morning I attended my first card show in forever. I took my 10 year old grandson.

There were probably 50some tables. Vintage, new, boxes, memorabilia,  autographed stuff. Lots of it.

One thing struck me. Basketball cards have really taken off! I saw insane prices on cards of guys I have never heard of. I don't follow the NBA much these days. The Pistons stink and the league is rigged. I'm in the minority. 

It was fun seeing so many people enjoying the hobby. My grandson found some great cards. 

He's a Seahawks fan, thankfully. Being a Lions fan is a miserable experience mostly.

The hobby is alive and well.

A KID. A CARD.

2020 Panini Select Premier Level Die-Cut #305/355

I picked up my 10 year old grandson from school today. I was hoping to have a few packs of cards ready for us to rip. I usually grab something from my local big box store, but since there is never anything there but cards with wrasslers, ponies, or Pokemon, I was empty handed.

My local card shop saved me. AllStar Sports and Games in Grand Rapids Michigan opened a new space. We went to check it out. 

My grandson loves football. We were after some packs to open. Single packs were going for 20, 30, 40 and more! Insanity!

"The market is a bit hot right now.", said the owner.

No kidding.

He did point out a couple boxes of 2020 Panini Select. $179/box. 10 packs. I had to pull the trigger. I opened my Robinhood app, sold some stonks, and paid for the box. Easy come, easy go. 

Watching a kid rip wax, smile, eyes light up, so worth it. 

Herbert is safely in a top loader and probably on my grandson's nightstand.

HERITAGE LAMENTING

I was at my local Meijer the other day. I usually swing by the toy aisle to see if any hoarders have left scraps. To my surprise there were a few rack packs of 2021 Topps Heritage. I haven't been collecting baseball cards for a while. I felt the itch to open a pack so I bit.

First thing I did was check the odds on the wrapper. There are 7 million variations, short prints, parallels, and assorted nonsense. What a mess.

After ripping it open I was wondering if anything in there was "worth" anything. Off to eBay I went. What followed was a half hour of confusion. Mismatched backs? Missing stars? Throwback uniforms? For fucks sake! I might have something "valuable" but I need a degree to figure out if I do.

I'll toss this pack into a shoebox with the rest of the odds and ends I still have left from my collecting days.

Was it fun to open a pack? Yes. Will I be buying packs anytime soon? No.

His name has butt in it.

Hope you all are well. Peace.

A SET BUILD WAITING GAME

As a kid, opening packs of cards was like Christmas morning. The excitement of seeing a Lou Whitaker or any Detroit Tiger appear as I slowly slide back a card was unmatched. As a big kid I still enjoy opening packs, but the cost per pack is ridiculously high. I buy a blaster here and there for fun, but mostly my collecting these days is sets.

My latest project has been going on for years. I decided to build the 60 card 2003 SP Golf Authentic Fabrics Singles set. The set features legends of golf. Tiger, Jack, Arnie, Freddy, Stadler, and more. It's quite a checklist. The cards are serial numbered. Most to 100, a some to 50, and a few to 25. Twenty frickin five.

I have collected 59/60 cards. I am one away from bliss. Annika Sorenstam /25 has eluded me. 

I was beginning to think that the card made the checklist but was never made. Over 10 years of eBay searching and nothing popped up. The autographed version has popped up numerous times. The relic not once. I tweeted about the card a few years ago and a fellow collector sent me a link to a Worthpoint showing the card. Verified! It was made. Twenty five. That's it. 

When I finally find the card it will feel like Christmas as a kid all over again.

IT HAS BEEN A WHILE

Hello everyone. It has been a long time since I've posted here. Almost 8 years ago I stepped away from sportscard collecting. There are many reasons why I quit. It doesn't really matter now why I stopped the hobby.

I might be posting from time to time about what I am up to. My grandson is 10. He loves football and golf. I've been dabbling in cards again because of him. 

Hope you're all well. 

Larry the smg

Other Things

Hey all. I hope you're having an awesome Summer. 

The sewingmachinegal and I are soaking up the heat and really having fun.

