Making Strides With The Resurrected Trade Conference

Most of you are probably not that familiar with the former Hawaii Trade Conference that was held every year for distributors, stores, and manufacturers to exchange notes. This conference's purpose was to bring together both sides of the spectrum to provide the brick and mortar with as much valuable information as possible, as well give them essential expertise from industry leaders to thrive in their ventures.

Although the conference is no longer in Hawaii, they are still putting together an impressive agenda in Las Vegas for the participants to attend. I was invited to the event by the coordinator, Kevin Isaacson, and it would have been a great learning experience as someone who is looking to expand my scope. However, because of the due date of my future son, I am unable to go, but would like to give them a great plug to get them some publicity.

Im sure you have seen the Donruss Black Boxes that sometimes make their way onto youtube and ebay. These boxes are promotional items that have become collector favorites due to the unique pieces you can attain, and Kevin is actually one of the originators of this concept. This is one of many opportunities for any person involved in the industry to gain an understanding of the products and concepts presented by each company, as well as other entities that are also attending to inform and learn.

One of the more interesting guests of the conference was just announced, and I am sad that I am missing it. Former Yankees PR Chief Marty Appel will be in attendance, someone who has invaluable insight into the hobby and the sports we love. The release says that, "Appel's presentation will draw on his 17 books, and appearances on ESPN, HBO, MLB, and YES Network, his friendships with Mantle, Berra, Martin, Rizzuto, Ford, Murcer, and Munson, his days as MLB spokesman under Bowie Kuhn, his consulting roles with 61* and The Bronx is Burning (in which he also appeared), and his memories of the original Yankee Stadium." Sounds amazing.

If you are interested in going as part of the industry side, please shoot me an email for more info on how to get in contact with Kevin.

Shameless Plug: ARPlatinum Is Raising Money For Cancer

If you are on Youtube and watching card videos, you are familiar with ARPlatinum. Although a controversial figure in the hobby, he has run more group breaks on the 'tube than many of the other users combined. He breaks everything from Baseball to Hockey, and his followers are loyal due to the amazing pulls he has had.

For these breaks of cases at a time, AR makes it very clear that due to the time to organize and cost of shipping, the people who join his breaks are not going receive unnumbered base cards with their teams. When you do as many breaks as he does, you get the point pretty quickly that base cards truly are a roadblock to getting things out on time. Instead, he is going to be auctioning them off to raise money for the V Foundation and Cancer Research. Yes, 100% of the auction's price will go to the foundation, and I think that its a great idea for useless cards.

Per AR, there are over 24,000 cards, many of them in the form of complete or nearly complete sets. These cards can surely benefit some people who are in dire straits, and I encourage you to bid early and often. The auction goes live tonight at 9pm, link will be posted on his Youtube channel.

If you have any questions on this auction or future breaks, email him at platinumempire@gmail.com or through his youtube account. He is a very nice guy, and will be happy to help you out.

EDIT: Auction can be found here.

Shameless Plug: The SCU Store Is Now Open

Taking a page from Fire Joe Morgan, I have put a few designs in the SCU store. There were minimal options, so I did my best.

Im not expecting to sell much, if any, it was mostly just for me and a few people who have asked for the shirts to wear around the shows and at shops (yes, I couldnt believe it either).

All this stuff will come from cafe press, and a percentage of the money will go to the site.

If you have image designing skills, and want to design a cool shirt, Ill put it in there. I may even be able to send you some stuff for your trouble.

Thanks!

Shameless Plug: The Fan Zone In Willmar, MN

I know I havent posted in the last few days, but actually it was for a good reason. I have been home to attend the wedding of one of my wife's family members, and for a small town, they have pretty much everything - including a card store.

A few months ago, John from the local radio station emailed me about some questions he had on a product bust they were planning at his local store. Funny enough, he was from Willmar, where my wife was actually from, and I remembered the store he was talking about. Its really got everything a small town collector would need to avoid the retail crap at Wal-Mart and Target, and the guys who work there are quite a good bunch to shoot the shit with.

I found some time to stop by today, hoping to talk to John, but unfortunately he wasnt there at the moment. Instead I stayed for a while, busted some packs and talked about the recent trends of the hobby with the guys at the store. I found out they read SCU daily, which was a surprise, so we talked for a while about how they stumbled on it.

I also managed to pull a nice James Laurinaitis jersey auto #5/25 out of my packs which was pleasant outcome to the disappearance of my money.

Most importantly, if you live in the Willmar area, go check out the store, I guarantee you it will be worth your time. They have a great selection of stuff and good prices, as well as some pretty sweet autographed bats and jerseys. Be sure to tell them I sent you, as I know I will be going back next time I am in town.

One Last Twitter Plug

Its been fun on Twitter the last couple of weeks, I really encourage you to join up. I really had a bunch of horrible things in my mind once the Twitter boom happened, mostly stemming from my annoyance with CNN and others using it as a news source. Either way, many of the people in the CBN have joined up, and its starting to be a second place to check for card news.

