Ladies and Gentlemen, this year's Art Ross Trophy Winner

Sidney Crosby was far and away this year's Art Ross trophy winner, winning by 17 points over Ryan Getzlaf. While Tavares and Malkin both got hurt down the stretch, Sid was averaging 1.3 points per game which is 0.1 more than Malkin was who finished second in the league in that category. A little while back I traded in a bunch of doubles and extra cards at my LCS and walked away with two very cool Sidney Crosby rookies. 

05-06 UD MVP Sidney Crosby Rookie

 Like this card because of the Silver Facsimile auto on the front. The picture could have been bigger but all in all still a nice card. This card is also in fantastic Nrmt-Mt condition with no visible flaws.

Here is the back, I like that they list his birth place as Cole Harbour which not all of his cards do.

05-06 Fleer Ultra Sidney Crosby Rookie

The better card I picked up though was this one. With the MVP rookie I have two low end Crosby rookies (Parkhurst is the other) but finally I have a mid-range rookie. While this one books for far less than the Young Gun (80 dollars for Ultra Rookie and 300 for his Young Gun), I still feel that it is nearly on equal footing. I took this scan from the internet because my Crosby Rookie is in a screwdown which doesn't always scan that well. Like the MVP, mine is in AMAZING shape...definitely 9+ worthy (amateur opinion of course).

There you go, award season has already begun and here is my tribute to the Art Ross Winner. Congrats Sid! May you win 8 or 7 more in your career.

This is my trade of the year: Part 3 of 3

The biggest piece of the trade and one of my new top cards in my collection is this beast!

06-07 Flair Showcase Sidney Crosby Showcase Inks SP

The scan didn't turn out great because of the holder but man does this look great. I picture Matt having a hard time mailing this card off to me after it arrived at his house. The card is crisp, the auto is excellent and I have no cares that it is a sticker auto. Just a great piece of hockey memorabilia and I am very happy with our trade. I enjoyed owning the Crosby Game Used /5 for the last year or so and now I will enjoy owning this for many years to come.

Thanks again for the monster trade Matt and I look forward to maybe doing another one someday!

Luck of the Crosby?

There really hasn't been much money in my budget these days for packs, but I did get a blaster of Zenith a while back when a local hole-in-the-wall second hand store had blasters of Zenith for 14 bucks. I took a chance on one and it appears Sidney has taken a liking to me. This is the third game used Crosby I have pulled in the last year and personally, I don't mind!

The blaster also yielded a Rookie Roll Call Derek Stepan and a nobody rookie I don't even remember now!

A Sidney Crosby Young Gun (of sorts)

This baby is a Sidney Crosby Young Gun.....just no where near as valuable or desirable and many wouldn't even consider this is a rookie card. I am not sure where I am on this one, I want to call it a rookie, but the "c" word is on it. 

Odds are just as likely to pull this over a standard Crosby Young Gun, but turns out Corey Perry ruins the card significantly for some unknown reason so this card books for about a 3 cents on the dollar when compared to the other one. Perry a former Hart and Richard winner, defaces this Crosby card. I don't know about you guys, but I have the feeling Checklists just get no love at all.

What are your thoughts on Young Gun Checklists? Valuable as Young Guns or some hybrid between a base card and a scrub Young Gun rookie.

My best hit ever?

It has taken me some time, but I finally made it to another card store that has been in my "area" for a while but I have only known about for a month or so. My wife found it in her travels and finally I had a moment and some birthday cash to go and check it out. Last year I had some great luck on my birthday when I pulled this beauty, maybe I could get lucky twice? Well when I got into the store I was a little surprised, he had lots of new boxes and practically no singles. The good news is, I was itching for a box or two so I guess I came to the right place, so I put aside my want list and looked around.

After talking to the owner about cards for 15 or 20 minutes, he started to let me know some "deals" which meant he was taking 10-15 bucks off each box for me! I then inquired about two lone boxes of 11/12 Certified I saw on the shelf and he said I could have them for a C note each (taxes in). The problem was, that was also the price Between the Pipes was selling for too. I had to make a decision, two of one, two of the other or one of each.

I asked him for a coin, he provided a Remembrance day quarter with a poppy on it, I flipped it and the answer was two boxes of Certified. I brought the boxes home and busted the first four packs. 

ALL had hits in them and the fourth pack yielded this monster!

This seam is bulging out of the card, much like ITG's hits tend to!

