We are coming to Toronto to do our next STREET-break™ Thanks to Panini for providing the cards

The race for the Stanley Cup is on.  The Playoffs started Wednesday with 16 teams in the hunt.   All of the “Original Six” teams made it this year, except for one, the Toronto Maple Leafs.   With the amount of pride Canadians have for their hockey teams, this surely comes as a blow.

Well here at All About Cards, we feel a responsibility to ease the burden of our good neighbors to the North, the only way we know how, by bringing free hockey card to the city of Toronto.

In minutes, I will head to the airport to catch a flight that will take me to the largest city in Canada.   I will pound some pavement in Toronto, looking for someone to help us with a Canadian version of our newest feature, the STREET-break™.

Thanks to the good people over at Panini America, we will be doing a box break of 2010-11 Donruss Hockey and whoever is willing to help us with the break will be keeping all the cards, an entire hobby box.

So stay tuned to the blog and be on the lookout for more information about the break.  

2010 – 11 Panini Classics Basketball Cards Hobby Box Break, another All About Cards SPEED-break™

 NBA playoff time is here so what could be more appropriate than to rip into a box of 2010 – 11 Panini Classics Basketball Cards.  To find out what we pulled from this box, watch our SPEED-break™.

Direct link to the video

2011 Topps Heritage Baseball An All About Cards Review

Set builders rejoice, 2011 Topps Heritage Baseball is here.  This year’s release is one of the best yet.   With a strong base set, a limited number of inserts and a good amount of short prints to chase, Heritage is quite addictive.   In addition you have the possibility of pulling a Sandy Koufax or Hank Aaron on-card auto, which makes this set and easy contender for best of the year.

This set falls under our classification of trading cards.  With multiple ways of buying Heritage, it’s accessible to all.   No gum this year, so all packs come with 9 cards, one more than last year’s release.  You can buy them in individual packs, Jumbo packs of 16 cards, Blisters of 3 packs plus 2 exclusive black border parallel cards, Blasters of 7 packs plus 1 extra pack and Hobby Boxes of 24 packs with 1 or 2 box toppers.

We’ve covered this set in detail in previous posts, so use these links to find out;

The Complete List of Variations, Short Prints and Error Cards

A Cautionary Guide with regular cards some eBay dealers are trying to pass off as SPs.

Our first discovery of the set’s Very Short Prints

Our video box break of the hobby box we are reviewing here.

Lets take a look at some of the cards we pulled from our hobby box.

From the base set

 Clayton Kershaw base card front and back

High Numbered Short Prints

From the insert sets

Baseball Flashbacks

News Flashbacks

Then and Now

New Age Performers

The Hits

Chrome

Chrome Refractor

Jackie Robinson Special

Evan Longoria Game Used bat card

From the Box Toppers

Bob Hendley Buy Back

Philadelphia Phillies Stamp Album

Overall Look

This year’s Heritage is based on 1962 Topps Baseball cards., a year that was difficult at the time, but perfect to have fun with now.  While Topps could have phoned this one in because of a built in fan base for Heritage, they didn’t.  In fact they went to town on this set.  The attention to detail is impressive.  The retro feel of the cards, from the materials used to the homage photography that closely mimics the original cards is really appreciated.  The backs of these cards are as entertaining as the fronts.  The green tints that match the misprinting of 1962 Series 2 work well too.

Quality and Variety of Players and Subsets.

No complaints here.  At 500 base cards, everyone is covered.  The insert sets are perfect for a retro set and since they are tough to pull it’s great there are not a lot of them to have to chase.

Do the hits hold up?

Aaron and Koufax On-Card autos.  Enough said.

Will you want to collect them all? 

Yes.  Yes!  YES!!!!!  These are highly addictive and provide a challenge for the seasoned collector.   You will definitely feel the drive to build a master set, or at least close to it.

Rating

 5 out of 5

2011 Topps Heritage Baseball is THE set to be chasing this year.  It’s fun, tough challenge to build and a great set to own.


Review box provided by Topps

Toronto, eh?

Just curious, do any of you live in the Toronto ONT area?  Please leave us a comment if you do.

