Time is running out to enter our Daytona 500 NASCAR contest with your chance to win autograph and memorabilia cards.

Time is running our to enter our Daytona 500 contest where you could win the big pulls from these two boxes thanks to Press Pass.

 Just use this link to found out how easy it is to enter.

2011 Topps Baseball Series 1 shines with Diamond Sparkle Variations. Names of players with SP card revealed.

The Diamond Anniversary of Topps Baseball is off to a feverish start and collectors are uncovering rare Diamond Sparkle Variation cards in 2011 Topps Baseball Series 1.

Following is the list of 60 players who have a “sparkle” on a few of their cards.

1	Ryan	Braun
3	Jon	Lester
5	Joey	Votto
15	David	Wright
20	Hanley	Ramirez
23	Jaime	Garcia
25	Carl	Crawford
35	Shin-Soo	Choo
40	Justin	Upton
42	Mariano	Rivera
44	Martin	Prado
50	Alex	Rodriguez
60	Andrew	McCutchen
61	David	Price
67	Vladimir	Guerrero
70	Kyle	Drabek
75	Jered	Weaver
78	Mike	Stanton
80	Desmond	Jennings
100	Albert	Pujols
102	CC	Sabathia
108	Zack	Greinke
110	Aroldis	Chapman
120	Mat	Latos
128	Manny	Ramirez
140	Brett	Anderson
150	Miguel	Cabrera
165	Jeremy	Hellickson
166	Josh	Johnson
169	Chipper	Jones
174	Roy	Oswalt
177	Brian	Matusz
195	Nick	Markakis
200	Ichiro
208	Clay	Buchholz
209	Carlos	Santana
210	Brian	Wilson
214	Chase	Utley
216	Jose	Bautista
218	Victor	Martinez
236	Nelson	Cruz
240	Andre	Ethier
241	Wandy	Rodriguez
247	Starlin	Castro
250	Carlos	Gonzalez
255	Torii	Hunter
269	Stephen	Drew
270	Ubaldo	Jimenez
271	Adam	Dunn
275	Clayton	Kershaw
290	Ike	Davis
293	Justin	Morneau
294	Luke	Scott
299	Chris	Carpenter
300	Roy	Halladay
307	Alex	Rios
315	David	Ortiz
320	Michael	Young
322	Brent	Morel
330	Derek	Jeter

Let us know if you pull any Diamond Sparkles.

New Contest just in time for the Daytona 500. Win free cards, Autos and Memorabilia.

The 2011 NASCAR season is about to shift into high gear with the 200 lap, 500 mile, 53rd Annual Daytona 500 being raced this Sunday, February 20th.  43 drivers will be looking for the checkered flag in the first race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, including last year's winner of the Daytona 500, Jamie McMurray in car number 1.

There has been a high amount of drama already on Daytona's newly paved track.  It was very fitting that Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the pole position considering the circumstances surrounding Daytona 10 years ago, but Dale Jr. lost the pole position when he crashed in practice on Wednesday.  The pole position now belongs to Kurt Busch, who just won the Budwiser Shootout.

And speaking of pole position, you could gain your own pole position in our Daytona 500 contest.  To celebrate the start of the season, the first 43 people who leave us a comment with their favorite driver, past or present, will receive an entry in our contest.  Each entry will be linked to a driver in the Daytona 500.  Whoever is linked to the top finishing drivers wins our prizes.  You have until Saturday Night, Feb 19th at 11:00PM EST or until all 43 positions are taken to enter, which ever one comes first.  Sunday Morning we will announce the order of entries and links to drivers.  Make sure you tune into Fox on Sunday February 20th at Noon EST to watch the Daytona 500 and see if you and your driver win.

What do you win?  Its a sports card blog, what do you think you win?

Thanks to Press Pass, you'll win the big hits from these boxes;

2011 Press Pass Element Racing which is live now and...

2011 Press Pass Eclipse Racing which goes live on Wednesday February 23, 2011.

So what are the hits?  Come on now.  You are a veteran when it comes to our contests.  You know there has to be a surprise.  SO... I'm not telling you.  As a matter of fact I won't even show you what any of the cards look like until after Wednesday so stop asking.  But I will tell you they are cards you are going to want, the autographs and memorabilia cards.

So be quick about it and make sure you leave us a comment below.  And again thanks to Press Pass.

Albert Pujols Autograph Buybacks Added to 2011 Topps Tribute Baseball

We did a box break of 2010 Topps Tribute Baseball.  If you haven't seen it, use this link to watch.