#/5. THIS IS A CROSBY numbered out of 5 and I LIVE IN NOVA SCOTIA. This card is only hotter in downtown Pittsburgh. The only question remains, what do I do with it! I love the card, but someone out there may love it more than I do. My wife wants me to hold onto it, but at the same time there are some hardcore Crosby fans out there that might want it more than I do.

Either way, this box so far is pretty solid! I will share this box and the other one when I am done busting, but I just had to share!

08-09 SPx Box Break

Been a long while since I posted any breaks, so here is a box I just got in the mail compliments of Santa. I went with this box because of its value and that you were guaranteed two rookies in the box. Typically I don't buy SPx and not because I dislike the product, I find at 140 a box you don't get the same bang for your buck. This was roughly half that price so lets see how it ends up!

The Rookies

You should get two in the box which I did. One is auto'd and the other isn't. Here is the non-auto rookie:

Oscar Moller

Currently in Europe, I wasn't that excited at first. Swatches are nice and he is young and could find himself back in the NHL sometime in the future. In all, there are certainly worse that could have been here!

Auto Rookie

I was HOPING for Stamkos, but certainly wasn't expecting it. I am happy with this though, I don't have his auto and he is a former Canadian WJHC player so it suits the time of year. He is exiled in Florida at the moment and I hope he is able to find his game there or somewhere else. I believe in his potential and hope he gets there someday!

The Game Used Cards

Each box promises two of these and my first hit was AWESOME!

I have never pulled a Crosby game/photo used anything before so this was a pleasant sight! In addition, it is the most "valuable" Winning Materials card so it also makes this box a winner for me. Glad to add this to my collection even though the swatches are Vanilla!

The other game-used is supposed to be a Winning Combos card which is exactly what this is. I don't mind pulling this card, but I think someone else out there could enjoy it more than I would so I certainly would trade this to anyone interested.

SPXCITEMENT Cards

Each box usually has 4 of these bad boys and once again I didn't do too badly!

Mats Sundin! Not bad, he is available for trade...
Carey Price! Same as Mats, he is up for trade..
Moose Messier. I was never a huge fan of Mark, so anyone interested in a trade let me know...

Most Xcitement cards are numbered to 999, the spectrum ones like Kurri here, are numbered to 99. Not a bad finish to a pretty decent box. I am going to keep this one!

So it was fun ripping some packs as it has been a while. I hope to do some more rips in the New Year, I think my next box is likely going to be Heroes and Prospects but....You never know when a deal comes your way that you can't pass up!

For anyone interested, I also have two BCCG graded Crosby Phenomenal Beginnings cards that I also looking to trade. One is a 9 and the other a 10. I am not looking to get much for them (a Cool Devils rookie or auto would take one or both), so if you want a cheap trade let me know, I am done owning them!

Card of the Week - Sidney Crosby

Love him or hate him, damn he is good! Not just because I have him on one fantasy team (2nd round pick), but 4 points in his first game back and hopefully a chance to show fans what he is really capable of when he hits his prime! I am a fan of him, and I wish him all the best this season and future seasons.

05-06 Parkhurst #657

Front side

I am a big fan of the rookies in this set. I don't think it is just because it is a Parkhurst release, but I think it is due because it is an attractive set of cards. The rookies are simple yet eye catching and I think this card is a good example of the Parkhurst Rookies.

Back side
Like the front, the backside is attractive and simple looking. I think each passing year has these cards looking better and better to me. At some point I will grab a few boxes and try and build the set. I did buy a retail box once hoping to pull this card. No such luck, but I did pull a few other gem rookies but no Crosby. Ovechkin of course has a rookie in this set which I did pull from a repack box.

How I received the card: Purchased on eBay for $18.00

Beckett Value: 20 - 50 dollars

A note of thanks and some random thoughts...

To begin my bout of randomness I would like to thank Michael Mah from Michael's Hockey TTMs. Michael was kind enough to contact me out of the blue with a request for my address. He claimed to have a few cards I needed and sure enough they arrived a short time later and he did this entirely as an act of kindess. Thank you again Michael and keep up the great TTM posts!

Here is one of the cards that has made its way into my 10-11 Score binder.

Speaking of mail, Canada Post is on the verge of going on strike. That means that mail delivery to my home and millions of others will halt in Canada. On a selfish note this is a little disappointing as I have grown quite fond of finding autographs and ebay purchases in my mailbox. I do hope that both sides can find a middle ground that makes them both happy and the mail can continue!