2011 Topps Opening Day Baseball Cards. An All About Cards Review

Everyone has their story of how they got into the hobby of collecting cards.  For most of us, it happened at a young age when we introduced to collecting by a parent or sibling.  2011 Topps Opening Day Baseball is a great way to start on a collector’s journey.   These cards concentrate on the heart of what gets collectors interested, cool looking cards with all of your favorite players.  At the same time, even seasoned collectors will appreciate what this set has to offer.

2011 Topps Opening Day Baseball Cards fall somewhere between fun cards and trading cards.   For purposes of our review, we will consider them fun cards.   The odds are the same by the pack or by the box.  A pack costs 99 cents or you can purchase a box of 36 packs.   The advantage of buying by the box over the individual packs is the box tends to provide little to no duplicates.  Let’s take a look at the cards we pulled from the box.

First from the base set

From the inserts

 Superstar Celebrations

 Spot the Error

 Toppstown Codes

 Presidential First Pitch

 Mascots

 Stadium Lights

Blue Border

Overall Look

If you like the look of 2011 Topps Series 1, you will feel the same about 2011 Opening Day because it is the same design, minus the foil flourishes around the players names. A classic look with a modern twist, informative backs, an important and often overlooked aspect of design, and a great color scheme.  The insert are fun.  Love the Mascot cards and Stadium Lights

Quality and Variety of Players

The Opening Day set is a third of the size of its big brother Series 1 & 2 at 220 cards, so you are getting the best of the best.   With the insert cards, Superstar Celebrations and once again the Mascots, there is more than enough to collect here.

Are these cards fun? 

They are lots of fun.   Glow in the dark Stadium Lights, Mascots, Spot the Error puzzle cards, Opening Day Stars, Toppstown Codes, all great cards.

Will you want to collect them all?

At only 220 base cards, the set is easy enough to obtain.   The rest of the cards are limited in number and easy enough to understand so it is very possible to put this set together inside of 50 to 60 packs making this a highly desirable product for budding set builders.

Rating

5 out of 5

This is the perfect introduction to collecting, excellent for set building.  Getting new collectors involved in the hobby can only be good.  2011 Topps Opening Day Baseball is a great way for those new to cards to embark on a lifetime of collecting.


Review box provided by Topps

2010-11 Panini Absolute Memorabilia Basketball Cards. An All About Cards Review

We all have a particular brand of card we go to time and time again.  When some card releases can be hit or miss, this is the box that always seems to bring us luck.  Absolute Memorabilia is that box for me. I always seem to do well.   My luck continued with the hobby box I broke.  With a wide mix of Rookie Prospecting, Game-Worn Materials and Autographs, this is a great break with a good amount of reward for those who are willing to take the risk.

We classify 2010-11 Panini Absolute Memorabilia as premium cards.  Each hobby box contains 4 – 5 card packs with the promise of two memorabilia and two autograph cards for the box. Let’s take a look at the cards we pulled from the box.

First from the base set

 Joakim Noah front and back

 Solomon Alabi Rookie and Nick Anderson Legends

From the inserts

 Emeka Okafor, David Lee and Tyler Hansbrough Spectrum Cards

Dirk Nowitzki Hoopla

 Steve Nash Star Gazing and Isiah Thomas Absolute Heroes

Our hits were

 DeJuan Blair Spectrum Autograph and Quincy "Q-Pon" Pondexter RPM Auto/Mem

Celtics Team Trios Game-Worn Materials, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo

  Blake Griffin Tools of the Trade Jumbo Game-Worn Material

Overall Look

This set delivers a good mix of shiny and matte finishes with some really nice design.  Standouts are the StarGazing, Absolute Heroes and Team Trio cards.   The Tools of the Trade work nice for all the different way it’s presented.

Quality and Variety of Players

Panini knows how to mix Rookie, Veteran and Retired players well in their sets and Absolute Memorabilia is another fine example.   It’s like a buffet of players and you get to try a little of everything.

Do the Hits satisfy?  Are the cards too base heavy?

There are some great hits to be had out of this set and plenty of variety.   We pulled non-numbered base cards out of the box, which falls safely under the number we would want to see from a product like this. 

Will you keep coming back for more?

This can become an addictive product.  I could easily see buying more boxes of Absolute.

Rating

4 1/2 out of 5

For me, 2010-11 Panini Absolute Memorabilia is an easy purchase.   While I’ve had some really good luck with this product, I feel the term “your results may vary” applies.  But even an OK box of Absolute is better than most others.