Click on the sidebar to follow me on Twitter or you can check out my page.

http://twitter.com/SCUncensored

Shameless Plug: Matt Lange Photography

Hey guys, I wanted to take a quick break and help plug somebody who has been following the blog from the very beginning, and is just a good guy in general. You may have seen his blog in the side bar from time to time, but Mr. Lange has decided to take his business to the next level and quit his fulltime job to go at photography 100%. Right now the main bread and butter of his site is portrait work, but his goal is to do commercial photography ideally for sports companies, schools, etc. Matt really does it all, from design and video editing to basic photography. He has also done some design work for this blog and has even helped with designs for Chris Cooley's blog.

Here is the coolest part: his photography has also been used by both Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His game work is awesome, I would love to see on some cards in the future, maybe the companies should check it out.

So if you get a chance, stop by his site, tell your friends about it and even add him on facebook if you want. He said he wants to eventually be doing work all over the country so a group of national readers couldn't hurt.

If you want to get in contact with him, go to MattLange.com or visit him on facebook here.

Shameless Plug: Extra Innings Poker Tourney

Mike and Mitch over at Extra Innings Sports Cards are having another poker tournament, and this time there are going to be some awesome prizes again.

If you guys are looking for some fun stuff to do next weekend, I would check it out. Texas Holdem for cards and autos? You cant beat that. 100 dollar buy in, and you get a box for your money with the chance of winning the prizes.

Last time, the winner got a Black box from the trade conference, and second place got an extra box of product with their entry.

Guys, this is a great way to come and hang out with like minded people and have a guys night. Mike and Mitch are VERY nice guys and really love talking shop. Even if you cant make it in on the 20th, stop by some other time if you are in the area. Tell them I sent you, the address is on the flyer below (click to enlarge).

Extra Innings Poker Tournament Info

I just got off the phone with Mike from Extra Innings Sports Cards, a new store in Culver City. They are hosting a Poker Tournament tonight at the shop around 9pm, I know I am beyond excited to be there.

They are going to have some pretty awesome prizes, including some food and drink for those who participate. Mike also said that the more people play, the more prizes they will have. Right now they are expecting around 15-20 people, so this is your chance.

Buy in will be 100 dollars towards a box, Panini products preferred, and Mike assured me that they have lots of Prestige for you to open if thats your game. Re-buys are obviously allowed.

Contact Extra Innings at 310-733-9942 for all the logistical details, store address is below.

13470 Washington Blvd
Culver City CA 90292
(Directly across from Costco and In n Out)

See you there tonight!

Beanie Wells Signing Tonight

For those of you who are interested, Cardinals RB Beanie Wells is going to be signing at the Beverly Hills Card Shop Tonight.

The event is starting around 5pm, show up to get free autographs, food and prizes per their site.

Here is the address:

1137 S. Robertson Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035
(310) 278-0887

Shameless Plug: Rookie Shoot Pre-Events

Guys, the Premiere is this saturday and a lot of the shops in the area are doing events with the players from the shoot. Here are plugs for 2 of them.

MF and his store Extra Innings Sports Cards in Culver City, CA are hosting an event with Hakeem Nicks, as well as a poker tournament for a chance to attend the shoot. Im going to be there hopefully, so let me know if you decide to go too. I would love to meet the readers and I am very excited for the event.

Here is the info:

EXTRA INNINGS SPORTS CARDS
Presents: Donruss/Panini • NFL Rookie Day
Thursday May 14
Free Autographs 5-6:30 PM - Hakeem Nicks
Followed by a Pack war/Raffle with Donruss/Panini
SPORTS CARDS – YU-GI-OH! - MAGIC
310-773-9942 • 13470 Washington Blvd. Ste. 100 in Culver City
www.EIsportssportscards.com
We will also have a poker tournament on Friday, with the winner receiving a pass to the rookie photo shoot party.

Also, over at the Beverly Hills Card Shop, they will be having a guest to sign autographs as well, thursday seems to be the day. Last year they had DeSean Jackson and Kevin O'Connell, I assume this year will be just as good. Visit www.californiasportscards.com for more info.

Shameless Plug: SCU On Cardboard Corner

Hey guys, this Sunday I will be a guest on cardboard corner, a chat with Topher and others over at Crackin Wax. Be sure to check it out, click the banner for more info.

Its Getting....LARGER.

I just wanted to do another shameless plug for Mike over at Cardboard Connection. He is a nice guy who is trying his best to put together a cool site where collectors can display their stuff a la MySpace. Its an idea that I think takes a lot of work to set up, and its awesome that he has taken his time to help us have this outlet. Its getting pretty large, and I would expect that if you get in now, you will see a lot of the benefits before things explode.

Sign Up Here To Become A Member

Shameless Plug for Cardboard Reflux

One of my favorite commenters, Voluntarheel, has started his own blog, and I have already laughed a few times over it. Okay, scratch that, you are all my favorites like my non-existant children, but he actually took the time to make a blog. I love you all equally, even you "anonymous," and you "gellman sucks."

Regardless of my creepiness, check out Cardboard Reflux, its still in the early stages, but hopefully you can see what I mean.

Check it out!

