My Apologies

For those of you whose blogs link here, but I dont link back, its not because I dont like you or because I am avoiding it. If you want to be linked, please ask, I have no other way of updating that list. I read just about every blog there is, but I dont always check for links I miss.

Please let me know in a nice fashion instead of chewing me out, I will add you right away. If you do want to chew me out, thats fine, just do it for a reason that doesnt involve my own ability to win the internet.

2 Boxes of 2007 Leaf Limited

After I jump in the shower, I am heading to the post office to drop off all of the packages from the 2008 Leaf Limited Break. I know there were some people who couldn't get in on the first break because of payday discrepancies and the time of the break, so I am going to do the next sign up with no down time.

This break is going to be for 2 boxes of 2007 Leaf Limited. It is a decent (i.e. my favorite from 07) mid-range product and will allow us to have a lower spot cost for those who might be feeling the tight economic times a little more than others. Here is the product info:

Configuration: 1 pack per box. 7 cards per pack.


PER BOX ITEMS
* 3 autograph or memorabilia cards(at least 1 autograph).

EACH 12 BOX INNER CASE WILL HAVE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
* A cut signature card
* A Lettermen card
* An autographed Limited Slideshow card

Here are the details for the break:

1) 2 boxes of 2007 Leaf Limited Football
2) $14 buys you one slot and each slot is for 2 random teams
3) Payments can be sent to: justin.halbersma@gmail.com (unlike the last break if you are buying more than one slot you can do it all at one time since there aren't copious amounts of base cards to ship out)
4) Please make sure to include your screen name and your address if you don't have it registered with paypal.
5) Random team assignments will be videotaped (via random.org) and then posted here and on youtube
6) Boxes will be ordered once all 16 slots are filled
7) Break will be videotaped and posted on here (with nice card scans) and on youtube
8) Slots are taken as payment is received (i.e. your name isn't added until payment is received)

I think this should be a pretty fun break and I am hoping that our newly started "good break" streak will continue.

_______________________________________________

1. Holy Hitter (paid)
2. Darkship (paid)
3. Darkship (paid)
4. Cardboard Addiction (paid)
5. psad21 (paid)
6. psad21 (paid)
7. oldschoolbreaks (paid)
8. voluntarheel (paid)
9. voluntarheel (paid)
10. wheeler281 (paid)
11. wheeler281 (paid)
12. groat (paid)
13. sonic (paid)
14. caspalta (paid)
15. Cardboard Addiction (paid)
16. Holy Hitter (paid)

New Banner

Thanks to Paul (again) for the new banner(s). He was the one behind the awesome SCU Breaks one, and you know how much we love that piece of work. Im not sure if the new one will stay, but I like it a lot.

What do you guys think?

EDIT: I tried out the purple one, and I like the 3-D look much better. Its amazing what photoshop is capable of, and it doesnt hurt that Paul is great at this shit.

2008 Leaf Limited Football

Well here we go. Enjoy the videos especially Box #1 and Box #3.

Box #1:


Box #2:


Box #3:


Now for the scans of some of the nicer cards. I really, really like that Stram Cut Auto.






***Cards go out tomorrow in the mail***

Look for the next break to be posted for signups tomorrow and it will be a throwback to last years Leaf Limited (and I am hoping to randomly get the Vikes!)

Tightening the Vice

After the events of the last few days have transpired, its been like Christmas a month early for me. Whether its the storied history of creditless facebiting by Beckett's Chris Olds off of blogs like this one, Fielder's Choice, Trader's Cracks, etc, Mario stealing back, and now the removal of Mario from the Beckett "Circle of Trust," I think its time to recognize that maybe those douchebags arent the number one authority anymore. I knew and publicized this fact the minute SCU was born, but now its even more public and grown beyond just me.

What does Beckett do to respond? Do they reach out and try to invite others in to show that things are finally heading in a better direction? Do they finally admit that they are about as in touch with the hobby as my 87 year old grandma? No. They dont. Instead they continue to copy and paste blogosphere-wide, and call in every favor they have with their Bosom Buddies like DLP Baseball, DLP football, and Topps Baseball and Football. This is where the Prime Cuts, the National Treaures and the 2009 Topps exclusive previews came from.

I am fucking elated because not only do we see that they are circling the drain (much rejoicing), but they are no longer afraid to show that they are flailing around trying to grab on to something like a dog running on a linoleum floor. Sources from the sphere have told me that they have gone around calling everyone in the hobby and crying like little 4 year old girls to give them exclusives that are now being shown all over the blogs.

People like UD have obviously stopped dealing with Beckett and refuse to send them any more boxes, and so far the exclusives have been slim. Mario, on the other hand has reaped the benefits (much rejoicing), and now Beckett is pisssssssed.

