Panini is back on the ice. They shoot, they Score!!!

Some of us remember the days when you took your allowance, went to your local candy shop or pharmacy and plunked down 30 to 45 cents for a pack of cards.  Somedays you might even pick up a two or three packs.  It was an easy purchase, nothing you had to think too heavily about.

When you ripped the packs open, instead of speeding through the cards looking for inserts, you took the time to check out the pictures on all the cards, read the stats on the back, even the trivia about the players.

Instead of placing the cards directly into penny sleeves and protectors, you might use them in a game of flipping, tossing them against a wall or throwing them on the ground.  Crazy, huh?

I still have close to 4000 1990 Donruss Baseball cards, all collected a pack at a time.  I also have plenty of Hockey cards.  No... I'm not Canadian.  You see while I love Baseball and Football, I also find Hockey to be one of the most exciting sports to watch, more so live than on TV, but most fans of the sport will tell you that.   I have original cards of Phil Esposito, Bobby Clarke, Gerry Cheevers, Denis Potvin, Marcel Dionne, Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier to name a few.

That's why I'm really excited this year Panini is releasing 2010-11 Score Hockey. Why?  Let me make a list.

1 - 2010-11 Score Hockey should cost you about a buck a pack.  That's right, one dollar.  You wont break the bank buying these cards.  If you've never collected Hockey cards or are new to the sport, it's a great way of jumping in.  At a dollar a pack you can't miss.   But a low price point alone is not reason enough to buy anything, which brings me to my next point.

2 - These cards look fantastic.  Look for yourself.

If Donny and Marie were singing about these cards, they'd say "they're a little bit Throw Back and a little bit Rock n Roll."  The photography is clean, close enough to see the players and yet wide enough to feel some of the action of the game.  A difficult balance to strike with hockey cards because the game moves so fast and photographers have to shoot from a distance.  The graphics and design are straight forward.  They don't detract from the pictures.  Unlike some cards, the names can be clearly seen.  You might not be able to pronounce them, but you can read them with ease.

3 - There are some nice inserts.  The inserts I don't have a picture of, but wish I did because they're fabulous are called "Net Cam" with photos taken from inside the goal at the back of the net, giving you an incredible view of the goalie and opposing players trying to score.  Talk about feeling like you're on the ice.   

Then there are USA greats and Canada Greats too.

And for the rookie obsessed, there are these;

Isolated photos so you get to know these players.  Nice touch Panini.  But even at a buck a pack, there are still hits to be had, not easy to get, but they are there.  

4- I'm talking autos.  

These are truly drool worthy.  Some of the greatest players of the game and once again, clean, clean, clean.  No over done graphics to detract from the impact of the players or there signatures.  On card, hard signed autograph buybacks, not stickers.  How great is that?  These would be super to own.

5 - Did I mention they're a buck a pack?

At 500 base cards, you'll be doing a lot of collecting, but its worth it.  This is an easy purchase and an easy recommend.  Great to see Score back in the game.  It's a great set for novice and veteran collectors, and at a buck a pack, a must buy.

Blog Pimping on a Friday Night - Free hobby box of 2010 Topps Chrome Baseball cards up for grabs on another blog

I'm all about spreading the love for anyone that tackles the task of keeping a blog going and someone out there needs some help.  Georgia Mindset is running a little contest, giving away a hobby box of 2010 Topps Chrome Baseball Cards.   Follow this link for more details  Its a box of Chrome for goodness sake.

Cain is able

The San Francisco Giants are looking good.  So good in fact that it would be surprising if this World Series goes past four games.  It remains to be seen how much of a fight the Texas Rangers can put up as they return to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.  If the Series goes past five games and returns to AT&T Park, Matt Cain could easily be a lock for MVP.  After tonight's amazing performance, Matt Cain has a post season ERA of 0.00.  That's right, from the Braves to the Phillies and now the Rangers, Matt Cain has pitched 21 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball.  Not bad for a pitcher who had a regular season record of 13-11.  Wonder what this will do for his card values.  Now I want the Series to extend to game six just to see what happens.

Nuns hit the Mother load, a Honus Wagner T206

I am lucky enough in life to still have all the people I love around me so I've never experienced receiving an inheritance.  I'm sure when that time comes, I will not see anything like this left to me.

School Sisters of Notre Dame in Baltimore received a donation, left to them in a will, of the holy grail of baseball card collectors, "The Monster," a Honus Wagner T206.  Even in its poor condition, having been cut around the borders, creased in the upper right corner and shellacked, it is still expected to be sold at auction for $150,000 to $200,000.  Far from the record setting $2.8 million for a near mint condition T206 Wagner, but still an incredible amount of money.

The man who donated the card had owned it since 1936 and kept it in a safe-deposit box with a note that read, "Although damaged, the value of this baseball card should increase exponentially throughout the 21st century!"  Because the card had been privately owned, its existence was unknown.  With the addition of this card, the total number of T206 Wagners stands at 60.  