Shameless Plug For ARPlatinum

SCU Youtube Breaker of the Year, ARPlatinum, has started a blog to promote his upcoming breaks, and I think it is a good idea to check him out in between SCU Group Breaks, especially if you have a more expansive budget.

His blog is still new, so if you need to know a little more about him, check out his hugemoungus selection of case breaks on YouTube.

He has pretty much broken multiple cases of just about everything, its great to see what happens when a real person breaks boxes with real money. As it turns out, it happens pretty much the same way as when I break boxes.

Right now he has a break going for Ultimate Football, and I cant wait to see how this shit turns out. Color me excited.

Check it out.

One More Shameless Plug For FCB

After having some really nice conversations with Mr. Chris Gilmore from Freedom Card Board, I really think you guys should check it out. He is doing his best to get things done right, and so far he has done a really great job establishing relationships with the people in this hobby. He definitely knows what he is talking about with sports cards, and the board and its members usually reflect that.

It doesnt hurt that the people on the message board no longer have to answer to Beckett moderators, so they get on the Beckett news before I do most of the time.

Check it out, your time will not be wasted, I promise.

Box Break: 2008 Bowman Chrome Football

I got in to Minneapolis on friday night, and immediately went into crash mode. I was so tired that I didnt even know what to do with myself. However, I was also hungrier than I have ever been, so I managed to squeeze a Perkins visit into the mix. Saturday and Sunday were spent doing massive amounts of wedding planning, and I even got to watch the game on a 60 inch plasma that my dad had gotten. AMAZING.

Today I went shopping with my Mom for beer and wine for the reception and we made a stop at Three Star Sports Cards on Hamline Ave in Roseville, MN. The store wasnt much in terms of beauty, but the selection was great and the prices were good too. I talked with the owner, who recognized me from YouTube and the site, and we talked for awhile about the hobby. He was a nice guy, and I told him I would give him a plug here for his store.

Anyways, I broke a box of Chrome and I had a good time with not good results, as usual. If I had known how poorly this shit sold, I maybe would have gone with Topps Chrome at the same price. Either way, here is what I pulled:



Harry Douglas AU Redemption - Ehh, could have been much better, could have been much worse. Expected delivery date? 3/2009. Thanks Topps, what crap.



Ray Rice Silver Refractor 84/199 - This was the box topper, not encased, and I was pretty lucky I didnt get Owen Schmitt or something crappy like that. Rice is a good player, and I can live with this.



Matt Ryan Regular Base RC - So far, the rookie to pull. Check that one off the list, too bad it wasnt a refractor.



Jonathan Stewart Refractor - This was a nice card to pull, and I am happy to get a good refractor. I pulled some nice vet parallels, but this was the only nice RC parallel.



Darren McFadden Base RC - A nice card at the beginning of the year has turned to shit with the Raiders season. He put up a TD or two yesterday, so that helps, but not enough.

Overall I give this box a B- thanks to the RC pulls, but the auto redemption pull really dragged this down with Topps' record on those. Also, be sure to check out Three Star Sports Cards and shoot the shit with the guy who runs it. Pretty good shop for what most of the Minnesota scene is usually like.

Shameless Plug For My New Site

Readers of SCU:

I present the ADRIAN PETERSON HIGHLIGHT REEL, or the online display of my wonderous collection, for your approval. Just thought I would plug that.

I have been wanting to do it for a while, and I think its going to turn out pretty awesome once I get everything up.

I refuse to do "card of the day" posts here because they are lame and a cop out, so this is my way of making up for it without lame-ing out SCU.

Thanks.

More Shameless Baseball Site Plugs

If you guys are into the whole podcast thing, make sure to check out http://www.superfractor.com/. They have a weekly podcast they do that is pretty cool, and I think it could be the beginning of something pretty cool. Podcasts are pretty much ignored in this hobby, its nice to see someone taking the initiative. I have actually searched a few times for card podcasts with no luck, its cool to finally get that first one under the belt.

Shameless Plugs

Hey guys, just wanted to give a plug to two people that have graciously supported this blog a number of times. I want to pay them back.

First is Wax Heaven, who has started their reviews of UD products (all sports) for everyone to see. Regardless of your feelings about sponsorship, Mario asked me to let the SCU Consitituency know that he is running contests to give away most of the cards. All you have to do is post a comment in the thread to be entered. Pretty sweet.

Second, my bud, SCU Youtube Breaker of the Millenium, and really nice guy AR Platinum is having a few awesome group breaks coming up. But that is not the only reason I am doing this. Personally, I hope this card, from his Gridiron Gear case break, gets lost in the mail and some how ends up on my doorstep.

I signed up for a few of his upcoming events, and I encourage you to do so too. Go to youtube and search for Group Break, his 500+ videos will surely show up somewhere. The guy is a breaking machine. I have participated on multiple occasions, and I have gotten some awesome cards for close to nothing. Around the price of a few packs. Its fucking great, so go sign up for his, and keep an eye out for ours too.

Check it Out

Guys, if you havent checked out freedom card board, you really need to get over there. Its becoming a nice board, and the simple layout is very refreshing. Make sure you at least go over there and look around. You may not be disappointed