All I have to say is that what goes around comes around you souless douchebags. You hold yourself with arrogance and conceitedness, and you end up fucked. Exactly what you deserve. Its not eBay or blogs that are your problem, its the way you have handled every situation. People in the INDUSTRY (not blogs) have used the language "fucking retards" when describing Beckett, that they are the "dorky kid your mom forces you to play with" and I agree. Again, this is from people in the INDUSTRY, not people like me.

Keep on burning those bridges and we can see where you end up.

More reading:
[Wax Heaven][Houston Collector's blog][VOTC: The Anti-Beckett][Sport Lizard's Rant][Fielder's Choice][Acheiver Card Blog][Treasure Never Buried][Need Mo Morneau]

08 Leaf Limited - Boxes Have Arrived

Hey guys boxes have arrived and so the trade between penguin101 and cardboard addiction will be the last. I will be busting and videotaping the boxes over my lunch break and then will be doing all the uploading/posting later tonight.

Hope these are great boxes.....

***Update: Pay Attention for the videos/scans tonight........THE STREAK OF BAD BREAKS HAS ENDED***

Busy Day

Sorry guys, its a busy day at work with meetings and interviews, Ill try and get some of the stuff I have up later today.

First Look: 2008 DLP Prime Cuts Baseball

We finally get a set from DLP baseball that I would definitely consider one of the first high end sets since 2005. Too bad it will be in excess of 200 per box, but as you can see, the hits are pretty amazing. With only 1 auto in the 4 hits offered, there better not be any Elite Extra Edition style RCs. Also, I wonder how they can produce cards with Gherig and Robinson considering their estate's deal with Topps, but really, who fucking cares? Check this shit out!

Parallels In a Different Sense Of The Word

When Obama started his campaign just short of two years ago, we were NOT expecting it to go this far. Personally, Im glad it did for a few reasons that dont involve the devil woman. First off, it shows that anyone can really accomplish whatever they want as long as they dont give up, something that before last night was a hyperbolic and cliche saying that helped parents try to inspire apathetic children. Secondly, it shows what a grassroots internet campaign combined with a normal campaign can accomplish. Its those two things I want to focus on.

Before I start, I want to let you know that in no way am I meaning to belittlie this historic win by drawing parallels to this blog. Trust me, im just using it to make a point.

I think that the internet has long since become the way that people get their news, and that print media is dying a long and painful death. It only goes to show that when blogs like the ones we read take over the blogosphere, things actually can happen towards a change for the better. When I started writing this blog, I was just a person that thought change was needed in a hobby I loved to be a part of. Those awful things I was fighting to change prevented a lot of good things from happening, and it disgusted me to no end. Frankly, they still do. But, unlike 5 years ago, the internet has given me a vehicle for change, and I am not the only one jumping on board - and that is a very good thing. The better thing is that Barack Obama showed on a national scale that the youth electorate was not going to stand idly by while the same ole same ole drove this country into the ground, and used the internet to rally his young supporters on a number of occasions. He did that with a lot of help from the emails, blogs, and iReporters, and I have a feeling that in 2012, it will be an even bigger part of things. In fact, punditry blogs and other sites that focused on the campaign gained national attention as well, showing that blogmedia is actually a reliable news source for the public.

Now, I know that this blog will never receive any national attention, and my crusades will never reach the level that forces drastic change. However, I think that as hobby blogs become more plentiful, we will have the ability to influence a part of the hobby that people like Beckett refuse to acknowledge as more than just a "few scattered people." As a person who uses the internet as a news source myself, I know that will be the downfall of their influence in the hobby.

Hell, even manufacturers have seen the grassroots people forming effective campaigns, and they have recognized the wonderful voices that have emerged from the fray. Whether its diamond vision, youtube, or even blog sponsorship, they realize that before long, people like Mario, Dayf and Dave will be more of a resource than douchebags like Hackler in the general hobby. To me, its funny that Beckett has tried to demolish their internet following rather than embrace it. Its no surprise that they are too stupid to fix the broken parts of their business that have been rusting with the corosion of outdated paradigms, because if they do, they might as well cease everything associated with the company. Let me put it this way, 20 years ago, they created the sources they still use today. 20 years is a long, long time in todays world.

Back to more important themes of this election, mainly all those children who are given a renewed source of "Yes We Can!" when it comes to reaching for those stars that seem out of reach, as last night a man born during a time when Blacks were separate but "equal" is now president. If he can do it, so can we, and I think I have never given up that naive hope that with a little elbow grease, anything can be accomplished.

I think that 6 months ago, many people in the hobby werent sure what to expect after a March month to remember. However, over the next half year, they were shown that a voice is nothing to discount. I do not, under any circumstances, believe that I had any effect on the hobby's change, but I will say that I helped to bring a PA system to some of those voices that were having trouble being heard.

The lesson is this: Dont let your voice be silenced, its worth more than anyone could ever imagine. Barack Obama took this to heart, and he is now a "President for Change," something I can identify with. With that, I ask you today to believe that with the voices we have assembled here in the 'sphere, we can change things too.