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Sunday, July 29, 2012

Mike Fruitman & This Week @ Panini on Cardboard Connection Radio

Another Friday in the books, except this one was different, I had the night off. But that didn't stop Russ and Rob from going on with the show.

They had on Mike Fruitman of Mike's Stadium Sports Cards who is the man that owned the Balloon Boy relics that appear in 2012 Topps Allen & Ginter.

Mike's store is also located in Aurora, Co, the site of the Batman shooting. Mike had a special day at the store to help raise money for the victims.

Hear from him and get your weekly recap of the happenings at Panini America as they raise the bar at the 33rd National Sports Collectors Convention.

Listen to the replay: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cardboardconnectionradio/2012/07/28/friday-cardboard-connection-radio

Saturday, July 28, 2012

A Look Inside 2012 Topps Inception Football

For about $11 per card, 2012 Topps Inception Football has some BIG hits. Are you willing to take the risk of not getting one, getting a redemption card, or unpacking cards with jagged edges, corners and chipping? Lots have, and its paid off greatly for many, but there has also been some discord among collectors. Find out what we did when we open a box of 2012 Topps Inception Football.



Saturday, July 21, 2012

Angela Cope Discusses Kevin Harvick Feud, Panini & Leaf Share National Plans

Did you miss Cardboard Connection Radio last night? We had a tremendous guest list for a special 2-hour show. NASCAR driver Angela Cope visited to discuss her sister Amber's incident with Kevin Harvick. We were also joined by Panini America's Scott Prusha for an all-new This Week At Panini segment, and Leaf Trading Cards President Brian Gray. Both shared their plans for the 33rd National Sports Collectors Convention.

Click this link to listen: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cardboardconnectionradio/2012/07/21/friday-cardboard-connection-radio

Sunday, July 15, 2012

SIGnificant Cards - 2011 Signature Impact Ms. Tessmacher

She's the current Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion. She's real, and she's spectacular. If you've watched pro wrestling for any amount of time, it gets to a point where you can figure out how stories unfold and where they are headed. Sometimes they get cut short because they don't capture the attention of fans or they just flat out suck. The story of Brooke Adams, A.K.A Miss Tessmacher has played out to perfection.

Brooke got her feet wet during the 2006 WWE Diva Search. She got a development deal and by 2007 was a part of the ECW roster. Just as she was hitting a stride as part of the group Extreme Expose, she was gone. I always wondered what happened, but somehow I knew she'd be back. It was nearly 3 years before she'd return to a major organization. TNA saw something in Brooke and she made her debut as Eric Bischoff's assistant, a spoof of the Lex Luthor assistant in the 1978 Superman motion picture as Miss Tessmacher.

While she might not have been wrestling, she was most definitely staying busy. Brooke participated in Hawian Tropic and Hooters swimsuit/modeling contests. She also honed her skills in the ring. Clearly teaming her up with seasoned veteran Lisa Marie Varon was a step towards improving her wrestling ability. Together as TNT they quickly won the women's tag titles and looked great together. Again, I watch Impact Wrestling for several reasons, but the #1 reason to watch are the knockouts. Their lineup of Mickie James, Velvet Sky, Winter, Tara, Sarita, Rosita and Gail Kim along with the champ are the best in the biz.

Brooke's beauty had won over fans,with a tag title win, it was time for the brawn to catch up. Slowly you could see her strides in the ring. Adding new moves like the Asstastic, the bulldog and Tess-Shocker (a facebuster) and a fantastic flying elbow drop were signs she was moving up the ladder in the knockouts division.

After a couple of tough matches with many of the fan-favorite and heel knockouts things turned around and she began winning. At first, lots of fans thought it was a fluke, but then she got the 3-count in a non-title match against Gail Kim who was then Knockouts champion. The build up was set, the PPV match signed, and eventually the hottest Hooters girl was the new Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion.

This card comes from the 2011 Tristar Impact Signature Wrestling set. I actually purchased it at the 2011 National from a fan that heard us speaking about the TNA deal at the show. He pulled some great cards from his box, but this was one he didn't mind parting with. I was extremely happy because even in 2011, I knew that Miss Tessmacher was going to be a star. Glad to know that while I don't watch wrestling nearly as much as I did when I was a kid, I can still see who is going to have success in and out of the ring.

This weekend, Brooke is representing the Impact Zone at the San Diego Comic Con. In full zombie attire, she's doing remote reports throughout the weekend and will be signing autographs with Jeff Hardy.

Check out this link to see the coverage from TNA: http://www.impactwrestling.com/news/item/3640-Miss-Tessmacher-Turns-Zombie-at-Comic-Con

The funny thing about this card is that it is signed Miss Tessmacher. I've always had a beef when they use a character name on a wrestling autograph. I've been hoping to catch her at an event like Wizard World or Comic Con to get her to sign her real name on a card for me, but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe the excitement of Comic Con will prompt her do to more appearances including Chicago's C2E2. Then I can get the signature I really want in my collection.