Interview With MillerCards.com

Derek over at Miller Cards wanted to ask me a few questions about SCU, and I was happy to help him out. He has a great site over there, be sure to check it out and buy a few things. In addition to being a nice guy, he should be featuring a lot of blog related content on his site, which is always good for us.

Here is a link to the interview.

Another View From The NFL Rookie Premiere

Over the last few days I have had the pleasure of working with Mike and Mitch of Extra Innings Sports Cards for coverage of the NFL Rookie Premiere. Mike was nice enough to sit down with me for a few minutes on Sunday and discuss the goings on from the weekend, and just like with my impressions after talking to Gregg Kohn, it seems like the weekend was a huge success.

I am going to focus on a few things, mainly the players’ interaction with the people there, as well as some neat tidbits from Mike. Before I move on, I want to talk about how great Mike and Mitch are, and give them another plug for their shop. Upon reading SCU for the first time, Mike emailed me and wanted to see if I wanted to attend his shop's event and possibly win a spot at the Premiere yesterday. He wasnt sure if he could get me in any other way, but thought he would try. Both Mike and Mitch were sympathetic to SCU's situation, and were out to help. I honestly couldnt believe they wanted to help, but thats the kind of guys they are. Eventually they just tried to get me on their team's list, but were told I was not allowed on the Premises. So, despite their best intentions, I couldnt be there, so they did the next best thing. Mike offered to take some stuff to the event on my behalf, and I came back with autos from the three guys I am targeting from this class (pics are included in the post). Ill say right now, these two gentlemen have made my year so far, its nice to see there are people out there who actually care.

Moving on to the event, Mike said he couldnt have had a better time. He and his shop's employees were there as part of the Panini team, and had on field access to the players there. The first words out of his mouth when asked about the players there, were "for 22 year old millionaires, they were some of the nicest guys there." He talked about how much fun the players were having this year, especially with the different articles they had to make “used.” If you asked them to run a few steps, they ran a route, if you asked them to wear in a jersey they went and tackled a friend across the field. “It was a very positive atmosphere, and you could feel it,” he said.

Most of us who have a negative view of this event probably think that the jerseys are slipped on and off, and most of the time that is true. This year, for people like Mark Sanchez and others, a few second werent enough to designate something as used by the players. Mike specifically recalled Sanchez’s objection to calling something ‘event used’ unless it was dirtied some how. He would drag cleats across the grass, spike footballs and really get the props broken in. I was glad to hear that, and so was Mike to see it first hand.

Mike also specifically remembered guys like Jason Smith and Tyson Jackson, saying that they were some of the best players to be around at the event, cracking jokes and talking shit. At one point, Smith actually went at it with Tyson Jackson of the Chiefs at mid field as a "preview of 2009." Nice.



The event was done in shifts, where four or five rookies came to the station at a time, and went through the requests of the company. For Panini, most of the players had ten or so jerseys to put on, seven footballs to play with and 3 pairs of cleats. For the top guys there, it was 10 home and 10 away jerseys, plus having to sign all the on card offerings like the NT Pen Pals set, and the manupatches. I am glad to hear that Panini is focusing a lot on hard signed products just like Upper Deck. They also signed nameplates and helmets according to the Panini schedule I obtained from Jeff (not associated with EI Sports Cards), another person who was there, as well as many other personal autos for the workers at the tent. Per the schedule, each player wore around 30-50 articles of clothing, and signed about 600-650 cards and stickers. Mike made it a point to say that even the last group, who had been there all day in the heat, signed beautifully without objection.

Mike also talked about Matt Stafford, as Mitch had mentioned how out of place he seemed at all the events of the weekend, including the pre-party at the hotel, and the nights at the bars. Per the people around him at the event, he was just too nice a guy, a southern gent, even when asked about a Georgia Tech loss during the last season and last game of his college career.

So, all politics aside, I am beyond happy with Mike's report. I will put that much more of a stake into this year knowing that the players actually question why their shoes are being cut up instead of given to needy families, knowing that they want to make sure that the stuff is "used," and knowing that even at the end of the day, they still wanted to be there for the fans.

One thing stuck out to me, as Mike talked about a special guest of the shop. He was a younger kid, and was a child of a person they knew. He was a huge SC fan, and was unfortunately stuck in the stands for most of the day due to security. Luckily for him, Mark Sanchez and Patrick Turner didn’t hesitate to go sit and talk to him and make him feel important for a full half hour. Kudos to them on that.

With that, ill end it there. However, if you are anywhere close to LA and looking for a shop, PLEASE go check out Extra Innings Sports Cards on Washington Blvd in Culver City. It is worth any trip you make, as Mike could be the nicest shop owner I have ever meant. After hearing some stories, Mitch is cut from the same cloth, even driving product out to customers who cant or wont make the drive. Tell them you read about their store here, so at least I know that I can somehow pay them back for the amazing opportunities this past weekend.

Special Thanks To Extra Innings Sports Cards

Last night was a blast, and I want to personally thank Mike and Mitch from Extra Innings. I had one of the best times I have had in a while playing poker with the customers there, and though I didnt win, I came away with some nice stuff.

We played poker for 2-3 hours, with the Top prize being a Panini black box, and second Prize being a box of threads. There were about 6-7 people including people of all skill levels, me being of the lowest talent. The winner's box had a Mark Hammill Auto from Americana out of 4, a Michael Irvin auto plate from Limited, and 3 or four other cards. The Threads box was sparce, but had two autos in it - no letter. EI will be having stuff like this periodically, ill keep you posted.

Mike and Mitch's store hasnt been there for quite as long as the Beverly Hills card shop, but it may become my store of choice if I can continue to make the 30 minute drive from the valley. Mike has a lot of wax for you gambler types out there, and may have a few surprises up his sleeve in weeks to come. I always said that there are two kinds of shop owners with no middle, the nicest guy in the world, or the jerk who couldnt give a shit about his customers. Mike is the first one. If you guys are ever in LA and just want to shoot the shit with a guy who knows his stuff, or if you want some packs, boxes, or singles, Extra Innings is a great set up from two guys who are actually up on the goings on of the industry. 

As soon as they get a website, ill post it here. Thanks again for everything Mike, you have my seal of approval any day. 

FYI, Ill have a comparison up on monday, as I was lucky to experience two different kinds of shops this week. Keep a look out for that, as shops have been a focus lately on the blogs. I spent about an hour talking with Matt and Zack from BH card shop and similar with Mike from EI, both with contrasting approaches to their businesses. It should be a fun post to write.

