2011 Panini NFL Stickers For Week 7 And Players To Watch This Week

We are in week 7 of filling in our 2011 Panini NFL Sticker Collection Album and the football season.  Our weekly players last week put in did really well so we are going to take some chances with this week’s players.

Here are the three players to watch this week

Folks... it's Tebow time!   Fans in Denver have been very vocal about it and now it looks like Tim Tebow of the Denver Broncos will get the start.  So regardless of how well he lives up to expectations, Tebow is one to watch.

In the same boat is Carson Palmer, now with the Oakland Raiders.  Just traded by the Bengals for lack of mutual interest, Palmer will replace Jason Campbell after he suffered what could be a season ending injury.  This one could be a train wreck in the making, but it is definately worth watching.

Tony Gonzalez of the Atlanta Falcons has had less than impressive numbers this year.  This is a kind of make or break week for the All-Pro Tight End who will have to come through big time as his team takes on the Detroit Lions.

In addition to the players to watch this week, her are the stickers going into our album.

Lee Evans, Danny Woodhead, Jericho Cotchery

Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs, Chad Ochocinco

Terrell Owens, Joe Haden, Josh Cribbs

DeMeco Ryans, Benard Pollard, Rashard Jennings

Kenny Britt, Elvis Dumervil, Jamaal Charles

Jason Campbell, Rolando McClain, Tyvon Branch

Vincent Jackson, Kevin Boss, Mario Manningham

Asante Samuel, Quintin Mikell, Trent Cole

DeAngelo Hall, Brian Urlacher, Shaun Hill

Nick Fairley, Tramon Williams, Frank Gore

Jake Long, Baltimore Ravens, Ray Lewis, Mario Williams

Matt Cassel, Philip Rivers, DeMarcus Ware, New York Giants

Be on the look out for more additions to our sticker album next week.

2011 Topps Baseball Update Series Box Break Recap and Review

2011 Topps Baseball Update Series is the final piece of the master release of Topps Baseball Cards for this year.  Update does just that, putting players in their traded team’s jerseys, providing a record of the All-Star game and covering Rookies who got mid season call ups.  The design is identical to Series 1 and 2 with two significant additions, Cognac and Blue Hope Diamond cards, which bridge all 3 releases.

Like Series 1 and 2, Update Series falls under our classification of trading cards because of its reasonable price point and base/insert card foundation.  While hits can be found even in single retail packs, those who’s primary purpose is pulling hits from this product will most likely be looking to increase their odds with purchases that are hobby exclusives, some with multiple box orders or even by the case.  The hobby box, like the one we opened for this review, contains 36 packs with 10 cards per pack and each box yields one autograph or relic card.

Here is a look at some of the cards we found in our box.

 Update cards - Cliff Lee, who was in his Rangers Uniform in Series 1 and Carlos Beltran who was traded from the Mets to the Giants mid-season.

 Rookie Cards -  Here is Blake Beavan in his Rookie Card noted with the RC MLB Symbol and his Rookie Debut card which lists his first appearance, July 3, 2011

 Here is two more Rookie cards, Eric Hosmer and Paul Goldschmidt

 All-Star Game cards - Scott Rolen from the game and Robinson Cano from the Home Run Derby

Season Moments - Derek Jeter joins the 3000 hit club

Base Card Parallels

Diamond Anniversary - Sam LeCure, Armando Calarraca, Aaron Harang

Daniel Moskos, Victor Martinez, Jose Morales

Ryan Adams,  Javy Guerra, Prince Fielder

Cognac

Xavier Paul, Tom Wilhelmsen, Michael Pineda

Mark Kotsay, Drew Butera, Nathan Adcock

Yorvit Torrealea, Charlie Morton, Austin Jackson

Jeff Karstens, Ivan DeJesus, Johnny Damon

Michael Wuertz, LeTroy Hawkins, Chris Capuano

Joaquin Benoit, Rich Harden, Barry Enright

Zach Britton, Michael Martinez, Mark Melancon

Tyson Ross, Eric Sogard, Chris Getz

Chris Gimenez, Erik Bedard, Michael Crotta

Matt Downs, Nick Masset

Eric Chavez, Brandon Kintzler

Scott Baker, B.J. Upton, Kris Medlen

Matt Holliday, Matt Kemp, Casey McGehee

Ryan Spilborghs, Raul Ibanez, Curtis Granderson

Mike Minor, Livan Hernandez, Rajai Davis

Gold #/2011

 Elliot Johnson, Brendan Ryan, Brad Hand

Tom Gorzelanny, Bill Hall, Alexi Ogando

Greg Dobbs, Takashi Saito, Mitchell Boggs

Lyle Overbay, Matt Downs, Aaron Heilman

Ryan Vogelsong, Kevin Jepsen

Blue Hope Diamond #/60

 John Buck, Erik Bedard

Phil Rizzuto

Black Border #/60

Sean Burroughs

Diamond Giveaway Codes

Carl Crawford. Prince Fielder

Mickey Mantle, Jose Bautista

Adrian Gonzalez, Cal Ripken Jr.

