Night Owl Cards

(WARNING: This post will contain commentary about kitchen countertops, doughnuts and rock ballads from the '80s ... and the post writer will try to connect all three. Those with weak constitutions may want to click off now). I was half paying attention to some 2014 Panini Donruss breaks yesterday on Twitter. Sure, I know some of you weren't even aware that there was a Panini Donruss set. But, trust me, the collectors who must have the latest and greatest NOW  were aware. I may be wrong in my perception -- because like I said, I was half paying attention -- but it didn't seem like the Donruss breakers were all that satisfied once all the wrappers were open. There were collation issues. And short-print issues. Lots of short-print issues (I have no idea why Panini baseball -- a company that can't even get half the collectors to give it the time of day -- is short-printing things). It made me sad for just a brief moment for the box breakers. And I began to rememb...

I received this snazzy Matt Kemp Chrome refractor from All The Way To The Backstop recently. But that's not the topic of this post. It popped up in the middle of a whole mess of 2012 Allen & Ginter want list needs, which cut said list down quite nicely. Then Democratic Roadkill weighed in with his share and knocked the list down a few more notches. A quick look at some cards from both guys: With these cards from those two packages, I am down to needing 27 more cards for the set -- with another lot on the way. Remember how long it took me to complete last year's set? Almost a full year. Now, I haven't actually completed this year's A&G set yet, but the chances are fairly good that I will finish it off in less than a year's time. It's even possible that I'll complete it earlier than the previous three years, when the finish date was in November or December. So what is the difference between this year and last year?...