Upper Deck Answers YOUR Questions

As I have mentioned a few times here on SCU, I have been conversing on and off with Gregg Kohn, Football Brand Manager for Upper Deck, for the last six or so months. Our first Q and A session is viewable here (link).

Gregg is a great asset to UD and to the customers themselves, and I have been continually surprised by the transparency that he has brought to the table. His help has been invaluable to my personal footprint in the hobby, as well as to this blog, and what follows is hopefully your chance to get involved in the awesomeness. Gregg has graciously offered to answer some questions from readers here on the blog, and I am really excited to see the kind of discussion we can get going.

Here is what I want to do:

- Post your questions below in the comments
- Gregg will read the questions and respond via the comments as needed
- He will answer what he can, we all understand that not everything is able to be shared
- Please give him proper time to respond, he is a busy guy
- Feel free to give feedback on products and UD Football in general, but I will warn that all nasty comments will not be approved

I encourage you to ask whatever is on your mind, this is your chance to get some insider info straight from the manufacturer.

Thank you again to Gregg for helping us to get that inside view we crave so much.

The Second Blog Bat Around

Wow, this thing has gotten bigger, if that was even a question before. I gotta say, I had more fun with this Bat Around than I did with it's dad, mainly because you guys have some awesome centerpieces. Hopefully we can keep it this size when Dave from Fielder's Choice hosts it next month. Keep on the look out, ill have a post here to make sure you guys know. Again, great job, it only shows what we are capable of, and you didnt even need to buy a stupid magazine to see what we are all about.

Without further adieu:

Sports Cards Uncensored - My experience with Kirby Puckett.

Bad wax - Chem has selected a 1909 Sammy Strang card as his centerpiece. I agree with him that the card reminds me of a simpler time when it was just a game. Its always cool to see pre-war cards too, because I wish I had some.

Stats On The Back - This post is worth reading because his centerpiece(s) are awesome. Just check out that Pat Sheridan card, just total Rambisosity of the Kurt variety.

The Easy Life - Steve has a really nice Marmol/Soto dual auto that he pulled as his focus, which I respect, because I could never pull anything even close to that cool.

Nennth Inning - Man, the Lincecum in this post is really, really nice, and could be the next card worth a ton from that set. Bailey is lucky because he picked up a potential high grade copy for next to nothing.

Padrographs - The collection of IP and TTM autos on this post is amazing, and yes, thankfully, Mickey and Minnie Mouse do sign through the mail. We havent confirmed if it is a ghost signer, but we think it is legit.

Pauls Stuff - Jeff Innis. Most of you havent heard of him, myself included, but Paul has a nice collection of Innis stuff. All your Innis are belong to Paul.

JB's Topps Blog - His centerpieces are the cards that finish his sets, and I feel your pain. For the record, the order I got the links is the order they are put on. Sorry bud.

Sports Card Info - Andrew's piece is a Willie Stargell ball, and ill tell you, I have a soft spot for personalized autos. I long for them, Andrew has them.

Chuck's Used Cards - Another prewar card, but this one is a biggie, a Ty Cobb T205. I am quite jealous despite the poor condition. Wow.

Saints of the Cheap Seats - This post is about something that I have myself, memories passed down from father to son. Danny's father passed down his auto book from the WWII era, and I must say I am thoroughly impressed.

Superfractor - I know that on the podcast he has mentioned all the nice Ortiz cards he has, but this one is ridiculous. Check out the post and see what an Ortiz centerpiece should look like.

Voice of the Collector - I dont think I have seen a nicer collection of amazing RC cards as in this post. The Ripken and the Ryan are amazing enough just to check this out.

Night Owl Cards - 1 post, 1 of the most colorful sets ever produced. He did trade a Hank Aaron for a Ron Cey, but at least, he was happy. I guess thats all that matters.

Sports. Cards. Life. - Still one of the better titled blogs of late, Paul talks about future conquests for a centerpiece as he has just started back into things. I hope he has a deep checkbook for those!

Garvey Cey Russel Lopes - GCRL talks about his Jim Lefebver card, and I spent like 10 minutes trying to pronounce the last name.

Dinged Corners - Lucy loves her Japanese Pokemon card, and her David Wright, "because." I cant argue with that. Although the lunchboxes from Patricia are really cool, I couldnt help but laugh at how awesome the thought processes of a child are.

Wax Heaven - Mario's site started out as Canseco Completist, he showcases the card that got him back into the game. Im sure we are all happy he found it.

Nachos Grande - A Reds card from dad is more than enough to spark a collection, Im glad a lot of people focused on treasured cards that may not be the most expensive ones they have. I agree with the post here, Dad is a great person to thank.

Need Mo Morneau - Dusty has a pic with Ryne Sandberg and I am in awe of people who manage to produce the pic that the auto came from. I almost like the pics better than the autos themselves. The auto he got from Ryne is nice, but the pic is my favorite.

BoxBusters - Game 4 ticket stubs are good in my book if you are a Cards fan, especially because there is nothing better than a WS won at home.

White Sox Cards - Steve still has the card from the first pack he opened, that is truly impressive, even if it is Alfredo Griffin. Also, I think this is the second post with that card in it that has been featured in a Bat Around? Are we starting a trend here?

Cardboard Junkie - Dayf has a simply awe inspiring Braves collection, and his vintage portion seems to be the best I have seen in a while. If you are cool with losing 20 minutes in gazing upon his cards, please click. You will be sucked in, I warn you, so devote proper time.

Trader's Cracks - Ryan has to have one of the biggest oddball Joe Carter cards out there. Its amazing that the card he focused on came out of a cereal box. Amazing.

Old School Breaks - The story behind this Hank Aaron card is awesome, please do yourself a favor and check it out. Like I said before, the connection between dad and son in this hobby is always underappreciated by the people who dont get what it means to be a collector.

Green Monster - Talk about a monster from Green Monster. That Ted Williams card is ridiculously sweet, and I have a feeling the rest of his Sawks collection is similar in awesomeness.

Thoughts and Sox - This post documents a really, really nice collection, and of course, more Ted Williams. I am so jealous as this collection displays some real doozies. Plus the Roe glove? Awesome.

Cardboard Addiction - Outside the box is the name of the game here, but it is cool that he has cards of the kids. I am thinking that would be something cool to give out at the first birthday. At least you have something embarassing to show at their graduation party.

Blue Heaven - What I would give to have been at that show. Koufax, Campy and company? I would give an arm and a leg. The picture that was signed is quite amazing too. Really cool story here.

