Last Night Mars Attacked, Tomas Hertl Lit the Lamp and Collectors Rejoiced

On last night's episode of Cardboard Connection Radio we brought Topps Mars Attacks Licensing Manager Adam Levine in to discuss the continuously growing brand of one of the hobby's most unique trading card brands. From a team-up with Stan Lee to the upcoming Mars Attacks Invasion product, 2013 has been the year of Mars Attacks. We also spoke with Chris Carlin of Upper Deck about a variety of topics including the first cards of the NHLs Tomas Hertl who lit the lamp four times against the NY Rangers at only age 19. Hertl's 4th goal was one of the all-time greatest goals in the history of the league. Other topics include Andy Pafko, Set of the Week, the Chicagoland Non-Sports Card Show and more! Catch the replay!

The Big Hurt, Rocket Ismail, The Soup Nazi and Me?!?

They say that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. I am living proof that is not true. I lived there for nearly 12 years and got out relatively unscathed. I've only been back 3 times since I left. It's a fun place to visit, but I wouldn't wanna live there!

I just returned home from the 2013 Industry Summit. It's an event not like many others. You get a room full of power players in the trading card industry for four days of rubbing elbows, making deals, pitching products and big announcements. It's four days of non-stop information with ample time to catch up with old friends, make new acquaintances, and most important... take care of business.

On the last day of the event, Chris Carlin, the PR machine at Upper Deck asked me to be a part of a bit he was filming for an upcoming April video. It was fun, as my friends Rob Bertrand and Wayne Frazer were also part of the shoot. A couple other guests at the Summit were also part of the video, you might have heard of them: "The Big Hurt" Frank Thomas, "The Soup Nazi" Larry Thomas, and "Rocket" Ismail.

The premise is that Upper Deck is bringing gum pack to packs of cards. I'll let you see how that works out for them. Enjoy the video.

An Unexpected Trip, Pudge and Some Bush

I dislike missing the Cardboard Connection Radio show. I don't make a ton of money from it, but I do love it. I set up Wednesday's show to be a forum, a soapbox if you will for us and YOU to voice your opinions about the recent allegations regarding phony memorabilia in trading cards. I chose to do an entire 90 minute show about it because it is important. Don't let the book fool you. It is time to sound the alarms. It is time to show some damn responsibility to their customers. It is time to fess up and let collectors worldwide know exactly what was tainted.

As a consumer and a reporter, I have lost faith. This is something that CANNOT be ignored. It will not just go away. I won't let it, our show won't let it, and clearly the Cardboard Nation of listeners will not either. To say I am highly disappointed in the companies for not responding to this confession would be an understatement. We used to social media to promote the fact that we'd have an open forum for anyone to discuss the topic. Collectors responded, corporate did not.

Have a listen: Cardboard Connection Radio - JerseyGate Edition

Unfortunately, I also could not respond. That morning I got news that changed the entire course of my week. I am currently married to the most amazing woman I have ever met. She's my rock. She makes me a better person and she's the idol of millions. She's Jill Cataldo -- the Super-Coupon Queen. As much as I love Jill, she wasn't the first person I married. On this day I got the news that my ex-wife had suffered a massive heart attack and brain aneurysm. Her condition is critical.

I have not seen her for almost nine years. I probably wouldn't have seen her again if she didn't give me one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. Together we have a daughter, and I took her to see her mom, possibly for the last time. She also hasn't seen her in nearly nine years. It was a bittersweet trip. We spent a lot of time at the hospital wondering why this happened, how this happened and why it took a traumatic experience to put aside bad feelings to get us all in the same room. Life is too short. I don't want drama, grief or nonsense getting in my way of living it.

This trip unfortunately had all of the above. The good part was that my daughter has a half-sister out there and they reunited too. It turns out she's an aunt and it was actually great to meet and spend time with her family. There were a lot of tears, a lot of hugs and a lot of worry.