 Toppstown Codes

Michael Pineda, Jaime Garcia

Eric Hosmer, James Shields, Mandy Rodriguez

 Diamond Duos

Albert Pujols & Lance Berkman, Zack Greinke & Shaun Marcum

Grady Sizemore & Shin-Soo Choo, Adrian Gonzalez & Jose Bautista

 Topps 60

Nolan Ryan, Roberto Alomar, Sandy Koufax

Jimmy Foxx, Frank Thomas, Joe DiMaggio

Reggie Jackson, Fergie Jenkins, Cy Young

 Kimball Champions

 Matt Holliday, Willie McCovey, Reggie Jackson, Danny Duffy

Zach Britton, Paul Molitor, Hank Aaron, Nolan Ryan, Miguel Cabrera

The Hit

Jose Reyes All-Star Workout Jersey

Overall Look

Like in series past, we love the design and the photography. Kimball Champions are still the best looking cards in the entire set, but the Cognac and Blue Hope Diamond cards are really nice too. 

Quality and Variety of Players and Subsets.

Since Series 1 and 2 covers most of the players, Update is a very specific checklist and serves that function well.  Thinking in terms of new Rookies and All-Stars will give you what you can expect from this release.

Do the hits hold up?

No big changes here.   The hits work for this release.

Will you want to collect them all?

If you haven’t figured it out by now, Topps Baseball Cards are THE cards to collect for the widest variety of collectors.   If you have been collecting Series 1 and 2, Update is a must to finish a master set for the year.

Rating

 4 1/2 out of 5

2011 Topps Baseball Update Series completes the 2011 Baseball Master Set, a series of cards that works well for both beginning and seasoned collectors.  Your Baseball collection is incomplete without them.


Review box provided by Topps

2011 Topps Prime Football Box Break Recap and Review

There is some heavy duty Rookie prospecting going on with 2011 Topps Prime Football.  This year Topps has added some veteran autos and relics, which is a nice addition and usually the chase, but the really desirable hits here are still the Rookies.  Especially with the incredible 2011 rookie class whom, with each passing week, take on more and more leadership rolls.  With booklet cards and multiple tier level hits, this product offers a lot to prospect.

Topps Prime Football falls under our premium cards category.  Each box contains 10 - 6 card packs made up of base cards, sequentially numbered parallels and 1 Autograph, 1 Autographed Relic and 2 additional Relic cards.

Here are some of the cards we pulled from our box.

 Mark Sanchez base - front and back

Veteran Green Parallels

 Kenny Britt, Brandon Marshall, Troy Polamalu

 DeMarcus Ware, Brandon Lloyd, Ray Rice

Purple Parallel

Austin Pettis

 Rookie Parallels

 A.J. Green Silver #/930,  Cam Newton Silver #/930

 Daniel Thomas Gold #/699,  Cam Newton #/699

 Kendall Hunter Blue #/599,  Luke Stocker Blue #/599

 Rob Housler Red #/499,  Edmond Gates Red #/499

 Jordan Todman Silver Rainbow #25

 Inserts

 Prime Veterans - Philip Rivers, Hakeem Nicks

 Prime Rookies - Kendall Hunter, Stevan Ridley, Andy Dalton

Dual Combos

 A.J. Green & Andy Dalton, Adrian Peterson & DeMarco Murray

 Triple Combos

 A.J. Green & Julio Jones & Jon Baldwin,  Cam Newton & Von Miller & Marcell Dareus

Quad Combos

Cam Newton, Ryan Williams, Jordan Todman & Shane Vereen

The Hits

 Greg Little Prime Rookie Jumbo Relic #/318

 Triple Combo Relic - New England Patriots - Ryan Mallett, Shane Vereen, Stevan Ridley #/388

 Redemption Card - Kyle Rudolph Gold Autograph Rookie Card Variation #/250

Julio Jones Level VI Autograph Relic #/515

Overall Look

These base cards are beautiful with full bleed photography, thick, well-finished hobby card stock and smart foiled accents.  The backs are minimalist, but well done.  The hits for 2011 are a step up in look and overall design from last year’s release.  The design between the Premiere Veteran and Rookies insert cards is really close to the base design.  A little bit more of a separation in look would go a long way.

Quality and Variety of Players

At 150 base cards, you are getting the best of the best, both veteran and rookie players.  The shortened checklist also helps to maintain the high quality of the hits.   There is an even shorter list of veteran hits, all of which are premium quality.

Do the Hits satisfy? 

Hard to be dissatisfied will well designed hits of premium players and hot rookies.  This also appeals to those seeking prime patches as well as autos.

Will you keep coming back for more?

For rookie prospectors, this is an easy rebuy.  There is enough interest to keep collectors coming back for more.

Rating

4 1/2 out of 5

2011 Topps Prime Football benefits from a few key changes while bringing back what worked from last year.