Review box provided by Panini

Box Break Update. Redemption Mailday for 2010 Panini Limited Football.

We did a box break of 2010 Panini Limited Football and pulled a redemption for a Rolando McClain Material Phenoms Rookie Card.  We waited patiently and now its here.  This is the video update on the redemption and the reveal of the card.

Direct Link to the Video

2011 Topps Opening Day Baseball Box Break, another All About Cards SPEED-break™

You’ve seen us break a blaster on Opening Day with our first ever STREET-break™.   Now we’ve got a SPEED-break™ of a box of 2011 Topps Opening Day Baseball.

Watch this box break now.  Our review of 2011 Topps Opening Day will be up later in the week.

Direct link to the video.

2011 Topps Heritage Baseball Hobby Box Break, another All About Cards SPEED-break™

We’ve been covering the release of 2011 Topps Heritage Baseball since December of 2010.  We’ve opened Blasters and Blisters and Packs.  We’ve kept you up on potential SSP’s, regular cards that people were trying to pass off as SP’s on eBay and gave you a complete list of all the error, variation and short print cards.   So what’s left?

How about a SPEED-break™

Watch this box break now.  Our review of 2011 Topps Heritage will be up later in the week.

Direct Link to the Video

Bryce Harper appears on his first minor league baseball card in 2011 Topps Pro Debut

Bryce Harper, the number 1 pick in the 2010 MLB draft, will appear on his very first  minor league card in the upcoming 2011 Topps Pro Debut, set to release on June 1st.  The base card will feature Harper in his Hagerstown Suns uniform.

In addition, Topps is seeding a unique 1 of 1 Harper Cut Signature into packs of Pro Debut.  The cut signature comes from a baseball used in his first professional game in the Arizona Fall League and features an MLB authenticity hologram.

The 330 card Pro Debut set will come in 8-card packs.  Hobby boxes will have 24 packs with 2 Autographs and 2 Relics per box.

Newly release video of Blake Griffin with his Panini America HRX video trading card

Panini America released video of its HRX card, a High Definition Video card that is capable of providing up to 30 minutes of video.  Introducing the card was Blake Griffin who, as we posted earlier, is the newest spokesperson for Panini America, joining Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and John Wall.

This card looks like its going to be awesome.  Not only will it have player highlights, it will be autographed and then the video of the signing will be uploaded onto the card.  How cool is that?

Here is the video, but for more details, head on over to Panini’s blog, The Knight’s Lance.

Teams decided, Round One Match Ups Set for NHL Playoffs, the Chase for the Stanley Cup

The Chicago Blackhawks backed their way into the eight and final playoff spot in the Western Conference by failing to beat the Detroit Red Wings, leaving their fate in the hands of the Dallas Stars.  With a Stars win, every team in the Pacific Division would have been playing for the Stanley Cup, but Dallas couldn’t get past the Minnesota Wild.  So Chicago is in and Dallas is out.

Only true hockey fans can fully understand the NHL points system, let alone how more than half of the teams in the league can go to the playoffs after an 81/82 game season.  But for those of us that get, we love it and love this time of year.  So here are the match ups for the first round of playoff games.

#1 seed Washington Capitals vs. # 8 seed New York Rangers.   

During their regular season series the Rangers beat Washington 3 out of 4 games.

 #2 seed Philadelphia Flyers vs. #7 seed Buffalo Sabres.  

The regular season series was tied at two games each.

 #3 seed Boston Bruins vs. #6 seed Montreal Canadiens.   

A classic match up that should produce some great hockey.  Montreal took the season series 4-2.

 #4 seed Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 seed Tampa Bay Lightning. 

The regular season series was tied at two games each.

 #1 seed Vancouver Canucks vs. # 8 seed Chicago Blackhawks. 

The regular season series was tied at two games each.

 #2 seed San Jose Sharks vs. #7 seed Los Angeles Kings.  

The regular season series was tied at three games each.

 #3 seed Detroit Red Wings vs. #6 seed Phoenix Coyotes. 

The regular season series was tied at two games each.

 #4 seed Anaheim Ducks vs. #5 seed Nashville Predators. 

During their regular season series the Nashville beat Anaheim 3 out of 4 games.

The first games start on Wednesday.   Enjoy the ice show everyone!