Hawk to the Hall - Charlie talks about meeting Andre Dawson (naturally) and getting the centerpiece of his collection signed in person

Free Andy LaRoche - This posts talks about the collection as a centerpiece, and I agree on some parts. My IP and TTM auto collection itself is a centerpiece of sorts, so this falls in with the truth in my mind.

I Am Joe Collector - Wow, a whole wonderbread box filled with boxed sets, that rocks in so many ways. Add in the "YOU CRASH THE GAME" redemption set, and you get a winner.

Houston Card Collector - This post presents something that a lot of us go through when writing these posts. Is my centerpiece the most valuable card in my collection or is it the one that means the most. It may be both.

Acheiver Card Blog - Funny post. Tragically Motherscratcher died yesterday writing this post on his computer. May he rest in peace. Dibs on his blog!

Fielder's Choice - I thought it would be only fitting to end the second Bat Around with our host for next month. Dave has some pretty awesome pieces in his Mattingly and Longo collections, so be sure to see this post.

Wow, that was a blast and a half. Ill say this, after going through the order in two consecutive innings, we must be up 100 runs. I am still pissed that Padrographs missed the sign on the squeeze bunt in the second inning, though. Dammit, keep your head in the game!

Thanks again for participating, this is really a massive thing to get everyone together on one topic. We have shown, now, for the second time that the card blogs are the number one info source in the industry, not some magazine of dorks in Texas. See, I had to get one Beckett shot in there!

Same Bat Time next month, but different Bat Channel. Mark your calendars.

Wow, Now Is The Time To Order Boxes

First off, let me say, I am not receiving anything free for posting this. Secondly, it shouldnt matter, because this is great shit.

For those of you wax busters out there, you know that we arent the only ones struggling in the economy these days. Not only do the shops feel it due to a retail sales dip during christmas time, but they also give you ways to save that would never ever be available before. This carries into both Blowout Cards and DACardworld as both are offering some pretty awesome deals for the holidays.

First off, you can get free shipping from both sites, pretty much automatically. That is huge when they normally charge 9 bucks and above to ship your shit to you. Secondly, they are both having holiday sales that put normal box prices to shame. With DA, you can get free stuff with just about any order, all the way up to really nice boxes and packs with orders over $1000 dollars. Buy $50-$1000 bucks worth of any sport at drastically reduced prices and you will get a slew of boxes and packs to go with it.

At Blowout, they are offering amazing prices on a lot of sweet boxes, like Legendary Cuts, Leaf Limited, Chrome Baseball and FB, and about 100 others. Its worth taking a look, I bought a few things for myself at both stores, and I am pretty happy with my purchases.

If DA and Blowout are reading this and want to give us some boxes to break (or not break) and send out to the readers, I guess I can get into the holiday spirit and have some nice giveaways just this once, mainly since the manufacturers are really not involved in this.

The Inaugural Blog Bat Around

Gents, this type of gathering of the minds has never really been attempted in our line of Blogging, and thanks to everyone, I definitely consider it a success. Blogs have always been the defacto source of opinion and commentary on the net, and just recently have they caught on with sports cards. Im happy they have.

When I first saw this idea on some of the other blogs I frequent, I was intrigued to get it going for the sports card community, mainly because its very tough to find eloquent and insightful commentary on a single topic without tons of "ur a homo" and "stop being an idiot" posts that you would get with the spurts of topics on a message board.

Also, with an open forum of commentary, we tend to get a lot of different perspectives from people who we may not encounter very often. Mario, Dayf and I may get tons of hits every day (Mario in particular), but for everyone of us, there are 10 who dont. Hopefully they will finally have a "mainstream" outlet here and on the future hosts of this tribal council.

Without further adieu, I will get on to the posts themselves. For those of you who have submitted, thank you, for those of you still working, please email me to get your link added as soon as possible. Remember, this is not a contest, and there is no winner, just a way to hear more voices in the fray. Please do your best to visit every link, I guarantee you it will be worth your while. I have not organized the links at any order, so please do not send me hate mail that yours is at the bottom, I just threw it together. Thanks, and lets begin.

Sports Cards Uncensored - Im not going to paraphrase my own post. Check out the others.

The Easy Life - Steve is a set collector who likes to build his babies from the packs he buys at local retail outlets, he has written a pretty good piece, and I would say I have to applaud him for sticking with it, mainly because of how difficult it is to build a set the way he does.

White Sox Cards - Most of you know this blog because he is a great promoter, but also because he has amassed a huge collection of a team that he loves. Check out his post to get a glimpse into the way that a White Sox collector can actually live with himself (just kidding, Twins still rule!).

Skating in Sand - Mr. Awkward Moment describes a lot of what new collectors go through when they come to/come back to the hobby, or what he likes to call "Overwhelmed." I think that is a perfect way to look at it.

Dinged Corners - Patricia has an awesome and unique blog and has an even more unique tag she has used for her habits: National Collector. Her, lucy and company have some really cool examples of their Asian player collection, Im sure that everyone will enjoy their explanation of a guy known for using a hankercheif on the mound. Weird in a cool way.


West Virginia Cards - Billy Suter talks about being a small town collector in his post, and I think that is a pretty tough existence in this hobby. Without a shop near him, its cool to see he has built up a gigantic 28K+ collection.

Paul's Random Stuff - Paul is a mets collector and an autograph collector, and I think he crosses over two spots that a lot of us are in, mainly collecting actual autographs and collecting one specific team, and then combining that into a nice collection. Its been a long time since the amazins and I feel his pain.

Cougar Cards - This post details one of the toughest types of collectors out there, someone who collects a college, rather than a certain pro team or pro player. What this means is a lot of prospecting and a lot of cross sport collecting. I give him props for pulling that off as well as he has.

Waxaholic - Captain Canuck is a newer type of set collector that has developed over the last few years, or the guy who gets tired with all the crap they put in a set to make sure that its an accomplishment when you are done. He is trying to live a non short print life in a short print world, good luck buddy.


Hawk to the Hall - Charlie has disappeared for a while, but comes back strong with his post on being a player collector of a retired star and being a team collector. Hopefully after this post, he can come back full strength.

Night Owl Cards - Night Owl is also a set collector and I got the anti-SP whiff from him too, he built his love off of Lou Thornton, and im sure Sweet Lou (I dont care if he isnt sweet, all Lou's are forever "Sweet Lous" to me), is proud. Night Owl is a guy I would love to sit down with and talk shop because he uses cards as a way to get in deep with the game. Learning is always key, especially in baseball.