As we rode the plane out there, I asked my daughter to make a list of things she wanted to do and places she wanted to visit while we were in Las Vegas. Most of her pit stops included food that we loved while we lived there that you just can't find in Chicago. When we got off the plane, she wanted a steak. I could understand that since it was 1 a.m. and we skipped dinner. When you are going through this kind of drama, it's always good to be surrounded by loved ones. I had remembered that my two aunts take a yearly trip to Vegas, and wouldn't you know it, they were out there when we arrived. We met up at Bally's and walked over to Bill's Gambling Hall (formerly the Barbary Coast) for their $6.99 late night Steak & Eggs dinner/breakfast. I figured it would be a good idea for her to relax before seeing her mother. Seeing my aunts definitely fit the bill and we were able to decompress.

After a couple hours of sleep, we headed out to the hospital. It was not good. It was very strange to see someone that you knew as a fighter become helpless. I can only imagine what it was like for my daughter. Luckily we have a good enough relationship that she talks to me -- a rarity from what I hear from my friends about their teenagers. There were tears, and plenty of them. We stayed for several hours reconnecting with a few family members, but eventually we had to leave. Again, food dictated our direction and we went to a great Dim Sum restaurant called East Ocean. After refueling, we decided to drive around and check out our old house, her old school, and visit a new friend.

If you've hung around this long, you've gotta be saying what in the heck does this have to do with trading cards? Well, occasionally I have a life outside of the trading card world; however this story does work its way back to them and collecting in general. The stop I wanted to make was to visit Jeremy Brown, owner of Ultimate Sports Cards and Memorabilia. We met Jeremy at the Industry Summit earlier this year and had him as a guest on the Cardboard Connection Radio show. I had wanted to visit his shop back then, but we ran out of time, so I made it a point to drop in. I am glad I did. I met one of his co-workers, and we all spoke for awhile, discussing the latest products, his upcoming Pawn Stars appearances, and the fact that his shop is moving soon. I look forward to having him back on the show. 

Usually I try to find an autographed card of the guests that appear on the show, Jeremy doesn't have one yet, so I opted to buy something at the store as a memento. I chose a pretty sweet card if you ask me; what do you think?

It is a 2006 Upper Deck Exquisite Endorsements autograph of Carlton Fisk. It's a beauty of a card, its only flaw is that it is a sticker auto. I don't think stickers should be used in a product with a price tag like Exquisite. Oh, it has another flaw, but that one I can live with... after all it IS Carlton Fisk -- he's in a Red Sox uniform. Only because I do not have his autograph in my collection, did I snag it.  As a White Sox fan, I thought that was a little deplorable I didn't have one, so I added it. 

After visiting the shop, we stopped in at Villa Pizza on Durango, a great NY Style pizza place that we always loved when we lived there. I love the food, but really love the cool mural of NYC painted on the wall by Frank Rao.A couple of slices and a couple of Zeppole later and we were ready for bed.

The next day we returned to the hospital for several more hours. On the way, we dropped into an old favorite called Harrie's Bagelmania. It's on Twain, and it used to be a decent area. Now this classic Jewish establishment is smack in the middle of what resembles scenes from movie Escape from New York. It made me sad immediately and I was worried if it was even still open. Luckily it was, the little plaza it is in was like I remembered. Driving through the area reminded me of another movie -- National Lampoon's Vacation. All I could think of was Clark Griswold saying, "Roll em up"! It was another difficult day, but we got through it. I'd like to think that little things help to ease the pain; in this case it was a not-so-little Black & White cookie that got us off to a good start. After many hours at the hospital and a few more reunions with family, we needed some down time. Yeah right, there was no down time. 

To take off some of the sting, we decided to make a couple of stops. The first one was to Count's Kustoms just off Highland Drive. Danny "The Count" Koker is one of the coolest cats on TV. Another guy that was showcased on Pawn Stars, he and his crew now have their own show on the History Channel called Counting Cars. It is just awesome. You see as much as I love cards, I also love cars. There's nothing like getting behind the wheel and seeing what a sweet machine can do. My first job was as a valet parking attendant, and I got to drive everything imaginable. I have always had a soft spot for the late 80s Camaro, but can appreciate just about vehicle from Chevy, except maybe the Volt. Of course I love foreign cars and odd customs too. Danny and his boys make em better than anyone, bikes too!

We got a tour of the shop from Rollie and also met Horny Mike and a couple of the other guys. Danny has several of his personal collection on display and it was amazing seeing them up close. Hot Wheels collectors will appreciate this shot...

