We Have Been Assimilated.

Many of my fellow bloggers probably got the same email that I had today.  It's from Anuj Agarwal at FeedSpot.com.  The subject reads: "<insert blog name here> featured in FeedSpot Top 100 Sports Card Blogs".  The message goes on to congratulate "The Collective Mind Team" (clever...) "as your blog <blog name here> has been selected by our panelist (only one?) as one of the Top 100 Sports Card Blogs on the web. "  And it gives a link to the list ~ bloggers.feedspot.com/sports_card_blogs

Mr. Agarwal goes on to suggest adding your website link (the blog IS our website) and other social media handles for better visibility (on their list) and "get discovered by brands for collaboration".  (It would be nice if it was card companies who would send test product, but I don't think that happens any more.  Other than that, I'm not interested in commerce on here.)

So with all due respect to the FeedSpot organization, I won't be using their services.  There is a lot of positive feedback on their site from business and corporate customers, and that's fine.  It appears a lot of their audience is Influencers from all different areas of life.  I have no aspirations of becoming an influencer.  I've considered a YouTube channel, but I probably wouldn't post to it even as much as I do here, which isn't nearly what I did at my peak pre-2020.  "Influencers" in this hobby is a bit of a derogatory term to me, as it refers to those who came into the hobby during COVID and don't know enough about actual collecting to be credible with most of us.

Best of luck to FeedSpot.  I just hope this doesn't lead to a lot more spam comments on our blogs.  

I couldn't find anything about how they made up the list, but there were several familiar names on it.  The rankings, however, were way off.  Another way I could tell that they're not familiar with the hobby is that the description of my site said you could "Explore Card collection sorted into sports categories like Baseball, Football, Hockey, Vintage and Miscellaneous."  I'm guessing that's an AI generated blurb, since it ignores the "Wants" on each of my list tabs, which is where those categories come from. 

Anyway, to the rankings.  I'll just highlight some of the stars that we know and where they fell.  There are also a lot of card sites of breakers, dealers, and auction houses. 

1. Upper Deck Blog - Standard manufacturer blog is #1?  Not a strong start.

2. Sports Collectors Daily - OK, it's a general news site.  Will let it go.

3. Beckett - Is this still 1992?  No disrespect, but in the blog circles I know, this is not a high pick.

4 & 5. Cardboard Connection - This is one of many that appear twice.  Not sure why.

6. Panini - See #1.

7. Dave & Adams - Seller blogs?  Good for what they are, but for blogs in general, too high for my taste. 

11. Sports Collectors Digest - Widely read magazine.  OK fine.

16. Nachos Grande - Finally we get to one of the actual high level bloggers.  I'd say Top 5.

21. White Sox Cards - Some familar names now.  Lets roll through them to get to the others that should be way higher....All of these should be consolidated at the top.

22. Cards On Cards

27. Topps Archives

33. Cards That Never Were

35. When Topps Had Baseballs

39. Dime Boxes - There's one.  Unfortunately, Nick has shut 'er down, but this one is Top 5 of All time.

40. Chronicles Of Fuji - And right behind Nick, Mark is about 37 points too far down!

41. Shlabotnik Report - Joe's blog is one of those that gets blocked at work for some reason.  Maybe just because it's on WordPress.

42. Johnny's Trading Spot 

49. Too Many Verlanders

54. Sports Cards From The Dollar Store - Crossing the halfway point on the list...

56. Cardboard History - Billy needs to be up around the Top 10.

57. Sports Card Collectors

58. Waiting 'Til Next Year - P-Town Tom was one of my favorite trading partners while he was active.  Blog is sporadic now, but is in the wrong end of 2/3 of the list.

59. Tim Wallach

62. Padrographs

65. Diamond Jesters

67. Captain Kirk 42

69. The Collective Mind - Yours Truly - I am content with this spot, but if I posted regularly, I might complain.

79. Night Owl - Here's the biggest faux pas of the whole thing.  The Blogger King at 79?  What are we doing, people?

85. Baseball Card Breakdown - Gavin should be right behind Greg (NO) at the top of this list.

86. Sports Cards Uncensored - Gellman has slowed this one to a crawl, but it was always good for in-depth analysis, no matter which side you were on.

