Lightning Can Strike Twice: The Fairfield NHL Memorabilia Card Mystery Break

After pulling a hit from a discounted repack a few days ago I went out and picked up another hoping for the same kind of mojo.  Again instead of the one pack printed on the box I got two (not complaining) packs, 2006-07 Upper Deck Beehive and 2007-08 Upper Deck Artifacts; the memorabilia card is inserted in the plain white envelope.

I don't want to spoil anything but like the title says, lightning can strike twice with these repacks.  Take a look underneath the cut.

Jean Beliveau + Curtis Joseph Sendoffs

Finally got around to writing the letters to go along with my latest TTM send-offs to Jean Beliveau and Curtis Joseph.  I was inspired to write Beliveau after watching his feature on the Legends Of Hockey series and Joseph was one of my favorite netminders during the wax junk era.

Ryder Arrives with Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup takes a spill as Michael Ryder arrives at a St. John's hotel with it this morning.

2009-10 Upper Deck Hockey Series 2 Box Break

Hey guys, I picked up a random box of 2009-10 Upper Deck Series 2 for 50% off earlier today.  12 packs included in the box, 5 cards per pack. 

Out of the 60 cards I pulled I'll post my top ten favorites from the break under the cut.  Not a lot of hits in these boxes and the photography on most of the base cards look pretty flat.

More 2011-12 Upper Deck Victory

Haven't been much into the pack buying lately, especially the higher end stuff.  I'm still deciding which direction I want to take with this hobby. 

Anyway I did pick up another three packs of the latest Victory from Upper Deck the other day, I can't help but grab a few every now and then because they don't cost an arm and a leg. 

Pack 1

Sideny Crosby / Checklist #200 - Thought I had pulled a Crosby base from the set but a quick look at the reverse and you'll find the checklist.

Patrick Sharp / MVP #20
Patric Hornqvist #107

Mail Day! Esa Tikkanen and Sami Jo Small In The Game Autos

Received two In The Game autographs from eBay in the mail while I was away that I nabbed for under $5 each.  I guess you can say that I was bored on eBay one day and at the time I was really feelin' those ITG Decades autos.

In The Game Decades Autograph / A-ET - Esa Tikkanen.  As the back of the card states, one of the games greatest agitators.  Tikkanen won a total of five Stanley Cups, 4 with Edmonton and another with the New York Rangers.  Check out this Tikkanen video I came across after I picked this one up.

In The Game Between The Pipes Authentic Goaliegraph / A-SJS - Sami Jo Small.  Represented Team Canada three times in the Olympics (2 golds, 1 silver).  Not really much else to say about this card or Small in general.

1998-99 Upper Deck Choice Double Box Break Part 2

Here's the second box of 98-99 Upper Deck Choice that I opened a couple weeks ago, still holding hope for a StarQuest gold parallel.  I've omitted scans of cards that I've already pulled from the last box break.

Box break results under the cut.

Cards, Pucks & Other Junk

While away I still managed to run into some hockey stuff that I gladly took back with me.  A couple cards, a couple pucks, vintage pins and well, I'll show just you.

While visiting a friend I was given a couple cards from a lot of top loaders that he had kept away in a drawer from when he collected cards as a kid.  While there wasn't much in the lot that I would consider top loader worthy, I did walk away with these two cards:

1997-98 Pinnacle Inside #3 - Wayne Gretzky.  Another Gretzky card to add to my collection is always nice.  This card came from one of my favorite sets, Pinnacle Inside.  Most known for how the cards were packaged inside a tin can that could only be busted using a can opener.  A pain in the ass but it was creative and the cards were designed nicely with the backs featuring a list of trvial facts that you wouldn't know otherwise (or care for).  For instance, did you know that Gretzky's best man at his wedding was former NHLer Eddie Mio?  Not me.

1990-91 Upper Deck #175 - Curtis Joseph.  An Upper Deck Curtis Joseph rookie card was the other card that I decided to take off his hands.

The Fairfield NHL Memorabilia Card Mystery Break

Hello hello.  I'm back from my vakay.  On the way back into town we had to stop into a Wal-Mart along the way to pick up some kitty food.  As per usual the checkout aisle was lined with trading cards so I decided to pick up a discounted box that promised a memorabilia card inside.  I've seen these before but repacks aren't usually kind and so I was skeptical.  But this time I said why the hell not.