My daughter is also a fan of Pawn Stars and wanted to visit the Gold & Silver shop in person after seeing my photos from my previous trip. I obliged and we headed back to the strip to check it out. They just finished filming and the place was packed. It didn't last long though as they emptied the store for another segment. We picked up a couple souvenirs and made our way to the airport. 

Our last stop before heading home was a sub shop called Capriotti's. This place is iconic to Vegas and Delaware residents. It's a small chain, that's expanded to Wisconsin, Maryland, Florida, Iowa and California, and they have the greatest sandwich you've never tried. It's called the Bobbie, it's a Thanksgiving dinner on a sandwich. Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo, it is both exquisite and divine and I just found out there's one in Milwaukee, an hour away! I'll be right back.

I didn't get home until 2 am on Saturday morning. It was a long, but necessary trip with low-lights and highlights. I was craving a little rest and relaxation after the flight. When I got home, though, another addition to the collectors was waiting for me. I unwrapped the package and low and behold, I scored a little Bush! It's the only on-card autographed trading card featuring a United States President and it comes from the 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter set. It is a great looking signature on the small mini card and just an awesome collectible.

 

Upper Deck Assembles The Avengers for New Entertainment Trading Card Set

As only the 4th film to reach the 500 million mark in the United States, the Avengers has been the hit of the year and it is going to take something bigger than the Hulk to take it down as the 2012 box office champion. Globally, the film is speeding towards the $1.3 Billion mark and its legacy will only grow with the upcoming Iron Man 3, Thor 2, and Captain America 2 films building up to an Avengers sequel.

As far as trading cards go, Upper Deck has been doing a fantastic job delivering quality sets for the founding fathers of Earth's Mightiest Heroes in their solo films, and they got their chance to play Nick Fury by assembling the Avengers for one autograph, sketch card, and memorabilia-filled collection.

Priced at $125-135, it is a huge hit, selling out at the Upper Deck store and many other online retailers. One of the gripes that collectors have had with previous UD movie sets is that they didn't nail the lead actors for autographs. That's been a gripe about this collection too, but it hasn't hindered sales. That's because Upper Deck loaded it with other interesting and collectible items including a guarantee of one sketch card per box. The sketch cards involve all of the Avengers too, they go far beyond the Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Iron Man.

Avengers Assemble also differs from previous releases in the sheer amount of cards that are on the base set checklist. Where many movie sets come in at 72 or 90 cards, this one goes to 11.. er, wrong movie... this one contains a mighty 180 cards.

You didn't necessarily have to have seen Iron Man, Thor or Captain America to enjoy the Avengers, but those fine films sure did lay the groundwork for the team to assemble and defend, no avenge the earth against Loki, the Chitauri and their leader who you don't see until midway through the end credits. If you left, shame on you, if you didn't, you'd know I was talking about the the Mad Titan -- Thanos.

Upper Deck wanted to assure that collectors got the whole story. They included key moments from all of the films leading up to the Avengers. These recap cards make up card numbers 1-90. You'll learn how Tony Stark became Iron Man, see the troubles of Dr. Bruce Banner as he struggles to control the beast within known as the Hulk, discover how Thor -- the God of Thunder came to be a defender of the Earth, and the birth of America's first super soldier -- Captain America. You will also learn about the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division and its key agents Nick Fury, Phil Coulson and Maria Hill. All three factor into the formation of the team most people never thought would grace the big screen.

Cards 91-180 chronicle the grand spectacle that Joss Whedon gave the world. You'll get a glimpse of what the Avengers will face when Loki, the evil half-brother of Thor, steals the cosmic cube that was last seen at the end of Captain America The First Avenger.

Three hobby-only insert sets provide even more backstory for collectors. With Classic Covers you will see years of Avengers comics from the very early days to the West Coast Avengers, and the more modern New Avengers. Enjoy 36 vintage covers from the Marvel vault. The team has gone through more members than the NY Yankees over the years, more name changes, more incarnations to keep them relevant with comic book fans. There isn't a major character in the Marvel Universe that hasn't had some kind of run in with the team fighting either with or against them. Believe me when I say that this movie only scratches the surface on what is possible to put on screen. But you know the saying, too many cooks spoil the broth? It happened with the X-Men franchise and no one wants to see it happen to the Avengers.