90. Sports Card Investor - Well, they got that one right. 😃 

Back To Back Show Weekends - Part 2: Chantilly, VA

I was a little under the weather Saturday, since I had been fighting a cold/cough for the last couple days, but I was determined to make it to the big show.  After all, they only come around three times a year.

It was also a lousy rainy day, but the drive wasn't bad and it was warm, so the trip was no problem.  I slept as long as I needed to and then headed out.  Got to the show about 11AM.

I usually start in the far end of the show, but decided to stop first at my favorite current set/insert guy.  Knocked off my Banner Seasons and Special Days, and all but one of my Gems and shortprints (still need #308 Herzog).  He had singles from a lot of the new sets, including Stadium Club and football Legacy, and I found the Tulo in a box of assorted things.

Found Keith at another dealer with vintage of all the sports.  I have to go back and verify my PC Hostess and Kellogg's lists.  I'm not confident that they're up to date.  Hopefully I don't have this one already.

Same guy had these Fleer World Series sticker backs.  Not sure which scan I'd consider the front or back in this case, but both are the same two cards.

Also found a major bargain in this '58 Cleveland team card.  Expected to pay about $20 for the '50s dynasty squad, but this was only three bucks.  There are a couple soft, layered corners, but it presents well enough.  A football bargain among mostly baseball.  This theme will continue...

Sticking with the '58s for a moment, got these two HOF'ers and a coaching legend at another table.

...Who also had this nice Larsen for only $6.  Again, mixing sports from the same dealer is leading to good things.

Another guy had these pristine '57s for $3 each.  BAL was $5 and looks a lot less crooked when not up against the others.

An older couple usually has a couple tables with showcases of cards laid flat.  And there's sets and other assorted stuff around the perimeter of their setup.  Whitey Ford was only $35 instead of the projected $50 I found, and isn't quite as off center as the overcropped scan shows.  If you look close at the other two, you'll see subtle writing - which appears to be actual autographs.  These were only $15 total.  The '67 Palmer WS does have a crease along the length, so I probably should have picked another of his from about eight or so they had.  But it's a bit more unique, so I'm good with it.

Two more '57s from Uncle Dick's (now under new management, but same great selection).  Nieman might look familiar.  Yeah, I always do that with something when I buy this much in the same short time period.  Luckily he was only a buck.  Logan is a cool card and was $3.

Finished my '74 Topps football set with these two, and got one '68, even though I looked through a lot of them at this show.  I guess the ones I need are the tough ones to find.

This somewhat bow-cut but clean Post cereal was the last item from Uncle Dick's this trip.  I just like these, and you can't beat big star cards for single digits.

Almost left these early '60s Salada coins off this post, since I stashed 'em in my list binder pocket so I wouldn't lose them.  Added bonus is the Topps coin of Elston that I got in Ephrata...

Got this odd pair from a dealer I'd never met before, but he was very helpful in finding several current year inserts for my trading buddy Stuart.  (Since I quit doing Topps flagship baseball, I don't know what a lot of the new inserts even look like, or which set they go with).  Knocked off my last Gem and grabbed this KD Donruss football card while we were looking for the other stuff.

And now, the finale. 

The seller I call the "football guy" because he has a huge box of football singles all tagged and sorted and stored in so many different holders, toploaders, etc.  The box is very recognizeable and I've bought from him several times.  His prices vary, but I've found some great deals.  

These Fleer Team Actions were a buck or two each, which is more than I like to pay for them, but with what else I got, it was worth it.  Needed two of the '85 WAS cards - one for set and one for team collection.  Still need a bunch of the green '84s, but passed some up.

He did have several of the earliest FTA set - from 1976 - which are actually stickers.  They were $4 plus a shot, but I had to at least get the Washington one.  I've never seen these in person until now.

Picked up two more 1984 USFL cards to get closer to that set.  Will have to find the big guns (Kelly, Young and White) eventually.  These were also a few bucks each, which is again a little more than I like, but wait 'til you see how this turned out....

I got the bargain of the year.

Maybe the last FEW years.

The Football guy had a showcase with vintage baseball as well.  I noticed they had prices written in marker on the corner of the card savers, so when they were stacked up, the prices markings ran together.  