Voice of the Collector - Two words: MAN CAVE. Awesome. Rob is a player collector with two kids, and Im sure a lot of you out there are in a similar position. He has to make choices that many make, and it was cool to see what his decisions have led to.

The Nennth Inning - This blog is really well designed and didnt hurt my eyes. Keep that in mind people. Either way, he is a player and team collector, and I know he has recently come into some money now that Lincecum has become Captain Firetosser for the NL. I identify with him quite a bit because my habits of collecting Twins and Mauer are similar to his with the Giants and Lincecum and company.

Need Mo' Morneau - The Morneau Monster needs more collectors and I was happy to see this blog come about. As the title of the blog suggests, he is not just a player collector, but a unique one. He is one of the collectors that collects a player that is chosen because he is a beast rather than because he is from the guy's hometown team. I was interested to read this.

Cardboard Addiction - Joe is something I thought I would see more of, but really didnt. He is more of a general collector with a tinge of Red Sox nation running through his blood. I think he has taken on a tough task in trying to put together the 52 Topps Set with the Mantle, but I wish him the best of luck.

Tribe Cards - Another central division rival, another awesome post. We all know he is a team collector first and foremost, but damn, he is also pretty damn organized. That was cool to see, we definitely need more shelf pictures around the sphere. I know there are some crazy people out there when designing their display.

The Fleer Sticker Project - Im not really sure how to describe this post, but he collects comics and therefore he is cool in my book. I want to say that oddballs are the focus here, but really there is much more that I cant really put into better words than he did. I really like the Wacky Package thing though, very cool.

BoxBusters - Team collecting is the name of the game, and he was inspired by one of the best to start collecting cardinals. This site is very nicely put together, so please check out the cool posts on team collecting, and of course, box busting.

Sports. Cards. Life. - Paul is the chief graphic designer for SCU and he finally started up his own blog. He posts about being quality over quantity collector just like myself, and I think its pretty cool that people are using this topic as a jumping off point for their blog's beginnings.

Garvey Cey Russell Lopes - My man GCRL has documented his life as a collector of Steve Garvey, the Dodgers, and more specifically the infield of the Dodger team he grew up with. He has explained something that I love, mainly that he aint gonna be givin up any time soon, and that is awesome.

Stats On The Back - mmosley goes over his collection in a way that was very easy to read. He first describes what he was and then what he is, and even goes into a list of what he collects. He gives himself a C+, I think that is modest.

Green Monster - Star is a man who collects sets and dabbles in team collecting, and I think he does a very good job of laying out his habits. I think he is part of a good chunk of the blogosphere that does the same thing, and I am starting to wonder why the manufacturers dont cater to them more often if there are this many. Good post.

Cardboard Junkie - Dayf labels his post as 'silliness' and I dont really know what else to say. He has been around longer than most, and is a self proclaimed collector of everything there is, so I have to give it up for that. He also posts some weird dragon images, and other stuff, so yeah, wow on this one.


Achiever Card Blog - Motherscratcher and his little urban achievers have a post about turning into a set collector after originally being a second worlder. He talks about a dilemma that a lot of people have with cleaning out old cards, I know my dad had to do the same thing.

MLB Collector - SBJ is a set collector with a death wish - just messing with you - he busts blaster and boxes trying to build sets of stuff he likes. Another Mets fan too, I found that interesting that he was. What happens when you mix a blaster with a Pedro game used? A trip to target for underoos and another blaster. Thats what.

Fielders Choice - Dave has been a favorite blogger of mine for a while, mainly because he is one of the only second and first worlders out there. As he puts it, he loves Heritage and Goudey, but also Ballpark Collection and Sweet Spot. Good read here, found out some stuff I didnt know.

Treasure Never Buried - JV is known for being a very good writer and I agree. He says he doesnt know what type of collector he is because he collects too many different types of things, all tied to memories from his life. I say he is a memory lane collector, and its really cool to read about.

Trader's Cracks - Ryan is one of the only non sport collectors in the Bat Around, and although he isnt exclusively non sport, he has a pretty good collection of awesome stuff. If you dont have an A-Team card, you arent cool.

Olagato House - Nichole collects all sorts of paper related stuff, and after reading this, Im not sure what kind of card collector is described in this post but I do know that a pretty avid collector is the name of the game here. I think its pretty cool what this blog is all about.

Padrographs - Rod collects everything Padres including a busty collection of in person style and TTM autos. He even hints at an A-Z type collection, and that is really an awesome feat. I like reading about people who get in on the IP/TTM auto stuff because its something we can all have fun with, and we all appreciate.

Thoughts and Sox - Another sawks team collector, and I gotta say, it even looks like a region collector too because it seems like he has a big collection of everything New England. Its always cool to see the way people get into this biz, and I guess we can all thank different people for it. I liked his story, check it out.

Awesomely Bad Wax - Mike's site is the place to go for TTM autos and prospect reports and his post is great. I dont have enough time to post a paragraph on it, so go check it out.

Bdj610's Topps Card Blog - its cool that Jay Bee gets to close this beast out for now, because he is the only "brand collector" in this thing. I loved reading about how he got into things, and man 42,072 is quite robust and quite down to the single! Wow. Be sure to go read this and finish up your Bat Around.

I think thats about it, and I must say it was a marathon of awesomosity. You guys came through bigger than I ever thought possible, and what we have is a great thing here. I would also like to thank all of you who gave me a new site to read, I have to admit, I hadnt been to every blog on this list. After, however, I wish I had.

There were so many responses, Im sure I missed at least one. If I did, please let me know.

Who's up for hosting next? Haha.

Census Results - Thank You To All Who Participated

On Friday, I wrote up a survey because I wanted to gauge a few questions I had about the makeup of the reader base of this site. I got exactly what I wanted, though the scale wasn’t as big as I wanted. Survey monkey only allowed 100 responders to each survey, with 10 questions per time, so it was a little tougher to do the census the way I had envisioned it. Ill list my possible errors below, but lets go over the results question by question (This will be a long post).

For pictures, click to enlarge.

Results



The first question was a qualifying question, just seeing how big the collections were of people that read the site. I imagined a pretty big response for the biggest answer, which happened, and I think it says a lot about the collectors today. Im not going to throw the quality versus quantity argument out there, but I think that comes into play. We are guys, and sometimes we just want the biggest, not the best. However, I do think that it shows how much we have invested in our collections, so that is very refreshing and daunting at the same time. Infer what you would like, I am proud of your size.