A 60-card set titled Heroes & Villains Evolve is a fantastic foil expedition that provides a look at your favorite heroes and villains and how they have morphed from their inception in comics to their larger than life realistic presence on film.  

If you'd like to get a feel for the behind-the-scenes work on costumes and storyboards for the film, you will no doubt enjoy the 9-card Concept Series cards. These black and white artist renderings are placed within a blueprint design and really pay homage to the people that did the grunt work for the Avengers Initiative.

All this and we've really only hit the tip of the iceberg. We still have autographs, sketch cards and memorabilia to discuss. Let's start with memorabilia. You will most probably find these more so than autos or sketches. There are single, double, triple and quad memorabilia cards. So far, anything with a swatch of fabric that touched the flesh of Scarlett Johansson are hot while the others, not so much. Her single swatch cards are closing at about $50-75 and her dual swatches hit upwards of $225. You'll find gear from actors Sam L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Clark Gregg, Coby Smulders, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, and Tom Hiddleston. This, Upper Deck did right.

The autographs are a whole different animal. You will find autos from several Marvel movies including Thor cast members Kat Dennings (Darcy Lewis), Idris Elba (Heimdall), Colm Fiore (King Laufey - Frost Giant) and Jamie Alexander (Sif). Captain America is represented by Bruno Ricci (Jacques Dernier). The only new autos from the Avengers movie cast are Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) and Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill). That hasn't stopped collectors from paying, and sellers demanding top dollar for the autographs. That's where UD has done it right. There aren't 5 per box and they aren't common. The rarity of the signatures is fueling large secondary market prices and demand.

While the collection is sans Evans, Scarlett, Sam L., Downey, Gregg, Ruffalo, and director Whedon, it certainly still packs a punch. Why they are missing remains to be seen. It could have been cost per autograph, it could have been timing, or it could have been the fact that because the movie was going to be huge, they didn't need the big names to push the product. Whatever the case, it still doesn't justify the absence of some or all of them on the checklist. Scarlett was actually supposed to be a part of the set albeit on a sell sheet or in someone in the product development area's dreams. Why didn't she make the cut? That's a question to ask directly to Upper Deck and I'll take care of that either via email or the next time someone from the company appears on my radio show.

The real drivers of Avengers Assemble are the sketch cards. You'll find a mix of pencil sketches mixed in with some colorfully complete images. Some are selling for over $300. You'll find single sketches, 2-card panels and 4-card puzzle cards with amazing art from the talents of Rhiannon Owens, Optic Nerve, Elvin Hernandez, Tom Hodges, Joe Rubinstein, Jim Cheung, Edward Cherniga, Charles Hall and many, many others.

Other items to be on the lookout for include Printing Plates. These rare 1/1 collectibles add a whole different dimension to collecting an entertainment set. UD doesn't even list the odds of finding the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow or Black plates, but they are fetching $50-100 in many auctions. It's not just the base cards either, look for these rarities of the insert collections too.

Like the film, there are very few flaws with the set. You know UD is always going to deliver a good looking design, they did just that with all of the cards included. They fell short with the auto checklist, but what they did put in is red-hot, showing that while collectors want the big names, a set like this doesn't necessarily need them to sell out. The only element that's missing in action? Where in the world are the vintage Captain America cards? You know, the ones Agent Coulson carries around to show he's not just an agent of Shield, but a fanboy just like you and me. UD missed a golden opportunity to put in a subset of clean, fake Captain America cards with a vintage design, along with a chase set with Coulson's blood, sweat and tears on them as it is his sacrifice that eventually forges the bond between the heroes.

A hobby box provided 131 of the 180 card set with 2 duplicates. Yes! Finally an entertainment set building option. You will need more than one box to compile the set. There were 10 of the 36 Classic Covers, 12 of the 60 Heroes & Villains Evolve set, and 2 Concept Series.

The hits were a single swatch of Tony Stark's blazer worn by Robert Downey Jr, a triple swatch card featuring movie costumes from Agent Coulson, Nick Fury and Tony Stark, and the final hit was an Optic Nerve sketch card of Spider Woman.