I said let me see the '57s, just to check for bargains maybe on the minor stars or something.  I saw this one on top of one stack, but figured it was 600-1000 at best, like the others I saw last week.

Nope.

This thing was marked "115".

I said "Is this right?"  He said yes, and something else that I didn't quite catch, but I said "Well, shoot, I gotta do that!"  There really aren't that many major flaws.

NEVER thought I'd be getting Teddy Ballgame - the first standard sized card ever issued - for basically 10% of the typical price until way after pandemic prices faded out.

What's the best bargain you've ever found on a white whale?

A Cardinal Sin?

I noticed an oddity back on May 22 when I went to the Chantilly show.  I stopped by Uncle Dick's tables and found some upgrades to my 1974 Topps football set (among other things like 1957 Topps baseball from the bargain bin and several other base cards from different sets.)

(Uncle Dick said he was retiring, but he was there again helping the new owner out, wearing his flourescent green jacket and matching sneakers.  The guy is one of the all time legends)

Anyway, one of the cards I got was #32 Dan Dierdorf, the former offensive lineman for St. Louis, and broadcaster for Monday Night Football.

The weird thing is the team name in the blue strip across the bottom.  It's not a variation, but it is different from every other Cardinals card in the set.  

For some reason, Dierdorf's card has a narrow team name.  Every other card in '74 Topps football has the same blockier font.  I never noticed it before.  It's bizarre.

I'm gonna have to page through my set to see if there are any other mutant team labels now.  And my OCD is irrevocably tweaked by this.  It was already down a few points because of the Parker Brothers game variations in the set.  And now this...?

And just for fun, a Monday Night Football promo from back when the Washington franchise played well enough to make the highlights - a lot!

Online Addition to 2021 Topps Series 1

Well, I guess seven insert sets of the same repetitive reprints or rehashes of old designs just wasn't enough.  Now Topps has come out with more recycling as online exclusives.  Just saw this:

Not really a reprint, but a stamped buyback of a 1984 insert.  Commemorating nothing in particular, it comes with a special 70th anniversary price.  

Is it special shiny technology?  No.

Autograph or game-used relic?  Nope.

Exclusive serial numbered version?  Sorry.

It's just a buyback like the ones in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.  A repeat of something Topps has done several times before, even though they only celebrate anniversaries every ten years or so.  (Well unless you count the 35th anniversary tributes in the last few flagship sets, which are different than Archives, which uses old designs a few at a time, which in turn is different than Heritage which uses the next old design each year.)

Famous Cards Updated for 2020

 

 

 

 

 

The Perfect Product

There's a lot of hype in advertising.  There's a lot of hype in the marketing of sports cards.  But if you step back and think about it, cards live up to a lot of the hype.  They're practically the perfect product.  If there weren't all those league and player association logos on the back, and all that fine print, they might have room for stuff that means a lot to other products.  Look at all these features!

Even the Kellogg's cards - which came inside cereal made from wheat and other grains - have never contained a smidgen of gluten.  There's no gluten in trees or plastic.

Well, maybe the card that was packed up against the stick of gum might technically have some residue, but it wasn't an ingredient of the cardboard, right?

From the beginning, it's been all about plant products.  Tobacco leaves and wood pulp for card board.  What could be more natural?  Ok, maybe the occasional acetate card is an exception...

As Nick of Dime Boxes... fame found out first hand, cards may be tasty to the dog, but probably hold no nutritional value at all.  Maybe there's a little fiber in older cards...?

Some of the players depicted have been under suspicion of modifying their chemical constitutions, enhancing their hormone and endurance levels, but even they haven't genetically modified themselves.  Some custom cards are modifications of real ones, but that doesn't count either...

Not only are cards dolphin safe, but there are actually cards of Dolphins!

Dozens of designer colors!

Thin & Compact for easy storage!

Reminds me of an old George Carlin bit:

Get some now! Everybody has one! They're almost gone! They're portable, lightweight, easy to use, collapsible, convenient and guaranteed! Get some now! The new Super Jumbo Deluxe! Handy, pre-wrapped, designer colors and available in all sizes! Get some now! They won't rust, tarnish, blister, crack or peel....