I received two packs of cards as opposed to the stated "one pack" that's written on the package.  The repack came with a pack of 2006-07 Upper Deck Series 2 and 2006-07 Upper Deck MVP.

From the 2006-07 Upper Deck Series 2 pack I pulled all base, Mike Modano being the best out of the five cards.  Inside the pack of 2006-07 Upper Deck MVP I found seven base cards and a Joe Sakic 'Clutch Performers' insert.  Nothing big so far, nothing worth scanning in my opinion.

But now for the ensured memorabilia card; inserted inside a plain single white envelope...

Ta-da! I couldn't believe it, I pulled a 92-93 Fleer Ultra Jeremy Roenick autographed 'Performance Highlights' card.  The card also features a small crimped stamp of authenticity by Fleer to distinguish that it`s fully legit.  Well worth the $6 that I gambled on this repack. 

2011-12 Upper Deck Victory Double Ripper

Just a small double pack rip post from the latest Upper Deck Victory before I head back to my hometown for a week vacation as summer dwindles down.  I plan on leaving tomorrow evening and taking the five hour-long trek via TCH with my fiance and three cats.

I hear a lot about these cards, mostly negative comments from the double Victory logos on the front to the lack of worthy inserts.  For 99 cents a pack I don't expect to pull game jerseys or serialized signatures and the look of the cards have grown on me pack-by-pack, especially the clear cuts of the players (I'm not even really sure what "clear cut of the players" mean to be honest, but try to put it together) on the cards.

Pack 1

Rick Nash - 56.  This Nash card is an example of what I mean by 'clear cut of the players on the card'.  For some reason the card just seems to flow.  My favorite from this pack break.

Matt Duchene / Stars Of The Game - SOG-MD.  I was thinking to myself earlier today about how Colorado just aren't the powerhouse that they use to be.  At the moment Duchene is a very important part of their organization.

Alexandre Burrows - 188.

TTM Success! Guy Lafleur

As I have been told, Hall of Famer Mr Guy Lafleur pulled through and signed and returned my custom card that I had sent him.

Very happy about the return from the former Canadien, he was poetry on ice. This return expands my signature custom collection to three.  Fingers still crossed on receiving the others.

1997-98 Donruss Studio

Stopped into a hobby shop that I've never been into before seeking penny sleeves earlier today and noticed a box of cards sitting on the shelf  behind the counter that I haven't seen in a very long time for sale - 1997-98 Donruss Studio.  I used to love the look of these cards as a kid and I still do; so for only $2 a pack I picked up two of them to rip to go along with my penny sleeves purchase.  Each pack comes with two portraits and five cards.

Mail Day! 1996-97 Score Sudden Death Mario Lemieux vs John Vanbiesbrouck

I'm another 1996-97 Sudden Death card closer to completing the set.  Received the Mario Lemieux vs John Vanbiesbrouck insert yesterday bringing the numbers to 7/15 within my hands.

First thing that I noticed about the photographs used on the front of the card (aside from the cat hair lingering from the scan) was the interesting look on Mario's face, just something about those eyebrows - and that mark underneath his eye, ow.  Great shot off Vanbiesbrouck's iconic mask as well.

Roy and Roenick Unveiled As Newest Legends For NHL 12 Roster

Yup, the headline says it all - Patrick Roy and Jeremy Roenick were announced just hours ago as the newest additions to the NHL 12 Legends roster.  Once again we can all reenact that infamous scene from Swingers and use Roenick to make Gretzky's head bleed.

It also appears that former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Borje Salming will be in the game.  With two spots left to be made public, it looks as if Mario Lemieux and another undisclosed player are yet to be announced - my guess will be Bobby Orr.

EA Sports released trailers to go with the latest announcements which are both included under the cut; along with the clip from Swingers.

EA Sports Adds Steve Yzerman To NHL 12 Legends Roster

Just a quick note; on Tuesday EA Sports announced via their Facebook page that former Red Wings leader Steve Yzerman will appear as a Legend in the upcoming NHL 12 video game.

Less than a month until the release.

Mail Day! 1983-84 O-Pee-Chee #212 Wayne Gretzky Record Breaker

Received another Gretzky in an Oilers outfit card on the heels of my Gretzky kick.  I had won this on an eBay auction a few weeks ago along with the dual Gretky point leader cards but it just so happened that it was shipped to the wrong address the first time around.