Avengers Assemble the trading card set is fun, much like the movie. It will leave you satisfied, but wanting more, much more. Luckily a sequel has already been announced and I for one can't wait to collect Thanos trading cards. Here's to hoping for Infinity Gems memorabilia cards!

That's it for this issue, as Stan Lee would say, "Excelsior!"

Tune in to Cardboard Connection Radio on Wednesday, May 30 for some discussion about the collection and be on the lookout for a video of the box break on YouTube!

I have received a box of Upper Deck's Avengers Assemble trading cards for the purpose of this review.

SIGnificant Cards - 2001 SP Authentic Sign of the Times Doug Flutie

Tim Tebow sure is making a lot of headlines as the starting QB for the Denver Broncos. More of them are saying he can't do this and he can't do that than praising him for his efforts and the efforts of his team. After all, it is the team winning, not just the QB. I think its funny that even John Elway won't give his blessing to the kid and the team keeps winning. It was so many years ago that another popular college QB was picked on, ridiculed and sensationalized in the headlines. So much that he packed it in and headed north to the CFL to hone his skills until it was the right time to come back to the NFL. That QB was Doug Flutie.

Remember those headlines? He's too short, too small, won't develop, blah, blah, blah. Sure, with some athletes you can tell almost instantly don't have the tools, but no man can measure another's determination. The media sure thinks they can, they actually get paid to come up with ridiculous newspaper and website headlines. It's borderline pathetic that people have come to expect sarcasm instead of fact.

Doug Flutie proved everyone wrong. The guy is a 3x Grey Cup MVP, he's a Heisman Trophy winner and he snagged an NFL Comeback Player of the year award. He had a spectacular CFL career throwing for over 40 TDs in a single season not once, not twice, but THREE times! He was 2 TDs shy from doing it four times...

His time with the Buffalo Bills and the San Diego Chargers were the best of his NFL days. He was also a member of the USFL. While drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1985, he passed up the NFL and joined the New Jersey Generals for a season. When the league folded a year later, he joined the Chicago Bears. He didn't get much playing time and was then swapped to New England. When the NFL went on strike, he crossed the line to play. Imagine that, a guy that just wants to play football. Hmmmm.

So... of course he was branded a scab and shortly thereafter he left the NFL for Canada. He became a CFL legend. His accolades are unmatched and many believe he is the greatest player in CFL history.

Sounds like a helluva career doesn't it? Well I haven't even touched upon the thing he's known the most for -- Flutie Flakes!

Ok, well he is known for that, but really... he's known for one of the most amazing hail mary passes in NCAA history. As a member of the Boston College Eagles, he helped his team defeat the all-powerful, so-called unstoppable Miami Hurricanes with a last second bomb that made him an instant superstar. For the record, he was already a star, notching the Heisman that year, and a couple of player of the year awards. He also wore #22 as a QB. I don't think I've ever seen anyone wear it again while playing that position, it caught my attention.

I had always wanted a Flutie autographed card in my collection since he threw that unbelievable pass back in '84. It took awhile before I pulled one out of a pack, but it did happen. This Upper Deck SP Authentic Doug Flutie card is one I will not soon forget. It was the last pack I opened from the box. I was almost at the point that I thought I got hosed on the box and it didn't include an auto (it happens). The card is #DF from the amazing 2001 Sign of the Times insert collection and features Doug in his Chargers gear. It is on-card and a very legible auto. To this day, it remains one of my top ten favorite pulls out of a pack. It's not worth a mint, but to me it's priceless.

Kinda makes you wonder if Tebow will follow in his footsteps, or get tripped up in them? Either way, both were underrated, one story has a happy ending, not that kind... get your mind out of the gutter, and the other we get to sit back and watch it all unfold.

SIGnificant Cards - 2005 Ken Griffey Jr. Sweet Spot Signatures

In 1989 The Upper Deck Company took the trading card world by storm. Brash to the point of nearly doubling the existing price of a pack of cards would have been enough, but they also landed one of the hottest prospects in Major League Baseball history before anyone else did. That player was Ken Griffey Jr. I had no problem finding the Griffey rookie card in those 89 packs, but let's skip ahead just a few years. Griffey would become synonymous with the Upper Deck brand. Enter the memorabilia and autographed card era. Keeping with my stubbornness, I had for a long time wanted to pull a Junior Griffey auto out of a pack.