You might remember a while back I began the process of selling off my collection. It was a tough decision, but has been really rewarding (financially and mentally).

I have given away thousands of cards to the neighbor kids as well. I like seeing the looks on their faces as they get new cards. I was that kid once.

I still miss ripping into a pack.

With the money made from selling cards, we took a road trip to the U.P. of Michigan. We loaded the bikes onto the Vue, and hit the road.

 The scenery was beautiful. The air pure.

This is the place we stayed in for three of the days. I took a couple hours and sketched the cabin we stayed in.

 We stayed at a cabin that had kayaks. Fun! 

 We went on a 7.5 mile hike along Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

 Because I'm a big kid, I had to launch something off the 200 foot cliffs.

We had lot's of views like this.

Which way?

She's good with a compass.

 The golf was spectacular. My score was not.

 Another Summer activity was taking our old lady to the beach.

I miss the brotherhood with my collector friends.
I hope you all are finding gems to add to your collections.
Peace.

The Holy Grail

Hey everyone. I hope you're all well and finding gems of sports cards in your packs.
I was checking out my local online edition this evening, and came across an article about an old Mayo football card. I thought, "I gotta share this with my peeps."
Here is a link to the story.
Basically, a guy found an old football card in an old family photo album. I used to keep cards in photo albums when I was a kid. The card that held the honorary first page spot?

Surprised it was not a Lion? Well let me explain. When I was a kid, the Lions sucked. Bad. They didn't have a star. They were not on T.V. often. My kid brother was a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and they were on T.V. a lot. Two games a year against the Oilers, and I became a huge Earl Campbell fan. His punishing style was a thrill to watch. Some day, some future family member of mine will find an old card album of mine. In the first 9-pocket page will be my holy grail. The 1979 Topps #390 Earl rookie card. 

Be Patient

If you'll remember, the last big set I was pursuing was the 70-something card 2010 Topps Magic relics set where all cards were numbered /25. I only needed one card, or so I thought, to complete the set. The one card that I really needed was the Dez Bryant. Cowboy collectors are like Pack and Steeler fans. They are ruthless overspending collectors. I had only ever seen two Dez's. One was in the collection of a guy in Arizona. He is building the set, and would not part with it. The other was from an old ebay auction I came across from early 2011. The winner of that card never returned my messages inquiring about it.
That brings me to today. On a little shelf above my desk is a 2010 Topps Magic relic that I never sold on eBay as I was selling off the set. Just for laughs and a little curiosity, I did a completed listings search for the Dez Bryant card. To my surprise, one sold last week for $19.99. A few months ago, I would have easily paid $50 for it, maybe more.
I still have not found the missing 7 relics.
The sewingmachinegal and I had an awesome weekend in Chi-Town shopping, fine dining, and catching 7Horse in concert.
I don't regret selling off the set. I'm just letting all you rare set collectors know that it's OK to be patient. Your card will eventually surface.

Out of the Blue

What's this? A blog post from the sewingmachineguy? Yes. I miss writing a bit. And I miss you guys.

Things are pretty good here in Michigan. The Tigers are slamming every opponent and are in first pla... wait... (runs to newspaper to check standings). Well, not exactly. My team is in a bit of disarray. In 2nd place. With Prince, it was supposed to be a cakewalk. We've been through the whole getting rid of Brandon Inge saga (yes, we had drama getting rid of the 3rd string second baseman), and now have the Delmon Young drunken rant issue to deal with. Crappy defense will doom the Tigers.

I have watched exactly ZERO minutes of NBA play-off basketball. The league is fixed. It has lost me, totally. As long as the Miami loses, I care. I only give a crap about your sport if your anointed super team loses. Not enough to watch though.

My softball season started two weeks ago. We lost 10-4. I played ok. Not good enough for my standards. Booted a couple three grounders. I always like it when old farts say "a couple three". 

On the sports card hobby collecting front; it's been minimal. I bought a rack-pack of Gypsy Queen. I really liked the release last year, and was kinda hoping for a Griffey Jr. card. I tore in at work, and nothing hit me as, "AWESOME! I gotta get more of these!". The cards are on a small shelf by my desk. Maybe I will bring them home and scan them and write about them. Ooooh how I can't wait to write about my Roy Oswalt mini (tongue firmly planted in cheek).