As I post this, the current bid is $180,000.  If you want to follow the auction, here is the link.  I'll post the final auction price when bidding has ended.

UPDATE:  The card sold at auction for $220,000.  With the buyers premium, the final price was $262,900.

Its a Win Win situation for Bengie Molina

It's here.  Grown men become boys for just a minute, excited at the prospect of playing in a World Series and walking away with a championship ring.  All the money and fame can't come close to the prospect of being a World Series Champion.  At this point, no one knows, for sure, who will own a 2010 World Series Champion Ring.  Except for Bengie Molina.

Before a single inning is played, Molina is a lock for a ring.  The only question is which team will be on that ring.

Molina is in the unusual position of having played enough games for the San Francisco Giants at the beginning of the year to qualify for the Giants championship roster, while having been traded early enough to the Texas Rangers to qualify as a member of the Rangers' championship roster.  So he'll walk away with a ring regardless of the outcome of the Series.  Something tells me he'll be happier if the Texas Rangers win.

New Contest for Free Football Cards or Random Packs of Kindness

Yesterday was awful.  Someone decided to made my life miserable, not because I had done something to them, but because my mere presence stood in the way of their agenda.

I'm not a big fan of people acting like four year olds to get want they want, unless, of course, they are four years old and even then, it can be unpleasant.  That's exactly how this person was acting, like a four year old.  I couldn't just leave to avoid this person, even though I wanted to, I had to be there.  So I stuck it out and tried to take the high road.

Then, just as I was about to "check out" mentally to protect my sanity, someone tapped me on the shoulder.  I turned around to see a sweet, welcoming face.  She told me "you dropped this" and then handed me a ten dollar bill that had fallen out of my pocket.  After thanking her, I turned back to what I was doing and all the problems of the day melted away.

It was not the amount of money that changed my mood, it was the act of kindness that changed my outlook.  The reaffirmation of the potential for the goodness of humanity.  She could have just pocketed the money, I would never have known, but she did the right thing, the thing we all should do.

I was going to do what I normally do with found/recovered money, give it to charity.  Since I never would have noticed its absence, there is no reason to hold on to it.  I believe an act of kindness should result in another act of kindness.  Today, as was I was about to send the money to one of my local charities, an idea came to me.  Perhaps there is potential to extend this act of kindness even further.

I walked into my local Target and decided to pick up the first random packs of cards I saw, up to the ten dollars of recovered money.  Here's what I got ;

1 pack of 2010 Panini Threads Football Cards
1 pack of 2010 Panini Rookies & Stars Football Cards
1 pack of 2010 Panini Epix Football Cards

OK.  So you're saying "how can taking money that was intended for charity to buy packs of cards be doing something for the greater good?"  Well... here's where you come in.  I'm taking these cards and making them the prize in a contest I call "Random Packs of Kindness." There is only one way to enter.  You have to do something kind for someone else.

That's right.  No signing up for a newsletter, no joining a mailing list.  Just going out into the world and making it a better place.  Visit an old folks home, do extra chores to help out your folks, babysit for free for a couple that needs a night out but can't afford it, volunteer at a food bank, sell some of your extra trading cards and donate the money to a charity, ANY ACT OF KINDNESS WILL DO.  Then share what you did with us.  After the deadline has past, we'll take all the participants and random off the prize to one of them.  But in this situation, its safe to say, everyone will win even if you don't wind up winning the cards.

So here are the rules for this contest;

1 - This is only open to people who are a public, visible follower of this blog, a person who "likes" us on Facebook, a follower of allaboutcards on Twitter or a subscriber to our YouTube channel.  This is the only way I can confirm that people aren't trying to double dip with multiple email addresses.

2 - Go out into the world and do something kind for someone else.

3 - By using the comments here on the blog, or writing on our Facebook page, or by tweeting us @allaboutcards or by leaving a comment on our YouTube channel page, TELL US WHAT YOU DID.

4 - At 11:59 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, November 10, 2010, anyone who has completed the three steps above will be entered onto a list.  We will use Random.org to pick a winner from that list.

5 - We will announce the winner sometime around Friday, November 12, 2010 and upload a video of the pack breaks.

6 - We will then ship the prize out to the winner

It will be interesting to see how far we can take this.  Good luck to all and let's make this world a better place.

First look at Panini 2010 Crown Royale Football Rookie Die-Cutes Prime Signatures trading cards

OK.  Here's something to get excited about.  These Panini 2010 Crown Royale Football Rookie Die-Cutes Prime Signatures football cards look great.  With this year's rookie class, they make for some sweet cards, don't you think?  Here is a look at the best of them, Sam Bradford, Jahvid Best, Ryan Mathews and Jermaine Gresham.  Sorry Tebow fans, he has a card but I'm just not feeling the love for him yet, so if you want to see his and others click on this Panini link.