It really wasn't because I was a fan, it was because he was a fairly difficult auto to get. I'd see him at MLB spring training in Arizona and he didn't sign very often if at all. In fact a lot of guys were like that. Bo Jackson, Mark McGwire and Rickey Henderson and Griffey weren't very cordial to their supporters some goaded the fans accusing them of selling their stuff on eBay. I always found it funny that a guy making 10 million gave a crap about a guy making a couple of bucks on eBay... but that's fact, I saw it with my own eyes. For every one of them though, there were 4 or 5 players that would sign as often as possible and that, some warm weather and good baseball is what made an annual trip to Arizona worthwhile.

It wasn't until 2005 that I finally pulled a Griffey auto out of a pack. It came from the 2005 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Baseball product, one of the best MLB sets ever made. It is perhaps the very best autographed baseball card insert collection to hit the hands of collectors even to this day. Unfortunately I've heard some collectors complain about their autos fading after some time, but I have never experienced this.

Junior signed it in black ballpoint with an extra inscription of "56 HRS". It's #'d to 175 and is one of the true gems in my collection. Do you have a favorite Sweet Spot auto? Which one is it?

SIGnificant Cards - Matt Forte 2008 Upper Deck SPx Rookie

Living in the Chicago area for over eight years, I've seen the Chicago Bears on all levels. They've been bottom rung bums and Super Bowl contenders over the years. Their current team is one of the best they've had on their field in their entire history. They are iffy in a few positions, and the Packers are still the team to beat, but the Bears most definitely do not still suck.

Or do they? They just got the news that Jay Cutler broke his thumb and the whole damn city is panicking. It's kinda funny. Maybe they are scared that Lovie Smith is going to re-sign Todd Collins and their season will blow up on them? I dunno, but they need to have a little faith. Backup Caleb Hanie might not be the best QB in the league, but he is exactly what they need to win. They need him to make smart decisions and hold onto the ball. He has a good arm and with Bennett and Knox out there, he just needs to get the ball close and not in the hands of opponents. 

He also has Matt Forte. Forte has really come into his own. His week 4 performace against the Panthers showed he can hang with the big boys. He also is the only NFL player besides Herschel Walker  to have over 700 yards rushing and 400 yards receiving in his first four seasons.

Legendary Bears back Gale Sayers has been critical of Forte in the past and I suppose he's eating his words right about now. Then as much as I love Gale, he's always been pretty hard on the Bears. Regardless, he's on his way to a 1,000 yard season and is averaging 5 per carry. Not to shabby and it is time for the trading card hobby to show him a little love. Right now he's the 2nd best running back in franchise history and if he keeps up his current numbers, he might just go down as the very best.

Today's card comes from the 2008 Upper Deck SPx football set. It is numbered to 599 and contains a swatch of gear and the signature of the Bears star. SPx always delivers a solid design and 2008 was no exception, it was one of the finest looking NFL sets ever made. I have several Forte rookie autos, but this one is by far my favorite.

SIGnificant Cards - 2003-04 Pat Riley Upper Deck Legends Basketball

I'm pretty sure that when the average person is asked about NBA coaches that Pat Riley's name pops into their heads. He might not be the first choice for older NBA fans. Red Auerbach, Don Nelson or Phil Jackson are among some of the other well known coaches that could be considered the very best. However there was a special flair with Riley that made him a household name, as much, if not more than some of his players. Riley has five NBA championships under his belt, and has won the NBA coach of the year honors three times with three different teams.

His years with the Lakers and the Knicks provided many a headline, and his work with the Miami Heat brought that franchise its most recent NBA title.

Riley though is much more than just a coach. He was also a player, and a 1st round draft pick to boot. Selected 7th overall out of Tennessee, he enjoyed playing for nearly a decade with San Diego, Los Angeles and Phoenix. He got his first taste of championships winning one in 1972 with the Lakers.

