Night Owl Cards

I'm sure a few of you retail hounds have noticed that blasters of 2008 Upper Deck Timeline have reappeared in Walmart. It's been three years since UD put out this set and I'm still tempted to buy packs or blasters every time I see it. I'm wondering if in three years time when I see marked down blasters of 2011 product, if I'll be even half as intrigued. I really like the Timeline set. I've said that many times. I'm also half-heartedly collecting the whole thing, which is the proper way to collect this set. If you try to collect it wholeheartedly, you'll blow through the ceiling fuming over how you've pulled another Chase Utley base card for the 52nd time. And then you'll have to call the fire department and be all embarrassed. I bought one discounted blaster a few weeks ago, and the only thing keeping me from buying another one (besides the "no money" excuse) is the fact that 2011 Heritage is still amusing me. Fortunately, ot...

Remember this card from last year's Allen & Ginter set? Everyone had a laugh, or shook their head, over the Invisible Man card, which was part of the "Creatures of Legend, Myth and Terror" insert series. I didn't bother to chase this card, although I did find it amusing. But did you know that 2010 Allen & Ginter has its own invisible man, too? Derek Jeter is not featured in this year's set. I'm sure you know that already, but that stuns me. Not only is he one of the top five most popular baseball players on the planet and has been for years, but he plays for Topps' favorite team. That's what makes this so shocking to me. Why would Topps exclude such a popular player on such a popular team in probably its most popular release of the year? I still don't know the answer to that. Although the absence of popular players from card sets has always fascinated me -- from Ted Williams and Maury Wills to Rusty Staub, Jason Varitek and Ba...

I may be a bit vocal about the card brands I don't like, but the truth is, I'll try anything once when it comes to buying packs. I can see all the cards I want on the blogs, but I don't make a final determination until I see them in my greedy, grabby hands. So that explains why yesterday I bought loose packs of two 2009 sets that I have no interest in collecting: Piece of History and Goudey . And you will be shocked to hear that I was pleasantly surprised by one of the packs. I'll give you a hint which one it was by showing you which one it wasn't: Lordy , what a disaster this card is. It's an instant candidate for Worst Card of 2009. This is candidate No. 4. Cal is somewhere in that painting, but you've really got to look. The orange background reminds me of burning wildfires. And Ripken's glowing orange arms are much more disturbing in person. I know people have said '09 Goudey is a faithful recreation of the original Goudey set. I don't ca...