The second question was another qualifying question, and I was surprised to see how many people were collecting 4 sports or more. That’s interesting, to say the least. I expected 1 and 2 to be the biggest thing, but the combined last two were just as much. I think this is very good because it means more people will be interested in posts about the stuff that I thought was worthless.



As for which sports are actually collected, Baseball was an overwhelming favorite, no surprise there. I think it also says a lot about what the rest of the survey tested, as many baseball collectors seem to fall into a reletively easy pattern to discern. Ill get to that. Surprise: 23 hockey collectors, 25 Basketball collectors, ha!

The money question is one that many readers have asked me personally, and I wanted to see what the spending habits were for the people that frequent this site. Im sure many of you often think, "Am I spending too much?" and here is your answer. Im not shocked to see that the higher end of the spectrum is a favorite of this second world blog you are reading, but I think that the overwhelming amount of collectors don’t actually spend that much per month. That’s why the base brands are so popular. You get the cards, and that’s it, its expected to not get anything. For that I say, why waste the money? Save up and buy something worthwhile.

The next question deals with where our collecting habits fall. I think the supermajority of bloggers are first worlders, and I am not shocked to see the number one answer. Though, with a huge amount of baseball collectors on this site, sets should be the collection of choice. Secondly, I think being a player collector is actually more prevelant in the normal hobby sliver of people because that is a main reason people join the hobby, "I like this player and I want an autograph I can trust, hmm, he has other cards too?" That’s how I got hooked.

Question 6 of part one was the most surprising question on the first half for me. 29 people said that when given the choice, their favorite type of card is base. It was the top response. Wow. Granted, more Baseball collectors would make this a more common answer, but to be at the top? That’s nuts. Personally I hate base cards, I have left them at the shop for kids up until I saw how many of you keep them to give away to the other bloggers. I cant imagine keeping a bunch of non rookie base cards in a box, taking up space in my closet, let alone marking them as my favorite. Wow indeed. Autos/Auto Jerseys were a platoon that I should not have split, but they are combined to be the favorite.

Next we have the manufacturer's ratings, which originally were designed as much more in depth. Survey monkey had other ideas, and this was the result. I think the results speak for themselves, and I think they are correct.

>The last question on part one was a SCU specific question, and I think its pretty much how I feel. 84% of the readers come to the site to read a rant or look for a cause. They like the other features, but I think deep down, they like reading the rants. The other percentage of the people hate me, hate this site, and just want to read the blog to fume. Good for them.

As we start part two, I am obliged to say that the number of you who do most of your wax shopping at target and walmart seriously need to reconsider your idea of spending money wisely. Even if you are a set collector, its time to buy from the right people. Retailers like Target and Walmart are NOT the right people. Exercize patience and order from online or ebay, or go to the local shop and support them. It will be a better investment in your collection, and a better use of your money. As for the results, the local shop route and blowout/DA route was the most popular, but I was still angry to see that 29 percent still buy retail, or as I put it, putting your money in a blender and hitting "puree."

Question two was a recent hot topic, and I think this is pretty definitive in saying that the majority of us either support the manufacturer sponsors, or really don’t give a shit. Interesting.

Should manufacturers have blogs? I say yes as long as they are not advertisements for crap. I don’t want to read about you hauking your shit, but I do want to get an inside look at how things work. I think most will agree.

Should Beckett have a blog? The answer should be no, but people like it. Eric was a nice guy, ill give him that. Im not saying anything else.

The next question was SCU specific, and its nice to see that 88 percent of the people who took the survey either don’t like the video breaks (correct answer) or don’t watch them (also fine). To the 12 percent of the people who do like them, I think it could be some of the things ill talk about below.

Question 6 was SCU specific as well, and I think I phrased it wrong. Beckett itself is, whether I like it or not, still relevant in the hobby. Their grading business, not service, is a major part of things, despite not being used in any important major auctions or hobby centric ways, and they do still have a reader base for the magazine. So the reality is that although their box breaks and price guide are the bane of this hobby, their overall presence is still relevant, much to my chagrin. Book value is beyond idiotic, but I think people are still interested in what they have to say - stupidly.

The next one was just a fun question to see what people thought. I gave them the choice of multiple answers, as to not skew the results too much. I will disregard the fact that my blog was the most identifiable with, because I was the one who created the survey, but you can judge for yourself on the rest. I am sorry to those I forgot, I did this quickly.

Box break info from blogs was cool to see on the next question, but I was more surprised to see that YouTube was the third answer! Wow, the winds of change are in the air. Maybe people are as annoyed as I am.

The book value question was expected, as only 12 percent still use Beckett if they read the blogs. For non blog readers I assume its more 50/50. Even though error is present, I think the percentage of idiots who still use book value is going down. Keep that in mind, douchebags.

The last question speaks for itself.

Reasons For Error

There is an amount of intrinsic error in this, as I think there are some obvious problems with the way this survey was collected.

First and most importantly, I think due to the annonymity, its easy to not take this seriously, or use it as a way to joke around. As anonymous, I would be more inclined to take this survey and give all the answers I know you wouldn’t want me to give just so you cant make your point. I don’t think that a high percentage of people did this, but it is a possibility.

I also think there is error in this being hosted by me instead of as a joint venture in the blogosphere. My readers are more likely to give answers I agree with. That’s expected. Next time, we should have a 'shpere-wide survey that we can all create.

Lastly, I think that some people took this survey with a vested interest in answering against public perception. I know that the manufacturers read this blog, and I know that Beckett reads this blog. That would skew results if more than a few of them took the survey.

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In terms of the general process, thank you to everyone who took the survey. Its cool to see that we can get 100 responses in less than 3 days.

Special Thanks to Bill

Bill was nice enough to send me over a huge lot of Vikings and Twins cards for nothing, and I really appreciate the thought. If and when I get some Saints, ill send em your way.

Guys, I know you are some of the most generous people out there, but I feel really guilty accepting this stuff without things to send back. I know you are just doing what you normally do, but please accept my sincerest apologies when I dont have anything to send your way.

I have started to save my base cards more now for these situations, but up until about a month ago I just left the cards for the kids at the shop. I dont bust much, but when I do, Ill be sure to send what I can.

Thanks again to Bill.

Exclusive Masterpieces Football Preview

Here are copies of the paintings used to create the beautiful base cards that are coming in Upper Deck's Masterpieces Football. Gregg was kind enough to send over some of the cross generational pictures they are featuring, and I must say, they are beautiful works of art. Bravo on these.