This card celebrates Gretzkys scoring streak of 30 consecutive games from the 1982-83 season.   Gretzky would break his own record the following season going 51 games from the beginning of the season.

2010-11 In The Game Between The Pipes Dual Rip

After ripping up two packs of the latest Between The Pipes from In The Game, I felt very unsatisfied with what I had just decided to cash in on.  I love the In The Game products and think they have a lot to offer, but buying individual packs in an effort towards building a collection of cards that I'm proud off is basically playing Russian roulette - you win some and you lose a lot.

I mean in a way that you get a lot that you never really wanted.  So to begin again, I decided to reassess my direction in collecting cards and what I'm looking for in building the card collection that I'd like to own and find worthwhile spending my money on.

Anyway here are the results from the two pack break, I also spent myself on two more packs of 2011-12 Victory just so I could get a Biography Of A Season card that I really wanted (had to inquire about it with the card shop owner who acted like he wasn't sure which card I was referring to, yeah right).

Results of the rips under the cut.

Three NHL Legends Announced

EA Sports earlier unveiled the first three of nine NHL Legends that they will be implementing into NHL 12 and also released a trailer to go along with it.

Chris Chelios, Wayne Gretzky and Ray Bourque are shown in the following trailer doing what they did best; score goals and throw their body around the ice.  The trailer also includes some details about how you'll be able to use these Legend characters in the game.  Trailer under the cut.

Mail Day! 2008-09 National Hockey Card Day Lot

I wasn't as much excited about receiving these today as I was to actually receive them in general.  I've been waiting for over a month for these cards to arrive in my mailbox and was almost sure that the seller had ripped me off.

I bought this lot from eBay for a cent + shipping charges.  The set of these cards from th 2008-09 national Hockey Card day promotion seems to go for about $8-15 online.   The set was comprised of the top rookies, stars and legends of the game.  Upper Deck are currently at work putting together the 2012 set; looks like it will be based around memorable moments of Canadian-born players.

HCD6 - Sidney Crosby.  Essentially the reason for my bid was to have this card.

HCD7 - Vincent Lecavalier.  Lecavalier has represented Team Canada a total number of 4 times in international play.

Legends Coming To EA Sports NHL 12

Stoked on the announcement that EA Sports were adding "NHL Legends" to NHL 12 this year.  Gretzky and Lemieux seem to be the only sure shots at the moment; but judging from the trailer and the achievements listed online, I think that we will also see Orr, Howe and Chelios in the game.  The image shows silhouetted images of seven players including one goaltender.  Leaving us guessing as to who will be in the game.  Have a gander at the trailer for yourself:

Like the past three years I'm counting down the days until the release.  I even attempted to resurrect my NHL 10 game earlier in the week (sold NHL 11 along with my Xbox last year but bought a slim about a week ago in anticipation of NHL 12), but to no avail - disc cannot be read apparently.

Anyone else excited about the release?  Anyone else have an Xbox, my username is cutyrribbon (cut-your-ribbon) so add me if you wish.

Beckett Associates Mystery Case Break

Found these plastic sealed cases in the Wal-Mart checkout aisle last night for $5.49, curiosity got the best of me and well - here it lands on my kitchen table.

Put together by MJ Holding Company and released by Beckett Associates, the package promises $50 catalog value and every 10th pack contains $100 in book value cards.  It took me a utility knife to open the case and the cards were sealed inside a white envelope.

Check under the cut for the goods.

2011-12 Upper Deck Victory 5 Pack Rip

Dropped into the shop on the way to lunch with a friend today and picked up a few packs of the latest Victory.  The first series of cards released for the 2011-12 season; looks like they decided to put Crosby on the package again this year - sporting his infamous porn stash.  Fine by me.

Here's a rundown of the packs breaks; cards are in order from my favorite to so-on from each pull.

Mail Day! 1996-97 Score Sudden Death Wayne Gretzky vs Felix Potvin

Another Sudden Death card to add to the collection, making it 6/15 - still a long ways to go.  Like most cards featuring The Great One, this card books in at the highest value from the set. I got it for a steal at 0.99 (+2.50 shipping)/  It features a faceoff against Wayne Gretzky and Felix Potvin.