Now there is big news for the 2011 Topps Tribute Baseball release. In celebration of the 10 year anniversary of the release of the Rookie Autograph cards of Albert Pujols, Topps is sponsoring a buyback program.  Collectors will find 30 redemption cards in random boxes of 2011 Topps Tribute Baseball, each good for a 2001 Pujols Rookie Autograph Card.  The three types of Rookie Buyback Cards will be

2001 Bowman Chrome Autograph
2001 Topps Finest Autograph
2001 Topps Reserve Autograph

If you are lucky enough to pull a redemption card, you will not know which one you'll be getting until you enter the redemption code pin number at Topps.com.

The Winner for Best Hockey Trading Cards announced.

The Best Hickey Trading Cards Nominees show diversity and range for collectors.  You can get in on these cards for as little as ten cents a card, an old school concept with some old school names.   Here are the nominees.

2010-11 Donruss Hockey

Everything old is new again as Donruss Hockey brings back Rated Rookies.  With Acetate and die cut cards, it almost feels like a set out of the 90’s but it is definitely up to date.  With a deep checklist and lots of inserts, this almost feels like a premium product, but its still a great for base set collectors.

2009-10 In The Game Heroes and Prospects Hockey

This box tells you exactly what you are getting, no surprises here, but it’s done well.  This set has a nice mix of old and new players, and as with most ITG releases, the jersey cards are just a little bit different.

2010-11 O-Pee-Chee Hockey

You want to build a base set?  How about one that’s 600 cards large?  With graphics that almost feel like they belong in the 60’s, this is one happening set, man.

2010-11 Score Hockey

It’s been over a decade since a release of Score Hockey cards and these feel like they are picking up where they left off.   An extremely retro feel, but it works.  These cards are come in a 550 base plus 50 rookie set.  At about a dollar a pack, you wont feel a pinch to your wallet trying to collect all of them.

2010-11 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey

We’ve got two words for you “Young Guns.”  That’s what drives collectors wild about these cards and with the addition of 20th Anniversary Parallel cards this is a great set.

And now… the All About Cards 2010 Sports Card Award for Best Hockey Trading Cards goes to;

2010-11 Donruss Hickey is a solid release with some weight to it.  You can still pull some nice hits and a variety of inserts from these boxes, but the base cards will keep you building and collecting.

Two upcoming Panini releases that will make collector's very happy.

Panini has two releases that are soon to go live and there are going to be some very happy collector's out there.   We are talking about 2010 Nationla Treasures Football, which we covered briefly in a previous post, and a brand new release called Panini Gold Standard Basketball.  First lets look at some images of National Treasures which is releasing at the end of the month.

Now these are still "in production" cards so they are not complete, but look at those materials and designs.  Are they game worn?  How about game worn out and through.  Field dirt anyone?  This is what you want to see from a piece of jersey.  You can imagine the tackles these endured.  Sweet!!!
For more on these cards and a great video go to The Knight's Lance using this link.

Now for photos from 2010-11 Panini Gold Standard Basketball.

How about Basketball's hottest play on a card right now.

 Or great autos and jersey autos.

Or try actual gold on card.

Panini Gold Standard will bridge the gap between Timeless Treasures and National Treasures.  Taking a page out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, these cards will include 5 golden tickets with prizes like a face-to-face meeting with Kobe Bryant.  As you can see from the Blake Griffin car, there will be Gold Logoman Autos, Gold Rush cards that include real 14-karat gold.  Autograph combos like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, Boll Russell and Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant.  To find out more about this release, follow this link.

Update on our newest contest

I've heard you loud and clear  Thank you for responding.  It seems to be split down the middle between getting your own blaster and having us provide a virtual one for you.  Someone, I believe Play at the Plate, mentioned that 4 rack packs was a better deal than a blaster.  Oddly enough I'll be doing a post on "blaster vs 4 rack packs" in a post set to release this week.  But for our purposes and the cards we need out of the blaster, base cards only, 4 rack packs is too good a deal.

So to keep things even and to allow anyone who wants to play a chance to get in, I'll be providing "virtual blasters."  If after hearing the rules of the game, some of you WANT to provide your own blaster to play with, I might consider allowing it, but don't hold me to it.  Either way, it shouldn't affect game play too much but having the cards in hand will probably help in making game play decisions.  More on this when I release the rules of the game, which I am just finalizing now.

A small hint, its kind of a hybrid of a few types of games all rolled into one ultimate Sports Card game.   I've seen a few out there and think (and hope) this one is different, and hopefully it will be fun.   Luck does come into play to determine the winner, but that luck is tempered by a certain amount of pre game decision making and day to day maintenance.  That's all I'm going to say for now.

My goal is to have the rules published by the end of this week and give you a few days to decide if you want to play.  Then I'll release the "virtual blasters" so you have time to develop a strategy in time for the first game, on February 25th.   I anticipate a maximum of 30 players (just so I can actually manage the game without going crazy) so look for the rules announcement and your chance to sign up sometime this week