A few sites out there have been talking about graded cards. I don't have many in my collection, in fact at the moment I think I only have two. The first I got was a Sidney Crosby one that I pulled from a repack box. I only bought the box to see what a "graded" card looked like. Turns out this Crosby was graded a 10 from BCCG. I see nothing wrong with the card and I think I have many that are in a shape equal to this one. Does that mean I have lots of '10''s in my collection? According to BCCG I do!

This card is pretty much worthless, I don't know why someone would have sent to get it graded in the first place.

This card I got from an auction about 2 years ago. I love the Sweet Short rc's and I think it is the most underrated set from 07-08. This is my second favourite Bergfors rc I own, the first is an OPC Premier version which is a quad memorabilia card his autograph on it.

I paid about 7 bucks for the card including shipping which I think was a good deal for the card (let alone being graded 9.5)

Here is the back of the card which has me questioning the legitimacy of grading

If you can't see the problem here is a closer look.

Yep, a dinged corner. I don't know if it was a 9.5 before, but it certainly isn't now. I don't care too much because I will always keep this card and even though Nicky is stuck in hockey hell (Florida) I am still a fan. But whoever, paid to get this card graded could have been pretty pissed if the card was in great shape prior to slabbing or is tickled pink that clearly a damaged card could warrant a 9.5 grading.

I have a few cards that I know are in great shape. My best case is a Steve Yzerman OPC RC that is well centered, sharp edges and corners and clean surface. I am confident it would be over a 9 no matter where I got it graded. But why would I grade it? It could get damaged or lost in shipping there. It could get damaged during the slabbing. Or some one having a bad day could decide it is an 8.5 or less and then it is pointless to have paid 50 Canadian to get it graded.

To me, grading is much like Olympic Figure Skating. The judges can be biased and flawed. I am sure this is less likely in companies like BVG/BGS and PSA but I am sure people have been screwed at one time or another and with my luck, I would likely get the short end of the stick. What is boils down to for me, I am not one that pays to get screwed! So I will stick to buying graded cards if they are the same price as non-graded. But I will not be sending mine away anytime soon.

Oh boy, a sale!

So I was at Walmart yesterday and was picking up some diapers when I decided to cruise by the card section to see if there was anything fun. Sure enough, I was greeted by Mr. Toews and it turns out he is 40% off. So for my 15 dollars I would be receiving 8 retail packs containing 8 cards per pack and 1 oversized UD card. Based on the odds, I could also expect 2 Young Guns, 4 Victory rookies and a couple other inserts. So the debate with myself begins, do I make the purchase? Well I am not finished the set as I am missing 13 base cards so I figure at worst, I get 6 rc's and a pretty cool tin. Deal! (I guess I really am a sucker for series 2)

Upon opening the package I immediately find:

An oversized Marian Gaborik. Not a horrible start....

Then inside I find:

49 base cards, 3 of which I needed

3 Victory base cards: 253 Michalek, 266 Howard, 286 Antropov

1 Champions Insert - Jennifer Botterill (an actual Champions I would want for once)

1 Hockey Heroes - HH19

1 Playoff Performers - PP10 Patrick Kane

1 Captain's Calling - CC1 Crosby

4 Victory rookies - 303 Myers, 308 Benn, 310 Gagnon, 319 Gilroy

Then the surprises

3 Young Guns - 451 MacGregor Sharp, 482 Bobby Sanguinetti, 495 Mario Bliznak

1 Victory Gold rc

So for once I exceeded the Young Guns odds which is a first. I almost always get what I should or sometimes less. The Reimer is a nice surprise because first of all I didn't realize his rc was from 09-10 because I don't believe he played his first game until 10-11. Secondly, a Victory Gold rc is almost as good as a Young Gun in my books so they card could be a keeper.

In all, I think the tin was decent. Nothing that will be worth of a UD facebook post that is for sure, but decent inserts, 3 yg rc and 5 victory rcs including one gold makes for a 6/10 in my books. What are your thoughts? Did I get my 15 bucks back? What would you rate this break?

Fun with Photoshop

Definitely something I would love to do if I had more time is make my own cards. I used a template for the 88-89 OPC set and I found this nice photo of Crosby online and blammo, he is now a retro card! I always find the hardest part about making your own cards is getting the right font. If you are going to copy a style already in existance you have to make the fonts match in my opinion which can always be tough. I missed the boat a little bit with this card, but I like it anyway.

Some day I would like to try and design my own card from scratch like some of you other bloggers out there...but that I think is something for another day.