TTM Success! Theoren Fleury

Receiving a return from Fleury felt a little up in the air, but he pulled through signing all 3 of the items that I had sent out.

Here's the custom that I made, now sporting the signature.  I'm now 2/3 on my first send out.

Fleury also signed a 92-93 Upper Deck card and a 97-98 Kraft Peanut Butter lid that I sent along.  He even returned a Sakic/Brodeur lid that I sent with the package by accident.

Overall very happy about the return, Fleury was one of my favorite players and someone who I looked up to as a kid.  Great to have him as part of my custom collection.

1996-97 Upper Deck Collector's Choice 3 Star Selections

Inspired by a previous post over at Card Boarded and again as I was organizing my box of cards just earlier today, I wanted to post a feature on a favorite sub-set of mine from the 1996-97 Upper Deck Collector's Choice set that has been carried on over in the series through the years.

The '3 Star Selection' sub-set included 28 cards that featured 3 of the top players from each (26) team in the leauge; additionally 2 of the cards from the sub-set featured the top 3 players from the Eastern and Western Conference All-Star teams.

These were my favorite cards to pull from the Collector's Choice packs as a young collector.  After all my cards have been through, I feel lucky to sill have them in my collection.

St. Louis Blues - Brett Hull / Wayne Gretzky / Al Macinnis.  Pretty solid lineup here!  Gretzky would play briefly with St Louis, 31 games to be exact.  I don't have many cards with Gretzky in a Blues uniform.

New York Islanders - Eric Fichaud / Zigmund Palffy / Todd Bertuzzi.  I liked Fichaud as an Islander but he never lived up to the expectations his fantastic junior career had led to.  Palffy was another personal favorite of mine during these years, I was excited to see him represent Slovakia again during the 2010 Olympics.

Dion Phaneuf and Tie Domi TTM Send Off

Dropped these two cards into the mail slot earlier today - a current and a former Maple Leaf.  Not sure what the chances are getting these returned from these guys but what the heck.  One thing I've found so far about sending away these custom cards to have signed is that it's a lot like sending out messages in bottles.

The cards are different looking than the ones I have previously sent out; colored in nly black and white with some space on the reverse that could be used to sign on.

2010-11 In The Game Between The Pipes Pack Break

Another shot at a pack of 2010-11 In The Game Between The Pipes.  I was so impressed with the cards from my last pack break that I decided to pick up a few more to add to my card collection.

Looking at the pack I begin to wonder, who are the goalies that are featured here?  It appears that they're about to duke it out; I haven't seen many (if any at all) goalie fights from that era (judging by the Jason Voorhees like masks).

But anyway, here's what was kept inside.

TTM Success! Don Cherry

Received my first ever TTM success earlier today from Mr Don Cherry on a custom card that I had made just for him.  He signed both sides of the card and even personalized it for me.  Thank you Don for pulling through! 

He also responded to my letter and sent along a few other things as well, check it all out under the cut.

Favorite Cards: Wayne Gretzky 1995-96 Topps O-Pee-Chee Parallel #85

Digging through my hard plastics I have from when I was collecting as a kid I came across this one - a Topps/O-Pee-Chee Gretzky parallel from 1995-96.  I can't remember exactly how I received the card but I'm almost 100% sure that it was through a trade with a friend in elementary school, considering the fact that I don't have many of these Topps cards in my collection.

And now over sixteen years later, I think I appreciate and like this card more than ever.  I really love the photography shot on the card; in my head I imagine that Gretzky is about to rush up the ice and go end-to-end.  Also, for some reason these days I just can't get enough of those old school LA Kings jerseys; the white, black and silver.  I'm not even sure what colors or even what logo the Kings are going with these days but they should just go back to the "Silver and Black" era.  But anyway, the fact that the card is a parallel is only an added bonus here.

2010-11 Donruss

July has come and gone. 43 posts.  I've never posted on a blog as consistently as I have with this one; come to think of it, I've never kept a blog for any longer than a week or two.  Let's see if I can keep it up.

Another Wal-Mart grab; A three pack break of the latest Donruss 2010-11.

Pack 1

140 - Daniel Sedin. 41 goals and a total of 104 points last season.  Best base pull from the pack break.

115 - Martin St Louis.
115 - Corey Perry.