Insert Set Flashback: 1997-98 Ultra Jam City

Posted: Monday, January 16, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Inserts | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment


The Set:
1997-98 Ultra Jam City

Set Odds:
1 in 8 series 1 packs

Key Cards:
Kobe Bryant $8.00
Shaquille O’Neal $4.00
Kevin Garnett $3.00

Why I Like It:
Oh man, how to get started.  How sweet would a modern-day Jam City set be?  Blake Griffin, Dwight Howard, LeBron, etc… highlighting a set of the league’s best dunkers?  Or a set with past slam-dunk champions?  The Jam City name had tons of potential.

The cartoon-y black and white background makes the color shot of the player jump off the card.  Putting some of the league’s arenas into the background would have been a nice touch.

One thing I found amusing from the cards above: How does Juwan have a pass into Jam City when the back of the card says that he likes to step out for 18-footers?  Howard could throw it down in his younger days, but at least mention that rather than his set-shot ability.

Wednesday Wax: 2010-11 Panini Totally Certified

Posted: Wednesday, December 28, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Box Breaks, Wax | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Set:
2010-11 Totally Certified
6 packs per box, 5 cards per pack
Base set contains 150 base cards, 35 rookies autographs
Relic and Gold Autograph versions of some of base set
15 Totally Certified Potential
50 Fabric of the Game Jumbo Jersey #
50 Fabric of the Game Jumbo Team
4 HRX
Red/Blue/Gold/Green/Black parallel versions

Our Break:
Each card is serially numbered.  The base set is /1849.  Collector’s will either need to open a lot of boxes or do lots of buying/trading to complete a base set of these.  The draw with this product is the rookie autographs (John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins), the chance at autographs and relics of stars such as Griffin, Kobe, Rose etc… and of course the HRX video cards.  This product also includes several retired legends such as Patrick Ewing, Scottie Pippen, Hakeem Olajuwon, John Stockton, Karl Malone, among others.  Here’s what we opened:

Base cards /1489 (16): Gerald Henderson, Carlos Boozer, Paul Pierce, Chris Paul, Paul Millsap, Mehmet Okur, Carmelo Anthony, Pau Gasol, Jameer Nelson, Gilbert Arenas, Danny Granger, Rodney Stuckey, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, Aaron Brooks


Red /499 (5): Brandon Jennings, Zach Randolph, Matt Barnes, Hedo Turkoglu, Richard Hamilton
Blue /299 (3): Pau Gasol, Chase Buddinger, Kevin Love



Red Materials /249 (3): Andrew Bogut, Tyreke Evans, Luis Scola


Green Fabric of the Game /299 (1): Rasheed Wallace


Rookie Autographs /599 (2): Landry Fields, Ed Davis (Redemption)

Impressions:

First, want to applaud the design on the rookie autographs.  They look sharp and having on-card signatures makes them appealing.  While our box didn’t contain the most highly sought after rookies (John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Evan Turner, etc..) we did pull two solid rookies, one of which starts on a playoff team that looks like it could make a deep run this year (Fields).

Pulling even a base card of a superstar such as Lebron, Kobe, Durant, etc… would have been nice, but with a base set of 150 cards and the box containing only 16, this can’t be expected out of an average box.

While the big hits in this product provide an exciting pack-busting experience, the typical box won’t deliver an adequate return.

Where Will Clippers Finish?

Posted: Saturday, December 17, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Around the NBA | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

With the recent acquisition of Chris Paul, how will the Clippers mesh?  Can all the main pieces stay healthy?  Paul, Blake Griffin, Caron Butler, all have sustained major injuries during their career.  With a less than to be desired bench, it will be critical for those guys to stay healthy during the condensed season.

My prediction barring major injuries, 4-5 seed in the West.  Why so high (or so low if you’re really optimistic about the Paul/Griffin combo)?  Chris Paul was able to get the Hornets to the 7 seed last year with a lesser collection of talent around him.  He then pushed the Lakers 6 games in a difficult first round series.

I don’t see a ton of teams in the West that actually got better during this quick free agency period.  The Mavs lost their main defensive weapon in center Tyson Chandler to the Knicks.  The Lakers basically gave away Lamar Odom to the Dallas because he was unhappy because of almost being traded.  The Spurs are one year older and lost their 6th man to Indiana.

So, I think the Clippers can make a run.  It’ll be exciting to see the relevant Clippers either way.