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

My favorites are the Tarkenton/Peterson one, the Sanders/Swann one, and the Manning Unitas one. Also, its funny to see Montana with hair like a 70s porn star. DYN-O-MITE.

My Morning of Rocking Out With Gregg Kohn of Upper Deck

Well, it looks like SCU is growing by leaps and bounds, and I am glad that we are reaching as many people as we do. I have known for a while that manufacturers and other associated people read this blog and it pleased me when Gregg Kohn, the Football Brand Manager at Upper Deck, stepped up and offered himself up as a guinea pig for my fledgling interview skills. It didn’t work out originally as our schedules didn’t coordinate, but we have kept trying, and it finally happened this morning. Ill tell you guys, I learned more in my 45 minutes of speaking with him, than I thought I could ever learn about this industry. He answered all my questions with the utmost honesty, and wasn’t afraid to put it in language that I use every day. With that, I wanted to first express my uptmost thanks for taking the time to speak with a nobody like myself. Thanks to Gregg, I do have some really cool info about the upcoming year, and some really interesting stuff about the process he goes through with each product.

First I wanted to start with the product I just stuck at the top of my list of things newbies should bust. SP Authentic is a favorite of many collectors, including myself, and Gregg had some awesome stuff to go over. First off, the coveted RC patches are no longer going to be seeded at 6 per case, but rather now at 8 per case. There will be a guaranteed amount of A listers and top RCs in every case again - something I think is beyond awesome - and he promised the cards look better than they ever have. He also clued me in to some new innovations that I think could be the best thing about this product. In those 4 boxes you don’t get the RC Patch auto you have a chance at a signed By The Letter like last year, but also a few new things. The first is retro RC Patch autos of people like Favre, Tomlinson, and others who didn’t have the chance to get a SP Authentic Patch auto. These will be ALL on card and should be ridiculously awesome. You will also have the chance at RC Leatherheads which include cards of the 2008 class that include pieces of old school leather helmets they wore during the RC premiere - again ALL on card sigs(or maybe on helmet?). The product should be about the same price point, so that is all really cool. Gregg said he would send some pics, so I am praying he does.

Secondly, I wanted to correct a mistake I made with Ultimate 2008, where I said they were re-inserting the 1997 Legends series that everyone loved. Its basically the "A Piece Of History" 500 HR club set from baseball, in that it is the most popularly collected set among Footballers, and just like the extension of the APOH set, they are actually extending this set to include players from recent years. They will be in the same format, all ON CARD, and should be awesome. I can still hope for buybacks of the old set, but this is good too.

He also talked about how Ultimate is changing to a new format with a focus on getting collectors more cards that rock, and I think it is awesome. The whole set features hard signed cards and is one of the 6-7 sets that UD will put out this year featuring on card stuff. He said its actually better to get on card sigs because they don’t have to pay someone to affix the stickers, they don’t look as bad, and they don’t end up with a backlog of 2004 stickers in the warehouse like I believe Topps has. Bravo to UD for that.

With Exquisite this year, they are not holding back, which is great. They are including 6 cards with all new designs for each subset - THANK YOU!! - and have even added a bonus for collectors who buy it. In each box, there will be a separate one card pack, similar to UD Black that will contain an "Exquisite Gold" card autograph. It will be either an auto or auto memorabilia, and should be ridiculously cool. It will have exclusive 1/1 content, and I think this could be huge. He also mentioned they have had Tiger Woods exclusively sign 5 patch cards, and as you can imagine they may be some of the most expensive cards ever produced.

He also mentioned revamps of SP Rookie Threads and SP Rookie Edition to include some new stuff that seemed really cool, hopefully he wont disappoint. At least we wont get weird gold and gray letters of McFadden and Ryan like we did last year, as this year they are all college team themed. He said it was tough to anticipate letters to build for the rookies because you don’t know what team they are on when you build them. They went with college because it ties the card to the player, and I think that is a good thing.

Moving on from the new releases, we talked about shifts in the industry, and him being a former shop owner, he showed a lot in his expansive knowledge of what is going on at our level. We discussed at length that the costs of getting sigs on the cards going up because a lot of players are realizing that in the only sport with 3 competing brands, they can play each company against the other. He even mentioned that Ahmad Rashad wanted 50 bucks a card, which I had to laugh at. He talked about catering more products to the shop people because with the state of the economy, its tougher to get a new high-end release out without hurting the people who sell it. I think this will mean more affordability for the collector in a trickle down fashion, and I was happy to hear that they consider each part of the equation. If stores have to dump a product because it is too expensive to sell, we lose in the long run. I guess that’s why Icons is so popular.

As Upper Deck collectors, we had a long string of years where the release calendar was ever changing. He mentioned that is why DLP has such success and failure at the same time, mainly because everyone knew what to expect. He said that now they have a better idea of success rate, they can head in that direction while still maintaining a lot of creativity. He said that one of the possible new products for next year will be Philidelphia edition, which takes a page from the Goudey sets in baseball. He didn’t have much, other than the product would have buybacks from the original sets.

I brought up a lot of how I felt about certain things, like non-autoed manufactured letters, and he had an interesting perspective. He said that rather than throwing more crap jerseys in a box, they thought they would include the letters as a way to add a little more value - which they did in Icons. He also said they were handcuffed by a lot of the celebrities backing out at the last minute, which is understandable.

We discussed a lot of the bad things like Chirography and Ultimate of last year, and he was definitely not afraid to admit his mistakes. That was more than refreshing, and he promised to make sure the quality of the products would be much more thought out. He said it was tough to imagine a street reception, and that’s why they are trying to stay away from needlessly high end products like Chirography was last year. Mucho bueno on that front.

The last thing we talked about was the Peterson patch I posted on a week or so ago. He said he wanted to create an exquisite database of the patches, but the cards and the people who would do that are in different parts of the country. They fly down to Texas to pack every card by hand, and he expressed they might start taking pictures of the patches they think might be questioned. He said that as far as he is concerned, the patch RCs will be much more likely to impress, and that they will do their best to protect the collector. He would put a design over the patches to prevent faking, but he said there would be more complaints about that than the actual douchebags who take advantage, so he decided against it. I agree.

I wish I could have you guys listen to the whole conversation, because it was so fucking awesome to have the kind of talk from a higher up I got from Gregg, and I must say I was thoroughly impressed with the stuff they were coming out with. If you guys have questions about some of the things I mentioned, feel free to email me as you like.

