Night Owl Cards

  My first sportlots order of the year has been sitting on my rolltop desk waiting for me to brag about it.   It's not bragging material, really. There were a lot of upgrades that I don't need to show, but I sure did enjoy getting that 1977 Topps Joel Youngblood to replace the creased one in the set binder that I didn't even know was creased until a rare day of sunshine came through the card room (who knows how many creased cards are hiding in the Northeastern darkness of my home).   Some stuff has been put away already and others have been sitting in a stack waiting until the one last pokey sportlots seller finally snapped out his stupor and shipped the last card (this always happens).    I've determined what my 10 favorite arrivals are -- but there are more than 10 cards. Per usual, these are interesting mostly to me and could very well bore you to tears.      10. Gavin Lux, 2020 Topps Chrome   The last card needed for the team set. Can you...

  Unlike any other Dodgers team of the last decade, I have not held the current version to a very high standard. Their offseason moves were underwhelming, they let a lot of familiar names go, and it looked much like a reset season. Their first 25 games were about what I expected and to any fellow fan who appeared distraught, I just pointed to the lineup the team was trotting out daily. You can't expect them to win with that. The outlook has gotten a lot better the last couple of weeks. The Phillies series could well be the highlight of the season and that game on Wednesday maybe the game of the year. We'll see. The Padres are next and nothing is guaranteed this weekend other than something San Diego, a player or a fan being annoying. But for now, I feel good about my favorite team, which is the perfect time to show off the rest of my COMC order. You saw the first part of it last week , all of the Allen & Ginter mini action. Just about the remainder of it was Dodgers. At the...

    When history comes to document my card purchases in March of 2023, it will find one large purchase of 1969 Topps cards. That will be the defining buy of the month for me. The remaining card acquisitions for the month have all arrived in dribs and drabs, only when I have a few spare dollars, never more than a handful each time, sometimes only one at a time. There was no card show, no comc or sportlots binge, not even a blaster splurge this month. I also think I've made my last card purchases for the month, and they're not here yet. So all I have for you is the most recent arrivals. It's probably not much to you, but they are everything to me, right now.   This was a single-card snag from @BettSpaghett79 who is known for offering up single cards for sale once in awhile. Most often, they are prospects I've never heard of, but a Dodger pops up periodically. Perhaps you're wondering why this card, so here it is: Why'd I buy this? 1. It's a Dodger card I need....

  Around this time of year, my world ramps up and I get amped up.   The Super Bowl makes things busy at work and also for me as a fan. Usually, February means the start of area high school playoffs that continue throughout the month and into March. That's not going to happen this year, but a few teams are going to start playing some games soon and that's practically the playoffs for them (and us, too) during pandemic times.   February also means the beginning of "birthday season" in my family and extended family. And sometimes I'm thrown two weeks of a Winter Olympics to handle as well.   Into all of this, Topps decides to release its most anticipated set of the season, the reason for it existing really, the First Cards Of The Season.   I've always considered this a terrible time to release its set. Not only am I incredibly busy but the weather is usually ass. Six-foot piles of snow in the Target parking lot is not uncommon. But I shovel myself out because it...