2.2.11

Weather: high 30s, drizzle, no wind, VERY foggy!
Did you walk today?: Yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles + Target
Weather During Walk: Foggy, drizzle off and on, no wind
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: head cold, cough = not happy
How is your diabetes today?: ok

1982 Topps Baseball Wax Pack Rippage

Ahhhh 1982 Topps Baseball. The year of Ripken. Topps also brought back the All-Star and "In Action" Subsets, as well as a sticker per pack.
Having those in the set made opening wax that much more enjoyable as far as star power goes when ripping.

on to the show...














Sadly, my pack did not have any star power. i did get a HOF sticker though, and back in the day, the Wallach was a "hit".

until next pack.....thanks for the read, Eric

2.1.11

Weather: Absolute Crap. 33, rain/sleet, slush everywhere. crappy
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles and then some shopping
Weather During Walk: crappy
Overall Walk Performance: crappy
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: eh, this head cold has my numbers up

1.31.11

Weather: low 30s, cold, windy, clear skies
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: cold, windy
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: head cold, slight cough, not happy
How is your diabetes today?: cold limbs

1981 Topps Baseball Wax Pack Rip.

With 2011 Topps Baseball hitting the retail shelves, it made me feel nostalgic, so i decided to rip a 30 year old pack of Topps 1981 Baseball.

Rookies in '81 Topps include:
Baines Making the DH his own, Fernando Mania, Raines running wild, Gibson still had two good wheels, and Super Joe making the word "Prospector" a reality!

Lots of star power in the set as well. Rickey's second year topps too.

the '81 Topps set is like the red-headed stepchild of the pre-junk era wax. no HOF rookies are presented in the set (yet!). the cards are plagued with "grading issues".














Not a great rip...BUT as always, great fun opening a wax pack that is 30 years old! and look at all that gum that they used to feed us!

until next time folks

1.30.11

Weather: 34, cold, sunny. not much wind
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: cold, sunny
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: sore throat, stuffy head
How is your diabetes today?: ok

1.29.11

Weather: Cold, mid 30s, not much wind
Did you walk today?: Yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: ok, better then yesterday
Overall Walk Performance: good
Current Mood: ok
How is your diabetes today?: ok, not 100% today

1.28.11

Weather: Cold, low 30s. No wind.
Did you walk today?: Yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: cold, wet and slippery. lots of snow still around
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: eh

1.27.11

Weather: Blizzard last night, at least a foot and a half of snow.
Did you walk today?: No, too much snow.
If So, how far?: But i did do a few HOURS of shoveling, which has worn me out
Weather During Walk: 
Overall Walk Performance: 
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: left eye is a bit blurry at times

1.24.11

Weather: Very very Very Cold. 6 without the wind factor
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: freezing
Overall Walk Performance: cold
Current Mood: cold
How is your diabetes today?: cold

1.23.11

Weather: COLD. 20, feels like 3 with the wind
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25
Weather During Walk: cold and windy
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: just not feeling great today

1.22.11

Weather: 8 (yes, eight) degrees, -2 with the wind. cold. pcl
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: cold
Overall Walk Performance: good
Current Mood: blah, tired
How is your diabetes today?: eh

1.21.11

Weather: Cold, low 30s, sunny, pcl
Did you walk today?: Yes
If So, how far?: 2 miles + one hour of shoveling snow that we got overnight
Weather During Walk: slippery
Overall Walk Performance: avg at best
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: just not a good day, dont have it.

1.20.11

Weather: low 30s, COLD, slight wind, overcast
Did you walk today?: Yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: cold
Overall Walk Performance: ok 
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: ok, cold limbs

Does BGS now stand for "Be Gone Soon"?

Yesterday it was announced that "Tuff Stuff" magazine would be discontinued. While i was never a huge fan of the publication back in the day, it is a bit sad to see something from my youth fold.

That got me to thinking about magazines and sports cards as a whole.

There really is no longer much of a "need" for paper magazines relating to sports card pricing. the print media is simply too slow to represent sports cards. eBay has made sports cards a NOW NOW NOW! type of commodity.

Take Football for example. Playoffs, one HUGE game from someone, and BAM! the sheep hit eBay and GOTTA HAVE IT NOW! and boom, up goes the price. a print magazine simply cannot compete.

Beckett Magazine. This publication has been the gold standard for sports cards for the better part of the last 25 years. dispute that all you like, but you know its true. That being said, i can see a time in the not too distant future that they start shutting down the operation, piece by piece, meaning sport by sport. With the "Plus" that covers all sports in one, being the last one standing, until that one runs out of gas as well.

BGS. Beckett Grading Service. Although not "First" on the scene, they are currently "King" of the modern graded card world.

i could see them having difficulties in the future. they are simply handing out way too many BGS 10's nowadays. i understand that the people submitting are better trained for what to look for when sending in their cards, but enough is enough already.

in 2006, just 5 years ago, a BGS 9.5 actually meant something. Now in 2010, a 9.5 is EXPECTED and anything less is FROWNED upon. in 2006 a BGS 10 was a DREAM, now its not commonplace, but sure isnt all that rare anymore.

This could lead to their downfall down the line.

For as much as people like to piss on PSA, keep in mind that they have a strong following of people that not only submit stuff to them, but PAY them just for the right to do so.

One would think that that would turn people off, but that doesnt seem to be the case, as PSA has such a heavy workload, that they have a hard time meeting their turnaround times that they tell you it will take to get your cards back.

Just some stuff to think about i suppose.

1.12.11

Weather: low 30s, flurries, cold, windy, gross
Did you walk today?: No, cant due to the foot of snow.
If So, how far?:
Weather During Walk:
Overall Walk Performance:
Current Mood: blah, hate snow
How is your diabetes today?: ok

Just got down with "Round One" with the snow and the large driveway.
probably another two rounds to go. good workout though i suppose, but id rather walk.

1.11.11

1.11.11 ha!


Weather: 31, cold, slightly windy, overcast
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: cold, windy
Overall Walk Performance: good
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: ok

Did Upper Deck KILL the baseball card "hobby' in 1989?

i was thinking about this today during my walk. Sure Score came along a year before Upper Deck, but i really don't know.

What if it would have remained Topps/Donruss/Fleer/Score heading into the 90's, would we be where we are today?

1989 UD was a huge change in the "hobby". Top notch paper stock, full color pic on the back, and a counterfeit proof hologram on the back as well.

1990 "Find The Reggie!" lead to the mass insertion of autographed cards into packs.

if these things hadnt come along, im still sure that there would still have been millions of trees slaughtered during the mass production years.

but where would we be in 2011? Would there even be cards still put out?

i know many collectors that, quite frankly, "hate" Topps now that they are the only company allowed to make MLB Baseball Cards. Some, if not most of those guys were collecting in the 80s like i was.

ive really lost interest in everything newer then 1989. don't know why that is, but thats how it seems to be lately.

1.10.11

Weather: 25, COLD, windy, felt like 14. Clear Blue Sky
Did you walk today?: Yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: COLD, but nice
Overall Walk Performance: good
Current Mood: ok
How is your diabetes today?: ok

1.9.11

Weather: 24, windy, cold, feels like 14
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles + Target
Weather During Walk: cold, slippery as we had about an inch of snow overnight
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: blah
How is your diabetes today?: blah