Ill say this, after speaking with Gregg, I am MUCH more likely to buy a UD product now that he has explained the blood sweat and tears that goes into every product they put out. I know he is connected to the hobby base level more than I expected, and he is beyond a nice guy. Thanks again for the time!

Patch Faking Reaches EPIC Proportions (UPDATE)

One of the hot topics around the water cooler is that there have been two Viking head logo All Day Exquisite Autos auctioned off in the last few weeks. One is completely fake, and one, according to Gregg Kohn*, is real.

I emailed Gregg about the two and he said that the letter included in this auction, is indeed from him, and the card is indeed real. That is good to hear. It also gives us the information that there is only ONE Peterson Viking logo patch and it is NOT numbered 47/99.

Thank you to Gregg for the quick response.

* Gregg is the Football Guru over at UD, he is the head cheese.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

The Real Focus Of This Day

Today is one of those days you never forget. I was walking distance from the Pentagon when it all went down, so it is just as vivid to me as anyone. But rather than write some mock patriotic post about how we should never forget what happened, I would rather let this letter speak to what the true focus of this day should be.

Dear Gellman,

I am actually writing you from my base in Iraq, where Im sure you never expected to be reaching with your blog (there are collectors here, too). Today is pretty weird around here, as you can imagine all the people with ties to the WTC and the Pentagon. One of the guys in my unit actually had a family member on flight 93, so this day is always tough for him. Either way, I wanted to write this email to you so that you can have something worthwhile to post today. I have spent most of the day reading a bunch of crap on the news sites and watching some streaming video of newscasts from back home. None of them seem to focus on the outcome of what happened this day, they only focus on the day itself. Please tell your readers to think of the troops who are giving their lives, giving the youth of their children, and giving everything to their country to fight the war that stemmed from this awful day. That should be the focus. Focus on my best friend here who has three kids and mother who may not see 2009. He is here, fighting. Focus on a woman I patrol with, who has a brother she left behind with a bunch of issues. She is here fighting. These people need your prayers, I need your prayers. But most of all, tell your readers to focus on living the lives we die everyday to defend.

Thank you very much,
Robert
US Army

Robert, good luck, our thoughts are with you and your family.

How Do You Feel About It?

Every so often, I get cool emails from readers with interesting points. I want to highlight this one, because he was nice and made some great points:

Gellman,

Thank you so much for organizing the group breaks over the last few weeks. They are really cool to see in addition to the ones I see on YouTube. A lot of these products only get busted around the time they are released, so its cool to revisit the ones like NT and Exquisite BB/FB. I would like to join, but unfortunately my funds are limited. Its for a good reason, as my wife just had a baby, so we are spending most of our cash there.

Your blog is unbelievable though, I read it most days before the news. Says a lot dont it? I would read a lot of the other hobby stuff online, but one can only take so many posts on retail blasters and retail packs. Most of the time I just ignore them, and come here for everything. Thank you for focusing on the "second world" as you put it, because the "first world" is more than boring.

Keep up the good work,
Rick [Last Name Omitted For Privacy]

Well guys, I do agree with a lot of what Rick here says. Some products just dont get busted after release. With that, do you guys like the group breaks and want to see more? Are there certain other products you want us to break? Im sure Holy Hitter would love to hear suggestions.

Also, congrats on the rugrat, buddy. Best of luck to you and your new addition.

Why We Do What We Do

I got in to work today very flustered and not happy. We have a new dog on the way and things are going to get PRETTY crazy. I sat down and started reading through the tons of emails I had, most of them telling me that bills were coming as well as our new addition. Great.

Then I get to this email from Matt, who is a photographer living in Baton Rouge. Obviously, its been a really tough few weeks for that area, and the area Matt's home was no stranger to the effects of the Hurricane. Anyways, here is what he had to say:

Hey man,

I just wanted to send you a tremendous thank you for the blog that you have. I live in Baton Rouge, LA, and we were hit very very hard by hurricane Gustav. I am going on 5 days without electricity and needless to say, it's very very hot. All of the houses around mine were crushed by trees, thankfully except for mine. The entire city is in chaos it seems. We waited an hour yesterday just to get some gas, and some people are waiting for 3-4 hours just to get food at grocery stores. Apparently this isnt being shown on tv, but it's happening. I don't know when we will get power again. This is my first access to electricity in a week. The only connection I have with the outside world, pretty much, is my iphone. It doesnt load very fast, so I am limited to pretty much two sites. The news and your blog. The only thing that I have to look forward to, throughout each day, is reading the updates that you have on here. I have no way of purchasing cards or going to the local card shop to hangout right now. I don't even know if the card shop is still standing. But for 15 minutes a day, I get to read about the hobby that I love and in a humorous way, that is the way you write. I don't want to say that a baseball card blog is keeping me going right now, but it sure as hell is helping me keep my sanity. You are the man, and I appreciate your site so much more now. Thank you for keeping up with it the way you do. You work is not going unnoticed.

Thanks so much,

Matt Lange
www.mattlange.com

Matt, thank you for making my day, and for sure making my seven months since I started writing here. You never think you make a difference with an insignificant blog that rants about card collecting, but emails like this and others I have received show me that maybe SCU isnt that insignificant.

Either way, since Matt hasnt been able to get in on any of the action going on, I am going to put him in the FB Exquisite Break as a pick-me-up from the horror that has probably made Baton Rouge look like a warzone.

Good luck to you man, our prayers are with you...

The Community Aspect Of The Hobby

Message boards: we all use them, we all peruse them, but which is the one you want to focus on? Personally I have checked out a number of boards and I have tried to get involved in a lot of them, but not all were equal in my eyes. We all have our preferences, I know I do, so I thought I might take a (partially) objective look at things. Ill add to this list if your board isnt on here, but be aware, I will give my honest opinion.

Idiot Bomb Beckett Message Boards

It used to be a place where everyone went for up to date info. It used to be a place where you could find a topic, and a fight on that topic, at any point during the day. I posted on the BMB for about a year until I was banned for linking to this site, yes, the mods are that tight assed. So besides the obvious minus of being completely monitored and censored, the boards are filled with people who have come to call the "idiot conglomerate." They post stuff that you curse for wasting your time, and the majority of the people on the boards don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground. Yet, there are a few people who I know are quite knowlegable, and were quite interested to hear the other side of things that the sheep over there refused to listen to. Most of those people are now readers of this site. There were also a number of people who refrained from the normal idiot battle cries of mojo and an abundant and moronic use of exclamation points, they were okay in my book. Now, despite all of this crap, there was a good amount of info on the site, ONLY due to the number of people who were posting. Box breaks were posted more frequently and it was very easy to find out what products to bust and which to stay away from. You could be assured that at least one box of every product would be posted. For that fact only, it was nice to have the boards around. Beckett, being the complete douchebags that they are, ripped that all away, however. Read about it a few posts down. Right now, if it were up to me, don’t waste your time with this crapfest.

