SIGnificant Cards - Manon Rheaume 1993 Classic Hockey Art

Rheaume was the hottest hockey
commodity in 1992.

Back in the day. Heh. I hate that term. What day? Possibly the dumbest term for simply saying, "in the past" -- EVER! In 1992 hockey history was made when Manon Rheaume signed a contract with the NHLs Tampa Bay Lightning. What was so special about it? Well for starters, Manon wasn't some fresh-faced, pimply kid from Quebec. Oh wait, yes SHE was. Rheaume is the only woman to ever make it to the NHL level and while she never played in a game during the regular season, she did put on the gloves for a couple of preseason match-ups. She didn't just bend the gender myths, she owned them.

Her other accolades include Olympic silver and she was the goalie on not one, but two IIHF World Women's Championship teams. She was the hottest hockey commodity in that year and the excitement sprung from her Canadian lore, also made its way to the United States.

In 1992, and it wasn't that long ago, the whole equal playing field in sports was nowhere near what it is today and it STILL has a long way to go. Today you see it more frequently, there are more women making as big or bigger impacts on their respective sports. Look to athletes such as Danica Patrick, Maryeve Dufault, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Angela & Amber Cope in NASCAR, the tough women that play real football in the Lingerie Football League, and the amazing women in the WNBA are just a few that quickly come to mind.

I was living in Las Vegas in 1992 and there were some great trading card shows in Vegas at the time. She was the talk of many of those shows. In 1994 she signed with the Las Vegas Thunder of the IHL and Rheaume fever hit Vegas. It wasn't long before she was doing autograph signings at shows and she drew some big crowds.

I was fortunate to meet her and have her sign one of her most recognizable trading cards. The 1993 Classic Hockey Art card is #112 from the set and with a clean and personalized sig in blue, it remains one of my all-time favorite cards.

What's your favorite card? I'd love to hear about it.

These Are Not The Droids You're Looking For

These are not the droids you are looking for.

I am a Star Wars fan. It was a huge part of my childhood and it has stuck with me as an adult. Sure, I see all the flaws and all the awesomeness that the saga has. I think that the original trilogy is so much better than the prequel trilogy it isn't even funny. However, while the prequels are weak storytelling, big budget, green screen atrocities, they are amazingly beautiful films. I make no excuses, I would've rather had three more movies with an aging Luke Skywalker then to see some wussy kid become Darth Vader.

That said, one of my hobbies is customizing Star Wars action figures. Yup, I refuse to grow up. I started customizing figures when I was about 10. I wanted to pose Stormtroopers in different poses and they were stiff, molded plastic. So I used the stove to soften them up. One time, one of the legs caught on fire and melted into my Mom's linoleum floor. She didn't find out for a year, but when she did, she whipped my ass.

The other day I was reading a Star Wars novel from the Fate of the Jedi series. The book is called Conviction by Aaron Allston. The backstory is about a force derived being that is so powerful that Sith and Jedi band together to stop the threat. It's not as good as the previous 9-book arc New Jedi Order.

Anyhow, within the story, R2-D2 and C-3PO have to go undercover and they are repainted. 3-PO is painted orange and R2 has all of his blue painted black. I figured that would look cool and that Hasbro would never make the figures, so I made them myself.

In The Navy

I'm a lifelong KISS fan. To me there is no better live concert on earth. They've set the stage and influenced many artists over the years. Musically, the current band is the best they've ever been. I recently had a great opportunity to work on a project for their upcoming KISS Kruise.

After seeing an interview where Paul Stanley casually mentioned that KISS Army members are now going to get a chance to join the KISS Navy, it seemed like a great idea. Kruisers got a look at the official KISS logo that I got to work on with direction from Paul and they recently posted the official KISS Navy t-shirt.

Click here to see the shirt.

I can't wait to get mine!

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.