I have sold a bunch of stuff on eBay. I have given away a bunch of stuff. I have a shit-load of stuff to get rid of. Really, shit-load is the best way to describe it. It's boxes and boxes of mostly valueless bits of cardboard. Do I really need this 1980 Kip Young? No. I am not saying I don't value in some way some of the cards in my collection, it's just that there is so much meaningless stuff. I continue to find joy in minimizing and not hoarding. With the extra cabbage generated I have; helped a friend pay a bill, knocked down my credit card bill substantially, made plans to hit Chi-town for the weekend, bought the sewingmachinegal a bouquet of Gerbera Daisies, golfed 9 holes with two old friends, and put some in the savings account.

A few weeks ago, I got a nice envelope from GCRL. We didn't have a trade worked out per se, I had sent him a card and he sent over a cool couple of cards.

 This Tanalizer features a bible verse and auto. John 14:6 ~ Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."
That pretty much sums it up. The life. I have turned over my life to Christ. I am getting baptized May 20th. 

This is a 1958 Tigers team card. Cool.

Then, this week, totally out-of-the-blue, I got this.

Keep Being Awesome. Three simple words with lots of meaning to me. It means that the path I am on, the light that I am shining on the people around me, it all means something.

As you can see, the Elias Howe (sewing machine inventor) card is small. For comparison, here it is side by side with Yankee outfielder Mariano Rivera.

2007 Heritage Short Print Yellow Letters (Let me know if you want it. It's yours)

Thanks guys. Thanks for remembering me. It's random acts of kindness that keep us motivated when it seems like life is getting us down.

Catch you all later.

Peace.

Loving Life

Hey everyone.
I have been seeing images of 2012 Heritage on various blogs, and the colorful design is great.
I was at Target today. I bought one loose pack. One. There was a time, not too long ago, when a Blaster box would have ended up in the cart. I just wanted to have that anticipatory rush of opening a pack. It was fun.
First up is a sticker of Mauer. The back of the sticker says, "Place all-stars on books, walls, bikes, anything!" The sewingmachinegal wouldn't like a Mauer sticker on the wall of the living room to much. I hope Mauer has a bounce-back season. I nabbed him on my fantasy team.

 Putz. I like saying his name. Putz.

 Lester faces Verlander on Thursday in the opener of the 2012 season. The reigning Cy Young and MVP award winner is looking great in spring work, and should pick right back up where he left off.

 Love the cartoons on the backs. The black ink on yellow paper is very easy to read. Nice going Topps.

That pack of cards cost me $3.19. I have not looked at a checklist, but I don't think I have a short print or anything magnificent. It doesn't much matter. The thrill of opening a pack is still there for me.
Since I have been on a baseball card spending freeze, and at the same time, selling tons of stuff on eBay, I have had extra cabbage for things like this...
I picked up 4 of these 6 1/2" Pioneer 2-ways for the new Vue. I bought them from Crutchfield. If you have not bought from them, I highly recommend it. The speakers came with a bunch of freebies including instal instructions complete with photo's of a Vue. One of my employees is a 20-something techy nerd. He had them all installed within an hour.

As you can see, the old stock speakers were shot. 

What song to play first? I needed something that would really show off the new range.
Here's what I went with.

Tomorrow morning I am going to play nine holes of golf.
The sewingmachinegal, sewingmachinedaughter and I ran a 5k a couple weekends ago.
I went to a different church this morning to hear my wife's Uncle Chuck preach the good news and report about his visit to Cuba. It was a fascinating story. Maybe I will go into detail about his story on my blog someday.
I have a fantasy baseball team drafted. Cano, Granderson, Ellsbury, Halladay, A-Roid, Konerko, Avila, Mauer, Cuddyer, Nelson Cruz, Beckett, and more.
We're having everyone over next Sunday to celebrate the resurrected Christ, and chow down on ham and cheezy potatoes.
I hope you all are doing well.
Peace, your friend, Larry the smg