Trading Card Central

This forum is the most MOJO infested place I have ever seen. If it doesn’t pop up at least twice in your thread, you can bet something is up. However, despite that, the people on the board are very, very nice people. They may fit right in with my former definition of JCs, but unlike JCs they are more interested in the collecting than the business side of things. I really like this board because it is easy to navigate, and one always feels welcome there. Trading on the board can be tough as there really arent the sheer number of people on there as other boards, but their feedback system makes Beckett look like they are in the stone age. I would say this is a great place to get involved, if not only to meet some collectors who don’t let the money get to them.

Sports Card Forum

I just signed up here a few days ago, but I have been receiving links from them since the beginning. The forums are broken down about five times per sport, which can be annoying, and I still have no idea what "card cash" is. Other than that, this site has become a Beckett refugee camp, although there were a lot of people to start. Its not a bad place, the Mods don’t rule with an iron fist, and trading is pretty good. The best part is that they use iTrader for transactions just like a few other card forums out there, and that is the best form of feedback that has been created yet. They also transfer feeback from other sites, which is a great idea and made me want to get going and fast. I don’t think I am going to rack up a ton of posts at SCF, but I will continue to check up on what is going on over there. Not a bad site.

Blowout Cards Forums

I love these boards. LOVE THEM. Members are not afraid to tell people to shove it if they sound like idiots, and my two least favorite words in the hobby have been banned from use in their forum. The box break boards are great because people bust cases more often than individual boxes. The problem over there is that they arent updated much because not many people post. I encourage you to check this place out if you want box info. Other than that, there really isnt much substance to the forums.

Hobby Kings

I go on this site when I need info on Basketball stuff. It is basically a site for Basketball collectors, and more specifically Exquisite Basketball collectors. You can pretty much expect what goes on in their forums, but it’s a good spot for information, and the guys who run it are pretty cool.

The Bench Trading

If you want a good trading site, the Bench is it. The site is almost exclusively built for traders and you know that there will be someone who wants your stuff if you have something to get rid of. The problem is that no matter what kind of feedback you have on other forums, you have to send first for a set number of trades. This almost guarantees that you have to trade with a high feedback person if you want to feel secure until you have enough Bench Points to get out of that. The issue here is that this site is so focused on trading that non-trading members almost have no place in their forums.

There are other boards out there im sure, but these seem to be the most popular. I would say that each forum has their own merits, and its probably a good idea to check them out regardless of what I say. Hopefully one day, someone will create a board that focuses on not being idiots. That would be my new favorite place.

This Shouldnt Need to Happen

NFL players are basically the thugs of the sports world. Now, the NFL is getting on top of that, in almost comic fashion.

Personally, I wont collect a player if he is a douchebag off the field. I think Adam "Im a life stealer" Jones should be permanantly barred from playing again after his bullshit at a strip club. I surely wont collect Travis Henry, Cedric Benson or Brandon Marshall. I find it pretty disgusting that people continually get behind these guys considering they are some of the worst people on the planet. They have all the money in the world, yet they spend their time doing drugs and being premadonnas and gangbangers instead of focusing on the game. Seriously, im actually pretty glad that the NFL is the "no fun league" mainly because of what the players are capable of.

Its pretty sad that the Vikings are famous for the love boat scandal, and luckily, I never had a single Culpepper card that I had to throw away or sell after that. Fred Smoot was an asshole to start, so it didnt matter for him.

People like Cris Carter and other guys who are true role models are few and far between. All Day may be a top competitor on the field, but that doesnt mean he isnt a class act off the gridiron. He spends a lot of time in the community and is known for being a true all around good guy. Thank god.

Hopefully you guys dont waste your time on awful people, that would truly be a JC moment not worth forgiving.

For Your Approval...

Just wanted to give a link over to Sports Lizard's Rant again, if not only so you guys go check out what Adam McFarland has to say. He is a very eloquent writer, and doesnt hesitate to let loose on the people that need to be let loose on.

He just posted an article about Bloggers changing the face of the industry, and I agree with him 100%. Hopefully his oracle is right and we do have the power to change some of the problematic things that happen daily in this industry.

Also, make sure you check out the links I have posted on the side of the page, at least to see what other people, besides myself, have to say. I love that Mario at Wax Heaven has created the sports card blog directory, as it has given collectors an enormous list of people to get their information from who do not have "Beckett" in their job title.

Still Looking for a Basketball Guy

Since we have all welcomed Charlie into our love covenant, thank you to all who posted on his legendary cuts review. I will be looking forward to more baseball stuff now. Now all I need is a guy who is willing to put in their two cents into some basketball commentary.

Also, thanks to WildWill for taking interest, "applying", and showing that he has a fresh perspective. He will be posting on the NBA and MLB stuff. Welcome to him.

If other people have interest, please drop me an email at SportsCardsUncensored@gmail.com

Thanks!

Basketball and Baseball Are Not My Forte

Just throwing this out there:

If you have a better understanding of Basketball Cards or Baseball Cards than my basic knowledge, I would love to pass off that part you know best to you. I would give you access to post your own articles on here and you wouldnt have any requirements as to posts per day. Im just looking to add some breadth to this site. All I ask is that you are a relatively good writer and you have a lot of the same feelings that I do (meaning, I dont want to post conflicting viewpoints).

If you are interested, drop me an email with some info on you, and include a sample article if you want. Im not expecting too much interest in this, so it shouldnt be too competitve. Just seeing if anyone wants a place to vent.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I will give access to more than one person per sport if I feel necessary or if there is a lot of interest in this. I will expect a few things from each person, like product reviews, so expect that at least. Baseball is slow right now, but Basketball still has some good products to come out - MAINLY EXQUISITE. Also, if you even think of posting maildays or card of the day/week posts without my permission first, you will be axed/exiled immediately - start your own blog for that. I am looking to keep the general feel of the site as is, so be advised. Thats it, hopefully someone with some knowledge will sign on.

Charlie - see comments.

The site email is sportscardsuncensored@gmail.com in case you havent found out already.