While his stats on the court might not have been Hall of Fame worthy, his autograph most certainly is worth adding to any collection. Riley has done it all. He's a television commentator, author, coach, motivational speaker, and the guy is well known for his fashion etiquette. You probably couldn't tell by the 70s era photo on the card. He looks more like a gym teacher or race-car driver. Saying he is just a coach is kind of like saying Filet Mignon is just another slab of beef.

Many despise him, many love him, but you can't deny the man and his accomplishments. Finding this card in a pack was a great collecting moment for me, especially as a fan of Riley and many of the great players that he has coached. Yeah, I rooted for those Patrick Ewing led Knicks teams and it killed me every single time they choked...

Anyway, I pulled this sweet sig of Pat Riley out of a box of 2003-04 Upper Deck Legends Basketball, a product that is loaded with great, easy to acquire autos of some of the all-time hardwood icons. It is card #LS-PR and there isn't a sticker in sight.

SIGnificant Cards - Don Cheadle Upper Deck Iron Man 2 Auto

On one side you have Iron Man, on the other War Machine. Friends or enemies? They've been both over the years, but in the motion picture Iron Man 2, you get the first look at James Rhodes in his armor. Upper Deck, not known for producing great non-sports products has delivered a couple of really strong ones recently with Iron Man 2, Captain America and Thor.

If I had to rate them, I'd give them 4.5 out of 5 on the designs, but 1 star for content because they just didn't nail some autographs of the bigger stars from the films. Captain America was missing Chris Evans and Tommy Lee Jones, Thor was missing Natalie Portman, Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins and Iron Man 2 was missing Scarlett Johansson, Sam L. Jackson, & Robert Downey, Jr.

When I got my initial box of Iron Man 2 cards, I didn't know what to expect because original solicitations included the big names on the checklist, then as it drew closer only Rourke & Cheadle were touted. They were joined by director Jon Favreau and the smoking hot Leslie Bibb.

I was actually pretty bummed because when you get a non-sports set you expect the best. Sometimes because of the cost an actor could desire for autographs or a lack of interest in even signing cards, it can get very pricey, but there is no excuse not to put at least 1 cut sig (if not more) of the big stars in the mix of a product of this magnitude if they don't want to sign, go freaking buy one.

That said, after seeing the list, I actually wanted a Bibb or Cheadle more than all of the others. Bibb because of this:

 
and Cheadle because of this...

I was happy when I got the Don Cheadle. I mean it is Rhodey for crying out loud. I've been a lifelong Iron Man fan and Rhodey has been along for the ride for a long time. Contrary to what the movies portrayed, the character of James Rhodes has a much deeper relationship with Tony Stark, taking over the reigns of the specialized suit when Tony lost his fortune and alcohol took precedence over saving the world. It wasn't until after Stark regained control of his company and did battle with Justin Hammer that War Machine was born.

War Machine was Iron Man on the juice. He looked cooler, was gun metal grey and had a big ass missile launcher and a flamethrower to boot. It was unreal to see both of them in action on the big screen and Favreau did a fantastic job taking them from the pages of comic books onto the big screen.

From the West Coast Avengers to the adult-oriented War Machine MAX series, I've been to hell and back with James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes. I can only hope he has a cameo in the Avengers and is signed on for Iron Man 3.

Card A4 is an absolutely awesome looking card. UD killed it with the designs on this set. It is a sticker auto, but its a clear one and doesn't take away from the design at all. I am not a fan of the sticker, but I see how it is necessary in rare cases. This one in particular doesn't bother me that much, but I hope in the future UD can do away with them in non sport products and also bolster up the products with the best possible autograph content they can get.

Oh and while Iron Man might have the jump on War Machine by many years, they both have a kick-ass theme song. You already know Iron Man's... Here's War Machine's courtesy of AC-DC.

SIGnificant Cards - Michael Jordan 2003-04 UD SP Signature Edition Authentic Signatures

You know that funny but kind of annoying Tootsie Roll pop commercial with the owl trying to count how many licks to get to the center of the pop?

