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.
Today I ventured out to the Chicago Sun Times collectibles convention with a few goals in mind. I haven't been to the show in a couple of years and figured I would check it out because some friends would be there as well as some sponsors of the Cardboard Connection Radio show.
My first stop of the day was to the Memory Lane Inc booth. I wanted to stop by and not only see J.P. and thank him for his support, but I wanted to see some of the items in their upcoming auction that we discussed on our radio show.
Here's a quick clip with J.P from the Memory Lane booth:
Seeing some of the cards like the Plank, the Mantles and the Gibson blew my mind. That tin? Not my cup of tea, but it is in incredible condition and is an extremely rare and unique collectible that MANY people were in awe of at the show.
After I left J.P., I ran into Brian Gray from Leaf and checked out their setup. It was pretty quiet at the show, but they had an awesome display of the Muhammad Ali autos and cards. To quote Darth Vader, "Impressive, most impressive".
I decided only to bring $100 cash and see if I could pick up some of the items I wanted. If you follow our radio show, you'd know I have been looking for a particular Upper Deck SP Authentic auto of future NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner. I have struck out at the National for many years looking for it and have had an extremely difficult time even finding a Warner auto at the show.
My drought ended today when I found the card I was looking for. I got it for a price I was willing to pay and it will no doubt be a future SIGnificant Cards entry.
I also mentioned on our show that it might be a good time to pick up Kyle Busch autographed cards. I had been looking for a Kyle Busch auto from my favorite Press Pass product -- Showcase. I haven't pulled an auto of Busch and have been scouting listings to find the one I want and I have continuously been sniped at the last minute on many. Again, I got what I wanted at the price I wanted to pay.
Today was a good day.
If you think I spent the entire $100 on just those two cards, you'd be wrong. I also picked up some more items.
I needed some supplies, so I grabbed some extra thick and regular top loaders and sleeves. Always good prices at the show, that's a no-brainer.
I picked up a box of 91-92 Kayo for $10 and can't wait to open it. Sure it's not worth much these days, but its 36 packs of pure greatness. Hopefully I will find a hologram or auto. Worst case, I can use them for through the mail or in-person autos.
I also wanted to find another box for me to open with my kids. This time I chose a winner for a whopping $3! It's 1988 Topps Big Baseball Series 2. They can shred through those packs and I don't have to worry about condition or value, just pure fun-factor!
Just as I was getting ready to call it a day, I saw one of the most original ideas for displaying items that I have seen since the ball cube. Z-Access has a new entry for collectors to display items from cards, to balls to action figures in a snazzy 3D frame. They had a few different displays set up at the show including a couple of custom ones and I stopped in my tracks to check it out. I had a brief conversation with them and am hopeful that they will appear on an upcoming edition of Cardboard Connection radio. For now, trust me when I say it is pretty cool and you can check them out for yourself at www.displayit3d.com.
My haul, all for just under $100. I think I did pretty good.
There wasn't a whole lot of wax at the show. What was there could be had for a song and dance. Even the most recent Tier One baseball boxes were marked down about $20 and could be yours for around $60. The last thing I grabbed was as I was walking out the door. I passed Dave & Adams booth and saw they had retail boxes of 2009 Upper Deck SP Signature Football for $9. I grabbed one and headed out.
I look forward to discussing the show a bit more on the Wednesday, November 23 edition of Cardboard Connection Radio.
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.
He was drafted #1 overall in 2011 and many had written him off as a flash in the pan before the season began. In fact, this class in general had been criticized and ridiculed to some degree and at this point in the season, many of the former NCAA stars are heartily enjoying the last laugh.
Cam Newton set passing records in his first game, he clearly has the tools to play at the professional level, though his win/loss record might not show it. He is but one of many QBs that have been given the nod to lead their teams this season. Along with Blaine Gabbert, Andy Dalton and Christian Ponder, Newton is turning heads and is definitely a front-runner for rookie of the year honors.
NFL autographs are never at a shortage. There are hundreds of them in collectors hands just before and directly after the draft. To me, it used to be a big deal to get the cards of players in their NFL uniforms and also it had to NFL licensed. Now, I don't think about it so much. I know who the player was drafted by, I don't need the NFL shield to verify that it is a viable trading card. In fact, I've leaned toward more NCAA and college products because you get a solid autograph, most times on-card. Getting an autograph of an athlete before they are committed to sign their name on stickers a bazillion times is also clutch, because many times it becomes a chore to them. Let's face it, if you had to sign you name thousands and thousands of times, you'd get tired of it and there is a good chance they'd get sloppy, some even shorten their signature.
This autograph of Cam Newton comes from the 2011 Press Pass Legends product. I wasn't a big fan of the overall product this year. It wasn't because of the player content, or the lack of NCAA logos. The reason I wasn't a fan this season was because the photos were mainly of the guys from the neck up and there were no action shots.
Legends was released early in the year, before the season began and they already inked Cam Newton and others to sign for the product. Cam's autos were actually redemption cards in the product, but unlike some other companies, Press Pass had the signatures returned to them right after the product went live and they were fulfilled within a few days.
There are many reasons why this particular card holds a special place in my collection. Obviously one of them is because Newton is an outstanding athlete and my collecting goals are to acquire at least one autograph of the first-round draft picks of the NFL. It also is one of my favorites because while I don't like redemption cards, this one was turned around in less than a week and was easily the fastest redemption I've ever dealt with in this industry.
Card #AA-CN comes from the All-American insert set from the 2011 Press Pass Legends product. It's #'d to 250 and is an on-card auto! It also refers to Cam, as Cameron... a bit of a difference from the majority of his 2011 trading cards.
