Saturday, February 27, 2010

High End Hijinks

A couple of weekends ago I won a high-end basketball "box" that is really a pack (or is that a pack that is really a box?) from the polarizing people at Beckett. For some reason, I had high hopes for this thing. Visions of Brandon Roy jersey chunks danced in my head. Oh, I was so naive. Plus, after later glancing at the checklist included in this, I realized that none of the Blazer rookies made it in this product. I need to get my hands on a Dante Cunningham card or two.

Here is the first, and almost assuredly last high end anything I will open and post on this blog. The dual images of this hated Laker guard should have been a strong enough warning to me.

Here's Kurt Thomas, still in the wrapper. Kurt Thomas? This is a 100-card serial numbered set and they give you Kurt Thomas? Is Milwaukee really that bad? (This is numbered 113/199.)

Okay, we have a legend here. 'Zo wasn't exactly Julius Erving, but he manages to stay relevant with the occasional awful Gatorade commercial. (10/99)

Here's Stephen Jackson on a Banner Season rainbowy shiny card thing. If anyone actually cared about basketball cards, aside from a select few, would there actually be such a thing as a Stephen Jackson player collector?

The next three cards are of the thick variety: your guaranteed "hits". I just saw this rookie play against Portland on Wednesday and he looked, well, athletic. He's started every game he's appeared in this season, so at least he has that going for him. (64/99)

Here is the lowest numbered card I've ever pulled. The only problem is that it's someone named Sam Young. I have no idea who he is. If you look at the edge of the '4' he does have a bit of a stripe or color change or whatever going on, but I think people would be more impressed if it was more visible. By the way, am I the only one who doesn't understand the extreme increase in value of a jersey card if there's some sort of stripe or patch showing? (1/5)

As far as name recognition goes, this is probably the best card of the bunch. Hansbrough may never approach the high level of play and notoriety he achieved as a college star, but he's off to a decent start to his NBA career I suppose. At least, he's faring better than Hasheem Thabeet. (159/299)

And finally, here's a Baron Davis base card. Again, I could think of quite a few more likable players. (018/199)

Now, here's the tough part. What do I do with these cards? Aside from holding onto the Kurt Thomas card to unleash on Thorzul one day, I'm kind of stumped. I suppose I could try to sell the jerseys/autos for a few pennies. Does anyone have any advice?

8 comments :

  1. I think they say "ath-a-letic" or afletic.
    Basketball cards (shaking head).
    Peace.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would think about posting your box break on the blowout cards forum and seeing if anyone would want to buy or trade for those cards. Worth a shot.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Isn't there always talk of how Beckett gets all these tampered boxes that somehow have amazing cards so that people will post them and further hype up the product? This obviously debunks that theory.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dude, Sam Young is going to be a stud. Seriously, look up Sam Young on NBA.com. Memphis is up and coming, and Young will be a huge part of that.

    If you don't want it, I'll trade you a Dante Cunningham auto (signed on manu-patch) for it.

    Email me if you're interested.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'll have to checkout blowout sometime. I've heard all about it plenty of times, but I have a fairly short attention span these days.

    I hate to sound so negative in this post. I do have to say that a lousy free box from Beckett is better than no free box from anyone.

    I sent an e-mail about the Cunningham auto.

    Memphis is definitely improving (just looking at the games at the Rose Garden proves that) but it’s still a long climb from up-and-comer to contender. I’m not sure that they’ll ever have the fanbase that most serious contenders have, which I think is something that’s going to be troublesome for the ex-Sonics as well. (At least, I hope it is.)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm sure someone will go for the jersey cards, rather they be a player collector or team collector. Or trade them for some Blazers. I wouldn't exactly hold on to those cards.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What do you want for that card of Tyler?

    ReplyDelete

Comments are highly encouraged, but then again, so is eating your fruits and vegetables.