Well, when I first started collecting Upper Deck basketball cards I wondered how many packs I would have to open until I pulled a Michael Jordan autograph. I began opening UD basketball products in 2001. I opened at least one box of every UD NBA product from 2001 through 2004. That's a lot of packs. Products ranged from MVP to SP Game-Used. I really thought they were some of the very best products made during that time frame. I really thought that Sweet Shot was and still is one of the best looking autographed collections ever. My favorite was UD Glass. Those plexi-glass cards are some of the most visually appealing cards ever made. That kind of creativity made me want to work in Carlsbad. However, the cost of living did not.

During those three years I found some great cards, autos of Tony Parker, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, John Stockton, Pat Riley, Reggie Miller to name a few. I found a lot of junkie ones too. Ndudi Ebi stands out as one that I have plenty of and well... check out this article to get an update on where he is playing (at least he IS playing -- hear that Stern?).

So let's look at some numbers. In 2001 alone there were nearly 20 NBA products by UD alone, with one offs, there were more than 20. In 2002 there were 21. You get the picture right? I opened a crap-load of packs and the Jordan consistently evaded me.

Until 2004.

SP Signature was released that year in a tin. The tin contained a great photo of Air Jordan airborne and ready to jam full well knowing he was the greatest of all-time. It included a facsimile of Michael's signature. And that... was the closest I got.

JUST KIDDING! It was the 04-05 tin that contain the imprinted auto.

I opened that 03-04 tin with a feeling in my gut. If you've ever opened a high-end product. You know what I mean. It's a tingly feeling like opening a present on Christmas when you are 5. It's a thrill like pulling a slot machine and winning a jackpot or scratching a lottery ticket and instant winning. It's not as good as sex, and it isn't like the high you get from drugs. It's a unique feeling of finding something great within a pack among common cards and I know collectors all can identify.

I honestly cannot even tell you what else was in the tin because when I peeled back those cards and saw the color of the card and kept inching it back, revealing the last name... N...A...D... I knew what I had. Finally! I had gotten the exact card I wanted to find. Card AS-MJ from the Authentic Signatures insert set contained a early photo of Michael with the Bulls and a really clean autograph on card, no stickers! The card was signed by Michael in front of UD reps and it was from a terrific set.

So while I can't tell you exactly how many packs it took to get to the center of a Michael Jordan autograph, I can tell you it was worth it, every single pack, the time, all of it. Oh, and if that Owl tries to bite my card, I will kick him in the nuts.

SIGnificant Cards - 2005 Upper Deck Albert Pujols Fabric Reflections Auto Patch

It took 5 years, but I finally got a
Pujols auto. Persistence is the key.

In 2001 the baseball card market was pretty sad. There wasn't a dominant rookie card that captured the attention of collectors in awhile. As the landscape of the rookie card changed from a simple base card to an autograph or even and autographed memorabilia card, the hobby was in desperate need of a new hobby hero. Two players made their stake to become that hero, Ichiro and Albert Pujols.

Collectors truly got the best of both worlds as both players are surely headed to Cooperstown. As a fan of both players, I loved the fact that I had to actually chase down two potentially huge rookie cards. I have no team loyalty anymore, I root for players. Don't get me wrong, I still like some teams, but free agency and trades always left me sour when my favorite players would have to pack up and move.

Like everyone else, I wanted to get my hands on the best rookie cards of both players that I could. I didn't even come close. The best I did was getting their base cards in Upper Deck baseball, both of which are still noteworthy and nice looking cards.

Sure I could've purchased either one on eBay and ended the chase just like that, but what fun would that be? I wanted to pull one out of a pack. As you can see by the headline, this card is from the 2005 UD Reflections set. So I am pretty patient as it took me 4 more years to pull a Pujols auto. This beauty is numbered to 50 and also contains a small patch.

It's now 2011 and I still haven't unpacked an Ichiro auto. I find it interesting that neither Pujols or Ichiro autographs are available in current Topps products. I want to personally thank MLB for assuring that collectors have the very best baseball cards to be had. MLBPA obviously saw a gap that needed to be filled by giving Panini a license, maybe they will be the company that cares enough to bring the best players in baseball to sign for their products.

Recently Leaf's Brian Gray signed the Mariners hitting sensation to an autograph deal. I finally have another shot at getting an Ichiro autograph out of a pack. Call me stubborn, but that's the best way to get a card, buying it secondary is kinda like cheating.